Online Etymology Dictionary

rhesus: 1827, from Modern Latin genus name of a type of East Indian monkey (1799), given by French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Audebert (1759-1800), said to be an arbitrary use of Latin Rhesus, name of a legendary prince of Thrace, from Greek Rhesos.
Athabascan: 1846, Athapaskan, from the name of the North American Indian people, from Lake Athabaska in northern Alberta, Canada, from Woods Cree (Algonquian) Athapaskaw, said by Webster to mean literally "grass or reeds here and there," referring to the delta region west of the lake. Also in reference to their language group.
rook (n.2): chess piece, c. 1300, from Old French roc, from Arabic rukhkh, from Persian rukh, of unknown meaning, perhaps somehow related to the Indian name for the piece, rut, from Hindi rath "chariot." Confused in Middle English with roc.
sorghum (n.): "Indian millet," 1590s, from Modern Latin Sorghum, the genus name, from Italian sorgo "a tall cereal grass," probably from Medieval Latin surgum, suricum (12c.), perhaps a variant of Latin syricum "Syrian," as in Syricum (gramen) "(grass) of Syria," from Syria, a possible source of the plant or its grain in ancient times.
tandoori (adj.): in reference to a type of Indian cooking, 1958, from adjectival form of Urdu or Punjabi tandur "cooking stove," from Turkish tandur, from Turkish pronunciation of Arabic and Persian tannur "oven, portable furnace," of Semitic origin. As a noun by 1969.
spikenard (n.): mid-14c., "aromatic substance from an Indian plant, famous perfumed unguent of the ancients," from Medieval Latin spica nardi (see spike (n.2)), rendering Greek nardou stakhys, in which the other element probably ultimately from Sanskrit nalada-, the name of the plant.
siddha (n.): in Indian religion, "one who has attained perfection and bliss," 1846, from Sanskrit siddhah "accomplished, achieved, successful, possessing supernatural power, sorcerer, saint," related to sidhyati "reaches his goal, succeeds," sadhuh "right, skilled, excellent, a holy man."
soma (n.): name of an intoxicant used in ancient Vedic ritual, prepared from the juice of some East Indian plant, 1785, from Sanskrit soma, from PIE *seu- "juice," from root *seue- (2) "to take liquid" (see sup (v.2)). In "Brave New World" (1932), the name of a state-dispensed narcotic producing euphoria and hallucination.
satyagraha (n.): Indian form of passive resistance, 1920, in writings of M.K. Gandhi, from Sanskrit satyagraha "insistence on truth," from satya "truth, truthfulness" (from sat- "existing, true, virtuous," from PIE *es- "to be;" see essence) + agraha "pertinacity," from PIE *ghrebh- (1) "to seize, reach" (see grab (v.)).
shebeen (n.): "cabin where unlicensed liquor is sold and drunk," 1781, chiefly in Ireland and Scotland, from Irish seibin "small mug," also "bad ale," diminutive of seibe "mug, bottle, liquid measure." The word immigrated and persisted in South African and West Indian English.
shampoo (v.): 1762, "to massage," from Anglo-Indian shampoo, from Hindi champo, imperative of champna "to press, knead the muscles," perhaps from Sanskrit capayati "pounds, kneads." Meaning "wash the hair" first recorded 1860; extended 1954 to carpets, upholstery, etc. Related: Shampooed; shampooing.
Seminole (n.): 1763, from Creek (Muskogean) simano:li, earlier simalo:ni "wild, untamed, runaway," from American Spanish cimarron (see maroon (v.)). They fought wars against U.S. troops 1817-18 and 1835-42, after which they largely were removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
wallah (n.): also walla, "person employed (in some specified business)," Anglo-Indian, from Hindi -wala, suffix forming adjectives with the sense "pertaining to, connected with;" the functional equivalent of English -er (1). Europeans took it to mean "man, fellow" and began using it as a word.
Algonquian: also Algonkian, 1885, an ethnologist's word, modified from Algonquin + -ian. Both forms of the name have been used as adjectives and nouns. An American-Indian language family spread over a wide area of northeast and north-central North America, from Nova Scotia (Micmac) to Montana (Cheyenne).
hostile (adj.): late 15c., from Middle French hostile "of or belonging to an enemy" (15c.) or directly from Latin hostilis "of an enemy, belonging to or characteristic of the enemy; inimical," from hostis "enemy" (see guest (n.)). The noun meaning "hostile person" is recorded from 1838, American English, a word from the Indian wars. Related: Hostilely.
Catawba (n.): type of American grape, 1857, the name is that of a river in South Carolina, U.S., where the grape was found. The river is named for the Katahba Indian group and language (Siouan), from katapu "fork of a stream," itself a Muskogean loan-word.
