Online Etymology Dictionary

ABBA: Swedish pop music group formed 1972, the name dates from 1973 and is an acronym from the first names of the four band members: Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog.
Ambien: trade name for prescription medication Zolpidem, registered 1993 in U.S., no doubt suggested by ambient or words like it in French.
anorexia nervosa (n.): "emaciation as a result of severe emotional disturbance," coined 1873 by William W. Gull (1816-1890), who also proposed apepsia hysterica as a name for it. See anorexia.
Stradivarius (n.): valued type of violin, 1818, from Latinized form of name of Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), violin-maker of Cremona, or his sons or pupils. Short form Strad is attested from 1884.
sal (n.): chemical name for salt, late 14c., from Old French sal, from Latin sal (genitive salis) "salt" (see salt (n.)). For sal ammoniac "ammonium chloride" (early 14c.), see ammonia.
Salmonella (n.): 1913, the genus name, coined 1900 in Modern Latin by J. Lignières in reference to U.S. veterinary surgeon Daniel E. Salmon (1850-1914), who isolated a type of the bacteria in 1885.
Svengali: "one who exerts controlling or mesmeric influence on another," 1914, from hypnotist character of that name in the novel "Trilby" (1894) by George Du Maurier.
sarin (n.): type of odorless nerve gas, 1945, from German, but the name is of unknown origin. Other phosphorous compounds known in Germany by the end of World War II were called Tabun, soman, Diglykol.
Aztec: 1787, from Spanish Azteca, from Nahuatl aztecatl (plural aztecah), meaning "coming from Aztlan," name of their legendary place of origin, usually said to lie somewhere in what is now southwestern U.S.
cosmopolitan (adj.): 1844, from cosmopolite "citizen of the world" (q.v.) on model of metropolitan. The U.S. women's magazine of the same name was first published in 1886. Cosmopolitanism first recorded 1828.
shindig (n.): "dance, party, lively gathering," 1871, probably from shindy "a spree, merrymaking" (1821), also "a game like hockey;" perhaps from shinty, name of a Scottish game akin to hockey (1771), earlier shinny (see shinny (n.)).
schmendrick (n.): "stupid person," 1944, from Yiddish shmendrik, from the name of a character in an 1877 operetta ("Shmendrik, oder Di komishe Chaseneh") by Avrom Goldfaden (1840-1908), "Father of Yiddish Theater."
atropine (n.): 1836, from Latin atropa "deadly nightshade" (from which the alkaloid poison is extracted), from Greek atropos "inflexible," also the name of one of the Fates (see Atropos) + chemical suffix -ine (2).
calender (v.): "to pass through a calender," a machine which smooths and presses paper, cloth, etc., 1510s, from Middle French calandre, the machine name, from Medieval Latin calendra (see calender (n.)).
blackberry (n.): early 12c., from Old English blaceberian, from black (adj.) + berry. Also in Old English as bremelberie, bremelæppel (from bramble). The wireless handheld device of the same name introduced 1999.
buna (n.): synthetic rubber made from butadiene, from German Buna, from first elements of butadiene, name of a hydrocarbon (related to butane; the suffix indicates the presence of two double bonds) + Na, indicating sodium (from natrium; see sodium).
byline (n.): 1926, "line giving the name of the writer of an article in a newspaper or magazine;" it typically reads BY ________. From by (prep.) + line (n.). As a verb by 1958.
Borneo: large island in Indonesia, from Portuguese alteration of Brunei, which is today the name of a sultanate on the island. This is Hindi and probably ultimately from Sanskrit bhumi "land, region."
booster (n.): 1890, "one who boosts" something, agent noun from boost (v.). Electrical sense is recorded from 1894. Young child's booster chair is attested under that name from 1960.
Venezuela: Spanish, diminutive of Venecia "Venice" (see Venice). Supposedly the name was given by Spanish sailors in 1499 when they saw a native village built on piles on Lake Maracaibo. Related: Venezuelan.
Voltaire: name taken from 1718 by French author François Marie Arouet (1694-1778) after his imprisonment in the Bastille on suspicion of having written some satirical verses; originally de Voltaire. The signification is uncertain.
UNICEF: by 1948, acronym from United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, which was created in 1946 (the name was changed 1953 to United Nations Children's Fund but the acronym endured).
Uruguay: country named for river that flows past it, which is from a native name in an extinct language, said to represent uru "bird" + guay "tail," perhaps a reference to some totemic animal. Related: Uruguayan.
Titian (n.): 1824, "a painting by Venetian painter Tiziano Vecellio" (c. 1490-1576), from Englished form of his name. Often also in reference to the tint of bright auburn hair favored by him in his work.
wally (n.): term of admiration, Scottish, early 16c., of unknown origin. As a masc. proper name, a diminutive of Walter, and this might be the source of the teen slang term "unfashionable person" (1969).
zein (n.): simple protein obtained from maize and wheat, 1822, from zea, Late Latin name for "spelt," from Greek zeia "one-seeded wheat, barley, corn" (from PIE root *yewo-) + -in (2).
girasole (n.): 1580s, "a sunflower," also the name of a type of opal, from Italian girasole "sunflower," literally "turning toward the sun," from girare "to rotate" (see gyre (n.)) + sole (see Sol).
