Online Etymology Dictionary

Panama: probably from an unknown Guarani word, traditionally said to mean "place of many fish." Originally the name of the settlement founded 1519 (destroyed 1671 but subsequently rebuilt). Panama hat, made from the leaves of the screw pine, attested from 1833, a misnomer, because it originally was made in Ecuador, but perhaps so called in American English because it was distributed north from Panama City. Panama red as a variety of Central American marijuana is attested from 1967.
pap (n.1): "soft food for infants," late 14c., from Old French pape "watered gruel," from Latin pappa, a widespread word in children's language for "food" (Middle High German and Dutch pap, German Pappe, Spanish, Portuguese papa, Italian pappa), imitative of an infant's noise when hungry; possibly associated with pap (n.2). Meaning "over-simplified idea" first recorded 1540s.
Quaker (n.): 1651, said to have been applied to them in 1650 by Justice Bennett at Derby, from George Fox's admonition to his followers to "tremble at the Word of the Lord;" but the word was used earlier of foreign sects given to fits of shaking during religious fervor, and that is likely the source here. Either way, it never was an official name of the Religious Society of Friends. The word in a literal sense is attested from early 15c., an agent noun from quake (v.).
There is not a word in the Scripture, to put David's condition into rime and meeter: sometimes he quaked and trembled, and lay roaring all the day long, that he watered his bed with his tears: and how can you sing these conditions (but dishonour the Lord) and say all your bones quake, your flesh trembled, and that you water your bed with your tears? when you live in pride and haughtiness, and pleasure, and wantonness;" etc. ["A Brief Discovery of a threefold estate of Antichrist Now Extant in the world, etc.," an early Quaker work, London, 1653]
Quaker gun (1809, American English) was a log painted black and propped up to look from a distance like a cannon, so called for the sect's noted pacifism. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has been known as the Quaker City since at least 1824. Related: Quakerish; Quakeress ("a female Quaker"); Quakerism.
rapture (n.): c. 1600, "act of carrying off," from Middle French rapture, from Medieval Latin raptura "seizure, rape, kidnapping," from Latin raptus "a carrying off, abduction, snatching away; rape" (see rapt). Earliest attested use in English is of women and in 17c. it sometimes meant rape (v.), which word is a cognate of this. Sense of "spiritual ecstasy, state of mental transport" first recorded c. 1600 (raptures).
raree show: "peep show contained in a box," 1680s, so called "in imitation of the foreign way of pronouncing rare show" [Johnson]. "Johnson's statement is prob. correct; the early exhibitors of peep-shows appear to have been usually Savoyards, from whom the form was no doubt adopted" [OED]. Early "peep shows" were more innocent than what usually was meant later by that word.
rash (adj.): late 14c., "nimble, quick, vigorous" (early 14c. as a surname), a Scottish and northern word, perhaps from Old English -ræsc (as in ligræsc "flash of lightning") or one of its Germanic cognates, from Proto-Germanic *raskuz (source also of Middle Low German rasch, Middle Dutch rasc "quick, swift," German rasch "quick, fast"). Related to Old English horsc "quick-witted." Sense of "reckless, impetuous, heedless of consequences" is attested from c. 1500. Related: Rashly; rashness.
rastaquouere (n.): 1883, from French rastaquouère, rastacouère (19c.) "social intruder, upstart" (especially one of exaggerated manners and dress, from a Mediterranean or South American country), thus "dashing but untrustworthy foreigner." Short form rasta attested from 1905. According to French sources, the word is from South American Spanish rastacuero "upstart," from arrastrar "to drag, pull, tow, trail along the ground" + cuero "leather." Arrastrar is said to be from Spanish rastro "rake," from Latin rastrum (see raster), while cuero is from Latin corium (see corium).
ratiocination (n.): "process of reasoning," 1520s, from Latin ratiocinationem (nominative ratiocinatio) "a reasoning, calm reasoning," from past participle stem of ratiocinare "to calculate, deliberate," from ratio (see ratio) + -cinari, which probably is related to conari "to try" (see conation).
