Online Etymology Dictionary

in-going (adj.): also ingoing, 1825, from in + going. Probably a modern formation unrelated to Middle English in-going (n.) "act of entering" (mid-14c.), from ingo "to go in, enter," from Old English ingan (past tense ineode), equivalent of German eingehen, Dutch ingaan.
Israelite (n.): mid-14c., "a Jew; one of the people of ancient Israel, a descendant of Israel or Jacob," from Latin israelita, from Greek Israelites, from Israel (see Israel). The Middle English adjective was Israelish (Old English Israelisc), sometimes Israelitish (Coverdale, 1530s); Israelitic (c. 1600, from Late Latin Israeliticus).
itch (v.): Middle English icchen, from Old English giccan "to itch," from West Germanic *jukkjan (source also of Middle Dutch jöken "to itch," Old High German jucchen, German jucken). Figurative sense of "feel a provoking desire to do or get something" is from early 13c. Related: Itched; itching.
bewray (v.): early 13c., "to inform against;" mid-13c., "to speak ill of," biwreien from be- + Middle English wreien. "betray," from Old English wregan. Sense of "to reveal, expose" is from late 14c. "Probably more or less of a conscious archaism since the 17th c." [OED] Related: Bewrayed; bewraying.
room (v.): "to occupy rooms" (especially with another) as a lodger," 1828, from room (n.). Related: Roomed; rooming. Rooming-house is from 1889. In Old English (rumian) and Middle English the verb meant "become clear of obstacles; make clear of, evict."
-oon: spelling conventional in 15c.-17c. English to add emphasis to borrowed French nouns ending in stressed -on; also used to represent Italian -one, Spanish ón; all from Latin -onem. Used in rare cases to form English words, such as spittoon, octoroon.
lax (n.): "salmon," from Old English leax (see lox). Cognate with Middle Dutch lacks, German Lachs, Danish laks, etc.; according to OED the English word was obsolete except in the north and Scotland from 17c., reintroduced in reference to Scottish or Norwegian salmon.
cinquain (n.): "collection of five," 1711, from French cinquain "bundle of five objects," from cinq "five" (see five). Originally in English of military orders of battle; of five-lined stanzas of verse from 1882 (give a more specific form in English than usual in French).
cleanse (v.): Old English clænsian "to cleanse, purge, purify, chasten, justify," from West Germanic *klainson, from *klainoz (see clean (adj.)). Despite its modern spelling (16c.), it retains its Middle English pronunciation. Related: Cleansed; cleansing.
contra dance: 1803, from French contre-danse, altered from English country dance by folk etymology from French contra "against," suggested by the arrangement of the partners in the dance. The dances and the name were taken up in France c. 1720s and from there passed to Spain and Italy (Spanish, Italian contra danza) then back to English.
cupcake (n.): 1828, American English, from cup (n.) + cake (n.), probably from the cups they are baked in, but possibly from the small measures of ingredients used to make them. Meaning "attractive young woman" is recorded from 1930s, American English.
enervate (v.): c. 1600, "deprive of force or strength," from Latin enervatus, past participle of enervare "to weaken" (see enervation). Literal sense of "to weaken, impair" in English is from 1610s. Related: Ennervated; ennervating. As a verb Middle English had enerve (c. 1400, eneruyd).
-dom: abstract suffix of state, from Old English dom "statute, judgment" (see doom (n.)). Already active as a suffix in Old English (as in freodom, wisdom). Cognate with German -tum (Old High German tuom).
-en (1): word-forming element making verbs (such as darken, weaken) from adjectives or nouns, from Old English -nian, from Proto-Germanic *-inojan (also source of Old Norse -na), from PIE adjectival suffix *-no-. Most active in Middle English.
mindful (adj.): mid-14c., from mind (n.) + -ful. Related: Mindfully; mindfulness. Old English myndful meant "of good memory." Old English also had myndig (adj.) "mindful, recollecting; thoughtful," which if it had lived might have yielded a modern *mindy.
chivalrous (adj.): mid-14c., from Old French chevaleros "knightly, noble, chivalrous," from chevalier (see chevalier; also compare chivalry). According to OED, obsolete in English and French from mid-16c. Not revived in French, but brought back in English late 18c. by romantic writers fond of medieval settings.
conciseness (n.): "expression of much in few words," 1650s, from concise + -ness.
