Online Etymology Dictionary

shag (v.1): "copulate with," 1788, probably from obsolete verb shag (late 14c.) "to shake, waggle," which probably is connected to shake (v.).
And þe boot, amydde þe water, was shaggid. [Wyclif]
Compare shake it in U.S. blues slang from 1920s, ostensibly with reference to dancing. But compare shag (v.), used from 1610s in a sense "to roughen or make shaggy." Also the name of a dance popular in U.S. 1930s and '40s. Related: Shagged; shagging.
shock (n.3): "thick mass of hair," 1819, from earlier shock (adj.) "having thick hair" (1680s), and a noun sense of "lap dog having long, shaggy hair" (1630s), from shough (1590s), the name for this type of dog, which was said to have been brought originally from Iceland; the word is perhaps from the source of shock (n.2), or from an Old Norse variant of shag (n.). Shock-headed Peter was used in 19c. translations for German Struwwelpeter.
Sicily: island off the southwest tip of Italy, from Latin Sicilia, from Greek Sikelia, from Sikeloi (plural) "Sicilians," from the name of an ancient people living along the Tiber, whence part of them emigrated to the island that was thereafter named for them. The Greeks distinguished Sikeliotes "a Greek colonist in Sicily" from Sikelos "a native Sicilian." Related: Sicilian.
sign (v.): c. 1300, "to make the sign of the cross," from Old French signier "to make a sign (to someone); to mark," from Latin signare "to set a mark upon, mark out, designate; mark with a stamp; distinguish, adorn;" figuratively "to point out, signify, indicate," from signum (see sign (n.)). Sense of "to mark, stamp" is attested from mid-14c.; that of "to affix one's name" is from late 15c. Meaning "to communicate by hand signs" is recorded from 1700. Related: Signed; signing.
sloppy (adj.): 1727, "muddy," from slop (n.1) + -y (2). Meaning "loose, ill-fitting, slovenly" is first recorded 1825, influenced by slop (n.2). Related: Sloppily; sloppiness. Sloppy Joe was originally "loose-fitting sweater worn by girls" (1942); as a name for a kind of spiced hamburger, it is attested from 1961.
solicitor (n.): early 15c., "one who urges," from Middle French soliciteur, from soliciter (see solicit). Meaning "one who conducts matters on behalf of another" is from early 15c. As a name for a specific class of legal practitioners in Britain, it is attested from 1570s. Both the fem. forms, solicitress (1630s) and solicitrix (1610s), have been in the sexual sense, but the latter seems more common in non-pejorative use.
Sophia: fem. proper name, from Greek sophia "skill, knowledge of, acquaintance with; sound judgement, practical wisdom; cunning, shrewdness; philosophy," also "wisdom personified," abstract noun from sophos "wise" (see sophist). Saint Sophia in ancient church names and place names in the East is not necessarily a reference to a person; the phrase also is the English translation of the Greek for "divine wisdom, holy wisdom," to which churches were dedicated.
Smokey Bear (n.): "state policeman," 1974, from truckers' slang, in reference to the wide-brim style of hat worn by state troopers (the hats so called by 1969). Ultimately the reference is to a popular illustrated character of that name, dressed in forest ranger gear (including a hat like those later worn by state troopers). He was introduced in 1944 by the U.S. Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council in a campaign to lower the number of forest fires in the West.
Spartacist (n.): German Bolshevik of November 1918 uprising, 1919, from German Spartakist, from Spartacus (d.71 B.C.E.), Thracian leader of Roman Servile War (73-71 B.C.E.), ultimately from Sparta; the name was adopted 1916 as a pseudonym by Karl Liebknecht in his political tracts; thence Spartacist for the socialist revolutionary group he founded with Rosa Luxemburg and Franz Mehring.
short (n.): 1580s, the short "the result, the total," from short (adj.). Meaning "electrical short circuit" first recorded 1906 (see short circuit). Meaning "contraction of a name or phrase" is from 1873 (as in for short). Slang meaning "car" is attested from 1897; originally "street car," so called because street cars (or the rides taken in them) were "shorter" than railroad cars.
Skee-Ball (n.): 1909, proprietary name (Skee-Ball Alley Company, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.), the first element said to represent the old alternative spelling of ski (v.).
Skee ball bowling, in which the ball is jumped or skeed into the pockets in the same manner as a skee-jumper rises from the bump in his flight, is a new and unique hand-ball game that seems destined to great popularity. ["Popular Mechanics," July 1909]
thorium (n.): rare metallic element, 1832, Modern Latin, named by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779-1848) from thorite (silicate of thorium), the name of a mineral found in Norway from which it was extracted (which Berzelius also had named, as thoria, in 1828), and named in honor of the Scandinavian god Thor. With metallic element ending -ium.
