Online Etymology Dictionary

hymn (n.): "religious song," c. 1000, from Old French ymne and Old English ymen, both from Late Latin hymnus "song of praise," from Greek hymnos "festive song or ode in praise of gods or heroes" (also sometimes of mournful songs), used in Septuagint to translate several Hebrew words meaning "song praising God." Possibly a variant of hymenaios "wedding song," from Hymen, Greek god of marriage, or, as per Watkins, from a PIE root *sam- "to sing" (source also of Hittite išhamai "he sings," Sanskrit saman- "hymn, song"). Evidence for the silent -n- dates from at least 1530.
hype (n.): "excessive or misleading publicity or advertising," 1967, American English (the verb is attested from 1937), probably in part a back-formation of hyperbole, but also from underworld slang verb hype "to swindle by overcharging or short-changing" (1926), itself a back-formation from hyper "short-change con man" (1914), from the prefix hyper- meaning "over, to excess."

Also possibly influenced by drug addicts' slang hype, shortening of hypodermic needle (1913). Related: Hyped; hyping. In early 18c., hyp "morbid depression of the spirits" was colloquial for hypochondria (usually as the hyp or the hyps).
mildew (n.): mid-13c., mildeu "honeydew, nectar," from Old English meledeaw "honeydew" (sticky stuff exuded by aphids), from Proto-Germanic compound of *melith "honey" (see Melissa) + *dawwaz "dew" (see dew). Similar formation in Old Saxon milidou, Dutch meeldauw, German Meltau "mildew."

First element in many cases assimilated to forms of meal (n.2) "ground grain." As a kind of fungus it is first recorded mid-14c., so called from its being sticky and originally growing in plants. As a verb from 1550s. Related: Mildewed.
mine (n.1): "pit or tunnel in the earth for obtaining metals and minerals," c. 1300, from Old French mine "vein, lode; tunnel, shaft; mineral ore; mine" (for coal, tin, etc,), of uncertain origin, probably from a Celtic source (compare Welsh mwyn, Irish mein "ore, mine"), from Old Celtic *meini-. Italy and Greece were relatively poor in minerals, thus they did not contribute a word for this to English, but there was extensive mining from an early date in Celtic lands (Cornwall, etc.). From c. 1400 as "a tunnel under fortifications to overthrow them."
brake (n.1): mid-15c., "instrument for crushing or pounding," from Middle Dutch braeke "flax brake," from breken "to break" (see break (v.)). The word was applied to many crushing implements and to the ring through the nose of a draught ox. It was influenced in sense by Old French brac, a form of bras "an arm," thus "a lever or handle," which was being used in English from late 14c., and applied to "a bridle or curb" from early 15c. One or the other or both took up the main modern meaning of "stopping device for a wheel," first attested 1772.
coach (n.): 1550s, "large kind of carriage," from Middle French coche (16c.), from German kotsche, from Hungarian kocsi (szekér) "(carriage) of Kocs," village where it was first made. In Hungary, the thing and the name for it date from 15c., and forms are found in most European languages (Spanish and Portuguese coche, Italian cocchino, Dutch koets). Applied to railway cars 1866, American English. Sense of "economy or tourist class" is from 1949. Meaning "instructor/trainer" is c. 1830 Oxford University slang for a tutor who "carries" a student through an exam; athletic sense is 1861.
cocktail (n.): first attested 1806; H.L. Mencken lists seven versions of its origin, perhaps the most durable traces it to French coquetier "egg-cup" (15c.; in English cocktay). In New Orleans, c. 1795, Antoine Amédée Peychaud, an apothecary (and inventor of Peychaud bitters) held Masonic social gatherings at his pharmacy, where he mixed brandy toddies with his own bitters and served them in an egg-cup. On this theory, the drink took the name of the cup. Used from 1920s of any mix of substances (fruit, Molotov). Cocktail party first attested 1928.
coffin (n.): early 14c., "chest or box for valuables," from Old French cofin "sarcophagus," earlier "basket, coffer" (12c., Modern French coffin), from Latin cophinus "basket, hamper" (source of Italian cafano, Spanish cuebano "basket"), from Greek kophinos "a basket," which is of uncertain origin.

