| apotheosis | n. | deification, elevation to the rank of a god | ||
| apotropaic | adj. | intended to ward off evil | ||
| appanage | n. | customary accompaniment | ||
| appetence | n. | longing, desire; instinctive inclination | ||
| apple scrumping | n. | to steal apples from an orchard, to take fallen apples from another’s grounds | ||
| appoggiatura | n. | grace-note prepended to essential tone of a melody | ||
| apposite | adj. | well put, suitable | ||
| appositive | n. | word or phrase used in apposition (grammar) | ||
| apricity | n. | light or heat of the sun | obsolete | |
| apteryx | n. | kiwi | ||
| aptotic | adj. | uninflected | ||
| aquamanile | n. | medieval pitcher, often shaped like an animal | ||
| arabesque | adj. | fanciful decoration or ornament combining figures, flora, and fauna in flowing lines; fantastic, oddly mixed | ||
| arbalest | n. | crossbow using metal bow to shoot bolts or stones | ||
| architrave | n. | primary beam or lintel lying atop a series of columns, the lowest section of a classical entablature (below the frieze and cornice), epistyle; frame with mouldings around door or window | ||
| arctics | n. | waterproof overshoes appropriate for cold weather | ||
| arctophile | n. | lover or collector of teddy bears | ||
| areology | n. | study of the planet Mars | ||
| argal | conj. | therefore (used facetiously to suggest clumsy reasoning) | ||
| argosy | n. | large merchant ship; merchant fleet; large supply | ||
| argy-bargy | n. | vigorous verbal dispute, loud wrangling | ||
| Arimaspian | n. | legendary single-eyed peoples of northern Scythia | ||
| aristarchian | adj. | very or overly critical | ||
| armamentarium | n. | materials and methods for performing given duties | ||
| armscye | n. | armhole in a garment | ||
| arnophilia | n. | bestial sexual congress between men and sheep | ||
| aroint | v. | begone, get hence | archaic | |
| arpent | n. | old French unit of area roughly equal to an acre, still used in Francophone America | ||
| arrack | n. | liquor made from fermented sap of palm or cane or fermented rice, typically distilled in India and Southeast Asia | ||
| arrant | adj. | notorious, unmitigated | ||
| arras | n. | rich tapestry; hanging screen of such | ||
| arris | n. | sharp edge formed by join of two surfaces | architecture | |
| arseniuretted | adj. | combined with arsenic to form an arsenide | ||
| arshin | n. | measurement of about 28 inches used in Imperial Russia and up to 1925 | ||
| artemon | n. | square sail on a sharply steeved spar at the bow of ancient Roman or Greek merchant vessels and ships | ||
| asafetida | n. | stinky gum used in cooking, derived from plant of the same name | ||
| ascend | v. | to move upward | ||
| aseity | n. | metaphysical quality of absolute self-sufficient self existence, existence derived solely from self | ||
| ashlar | n. | square-cut stone; masonry made of such stone | ||
| asperse | v. | to bespatter with false accusations; to slander, to traduce | ||
| assart | v. | to root up trees and bushes from land for cultivation | ||
| asseverate | v. | to assert, to aver | ||
| assiduous | adj. | persistently diligent, constant | ||
| assort | v. | to distribute like things according to type | ||
| astart | v. | to befall; to escape, to start off | ||
| asthenia | n. | debility, lack of strength | ||
| astonied | adj. | stunned; dazed | archaic | |
| astragal | n. | anklebone; bead-shaped molding; molding at junction of double doors to prevent drafts | ||
| asyndeton | n. | figure omitting conjunctions | rhetoric | |
| atabal | n. | Moorish tambour or kettle-drum |
