Online Etymology Dictionary

Coney Island: community in Brooklyn, N.Y., so called for the rabbits once found there (see coney) and was known to the Dutch as Konijn Eiland, from which the English name probably derives. It emerged as a resort and amusement park center after the U.S. Civil War.
Portuguese (n.): 1610s, the language, or a resident, of Portugal; 1660s as an adjective, from Portuguese Portuguez (see Portugal + -ese). The ending was vulgarly mistaken for a plural in English, and false singular Portugee (1830) was formed (compare Chinee from Chinese). For Portuguese man-of-war, see man-of-war.
petechia (n.): plural petechiae, "small crimson or purple spots on skin," c. 1795 (from 1580s in English texts as an Italian word), Modern Latin, from Italian petecchia "specks or freckles on the face," in plural form petecchie "measles," of unknown origin. Related: Petechial.
Pierre: Modern French form of masc. proper name represented in Modern English by Peter (q.v.). The city in South Dakota, U.S., was named for Pierre Chouteau (1789-1865) who set up an Indian trading post here in 1837.
sickness (n.): Old English seocnes "sickness, disease; a disease;" see sick (adj.) and -ness. Formerly synonymous with illness; in late 19c. it began to be restricted to nausea, leaving illness as "a rather more elegant and less definite term" [Century Dictionary].
preacher (n.): c. 1200, from Old French preecheor "preacher" (Modern French prêcheur), from Latin praedicatorem (nominative praedicator) "public praiser, eulogist," literally "proclaimer" (see preach). Slang short form preach (n.) is recorded by 1968, American English.
clapper (n.): late 13c., agent noun from clap (v.). Meaning "tongue of a bell" is from late 14c. Old English had clipur. Meaning "hinged board snapped in front of a camera at the start of filming to synchronize picture and sound" is from 1940.
nother: word formed from misdivision of another as a nother (see N for other examples), c. 1300. From 14c.-16c. no nother is sometimes encountered as a misdivision of none other or perhaps as an emphatic negative; Old English had noðer as a contraction of ne oðer "no other."
recitation (n.): late 15c., "act of detailing," from Old French récitation (14c.) and directly from Latin recitationem (nominative recitatio) "public reading, a reading aloud," noun of action from past participle stem of recitare (see recite). Meaning "act of repeating aloud" is from 1620s; that of "repetition of a prepared lesson" is first recorded 1770, American English.
ressentiment (n.): 1943, a word from Nietzsche, from German ressentiment, from French ressentiment (see resentment). The French word also was borrowed as obsolete English resentiment (16c.) "feeling or sense (of something); state of being deeply affected by (something); resentment."
denationalize (v.): 1807, "to deprive of nationality," from French dénationaliser (said in contemporary English publications to have been coined by Napoleon Buonaparte; denapoleonize was coined shortly thereafter); see de- + nationalize. Meaning "to transfer from national to private ownership" recorded from 1921. Related: Denationalized; denationalization.
propitiatory: c. 1300 (n.) "the mercy seat," from Late Latin propitiatorium (translating Greek hilasterion in Bible); noun use of neuter singular of propitiatorius "atoning, reconciling," from propitiatus, past participle of propitiare (see propitiation). As an adjective in English from 1550s.
profundity (n.): early 15c., "bottom of the sea," from Old French profundite (Modern French profondité) and directly from Late Latin profunditatem (nominative profunditas) "depth, intensity, immensity," from profundus "deep, vast" (see profound). Meaning "depth of intellect" in English is from c. 1500.
prudery (n.): 1709, from prude + -ery and in part from French pruderie.
The peculiarity of prudery is to multiply sentinels, in proportion as the fortress is less threatened. [Victor Hugo, "Les Misérables"]
Some 20c. writers in English used extended form prudibundery, in many cases likely for contemptuous emphasis, from French prudibonderie "prudery."
regulator (n.): 1650s, agent noun in Latin form from regulate. In English history, from 1680s; in American history, from 1767, applied to local posses that kept order (or disturbed it) in rural regions. As a mechanical device or clock used to set the time of other pieces, from 1758.
dipper (n.): late 14c., as a type of diving bird, agent noun from dip (v.). As a ladle or long-handled utensil for drawing liquid, from 1783, chiefly American English. As the popular U.S. name for the asterism known in Britain as The Plough or Charles' Wain, attested by 1833.
reave (v.): Old English reafian "to rob (something from someone), plunder, pillage," from Proto-Germanic *raubjon (source also of Old Frisian ravia, Middle Dutch roven, Dutch rooven, Old High German roubon, German rauben), from PIE *reup- "to snatch" (see rip (v.)). Related: Reaved; reaving.
