Online Etymology Dictionary

cook (v.): late 14c., from cook (n.); the figurative sense of "to manipulate, falsify, doctor" is from 1630s. Related: Cooked, cooking. To cook with gas is 1930s jive talk.
cook (n.): Old English coc, from Vulgar Latin cocus "cook," from Latin coquus, from coquere "to cook, prepare food, ripen, digest, turn over in the mind" from PIE root *pekw- "to cook" (source also of Oscan popina "kitchen," Sanskrit pakvah "cooked," Greek peptein, Lithuanian kepti "to bake, roast," Old Church Slavonic pecenu "roasted," Welsh poeth "cooked, baked, hot"). Germanic languages had no one native term for all types of cooking, and borrowed the Latin word (Old Saxon kok, Old High German choh, German Koch, Swedish kock).
There is the proverb, the more cooks the worse potage. [Gascoigne, 1575]
cookout (n.): also cook-out, 1930, American English, from cook (v.) + out (adv.).
cookery (n.): late 14c.; see cook (n.) + -ery.
cooker (n.): type of stove, 1884, from cook (v.) + -er (1).
cookbook (n.): 1809, from cook + book (n.). Earlier was cookery book (1630s).
peptic (adj.): 1650s, from Latin pepticus, from Greek peptikos "able to digest," from peptos "cooked, digested," verbal adjective of peptein "to cook" (see cook (n.)).
cuisine (n.): 1786, from French cuisine "style of cooking," originally "kitchen, cooking, cooked food" (12c.), from Late Latin cocina, earlier coquina "kitchen," from Latin coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)).
kiln (n.): Old English cyln, cylen "kiln, oven, furnace for drying or baking," from Latin culina "kitchen, cooking stove," unexplained variant of coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)). According to OED, Old Norse kylna, Welsh cilin probably are from English.
kitchen (n.): "room in which food is cooked, part of a building fitted out for cooking," c. 1200, from Old English cycene "kitchen," from Proto-Germanic *kokina (source also of Middle Dutch cökene, Old High German chuhhina, German Küche, Danish kjøkken), probably borrowed from Vulgar Latin *cocina (source also of French cuisine, Spanish cocina), a variant of Latin coquina "kitchen," from fem. of coquinus "of cooks," from coquus "cook," from coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)).

The Old English word might be directly from Vulgar Latin. Kitchen cabinet "informal but powerful set of advisors" is American English slang, 1832, originally in reference to administration of President Andrew Jackson. Kitchen midden (1863) in archaeology translates Danish kjøkken mødding. Surname Kitchener ("one employed in or supervising a (monastic) kitchen") is from early 14c.
pumpkin (n.): 1640s, alteration of pompone, pumpion "melon, pumpkin" (1540s), from Middle French pompon, from Latin peponem (nominative pepo) "melon," from Greek pepon "melon," probably originally "cooked (by the sun)," hence "ripe;" from peptein "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Pumpkin-pie is recorded from 1650s. Pumpkin-head, American English colloquial for "person with hair cut short all around" is recorded from 1781. Vulgar American English alternative spelling punkin attested by 1806.
America's a dandy place:
The people are all brothers:
And when one's got a punkin pye,
He shares it with the others.

[from "A Song for the Fourth of July, 1806," in "The Port Folio," Philadelphia, Aug. 30, 1806]
ricotta (n.): kind of Italian cottage cheese, 1877, earlier ricoct (1580s), from Italian ricotta, literally "recooked," from fem. past participle of Latin recoquere, from re- "again" (see re-) + coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)).
dyspeptic (adj.): 1690s, from Greek dyspeptos "hard to digest," from dys- "bad" (see dys-) + peptos "digested," from peptein "digest" (see cook (n.)).
decoction (n.): late 14c., from French décoction (13c.) or directly from Latin decoctionem (nominative decoctio) "a boiling down," noun of action from past participle stem of decoquere "to boil down," from de- "down" (see de-) + coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)).
