Online Etymology Dictionary

mansion (n.): mid-14c., "chief residence of a lord," from Old French mansion "stay, permanent abode, house, habitation, home; mansion; state, situation" (13c.), from Latin mansionem (nominative mansio) "a staying, a remaining, night quarters, station," noun of action from past participle stem of manere "to stay, abide," from PIE *men- "to remain, wait for" (source also of Greek menein "to remain," Persian mandan "to remain"). Sense of "any large and stately house" is from 1510s. The word also was used in Middle English as "a stop or stage of a journey," hence probably astrological sense "temporary home" (late 14c.).
tavern (n.): late 13c., "wine shop," later "public house" (mid-15c.), from Old French taverne (mid-13c.) "shed made of boards, booth, stall," also "tavern, inn," from Latin taberna "shop, inn, tavern," originally "hut, shed, rude dwelling," possibly [Klein] by dissimilation from *traberna, from trabs (genitive trabis) "beam, timber," from PIE *treb- "dwelling" (source also of Lithuanian troba "a building," Old Welsh treb "house, dwelling," Welsh tref "a dwelling," Irish treb "residence," Old English ðorp "village, hamlet, farm, estate"). If so, the original meaning probably was "wooden shed."
hospice (n.): 1818, "rest house for travelers," especially the houses of refuge and shelter kept by monks in the passes of the Alps, from French hospice "hospital, almshouse" (Old French ospice "hospice, shelter," also "hospitality," 13c.), from Latin hospitium "hospitable reception, entertainment; hospitality, bonds of hospitality, relationship of guest and host;" also "place of entertainment, lodging, inn, guest-house," from hospes (genitive hospitis) "guest; host," also "a stranger, foreigner" (see host (n.1)).

Sense of "home for the aged and terminally ill " is from 1879; hospice movement first attested 1978.
premise (n.): late 14c., in logic, "a previous proposition from which another follows," from Old French premisse (14c.), from Medieval Latin premissa (propositio or sententia) "(the proposition) set before," noun use of fem. past participle of Latin praemittere "send forward, put before," from prae "before" (see pre-) + mittere "to send" (see mission). In legal documents it meant "matter previously stated" (early 15c.), which in deeds or wills often was a house or building, hence the extended meaning "house or building, with grounds" (1730).
stegosaurus (n.): type of plant-eating dinosaur, 1892, from Modern Latin order name Stegosauria (O.C. Marsh, 1877), from comb. form of Greek stegos "a roof" (related to stege "covering," stegein "to cover," from PIE root *(s)teg- (2) "to cover," especially "cover with a roof" (source also of Sanskrit sthag- "cover, conceal, hide;" Latin tegere "to cover;" Lithuanian stegti "roof;" Old Norse þekja, Old English þeccan "thatch;" Dutch dekken, German decken "to cover, put under roof;" Irish tuigiur "cover," tech "house;" Welsh toi "thatch, roof," ty "house") + -saurus. The back-armor plates in the fossilized remains look like roof tiles.
hall (n.): Old English heall "spacious roofed residence, house; temple; law-court," any large place covered by a roof, from Proto-Germanic *hallo "covered place, hall" (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German halla, German halle, Dutch hal, Old Norse höll "hall;" Old English hell, Gothic halja "hell"), from PIE root *kel- (2) "to hide, cover, conceal" (see cell).

Sense of "passageway in a building" evolved 17c., from the time when the doors to private rooms opened onto the large public room of the house. Older sense preserved in town hall, music hall, etc., in use of the word in Britain and Southern U.S. for "manor house," also "main building of a college" (late 14c.). French halle, Italian alla are from Middle High German. Hall of fame attested by 1786 as an abstract concept; in sporting sense first attested 1901, in reference to Columbia College; the Baseball Hall of Fame opened in 1939. Related: Hall-of-famer.
build (v.): late Old English byldan "construct a house," verb form of bold "house," from Proto-Germanic *buthlam (source also of Old Saxon bodl, Old Frisian bodel "building, house"), from PIE *bhu- "to dwell," from root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow" (see be). Rare in Old English; in Middle English it won out over more common Old English timbran (see timber). Modern spelling is unexplained. Figurative use from mid-15c. Of physical things other than buildings from late 16c. Related: Builded (archaic); built; building.
