Online Etymology Dictionary

Leon: medieval kingdom in northwestern Spain, said to be from Latin legionis (septimae) "of the Seventh Legion," which was founded in Spain in 65 B.C.E.; if so the name probably then was conformed to Spanish leon "lion." Related: Leonese.
Themis: Greek goddess of law and justice, the name means "custom, right," literally "that which is laid down or established" (by custom); also "laws, ordinances," but closer in sense to Latin ius (see jurist) than to lex (see legal) ; related to thema "proposition; that which is placed" (see theme).
legionnaire (n.): 1818, from French légionnaire, from légion (see legion). Legionnaires' Disease, caused by Legionella pneumophilia, was named after the lethal outbreak of July 1976 at the American Legion convention in Philadelphia's Bellevue Stratford Hotel. Hence also Legionella as the name of the bacterium.
Leopold: masc. proper name, from French Léopold, from Old High German Leutpald, Liutbald, literally "bold among the people," from leudi, liut "people," from PIE root *leudh- (2) (see lede (n.2)) + bald "bold," from Proto-Germanic *baltha- (see bold (adj.))
leveller (n.): also leveler, 1590s, someone or something that levels or makes even; agent noun from level (v.). In English history, from 1640s (with initial capital) as the name of a political party of the time of Charles I that advocated abolishing all differences of position and rank.
rudesby (n.): "insolent person," 1560s, mock surname from rude + -by, common place-name (and thus surname) ending element, as in Grimsby, Rigby. Similar formations in idlesby "lazy fellow" (1610s), sneaksby "paltry, sneaking fellow" (1570s), suresby (16c.), lewdsby (1590s).
Lhasa: capital of Tibet, Tibetan, literally "city of the gods," from lha "god" + sa "city." The Lhasa apso type of dog is so called from 1935 in English, from Tibetan, literally "Lhasa terrier." Earlier name in English was Lhasa terrier (1894).
limbus (n.): Latin, literally "edge, border" (see limb (n.2)). Used in English in various senses; in Medieval Latin the name of the region on the border of Hell, and thus sometimes used in very correct English for limbo (n.1).
Wenceslas: masc. proper name, from Medieval Latin Venceslaus (modern Czech Vaclav), from Old Czech Veceslavŭ, literally "having greater glory," from Slavic *vetye- "greater" + *-slavu "fame, glory," from PIE *klou-, from root *kle- "to hear" (see listen (v.)).
liter (n.): unit of capacity in the metric system, 1797, from French litre (1793), from litron, name of an obsolete French measure of capacity for grain (16c.), from Medieval Latin litra, from Greek litra "pound" (unit of weight), which apparently is from the same Sicilian Italic source as Latin libra (see Libra).
Lizzie: pet form of fem. proper name Elizabeth, used colloquially for "a motor car" (especially an early-model Ford) from 1913; also tin lizzie (1915). From 1905 as "effeminate man;" by 1949 as "a lesbian," the past probably from the resemblance of sound.
crane (n.): Old English cran "large wading bird," common Germanic (cognates: Old Saxon krano, Old High German krano, German Kranich, and, with unexplained change of consonant, Old Norse trani), from PIE *gere-no-, suffixed form of root *gere- (2) "to cry hoarsely," also the name of the crane (cognates: Greek geranos, Latin grus, Welsh garan, Lithuanian garnys "heron, stork"). Thus the name is perhaps an echo of its cry in ancient ears. Metaphoric use for "machine with a long arm" is first attested late 13c. (a sense also in equivalent words in German and Greek).
cannibal (n.): "human that eats human flesh," 1550s, from Spanish canibal, caribal "a savage, cannibal," from Caniba, Christopher Columbus' rendition of the Caribs' name for themselves (see Caribbean). The natives were believed to be anthropophagites. Columbus, seeking evidence that he was in Asia, thought the name meant the natives were subjects of the Great Khan. Shakespeare's Caliban (in "The Tempest") is from a version of this word, with -n- and -l- interchanged, found in Hakluyt's "Voyages" (1599). The Spanish word had reached French by 1515. Used of animals from 1796. An Old English word for "cannibal" was selfæta.
