Online Etymology Dictionary

crafty (adj.): mid-12c., crafti, from Old English cræftig "strong, powerful," later "skillful, ingenious," degenerating by c. 1200 to "cunning, sly" (but through 15c. also "skillfully done or made; intelligent, learned; artful, scientific") from craft (n.) + -y (2). Related: Craftily; craftiness.
crapulous (adj.): 1530s, "sick from too much drinking," from Latin crapula, from Greek kraipale "hangover, drunken headache, nausea from debauching." The Romans used it for drunkenness itself. English has used it in both senses. Related: Crapulously; crapulousness.
creep (v.): Old English creopan "to creep" (class II strong verb; past tense creap, past participle cropen), from Proto-Germanic *kreupan (source also of Old Frisian kriapa, Middle Dutch crupen, Old Norse krjupa "to creep"), perhaps from a PIE root *g(e)r- "crooked" [Watkins]. Related: Crept; creeping.
crest (n.): early 14c., from Old French creste "tuft, comb" (Modern French crête), from Latin crista "tuft, plume," perhaps related to word for "hair" (such as crinis), but it also was used for crest of a cock or a helmet. Replaced Old English hris.
canal (n.): early 15c., from French canal, chanel "water channel, tube, pipe, gutter" (12c.), from Latin canalis "water pipe, groove, channel," noun use of adjective from canna "reed" (see cane (n.)). Originally in English "a pipe for liquid," its sense transferred by 1670s to "artificial waterway."
candelabrum (n.): 1811, from Latin candelabrum, which meant "candlestick," from candela (see candle). Old English had candeltreow "candle-tree" in same sense. The word was borrowed earlier (late 14c.) from Old French as chaundelabre with the Latin sense. Candelabra is the Latin plural.
candid (adj.): 1620s, "white," from Latin candidum "white; pure; sincere, honest, upright," from candere "to shine," from PIE root *kand- "to glow, to shine" (see candle). In English, metaphoric extension to "frank" first recorded 1670s (compare French candide "open, frank, ingenuous, sincere"). Of photography, 1929. Related: Candidly; candidness.
candor (n.): "openness of mind, impartiality, frankness," c. 1600, from Latin candor "purity, openness," originally "whiteness," from candere "to shine, to be white" (see candle). Borrowed earlier in English (c. 1500) with the Latin literal sense "extreme whiteness."
canoe (n.): 1550s, originally in a West Indian context, from Spanish canoa, a term used by Columbus, from Arawakan (Haiti) canaoua. Extended to rough-made or dugout boats generally. Early variants in English included cano, canow, canoa, etc., before spelling settled down c. 1600.
cape (n.1): garment, late Old English capa, cæppe, from Late Latin cappa "hooded cloak" (see cap (n.)). The modern word and meaning ("sleeveless cloak") are a mid-16c. reborrowing from French cape, from Spanish, in reference to a Spanish style.
captive (adj.): late 14c., "imprisoned, enslaved," from Latin captivus "caught, taken prisoner," from captus, past participle of capere "to take, hold, seize" (see capable). As a noun from c. 1400; an Old English noun was hæftling, from hæft "taken, seized."
dago (n.): 1823, from Spanish Diego "James." Originally used of Spanish or Portuguese sailors on English or American ships; by 1900 it had broadened to include non-sailors and shifted to mean chiefly "Italian." James the Greater is the patron saint of Spain, and Diego as generic for "a Spaniard" is attested from 1610s.
dame (n.): early 13c., from Old French dame "lady, mistress, wife," from Late Latin domna, from Latin domina "lady, mistress of the house," from Latin domus "house" (see domestic). Legal title for the wife of a knight or baronet. Slang sense of "woman" first attested 1902 in American English.
dark (adj.): Old English deorc "dark, obscure, gloomy; sad, cheerless; sinister, wicked," from Proto-Germanic *derkaz (source also of Old High German tarchanjan "to hide, conceal"). "Absence of light" especially at night is the original meaning. Application to colors is 16c. Theater slang for "closed" is from 1916.
darling (n.): Old English deorling "darling, favorite minion," double diminutive of deor "dear" (see dear (adj.)). The vowel shift from -e- to -a- (16c.) is usual for -er- followed by a consonant. "It is better to be An olde mans derlyng, than a yong mans werlyng" (1562).
dart (n.): early 14c., from Old French dart "throwing spear, arrow," from Proto-Germanic *darothuz source also of Old English daroð, Old High German tart, Old Norse darraþr "dart"). Italian and Spanish dardo are said to be from Germanic by way of Old Provençal.
