Online Etymology Dictionary

grisly (adj.): Old English grislic (in compounds) "horrible, dreadful," from root of grisan "to shudder, fear," a general Germanic word (cognates: Old Frisian grislik "horrible," Middle Dutch grisen "to shudder," Dutch griezelen, German grausen "to shudder, fear," Old High German grisenlik "horrible;" of unknown origin; Watkins connects it with the PIE root *ghrei- "to rub," on notion of "to grate on the mind" (see chrism). See also gruesome, to which it probably is connected in some way. Related: Grisliness.
hobbledehoy (n.): "clumsy or awkward youth," 1530s, of uncertain origin and the subject of much discussion. Suspicion has focused on French or Anglo-French, but no appropriate word has been found there. First element is probably hob in its sense of "clown, prankster" (see hobgoblin), the second element perhaps is Middle French de haye "worthless, untamed, wild," literally "of the hedge."
hobnail (n.): "short, thick nail with a large head," 1590s, from nail (n.); the first element probably identical with hob "rounded peg or pin used as a mark or target in games" (1580s), which is of unknown origin. See hob. Because they were used to make heavy boots and shoes, the word was used figuratively for "rustic person" 17c. and after. Related: Hobnailed.
foreman (n.): early 13c., "a leader," from fore- + man (n.). From 1530s as "principal juror;" 1570s in the sense of "principal workman." Similar formation in Dutch voorman, German Vormann, Danish formand. Also in 17c., a slang word for "penis." Fem. form forewoman is from 1709, originally of a jury; forelady is from 1867 in reference to juries, 1888 of shops, American English.
evening (n.): from Old English æfnung "the coming of evening, sunset, time around sunset," verbal noun from æfnian "become evening, grow toward evening," from æfen "evening" (see eve). As a synonym of even (n.) in the sense "time from sunset to bedtime," it dates from mid-15c. and now entirely replaces the older word in this sense. Another Old English noun for "evening" was cwildtid.
evict (v.): mid-15c., "recover (property) by judicial means," from Latin evictus, past participle of evincere "overcome and expel, conquer, subdue, vanquish; prevail over; supplant," from assimilated form of ex- "out," or perhaps here merely intensive (see ex-) + vincere "conquer" (see victor). Sense of "expel by legal process" first recorded in English 1530s, from a post-classical sense of the Latin word. Related: Evicted; evicting. Compare evince.
fold (n.1): "pen or enclosure for sheep or other domestic animals," Old English falæd, falud "stall, stable, cattle-pen," a general Germanic word (cognates: East Frisian folt "enclosure, dunghill," Dutch vaalt "dunghill," Danish fold "pen for sheep"), of uncertain origin. Figurative use by mid-14c.
grampus (n.): a word applied to killer whales and other large, dolphin-like creatures, 1590s, earlier graundepose (1520s), altered (by influence of grand) from Middle English graspeys (late 13c.), from Anglo-French grampais, from Old French graspois, craspois "whale, (salted) whale meat; blubber; seal," from Medieval Latin craspicis, literally "great fish" or "fat fish," from Latin crassus "thick" + piscis "fish" (see fish (n.)). For specifics of usage in English, see OED.
inveigle (v.): formerly also enveigle, etc., late 15c., "to blind (someone's) judgment," apparently an alteration of Middle French aveugler "delude, make blind," from Vulgar Latin *aboculus "without sight, blind," from Latin ab- "without" (see ab-) + oculus "eye" (see eye (n.)). The Latin word is a loan-translation of Greek ap ommaton "without eyes." Meaning "to win over by deceit, seduce" is 1530s. Related: Inveigler; inveiglment.
irrational (adj.): late 15c., "not endowed with reason" (of beasts, etc.), from Latin irrationalis/inrationalis "without reason, not rational," from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + rationalis "of or belonging to reason, reasonable" (see rational (adj.)).

Meaning "illogical, absurd" is attested from 1640s. Related: Irrationally. The mathematical sense "inexpressible in ordinary numbers" is from late 14c. in English, from use of the Latin word as a translation of Greek alogon in Euclid.