Ganymede: Trojan youth taken by Zeus as his cup-bearer (and lover), from Greek Ganymedes, perhaps a non-Greek name, or from ganymai "I rejoice, am glad" (related to ganos "brightness; sheen; gladness, joy; pride") + medea (plural) "counsels, plans, cunning" (see Medea); taken in Greek folk-etymology to mean "delighting in genitals." Used figuratively of serving-boys (c. 1600) and catamites (1590s). Associated with Aquarius in the zodiac. As the name of one of the four large satellites of Jupiter, by 1847.
illuminati (n.): 1590s, plural of Latin illuminatus "enlightened" (in figurative sense), past participle of illuminare "light up, make light, illuminate" (see illumination). Originally a name applied to a 16c. Spanish sect (the Alumbrados), then to other sects on the continent; since 1797 used as a translation of German Illuminaten, name of a secret society founded 1776 in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, (repressed there 1785) and holding deistic and republican principles; hence used generally of free-thinkers and sarcastically of those professing intellectual enlightenment (1816). Related: Illuminatism; illuminatist.
Jacob: masc. proper name; Old Testament patriarch, son of Isaac and Rebecca and father of the founders of the twelve tribes, from Late Latin Iacobus, from Greek Iakobos, from Hebrew Ya'aqobh, literally "one that takes by the heel; a supplanter" (Gen. xxviii:12), a derivative of 'aqebh "heel." The most popular name for boys born in the U.S. from 1999 through 2008. Jacob's ladder, in various transferred uses from 1733, is from Gen. xxviii:12. In Spanish as Jago, Iago, also Diego; with alterations as Italian Giacomo, James, and (contracted) Spanish Jaime.
Neanderthal (adj.): 1861, in reference to a type of extinct hominid, from German Neanderthal "Neander Valley," name of a gorge near Düsseldorf where humanoid fossils were identified in 1856. The place name is from the Graecized form of Joachim Neumann (literally "new man," Greek *neo-ander), 1650-1680, German pastor, poet and hymn-writer, who made this a favorite spot in the 1670s. Adopting a classical form of one's surname was a common practice among educated Germans in this era. As a noun, by 1915; as a type of a big, brutish, stupid person from 1926.
tangram (n.): Chinese geometric puzzle, 1864, said to be an arbitrary formation based on anagram, etc. First element perhaps Chinese t'an "to extend," or t'ang, commonly used in Cantonese for "Chinese." Some suggest it is the name of the inventor, "but no such person is known to Chinese scholars" [OED]. Another theory involves the Tanka, an outcast aboriginal people of southern China, and Western sailors who discovered the puzzle from their Tanka girlfriends. Perhaps from an obscure sense of tram. The Chinese name is Ch'i ch'iao t'u "seven ingenious plan."
quince (n.): early 14c., plural of quoyn, from Old French cooin (Modern French coing), from Vulgar Latin codoneum, from Latin cotoneum malum "quince fruit," probably a variant of cydonium malum, from Greek kydonion malon "apple of Kydonia" (modern Khania), ancient seaport city in Crete.

The plant is native to Persia, Anatolia, and Greece; the Greeks imported grafts for their native plants from a superior strain in Crete, hence the name. Kodu- also was the Lydian name for the fruit. Italian cotogno, German Quitte, etc. all are ultimately from the Greek word.
pander (n.): "arranger of sexual liaisons, one who supplies another with the means of gratifying lust," 1520s, "procurer, pimp," from Middle English Pandare (late 14c.), used by Chaucer ("Troylus and Cryseyde"), who borrowed it from Boccaccio (who had it in Italian form Pandaro in "Filostrato") as name of the prince (Greek Pandaros), who procured the love of Cressida (his niece in Chaucer, his cousin in Boccaccio) for Troilus. The story and the name are medieval inventions. Spelling influenced by agent suffix -er.
