Online Etymology Dictionary

color (n.): early 13c., "skin color, complexion," from Old French color "color, complexion, appearance" (Modern French couleur), from Latin color "color of the skin; color in general, hue; appearance," from Old Latin colos, originally "a covering" (akin to celare "to hide, conceal"), from PIE root *kel- (2) "to cover, conceal" (see cell).

For sense evolution, compare Sanskrit varnah "covering, color," related to vrnoti "covers," and also see chroma. Meaning "visible color, color of something" is attested in English from c. 1300. As "color as a property of things," from late 14c. Old English words for "color" were hiw ("hue"), bleo.
color (v.): late 14c.; see color (n.); earliest use is figurative. Related: Colored; coloring.
color blindness (n.): 1844, replacing Daltonism (after English chemist John Dalton, 1766-1844, who published a description of it in 1794); in figurative use, with reference to race or ethnicity, attested from 1866, American English. Related: color blind (adj.).
Colorado: U.S. state (organized as a territory 1861, admitted as a state 1876), named for the river, Spanish Rio Colorado, from colorado "ruddy, reddish," literally "colored," past participle of colorar "to color, dye, paint," from Latin colorare (see coloration).
coloration (n.): 1620s, from French coloration (16c.), from Late Latin colorationem (nominative coloratio) "act or fact of coloring," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin colorare "to color, to get tanned," from color (see color (n.)).
coloratura (n.): "Ornamental passages, roulades, embellishments, etc., in vocal music" [Elson], 1740, from Italian coloratura, literally "coloring," from Late Latin coloratura, from colorare "to color," from color (see color (n.)).
colorectal (adj.): by 1918, from comb. form of colon (n.2) + rectal.
colored (adj.): late 14c., past participle adjective from color (v.); in reference to "non-white skin," 1610s.
colorful (adj.): 1889, in figurative sense of "interesting," from color (n.) + -ful. Related: Colorfully.
coloring (n.): late 14c., "action of applying color," noun of action from color (v.). Figurative use by 1540s. Meaning "way something is colored" is early 15c. Coloring book is from 1931.
colorless (adj.): late 14c., from color (n.) + -less. Figurative sense of "lacking vividness" is recorded from 1861. Related: Colorlessness.
colors (n.): "flag of a regiment or ship" 1580s, from color (n.).
colossal (adj.): 1712 (colossic in the same sense is recorded from c. 1600), from French colossal, from colosse, from Latin colossus, from Greek kolossos (see colossus).
Colosseum (n.): 1560s, Medieval Latin name for the classical Amphitheatrum Flavium (begun c.70 C.E.), noun use of neuter of adjective colosseus "gigantic;" perhaps a reference to the colossal statue of Nero that long stood nearby (see colossus).
colossus (n.): "gigantic statue," late 14c., from Latin colossus "a statue larger than life," from Greek kolossos "gigantic statue," which is of unknown origin, used by Herodotus of giant Egyptian statues, and used by Romans of the bronze Helios at the entrance to the harbor of Rhodes. Figurative sense of "any thing of awesome greatness or vastness" is from 1794.
Helios, the sun, is a god everywhere; there was a scandal when Anaxagoras dared to call him a glowing clod. But the island of Rhodes is almost the only place where Helios enjoys an important cult; ... the largest Greek statue in bronze, the Colossus of Rhodes, is a representation of Helios. [Walter Burkert, "Greek Religion"]
