Online Etymology Dictionary

reprobate (adj.): early 15c., "rejected as worthless," from Late Latin reprobatus, past participle of reprobare "disapprove, reject, condemn," from Latin re- "opposite of, reversal of previous condition" (see re-) + probare "prove to be worthy" (see probate (n.)). Earliest form of the word in English was a verb, meaning "to disapprove" (early 15c.).
exultation (n.): early 15c., from Old French exultacion "joyousness, exultation," from Latin exultationem/exsultationem "a leaping for joy, exultation," noun of action from past participle stem of exultare/exsultare (see exult). The notion is of leaping or dancing for joy. An Old English word for it was heahbliss "high bliss."
fro (adv., prep.): "away, backwards," c. 1200, Northern English and Scottish dialectal fra, Midlands dialect fro, from Old Norse fra "from," from Proto-Germanic *fra "forward, away from," from PIE *pro- (see pro-). The Norse word is equivalent to Old English fram, thus fro is a doublet of from.
lugworm (n.): c. 1600, from lug, probably a Celtic word (the first recorded use is in a Cornwall context) unrelated to lug (n.) or lug (v.) + worm. But OED suggests connection with lug (v.) on the notion of "heavy, clumsy."
luggage (n.): 1590s, from lug (v.) "to drag" + -age; so, literally "what has to be lugged about" (or, in Johnson's definition, "any thing of more weight than value"). In 20c., the usual word for "baggage belonging to passengers."
riffle (v.): 1754, "to make choppy water," American English, perhaps a variant of ruffle "make rough." The word meaning "shuffle" (cards) is first recorded 1894, probably echoic; hence that of "skim, leaf through quickly" (of papers, etc.) is from 1922. Related: Riffled; riffling.
-phemia: word-forming element meaning "speech," from Greek -phemia, from pheme "speech," from stem of phemi "I speak," cognate with Latin fari "to speak," fama "report, reputation," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)).
-phile: also -phil, word-forming element meaning "one that loves, likes, or is attracted to," via French -phile and Medieval Latin -philus in this sense, from Greek -philos, common suffix in personal names (such as Theophilos), from philos "loving, dear," from philein "to love," which is of unknown origin.
Philistine: Old Testament people of coastal Palestine who made war on the Israelites, early 14c., from Old French Philistin, from Late Latin Philistinus, from Late Greek Philistinoi (plural), from Hebrew P'lishtim, "people of P'lesheth" ("Philistia"); compare Akkad. Palastu, Egyptian Palusata; the word probably is the people's name for itself.
philo-: before vowels phil-, word-forming element meaning "loving, fond of, tending to," from Greek philo-, comb. form of philos "dear" (adj.), "friend" (n.), from philein "to love," of unknown origin. Productive of a great many compounds in ancient Greek.
risible (adj.): 1550s, "given to laughter," from Middle French risible (14c.) and directly from Late Latin risibilis "laughable, able to laugh," from Latin risus, past participle of ridere "to laugh," a word which, according to de Vaan, "has no good PIE etymology." Meaning "capable of exciting laughter, comical" is from 1727.
rivet (n.): c. 1400, from Old French rivet "nail, rivet," from Old French river "to clench, fix, fasten," possibly from Middle Dutch wriven "turn, grind," related to rive (v.). The English word may be directly from Middle Dutch.
roach (n.1): shortened form of cockroach, 1837, on mistaken notion that it was a compound. In contemporary writing said to be from a polite desire to avoid the sexual connotation in the first syllable. Meaning "butt of a marijuana cigarette" is first recorded 1938, perhaps from resemblance to the insect, but perhaps a different word entirely.
Romany (n.): "a gypsy; the Gypsy language," 1812, romani, fem. of romano (adj.) "Gypsy," from rom, the Romany word for "man, husband, male, Gypsy" (plural roma), from Sanskrit domba-s ("with initial cerebral d, which confuses with r" [Klein]) "male member of a low caste of musicians."
photosynthesis (n.): 1898, loan-translation of German Photosynthese, from photo- "light" (see photo-) + synthese "synthesis" (see synthesis). Another early word for it was photosyntax.
[T]he body of the work has been rendered into English with fidelity, the only change of moment being the substitution of the word "photosynthesis" for that of "assimilation." This change follows from a suggestion by Dr. Barnes, made a year ago before the American Association at Madison, who clearly pointed out the need of a distinctive term for the synthetical process in plants, brought about by protoplasm in the presence of chlorophyll and light. He proposed the word "photosyntax," which met with favor. In the discussion Professor MacMillan suggested the word "photosynthesis," as etymologically more satisfactory and accurate, a claim which Dr. Barnes showed could not be maintained. The suggestion of Dr. Barnes not only received tacit acceptance by the botanists of the association, but was practically approved by the Madison Congress in the course of a discussion upon this point. ["The Botanical Gazette," vol. XIX, 1894]
phylum (n.): "division of the plant or animal kingdom," 1868, Modern Latin, coined by French naturalist Georges Léopole Chrétien Frédéric Dagobert, Baron Cuvier (1769-1832) from Greek phylon "race, stock," related to phyle "tribe, clan" (see physic). The immediate source of the English word probably is from German.