Funeral sense in English is 1520s; before that it was the literal Latin one and had also a meaning of "pie crust" (late 14c.). Meaning "vehicle regarded as unsafe" is from 1830s. Coffin nail "cigarette" is slang from 1880; nail in (one's) coffin "thing that contributes to one's death" is from 1792.
coin (n.): c. 1300, "a wedge," from Old French coing (12c.) "a wedge; stamp; piece of money; corner, angle," from Latin cuneus "a wedge." The die for stamping metal was wedge-shaped, and the English word came to mean "thing stamped, a piece of money" by late 14c. (a sense that already had developed in French). Compare quoin, which split off from this word 16c. Modern French coin is "corner, angle, nook." Coins were first struck in western Asia Minor in 7c. B.C.E.; Greek tradition and Herodotus credit the Lydians with being first to make and use coins of silver and gold.
com-: word-forming element usually meaning "with, together," from Latin com, archaic form of classical Latin cum "together, together with, in combination," from PIE *kom- "beside, near, by, with" (compare Old English ge-, German ge-). The prefix in Latin sometimes was used as an intensive.

Before vowels and aspirates, reduced to co-; before -g-, assimilated to cog- or con-; before -l-, assimilated to col-; before -r-, assimilated to cor-; before -c-, -d-, -j-, -n-, -q-, -s-, -t-, -v- assimilated to con-.
draft (n.): c. 1500, spelling variant of draught (q.v.) to reflect change in pronunciation. Among the senses that have gone with this form of the word in American English, the meaning "rough copy of a writing" (something "drawn") is attested from 14c.; that of "preliminary sketch from which a final copy is made" is from 1520s; that of "flow of a current of air" is from c. 1770. Of beer from the 1830s, in reference to the method of "drawing" it from the cask. Sense in bank draft is from 1745. The meaning "a drawing off a group for special duty" is from 1703, in U.S. especially of military service; the verb in this sense first recorded 1714. Related: Drafted; drafting.
drag (v.): mid-15c., from Old Norse draga, or a dialectal variant of Old English dragan "to draw," both from Proto-Germanic *dragan "to draw, pull," from PIE root *dhragh- "to draw, drag on the ground" (source also of Sanskrit dhrajati "pulls, slides in," Russian drogi "wagon;" but not considered to be directly the source of Latin trahere).

Meaning "to take a puff" (of a cigarette, etc.) is from 1914. Related: Dragged; dragging. Drag-out "violent fight" is from c. 1859. To drag (one's) feet (1946, in figurative sense) supposedly is from logging, from a lazy way to use a two-man saw.
pitch (v.1): c. 1200, "to thrust in, fasten, settle," probably from an unrecorded Old English *piccean, related to prick (v.). The original past tense was pight. Sense of "set upright," as in pitch a tent (late 13c.), is from notion of "driving in" the pegs. Meaning "incline forward and downward" is from 1510s. Meaning "throw (a ball)" evolved late 14c. from that of "hit the mark." Musical sense is from 1670s. Of ships, "to plunge" in the waves, 1620s. To pitch in "work vigorously" is from 1847, perhaps from farm labor. Related: Pitched; pitching.
platform (n.): 1540s, "plan of action, scheme, design," from Middle French plateforme, platte fourme, literally "flat form," from Old French plat "flat" (see plateau (n.)) + forme "form" (see form (n.)). The literal sense of "raised, level surface" in English is first recorded 1550s. Political meaning, "statement of party policies," is from 1803, probably originally an image of a literal platform on which politicians gather, stand, and make their appeals, perhaps influenced by earlier sense of "set of rules governing church doctrine" (first attested 1570s). Railroad station sense is from 1838.
minus (prep.): late 15c., "with subtraction of," from Latin minus "less," neuter of minor "smaller," from PIE *mi-nu-, suffixed form of root *mei- (2) "small" (source also of Latin minuere "to diminish, reduce, lessen," Greek meion "less, smaller," Old English minsian "to diminish," Sanskrit miyate "diminishes, declines," Russian men'she "less").