concoct (v.): 1530s, "to digest," from Latin concoctus, past participle of concoquere "to digest; to boil together, prepare; to consider well," from com- "together" (see com-) + coquere "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Meaning "to prepare an edible thing" is from 1670s. First expanded metaphorically beyond cooking 1792. Related: Concocted; concocting.
terra-cotta (n.): 1722, from Italian terra cotta, literally "cooked earth," from terra "earth" (see terrain) + cotta "baked," from Latin cocta, fem. past participle of coquere (see cook (n.)). As a color name for brownish-red, attested from 1882.
biscuit (n.): respelled early 19c. from bisket (16c.), ultimately (besquite, early 14c.) from Old French bescuit (12c.), literally "twice cooked;" altered under influence of cognate Old Italian biscotto, both from Medieval Latin biscoctum, from Latin (panis) bis coctus "(bread) twice-baked;" see bis- + cook (v.). U.S. sense of "soft bun" is recorded from 1818.
Cox: surname, from early 16c., earlier Cocks (c. 1300), in many cases from cock (n.1), which apparently was used as a personal name in Old English, also as a familiar term for a boy, later used of apprentices, servants, etc. Perhaps in some cases for the sign of an inn. In some cases perhaps from cook (n.), or Welsh coch "red."
precocious (adj.): 1640s, "developed before the usual time" (of plants), with -ous + Latin praecox (genitive praecocis) "maturing early," from prae "before" (see pre-) + coquere "to ripen," literally "to cook" (see cook (n.)). Originally of flowers or fruits. Figurative use, of persons, dates from 1670s. Related: Precociously; precociousness.
pastry (n.): mid-15c., "food made with paste," not originally limited to sweets, from Middle English paste (see paste (n.)) + -ry. Probably influenced by Old French pastaierie "pastry" (Modern French pâtisserie), from pastoier "pastry cook," from paste (see paste (n.)); also borrowed from Medieval Latin pasteria "pastry," from Latin pasta. Specific sense of "small confection made of pastry" is from 1906. Pastry-cook attested from 1712.
Cockaigne (n.): c. 1300, from Old French Cocaigne (12c.) "lubberland," imaginary country, abode of luxury and idleness. Of obscure origin, speculation centers on words related to cook (v.) and cake (compare Middle Dutch kokenje, a child's honey-sweetened treat; also compare Big Rock Candy Mountain). The German equivalent is Schlaraffenland.
goose (n.): "a large waterfowl proverbially noted, I know not why, for foolishness" [Johnson], Old English gos "a goose," from Proto-Germanic *gans- "goose" (source also of Old Frisian gos, Old Norse gas, Old High German gans, German Gans "goose"), from PIE *ghans- (source also of Sanskrit hamsah (masc.), hansi (fem.), "goose, swan;" Greek khen; Latin anser; Polish gęś "goose;" Lithuanian zasis "goose;" Old Irish geiss "swan"), probably imitative of its honking.
Geese are technically distinguished from swans and from ducks by the combination of feathered lores, reticulate tarsi, stout bill high at the base, and simple hind toe. [Century Dictionary]
Spanish ganso "goose" is from a Germanic source. Loss of "n" sound before "s" is normal in English (compare tooth). Plural form geese is an example of i-mutation. Meaning "simpleton, silly or foolish person" is from early 15c. To cook one's goose first attested 1845, of unknown origin; attempts to connect it to Swedish history and Greek fables are unconvincing. Goose-egg "zero" first attested 1866 in baseball slang, from being large and round. The goose that lays golden eggs (15c.) is from Aesop.
cookie (n.): 1703, American English, from Dutch koekje "little cake," diminutive of koek "cake," from Middle Dutch koke (see cake (n.)). Slang application to persons attested since 1920. Phrase that's the way the cookie crumbles "that's the way things happen" is from 1957.
fortune cookie (n.): by 1955, said to have been invented in 1918 by David Jung, Chinese immigrant to America who established Hong Kong Noodle Co., who handed out cookies that contained uplifting messages as a promotional gimmick.
