Online Etymology Dictionary

Aphrodite (n.): Greek goddess of love and beauty; by the ancients, her name was derived from Greek aphros "foam," from the story of her birth, but perhaps it is ultimately from Phoenician Ashtaroth (Assyrian Ishtar). In 17c. English, pronounced to rhyme with night, right, etc.
Apollo: Olympian deity, god of music, poetry, medicine, etc., later identified with Helios, the sun god; the name is a Latin form of Greek Apollon, said to be perhaps related to an obsolete Greek verb meaning "to drive away" (evil, etc.) [Klein, citing Usener].
arbor vitae (n.): type of evergreen shrub, 1660s, name given by French physician and botanist Charles de Lécluse (1525-1609), Latin, literally "tree of life." Also used in late 18c. rogue's slang as a cant word for "penis."
Arcadian: "ideally rustic or rural; an idealized rustic," 1580s, from Greek Arkadia, district in the Peloponnesus, taken by poets as an ideal region of rural felicity, traditionally from Arkas (genitive Arkadas), son of Zeus, name of the founder and first ruler of Arcadia.
microbe (n.): popular name for a bacterium, 1878, from French microbe, "badly coined ... by Sédillot" [Weekley] in 1878 from Greek mikros "small" (see mica) + bios "life" (see bio-). It is an incorrect use of bios; in Greek the word would mean literally "short-lived."
Midas: king of Phrygia whose touched turned everything to gold (including his food), 1560s. Some usages refer to the unrelated story of the ass's ears given him by Apollo for being dull to the charms of his lyre. The name is of Phrygian origin.
Humphrey: masc. proper name, from Old English Hunfrið, probably from Proto-Germanic *hun "strength" + Old English frið "peace." To dine with Duke Humphrey (17c.) meant to go without a meal, though the reason for the expression now is obscure.
Drusilla: fem. proper name, Latin fem. diminutive of Drusus, frequent surname in Livian gens, earlier Drausus, perhaps a Celtic word meaning literally "strong" (compare Old Celtic *dru- "oak," also "strong;" see Druid).
dumdum bullet: 1897, named for Dum-Dum arsenal in Bengal, where the British made them to use against fanatical charges by tribesmen. Outlawed by international declaration, 1899. The place name is literally "hill, mound, battery," cognate with Persian damdama.
botulism (n.): 1878, from German Botulismus (1878), coined in German from Latin botulus "sausage" (see bowel) + -ismus suffix of action or state (see -ism). Sickness first traced to eating tainted sausage (sausage poisoning was an old name for it).
boxer (n.): "fighter," late 15c., agent noun from box (v.2). The name of the breed of dog (1934), is from German (the breed originated in Germany), itself taken from English boxer "fighter;" the dog so called for its pugnaciousness. Boxer shorts (1943) so called from their resemblance to the attire worn in the ring.
milk of magnesia (n.): 1880, proprietary name for white suspension of magnesium hydroxide in water, taken as an antacid, invented by U.S. chemist Charles Henry Phillips. Herbal or culinary preparations resembling milk had been similarly named (for example milk of almond) since early 15c.
coccyx (n.): 1610s, from Latin coccyx, from Greek kokkyx "cuckoo" (from kokku, like the bird's English name echoic of its cry), so called by ancient Greek physician Galen because the bone in humans supposedly resembles a cuckoo's beak.
cola (n.): 1795, genus of trees native to west Africa and introduced in New World tropics, Latinized form of a West African name of the tree (compare Temne kola, Mandingo kolo). Meaning "carbonated soft drink" is 1920, short for Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola.
draconian (adj.): 1876 (earlier Draconic, implied from 1640s), from Draco, Greek statesman who laid down a code of laws for Athens 621 B.C.E. that mandated death as punishment for minor crimes. His name seems to mean literally "sharp-sighted" (see dragon).
pituitary (adj.): 1610s, from Latin pituitarius "mucous," from pituita "clammy moisture, phlegm, mucus, slime," possibly from a suffixed form of PIE root *peie- "to be fat, swell" (see fat (adj.)). Taken as the name for the gland because it was believed that it channeled mucus to the nose. As a noun by 1899.
ministry (n.): late 14c., "function of a priest," from Old French menistere "service, ministry; position, post, employment," and directly from Latin ministerium "office, service, attendance, ministry," from minister (see minister (n.)). Began to be used 1916 as name of certain departments in British government.