Mathematical use in expressions of calculation did not exist in the word in classical Latin and is probably from North Sea medieval commercial usage of Latin plus and minus to indicate surplus or deficiency of weight or measure. Origin of the "minus sign" is disputed.
confess (v.): late 14c., from Old French confesser (transitive and intransitive), from Vulgar Latin *confessare, from Latin confess-, past participle stem of confiteri "to acknowledge," from com- "together" (see com-) + fateri "to admit," akin to fari "speak," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).

Its original religious sense was of one who avows his religion in spite of persecution or danger but does not suffer martyrdom. Old French confesser thus had a figurative sense of "to harm, hurt, make suffer." Related: Confessed; confessing. An Old English word for it was andettan.
consider (v.): late 14c., from Old French considerer (13c.) "reflect on, consider, study," from Latin considerare "to look at closely, observe," perhaps literally "to observe the stars," from com- "with" (see com-) + sidus (genitive sideris) "constellation" (see sidereal).

Perhaps a metaphor from navigation, but more likely reflecting Roman obsession with divination by astrology. Tucker doubts the connection with sidus, however, because it is "quite inapplicable to desiderare," and suggests derivation instead from the PIE root of English side meaning "stretch, extend," and a sense for the full word of "survey on all sides" or "dwell long upon." Related: Considered; considering.
constable (n.): c. 1200, "chief household officer, justice of the peace," from Old French conestable (12c., Modern French connétable), "steward, governor," principal officer of the Frankish king's household, from Late Latin comes stabuli, literally "count of the stable" (established by Theodosian Code, c.438 C.E.), hence, "chief groom." See count (n.). Second element is from Latin stabulum "stable, standing place" (see stable (n.)). Probably a translation of a Germanic word. Meaning "an officer of the peace" is from c. 1600, transferred to "police officer" 1836. French reborrowed constable 19c. as "English police."
month (n.): Old English monað, from Proto-Germanic *menoth- (source also of Old Saxon manoth, Old Frisian monath, Middle Dutch manet, Dutch maand, Old High German manod, German Monat, Old Norse manaðr, Gothic menoþs "month"), related to *menon- "moon" (see moon (n.); the month was calculated from lunar phases). Its cognates mean only "month" in the Romance languages, but in Germanic generally continue to do double duty. Phrase a month of Sundays "a very long time" is from 1832 (roughly 7 and a half months, but never used literally).
pluvial (adj.): 1650s, "pertaining to rain," from French pluvial (12c.), from Latin pluvialis "pertaining to rain, rainy, rain-bringing," from (aqua) pluvia "rain (water)," from fem. of pluvius "rainy," from plovere "to rain," from PIE root *pleu- "to flow, to swim" (source also of Sanskrit plavate "navigates, swims;" Greek plynein "to wash," plein "to navigate," ploein "to float, swim," plotos "floating, navigable;" Armenian luanam "I wash;" Old English flowan "to flow;" Old Church Slavonic plovo "to flow, navigate;" Lithuanian pilu, pilti "to pour out," plauju, plauti "to swim, rinse").
ply (v.1): "work with, use," late 14c., shortened form of applien "join to, apply" (see apply). The core of this is Latin plicare "to lay, fold, twist," from PIE root *plek- "to plait, twist" (source also of Greek plekein "to plait, twine," plektos "twisted;" Latin plectere (past participle plexus) "to plait, braid, intertwine;" Old Church Slavonic plesti "to braid, plait, twist;" Gothic flahta "braid;" Old English fleax "cloth made with flax, linen").

