Online Etymology Dictionary

checkmate (n.): mid-14c., from Old French eschec mat (Modern French échec et mat), which (with Spanish jaque y mate, Italian scacco-matto) is from Arabic shah mat "the king died" (see check (n.1)), which according to Barnhart is a misinterpretation of Persian mat "be astonished" as mata "to die," mat "he is dead." Hence Persian shah mat, if it is the ultimate source of the word, would be literally "the king is left helpless, the king is stumped."
amyl (n.): hydrocarbon radical, 1850, from Latin amylum, from Greek amylon "fine meal, starch," noun use of neuter of adjective amylos "not ground at the mill, ground by hand," from a-, privative prefix, "not" + myle "mill" (see mill (n.1)). So called because first obtained from the distilled spirits of potato or grain starch (though it also is obtained from other sources).
distract (v.): mid-14c., "to draw asunder or apart, to turn aside" (literal and figurative), from Latin distractus, past participle of distrahere "draw in different directions," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)).

Sense of "to throw into a state of mind in which one knows not how to act" is from 1580s. Related: Distracted; distracting; distractedly; distractedness.
dispel (v.): c. 1400, dispelen, from Latin dispellere "drive apart," from dis- "away" (see dis-) + pellere "to drive, push" (see pulse (n.1)). Since the meaning is "to drive away in different directions" it should not have as an object a single, indivisible thing (you can dispel suspicion, but not an accusation). Related: Dispelled; dispelling.
display (v.): late 13c., "unfurl" (a banner, etc.), from Old French desploiir (Modern French déployer) "unfold, unfasten, spread out" (of knots, sealed letters, etc.), from Latin displicare "to scatter," from dis- "un-, apart" (see dis-) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)).

Properly of sails or flags (and unconnected to play); meaning "reveal, exhibit" is late 14c. Related: Displayed; displaying.
graze (v.2): "to touch lightly in passing," c. 1600, perhaps a transferred sense from graze (v.1) via a notion of cropping grass right down to the ground (compare German grasen "to feed on grass," used in military sense in reference to cannonballs that rebound off the ground). Related: Grazed; grazing. As a noun from 1690s, "an act of grazing."
invincible (adj.): early 15c., from Old French invincible (14c.) or directly from Latin invincibilis "unconquerable," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + vincibilis "to be gained, easily maintained, conquerable," from vincere "to overcome" (see victor). Related: Invincibly.

The noun meaning "one who is invincible" is from 1630s. Invincible ignorance, an ignorance which the person having it lacks means to overcome, is from Church Latin ignorantia invincibilis (Aquinas). The Invincible Armada was the Spanish of 1588. Related: Invincibly.
inviolable (adj.): mid-15c., "that is to be kept without violation" (of an oath, etc.), from Latin inviolabilis "inviolable, invulnerable," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + violabilis "that may be injured, easily wounded," from violare "to do violence to" (see violation). Meaning "having a right or guaranty of immunity" (of a place of sanctuary, etc.) is from 1570s. Meaning "incapable of being injured" is from 1520s. Related: Inviolably.
invisible (adj.): mid-14c., "not perceptible to sight, incapable of being seen," from Old French invisible (13c.), from Latin invisibilis "unseen, not visible," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + visibilis (see visible). Meaning "kept out of sight" is from 1640s. As a noun, "things invisible," from 1640s. Invisible Man is from H.G. Wells's novel (1897); invisible ink is from 1680s. Related: Invisibly.
Irredentist (n.): 1882, member of Italian political party formed 1878 which demanded the annexation of neighboring regions where a part of the population was Italian-speaking (Trieste, South Tyrol, Nice, Corsica, etc.); from Italian Irredentista, from irredenta (Italia) "unredeemed (Italy)," fem. of irredento, from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + redento, from Latin redemptus, past participle of redimere (see redemption). Related: Irredentism.
irrefragable (adj.): "that cannot be refuted," literally "incapable of being broken down," 1530s, from French irréfragable (16c.) and directly from Late Latin irrefragabilis, from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + Latin refragari "to oppose, contest," from re- "back" (see re-) + frag-, base of frangere "to break" (see fraction). Related: irrefragably; irrefragability.