cooky (n.): variant of cookie.
botany (n.): 1690s, from botanic. The -y is from astronomy, etc. Botany Bay so called by Capt. Cook on account of the great variety of plants found there.
sutler (n.): formerly also suttler, "person who follows an army to sell food to soldiers," 1580s, from Middle Dutch soeteler "small tradesman, peddler, victualer, camp cook" (Dutch zoetelaar), cognate with Middle Low German suteler, sudeler "person who performs dirty tasks," Middle High German sudelen "to cook badly," Middle Dutch soetelen "to cook badly." Probably also related to Dutch zieder, German sieden "to seethe," from Proto-Germanic *suth-, from PIE root *seut- "to seethe, boil" (see seethe).
nacho (n.): according to "The Dallas Morning News" [Oct. 22, 1995] and other sources, named for restaurant cook Ignacio Anaya, who invented the dish in the Mexican border town of Piedras Negras in 1943.
nuke (n.): short for nuclear weapon, 1959, U.S. military slang (see nuclear). The verb is attested from 1962; the slang sense of "to cook in a microwave oven" is from 1987. Related: Nuked; nuking.
chef (n.): "head cook," 1830, from French chef, short for chef de cuisine, literally "head of the kitchen," from Old French chief "leader, ruler, head" (see chief (n.)).
praline (n.): 1727, prawlin, from French praline (17c.), from the name of Marshal Duplessis-Praslin (1598-1675, pronounced "praline"), "whose cook invented this confection" [Klein]. Modern spelling in English from 1809.
slushy (adj.): 1791, "covered with slush," from slush + -y (2). As slang for "ship's cook," 1859, from slush (n.) "refuse from a cook's galley" (1756). Related: Slushiness.
patisserie (n.): 1784, from French pâtisserie "pastry shop," from pâtisser "pastry-seller, pastry-cook," from Old French pasticier (14c.), from Medieval Latin pasticium "pasty, composed of paste," from Late Latin pasta "paste, pastry cake" (see pasta).
poisoner (n.): late 14c., agent noun from poison (v.). OED notes that in Australia and New Zealand it was used for "A cook, esp. for large numbers."
Pyanepsia (n.): festival in honor of Apollo on the 7th of Pyanepsion (fourth month of the Attic calendar, corresponding to October-November), from Greek Pyanepsia (plural), literally "the feast of cooking beans," from pyanos, name of a kind of bean, of unknown origin, + epsein "to boil, cook." At this festival a dish of pulse was offered to the god.
hellion (n.): "naughty child or person," 1811, American English, altered (by association with Hell) from Scottish/northern England dialectal hallion "worthless fellow, scamp" (1786), a word of unknown origin. Explained humorously in Irving's "Salmagundi" (1811) as "A deputy scullion employed in regions below to cook up the broth."
gull (n.1): shore bird, early 15c. (in a cook book), probably from Brythonic Celtic; compare Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from Old Celtic *voilenno-. Replaced Old English mæw (see mew (n.1)).
frizz (v.): also friz, 1610s (implied in frizzed), probably from French friser "to curl, dress the hair" (16c.), perhaps from stem of frire "to fry, cook" (see fry (v.)). Assimilated to native frizzle. Related: Frizzed; frizzing. As a noun from 1660s, "frizzed hair."
poach (v.2): "cook in liquid," early 15c., from Old French poché, past participle of pochier (12c.), literally "put into a pocket" (as the white of an egg forms a pocket for the yolk), from poche "bag, pocket," from Frankish *pokka "bag," from Proto-Germanic *puk- (see poke (n.)). Related: Poached; poaching.
samovar (n.): 1830, from Russian samovar, literally "self-boiler," from sam "self" (see same) + varit "to boil" (from Old Church Slavonic variti "to cook," from PIE root *wer- "to burn"); but this is perhaps folk-etymology if the word is from Tatar sanabar "tea-urn."
broiler (n.): late 14c., "grill or gridiron used in broiling," agent noun from broil (v.1). From c. 1300 as a surname, perhaps meaning "cook who specializes in broiling." Meaning "chicken for broiling" is from 1876.
