Online Etymology Dictionary

tonight (adv.): Old English toniht "in the coming night," from to "at, on" (see to) + niht (see night). As a noun, "in the night after the present day," early 14c. Written as two words until 18c., after which it was to-night until early 20c.
toot (v.): c. 1500, of horns, ultimately imitative, also found in Middle Low German and Low German tuten "blow a horn." Related: Tooted; tooting. Tooting as a strong affirmative (as in you're damned tootin') is attested from 1932, American English.
mien (n.): "facial expression," 1510s, probably a shortening of Middle English demean "bearing, demeanor" (see demeanor) and influenced by Middle French mine "appearance, facial expression," which is of unknown origin, possibly Celtic (compare Breton min "beak, muzzle, nose," Irish men "mouth").
migraine (n.): late 14c., megrim, from Old French migraigne (13c.), from vulgar pronunciation of Late Latin hemicrania "pain in one side of the head, headache," from Greek hemikrania, from hemi- "half" + kranion "skull" (see cranium). The Middle English form was re-spelled 1777 on the French model. Related: Migrainous.
philosophe (n.): "Enlightenment rationalist and skeptic," especially in reference to any of the French Encyclopædists, often disparaging (when used by believers), 1774, from French philosophe, literally "philosopher" (see philosopher). Usually italicized in English, but nativized by Peter Gay ("The Enlightenment," 1966) and others. Also philosophist (1798).
rivet (n.): c. 1400, from Old French rivet "nail, rivet," from Old French river "to clench, fix, fasten," possibly from Middle Dutch wriven "turn, grind," related to rive (v.). The English word may be directly from Middle Dutch.
roar (v.): Old English rarian "roar, wail, lament, bellow, cry," probably of imitative origin (compare Middle Dutch reeren, German röhren "to roar;" Sanskrit ragati "barks;" Lithuanian reju "to scold;" Old Church Slavonic revo "I roar;" Latin raucus "hoarse"). Related: Roared; roaring.
roe (n.2): "small deer," Old English ra, from raha, from Proto-Germanic *raikhaz (source also of Old Norse ra, Old Saxon reho, Middle Dutch and Dutch ree, Old High German reh, German Reh "roe"), of uncertain origin; perhaps from PIE root *rei- "streaked, spotted, striped in various colors."
phylum (n.): "division of the plant or animal kingdom," 1868, Modern Latin, coined by French naturalist Georges Léopole Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832) from Greek phylon "race, stock," related to phyle "tribe, clan" (see physic). The immediate source of the English word probably is from German.
pi (n.): Greek letter, from Hebrew, literally "little mouth." As the name of the mathematical constant, from 1841 in English, used in Latin 1748 by Swiss mathematician Leonhart Euler (1707-1783), as an abbreviation of Greek periphereia "periphery." For the meaning "printer's term for mixed type," see pie (3).
pickaxe (n.): also pick-axe, early 15c., folk etymology alteration (by influence of axe) of Middle English picas (mid-13c.), via Anglo-French piceis, Old French pocois (11c.) and directly from Medieval Latin picosa "pick," related to Latin picus "woodpecker" (see pie (n.2)).
pigment (n.): late 14c., from Latin pigmentum "coloring matter, pigment, paint," figuratively "ornament," from stem of pingere "to color, paint" (see paint (v.)). Variants of this word could have been known in Old English (compare 12c. pyhmentum). As a verb from 1900. Related: Pigmented; pigmenting.
pile (n.2): "heavy pointed beam," from Old English pil "stake," also "arrow," from Latin pilum heavy javelin of the Roman foot soldier, literally "pestle" (source of Old Norse pila, Old High German pfil, German Pfeil "arrow"), of uncertain origin.
tousle (v.): "pull roughly, disorder, dishevel," mid-15c., frequentative of -tousen "handle or push about roughly," probably from an unrecorded Old English *tusian, from Proto-Germanic *tus- (source also of Frisian tusen, Old High German erzusen, German zausen "to tug, pull, dishevel"); related to tease (v.). Related: Tousled; tousling.
aperitif (n.): 1894, "alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite," from French apéritif "laxative, laxative liqueur," literally "opening," from Latin aperitivus, from aperire "to open" (see overt). Compare Middle English apertive (adj.), a medical word meaning "capable of opening or dilating" (pores, etc.), early 15c.
