Online Etymology Dictionary

beseech (v.): late 12c., bisecen "to beseech, beg urgently," from be- + Middle English secen "to seek" (see seek). German cognate besuchen is merely "to visit." Related: Besought; beseeching.
beyond (prep.): Old English begeondan "beyond, from the farther side," from be- "by," here probably indicating position, + geond "yonder" (prep.); see yond. A compound not found elsewhere in Germanic.
bibulous (adj.): 1670s, "spongy, absorbent," from Latin bibulus "drinking readily, given to drink;" of things, "absorbent; moistened," from bibere "to drink" (see imbibe). Meaning "fond of drink" attested in English by 1861.
bicentennial: also bi-centennial, 1843 (adj.), 1871 (noun), American English, from bi- + centennial (q.v.). In rivalry with bicentenary (1831) which seems to have been the more common word in Britain.
bicker (v.): early 14c., bikere, "to skirmish, fight," perhaps from Middle Dutch bicken "to slash, stab, attack," + -er, Middle English frequentative suffix. Meaning "to quarrel" is from mid-15c. Related: Bickered; bickering.
ethics (n.): "the science of morals," c. 1600, plural of Middle English ethik "study of morals" (see ethic). The word also traces to Ta Ethika, title of Aristotle's work. Related: Ethicist.
ettin (n.): an old word for "a giant," extinct since 16c., from Old English eoten "giant, monster," from Proto-Germanic *itunoz "giant" (source also of Old Norse iotunn, Danish jætte).
euchre (n.): type of card game played with a partial deck, 1846, American English, of unknown origin. Elements of the game indicate it might be from GermanIn early use also uker, yucker.
Christ (n.): title given to Jesus of Nazareth, Old English crist (by 830, perhaps 675), from Latin Christus, from Greek khristos "the anointed" (translation of Hebrew mashiah; see messiah), noun use of verbal adjective of khriein "to rub, anoint" (see chrism). The Latin term drove out Old English Hæland "healer, savior," as the preferred descriptive term for Jesus.

A title, treated as a proper name in Old English, but not regularly capitalized until 17c. Pronunciation with long -i- is result of Irish missionary work in England, 7c.-8c. The ch- form, regular since c. 1500 in English, was rare before. Capitalization of the word begins 14c. but is not fixed until 17c. The 17c. mystical sect of the Familists edged it toward a verb with Christed "made one with Christ."
christen (v.): c. 1200, from Old English cristnian "to baptize," literally "to make Christian," from cristen "Christian" (see Christian). General meaning of "to name" is attested from mid-15c. Related: Christened; christening.
disarm (v.): late 14c., from Old French desarmer (11c.), from des- (see dis-) + armer "to arm" (see arm (v.)). The figurative sense is slightly earlier in English than the literal. Related: Disarmed; disarming.
dither (v.): 1640s, "to quake, tremble," phonetic variant of Middle English didderen (late 14c.), which is of uncertain origin. The sense of "vacillate, be anxious" is from 1819. Related: Dithered; dithering.
Erin: ancient name of Ireland, from Old English Erinn, dative of Eriu "Ireland" (see Irish (n.)). As a girl's name in U.S., rare before 1954, popular 1976-1985.
chiropractic: coined in American English, 1898 (adj.); 1899 (n.), from chiro- "hand" + praktikos "practical" (see practical), the whole of it loosely meant as "done by hand."
chirurgeon (n.): 1530s, representing a failed Renaissance attempt to restore Greek spelling to the word that had got into English as surgeon; now, thank the gods, archaic. Related: Chirurgery. Compare French chirurgien.
