Online Etymology Dictionary

eldritch (adj.): "hideous, ghastly, weird," c. 1500, of uncertain origin; apparently somehow from elf (compare Scottish variant elphrish), an explanation OED finds "suitable;" Watkins connects its elements with Old English el- "else, otherwise" and rice "realm."
dodger (n.): 1560s, "one who dodges," in the literal or figurative (especially underworld) senses of dodge. The U.S. word meaning "corn cake" is recorded from 1831, perhaps a different word (compare Northern English dialectal dodge "lump, large piece," 1560s).
earthen (adj.): early 13c., "made of earth;" see earth + -en (2). Not attested in Old English (where eorðen meant "of or in the earth"). Cognate of Old High German irdin, Dutch aarden, Gothic airþeins. Meaning "made of clay" is attested from late 14c.
earnings (n.): amount of money one makes (from labor or investment), 1732, from plural of verbal noun earning, from earn (v.). Old English had earnung in sense "fact of deserving; what one deserves; merit, reward, consideration, pay," but the modern word seems to be a new formation.
eastern (adj.): Old English easterne "of the east, from the east; oriental; of the Eastern Orthodox Church; of the eastern part of the globe," from east + -erne, suffix denoting direction. Cognate with Old Saxon ostroni, Old High German ostroni, Old Norse austroenn. Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia so called from 1620s.
-eer: noun word-forming element meaning "one who" (operates, produces, deals in); Englished form of French -ier, from Latin -arius, -iarius; compare -ary. Usually in English words of more recent borrowing from French; older words tend to keep -ier.
eidolon (n.): 1801, "a shade, a specter," from Greek eidolon "appearance, reflection in water or a mirror," later "mental image, apparition, phantom," also "material image, statue, image of a god, idol," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid). By 1881 in English as "a likeness, an image."
eighteen (n.): late 14c., eightene, earlier ahtene (c. 1200), from Old English eahtatiene, eahtatyne; see eight + -teen. Cognate with Old Frisian schtatine, Old Saxon ahtotian, Dutch achttien, Old High German ahtozehan, German achtzehn, Old Norse attjan, Swedish adertån.
morel (n.): type of edible mushroom, 1670s, from French morille (16c.), of uncertain origin, apparently from Germanic; compare Old High German morhilo (German Morchel), diminutive of morha "root of a tree or plant," from Proto-Germanic *murhon- (source of Old English more, German möhre "carrot").
teenager (n.): also teen ager, teen-ager; 1922, derived noun from teenage (q.v.). The earlier word for this was teener, attested in American English from 1894, and teen had been used as a noun to mean "teen-aged person" in 1818, though this was not common before 20c.
chemist (n.): 1560s, chymist, "alchemist," from Middle French chimiste, from Medieval Latin chimista, reduced from alchimista (see alchemy). Modern spelling is from c. 1790. Meaning "chemical scientist" is from 1620s; meaning "dealer in medicinal drugs" (mostly in British English) is from 1745.
chicane (n.): in English in various senses, including "act of chicanery" (1670s), "obstacles on a roadway" (1955), also a term in bridge (1880s), apparently all ultimately from an archaic verb chicane "to trick" (1670s), from French chicane (16c.), from chicaner "to pettifog, quibble" (15c., see chicanery).
chiton (n.): mollusc genus, 1816, from Latinized form of Greek khiton "frock (worn by both sexes), tunic, mail coat" (see chitin). Used in English in literal sense of "ancient Greek tunic" from 1850. The molluscs also are known as "coat-of-mail shells" for their mail-like covering.
compiler (n.): early 14c., from Anglo-French compilour, Old French compileur "author, chronicler," from Latin compilatorem, agent noun from compilare (see compile). Another form of the word current in early Modern English was compilator, directly from the Latin.
concordance (n.): late 14c., "alphabetical arrangement of all the words in a book" (especially the Bible), from Old French concordance (12c.) "agreement, harmony," from Late Latin concordantia, from concordantem (nominative concordans; see concord). Originally a citation of parallel passages. Literal meaning "fact of agreeing" attested in English from mid-15c.
Congo: African nation, named for the river that runs through it, which is from a Bantu word meaning "mountains" (i.e., the river that flows from the mountains). As an adjective, Congoese is native English (1797) but has been supplanted by Congolese (1900), from French Congolais.
