Online Etymology Dictionary

plenary (adj.): 1510s, earlier plenar (mid-13c.), from Old French plenier, from Medieval Latin plenarius "entire, complete," from Latin plenus "full, filled, greatly crowded; stout, pregnant; abundant, abounding; complete," from PIE *pele- (1) "to fill" (see poly-). Related: Plenarily.
roundelay (n.): 1570s, from Middle French rondelet, diminutive of rondel "short poem with a refrain," literally "small circle," diminutive of Old French rond "circle, sphere," originally an adjective from roont (see round (adj.)). Spelling developed by association with lay (n.1) "poem to be sung."
routine (n.): 1670s, from French routine "usual course of action, beaten path" (16c.), from route "way, path, course" (see route (n.)) + noun suffix -ine (see -ine (1)). Theatrical or athletic performance sense is from 1926. The adjective is attested from 1817, from the noun. Related: Routinely.
Pole (n.): "inhabitant or native of Poland," 1650s, from German Pole, singular of Polen, from Polish Polanie "Poles," literally "field-dwellers," from pole "field," related to Old Church Slavonic polje "field," from PIE root *pele- (2) "flat, to spread" (see plane (n.1)).
poleax (n.): kind of axe used as a weapon or by butchers, c. 1300, pollax, from pol "head" (see poll (n.)) + ax (n.). From notion of beheading or head-splitting, or perhaps from the shape of the ax. Spelling altered 17c. by confusion with pole (n.1)).
polyhedron (n.): 1560s, from Latinized form of Greek polyedron, neuter of adjective polyedros "having many bases or sides," from polys "many" (see poly-) + hedra "seat, base, chair, face of a geometric solid," from PIE root *sed- (1) "to sit" (see sedentary).
ponderous (adj.): c. 1400, "thick;" early 15c., "heavy, weighty, clumsy," from Latin ponderosus "of great weight; full of meaning," from pondus (genitive ponderis) "weight" (see pound (n.1)). Meaning "tedious" is first recorded 1704. Related: Ponderously; ponderousness.
trace (n.2): "straps or chains by which an animal pulls a vehicle," c. 1300, from earlier collective plural trays, from Old French traiz, plural of trait "strap for harnessing, act of drawing," from Latin tractus "a drawing, track," from stem of trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (n.1)). Related: Traces.
brunch: 1896, British student slang merger of breakfast and lunch.
To be fashionable nowadays we must 'brunch'. Truly an excellent portmanteau word, introduced, by the way, last year, by Mr. Guy Beringer, in the now defunct Hunter's Weekly, and indicating a combined breakfast and lunch. ["Punch," Aug. 1, 1896]
brush (n.2): "shrubbery," early 14c., from Anglo-French bruce "brushwood," Old North French broche, Old French broce "bush, thicket, undergrowth" (12c., Modern French brosse), from Gallo-Roman *brocia, perhaps from *brucus "heather," or possibly from the same source as brush (n.1).
compel (v.): mid-14c., from Old French compellir, from Latin compellere "to drive together, drive to one place" (of cattle), "to force or compel" (of persons), from com- "together" (see com-) + pellere "to drive" (see pulse (n.1)). Related: Compelled; compelling.
complication (n.): early 15c., from Middle French complication, from Latin complicationem (nominative complicatio), noun of action from past participle stem of complicare "to fold together, fold up, roll up," from com- "together" (see com-) + plicare "to fold, weave" (see ply (v.1)). Meaning "something that complicates" first recorded 1903.
comport (v.): late 14c., from Old French comporter "endure, admit, behave" (13c.), from Latin comportare "to bring together, collect," from com- "together" (see com-) + portare "to carry" (see port (n.1)). Meaning "to agree with, suit" (with with) is from 1580s. Related: Comported; comporting.
compress (v.): late 14c., "to press (something) together," from Old French compresser "compress, put under pressure," from Latin compressare "to press together," frequentative of comprimere "to squeeze," from com- "together" (see com-) + premere "to press" (see press (v.1)). Related: Compressed; compressing.
condiment (n.): early 15c., from Old French condiment (13c.), from Latin condimentum "spice, seasoning, sauce," from condire "to preserve, pickle, season," variant of condere "to put away, store," from com- "together" (see com-) + -dere comb. form meaning "to put, place," from dare "to give" (see date (n.1)).
arid (adj.): 1650s, "dry, parched," from French aride (15c.) or directly from Latin aridus "dry, arid, parched," from arere "to be dry," from PIE root *as- "to burn, glow" (see ash (n.1)). Figurative sense of "uninteresting" is from 1827. Related: Aridly.
