Online Etymology Dictionary

edifice (n.): late 14c., from Old French edifice "building" (12c.), from Latin aedificium "building," from aedificare "to erect a building," from aedis, variant of aedes "temple, sanctuary," usually a single edifice without partitions, also, in the plural, "dwelling house, building," originally "a place with a hearth" + the root of facere "to make" (see factitious).

Aedis is from PIE *aidh- "to burn" (source also of Greek aithein "to burn," Sanskrit inddhe "burst into flames," Old Irish aed "fire," Welsh aidd "heat, zeal," Old High German eit "funeral pile"), from root *ai- (2) "to burn" (see ash (n.1)).
edition (n.): early 15c., "version, translation, a form of a literary work;" 1550s, "act of publishing," from French édition or directly from Latin editionem (nominative editio) "a bringing forth, producing," also "a statement, account," from past participle stem of edere "bring forth, produce," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + -dere, comb. form of dare "to give" (see date (n.1)). "It is awkward to speak of, e.g. 'The second edition of Campbell's edition of Plato's "Theætetus"'; but existing usage affords no satisfactory substitute for this inconvenient mode of expression" [OED].
impeach (v.): formerly also empeach, late 14c., "to impede, hinder, prevent," from Anglo-French empecher, Old French empeechier "to hinder, stop, impede; capture, trap, ensnare" (12c., Modern French empêcher), from Late Latin impedicare "to fetter, catch, entangle," from assimilated form of in- "into, in" (see in- (2)) + Latin pedica "a shackle, fetter," from pes (genitive pedis) "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Sense of "accuse a public officer of misconduct" first recorded 1560s, perhaps via Medieval Latin confusion of the word with Latin impetere "attack, accuse" (see impetus). Related: Impeached; impeaching.
jack-in-the-box (n.): also jack-in-a-box, 1560s, a name for a sharp or cheat, "who deceived tradesmen by substituting empty boxes for others full of money" [Robert Nares, "A Glossary of Words, Phrases, Names, and Allusions," London, 1905]. See Jack + box (n.1). As a type of toy involving a figure on a spring inside a box, it is attested by 1702. Also it has been used variously to mean "peddler who sells wares from a temporary stall" (1690s), "an unborn child", a type of gambling game, a hermit crab, a large wooden male screw, the sacrament, and various mechanical devices.
Janus: ancient Italic deity, to the Romans the guardian god of portals, doors, and gates; patron of beginnings and endings, c. 1500, from Latin Ianus, literally "gate, arched passageway," perhaps from PIE root *ei- (1) "to go" (cognates: Sanskrit yanah "path," Old Church Slavonic jado "to travel"). He is shown as having two faces, one in front the other in back (they may represent sunrise and sunset and reflect an original role as a solar deity). His temple in Rome was closed only in times of peace. Related: Janian.
necro-: before vowels, necr-, word-forming element meaning "death, corpse, dead tissue," from Latinized form of Greek nekros "dead body, corpse, dead person," from PIE *nek- (1) "death, natural death" (source also of Sanskrit nasyati "disappears, perishes," Avestan nasyeiti "disappears," nasu- "corpse," Old Persian vi-nathayatiy "he injures;" Latin nex, genitive necis "violent death, murder" (as opposed to mors), nocere "to harm, hurt," noxius "harmful;" Greek nekus "dead" (adj.), nekros "dead body, corpse;" Old Irish ec, Breton ankou, Welsh angeu "death").
observe (v.): late 14c., "to hold to" (a manner of life or course of conduct), from Old French observer, osserver "to observe, watch over, follow" (10c.), from Latin observare "watch over, note, heed, look to, attend to, guard, regard, comply with," from ob "over" (see ob-) + servare "to watch, keep safe," from PIE root *ser- (1) "to protect." Meaning "to attend to in practice, to keep, follow" is attested from late 14c. Sense of "watch, perceive, notice" is 1560s, via notion of "see and note omens." Meaning "to say by way of remark" is from c. 1600. Related: Observed; observing.
unison (n.): 1570s, "note having the same pitch as another; identity in pitch of two or more sounds; interval between tones of the same pitch," especially the interval of an octave, from Middle French unisson "unison, accord of sound" (16c.) or directly from Medieval Latin unisonus "having one sound, sounding the same," from Late Latin unisonius "in immediate sequence in the scale, monotonous," from Latin uni- "one" (see one) + sonus "sound" (see sound (n.1)). Figurative sense of "harmonious agreement" is first attested 1640s.
ultra-: word-forming element meaning "beyond" (ultraviolet) or "extremely" (ultramodern), from Latin ultra- from ultra (adv. and prep.) "beyond, on the other side, on the farther side, past, over, across," from PIE *ol-tero-, suffixed form of root *al- (1) "beyond" (see alias (adv.)). In common use from early 19c., it appears to have arisen from French political designations. As its own word, a noun meaning "extremist" of various stripes, it is first recorded 1817, from French ultra, shortening of ultra-royaliste "extreme royalist."
talus (n.2): "slope," 1640s, from French talus (16c.), from Old French talu "slope, mound, small hill" (12c.), probably from Gallo-Roman *talutum, from Latin talutium "a slope or outcrop of rock debris," perhaps of Celtic origin (compare Welsh, Breton tal "forehead, brow").