-ism: word-forming element making nouns implying a practice, system, doctrine, etc., from French -isme or directly from Latin -isma, -ismus (source also of Italian, Spanish -ismo, Dutch, German -ismus), from Greek -ismos, noun ending signifying the practice or teaching of a thing, from the stem of verbs in -izein, a verb-forming element denoting the doing of the noun or adjective to which it is attached. For distinction of use, see -ity. The related Greek suffix -isma(t)- affects some forms.
-itis: word-forming element in medicine denoting "diseases characterized by inflammation" (of the specified part), Modern Latin, from Greek -itis, feminine of adjectival suffix -ites "pertaining to." Feminine because it was used with an implied nosos "disease," a feminine noun; especially in arthritis (nosos) "(disease) of the joints." Arthritis (16c.) was one of the earliest appearances of the suffix in English and from it the suffix was abstracted in other uses.
hollyhock (n.): mid-13c., holihoc, probably from holi "holy" (see holy) + hokke "mallow," from Old English hocc, a word of unknown origin. Another early name for the plant was caulis Sancti Cuthberti "St. Cuthbert's cole." Native to China and southern Europe, the old story is that it was so called because it was brought from the Holy Land.
holster (n.): "leather case for a pistol," 1660s, probably from Old English heolster, earlier helustr "concealment, hiding place," from Proto-Germanic *hulfti- (source also of Old High German hulft "cover, case, sheath," Old Norse hulstr "case, sheath," Middle Dutch holster, German Halfter "holster"), from PIE *kel- (2) "to cover, to hide" (see cell). Intermediate forms are wanting, and the modern word could as well be from the Norse or Dutch cognates.
homeboy (n.): "person from one's hometown," 1940s, African-American vernacular, also originally with overtones of "simpleton." With many variants (compare homebuddy, homeslice, both 1980s, with meaning shading toward "good friend"). The word had been used by Ruskin (1886) with the sense "stay-at-home male," and it was Canadian slang for "boy brought up in an orphanage or other institution" (1913).
homophone (n.): "a word pronounced the same as another (whether spelled the same or not) but different in meaning and etymology," 1843, from the adjective homophone (1620s), from Greek homos "same" (see homo- (1)) + phone "sound," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). Related: Homophonic. Greek homophonos meant "speaking the same language; sounding in unison; of the same sound or tone."
honky (n.): also honkey, derogatory word for "white person," by 1967, African-American vernacular, of unknown origin, perhaps from late 19c. hunky "East-Central European immigrant," which probably is a colloquial shortening of Hungarian (compare hunk (n.2)). Honky in the sense of "factory hand" is attested by 1946 in blues slang.
intestines (n.): "bowels," 1590s, from intestine, based on Latin intestina, neuter plural of intestinus (adj.) "internal, inward, intestine," from intus "within, on the inside," from PIE *entos, suffixed form of root *en "in" (see in (adv.)). Compare Sanskrit antastyam, Greek entosthia "bowels." The Old English word was hropp, literally "rope."
intra-: word-forming element meaning "within, inside, on the inside," from Latin preposition intra "on the inside, within, in, into;" of time, "during, in the course of," related to inter "between," from PIE *en-t(e)ro-, from root *en "in" (see in). Commonly opposed to extra-, and compare inter-. The use of intra as a prefix was rare in classical Latin.
mealy-mouthed (adj.): "afraid to say what one really thinks," 1570s; first element perhaps from Old English milisc "sweet," from Proto-Germanic *meduz "honey" (see mead (n.1)), which suits the sense, but if the Old English word did not survive long enough to be the source of this, perhaps the first element is from meal (n.2) on notion of the "softness" of ground flour (compare Middle English melishe (adj.) "friable, loose," used of soils).
medulla (n.): hindmost segment of the brain, 1650s, from Latin medulla, literally "marrow," also "pith of plants," of unknown origin, perhaps related to or influenced by medius "middle" (but compare also Old Irish smiur, Welsh mer "marrow"). The word was used in the Latin senses in Middle English. Related: Medular; medullary.