diseased (adj.): late 15c., past participle adjective from Middle English verb disesen "to make uneasy; inflict pain" (mid-14c.), later "to have an illness or infection" (late 14c.); "to infect with a disease" (late 15c.), from disease (n.).
sulcus (n.): plural sulci, "fissure between convolutions of the brain," 1833, from medical use of Latin sulcus "furrow, trench, ditch, wrinkle," apparently literally "the result of plowing," from PIE *selk- "to pull, draw" (source also of Greek holkos "furrow," Old English sulh "plow," Lithuanian velku "I draw").
sunrise (n.): mid-15c., from sun (n.) + rise (v.); perhaps it evolved from a Middle English subjunctive, such as before the sun rise. Earlier in same sense were sunrist (mid-14c.); sunrising (mid-13c.). Compare sunset.
swamper (n.): 1735, "one who lives in a swampy district," from swamp (n.). Meaning "workman who clears a lumber road through swamp or forest" is 1857, American English; meaning "all-purpose assistant in a restaurant or saloon" is from 1907.
Sydney: Australian city, founded 1788 and named for British Home Secretary Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (1733-1800). The family name (also Sidney) is literally "dweller by the well-watered land," from Old English sid "side" + ieg "island."
meeting (n.): "action of coming together," Old English gemeting, verbal noun from meet (v.). Meaning "gathering of people for discussion, etc." is from 1510s. In 17c., it was applied generally to worship assemblies of nonconformists, but this now is retained mostly by Quakers.
theophany (n.): "an appearance of God to man," 1630s, from Late Latin theophania, from Greek theos "god" (see theo-) + phainein "to show" (see phantasm). In Middle English "Epiphany" (late 12c.). Ancient Greek Theophaneia was the name of a festival at Delphi during which the statues of Apollo and other gods were displayed to the public.
thatcher (n.): early 14c. (late 12c. as a surname); agent noun from thatch (v.). Corresponds to Old English þecere, Dutch dekker, German Decker. Thatcherite in British politics (1976) refers to policies and principles of Conservative politician and prime minister Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013).
field (v.): "to go out to fight," 16c., from field (n.) in the specific sense of "battlefield" (Old English). The sports meaning "to stop and return the ball" is first recorded 1823, originally in cricket; figurative sense of this is from 1902. Related: Fielded; fielding.
ted (v.): "to spread" (new-mown grass for drying), c. 1300, from an unrecorded Old English *teddan or from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse teðja "to spread manure." Related to German verzetteln "to scatter, squander." Related: Tedding; tedder.
felloe (n.): "rim of a spoked wheel," early 15c., variant of felie (c. 1200), from Old English felga, plural of felg "rim of a wheel," from Proto-Germanic *felz- (source also of Old Saxon felga, Middle Dutch velge, Dutch velg, Old High German felga, German Felge).
transfiguration (n.): late 14c., from Latin transfigurationem (nominative transfiguratio) "a change of form," noun of action from past participle stem of transfigurare (see transfigure). In English, originally "the change in appearance of Christ before his disciples" (Matt. xvii:2; Mark ix:2,3). The non-Christian sense is first recorded 1540s.
craft (v.): Old English cræftan "to exercise a craft, build," from the same source as craft (n.). Meaning "to make skilfully" is from early 15c., obsolete from 16c., but revived c. 1950s, largely in U.S. advertising and commercial senses. Related: Crafted; crafting.
raise (n.): "act of raising or lifting," 1530s, from raise (v.). Meaning "an increase in amount or value" is from 1728. Meaning "increase in salary or wages" is from 1898, chiefly American English (British preferring rise). Earliest attested use (c. 1500) is in obsolete sense of "a levy."
rush (n.2): "a hasty driving forward," late 14c., from rush (v.). Sense of "mass migration of people" (especially to a gold field) is from 1848, American English. Football/rugby sense from 1857. Meaning "surge of pleasure" is from 1960s. Rush hour first recorded 1888. Rush order from 1896.
rue (n.2): "sorrow, repentance," Old English hreow "grief, repentance, sorrow, regret, penitence," common Germanic (Frisian rou, Middle Dutch rou, Dutch rouw, Old High German (h)riuwa, German reue), related to the root of rue (v.).
tame (v.): mid-14c., from tame (adj.), or altered by the form of the adjective from Old English temian "subdue, make tame," from Proto-Germanic *tamjan- (source also of Old Norse temja, Old Frisian tema, Middle Dutch temmen, Old High German zemmen, German zähmen, Gothic tamjan). Related: Tamed; taming.
