Online Etymology Dictionary

college (n.): "body of scholars and students within a university," late 14c., from Old French college "collegiate body" (14c.), from Latin collegium "community, society, guild," literally "association of collegae" (see colleague). At first meaning any corporate group, the sense of "academic institution" attested from 1560s became the principal sense in 19c. via use at Oxford and Cambridge.
collegiate (adj.): mid-15c., from Latin collegiatus "member of a college or corporation," in Medieval Latin, "of or pertaining to a college," from collegium "community, society, guild" (see college).
collegial (adj.): mid-14c., from Middle French collégial, from Latin collegialis, from collegium (see college). Related: Collegially; collegiality.
collegian (n.): late 14c., from college + -ian.
tech (n.): 1906 as short for technical college (or institute, etc.), American English; 1942 as short for technician.
electoral (adj.): 1670s, "pertaining to electors," in reference to Germany, from elector + -al (1). In general sense from 1790. Related: Electorally. The U.S. electoral college so called from 1808 (the term was used earlier in reference to Germany).
Joe: pet-form of Joseph (q.v.). Meaning "generic fellow, man" is from 1846. Used in a wide range of invented names meaning "typical male example of," for example Joe college "typical college man" (1932); Joe Blow "average fellow" is U.S. military slang, first recorded 1941. "Dictionary of American Slang" lists, among other examples, Joe Average, Beige, Lunch Bucket, Public, Sad, Schmoe, Six-pack, Yale, Zilch
junior (adj.): late 13c., "younger, not as old as another," from Latin iunior "younger, more young," comparative of iuvenis "young; a young man," from PIE root *yeu- "vital force, youthful vigor" (see young (adj.)). Used after a person's name to mean "the younger of two" from late 13c. Abbreviation Jr. is attested from 1620s. Meaning "of lesser standing, more recent" is from 1766. That of "meant for younger people, of smaller size" is from 1860. Junior miss "young teenage girl" is from 1907. In U.S. colleges, "pertaining to the third-year." Junior college first attested 1896; junior high school is from 1909.
The junior high school is rapidly becoming the people's high school. The percentage of pupils completing the ninth year is constantly rising where junior high schools have been established. [Anne Laura McGregor, "Supervised Study in English for Junior High School Grades," New York, 1921]
community (n.): late 14c., from Old French comunité "community, commonness, everybody" (Modern French communauté), from Latin communitatem (nominative communitas) "community, society, fellowship, friendly intercourse; courtesy, condescension, affability," from communis "common, public, general, shared by all or many," (see common (adj.)). Latin communitatem "was merely a noun of quality ... meaning 'fellowship, community of relations or feelings,' but in med.L. it was, like universitas, used concretely in the sense of 'a body of fellows or fellow-townsmen' " [OED].

An Old English word for "community" was gemænscipe "community, fellowship, union, common ownership," from mæne "common, public, general," probably composed from the same PIE roots as communis. Community service as a criminal sentence is recorded from 1972, American English. Community college is recorded from 1959.
exam (n.): college student slang shortened form of examination, 1848.
prex (n.): U.S. college slang for president (of a college), 1828. As a Latin verb, it meant "a request, entreaty."
aggie (n.1): "college student studying agriculture," by 1880, American English college slang, from agriculture + -ie.
hellacious (adj.): 1930s, college slang, from hell + fanciful ending (see bodacious).
hazing (n.): "brutal initiation, act of abusing a newcomer," 1848, said to be a college word ("This word is used at Harvard College, to express the treatment which Freshmen sometimes receive from the higher classes, and especially from the Sophomores" -- "Collection of College Words and Customs," Boston, 1851), but perhaps originally nautical; see haze (v.).
yeshiva (n.): "Orthodox Jewish college or seminary," 1851, from Hebrew yesibah "academy," literally "a sitting," from yashav "to sit."
grouchy (adj.): 1895, U.S. college student slang, from grouch (n.) + -y (2). Related: Grouchily; grouchiness.
dweeb (n.): 1968, U.S. college student slang, probably a variant of feeb "feeble or feeble-minded person."
classmate (n.): "one of the same class at school or college," 1713, from class (n.) + mate (n.).
