Online Etymology Dictionary

manitou (n.): also manito, "spirit, deity, supernatural being," 1690s, from a word found throughout the Algonquian languages (Delaware manutoow, Ojibwa manidoo), first in English from Unami Delaware /manet:u/.
Michaelmas: early 12c., Sanct Micheles mæsse, the feast of St. Michael (Sept. 29, an English quarter-day), from Michael + mass (n.2). Goose is the day's traditional fare since at least 15c.
dilapidate (v.): 1560s, "to bring a building to ruin," from Latin dilapidatus, past participle of dilapidare "to squander, waste," originally "to throw stones, scatter like stones;" see dilapidation. Perhaps the English word is a back-formation from dilapidation.
Cape Cod: named 1602 by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold for the abundance of fish his men caught there. Cape Cod, in reference to houses reminiscent of New England architecture, is attested from 1916.
Germany (n.): c. 1300, from Latin Germania, a Roman designation (see German (n.)). In Middle English the place also was called Almaine (early 14c.; see Alemanni).
gotten: a past participle form of get, showing vestiges of the Old English form of the verb. With adverbs, "obtained or acquired" (in some specified manner) from mid-14c.
gobo (n.): "portable screen or wall to absorb sound or reflect light," 1930, American English, Hollywood movie set slang, of unknown origin, perhaps somehow from go-between.
go-ahead (adj.): by 1840, "pushing, driving," from verbal phrase go ahead; see go (v.) + ahead (adv.). Go ahead as a command or invitation to proceed is from 1831, American English.
-ible: word-forming element making adjectives from verbs, borrowed in Middle English from Old French -ible and directly from Latin adjective suffix -ibilis (properly -bilis); see -able.
hedgehog (n.): mid-15c. (replacing Old English igl), from hedge (n.) + hog (n.). First element from its frequenting hedges; the second element a reference to its pig-like snout.
heartland (n.): also heart-land, 1904, first recorded in geo-political writings of English geographer H.J. MacKinder (1861-1947), from heart (n.) in figurative sense "center, core" + land (n.).
headstrong (adj.): "determined to have one's way," late 14c., from head (n.) + strong. Compare Old English heafodbald "impudent," literally "head-bold." Strongheaded is attested from c. 1600.
hereafter (adv.): Old English heræfter "in the future; later on;" see here + after. Meaning "after death" is mid-14c. As a noun, "time in the future," from 1540s; meaning "a future world, the world to come" is from 1702.
halfway (adv.): also half-way, Old English healfweg; see half + way (n.). Halfway house originally was a common name for inns midway between cities or stages.
hallows (n.): in All-Hallows, a survival of hallow in the noun sense of "holy personage, saint," attested from Old English haligra but little used after c. 1500. Hallowmas "All-saints" is first attested late 14c.
homeland (n.): 1660s, from home (n.) + land (n.). Old English hamland meant "enclosed pasture." Not in Century Dictionary (U.S., 1910); in more extensive use in U.S. after 2001.
homeless (adj.): "having no permanent abode," 1610s, from home (n.) + -less. Old English had hamleas, but the modern word probably is a new formation. As a noun meaning "homeless persons," by 1857.
grundel (n.): type of fish, c. 1500 (early 13c. as a surname), from grund "ground" (see ground (n.)) + -el (2). Compare Old English gryndle "herring;" grundling, type of fish, literally "groundling."
half-hearted (adj.): also halfhearted, "showing little enthusiasm," early 15c.; see half + hearted. Related: halfheartedly; halfheartedness. English in 17c. also had half-headed "stupid."
hellish (adj.): 1520s, from hell + -ish. Related: Hellishly; hellishness. Earlier in same sense were helli "helly" (late 12c.); hellen "hellish, infernal" (c. 1200), with -en (2); and Old English hellic and hellcund.
croaker (n.): "prophet of evil," 1630s, agent noun from croak (v.); a reference to the raven (compare Middle English crake "a raven," early 14c., from Old Norse kraka "crow," of imitative origin).
resident (n.): mid-15c., "an inhabitant, one who resides," from resident (adj.). Meaning "medical graduate in practice in a hospital as training" first attested 1892, American English.
instigator (n.): 1590s, from Latin instigator "a stimulator," agent noun from instigare "urge on, incite" (see instigation). The classical Latin fem. form instigatrix is recorded in English from 1610s.
imitate (v.): 1530s, a back-formation from imitation or imitator, or else from Latin imitatus, past participle of imitari "to copy, portray." Related: Imitated; imitating. An Old English word for this was æfterhyrigan.
immortalize (v.): 1560s, "bestow lasting fame upon, exempt from oblivion," from immortal + -ize. Perhaps modeled on Middle French immortaliser. The literal sense "endow with immortality" is from 1630s in English. Related: Immortalized; immortalizing.
in memoriam: Latin, literally "in memory of," from accusative of memoria "memory" (see memory). The phrase was much-used in Latin writing; Tennyson's poem of that name (published in 1850) seems to have introduced the phrase to English.
incrustation (n.): in early use also also encrustation, 1640s, from French encrustation, incrustation, from encruster (see encrust). Or perhaps from the obsolete English verb incrustate, which is attested from 1560s.
infinitude (n.): 1640s, from Medieval Latin *infinitudo, from Latin infinitus (see infinite) on model of multitudo, magnitudo. Or the English word is perhaps from or modeled on French infinitude (1610s).
thorny (adj.): Old English þornig; see thorn + -y (2). Figurative sense is attested from mid-14c. Related: Thorniness. Similar formation in Dutch doornig, German dornig.
