Online Etymology Dictionary

temp (adj.): 1909, American English, shortened form of temporary (job, employee, etc.). As a noun by 1932; as a verb by 1973. Related: Temped; temping.
nertz (interj.): 1932, originally American English college slang, colloquial or euphemistic pronunciation of nuts as a slang retort of defiance or dismissal (1931).
nib (n.): 1580s, "beak or bill of a bird," Scottish variant of Old English neb (see neb). Meaning "point" (of a pen or quill) first recorded 1610s.
nightshade (n.): Old English nihtscada, literally "shade of night," perhaps in allusion to the poisonous berries. A common Germanic compound, cognates: Dutch nachtschade, German Nachtschatten.
nimby: acronym for not in my back yard, 1980, American English, supposedly coined by Walter Rodgers of the American Nuclear Society.
red-eye (n.): "airplane flight which deprives travelers of sleep," 1968, from the red eyes of sleeplessness; earlier as a noun meaning "raw and inferior whiskey" (1819, American English).
cavalry (n.): 1540s, from Middle French cavalerie (16c.), from Italian cavalleria "mounted militia," from cavaliere (see cavalier (n.)). An Old English word for it was horshere.
whither (adv., conj.): Old English hwider, from Proto-Germanic *hwithre-, from *hwi- "who" (see who) + ending as in hither and thither. Compare Gothic hvadre.
chambray (n.): 1814, American English, alteration of Cambrai, city in France (formerly Flanders) where the cloth originally was made. Compare cambric.
charwoman (n.): 1590s, from Middle English char, cherre "turn of work" (see chore) + woman. An Alicia Charwoman appears in the Borough of Nottingham records in 1379.
Devonian (adj.): 1837, as a geological era, from the English county of Devon, where the Old Red Sandstone formations of that age are prominent, + -ian.
dewlap (n.): mid-14c., dewe lappe, from lappe "loose piece" (Old English læppa), first element of unknown origin or meaning. Originally of cattle.
Alfred: masc. proper name, Old English Ælfræd, literally "elf-counsel," from ælf (see elf) + ræd "counsel," which is related to read (v.).
dido (n.): "prank, caper," 1807, American English slang, perhaps from the name of the Carthaginian queen in the "Aeneid." Usually in phrase to cut didoes.
omnium gatherum (n.): 1520s, "miscellaneous collection," humorous coinage from Latin omnium "of all" (genitive plural of omnis; see omni-) + Latinized form of English gather.
one-horse (adj.): "small-scale, petty" 1853, American English, colloquial, in reference to towns so small they only had one horse.
inkling (n.): c. 1400, apparently from the gerund of the Middle English verb inclen "utter in an undertone, hint at, hint" (mid-14c.), which is of unknown origin; perhaps it is related to Old English inca "doubt, suspicion, question, scruple." However the earliest record of the word is as a nyngkiling; and Middle English Dictionary offers that this is not a misdivision of an inkling but rather suggests the word is a nasalized variant of nikking "a hint, slight indication," gerundive of the Middle English verb nikken "to mark (a text) for correction" (mid-15c.), from nik (n.) "a notch, tally" (see nick (n.)).
golliwog (n.): type of grotesque blackface doll, 1895, coined by English children's book author and illustrator Florence K. Upton (1873-1922), perhaps from golly + polliwog.
her (possessive case): Old English hire, third person singular feminine genitive form of heo "she" (see she). With absolute form hers.
flub (v.): "botch, bungle," 1924, American English, of uncertain origin, perhaps suggested by fluff, flop, etc. Related: Flubbed; flubbing. As a noun, by 1952.
interferon (n.): animal protein, 1957, coined in English from interfere + subatomic particle suffix -on; so called because it "interferes" with the reduplication of viruses.
entre-: in words from French, corresponds to English enter-, which is itself from French entre "between, among" (11c.), from Latin inter (see inter-).
marigold (n.): late 14c., marygolde, from Mary (probably a reference to the Virgin) + gold, for color. The Old English name for the flower was simply golde.
rent (n.2): "torn place," 1530s, noun use of Middle English renten "to tear, rend" (early 14c.), variant of renden (see rend (v.)).