Sense of "travel regularly" is first 1803, perhaps from earlier sense "steer a course" (1550s). Related: Plied; plies; plying.
trial (n.): mid-15c., "act or process of testing, a putting to proof by examination, experiment, etc.," from Anglo-French trial, noun formed from triet "to try" (see try (v.)). Sense of "examining and deciding of the issues between parties in a court of law" is first recorded 1570s; extended to any ordeal by 1590s. As an adjectival phrase, trial-and-error is recorded from 1806. Trial balloon (1826) translates French ballon d'essai, a small balloon sent up immediately before a manned ascent to determine the direction and tendency of winds in the upper air, though the earliest use in English is figurative.
troop (n.): 1540s, "body of soldiers," 1540s, from Middle French troupe, from Old French trope "band of people, company, troop, crowd" (13c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Frankish *throp "assembly, gathering of people" or another Germanic source, perhaps related to Old English ðorp, Old Norse thorp "village" (see thorp). OED derives the French word from Latin troppus "flock," which is of unknown origin but also might be from the proposed Germanic source. Of groups of animals from 1580s. Specifically as "a subdivision of a cavalry force" from 1580s; of Boy Scouts from 1908. Troops "armed forces" is from 1590s.
mosaic (n.): c. 1400, from Old French mosaicq "mosaic work," from Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin musaicum "mosaic work, work of the Muses," noun use of neuter of musaicus "of the Muses," from Latin Musa (see muse). Medieval mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The word formed in Medieval Latin as though from Greek, but the (late) Greek word for "mosaic work" was mouseion (Klein says this sense was borrowed from Latin). Figurative use is from 1640s. As an adjective in English from 1580s. Related: Mosaicist.
mound (n.): 1550s, "hedge, fence," also "embankment, dam" (a sense probably influenced by mount (n.)). The relationship between the noun and the verb is uncertain. Commonly supposed to be from Old English mund "hand, protection, guardianship" (cognate with Latin manus), but this is not certain (OED discounts it on grounds of sense). Perhaps a confusion of the native word and Middle Dutch mond "protection," used in military sense for fortifications of various types, including earthworks. From 1726 as "artificial elevation" (as over a grave); 1810 as "natural low elevation." As the place where the pitcher stands on a baseball field, from 1912.
mourn (v.): Old English murnan "to mourn, bemoan, long after," also "be anxious about, be careful" (class III strong verb; past tense mearn, past participle murnen), from Proto-Germanic *murnan "to remember sorrowfully" (source also of Old Saxon mornon, Old High German mornen, Gothic maurnan "to mourn," Old Norse morna "to pine away"), probably from PIE root *(s)mer- "to remember" (see memory); or, if the Old Norse sense is the base one, from *mer- "to die, wither." Related: Mourned; mourning.
popular (adj.): early 15c., "public," from Middle French populier (Modern French populaire) and directly from Latin popularis "belonging to the people, general, common; devoted to or accepted by the people; democratic," from populus "people" (see people (n.)).

