Online Etymology Dictionary

podiatry (n.): 1914, formed from Greek pod-, stem of pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)) + iatreia "healing," from iatros "physician" (see -iatric). An attempt to supplant chiropody (see chiropodist) and distance the practice from the popular impression of unskilled corn-cutters. The National Association of Chiropodists changed its name to American Podiatry Association in 1958. Related: Podiatric; podiatrist.
trilby (n.): type of hat, 1897, from name of Trilby O'Ferrall, eponymous heroine of the novel by George du Maurier (1834-1896), published in 1894. In the stage version of the novel, the character wore this type of soft felt hat. In plural, also slang for "feet" (1895), in reference to the eroticism attached in the novel to the heroine's bare feet. Related: Trilbies.
troy: late 14c., standard system of weights for gems and precious metals, from Troyes, city in France (Roman (Civitas) Tricassium, capital of the Tricasses, a Celtic people whose name was said to mean "those with three tresses"), former site of an important fair at which this weight is said to have been used. Many medieval towns had their own standard weights. The pound troy contains 5,760 grains and is divided into 12 ounces.
poplar (n.): mid-14c., from Anglo-French popler, from Old French poplier (13c., Modern French peulplier), from Latin populus "poplar" (with a long "o;" not the same word that produced popular), of unknown origin, possibly from a PIE tree-name root *p(y)el- (source also of Greek pelea "elm"). Italian pioppo, Spanish chopo, German pappel, Old Church Slavonic topoli all are from Latin.
porphyry (n.): type of ornamental stone, late 14c., porfurie, from Old French porfire, from Italian porfiro and in some cases directly from Latin porphyrites, a purple semi-precious stone quarried near the Red Sea in Egypt, from Greek porphyrites (lithos) "the purple (stone)," from porphyra (n.) "purple, purple dye" (see purple). Spelling Latinized mid-15c. Now used generally for a type of igneous rock without regard to color. Porphyrios was an ancient proper name.
assassin (n.): 1530s (in Anglo-Latin from mid-13c.), via French and Italian, from Arabic hashishiyyin "hashish-users," plural of hashishiyy, from the source of hashish (q.v.). A fanatical Ismaili Muslim sect of the time of the Crusades, under leadership of the "Old Man of the Mountains" (translates Arabic shaik-al-jibal, name applied to Hasan ibu-al-Sabbah), with a reputation for murdering opposing leaders after intoxicating themselves by eating hashish. The plural suffix -in was mistaken in Europe for part of the word (compare Bedouin).
praseodymium (n.): rare metallic element, 1885, coined in Modern Latin by discoverer Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858-1929) from Greek prasios "leek-green" (from prason "leek") + didymos "double," the name given to an earth in 1840, so called because it was a "twin" to lanthana. When didymia was further analyzed in the 1880s, it was found to have several components, one of which was characterized by green salts and named accordingly, with the elemental suffix -ium.
tuckahoe (n.): edible plant root of eastern U.S., 1610s, American English, from Powhatan (Algonquian) tockawhouge (compare Mohegan tquogh, Shawnee tukwhah), perhaps related to Cree (Algonquian) pitikwaw "made round." From early 19c. a name applied in Virginia to those east of the Blue Ridge Mountains by the settlers west of them, who called themselves Cohees.
tungsten (n.): rare metallic element, 1796, from Swedish tungsten "calcium tungstate," coined 1780 by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Karl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786) from tung "heavy" + sten "stone" (see stone (n.)). The word was used earlier as the name for calcium tungstate (1770). Atomic symbol W is from Latin wolframium, from German Wolfram "iron tungstate" (see wolfram).
moonraker (n.): in England, a name traditionally given to Wiltshire people, attested from 1787, is from the stock joke about fools who mistook the reflection of the moon in a pond for a cheese and tried to rake it out. But as told in Wiltshire, the men were surprised trying to rake up kegs of smuggled brandy, and put off the revenuers by acting foolish.
bunny (n.): 1680s, diminutive of Scottish dialectal bun, pet name for "rabbit," previously (1580s) for "squirrel," and also a term of endearment for a young attractive woman or child (c. 1600). Ultimately it could be from Scottish bun "tail of a hare" (1530s), or from French bon, or from a Scandinavian source. The Playboy Club hostess sense is from 1960. The Bunny Hug (1912), along with the foxtrot and the Wilson glide, were among the popular/scandalous dances of the ragtime era.