meerkat (n.): late 15c., "monkey," from Dutch meerkat "monkey" (related to Old High German mericazza), apparently from meer "lake" + kat "cat." But compare Hindi markat, Sanskrit markata "ape," which might serve as a source of a Teutonic folk-etymology, even though the word was in Germanic before any known direct contact with India. First applied to the small South African mammals in 1801.
thwaite (n.): "cleared land," 1620s, from Old Norse or Old Danish þveit "a clearing, meadow, paddock," literally "a cutting, cut-piece" (related to Old English þwitan "to cut, cut off;" see whittle). Always a rare word and now obsolete, but frequently encountered in place names, but "It is unclear whether the base meaning was 'something cut off, detached piece of land,' or 'something cut down, felled tree' ..." [Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names].
tile (n.): early 14c., from Old English tigele "roofing shingle," from Proto-Germanic *tegala (Old Saxon tiegla, Old High German ziagal, German ziegel, Dutch tegel, Old Norse tigl), a borrowing from Latin tegula "roof-tile" (source also of Italian tegola, French tuile), from tegere "roof, to cover" (see stegosaurus). Also used in Old English and early Middle English for "brick," before that word came into use.
till (n.): "cashbox," mid-15c., from Anglo-French tylle "compartment," Old French tille "compartment, shelter on a ship," probably from Old Norse þilja "plank, floorboard," from Proto-Germanic *theljon. The other theory [Klein, Century Dictionary] is that the word is from Middle English tillen "to draw," from Old English -tyllan (see toll (v.)), with a sense evolution as in drawer (see draw (v.)).
tirade (n.): "a long, vehement speech, a 'volley of words,' " 1801, from French tirade "a volley, a shot; a pull; a long speech or passage; a drawing out" (16c.), from tirer "draw out, endure, suffer," or the French noun is perhaps from or influenced by cognate Italian tirata "a volley," from past participle of tirare "to draw." The whole Romanic word group is of uncertain origin. Barnhart suggests it is a shortening of the source of Old French martirer "endure martyrdom" (see martyr).
titmouse (n.): small, active bird, early 14c., titmose, from tit (n.2), expressing something small, + Old English mase "titmouse," from Proto-Germanic *maison (source also of Dutch mees, German meise), from adj. *maisa- "little, tiny." Spelling influenced 16c. by unrelated mouse, "when mose had long been obsolete as an independent word" [OED]. The proper plural is titmouses.
anaconda (n.): 1768, a name first used in English to name a Ceylonese python, it was applied erroneously to a large South American boa, called in Brazil sucuriuba. The word is of uncertain origin, and no snake name like it now is found in Sinhalese or Tamil. One suggestion is that it is a Latinization of Sinhalese henacandaya "whip snake," literally "lightning-stem" [Barnhart]. Another suggestion is that it represents Tamil anaikkonda "having killed an elephant" [OED].
anatomy (n.): late 14c., "study of the structure of living beings;" c. 1400, "anatomical structures," from Old French anatomie, from Late Latin anatomia, from Greek anatomia, from anatome "dissection," from ana- "up" (see ana-) + temnein "to cut" (see tome). "Dissection" (1540s), "mummy" (1580s), and "skeleton" (1590s) were primary senses of this word in Shakespeare's day; meaning "the science of the structure of organized bodies" predominated from 17c. Often mistakenly divided as an atomy or a natomy.
The scyence of the Nathomy is nedefull and necessarye to the Cyrurgyen [1541]
anchor (n.): Old English ancor, borrowed 9c. from Latin ancora "anchor," from or cognate with Greek ankyra "anchor, hook" (see ankle). A very early borrowing and said to be the only Latin nautical term used in the Germanic languages. The -ch- form emerged late 16c., a pedantic imitation of a corrupt spelling of the Latin word. The figurative sense of "that which gives stability or security" is from late 14c. Meaning "host or presenter of a TV or radio program" is from 1965, short for anchorman.
android (n.): "automaton resembling a human being," 1837, in early use often in reference to automated chess players, from Modern Latin androides (itself attested as a Latin word in English from 1727), from Greek andro- "male" (see andro-) + -eides "form, shape" (see -oid). Greek androdes meant "like a man, manly;" compare also Greek andrias "image of a man, statue." Listed as "rare" in OED 1st edition (1879), popularized from c. 1951 by science fiction writers.
anecdote (n.): 1670s, "secret or private stories," from French anecdote (17c.) or directly from Greek anekdota "things unpublished," neuter plural of anekdotos, from an- "not" (see an-) + ekdotos "published," from ek- "out" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)).