In the United States, this verb is used with much more latitude than in England. There, as Fennimore Cooper puts it, everything is BUILT. The priest BUILDS up a flock; the speculator a fortune; the lawyer a reputation; the landlord a town; and the tailor, as in England, BUILDS up a suit of clothes. A fire is BUILT instead of made, and the expression is even extended to individuals, to be BUILT being used with the meaning of formed. [Farmer, "Slang and Its Analogues," 1890]
steward (n.): Old English stiward, stigweard "house guardian, housekeeper," from stig "hall, pen for cattle, part of a house" (see sty (n.1)) + weard "guard" (see ward (n.)). Used after the Conquest as the equivalent of Old French seneschal (q.v.). Meaning "overseer of workmen" is attested from c. 1300. The sense of "officer on a ship in charge of provisions and meals" is first recorded mid-15c.; extended to trains 1906. This was the title of a class of high officers of the state in early England and Scotland, hence meaning "one who manages affairs of an estate on behalf of his employer" (late 14c.). Meaning "person who supervises arrangements" at a meeting, dinner, etc., is from 1703.

The Scottish form (with terminal -t attested from late 14c.) is reflected in Stewart, name of the royal house descended from Walter (the) Steward, who married (1315) Marjorie de Bruce, daughter of King Robert. Stuart is a French spelling, attested from 1429 and adopted by Mary, Queen of Scots.
wassail: mid-12c., from Old Norse ves heill "be healthy," a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa "to be" (see was) + heill "healthy," from Proto-Germanic *haila- (see health). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants.

A similar formation appears in Old English wes þu hal, but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. Sense extended c. 1300 to "liquor in which healths were drunk," especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Meaning "a carousal, reveling" first attested c. 1600. Wassailing "custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time" is recorded from 1742.
grange (n.): mid-13c. in surnames and place names; c. 1300 as "group of farms, small village," also "a granary, barn" (early 14c.), "outlying buildings of a monastic or other estate" (late 14c.), "small farm" (mid-15c.), and compare granger; from Anglo-French graunge, Old French grange "barn, granary; farmstead, farm house" (12c.), from Medieval Latin or Vulgar Latin granica "barn or shed for keeping grain," from Latin granum "grain," from PIE root *gre-no- "grain" (see corn (n.1)). Sense evolved to "outlying farm" (late 14c.), then "country house," especially of a gentleman farmer (1550s). Meaning "local lodge of the Patrons of Husbandry" (a U.S. farmers' cooperative and agricultural interest promotion organization) is from 1867.
hospital (n.): mid-13c., "shelter for the needy," from Old French hospital, ospital "hostel, shelter, lodging" (Modern French hôpital), from Late Latin hospitale "guest-house, inn," noun use of neuter of Latin adjective hospitalis "of a guest or host" (as a noun, "a guest; the duties of hospitality"), from hospes (genitive hospitis) "guest; host;" see host (n.1).

The sense of "charitable institution to house and maintain the needy" in English is from early 15c.; meaning "institution for sick or wounded people" is first recorded 1540s. The same word, contracted, is hostel and hotel. The sense shift in Latin from duties to buildings might have been via the common term cubiculum hospitalis "guest-chamber." The Latin adjective use continued in Old French, where ospital also could mean "hospitable" and ospitalite could mean "hospital."
salon (n.): 1690s, "large room or apartment in a palace or great house," from French salon "reception room" (17c.), from Italian salone "large hall," from sala "hall," from a Germanic source (compare Old English sele, Old Norse salr "hall," Old High German sal "hall, house," German Saal), from Proto-Germanic *salaz, from PIE *sel- (1) "human settlement" (source also of Old Church Slavonic selo "courtyard, village," obsolete Polish siolo, Russian selo "village," Lithuanian sala "village").