Aphrodite (n.): Greek goddess of love and beauty; by the ancients, her name was derived from Greek aphros "foam," from the story of her birth, but perhaps it is ultimately from Phoenician Ashtaroth (Assyrian Ishtar). In 17c. English, pronounced to rhyme with night, right, etc.
approach (v.): c. 1300, from Anglo-French approcher, Old French aprochier "approach, come closer" (12c., Modern French approcher), from Late Latin appropiare "go nearer to," from Latin ad- "to" (see ad-) + Late Latin propiare "come nearer," comparative of Latin prope "near" (see propinquity). Replaced Old English neahlæcan.
aqueous (adj.): 1640s, from Latin aqua "water" (see aqua-) on analogy of French aqueux "watery" (16c., which, however, is from Late Latin aquosus "abounding in water"). Or by analogy of Latin terreus "earthy," from terra "earth." Aqueous humor is the original use in English.
aquiline (adj.): "curved like an eagle's beak," 1640s, originally in English in reference to long, hooked noses, from Latin aquilinus "of or like an eagle," from aquila "eagle," of uncertain origin, usually explained as "the dark bird;" compare aquilus "blackish, of the color of darkness."
bolster (n.): Old English bolster "bolster, cushion, something stuffed so that it swells up," especially "long, stuffed pillow," from Proto-Germanic *bolkhstraz (source also of Old Norse bolstr, Danish, Swedish, Dutch bolster, German polster), from PIE *bhelgh- "to swell" (see belly (n.)).
metronome (n.): mechanical musical time-keeper, 1815, coined in English from comb. form of Greek metron "measure" (see meter (n.2)) + -nomos "regulating," verbal adjective of nemein "to regulate" (see numismatic). The device invented 1815 by Johann Maelzel (1772-1838), German civil engineer and showman. Related: Metronomic.
mew (n.1): "seagull," Old English mæw, from Proto-Germanic *maigwis (source also of Old Saxon mew, Frisian meau, Middle Dutch and Middle Low German mewe, Dutch meeuw "gull"), imitative of its cry. Old French moue (Modern French mouette) and Lithuanian mevas are Germanic loan-words.
dye (n.): Old English deah, deag "a color, hue, tinge," perhaps related to deagol "secret, hidden, dark, obscure," from Proto-Germanic *daugilaz (source also of Old Saxon dogol "secret," Old High German tougal "dark, hidden, secret").
hurt (v.): c. 1200, "to injure, wound" (the body, feelings, reputation, etc.), also "to stumble (into), bump into; charge against, rush, crash into; knock (things) together," from Old French hurter "to ram, strike, collide with" (Modern French heurter), a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Frankish *hurt "ram" (source also of Middle High German hurten "run at, collide," Old Norse hrutr "ram," Middle Dutch horten "to knock, dash against"). Celtic origins also have been proposed. The English usage is as old as the French, and perhaps there was a native Old English *hyrtan, but it has not been recorded.

Passive (intransitive) use "feel or experience pain" has been occasional in modern English; current usage dates from c. 1902. Meaning "to be a source of pain" (of a body part) is from 1850. Sense of "knock" died out 17c., but compare hurtle (v.). To hurt (one's) feelings attested by 1779. Other Germanic languages tend to use their form of English scathe in this sense (Danish skade, Swedish skada, German schaden, Dutch schaden).
husky (adj.): "hoarse," c. 1722 in reference to a cattle disease (of persons, 1740), from husk (n.) + -y (2) on the notion of "dry as a husk." Earlier (1550s) "having husks, full of husks." Sense of "tough and strong" (like corn husks) is first found 1869, American English. Related: Huskily; huskiness.
