Online Etymology Dictionary

plenty (n.): mid-13c., "as much as one could desire," from Old French plentee, earlier plentet "abundance, profusion" (12c., Modern French dialectal plenté), from Latin plenitatem (nominative plenitas) "fullness," from plenus "complete, full" (see plenary). Meaning "condition of general abundance" is from late 14c. The colloquial adverb meaning "very much" is first attested 1842. Middle English had parallel formation plenteth, from the older Old French form of the word.
rotogravure (n.): 1913, from German Rotogravur (originally, in full, Deutsche Tiefdrück Gesellschaft), said to blend two corporate names, Rotophot and Deutsche Photogravur A.G. Etymologically, the roots are Latin rota "wheel, roller" (see rotary) and French gravure "engraving" (see gravure). The process was used for printing photo sections of newspapers and magazines, so that the word came to be used for these.
rotten (adj.): c. 1300, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse rotinn "decayed," past participle of verb related to rotna "to decay," from Proto-Germanic stem *rut- (see rot (v.)). Sense of "corrupt" is from late 14c.; weakened sense of "bad" first recorded 1881. Rotten apple is from a saying traced back to at least 1528: "For one rotten apple lytell and lytell putrifieth an whole heape." The Rotten Row in London and elsewhere probably is from a different word, but of uncertain origin.
rouge (n.): 1753, in cosmetic sense, "blush," from French rouge "red coloring matter," noun use of adjective "red" (12c.), from Latin rubeus, related to ruber "red" (see red). Replaced native paint in this sense. The verb is attested from 1777. Related: Rouged; rouging. The same word had been borrowed from French in Middle English with the sense "red color; red" (early 15c.).
poke (n.2): "pokeweed; a weed used in medicine and dyeing," colonial American, from native words, possibly a confusion of similar-sounding Native American plant names; from 1630s in English as "tobacco plant," short for uppowoc (1580s), from Algonquian (Virginia) *uppowoc. Later (1708) the word is used in the sense "pokeweed," as a shortened form of puccoon, from Algonquian (Virginia) *puccoon, name of a plant used for dyeing." Native roots for "smoke" and "stain" have been proposed as the origin or origins.
polyp (n.): c. 1400, "nasal tumor," from Middle French polype and directly from Latin polypus "cuttlefish," also "nasal tumor," from Greek (Doric, Aeolic) polypos "octopus, cuttlefish," from polys "many" (see poly-) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Etymological sense revived 1742 as a name for hydras and sea anemones (earlier polypus, early 16c.). The Latin word is the source of French poulpe "octopus."
breed (v.): Old English bredan "bring young to birth, carry," also "cherish, keep warm," from West Germanic *brodjan (source also of Old High German bruoten, German brüten "to brood, hatch"), from *brod- "fetus, hatchling," from PIE *bhreue- "burn, heat" (see brood (n.)). Original notion of the word was incubation, warming to hatch. Sense of "grow up, be reared" (in a clan, etc.) is late 14c. Related: Bred; breeding.
breeze (n.): 1560s, "north or northeast wind," from Old Spanish briza "cold northeast wind;" in West Indies and Spanish Main, the sense shifting to "northeast trade wind," then "fresh wind from the sea." English sense of "gentle or light wind" is from 1620s. An alternative possibility is that the English word is from East Frisian brisen "to blow fresh and strong." The slang for "something easy" is American English, c. 1928.
bribe (n.): late 14c., "thing stolen," from Old French bribe "bit, piece, hunk; morsel of bread given to beggars" (14c., compare Old French bribeor "vagrant, beggar"), from briber, brimber "to beg," a general Romanic word (Gamillscheg marks it as Rotwelsch, i.e. "thieves' jargon"), of uncertain origin; old sources suggest Celtic (compare Breton breva "to break"). Shift of meaning to "gift given to influence corruptly" is by mid-15c.
ruff (n.): kind of large collar, stiffly starched, especially common in the seventeenth century, 1520s, originally in reference to sleeves (of collars, from 1550s), probably a shortened form of ruffle.

