Online Etymology Dictionary

passion (n.): late 12c., "sufferings of Christ on the Cross," from Old French passion "Christ's passion, physical suffering" (10c.), from Late Latin passionem (nominative passio) "suffering, enduring," from past participle stem of Latin pati "to suffer, endure," possibly from PIE root *pe(i)- "to hurt" (see fiend).

Sense extended to sufferings of martyrs, and suffering generally, by early 13c.; meaning "strong emotion, desire" is attested from late 14c., from Late Latin use of passio to render Greek pathos. Replaced Old English þolung (used in glosses to render Latin passio), literally "suffering," from þolian (v.) "to endure." Sense of "sexual love" first attested 1580s; that of "strong liking, enthusiasm, predilection" is from 1630s. The passion-flower so called from 1630s.
The name passionflower -- flos passionis -- arose from the supposed resemblance of the corona to the crown of thorns, and of the other parts of the flower to the nails, or wounds, while the five sepals and five petals were taken to symbolize the ten apostles -- Peter ... and Judas ... being left out of the reckoning. ["Encyclopaedia Britannica," 1885]
passionate (adj.): early 15c., "angry; emotional," from Medieval Latin passionatus "affected with passion," from Latin passio (genitive passionis) "passion" (see passion). Specific sense of "amorous" is attested from 1580s. Related: Passionately.
pash (n.): "head," 1610s, now obsolete or dialectal, of uncertain origin. In 20c. the word was used as an colloquial shortening of passion.
passive (adj.): late 14c., in grammatical sense (opposed to active), Old French passif "suffering, undergoing hardship" (14c.) and directly from Latin passivus "capable of feeling or suffering," from pass-, past participle stem of pati "to suffer" (see passion). Meaning "not active" is first recorded late 15c.; sense of "enduring suffering without resistance" is from 1620s. Related: Passively. Passive resistance first attested 1819 in Scott's "Ivanhoe," used throughout 19c.; re-coined by Gandhi c. 1906 in South Africa. Passive-aggressive with reference to behavior is attested by 1971.
patience (n.): c. 1200, "quality of being willing to bear adversities, calm endurance of misfortune, suffering, etc.," from Old French pacience "patience; sufferance, permission" (12c.) and directly from Latin patientia "patience, endurance, submission," also "indulgence, leniency; humility; submissiveness; submission to lust;" literally "quality of suffering." It is an abstract noun formed from the adjective patientem (nominative patiens) "bearing, supporting; suffering, enduring, permitting; tolerant," but also "firm, unyielding, hard," used of persons as well as of navigable rivers, present participle of pati "to suffer, endure," from PIE root *pe(i)- "to damage, injure, hurt" (see passion).
Patience, n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue. [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]
Meaning "constancy in effort" is attested from 1510s. Meaning "card game for one person" is from 1816.
impassible (adj.): "incapable of feeling pain, exempt from suffering," mid-14c., from Old French impassible (13c.) or directly from Church Latin impassibilis "incapable of passion," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + passibilis "capable of passion, feeling, or suffering, from passio "suffering" (see passion). Meaning "emotionless" is from 1590s. Related: Impassibility.
impassion (v.): 1590s, "inflame with passion," from Italian impassionare "to fill with passion," from assimilated form of in- "in, into" (see in- (2)) + passione "passion," from Latin passionem (see passion). Related: Impassioned; impassionable. Formerly also empassion.
compassion (n.): mid-14c., from Old French compassion "sympathy, pity" (12c.), from Late Latin compassionem (nominative compassio) "sympathy," noun of state from past participle stem of compati "to feel pity," from com- "together" (see com-) + pati "to suffer" (see passion).

