Online Etymology Dictionary

den (n.): Old English denn "wild animal's lair," from Proto-Germanic *danjan (source also of Middle Low German denne "lowland, wooded vale, den," Old English denu "valley," Old Frisian dene "down," Old High German tenni, German tenne "threshing floor," from PIE *dan- "low ground"). Sense of "small room" is 1771, originally colloquial.
laundry (n.): late 14c., "place for washing;" mid-15c., "act of washing," a contraction (compare launder) of Middle English lavendrie (late 13c.), from Old French lavanderie "wash-house," from Vulgar Latin lavandaria "things to be washed," plural of lavandarium, from lavare "to wash" (see lave). English meaning "articles that need to be or have been laundered" is from 1916. As a verb, from 1880. Laundry list in figurative sense is from 1958.
lawn (n.1): "turf, stretch of grass," 1540s, laune "glade, open space in a forest or between woods," from Middle English launde (c. 1300), from Old French lande "heath, moor, barren land; clearing" (12c.), from Gaulish (compare Breton lann "heath"), or from a cognate Germanic word, from Proto-Germanic *landam-, source of English land (n.). The -d perhaps was mistaken for an affix and dropped. Sense of "grassy ground kept mowed" first recorded 1733. Lawn-tennis is from 1884.
lawyer (n.): late 14c. lauier, lawer, lawere (mid-14c. as a surname), "one versed in law, one whose profession is suits in court or client advice on legal rights," from Middle English lawe "law" (see law) + -iere. Spelling with -y- predominated from 17c. (see -yer). In the New Testament (Luke xiV:3, etc.) "interpreter of Mosaic law." Old English had lahwita, with wita "sage, wise man; adviser councilor." Related: Lawyerly.
in-fighting (n.): 1816, in pugilism, the practice of getting at close quarters with an opponent; see in + fighting. Old English infiht (n.) meant "brawl within a house or between members of a household." Middle English had infight (v.) "to attack" (c. 1300); the modern verb infight "fight at close quarters" (1916) appears to be a back-formation from in-fighting. Related: In-fighter (1812).
indeed (adv.): c. 1600, a contraction into one word of the prepositional phrase in dede "in fact, in truth" (early 14c.), from Old English dæd "a doing, act, action, event" (see deed (n.)). As an interjection, 1590s; as an expression of surprise or disgust, 1834. Emphatic form yes (or no) indeedy attested from 1856, American English.
Indies: "India and adjacent regions and islands," 1550s, plural of Indie, Indy, from Middle English Ynde (early 13c.), the usual word in Middle English for "India," from the Old French form of Latin India (see India). Commonly applied to Asia and the East generally; later in a time of geographical confusion, it was applied to the Caribbean basin, which was distinguished from Asia proper by being called the West Indies.
gland (n.): 1690s, from French glande (Old French glandre "a gland," 13c.), from Latin glandula "gland of the throat, tonsil," diminutive of glans (genitive glandis) "acorn, nut; acorn-shaped ball," from PIE root *gwele- (2) "acorn" (source also of Greek balanos, Armenian kalin, Old Church Slavonic zelodi "acorn;" Lithuanian gile "oak"). Earlier English form was glandula (c. 1400); Middle English also had glandele "inflamed gland" (c. 1400). Extended from tonsils to glands generally.
glint (v.): 1787 (intransitive), from Scottish, where apparently it survived as an alteration of glent, from Middle English glenten "gleam, flash, glisten" (mid-15c.), from a Scandinavian source (compare Norwegian gletta "to look," dialectal Swedish glinta "to shine"), from the group of Germanic *gl- words meaning "smooth; shining; joyous," from PIE *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold (see glass (n.)). Reintroduced into literary English by Burns. Related: Glinted; glinting.
glisten (v.): Old English glisnian "to glisten, gleam," from Proto-Germanic *glis- (source also of Old English glisian "to glitter, shine," Old Frisian glisa "to shine," Middle High German glistern "to sparkle," Old Danish glisse "to shine"), from PIE *ghleis-, from root *ghel- (2) "to shine," with derivatives referring to bright materials and gold (see glass (n.), and compare glint and glad). Related: Glistened; glistening.