Sense of "reception room of a Parisian lady" is from 1810; meaning "gathering of fashionable people" first recorded 1888 (the woman who hosts one is a salonnière). Meaning "annual exhibition of contemporary paintings and sculpture in Paris" is from its originally being held in one of the salons of the Louvre. Meaning "establishment for hairdressing and beauty care" is from 1913.
plumbing (n.): mid-15c., "the weighting of a fishing line," verbal noun from plumb (v.). Specific meaning "water and drainage pipes" is recorded by 1875, American English.
THE apparatus by which the water from a reservoir is carried about over a building and delivered at points convenient for use, is called by the general name of plumbing. The word "plumbing" means lead-work; and it is used to signify this water apparatus of a house because the pipes of which it largely consists are usually made of lead. [Edward Abbott, "Long Look House: A Book for Boys and Girls," Boston, 1877]
Alternative plumbery also is mid-15c. Slang meaning "a person's reproductive organs" attested by 1975.
fax (n.): 1948, in reference to the technology, short for facsimile (telegraphy). Meaning "a facsimile transmission" is by 1980. The verb attested by 1970. Related: Faxed; faxing.
Futurists predict that a "fax" terminal in the house or business office may someday complement or even replace the mail-carrier. ["Scientific American," 1972]
ecology (n.): 1873, oecology, "branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments," coined in German by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel (1834-1919) as Ökologie, from Greek oikos "house, dwelling place, habitation" (see villa) + -logia "study of" (see -logy). In use with reference to anti-pollution activities from 1960s.
economy (n.): 1530s, "household management," from Latin oeconomia (source of French économie, Spanish economia, German Ökonomie, etc.), from Greek oikonomia "household management, thrift," from oikonomos "manager, steward," from oikos "house, abode, dwelling" (cognate with Latin vicus "district," vicinus "near;" Old English wic "dwelling, village;" see villa) + nomos "managing," from nemein "manage" (see numismatic). Meaning "frugality, judicious use of resources" is from 1660s. The sense of "wealth and resources of a country" (short for political economy) is from 1650s.
ideal (adj.): early 15c., "pertaining to an archetype or model," from Late Latin idealis "existing in idea," from Latin idea in the Platonic sense (see idea). Senses "conceived as perfect; existing only in idea," are from 1610s. Ideagenous "generating ideas" (1839) is a word from early psychology, apparently coined by Dr. Thomas Laycock, house surgeon to York County Hospital ["Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal," vol. 52].
pug (n.): 1560s, general term of endearment (also puggy), probably related to puck (n.2); one of the earliest senses is "sprite, imp" (1610s). The sense of "miniature dog" is from 1749 (pug-dog); that of "monkey" is 1660s. The word at various times meant "a bargeman" (1590s), "a harlot" (c. 1600), and "an upper servant in a great house" (1847).
quinella (n.): form of betting in which the bettor picks the first and second horses in a given race, 1942, American English, from American Spanish quiniela, originally a ball game with five players, from Latin quini "five each," from quinque "five" (see quinque-). The sense evolution in Spanish was said to be from the game to a wager on the scores of the players, hence "any wager against the house."
Ralph: masc. proper name, shortened from Radulf, from Old Norse Raðulfr (Old English Rædwulf), literally "wolf-counsel," from rað "counsel" (see read (n.)) + ulfr "wolf" (see wolf (n.)). The Century Dictionary also lists it as English printers' slang for "An alleged or imagined evil spirit who does mischief in a printing house."
pagoda (n.): 1580s, pagode (modern form from 1630s), from Portuguese pagode (early 16c.), perhaps from a corruption of Persian butkada, from but "idol" + kada "dwelling." Or perhaps from or influenced by Tamil pagavadi "house belonging to a deity," from Sanskrit bhagavati "goddess," fem. of bhagavat "blessed, adorable," from *bhagah "good fortune," from PIE root *bhag- "to share out, apportion" (source also of Greek phagein "to eat;" see -phagous).
