Online Etymology Dictionary

Alice: fem. proper name, from Old French Aliz, from Old High German Adalhaid, literally "nobility, of noble kind" (see Adelaide). Among the top 20 most popular names for girls born in the U.S. from c. 1880-1920. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" published 1865.
dingo (n.): 1789, Native Australian name, from Dharruk (language formerly spoken in the area of Sydney) /din-go/ "tame dog," though the English used it to describe wild Australian dogs. Bushmen continue to call the animal by the Dharruk term /warrigal/ "wild dog."
ninny (n.): "simpleton, fool," 1590s, perhaps a misdivision of an innocent (see N for other examples), or from the pet form of the proper name Innocent, with sense influenced by the name's literal meaning. There may be some influence in the word of Italian ninno "baby, child."
omphalos: also omphalus, "sacred stone," 1850, from Greek omphalos, literally "navel," later also "hub" (as the central point), from PIE *ombh-alo-, from root *nobh-/*ombh- "navel" (see navel). The name of the rounded stone in the shrine at Delphi, regarded by the ancients as the center of the world. Related: Omphalic.
flibbertigibbet (n.): 1540s, "chattering gossip, flighty woman," probably a nonsense word meant to sound like fast talking; as the name of a devil or fiend it dates from c. 1600 (together with Frateretto, Hoberdidance, Tocobatto). OED lists 15 spellings and thinks flibbergib is the original.
Godiva: Lady of Coventry (died 1067) and wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. Her legend is first recorded by Roger of Wendover 100 years after her death. The "Peeping Tom" aspect was added by 1659. The name is a typical Anglo-Saxon compound, apparently *God-gifu "good gift."
Hells Angels (n.): motorcycle club, the name first attested 1957. They were called Black Rebels in the 1954 film "The Wild One." Earlier Hell's Angels had been used as the title of a film about World War I air combat (1930).
henna (n.): c. 1600, "dye or cosmetic from the henna plant," from Arabic hinna, name for the small thorny tree (Egyptian Privet), the leaves of which are used to make the reddish dye for the body or hair; said to be of Persian origin, from Arabic. Related: Hennaed (1860).
Henry: masc. proper name, from French Henri, from Late Latin Henricus, from German Heinrich, from Old High German Heimerich, literally "the ruler of the house," from heim "home" (see home (n.)) + rihhi "ruler" (see Reich). One of the most popular Norman names after the Conquest. Related: Henrician.
floret (n.): c. 1400, flourette, "a little flower, a bud," from Old French florete "little flower," also the name of a cheap silk material, diminutive of flor "flower, blossom" (see flower (n.)). Botany sense "small flower in a cluster" is from 1670s.
florin (n.): type of coin, c. 1300, from Old French florin, from Italian fiorino, from fiore "flower," from Latin florem "flower" (see flora). The 13c. gold Florentine coin was stamped on the obverse with the image of a lily, the symbol of the city. As the name of an English gold coin, from late 15c.
fluorine (n.): non-metallic element, 1813, coined by English chemist Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) from fluorspar ("calcium fluoride," modern fluorite), the late 18c. name of the mineral where it was first found (see fluor) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Not isolated until 1886. Related: Fluorinate; fluorination.
Gloucester: English county, Old English Gleawceaster, from Latin Coloniae Glev (2c.), from Glevo, a Celtic name meaning "bright place" (perhaps influenced by Old English gleaw "wise, prudent") + Old English ceaster "Roman town" (see Chester). In reference to a type of cheese by 1802.
Hessian (n.): "resident of the former Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel," western Germany; its soldiers being hired out by the ruler to fight for other countries, especially the British during the American Revolution, the name Hessians by 1835 in U.S. became synonymous (unjustly) with "mercenaries." Hessian fly (Cecidomyia destructor) was a destructive parasite the ravaged U.S. crops late 18c., so named 1787 in erroneous belief that it was carried into America by the Hessians.

The place name is from Latin Hassi/Hatti/Chatti, the Latinized form of the name of the Germanic people the Romans met in northern Germany (Greek Khattoi). The meaning of the name is unknown. Part of Arminius's coalition at the Battle of Teutoburger Wald (9 C.E.), they later merged with the Franks. They are mentioned in Beowulf as the Hetwaras. The state was annexed to Prussia in 1866 and is not to be confused with the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt.
lignite (n.): "imperfectly formed coal," 1808, from French, from Latin lignum "wood" (see ligni-). Brown coal that still shows traces of the wood it once was. Probably directly from Lithanthrax Lignius, name given to woody coal by Swedish chemist Johan Gottschalk Wallerius (1709-1785) in 1775.
