Online Etymology Dictionary

madonna (n.): 1580s, "Italian lady," from Italian madonna, from Old Italian ma donna (Italian mia donna) "my lady," from ma "my" + donna "lady," from Latin domina (see dame). Sense of "picture or statue of the Virgin Mary" is from 1640s. The U.S. singer/dancer (full name Madonna Louise Ciccone, b.1958) attained to pop stardom in fall 1984.
maffick (v.): "to celebrate boisterously," 1900, from Mafficking, a nonce-verb formed punningly from Mafeking, British garrison town in South Africa whose relief on May 17, 1900, during the Boer War, was celebrated wildly in London. OED reports the word "confined to journalistic use." By now it might as well write, "confined to dictionaries." The place name (properly Mafikeng) is from Tswana and is said to mean "place of rocks," from mafika, plural of lefika "rock, cliff" + -eng "place of."
magenta (n.): 1860, in honor of the Battle of Magenta in Italy, where the French and Sardinians defeated the Austrians in 1859, which advanced the cause of Italian independence and fired the imagination of European liberals. The brilliant crimson aniline dye was discovered shortly after the battle. The town's name traces back to Roman general and emperor Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (d.312), who supposedly had a headquarters here.
magi (n.): c. 1200, "skilled magicians, astrologers," from Latin magi, plural of magus "magician, learned magician," from Greek magos, a word used for the Persian learned and priestly class as portrayed in the Bible (said by ancient historians to have been originally the name of a Median tribe), from Old Persian magush "magician" (see magic). Related: Magian.
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.
Lambeth: used metonymically for "Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury," 1859, from the archbishop's palace in Lambeth, a South London borough. The place name is Old English lambehyðe, "place where lambs are embarked or landed." In church history, the Lambeth Articles were doctrinal statements written in 1595 by Archbishop of Canterbury John Whitgift. The Lambeth Walk was a Cockney song and dance, popularized in Britain 1937 in the revue "Me and my Gal," named for a street in the borough.
landau (n.): type of two-seated, four-wheeled carriage, 1743, from Landau, town in Bavaria where they first were made. The first element is the common Germanic element found in English land (n.); the identity of the second is disputed. But Klein says the vehicle name is "in reality" Spanish lando "originally a light four-wheeled carriage drawn by mules," from Arabic al-andul.
nanny (n.): "children's nurse," 1795, from widespread child's word for "female adult other than mother" (compare Greek nanna "aunt"). The word also is a nickname form of the fem. proper name Ann, which probably is the sense in nanny goat (1788, compare billy goat). Nanny-house "brothel" is slang from c. 1700. Nanny state, in reference to overintrusive government policies is attested by 1987, the term associated with British political leader Margaret Thatcher, who criticized the tendency.
nasturtium (n.): mid-12c., "plant of the mustard family, like watercress," from Latin nasturtium "cress;" the popular etymology explanation of the name (Pliny) is that it is from Latin *nasitortium, literally "nose-twist," from nasus "nose" (see nose (n.)) + past participle of torquere "to twist" (see torque (n.)); the plant so called for its pungent odor. Modern application to a South American trailing plant with orange flowers first recorded 1704.
prune (n.): mid-14c., "a plum," also "a dried plum" (c. 1200 in place name Prunhill), from Old French pronne "plum" (13c.), from Vulgar Latin *pruna, fem. singular formed from Latin pruna, neuter plural of prunum "a plum," by dissimilation from Greek proumnon, from a language of Asia Minor. Slang meaning "disagreeable or disliked person" is from 1895. Prune juice is from 1807.
Puck: "mischievous fairy" (in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"), probably from pouke "devil, evil spirit" (c. 1300), from Old English puca, pucel "goblin," cognate with Old Norse puki "devil, fiend," of unknown origin (compare pug). Celtic origins also have been proposed. Capitalized since 16c. His disguised name was Robin Goodfellow.
Neapolitan (n.): early 15c., "native or resident of Naples," literally "of Naples," from Latin Neapolitanus, from Neapolis (see Naples); it preserves in English the Greek name of the city. As an adjective from 1590s. As a type of ice cream, from 1871; originally meaning both "ice cream of three layers and flavors" and "ice cream made with eggs added to the cream before freezing." In early 18c., Neapolitan consolation meant "syphilis."
Neil: surname and masc. proper name, from Gaelic/Old Irish Niall "champion." Picked up by the Vikings in Ireland (as Njall), brought by them to Iceland and Norway, thence to France, from which place it was introduced in England at the Conquest. Incorrectly Latinized as Nigellus on mistaken association with niger "black," hence Nigel.