dreck (n.): "filth, trash," 1922, from Yiddish drek (German dreck), from Middle High German drec, from Proto-Germanic *threkka (source also of Old English þreax "rubbish," Old Frisian threkk), perhaps connected to Greek skatos "dung," Latin stercus "excrement," from PIE root *(s)ker- "to cut" (see shear (v.)).
dressage (n.): 1936, from French dressage, from dresser "to train, drill" (see dress (v.)). Middle English had dress (v.) in the sense of "to train or break in" a horse or other animal (c. 1400), but it died out.
drip (v.): c. 1300, perhaps from Middle Danish drippe, from Proto-Germanic *drup- (source also of Dutch druipen, German triefen), from PIE root *dhreu-. Related to droop and drop. Old English had cognate drypan "to let drop," dropian "fall in drops," and dreopan "to drop." Related: Dripped; dripping.
duenna (n.): 1660s, "chief lady in waiting upon the queen of Spain," also "an elderly woman in charge of girls from a Spanish family," from Spanish dueña "married lady, mistress" (fem. of dueño "master"), from Latin domina (see dame). Sense extended in English to "any elderly woman chaperon of a younger woman" (1708).
dumbbell (n.): "weighted bar used for exercise," 1711, originally an apparatus like that used to ring a church bell, but without the bell (hence dumb); used for exercise but sometimes also to practice ringing changes. Figurative sense of "blockhead, stupid person" attested by 1918, American English college slang.
dump (v.): early 14c., "throw down or fall with force," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare Danish dumpe, Norwegian dumpa "to fall suddenly"). The sense of "unload en masse" is first recorded in American English 1784. That of "discard, abandon" is from 1919. Related: Dumped; dumping. Dump truck is from 1930.
dundrearies (n.): 1867, long, flowing whiskers, like those worn by actor E.A. Sothern (1826-1881) while playing Lord Dundreary, witless, indolent chief character in English dramatist Tom Taylor's play "Our American Cousin" (1858).
duplex (adj.): 1817, "composed of two parts," from Latin duplex, from duo "two" (see two) + -plex, from Greek plax (genitive plakos) "flat surface." The noun sense of "house for two families; two-story apartment" is American English, 1922.
during (prep.): late 14c., durand, present participle of obsolete verb duren "to last, endure" (mid-13c.), from Old French durer, from Latin durare "endure" (see endure). During the day really is "while the day endures," and the usage is a transference into English of a Latin ablative absolute (compare durante bello "during (literally 'enduring') the war").
boom (v.): mid-15c., earliest use was for bees and wasps, probably echoic of humming. The meaning "make a loud noise" is 15c. Compare bomb. Meaning "to burst into prosperity" (of places, businesses, etc.) is 1871, American English. Related: Boomed; booming. Boom box first attested 1978.
boondoggle (n.): 1935, American English, of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget;" it also was by 1932 a Boy Scout term for a kind of woven braid.
borough (n.): Old English burg, burh "a dwelling or dwellings within a fortified enclosure," from Proto-Germanic *burgs "hill fort, fortress" (source also of Old Frisian burg "castle," Old Norse borg "wall, castle," Old High German burg, buruc "fortified place, citadel," German Burg "castle," Gothic baurgs "city"), from PIE root *bhergh- (2) "high," with derivatives referring to hills, hill forts, fortified elevations (source also of Old English beorg "hill;" see barrow (n.2)).