Card-playing sense is a separate word, from a former game of that name (1580s), from Middle French roffle, earlier romfle (early 15c.), from Italian ronfa, perhaps a corruption of trionfo "triumph" (from French; compare trump). The game was in vogue c. 1590-1630.
runt (n.): c. 1500, "old or decayed tree stump," of unknown origin. Meaning extended to "small ox or cow" (1540s) and by 1610s generally to undersized animals and people. Specific American English sense of "smallest of a litter" (especially of pigs) is attested from 1841. Some see a connection to Middle Dutch runt "ox," but OED thinks this unlikely, and pronounces the word "of obscure origin." Related: Runty (1807).
russet (n.): mid-13c., "cloth of reddish-brown color," also (early 15c.) the color of this, from Old French rousset, from rosset (adj.) "reddish," diminutive of ros, rous "red," from Latin russus, which is related to ruber "red," from PIE *reudh- "red" (see red (adj.1)). As an adjective from late 14c. The word was applied to a type of apples first in 1620s, to a type of pears 1725.
rustle (v.): "to emit soft, rapid sounds," late 14c. (implied in rustling), of uncertain origin, perhaps imitative (compare Middle Low German ruschen, Middle Dutch ruusscen, German rauschen "to rustle"). Related: Rustled; rustling. Meaning "steal" (especially cattle) first attested 1882, probably from earlier American English slang sense of "move about vigorously" (1844), perhaps a separate word, compounded from rush and hustle.
brothel (n.): "bawdy house," 1590s, shortened from brothel-house, from brothel "prostitute" (late 15c.), earlier "vile, worthless person" of either sex (14c.), from Old English broðen past participle of breoðan "deteriorate, go to ruin," from Proto-Germanic *breuthan "to be broken up," related to *breutan "to break" (see brittle). In 16c. brothel-house was confused with unrelated bordel (see bordello) and the word shifted meaning from a person to a place.
buckram (n.): early 13c., from Old French boquerant "fine oriental cloth" (12c., Modern French bougran), probably (along with Spanish bucarán, Italian bucherame) from Bukhara, city in central Asia from which it was imported to Europe. Originally a name of a delicate, costly fabric, it later came to mean coarse linen used for lining. The -m in the English word may indicate Italian origin (compare Italian bucherame, 14c.).
comma (n.): 1520s as a Latin word, nativized by 1590s, from Latin comma "short phrase," from Greek komma "clause in a sentence," literally "piece which is cut off," from koptein "to cut off," from PIE root *kop- "to beat, strike" (see hatchet (n.)). Like colon (n.1) and period, originally a Greek rhetorical term for a part of a sentence, and like them it has been transferred to the punctuation mark that identifies it.
commune (n.): 1792, from French commune "small territorial divisions set up after the Revolution," from Middle French commune "free city, group of citizens" (12c.), from Medieval Latin communia, noun use of neuter plural of Latin adjective communis, literally "that which is common," from communis (see common (adj.)). The Commune of Paris usurped the government during the Reign of Terror. The word later was applied to a government on communalistic principles set up in Paris in 1871. Adherents of the 1871 government were Communards.
communion (n.): late 14c., from Old French comunion "community, communion" (12c.), from Latin communionem (nominative communio) "fellowship, mutual participation, a sharing," used in Late Latin ecclesiastical language for "participation in the sacrament," from communis (see common (adj.)). Used by Augustine, in belief that the word was derived from com- "with, together" + unus "oneness, union."
companion (n.): c. 1300, from Old French compagnon "fellow, mate, friend, partner" (12c.), from Late Latin companionem (nominative companio), literally "bread fellow, messmate," from Latin com- "with" (see com-) + panis "bread," from PIE root *pa- "to feed" (see food).