OED, however, suggests derivation from root of talus (n.1) in the sense of "heel" which developed in its Romanic descendants. Mainly used of military earthwork at first; meaning "sloping mass of rocky fragments that has fallen from a cliff" is first recorded 1830.
quarry (n.1): "what is hunted," early 14c., quirre "entrails of deer placed on the hide and given to dogs of the chase as a reward," from Anglo-French quirreie, Old French cuiriee "the spoil, quarry" (Modern French curée), altered (by influence of Old French cuir "skin," from Latin corium "hide"), from Old French corée "viscera, entrails," from Vulgar Latin *corata "entrails," from Latin cor "heart," from PIE root *kerd- (1) "heart" (see heart (n.)). Sense of "anything chased in hunt" is first recorded 1610s; earlier "bird targeted by a hawk or other raptor" (late 15c.).
Pandora: 1570s, in Greek mythology, the first mortal woman, made by Hephaestus and given as a bride to Epimetheus, from Greek pandora "all-gifted" (or perhaps "giver of all"), from pan "all" (see pan-) + doron "gift," from PIE root *do- "to give" (see date (n.1)).

Pandora's box (1570s) refers to her gift from Zeus, which was foolishly opened by Epimetheus, upon which all the contents escaped. They were said to be the host of human ills (escaping to afflict mankind), or, in a later version, all the blessings of the god (escaping to be lost), except Hope, which alone remained.
quail (v.): c. 1400, "have a morbid craving;" early 15c., "grow feeble or sick;" mid-15c., "to fade, fail, give way," of unknown origin, perhaps from Middle Dutch quelen "to suffer, be ill," from Proto-Germanic *kwaljan, from PIE *gwele- (1) "to throw, to pierce" (see quell). Or from obsolete quail "to curdle" (late 14c.), from Old French coailler, from Latin coagulare (see coagulate). Sense of "lose heart, shrink, cower" is attested from 1550s. According to OED, common 1520-1650, then rare until 19c., when apparently it was revived by Scott. Related: Quailed; quailing.
venal (adj.): 1650s, "capable of being obtained for a price; that can be corrupted;" 1660s, "offered for sale," from French vénal, Old French venel "for sale" (of prostitutes, etc.; 12c.), from Latin venalis "for sale, to be sold; capable of being bribed," from venum (nominative *venus) "for sale," from PIE root *wes- (1) "to buy, sell" (source also of Sanskrit vasnah "purchase money," vasnam "reward," vasnayati "he bargains, haggles;" Greek onos "price paid, purchase," oneisthai "to buy"). Typically with a bad sense of "ready to sell one's services or influence for money and from sordid motives; to be bought basely or meanly."
ventilate (v.): early 15c., "to scatter, disperse (as the wind does)," from Latin ventilatus, past participle of ventilare "to brandish, toss in the air, winnow, fan, agitate, set in motion," from ventulus "a breeze," diminutive of ventus "wind" (see wind (n.1)). Original notion is of cleaning grain by tossing it in the air and letting the wind blow away the chaff. Meaning "supply a room with fresh air" first recorded 1743, a verbal derivative of ventilation. Formerly with diverse slang senses, including "shoot" (someone), recorded from 1875, on the notion of "make holes in." Related: Ventilated; ventilating.
fiber (n.): late 14c., fibre "a lobe of the liver," also "entrails," from Medieval Latin fibre, from Latin fibra "a fiber, filament; entrails," which is of uncertain origin, perhaps related to Latin filum "a thread, string" (see file (n.1)) or from root of findere "to split" (see fissure).

