Online Etymology Dictionary

western (adj.): "toward or of the west," late Old English westerne "western, westerly, coming from the west," from west + -erne, suffix denoting direction. The noun meaning "book or movie about the Old West" is first attested 1909. Westerner is from 1837 as "person from the U.S. West," 1880 as "Euro-American," as opposed to Oriental.
wildcat (n.): undomesticated cat, early 14c. (late 12c. as a surname), from wild (adj.) + cat (n.). Meaning "savage woman" is recorded from 1570s; sense of "one who forms rash projects" is attested from 1812. The adjective in the financial speculative sense is first recorded 1838, American English.
wild goose chase (n.): 1592, first attested in "Romeo and Juliet," where it evidently is a figurative use of an earlier (but unrecorded) literal sense in reference to a kind of follow-the-leader steeplechase. Wild goose (as opposed to a domesticated one) is attested in late Old English (wilde gos).
wild (v.): "to run wild, refuse to be tamed," Old English awildian (see wild (adj.)). Wilding (n.) in the teen gang sense first recorded 1989. Earlier it meant "plant that grows without cultivation" (1520s).
without (adv., prep.): Old English wiðutan "outside of, from outside," literally "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out (adv.). As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c. 1200. In use by late 14c. as a conjunction, short for without that.
woebegone (adj.): c. 1300, in expressions such as me is wo bigone "woe has beset me," from woe + begon "to beset, surround, overwhelm," from Old English began "go over, traverse; inhabit, occupy; surround, beset, overrun;" from be + go.
worn (adj.): c. 1500, from adjectival use of past participle of wear (v.); from Old English geworen. Worn-out "exhausted by wear, made ineffective by overuse" is attested from 1610s in reference to things, c. 1700 in reference to persons.
trim (n.): "state of being prepared," 1580s, nautical jargon, "fit for sailing," from trim (v.). From 1570s as "ornament, decoration;" the meaning "visible woodwork of a house" is recorded from 1884; sense of "ornamental additions to an automobile" is from 1922. Slang meaning "a woman regarded as a sex object" is attested from 1955, American English.
trusty (adj.): early 13c., "trusting," from trust (n.) + -y (2). Old English expressed this idea by treowful. Meaning "reliable, to be counted on" is from early 14c. The noun meaning "trustworthy person" is from 1570s; specifically as "a prisoner granted special privileges as reward for good conduct" by 1855.
-ty (2): suffix used in forming abstract nouns from adjectives (such as safety, surety), Middle English -tie, -te, from Old French -te (Modern French -té), from Latin -tatem (nominative -tas, genitive -tatis), cognate with Greek -tes, Sanskrit -tati-. Also see -ity.
Vlach (n.): "member of a Latin-speaking race of the Balkans, a Walachian or Rumanian," 1841, from Bulgarian vlakh or Serbian vlah, from Old Church Slavonic vlakhu, a Slavic adoptation of Germanic *walh (source of Old English wealh) "foreigner," especially applied to Celts and Latins (see Welsh).
warm (v.): Old English wyrman "make warm" and wearmian "become warm;" from the root of warm (adj.). Phrase warm the bench is sports jargon first recorded 1907. Related: Warmed; warming.
SCOTCH WARMING PAN. A wench. [Grose, "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1785]
wash (n.): late Old English wæsc "act of washing," from wash (v.). Meaning "clothes set aside to be washed" is attested from 1789; meaning "thin coat of paint" is recorded from 1690s; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from mid-15c.
white bread (n.): c. 1300, as opposed to darker whole-grain type, from white (adj.) + bread (n.). Its popularity among middle-class America led to the slang adjectival sense of "conventional, bourgeois" (c. 1980). Old English had hwitehlaf.
worldly (adj.): Old English woruldlic "earthly, secular," from the roots of world and like (adj.). A common Germanic compound (Old Frisian wraldlik, Old Saxon weroldlik, Middle Dutch wereldlik, German weltlich, Old Norse veraldligr). Worldly-wise is recorded from c. 1400.
yellow journalism: "sensational chauvinism in the media," 1898, American English, from newspaper agitation for war with Spain; originally "publicity stunt use of colored ink" (1895) in reference to the popular Yellow Kid" character (his clothes were yellow) in Richard Outcault's comic strip "Shantytown" in the "New York World."
underfoot (adv.): c. 1200, underfot "under the feet," from under + foot (n.). Compare similarly formed Middle Dutch ondervoete. As an adjective, attested from 1590s; in reference to persons, "continually in the way," it is recorded from 1891. Middle English under fot meant "vanquished, overcome."
underlie (v.): Old English under licgan "to be subordinate to, to submit to;" see under + lie (v.2). Meaning "to lie under or beneath" is attested from c. 1600; figurative sense of "to be the basis of" is attested from 1852 (implied in underlying). Similar formation in Old High German untarliggan; German unterliegen.
undo (v.): Old English undon "to unfasten and open" (a window or door), "to unfasten by releasing from a fixed position; to cancel, discharge, abrogate, reverse what has been done, put back in a former condition; bring to ruin, destroy," from un- (2) "opposite of" + do (v.). Related: Undone; undoing.
unfold (v.): Old English unfealdan, "to open or unwrap the folds of," also figuratively, "to disclose, reveal, explain," from un- (2) "opposite of" + fold (v.). Similar formation in Middle Dutch ontvouden, German entfalten. Intransitive sense is attested from late 14c. Related: Unfolded; unfolding.