Burgundy (n.): 1670s, "wine made in Burgundy," region and former duchy in France. The place name is from Medieval Latin Burgundia, from Late Latin Burgundiones, literally "highlanders," from PIE *bhrgh-nt- "high, mighty," from root *bhrgh- "high" (see borough). The Burgundians were a Germanic people, originally from Sweden, who migrated and founded a kingdom west of the Rhine in 411. Their story is told in the 12c. Nibelungenlied.
Atlas: 1580s, Titan, son of Iapetus and Clymene, supposed to uphold the pillars of heaven, which was his punishment for being the war leader of the Titans in the struggle with the Olympian gods. The name in Greek perhaps means "The Bearer (of the Heavens)," from a-, copulative prefix, + stem of tlenai "to bear," from PIE root *tele- "to lift, support, weigh." Mount Atlas, in Mauritania, was important in Greek cosmology as a support of the heavens.
Porte (n.): "Ottoman court at Constantinople," c. 1600, from French, in full, la Sublime Porte, literally "the high gate," translation of Arabic al-Bab al-'Ali, "lofty gate," official name of the central office of the Ottoman government (compare Vatican for "the Papacy," White House for "the United States"). Compare also mikado. Supposedly a reference to the ancient custom of holding royal audience in the doorway of a king's palace or tent.
trapezium (n.): 1560s, from Late Latin trapezium, from Greek trapezion "irregular quadrilateral," literally "a little table," diminutive of trapeza "table, dining table," from tra- "four" (see four) + peza "foot, edge," related to pous, from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Before 1540s, Latin editions of Euclid used the Arabic-derived word helmariphe. As the name of a bone in the wrist, it is recorded from 1840.
trepan (v.): c. 1400, from Old French trépaner (14c.), from trepan (n.), the name of the tool with which it was done, from Medieval Latin trepanum "a saw for cutting out small pieces of bone from the skull," from Greek trypanon "a borer, an auger, a carpenter's tool; a surgeon's trepan," from trypan "to bore," related to trype "hole" (cognate with Old Church Slavonic truplu "hollow"), from PIE *trup-, from root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn" (see throw (v.)). Related: Trepanned; trepanning.
poke (n.2): "pokeweed; a weed used in medicine and dyeing," colonial American, from native words, possibly a confusion of similar-sounding Native American plant names; from 1630s in English as "tobacco plant," short for uppowoc (1580s), from Algonquian (Virginia) *uppowoc. Later (1708) the word is used in the sense "pokeweed," as a shortened form of puccoon, from Algonquian (Virginia) *puccoon, name of a plant used for dyeing." Native roots for "smoke" and "stain" have been proposed as the origin or origins.
polyp (n.): c. 1400, "nasal tumor," from Middle French polype and directly from Latin polypus "cuttlefish," also "nasal tumor," from Greek (Doric, Aeolic) polypos "octopus, cuttlefish," from polys "many" (see poly-) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Etymological sense revived 1742 as a name for hydras and sea anemones (earlier polypus, early 16c.). The Latin word is the source of French poulpe "octopus."
pomegranate (n.): c. 1300, poumgarnet (a metathesized form), from Old French pome grenate (Modern French grenade) and directly from Medieval Latin pomum granatum, literally "apple with many seeds," from pome "apple; fruit" (see Pomona) + grenate "having grains," from Latin granata, fem. of granatus, from granum "grain" (see grain). The classical Latin name was malum granatum "seeded apple." Italian form is granata, Spanish is granada. The -gra- spelling restored in English early 15c.