Chisholm Trail: 1866, from Jesse Chisholm (c. 1806-1868), halfbreed Cherokee trader and government agent who first plied it. The surname is from a barony in England, probably from Old English cisel "gravel."
disorganize (v.): 1793, from French désorganiser, from dés- "not" (see dis-) + organiser "organize" (see organize). This word and related forms were introduced in English in reference to the French Revolution. Related: Disorganized; disorganizing; disorganization.
gristle (n.): Old English gristle "cartilage," related to grost "gristle," from a common West Germanic word (cognates: Old Frisian and Middle Low German gristel, Old High German crostila, Middle High German gruschel) of obscure origin.
hinterland (n.): 1890, from German Hinterland, from hinter "behind" (see hinder (adj.)) + Land "country" (see land (n.)). What in English would be called the back-country.
hippie (n.): c. 1965, American English (Haight-Ashbury slang); earlier (1953) a variant (usually disparaging) of hipster (1941) "person keenly aware of the new and stylish," from hip "up-to-date" (see hip (adj.)). Related: Hippiedom.
foreground (n.): 1690s, "part of a landscape nearest the observer," from fore- + ground (n.). First used in English by Dryden ("Art of Painting"); compare Dutch voorgrond. Figurative use by 1816.
forswear (v.): Old English forswerian "swear falsely" (intransitive), also "abandon or renounce on oath" (transitive), from for- "completely" + swerian "to swear" (see swear (v.)). Related: Forswore; forsworn; forswearing.
fraidy-cat (n.): "coward," by 1871, American English slang, from 'fraid (by 1816), childish or dialectal (African, West Indies) pronunciation of afraid, + cat (n.), perhaps in reference to the animals' instinct to scatter when startled.
Franco-: word-forming element meaning "French" or "the Franks," from Medieval Latin comb. form of Franci "the Franks" (see Frank), hence, by extension, "the French." Used from early 18c. in forming English compound words.
grand mal: "convulsive epilepsy" (with loss of consciousness), 1842 as a French term in English, from French grand mal, literally "great sickness" (see grand (adj.)). Opposed to petit mal.
inwit (n.): Middle English word formed to translate Latin conscientia; early 13c., "conscience;" c. 1300, "reason, intellect," from in (adj.) + wit (n.). Not related to Old English inwit, which meant "deceit." Joyce's use of it in "Ulysses" (1922) echoes the title of the 14c. work "Ayenbite of Inwyt" ("Remorse of Conscience," a translation from French), is perhaps the best-known example of the modern use of the word as a conscious archaism, but not the earliest.
Þese ben also þy fyve inwyttys: Wyl, Resoun, Mynd, Ymaginacioun, and Thoght [Wyclif, c. 1380]

If ... such good old English words as inwit and wanhope should be rehabilitated (and they have been pushing up their heads for thirty years), we should gain a great deal. [Robert Bridges, English poet laureate, 1922]
island (n.): 1590s, earlier yland (c. 1300), from Old English igland, iegland "an island," from ieg "island" (from Proto-Germanic *aujo "thing on the water," from PIE *akwa- "water;" see aqua-) + land (n.). As an adjective from 1620s.

Spelling modified 15c.-16c. by association with similar but unrelated isle. Similar formation in Old Frisian eiland, Middle Dutch eyland, German Eiland, Danish öland, etc. In place names, Old English ieg is often used of "slightly raised dry ground offering settlement sites in areas surrounded by marsh or subject to flooding" [Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names]. Island universe "solar system" (1846) translates German Weltinsel (von Humboldt, 1845). An Old English cognate was ealand "river-land, watered place, meadow by a river." Related: Islander.
holler (v.): 1690s, American English, variant of hollo (1540s) "to shout," especially "to call to the hounds in hunting," which is related to hello. Compare colloquial yeller for yellow, etc. Related: Hollered; hollering.
honcho (n.): 1947, American English, "officer in charge," from Japanese hancho "group leader," from han "corps, squad" + cho "head, chief." Picked up by U.S. servicemen in Japan and Korea, 1947-1953.
meadow (n.): Old English mædwe "meadow, pasture," originally "land covered in grass which is mown for hay;" oblique case of mæd (see mead (n.2)).
loathe (v.): Old English laðian "to hate, to be disgusted with," from lað "hostile" (see loath). Cognate with Old Saxon lethon, Old Norse leiða. Related: Loathed; loathing.
logy (adj.): "dull and heavy," 1848, American English, perhaps from Dutch log "heavy, dull" + -y (2); compare Middle Low German luggich "sleepy, sluggish." Or perhaps a variant of loggy.