Most writers make ratiocination synonymous with reasoning. J.S. Mill and others hold that the word is usually limited to necessary reasoning. [Century Dictionary]
rave (v.): early 14c., "to show signs of madness or delirium," from Old French raver, variant of resver "to dream; wander here and there, prowl; behave madly, be crazy," of unknown origin (compare reverie). The identical (in form) verb meaning "to wander, stray, rove" first appeared c. 1300 in Scottish and northern dialect, and is probably from an unrelated Scandinavian word (such as Icelandic rafa). Sense of "talk enthusiastically about" first recorded 1704. Related: Raved; raving.
ravel (v.): 1580s, "to untangle, disentangle, unwind" (originally with out), also "to entangle, become tangled or confused," from Dutch ravelen "to tangle, fray," rafelen "to unweave," from rafel "frayed thread." The seemingly contradictory senses of this word (ravel and unravel are both synonyms and antonyms) are reconciled by its roots in weaving and sewing: as threads become unwoven, they get tangled.
verbal (adj.): early 15c., "dealing with words" (especially in contrast to things or realities), from Old French verbal (14c.) and directly from Late Latin verbalis "consisting of words, relating to verbs," from Latin verbum "word" (see verb). Related: Verbally. Verbal conditioning is recorded from 1954. Colloquial verbal diarrhea is recorded from 1823. A verbal noun is a noun derived from a verb and sharing in its senses and constructions.
ragged (adj.): "rough, shaggy," c. 1300, past participle adjective as though from a verb form of rag (n.). Compare Latin pannosus "ragged, wrinkly," from pannus "piece of cloth." But the word might reflect a broader, older meaning; perhaps from or reinforced by Old Norse raggaðr "shaggy," via Old English raggig "shaggy, bristly, rough" (which, Barnhart writes, "was almost surely developed from Scandinavian"). Of clothes, early 14c.; of persons, late 14c. To run (someone) ragged is from 1915. Related: Raggedly; raggedness.
ragtag (n.): also rag-tag, "ragged people collectively," 1820, from rag (n.) + tag (n.); originally in expression rag-tag and bobtail "the rabble" (tag-rag and bobtail is found in 1650s), with bobtail an old 17c. word for "cur." Tag and rag was "very common in 16-17th c." [OED]
raid (n.): early 15c., "mounted military expedition," Scottish and northern English form of rade "a riding, journey," from Old English rad "a riding, ride, expedition, journey; raid," (see road). The word died out by 17c., but was revived by Scott ("The Lay of the Last Minstrel," 1805), ("Rob Roy," 1818), with extended sense of "attack, foray."
railroad (n.): 1757, from rail (n.1) + road. Originally "road laid with rails for heavy wagons (in mining)." The process itself (but not the word) seems to have been in use by late 17c. Application to passenger and freight trains dates from 1825, though tending to be replaced in this sense in England by railway.
ram (n.): Old English ramm "male sheep," also "battering ram" and the zodiac sign; earlier rom "male sheep," a West Germanic word (cognates: Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, Dutch, Old High German ram), of unknown origin. Perhaps [Klein] connected with Old Norse rammr "strong," Old Church Slavonic ramenu "impetuous, violent."
pyro-: before vowels pyr-, word-forming element form meaning "fire," from Greek pyro-, combining form of pyr (genitive pyros) "fire, funeral fire," also symbolic of terrible things, rages, "rarely as an image of warmth and comfort" [Liddell & Scott], from PIE root *paəwr- "fire" (see fire (n.)). Pyriphlegethon, literally "fire-blazing," was one of the rivers of Hell.
pail (n.): mid-14c., of uncertain origin, probably from Old French paele, paelle "cooking or frying pan, warming pan;" also a liquid measure, from Latin patella "small pan, little dish, platter," diminutive of patina "broad shallow pan, stewpan" (see pan (n.)).

Old English had pægel "wine vessel," but etymology does not support a connection. This Old English word possibly is from Medieval Latin pagella "a measure," from Latin pagella "column," diminutive of pagina (see page (n.1)).
paladin (n.): 1590s, "one of the 12 knights in attendance on Charlemagne," from Middle French paladin "a warrior" (16c.), from Italian paladino, from Latin palatinus "palace official;" noun use of palatinus "of the palace" (see palace).

