Online Etymology Dictionary

bewilder (v.): 1680s, from be- "thoroughly" + archaic wilder "lead astray, lure into the wilds," probably a back-formation from wilderness. An earlier word with the same sense was bewhape (early 14c.). Related: Bewildered; bewildering; bewilderingly.
bhang (n.): 1590s, from Hindi bhang "narcotic from hemp," from Sanskrit bhangah "hemp." Perhaps cognate with Russian penika "hemp." The word first appears in Western Europe in Portuguese (1560s).
bicentennial: also bi-centennial, 1843 (adj.), 1871 (noun), American English, from bi- + centennial (q.v.). In rivalry with bicentenary (1831) which seems to have been the more common word in Britain.
ethics (n.): "the science of morals," c. 1600, plural of Middle English ethik "study of morals" (see ethic). The word also traces to Ta Ethika, title of Aristotle's work. Related: Ethicist.
ethno-: word-forming element meaning "race, culture," from Greek ethnos "people, nation, class, caste, tribe; a number of people accustomed to live together" (see ethnic). Used to form modern compounds in the social sciences.
ettin (n.): an old word for "a giant," extinct since 16c., from Old English eoten "giant, monster," from Proto-Germanic *itunoz "giant" (source also of Old Norse iotunn, Danish jætte).
dissolute (adj.): late 14c., "loose, negligent, morally or religiously lax," from Latin dissolutus "loose, disconnected," past participle of dissolvere "loosen up" (see dissolve). A figurative use of the classical Latin word. Related: Dissolutely; dissoluteness.
dithyramb (n.): c. 1600, from Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos, which is of unknown origin, perhaps a pre-Hellenic loan-word. A wild choric hymn, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus. Related: Dithyrambic.
chinchilla (n.): small South American rodent, 1590s, from Spanish, literally "little bug," diminutive of chinche (see chinch); perhaps a folk-etymology alteration of a word from Quechua or Aymara.
chirurgeon (n.): 1530s, representing a failed Renaissance attempt to restore Greek spelling to the word that had got into English as surgeon; now, thank the gods, archaic. Related: Chirurgery. Compare French chirurgien.
disorganize (v.): 1793, from French désorganiser, from dés- "not" (see dis-) + organiser "organize" (see organize). This word and related forms were introduced in English in reference to the French Revolution. Related: Disorganized; disorganizing; disorganization.
gristle (n.): Old English gristle "cartilage," related to grost "gristle," from a common West Germanic word (cognates: Old Frisian and Middle Low German gristel, Old High German crostila, Middle High German gruschel) of obscure origin.
Franco-: word-forming element meaning "French" or "the Franks," from Medieval Latin comb. form of Franci "the Franks" (see Frank), hence, by extension, "the French." Used from early 18c. in forming English compound words.
intro-: word-forming element, from Latin intro (adv.) "in, on the inside, within, to the inside," from PIE *en-t(e)ro-, suffixed form of preposition *en "in" (see in).
-istic: adjectival word-forming element, from French -istique or directly from Latin -isticus, from Greek -istikos, a compound of the adjectival suffix -ikos (see -ic) + the noun suffix -istes (see -ist).
hominy (n.): 1629, first recorded by Capt. John Smith, probably from Powhatan (Algonquian) uskatahomen, or a similar word, "parched corn," probably literally "that which is ground or beaten." See grits.
logarithm (n.): 1610s, Modern Latin logarithmus, coined by Scottish mathematician John Napier (1550-1617), literally "ratio-number," from Greek logos "proportion, ratio, word" (see logos) + arithmos "number" (see arithmetic).
logistic (adj.): "pertaining to logic," 1620s, from Medieval Latin logisticus, from Greek logistikos "endued with reason," from logikos (see logic). Related: Logistical (1560s); logistically. Logistics from this word, in the sense "art of arithmetical calculation" is from 1650s.
lorry (n.): "a truck; a long, flat wagon," 1838, British railroad word, probably from verb lurry "to pull, tug" (1570s), of uncertain origin. Meaning "large motor vehicle for carrying goods" is first attested 1911.
blob (n.): "drop, globule," 1725, from a verb meaning "to make or mark with blobs" (early 15c.), perhaps related to bubble. The same word was used 16c. in a sense "bubble, blister."
pendulum (n.): 1660, from Modern Latin pendulum (1643), noun use of neuter of Latin adjective pendulus "hanging down," from pendere "to hang" (see pendant). The Modern Latin word is perhaps a Latinization of Italian pendolo.
penta-: word-forming element meaning "five, containing five," from Greek penta- (before a vowel pent-), comb. form of pente "five," related to Aeolian pempte (see five), with -a- by analogy of hepta-, ennea-, deka-.
petunia (n.): 1825, from Modern Latin Petunia (1789), from French petun (16c.), an obsolete word for "tobacco plant," from Portuguese petum, evidently from Guarani (Paraguay) pety. The petunia has a botanical affinity to the tobacco plant. See tobacco.
frou-frou (n.): 1870, "a rustling," from French (19c.), possibly imitative of the rustling of a dress. The word was popularized in English by a French play translated and given that name. Meaning "fussy details" is from 1876.