deadwood (n.): 1887 in figurative sense of "useless person or thing," originally American English, from dead (adj.) + wood (n.). Dead wood in a forest is useful as firewood; perhaps the reference here is to the dried up parts of plants grown for commercial production of flowers or fruit.
deal (n.2): "plank or board of pine," c. 1400, from Low German (compare Middle Low German dele), from Proto-Germanic *theljon, from PIE root *tel- "ground, floor." An Old English derivative was þelu "hewn wood, board, flooring."
debonair (adj.): c. 1200, "mild, gentle, kind courteous," from Old French debonaire, from de bon' aire "of good race," originally used of hawks, hence, "thoroughbred" (opposite of French demalaire). Used in Middle English to mean "docile, courteous," it became obsolete and was revived with an altered sense of "pleasant, affable" (1680s).
culprit (n.): 1670s, from Anglo-French cul prit, contraction of Culpable: prest (d'averrer nostre bille) "guilty, ready (to prove our case)," words used by prosecutor in opening a trial. It seems the abbreviation cul. prit was mistaken in English for an address to the defendant.
curd (n.): c. 1500, metathesis of crud (late 14c.), originally "any coagulated substance," probably from Old English crudan "to press, drive," from PIE root *greut- "to press, coagulate," perhaps via ancestor of Gaelic gruth (because cognates are unknown in other Germanic or Romance languages).
curl (v.): mid-15c., metathesis of crulle (c. 1300), probably from an unrecorded Old English word or from Middle Dutch krul "curly," from Proto-Germanic *krusl- (source also of East Frisian krull "lock of hair," Middle High German krol, Norwegian krull, Danish krølle "curl"). The noun is recorded from c. 1600.
curriculum (n.): 1824, from Modern Latin transferred use of classical Latin curriculum "a running, course, career" (also "a fast chariot, racing car"), from currere (see current (adj.)). Used in English as a Latin word since 1630s at Scottish universities.
ability (n.): late 14c., from Old French ableté "expert at handling (something)," from Latin habilitatem (nominative habilitas) "aptitude," noun of quality from habilis "easy to manage, handy" (see able). One case where a Latin silent -h- failed to make a return in English (despite efforts of 16c.-17c. scholars); see H.
acacia (n.): 1540s, from Latin acacia, from Greek akakia "thorny Egyptian tree," perhaps related to Greek ake "point, thorn," from PIE root *ak- "sharp" (see acrid). Or perhaps a Hellenization of some Egyptian word. From late 14c. in English as the name of a type of gum used as an astringent, etc.
caboose (n.): 1747, "ship's cookhouse," from Middle Dutch kambuis "ship's galley," from Low German kabhuse "wooden cabin on ship's deck;" probably a compound whose elements correspond to English cabin and house (n.). Railroading sense is by 1859.
caddy (n.): "small box for tea," 1792, from Malay kati a weight equivalent to about a pound and a third (in English from 1590s as catty), adopted as a standard mid-18c. by British companies in the East Indies. Apparently the word for a measure of tea was transferred to the chest it was carried in.
caffeine (n.): trimethyl-derivative of xanthine, 1830, from German Kaffein, coined by chemist F.F. Runge (1795-1867), apparently from German Kaffee "coffee" (see coffee) + chemical suffix -ine (2) (German -in). The form of the English word may be via French caféine.
cahoots (n.): 1829, American English, of unknown origin; said to be perhaps from French cahute "cabin, hut" (12c.), but U.S. sources credit it to French cohorte (see cohort), a word said to have been in use in the U.S. South and West with a sense of "companions, confederates."
Cajun: 1868, Cagian, dialectic pronunciation of Acadian, from Acadia, former French colony in what is now Canadian Maritimes. Its French setters were dispersed and exiled by the English and thousands made their way to New Orleans in the period 1764-1788.
Calvary: name of the mount of the Crucifixion, late 14c., from Latin Calvaria (Greek Kraniou topos), translating Aramaic gulgulta "place of the skull" (see Golgotha). Rendered literally in Old English as Heafodpannan stow. Latin Calvaria is related to calvus "bald" (see Calvin).
Calypso: sea nymph in the "Odyssey," literally "hidden, hider" (perhaps originally a death goddess) from Greek kalyptein "to cover, conceal," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save," root of English Hell (see cell). The type of West Indian song is so called from 1934, but the origin of the name is obscure.