Found first in 6c. Frankish Lex Salica, and probably a translation of a Germanic word (compare Gothic gahlaiba "messmate," from hlaib "loaf of bread"). Replaced Old English gefera "traveling companion," from faran "go, fare."
compliment (n.): "An act, or expression of civility, usually understood to include some hypocrisy, and to mean less than it declares" [Johnson], 1570s, complement, via French compliment (17c.), from Italian complimento "expression of respect and civility," from Vulgar Latin *complire, for Latin complere "to complete" (see complete (adj.)), via notion of "complete the obligations of politeness." Same word as complement but by a different etymological route; differentiated by spelling after 1650.
compost (n.): late 14c., compote, from Old French composte "mixture of leaves, manure, etc., for fertilizing land" (13c.), also "condiment," from Vulgar Latin *composita, noun use of fem. of Latin compositus, past participle of componere "to put together" (see composite). The fertilizer sense is attested in English from 1580s, and the French word in this sense is a 19th century borrowing from English.
condom (n.): 1706, traditionally named for a British physician during reign of Charles II (a story traceable to 1709), but there is no evidence for that. Also spelled condam, quondam, which suggests it may be from Italian guantone, from guanto "a glove." A word omitted in the original OED (c. 1890) and not used openly in the U.S. and not advertised in mass media until November 1986 speech by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop on AIDS prevention. Compare prophylactic.
condominium (n.): c. 1714, "joint rule or sovereignty," from Modern Latin condominium "joint sovereignty," apparently coined in German c. 1700 from Latin com- "together" (see com-) + dominum "right of ownership" (see domain). A word in politics and international law until sense of "privately owned apartment" arose in American English 1962 as a special use of the legal term.
arrange (v.): late 14c., "draw up a line of battle," from Old French arengier (12c.), from a- "to" (see ad-) + rangier "set in a row" (Modern French ranger), from rang "rank," from Frankish *hring (see rank (n.)).

A rare word until the meaning generalized to "to place things in order" c. 1780-1800. Musical sense of "adapt for other instruments or voices" is from 1808. Related: Arranged; arranging. Arranged marriage attested from 1854.
arsenal (n.): c. 1500, "dockyard, dock with naval stores," from Italian arzenale, from Arabic dar as-sina'ah "workshop," literally "house of manufacture," from dar "house" + sina'ah "art, craft, skill," from sana'a "he made."

Applied by the Venetians to a large wharf in their city, which was the earliest reference of the English word. Sense of "public place for making or storing weapons and ammunition" is from 1570s. The London football club (1886) was named for the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, where the original players worked.
mizzen (n.): "aftermost fore-and-aft sail of a three-masted ship," early 15c., from Middle French misaine "foresail, foremast," altered (by influence of Italian mezzana "mizzen") from Old French migenne, from Catalan mitjana, from Latin medianus "of the middle" (see median). The sense in this transmission must have been something other than "middle," or the thing described changed, because the "middle" mast on a ship is the mainmast. Klein suggests an alternate etymology of the French word from Arabic, via Italian.
moccasin (n.): "North American Indian shoe" (made of deerskin or soft leather), 1610s, from an Algonquian language of Virginia, probably Powhatan makasin "shoe," from Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian *mockasin, similar to Southern New England Algonquian *makkusin, Munsee Delaware mahkusin, Ojibwa makizin. The venomous snake of southern U.S. (1784) is perhaps a different word, but Bright regards them as identical.
molecule (n.): 1794, "extremely minute particle," from French molécule (1670s), from Modern Latin molecula, diminutive of Latin moles "mass, barrier" (see mole (3)). For ending see -cule. A vague meaning at first; the vogue for the word (used until late 18c. only in Latin form) can be traced to the philosophy of Descartes. First used of Modern Latin molecula in modern scientific sense by Amedeo Avogadro (1811).
Moll: female proper name, shortened form of Molly, itself familiar for Mary. Used from c. 1600 for "prostitute;" meaning "companion of a thief" is first recorded 1823. A general word for "woman" in old underworld slang, for instance Moll-buzzer "pickpocket who specializes in women;" Moll-tooler "female pick-pocket." U.S. sense of "a gangster's girlfriend" is from 1923.
pine (v.): Old English pinian "to torture, torment, afflict, cause to suffer," from *pine "pain, torture, punishment," possibly ultimately from Latin poena "punishment, penalty," from Greek poine (see penal). A Latin word borrowed into Germanic (Middle Dutch pinen, Old High German pinon, German Pein, Old Norse pina) with Christianity. Intransitive sense of "to languish, waste away," the main modern meaning, is first recorded early 14c. Related: Pined; pining.