ragamuffin (n.): mid-14c., "demon," also in surnames (Isabella Ragamuffyn, 1344), from Middle English raggi "ragged" ("rag-y"?) + fanciful ending (or else second element is Middle Dutch muffe "mitten"). Or, as Johnson has it, "From rag and I know not what else." Ragged was used of the devil from c. 1300 in reference to "shaggy" appearance. Raggeman was used by Langland as the name of a demon, and compare Old French Ragamoffyn, name of a demon in a mystery play. Sense of "dirty, disreputable boy" is from 1580s. Compare in the same sense ragabash (c. 1600).
Palestine: from Latin Palestina (name of a Roman province), from Greek Palaistine (Herodotus), from Hebrew Pelesheth "Philistia, land of the Philistines." Revived as an official political territorial name 1920 with the British mandate.

Under Turkish rule, Palestine was part of three administrative regions: the Vilayet of Beirut, the Independent Sanjak of Jerusalem, and the Vilayet of Damascus. In 1917 the country was conquered by British forces who held it under occupation until the mandate was established April 25, 1920, by the Supreme Council of the Allied Powers at San Remo. During the occupation Palestine formed "Occupied Enemy Territory Administration (South)," with headquarters at Jerusalem.
Gilbert: masc. proper name, from Old French Guillebert (from Old High German Williberht, literally "a bright will") or Old French Gilebert, from Gisilbert, literally "a bright pledge," from Old High German gisil "pledge," a Celtic loan-word (compare Old Irish giall "pledge") + beorht "bright" (see Albert). It was the common name for a male cat (especially in short form Gib) from c. 1400 (see Tom). As a unit of magneto-motive force, it honors English physicist William Gilbert (1544-1603). For the Gilbert Islands, see Kiribati.
joey (n.): "young kangaroo," 1839, sometimes said to be from a native Australian word joè, but more recently often said to be of unknown origin. Perhaps an extended use of Joey, the familiar form of the male proper name Joseph, for which Partridge lists many common or coarse meanings in 20c. Australian slang. Farmer & Henley ("Slang and Its Analogues") quote an 1887 article on "Australian Colloquialisms":
JOEY is a familiar name for anything young or small, and is applied indifferently to a puppy, or a kitten, or a child, while a WOOD-AND-WATER-JOEY is a hanger about hotels and a doer of odd jobs.
John Doe (n.): fictitious plaintiff in a legal action, attested from 1768 (in Blackstone). The fictitious defendant was Richard Roe. If female, Jane Doe, Jane Roe. Replaced earlier John-a-nokes (1530s) or Jack Nokes, who usually was paired with John-a-stiles or Tom Stiles.

Also used of plaintiffs or defendants who have reason to be anonymous. By 1852, John Doe was being used for "any man whose name is not known;" Britain tended to preserve it in the narrower legal sense "name of the fictitious plaintiff in actions of ejectment." John Doe warrant attested from 1935.
lazaretto (n.): "house for reception of lepers and diseased poor persons," 1540s, from Italian lazareto "place set aside for performance of quarantine" (especially that of Venice, which received many ships from plague-infested districts in the East), from the Biblical proper name Lazarus (q.v.). Meaning "building set apart for quarantine" is c. 1600 in English. The word in Italian was perhaps influenced by the name of another hospital in Venice, that associated with the church of Santa Maria di Nazaret. Sometimes Englished as lazaret; also known as lazar house (1520s).