Meaning "suited to ordinary people" is from 1570s in English; hence, of prices, "low, affordable to average persons" (1859). Meaning "well-liked, admired by the people" is attested from c. 1600. Of art, entertainment, etc., "favored by people generally" from 1819 (popular song). Related: Popularly. Popular Front "coalition of Communists, Socialists, and radicals" is from 1936, first in a French context.
trunk (n.1): mid-15c., "box, case," from Old French tronc "alms box in a church," also "trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body, wooden block" (12c.), from Latin truncus "trunk of a tree, trunk of the body," of uncertain origin, perhaps originally "mutilated, cut off." The meaning "box, case" is likely to be from the notion of the body as the "case" of the organs. English acquired the "main stem of a tree" and "torso of the body" senses from Old French in late 15c. The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.
as (adv.): c. 1200, worn-down form of Old English alswa "quite so" (see also), fully established by c. 1400. Equivalent to so; any distinction in use is purely idiomatic. Related to German als "as, than," from Middle High German also. Phrase as well "just as much" is recorded from late 15c.; the phrase also can imply "as well as not," "as well as anything else." Interjection of incredulity as if! (i.e. "as if that really could happen") is attested from 1995, an exact duplication of Latin quasi.
prairie (n.): tract of level or undulating grassland in North America, by 1773, from French prairie "meadow, grassland," from Old French praerie "meadow, pastureland" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *prataria, from Latin pratum "meadow," originally "a hollow." The word existed in Middle English as prayere, but was lost and reborrowed to describe the American plains. Prairie dog is attested from 1774; prairie schooner "immigrant's wagon" is from 1841. Illinois has been the Prairie State since at least 1861. In Latin, Neptunia prata was poetic for "the sea."
turquoise (n.): greenish-blue precious stone, 1560s, from Middle French, replacing Middle English turkeis, turtogis (late 14c.), from Old French fem. adjective turqueise "Turkish," in pierre turqueise "Turkish stone," so called because it was first brought to Europe from Turkestan or some other Turkish dominion. Cognate with Spanish turquesa, Medieval Latin (lapis) turchesius, Middle Dutch turcoys, German türkis, Swedish turkos. As an adjective, 1570s. As a color name, attested from 1853. "Chemically it is a hydrated phosphate of aluminum and copper" [Flood].
convent (n.): c. 1200, covent, cuvent, from Anglo-French covent, from Old French convent, from Latin conventus "assembly," used in Medieval Latin for "religious house," originally past participle of convenire "come together" (see convene). Not exclusively feminine until 18c. The form with restored Latin -n- emerged early 15c. The Middle English form remains in London's Covent Garden district (notorious late 18c. for brothels), so called because it had been the garden of a defunct monastery.
COVENT GARDEN ABBESS. A bawd.
COVENT GARDEN AGUE. The venereal diſeaſe.
["Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1796]
mortgage (n.): late 14c., morgage, "conveyance of property as security for a loan or agreement," from Old French morgage (13c.), mort gaige, literally "dead pledge" (replaced in modern French by hypothèque), from mort "dead" (see mortal (adj.)) + gage "pledge" (see wage (n.)). So called because the deal dies either when the debt is paid or when payment fails. Old French mort is from Vulgar Latin *mortus "dead," from Latin mortuus, past participle of mori "to die" (see mortal (adj.)). The -t- restored in English based on Latin.
bureau (n.): 1690s, "desk with drawers, writing desk," from French bureau "office; desk, writing table," originally "cloth covering for a desk," from burel "coarse woolen cloth" (as a cover for writing desks), Old French diminutive of bure "dark brown cloth," which is perhaps either from Latin burrus "red," or from Late Latin burra "wool, shaggy garment." Offices being full of such desks, the meaning expanded 1720 to "division of a government." Meaning "chest of drawers" is from 1770, said to be American English but early in British use.
burgeon (v.): early 14c., "grow, sprout, blossom," from Anglo-French burjuner, Old French borjoner "to bud, sprout," from borjon "a bud, shoot, pimple" (Modern French bourgeon), of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *burrionem (nominative *burrio), from Late Latin burra "flock of wool," itself of uncertain origin. Some sources (Kitchin, Gamillscheg) say either the French word or the Vulgar Latin one is from Germanic. The English verb is perhaps instead a native development from burjoin (n.) "a bud" (c. 1300), from Old French. Related: Burgeoned; burgeoning.
Burke (v.): family name (first recorded 1066), from Anglo-Norman pronunciation of Old English burgh. Not common in England itself, but it took root in Ireland, where William de Burgo went in 1171 with Henry II and later became Earl of Ulster. As shorthand for a royalty reference book, it represents "A General and Heraldic Dictionary of the Peerage and Baronetage of the United Kingdom," first issued 1826, compiled by John Burke (1787-1848). As a verb meaning "murder by smothering," it is abstracted from William Burk, executed in Edinburgh 1829 for murdering several persons to sell their bodies for dissection.
bulletin (n.): 1765, from French bulletin (16c.), modeled on Italian bulletino, diminutive of bulletta "document, voting slip," itself a diminutive of Latin bulla (see bull (n.2)) with equivalent of Old French -elet (see -let). The word was used earlier in English in the Italian form (mid-17c.). Popularized by their use in the Napoleonic Wars as the name for dispatches sent from the front and meant for the home public (which led to the proverbial expression as false as a bulletin). Bulletin board is from 1831.
post (n.1): "a timber set upright," from Old English post "pillar, doorpost," and Old French post "post, upright beam," both from Latin postis "door, post, doorpost," perhaps from por- "forth" (see pro-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand, set down, make or be firm" (see stet).