Isidore: masc. proper name, from French, from Latin Isidorus, from Greek Isidoros, literally "gift of Isis," from Isis (see Isis) + doron "gift" (see date (n.1)). St. Isidore, archbishop of Seville (600-636) wrote important historical, etymological, and ecclesiastical works and in 2001 was named patron saint of computers, computer users, and the Internet. Related: Isidorian.
homophone (n.): "a word pronounced the same as another (whether spelled the same or not) but different in meaning and etymology," 1843, from the adjective homophone (1620s), from Greek homos "same" (see homo- (1)) + phone "sound," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). Related: Homophonic. Greek homophonos meant "speaking the same language; sounding in unison; of the same sound or tone."
maulstick (n.): "light stick used by painters to support the painting hand," 1650s, from Dutch maalstok, literally "painting stick," from mallen "to paint," from Proto-Germanic *mal- (source also of Old Norse mæla, Old High German malon "trace, draw, paint," German malen "to paint"), from mal "spot, mark, stain," perhaps from the same root as Greek melas "black" (see melanin), but the original sense is not color but marking. With stock "stick" (see stock (n.1)).
mean (n.): "that which is halfway between extremes," early 14c., from Old French meien "middle, means, intermediary," noun use of adjective from Latin medianus "of or that is in the middle" (see mean (adj.2)). Oldest sense is musical; mathematical sense is from c. 1500. Some senses reflect confusion with mean (adj.1). This is the mean in by no means (late 15c.).
locket (n.): mid-14c., "iron cross-bar of a window," from Old French loquet "door-handle, bolt, latch," diminutive of loc "lock, latch," from Frankish or some other Germanic source (compare Old Norse lok "fastening, lock;" see lock (n.1)). Meaning "ornamental case with hinged cover" (containing a lock of hair, miniature portrait, etc.) first recorded 1670s.
thyme (n.): plant of the mint family, late 14c., from Old French thym, tym (13c.) and directly from Latin thymum, from Greek thymon, from PIE *dheu- (1), base of words meaning "to rise in a cloud" (see fume (n.)); thus thyme might be the plant "having a strong odor," or it might be related to thyein "burn as a sacrifice," which would indicate the plant was used as incense. Related: Thymic.
tip (v.3): c. 1200, "to strike, occur suddenly," of uncertain origin, possibly from Low German tippen "to poke, touch lightly," related to Middle Low German tip "end, point," and thus connected to tip (n.); or else related to tap (v.1). Meaning "strike sharply but lightly" is from 1560s. Sports sense is from 1816, originally in cricket. Related: Tipped; tipping.
aniline (n.): chemical base used in making colorful dyes, 1843, coined 1841 by German chemist Carl Julius Fritzsche (1808-1871) and adopted by Hofmann, ultimately from Portuguese anil "the indigo shrub," from Arabic an-nil "the indigo," assimilated from al-nil, from Persian nila, ultimately from Sanskrit nili "indigo," from nilah "dark blue." With suffix -ine indicating "derived substance" (see -ine (1); also see -ine (2) for the later, more precise, use of the suffix in chemistry).
anodyne (adj.): 1540s, from Medieval Latin anodynus "pain-removing, allaying pain," from Latin anodynus "painless," from Greek anodynos "free from pain," from an- "without" (see an- (1)) + odyne "pain," a word perhaps from PIE root *ed- "to eat" (source of Lithuanian edžioti "to devour, bite," edžiotis "to suffer pain;" see eat). In old slang, frequently a euphemism for "death;" as in anodyne necklace "hangman's noose."
anorexia (n.): 1590s, "lack of appetite," Modern Latin, from Greek anorexia, from an-, privative prefix, "without" (see an- (1)) + orexis "appetite, desire," from oregein "to desire, stretch out" (cognate with Latin regere "to keep straight, guide, rule;" see regal) + abstract noun ending -ia. In current use, often short for anorexia nervosa.