minuteman (n.): U.S. history, one of a class of militia available for immediate service (i.e. "ready in a matter of minutes"), 1774. As the name of a type of ICBM, from 1961, so called because they could be launched with very little preparation.
trichinosis (n.): "disease caused by trichinae," 1864, coined by Bernhard Rupprecht (1815-1877) by 1864 from trichina (1835), Modern Latin, genus name of the minute, hair-like parasitic worms that cause it, from Greek trikhine, fem. of trikhinos "of or like hair," from thrix (genitive trikhos) "hair."
trifid (adj.): "divided into three lobes," 1620s, from Latin trifidus "cleft in three," from tri- "three" (see tri-) + -fid. This adjective probably inspired triffid, the name of the three-legged walking poisonous plants in John Wyndham's novel "The Day of the Triffids" (1951).
motel (n.): 1925, coined from motor- + hotel. Originally a hotel for automobile travelers.
The Milestone Interstate Corporation ... proposes to build and operate a chain of motor hotels between San Diego and Seattle, the hotels to have the name 'Motel.' ["Hotel Monthly," March 1925]
aspartame (n.): commercial name of an artificial sweetener, 1973, from aspartic acid (1836), formed irregularly from asparagine (1813), a compound found in asparagus, beet-root, etc., which was named from asparagus + chemical suffix -ine (2). The reason for -ame is unknown.
Assyria: Middle English, from Latin Assyria, from Greek Assyria, short for Assyria ge "the Assyrian land," from fem. of Assyrios "pertaining to Assyria," from Akkadian Ashshur, name of the chief city of the kingdom and also of a god, probably from Assyrian sar "prince." (See also Syria).
Tudor: 1779 in reference to the English royal family, from Welsh surname Tewdwr, used of the line of English sovereigns from Henry VII to Elizabeth I, descended from Owen Tudor, who married Catherine, widowed queen of Henry V. Applied from 1815 to a style of architecture prevalent during these reigns. The name is the Welsh form of Theodore.
Morris: surname and masc. proper name, in some cases representing Maurice (common form Morice, or a nickname, Moorish, for onme who is swarthy. As a style of furniture, wallpaper, etc., 1880, in reference to poet and craftsman William Morris (1834-1896).
Astroturf (n.): 1966, proprietary name for a kind of artificial grass, so called because it was used first in the Houston, Texas, Astrodome, indoor sports stadium. See astro- + turf. Houston was a center of the U.S. space program.
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.
Atropos: one of the Fates (the one who holds the shears and determines the manner of a person's death and cuts the thread), from Greek, "inflexible," literally "not to be turned away," from a- "not" (see a- (3)) + stem of trepein "to turn" (see trope). Related form Atropa was the Greek name for deadly nightshade.
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.
Polaroid (n.): material which in thin sheets produces a high degree of plane polarization of light passing through it, 1936, proprietary name (Sheet Polarizer Co., Union City, N.J.). As a type of camera producing prints rapidly, it is attested from 1961.
artesian (adj.): 1830, from French puits artésien "wells of Artois," French province where such wells were first bored 18c. by French engineer Bernard Forest de Bélidor (1698-1761). The place name is from Old French Arteis, from Atrebates, a tribe that lived in northwestern Gallia. Compare Arras.
Ruritanian (adj.): "utopian," 1896, from Ruritania, name of an imaginary kingdom in "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1894) by Anthony Hope (1863-1933), who coined it from Latin rus (genitive ruris) "country" (see rural) + Latinate ending -itania (compare Mauritania).
conch (n.): type of shell, early 15c., from Latin concha "shellfish, mollusk," from Greek konkhe "mussel, shell," from PIE root *konkho-. The name for natives of Florida Keys since at least 1833; the preferred pronunciation there ("kongk") preserves the classical one.
argosy (n.): 1570s, from Italian (nave) Ragusea "(vessel) of Ragusa," maritime city on the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic (modern Dubrovnik in Croatia). Their large merchant ships brought rich Eastern goods to 16c. England. The city name sometimes was Aragouse or Arragosa in 16c. English.