harbor (n.): "lodging for ships; sheltered recess in a coastline," early 12c., a specialized sense of Middle English herberwe "temporary dwelling place, quarters, lodgings; an inn; the camp of an army in the field," probably from Old English here-beorg (West Saxon), *here-berg (Anglian) "lodgings, quarters," from Proto-Germanic compound *harja-bergaz "shelter, lodgings," from *heri "army, host" (see harry (v.)) + *burzjan- "protection, shelter" (see bury (v.)). Perhaps modeled on Old Norse herbergi "room, lodgings, quarters."
wapentake (n.): division of certain English counties (equivalent to a hundred in other places), Old English wæpengetæc "division of a riding," from Old Norse vapnatak, from vapna, genitive plural of vapn "weapon" (see weapon) + tak "a touching, a taking hold, a grasping," from taka "to take, grasp," from Proto-Germanic *tak- (see take (v.)). Perhaps it originally was an armed muster with inspection of weapons, or else an assembly where consent was expressed by brandishing swords and spears.
watch (v.): Old English wæccan "keep watch, be awake," from Proto-Germanic *wakjan, from PIE *weg- (2) "to be strong, lively;" essentially the same word as Old English wacian "be or remain awake" (see wake (v.)); perhaps a Northumbrian form of it. Meaning "be vigilant" is from c. 1200. That of "to guard (someone or some place), stand guard" is late 14c. Sense of "to observe, keep under observance" is mid-15c. Related: Watched; watching.
Xmas (n.): "Christmas," 1551, X'temmas, wherein the X is an abbreviation for Christ in Christmas, English letter X being identical in form (but not sound signification) to Greek chi, the first letter of Greek Christos "Christ" (see Christ). The earlier way to abbreviate the word in English was Xp- or Xr- (corresponding to the "Chr-" in Greek Χριστος), and the form Xres mæsse for "Christmas" appears in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" (c. 1100).
bass (n.): freshwater fish, c. 1400 corruption of Middle English baers, from Old English bærs "a fish, perch," from Proto-Germanic base *bars- "sharp" (source also of Middle Dutch baerse, Middle High German bars, German Barsch "perch," German barsch "rough"), from PIE root *bhar- "point, bristle" (see bristle (n.)). The fish was so called for its dorsal fins. For loss of -r-, see ass (n.2).
yammer (v.): late 15c., "to lament," probably from Middle Dutch jammeren and cognate Middle English yeoumeren, "to mourn, complain," from Old English geomrian "to lament," from geomor "sorrowful," probably of imitative origin. Cognate with Old Saxon jamar "sad, sorrowful," German Jammer "lamentation, misery." Meaning "to make loud, annoying noise" is attested from 1510s. Related: Yammered; yammering.
yearn (v.): Old English giernan (West Saxon), geornan (Mercian), giorna (Northumbrian) "to strive, be eager, desire, seek for, beg, demand," from Proto-Germanic *gernjan (source also of Gothic gairnjan "to desire," German begehren "to desire;" Old High German gern, Old Norse gjarn "desirous," Old English georn "eager, desirous," German gern "gladly, willingly"), from PIE root *gher- (5) "to like, want" (see hortatory). Related: Yearned; yearning.
yes (adv.): Old English gise, gese "so be it!," probably from gea, ge "so" (see yea) + si "be it!," third person imperative of beon "to be" (see be). Originally stronger than simple yea. Used in Shakespeare mainly as an answer to negative questions. As a noun from 1712. Yes-man is first recorded 1912, American English.
yoke (n.): Old English geoc "contrivance for fastening a pair of draft animals," earlier geoht "pair of draft animals" (especially oxen), from Proto-Germanic *yukam (source also of Old Saxon juk, Old Norse ok, Danish aag, Middle Dutch joc, Dutch juk, Old High German joh, German joch, Gothic juk "yoke"), from PIE root *yeug- "to join" (see jugular). Figurative sense of "heavy burden, oppression, servitude" was in Old English.
wain (n.): Old English wægn "wheeled vehicle, wagon, cart," from Proto-Germanic *wagnaz (see wagon). Largely fallen from use by c. 1600, but kept alive by poets, who found it easier to rhyme on than wagon. As a name for the Big Dipper/Plough, it is from Old English (see Charles's Wain).