-sch-: this letter group can represent five distinct sounds in English; it first was used by Middle English writers to render Old English sc-, the pronunciation of which then simplified to "-sh-" (an evolution that also took place in Middle Dutch and Middle High German). Sometimes it was miswritten for -ch-. It also was taken in from German (schnapps) and Yiddish (schlemiel). In words derived from classical languages, it represents Latin sch-, Greek skh- but in some of these words (such as schism) the English spelling is a restoration and the pronunciation does not follow it.
nostril (n.): Old English nosþyrl, nosðirl, literally "the hole of the nose," from nosu "nose" (see nose (n.)) + þyrel "hole" (see thrill (v.)).
nowadays (adv.): late 14c., contracted from Middle English nou adayes (mid-14c.), from now + adayes "during the day," with adverbial genitive (see day).
non-conformity (n.): also nonconformity, 1610s, coined in English from non- + conformity. Originally of Church of England clergymen who refused to conform on certain ceremonies.
renew (v.): late 14c., from re- "again" + Middle English newen "resume, revive, renew" (see new); formed on analogy of Latin renovare. Related: Renewed; renewing.
patootie (n.): "sweetheart, pretty girl," colloquial American English, 1921, perhaps a corruption of potato (c.f. sweet potato). Sweet patootie is recorded from 1919 as a generic exclamation.
outback (n.): "back-country, interior regions of Australia," 1907, Australian English, originally an adverb, "out in the back settlements" (1878), from out + back (adv.).
outbreak (n.): "eruption" (of disease, hostilities, etc.), c. 1600, from out + break (v.). Outbreak was a verb in Middle English (c. 1300).
overeat (v.): "to eat too much," 1590s, from over- + eat (v.). Related: Overate; overeating. Old English had oferæt (n.) "gluttony; oferæte (adj.) "gluttonous."
overflow (v.): Old English oferfleow "to flow across, flood, inundate," also "to flow over (a brim or bank);" see over- + flow (v.). Related: Overflowed; overflowing.
overmuch (adj.): "too great in amount," c. 1300, over- + much (q.v.). As an adverb from late 14c. Old English had cognate ofermicel.
overpass (n.): "stretch of road that passes over another," 1929, American English, from over- + pass (v.). + Overpass has been a verb since late 13c.
overview (n.): "survey, summary," 1934, American English, from over- + view (n.). In 17c. it meant "inspection, supervision," but this became obsolete.
Oxonian (adj.): "pertaining to Oxford or to Oxford University," 1640s, from Medieval Latin oxonia, Latinized form of Middle English Oxforde (see Oxford). Earlier as a noun (1540s).
woof (n.1): "weft, texture, fabric," Old English owef, from o- "on" + wefan "to weave" (see weave). With excrescent -w- by influence of warp or weft.
Worcester: Wireceastre (1086), Old English Wigranceastre (717), Weogorna civitas (691), from Weogora, a tribal name. Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin's) is attested from 1843.
worsted (n.): woolen fabric made from twisted yarn, late 13c., from Worstead (Old English Wurðestede), town in Norfolk where the cloth originally was made.
wrath (n.): Old English wræððu "anger," from wrað "angry" (see wroth) + -þu, from Proto-Germanic -itho (as in strength, width etc.; see -th (2)).
almost (adv.): Old English eallmæst "nearly all, for the most part," literally "mostly all;" see all + most. Modern form from 15c.
biddy (n.): "old woman," 1785; meaning "Irish maid-servant" (1861) is American English; both from Biddy, pet form of common Irish proper name Bridget.
Beowulf: Old English beo wulf, literally "bee-wolf," "a wolf to bees;" a kenning for "bear." See bee (n.) + wolf (n.).
escalator (n.): 1900, American English, trade name of an Otis Elevator Co. moving staircase, coined from escalade + -ator in elevator. Figurative use is from 1927.
chuckle (v.): 1590s, frequentative of Middle English chukken "make a clucking noise" (late 14c.), of echoic origin. It originally meant "noisy laughter." Related: Chuckled; chuckling.
highboy (n.): also high-boy, "tall chest of drawers," 1891, American English (see tallboy); a hybrid, the second element is from French bois "wood" (see bush (n.)).
Irwin: masc. proper name, Old English Eoforwine "boar-friend;" often confused with Irving, Irvin, which are from Irvine, Ayrshire, or Irving, Dumfries.
itself (pron.): late 14c., from Old English hit sylf, from it + self. Since 17c. usually regarded as its self (thus its own self, etc.).