lollapalooza (n.): also lallapaloosa, lallapalootza, etc.; "remarkable or wonderful person or thing," 1901, American English, fanciful formation. The annual North American alternative pop music concert of the same name dates from 1991.
lop (v.1): "cut off," 1510s, from Middle English loppe (n.) "small branches and twigs trimmed from trees" (early 15c.), of unknown origin. Related: Lopped (mid-15c.); lopping. Place name Loppedthorn is attested from 1287.
lorn (adj.): (archaic) c. 1300, "lost, ruined," from Old English loren, past participle of leosan "to lose" (see lose). Meaning "abandoned, left alone" is from late 15c. Compare forlorn.
thus (adv.): Old English þus "in this way, as follows," related to þæt "that" and this; from Proto-Germanic *thus- (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian thus, Middle Dutch and Dutch dus), from PIE *to-.
tinder (n.): "dry, inflammable substance," Old English tynder, from or related to tendan "to kindle," from Proto-Germanic *tund- "ignite, kindle" (source also of Gothic tandjan, Swedish tända, German zünden "to kindle").
tizzy (n.): 1922, American English colloquial, of uncertain origin, perhaps related to slang tizzy "sixpence piece" (1804), a corruption of tester, a name for the coin (see tester (n.2)).
Anglican (adj.): 1630s, "of the reformed Church of England" (opposed to Roman), from Medieval Latin Anglicanus, from Anglicus "of the English people, of England" (see anglicize). The noun meaning "adherent of the reformed Church of England" is first recorded 1797.
blain (n.): Old English blegen "a sore," from Proto-Germanic *blajinon "a swelling" (source also of Danish blegn, Dutch blein), from PIE *bhlei- "to swell," from root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell;" see bole.
blare (v.): late 14c., bleren "to wail," possibly from an unrecorded Old English *blæren, or from Middle Dutch bleren "to bleat, cry, bawl, shout." Probably echoic, either way. Related: Blared; blaring. As a noun from 1809, from the verb.
blase (adj.): "bored from overindulgence," 1819, from French blasé, past participle of blaser "to satiate" (17c.), which is of unknown origin. Perhaps from Dutch blazen "to blow" (related to English blast), with a sense of "puffed up under the effects of drinking."
pendent (adj.): c. 1600 respelling of Middle English pendaunt "hanging, overhanging" (late 14c., from Old French pendant; see pendant) on model of its Latin original, pendentem.
peri (n.): 1777, from Persian pari, from Avestan pairika. Race of superhuman female beings originally represented as malevolent, later as angelic genii (compare sense evolution of English fairy, to which it is not related).
periscope (n.): viewing apparatus on a submarine, 1899, formed in English from peri- "around" + -scope "instrument for viewing." Earlier (1865) a technical term in photography. Related: Periscopic.
Persian: c. 1400, percynne (adj.), Old English Perse (n.), both from Latin *Persianus (the adjective via Old French persien), from Persia "Persia" (see Persia). First record of Persian cat is from 1785.
petite (adj.): "little," 1784 (from 1712 in French phrases taken into English), from French petite, fem. of petit "little" (see petit). As a size in women's clothing, attested from 1929.
petrodollar (n.): 1974, "surplus of petroleum exports over imports of all other goods," as a notational unit of currency (in reference to OPEC nations), formed in English from petro- (2) + dollar.
frou-frou (n.): 1870, "a rustling," from French (19c.), possibly imitative of the rustling of a dress. The word was popularized in English by a French play translated and given that name. Meaning "fussy details" is from 1876.
furlong (n.): measure of distance of roughly 660 feet, from Old English furlang, originally the length of a furrow in a common field of 10 acres, from furh "furrow" (see furrow (n.)) + lang "long" (see long (adj.)). The "acre" of the common field being variously measured, the furlong varied but eventually was fixed by custom at 40 rods. Used from 9c. to translate Latin stadium (625 feet), one-eighth of a Roman mile, and so the English word came to be used for "one-eighth of an English mile," though this led to a different measure for the English mile than the Roman one. Furlong being so important in land deed records (where mile hardly figures) it was thought best to redefine the mile rather than the furlong, which was done under Elizabeth I.