Chile: South American country, probably named from a local native word subsequently confused with Mexican Spanish chile "chili pepper" (see chili). Suggestions are that the native word means "land's end" or else "cold, winter," which would make a coincidental convergence with English chilly. Related: Chilean.
Utah: U.S. teritory organized 1850 (admitted as a state 1896), from Spanish yuta, name of the indigenous Uto-Aztecan people of the Great Basin (Modern English Ute), perhaps from Western Apache (Athabaskan) yudah "high" (in reference to living in the mountains).
Durham: c. 1000, Dunholm "city on a hill," a merger of Old English dun "hill" (see down (n.2)) and Scandinavian holmr (see holm). The change from -n- to -r- is a result of Norman confusion (see Shrewsbury). As a breed of cattle, by 1810.
accordance (n.): c. 1300, "compliance;" early 14c., "agreement, concurrence," from Old French acordance "agreeing, reconciliation, harmony," noun of action from acorder (see accord). Of things, "conformity, compatibility, harmony," late 14c. Phrase in accordance with is attested from c. 1810 (in Middle English, in accordance of was the usual form).
accountant (n.): mid-15c., "accounting officer, one who renders accounts," from Old French acuntant (Modern French accomptant), from present participle of accompter (see account (v.)). Sense of "professional maker of accounts" is recorded from 1530s. The word also was an adjective in Middle English, "accountable; liable to render accounts" (early 15c.).
-er (1): English agent noun ending, corresponding to Latin -or. In native words it represents Old English -ere (Old Northumbrian also -are) "man who has to do with," from Proto-Germanic *-ari (cognates: German -er, Swedish -are, Danish -ere), from Proto-Germanic *-arjoz. Some believe this root is identical with, and perhaps a borrowing of, Latin -arius (see -ary).

Generally used with native Germanic words. In words of Latin origin, verbs derived from past participle stems of Latin ones (including most verbs in -ate) usually take the Latin ending -or, as do Latin verbs that passed through French (such as governor); but there are many exceptions (eraser, laborer, promoter, deserter; sailor, bachelor), some of which were conformed from Latin to English in late Middle English.

The use of -or and -ee in legal language (such as lessor/lessee) to distinguish actors and recipients of action has given the -or ending a tinge of professionalism, and this makes it useful in doubling words that have a professional and a non-professional sense (such as advisor/adviser, conductor/conducter, incubator/incubater, elevator/elevater).
admittance (n.): 1580s, "the action of admitting," formed in English from admit + -ance (if from Latin, it would have been *admittence; French uses accès in this sense). Used formerly in senses where admission now prevails. Admissure was used in this sense from mid-15c.
admonition (n.): late 14c., amonicioun "reminding, instruction," from Old French amonicion "admonition, exhortation," from Latin admonitionem (nominative admonitio), noun of action from past participle stem of admonere "to advise, warn" (see admonish). Meaning "warning" is early 15c. The -d- was restored in English 17c.
applesauce (n.): by 1739, American English, from apple + sauce. Slang meaning "nonsense" is attested from 1921 and was noted as a vogue word early 1920s. Mencken credits it to cartoonist T.A. ("Tad") Dorgan. DAS suggests the word was thus used because applesauce was cheap fare served in boardinghouses.
ashlar (n.): late 14c., "square stone for building or paving," from Old French aiseler, from Latin axillaris, from axilla, diminutive of axis "board, plank," which is perhaps not the same axis that means "axle." The stone sense is peculiar to English.
amongst (prep.): mid-13c., amonges, from among with adverbial genitive. Parasitic -t first attested 16c. (see amidst). It is well established in the south of England, but not much heard in the north. By similar evolutions, alongst also existed in Middle English.
analyse (v.): chiefly British English spelling of analyze (q.v.).
Analyse is better than analyze, but merely as being the one of the two equally indefensible forms that has won. The correct but now impossible form would be analysize (or analysise), with analysist for existing analyst. [Fowler]
bonnyclabber (n.): 1620s (in shortened form clabber), from Modern Irish bainne "milk" (from Middle Irish banne "drop," also, rarely, "milk"; cognate with Sanskrit bindu- "drop") + claba "thick." Compare Irish and Gaelic clabar "mud," which sometimes has made its way into English (Yeats, etc.).
endeavour: chiefly British English spelling of endeavor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Endeavoured; endeavoring; endeavours. The U.S. space shuttle was spelled this way because it was named for the HMS Endeavour, Capt. Cook's ship.
aerobics (n.): method of exercise and a fad in early 1980s, American English, coined 1968 by Kenneth H. Cooper, U.S. physician, from aerobic (also see -ics) on the notion of activities which require modest oxygen intake and thus can be maintained.
