Online Etymology Dictionary

warm (adj.): Old English wearm "warm," from Proto-Germanic *warmaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Old High German, German warm, Old Norse varmr, Gothic warmjan "to warm"), of uncertain origin. On one guess it is from PIE *gwher- (source also of Sanskrit gharmah "heat;" Old Persian Garmapada-, name of the fourth month, corresponding to June/July, from garma- "heat;" Armenian jerm "warm;" Greek thermos "warm;" Latin formus "warm," fornax "oven;" Old Irish fogeir "heated;" Hittite war- "to burn"). On another guess it is connected to the source of Old Church Slavonic goriti "to burn," varŭ "heat," variti "to cook, boil;" and Lithuanian vérdu "to seethe."

The use of distinct words, based on degree of heat, for warm and hot is general in Balto-Slavic and Germanic, but in other languages one word often covers both (Greek thermos; Latin calidus, French chaud, Spanish caliente). In reference to feelings, etc., attested from late 15c. Of colors from 1764. Sense in guessing games first recorded 1860, from earlier hunting use in reference to scent or trail (1713). Warm-blooded in reference to mammals is recorded from 1793. Warm-hearted first recorded c. 1500.
warm (v.): Old English wyrman "make warm" and wearmian "become warm;" from the root of warm (adj.). Phrase warm the bench is sports jargon first recorded 1907. Related: Warmed; warming.
SCOTCH WARMING PAN. A wench. [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
warm-up (n.): "act or practice of exercising or practicing before an activity," 1915; earlier in literal sense, "a heating" (of something), 1878, from verbal phrase warm up, which is from 1868 in the sense "exercise before an activity." Earlier in reference to heating food (1848), and earliest (c. 1400), figuratively, of persons. In reference to appliances, motors, etc., attested from 1947.
warmly (adv.): 1520s, of feelings; 1590s, of temperature, from warm (adj.) + -ly (2).
warmth (n.): late 12c., wearmth, Proto-Germanic *warmitho- (source also of Middle Low German wermede, Dutch warmte), from *warmo- (see warm (adj.); also see -th (2)).
warn (v.): Old English warnian "to give notice of impending danger," also intransitive, "to take heed," from Proto-Germanic *warnon (source also of Old Norse varna "to admonish," Old High German warnon "to take heed," German warnen "to warn"), from PIE *wer- (5) "to cover" (see weir). Related: Warned; warning.
warning (n.): "notice beforehand of the consequences that will probably follow continuance in some particular course" [Century Dictionary], Old English warnung, verbal noun from warnian (see warn (v.)).
warp (v.): "to bend, twist, distort," Old English weorpan "to throw, throw away, hit with a missile," from Proto-Germanic *werpan "to fling by turning the arm" (source also of Old Saxon werpan, Old Norse verpa "to throw," Swedish värpa "to lay eggs," Old Frisian werpa, Middle Low German and Dutch werpen, German werfen, Gothic wairpan "to throw"), from PIE *werp- "to turn, wind, bend" (source also of Latin verber "whip, rod;" Greek rhabdos "rod," rhombos "magic wheel"), from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus).

Connection between "turning" and "throwing" is perhaps in the notion of rotating the arm in the act of throwing; compare Old Church Slavonic vrešti "to throw," from the same PIE root. The meaning "twist out of shape" is first recorded c. 1400; intransitive sense is from mid-15c. Related: Warped; warping.
warp (n.): "threads running lengthwise in a fabric," Old English wearp, from Proto-Germanic *warpo- (source also of Middle Low German warp, Old High German warf "warp," Old Norse varp "cast of a net"), from PIE *werp- "to turn, bend" (see warp (v.)). The warp of fabric is that across which the woof is "thrown." Applied in 20c. astrophysics to the "fabric" of space-time, popularized in noun phrase warp speed by 1960s TV series "Star Trek."
warrant (n.): c. 1200, "protector, defender," from Old North French warant "defender; surety, pledge; justifying evidence" (Old French garant), from Frankish *warand, from Proto-Germanic *war- "to warn, guard, protect" (source also of Old High German werento "guarantor," noun use of present participle of weren "to authorize, warrant;" German gewähren "to grant"), from PIE root *wer- (5) "to cover" (see weir).