Latin compassio is an ecclesiastical loan-translation of Greek sympatheia (see sympathy). An Old English loan-translation of compassion was efenðrowung.
furor (n.): "rage, madness, angry mania," late 15c., from Middle French fureur (12c.), from Latin furor "a ravaging, rage, madness, passion," which is related to furia "rage, passion, fury" (see fury).
impassionate (adj.): "free from passion, dispassionate," 1620s, from in- (1) "not" + passionate. Related: Impassionately. From 1590s as "strongly affected, stirred by passion," from Italian impassionato, past participle of impassionare (see impassion).
ferment (n.): early 15c., from Middle French ferment (14c.), from Latin fermentum "leaven, yeast; drink made of fermented barley;" figuratively "anger, passion" (see ferment (v.)). Figurative sense of "anger, passion, commotion" in English is from 1670s.
impassioned (adj.): "expressive of strong feeling, filled with passion," c. 1600, past participle adjective from impassion.
moodiness (n.): Old English modignes "pride, passion, anger;" see moody + -ness. Meaning "condition of being moody" is from 1858.
fervor (n.): mid-14c., "warmth or glow of feeling," from Old French fervor "heat; enthusiasm, ardor, passion" (12c., Modern French ferveur), from Latin fervor "a boiling, violent heat; passion, ardor, fury," from fervere "to boil; be hot" (see brew (v.)).
zounds (interj.): c. 1600, oath of surprise or anger, altered from (by) God's wounds!, in reference to the wounds of Christ on the Cross. "One of the innumerable oaths having reference to Christ's passion" [Century Dictionary]. Compare gadzooks.
Eumenides: Greek, literally "the well-minded ones," a euphemism of the Erinys; see eu- "well, good;" second element from Greek menos "spirit, passion," from PIE *men-es-, suffixed form of *men- (1) "to think" (see mind (n.)).
estrus (n.): 1850, "frenzied passion," from Latin oestrus "frenzy, gadfly," from Greek oistros "gadfly; breeze; sting; anything which makes one mad, mad impulse," perhaps from a PIE *eis- (1), forming words denoting passion (see ire). First attested 1890 with specific meaning "rut in animals, sexual heat." Earliest use in English (1690s) was for "a gadfly." Related: Estrous (1900).
ardor (n.): early 15c., "heat of passion or desire," from Old French ardure "heat, glow; passion" (12c.), from Latin ardorem (nominative ardor) "a flame, fire, burning, heat;" also of feelings, etc., "eagerness, zeal," from ardere "to burn" (see ardent). In Middle English, used of base passions; since Milton's time, of noble ones.
flame (n.): Middle English flaume, also flaumbe, flambe, flame, flamme, mid-14c., "a flame;" late 14c., "a flaming mass, a fire; fire in general, fire as an element;" also figurative, in reference to the "heat" or "fire" of emotions, from Anglo-French flaume, flaumbe "a flame" (Old French flambe, 10c.), from Latin flammula "small flame," diminutive of flamma "flame, blazing fire," from PIE *bhleg- "to shine, flash," from root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn" (see bleach (v.)).

The meaning "a sweetheart, object of one's passion" is attested from 1640s; the figurative sense of "burning passion" was in Middle English, and the nouns in Old French and Latin also meant "fire of love, flame of passion," and, in Latin "beloved object." The Australian flame-tree is from 1857, so called for its red flowers.
ire (n.): c. 1300, from Old French ire "anger, wrath, violence" (11c.), from Latin ira "anger, wrath, rage, passion," from PIE root *eis- (1), forming various words denoting passion (source also of Greek hieros "filled with the divine, holy," oistros "gadfly," originally "thing causing madness;" Sanskrit esati "drives on," yasati "boils;" Avestan aesma "anger;" Lithuanian aistra "violent passion").