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).
harmony (n.): late 14c., "combination of tones pleasing to the ear," from Old French harmonie, armonie "harmony," also the name of a musical instrument (12c.), from Latin harmonia, from Greek harmonia "agreement, concord of sounds," also as a proper name, the personification of music, literally "means of joining," used of ship-planks, etc., also "settled government, order," related to harmos "fastenings of a door; shoulder," from PIE *ar-ti-, from *ar- "to fit together" (see arm (n.1)). Modern scientific harmony, using combinations of notes to form chords, is from 16c. Sense of "agreement of feeling, concord" is from late 14c.
zinfandel (n.): 1896, "red or white dry California wine," origin uncertain; used earlier as the name of the grape from which it was made (1880). The wine itself is said to have been known in U.S. since 1829. Some wine experts suggest a corruption of the Austrian grape name Zierfandler, though these grapes are not related to those of zinfandel. See this article:
The similarity in the names Zinfandel and Zierfandler arouses some speculation. Modern vine identification systems did not yet exist in 1829, so it is conceivable that the cuttings George Gibbs imported to the USA had never been correctly identified in Austria.
Carolina: 1663, North American colony named for King Charles II (the Latin form of the male proper name is Carolus). Earlier French colonists called the region Caroline (1564) in honor of Charles IX, King of France. A 1629 grant here by Charles I of England was named Carolana. The original site of the name is modern South Carolina and the tract originally included North Carolina and Georgia; North Carolina first used 1691, in reference to settlements made from Virginia. The official division into north and south dates from 1710. Used generically in forming species names in botany and zoology from 1734.
Cassandra: fem. proper name, from Greek Kasandra, Kassandra, daughter of Priam of Troy, seduced by Apollo who gave her the gift of prophecy, but when she betrayed him he amended it so that, though she spoke truth, none would believe her. Used figuratively since 1660s.

The name is of uncertain origin, though the second element looks like a fem. form of Greek andros "of man, male human being." Watkins suggests PIE *(s)kand- "to shine" as source of second element, hence possibly "praise of men."
zouave (n.): member of a French light infantry troop, 1848, from French, from Arabic Zwawa, from Berber Igawawaen, name of a Kabyle tribe in Algeria, from which the zouaves originally were recruited in 1831. The military units soon became exclusively French but served only in Algeria until 1854 and were "distinguished for their dash, intrepidity, and hardihood, and for their peculiar drill and showy Oriental uniform" [Century Dictionary]. Some Northern regiments in the American Civil War adopted the name and elements of the uniform. The women's fashionable zouave jacket (1859) also is based on the uniform.
taupe (n.): "dark brownish-gray color" (the color of moleskin), 1906, from French taupe, the color, originally "a mole," Old French, from Latin talpa "a mole." The story below lacks evidence and appears to be a fanciful attempt to divert the origin of the color name to something more appealing:
Before the season advances very far you will find that taupe, pronounced "tope," will be the most favored color in the entire category of shades and blendings. The original word is taken from the German word "taube" pronounced "tob-a," which is the name for the dove, but the French have twisted the b into a p and give us taupe. ["The Illustrated Milliner," August, 1906]
recorder (n.): "chief legal officer of a city," early 15c., from Anglo-French recordour (early 14c.), Old French recordeor "witness; storyteller; minstrel," from Medieval Latin recordator, from Latin recordari "remember" (see record (v.)).

Meaning "registering apparatus" is from 1873. The musical instrument is attested by this name from early 15c., from record (v.) in the obsolete sense of "practice a tune." Used by Shakespeare and Milton ("of flutes and soft recorders," "Paradise Lost"). The name, and the device, were rarely heard by mid-1800s, ousted by the flute, but enjoyed a revival after 1911 as an easy-to-play instrument for musical beginners.
Bellatrix: bright star in the left shoulder of Orion, from Latin bellatrix "female warrior," frequently used as an adjective, "warlike, skilled in war," fem. of bellator "to wage war," from bellum "war" (see bellicose). The Latin name, from the Alfonsine Tables (mid-13c.), very loosely translates the Arabic name for the star, Al Najid "the conqueror."
In astrology it was the natal star of all destined to great civil or military honors, and rendered women born under its influence lucky and loquacious; or as old Thomas Hood said, "Women born under this constellation shall have mighty tongues." [Allen]
agate (n.): 1560s, from Middle French agathe (16c.), from Latin achates, from Greek akhates, the name of a river in Sicily where the stones were found (Pliny). But the river could as easily be named for the stone.