Marcomanni: name of a Teutonic tribe, from Latin Marcomanni, from a Germanic compound, literally "men of the border;" first element cognate with Old High German mark, Old English mearc "border" (see march (n.2)). For second element, see man (n.).
terra-cotta (n.): 1722, from Italian terra cotta, literally "cooked earth," from terra "earth" (see terrain) + cotta "baked," from Latin cocta, fem. past participle of coquere (see cook (n.)). As a color name for brownish-red, attested from 1882.
tetragrammaton (n.): c. 1400, from Greek (to) tetragrammaton "(the word) of four letters," from tetra- "four" (see four) + gramma (genitive grammatos) "letter, something written" (see -gram). The Hebrew divine name, transliterated as YHWH, usually vocalized in English as "Jehovah" or "Yahweh."
Thammuz (n.): 1530s, from Hebrew tammuz, tenth month of the Jewish civil year, fourth of the sacred, covering parts of June and July; also the name of a Syrian deity equivalent to Phoenician Adon, whose festival began with the new moon of this month (compare Tammuz).
Northumbria: Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Norðhymbre, which lay north of the river Humber (Latin Humbri fluminis, c.720), an ancient pre-English river name of unknown origin. Related: Northumbrian. The Northumbrians seem at times to have referred to the Mercians as Southumbrians.
nosy (adj.): also nosey, 1610s, "having a prominent nose," from nose (n.) + -y (2). Earlier in this sense was nasee (mid-14c.), from Anglo-French, from Old French nasé, ultimately from Latin nasus "nose." Sense of "inquisitive" first recorded 1882. Nosey Parker as a name for an inquisitive person is from 1907.
novocain (n.): also novocaine, 1905, originally a trademark name for procaine (by Lucius & Brüning, Hoechst am Main, Germany), from comb. form of Latin novus "new" (see new) + -caine, abstracted from cocaine. As a local anaesthetic, it began as a substitute for cocaine.
ornitho-: before vowels ornith-, word-forming element meaning "bird, birds," from comb. form of Greek ornis (genitive ornithos) "a bird" (in Attic generally "domestic fowl"), often added to the specific name of the type of bird, from PIE *or- "large bird" (see erne).
nonpareil (adj.): late 15c., "having no equal," from Middle French nonpareil "unequalled, peerless," from non- "not" (see non-) + pareil "equal." The noun meaning "an unequaled person or thing" is from 1590s; first applied to a kind of candy 1690s. As the name of a printing type (6 point size) it is attested from 1640s.
Regina: fem. proper name, from Latin, literally "queen;" related to rex (genitive regis) "king" (see regal). Cognate with Sanskrit rajni "queen," Welsh rhyain "maiden, virgin." The city in Canada was named 1882 by the then-governor general of Canada, Marquess of Lorne, in honor of Queen Victoria.
patchouli (n.): perfume made from an Indian plant of the mint family, 1845, from the native name for the plant in Madras, said to be from Tamil pachchai "green" + ilai "leaf." The form of the word appears French, but this has not been explained and the record of it in English predates that in French.
pavan (n.): "slow, stately dance," 1530s, from French pavane (1520s), probably from Spanish pavana, from pavo "peacock" (from Latin pavo), in reference to the bird's courting movements. But some see an Italian origin and trace the name to Padovana "Paduan." Possibly there was a merger of two distinct dance words.
Pelasgian: late 15c., "of the Pelasgi," from Latin Pelasgius, from Greek Pelasgios "of the Pelasgi," from Pelasgoi "the Pelasgi," name of a prehistoric people of Greece and Asia Minor who occupied Greece before the Hellenes, probably originally *Pelag-skoi, literally "Sea-people" (see pelagic).
Oscan (adj.): of or pertaining to the ancient people of southern Italy, 1590s, from Latin Osci, Opsci (plural) "Oscans," literally "worshippers of Ops," a harvest goddess, the name related to Latin ops (genitive opis) "abundance, plenty, wealth, riches," from PIE *op- (1) "to work, produce in abundance" (see opus).
Osmanli: "an Ottoman Turk," 1813, from Turkish Osmanli "of or pertaining to Osman," founder of the Ottoman dynasty (he reigned 1259-1326); his name is the Turkish pronunciation of Arabic Uthman. This is the native word where English generally uses Ottoman.
wyandotte (n.): type of hen, 1884, from Wyandot, name of an Iroquoian people (1749) and their language, from French Ouendat, perhaps from Huron wendat "forest" or yandata "village," or from the people's self-designation wedat, which is perhaps a shortening of a longer form akin to Mohawk skawe:nat "one language."