Tocharian: in reference to an extinct people and Indo-European language of Chinese Turkestan, 1927, from French tocharien, from Greek Tokharoi (Strabo), name of an Asiatic people who lived in the Oxus valley in ancient times. Earlier Tocharish (1910), from German tocharisch. The identification of this culture with the people named by Strabo was suggested in 1907 by F.W.K. Müller and "is obviously erroneous" (Klein).
tomcat (n.): 1809, from Tom + cat (n.); probably influenced by Tom the Cat in the popular children's book "The Life and Adventures of a Cat" (1760); replaced earlier Gib-cat, from diminutive of Gilbert, though Tom was applied to male kittens c. 1300. The name also is used of the males of other beasts and birds since at least 1791 (such as tom-turkey, by 1846). Also see Tibert. The verb meaning "to pursue women promiscuously for sexual gratification" is recorded from 1927. Related: Tom-catting.
Zyklon (n.): type of fumigant used to kill rats in enclosed spaces, such as holds of ships, boxcars, etc., 1926, from German Zyklon, commercial name of a type of hydrogen cyanide, said to be of unknown etymology, but it is the usual German form of the word cyclone. There were at least three varieties, A, B, and C, Zyklon-B being the one notoriously used in the Nazi death camps.
Hanoi: city in northern Vietnam, from Vietnamese Hà Nôi, literally "River Inside," from hà "river" + nôi "inside." So called in reference to its situation in a bend of the Red River. Known 18c. as Dong Kinh "Eastern Capital," which was corrupted by Europeans into Tonkin, Tonquin, and that name was used in the French colonial period to refer to the entire region and extended to the gulf to the east.
mob-cap (n.): a type of woman's indoor cap, 1795 (as simply mob, 1748), from cap (n.) + obsolete mob (n.) "negligent attire" (1660s), earlier "a strumpet" (earlier form mab, 1550s), related to obsolete verb mob "to tousle the hair, to dress untidily" (1660s), and perhaps ultimately from mop, but influenced by Mab as a female name. Dutch has a similar compound, mopmuts, but the relationship between it and the English word is uncertain.
tweedledum (n.): paired with tweedledee to signify two things or persons nearly alike, differing in name, 1725, coined by English poet John Byrom (1692-1767) in his satire "On the Feud Between Handel and Bononcini," a couple of competing musicians, from tweedle "to sing, to whistle" (1680s), of imitative origin. The -dum and -dee perhaps suggest low and high sounds respectively.
vanadium (n.): rare metallic element, 1833, named 1830 by Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström (1787-1845), from Old Norse Vanadis, one of the names of the Norse beauty goddess Freyja (perhaps from PIE *wen- (1) "to desire, strive for," which would connect it to Venus); the metal perhaps so called for of its colorful compounds (an earlier name for it was erythronium, for the redness of its salts when heated). With metallic element ending -ium. Related: Vanadous; vanadious.
vates (n.): 1620s, "poet or bard," specifically "Celtic divinely inspired poet" (1728), from Latin vates "sooth-sayer, prophet, seer," from a Celtic source akin to Old Irish faith "poet," Welsh gwawd "poem," from PIE root *wet- (1) "to blow; inspire, spiritually arouse" (source also of Old English wod "mad, frenzied," god-name Woden; see wood (adj.)). Hence vaticination "oracular prediction" (c. 1600).
vervet (n.): South African monkey, 1884, from French (Cuvier), of unknown origin, perhaps short for vert grivet, literally "a green grivet," indicating it was greener than the kind of monkey known as a grivet (itself a name of unknown origin). "Vervets are among the monkeys carried about by organ-grinders" [Century Dictionary].
Vulcan (n.): god of fire and metal-work in Roman mythology, 1510s, from Latin Vulcanus, Volcanus, according to Klein a word of Etruscan origin. Often with allusions to his lameness and the unfaithfulness of his wife, Venus. As the name of a hypothetical planet between Mercury and the Sun, it is attested from 1860 in English (see intramercurial). The Roman feast of Vulcanalia was on Aug. 23.
Yemen: southwestern region of Arabia, from Arabic Yemen, literally "the country of the south," from yaman "right side" (i.e., south side, if one is facing east). The right side regarded as auspicious, hence Arabic yamana "he was happy," literally "he went to the right," and hence the Latin name for the region in Roman times, Arabia Felix, lit, "Happy Arabia." Related: Yemeni.
Union Jack: 1670s, from union + jack (n.); properly a small British union flag flown as the jack of a ship, but it has long been in use as a general name for the union flag. The Union flag (1630s) was introduced to symbolize the union of the crowns of England and Scotland (in 1603) and was formed of a combination of the cross saltire of St. Andrew and the cross of St. George. The cross saltire of St. Patrick was added 1801 upon the union of parliaments of Great Britain and Ireland.
unconditional (adj.): 1660s, from un- (1) "not" + conditional (adj.). Related: Unconditionally. Unconditional surrender in the military sense is attested from 1730; in U.S., often associated with Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the taking of Fort Donelson.
