Online Etymology Dictionary

gardener (n.): late 13c. (early 12c. as a surname), from Old North French *gardinier (Old French jardineor "gardener," 12c., Modern French jardinier), from gardin "(kitchen) garden" (see garden (n.)). Compare German Gärtner. An Old English word for it was wyrtweard, literally "plant-guard."
fane (n.): "weathercock," late 14c., from Old English fana "flag, banner," from Proto-Germanic *fanon (source also of Old Frisian fana, Gothic fana "piece of cloth," Old High German fano, German Fahne "flag, standard"); possibly cognate with Latin pannus "piece of cloth" (see pane).
favorable (adj.): late 14c., "kind, friendly," from Old French favorable "well-disposed, favorable, partial," from Latin favorabilis "favored, in favor," from favor "good will, partiality" (see favor (n.)). Meaning "advantageous" is from mid-15c. In Middle English it also meant "attractive, pleasing, agreeable." Related: Favorably.
fascia (n.): 1560s, from Latin fascia "a band, bandage, swathe, ribbon," derivative of fascis "bundle" (see fasces). In English, originally in architecture; anatomical use is from 1788. Also used in botany, music, astronomy. Related: Fascial; fasciation.
feist (n.): also fist, "a breaking wind, foul smell, fart," mid-15c. (Old English had present participle fisting, glossing Latin festiculatio), a general West Germanic word with cognates in Middle Dutch veest, Dutch vijst; see feisty.
fisher (n.): Old English fiscere "fisherman; kingfisher," agent noun from fish (v.). It began to be used of certain animals, hence perhaps the rise of the formation fisherman (1520s). Similar formation in Old Saxon fiskari, Old Frisian fisker, Dutch visscher, German Fischer, Old Norse fiskari.
flutist (n.): c. 1600, probably from French flûtiste (see flute (n.) + -ist); replaced Middle English flouter (early 13c., from Old French flauteor) and is preferred in U.S. The British preference is flautist (q.v.), a Continental reborrowing that returns the original diphthong.
calque (n.): "loan translation of a foreign word or phrase," from French calque, literally "a copy," from calquer "to trace by rubbing" (itself borrowed in English 1660s as calk), introduced 16c. from Italian calcare, from Latin calcare "to tread, to press down."
informer (n.): late 14c., enfourmer "instructor, one who teaches or gives advice," from inform (Middle English enfourmen) and also from Old French enformeor. Meaning "one who communicates information" is mid-15c.; sense of "one who gives information against another" (especially in reference to law-breaking) is c. 1500.
jest (v.): 1520s, "to speak in a trifling manner;" 1550s, "to joke, say or do something meant to amuse," from Middle English gesten "recite a tale" (late 14c.), from geste "action, exploit" (see jest (n.)). Related: Jested; jesting.
jilt (n.): 1670s, "loose, unchaste woman; harlot;" also "woman who gives hope then dashes it;" probably a contraction of jillet, gillet, from Middle English gille "lass, wench," a familiar or contemptuous term for a woman or girl (mid-15c.), originally a shortened form of woman's name Gillian (see Jill).
junior (n.): "a person younger than another; one of less experience or standing," 1520s, from junior (adj.). Generically as a name for a young boy, a young son from 1917, American English. In the U.S. college sense "student in the third year" from 1862.
open (n.): early 13c., "an aperture or opening," from open (adj.). Meaning "public knowledge" (especially in out in the open) is from 1942, but compare Middle English in open (late 14c.) "manifestly, publicly." The sense of "an open competition" is from 1926, originally in a golf context.
abandon (n.): "a letting loose, surrender to natural impulses," 1822, from a sense in French abandon (see abandon (v.). Borrowed earlier (c. 1400) from French in a sense "(someone's) control;" and compare Middle English adverbial phrase at abandon, i.e. "recklessly," attested from late 14c.
better (v.): Old English *beterian "improve, amend, make better," from Proto-Germanic *batizojan (source also of Old Frisian beteria, Dutch beteren, Old Norse betra, Old High German baziron, German bessern), from *batiz- (see better (adj.)). Related: Bettered; bettering.
knell (v.): Old English cnyllan "to toll a bell; strike, knock," cognate with Middle High German erknellen "to resound," Old Norse knylla "to beat, thrash;" probably imitative. Intransitive sense, in reference to a bell, is from late 14c. Related: Knelled; knelling.
