Online Etymology Dictionary

kempt (adj.): "well-combed, neat," late 14c., from past tense of archaic kemb "to comb," from Old English cemdan (see unkempt). A rare word after c. 1500; any modern use probably is a whimsical back-formation from unkempt.
jota (n.): Spanish folk dance in three-quarter time, also la Jota Aragonesa (it seems to have originated in Aragon); by 1830 in English, of uncertain etymology.
reem (n.): Hebrew name of an animal in the Old Testament (Job xxxix:9, etc.), now identified with the wild ox, but formerly translated in Latin as rhinoceros and in English as unicorn.
heap (v.): Old English heapian "collect, heap up, bring together;" from heap (n.). Related: Heaped; heaping. Compare Old High German houfon, German haufen "to heap," also a verb from a noun.
hot-rod (n.): also hot rod, 1945, American English, from hot (adj.) + rod (n.), here apparently in a sense of "hunk of metal" (the cars also were called hot iron).
headless (adj.): late Old English, heafedleas; see head (n.) + -less. Late 14c. as "rulerless, lacking a leader." Related: Headlessly; headlessness. Similar construction in Dutch hoofdeloos, German hauptlos, Danish hovedlös.
handle (v.): Middle English hondlen, handlen, "touch with the hands, hold in the hands, fondle, pet," also "to deal with, treat, manhandle," from Old English handlian "to touch or move with the hands," also "deal with, discuss;" formed from hand (n.), perhaps with a frequentative suffix, as fondle from fond. Cognate with Old Norse höndla "to seize, capture," Danish handle "to trade, deal," Old High German hantalon "feel, touch; manage," German handeln "to bargain, trade." Related: Handled; handling. Meaning "to act towards" (someone, in a certain manner, usually with hostility or roughness) is from c. 1200. The commercial sense "to trade or deal in" was weaker in English than in some other Germanic languages, but it strengthened in American English (by 1888) from the notion of something passing through one's hands, and see handler.
hole (v.): "to make a hole," Old English holian "to hollow out, scoop out," from source of hole (n.). Related: Holed; holing. To hole up "seek a temporary shelter or hiding place" is from 1875.
hithe (n.): "landing place" (archaic, but still found in place names), from Old English hyð "landing place," especially one on a river or creek, cognate with Old Saxon huth.
impalement (n.): 1590s, "act of enclosing with stakes," from impale (v.) + -ment, perhaps on model of French empalement; formerly in English it often was spelled empalement. In reference to the method of torture/punishment from 1620s.
inconstance (n.): late 14c., from Old French inconstance "inconstancy, instability" (13c.), from Latin inconstantia "inconstancy, fickleness," noun of quality from inconstans "changeable, inconsistent" (see inconstant). In English, inconstancy is now the usual word.
hidage (n.): "tax paid to the king per hide of land," late 12c., from Anglo-Latin hidagium, from hida, the measure of land (from Old English hid; see hide (n.2)); also see -age.
answer (v.): Old English answarian "to answer;" see answer (n.). Meaning "to respond in antiphony" is from early 15c.; that of "to be responsible for" is early 13c. Related: Answered; answering. The telephone answering machine is from 1961.
naphthalene (n.): 1821, coined by English chemist John Kidd (1775-1851), who first isolated and studied it, from naphtha + chemical suffix -ine (2) + -l- for the sake of euphony.
harper (n.): Old English hearpere "one who plays the harp," agent noun from harp (v.). As a surname from late 12c. Compare Middle High German harpfære, German Harfner.
hoof (v.): "having hoofs (of a specified kind)," c. 1500 in compounds, from hoof (n.). Meaning "to walk" (as in hoof it) is from 1640s; slang meaning "to dance" is 1920, American English (implied in hoofer). Related: Hoofing.
hopper (n.1): "person or animal that hops," mid-13c., agent noun from hop (v.). From c. 1200 as a surname, and perhaps existing in Old English (which had hoppestre "female dancer").
horse sense (n.): 1832, American English colloquial, from horse (n.), perhaps in referfence to the animal's qualities, or to the abilities of hostlers and coachmen with the animals, perhaps from the same association of "strong, large, coarse" found in horseradish.
handling (n.): Old English handlung "action of touching or feeling," from handlian (see handle (v.)). Meaning "way in which something handles" (especially a motor vehicle) is from 1962.
guest-room (n.): also guestroom, 1630s, from guest (n.) + room (n.). Guest chamber is recorded from 1520s. Old English had giestærn "guest-chamber," with the second element the same one as in barn.
ape-man (n.): hypothetical "missing link," 1879, in a translation of Haeckel, from ape (n.) + man (n.). Man-ape is attested from 1878. The name Martin Halfape appears in an English roll from 1227.
hell-hound (n.): also hellhound, "wicked person, agent of Hell" (c. 1400), from Old English hellehund "Cerberus;" see hell + hound (n.). Similar formation in Dutch helhond, German Höllenhund.
hepta-: before vowels hept-, word-forming element meaning "seven," from Greek hepta "seven," cognate with Latin septem, Gothic sibun, Old English seofon, from PIE root *septm (see seven).
heortology (n.): "study of religious feasts and calendars," 1881, from Greek heorte "a feast or festival, holiday," + -ology. The immediate source of the English word is in French or German. Related: Heortological (1880).
oceanography (n.): 1859, coined in English from ocean + -graphy; on analogy of geography. French océanographie is attested from 1580s but is said to have been rare before 1876. Related: Oceanographic.
