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made. Assume, in the sense of “to suppose,” normally means to put forth a realistic hypothesis, something that can be taken as probable (“I assume we will arrive by midnight”). Presume has more of an air of sticking one’s neck out, of making an assertion that may be arguable or wrong (“I presume we have met before?”). But in most instances the two words can be used interchangeably.

as to whether. Whether alone is sufficient.

AstraZeneca. Pharmaceuticals company.

AstroTurf (one word) is a trademark.

Asunción. Capital of Paraguay.

asymmetry, asymmetric, asymmetrical.

Atatürk, Mustapha Kemal. (1881-1938) Turkish leader and president (1923-1938).

Atchafalaya. Louisiana river and bay.

Athena. Greek goddess of wisdom.

Athenaeum. London club and other British contexts, but Atheneum for the U.S. publisher.

Athinai. Greek spelling of Athens.

ATM. Automated teller machine.

à tout prix. (Fr.) At any price.

attaché.

Attawapiskat. Canadian river.

Attlee, Clement (Richard). (1883-1967) British prime minister (1945-1951). Later made Earl Attlee.

attorney general, pl. attorneys general.

attributable.

Attucks, Crispus. (c. 1723-1770) Black American killed in the Boston Massacre.

Atwater, (Harvey) Lee. (1951-1991) American political figure.

Atwood, Margaret. (1939–) Canadian novelist.

Au, gold, is the abbreviation of aurum (Lat.).

aubergine. British name for eggplant.

au besoin. (Fr.) “If need be.”

aubrietia. Flowering plant named after Claude Aubriet (1655–1742), French painter.

Auchincloss, Louis (Stanton). (1917–) American novelist.

Auchinleck. Family name of James Boswell; pronounced aff-leck.

Auden, W. H. (for Wystan Hugh). (1907-1973) English-born American poet.

audible.

Audubon, John James. (1785-1851) American artist and naturalist.

au fait. (Fr.) To be in the know.

au fond. (Fr.) Basically, at the bottom.

auf Wiedersehen. (Ger.) Goodbye, until we meet again.

auger, augur. An auger is a tool for boring holes in wood or soil; an augur is a prophet or soothsayer. The two words are not related.

“Auld Lang Syne.” (Scot.) Literally “old long since” traditional end-of-year song with words by Robert Burns.

Auld Reekie. (Scot.) Old Smoky; nickname for Edinburgh.

Aumann, Robert J. (1930–) Israeli-American academic; awarded Nobel Prize for Economics (2005).

au mieux. (Fr.) For the best, at best.

au naturel. (Fr.) In the natural state.

Ausable River, Ausable Chasm, New York State.

Au Sable River, Au Sable Point, Michigan.

Auschwitz. German concentration camp in Poland during World War II. In Polish, Oswiecim.

Au secours! (Fr.) A cry for help.

Ausländer. (Ger.) Foreigner.

auspicious does not mean simply special or memorable. It means propitious, promising, of good omen.

Austen, Jane. (1775-1817) English novelist.

Australia, Commonwealth of, is divided into six states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia) and two territories (Australian Capital Territory, Northern Territory). The latter two should not be referred to as states.

autarchy, autarky. The first means absolute power, an autocracy; the second denotes self-sufficiency. However, neither word is well known, and in almost every instance an English synonym would bring an improvement in comprehension, if not in elegance.

Auteuil, Daniel. (1950–) Prolific French actor.

autobahn. (Ger.) Express motorway. The English plural is autobahns; the German is Autobahnen.

auto-da-fé. Execution of heretics during the Inquisition; pl. autos-da-fé.

autostrada. (It.) Express motorway; pl. autostrade.

Auvergne. Region of France.

auxiliary. Not -ll-.

avant-garde.

avenge, revenge. Generally, avenge indicates the settling of a score or the redressing of an injustice. It is more dispassionate than revenge, which indicates retaliation taken largely for the sake of personal satisfaction.

Avenue of the Americas, New York City. Often still referred to as Sixth Avenue, its former name.

avocado, pl. avocados.

avocation. Work done for personal satisfaction rather than need, usually in addition to a normal job.

avoirdupois