Rubicon (n.): in phrase to cross (or pass) the Rubicon "take a decisive step," 1620s, a reference to a small stream to the Adriatic on the coast of northern Italy which in ancient times formed part of the southern boundary of Cisalpine Gaul; crossed by Caesar Jan. 10, 49 B.C.E., when he left his province to attack Pompey. The name is from Latin rubicundus "ruddy," in reference to the color of the soil on its banks.
ruby (n.): "clear rich-red variety of corundum," c. 1300, from Old French rubi (12c.), from Medieval Latin rubinus lapis "red stone" (source also of Italian rubino), from Latin rubeus "red," related to ruber (see red). As a color name from 1570s. As an adjective from late 15c. Modern French rubis is not explained; Klein suggests a plural mistaken for singular.
ruff (n.): kind of large collar, stiffly starched, especially common in the seventeenth century, 1520s, originally in reference to sleeves (of collars, from 1550s), probably a shortened form of ruffle.

Card-playing sense is a separate word, from a former game of that name (1580s), from Middle French roffle, earlier romfle (early 15c.), from Italian ronfa, perhaps a corruption of trionfo "triumph" (from French; compare trump). The game was in vogue c. 1590-1630.
brownie (n.): "benevolent goblin supposed to haunt old farmhouses in Scotland," 1510s, diminutive of brown "a wee brown man" (see brown (adj.)). The name for the junior branch of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts is 1916, in reference to uniform color. Brownie point (1963) is sometimes associated with Brownie in the Scouting sense but is perhaps rather from brown-nose.
Bruce: a Norman surname, but etymology from Brix (place in La Manche, Normandy) is now considered doubtful ["Dictionary of English Surnames"]. Originated in Britain with Robert de Bruis, a baron listed in the Domesday Book. His son, a friend of David I, king of Scotland, was granted by him in 1124 the lordship of Annandale, and David's son, Robert, founded the Scottish House of Bruce. As a given name for U.S. males, most popular for boys born c. 1946-1954.
buckram (n.): early 13c., from Old French boquerant "fine oriental cloth" (12c., Modern French bougran), probably (along with Spanish bucarán, Italian bucherame) from Bukhara, city in central Asia from which it was imported to Europe. Originally a name of a delicate, costly fabric, it later came to mean coarse linen used for lining. The -m in the English word may indicate Italian origin (compare Italian bucherame, 14c.).
commode (n.): 1786, "chest of drawers," earlier (1680s) name of a type of fashionable ladies' headdress, from French commode, noun use of adjective meaning "convenient, suitable," from Latin commodus "proper, fit, appropriate, convenient, satisfactory," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + modus "measure, manner" (see mode (n.1)). Meaning "chair housing a chamber pot" first attested 1851 from notion of "convenience."
Archibald: masc. proper name, from Old High German Erchanbald, literally "genuine bold," from erchan "genuine" + bald (see bold). Archie, British World War I military slang for "German anti-aircraft fire" (1915) supposedly is from black humor of airmen dodging hostile fire and thinking of the refrain of a popular music hall song, "Archibald, certainly not!"
Arctic (adj.): late 14c., artik, from Old French artique, from Medieval Latin articus, from Latin arcticus, from Greek arktikos "of the north," literally "of the (constellation) Bear," from arktos "bear; Ursa Major; the region of the north," the Bear being a northerly constellation. From *rkto-, the usual Indo-European base for "bear" (source also of Avestan aresho, Armenian arj, Albanian ari, Latin ursus, Welsh arth); see bear (n.) for why the name changed in Germanic. The -c- was restored from 1550s. As a noun, "the Arctic regions," from 1560s.
Argo: name of the ship in which Jason and his companions sought the Fleece in Colchis, in Greek, literally "The Swift," from argos "swift" (adj.), an epithet, literally "shining, bright" (see argent; compare also Sanskrit cognate rjrah "shining, glowing, bright," also "swift"), "because all swift motion causes a kind of glancing or flickering light" [Liddell & Scott].
ark (n.): Old English earc, mainly meaning Noah's but also the Ark of the Covenant, from Latin arca "large box, chest" (see arcane). Also borrowed in Old High German (arahha, Modern German Arche). From the Noachian sense comes extended meaning "place of refuge" (17c.). As the name of a type of ship or boat, from late 15c. In 19c. U.S., especially a large, flat-bottomed river boat to move produce, livestock, etc. to market.