impressionable (adj.): "susceptible to (mental) impressions," 1827, from French impressionable (earliest English examples are in French translations and settings); see impression + -able. Related: Impressionability (1831). Earlier was impressible (1620s).
extrapolate (v.): 1862 (in a Harvard observatory account of the comet of 1858), from extra- + ending from interpolate. Said in early references to be a characteristic word of Sir George Airy (1801-1892), English mathematician and astronomer. Related: Extrapolated; extrapolating.
expository (adj.): 1620s, from Medieval Latin expositorius, from exposit-, past participle stem of Latin exponere "set forth" (see expound). Earlier in English as a noun meaning "an expository treatise, commentary" (early 15c.). Related: Expositorial.
expertise (n.): "quality or state of being an expert," 1868, from French expertise (16c.) "expert appraisal, expert's report," from expert (see expert). Earlier and more English was expertness (c. 1600).
exhaustion (n.): 1640s, "fatigue," noun of action from exhaust (v.) in sense of "drawing off" of strength. Etymological sense "act of drawing out or draining off" is from 1660s in English.
federalism (n.): 1788, "doctrine of federal union in government," American English, from French fédéralisme, from fédéral (see federal). Also, from about the same time and place, "doctrines of the Federalist Party in American politics."
friendship (n.): Old English freondscipe "friendship, mutual liking and regard," also "conjugal love;" see friend (n.) + -ship. Similar formation in Dutch vriendschap, German Freundschaft, Swedish frändskap.
forefather (n.): "ancestor," c. 1300, from fore- + father (n.); perhaps modeled on or modified from Old Norse forfaðir. Similar formation in Dutch voorvader, German Vorvater, Danish forfædre (Old English had forð-fæder).
forethought (n.): early 14c., "a thinking beforehand, the act of planning," verbal noun from forethink "think of something beforehand," from Old English foreþencan "to premeditate, consider;" see fore- + think. Meaning "prudence, provident care" is from 1719.
foreboding (n.): late 14c., "a predilection, portent, omen," from fore- + verbal noun from bode. Meaning "sense of something bad about to happen" is from c. 1600. Old English equivalent form forebodung meant "prophecy." Related: Forebodingly.
beefeater (n.): "warder of the Tower of London," 1670s, a contemptuous reference to well-fed servants of the royal household; the notion is of "one who eats another's beef" (see eater, and compare Old English hlaf-æta "servant," literally "loaf-eater").
shadowy (adj.): late 14c., shadewy, "full of shadows," also "transitory, fleeting, unreal;" see shadow (n.) + -y (2). From 1797 as "faintly perceptible." Related: Shadowiness. Old English had sceadwig "shady."
laughter (n.): late 14c., from Old English hleahtor "laughter; jubilation; derision," from Proto-Germanic *hlahtraz (source also of Old Norse hlatr, Danish latter, Old High German lahtar, German Gelächter); see laugh (v.).
belly (v.): "to swell out," 1620s, from belly (n.). Related: Bellied; bellying. Old English belgan meant "to be or become angry" (a figurative sense). A comparable Greek verb-from-noun, gastrizein, meant "to hit (someone) in the belly."
big deal (n.): from mid-19c. in poker or business; as an ironic expression, popular in American English from c. 1965, perhaps a translated Yiddishism (such as a groyser kunst).
later (adj., adv.): "afterward," 16c., comparative of late. A modern formation; the Old English comparative lator developed into latter. As a salutation, "farewell," from 1954, U.S. colloquial, short for adverbial use in (I'll) see you later.
thoughtful (adj.): c. 1200, "contemplative, occupied with thought," from thought + -ful. Also in Middle English, "prudent; moody, anxious." Meaning "showing consideration for others" is from 1851 (compare thoughtless.) Related: Thoughtfully; thoughtfulness.
necessitate (v.): 1620s, from Medieval Latin necessitatus, past participle of necessitare "to render necessary," from Latin necessitas (see necessity). Earlier verb in English was necessen (late 14c.). Related: Necessitated; necessitates; necessitating.
expansionist (n.): 1874, American English, in reference to money policy; by 1884 as "one who advocates the expansion of the territory of his nation," from expansion + -ist. Related: Expansionism.
explicable (adj.): 1550s, from or modeled on Latin explicabilis "capable of being unraveled, that may be explained," from explicare "unfold; explain" (see explicit). Middle English had a verb expliken "explain, interpret" (mid-15c.).
-ery: word-forming element making nouns meaning "place for, art of, condition of, quantity of," from Middle English -erie, from Latin -arius (see -ary). Also sometimes in modern colloquial use "the collectivity of" or "an example of."
-al (1): suffix forming adjectives from nouns or other adjectives, "of, like, related to, pertaining to," Middle English -al, -el, from French or directly from Latin -alis (see -al (2)).
esne (n.): Old English esne "domestic slave, laborer, retainer, servant; youth, man," from Proto-Germanic *asnjoz- "harvestman" (source also of Gothic asneis), from *asanoz- "harvest" (see earn).
eraser (n.): "thing that erases writing," 1790, American English, agent noun from erase. Originally a knife for scraping off the ink. As a rubber product for removing pencil marks, from 1858.
estimable (adj.): mid-15c., "capable of being estimated," from Old French estimable and directly from Latin aestimabilis "valuable, estimable," from aestimare (see esteem (v.)). Meaning "worthy of esteem" in English is from 1690s.