Roundhead (n.): "adherent of the Parliamentary party in the English Civil War," 1641, so called for their custom of wearing the hair close-cropped, in contrast to the flowing curls of the cavaliers.
kami (n.): a Japanese word meaning "superior, lord," a title of the gods of Japan, also given to governors. The word was chosen by Japanese converts and Protestant missionaries to refer to the Christian God. Attested in English from 1610s.
kibitzer (n.): 1915, from Yiddish, agent noun from kibitz (q.v.). Kibitz as a verb is attested in English from 1915; "Der Kibitzer" is noted as the name of a humorous Yiddish weekly published in New York 1908-1912.
knighthood (n.): Old English cnihthad "the period between childhood and manhood;" see knight (n.) + -hood. Sense of "rank or dignity of a knight" is from c. 1300, and probably is an independent formation.
chervil (n.): type of herb, Old English cerfelle "chervil," from Latin chaerephyllum, from Greek khairephyllon; second element phyllon "leaf" (see phyllo-); first element perhaps from khairein "to rejoice" (see hortatory).
neese (v.): also neeze "sneeze," northern and Scottish, from Middle English nesen (mid-14c.), probably from Old Norse hnjosa, of imitative origin (compare Old High German niosan, German niesen, Middle Dutch niesen).
woodshed (n.): "shed for keeping wood as fuel," 1799, from wood (n.) + shed (n.). Sometimes a euphemism for "outhouse." Figuratively, as the place for private punishment, by 1907, American English colloquial.
grunge (n.): "sloppiness, dirtiness," also "untidy person," 1965, American English teen slang, probably a back-formation from grungy. In reference to the music and fashion style that originated in Seattle is attested from 1989.
goods (n.): "property," late 13c., from plural of good (n.), which had the same sense in Old English. Meaning "saleable commodities" is mid-15c.; colloquial sense of "stolen articles" is from 1900; hence figurative use, "evidence of guilt."
good will (n.): Old English godes willan "state of wishing well to another;" see good (adj.) + will (n.). Meaning "cheerful acquiescence" is from c. 1300. In the commercial sense "degree of favor enjoyed through patronage of customers" from 1570s.
grainy (adj.): 1610s, "full of grains," from grain + -y (2). Photographic sense is from 1900. In Middle English, grain also was used as an adjective, "like grain, lumpy, spotted" (early 15c.). Related: Graininess.
Eldred: masc. proper name, from Old English Ealdred, literally "great in counsel," from eald "old; great" (see old) + ræd "advice, counsel" (see read (v.)).
smithy (n.): "workshop of a smith," c. 1300, from Old Norse smiðja (cognate with Old English smiððe), from Proto-Germanic *smith-ja-, from PIE smi- (see smith (n.)).
specialist (n.): 1852 (originally in the medical sense and much scorned by the GPs); see special (adj.) + -ist. Perhaps immediately from French spécialiste (1842). In general use in English by 1862. Related: Specialism.
scop (n.): "poet, minstrel," Old English scop, cognate with Old High German scoph "poetry, sport, jest," Old Norse skop "railing, mockery" (see scoff (v.)).
secretive (adj.): "inclined to secrecy," 1815 (implied in secretiveness); see secret (n.) + -ive. The word also was in Middle English with a sense "secret, hidden" (mid-15c.). Related: Secretively.
eldest (adj.): Old English (Mercian) eldrost "most advanced in age, that was born first," superlative of eald, ald "old" (see old). Superseded by oldest since 16c. Compare elder (adj.).
shameless (adj.): Old English scamleas "shameless, impudent, immodest;" see shame (n.) + -less. Related: Shamelessly; shamelessness. Similar formation in Old Norse skammlauss, Dutch schaamteloos, Old High German scamalos, German schamlos.
Seychelles: renamed 1756 in honor of French finance minister Jean Moreau de Séchelles; spelling altered 1794 by the English when they took the islands from France. Related: Seychellois.
sleepless (adj.): early 15c., from sleep (n.) + -less. Old English had slæpleas but the modern word seems to be a re-formation. Similar formation in German schlaflos, Dutch slapeloos. Related: Sleeplessly; sleeplessness.
emigrant (n.): "one who quits a country or region to settle in another," 1754, from Latin emigrantem (nominative emigrans), present participle of emigrare "move away" (see emigration). As an adjective in English from 1794.