[Conciseness] is the English word familiar to the ordinary man: concision is the LITERARY CRITIC'S WORD, more recent in English, used by writers under French influence & often requiring the reader to stop & think whether he knows its meaning. [Fowler]
cation (n.): 1834, from Greek kation "going down," neuter present participle of katienai "to go down," from kata "down" (see cata-) + ienai "to go" (see ion). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794-1866), English polymath, and published by English physicist Michael Faraday.
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.).
bach (n.): 1845, American English, clipped form of bachelor (n.). Also in colloquial American English use as a verb (1870) meaning "to live as an unmarried man," especially "to do one's own cooking and cleaning." Related: Bached; baching.
godfather (n.): man who sponsors one at baptism and guarantees the child's religious education, late 12c., from God + father (n.), modifying or replacing Old English godfaeder. In the Mafia sense from 1963 in English; popularized by Mario Puzo's novel (1969) and the movie based on it (1972).
grotty (n.): slang shortening of grotesque, it had a brief vogue 1964 as part of the argot popularized by The Beatles in "A Hard Day's Night." It unconsciously echoes Middle English groti "muddy, slimy," from Old English grotig "earthy," from grot "particle."
hideout (n.): also hide-out, "a hiding place," 1885, American English, from hide (v.) + out (adv.). The verbal phrase hide out "conceal (oneself) from the authorities" is attested from 1870, American English (in reference to Northern draft dodgers in the Civil War).
head over heels (adv.): 1726, "a curious perversion" [Weekley] of Middle English heels over head (late 14c.) "somersault fashion," hence "recklessly." Head (n.) and heels long have been paired in alliterative phrases in English, and the whole image also was in classical Latin (per caput pedesque ire).
hest (n.): "bidding, command," Old English hæs "bidding, behest, command," from Proto-Germanic *hait-ti-, from *haitan "to call, name" (see hight (v.)). With excrescent -t added in Middle English on model of other pairings (compare wist/wesan, also whilst, aghast).
hungry (adj.): Middle English hungry, hungri, from Old English hungrig "hungry, famished;" see hunger (n.) + -y (2). Common West Germanic; compare Old Frisian hungerig, Dutch hongerig, German hungrig. Figurative use from c. 1200. Related: Hungriness.
Israeli (n.): "citizen of the state of Israel," 1948, from Israel + Hebrew national designation suffix -i. Also used in English as the adjective (1948). It distinguishes the citizens of the modern state from the ancient people who had been known in English since 14c. as Israelites (see Israelite).
Jewish (adj.): 1540s, from Jew + -ish. Old English had Iudeisc; early Middle English used Judewish, Judeish (late 12c.). Similar formation in Dutch joodsch, Old High German judeisk, German jüdisch, Danish jödisk. Figurative use in reference to extortionate money-lending attested by c. 1600.
newcomer (n.): "recent arrival," mid-15c., with agent noun ending from new-come (past participle adjective), c. 1200, from Old English niwe cumen. Old English also used niwcumen as a noun meaning "newcomer, neophyte."
elven (adj.): Old English -ælfen (n.) "an elf or fairy," usually a female one (see elf). Not a pure adjective in Middle English (elvish was used), but used in phrases such as elven land (c. 1300). Apparently revived as an adjective by Tolkien (1937).
Pratt: the surname apparently is from Old English *prætt (adj.) "cunning, astute;" related to late Old English noun prætt "a trick" (see pretty). As a type of pottery, named for Staffordshire pottery manufacturer Felix Pratt (1780-1859).
pre-empt (v.): also preempt, 1830, "secure by pre-emtion," back-formation from pre-emption, originally American English. In the broascasting sense, it is attested from 1965, American English, a euphemism for "cancel." Related: pre-empted; preempted.
notochord (n.): 1848, coined in English by English anatomist Sir Richard Owen (1804-1892) from chord + comb. form of Greek noton "back," from PIE *not- "buttock, back" (source also of Latin natis "buttock," sopurce of Italian, Spanish nalga, Old French nache "buttock, butt").
reader (n.): Old English rædere "person who reads aloud to others; lector; scholar; diviner, interpreter," agent noun from rædan (see read (v.)). Compare Dutch rader "adviser," Old High German ratari "counselor." Old English fem. form was rædistre.