Curacao: West Indian island, Curaçao, discovered 1499 by Alonso de Hojeda, who called it Isla de los Gigantes in reference to the stature of the natives. The modern name probably is a Europeanized version of some lost native word. The liqueur is made from the dried peel of the Curaçao orange.
Eritrea: named 1890 when it was an Italian colony, ultimately from Mare Erythreum, Roman name of the Red Sea, from Greek Erythre Thalassa, literally "Red Sea" (which to the Greeks also included the Gulf of Arabia and the Indian Ocean), from erythros "red" (see red (1)).
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.
metis (n.): "person of mixed parentage," especially French Canadian and North American Indian, from French métis, from Late Latin mixticus "of mixed race," from Latin mixtus "mixed," past participle of miscere "to mix, mingle" (see mix (v.)). Compare mestizo.
indigo (n.): 17c. spelling change of indico (1550s), "blue powder obtained from certain plants and used as a dye," from Spanish indico, Portuguese endego, and Dutch (via Portuguese) indigo, all from Latin indicum "indigo," from Greek indikon "blue dye from India," literally "Indian (substance)," neuter of indikos "Indian," from India (see India).

Replaced Middle English ynde (late 13c., from Old French inde "indigo; blue, violet" (13c.), from Latin indicum). Earlier name in Mediterranean languages was annil, anil (see aniline). As "the color of indigo" from 1620s. As the name of the violet-blue color of the spectrum, 1704 (Newton).
India: "the Indian subcontinent, central Asia south of the Himalayas," formerly sometimes used generally for "Asia;" since 1947 specifically in reference to the Republic of India, Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Greek India "region of the Indus River," later used of the region beyond it, from Indos "Indus River," also "an Indian," from Old Persian Hindu, the name for the province of Sind, from Sanskrit sindhu "river."

The more common Middle English form was Ynde or Inde, from Old French (hence Indies). The form India began to prevail again in English from 16c., perhaps under Spanish or Portuguese influence.
Algonquin: one of an Indian people living near the Ottawa River in Canada, 1620s, from French Algonquin, perhaps a contraction of Algoumequin, from Micmac algoomeaking "at the place of spearing fish and eels." But Bright suggests Maliseet (Algonquian) elægomogwik "they are our relatives or allies."

Algonquian (1885) was the name taken by ethnologists to describe a large group of North American Indian peoples, including this tribe. Algonquin Hotel (59 W. 44th St., Manhattan) opened 1902 and named by manager Frank Case for the tribe that had lived in that area. A circle of journalists, authors, critics, and wits began meeting there daily in 1919 and continued through the twenties; they called themselves "The Vicious Circle," but to others they became "The Round Table."
Apache: 1745, from American Spanish (1598), probably from Yavapai (a Yuman language) 'epache "people." Sometimes derived from Zuni apachu "enemy" (see F.W. Hodge, "American Indians," 1907), but this seems to have been the Zuni name for the Navajo.

French journalistic sense of "Parisian gangster or thug" first attested 1902. Apache dance was the World War I-era equivalent of 1990s' brutal "slam dancing." Fenimore Cooper's Indian novels were enormously popular in Europe throughout the 19c., and comparisons of Cooper's fictional Indian ways in the wilderness and underworld life in European cities go back to Dumas' "Les Mohicans de Paris" (1854-1859). It is probably due to the imitations of Cooper (amounting almost to plagiarisms) by German author Karl May (1842-1912) that Apaches replaced Mohicans in popular imagination. Also compare Mohawk.
deflower (v.): late 14c., "deprive (a maiden) of her virginity," also "excerpt the best parts of (a book)," from Old French desflorer (13c., Modern French déflorer) "to deflower (a garden); to take the virginity of," from Late Latin deflorare, from de- (see de-) + flos "flower" (see flora). Notion is "to strip of flowers," hence "to ravish," which is the oldest sense in English.
The French Indians are said not to have deflowered any of our young women they captivated. [James Adair, "The Life of an Indian Trader," London, 1775]
hamadryad (n.): late 14c., from Greek hamadryas (plural hamadryades) "wood-nymph," fabled to die with her tree, from hama "together with" (see same) + dryas (plural dryades) "wood nymph," from drus (genitive dryos) "tree," especially "oak," from PIE *deru- "tree, wood, oak" (see tree (n.)). Use in 19c. biology for a type of butterfly, a type of venomous Indian serpent, and a type of large hairy baboon.
madras (adj.): 1833, in reference to the former Indian state of Madras (modern Chennai, a Tamil name), from which this type of bright-colored muslin cloth was exported. The British fort there dates from 1639; the name sometimes is said to be from Sanskrit mandra, a god of the underworld, but perhaps rather from Arabic madrasa "school" or Portuguese Madre (de Deus).