modicum (n.): "small quantity or portion," late 15c., Scottish, from Latin modicum "a little," noun use of neuter of modicus "moderate, having a proper measure; ordinary, scanty, small, few," from modus "measure, manner" (see mode (n.1)).
module (n.): 1580s, "allotted measure," from Middle French module (1540s) or directly from Latin modulus "small measure," diminutive of modus "measure, manner" (see mode (n.1)). Meaning "interchangeable part" first recorded 1955; that of "separate section of a spacecraft" is from 1961.
misrule (n.): late 14c., "bad government of a state;" see mis- (1) + rule (n.). Meaning "disorderly conduct or living" is from c. 1400, obsolete except in Lord of Misrule, one chosen to preside over Christmas games in a great house (late 15c.).
mistake (v.): early 14c., "to commit an offense;" late 14c., "to misunderstand, misinterpret," from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse mistaka "take in error, miscarry," from mis- "wrongly" (see mis- (1)) + taka "take" (see take (v.)). Related: Mistook; mistaking.
pinniped (n.): 1842, from Modern Latin Pinnipedia, suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals (seals and walruses), literally "having feet as fins," from Latin pinna in secondary sense "fin" (see pin (n.)) + pes, genitive pedis "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)).
mug (n.2): "a person's face," 1708, possibly from mug (n.1), on notion of drinking mugs shaped like grotesque faces. Sense of "portrait or photograph in police records" (as in mug shot, 1950) had emerged by 1887. Hence, also, "a person" (especially "a criminal"), 1890.
prior (adj.): "earlier," 1714, from Latin prior "former, previous, first;" figuratively "superior, better;" as a noun "forefather; superior rank;" comparative of Old Latin pri "before," from PIE *prai-, *prei-, from root *per- (1) "forward, through" (see per).
preponderate (v.): 1610s, "to weigh more than," from Latin praeponderatus, past participle of praeponderare "outweigh, make heavier," from prae "before" (see pre-) + ponderare "to weigh" (see pound (n.1)). Meaning "to exceed in force or power" is from 1799. Related: Preponderation.
mystagogue (n.): "person who initiates into mysteries," 1550s, from Latin mystagogus "a guide to the mysteries," from Greek mystagogos, from mystes "one initiated into the mysteries" (see mystery (n.1)) + agogos "leading, a leader" (see act (n.)). Related: Mystagogic; mystagogical; mystagogy; mystagoguery.
aura (n.): 1870 in spiritualism, "subtle emanation around living beings;" earlier "characteristic impression" made by a personality (1859), earlier still "gentle breeze" (late 14c.), from Latin aura "breeze, wind, air," from Greek aura "breath, breeze," from PIE root *awer- (see air (n.1)).
snarl (v.1): "to tangle, to catch in a snare or noose" (trans.), late 14c., from a noun snarl "a snare, a noose" (late 14c.), probably a diminutive of snare (n.1). Intransitive sense "become twisted or entangled" is from c. 1600. Related: Snarled; snarling.
souffle (n.): light dish, sometimes savory but usually sweet, 1813, from French soufflé, noun use of past participle of souffler "to puff up," from Latin sufflare, from sub- "under, up from under" (see sub-) + flare "to blow" (see blow (v.1)).
sovereign (n.): late 13c., "superior, ruler, master," from Old French soverain "sovereign, lord, ruler," noun use of adjective meaning "highest, supreme, chief" (see sovereign (adj.)). Meaning "gold coin worth 22s 6d" first recorded late 15c.; value changed 1817 to 1 pound.
spatula (n.): 1520s (from early 15c. as a type of medical instrument), from Latin spatula "broad piece, spatula," diminutive of spatha "broad, flat tool or weapon," from Greek spathe "broad flat blade (used by weavers)" (see spade (n.1)). Erroneous form spattular is attested from c. 1600.
specimen (n.): 1610s, "pattern, model," from Latin specimen "indication, mark, example, sign, evidence; that by which a thing is known, means of knowing," from specere "to look at" (see scope (n.1)). Meaning "single thing regarded as typical of its kind" first recorded 1650s.
spectrum (n.): 1610s, "apparition, specter," from Latin spectrum (plural spectra) "an appearance, image, apparition, specter," from specere "to look at, view" (see scope (n.1)). Meaning "visible band showing the successive colors, formed from a beam of light passed through a prism" first recorded 1670s. Figurative sense of "entire range (of something)" is from 1936.
speculum (n.): 1590s, in surgery and medicine, "instrument for rendering a part accessible to observation," from Latin speculum "reflector, looking-glass, mirror" (also "a copy, an imitation"), from specere "to look at, view" (see scope (n.1)). As a type of telescope attachment from 1704.