-ancy: word-forming element denoting quality or state, from Latin -antia, forming abstract nouns on past participle adjectives in -antem, appearing in English mostly in words borrowed directly from Latin (those passing through French usually have -ance or -ence; see -ance).
succulent (adj.): c. 1600, from French succulent (16c.), from Latin succulentus "having juice, juicy," from succus "juice, sap;" related to sugere "to suck," and possibly cognate with Old English socian "to soak," sucan "to suck" (see sup (v.2)). The noun meaning "plant with juicy tissues" is from 1825.
suckle (v.): c. 1400, perhaps a causative or frequentative form of Middle English suken "to suck" (see suck), but OED suggests instead a back-formation from suckling (though this word is attested only from mid-15c.). Related: Suckled; suckling.
straggle (v.): early 15c., "to wander from the proper path, stray, to rove from one's companions," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare dialectal Norwegian stragla "to walk laboriously"), or a frequentative of Middle English straken "to move, go." Specifically of soldiers, "be dispersed, be apart from the main body," from 1520s. Related: Straggled; straggling.
strand (n.2): "individual fiber of a rope, string, etc.," late 15c., probably from a continental Germanic source akin to Old High German streno "lock, tress, strand of hair," Middle Dutch strene "a skein, hank of thread," German Strähne "a skein, strand," of unknown connection. Perhaps to English via an Old French form.
satiate (v.): mid-15c., from Latin satiatus, past participle of satiare "fill full, satisfy," from satis "enough," from PIE root *sa- "to satisfy" (source also of Gothic saþs "satiated," Old English sæd "satisfied;" see sad). Related: Satiated; satiating.
say (v.): Old English secgan "to utter, inform, speak, tell, relate," from Proto-Germanic *sagjanan (source also of Old Saxon seggian, Old Norse segja, Danish sige, Old Frisian sedsa, Middle Dutch segghen, Dutch zeggen, Old High German sagen, German sagen "to say"), from PIE *sokwyo-, from root *sekw- (3) "to say, utter" (source also of Hittite shakiya- "to declare," Lithuanian sakyti "to say," Old Church Slavonic sociti "to vindicate, show," Old Irish insce "speech," Old Latin inseque "to tell say").

Past tense said developed from Old English segde. Not attested in use with inanimate objects (clocks, signs, etc.) as subjects before 1930. You said it "you're right" first recorded 1919; you can say that again as a phrase expressing agreement is recorded from 1942, American English. You don't say (so) as an expression of astonishment (often ironic) is first recorded 1779, American English.
scansion (n.): 1670s, "action of marking off of verse in metric feet," from Late Latin scansionem (nominative scansio), in classical Latin, "act of climbing," noun of action from past participle stem of scandere "to climb" (see scan (v.)). From 1650s in English in literal sense of "action of climbing up."
stave (n.): "piece of a barrel," 1750, back-formation from staves (late 14c.), plural of staff, with the usual change of medial -f- to -v- (compare leaves/leaf). The plural form possibly was in Old English but not recorded there.
steep (v.): "to soak in a liquid," early 14c., of uncertain origin, originally in reference to barley or malt, probably cognate with Old Norse steypa "to pour out, throw" (perhaps from an unrecorded Old English cognate), from Proto-Germanic *staupijanan. Related: Steeped; steeping.
stencil (n.): 1707, not recorded again until 1848, probably from Middle English stencellen "decorate with bright colors," from Middle French estenceler "cover with sparkles or stars, powder with color," from estencele "spark, spangle" (Modern French étincelle), from Vulgar Latin *stincilla, metathesis of Latin scintilla "spark" (see scintilla).
stentorian (adj.): "of powerful voice," c. 1600, from Stentor, legendary Greek herald in the Trojan War, whose voice (described in the "Iliad") was as loud as 50 men. His name is from Greek stenein "groan, moan," from PIE imitative root *(s)ten-, source of Old English þunor "thunder."
safari (n.): 1890 (attested from 1860 as a foreign word), from Swahili, literally "journey, expedition," from Arabic, literally "referring to a journey," from safar "journey" (which itself is attested in English as a foreign word from 1858). Used from 1920s of various articles of clothing suitable for safaris.
sago (n.): "starch made of the piths of palms," 1570s, via Portuguese and Dutch from Malay sagu, the name of the palm tree from which it is obtained (attested in English in this sense from 1550s). Also borrowed in French (sagou), Spanish (sagu), German (Sago).
salacious (adj.): 1660s, from Latin salax (genitive salacis) "lustful," probably originally "fond of leaping," as in a male animal leaping on a female in sexual advances, from salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Earliest form of the word in English is salacity (c. 1600). Related: Salaciously; salaciousness.