Connor: masc. proper name, little used in U.S. before 1980; in the top 100 names given to boys from 1992; apparently an alteration and appropriation of the surname Conner (13c.), representing Old English cunnere "examiner, inspector" (as in ale-conner (see con (n.2)).
chaffer (n.): "a bargain," early 13c., cheffare "buying and selling," also (14c.) cheapfare, probably from Old English ceap "bargain, traffic, gain, sale" (see cheap) + faru "faring, going" (see fare (n.)). In later use, "haggling." The verb is recorded from mid-14c.
clearance (n.): 1560s, "action of clearing," from clear (v.) + -ance. Meaning "a clear space" is from 1788. Meaning "approval, permission" (especially to land or take off an aircraft) is from 1944, American English; national security sense recorded from 1948. Clearance sale attested by 1843.
cloudy (adj.): Old English cludig "rocky, hilly, full of cliffs;" see cloud (n.). Meaning "of the nature of clouds" is recorded from c. 1300; meaning "full of clouds" is late 14c.; that of "not clear" is from 1580s. Figurative sense of "gloomy" is late 14c. Related: Cloudiness; cloudily.
coition (n.): 1540s, "going together, coming together," from Late Latin coitionem (nominative coitio), noun of action from coitus, past participle of coire "to go together, come together" (see coitus). Meaning "sexual copulation" is attested in English from 1610s.
columbarium (n.): "subterranean sepulchre in ancient Roman places with niches for urns holding remains," neuter of Latin columbarius, "dove-cote" (so called from resemblance), literally "pertaining to doves;" from columba "dove." Literal sense of "dove-cote" is attested in English from 1881.
comedian (n.): 1580s, "comic poet," later (c. 1600) "stage actor in comedies," also, generally, "actor," from Middle French comédien, from comédie (see comedy). Meaning "professional joke-teller, etc." is from 1898. Old English had heahtorsmismið "laughter-maker."
common (n.): late 15c., "land held in common," from common (adj.). Commons "the third estate of the English people as represented in Parliament," is from late 14c. Latin communis also served as a noun meaning "common property, state, commonwealth."
bangs (n.): "hair cut straight across the forehead," 1878 (singular), American English, attested from 1870 of horses (bang-tail), perhaps from notion of abruptness (as in bang off "immediately, without delay," though this expression is attested only from 1886). See bang.
barbarism (n.): mid-15c., "uncivilized or rude nature," from French barbarisme (13c.), from Latin barbarismus, from Greek barbarismos "foreign speech," from barbarizein "to do as a foreigner does" (see barbarian). Only of speech in Greek, Latin, and French; sense extended in English to "uncivilized condition."
barefaced (adj.): 1580s, "with face uncovered or shaven;" see bare (adj.) + face (n.). Thus, "unconcealed" (c. 1600), and, in a bad sense, "shameless" (1670s). Compare effrontery. The half-French bare-vis (adj.) conveyed the same sense in Middle English.
barouche (n.): type of four-wheeled carriage, 1801, from dialectal German barutsche, from Italian baroccio "chariot," originally "two-wheeled car," from Latin birotus "two-wheeled," from bi- "two" + rotus "wheel," from rotare "go around" (see rotary). Frenchified in English, but the word is not French.
awoke: past tense of awake (v.), from Old English awoc; also see awaken. The tendency has been to restrict the strong past tense (awoke) to the original intransitive sense of awake and the weak inflection (awakened) to the transitive, but this never has been complete.
baize (n.): coarse woolen fabric, 1570s, bayse, from French baies, fem. plural of adjective bai "bay-colored," from Latin badius "chestnut-colored" (see bay (n.4)). Thus probably so called for its original color. French plural taken as a singular in English.
bellyache (n.): also belly-ache, 1590s, from belly (n.) + ache (n.). The verb in the slang sense of "complain" is first recorded 1888, American English; it appears not to have been used earlier than that, if ever, in a literal sense. Related: bellyached; bellyaching.