hearth (n.): Old English heorð "hearth, fireplace, part of a floor on which a fire is made," also in transferred use "house, home, fireside," from West Germanic *hertho "burning place" (source also of Old Saxon and Old Frisian herth, Middle Dutch hert, Dutch haard, German Herd "floor, ground, fireplace"), from PIE *kerta-, from root *ker- (4) "heat, fire" (see carbon). Hearth-rug is from 1824. Hearth-stone is from early 14c.
laundry (n.): late 14c., "place for washing;" mid-15c., "act of washing," a contraction (compare launder) of Middle English lavendrie (late 13c.), from Old French lavanderie "wash-house," from Vulgar Latin lavandaria "things to be washed," plural of lavandarium, from lavare "to wash" (see lave). English meaning "articles that need to be or have been laundered" is from 1916. As a verb, from 1880. Laundry list in figurative sense is from 1958.
in-fighting (n.): 1816, in pugilism, the practice of getting at close quarters with an opponent; see in + fighting. Old English infiht (n.) meant "brawl within a house or between members of a household." Middle English had infight (v.) "to attack" (c. 1300); the modern verb infight "fight at close quarters" (1916) appears to be a back-formation from in-fighting. Related: In-fighter (1812).
harem (n.): 1630s, "part of a Middle Eastern house reserved for women," from Turkish harem, from Arabic haram "wives and concubines," originally "women's quarters," literally "something forbidden or kept safe," from root of harama "he guarded, forbade." From 1784 in English as "wives, female relatives and female slaves in a Middle Eastern household." The harem-skirt was introduced in fashion 1911. Harem pants attested from 1921; fashionable c. 1944.
zoo (n.): c. 1847, short for Zoological Gardens of the London Zoological Society, established 1828 in Regent's Park to house the society's collection of wild animals. The first three letters taken as one syllable. "From a mere vulgarism, this corruption has passed into wide colloquial use" [Century Dictionary]. Slang meaning "crowded and chaotic place" first recorded 1935.
barbican (n.): "outer fortification of a city or castle," mid-13c., from Old French barbacane (12c.), a general Romanic word, perhaps ultimately from Arabic or Persian (compare bab-khanah "gate-house"). Watkins identifies it as from Old Iranian *pari-varaka "protective," from *wor-o-, suffixed variant form of PIE root *wer- (5) "to cover" (see wier).
oracle (n.): late 14c., "a message from a god, expressed by divine inspiration," from Old French oracle "temple, house of prayer; oracle" (12c.) and directly from Latin oraculum "divine announcement, oracle; place where oracles are given," from orare "pray, plead" (see orator), with material instrumental suffix -culo-. In antiquity, "the agency or medium of a god," also "the place where such divine utterances were given." This sense is attested in English from c. 1400.
manor (n.): late 13c., "mansion, habitation, country residence, principal house of an estate," from Anglo-French maner, Old French manoir "abode, home, dwelling place; manor" (12c.), noun use of maneir "to dwell," from Latin manere "to stay, abide," from PIE root *men- "to remain" (see mansion). As a unit of territorial division in Britain and some American colonies (usually "land held in demesne by a lord, with tenants") it is attested from 1530s.
village (n.): late 14c., "inhabited place larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town," from Old French vilage "houses and other buildings in a group" (usually smaller than a town), from Latin villaticum "farmstead" (with outbuildings), noun use of neuter singular of villaticus "having to do with a farmstead or villa," from villa "country house" (see villa). As an adjective from 1580s. Village idiot is recorded from 1825. Related: Villager (1560s).
thatch (v.): late 14c., thecchen, from Old English þeccan "to cover, cover over, conceal," in late Old English specifically "cover the roof of a house," related to þæc "roof, thatching material," from Proto-Germanic *thakan (source also of Old Saxon thekkian, Old Norse þekja, Old Frisian thekka, Middle Dutch decken, Dutch dekken, Old High German decchen, German decken "to cover"), from PIE *(s)teg- (2) "to cover" (see stegosaurus).