menace (n.): c. 1300, "declaration of hostile intent," also "act of threatening," from Old French menace "menace, threat" (9c.), from Vulgar Latin minacia "threat, menace" (also source of Spanish amenaza, Italian minaccia), singular of Latin minaciæ "threatening things," from minax (genitive minacis) "threatening," from minari "threaten, jut, project," from minæ "threats, projecting points," from PIE root *men- (2) "to project" (see mount (n.1)). Applied to persons from 1936.
perforation (n.): early 15c., "hole made through something;" mid-15c., "action of perforating," from Middle French perforation or directly from Late Latin perforationem (nominative perforatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin perforare "bore or pierce through," from per- "through" (see per) + forare "to pierce" (see bore (v.1)).
perk (v.): late 14c., "to make oneself trim or smart," perhaps from Old North French perquer "to perch" (Modern French percher; see perch (n.1)), on notion of a bird preening its plumage. Sense of "raise oneself briskly" is first attested 1520s; perk up "recover liveliness" is from 1650s. Related: Perked; perking.
reparation (n.): late 14c., "reconciliation," from Old French reparacion and directly from Late Latin reparationem (nominative reparatio) "act of repairing, restoration," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin reparare "restore, repair" (see repair (v.1)). Meaning "act of repairing or mending" is attested from c. 1400. Reparations "compensation for war damaged owed by the aggressor" is attested from 1921, with reference to Germany, from French réparations (1919).
repertory (n.): 1550s, "an index, list, catalogue," from Late Latin repertorium "inventory, list," from Latin repertus, past participle of reperire "to find, get, invent," from re-, intensive prefix (see re-), + parire, archaic form of paerere "produce, bring forth," from PIE root *pere- (1) "to bring forth" (see pare). Meaning "list of performances" is first recorded 1845, from similar use of French repertoire; repertory theater is attested from 1896. Related: Repertorial.
claymore (n.): 1749, "two-edged broadsword of ancient Scottish Highlanders," from Gaelic claidheamh mor "great sword," from claidheb "sword" (compare Welsh cleddyf), possibly from PIE root *kel- (1) "to strike" (see holt) + mor "great" (compare Welsh mawr; see more). An antiquarian word made familiar again by Scott's novels; modern military application to pellet-scattering anti-personnel mine is first attested 1962.
clergy (n.): c. 1200, clergie "office or dignity of a clergyman," from two Old French words: 1. clergié "clerics, learned men," from Medieval Latin clericatus, from Late Latin clericus (see clerk (n.)); 2. clergie "learning, knowledge, erudition," from clerc, also from Late Latin clericus. Meaning "persons ordained for religious work" is from c. 1300.
donation (n.): early 15c., from Old French donacion (13c.), from Latin donationem (nominative donatio) "a presenting, giving," noun of action from past participle stem of donare "give as a gift," from donum "gift," from PIE *donum "gift" (source also of Sanskrit danam "offering, present," Old Church Slavonic dani "tribute," Lithuanian duonis "gift," Old Irish dan "gift, endowment, talent," Welsh dawn "gift"), from root *do- "to give" (see date (n.1)).
dose (n.): early 15c., "the giving of medicine (in a specified amount or at a stated time)," from Middle French dose (15c.) or directly from Late Latin dosis, from Greek dosis "a portion prescribed," literally "a giving," used by Galen and other Greek physicians to mean an amount of medicine, from stem of didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)). Slang meaning "venereal disease" is from 1914.
dowry (n.): early 14c., from Anglo-French dowarie, Old French doaire (late 13c.) "dower, dowry, gift," from Medieval Latin dotarium, from Latin dotare "to endow, portion," from dos (genitive dotis) "marriage portion," from PIE *do-ti (source also of Sanskrit dadati, Greek didonai, Old Church Slavonic dati, Lithuanian duoti, Armenian tam, all meaning "to give"), from root *do- "to give" (see date (n.1)).
