Online Etymology Dictionary

self-conscious (adj.): 1680s, "aware of one's action," a word of the English Enlightenment (Locke was using it by 1690), from self- + conscious. Morbid sense of "preoccupied with one's own personality" is attested from 1834 (in J.S. Mill). Related: Self-consciously; self-consciousness.
atomies (n.): 1590s, "atoms," also "diminutive beings," from atomy, from Latin atomi, plural of atomus (see atom), but taken as a singular in English and re-pluralized in the native way. Perhaps also in some cases a plural of atomy (from misdivision of anatomy).
audacious (adj.): 1540s, "confident, intrepid," from Middle French audacieux, from audace "boldness," from Latin audacia "daring, boldness, courage," from audax "brave, bold, daring," but more often "bold" in a bad sense, "audacious, rash, foolhardy," from audere "to dare, be bold." Bad sense of "shameless" is attested from 1590s in English. Related: Audaciously.
autogenous (adj.): "self-generated," 1846, earlier autogeneal (1650s), from Greek autogenes "self-produced," from autos "self" (see auto-) + genes "formation, creation" (see genus). Modern form and biological use of the word said to have been coined by English paleontologist Richard Owen (1804-1892).
avant: French, literally "before," in various terms borrowed into English, corresponding to Italian avanti, both from Latin abante, a compound of ab "from" (see ab-) and ante "before, in front of" (see ante), which first meant "from in front of," but in Vulgar Latin came to mean simply "before."
cachinnation (n.): "loud laughter," 1620s, from Latin cachinnationem (nominative cachinnatio) "violent laughter, excessive laughter," noun of action from past participle stem of cachinnare "to laugh immoderately or loudly," of imitative origin. Compare Sanskrit kakhati "laughs," Greek kakhazein "to laugh loudly," Old High German kachazzen, English cackle, Armenian xaxanc'.
brewery (n.): 1650s (but perhaps from c. 1200 as a surname element), from brew (v.) + -ery. Old English had breawern in this sense (from aern "house;" see barn), and brewhouse was the more common word through 18c.
brite: variant of bright (adj.). It figures in English phonetic spelling reform from at least the late 19c.; as an advertiser's word it dates from at least 1905 ("Star-brite Metal Polish," made by the Star-Brite Company of Lancaster, Pa., U.S.).
Birmingham: industrial city in central England, 1086, Bermingehame, literally "homestead of the place (or people) named for Beorma, some forgotten Anglo-Saxon person, whose name probably is a shortening of Beornmund. The Birmingham in Alabama, U.S., was founded 1871 as an industrial center and named for the English city.
birthday suit (n.): first attested 1730s, but probably much older. The notion is the suit of clothes one was born in, i.e., no clothes at all. Compare Middle English mother naked "naked as the day one was born;" Middle Dutch moeder naect, German mutternackt.
birthday (n.): late 14c., from Old English byrddæg, "anniversary celebration of someone's birth" (at first usually a king or saint); see birth (n.) + day. Meaning "day on which one is born" is from 1570s. Birthnight is attested from 1620s.
bittersweet (n.): also bitter-sweet, late 14c., used especially in Middle English in reference to a type of apple, from bitter (adj.) + sweet (adj.). As an adjective, attested from 1610s. Greek had a similarly formed compound, glykypikros, literally "sweet-bitter."
bitterness (n.): Old English biternys "bitterness, grief;" see bitter + -ness. Figurative sense (of feelings, etc.) is attested earlier than literal sense (of taste), which will surprise no one who reads any amount of Anglo-Saxon literature.
bleacher (n.): 1540s, "one who bleaches," agent noun from bleach (v.). The "bench for spectators at a sports field" sense (usually bleachers) is attested since 1889, American English; so named because the boards were bleached by the sun.
brown-nose (v.): also brownnose, 1939, American English colloquial, said to be military slang originally, from brown (adj.) + nose (n.), "from the implication that servility is tantamount to having one's nose in the anus of the person from whom advancement is sought" [Webster, 1961]. Related: Brown-noser, brown-nosing (both 1950).
bursa (n.): by 1788 as an English word in physiology, shortened from medieval Latin bursa mucosa "mucus pouch," from Medieval Latin bursa "bag, purse," from Late Latin bursa, variant of byrsa "hide," from Greek byrsa "hide, skin, wineskin, drum," which is of unknown origin; compare purse (n.).
bombardier (n.): 1550s, soldier with a bombard, from French bombardier, from bombard (see bombard (n.)). In 17c.-18c. of soldiers who manned artillery (especially mortars and howitzers); meaning "one who aims the bombs in an aircraft" is attested 1932, American English.
bookkeeper (n.): also book-keeper, 1550s, from book (n.) + keeper. A rare English word with three consecutive double letters. Related: Bookkeeping, which is from 1680s in the sense "the work of keeping account books;" book-keep (v.) is a back-formation from 1886.