beef up (v.): "add strength," 1941, from college slang, from beef (n.) in slang sense of "muscle-power" (1851).
dimwit (n.): also dim-wit, U.S. college slang by 1922, from dim (adj.) + wit (n.). Related: dimwitted.
letter-man (n.): of college athletes, 1913, from letter (n.1) in the sports sense + man (n.).
campus (n.): "college grounds," 1774, from Latin campus "a field," probably properly "an expanse surrounded" (by woods, higher ground, etc.), from PIE *kampos "a corner, cove," from root *kamp- "to bend" (source also of Lithuanian kampus "corner," Polish kępa "cluster of trees or brush"). First used in college sense at Princeton.
Harvard: U.S. college named for John Harvard (1607-1638), Puritan immigrant minister who bequeathed half his estate and 260 books to the yet-unorganized college that had been ordered by the Massachusetts colonial government. The surname is cognate with Hereward, Old English hereweard, literally "army guard."
rah: in cheers, 1870, a shortening of hurrah. Adjective rah-rah is attested from 1907, originally indicating college life generally, later enthusiastic cheerleading.
nertz (interj.): 1932, originally American English college slang, colloquial or euphemistic pronunciation of nuts as a slang retort of defiance or dismissal (1931).
Dewey Decimal system: proposed 1876 by Melvil Dewey (1851-1931) while acting librarian of Amherst College. He also crusaded for simplified spelling and the metric system.
bursar (n.): "treasurer of a college," 1580s, from Anglo-Latin burser "treasurer" (13c.), from Medieval Latin bursarius "purse-bearer," from bursa (see purse (n.)). Related: Bursarial.
blind date (n.): by 1921, U.S. college student slang, from blind (adj.) + date (n.3). Earliest attested use is in reference to the person.
madrasah (n.): Islamic college, 1620s, from Arabic madrasah, literally "a place of study," from locative prefix ma- + stem of darasa "he read repeatedly, he studied," which is related to Hebrew darash (compare midrash).
fetial (adj.): 1530s, "pertaining to the Fetiales," the Roman diplomatic corps, a college of 20 priests whose duty was to act as heralds and maintain the laws of war, from Latin fetiales "speaking, negotiating, diplomatic," which is of unknown origin.
smoothie (n.): 1928, "suave person, person of complete self-assurance and poise, especially in the company of the opposite sex," college slang, from smooth (adj.) + -ie. As a type of blender drink, by 1983.
facebook (n.): directory listing names and headshots, by 1983, originally among U.S. college students, from face (n.) + book (n.). The social networking Web site of that name (with capital F-) dates from 2004.
snooty (adj.): "proud, arrogant," 1918, noted that year as college slang, from snoot (n.) + -y (2). Probably with suggestions of snouty (1858); the notion being of "looking down one's nose." Related: Snootily; snootiness.
proctor (n.): late 14c., contraction of procurator (c. 1300) "steward or manager of a household;" also "a provider" (see procurator). From late 14c. as "one who acts or speaks for another; spokesman, advocate;" early 15c. as "business manager or financial administrator of a church, college, holy order, etc."
parietal (adj.): early 15c., "pertaining to the walls of a cavity in the body," from Late Latin parietalis "of walls," from Latin paries (genitive parietis) "wall" (of a building), of unknown origin. In U.S. also "pertaining to the residents and rules of a college or university" (1837).
rector (n.): late 14c. (early 13c. in Anglo-Latin), from Latin rector "ruler, governor, director, guide," from rect-, past participle stem of regere "to rule, guide" (see regal). Used originally of Roman governors and God, by 18c. generally restricted to clergymen and college heads. Related: Rectorship.
flunk (v.): 1823, American English college slang, original meaning "to back out, give up, fail," of obscure origin, traditionally said to be an alteration of British university slang funk "to be frightened, shrink from" (see funk (n.1)). Meaning "cause to fail, give a failing mark to" is from 1843. Related: Flunked; flunking.
intramural (adj.): 1846, "within the walls, being within the walls or boundaries" (of a city, building, etc.), from intra- "within" + Latin muralis "pertaining to a wall," from murus "wall" (see mural). Equivalent to Late Latin intramuranus. Originally in English in reference to burials of the dead; in reference to college activities from 1871 (first at Columbia).
blazer (n.): "bright-colored jacket," 1880, British university slang, from blaze (n.1), in reference to the red flannel jackets worn by the Lady Margaret, St. John College, Cambridge, boating club. Earlier it had been used in American English in the sense "something which attracts attention" (1845).