Procrustean (adj.): 1846 in figurative sense, "violently making conformable to standard," from Procrustes, mythical robber of Attica who seized travelers, tied them to his bed, and either stretched their limbs or lopped of their legs to make them fit it. The name is Greek Prokroustes "one who stretches," from prokrouein "to beat out, stretch out," from pro- "before" (see pro-) + krouein "to strike."
Punch (n.): the puppet show star, 1709, shortening of Punchinello (1666), from Italian (Neapolitan) Pollecinella, Pollecenella, diminutive of pollecena "turkey pullet," probably in allusion to his big nose. The phrase pleased as punch apparently refers to his unfailing triumph over enemies. The comic weekly of this name was published in London from 1841.
octopus (n.): 1758, genus name of a type of eight-armed cephalopod mollusks, from Greek oktopous, literally "eight-foot," from okto "eight" (see eight) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Proper plural is octopodes, though octopuses probably works better in English. Octopi (1817) is from mistaken assumption that -us in this word is the Latin noun ending that takes -i in plural.
Odin: chief Teutonic god, the All-Father, a 19c. revival in reference to Scandinavian neo-paganism, from Danish, from Old Norse Oðinn, from Proto-Germanic *Wodanaz, name of the chief Germanic god (source of Old English Woden, Old High German Wuotan), from PIE *wod-eno-, *wod-ono- "raging, mad, inspired," from root *wet- (1) "to blow; inspire, spiritually arouse" (see wood (adj.)).
Oedipal (adj.): 1939, "of or pertaining to desire felt for opposite-sex parent," from Oedipus complex (1910), coined by Freud from Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," in which the title character, the Theban hero, answers the Sphinx's riddle and unknowingly kills his father and marries his own mother; from Greek Oedipus. The name was used figuratively in English from 1550s for "one who is clever at guessing riddles," which had adjectival form Oedipean (1620s).
tattle (v.): late 15c., "to stammer, prattle," in Caxton's translation of "Reynard the Fox," probably from Middle Flemish tatelen "to stutter," parallel to Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, East Frisian tateren "to chatter, babble," possibly of imitative origin. The meaning "tell tales or secrets" is first recorded 1580s. Sense influenced by tittle. Related: Tattled; tattling. As a noun from 1520s. Tattler, the name of the famous periodical by Addison and Steele (1709-1711), means "idle talker, a gossip."
tally-ho: also tallyho, huntsman's cry to alert others that the game has been spotted, 1772, earlier in the name of a roistering character in English theater, Sir Toby Tallyho (Foote, 1756), from French taiaut, cry used in deer hunting (1660s), from Old French taho, tielau. Meaning "fast coach" is from 1823, originally in reference to the one that made the run from London to Birmingham.
quart (n.): "one-fourth of a gallon," early 14c., from Old French quarte "a fourth part" (13c.), from Latin quarta (pars), from fem. of quartus "the fourth," related to quattuor "four," from PIE root *kewtwor- (see four). Compare Latin quartarius "fourth part," also the name of a small liquid measure (the fourth part of a sextarius), which was about the same as an English pint.
quasimodo (n.): "Low Sunday," 1706, Quasimodo Sunday, from Latin quasi modo, first words of introit for the first Sunday after Easter: quasi modo geniti infantes "as newborn babes" (1 Pet. ii:2). The hunchback in Victor Hugo's novel was supposed to have been abandoned as an infant at Notre Dame on this day, hence his name. For first element, see quasi; for second see mode (n.1).
Quentin: masc. proper name, from French, from Latin Quin(c)tianus, from quintus "the fifth." Roman children in large families often were named for their birth order (compare Sextius; also see Octavian). "[P]opular in France from the cult of St Quentin of Amiens, and brought to England by the Normans" ["Dictionary of English Surnames"], but the popular English form as a surname was Quinton.
Quirinal: royal palace in Rome, 1838, from Mons Quirinalis in Rome (one of the seven hills, site of a former Papal palace), from Quirinus, said to be the divine name of Romulus, but really one of the original trinity of Roman gods, representing Mars. His feast (Quirinalia) was Feb. 17. Used metonymically for "the Italian civil government" (1917), especially as distinguished from the Vatican.
quixotic (adj.): "extravagantly chivalrous," 1791, from Don Quixote, romantic, impractical hero of Cervantes' satirical novel "Don Quixote de la Mancha" (1605; English translation by 1620). His name literally means "thigh," also "a cuisse" (a piece of armor for the thigh), in Modern Spanish quijote, from Latin coxa "hip." Related: Quixotical; quixotically.
quoth (v.): Old English cwæð, third person singular past tense of cweðan "to say, speak; name, call; declare, proclaim" (Middle English quethan), from Proto-Germanic *kwithan (source also of Old Saxon quethan, Old Norse kveða, Old Frisian quetha, Old High German quedan, Gothic qiþan), from PIE root *gwet- "to say, speak" (see bequeath). Compare also archaic quotha "said he" (1510s) for Old English cwæðe ge "think you?"
pamphlet (n.): "small, unbound treatise," late 14c., from Anglo-Latin panfletus, popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in Middle Ages; the name from Greek pamphilos "loved by all," from pan- "all" + philos "loving, dear" see -phile). Meaning "brief work dealing with questions of current interest" is late 16c.