Similar compounds are Sanskrit prstham "back, roof, peak," Avestan parshti "back," Greek pastas "porch in front of a house, colonnade," Middle High German virst "ridepole," Lithuanian pirstas, Old Church Slavonic pristu "finger" (PIE *por-st-i-).
traduce (v.): 1530s, "alter, change over, transport," from Latin traducere "change over, convert," also "lead in parade, make a show of, dishonor, disgrace," originally "lead along or across, bring through, transfer" (source also of French traduire, Spanish traducir, Italian tradurre), from trans- "across" (see trans-) + ducere "to lead" (see duke (n.)). Sense of "defame, slander" in English is from 1580s, from Latin traducere in the sense of "scorn or disgrace," a figurative use from the notion of "to lead along as a spectacle." Related: Traduced; traducing.
trash (n.): late 14c., "thing of little use or value, waste, refuse, dross," perhaps from a Scandinavian source (compare Old Norse tros "rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs," Norwegian dialectal trask "lumber, trash, baggage," Swedish trasa "rags, tatters"), of unknown origin. Applied to ill-bred persons or groups from 1604 ("Othello"), and especially of poor whites in the U.S. South by 1831. Applied to domestic refuse or garbage from 1906 (American English). Trash-can attested from 1914. To trash-talk someone or something is by 1989.
travail (n.): "labor, toil," mid-13c., from Old French travail "work, labor, toil, suffering or painful effort, trouble; arduous journey" (12c.), from travailler "to toil, labor," originally "to trouble, torture, torment," from Vulgar Latin *tripaliare "to torture," from *tripalium (in Late Latin trepalium) "instrument of torture," probably from Latin tripalis "having three stakes" (from tria "three;" see three + palus "stake;" see pale (n.)), which sounds ominous, but the exact notion is obscure. The verb is recorded from late 13c. in English, from the verb in Old French.
trek: 1849 (n.) "a stage of a journey by ox wagon;" 1850 (v.), "to travel or migrate by ox wagon," from Afrikaans trek, from Dutch trekken "to march, journey," originally "to draw, pull," from Middle Dutch trecken (cognate with Middle Low German trecken, Old High German trechan "to draw"). Especially in reference to the Groot Trek (1835 and after) of more than 10,000 Boers, who, discontented with the English colonial authorities, left Cape Colony and went north and north-east. In general use as a noun by 1941. Related: Trekked; trekking.
tremble (v.): c. 1300, "shake from fear, cold, etc.," from Old French trembler "tremble, fear" (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *tremulare (source also of Italian tremolare, Spanish temblar), from Latin tremulus "trembling, shaking, quaking," from tremere "to tremble, shiver, quake," from PIE *trem- "to tremble" (source also of Greek tremein "to shiver, tremble, to quake, to fear," Lithuanian trimu "to chase away," Old Church Slavonic treso "to shake," Gothic þramstei "grasshopper"). A native word for this was Old English bifian. Related: Trembled; trembling. The noun is recorded from c. 1600.
Plimsoll (n.): "mark on the hull of a British ship showing how deeply she may be loaded," 1881, from Samuel Plimsoll (1824-1898), M.P. for Derby and advocate of shipping reforms (which were embodied in the Merchant Shipping Act of 1876). Sense extended 1907 to "rubber-soled canvas shoe" (equivalent of American English sneakers) because the band around the shoes that holds the two parts together reminded people of a ship's Plimsoll line; sense perhaps reinforced by sound association with sole (which sometimes influenced the spelling to plimsole). The name is of Huguenot origin.
rood (n.): Old English rod "pole," varying from 6 to 8 yards; also "cross," especially that upon which Christ suffered; "crucifix," especially a large one; also a measure of land, properly 40 square poles or perches, from Proto-Germanic *rod- (source also of Old Saxon ruoda "stake, pile, cross," Old Frisian rode, Middle Dutch roede, Old High German ruota, German Rute "rod"), from PIE *ret- "post" (source also of Latin ratis "raft," retae "trees standing on the bank of a stream;" Old Church Slavonic ratiste "spear, staff;" Lithuanian rekles "scaffolding"). Probably not connected with rod.
rosemary (n.): late 14c., earlier rosmarine (c. 1300), from Latin rosmarinus, literally "dew of the sea" (compare French romarin), from ros "dew" + marinus (see marine (adj.)). Perhaps so called because it grew near coasts. Form altered in English by influence of rose and Mary.