Rhemish (adj.): "of or pertaining to Rheims (earlier English Rhemes), city in northeastern France (see Reims), 1580s; specifically in reference to an English translation of the New Testament by Roman Catholics at the English college there, published 1582.
dumbbell (n.): "weighted bar used for exercise," 1711, originally an apparatus like that used to ring a church bell, but without the bell (hence dumb); used for exercise but sometimes also to practice ringing changes. Figurative sense of "blockhead, stupid person" attested by 1918, American English college slang.
Sorbonne: 1560, from Sorbon, place name in the Ardennes. Theological college in Paris founded by Robert de Sorbon (1201-1274), chaplain and confessor of Louis IX. As an academic institution, most influential 16c.-17c., suppressed during the Revolution.
sorority (n.): 1530s, "a society of women, body of women united for some purpose," from Medieval Latin sororitas "sisterhood, of or pertaining to sisters," from Latin soror "sister" (see sister). Sense of "women's society in a college or university" attested by 1887 (Alpha Delta Pi claims founding in 1851).
salutatorian (n.): 1841, American English, from salutatory "of the nature of a salutation," here in the specific sense "designating the welcoming address given at a college commencement" (1702) + -ian. The address was originally usually in Latin and given by the second-ranking graduating student.
stunt (n.): "feat to attract attention," 1878, American English college sports slang, of uncertain origin. Speculated to be a variant of colloquial stump "dare, challenge" (1871), or of German stunde, literally "hour." The movie stunt man is attested from 1930.
-er (3): suffix used to make jocular or familiar formations from common or proper names (soccer being one), first attested 1860s, English schoolboy slang, "Introduced from Rugby School into Oxford University slang, orig. at University College, in Michaelmas Term, 1875" [OED, with unusual precision].
foosball (n.): debuted in U.S. 1963 and was a craze on some college campuses for a few years thereafter. Said to have been designed c. 1930s in Switzerland. The name is presumably from the pronunciation of Fußball, the German form of (Association) football.
junior (n.): "a person younger than another; one of less experience or standing," 1520s, from junior (adj.). Generically as a name for a young boy, a young son from 1917, American English. In the U.S. college sense "student in the third year" from 1862.
random (adj.): "having no definite aim or purpose," 1650s, from at random (1560s), "at great speed" (thus, "carelessly, haphazardly"), alteration of Middle English noun randon "impetuosity, speed" (c. 1300), from Old French randon "rush, disorder, force, impetuosity," from randir "to run fast," from Frankish *rant "a running" or some other Germanic source, from Proto-Germanic *randa (source also of Old High German rennen "to run," Old English rinnan "to flow, to run;" see run (v.)).

In 1980s U.S. college student slang it began to acquire a sense of "inferior, undesirable." (A 1980 William Safire column describes it as a college slang noun meaning "person who does not belong on our dormitory floor.") Random access in reference to computer memory is recorded from 1953. Related: Randomly; randomness.
hot dog (n.): also hotdog, "sausage on a split roll," c. 1890, American English, from hot (adj.) + dog (n.). Many early references are in college student publications; later popularized, but probably not coined, by cartoonist T.A. "Tad" Dorgan (1877-1929). It is said in early explanations to echo a suspicion (occasionally justified) that sausages contained dog meat.

Meaning "someone particularly skilled or excellent" (with overtones of showing off) is from 1896. Connection between the two senses, if any, is unclear. Hot dog! as an exclamation of approval was in use by 1906.
hot-dog, n. 1. One very proficient in certain things. 2. A hot sausage. 3. A hard student. 4. A conceited person. ["College Words and Phrases," in "Dialect Notes," 1900]
Related: Hot-dogger; hot-dogging.