lacrosse (n.): 1850, American English, from Canadian French jeu de la crosse (18c.), literally "game of the hooked sticks," from crosse "hooked stick," such as that used in the game to throw the ball. This French word is, perhaps via a Gallo-Romance *croccia, from Proto-Germanic *kruk- (see crook (n.)). Originally a North American Indian game; the native name is represented by the Ojibwa (Algonquian) verb baaga'adowe "to play lacrosse." Modern form and rules of the game were laid down 1860 in Canada.
taffy (n.): coarse candy made from sugar or molasses boiled down and cooled, 1817, related to toffee, but of uncertain origin; perhaps associated with tafia (1763), a rum-like alcoholic liquor distilled from molasses, presumably of West Indian or Malay origin (perhaps a Creole shortening of ratafia). On this theory, the candy would have been made from the syrup skimmed off the liquor during distillation.
Tabasco: proprietary name of a type of hot sauce, 1876, (the sauce so called from 1650s, originally Tavasco), named for the state in Mexico, perhaps because the pepper sauce was first encountered there by U.S. and European travelers. The trademark (by Edward Avery McIlhenny) claims use from c. 1870. The place name is from an unidentified Mexican Indian language and of unknown etymology.
John Bull: "Englishman who exemplifies the coarse, burly form and bluff nature of the national character," 1772, from name of a character representing the English nation in Arbuthnot's satirical "History of John Bull" (1712). Via a slurred pronunciation of it comes jumble (n.), London West Indian and African slang word for "a white man," attested from 1957.
Delaware: U.S. state, river, Indian tribe, named for the bay, which was named for Baron (commonly "Lord") De la Warr (Thomas West, 1577-1618), first English colonial governor of Virginia. The family name is attested from 1201, from Delaware in Brasted, Kent, probably ultimately from de la werre "of the war" (a warrior), from Old French werre/guerre "war."
parrot (n.): 1520s, of uncertain origin, perhaps from dialectal Middle French perrot, from a variant of Pierre "Peter;" or perhaps a dialectal form of perroquet (see parakeet). Replaced earlier popinjay. The German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt in South America in 1800 encountered a very old parrot that was the sole speaker of a dead Indian language, the original tribe having gone extinct.
Appaloosa: breed of horses favored by Indian tribes in U.S. West, 1849, either from Opelousa in Louisiana or from Palouse Indians, who lived near the river of that name in Idaho, in which case it probably is a Nez Percé word. Opelousa is perhaps from Choctaw api losa "black body;" while Palouse is from Sahaptin palou:s "what is standing up in the water."
monsoon (n.): 1580s, "trade wind of the Indian Ocean," from Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monçao, from Arabic mawsim "time of year, appropriate season" (for a voyage, pilgrimage, etc.), from wasama "he marked." When it blows from the southwest (April through October) it brings heavy rain, hence "heavy episode of rainfall during the rainy season" (1747).
powwow (n.): 1620s, "priest, sorcerer," from a southern New England Algonquian language (probably Narragansett) powwaw "shaman, medicine man, Indian priest," from a verb meaning "to use divination, to dream," from Proto-Algonquian *pawe:wa "he dreams, one who dreams." Meaning "magical ceremony among North American Indians" is recorded from 1660s. Sense of "council, conference, meeting" is first recorded 1812. Verb sense of "to confer, discuss" is attested from 1780.
turmeric (n.): pungent powder made from the root of an East Indian plant, 1530s, altered from Middle English turmeryte (early 15c.), of uncertain origin, perhaps from Middle French terremérite "saffron," from Medieval Latin terra merita, literally "worthy earth," though the reason why it would be called this is obscure. Klein suggests it might be a folk-etymology corruption of Arabic kurkum "curcuma, saffron."
polo (n.): 1872, Anglo-Indian polo, from Balti (Tibetan language of the Indus valley) polo "ball," related to Tibetan pulu "ball." An ancient game in south Asia, first played in England at Aldershot, 1871. Water polo is from 1876 (in early versions players sometimes paddled about on barrels or in canoes). Polo shirt (1892) originally was a kind worn by polo players.
moccasin (n.): "North American Indian shoe" (made of deerskin or soft leather), 1610s, from an Algonquian language of Virginia, probably Powhatan makasin "shoe," from Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian *mockasin, similar to Southern New England Algonquian *makkusin, Munsee Delaware mahkusin, Ojibwa makizin. The venomous snake of southern U.S. (1784) is perhaps a different word, but Bright regards them as identical.
squaw (n.): "American Indian woman," 1630s, from Massachuset (Algonquian) squa "woman" (cognate with Narraganset squaws "woman"). "Over the years it has come to have a derogatory sense and is now considered offensive by many Native Americans" [Bright]. Widespread in U.S. place names, sometimes as a translation of a local native word for "woman."