Arminian: 1610s, from Arminius, Latinized form of the name of James Harmensen (1560-1609), Dutch Protestant theologian who opposed Calvin, especially on the question of predestination. His ideas were denounced at the Synod of Dort, but nonetheless spread in the Reformed churches.
arras (n.): "pictured tapestry," late 14c., from Anglo-French draps d'arras, from Arras, city in France where pictured tapestries were made, from Latin Atrebates, name of a tribe of the Belgae who inhabited the Artois region; probably literally "inhabitants," from a Celtic trebu "tribe."
mollycoddle (v.): also molly-coddle, 1870, from a noun (1833) meaning "one who coddles himself," from Molly (pet name formation from Mary), which had been used contemptuously since 1754 for "a milksop, an effeminate man," + coddle (q.v.). Related: Mollycoddled; mollycoddling.
Mississippi: originally as the name of the river, from French, from Algonquian (French missionaries first penetrated the river valley in its upper reaches), literally "big river;" compare Ojibwa mshi- "big," ziibi "river." Organized as a U.S. territory 1798; admitted as a state 1817. Related: Mississippian.
Missouri: originally a name for a group of native peoples among Chiwere (Siouan) tribes, from an Algonquian word recorded c. 1700, literally "people of the big canoes." The expression I'm from Missouri, you'll have to show me is attested from at least c. 1880. Related: Missourian.
Muppet (n.): Trademark (U.S.) Sept. 26, 1972, claiming use from 1971, but in print from Sept. 1970. Name coined by creator Jim Henson (1936-1990), who said, despite the resemblance to marionette and puppet (they have qualities of both), it has no etymology; he just liked the sound.
Stakhanovite (n.): 1935, from name of hard-working Soviet coal miner Aleksei Grigorevich Stakhanov (1906-1977), in reference to an efficiency system in which workers increase their piecework production and are rewarded with bonuses and privileges. Soviet authorities publicized his prodigious output as part of a campaign to increase productivity.
spoof (n.): "hoax, deception," 1889, from spouf (1884), name of a game invented by British comedian Arthur Roberts (1852-1933). Sense of "a parody, satirical skit or play" is first recorded 1958, from verb in this sense (1914).
Mylar (n.): proper name for a polyester film, 1954, trademarked by E.I. Du Pont de Nemours and Co., Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A. Like many Du Pont names, it doesn't mean anything, they just liked the sound.
autoharp (n.): 1882, name on a patent taken out by Charles F. Zimmermann of Philadelphia, U.S.A., for an improved type of harp, an instrument considerably different from the modern autoharp, actually a chord zither, which was invented about the same time by K.A. Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany, who called it a Volkszither.
coulomb (n.): 1881, named for French chemist Charles-Augustin de Coulomb (1736-1806), who devised a method of measuring electrical quantity. It is the quantity of electricity conveyed in 1 second by a current of 1 ampere. The name is a French form of Columbus.
snark (n.): imaginary animal, coined 1876 by Lewis Carroll in "The Hunting of the Snark." In 1950s, name of a type of U.S. cruise missile, and in 1980s, of a type of sailboat. Meaning "caustic, opinionated, and critical rhetoric" is from c.2002, probably from snarky and not directly related, if at all, to Lewis Carroll's use of snark.
Socratic (adj.): 1630s (Socratical is from 1580s), "of or pertaining to Greek philosopher Socrates" (469-399 B.C.E.), especially in reference to his method of eliciting truth by question and answer, from Latin Socraticus, from Greek Sokratikos "pertaining to Socrates or his school." His name is Greek Sokrates, literally "having safe might."
solidarity (n.): 1829, from French solidarité "communion of interests and responsibilities, mutual responsibility," a coinage of the "Encyclopédie" (1765), from solidaire "interdependent, complete, entire," from solide (see solid (adj.)). With a capital S-, the name of an independent trade union movement in Poland, formed September 1980, from Polish Solidarność.
solon (n.): "legislator," 1620s, from Greek Solon, name of early lawgiver of Athens, one of the seven sages. Often, especially in U.S., applied (with perhaps a whiff of sarcasm) by journalists to Congressmen, township supervisors, etc. It also is a useful short headline word.
Sorbonne: 1560, from Sorbon, place name in the Ardennes. Theological college in Paris founded by Robert de Sorbon (1201-1274), chaplain and confessor of Louis IX. As an academic institution, most influential 16c.-17c., suppressed during the Revolution.