The Old French form of the word was palaisin (which gave Middle English palasin, c. 1400); the Italian form prevailed because, though the matter was French, most of the poets who wrote the romances were Italians.
palaver (n.): 1733 (implied in palavering), "talk, conference, discussion," sailors' slang, from Portuguese palavra "word, speech, talk," traders' term for "negotiating with the natives" in West Africa, metathesis of Late Latin parabola "speech, discourse," from Latin parabola "comparison" (see parable). Meaning "idle talk" first recorded 1748. The verb is 1733, from the noun. Related: Palavering.
paleo-: before vowels pale- word-forming element used in scientific combinations (mostly since c. 1870) meaning "ancient, early, prehistoric, primitive," from Latinized form of Greek palaios "old, ancient," from palai "long ago, far back," related to palin "again, backwards," tele- "far off, at a distance," from PIE root *kwel- (2) "far" in space and time" (see tele-).
genealogy (n.): early 14c., "line of descent, pedigree, descent," from Old French genealogie (12c.), from Late Latin genealogia "tracing of a family," from Greek genealogia "the making of a pedigree," from genea "generation, descent" (see genus) + -logia (see -logy). An Old English word for it was folctalu, literally "folk tale." Meaning "study of family trees" is from 1768.
genital (adj.): late 14c., "pertaining to (sexual) reproduction," in membres genytal "the genitals," from Latin genitalis "pertaining to generation or birth; fruitful" (also a by-name of the goddess Diana), from genitus, past participle of gignere "to beget" (see genus). Hence the English word came to mean "pertaining to the organs of generation." As a noun meaning "sex organ" from mid-15c. (plural genitals is from late 14c.).
genre (n.): 1770, "particular style of art," a French word in English (nativized from c. 1840), from French genre "kind, sort, style" (see gender (n.)). Used especially in French for "independent style." In painting, as an adjective, "depicting scenes of ordinary life" (a domestic interior or village scene, as compared to landscape, historical, etc.) from 1849.
gentian (n.): type of herb, late 14c., genciane, from Old French genciane (13c.) and directly from Latin gentiana, said by Pliny to be named for Gentius, king of ancient Illyria who discovered its properties. This likely is a folk-etymology, but the word may be Illyrian nonetheless, because the suffix -an frequently occurs in Illyrian words.
gest (n.): "famous deed, exploit," more commonly "story of great deeds, tale of adventure," c. 1300, from Old French geste, jeste "action, exploit, romance, history" (of celebrated people or actions), from Medieval Latin gesta "actions, exploits, deeds, achievements," noun use of neuter plural of Latin gestus, past participle of gerere "to carry on, wage, perform," of unknown origin. Now only as a deliberate archaism. Jest (n.) is the same word, with a decayed sense.
gibbon (n.): long-armed ape of the East Indies, 1770, from French gibbon (18c.), supposedly from a word in the French colonies of India but not found in any language there. Brought to Europe by Marquis Joseph-François Dupleix (1697-1763), French governor general in India 1742-54. The surname is Old French Giboin, from Frankish *Geba-win "gift-friend," or in some cases a diminutive of Gibb, itself a familiar form of Gilbert.
giblets (n.): "edible entrails of a fowl, parts removed or trimmed from a fowl when it is prepared for roasting," mid-15c. (in singular, gybelet), earlier "unnecessary appendage" (c. 1300), from Old French gibelet "game stew," a cookery word of uncertain origin; perhaps from Frankish *gabaiti "hunting with falcons," related to Old High German beizan "to fly a falcon," literally "to cause to bite," from bizzan "to bite."
gingham (n.): cotton fabric woven of plain dyed yarns, 1610s, from Dutch gingang, a traders' rendering of a Malay word said to be ginggang, meaning "striped" [OED], or else "perishable, fading" [Century Dictionary], used as a noun with the sense of "striped cotton." Also from the same source are French guingan (18c.), Spanish guinga, Italian gingano, German gingang.
fie (interj.): late 13c., possibly from Old French fi, exclamation of disapproval (12c.), and reinforced by Old Norse fy or some other Scandinavian form; it's a general sound of disgust that seems to have developed independently in many languages. Fie-fie was a 19c. British jocular word for "improper," also, as a noun, "woman of tarnished reputation" [OED].
fin (n.): Old English finn "fin," from Proto-Germanic *finno (source also of Middle Low German vinne, Dutch vin), perhaps from Latin pinna "feather, wing" (see pin (n.)); or, less likely, from Latin spina "thorn, spine" (see spine).