Moll: female proper name, shortened form of Molly, itself familiar for Mary. Used from c. 1600 for "prostitute;" meaning "companion of a thief" is first recorded 1823. A general word for "woman" in old underworld slang, for instance Moll-buzzer "pickpocket who specializes in women;" Moll-tooler "female pick-pocket." U.S. sense of "a gangster's girlfriend" is from 1923.
pink (n., adj.): 1570s, common name of Dianthus, a garden plant of various colors, of unknown origin. Its use for "pale rose color" first recorded 1733 (pink-coloured is recorded from 1680s), from one of the colors of the flowers. The plant name is perhaps from pink (v.) via notion of "perforated" petals, or from Dutch pink "small" (see pinkie), from the term pinck oogen "half-closed eyes," literally "small eyes," which was borrowed into English (1570s) and may have been used as a name for Dianthus, which sometimes has pale red flowers.

As an earlier name for such a color English had incarnation "flesh-color" (mid-14c.), and as an adjective incarnate (1530s), from Latin words for "flesh" (see incarnation) but these also had other associations and tended to drift in sense from "flesh-color, blush-color" toward "crimson, blood color."

The flower meaning led (by 1590s) to a figurative use for "the flower" or finest example of anything (as in Mercutio's "Nay, I am the very pinck of curtesie," Rom. & Jul. II.iv.61). Political noun sense "person perceived as left of center but not entirely radical (i.e. red)" is attested by 1927, but the image dates to at least 1837. Pink slip "discharge notice" is first recorded 1915. To see pink elephants "hallucinate from alcoholism" first recorded 1913 in Jack London's "John Barleycorn."
pinot (n.): type of grape vine used in wine-making, 1912, American English variant spelling of French pineau (attested in English from 1763), name of a family of wine grapes, from pin "pine tree" (see pine (n.)) + diminutive suffix -eau. So called from the shape of the grape clusters. Variants are pinot noir, "black," pinot blanc, "white," and pinot gris, "gray."
mumbo jumbo (n.): 1738, name of an idol supposedly worshipped by certain tribes in Africa; said to be a corruption of words in Mandingo (one reconstructed version is Mama Dyumbo), but no likely source has been found in the languages of the Niger region, to which the original accounts relate. Meaning "big, empty talk" is attested from 1896.
muslin (n.): c. 1600, "delicately woven cotton fabric," from French mousseline (17c.), from Italian mussolina, from Mussolo, Italian name of Mosul, city in northern Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) where muslin was made. Like many fabric names, it has changed meaning over the years, in this case from luxurious to commonplace. In 13c. French, mosulin meant "cloth of silk and gold." The meaning "everyday cotton fabric for shirts, bedding, etc." is first attested 1872 in American English.
Sri Lanka: large island southeast of India (known in English until 1972 as Ceylon), from Lanka, older name for the island and its chief city, + Sanskrit sri "beauty" (especially of divinities, kings, heroes, etc.), also an honorific prefix to proper names, from PIE root *kreie- "to be outstanding, brilliant, masterly, beautiful," found in Greek (kreon "lord, master") and Indo-Iranian.
Stafford: city in England, mid-11c., Stæfford, literally "ford by a landing-place," from Old English stæð "river bank, shore" + ford (n.). County town of Staffordshire, which, as a name for a type of earthenware and porcelain made there is attested from 1765. The city was noted in medieval England as a source of blue cloth.
stampede (n.): 1844 (earlier stampedo, 1839), "A general scamper of animals on the Western prairies, generally caused by a fright" [Bartlett] from Mexican Spanish estampida, from Spanish, "an uproar," from estamper "to stamp, press, pound," from Provençal estampier "to stamp," from the same Germanic root that yielded English stamp (v.). The political sense is first recorded 1846 (in reference to the U.S. Democratic Party convention of 1844). As the name of an annual exhibition of cowboy skills in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, it is attested from 1912.