Old English irre in a similar sense is unrelated; it from an adjective irre "wandering, straying, angry," which is cognate with Old Saxon irri "angry," Old High German irri "wandering, deranged," also "angry;" Gothic airzeis "astray," and Latin errare "wander, go astray, angry" (see err (v.)).
cacoethes (n.): "itch for doing something," 1560s, from Latinized form of Greek kakoethes "ill-habit, wickedness, itch for doing (something)," from kakos "bad" (see caco-) + ethe- "disposition, character" (see ethos). Most famously, in Juvenal's insanabile scribendi cacoethes "incurable passion for writing."
infatuate (v.): 1530s, "turn (something) to foolishness, frustrate by making foolish," from Latin infatuatus, past participle of infatuare "make a fool of," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + fatuus "foolish" (see fatuous). Specific sense of "inspire (in someone) a foolish passion beyond control of reason" is from 1620s. Related: Infatuated; infatuating.
intemperate (adj.): "characterized by excessive indulgence in a passion or appetite," late 14c., from Latin intemperatus "excessive, immoderate," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + temperatus "restrained, regulated, limited, moderate, sober, calm, steady," past participle of temperare "to moderate" (see temper (v.)). Related: Intemperately.
heart-throb (n.): also heartthrob, 1821, "passion, affection;" 1839 in literal sense, "a beat of the heart," from heart (n.) + throb (n.). Of persons who inspire romantic feelings, from 1928; used 1910s of a quality that appeals to sentiment or emotion in newspapers, advertising, etc..
itchy (adj.): Old English giccig; see itch + -y (2). Figurative itchy palm is attested by 1599 (Jonson; Shakespeare has itching palm in the same sense, 1601). Other figurative uses include itching ears "a hankering for gossip," itching elbows "a passion for gambling." Related: Itchiness.
immerse (v.): "to plunge into (a fluid)," early 15c. (implied in immersed), from Latin immersus, past participle of immergere "to plunge in, dip into, sink, submerge" (see immersion). Figuratively, of study, work, passion, etc., from 1660s. Related: Immersed; immersing; immersive.
fury (n.): late 14c., "fierce passion," from Old French furie, fuire "rage, frenzy" (14c.), from Latin furia "violent passion, rage, madness," from or related to furere "to rage, be mad," which is of uncertain origin. "Many etymologies have been proposed, but none is clearly the best" [de Vaan]. Romans used Furiæ to translate Greek Erinyes, the collective name for the avenging deities sent from Tartarus to punish criminals (in later accounts three in number and female). Hence, in English, figuratively, "an angry woman" (late 14c.).
mania (n.): late 14c., "mental derangement characterized by excitement and delusion," from Late Latin mania "insanity, madness," from Greek mania "madness, frenzy; enthusiasm, inspired frenzy; mad passion, fury," related to mainesthai "to rage, go mad," mantis "seer," menos "passion, spirit," all from PIE *men- (1) "to think, to have one's mind aroused, rage, be furious" (see mind (n.)). Sense of "fad, craze" is 1680s, from French manie in this sense. Sometimes nativized in Middle English as manye. Used since 1500s (in imitation of Greek) as the second element in compounds expressing particular types of madness (such as nymphomania, 1775; kleptomania, 1830; megalomania, 1890).
impetus (n.): early 15c., impetous "rapid movement, rush;" 1640s, with modern spelling, "force with which a body moves, driving force," from Latin impetus "an attack, assault; rapid motion; an impulse; violence, vigor, force;" figuratively "ardor, passion," from impetere "to attack," from assimilated form of in- "into, in, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + petere "aim for, rush at" (see petition (n.)).
zeal (n.): "passionate ardor in pursuit of an objective or course of action," late 14c., from Old French zel (Modern French zèle) and directly from Late Latin zelus "zeal, emulation" (source also of Italian zelo, Spanish celo), a Church word, from Greek zelos "ardor, eager rivalry, emulation," "a noble passion" [Liddell & Scott], but also "jealousy;" prom PIE *ya- "to seek, request, desire." From mid-15c. as "devotion."
affection (n.): early 13c., "an emotion of the mind, passion, lust as opposed to reason," from Old French afection (12c.) "emotion, inclination, disposition; love, attraction, enthusiasm," from Latin affectionem (nominative affectio) "a relation, disposition; a temporary state; a frame, constitution," noun of state from past participle stem of afficere "to do something to, act on" (see affect (n.)). Sense developed from "disposition" to "good disposition toward" (late 14c.). Related: Affections.
temperate (adj.): late 14c., of persons, "modest, forbearing, self-restrained, not swayed by passion;" of climates or seasons, "not liable to excessive heat or cold," from Latin temperatus "restrained, regulated, limited, moderate, sober, calm, steady," from past participle of temperare "to moderate, regulate" (see temper (v.)). Related: Temperately; temperateness. Temperate zone is attested from 1550s.
mantis (n.): 1650s, "type of insect that holds its forelegs in a praying position" (especially the praying mantis, Mantis religiosa), Modern Latin, from Greek mantis, literally "one who divines, a seer, prophet," from mainesthai "be inspired," related to menos "passion, spirit" (see mania). The insect so called for its way of holding the forelimbs as if in prayer. Also used in Greek for some sort of grasshopper (Theocritus).
virtu (n.): "excellence in an object of art, passion for works of art," 1722, from Italian virtu "excellence," from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "virtue, goodness, manliness" (see virtue). The same word as virtue, borrowed during a period when everything Italian was in vogue. Sometimes spelled vertu, as though from French, but this sense of the word is not in French.
insensible (adj.): c. 1400, "lacking the power to feel with the senses, numb, dazed" (now rare in this meaning), from Late Latin insensibilis "that cannot be felt," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + sensibilis "having feeling: perceptible by the senses" (see sensible). Meaning "void of feeling, not susceptible to emotion or passion" is from 1610s. Meaning "incapable of being felt or perceived by the senses or the mind, so small or slight as to be imperceptible" is from late 14c. Compare insensate.
furious (adj.): late 14c., "impetuous, unrestrained," from Old French furios, furieus "furious, enraged, livid" (14c., Modern French furieux), from Latin furiosus "full of rage, mad," from furia "rage, passion, fury" (see fury). Furioso, from the Italian form of the word, was used in English 17c.-18c. for "an enraged person," probably from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso."
Miserere (n.): 51st Psalm (one of the Penitential Psalms), 13c., from Miserere mei Deus "Have mercy upon me, O God," opening line, from Latin miserere "feel pity, have compassion, commiserate," imperative of misereri "to have mercy," from miser (see miser). From 15c.-17c. used as an informal measure of time, "the time it takes to recite the Miserere." Also in miserere mei "kind of severe colic ('iliac passion') accompanied by excruciating cramps and vomiting of excrement" (1610s), literally "have mercy on me."
broth (n.): Old English broþ, from Proto-Germanic *bruthan (source also of Old High German *brod), from verb root *bhreue- "to heat, boil, bubble; liquid in which something has been boiled" (source also of Old English breowan "to brew;" see brew (v.)). Picked up from Germanic by the Romanic and Celtic languages.