fell (v.1): Old English fællan (Mercian), fyllan (West Saxon) "make fall, cause to fall," also "strike down, demolish, kill," from Proto-Germanic *falljan "strike down, cause to fall" (source also of Old Frisian falla, Old Saxon fellian, Dutch fellen, Old High German fellen, German fällen, Old Norse fella, Danish fælde), causative of *fallan (source of Old English feallan; see fall (v.)), showing i-mutation. Related: Felled; feller; felling.
fere (n.): "companion" (obsolete), from Middle English fere, a shortening of Old English gefera "associate, comrade, fellow-disciple; wife, man, servant," from Proto-Germanic *for-ja-, related to the root of faran "to go, travel" (see fare (v.)). Literally "one who goes with another." Compare German Gefährte "companion," from the same root; also, from causative *forjan-, Old High German fuoren. "to lead," modern German Fuhrer.
fiancee (n.): "woman to whom one is betrothed," 1844 (1837 as a French word in English), from French fiancée, fem. of fiancé, past participle of fiancer "to betroth," from fiance "a promise, trust," from fier "to trust," from Vulgar Latin *fidare "to trust," from Latin fidus "faithful" from the same root as fides "faith" (see faith). It has all but expelled native betrothed. The English verb fiance, now obsolete, was used c. 1450-1600 for "to engage to be married."
care (n.): Old English caru, cearu "sorrow, anxiety, grief," also "burdens of mind; serious mental attention," from Proto-Germanic *karo "lament; grief, care" (see care (v.)). Different sense evolution in related Dutch karig "scanty, frugal," German karg "stingy, scanty." The sense development in English is from "cry" to "lamentation" to "grief." Meaning "charge, oversight, protection" is attested c. 1400, the sense in care of in addressing. To take care of "take in hand, do" is from 1580s.
cart (n.): c. 1200, from Old Norse kartr or a similar Scandinavian source, akin to and replacing Old English cræt "cart, wagon, chariot," perhaps originally "body of a cart made of wickerwork, hamper" and related to Middle Dutch cratte "woven mat, hamper," Dutch krat "basket," Old English cradol (see cradle (n.)). To put the cart before the horse in a figurative sense is from 1510s in those words; the image in other words dates to mid-14c.
casket (n.): mid-15c., "small box for jewels, etc.," possibly a diminutive of English cask with -et, or from a corruption of Middle French casset (see cassette). Meaning "coffin" is American English, probably euphemistic, attested by 1832.
Caskets! a vile modern phrase, which compels a person ... to shrink ... from the idea of being buried at all. [Hawthorne, "Our Old Home," 1863]
ado (n.): late 14c., "conflict, fighting; difficulty, trouble," compounded from at do, dialectal in Norse influenced areas of England for to do, as some Scandinavian languages used at with infinitive of a verb where Modern English uses to. For sense development, compare to-do. Meaning "fuss" is from early 15c. Also used in Middle English for "dealings, traffic," and "sexual intercourse" (both c. 1400).
afore (adv.): Old English onforan "before, at the beginning of, in front of," from phrase on foran, from on (prep.) + foran (adv.) "in front," dative of for.

In some cases probably it represents Old English ætforan "at-fore." Once the literary equivalent of before, it now has been replaced by that word except in nautical use and in combinations such as aforesaid, aforethought.
derby (n.): type of hat," manufactured in U.S. 1850, name appears 1870, perhaps from annual Derby horse race in England, where this type of hat was worn. Race was begun 1780 by the 12th Earl of Derby; the name was used for any major horse race after 1875. Derby the English shire is Old English Deorby "deer village," from deor "deer" + by "habitation, homestead," from a Scandinavian source (see bylaw).
teem (v.1): "abound, swarm, be prolific," Old English teman (Mercian), tieman (West Saxon) "beget, give birth to, bring forth, produce, propagate," from Proto-Germanic *tau(h)mjan (denominative), from PIE *deuk- "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Related to team (n.) in its now-obsolete Old English sense of "family, brood of young animals." The meaning "abound, swarm" is first recorded 1590s, on the notion of "be full of as if ready to give birth." Related: Teemed; teeming.
orbit (n.): late 14c., "the eye socket," from Old French orbite or directly from Medieval Latin orbita, transferred use of Latin orbita "wheel track, beaten path, rut, course, orbit" (see orb). Astronomical sense first recorded 1690s in English; it was in classical Latin, revived in Gerard of Cremona's translation of Avicenna. The Old English word for "eye socket" was eaghring.