August: eighth month, 1097, from Latin Augustus (mensis), sixth month of the later Roman calendar, renamed from Sextilis (literally "sixth") in 8 B.C.E. to honor emperor Augustus Caesar, literally "Venerable Caesar" (see august (adj.)). In England, the name replaced native Weodmonað "weed month." One of two months given new names to honor Roman emperors (July being the other), the Romans also gave new imperial names to September (Germanicus) and October (Domitian) but luckily these did not stick.
aurora (n.): late 14c., from Latin Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, from PIE *ausus- "dawn," also the name of the Indo-European goddess of the dawn, from root *aus- (1) "to shine," especially of the dawn (source also of Greek eos "dawn," auein "to dry, kindle;" Sanskrit usah, Lithuanian ausra "dawn;" Latin auster "south wind," usum "to burn;" Old English east "east").
avocado (n.): 1763, from Spanish avocado, altered (by folk etymology influence of earlier Spanish avocado "lawyer," from same Latin source as advocate (n.)) from earlier aguacate, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) ahuakatl "avocado" (with a secondary meaning "testicle" probably based on resemblance), from proto-Nahuan *pawa "avocado." As a color-name, first attested 1945. The English corruption alligator (pear) is 1763, from Mexican Spanish alvacata, alligato.
snipe (n.): long-billed marsh bird, early 14c., from Old Norse -snipa in myrisnipa "moor snipe;" perhaps a common Germanic term (compare Old Saxon sneppa, Middle Dutch snippe, Dutch snip, Old High German snepfa, German Schnepfe "snipe," Swedish snäppa "sandpiper"), perhaps originally "snipper." The Old English name was snite, which is of uncertain derivation. An opprobrious term (see guttersnipe) since c. 1600.
Socinian: 1640s (n.); 1690s (adj.), in reference to followers or doctrines of Faustus Socinus, Latinized name of Fausto Sozzini (1539-1604), Italian anti-trinitarian theologian who held Christ to be human, if divinely endowed, and the Holy Spirit to be divine energy, not a person. He broke with the Church and organized the Polish Brethren.
Soho: district in New York city, 1969, from "South of Houston Street," but probably also echoing the name of the London neighborhood (famous for vice by early 19c.), which was so called since at least 1630s, originally "So Ho," a hunting cry (c. 1300) used in calling from a distant place to alert hounds and other hunters; the West End district was so called from earlier association of this area with hunting.
spaniel (n.): late 13c., as a surname meaning "Spaniard;" as a name for a breed of dog supposedly of Spanish origin, late 14c., from Old French (chien) espagneul, literally "Spanish (dog)," from Vulgar Latin *Hispaniolus "of Spain," diminutive of Latin Hispanus "Spanish, Hispanic" (see Spaniard). Used originally to start game; the breed was much-developed in England in 17c. Whether it is actually originally Spanish is uncertain.
tai chi (n.): 1736, the "supreme ultimate" in Taoism and Neo-Confucianism, from Chinese tai "extreme" + ji "limit." As the name of a form of martial arts training (said to have been developed by a priest in the Sung dynasty, 960-1279) it is first attested 1962, in full, tai chi ch'uan, with Chinese quan "fist."
T: to cross one's t's (and dot one's i's) "to be exact" is attested from 1849. Phrase to a T "exactly" is recorded from 1690s, though the exact signification remains uncertain despite much speculation. The measuring tool called a T-square (sometimes suggested as the source of this) is recorded by that name only from 1785. The T-cell (1970) so called because they are derived from the thymus. As a medieval numeral, T represented 160.
TWA: formed May 16, 1928, as Transcontinental Air Transport, merged 1930 with Western Air Express to form Transcontinental and Western Air Inc. (TWA). Name changed to Trans World Airlines 1950, but the moniker remained the same. Its last remnants were bought out by rival American Airlines in April 2001.
tea party (n.): 1772, from tea + party (n.). Political references to tea party all trace to the Boston tea party of 1773 (the name seems to date from 1824), in which radicals in Massachusetts colony boarded British ships carrying tea and threw the product into Boston Harbor in protest royal taxation. It has been a model for other libertarian political actions in the U.S. (mostly symbolic), including citizen gatherings begun in early 2009 to protest government spending.
Seven Sisters: "the Pleiades," early 15c. (see Pleiades), seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, placed among the stars by Zeus. The Pleiades also are known as the Seven Stars (see seven). As a late-20c. name for the major multi-national petroleum companies, it is attested from 1962. They were listed in 1976 as Exxon, Mobil, Gulf, Standard Oil of California, Texaco, British Petroleum, and Royal Dutch Shell.