The Irishism broth of a boy, which is in Byron, was "thought to originate from the Irish Broth, passion -- Brotha passionate, spirited ..." [Farmer], and if so is not immediately related.
impotence (n.): early 15c., "physical weakness," also "poverty," from Old French impotence "weakness" (13c.), from Latin impotentia "lack of control or power," from impotentem "lacking control, powerless" (see impotent). In reference to a complete want of (male) sexual potency, from c. 1500. The figurative senses of the word in Latin were "violence, fury, unbridled passion," via the notion of "want of self-restraining power," and these sometimes were used in English. Related: Impotency.
iracund (adj.): "angry, inclined to wrath," 1707, from Late Latin iracundus, from ira "anger, wrath, rage, passion" (see ire (n.)). Related: Iracundulous (1765).
[T]he Severn is so mischievous and cholerick a river, and so often ruins the country with sudden inundations, since it rises in Wales, and consequently participates sometimes of the nature of that hasty, iracund people among whom 'tis born. [Thomas Browne, "Letters from the Dead to the Living," 1707]
libido (n.): "psychic drive or energy, usually associated with sexual instinct," 1892, carried over untranslated in English edition of Krafft-Ebing's "Psychopathia Sexualis"; and used in 1909 in A.A. Brill's translation of Freud's "Selected Papers on Hysteria" (Freud's use of the term led to its popularity); from Latin libido, lubido "desire, eagerness, longing; inordinate desire, sensual passion, lust," from libere "to be pleasing, to please," ultimately cognate with Old English lufu (see love (n.)).
libidinous (adj.): "lustful," mid-15c., from Old French libidineus "sinful, lusty" (13c., Modern French libidineux) or directly from Latin libidinosus "full of desire, lustful," from libido "pleasure, desire, sensual passion, lust" (see libido). Related: Libidinously; libidinousness; libidinosity. These are older in English than libido, libidinal, which are from modern psychology.
lily-livered (adj.): "cowardly," 1605, in "Macbeth;" from lily (in its color sense of "pale, bloodless") + liver (n.1), which was a supposed seat of love and passion. A healthy liver is typically dark reddish-brown. Other similar expressions: lily-handed "having white, delicate hands," lily-faced "pale-faced; affectedly modest or sensitive."
igneous (adj.): 1660s, "pertaining to or resembling fire," from Latin igneus "of fire, fiery; on fire; burning hot," figuratively "ardent, vehement," from ignis "fire, a fire," extended to "brightness, splendor, glow;" figuratively "rage, fury, passion," from PIE root *egni- "fire" (source also of Sanskrit agnih "fire, sacrificial fire," Old Church Slavonic ogni, Lithuanian ugnis "fire"). Geological meaning "produced by volcanic forces" is from 1791, originally in distinction from aqueous. Earlier in the sense "fiery" were ignean (1630s), ignic (1610s).
inflame (v.): mid-14c., "make (someone) ardent; set (the spirit, etc.) on fire" with a passion or religious virtue, a figurative sense, from Old French enflamer "catch fire; set on fire" (Modern French enflammer), from Latin inflammare "to set on fire, kindle," figuratively "to rouse, excite," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + flammare "to flame," from flamma "a flame" (see flame (n.)).