mandrill (n.): "large baboon," 1744, perhaps ultimately from an African language, but formed into English components man + drill (n.4) "baboon," which is of W.African origin. The earliest reference reports the name is what the animal was "called by the white men in this country" (Sierra Leone). French mandrill, Spanish mandril seem to be from English.
mane (n.): Old English manu "mane," from Proto-Germanic *mano (source also of Old Norse mön, Old Frisian mana, Middle Dutch mane, Dutch manen, Old High German mana, German Mähne "mane"), from PIE *mon- "neck, nape of the neck" (source also of Sanskrit manya "nape of the neck," Old English mene "necklace," Latin monile "necklace," Welsh mwng "mane," Old Church Slavonic monisto, Old Irish muin "neck").
manifold (adj.): Old English monigfald (Anglian), manigfeald (West Saxon), "various, varied in appearance, complicated; numerous, abundant," from manig (see many) + -feald (see -fold). A common Germanic compound (Old Frisian manichfald, Middle Dutch menichvout, German mannigfalt, Swedish mångfalt, Gothic managfalþs), perhaps a loan-translation of Latin multiplex (see multiply). Retains the original pronunciation of many. Old English also had a verbal form, manigfealdian "to multiply, abound, increase, extend."
newfangled (adj.): late 15c., "addicted to novelty," literally "ready to grasp at all new things," from adjective newefangel "fond of novelty" (late 14c.), from new + -fangel "inclined to take," from root of Old English fon "to capture" (see fang). Sense of "lately come into fashion" first recorded 1530s. Fanglement "act of fashioning; something made" is from 1660s. Middle English had gar-fangel "fish-spear."
nicky-tam (n.): also nicky tam, "garter worn over trousers," 1911, from Scottish, from shortened form of knickers + Scottish & northern English dialect taum, from Old Norse taumr "cord, rein, line," cognate with Old English team (see team). Originally a string tied by Scottish farmers around rolled-up trousers to keep the legs of them out of the dirt.
niggard (n.): "mean person, miser," late 14c., nygart, of uncertain origin. The suffix suggests French origin (see -ard), but the root word is possibly from earlier nig "stingy" (c. 1300), perhaps from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse hnøggr "stingy," from Proto-Germanic *khnauwjaz (source of Swedish njugg "close, careful," German genau "precise, exact"), and to Old English hneaw "stingy, niggardly," which did not survive in Middle English.
parse (v.): 1550s, "to state the parts of speech in a sentence," verb use of Middle English pars (n.) "part of speech" (c. 1300), from Old French pars, plural of part "part," from Latin pars (see part (n.)) in school question, Quae pars orationis? "What part of speech?" Transferred (non-grammatical) use is from 1788. Pars was a common plural of part (n.) in early Middle English. Related: Parsed; parsing.
parsnip (n.): 16c., parsnepe, corruption (by influence of Middle English nepe "turnip;" see neep) of Middle English passenep (late 14c.), from Old French pasnaise "parsnip," also "male member" (Modern French panais), from Latin pastinaca "parsnip, carrot," from pastinum "two-pronged fork" (related to pastinare "to dig up the ground"); so called from the shape of the root. The parsnip was considered a kind of turnip.
become (v.): Old English becuman "happen, come about," also "meet with, arrive," from Proto-Germanic *bikweman "become" (source also of Dutch bekomen, Old High German biqueman "obtain," German bekommen, Gothic biquiman). A compound of be- and come; it drove out Old English weorðan. Meaning "to look well" is early 14c., from earlier sense of "to agree with, be fitting" (early 13c.).
beet (n.): Old English bete "beet, beetroot," from Latin beta, said to be of Celtic origin. Common in Old English, then lost till c. 1400. Still usually spoken of in plural in U.S. A general West Germanic borrowing, cognates: Old Frisian bete, Middle Dutch bete, Old High German bieza, German Beete.
beetle (v.): "project, overhang," c. 1600, back-formation from bitelbrouwed "grim-browed, sullen" (mid-14c.), from bitel "sharp-edged, sharp" (c. 1200), probably a compound from Old English *bitol "biting, sharp," related to bite, + brow, which in Middle English meant "eyebrow," not "forehead." Meaning "to overhang dangerously" (of cliffs, etc.) is from c. 1600. Related: Beetled; beetling.