The earlier English form of the word, achate (early 13c.), was directly from Latin. Figurative sense of "a diminutive person" (c. 1600) is from the now-obsolete meaning "small figures cut in agates for seals," preserved in typographer's agate (1838), the U.S. name of the 5.5-point font called in Great Britain ruby. Meaning "toy marble made of glass resembling agate" is from 1843 (colloquially called an aggie).
Alexandrine: in reference to a type of verse line, 1580s (adj.); 1660s (n.), said to be from Old French Roman d'Alexandre, name of a poem about Alexander the Great that was popular in the Middle Ages, which used a 12-syllable line of 6 feet (the French heroic verse); it was used in English to vary the heroic verse of 5 feet. The name also sometimes is said to be from Alexandre de Paris, 13c. French poet, who used such a line (and who also wrote one of the popular Alexander the Great poems).
hermaphrodite (n.): late 14c. (harmofroditus), from Latin hermaphroditus, from Greek hermaphroditos "person partaking of the attributes of both sexes," as a proper name, the son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, in Ovid, was loved by the nymph Salmacis so ardently that she prayed for complete union with him and as a result they were united bodily, combining male and female characteristics.

Also used figuratively in Middle English of "one who improperly occupies two offices." As a name for the condition, Middle English had hermofrodito (late 14c.), hermofrodisia (early 15c.). As an adjective, from c. 1600.
epicure (n.): late 14c., "follower of Epicurus," from Latinized form of Greek Epicouros (341-270 B.C.E.), Athenian philosopher who taught that pleasure is the highest good and identified virtue as the greatest pleasure; the first lesson recalled, the second forgotten, and the name used pejoratively for "one who gives himself up to sensual pleasure" (1560s), especially "glutton, sybarite" (1774). Epicurus's school was opposed by the stoics, who first gave his name a reproachful sense. Non-pejorative meaning "one who cultivates refined taste in food and drink" is from 1580s.
Margaret: fem. proper name (c. 1300), from Old French Margaret (French Marguerite), from Late Latin Margarita, female name, literally "pearl," from Greek margarites (lithos) "pearl," of unknown origin, "probably adopted from some Oriental language" [OED]; compare Sanskrit manjari "cluster of flowers," also said by Indian linguists to mean "pearl," cognate with manju "beautiful." Arabic marjan probably is from Greek, via Syraic marganitha. The word was widely perverted in Germanic languages by folk-etymology, for example Old English meregrot, which has been altered to mean literally "sea-pebble."
Mars: Roman god of war, also the name of the bright red planet, late 14c., from Latin Mars (stem *Mawort-), the Roman god of war, of unknown origin, apparently from earlier Mavors, related to Oscan Mamers. According to Watkins the Latin word is from *Mawort- "name of an Italic deity who became the god of war at Rome ...." He also had agricultural attributes, and might ultimately have been a Spring-Dionysus. The planet was so named by the Romans, no doubt for its blood-like color. The Greeks also called the planet Pyroeis "the fiery."
Mary: fem. proper name, Old English Maria, Marie, "mother of Jesus," from Latin Maria, from Greek Mariam, Maria, from Aramaic Maryam, from Hebrew Miryam, sister of Moses (Ex. xv.), of unknown origin, said to mean literally "rebellion." Nursery rhyme "Mary had a Little Lamb" written early 1830 by Sarah Josepha Hale of Boston; published Sept. 1830 in "Juvenile Miscellany," a popular magazine for children. Mary Jane is 1921 as the proprietary name of a kind of low-heeled shoe worn chiefly by young girls, 1928 as slang for marijuana.