Betsy: fem. pet name, a diminutive of Bet, itself short for Elizabet or Elizabeth. Betsy as the typical a pet name for a favorite firearm is attested in American English by 1856 (compare Brown Bess, by 1785, British army slang for the old flintlock musket).
bice (n.): "pale blue color," early 15c., shortened from blew bis "blue bice," from French bis "swarthy, brownish-gray" (12c.), cognate with Italian bigio; of unknown origin. Via French combinations azur bis, vert bis the word came into English with a sense of "blue" or "green."
violent (adj.): mid-14c., from Old French violent or directly from Latin violentus, related to violare (see violation). In Middle English the word also was applied in reference to heat, sunlight, smoke, etc., with the sense "having some quality so strongly as to produce a powerful effect." Related: Violently.
lousy (adj.): mid-14c., lousi, "infested with lice," from louse + -y (2). Figurative use as a generic adjective of abuse dates from late 14c.; sense of "swarming with" (money, etc.) is American English slang from 1843. Related: Lousiness.
machinery (n.): 1680s; from machine (n.) + -ery. Originally theatrical, "devices for creating stage effects" (which also was a sense of Greek mekhane); meaning "machines collectively" is attested from 1731. Middle English had machinament "a contrivance" (early 15c.).
mariner (n.): mid-13c., from Anglo-French mariner, Old French marinier "seaman, sailor" (12c.), from Medieval Latin marinarius "sailor," from Latin marinus "of the sea" (see marine). Earlier and long more common than sailor. A sailor also could be a brimgeist in Old English.
lawful (adj.): c. 1300, laghful, "rightful, supported by law" (of sanctions, etc.); see law (n.) + -ful. Meaning "allowed by law" is late 14c. Similar construction in Old Norse logfullr. Old English had lahlic. Related: Lawfully; lawfulness.
leftover (adj.): also left-over, "remaining, not used up," 1890, from left + over. The noun meaning "something left over" is from 1891; leftovers "excess food after a meal" (especially if re-served later) is from 1878; in this sense Old English had metelaf.
Levittown: used figuratively for "generic suburban tract housing," American English, from the vast planned real estate developments built by the firm Levitt & Sons Inc., the first on Long Island, 1946-51 (more than 17,000 homes), the second north of Philadelphia (1951-55).
obese (adj.): 1650s, back-formation from obesity and in part from Latin obesus "fat, stout, plump," past participle of obedere "that has eaten itself fat" (see obesity). According to OED, "Rare before 19th c." Related: Obeseness. Latin obesus was translated in Old English as oferfæt "overfat."
obtund (v.): c. 1400, (transitive) "to render dead, make dull," used occasionally in English, especially in medical jargon; from Latin obtundere "to blunt, make dull, weaken, exhaust," literally "to beat against" (see obtuse). Related: Obtundation; obtunded.
lorgnette (n.): "opera glass with a handle," 1803 (from 1776 as a French word in English), from French lorgnette, from lorgner "to squint," also "to leer at, oogle" (16c.), from lorgne "squinting," of uncertain origin. With diminutive suffix -ette. Compare also French lorgnon "eyeglass, eyeglasses."
lover (n.): early 13c., agent noun from love (v.). Old English had lufend for male lovers, lufestre for women. Meaning "one who has a predilection for" (a thing, concept, pursuit, etc.) is mid-14c. As a form of address to a lover, from 1911. Related: Loverly.
mighty (adj.): Old English mihtig, earlier mæhtig, from miht (see might (n.)). Similar formation in Old Frisian mechtig, Old Saxon mahtig, Dutch machtig, German mächtig. As an adverb, it is attested from c. 1300, though now considered colloquial.
disobedience (n.): c. 1400, from Old French desobedience, from Vulgar Latin *disobedientia (replacing Latin inobedientia) from Latin dis- (see dis-) + obedientia (see obedience). The English word replaced earlier desobeissance in this sense, and inobedience (c. 1200).
M: 13th letter, from Greek mu, from Semitic mem. The Roman symbol for 1,000; sometimes used in this sense in English 15c.-16c.; but in late 20c. newspaper headlines it stands for million. As a thickness of type, from 1680s.
diner (n.): "one who dines, 1815," agent noun from dine. Meaning "railway car for eating" is 1890, American English; of restaurants built to resemble dining cars (or in some cases actual converted dining cars) from 1935. The Diner's Club credit card system dates from 1952.
Germanic (adj.): 1630s, "of Germany or Germans," from Latin Germanicus, from Germani (see German (n.)). From 1773 as "of the Teutonic race;" from 1842 especially with reference to the language family that includes German, Dutch, English, etc. As a noun, the name of that language family, by 1892, replacing earlier Teutonic. Germanical is attested from 1550s.
-ian: variant of suffix -an (q.v.), with connective -i-. From Latin -ianus, in which the -i- originally was from the stem of the word being attached but later came to be felt as connective. In Middle English frequently it was -ien, via French.