Sense evolved via notion of "permission from a superior which protects one from blame or responsibility" (early 14c.) to "document conveying authority" (1510s). A warrant officer in the military is one who holds office by warrant (as from a government department), rather than by commission (from a head of state).
warrant (v.): late 13c., "to keep safe from danger," from Old North French warantir "safeguard, protect; guarantee, pledge" (Old French garantir), from warant (see warrant (n.)). Meaning "to guarantee to be of quality" is attested from late 14c.; sense of "to guarantee as true" is recorded from c. 1300. Related: Warranted; warranting; warrantable.
warrantee (n.): "person to whom a warranty is given," 1706, from warrant (v.) + -ee.
warranty (n.): mid-14c., legal term for various types of clauses in real estate transactions, from Anglo-French and Old North French warantie "protection, defense, safeguard" (Old French garantie), from warant (see warrant (n.)).
warren (n.): late 14c., "piece of land enclosed for breeding beasts and fowls," from Anglo-French and Old North French warenne (Old French garenne) "game park, hunting reserve," possibly from Gaulish *varenna "enclosed area," related to *varros "post." More likely from the present participle of Old North French warir (Old French garir) "defend, keep," from Proto-Germanic *war- "to protect, guard" (see warrant (n.)). Later especially "piece of land for breeding of rabbits" (c. 1400), which led to the transferred sense of "cluster of densely populated living spaces" (1640s).
warrior (n.): c. 1300, from Old North French werreier (Old French guerroieor) "a warrior, soldier, combatant, one who wages war," from werreier "wage war," from werre (see war (n.)).
warry (adj.): "war-like," 1901, from war (n.) + -y (2).
Warsaw: Polish capital, Polish Warszawa, of unknown origin. The Warsaw Pact "Cold War Eastern Bloc military alliance" is from the Treaty of Warsaw, signed there May 14, 1955. Signatories were the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Albania.
warship (n.): 1530s, from war (n.) + ship (n.).
wart (n.): Old English weart "wart," from Proto-Germanic *warton- (source also of Old Norse varta, Old Frisian warte, Dutch wrat, Old High German warza, German warze "wart"), from PIE root *wer- (1) "high, raised spot on the body, or other bodily infirmity" (source also of Latin verruca "swelling, wart;" see vary). Phrase warts and all "without concealment of blemishes" is attested from 1763, supposedly from Oliver Cromwell's instruction to his portrait painter.
wart-hog (n.): 1840, from wart + hog (n.).
Warwickshire: 11c., from Old English Wærincwicum + scir "district." The first element means "dwellings by the weir or river-dam," from *wæring + wic (see wick (2)).
wary (adj.): late 15c., with -y (2) + ware, from Old English wær "prudent, aware, alert, wary," from Proto-Germanic *waraz (source also of Old Norse varr "attentive," Gothic wars "cautious," Old Saxon giwar, Middle Dutch gheware, Old High German giwar, German gewahr "aware"), from PIE root *wer- (4) "to perceive, watch out for" (see ward (n.)). Related: Warily; wariness.
was (v.): Old English wesan, wæs, wæron 1st and 3rd person singular of wesan "to remain," from Proto-Germanic *was- (source also of Old Saxon wesan, Old Norse vesa, Old Frisian wesa, Middle Dutch wesen, Dutch wezen, Old High German wesen "being, existence," Gothic wisan "to be"), from PIE root *wes- (3) "remain, abide, live, dwell" (cognates Sanskrit vasati "he dwells, stays;" compare vestal). Wesan was a distinct verb in Old English, but it came to supply the past tense of am. This probably began to develop in Proto-Germanic, because it is also the case in Gothic and Old Norse. See be.
wasabi (n.): herb root used in cooking, 1903, from Japanese.
wash (v.): Old English wascan "to wash, cleanse, bathe," transitive sense in late Old English, from Proto-Germanic *watskan "to wash" (source also of Old Norse vaska, Middle Dutch wasscen, Dutch wassen, German waschen), from stem *wed- "water, wet" (see water (n.1)). Related: Washed; washing.