Meaning "thread-like structure in animal bodies" is from c. 1600 (in plants, 1660s); hence figurative use in reference to force or toughness (1630s). As "textile material," 1827. Fiberboard is from 1897; Fiberglas is attested from 1937, U.S. registered trademark name; in generic use, with lower-case f- and double -s, by 1941. Fiber optics is from 1956.
category (n.): 1580s, from Middle French catégorie, from Late Latin categoria, from Greek kategoria "accusation, prediction, category," verbal noun from kategorein "to speak against; to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to" (or perhaps "against;" see cata-) + agoreuein "to harangue, to declaim (in the assembly)," from agora "public assembly" (see agora). Original sense of "accuse" weakened to "assert, name" by the time Aristotle applied kategoria to his 10 classes of things that can be named.
category should be used by no-one who is not prepared to state (1) that he does not mean class, & (2) that he knows the difference between the two .... [Fowler]
indispensable (adj.): 1530s, "not subject to dispensation," from Medieval Latin *indispensabilis, from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + dispensabilis, from Latin dispensare "disburse, administer, distribute (by weight)" (see dispense). Meaning "necessary" is from 1690s. From 17c. into 19c. often spelled indispensible, but modern dictionaries considered this improper.

As a noun, "indispensable thing," from 1794; c. 1800-1810, after French use, it was the name of a type of pocket bag worn by women. indispensables (1820) also was one of the many 1820s jocular euphemisms for "trousers" (see inexpressible). Related: Indispensably.
ineffable (adj.): late 14c., "beyond expression, too great for words, inexpressible," from Old French ineffable (14c.) or directly from Latin ineffabilis "unutterable," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + effabilis "speakable," from effari "utter," from ex- "out" (see ex-) + fari "to say, speak," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). Meaning "that may not be spoken" is from 1590s. Plural noun ineffables was, for a time, a jocular euphemism for "trousers" (1823; see inexpressible). Related: Ineffably.
inert (adj.): 1640s, "without inherent force, having no power to act or respond," from French inerte (16c.) or directly from Latin inertem (nominative iners) "unskilled, incompetent; inactive, helpless, weak, sluggish; worthless," used of stagnant fluids, uncultivated pastures, expressionless eyes. It is a compound of in- "without, not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + ars (genitive artis) "skill" (see art (n.)). In chemistry, "having no active properties, neutral" (1800), specifically from 1885 of certain chemically inactive, colorless, odorless gases. Of persons or creatures, "indisposed or unable to move or act," from 1774.
incident (n.): early 15c., "something which occurs casually in connection with something else," from Old French incident (13c.), and directly from Latin incidentem (nominative incidens), present participle of incidere "to fall in, fall, find the way; light upon, fall in with; fall upon, occur; happen, befall," from in- "on" (see in- (2)) + -cidere, comb. form of cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). Broader sense of "an occurrence viewed as a separate circumstance" is from mid-15c. Euphemistic meaning "event that might trigger a crisis or political unrest" first attested 1913.