blast (v.): Old English blæstan "to blow, belch forth," from the root of blast (n.). Since 16c., often "to breathe on balefully." Meaning "to blow up by explosion" is from 1758. Related: Blasted; blasting. Blast off (n.) is attested from 1950.
lust (v.): c. 1200, "to wish, to desire," from lust (n.) and Old English lystan (see list (v.4)). Sense of "to have a strong sexual desire (for or after)" is first attested 1520s in biblical use. Related: Lusted; lusting.
bark (n.3): dog sound, Old English beorc, from bark (v.). Paired and compared with bite (n.) since at least 1660s; the proverb is older: "Timid dogs bark worse than they bite" was in Latin (Canis timidus vehementius latrat quam mordet, Quintius Curtius).
incumbent (adj.): 1560s, in relation to duties or obligations, from Medieval Latin incumbentem (nominative incumbens), present participle of incumbere (see incumbent (n.)). The literal, physical sense "lying or resting on something" is rare in English and first attested 1620s.
battledore (n.): mid-15c., "bat-like implement used in washing clothes," of unknown origin, perhaps from Old Provençal batedor, Spanish batidor "beater, bat," from batir "to beat;" perhaps blended with Middle English betel "hammer, mallet." As a trype of racket used in a game, from 1590s.
indrawn (adj.): also in-drawn, 1751, from in (adv.) + past tense of draw (v.). Middle English had indraw "bring about, cause" (late 14c.), "pull inward" (early 15c.). Also compare indraft "inward flow, a drawing in" (1590s). The modern verb indraw (1871) is rare and might be a back-formation.
implement (v.): "to complete, perform, carry into effect," 1707, originally chiefly in Scottish English, where the noun was a legal term meaning "fulfillment," from implement (n.). It spawned implementation, which is first recorded 1913. Related: Implemented; implementing.
bed (v.): Old English beddian "to provide with a bed or lodgings," from bed (n.). From c. 1300 as "to go to bed," also "to copulate with, to go to bed with;" 1440 as "to lay out (land) in plots or beds." Related: Bedded; bedding.
bedfellow (n.): "close friend, roommate," mid-15c., from bed (n.) + fellow (n.). Also (late 15c) "concubine." Earlier in the "close companion" sense was bed-fere (early 14c.). Bedsister "husband's concubine" is recorded in Middle English (c. 1300).
bain-marie (n.): 1822, from French bain-marie, from Medieval Latin balneum Mariae, literally "bath of Mary." According to French sources, perhaps so called for the gentleness of its heating. Middle English had balne of mary (late 15c.). French bain is from baigner "to bathe," from Latin balneare.
claw (v.): Old English clawian "to scratch, claw," from the same root as claw (n.). Related: Clawed; clawing. Compare Dutch klaauwen, Old High German klawan, German klauen. To claw back"regain by great effort" is from 1953; as a noun, an act of this, from 1969.
Christendom (n.): Old English cristendom "Christianity, state of being a Christian," from cristen (see Christian) + -dom, suffix of condition or quality. The native formation, crowded out by Latinate Christianity except for sense "lands where Christianity is the dominant religion" (late 14c.). Similar formations in Scandinavian languages.
cilia (n.): 1715, from Latin cilia, plural of cilium "eyelid, eyelash," perhaps related to celare "to cover, hide," from PIE root *kel- "to conceal" (see cell), but words for this part of the face can be tricky (see brow). It sometimes is pluralized in English, which is an error. Related: Ciliated; ciliary; ciliate.
clairvoyance (n.): "paranormal gift of seeing things out of sight," 1837, from special use of French clairvoyance (Old French clerveans, 13c.) "quickness of understanding, sagacity, penetration," from clairvoyant (see clairvoyant). A secondary sense in French is the main sense in English.
clavier (n.): 1708, "keyboard," from French clavier, originally "a key-bearer," from Latin clavis "key" (see slot (n.2)). The French word also is the source of German Klavier, Dutch klavier, Danish klaver, etc. The German word is the direct source of the name of the musical instrument, a sense attested from 1845 in English.
careless (adj.): Old English carleas "free from anxiety; unconcerned," from care (n.) + -less; a compound probably from Proto-Germanic. Original senses extinct by mid-17c.; main modern meaning "not paying attention, inattentive, not taking due care" is first recorded 1560s (in carelessly).
carl (n.): c. 1300, "bondsman; common man, man of low birth," from Old Norse karl "man, male, freeman," from Proto-Germanic *karlon-, the same root that produced Old English ceorl "man of low degree" (see churl).