dobro (n.): 1952, American English, contracted from the name of its Slovakia-born inventors, the Dopera Brothers (John, Rudy, Emil). The word also happens to mean "good thing" in Slovak. Patent filed 1947, claims use from 1929.
gutta-percha (n.): 1845, from Malay getah percha, literally "the gum of percha," the name of the tree; the form of the word was influenced by Latin gutta "drop." As the name of the tree itself, from 1860.
guy (n.1): "small rope, chain, wire," 1620s, nautical; earlier "leader" (mid-14c.), from Old French guie "a guide," also "a crane, derrick," from guier (see guide (v.)); or from a related word in North Sea Germanic.
gypsum (n.): substance (hydrated calcium sulphate) used in making plaster, late 14c., from Latin gypsum, from Greek gypsos "chalk," according to Klein, a word perhaps of Semitic origin (compare Arabic jibs, Hebrew gephes "plaster").
doe (n.): Old English da "a female deer," of unknown origin, perhaps a Celtic loan-word (compare Cornish da "fallow deer," Old Irish dam "ox," Welsh dafad "sheep").
donkey (n.): 1785, originally slang, perhaps a diminutive from dun "dull gray-brown," the form perhaps influenced by monkey. Or possibly from a familiar form of Duncan (compare dobbin). The older English word was ass (n.1).
dowse (v.): 1690s, a south England dialect word, of uncertain origin, said to have been introduced to Devon by German miners in Elizabethan times. Related: Dowsed; dowsing.
exo-: word-forming element meaning "outer, outside, outer part" used from mid-19c. in scientific words (such as exoskeleton), from Greek exo "outside," related to ex "out of" (see ex-).
Freudian (adj.): 1910, of or pertaining to the work or theories of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Austrian psychiatrist. Freudian slip first attested 1959 (for an earlier word for a similar notion, see heterophemy).
luge (n.): kind of small toboggan, 1905, from French luge "small coasting sled," from Savoy dialect, from Medieval Latin sludia "sled" (9c.), perhaps from a Gaulish word from the same root as English sled, slide.
-lysis: scientific/medical word-forming element meaning "loosening, dissolving, dissolution," from Greek lysis "a loosening, setting free, releasing, dissolution," from lyein "to unfasten, loose, loosen, untie" (see lose).
ricin (n.): poison obtained from the castor-oil bean, 1888, from ricinus, genus name of the castor-oil plant (1694), from Latin ricinus (Pliny), of uncertain origin, perhaps the same word as ricinus "tick" (in sheep, dogs, etc.).
-philia: word-forming element meaning "friendship, fondness, tendency toward," and in recent use "abnormal attraction to," from Greek philia "affection," from philos "loving," which is of uncertain origin. Related: -philic.
-phobe: word-forming element meaning "one who fears or hates," from French -phobe, from Latin -phobus, from Greek -phobos "fearing," from phobos "fear, panic, flight," phobein "put to flight, frighten" (see phobia).
phono-: word-forming element meaning "sound, voice," from Greek phono-, comb. form of phone "voice, sound," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).
photo-: word-forming element meaning "light" or "photographic" or "photoelectric," from Greek photo-, comb. form of phos (genitive photos) "light," from PIE root *bha- (1) "to shine" (see phantasm).
pibroch (n.): kind of bagpipe music, 1719, from Gaelic piobaireachd, literally "piper's art," from piobair "a piper" (from piob "pipe," an English loan word; see pipe (n.1)) + -achd, suffix denoting function.
picturesque (adj.): 1703, on pattern of French pittoresque, a loan-word from Italian pittoresco, literally "pictorial" (1660s), from pittore "painter," from Latin pictorem (nominative pictor); see painter (n.1). As a noun from 1749. Related: Picturesquely; picturesqueness.
tot (v.): "to reckon up," 1760, from tot (n.) "total of an addition," first recorded 1680s, short for total (n.). Hence, "to mark (an account or a name) with the word 'tot.'"
apiary (n.): 1650s, from Latin apiarium "beehouse, beehive," neuter of apiarius "of bees," from apis "bee," a mystery word unrelated to any similar words in other Indo-European languages. A borrowing from Semitic has been proposed.
micro-: word-forming element meaning "small, microscopic; magnifying; one millionth," from Latinized comb. form of Greek mikros "small, little, petty, trivial, slight" (see mica).
boom (n.1): "long pole," 1540s, from Scottish boun, borrowed from Dutch boom "tree, pole, beam," from a Middle Dutch word analogous to Old English beam (see beam (n.)).
hyper-: word-forming element meaning "over, above, beyond," and often implying "exceedingly, to excess," from Greek hyper (prep. and adv.) "over, beyond, overmuch, above measure," from PIE *uper "over" (see super-).
miller (n.): mid-14c. (attested as a surname by early 14c.), agent noun from mill (v.1). The Old English word was mylnweard, literally "mill-keeper" (preserved in surname Millward, attested from late 13c.).
cockamamie (adj.): American English slang word attested by 1946, popularized c. 1960, but said to be New York City children's slang from mid-1920s; perhaps an alteration of decalcomania (see decal).
Comanche (n.): 1819, from Spanish, from a word in a Shoshonean language, such as Ute kimánci "enemy, foreigner." Comanchero was a 19c. name given to Hispanic and American traders who dealt with the Comanches.