turtle (n.1): "tortoise," c. 1600, originally "marine tortoise," from French tortue, tortre (13c.) "turtle, tortoise" (often associated with diabolical beasts), of unknown origin. The English word perhaps is a sailors' mauling of the French one, influenced by the similar sounding turtle (n.2). Later extended to land tortoises; sea-turtle is attested from 1610s.
tyke (n.): late 14c., "cur, mongrel," from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse tik "bitch," from Proto-Germanic *tikk- (source also of Middle Low German tike). Also applied in Middle English to a low-bred or lazy man. The meaning "child" is from 1902, though the word was used in playful reproof from 1894. As a nickname for a Yorkshireman, from c. 1700; "Perhaps originally opprobrious; but now accepted and owned" [OED].
attach (v.): mid-14c. (mid-13c. in Anglo-Latin), "to take or seize (property or goods) by law," a legal term, from Old French atachier (11c.), earlier estachier "to attach, fix; stake up, support" (Modern French attacher, also compare Italian attaccare), perhaps from a- "to" + Frankish *stakon "a post, stake" or a similar Germanic word (see stake (n.)). Meaning "to fasten, affix, connect" is from c. 1400. Related: Attached; attaching.
aubergine (n.): "eggplant," 1794, from French aubergine, "fruit of the eggplant" (Solanum esculentum), diminutive of auberge "a kind of peach," variant of alberge, from Spanish alberchigo "apricot" [OED]. Klein derives the French word from Catalan alberginera, from Arabic al-badinjan "the eggplant," from Persian badin-gan, from Sanskrit vatigagama. As a color like that of the eggplant fruit, it is attested from 1895.
mull (v.1): "ponder," 1873, perhaps from a figurative use of Middle English mullyn "grind to powder, pulverize," from molle "dust, ashes, rubbish" (c. 1300), probably from Middle Dutch mul "grit, loose earth," related to mill (n.1). But Webster's (1879) defined it as "to work steadily without accomplishing much," which may connect it to earlier identical word in athletics sense of "to botch, muff" (1862). Related: Mulled; mulling.
multi-: before vowels mult-, word-forming element meaning "many, many times, much," from comb. form of Latin multus "much, many," from PIE *ml-to-, from root *mel- "strong, great, numerous" (source also of Latin melior "better," Greek mala "very, very much"). Many words that use it (multinational, etc.) are 20c. coinages.
multifarious (adj.): 1590s, from Latin multifarius "manifold," from multifariam (adv.) "on many sides; in many places or parts," perhaps originally "that which can be expressed in many ways," from multi- "many" (see multi-) + -fariam, adverbial suffix (compare bifariam "in two places"), from PIE *dwi-dhe- "making two." Related: Multifariously; multifariousness. Earlier forms of the word in English were multiphary (adv.); multipharie (adj.), both mid-15c.
musk (n.): late 14c., from Old French musc (13c.) and directly from Late Latin muscus, from Late Greek moskhos, from Persian mushk, from Sanskrit muska-s "testicle," from mus "mouse" (so called, presumably, for resemblance; see muscle). The deer gland was thought to resemble a scrotum. German has moschos, from a Medieval Latin form of the Late Greek word. Spanish has almizcle, from Arabic al misk "the musk," from Persian. Applied to various plants and animals of similar smell (such as musk-ox, 1744).
mussel (n.): Old English muscle, musscel "shellfish, mussel," from Late Latin muscula (source of Old French musle, Modern French moule, Middle Dutch mosscele, Dutch mossel, Old High German muscula, German Muschel), from Latin musculus "mussel," literally "little mouse," also "muscle;" like muscle, derived from mus "mouse" on the perceived similarity of size and shape. The modern spelling, distinguishing the word from muscle, first recorded c. 1600, not fully established until 1870s.
mustang (n.): "small, half-wild horse of the American prairie," 1808, from Mexican Spanish mestengo "animal that strays" (16c.), from Spanish mestengo "wild, stray, ownerless," literally "belonging to the mesta," an association of cattle ranchers who divided stray or unclaimed animals that got "mixed" with the herds, from Latin mixta "mixed," fem. past participle of miscere "to mix" (see mix (v.)).