behold (v.): Old English bihaldan (West Saxon behealdan) "give regard to, hold in view," also "to keep hold of, to belong to," from be- + haldan, healdan (see hold). Related: Beheld; beholding. A common West Germanic compound, compare Old Saxon bihaldan "hold, keep," Old Frisian bihalda, Old High German bihaltan, German behalten, but "[t]he application to watching, looking, is confined to English" [OED].
belong (v.): mid-14c., "to go along with, properly relate to," from be- intensive prefix, + longen "to go," from Old English langian "pertain to, to go along with," which is of unknown origin. Senses of "be the property of" and "be a member of" first recorded late 14c. Cognate with Middle Dutch belanghen, Dutch belangen, German belangen. Replaced earlier Old English gelang, with completive prefix ge-.
vowel (n.): c. 1300, from Old French voieul (Modern French voyelle), from Latin vocalis, in littera vocalis, literally "vocal letter," from vox (genitive vocis) "voice" (see voice (n.)). Vowel shift in reference to the pronunciation change between Middle and Modern English is attested from 1909. The Hawaiian word hooiaioia, meaning "certified," has the most consecutive vowels of any word in current human speech; the English record-holder is queueing.
when (adv.): Old English hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Proto-Germanic *hwan- (source also of Old Saxon hwan, Old Frisian hwenne, Middle Dutch wan, Old High German hwanne, German wann "when," wenn "if, whenever"), from pronominal stem *hwa-, from PIE interrogative base *kwo- (see who). Equivalent to Latin quom, cum. As a conjunction in late Old English. Say when "tell me when to stop pouring you this drink" is from 1889.
whet (v.): Old English hwettan "to whet, sharpen," figuratively "incite, encourage," from Proto-Germanic *hwatjan (source also of Old Norse hvetja "to sharpen, encourage," Middle Low German, Middle Dutch wetten, Old High German wezzan, German wetzen "to sharpen," Gothic ga-hvatjan "to sharpen, incite"), from PIE root *kwed- "to sharpen" (source also of Sanskrit codati "incites," literally "sharpens;" Old English hwæt "brave, bold," Old Saxon hwat "sharp").
white (adj.): Old English hwit "bright, radiant; clear, fair," also as a noun (see separate entry), from Proto-Germanic *hwitaz (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian hwit, Old Norse hvitr, Dutch wit, Old High German hwiz, German weiß, Gothic hveits), from PIE *kweid-o-, suffixed form of root *kweit- "white; to shine" (source also of Sanskrit svetah "white;" Old Church Slavonic sviteti "to shine," svetu "light;" Lithuanian šviesti "to shine," svaityti "to brighten").

As a surname, originally with reference to fair hair or complexion, it is one of the oldest in English, being well-established before the Conquest. Meaning "morally pure" was in Old English. Association with royalist causes is late 18c. Slang sense of "honorable, fair" is 1877, American English; in Middle English it meant "gracious, friendly, favorable." The racial sense "of those races (chiefly European or of European extraction) characterized by light complexion" is recorded from c. 1600; meaning "characteristic of or pertaining to white people" is from 1852, American English. White supremacy attested from 1884, American English; white flight is from 1966, American English.

White way "brightly illuminated street in a big city" is from 1908. White flag of truce or surrender is from c. 1600. White lie is attested from 1741. White Christmas is attested from 1847. White House as the name of the U.S. presidential residence is recorded from 1811. White water "river rapids" is recorded from 1580s. White Russian "language of Byelorussia" is recorded from 1850; the mixed drink is from c. 1978. Astronomical white dwarf is from 1924. White witch, one who used the power for good, is from 1620s.
whittle (v.): 1550s, "to cut thin shavings from (something) with a knife," from Middle English whittel "a knife," especially a large one (c. 1400), variant of thwittle (late 14c.), from Old English þwitan "to cut," from Proto-Germanic *thwit- (source also of Old Norse þveita "to hew"), from PIE root *twei- "to agitate, shake, toss." Figurative sense is attested from 1746. Related: Whittled; whittling.
cedar (n.): Old English ceder, blended in Middle English with Old French cedre, both from Latin cedrus, from Greek kedros "cedar, juniper," origin uncertain. Cedar oil was used by the Egyptians in embalming as a preservative against decay and the word for it was used figuratively for "immortality" by the Romans. Cedar chest attested from 1722. Related: Cedrine.