Panama: probably from an unknown Guarani word, traditionally said to mean "place of many fish." Originally the name of the settlement founded 1519 (destroyed 1671 but subsequently rebuilt). Panama hat, made from the leaves of the screw pine, attested from 1833, a misnomer, because it originally was made in Ecuador, but perhaps so called in American English because it was distributed north from Panama City. Panama red as a variety of Central American marijuana is attested from 1967.
pandemonium (n.): 1667, Pandæmonium, in "Paradise Lost" the name of the palace built in the middle of Hell, "the high capital of Satan and all his peers," coined by John Milton (1608-1674) from Greek pan- "all" (see pan-) + Late Latin daemonium "evil spirit," from Greek daimonion "inferior divine power," from daimon "lesser god" (see demon).

Transferred sense "place of uproar" is from 1779; that of "wild, lawless confusion" is from 1865. Related: Pandemoniac; pandemoniacal; pandemonian; pandemonic.
pantheon (n.): c. 1300, from Pantheon, name of a temple for all the gods built in Rome c. 25 B.C.E. by Agrippa (since 609 C.E. made into the Christian church of Santa Maria Rotonda), from Greek Pantheion (hieron) "(shrine) of all the gods," from pantheion, neuter of pantheios, from pan- "all" (see pan-) + theios "of or for the gods," from theos "god" (see theo-). Sense of any group of exalted persons is first found 1590s.
pantomime (n.): 1610s, "mime actor," from Latin pantomimus "mime, dancer," from Greek pantomimos "actor," literally "imitator of all," from panto- (genitive of pan) "all" (see pan-) + mimos "imitator" (see mime (n.)).

Meaning "drama or play without words" first recorded 1735. The English dramatic performances so called, usually at Christmas and with words and songs and stock characters, are attested by this name from 1739; said to have originated c. 1717. Related: Pantomimic; pantomimical.
paparazzi (n.): 1961, from Italian Paparazzo (plural paparazzi) surname of the freelance photographer in Federico Fellini's 1959 film "La Dolce Vita." The surname itself is of no special significance; it is said to be a common one in Calabria, and Fellini is said to have borrowed it from a travel book, "By the Ionian Sea," in which occurs the name of hotel owner Coriolano Paparazzo.
quadrant (n.): late 14c., "a quarter of a day, six hours," from Middle French quadrant, from Latin quadrantem (nominative quadrans) "fourth part," also the name of a coin worth a quarter of an as, noun use of present participle of quadrare "to make square; put in order, arrange, complete; run parallel, be exact," figuratively "to fit, suit, be proper," related to quadrus "a square," quattuor "four" (see four). The surveying instrument is first so called c. 1400, because it forms a quarter circle. Related: Quadrantal.
tabard (n.): c. 1300 (late 13c. as a surname), from Old French tabart "simple sleeveless overtunic," also "heavy overmantel" (12c.), of unknown origin; Diez suggests Latin tapete "figured cloth." Compare Medieval Latin tabardum, early Spanish tabardo, Italian tabarro. Originally a coarse, sleeveless upper garment worn by peasants and others who worked out-of-doors; later a knight's surcoat (hence the name of the tavern in "Canterbury Tales").
varnish (n.): mid-14c., from Old French vernis "varnish" (12c.), from Medieval Latin vernix "odorous resin," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Late Greek verenike, from Greek Berenike, name of an ancient city in Libya (modern Bengasi) credited with the first use of varnishes. The town is named for Berenike II, queen of Egypt (see Berenice). Figurative sense of "specious gloss, pretense," is recorded from 1560s.
velar (adj.): 1726, from Latin velaris, from velum "sail, curtain" (see veil (n.)). Originally an architect's term for a type of cupola resembling a swelling sail; phonetics sense is from 1876, on notion of "pertaining to the velum," the anatomist's name for the soft palate (velum in this sense is attested from 1771, in full velum palati). The noun meaning "a velar guttural" is recorded from 1886.
Velcro (n.): 1958, proprietary name (Britain), from French vel(ours) cro(ché) "hooked velvet."