Latin ros is from PIE *ers- "to be wet" (source also of Lithuanian rasa, Old Church Slavonic rosa "dew," Sanskrit rasah "sap, juice, fluid, essence," Hittite arszi "flows," and perhaps also Rha, Scythian name of the River Volga (see rhubarb)).
Polaris (n.): 1769, short for stella polaris, Modern Latin, literally "the pole star" (see polar). The ancient Greeks called it Phoenice, "the Phoenician (star)," because the Phoenicians used it for navigation, though due to precession of the equinoxes it was not then the pole star. Also see pole (n.2). The Old English word for it was Scip-steorra "ship-star," reflecting its importance in navigation. As the name of a U.S. Navy long-range submarine-launched guided nuclear missile, it dates from 1957.
polish (v.): early 14c., polischen "make smooth," from Old French poliss-, present participle stem of polir (12c.) "to polish, decorate, see to one's appearance," from Latin polire "to polish, make smooth; decorate, embellish;" figuratively "refine, improve," said to be from Proto-Indo-European *pel- "to thrust, strike, drive" (via the notion of fulling cloth). The sense of "free from coarseness, to refine" first recorded in English mid-14c. Related: Polished; polishing. Slang polish off "finish" is 1837, from notion of applying a coat of polish being the final step in a piece of work.
artery (n.): late 14c., from Anglo-French arterie, Old French artaire (13c.; Modern French artère), and directly from Latin arteria, from Greek arteria "windpipe," also "an artery," as distinct from a vein; related to aeirein "to raise" (see aorta).

They were regarded by the ancients as air ducts because the arteries do not contain blood after death; medieval writers took them for the channels of the "vital spirits," and 16c. senses of artery in English include "trachea, windpipe." The word is used in reference to artery-like systems of major rivers from 1805; of railways from 1850.
brave (adj.): late 15c., from Middle French brave, "splendid, valiant," from Italian bravo "brave, bold," originally "wild, savage," possibly from Medieval Latin bravus "cutthroat, villain," from Latin pravus "crooked, depraved;" a less likely etymology being from Latin barbarus (see barbarous). A Celtic origin (Irish breagh, Cornish bray) also has been suggested.

Old English words for this, some with overtones of "rashness," included modig (now "moody"), beald ("bold"), cene ("keen"), dyrstig ("daring"). Brave new world is from the title of Aldous Huxley's 1932 satirical utopian novel; he lifted the phrase from Shakespeare ("Tempest" v.i.183).