tail (v.): 1520s, "attach to the tail," from tail (n.1). Meaning "move or extend in a way suggestive of a tail" is from 1781. Meaning "follow secretly" is U.S. colloquial, 1907, from earlier sense of "follow or drive cattle." Related: Tailed; tailing. Tail off "diminish" is attested from 1854.
hidebound (adj.): 1550s, from hide (n.1) + past tense of bind (v.). Original reference is to emaciated cattle with skin sticking closely to backbones and ribs; metaphoric sense of "restricted by narrow attitudes, obstinately set in opinion" is first recorded c. 1600. The rare hide-bind (v.) is a back-formation.
shuffleboard (n.): 1530s, shovillaborde "shovel board," an unexplained alteration of shove-board (1520s), from shove (v.) + board (n.1). Originally a tabletop game (c. 1600), the large-scale version (1877) was invented for play on ocean liners.
soften (v.): late 14c., "to mitigate, diminish" (transitive), from soft (adj.) + -en (1). Meaning "to make physically soft" is from 1520s; intransitive sense of "to become softer" is attested from 1610s. Soften up in military sense of "weaken defenses" is from 1940. Related: Softened; softening.
spare-ribs (n.): 1590s, formerly also spear-ribs, from spare (adj.), here indicating probably "absence of fat;" or perhaps from Middle Low German ribbesper "spare ribs," from sper "spit," and meaning originally "a spit thrust through pieces of rib-meat" [Klein]; if so, it is related to spar (n.1).
snowball (n.): c. 1400, from snow (n.) + ball (n.1). Similar formation in West Frisian sniebal, Middle Dutch sneubal, German Schneeball, Danish snebold. Expression snowball's chance (in hell) "no chance" is recorded by 1910.
shifty (adj.): 1560s, "able to manage for oneself, fertile in expedients," from shift (n.1) in secondary sense of "dodge, trick, artifice" + -y (2). Meaning "habitually using dishonest methods, characterized by trickery" first recorded 1837. In a sense "prone to shifting," of the wind, used from 1884. Related: Shiftily; shiftiness.
signpost (n.): also sign-post, 1610s, "sign on a post, usually indicating an inn or shop," from sign (n.) + post (n.1). Meaning "guide- or direction-post along a road" is attested from 1863. Figurative sense is from 1889.
stocky (adj.): c. 1400, "made of wood," from stock (n.1). Of plants, "of stout and sturdy growth" (not weedy) it is recorded from 1620s. Of persons, "thick-set," 1670s, suggestive of tree trunks, but compare also stock in sense of "trunk of the human body" (late 14c.).
straight (adj.2): "conventional," especially "heterosexual," 1941, a secondary sense evolved from straight (adj.1), probably suggested by straight and narrow path "course of conventional morality and law-abiding behavior," which is based on a misreading of Matt. vii:14 (where the gate is actually strait), and the other influence seems to be from strait-laced.
Mstislav: Slavic masc. proper name, literally "vengeful fame," from Russian mstit' "to take revenge," from Proto-Slavic *misti "revenge," *mistiti "to take revenge," from PIE *mit-ti-, extended form of root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move" (see mutable); for second element, see Slav.
triceratops (n.): dinosaur genus, 1890, from Greek trikeratos "three-horned" + ops "face," literally "eye," from PIE *okw- "to see" (see eye (n.)). The first element is from tri- "three" (see three) + keras (genitive keratos) "horn of an animal," from PIE *ker- (1) "horn, head" (see horn (n.)).
viral (adj.): "of the nature of, or caused by, a virus," 1944, see virus + -al (1). Sense of "become suddenly widely popular through Internet sharing" is attested by 1999, originally in reference to marketing and based on the similarity of the effect to the spread of a computer virus. Related: Virally.
waterbed (n.): also water-bed, 1610s, "a bed on board a ship," from water (n.1) + bed (n.). As a water-tight mattress filled with water, it is recorded from 1844, originally for invalids to prevent bedsores. Reinvented c. 1970 as a stylish furnishing.
watergate (n.): mid-14c., "channel for water;" late 14c., "flood-gate;" from water (n.1) + gate (n.). The name of a building in Washington, D.C., that housed the headquarters of the Democratic Party in the 1972 presidential election, it was burglarized June 17, 1972, which led to the resignation of President Nixon.
worsen (v.): mid-13c., wersnen "to make worse," also "to grow worse," from worse (adj.) + -en (1). The reflexive sense of "to get worse, become worse off" was elevated into literary use c. 1800-30, where formerly worse (v.) had served. Related: Worsened; worsening.
unsteady (adj.): 1590s, "not firm or secure in position," from un- (1) "not" + steady (adj.). Similar formation in Old Frisian unstadich, German unstätig, Middle Dutch onstadich. Meaning "marked by irregularity" is from 1680s. Related: Unsteadily (1550s).