expedite (v.): c. 1500 (implied in past participle expedit "accomplished"), from Latin expeditus, past participle of expedire "extricate, disengage, liberate; procure, make ready, put in order, make fit, prepare; explain, make clear," literally "free the feet from fetters," hence to liberate from difficulties, from ex- "out" (see ex-) + *pedis "fetter, chain for the feet," related to pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Compare Greek pede "fetter." Related: Expedited; expediting.
explicit (adj.): 1610s, "open to the understanding, not obscure or ambiguous," from French explicite, from Latin explicitus "unobstructed," variant past participle of explicare "unfold, unravel, explain," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + plicare "to fold" (see ply (v.1)). As a euphemism for "pornographic" it dates from 1971. Related: Explicitness. "Explicitus" was written at the end of medieval books, originally short for explicitus est liber "the book is unrolled."
retraction (n.): late 14c., "withdrawal of an opinion," from Latin retractionem (nominative retractio) "a drawing back, hesitation, refusal," noun of action from past participle stem of retractare "revoke, cancel," from re- "back" (see re-) + tractere "draw violently," frequentative of trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)). Originally the title of a book by St. Augustine correcting his former writings. Meaning "recantation of opinion with admission of error" is from 1540s.
retreat (n.): c. 1300, "a step backward;" late 14c., "act of retiring or withdrawing; military signal for retiring from action or exercise," from Old French retret, noun use of past participle of retrere "draw back," from Latin retrahere "draw back, withdraw, call back," from re- "back" (see re-) + trahere "to draw" (see tract (n.1)). Meaning "place of seclusion" is from early 15c.; sense of "establishment for mentally ill persons" is from 1797. Meaning "period of retirement for religious self-examination" is from 1756.
repress (v.): late 14c., "to check, restrain," from Latin repressus, past participle of reprimere "hold back, curb," figuratively "check, confine, restrain, refrain," from re- "back" (see re-) + premere "to push" (see press (v.1)).

Used of feelings or desires from late 14c.; in the purely psychological sense, it represents German verdrängen (Freud, 1893), first attested 1904 (implied in repressed). Meaning "to put down" (a rebellion, etc.) is from late 15c. Related: Repressed; repressing.
expose (v.): early 15c., "to leave without shelter or defense," from Old French esposer, exposer "lay open, set forth, speak one's mind, explain" (13c.), from Latin exponere "set forth, lay open, exhibit, reveal, publish" (see expound), altered by confusion with poser "to place, lay down" (see pose (v.1)). Meaning "to exhibit openly" is from 1620s; that of "to unmask" is from 1690s. Photographic sense is from 1839. Related: Exposed; exposes; exposing.
fresco (n.): 1590s, in fresco, literally "in fresh," with a sense of "painted on fresh mortar or plaster," from Italian fresco "cool, fresh," as a noun "coolness, fresh air," from Old High German frisc, from Proto-Germanic *friskaz (see fresh (adj.1)). As a verb from 1849. Related: Frescoed. In 17c.-18c. it also could mean "coolness, shade."
rhinoceros (n.): c. 1300, from Latin rhinoceros, from Greek rhinokeros, literally "nose-horned," from rhinos "nose" (a word of unknown origin) + keras (genitive keratos) "horn of an animal," from PIE *ker- (1) "horn, head" (see horn (n.)). Related: Rhinocerotic.
What is the plural of rhinoceros? ... Well, Liddell and Scott seem to authorize 'rhinocerotes,' which is pedantic, but 'rhinoceroses' is not euphonious. [Sir Charles Eliot, "The East Africa Protectorate," 1905]
ribbon (n.): early 14c., ribane, from Old French riban "a ribbon," variant of ruban (13c.), of unknown origin, possibly from a Germanic compound whose second element is related to band (n.1); compare Middle Dutch ringhband "necklace." Modern spelling is from mid-16c. Originally a stripe in a material. Custom of colored ribbon loops worn on lapels to declare support for some group perceived as suffering or oppressed began in 1991 with AIDS red ribbons.
