A, being the first word in the dictionary, seems a good place to start in a little journey through words. And, what with us being clever folk, I thought a nice word to start with would be Academia. Little did I know that I would be sent round numerous Greek Mythology websites each telling me slightly different things. However, I have settled on the origin that seems to be the one most agreed upon. It is said that when the Spartans invaded Attica (the area of Greece containing Athens) to free their sister Helen, a man called Akademos told them where she was being kept. The Spartans were so grateful that in subsequent invasions they always spared the land which belonged to Akademos. This area eventually became known as Academeia. It was here that Plato founded his school of philosophy and learning in 385BC. He named it Academeia after the location, and so we get Academia.

While we’re here, the word “attic” comes directly from “relating to Attica” as attics were a usual feature of Attic architecture. Interesting, no?

A few other academic words beginning with A for you: Abacus – actually comes from the Greek word for slab – “abax” – as an abacus was originally a slab of wood strewn with dust, which could be written in. Clever Greeks. Abscissa –the x-coordinate. It comes from the Latin “abscindere”, meaning to cut off. (The y-coordinate is called the Ordinate)

Abecedary – (pronounced ay-bee-see-duhry) rudimentary, elementary, a beginner. This word literally comes from the first letters of the alphabet.

And finally:

Abracadabra was originally a late-Latin mythical word, written in an inverted triangle and worn to ward off disease or trouble. It was particularly popular during the Plague. Some think it is from the Hebrew “Ha Brachab Dabarah” – Speak the Blessing