Free The Facts on File Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases (Writers Reference) by Martin H. Manser

to the extent
that they were barely recognizable as anything but his own work."
    auto- (oto) GREEK [from autos self,
same] prefix self, e.g., autobiography;
also automatic, e.g., autopilot.
    autobahn (otobahn) GERMAN [expressway, Auto car and Bohn road]
noun (plural autobahns or autobahnen, otobahnan) an expressway in
a German-speaking country: "German autobahns are generally easier on
the driver than expressways elsewhere in
Europe."
    auto-da-fe (oto-644, owto-6-f4)
PORTUGUESE [act of faith] noun (plural autos-da-f&, owtoz da f) the
pronouncement of judgment upon
heretics by the Inquisition, followed
by their public execution.
    automaton (ortom3t3n) GREEK
[automatos self-acting] noun (plural
automatons or automata, ortomata)
a robot, a self-operating mechanical
device, a person who acts in an involuntary, machinelike way: "Mason! the
West Indies!' he said, in the tone one might
fancy a speaking automaton to enounce its
single words; Mason! the West Indies!'
    he reiterated..." (Charlotte Bronte, Jane
Eyre, 1847).
    automobile (ortamabeel) FRENCH
[from Greek auto self and Latin mobile
movable] noun a motor vehicle: "This
is the age of the automobile."
    autoroute (ortoroot) FRENCH [car
route, automobile car and route route]
noun an expressway in a Frenchspeaking country.
    autostrada (ortostrahda) ITALIAN [car
street, automobile car and strada
street] noun (plural autostradas
or autostrade (ortostrahday) an
expressway in an Italian-speaking
country.
    autres temps, autres moeurs (otra
ton otra mer) FRENCH [other
times, other customs] interjection
one should change one's behavior to
suit one's environment or circumstances.
    avalanche (avalanch) FRENCH [alpine
French dialect lavanche a mountainside
snowfall, from avaler to go down]
noun a sudden rush, flood, or fall of
something (originally a fall of snow,
rock, or earth down a mountainside):
`Polly was startled on entering the Shows'
door, by Maud, who came tumbling down
stairs, sending an avalanche of words before
her.. " (Louisa May Alcott, An OldFashioned Girl, 1870).

    avant-garde (avon(g)-gard, avontgard) FRENCH [vanguard] noun (plural
avant-garden) those pioneers who
are in the forefront of a particular
field or movement, typically courting controversy with their unorthodox
methods and progressive views. -adjective of or relating to those who are at
the forefront of a particular field or
movement: "Such avant-garde thinking
has caused uproar in the halls of academe."
    avanti (dvantee) ITALIAN [before]
interjection forward! first: Avanti!
Yes! That is all cares for. To be first somewhere-somehow to be first with these
English" (Joseph Conrad, Nostromo,
1904).
    avatar (avatahr) SANSKRIT [avatara
descent, avatari he descends] noun
the incarnation of a Hindu god in
earthly form and by extension the
embodiment of any idea or philosophical concept; can also refer to a new
phase in a person's or other entity's
existence: "..and honest Alan, who was
a grim old fire-eater in his day has in this
new avatar no more desperate purpose than
to steal some young gentleman's attention
from his Ovid, carry him awhile into the
Highlands and the last century, and pack
him to bed with some engaging images to
mingle with his dreams" (Robert Louis
Stevenson, Kidnapped, 1886). It can
also refer to an image, either static or
animated, used to represent an Internet user, as on a forum.
    ave (ahvay) LATIN [hail] interjection
hail! farewell! welcome!
    ave atque vale (ahvay atkwee vahlay)
LATIN [hail and farewell] interjection
hello and good-bye!
    aver plaisir (avek playzeer) FRENCH
[with pleasure] adverb phrase with
pleasure: "The man smiled when he
received the order to kill his rival. Avec
plaisir,' he replied, with a smirk."
    ave Maria (ahvay mareca) LATIN [hail
Mary] noun phrase hail Mary (the
opening words of a prayer to the Virgin Mary).
    Avesta (avesta) PERSIAN [from apastdk
hymns of praise] noun the sacred
Scriptures