Procopius' 6c. Anecdota, unpublished memoirs of Emperor Justinian full of court gossip, gave the word a sense of "revelation of secrets," which decayed in English to "brief, amusing stories" (1761).
angora (n.): type of wool, 1810, from Angora, city in central Turkey (ancient Ancyra, modern Ankara), which gave its name to the goat (1745 in English), and to its silk-like wool, and to a cat whose fur resembles it (1771 in English). The city name is from the Greek word for "anchor, bend" (see angle (n.)).
anniversary (n.): early 13c., originally especially of the day of a person's death, from Medieval Latin anniversarium, from Latin anniversarius (adj.) "returning annually," from annus (genitive anni) "year" (see annual (adj.)) + versus, past participle of vertere "to turn" (see versus). The adjective came to be used as a noun in Church Latin as anniversaria (dies) in reference to saints' days. An Old English word for "anniversary" (n.) was mynddæg, literally "mind-day."
annoy (v.): late 13c., from Anglo-French anuier, Old French enoiier, anuier "to weary, vex, anger; be troublesome or irksome to," from Late Latin inodiare "make loathsome," from Latin (esse) in odio "(it is to me) hateful," ablative of odium "hatred" (see odium). Earliest form of the word in English was as a noun, c. 1200, "feeling of irritation, displeasure, distaste." Related: Annoyed; annoying; annoyingly. Middle English also had annoyful and annoyous (both late 14c.).
blaze (n.2): "light-colored mark or spot," 1630s, northern English dialect, probably from Old Norse blesi "white spot on a horse's face" (from the same root as blaze (n.1)). A Low German cognate of the Norse word also has been suggested as the source. Applied 1660s in American English to marks cut on tree trunks to indicate a track; thus the verb meaning "to mark a trail;" first recorded 1750, American English. Related: Blazed; blazing.
blossom (n.): c. 1200, from Old English blostm, blostma "blossom, flower, fruit," from Proto-Germanic *blo-s- (source also of Middle Low German blosom, Dutch bloesem, German Blust), from PIE *bhlow-, extended form of *bhel- (3) "to thrive, bloom" (see folio). This is the native word, now largely superseded by bloom (n.1) and flower (n.).
blow (v.2): "to bloom, blossom" (intransitive), from Old English blowan "to flower, blossom, flourish," from Proto-Germanic *blæ- (source also of Old Saxon bloian, Old Frisian bloia, Middle Dutch and Dutch bloeien, Old High German bluoen, German blühen), from PIE *bhle-, extended form of *bhel- (2) "to blow, inflate, swell" (see bole). This word is the source of the blown in full-blown.
bluff (v.): 1839, American English, poker term, perhaps from Dutch bluffen "to brag, boast," or verbluffen "to baffle, mislead." An identical word meant "blindfold, hoodwink" in 1670s, but the sense evolution and connection are unclear; OED calls it "one of the numerous cant terms ... which arose between the Restoration and the reign of Queen Anne." Extended or figurative sense by 1854. Related: Bluffed; bluffing.
anodyne (adj.): 1540s, from Medieval Latin anodynus "pain-removing, allaying pain," from Latin anodynus "painless," from Greek anodynos "free from pain," from an- "without" (see an- (1)) + odyne "pain," a word perhaps from PIE root *ed- "to eat" (source of Lithuanian edžioti "to devour, bite," edžiotis "to suffer pain;" see eat). In old slang, frequently a euphemism for "death;" as in anodyne necklace "hangman's noose."