shutout (n.): also shut-out, 1889 in baseball sense, from verbal phrase shut out "exclude from a situation" (late 14c.; from 1881 in the sports score sense), from shut (v.) + out (adv.). Middle English had a verb outshut "to shut out, exclude," mid-15c.
case (v.): "enclose in a case," 1570s, from case (n.2). Related: Cased; casing. Meaning "examine, inspect" (usually prior to robbing) is from 1915, American English slang, perhaps from the notion of giving a place a look on all sides (compare technical case (v.) "cover the outside of a building with a different material," 1707).
pull (n.): c. 1300, "a fishing net;" mid-14c., "a turn at pulling," from pull (v.). From mid-15c. as "an act of pulling." Meaning "personal or private influence" is by 1889, American English, from earlier sense "power to pull (and not be pulled by)" a rival or competitor (1580s).
snag (v.): "be caught on an impediment," 1807, from snag (n.). Originally in American English, often in reference to steamboats caught on branches and stumps lodged in riverbeds. Of fabric, from 1967. The transitive meaning "to catch, steal, pick up" is U.S. colloquial, attested from 1895. Related: Snagged; snagging.
bridle (v.): "to control, dominate," c. 1200, from Old English bridlian "to fit with a bridle," from bridel (see bridle (n.)). Meaning "to throw up the head" (as a horse does when reined in) is from mid-15c. Related: Bridled; bridling.
tie (v.): Old English tigan, tiegan "to tie, bind, join, connect," from the source of tie (n.). Meaning "to finish equal to a competitor" is from 1888. Related: Tied; tying. To tie the knot in the figurative sense "form a union" is from 1707. Tie one on "get drunk" is recorded from 1944.
major (v.): "focus (one's) studies," 1910, American English, from major (n.) in sense of "subject of specialization" (1890). Related: Majored; majoring. Earlier as a verb, in Scottish, "to prance about, or walk backwards and forwards with a military air and step" [Jamieson, 1825].
margarite (n.): "a pearl," late Old English, from Late Latin margarita (see Margaret). Figuratively, "that which is precious or excellent, a priceless quality or attribute;" also used as an epithet for Christ, Mary, etc., late 13c. Also margerie (mid-14c.).
marguerite (n.): "oxeye daisy," 1866, from French marguerite (see Margaret). "According to French etymologists, this use of F. marguerite is not from the personal name, but comes directly from the sense 'pearl.' " [OED] In Middle English, margaret "a daisy" is attested from early 15c.
math (n.2): "a mowing," Old English mæð "mowing, cutting of grass," from Proto-Germanic *mediz (source also of Old Frisian meth, Old High German mad, German Mahd "mowing, hay crop"), from PIE *me- (4) "to cut grass" (see mow (v.)).
slash (n.): "a cutting stroke with a weapon," 1570s, from slash (v.); sense of "slit in a garment" is from 1610s; that of "open tract in a forest" is first attested 1825, American English. As a punctuation mark in writing or printing, it is recorded from 1961.
limaceous (adj.): "pertaining to slugs," 1650s, with -ous + Latin limax (genitive limacis) "snail, slug," from Greek leimax, from PIE root *(s)lei- "slime" (see slime (n.)). The Greek word is cognate with Russian slimák "snail," Lithuanian slíekas "earthworm," and the first element in Old English slaw-wyrm "slow-worm."
slow (v.): 1550s, "make slower;" 1590s, "go slower," from slow (adj.). Related: Slowed; slowing. Old English had slawian (intransitive) "to be or become slow, be sluggish," but the modern use appears to be a 16c. re-formation.
shred (v.): Old English screadian "to peel, prune, cut off," from Proto-Germanic *skrauth- (source also of Middle Dutch scroden, Dutch schroeien, Old High German scrotan, German schroten "to shred"), from root of shred (n.). Meaning "cut or tear into shreds" is from 1610s. Related: Shredded; shredding.
salve (v.1): Old English sealfian "anoint (a wound) with salve," from Proto-Germanic *salbojanan (source also of Dutch zalven, German salben, Gothic salbon "to anoint"), from the root of salve (n.). Figurative use from c. 1200. Related: Salved; salving.
lob (n.): a word of widespread application to lumpish things, probably in Old English. Compare Middle Dutch, Middle Low German lobbe, Old Norse lubba. From late 13c. as a surname; meaning "pollack" is from early 14c.; that of "lazy lout" is from late 14c.