The ringing phrase of Grant's latest despatch circulated through the North like some coinage fresh from the mint, and "Unconditional Surrender," which suited the initials of his modest signature, became like a baptismal name. [James Schouler, "History of the United States of America," Dodd, Mead & Co., 1899].
Anasazi: Name applied by their Navajo neighbors to modern Pueblo peoples of the U.S. southwest, and to various landscape features associated with them, from Navajo anaasazi "ancestors of the enemies." Said to first have been applied to the ancient Pueblo ruins of southwestern United States in the Mesa Verde region c. 1889 by rancher and trader Richard Wetherill, who began exploration of the sites in the area; established in archaeological terminology 1927.
Iowa: organized as a U.S. territory 1838; admitted as a state 1846, named for the river, ultimately from the name of the native people, of the Chiwere branch of the Aiouan family; said to be from Dakota ayuxba "sleepy ones," or from an Algonquian language (Bright cites Miami/Illinois /aayohoowia/). On a French map of 1673 it appears as Ouaouiatonon. Related: Iowan.
Jamaica: West Indian island, from Taino (Arawakan) xaymaca, said to mean "rich in springs." Columbus when he found it in 1494 named it Santiago, but this did not stick. It belonged to Spain from 1509-1655, and after to Great Britain. Related: Jamaican.

The Jamaica in New York probably is a Delaware (Algonquian) word meaning "beaver pond" altered by influence of the island name.
Albuquerque: city in New Mexico, U.S., founded 1706 and named for Spanish administrator and viceroy of Mexico Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, Duque de Alburquerque (1617-1676); name altered by association with Portuguese soldier Alfonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515), both named from Alburquerque, a town in Spain close to the Portuguese border, meaning "white oak;" ultimately from Latin albus "white" and quercus "oak."
Florida: U.S. state, formerly a Spanish colony, probably from Spanish Pascua florida, literally "flowering Easter," a Spanish name for Palm Sunday, and so named because the peninsula was discovered on that day (March 20, 1513) by the expedition of Spanish explorer Ponce de León (1474-1521). From Latin floridus "flowery, in bloom" (see florid). Related: Floridian (1580s as a noun, in reference to the natives; 1819 as an adjective).
Tripoli: both the Libyan capital and the Lebanese port city represent Greek tri- "three" (see tri-) + polis "town" (see polis). In Libya, Tripolis was the name of a Phoenician colony consisting of Oea (which grew into modern Tripoli), Leptis Magna, and Sabratha. Arabic distinguishes them as Tarabulus ash-sham ("Syrian Tripoli") and Tarabulus al-garb ("Western Tripoli").
aqua (n.): "water," late 14c.; see aqua-. Used in late Middle English in combinations to mean "decoction, solution" (as in aqua regia, a mix of concentrated acids, literally "royal water," so called for its power to dissolve gold and other "noble" metals). As the name of a light greenish-blue color, 1936.
Ashley: fem. proper name, all but unknown before c. 1965; one of the most popular names for girls born in U.S. from c. 1980; evidently inspired by the surname Ashley, Ashleigh (attested from 12c.), which means "clearing among the ash trees," from Old English æsc + leah (see ash (n.2) + lea).
google (v.): "to search (something) on the Google search engine," 2000 (do a google on was used by 1999). The domain google.com was registered in 1997. According to the company, the name is a play on googol and reflects the "mission" of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin "to organize a seemingly infinite amount of information on the web." A verb google was an early 20c. cricket term in reference to a type of breaking ball, from googly.
Algeria: North African country, named for Algiers, city chosen by the French as its capital when they colonized it in 1830 + Latinate "country" suffix -ia. The city name is Arabic al-Jazair, literally "the islands," in reference to four islands formerly off the coast but joined to the mainland since 1525. A resident of the place formerly was an Algerine (1650s), and the word was practically synonymous with "pirate" in English and U.S. usage early 19c.
sundae (n.): 1897, American English, thought to be an alteration of Sunday, perhaps re-spelled in deference to religious feelings; but the reason for the name is uncertain; perhaps "ice cream left over from Sunday, on sale later." For a fuller account of the speculations, see H.L. Mencken, "The American Language," Supplement I (1945), pp.376-7.
Stilton (n.): 1736, cheese made famous by a coaching inn at Stilton on the Great North Road from London, the owner being from Leicestershire, where the cheese was made. Since 1969 restricted to cheese made in Leicester, Derby, and Nottingham counties by members of the Stilton Cheese Makers Association. The place name is in Domesday Book as Stichiltone and probably means literally farmstead or village at a stile or steep ascent.
stoa (n.): "portico," c. 1600, from Greek stoa "colonnade, corridor," from PIE *stā- "to stand" (see stet). A name given in Athens to several public buildings. The ancient stoa was "usually a detached portico, often of considerable extent, generally near a public place to afford opportunity for walking or conversation under shelter" [Century Dictionary].