massage (n.): 1874, from French massage "friction of kneading," from masser "to massage," possibly from Arabic massa "to touch, feel, handle;" if so, probably picked up in Egypt during the Napoleonic campaign there. Other possibility is that French got it in colonial India from Portuguese amassar "knead," a verb from Latin massa "mass, dough" (see mass (n.1)). Massage parlor first attested 1894, from the start a euphemism for "house of prostitution."
mastiff (n.): large, powerful breed of dog, early 14c., from Old French mastin "great cur, mastiff" (Modern French mâtin) or Provençal mastis, both from Vulgar Latin *mansuetinus "domesticated, tame," from Latin mansuetus "tame, gentle" (see mansuetude). Probably originally meaning a dog that stays in the house, thus a guard-dog or watchdog. Form in English perhaps influenced by Old French mestif "mongrel."
chocolate (n.): c. 1600, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) xocolatl, possibly from xocolia "to make bitter" + atl "water." Brought to Spain by 1520, from thence to the rest of Europe. Originally a drink; as a paste or cake made of ground, roasted, sweetened cacao seeds, 1640s.
To a Coffee-house, to drink jocolatte, very good [Pepys, "Diary," Nov. 24, 1664].
As a color from 1776. Chocolate chip is from 1940; chocolatier is attested from 1888.
foyer (n.): "lobby of a theater or opera house," 1859, from French foyer "green room, room for actors when not on stage," literally "fireplace," from Old French foier "furnace, stove, hearth, fireplace" (12c.), from Latin focarium, noun use of neuter of adjective focarius "having to do with the hearth," from focus "hearth, fireplace" (see focus (n.)).
frau (n.): "married woman," 1813, from German Frau "woman, wife," from Middle High German vrouwe "lady, mistress," from Old High German frouwa "mistress, lady" (9c.), from Proto-Germanic *frowo "lady" (source also of Old English freo "woman, lady," Middle Dutch vrouwe, Dutch vrouw), fem. of *frawan "lord," from suffixed form of PIE *pro- (see pro-). Swedish fru, Danish frue are ultimately from Dutch; the proper Scandinavian form is preserved in Old Norse freyja "lady," husfreyja "mistress of the house."
menage (n.): 1690s, "management of a household, domestic establishment," from French ménage, from Old French manage "household, family dwelling" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *mansionaticum "household, that which pertains to a house," from Latin mansionem "dwelling" (see mansion). Now generally used in suggestive borrowed phrase ménage à trois (1891), literally "household of three." Borrowed earlier as mayngnage, maynage and in the sense "members of a household, a man's household" (c. 1300); but this was obsolete by c. 1500.
domain (n.): early 15c., in Scottish, from Middle French domaine "domain, estate," from Old French demaine "lord's estate," from Latin dominium "property, dominion," from dominus "lord, master, owner," from domus "house" (see domestic). Form influenced in Old French by Medieval Latin domanium "domain, estate." Internet domain name attested by 1985.
domination (n.): late 14c., "rule, control," from Old French dominacion (12c.) "domination, rule, power," from Latin dominationem (nominative dominatio), noun of action from past participle stem of dominari "to rule, have dominion over," from dominus "lord, master," literally "master of the house," from domus "home" (see domestic) + -nus, suffix denoting ownership or relation. Sexual sense by 1961.
piazza (n.): 1580s, "public square in an Italian town," from Italian piazza, from Latin platea "courtyard, broad street," from Greek plateia (hodos) "broad (street);" see place (n.). According to OED, mistakenly applied in English 1640s to the colonnade of Covent Garden, designed by Inigo Jones, rather than to the marketplace itself; hence "the verandah of a house" (1724, chiefly American English).
apartment (n.): 1640s, "private rooms for the use of one person within a house," from French appartement (16c.), from Italian appartimento, literally "a separated place," from appartere "to separate," from a "to" (see ad-) + parte "side, place," from Latin partem (see part (n.)). Sense of "set of private rooms in a building entirely of these" (the U.S. equivalent of British flat) is first attested 1874.