colostomy (n.): 1888, from colon (n.2) + Modern Latin -stoma "opening, orifice," from Greek stoma "opening, mouth" (see stoma).
colostrum (n.): 1570s, from Latin colostrum "first milk from an animal," which is of unknown origin.
colour: chiefly British English spelling of color (q.v.); for ending see -or. Related: Coloured; colouring; colourful; colours.
colposcopy (n.): 1940, from colpo-, Latinized comb. form of Greek kolpos "womb" (used from c. 1900 in medical compounds in sense "vagina;" see gulf (n.)) + -oscopy (see -scope).
colt (n.): Old English colt "colt," originally "young ass," in Biblical translations also used for "young camel," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *kultaz (source also of Swedish dialectal kult "young boar, piglet; boy," Danish kuld "offspring, brood") and akin to child. Applied to persons from early 13c.
COLT'S TOOTH An old fellow who marries, or keeps a young girl, is ſaid to have a colt's tooth in his head. ["Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]
Colt (n.): type of revolver, 1838, originally the manufacture of U.S. gunsmith Samuel Colt (1814-1862).
coltish (adj.): late 14c., "wild, frisky," also in early use "lustful, lewd," from colt + -ish. Lit. sense of "pertaining to a colt" is recorded from 1540s.
columbarium (n.): "subterranean sepulchre in ancient Roman places with niches for urns holding remains," neuter of Latin columbarius, "dove-cote" (so called from resemblance), literally "pertaining to doves;" from columba "dove." Literal sense of "dove-cote" is attested in English from 1881.
Columbia: poetic name for United States of America, earlier for the British colonies there, 1730s, also the nation's female personification, from name of Christopher Columbus (also see Colombia) with Latin "country" ending -ia. A popular name for places and institutions in the U.S. in the post-Revolutionary years, when former tributes to king and crown were out of fashion: such as Columbia University (New York, U.S.) founded in 1754 as King's College; re-named 1784. Also District of Columbia (1791, as Territory of Columbia); "Hail, Columbia" (Joseph Hopkinson, 1798), Barlow's "Columbiad" (1809).
columbine (n.): c. 1300, from Old French columbine "columbine," or directly from Medieval Latin columbina, from Late Latin columbina "verbena," fem. of Latin columbinus, literally "dove-like," from columba "dove." The inverted flower supposedly resembles a cluster of five doves. Also a fem. proper name; in Italian comedy, the name of the mistress of Harlequin.
Columbus: his name is Latinized from his native Italian Cristoforo Colombo, in Spanish Christobal Colon.
America was discovered accidentally by a great seaman who was looking for something else, and most of the exploration for the next fifty years was done in the hope of getting through or around it. [S.E. Morison, "The Oxford History of the United States," 1965]
column (n.): mid-15c., "vertical division of a page," also "a pillar, post," from Old French colombe (12c., Modern French colonne "column, pillar"), from Latin columna "pillar," collateral form of columen "top, summit," from PIE root *kel- (4) "to project, be prominent" (see hill). Sense of "matter written for a newspaper" dates from 1785.
columnar (adj.): 1728, from Late Latin columnaris "rising in the form of a pillar," from columna "column" (see column).
columnist (n.): 1920, from column in the newspaper sense + -ist.
com-: word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.