incognito (adj./adv.): 1640s as both adjective ("disguised under an assumed name and character") and adverb ("unknown, with concealed identity"), from Italian incognito "unknown," especially in connection with traveling, from Latin incognitus "unknown, not investigated," from in- "not, opposite of, without" (see in- (1)) + cognitus, past participle of cognoscere "to get to know" (see cognizance). Also as a noun, "an unknown man" (1630s). Feminine form incognita was maintained through 19c. by those scrupulous about Latin. Incog was a common 18c. colloquial abbreviation.
incontinent (adj.): late 14c., "wanting self-restraint," from Old French incontinent (14c.) or directly from Latin incontinentem (nominative incontinens) "immoderate, intemperate, not holding back," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + continens (see continent (adj.)). Originally chiefly of sexual appetites. General sense of "unable to retain" is from 1640s; medical sense of "unable to control bowels or bladder, unable to restrain natural discharges from the body" is attested by 1828.
He was incontynent, and with fleschely lustes he consumyd alle his tyme. ["Speculum Sacerdotale," 15th century]
indifferent (adj.): late 14c., "unbiased, impartial, not preferring one to the other" (of persons), "alike, equal" (of things), from Old French indifferent "impartial" or directly from Latin indifferentem (nominative indifferens) "not differing, not particular, of no consequence, neither good nor evil," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + differens, present participle of differre "set apart" (see differ). Extended sense of "apathetic, no more inclined to one thing than to another" first recorded early 15c.; that of "neither good nor bad" is from 1530s, on notion of "neither more nor less advantageous," but since 17c. it has tended toward "rather bad."
harmony (n.): late 14c., "combination of tones pleasing to the ear," from Old French harmonie, armonie "harmony," also the name of a musical instrument (12c.), from Latin harmonia, from Greek harmonia "agreement, concord of sounds," also as a proper name, the personification of music, literally "means of joining," used of ship-planks, etc., also "settled government, order," related to harmos "fastenings of a door; shoulder," from PIE *ar-ti-, from *ar- "to fit together" (see arm (n.1)). Modern scientific harmony, using combinations of notes to form chords, is from 16c. Sense of "agreement of feeling, concord" is from late 14c.
e-mail: 1982, short for electronic mail (1977; see electronic + mail (n.1)); this led to the contemptuous application of snail mail (1983) to the old system.
Even aerial navigation in 1999 was found too slow to convey and deliver the mails. The pneumatic tube system was even swifter, and with such facilities at hand it is not surprising that people in San Francisco received four daily editions of the Manhattan journals, although the distance between Sandy Hook and the Golden Gate is a matter of 3,600 miles. ["Looking Forward," Arthur Bird, 1899]
Associated Press style guide collapsed it to email 2011.
embarrass (v.): 1670s, "perplex, throw into doubt," from French embarrasser (16c.), literally "to block," from Italian imbarrazzo, from imbarrare "to bar," from assimilated form of in- "into, upon" (see in- (2)) + Vulgar Latin *barra "bar" (see bar (n.1)).

Meaning "to hamper, hinder" is from 1680s. Meaning "make (someone) feel awkward" first recorded 1828. Original sense preserved in embarras de richesse (1751), from French (1726): the condition of having more wealth than one knows what to do with. Related: Embarrassed; embarrassing; embarrassingly.
template (n.): 1670s, templet "horizontal piece under a girder or beam," probably from French templet "weaver's stretcher," diminutive of temple, which meant the same thing, from Latin templum "plank, rafter," also "consecrated place" (see temple (n.1)).