Here is a nonmetallic fastener with no mechanical parts. It is simply two strips of nylon, one woven with thousands of tiny protruding hooks, the other with loops. Pressed together, they catch like a burr to clothing, can't be parted except by peeling. American Velcro, Manchester, N.H., makes them to hold anything from pants to upholstery. ["Popular Science," December 1958]
verb (n.): late 14c., from Old French verbe "word; word of God; saying; part of speech that expresses action or being" (12c.) and directly from Latin verbum "verb," originally "a word," from PIE root *were- (3) "to speak" (source also of Avestan urvata- "command;" Sanskrit vrata- "command, vow;" Greek rhetor "public speaker," rhetra "agreement, covenant," eirein "to speak, say;" Hittite weriga- "call, summon;" Lithuanian vardas "name;" Gothic waurd, Old English word "word").
Ralph: masc. proper name, shortened from Radulf, from Old Norse Raðulfr (Old English Rædwulf), literally "wolf-counsel," from rað "counsel" (see read (n.)) + ulfr "wolf" (see wolf (n.)). The Century Dictionary also lists it as English printers' slang for "An alleged or imagined evil spirit who does mischief in a printing house."
Pyrex (n.): 1915, proprietary name (Corning Glass Works, Corning, N.Y.), arbitrary coinage, in which eager etymologists see implications of Greek pyr "fire" and perhaps Latin rex "king;" but the prosaic inventors say it was based on pie (n.1), because pie dishes were among the first products made from it. The -r- is purely euphonious.
pyrrhic (n.): "dance in armor" (1590s), also a type of metrical foot (1620s), from Latin pyrrhicha, from Greek pyrrikhe orkhesis, the war-dance of ancient Greece, traditionally named for its inventor, Pyrrikhos. The name means "reddish," from pyrros "flame-colored," from pyr "fire," from PIE root *paəwr- "fire" (see fire (n.)). As an adjective from 1749.
python (n.): 1580s, fabled serpent, slain by Apollo near Delphi, from Latin Python, from Greek Python "serpent slain by Apollo," probably related to Pytho, the old name of Delphi, perhaps itself related to pythein "to rot," or from PIE *dhubh-(o)n-, from *dheub- "hollow, deep, bottom, depths," and used in reference to the monsters who inhabit them. Zoological application to large non-venomous snakes of the tropics is from 1836, originally in French.
Paddy (n.2): "Irishman," 1780, slang, from the pet form of the common Irish proper name Patrick (Irish Padraig). It was in use in African-American vernacular by 1946 for any "white person." Paddy wagon is 1930, perhaps so called because many police officers were Irish. Paddywhack (1881) originally meant "an Irishman."
generic (adj.): 1670s, "belonging to a large group of objects," formed in English from Latin gener-, stem of genus "race, kind" (see genus) + -ic. Hence "of a general kind, not special. In reference to manufactured products, "not special; not brand-name; in plain, cheap packaging," is from 1953 of drugs; of groceries, etc., from 1977. Related: Generically.
genital (adj.): late 14c., "pertaining to (sexual) reproduction," in membres genytal "the genitals," from Latin genitalis "pertaining to generation or birth; fruitful" (also a by-name of the goddess Diana), from genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (see genus). Hence the English word came to mean "pertaining to the organs of generation." As a noun meaning "sex organ" from mid-15c. (plural genitals is from late 14c.).
geode (n.): rounded stone with a hollow center lined with crystals, 1670s (in Greek form from 1610s), from French géode, from Latin geodes, name of a certain precious stone, from Greek geodes "earthy, earth-like, with deep soil," from ge "earth" (Homeric gaia; see Gaia) + -oides, adjective suffix, "characterized by" (see -oid). Perhaps so called in reference to the rough crust in which the crystals are hidden. Related: Geodic.
gimcrack (n.): also jimcrack, "trifle, knick-knack," by c. 1820, earlier "mechanical contrivance" (1630s), originally "showy person" (1610s), of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of Middle English gibecrake, the name of some kind of ornament on wooden furniture (mid-14c.), which is perhaps from Old French giber "to rattle, shake" + some special sense of Middle English crak "sharp noise, crack." In 18c.-19c. gimcrack also could mean "person who has a turn for mechanical contrivances."
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.
jonquil (n.): 1660s, species of narcissus, from French jonquille (17c.), from Spanish junquillo, diminutive of junco "rush, reed," from Latin iuncus "reed, rush," from Proto-Italic *joiniko-, from PIE *ioi-ni- (cognates: Middle Irish ain "reeds, rushes," Old Norse einir, Swedish en "juniper"). So called in reference to the form of its leaves.

From 1791 as the name of a pale yellow color, like that of the flower, and thus a type of canary bird (1865) of that color.
Joshua: masc. proper name, biblical successor of Moses as leader of the Israelites, from Late Latin Jeshua, Joshua, a transliteration of Hebrew Yehoshua, literally "the Lord is salvation." In the top 10 list of names for boys in the U.S. since 1979. Joshua-tree (1867) is perhaps [OED] so called because its shape compared to pictures of Joshua brandishing a spear (Josh. viii:18).