In German and Old Norse, chiefly as "fortress, castle;" in Gothic, "town, civic community." Meaning shifted in Middle English from "fortress," to "fortified town," to simply "town" (especially one possessing municipal organization or sending representatives to Parliament). In U.S. (originally Pennsylvania, 1718) often an incorporated town; in Alaska, however, it is the equivalent of a county. The Scottish form is burgh. The Old English dative singular byrig survives in many place names as -bury.
bouffant (adj.): 1869, from French bouffant, present participle of bouffer "to puff out," from Old French bouffer (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *buffare, probably ultimately imitative of puffing. As a noun by 1870. Earlier as a French word in English. First used of hairdo style 1955.
bowdlerize (v.): 1836, from Thomas Bowdler (1754-1825), English editor who in 1818 published a notorious expurgated Shakespeare, in which, according to his frontispiece, "nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family." Related: Bowdlerized; bowdlerizing.
bowl (n.): Old English bolla "pot, cup, bowl," from Proto-Germanic *bul- "a round vessel" (source also of Old Norse bolle, Old High German bolla), from PIE *bhl-, from root *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole).
boxer (n.): "fighter," late 15c., agent noun from box (v.2). The name of the breed of dog (1934), is from German (the breed originated in Germany), itself taken from English boxer "fighter;" the dog so called for its pugnaciousness. Boxer shorts (1943) so called from their resemblance to the attire worn in the ring.
hysterical (adj.): 1610s, "characteristic of hysteria," from Latin hystericus "of the womb," from Greek hysterikos "of the womb, suffering in the womb," from hystera "womb" (see hysteria). Meaning "very funny" (by 1939) is from the notion of uncontrollable fits of laughter. For "inclined to hysteria," American English formerly had the colloquial hystericky (1792). Related: Hysterically.
milksop (n.): "effeminate spiritless man," late 14c., attested as a (fictional) surname mid-13c.; also applied in Middle English to the infant Christ. Literal sense "piece of bread soaked in milk" attested late 15c.; see milk (n.) + sop (n.).
mini (n.): 1961, abbreviation of mini-car, a small car made by British Leyland (formerly British Motor Corp.). As an abbreviation of miniskirt, it is attested from 1966. The vogue for mini- as a prefix in English word coinage dates from c. 1960.
brain (n.): Old English brægen "brain," from Proto-Germanic *bragnam (source also of Middle Low German bregen, Old Frisian and Dutch brein), from PIE root *mregh-m(n)o- "skull, brain" (source also of Greek brekhmos "front part of the skull, top of the head"). But Liberman writes that brain "has no established cognates outside West Germanic ..." and is not connected to the Greek word. More probably, he writes, its etymon is PIE *bhragno "something broken."

The custom of using the plural to refer to the substance (literal or figurative), as opposed to the organ, dates from 16c. Figurative sense of "intellectual power" is from late 14c.; meaning "a clever person" is first recorded 1914. Brain teaser is from 1923. Brain stem first recorded 1879, from German. Brain drain is attested from 1963. An Old English word for "head" was brægnloca, which might be translated as "brain locker." In Middle English, brainsick (Old English brægenseoc) meant "mad, addled."
coccyx (n.): 1610s, from Latin coccyx, from Greek kokkyx "cuckoo" (from kokku, like the bird's English name echoic of its cry), so called by ancient Greek physician Galen because the bone in humans supposedly resembles a cuckoo's beak.
co-ed (n.): also coed, 1886, American English, (first in Louisa Mae Alcott's "Jo's Boys"); short for "co-educational system;" 1889 as an adjective, short for coeducational; 1893 as a noun meaning "girl or woman student at a co-educational institution."
cojones (n.): "courage," literally "balls," 1932, from Spanish cojon "testicle," from Latin coleus, culleus (source of Italian coglione), literally "a leather sack," related to Greek koleos "sheath, scabbard (see cell). In English, first attested in Hemingway.
colic (n.): "disease characterized by severe abdominal pain," early 15c., from Late Latin colicus "pertaining to colic," from Greek kolikos, belonging to the kolon "lower intestine" (see colon (n.2)). The word was used in English late 14c. as an adjective, "affecting the colon." Related: Colicky (1742).
drake (n.1): "male duck," c. 1300, unrecorded in Old English but may have existed then, from West Germanic *drako (source also of Low German drake, second element of Old High German anutrehho, dialectal German Drache).