Vancouver: Canadian city, settled 1865, named for the island, which was named for English navigator George Vancouver (1757-1798) who sailed with Capt. Cook and surveyed the Pacific coast in this area in 1792.
back (adj.): Middle English, from back (n.) and back (adv.). Formerly with comparative backer (c. 1400), also backermore. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960, from the image of a cook keeping a pot there to simmer while he or she works on another concoction at the front of the stove.
Madeleine: fem. proper name, variation of Madeline. The kind of small, rich confection is attested from 1845, said in OED to be named for Madeleine Paulmier, 19c. French pastry cook; any use with a sense of "small thing that evokes powerful nostalgia" is due to Proust (1922).
idiocrasy (n.): "peculiarity" (physical or mental), 1680s, from Latinized form of Greek idiokrasia, from idios "one's own, personal" (see idio-) + krasis "mixing, tempering," from PIE root *kere- "to mix, confuse; cook" (see rare (adj.2)). Related: Idiocratic.
fry (v.): late 13c., "cook (something) in a shallow pan over a fire," from Old French frire "to fry" (13c.), from Latin frigere "to roast or fry," from PIE *bher- (4) "to cook, bake" (source also of Sanskrit bhrjjati "roasts," bharjanah "roasting;" Persian birishtan "to roast;" Greek phrygein "to roast, bake"). Intransitive sense is from late 14c. U.S. slang meaning "execute in the electric chair" is U.S. slang from 1929. As a noun, "fried meat," from 1630s. Related: Fried; frying. Frying pan recorded from mid-14c.
roast (v.): late 13c., "to cook by dry heat," from Old French rostir "to roast, burn" (Modern French rôtir), from Frankish *hraustjan (cognate with Old High German rosten, German rösten, Middle Dutch roosten "to roast"), originally "cook on a grate or gridiron," related to Germanic words meaning "gridiron, grate;" such as German Rost, Middle Dutch roost.

Intransitive sense "be very hot, be exposed to great heat" is from c. 1300. The meaning "make fun of in an affectionate way" is from 1710. From the same source as roster. Related: Roasted; roasting. Roast beef first recorded 1630s (French rosbif is from English).
kangaroo (n.): 1770, used by Capt. Cook and botanist Joseph Banks, supposedly an aborigine word from northeast Queensland, Australia, often said to be unknown now in any native language. However, according to Australian linguist R.M.W. Dixon ("The Languages of Australia," Cambridge, 1980), the word probably is from Guugu Yimidhirr (Endeavour River-area Aborigine language) /gaNurru/ "large black kangaroo."
In 1898 the pioneer ethnologist W.E. Roth wrote a letter to the Australasian pointing out that gang-oo-roo did mean 'kangaroo' in Guugu Yimidhirr, but this newspaper correspondence went unnoticed by lexicographers. Finally the observations of Cook and Roth were confirmed when in 1972 the anthropologist John Haviland began intensive study of Guugu Yimidhirr and again recorded /gaNurru/. [Dixon]
Kangaroo court is American English, first recorded 1850 in a Southwestern context (also mustang court), from notion of proceeding by leaps.
crater (n.): 1610s, from Latin crater, from Greek krater "bowl for mixing wine with water," from kera- "to mix," from PIE root *kere- "to mix, confuse; cook" (see rare (adj.2)). Used in Latin for bowl-shaped mouth of a volcano. Applied to features of the Moon since 1831 (they originally were thought to be volcanic). As a verb, from 1830 in poetry, 1872 in science. Related: Cratered; cratering.
kit-cat: club founded by Whig politicians in London (Addison and Steele were members), 1703; so called from Christopher ("Kit") Catling, or a name similar to it, a tavernkeeper or pastry cook in London, in whose property the club first met. Meaning "a size of portrait less than half length in which a hand may be shown" (1754), supposedly is because the dining room in which portraits of club members hung was too low for half-length portraits.