Regulus (n.): bright star in constellation Leo, 1550s, Modern Latin, apparently first so-called by Copernicus, literally "little king," diminutive of rex "king;" probably a translation of Basiliskos "little king," a Hellenistic Greek name for the star, mentioned in Geminos and Ptolemy (in the "Almagest," though elsewhere in his writings it is usually "the star on the heart of Leo"); perhaps a translation of Lugal "king," said to have been the star's Babylonian name. Klein holds it to be a corruption of Arabic rijl (al-asad) "paw of the lion" (compare Rigel).
regatta (n.): 1650s, name of a boat race among gondoliers held on the Grand Canal in Venice, from Italian (Venetian dialect) regatta, literally "contention for mastery," from rigattare "to compete, haggle, sell at retail." [Klein's sources, however, suggest a source in Italian riga "row, rank," from a Germanic source and related to English row (v.).] The general meaning of "boat race, yacht race" is usually considered to have begun with a race on the Thames by that name June 23, 1775 (see OED), but there is evidence that it was used as early as 1768.
Oscar: masc. proper name, Old English Osgar "god's spear," from gar "spear" (see gar) + os "god" (only in personal names); see Aesir.

The statuette awarded for excellence in film acting, directing, etc., given annually since, 1928, first so called 1936. The name is said to have sprung from a 1931 remark by Margaret Herrick, secretary at Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, on seeing the statuette: "He reminds me of my Uncle Oscar." Thus the award would be named for Oscar Pierce, U.S. wheat farmer and fruit grower.
Ottoman: 1580s (n.), c. 1600 (adj.), from French Ottoman, from Italian Ottomano, from Arabic 'Uthmani "of or belonging to 'Uthman," Arabic masc. proper name, which in Turkish is pronounced Othman (see Osmanli), name of the founder of the dynasty and empire. Ending altered in Italian by formation of a new false singular, because -i was a plural inflection in Italian. Byron used the more correct form Othman, and a few writers have followed him. The type of couch so called (1806) because one reclined on it, which was associated with Eastern customs (see couch).
Eve: fem. proper name, Biblical first woman, Late Latin, from Hebrew Hawwah, literally "a living being," from base hawa "he lived" (compare Arabic hayya, Aramaic hayyin).
Like most of the explanations of names in Genesis, this is probably based on folk etymology or an imaginative playing with sound. ... In the Hebrew here, the phonetic similarity is between hawah, "Eve," and the verbal root hayah, "to live." It has been proposed that Eve's name conceals very different origins, for it sounds suspiciously like the Aramaic word for "serpent." [Robert Alter, "The Five Books of Moses," 2004, commentary on Gen. iii:20]
title (n.): c. 1300, "inscription, heading," from Old French title "title or chapter of a book; position; legal permit" (12c., Modern French titre, by dissimilation), and in part from Old English titul, both from Latin titulus "inscription, label, ticket, placard, heading; honorable appellation, title of honor," of unknown origin. Meaning "name of a book, play, etc." first recorded mid-14c. The sense of "name showing a person's rank" in English is first attested 1580s. Sports championship sense attested from 1913 (originally in lawn tennis), hence titlist (1913).
Fronde (n.): 1798, from French fronde (14c.), "sling," from Old French fonde "sling, catapult," from Latin funda "a sling; dragnet, casting-net," a word of unknown origin. It was the name given to the party which rose against Mazarin and the court during the minority of Louis XIV, supposedly from the use of stone-casting slings to attack property of their opponents, or from their opponents' contemptuous comparison of them to the slingshot-armed street boys of Paris. Hence the name sometimes was used figuratively for "violent political opposition." Related: Frondeur.
groat (n.): medieval European coin, late 14c., probably from Middle Dutch groot, elliptical use of the adjective meaning "great, big" (in this case, "thick"), from the name of some large coin (for example the Bremen grote sware, and compare Medieval Latin grossi denarii in reference to a Prague coin) to distinguish it from smaller coins of the same name. Cognate with English great (adj.). Recognized from 13c. in various nations. The original English groat coined of 1351-2 was worth four pence; it was discontinued in 1622. Also see groschen.