The literal sense of "to cause to burn" first recorded in English late 14c. Meaning "to heat, make hot, cause inflammation" is from 1520s. Formerly also enflame, but since 16c. the spelling with in- has predominated. Related: Inflamed; Inflaming.
incentive (n.): early 15c., "that which moves the mind or stirs the passion," from Late Latin incentivum, noun use of neuter of Latin adjective incentivus "setting the tune" (in Late Latin "inciting"), from past participle stem of incinere "strike up," from in- "in, into" (see in- (2)) + canere "to sing" (see chant (v.)). The sense apparently was influenced in Late Latin by association with incendere "to kindle." (Milton uses the adjective to mean "setting fire, incendiary.") Meaning "rewards meant to encourage harder work" is from 1948, short for incentive payment, etc. (see incentive (adj.)).
mentor (n.): "wise advisor," 1750, from Greek Mentor, friend of Odysseus and adviser of Telemachus (but often actually Athene in disguise) in the "Odyssey," perhaps ultimately meaning "adviser," because the name appears to be an agent noun of mentos "intent, purpose, spirit, passion" from PIE *mon-eyo- (source also of Sanskrit man-tar- "one who thinks," Latin mon-i-tor "one who admonishes"), causative form of root *men- "to think" (see mind (n.)). The general use of the word probably is via later popular romances, in which Mentor played a larger part than he does in Homer.
flame (v.): Middle English flaumen, also flaumben, flomben, flamben, flamen, flammen, c. 1300 (implied in flaming "to shine (like fire), gleam, sparkle like flames;" mid-14c. as "emit flames, be afire, to blaze," from Anglo-French flaumer, flaumber (Old French flamber) "burn, be on fire, be alight" (intransitive), from flamme "a flame" (see flame (n.)).

Transitive meaning "to burn, set on fire" is from 1580s. Meaning "break out in violence of passion" is from 1540s; the sense of "unleash invective on a computer network" is from 1980s. Related: Flamed; flaming. To flame out, in reference to jet engines, is from 1950.
jollity (n.): early 14c., jolyfte, iolite, "merrymaking, revelry," also "agreeableness, attractiveness, beauty, elegance;" from Old French jolivete "gaity, cheerfulness; amorous passion; life of pleasure," from jolif "festive, merry" (see jolly).

From late 14c. as "lightheartedness, cheerfulness." A word with more senses in Middle and early Modern English than recently: "sexual pleasure or indulgence, lust" (mid-14c.); "insolent presumptuousness, impudence" (mid-14c.); "vigor, strength" (mid-14c.); "love; a love affair" (c. 1300, hence in jollity "by fornication, out of wedlock"); "gallantry" (1530s); "state of splendor" (1540s).
liver (n.1): secreting organ of the body, Old English lifer, from Proto-Germanic *librn (source also of Old Norse lifr, Old Frisian livere, Middle Dutch levere, Dutch lever, Old High German lebara, German Leber "liver"), perhaps from PIE *leip- "to stick adhere; fat" (see leave (v.)).

Formerly believed to be the body's blood-producing organ; in medieval times it rivaled the heart as the supposed seat of love and passion. Hence lily-livered, a white (that is, bloodless) liver being supposed a sign of cowardice, Shakespeare's pigeon-livered, etc. Liver-spots, once thought to be caused by a dysfunction of the organ, is attested from 1730.