13 Words beginning with "A"

I do love digging through dictionaries of curious, rare, obselete & otherwise forgotten words - so many gems to unearth!  Hence I thought I m ight make a record of some of them, both for my own reference & in the hopes that someone else may also find amusement therein.

Let us begin with A...

Addlepated - Eccentric, first recorded in 1614.  A simple conflation of addled (confused) & pate (head).

Aeromancy - Divination according to the condition of the air/atmosphere, first recorded in 1594. 

Afterclap - An unexpected, damaging repercussion, especially following a supposedly secret liaison.  First used in the 14th century, it relates to clap as a term for a stroke of ill-fortune.

Ailuromancy - Divination by observation of cats' behaviour. From the Greek ailouros (cat), & I suspect a skill that many of us have without realising it.

Aischrolatreia - The cult of the obscene, first recorded in 1912, deriving from the Greek aischros (shameful or ugly) &/or the Old English aewisce (disgrace).

Aligerous - Winged, from the Latin ala (wing) & gerere (to carry). Last recorded in the 1880s but due a revival I think.

Allotheism - The worship of strange/foreign gods, first used in 1660.

Amaranthine - Immortal, first recorded in 1667. The word originated when poets conceived of a flower that did not fade and christened it amaranth, drawing upon the Greek word amarantos, meaning "immortal" or "unfading," with amaranthine emerging as an adjective for the imaginary flower and hence of anything possessing its undying quality.

Anagogy - The spiritual meaning/application of words; the interpretation of a word or text that looks for mystical sense beyond the literal or allegorical level. First used in the 15th century.

Apanthropy - A desire, as Greta Garbo said, to be alone. Originally a medical term from the 19th century.

Apodictic - First recorded in 1645, an alternative to incontrovertible. Favoured by moralist philosophers apparently (yes, we are looking at you, Mr Kant)

Araneous - Transparent or delicate, deriving from the Latin aranea (cobweb).

Athanasia - Immortality, or the inability to die. Derives from the Greek thanatos (death), & first recorded in the 1820s.

Enjoy!