Before vowels and aspirates, reduced to co-; before -g-, assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, -v- assimilated to con-.
coma (n.1): state of prolonged unconsciousness, 1640s, from Latinized form of Greek koma (genitive komatos) "deep sleep," which is of uncertain origin. A term for "coma" in Middle English was false sleep (late 14c.).
coma (n.2): "head of a comet," 1765, from Latin coma, from Greek kome "hair of the head," which is of unknown origin. Earlier in English as a botanical term for a tuft of hairs (1660s).
Comanche (n.): 1819, from Spanish, from a word in a Shoshonean language, such as Ute kimánci "enemy, foreigner." Comanchero was a 19c. name given to Hispanic and American traders who dealt with the Comanches.
comatose (adj.): 1755, from Latinized form of Greek komat-, comb. form of koma (genitive komatos; see coma) + -ose (1). Perhaps immediately from French comateux. Transferred sense of "lethargic" is from 1828.
comb (n.): Old English camb "comb, crest, honeycomb" (later Anglian comb), from Proto-Germanic *kambaz (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German camb, German Kamm, Middle Dutch cam, Dutch kam, Old Norse kambr), literally "toothed object," from PIE *gombhos, from root *gembh- "to bite, tooth" (source also of Greek gomphos "a molar tooth," Sanskrit gambha-s "tooth").
comb (v.): late 14c. (implied in past participle kombid), verb derived from comb (n.); replacing the former verb, Old English cemban, which however survives in unkempt. Related: Combed; combing.
combat (v.): 1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from Old French combattre (12c.), from Late Latin combattere, from Latin com- "with" (each other) (see com-) + battuere "to beat, fight" (see batter (v.)). Related: Combated; combating; combatted; combatting.
combat (n.): 1560s, from Middle French combat (16c.), from combattre (see combat (v.)).
combatant: mid-15c. (adj.), late 15c. (n.), from Old French combatant (Modern French combattant) "skilled at fighting, warlike" (also used as a noun in Old French), present participle adjective of combattre (see combat (v.)).
combative (adj.): 1819, from combat + -ive. In 1820s-30s, much associated with phrenology. Related: Combatively; combativeness (1815).
comber (n.): c. 1200, "one who cards wool," agent noun from comb (v.).
combination (n.): late 14c., combinacyoun, from Old French combination (14c., Modern French combinaison), from Late Latin combinationem (nominative combinatio) "a joining two by two," noun of action from past participle stem of combinare (see combine (v.)).
combine (v.): early 15c., from Middle French combiner (14c.), from Late Latin combinare "to unite, yoke together," from Latin com- "together" (see com-) + bini "two by two," adverb from bi- "twice" (see binary). Related: Combinative; combined; combining.
combine (n.): "machine that cuts, threshes and cleans grain" (short for combine harvester), 1857, from combine (v.).
combo (n.): 1929, U.S. slang, originally in entertainment (jazz groups, dance teams), short for combination.
combust: late 14c. as an adjective, "burnt," from Old French combust (14c.), from Latin combustus, past participle of combuere "to burn up, consume" (see combustion). Also an astrological term for planets when near the sun. The verb is attested from late 15c. Related: Combusted; combusting.
combustible (adj.): 1520s, from Middle French combustible, or directly from Late Latin combustibilis, from Latin combustus, past participle of combuere "to burn up, consume" (see combustion). Figurative sense is from 1640s; as a noun, from 1680s. Related: Combustibility (late 15c.).
combustion (n.): early 15c., from Old French combustion (13c.), from Latin combustionem (nominative combustio) "a burning," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin comburere "to burn up, consume," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + *burere, faulty separation of amburere "to burn around," actually ambi-urere, from urere "to burn, singe," from PIE root *eus- "to burn" (see ember).
come (v.): Old English cuman "come, approach, land; come to oneself, recover; arrive; assemble" (class IV strong verb; past tense cuom, com, past participle cumen), from Proto-Germanic *kwem- (source also of Old Saxon cuman, Old Frisian kuma, Middle Dutch comen, Dutch komen, Old High German queman, German kommen, Old Norse koma, Gothic qiman), from PIE root *gwa-, *gwem- "to go, come" (source also of Sanskrit gamati "he goes," Avestan jamaiti "goes," Tocharian kakmu "come," Lithuanian gemu "to be born," Greek bainein "to go, walk, step," Latin venire "to come").

The substitution of Middle English -o- for Old English -u- before -m-, -n-, or -r- was a scribal habit before minims to avoid misreading the letters in the old style handwriting, which jammed letters. The practice similarly transformed some, monk, tongue, worm. Modern past tense form came is Middle English, probably from Old Norse kvam, replacing Old English cuom.

Remarkably productive with prepositions (NTC's "Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs" lists 198 combinations); consider the varied senses in come to "regain consciousness," come over "possess" (as an emotion), come at "attack," come on (interj.) "be serious," and come off "occur." For sexual senses, see cum.
comeback (n.): "verbal retort," 1889, from come + back (adj.). Meaning "recovery, return to former position or condition after retirement or loss" is attested from 1908, American English.