Said to be influenced by the Spanish word mostrenco "straying, wild," which is probably from mostrar, from Latin monstrare "to show."
squab (n.): 1680s, "very young bird," earlier (1630s) "unformed, lumpish person" and used at various times for any sort of flabby mass, such as sofa cushions; probably from a Scandinavian word (compare dialectal Swedish skvabb "loose or fat flesh," skvabba "fat woman"), from Proto-Germanic *(s)kwab-. Klein lists cognates in Old Prussian gawabo "toad," Old Church Slavonic zaba "frog."
squaw (n.): "American Indian woman," 1630s, from Massachuset (Algonquian) squa "woman" (cognate with Narraganset squaws "woman"). "Over the years it has come to have a derogatory sense and is now considered offensive by many Native Americans" [Bright]. Widespread in U.S. place names, sometimes as a translation of a local native word for "woman."
stag (n.): late 12c., probably from Old English stagga "a stag," from Proto-Germanic *stag-, from PIE *stegh- "to prick, sting" (see sting (v.)). The Old Norse equivalent was used of male foxes, tomcats, and dragons; and the Germanic root word perhaps originally meant "male animal in its prime." Meaning "pertaining to or composed of males only" (stag party) is American English slang from 1848. Stag film "pornographic movie" is attested from 1968. Stag beetle, so called for its" horns," is from 1680s.
stance (n.): 1530s, "standing place, station," probably from Middle French stance "resting place, harbor" (16c.), from Vulgar Latin *stantia "place, abode" (also source of Italian stanza "stopping place, station, stanza," Spanish stancia "a dwelling"), from Latin stans (genitive stantis), present participle of stare "to stand," from PIE root *stā- "to stand" (see stet). Sense of "position of the feet" (in golf, etc.) is first recorded 1897; figurative sense of "point of view" is recorded from 1956. The sense of the French word has since narrowed.
primer (n.1): late 14c., "prayer-book," also "school book" (senses not distinguished in Middle Ages, as reading was taught from prayer books), from Medieval Latin primarius, from Latin primus "first" (see prime (adj.)). The word also might be all or in part from prime (n.) on the same notion as a "Book of Hours." Meaning "small introductory book on any topic" is from 1807.
-ship: word-forming element meaning "quality, condition; act, power, skill; office, position; relation between," Middle English -schipe, from Old English -sciepe, Anglian -scip "state, condition of being," from Proto-Germanic *-skapaz (cognates: Old Norse -skapr, Danish -skab, Old Frisian -skip, Dutch -schap, German -schaft), from *skap- "to create, ordain, appoint," from PIE root *(s)kep-, forming words meaning "to cut, scrape, hack" (see shape (v.)).
spondulicks (n.): 1856, American English slang, "money, cash," of unknown origin, said to be from Greek spondylikos, from spondylos, a seashell used as currency (the Greek word means literally "vertebra"). "[U]sed by Mark Twain and by O. Henry and since then adopted into British English" [Barnhart], where it survived after having faded in the U.S.
prim: 1680s (v.) "to assume a formal, precise demeanor," perhaps from French prim "thin, small, delicate," from Old French prim "fine, delicate," from Latin primus "finest," literally "first" (see prime (adj.)). Later, "deck out, dress to effect" (1721). Attested as a noun from 1700. The adjective, the sole surviving sense, is from 1709. A cant word at first. Related: Primly; primness.
preach (v.): at first in late Old English predician, a loan word from Church Latin; reborrowed 12c. as preachen, from Old French preechier "to preach, give a sermon" (11c., Modern French précher), from Late Latin praedicare "to proclaim publicly, announce" (in Medieval Latin "to preach"), from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + dicare "to proclaim, to say" (see diction). Related: Preached; preaching. To preach to the converted is recorded from 1867 (form preach to the choir attested from 1979).
predicament (n.): early 15c., "category, class; one of Aristotle's 10 categories," from Medieval Latin predicamentum, from Late Latin praedicamentum "quality, category, something predicted, that which is asserted," from Latin praedicatus, past participle of praedicare (see predicate). Praedicamentum is a loan-translation of Greek kategoria, Aristotle's word. The meaning "unpleasant situation" is first recorded 1580s.