anoint (v.): c. 1300 (implied in anointing), from Old French enoint "smeared on," past participle of enoindre "smear on," from Latin inunguere "to anoint," from in- "on" + unguere "to smear" (see unguent). Originally in reference to grease or oil smeared on for medicinal purposes; its use in the Coverdale Bible in reference to Christ (as in The Lord's Anointed; see chrism) has spiritualized the word. Related: Anointed; anointing.
anthem (n.): Old English ontemn, antefn, "a composition (in prose or verse) sung antiphonally," from Late Latin antefana, from Greek antiphona "verse response" (see antiphon). Sense evolved to "a composition set to sacred music" (late 14c.), then "song of praise or gladness" (1590s). Used in reference to the English national song (technically, as OED points out, a hymn) and extended to those of other nations. Modern spelling is from late 16c., perhaps an attempt to make the word look more Greek.
antic (n.): 1520s, "grotesque or comical gesture," from Italian antico "antique," from Latin antiquus "old" (see antique). Originally (like grotesque) a 16c. Italian word referring to the strange and fantastic representations on ancient murals unearthed around Rome (especially originally the Baths of Titus, rediscovered 16c.); later extended to "any bizarre thing or behavior," in which sense it first arrived in English. As an adjective in English from 1580s, "grotesque, bizarre."
antidote (n.): "remedy counteracting poison," 1510s (earlier in English as a Latin word), from Middle French antidot and directly from Latin antidotum "a remedy against poison," from Greek antidoton "given as a remedy," literally "given against," verbal adjective of antididonai "give in return," from anti- "against" + didonai "to give" (see date (n.1)). Compare Middle English antidotarie "treatise on drugs or medicines" (c. 1400).
antiphon (n.): c. 1500, "a versicle sung responsively," from Middle French antiphone "hymn" or directly from Medieval Latin antiphona, from Greek antiphona, from anti- "over against" (see anti-) + phone "voice," from PIE root *bha- (2) "to speak, tell, say" (see fame (n.)). A re-adoption of the word which had become anthem in English and lost its original meaning.
antler (n.): late 14c., from Anglo-French auntiler, Old French antoillier (14c., Modern French andouiller) "antler," perhaps from Gallo-Roman cornu *antoculare "horn in front of the eyes," from Latin ante "before" (see ante) + ocularis "of the eyes" (see ocular). This etymology is doubted by some because no similar word exists in any other Romance language, but compare German Augensprossen "antlers," literally "eye-sprouts," for a similar formation.
memento (n.): c. 1400, "Psalm cxxxi in the Canon of the Mass" (which begins with the Latin word Memento and in which the dead are commemorated), from Latin memento "remember," imperative of meminisse "to remember, recollect, think of, bear in mind," a reduplicated form, related to mens "mind" (see mind (n.)). Meaning "reminder, object serving as a warning" is from 1580s; sense of "keepsake" is first recorded 1768.
memorandum (n.): early 15c., from Latin memorandum "(thing) to be remembered," neuter singular of memorandus "worthy of remembrance, noteworthy," gerundive of memorare "to call to mind," from memor "mindful of" (see memory). Originally a word written at the top of a note, by 1540s it came to stand for the note itself. The Latin plural is memoranda. Compare also agenda.
peon (n.): unskilled worker, 1826, from Mexican Spanish peon "agricultural laborer" (especially a debtor held in servitude by his creditor), from Spanish peon "day laborer," also "pedestrian," originally "foot soldier," from Medieval Latin pedonem "foot soldier" (see pawn (n.2)). The word entered British English earlier (c. 1600) in the sense "native constable, soldier, or messenger in India," via Portuguese peao "pedestrian, foot soldier, day laborer."
pepper (n.): Old English pipor, from an early West Germanic borrowing of Latin piper "pepper," from Greek piperi, probably (via Persian) from Middle Indic pippari, from Sanskrit pippali "long pepper." The Latin word is the source of German Pfeffer, Italian pepe, French poivre, Old Church Slavonic pipru, Lithuanian pipiras, Old Irish piobhar, Welsh pybyr, etc. Application to fruits of the capsicum family (unrelated, originally native of tropical America) is 16c.