Used mainly of clothes in Old English (the principal verb for washing the body, dishes, etc. being þwean). Old French gaschier "to stain, soil; soak, wash" (Modern French gâcher) is from Frankish *waskan, from the same Germanic source. Italian guazzare also is a Germanic loan-word. To wash (one's) hands of something id 1550s, from Pilate in Matt. xxvii.24. To wash up "clean utensils after a meal" is from 1751. Washed up "no longer effective" is 1923, theater slang, from notion of washing up at the end of a job.
wash (n.): late Old English wæsc "act of washing," from wash (v.). Meaning "clothes set aside to be washed" is attested from 1789; meaning "thin coat of paint" is recorded from 1690s; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from mid-15c.
wash-basket (n.): 1851, from wash (n.) + basket (n.).
wash-cloth (n.): 1861, from wash (v.) + cloth (n.).
wash-out (n.): also washout, 1877, "act of washing out" (a drain, etc.), from verbal phrase; see wash (v.) + out (adv.). From 1873 as "excavation of a roadbed, etc., by erosion" is from 1873. Meaning "a disappointing failure" is from 1902, from verbal phrase wash out "obliterate, cancel" (something written in ink), attested from 1570s. Hence also the colloquial sense of "to call off (an event) due to bad weather, etc." (1917). Of colored material, washed-out "faded" is from 1837.
wash-stand (n.): 1789, from wash (v.) + stand (n.).
wash-tub (n.): c. 1600, from wash (v.) + tub (n.).
washable (adj.): 1620s, from wash (v.) + -able. Related: Washables (n.), 1892.
washboard (n.): also wash-board, clothes-cleaning device, 1882, from wash (v.) + board (n.1). As a percussion instrument, attested from 1925; in reference to abdominal muscles, recorded from 1950 in boxing jargon.
washdown (n.): also wash-down, 1949, from verbal phrase, from wash (v.) + down (adv.).
washer (n.2): "flat ring for sealing joints or holding nuts," mid-14c., generally considered an agent noun of wash (v.), but the sense connection is difficult, and the noun may derive instead from the ancestor of French vis "screw, vise" (see vise).
washer (n.1): 1520s, "person who washes," agent noun from wash (v.). From 1808 as "machine that washes." Washer-woman is from 1630s; earlier wash-woman (1580s).
washing (n.): Old English wæscing "action of washing clothes," verbal noun from wash (v.). Meaning "clothes washed at one time" is from 1854. Washing machine attested from 1754.
Washington: U.S. capital, founded 1791, named for President George Washington (1732-1799); the family name is from a town in northeastern England, from Old English, literally "estate of a man named Wassa." The U.S. state was named when it was formed as a territory in 1853 (admitted to the union 1889). Related: Washingtonian.
washroom (n.): 1806, from wash + room (n.).
washy (adj.): 1610s, "over-diluted," from wash (n.) + -y (2). Sense of "feeble, weak" is from 1630s. Related: Washiness.
wasp (n.): Old English wæps, wæsp "wasp," altered (probably by influence of Latin vespa) from Proto-Germanic *wabis- (source also of Old Saxon waspa, Middle Dutch wespe, Dutch wesp, Old High German wafsa, German Wespe, Danish hveps), from PIE *wopsa-/*wospa- "wasp" (source also of Latin vespa, Lithuanian vapsa, Old Church Slavonic vosa "wasp," Old Irish foich "drone"), perhaps from *webh- "weave" (see weave (v.)). If that is the correct derivation, the insect would be so called for the shape of its nest. Of persons with wasp-like tendencies, from c. 1500. Wasp-waist in reference to women's figures is recorded from 1870 (wasp-waisted is from 1775).
WASP (n.): acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, by 1955.
waspish (adj.): "irascible, quick to take offense; spiteful," 1560s, from wasp + -ish. Related: Waspishly; waspishness.
wassail: mid-12c., from Old Norse ves heill "be healthy," a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa "to be" (see was) + heill "healthy," from Proto-Germanic *haila- (see health). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants.

A similar formation appears in Old English wes þu hal, but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. Sense extended c. 1300 to "liquor in which healths were drunk," especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Meaning "a carousal, reveling" first attested c. 1600. Wassailing "custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time" is recorded from 1742.
Wassermann (n.): test for syphilis, 1909, from German bacteriologist August Paul Wassermann (1866-1925), who devised it in 1906.
wassup (interj.): slang form of common greeting what's up?, popular 2000.
wastage (n.): 1673, a hybrid from waste (v.) + -age.
waste (v.): c. 1200, "devastate, ravage, ruin," from Anglo-French and Old North French waster "to waste, squander, spoil, ruin" (Old French gaster; Modern French gâter), altered (by influence of Frankish *wostjan) from Latin vastare "lay waste," from vastus "empty, desolate, waste" (see vain). Related: wasted; wasting.

The Germanic word also existed in Old English as westan "to lay waste, ravage." Spanish gastar, Italian guastare also are from Germanic. Meaning "to lose strength or health; pine; weaken" is attested from c. 1300; the sense of "squander, spend or consume uselessly" is first recorded mid-14c.; meaning "to kill" is from 1964. Waste not, want not attested from 1778.
waste (n.): c. 1200, "desolate regions," from Anglo-French and Old North French wast "waste, damage, destruction; wasteland, moor" (Old French gast), from Latin vastum, neuter of vastus "waste" (see waste (v.)).

Replaced or merged with Old English westen, woesten "a desert, wilderness," from the Latin word. Meanings "consumption, depletion," also "useless expenditure" are from c. 1300; sense of "refuse matter" is attested from c. 1400. Waste basket first recorded 1850.
waste (adj.): c. 1300, of land, "desolate, uncultivated," from Anglo-French and Old North French waste (Old French gaste), from Latin vastus (see waste (v.)). From c. 1400 as "superfluous, excess;" 1670s as "unfit for use." Waste-paper attested from 1580s.