The Mellere was a stout carle for the nones [Chaucer]
catabolism (n.): 1876, katabolism, "destructive metabolism," from Greek katabole "a throwing down" (also "a foundation"), from kataballein "to throw down," from kata- "down" (see cata-) + ballein "to throw" (see ballistics). Barnhart says probably formed in English on the model of metabolism. Spelling Latinized from 1889.
absolutely (adv.): late 14c., "unconditionally, completely," from absolute (adj.) + -ly (2). From mid-15c. as "without reference to anything else, not relatively;" meaning "to the utmost degree" emerged by mid-16c. As a colloquial emphatic in American English, it is attested from 1892.
baste (v.3): "beat, thrash," 1530s, perhaps from the cookery sense of baste (v.2) or from some Scandinavian source (such as Swedish basa "to beat, flog," bösta "to thump") akin to Old Norse beysta "to beat," and related to Old English beatan (see beat (v.)).
crypto-: before vowels crypt-, word-forming element meaning "secret" or "hidden," used in forming English words since at least 1760, from Latinized form of Greek kryptos "hidden, concealed, secret" (see crypt; the Greek comb. form was krypho-). Crypto-fascist is attested from 1937; crypto-communist from 1946.
D.A.: American English initialism (acronym) for district attorney from 1934; for duck's ass haircut (or, as OED would have it, duck's arse), from 1951. The haircut so called for the shape at the back of the head.
costa (n.): Spanish costa "coast," from same Latin source as English coast (n.). Used in Britain from 1960s in jocular formations (costa geriatrica, costa del crime, etc.) in imitation of the names of Spanish tourist destinations.
back (adj.): Middle English, from back (n.) and back (adv.). Formerly with comparative backer (c. 1400), also backermore. To be on the back burner in the figurative sense is from 1960, from the image of a cook keeping a pot there to simmer while he or she works on another concoction at the front of the stove.
Cottonian: library in the British Museum, named for antiquarian Sir Robert Bruce Cotton (1570-1631). He donated some book to the state and his grandson donated the rest. It was badly damaged in a fire in 1731. The surname represents Old English cotum, plural of cot "cottage."
denier (n.): French coin, early 15c., from Old French dener, a small coin of slight value, roughly equivalent to the English penny, in use in France from the time of Charlemagne to early modern times, from Latin denarium, from denarius, name of a Roman coin (source also of Spanish dinero; see denarius).
criminal (adj.): early 15c., from Middle French criminel (11c.), from Latin criminalis "pertaining to crime," from crimen (genitive criminis); see crime. Preserves the Latin -n-. Criminal law (or criminal justice) distinguished from civil in English at least since late 15c.
debtor (n.): early 13c., dettur, dettour, from Old French detour, from Latin debitor "a debter," from past participle stem of debere; see debt. The -b- was restored in later French, and in English c. 1560-c. 1660. The KJV has detter three times, debter three times, debtor twice and debtour once.
deferent (adj.): 1620s, from French déférent (16c.), from Latin deferentem (nominative deferens), present participle of deferre "to carry down or away" (see defer (v.2)). Earlier in Middle English as a word in astronomy (early 15c.).
defloration (n.): late 14c., "culling of the finest passages from books," from Old French desfloracion (14c.), from Latin deflorationem "plucking of flowers," also "taking of (a woman's) virginity," noun of action from past participle stem of deflorare (see deflower). Compare also anthology. Also used in Middle English with reference to virginity from c. 1400.
dastard (n.): mid-15c., "one who is lazy or dull;" an English formation on a French model, probably from *dast, "dazed," past participle of dasen "to daze" (see daze (v.)) + deprecatory suffix -ard. Meaning "one who shirks from danger" is late 15c.
dealer (n.): Old English dælere "divider, distributor; agent, negotiator," agent noun from deal (v.). Meaning "player who passes out the cards in a game" is from c. 1600; meaning "one who deals in merchandise" is from 1610s. Illegal drug sense is recorded by 1920.
energetic (adj.): 1650s, "powerful in operation," from Greek energetikos "active," from energein "to work, be in action, act upon" (see energy). Of persons, "active," in English from 1796 (energetical "operative" is from c. 1600; from 1630s as "full of energy," while energical is attested from 1560s). Related: Energetically.
enlargement (n.): 1530s, "a release from confinement," from enlarge in the secondary Middle English sense "release a prisoner" (mid-15c.) + -ment. Meaning "act of increasing in size" is from 1560s. Photographic sense "picture of a larger size than the negative from which it was made" is from 1866.