Almohades: 12c. Muslim religious power that ruled Spain and North Africa, founded by Mohammed ibn Abdullah, the name is literally "the Unitarians," short for Arabic al-muwahhidun "they who profess the unity (of God)," so called for their absolutist monotheism.
alp (n.): 1590s, "any high, snow-capped mountain," from Alps, from French Alpes, from Latin Alpes "the Alps," perhaps from altus "high," or albus "white" or from a Celtic word (according to Servius), or a pre-Indo-European root. Alps, the European mountain range, attested by that name in English from 1550s.
Big Dipper (n.): American English name for the seven-star asterism (known in England as the plough; see Charles's Wain) in the constellation Ursa Major, first attested 1833 as simply the Dipper (sometimes Great Dipper, its companion constellation always being the Little Dipper). See dipper.
bilbo (n.): kind of sword noted for temper and elasticity, 1590s, from Bilbao, town in northern Spain where swords were made, in English Bilboa. The town name is Roman Bellum Vadum "beautiful ford" (over the Nervion River).
amarillo (n.): name given to several species of American trees, from Spanish, from Arabic anbari "yellow, amber-colored," from anbar "amber" (see amber). The city Amarillo in Texas, U.S., may be so called from the color of the banks of a nearby stream.
amoeba (n.): 1855, from Modern Latin Amoeba, genus name (1841), from Greek amoibe "change," related to ameibein "to change, exchange," from PIE *e-meigw-, extended form of root *mei- (1) "to change, go, move" (see mutable). So called for its constantly changing shape. Related: Amoebaean; amoebic.
amphibrach (n.): 1580s, from Latin amphibrachus, from Greek amphibrakhys, name for a foot consisting of a long syllable between two short, literally "short at both ends," from amphi- "on both sides" (see amphi-) + brakhys "short" (see brief (adj.)).
Amy: fem. proper name, from Old French Amee, literally "beloved," from fem. past participle of amer "to love," from Latin amare, perhaps from PIE *am-a-, suffixed form of root *am-, a Latin and Celtic root forming various nursery words for "mother, aunt," etc. (such as Latin amita "aunt").
Esalen: 1966 in reference to an alternative philosophy and human potential movement, from Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, U.S., from Esselen, name of an extinct Native American people of the California coast, for which Bright gives no etymology.
Euclidean (adj.): 1650s, "of or pertaining to Euclid" (Greek Eukleides), c. 300 B.C.E. geometer of Alexandria. Now often used in contrast to alternative models based on rejection of some of his axioms. His name in Greek means "renowned, glorious," from eu "well" (see eu-) + kleos "fame" (see Clio).
chow (n.): "food," 1856, American English (originally in California), from Chinese pidgin English chow-chow (1795) "food," reduplication of Chinese cha or tsa "mixed." The dog breed of the same name is from 1886, of unknown origin, but some suggest a link to the Chinese tendency to see dogs as edible.
Christian (n., adj.): 16c., forms replacing earlier Christen, from Old English cristen (noun and adjective), from a West Germanic borrowing of Church Latin christianus, from Ecclesiastical Greek christianos, from Christos (see Christ). First used in Antioch, according to Acts xi:25-26. Christian Science as the name of a religious sect is from 1863.
Ernest: masc. proper name, from French Ernest, which is of German origin (compare Old High German Ernust, German Ernst), literally "earnestness" (see earnest). Among the top 50 names for boys born in U.S. from 1880 through 1933.
chlamydia (n.): type of genital infection, 1984, from the name of the bacteria that causes it (1945), which is formed from Latinized comb. form of Greek khlamys (genitive khlamydos) "short mantle, military cloak," which is of unknown origin, + abstract noun ending -ia.
Francis: masc. proper name, from French François, from Old French Franceis "noble, free," as a noun "a Frenchman, inhabitant of Ile-de-France; the French language," from Late Latin Franciscus, literally "Frankish;" cognate with French and frank (adj.).
Evan: masc. proper name, Welsh form of John, perhaps influenced in form by Welsh ieuanc "young man" (cognate of Latin juvenis), from Celtic *yowanko-, from PIE *yeu- "vital force, youthful vigor" (see young (adj.)).
granola (n.): by 1967, American English, probably from Italian grano "grain," or granular, with commercial suffix -ola. Earlier, with a capital G-, it was a proprietary name (reg. 1886 by W.K. Kellogg, in use into early 20c.) for a kind of breakfast cereal.
Holstein: breed of cattle, 1865; so called because originally raised in nearby Friesland. The place name is literally "woodland settlers," from the roots of German Holz "wood" (see holt) and siedeln "to settle," altered by influence of Stein "stone." Since 15c. it has been united with the Duchy of Schleswig.
medlar (n.): "small fruit-bearing tree," mid-14c. (in reference to the fruit itself), from Old French medler, variant of mesple, from Latin mespila "fruit of the medlar," from Greek mespilion, a foreign word of unknown origin. The Old English name was openærs, literally "open-arse."