Cambridge: Old English Grontabricc (c.745) "Bridge on the River Granta" (a Celtic river name, of obscure origin). The change to Cante- and later Cam- was due to Norman influence. The river name Cam is a back-formation in this case, but Cam also was a legitimate Celtic river name, meaning "crooked."
camomile (n.): mid-13c., from Old French camemile, from Late Latin camomilla, from Latin chamomilla, from Greek chamaimelon, literally "earth apple," from chamai "on the ground" (also "dwarf;" see chameleon) + melon "apple" (see malic). So called for its scent. Old English had it as camemalon.
cringe (v.): early 13c., from causative of Old English cringan "give way, fall (in battle), become bent," from Proto-Germanic *krank- "bend, curl up" (source also of Old Norse kringr, Dutch kring, German Kring "circle, ring"). Related: Cringed; cringing. As a noun from 1590s.
crop (n.): Old English cropp "bird's craw," also "head or top of a sprout or herb." The common notion is "protuberance." Cognate with Old High German kropf, Old Norse kroppr. Meaning "harvest product" is c. 1300, probably through the verbal meaning "cut off the top of a plant" (c. 1200).
crumble (v.): late 15c., kremelen, from Old English *crymelan, presumed frequentative of gecrymman "to break into crumbs," from cruma (see crumb). The -b- is 16c., probably on analogy of French-derived words like humble, where it belongs, or by influence of crumb. Related: Crumbled; crumbling.
crusade (n.): 1706, respelling of croisade (1570s), from Middle French croisade (16c.), Spanish cruzada, both from Medieval Latin cruciata, past participle of cruciare "to mark with a cross," from Latin crux (genitive crucis) "cross." Other Middle English forms were croiserie, creiserie. Figurative sense of "campaign against a public evil" is from 1786.
cubit (n.): ancient unit of measure based on the forearm from elbow to fingertip, usually from 18 to 22 inches, early 14c., from Latin cubitum "the elbow," from PIE *keu(b)- "to bend." Such a measure, known by a word meaning "forearm" or the like, was known to many peoples (Greek pekhys, Hebrew ammah, English ell).
culpable (adj.): late 13c., coupable, from Old French coupable (12c., Modern French coupable), from Latin culpabilis "worthy of blame," from culpare "to blame," from culpa "crime, fault, blame, guilt, error." English (and for a time French) restored the first Latin -l- in later Middle Ages.
decade (n.): mid-15c., "ten parts" (of anything; originally in reference to the books of Livy), from Middle French décade (14c.), from Late Latin decadem (nominative decas), from Greek dekas (genitive dekados) "group of ten," from deka "ten" (see ten). Meaning "period of ten years" is 1590s in English.
decimation (n.): mid-15c., from Late Latin decimationem (nominative decimatio), noun of action from past participle stem of Latin decimare "the removal or destruction of one-tenth," from decem "ten" (see ten). Earliest sense in English was of a tithe; punishment sense is from 1580s; transferred sense of "much destruction, severe loss" recorded from 1680s.
declaim (v.): late 14c., from Middle French déclamer and directly from Latin declamare "to practice public speaking, to bluster," from de- intensive prefix + clamare "to cry, shout" (see claim (v.)). At first in English spelled declame, but altered under influence of claim. Related: Declaimed; declaiming.
deconstruction (n.): 1973, as a strategy of critical analysis, in translations from French of the works of philosopher Jacques Derrida (1930-2004). The word was used in English in a literal sense from 1865 of building and architecture, and in late 1860s sometimes as an ironic variant of Reconstruction in the U.S. political sense.
decor (n.): 1897, from French décor (18c.), back-formation from décorer "to decorate" (14c.), from Latin decorare (see decorate). It thus duplicates Latin decor "beauty, elegance, charm, grace, ornament." Originally a theater term in English; general use is since 1926.
decry (v.): 1610s, from French decrier (14c.; Old French descrier "cry out, announce"), from de- "down, out" (see de-) + crier "to cry," from Latin quiritare (see cry (v.)). In English, the sense has been colored by the presumption that de- in this word means "down."
deem (v.): Old English deman "to judge, condemn, think, compute," from root of dom (see doom (n.)). Originally "to pronounce judgment" as well as "to form an opinion." The two judges of the Isle of Man were called deemsters in 17c., a title formerly common throughout England and Scotland and preserved in the surname Dempster.
deface (v.): mid-14c., "to obliterate," from Old French desfacier "mutilate, destroy, disfigure," from des- "away from" (see dis-) + Vulgar Latin *facia (see face (n.)). Weaker sense of "to mar, make ugly" is late 14c. in English. Related: Defaced; defacing.
defecate (v.): 1570s, "to purify," from Latin defaecatus, past participle of defaecare "cleanse from dregs, purify," from the phrase de faece "from dregs" (plural faeces; see feces). Excretory sense first recorded 1830 (defecation), American English, from French. Related: Defecated; defecating.
a (2): as in twice a day, etc., from Old English an "on," in this case "on each." The sense was extended from time to measure, price, place, etc. The habit of tacking a onto a gerund (as in a-hunting we will go) died out 18c.