Vancouver: Canadian city, settled 1865, named for the island, which was named for English navigator George Vancouver (1757-1798) who sailed with Capt. Cook and surveyed the Pacific coast in this area in 1792.
trist (adj.): "sorrowful," early 15c., from French triste "sad, sadness" (10c.), from Latin tristis "sad, mournful, sorrowful, gloomy." Re-borrowed late 18c. (as "dull, uninteresting") as a French word in English and often spelled triste.
abuse (n.): mid-15c., "improper practice," from Old French abus (14c.), from Latin abusus (see abuse (v.)). Earlier in Middle English was abusion "wicked act or practice, shameful thing, violation of decency" (early 14c.), "an insult" (mid-14c.).
fix (n.): "position from which it is difficult to move," 1809, American English, from fix (v.). Meaning "dose of narcotic" is from 1934, shortened from fix-up (1867, originally in reference to liquor). Meaning "reliable indication of the position of a ship, plane, etc." (by reference to fixed positions) is from 1902.
fight (n.): Old English feohte, gefeoht "a fight, combat, hostile encounter;" see fight (v.). Compare Old Frisian fiucht, Old Saxon fehta, Dutch gevecht, Old High German gifeht, German Gefecht. Meaning "power or inclination to fight" is from 1812.
Tibet: said to be a corruption in Chinese or Arabic of Bod, indigenous name, of unknown origin. As an adjective in English, Tibetian is older (1747) but Tibetan (1822) is now the usual word. With comb. form Tibeto-.
fathom (v.): Old English fæðmian "to embrace, surround, envelop," from a Proto-Germanic verb derived from the source of fathom (n.); cognates: Old High German fademon, Old Norse faþma. The meaning "take soundings" is from c. 1600; its figurative sense of "get to the bottom of, penetrate with the mind, understand" is from 1620s. Related: Fathomed; fathoming.
veritas (n.): Latin, literally "truth, truthfulness," from verus "true" (see very). Latin phrase in vino veritas (1590s in English; "in wine, truth," that is, "the truth comes out when one has been drinking") is attributed to Pliny the Elder, though there is a Greek version of it.
fibril (n.): 1680s, Englishing of Modern Latin fibrilla "a little fiber, a filament," especially in botany, diminutive of Latin fibra "a fiber, filament" (see fiber). Latin fibra and fibrilla were used in 17c. physiology in English alongside nativized fibre and fibril. From 1931 as "thread-like molecular formation."
widower (n.): "man who has lost his wife by death," late 14c., extended from widow (n.). The Old English masc. form was widewa. Similar formation in Middle Dutch weduwer, German Wittwer. Related: Widowerhood.
westernization (n.): also westernisation, 1873, noun of action from westernize (v.). Earliest reference is to Japan.
[The mikado's] late rapid and radical progress in westernization (to evolve a word that the Japanese will need) justifies great expectations of him. [Coates Kinney, "Japanning the English Language," "The Galaxy," July-Dec. 1873]
writer (n.): Old English writere "one who can write, clerk; one who produces books or literary compositions," agent noun from writan (see write (v.)). Meaning "sign-painter" is from 1837. Writer's cramp attested by 1843; writer's block by 1950.
forger (n.): late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname), "a maker, a smith," agent noun from forge (v.). Meaning "a counterfeiter, one who makes by false imitation" is from early 15c. In 15c. also "a maker of (coin) money." Another Middle English word for "a forger" was falsarie (mid-15c.).
free-for-all (n.): "mass brawl" (one in which all may participate), 1918, from earlier adjective use (1868), especially in reference to open horse races, American English. Earlier as a noun in reference to free-for-all horse and motorcar races.
general (n.): late 14c., "whole class of things or persons, a broad classification, a general truth," from general (adj.). Meaning "commander of an army" is 1570s, shortening of captain general, from Middle French capitaine général. The English adjective was affixed to civic officer designations by late 14c. to indicate superior rank and extended jurisdiction.