booth (n.): mid-12c., from Old Danish boþ "temporary dwelling," from East Norse *boa "to dwell," from Proto-Germanic *bowan-, from PIE root *bheue- "to be, exist, grow" (see be). See also bound (adj.2). Compare German Bude "booth, stall," Middle Dutch boode, Lithuanian butas "house," Old Irish both "hut," Bohemian bouda, Polish buda, some probably borrowed from East Norse, some formed from the PIE root.
bordello (n.): c. 1300, bordel "house of prostitution," from Old French bordel "small hut, cabin; brothel" (12c.), diminutive of borde "hut made of planks," from Frankish *bord "wooden board" or some other Germanic source related to board (n.1). The modern form is a result of the French word being borrowed by Italian then passed back to French with a suffix and re-borrowed into English in its current form by 1590s.
bourse (n.): "stock exchange," 1570s, burse, from Old French borse "money bag, purse" (12c.), from Medieval Latin bursa "a bag" (see purse (n.)). French spelling and modern sense of "exchange for merchants" is first recorded 1845, from the name of the Paris stock exchange. The term originated because in 13c. Bruges the sign of a purse (or perhaps three purses), hung on the front of the house where merchants met.
pittance (n.): c. 1200, "pious donation to a religious house or order to provide extra food; the extra food provided," also "a small portion, scanty rations," from Old French pitance "pity, mercy, compassion; refreshment, nourishment; portion of food allowed a monk or poor person by a pious bequest," apparently literally "pity," from pitié (see pity). Meaning "small amount, portion" first recorded 1560s.
atrium (n.): 1570s, from Latin atrium "central court or main room of an ancient Roman house, room which contains the hearth," sometimes said (on authority of Varro, "De Lingua Latina") to be an Etruscan word, but perhaps from PIE *ater- "fire," on notion of "place where smoke from the hearth escapes" (through a hole in the roof). Anatomical sense of "either of the upper cavities of the heart" first recorded 1870. Meaning "skylit central court in a public building" first attested 1967.
treasure (n.): mid-12c., tresor, from Old French tresor "treasury, hoard, treasure" (11c., Modern French trésor), from Gallo-Roman *tresaurus, from Latin thesaurus "treasury, treasure" (source also of Spanish, Italian tesoro), from Greek thesauros "store, treasure, treasure house" (see thesaurus). In Middle English also thresur, etc.; modern spelling is from 16c. Replaced Old English goldhord. General sense of "anything valued" is recorded from c. 1200. Treasure hunt is first recorded 1913. For treasure trove, see trove.
roost (n.): late Old English hrost "wooden framework of a roof, perch for domestic fowl," from Proto-Germanic *hro(d)-st- (source also of Old Saxon hrost "framework of a roof, attic," Middle Dutch, Flemish, Dutch roest "roost," Old Norse hrot, Gothic hrot "roof," of unknown origin. Exact relationship and ulterior connections unknown. Extended sense "hen-house" is from 1580s. To rule the roost is recorded from 1769.
Bruce: a Norman surname, but etymology from Brix (place in La Manche, Normandy) is now considered doubtful ["Dictionary of English Surnames"]. Originated in Britain with Robert de Bruis, a baron listed in the Domesday Book. His son, a friend of David I, king of Scotland, was granted by him in 1124 the lordship of Annandale, and David's son, Robert, founded the Scottish House of Bruce. As a given name for U.S. males, most popular for boys born c. 1946-1954.
avenue (n.): c. 1600, "a way of approach" (originally a military word), from Middle French avenue "way of access," from Old French avenue "act of approaching, arrival," noun use of fem. of avenu, past participle of avenir "to come to, arrive," from Latin advenire "to come to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning shifted to "a way of approach to a country-house," usually bordered by trees, hence, "a broad, tree-lined roadway" (1650s), then to "wide, main street" (by 1846, especially in U.S.).