Joyce: proper name, earlier Josse, Goce, etc., and originally given to both men and women. Of Celtic origin. Joycean, in reference to the fiction of Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) is attested from 1927.
Hebrides: originally Ebudae, Haebudes, of uncertain origin. Apparently a scribal error turned -u- into -ri-. The Norse name, Suðregar, "Southern Islands," is relative to the Orkneys. Related: Hebridean.
Hispaniola: West Indian island, from Spanish la isla española "the Spanish island" (not "little Spain"); the name is said to have been given by Columbus in 1492.
fusee (n.): also fuzee, type of light musket, 1660s, from pronunciation of French fusil (see fusilier). As the name of a type of match used in lighting cigars and pipes by 1832, from fusee as a variant of fuse (n.).
alkanet (n.): "dye material from bugloss plant roots," early 14c., from Spanish alcaneta, diminutive of alcana, from Arabic al-hinna (see henna). As the name of the plant itself, from 1560s.
grab-bag (n.): "miscellaneous mixture," 1867, originally the name of a carnival game (1854) consisting of a bag full of items to be obtained by thrusting the hand within, the privilege of doing so having previously been bought; from grab + bag (n.).
greengage (n.): type of plum, from green (adj.) + name of English botanist Sir William Gage (1657-1727) who first cultivated it in England c. 1725. In early 20c., rhyming slang for "stage."
Gunther: masc. proper name, also Gunter, Old High German Gundhard, literally "bold in war," from gund "war" (see gun (n.)) + hart "hard, strong, bold" (see hard (adj.)).
reem (n.): Hebrew name of an animal in the Old Testament (Job xxxix:9, etc.), now identified with the wild ox, but formerly translated in Latin as rhinoceros and in English as unicorn.
Hildegard: Germanic fem. proper name, Old High German Hildegard, literally "protecting battle-maid;" for first element see Hilda; for second element see yard (n.1).
Hippolytus: masc. proper name, son of Theseus in Greek mythology, from Greek Hippolytos, literally "letting horses loose," from hippos "horse" (see equine) + stem of lyein (see lose (v.)).
Anselm: masc. proper name, from Latin Anselmus, from Old High German Ansehelm, literally "having a divine helmet," from ansi "god" (see Aesir) + helm (see helm (n.2)).
ape-man (n.): hypothetical "missing link," 1879, in a translation of Haeckel, from ape (n.) + man (n.). Man-ape is attested from 1878. The name Martin Halfape appears in an English roll from 1227.
curcumin (n.): coloring matter, 1850, from Curcuma, genus name for plants of the ginger family, from which the chemical was drawn, Medieval Latin, from Arabic kurkum "saffron, tumeric." Compare crocus.
head shop (n.): emporium for stoner gear, by 1969 (noted in 1966 as the name of a specific shop in New York City selling psychedelic stuff), from head (n.) in the drug sense.
global warming (n.): by 1983 as the name for a condition of overall rising temperatures on Earth and attendant consequences as a result of human activity. Originally theoretical, popularized as a reality from 1989.
intelligent (adj.): c. 1500, a back-formation from intelligence or else from Latin intelligentem (nominative intelligens), present participle of intelligere. Intelligent design, as a name for an alternative to atheistic cosmology and the theory of evolution, is from 1999. Related: Intelligently.
perceptive (adj.): 1650s, from Latin percept-, past participle stem of percipere (see perceive) + -ive. In reference to intelligence from 1860. From mid-15c. as the name of a type of optical instrument. Related: Perceptively; perceptiveness.
specify (v.): early 14c., "to speak;" mid-14c. "to name explicitly," from Old French specifier, especefier (13c.) and directly from Late Latin specificare "mention particularly," from specificus (see specific). Related: Specified; specifying.
profanity (n.): c. 1600, from Late Latin profanitas, from Latin profanus (see profane (adj.)). Extended sense of "foul language" is from Old Testament commandment against "profaning" the name of the Lord.
freezer (n.): 1847 as the name of a type of large tin can used in ice-cream manufacture; from freeze (v.) + -er (1). As a household appliance, from 1945. Freezer burn attested from 1929.
Bunker Hill: battle site in Massachusetts, U.S., was land assigned in 1634 to George Bunker, who came from the vicinity of Bedford, England. The name dates from 1229, as Bonquer and is from Old French bon quer "good heart."
facebook (n.): directory listing names and headshots, by 1983, originally among U.S. college students, from face (n.) + book (n.). The social networking Web site of that name (with capital F-) dates from 2004.