Stonehenge (n.): early 12c., Stanenges, literally "stone gallows," perhaps so called from fancied resemblance to old-style gallows with two posts, with the second element related to the verb hang. Some antiquarians suggest the notion may be of "supported in the air, that which hangs in the air" (compare henge-clif for Latin præruptum), in reference to the lintel stones, but the order of the elements and the inflection is against this. An ancient name for it was the Giant's Dance.
streptomycin (n.): antibiotic drug, 1944, from Modern Latin Streptomyces, genus name of the bacterium from which the antibiotic was obtained, from strepto- "twisted" + -mycin, element used in forming names of substances obtained from fungi, from Latinized form of Greek mykes "fungus" (see mucus). First isolated by U.S. microbiologist Selman Abraham Waksman (1888-1973) and others.
scarab (n.): "black dung beetle," held sacred by the ancient Egyptians, 1570s, from Middle French scarabeé, from Latin scarabaeus, name of a type of beetle, from Greek karabos "beetle, crayfish," a foreign word, according to Klein probably Macedonian (the suffix -bos is non-Greek). Related: Scarabaean. In ancient use, also a gem cut in a shape like a scarab beetle and with an inscription on the underside.
scaramouche (n.): 1660s, name of a cowardly braggart (supposed by some to represent a Spanish don) in traditional Italian comedy, from Italian Scaramuccia, literally "skirmish," from schermire "to fence," from a Germanic source (such as Old High German skirmen "defend"); see skirmish (n.). According to OED, a vogue word in late 17c. London due to the popularity of Italian actor Tiberio Fiurelli (1608-1694) in the part.
staphylococcus (n.): (plural staphylococci), 1887, Modern Latin, the genus name, coined (on model of streptococcus) in 1882 by Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist Alexander Ogston (1844-1929). The first element is from comb. form of Greek staphyle "bunch of grapes," which possibly is from PIE *stabh-, variant of *stebh- "post, stem; to support" (see staff (n.)). The second element is Modern Latin coccus "spherical bacterium," from Greek kokkos "berry, grain" (see cocco-). So called because the bacteria usually bunch together in irregular masses.
steeple (n.): Old English stepel (Mercian), stiepel (West Saxon) "high tower," related to steap "high, lofty," from Proto-Germanic *staupilaz (see steep (adj.)). Also the name of a lofty style of women's head-dress from the 14th century. Steeple-house (1640s) was the old Quaker way of referring to "a church edifice," to avoid in that sense using church, which had with them a more restricted meaning.
Sadducee (n.): Old English, from Late Latin Sadducaei (plural), from Greek Zaddoukaios, an inexact transliteration of Hebrew tzedoqi, from personal name Tzadhoq "Zadok" (2 Sam. viii:17), the high priest from whom the priesthood of the captivity claimed descent. According to Josephus, the sect denied the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels and spirits; but later historians regard them as more the political party of the priestly class than a sect per se. Related: Sadducean.
Salem: place mentioned in Gen. xiv:18, from Hebrew Shalem, usually said to be another word for Jerusalem and to mean "peace" (compare Hebrew shalom, Arabic salaam). Common as a Baptist and Methodist meetinghouse name, so much so that by mid-19c. it (along with Bethel and Ebenezer) had come to be used in Britain generically to mean "non-conformist chapel."
salt river (n.): a tidal river, 1650s; as a proper name, used early 19c. with reference to backwoods inhabitants of the U.S., especially Kentucky. U.S. political slang phrase to row (someone) up Salt River "send (someone) to political defeat" probably owes its origin to this, as the first attested use (1828) is in a Kentucky context.
substantive (adj.): mid-15c., "standing by itself," from Old French substantif, from Late Latin substantivus "of substance or being, self-existent," from Latin substantia "being, essence, material" (see substance). The grammatical term (late 14c.) was introduced by the French to denote the noun in contradistinction to the adjective, from Latin nomen substantivum "name or word of substance." Related: Substantival; substantively.
sweepstakes (n.): "prize won in a race or contest," 1773, from Middle English swepestake "one who sweeps or wins all the stakes in a game" (late 14c. as a surname or nickname; late 15c. as the name of one of the King's ships), from swepen "to sweep" (see sweep (v.)) + stake (n.2). Meaning "any race for stakes contributed" is from 1862.
swizzle (n.): 1813, name for various kinds of liquor drinks, or for intoxicating drinks generally, possibly a variant of switchel "a drink of molasses and water" (often mixed with rum), first attested 1790, of uncertain origin. As a verb from 1843. Related: Swizzled; swizzling. Swizzle-stick, used for stirring drinks, attested by 1859.