The meaning "pattern or gauge for shaping a piece of work" is first recorded 1819 in this form, earlier temple (1680s); the form was altered mid-19c., probably influenced by plate [Barnhart], but the pronunciation did not begin to shift until more recently (templet is still the primary entry for the word in Century Dictionary).
oppress (v.): mid-14c., from Old French opresser "oppress, afflict; torment, smother" (13c.), from Medieval Latin oppressare, frequentative of Latin opprimere "press against, press together, press down;" figuratively "crush, put down, subdue, prosecute relentlessly" (in Late Latin "to rape"), from ob "against" (see ob-) + premere "to press, push" (see press (v.1)).
It is the due [external] restraint and not the moderation of rulers that constitutes a state of liberty; as the power to oppress, though never exercised, does a state of slavery. [St. George Tucker, "View of the Constitution of the United States," 1803]
Related: Oppressed; oppressing.
manticore (n.): fabulous monster with the body of a lion, head of a man, porcupine quills, and tail or sting of a scorpion, c. 1300, from Latin manticora, from Greek mantikhoras, corruption of martikhoras, perhaps from Iranian compound *mar-tiya-khvara "man-eater;" first element represented by Old Persian maritya- "man" (from PIE *mar-t-yo-, from *mer- "to die," thus "mortal, human;" see mortal (adj.)); second element by Old Persian kvar- "to eat," from PIE root *swel- (1) "to eat, drink" (see swallow (v.)).
parenthesis (n.): 1540s, "words, clauses, etc. inserted into a sentence," from Middle French parenthèse (15c.), from Late Latin parenthesis "addition of a letter to a syllable in a word," from Greek parenthesis, literally "a putting in beside," from parentithenai "put in beside," from para- "beside" (see para- (1)) + en- "in" + tithenai "put, place" (see theme). Sense extension by 1715 from the inserted words to the curved brackets that indicate the words inserted.
A wooden parenthesis; the pillory. An iron parenthesis; a prison. ["Dictionary of Buckish Slang, University Wit and Pickpocket Eloquence," London, 1811]
record (v.): c. 1200, "to repeat, reiterate, recite; rehearse, get by heart," from Old French recorder "tell, relate, repeat, recite, report, make known" (12c.) and directly from Latin recordari "remember, call to mind, think over, be mindful of," from re- "restore" (see re-) + cor (genitive cordis) "heart" (as the metaphoric seat of memory, as in learn by heart), from PIE root *kerd- (1) "heart" (see heart (n.)). Meaning "set down in writing" first attested mid-14c.; that of "put sound or pictures on disks, tape, etc." is from 1892. Related: Recorded; recording.
villa (n.): 1610s, "country mansion of the ancient Romans," from Italian villa "country house, villa, farm," from Latin villa "country house, farm," related to vicus "village, group of houses," from PIE *weik-sla-, suffixed form of root *weik- (1) "clan" (source also of Sanskrit vesah "house," vit "dwelling, house, settlement;" Avestan vis "house, village, clan;" Old Persian vitham "house, royal house;" Greek oikos "house;" Old Church Slavonic visi "village;" Gothic weihs "village;" Lithuanian viešpats "master of the house"). Of modern structures from 1711.
enceinte (adj.): "pregnant, with child," c. 1600, insente, from French enceinte "pregnant" (12c.), from Late Latin incincta (source of Italian incinta), explained by Isidore of Seville (7c.) as "ungirt," from Latin in-, privative prefix (see in- (1)), + cincta, fem. of cinctus, past participle of cingere "to gird" (see cinch). But perhaps the Late Latin word is from past participle of Latin incingere "to put into a girdle" (that is, "to make (a woman) pregnant"), with in- (2) "in, into." Modern form is 18c., perhaps a reborrowing from French.
dialogue (n.): early 13c., "literary work consisting of a conversation between two or more persons," from Old French dialoge, from Latin dialogus, from Greek dialogos "conversation, dialogue," related to dialogesthai "converse," from dia- "across" (see dia-) + legein "speak" (see lecture (n.)).

