Online Etymology Dictionary

Hottentot (n.): 1670s, from South African Dutch, said in old Dutch sources to be a word that means "stammerer," from hot en tot "hot and tot," nonsense words imitative of stammering. The word was applied to the people for the clicking, jerking quality of Khoisan speech. Related: Hottentotic.
tog (n.): 1708, "outer garment," shortened from togman "cloak, loose coat" (1560s), thieves' cant word, formed from French togue "cloak," from Latin toga (see toga). Middle English toge "toga" (14c.) also was a cant word for "a coat."
boondoggle (n.): 1935, American English, of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget;" it also was by 1932 a Boy Scout term for a kind of woven braid.
drain (v.): Old English dreahnian "to drain, strain out," from Proto-Germanic *dreug-, source of drought, dry, giving the English word originally a sense of "make dry." Figurative meaning of "exhaust" is attested from 1650s. The word is not found in surviving texts between late Old English and the 1500s. Related: Drained; draining.
splice (v.): 1520s, originally a sailors' word, from Middle Dutch splissen "to splice" (Dutch splitsen), from Proto-Germanic *spli-, from PIE root *(s)plei- "to split, splice" (see flint). The Dutch word was borrowed in French as épisser. Used of motion picture film from 1912; of DNA from 1975. Related: Spliced; splicing; splicer.
skidoo (v.): a vogue word of 1905, "to leave in a hurry," perhaps a variant of skedaddle (q.v.). The association with twenty-three is as old as the word, but the exact connection is obscure.
Then skidoo, little girl, skidoo.
23 is the number for you.
[1906]
Chile: South American country, probably named from a local native word subsequently confused with Mexican Spanish chile "chili pepper" (see chili). Suggestions are that the native word means "land's end" or else "cold, winter," which would make a coincidental convergence with English chilly. Related: Chilean.
applesauce (n.): by 1739, American English, from apple + sauce. Slang meaning "nonsense" is attested from 1921 and was noted as a vogue word early 1920s. Mencken credits it to cartoonist T.A. ("Tad") Dorgan. DAS suggests the word was thus used because applesauce was cheap fare served in boardinghouses.
safari (n.): 1890 (attested from 1860 as a foreign word), from Swahili, literally "journey, expedition," from Arabic, literally "referring to a journey," from safar "journey" (which itself is attested in English as a foreign word from 1858). Used from 1920s of various articles of clothing suitable for safaris.
seine (n.): Old English segne "drag-net," from West Germanic *sagina (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German segina), a borrowing of Latin sagena (source also of French seine, 12c., which contributed to the form of the English word), from Greek sagene "a fishing net," also "a hunting net," a word of unknown origin.
Budapest: Hungarian capital, formed 1872 from merger of two cities on opposite shores of the Danube, Buda (probably from a word originally meaning "water") + Pest, a Hungarian word meaning "furnace, oven, cove," also in Slavic (compare Russian pech'). Compare Ofen, literally "oven," the old German name for the place.
glosso-: before vowels gloss-, word-forming element meaning "tongue," from Greek glosso-, used as a comb. form of glossa (Attic glotta) "tongue" (see gloss (n.2)). Also sometimes meaning "gloss, word inserted as explanation," as in glossography "the writing of glosses."
hyalo-: word-forming element in scientific compounds meaning "of glass; glass-like, transparent," from Greek hyalos "glass, clear alabaster, crystal lens used as a burning glass," apparently a non-Greek word, said to be of Egyptian origin (glass was first made in Egypt).
hylo-: word-forming element meaning "wood, forest," also "matter," from Greek hylos "a wood, a forest, woodland; wood, firewood, timber; stuff, material," used by Aristotle for "matter" in the philosophical sense; a word of unknown origin.
hazing (n.): "brutal initiation, act of abusing a newcomer," 1848, said to be a college word ("This word is used at Harvard College, to express the treatment which Freshmen sometimes receive from the higher classes, and especially from the Sophomores" -- "Collection of College Words and Customs," Boston, 1851), but perhaps originally nautical; see haze (v.).
fiance (n.): "man to whom one is betrothed," 1864 (by 1826 as a French word in English), from French fiancé, past participle of fiancer "to betroth" (see fiancee). Borrowed earlier in Middle English as "confidence, trust; word of honor."
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (n.): 1962, "A facetious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust' but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word" [OED]. Said in an early reference to have been invented by seventh grade students in Norfolk, Virginia.
clavier (n.): 1708, "keyboard," from French clavier, originally "a key-bearer," from Latin clavis "key" (see slot (n.2)). The French word also is the source of German Klavier, Dutch klavier, Danish klaver, etc. The German word is the direct source of the name of the musical instrument, a sense attested from 1845 in English.
dodger (n.): 1560s, "one who dodges," in the literal or figurative (especially underworld) senses of dodge. The U.S. word meaning "corn cake" is recorded from 1831, perhaps a different word (compare Northern English dialectal dodge "lump, large piece," 1560s).
conciseness (n.): "expression of much in few words," 1650s, from concise + -ness.