torte (n.): "sweet cake, tart," 1748, from German Torte; earlier sense of "round cake, round bread" (1550s) is from Middle French torte; both are from Late Latin torta "flat cake," also "round loaf of bread" (also source of Italian torte, Spanish torta), probably related to tart (n.1). Not considered to be from the source of tort.
pianoforte (n.): 1767, from Italian, from piano e forte "soft and loud," in full, gravicembalo col piano e forte "harpsichord with soft and loud" (c. 1710), said to have been so named by inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori (1655-1731) of Padua because the ability via dampers to vary the tone is one of the main changes from the harpsichord. Italian piano (adj.) ultimately is from Latin planus "flat, smooth, even," later "soft" (see plane (n.1)).
toupee (n.): 1727, from French toupet "tuft of hair, forelock," diminutive formed from Old French top "tuft, forelock, topknot" (12c.), from Frankish *top or another Germanic source related to top (n.1) "highest point." Originally an artificial curl or lock on the top of the head; a style, not necessarily a compensation for baldness. In 18c., also sometimes used of a person who wears a toupee. Slang short form toup is recorded from 1959.
apt (adj.): mid-14c., "inclined, disposed;" late 14c., "suited, fitted, adapted," from Old French ate (13c., Modern French apte), or directly from Latin aptus "fit, suited," adjectival use of past participle of *apere "to attach, join, tie to," from PIE root *ap- (1) "to grasp, take, reach" (source also of Sanskrit apnoti "he reaches," Latin apisci "to reach after, attain," Hittite epmi "I seize"). Elliptical sense of "becoming, appropriate" is from 1560s.
metropolitan (n.): early 15c., "bishop having oversight of other bishops," from Late Latin metropolitanus, from Greek metropolis "mother city" (from which others have been colonized), also "capital city," from meter "mother" (see mother (n.1)) + polis "city" (see polis).

In Greek, "parent state of a colony;" later, "see of a metropolitan bishop." In the West, the position now roughly corresponds to archbishop, but in the Greek church it ranks above it.
hydraulic (adj.): "pertaining to fluids in motion," c. 1600, from French hydraulique, from Latin hydraulicus, from Greek hydraulikos (organon) "water organ," the name of a musical instrument invented by the Egyptian Ctesibius, from hydr-, stem of hydor "water" (see water (n.1)) + aulos "musical instrument, hollow tube, pipe" (see alveolus). Extended by the Romans to other water engines.
bound (adj.2): "ready to go," c. 1200, boun, from Old Norse buinn past participle of bua "to prepare," also "to dwell, to live," from Proto-Germanic *bowan (source also of Old High German buan "to dwell," Old Danish both "dwelling, stall"), from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, dwell" (see be). Final -d is presumably through association with bound (adj.1).
hyphen (n.): "short dash used to connect two words or separate one," 1620s, from Late Latin hyphen, from Greek hyphen "mark joining two syllables or words," probably indicating how they were to be said or sung. This was a noun use of an adverb meaning "together, in one," literally "under one," from hypo "under" (see sub-) + hen, neuter of heis "one," from PIE root *sem- (1) "one, as one" (see same (adj.)).
hysteron-proteron (n.): 1560s, from Late Latin, from Greek hysteron-proteron, literally "the latter (put as) the former." A cart-before-the-horse figure of speech, in which what should come last is put first. From hysteron, neuter of hysteros "latter, second, after" (from PIE *ud-tero-, from root *ud- "up, out;" see out (adv.)) + proteron, neuter of proteros "before, former," from PIE *pro-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).
collar (n.): c. 1300, "neck armor, gorget," from Old French coler "neck, collar" (12c., Modern French collier), from Latin collare "necklace, band or chain for the neck," from collum "the neck," from PIE *kwol-o- "neck" (source also of Old Norse and Middle Dutch hals "neck"), literally "that on which the head turns," from root *kwel- (1) "move round, turn about" (see cycle (n.)). Late 14c. as "border at the neck of a garment."