girandole (n.): 1630s, a type of fireworks; 1769 as a branched holder for candles; 1825 as a type of earring or pendant, from French girandole, from Italian girandola, diminutive of giranda "a revolving jet," from Latin gyrandus, gerundive of gyrare "to turn round in a circle, revolve" (see gyration). Also in English in the Italian form.
good-neighbor (adj.): also (chiefly British English) good-neighbour, adjectival phrase, in reference to U.S. foreign policy, especially in Latin America, 1928, originally in Herbert Hoover. The good neighbours is Scottish euphemism for "the fairies" (1580s).
gouge (v.): 1560s, "to cut with a gouge," from gouge (n.). Meaning "to force out with a gouge" (especially of the eyes, in fighting) attested by 1800. Meaning "to swindle" is American English colloquial from 1826 (implied in plural noun gougers). Related: Gouged; gouging.
hackamore (n.): halter chiefly used for breaking horses, 1850, American English, of uncertain origin. OED and Klein suggests a corruption of Spanish jaquima (earlier xaquima) "halter, headstall of a horse," which Klein suggests is from Arabic shakimah "bit of a bridle, curb, restraint."
holder (n.): c. 1400, "tenant, occupier," agent noun from hold (v.). Meaning "device for holding something" is attested from 1833. Similar formation in Old Frisian haldere, Dutch houder, German Halter. The Old English agent noun, healdend, meant "protector, guardian, ruler, king."
Galatians (n.): Biblical epistle, from Galatia, name of an ancient inland region in Asia Minor, from Greek Galatia, based on Gaul, in reference to the Gaulish people who conquered the region and settled there 3c. B.C.E. In Latin Gallograeci, hence Middle English Gallocrecs "the Gallatians."
granger (n.): late 12c., "farm steward, man in charge of a grange," also as a surname, from Old French grangier "share-cropper, market-gardener," from grange "farmstead" (see grange). From 1873 in American English in reference to members of the Patrons of Husbandry farmers' association.
grapeshot (n.): also grape-shot, 1747, from grape + shot (n.). So called for its appearance. Originally simply grape (1680s), a collective singular. The whiff of grapeshot was popularized in English from 1837, from Carlyle's history of the French Revolution (in which it was a chapter title).
hairpin (n.): also hair-pin, 1788 (two words), from hair + pin (n.). A hairpin turn, etc., is from 1906. Hairpin (or clothespin) was American English slang for "person" c. 1880-1910, especially in the expression "That's the kind of hairpin I am."
heckle (n.): "flax comb," c. 1300, hechel, perhaps from an unrecorded Old English *hecel or a cognate Germanic word, from Proto-Germanic *hakila- (source also of Middle High German hechel, Middle Dutch hekel), from PIE *keg- "hook, tooth" (see hook (n.)).
head (v.): "to be at the head or in the lead," c. 1200, from head (n.). Meaning "to direct the head (toward)" is from c. 1600. Related: headed, heading. The earliest use of the word as a verb meant "behead" (Old English heafdian). Verbal phrase head up "supervise, direct" is attested by 1930.
heeled (adj.): "provided with money," 1880, American English Western slang, from earlier sense "furnished with a gun, armed" (1866). This is perhaps transferred from the sense "furnish (a gamecock) with a heel-like spur" (1560s), which was still in use in 19c., a special use of heel (v.3).
hire (n.): "payment for work, use, or services; wages," from late Old English hyr "wages; interest, usury," from the verb or from a Proto-Germanic *hurja- (see hire (v.)). Cognate with Old Frisian here, Dutch huur, German heuer, Danish hyre.
harp (v.): Old English hearpian "to play on a harp;" see harp (n.). Cognate with Middle Dutch, Dutch harpen, Middle High German harpfen, German harfen. Figurative sense of "talk overmuch" (about something), "dwell exclusively on one subject" first recorded mid-15c. Related: Harped; harping.
house (v.): "give shelter to," Old English husian "to take into a house; place or enclose in a house" (cognate with Old Frisian husa, German hausen, Dutch huizen); see house (n.). Intransitive sense from 1590s. Related: Housed; housing.
stab (n.): "wound produced by stabbing," mid-15c., from stab (v.). Meaning "act of stabbing" is from 1520s. Meaning "a try" first recorded 1895, American English. Stab in the back in the figurative sense "treacherous deed" is first attested 1881; the verbal phrase in the figurative sense is from 1888.
comfort (n.): c. 1200, "feeling of relief" (as still in to take comfort in something); also "source of alleviation or relief;" from Old French confort (see comfort (v.)). Replaced Old English frofor. Comforts (as opposed to necessities and luxuries) is from 1650s.