[Conciseness] is the English word familiar to the ordinary man: concision is the LITERARY CRITIC'S WORD, more recent in English, used by writers under French influence & often requiring the reader to stop & think whether he knows its meaning. [Fowler]
indention (n.): 1763, formed irregularly from indent (v.1). It could be a useful word if it split with indentation the two senses (relating to marginal notches and to dents) of that word, but indention, too, is used in both.
cocco-: word-forming element meaning "berry, seed," or something shaped like them, from Latinized form of Greek kokkos "a grain, a seed," especially "kermes-berry, gall of the kermes oak" (actually an insect), which yields scarlet dye, a word of unknown origin, perhaps from a non-Greek source.
ressentiment (n.): 1943, a word from Nietzsche, from German ressentiment, from French ressentiment (see resentment). The French word also was borrowed as obsolete English resentiment (16c.) "feeling or sense (of something); state of being deeply affected by (something); resentment."
care-worm (n.): a word listed in 2nd print edition OED, whose editors found it once, in the 1598 edition of W. Phillip's translation of John Huyghen van Linschoten's account of his voyage to the East Indies, and marked it "? error for EAREWORM." But care-worm could be a useful word.
thalasso-: before vowels thalass-, word-forming element meaning "sea, the sea," from comb. form of Greek thalassa "the sea" (in Homer, when used of a particular sea, "the Mediterranean," as opposed to okeanos), a word from a lost pre-Greek Mediterranean language. In Attic Greek thalatta, hence sometimes thalatto-.
cantrip (n.): "magical spell," 1719, a Scottish word of uncertain origin; despite much speculation it is unclear even where the word is divided, whether the second element is rope (perhaps a reference to knotted cords as magical devices) or trappa "a step" or some other thing.
hypso-: word-forming element meaning "height," from Greek hypsos "height, top," from PIE *upso-, from root *upo "under, up from under, over" (see sub-). The Greek word is cognate with Sanskrit os "above, over," Old Church Slavonic vysoku "high."
lender (n.): mid-15c., agent noun from lend (v.). Old English had laenere, agent noun from lænan; the Middle English word might be a new formation or it might be the older word with an intrusive -d- from lend.
bootlegger (n.): 1889, from bootleg (q.v.). The word enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. during Prohibition (1920-1933), and the abstracted element -legger was briefly active in word-formation, e.g. meatlegger during World War II rationing, booklegger for those who imported banned titles such as "Ulysses."
leu (n.): monetary unit of Romania, introduced 1867, literally "lion." Monetary names in the Balkans often translate as "lion" because Dutch gold coins stamped with lions circulated widely in the region in the 17c. and the word for "lion" came to be a word for "money" in some languages there.
bamboo (n.): 1590s, from Dutch bamboe, from Portuguese bambu, earlier mambu (16c.), probably from Malay samambu, though some suspect this is itself an imported word.
Dacron (n.): 1951, proprietary name (reg. U.S. Patent Office) by E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.; an invented word, on the model of nylon, etc.
geezer (n.): derisive word for an old man, 1885, according to OED a variant of obsolete Cockney guiser "mummer" (late 15c.; see guise).
kilter (n.): "order, good condition," in out of kilter (1620s), apparently a variant of English dialectal kelter (c. 1600) "good condition, order," a word of unknown origin.
hapax legomenon (n.): (plural legomena), "word occurring only once," Greek, literally "once said," from hapax "once only" + legomenon, neuter passive present participle of legein "to say."
kris (n.): short Malay dagger with a wavy blade, 1570s, said to be a Javanese word. In early use also spelled creese, etc.
namaste (n.): "salutatory gesture," 1948, from Hindi, from Sanskrit namas "bowing" + te, dative of tuam "you" (singular). Used as a word of greeting from 1967.
quinque-: before vowels quinqu-, word-forming element meaning "five, having five," from Latin quinque "five," by assimilation from PIE *penkwe (see five).
quoin (n.): 1530s, "a cornerstone," variant spelling of coin (n.); in early use also in other senses of that word, including "a wedge."
razzmatazz (n.): 1894, perhaps a varied reduplication of jazz (n.). The word had early associations with that kind of music (later especially in contrast to swing).
incipit: opening word of a Latin book or manuscript, Latin, literally "(here) begins," third person singular present indicative of incipere "begin" (see incipient).
glamor: an alternative spelling of glamour (q.v.), chiefly in U.S., but it defies the usual pattern by not being the predominant spelling of the word there.
adobe (n.): 1739, American English, from Spanish adobe, from oral form of Arabic al-tob "the brick," from Coptic tube "brick," a word found in hieroglyphics.
desmo-: before vowels desm-, word-forming element used in scientific compounds, from Greek desmos "bond, fastening, chain," from PIE root *de- "to bind."
Nina: fem. proper name; in a Russian context it is a shortening of Annina, diminutive of Greek Anna. In a Spanish context, Niña "child, infant," a nursery word.
cavalry (n.): 1540s, from Middle French cavalerie (16c.), from Italian cavalleria "mounted militia," from cavaliere (see cavalier (n.)). An Old English word for it was horshere.
-algia: word-forming element denoting "pain," from Greek algos "pain," algein "to feel pain," of unknown origin. Related to alegein "to care about," originally "to feel pain."
alkahest (n.): "universal solvent sought by alchemists," 1640s, from French alcahest, from Medieval Latin alcahest, a pseudo-Arabic word coined by Paracelsus (see alchemy).
dingle (n.): "deep dell or hollow, usually wooded," mid-13c., of unknown origin; a dialectal word until it entered literary use 17c.
equi-: before vowels equ-, word-forming element meaning "equal, having equal," from Latin aequi-, comb. form of aequus "equal, even" (see equal (adj.)).