Sense broadened to "a conversation" c. 1400. Mistaken belief that it can only mean "conversation between two persons" is from confusion of dia- and di- (1); the error goes back to at least 1532, when trialogue was coined needlessly for "a conversation between three persons." A word that has been used for "conversation between two persons" is the hybrid duologue (1864).
die (n.): early 14c. (as a plural, late 14c. as a singular), from Old French de "die, dice," which is of uncertain origin. Common Romanic (cognates: Spanish, Portuguese, Italian dado, Provençal dat, Catalan dau), perhaps from Latin datum "given," past participle of dare (see date (n.1)), which, in addition to "give," had a secondary sense of "to play" (as a chess piece); or else from "what is given" (by chance or Fortune). Sense of "stamping block or tool" first recorded 1690s.
diet (n.1): "regular food," early 13c., from Old French diete (13c.) "diet, pittance, fare," from Medieval Latin dieta "parliamentary assembly," also "a day's work, diet, daily food allowance," from Latin diaeta "prescribed way of life," from Greek diaita, originally "way of life, regimen, dwelling," related to diaitasthai "lead one's life," and from diaitan, originally "separate, select" (food and drink), frequentative of *diainysthai "take apart," from dia- "apart" + ainysthai "take," from PIE root *ai- (1) "to give, allot." Often with a sense of restriction since 14c.; hence put (someone) on a diet (mid-15c.).
insensate (adj.): 1510s, "lacking or deprived of physical senses," from Late Latin insensatus "irrational, foolish," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + sensatus "gifted with sense" (see sensate).

Meaning "irrational, maniacle, lacking or deprived of mental sense" is from 1520s; meaning "lacking or deprived of moral sense, unfeeling" is from 1550s. Insensate means "not capable of feeling sensation," often "inanimate;" insensible means "lacking the power to feel with the senses," hence, often, "unconscious;" insensitive means "having little or no reaction to what is perceived by one's senses," often "tactless." Related: Insensately; insensateness.
install (v.): also instal, formerly also enstall, early 15c., "place in (ecclesiastical) office by seating in an official stall," from Old French installer (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin installare, from Latin in- "in" (see in- (2)) + Medieval Latin stallum "stall," from a Germanic source (compare Old High German stal "standing place;" see stall (n.1)). Related: Installed; installing.
In the church of England the installation of a canon or prebendary of a cathedral consists in solemnly inducting him into his stall in the choir and his place in the chapter. [Century Dictionary]
installment (n.): also instalment, 1580s, "induction into office, act of installing," from install + -ment.

The word meaning "a partial payment on account of debt due" (1776) earlier referred to the arrangement of payment (1732), and is an alteration of Anglo-French estaler "to fix payments," from Old French estal "fixed position, place; stall of a stable, market, or choir," from a Germanic source akin to Old High German stal "standing place" (see stall (n.1)). General sense of "a part of a whole, furnished or produced in advance of the rest" is from 1823. Installment plan is from 1894.
googol (n.): number represented by 1 followed by 100 zeroes, 1940, in "Mathematics and the Imagination," a layman's book on mathematics written by U.S. mathematicians Edward Kasner (1878-1955) and James R. Newman, the word supposedly coined a year or two before by Kasner's 9- (or 8-) year-old nephew (unnamed in the book's account of the event), when asked for a name for an enormous number. Perhaps influenced by comic strip character Barney Google. Googolplex (10 to the power of a googol) coined at the same time, in the same way, with plex.
hep (1): "aware, up-to-date," first recorded 1908 in "Saturday Evening Post," but said to be underworld slang, of unknown origin. Variously said to have been the name of "a fabulous detective who operated in Cincinnati" [Louis E. Jackson and C.R. Hellyer, "A Vocabulary of Criminal Slang," 1914] or a saloonkeeper in Chicago who "never quite understood what was going on ... (but) thought he did" ["American Speech," XVI, 154/1]. Taken up by jazz musicians by 1915. With the rise of hip (adj.) by the 1950s, the use of hep ironically became a clue that the speaker was unaware and not up-to-date.
heroin (n.): 1898, from German Heroin, coined 1898 as trademark registered by Friedrich Bayer & Co. for their morphine substitute. According to tradition the word was coined with chemical suffix -ine (2) (German -in) + Greek heros "hero" (see hero (n.1)) because of the euphoric feeling the drug provides, but no evidence for this seems to have been found so far.
A new hypnotic, to which the name of 'heroin' has been given, has been tried in the medical clinic of Professor Gerhardt in Berlin. ["The Lancet," Dec. 3, 1898]
Herr: German equivalent of Mister (but also used without a name), 1650s, originally "nobler, superior," from Middle High German herre, from Old High German herro, comparative of her "noble, worthy, exalted," from PIE *kei- (2), a color adjective (see hue (n.1)), in suffixed form *koi-ro- here meaning "gray, hoary," hence "gray-haired, venerable." Cognate with Old Frisian hera, Dutch heer; perhaps in this usage a loan-translation of Latin senior. Hence also Herrenvolk "master race," the concept of the German people in Nazi ideology.
iniquity (n.): c. 1300, "hostility, malevolence; a hostile action," from Old French iniquité, iniquiteit "wickedness; unfavorable situation" (12c.), from Latin iniquitatem (nominative iniquitas) "unequalness, unevenness," figuratively "unfavorableness, unfairness, injustice," noun of quality from iniquus "unjust, unequal; slanting, steep," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + aequus "just, equal" (see equal (adj.)).