U.S. underworld slang sense of "$5 bill" is 1925, from Yiddish finif "five," from German fünf (see five) and thus unrelated. The same word had been used in England in 1868 to mean "five pound note" (earlier finnip, 1839).
fink (n.): 1902, of uncertain origin, possibly from German Fink "a frivolous or dissolute person," originally "a finch" (see finch); the German word also had a sense of "informer" (compare stool pigeon). The other theory traces it to Pinks, short for Pinkerton agents, the private police force hired to break up the 1892 Homestead strike. As a verb, 1925 in American English slang. Related: Finked; finking.
John Bull: "Englishman who exemplifies the coarse, burly form and bluff nature of the national character," 1772, from name of a character representing the English nation in Arbuthnot's satirical "History of John Bull" (1712). Via a slurred pronunciation of it comes jumble (n.), London West Indian and African slang word for "a white man," attested from 1957.
jostle (v.): 1540s, justle, "to knock against" (transitive), formed from jousten (see joust (v.)) + frequentative suffix -le. According to OED, the usual spelling 17c.-18c. was justle. An earlier meaning of the word was "to have sex with" (c. 1400). Meaning "contend for the best position or place" is from 1610s. Related: Jostled; jostling. As a noun from c. 1600.
Hasidim: also Chasidim, "adherents of a conservative Jewish religious movement founded 1750 by Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer Baal Shem Tobh," 1812, from Hebrew hasidhim, literally "pious ones," plural of hasidh "kind, pious." Earlier the Hebrew word was used in reference to an anti-Hellenistic faction during the time of the Maccabean Wars.
hassle (n.): "fuss, trouble," 1945, American English (in "Down Beat" magazine), perhaps from U.S. Southern dialectal hassle "to pant, breathe noisily" (1928), of unknown origin; or perhaps from hatchel "to harass" (1800), which may be a variant of hazel, the name of the plant that furnished switches for whippings. Noted in 1946 as a show biz vogue word.
hatch (n.1): "opening, grated gate, half-door," Old English hæc (genitive hæcce) "fence, grating, gate," from Proto-Germanic *hak- (source also of Middle High German heck, Dutch hek "fence, gate"), a word of uncertain origin. This apparently is the source of many of the Hatcher surnames; "one who lives near a gate." Sense of "opening in a ship's deck" is first recorded mid-13c. Drinking phrase down the hatch attested by 1931 (the image is nautical).
hautboy (n.): "oboe, double-reeded woodwind instrument," 1570s, from French hautbois "high wood" (15c.; see oboe, which is the Italian phonetic spelling of the French word). The haut is used here in its secondary sense of "high-pitched." In early use frequently nativized as hoboy, hawboy, etc.
This Pageaunt waz clozd vp with a delectable harmony of Hautboiz, Shalmz, Coronets, and such oother looud muzik. [Robert Laneham, 1575]
hazy (adj.): 1620s, hawsey, nautical, of unknown origin. Some connect it with German hase "hare," an animal which plays an important part in Germanic folklore, with many supernatural and unlucky aspects in medieval times (among the superstitions: a dead hare should not be brought aboard a fishing ship, and the word hare should not be spoken at sea). Another suggestion is Old English hasu, haswe "gray." Related: Hazily; haziness.
heather (n.): early 14c., hathir, from Old English *hæddre, Scottish or northern England dialect name for Calluna vulgaris, probably altered by heath, but real connection to that word is unlikely [Liberman, OED]. Perhaps originally Celtic. As a fem. proper name little used in U.S. before 1935, but a top-15 name for girls born there 1971-1989.
cauliflower (n.): 1590s, originally cole florye, from Italian cavoli fiori "flowered cabbage," plural of cavolo "cabbage" + fiore "flower" (from Latin flora; see flora).