pico-: word-forming element used in making names for very small units of measure, 1915 (formally adopted c. 1952 as a scientific prefix meaning "one trillionth"), from Spanish pico "a little over, a small balance," literally "sharp point, beak," of Celtic origin (compare Gaulish beccus "beak").
pidgin (n.): 1876, from pigeon English (1859), the reduced form of the language used in China for communication with Europeans, from pigeon (1826), itself a pidgin word, representing a Chinese pronunciation of business. Meaning extended 1891 to "any simplified language."
pigment (n.): late 14c., from Latin pigmentum "coloring matter, pigment, paint," figuratively "ornament," from stem of pingere "to color, paint" (see paint (v.)). Variants of this word could have been known in Old English (compare 12c. pyhmentum). As a verb from 1900. Related: Pigmented; pigmenting.
aperitif (n.): 1894, "alcoholic drink taken before a meal to stimulate the appetite," from French apéritif "laxative, laxative liqueur," literally "opening," from Latin aperitivus, from aperire "to open" (see overt). Compare Middle English apertive (adj.), a medical word meaning "capable of opening or dilating" (pores, etc.), early 15c.
aphetic (adj.): 1880, from aphesis (1880), coined by OED editor Sir James A.H. Murray (1837-1915) for "gradual and unintentional loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word" (as squire from esquire), from Greek aphienai "to let go, to send forth," from apo- "from" (see apo-) + hienai "to send" (see jet (v.)).
arbor vitae (n.): type of evergreen shrub, 1660s, name given by French physician and botanist Charles de Lécluse (1525-1609), Latin, literally "tree of life." Also used in late 18c. rogue's slang as a cant word for "penis."
metathesis (n.): 1570s, "transposition of letters in a word;" c. 1600, "rhetorical transposition of words," from Late Latin metathesis, from Greek metathesis "change of position, transposition, change of opinion," from stem of metatithenai "to transpose," from meta- "to change" (see meta-) + tithenai "to place, set" (see theme). Plural is metatheses. Related: Metathetic.
metempsychosis (n.): 1580s, "passing of the soul at death into another body," from Late Latin metempsychosis, from Greek metempsychosis, from meta "change" (see meta-) + empsykhoun "to put a soul into," from en "in" + psyche "soul" (see psyche). Pythagorean word for transmigration of souls at death. Related: Metempsychose (v.), 1590s.
microbe (n.): popular name for a bacterium, 1878, from French microbe, "badly coined ... by Sédillot" [Weekley] in 1878 from Greek mikros "small" (see mica) + bios "life" (see bio-). It is an incorrect use of bios; in Greek the word would mean literally "short-lived."
dyslexia (n.): c. 1887, from German dyslexie (1883), from Greek dys- "bad, abnormal, difficult" (see dys-) + lexis "word," from legein "speak" (see lecture (n.)) + abstract noun ending -ia. Dyslexic (n.) is first recorded 1961; dyslectic (adj.) from 1964.
Drusilla: fem. proper name, Latin fem. diminutive of Drusus, frequent surname in Livian gens, earlier Drausus, perhaps a Celtic word meaning literally "strong" (compare Old Celtic *dru- "oak," also "strong;" see Druid).
dudgeon (n.): 1570s, duggin, of unknown origin. One suggestion is Italian aduggiare "to overshadow," giving it the same sense development as umbrage. No clear connection to earlier dudgeon (late 14c.), a kind of wood used for knife handles, which is perhaps from a French word.
boondocks (n.): 1910s, from Tagalog bundok "mountain." Adopted by occupying American soldiers in the Philippines for "remote and wild place." Reinforced or re-adopted during World War II. Hence, also boondockers "shoes suited for rough terrain," originally (1944) U.S. services slang word for field boots.
boot (n.1): footwear, early 14c., from Old French bote "boot" (12c.), with corresponding words in Provençal and Spanish, of unknown origin, perhaps from a Germanic source. Originally for riding boots only. An old Dorsetshire word for "half-boots" was skilty-boots [Halliwell, Wright].
bouffant (adj.): 1869, from French bouffant, present participle of bouffer "to puff out," from Old French bouffer (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *buffare, probably ultimately imitative of puffing. As a noun by 1870. Earlier as a French word in English. First used of hairdo style 1955.
bowel (n.): c. 1300, from Old French boele "intestines, bowels, innards" (12c., Modern French boyau), from Medieval Latin botellus "small intestine," originally "sausage," diminutive of botulus "sausage," a word borrowed from Oscan-Umbrian, from PIE *gwet-/*geut- "intestine" (source also of Latin guttur "throat," Old Norse kviðr "womb," Old English cwið, Gothic qiþus "belly, womb," German kutteln "guts, chitterlings").