sunset (n.): late 14c., from sun (n.) + set (v.). Perhaps from a Middle English subjunctive such as before the sun set. Old English had sunnansetlgong "sunset," while sunset meant "west." Figurative use from c. 1600. To ride off into the sunset (1963) is from the stereotypical ending of cowboy movies.
thirst (v.): Old English þyrstan "to thirst, thirst after," from the noun (see thirst (n.)); the figurative sense of the verb was present in Old English. Compare Old Saxon thurstian, Dutch dorsten, Old High German dursten, German dürsten, all verbs from nouns. Related: Thirsted; thirsting.
smooth (v.): late Old English smoþ "to make smooth," replacing smeðan "to smooth, soften, polish; appease, soothe;" smeðian "smoothen, become smooth," from the source of smooth (adj.). Meaning "to make smooth" is c. 1200. Related: Smoothed; smoothing. Middle English also had a verb form smoothen (mid-14c.).
luck (v.): by 1945, from luck (n.). To luck out "succeed through luck" is American English colloquial, attested by 1946; to luck into (something good) is from 1944. However, lukken was a verb in Middle English (mid-15c.) meaning "to happen, chance;" also, "happen fortunately."
spare (n.): "extra thing or part," 1640s, from spare (adj.). The Middle English noun sense was "a sparing, mercy, leniency" (early 14c.). Bowling game sense of "an advantage gained by a knocking down of all pins in two bowls" is attested from 1843, American English.
gambol (v.): "skip about in sport," 1580s; earlier gambade (c. 1500), from Middle French gambader, from gambade (see gambol (n.)). Compare Middle English gambon "a ham" (see gammon); English dialectal gammerel "small of the leg;" gamble "a leg." Related: Gamboled; gamboling; gambolling.
butter (v.): Old English buterian "spread butter on," from the same source as butter (n.). Figurative meaning "to flatter lavishly" is by 1798 (with up (adv.), in Connelly's Spanish-English dictionary, p.413). Related: Buttered; buttering.
elder (n.1): "elderly person, senior citizen," c. 1200, from Old English eldra "older person, parent; ancestor; chief, prince" (used in biblical translation for Greek presbyter); see elder (adj.). Compare German Eltern, Danish forældre, Swedish föräldrar "parents." The Old English for "grandfather" was ealdfæder.
guilt (v.): "to influence someone by appealing to his sense of guiltiness," by 1995, from guilt (n.). Related: Guilted; guilting. Old English also had a verbal form, gyltan (Middle English gilt), but it was intransitive and meant "to commit an offense, act criminally."
westerly (adv.): late 15c., "in a westerly direction; facing toward the west," from Middle English wester (adj.) "western" (mid-14c.), from Old English westra, variant of westerne (see western) + -ly (2). As an adjective, "coming from the west," 1570s. Contradictory sense of "going to the west" attested by 1630s.
quick (n.): "living persons," Old English cwic, from quick (adj.); frequently paired with the dead, as in Old English cwicum & deadum. The quick "tender part of the flesh" (under a nail, etc.) is from 1520s, as is the figurative use of it.
service (n.2): type of tree or berry, extended form of serve (perhaps via Middle English plural serves being taken as a singular), from Old English syrfe, Old French sorbe, both from Vulgar Latin *sorbea, from Latin sorbus (see sorb).
seen: Middle English sein, from Old English gesegen, gesewen, past participle of seon (see see (n.)). From c. 1200 as "perceived, discovered." To have seen everything as a hyperbolic expression of astonishment is from 1941.
When you have seen one of their Pictures, you have seen all. [Blake, c. 1811]
road-runner (n.): "long-tailed crested desert cuckoo," 1847, American English, from road (n.) + runner. Earliest references give the Mexican Spanish name for it as correcamino and the English name might be a translation of that. The Warner Bros. cartoon character dates to 1948.
targe (n.): "shield, buckler," late Old English, from Old French targe, from Frankish *targa, from Germanic (see target (n.)). Old English had a native form targe, but the soft -g- in the later word indicates it came from French.
upland (n.): "interior district of a country," Old English upland "the country" (as opposed to the town), from up- + land (n.). As an adjective from 14c. Related: Uplandish (Old English uplendisc "rural rustic"); uplander. Jock Upaland was a 16c.-17c. term for a rustic.