Sioux: group of North American Indian tribes, 1761, from North American French, short for Nadouessioux, sometimes said to be from Ojibway (Algonquian) Natowessiwak (plural), literally "little snakes," from nadowe "Iroquois" (literally "big snakes"). Another explanation traces it to early Ottawa (Algonquian) singular /na:towe:ssi/ (plural /na:towe:ssiwak/) "Sioux," apparently from a verb meaning "to speak a foreign language" [Bright]. In either case, a name given by their neighbors; the people's name for themselves is Dakota.
Jamaica: West Indian island, from Taino (Arawakan) xaymaca, said to mean "rich in springs." Columbus when he found it in 1494 named it Santiago, but this did not stick. It belonged to Spain from 1509-1655, and after to Great Britain. Related: Jamaican.

The Jamaica in New York probably is a Delaware (Algonquian) word meaning "beaver pond" altered by influence of the island name.
sachem (n.): chief of an American Indian tribe, 1620s, from Narragansett (Algonquian) sachim "chief, ruler," cognate with Abenaki sangman, Delaware sakima, Micmac sakumow, Penobscot sagumo. Applied jocularly to a prominent member of any society from 1680s; specific political use in U.S. is from 1890, from its use as the title of the 12 high officials of the Tammany Society of New York.
shawl (n.): 1660s, originally of a type of scarf worn in Asia, from Urdu and other Indian languages, from Persian shal, sometimes said to be named for Shaliat, town in India where it was first manufactured [Klein]. French châle, Spanish chal, Italian scialle, German Shawl (from English), Russian shal all are ultimately from the same source. As the name of an article of clothing worn by Western women, it is recorded from 1767.
seersucker (n.): 1722, from Hindi sirsakar, East Indian corruption of Persian shir o shakkar "striped cloth," literally "milk and sugar," a reference to the alternately smooth and puckered surfaces of the stripes. From Persian shir (cognate with Sanskrit ksiram "milk") + shakar (cognate with Pali sakkhara, Sanskrit sarkara "gravel, grit, sugar;" see sugar (n.)).
chino (n.): type of cotton twill cloth, 1943, from American Spanish chino, literally "toasted;" so called in reference to its usual color. Earlier (via notion of skin color) chino meant "child of one white parent, one Indian" (fem. china), perhaps from Quechua čina "female animal, servant." Sources seem to disagree on whether the racial sense or the color sense is original.
Cholo: "Indian or mixed-race person of Latin America" (fem. Chola), 1851, from American Spanish (c. 1600), said to be from Nahuatl (Aztecan) xolotl "dog, mutt." Proposed derivation from Mexican city of Cholula seems too late, if this is the same word. In U.S., used of lower-class Mexican immigrants, but by 1970s the word began to be embraced in Latino gang slang in a positive sense.
chief (n.): c. 1300, "head, leader, captain; the principal or most important part of anything;" from Old French chief "leader, ruler, head" of something, "capital city" (10c., Modern French chef), from Vulgar Latin *capum, from Latin caput "head," also "leader, chief person; summit; capital city" (see capitulum). Meaning "head of a clan" is from 1570s; later extended to American Indian tribes. Commander-in-chief attested from 1660s.
gossamer (n.): c. 1300, "filmy substance (actually spider threads) found in fields of stubble in late fall," apparently from gos "goose" (see goose (n.)) + sumer "summer" (see summer (n.)). Not found in Old English. The reference might be to a fancied resemblance of the silk to goose down, or more likely it is shifted from an original sense of "late fall; Indian summer" because geese are in season then. Compare Swedish equivalent sommartrad "summer thread," Dutch zommerdraden (plural). The German equivalent mädchensommer (literally "girls' summer") also has a sense of "Indian summer," and there was a Scottish go-summer "period of summer-like weather in late autumn" (1640s, folk-etymologized as if from go). Thus the English word originally might have referred to a warm spell in autumn before being transferred to a phenomenon especially noticeable then. Compare obsolete Scottish go-summer "period of summer-like weather in late autumn." Meaning "anything light or flimsy" is from c. 1400; as a type of gauze used for veils, 1837. The adjective sense "filmy, light as gossamer" is attested from 1802.
nation (n.): c. 1300, from Old French nacion "birth, rank; descendants, relatives; country, homeland" (12c.) and directly from Latin nationem (nominative natio) "birth, origin; breed, stock, kind, species; race of people, tribe," literally "that which has been born," from natus, past participle of nasci "be born" (Old Latin gnasci; see genus). Political sense has gradually predominated, but earliest English examples inclined toward the racial meaning "large group of people with common ancestry." Older sense preserved in application to North American Indian peoples (1640s). Nation-building first attested 1907 (implied in nation-builder).