Greek splankhnon (from the same PIE root as spleen) was a word for the principal internal organs, which also were felt in ancient times to be the seat of various emotions. Greek poets, from Aeschylus down, regarded the bowels as the seat of the more violent passions such as anger and love, but by the Hebrews they were seen as the seat of tender affections, especially kindness, benevolence, and compassion. Splankhnon was used in Septuagint to translate a Hebrew word, and from thence early Bibles in English rendered it in its literal sense as bowels, which thus acquired in English a secondary meaning of "pity, compassion" (late 14c.). But in later editions the word often was translated as heart. Bowel movement is attested by 1874.
hypo-: word-forming element meaning "under, beneath; less, less than" (in chemistry, indicating a lesser oxidation), from Greek hypo (prep. and adverb) "under, beneath; up from under; toward and under (i.e. into)," from PIE *upo "under; up from under; over" (see sub-).
mini (n.): 1961, abbreviation of mini-car, a small car made by British Leyland (formerly British Motor Corp.). As an abbreviation of miniskirt, it is attested from 1966. The vogue for mini- as a prefix in English word coinage dates from c. 1960.
coke (n.1): "residue of fuel," 1690s, northern English dialect, perhaps a variant of Middle English colke "core, charcoal" (c. 1400), itself possibly related to -colc, an Old English word for "pit," which perhaps would give it a sense of "what is left in the pit after a fire."
colic (n.): "disease characterized by severe abdominal pain," early 15c., from Late Latin colicus "pertaining to colic," from Greek kolikos, belonging to the kolon "lower intestine" (see colon (n.2)). The word was used in English late 14c. as an adjective, "affecting the colon." Related: Colicky (1742).
pixilated (adj.): "mildly insane, bewildered, tipsy," 1848, pix-e-lated, from pixie + -lated, as in elated, etc., perhaps influenced by or a variant of pixie-led. A New England dialect word popularized 1936 by its use in movie "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town."
planchet (n.): "metal disk out of which a coin is made," 1610s, from French planchette, literally "a small board," diminutive of Old French planche (12c.), from Latin planca "board, slab, plank" (see plank). The planchette used in automatism and on Ouija boards is a re-borrowing of the French word, 1860.
console (v.): 1690s, from French consoler "to comfort, console," from Latin consolari "offer solace, encourage, comfort, cheer," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + solari "to comfort" (see solace). Or perhaps a back-formation from consolation. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by frefran. Related: Consoled; consoling.
construe (v.): late 14c., from Late Latin construere "to relate grammatically," in classical Latin "to build up, pile together" (see construction); also see construct (v.), which is a later acquisition of the same word. Related: Construed; construing; construal.
mondo (adj.): "very much, extreme," 1979, from Italian mondo "world," from "Mondo cane," 1961 film, literally "world for a dog" (English title "A Dog's Life"), depicting eccentric human behavior; the word was abstracted from the original title and taken as an intensifier.
mongoose (n.): "snake-killing ichneumon of India," 1690s, perhaps via Portuguese, from an Indic language (such as Mahrathi mangus "mongoose"), probably ultimately from Dravidian (compare Telugu mangisu, Kanarese mungisi, Tamil mangus). The form of the English word altered by folk-etymology.
mono-: word-forming element meaning "one, alone; containing one (atom, etc.)," from Greek mono-, comb. form of monos "single, alone," from PIE root *men- "small, isolated" (source also of Greek manos "rare, sparse," Armenian manr "thin, slender, small," and perhaps English minnow).
poop (n.2): "excrement," 1744, a children's euphemism, probably of imitative origin. The verb in this sense is from 1903. The same word in the sense "to break wind softly" is attested from 1721; earlier "to make a short blast on a horn" (late 14c.). Meaning "stupid or dull person" is from 1915. Pooper-scooper attested from 1970.
pore (v.): "gaze intently," early 13c., of unknown origin, with no obvious corresponding word in Old French. Perhaps from Old English *purian, suggested by spyrian "to investigate, examine," and spor "a trace, vestige." Related: Pored; poring.
ascend (v.): late 14c., from Latin ascendere "to climb up, mount, ascend," figuratively "to rise, reach," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + scandere "to climb" (see scan (v.)). Also in 15c. used with a sense "to mount (a female) for copulation." Related: Ascended; ascending. An Old English word for it was stigan.
assiduous (adj.): 1530s, from Latin assiduus "attending; continually present, incessant; busy; constant," from assidere "to sit down to" (thus "be constantly occupied" at one's work); from ad "to" (see ad-) + sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). The word acquired a taint of "servility" in 18c. Related: Assiduously; assiduousness.
-tude: syllable formed when the word-forming element -ude, making abstract nouns from adjectives and participles, is fixed to a base or to another suffix ending in -t or -te; from French -ude, from Latin -udo (stem -udin-). The equivalent of native -ness.
conundrum (n.): 1590s, Oxford University slang for "pedant," also "whim," etc., later (1790) "riddle, puzzle." Also spelled quonundrum. The sort of ponderous pseudo-Latin word that was once the height of humor in learned circles.
convert (v.): c. 1300, from Old French convertir, from Vulgar Latin *convertire, from Latin convertere "turn around, transform," from com- "together" (see com-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Originally in the religious sense. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by gecyrren, from cierran "to turn, return." Related: Converted; converting.