For the vowel change in the Latin compound, see acquisition. Meaning "evil, wickedness" is from late 14c. Old Iniquity (1610s) was a comic or buffoonish character in old morality plays, representing vice.
matriculate (v.): 1570s, "to admit a student to a college by enrolling his name on the register," from Late Latin matriculatus, past participle of matriculare "to register," from Latin matricula "public register," diminutive of matrix (genitive matricis) "list, roll," also "sources, womb" (see matrix).

The connection of senses in the Latin word seems to be via confusion of Greek metra "womb" (from meter "mother;" see mother (n.1)) and an identical but different Greek word metra meaning "register, lot" (see meter (n.2)). Evidently Latin matrix was used to translate both, though it originally shared meaning with only one. Related: Matriculated; matriculating.
cheat (v.): mid-15c., "to escheat," a shortening of Old French escheat, legal term for revision of property to the state when the owner dies without heirs, literally "that which falls to one," past participle of escheoir "happen, befall, occur, take place; fall due; lapse (legally)," from Late Latin *excadere "fall away, fall out," from Latin ex- "out" (see ex-) + cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). Also compare escheat. The royal officers evidently had a low reputation. Meaning evolved through "confiscate" (mid-15c.) to "deprive unfairly" (1580s). To cheat on (someone) "be sexually unfaithful" first recorded 1934. Related: Cheated; cheating.
checker (n.1): mid-13c., "game of chess (or checkers);" c. 1300, "a chessboard, board with 64 squares for playing chess or similar games; a set of chessmen" a shortening of Old French eschequier "chessboard; a game of chess," from Medieval Latin scaccarium (see check (n.1)). Meaning "pattern of squares" is late 14c. Meaning "a man or marker in the game of checkers" is from 1864. British prefers chequer. From late 14c. as "a checked design." The word had earlier senses of "table covered with checked cloth for counting" (late 12c. in Anglo-Latin), a sense also in Old French (see checker (n.2)).
cheesy (adj.): "cheese-like," late 14c., from cheese (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "cheap, inferior" is attested from 1896, perhaps originally U.S. student slang, along with cheese (n.) "an ignorant, stupid person." In late 19c. British slang, cheesy was "fine, showy" (1858), probably from cheese (n.2) and some suggest the modern derogatory use is an "ironic reversal" of this. The word was in common use in medical writing in the late 19c. to describe morbid substances found in tumors, decaying flesh, etc.
escheat (n.): the reverting of land to a king or lord in certain cases, early 14c., from Anglo-French eschete (late 13c.), Old French eschete "succession, inheritance," literally "that which falls to one," noun use of fem. past participle of escheoir "happen, befall, occur, take place; fall due; lapse (legally)," from Late Latin *excadere "to fall out," from Latin ex- "out, away" (see ex-) + cadere "to fall" (see case (n.1)). As a verb, from late 14c. Related: Escheated; escheating. Late Latin *excadere represents a restored form of excidere, which yielded excise.