First element is from Latin caulis "cabbage" (originally "stem, stalk") which was borrowed into Germanic and is the source of cole in cole-slaw and of Scottish kale. The front end of the word was re-Latinized from 18c.; the back end was influenced by flower (n.). The boxer's cauliflower ear is from 1907.
caustic (adj.): c. 1400, "burning, corrosive," from Latin causticus "burning, caustic," from Greek kaustikos "capable of burning; corrosive," from kaustos "combustible; burnt," verbal adjective from kaiein, the Greek word for "to burn" (transitive and intransitive) in all periods, which is of uncertain origin with no certain cognates outside Greek. Figurative sense of "sarcastic" is attested from 1771. As a noun, early 15c., from the adjective.
caution (n.): c. 1300, "bail, guarantee, pledge," from Old French caution "security, surety" (13c.), from Latin cautionem (nominative cautio) "caution, care, foresight, precaution," noun of action from past participle stem of cavere "to be on one's guard" (see caveat). The Latin sense re-emerged in English 16c.-17c. Meaning "word of warning" is from c. 1600.
Delian (adj.): 1620s, "of Delos," tiny island in the Aegean, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Delian problem "find the length of the side of a cube having double the volume of a given cube," was set by the oracle at Delos when it answered (430 B.C.E.) that the plague in Athens would end when Apollo's (cube-shaped) altar was doubled. The Latin fem. form of the word became the proper name Delia.
demerit (n.): late 14c., from Old French desmerite "blame, demerit" (Modern French démérite), from des- "not, opposite" (see dis-) + merite "merit" (see merit (n.)). Latin demereri meant "to merit, deserve," from de- in its completive sense. But Medieval Latin demeritum meant "fault." Both senses existed in the Middle French form of the word. Meaning "penalty point in school" is attested from 1862.
demesne (n.): c. 1300, demeyne (modern spelling by late 15c.), from Anglo-French demesne, demeine, Old French demaine "land held for a lord's own use," from Latin dominicus "belonging to a master," from dominus "lord." Re-spelled by Anglo-French legal scribes under influence of Old French mesnie "household" (and the concept of a demesne as "land attached to a mansion") and their fondness for inserting -s- before -n-. Essentially the same word as domain.
demure (adj.): late 14c. (early 14c. as a surname), from Old French meur "mature, fully grown, ripe," hence "discreet," from Latin maturus "mature" (see mature (v.)) [OED]. The de- in this word is of uncertain meaning. Or possibly from Anglo-French demuré (Old French demoré), past participle of demorer "stay," and influenced by meur [Barnhart]. Or from Old French de (bon) murs "of good manners," from murs (Modern French moeurs) [Klein].
jury (adj.): "temporary," 1610s (in jury-mast, a nautical term for a temporary mast put in place of one broken or blown away), a sailors' word of uncertain origin. Perhaps it is ultimately from Old French ajurie "help, relief," from Latin adjutare (see aid (n.)). Jury-leg for "wooden leg" is from 1751; Denham once used jury-buttocks.
lawn (n.1): "turf, stretch of grass," 1540s, laune "glade, open space in a forest or between woods," from Middle English launde (c. 1300), from Old French lande "heath, moor, barren land; clearing" (12c.), from Gaulish (compare Breton lann "heath"), or from a cognate Germanic word, from Proto-Germanic *landam-, source of English land (n.). The -d perhaps was mistaken for an affix and dropped. Sense of "grassy ground kept mowed" first recorded 1733. Lawn-tennis is from 1884.
indiscreet (adj.): "imprudent, not discrete, lacking good judgment," early 15c., from Medieval Latin indiscretus, from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + Latin discretus "separated, distinct" (in Medieval Latin "discerning, careful"), past participle of discernere "distinguish" (see discern). A Medieval Latin secondary sense of the word that also became indiscrete. Related: Indiscreetly; indiscreetness.