Online Etymology Dictionary

egret: c.1353, from O.Fr. aigrette, from O.Prov. aigreta, dim. of aigron "heron," probably of Gmc. origin (cf. O.H.G. heigaro; see heron).
Egypt: from Fr. Egypte, from Gk. Aigyptos "the river Nile, Egypt," from Amarna Hikuptah, corresponding to Egypt. Ha(t)-ka-ptah "temple of the soul of Ptah," the creative god associated with Memphis, the ancient city of Egypt. Strictly one of the names of Memphis, it was taken by the Greeks as the name of the whole country. The Egyptian name, Kemet, means "black country," possibly in ref. to the rich delta soil. The Arabic is Misr, which is derived from Mizraim, the name of a son of Biblical Ham.
Egyptian: late 14c., Egypcyan; see Egypt.
eh: 1560s as an exclamation of sorrow; with questions, from 1773.
eider: 1743, from Ger. Eider or Du. eider, both from O.N. æþar, gen. of æþr "duck."
eiderdown: 1774; see eider + down (n.). Ultimately from Icelandic æðardun, via a Scandinavian source (cf. Dan. ederdunn) or Ger. eiderdon.
eidetic: "pertaining to the faculty of projecting images," 1924, from Ger. eidetisch, coined by Ger. psychologist Erich Jaensch (1883-1940), from Gk. eidetikos "pertaining to images," also "pertaining to knowledge," from eidesis "knowledge," from eidos "form, shape" (see -oid).
eidolon: 1828, from Gk. eidolon (see idol).
Eiffel Tower: erected in the Champ-de-Mars for the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889; at 984.25 feet the world's tallest structure at the time. Designed by Fr. engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923).
eight: O.E. eahta, æhta, from P.Gmc. *akhto(u) (cf. O.N. atta, Ger. acht, Goth. ahtau), from PIE *okto (cf. Gk. okto, L. octo, O.Ir. ocht-n, Bret. eiz, Skt. astau, Avestan ashta). Klein calls it "an old dual form, orig. meaning 'twice four.' " Meaning "eight-man crew of a rowing boat" is from 1847. The Spanish piece of eight (1690s) was so called because it was worth eight reals. To be behind the eight ball "in trouble" (1932) is a metaphor from shooting pool.
eighteen: O.E. eahtatene, eahtatyne; see eight + -teen.
eighth: O.E. eahtoða; see eight + -th.
eighty: O.E. hundeahtatig, with from hund- "ten." See eight + -ty (1). Modern form attested by late 13c. Eighties in reference to a decade of years is recorded from 1883.
eighty-six: slang for "eliminate," 1936, originated at lunch counters, a cook's word for "none" when asked for something not available, probably rhyming slang for nix.
Eileen: fem. proper name, from Celtic (cf. Ir. Eibhlin) but influenced in form by Helen.
eisegesis: the reading of one's own ideas into scripture, 1878, from Gk. eis "in, into" + ending from exegesis.
eisteddfod: "annual assembly of Welsh bards," 1822, from W., lit. "session," from eistedd "to sit" (from sedd "seat") + bod "to be."
either: O.E. ægðer, contraction of æghwæðer "each of two, both," from a "always" + ge- collective prefix + hwæðer "which of two, whether." Modern sense of "one or the other of two" is early 14c. Use of either-or to suggest an unavoidable choice between alternatives (1931) in some cases reflects Dan. enten-eller, title of an 1843 book by Kierkegaard.
ejaculate: 1570s, "emit semen," from L. ejaculatus, pp. of ejaculari, from ex- "out" + jaculari "to throw, dart," from jaculum "javelin," from jacere "to throw." Only other surviving sense is "exclaim suddenly" (1660s). Related: Ejaculated; ejaculating.
ejaculation: c.1600, of fluids; 1620s, of utterances, from ejaculate + -tion.
eject: 1550s, from L. ejectus, pp. of ejicere, eicere "throw out," from ex- "out" + -icere, comb. form of jacere "to throw."
ejection: 1610s, from L. ejectionem, noun of action from ejicere (see eject). The jet pilot's ejection seat (also ejector seat) is from 1945.
eke: c.1200, north England and E. Midlands var. of echen from O.E. ecan, eacan, eacian "addition, reinforcement," probably from eaca "an increase," from P.Gmc. *aukan (cf. O.N. auka, O.Fris. aka, Goth. aukan), from PIE *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Now mainly in phrase to eke out (1590s). It means "to make something go further or last longer;" you can eke out your income by taking a second job, but you can't eke out your miserable existence. Obsolete eke "also" (O.E. eac, Ger. auch) is probably related. Related: Eked; eking.
elaborate (adj.): 1590s, "produced by labor," from L. elaboratus, pp. of elaborare (see elaboration). Meaning "very detailed" is from 1620s.
elaborate (v.): c.1600, from L. elaborat-, pp. stem of elaborare (see elaboration). Related: Elaborated; elaborating.
elaborately: 1630s, see elaborate (adj.) + -ly (2).
elaboration: 1570s, in a physiological sense relating to tissue development, from L. elaborationem (nom. elaboratio), from elaborare "work out, produce by labor," from ex- "out" + laborare "to labor."
elan: 1877, from Fr. élan (16c.), noun derived from élancer "to rush, dart," from O.Fr. elancer, from e- "out" + lancer "to throw a lance," from L.L. lanceare, from L. lancea "lance."
eland: "large S. African antelope," 1786, from Du. eland "elk," from a Baltic source akin to Lith. elnias "deer," from PIE *el- "red, brown" (see elk), cognate with first element in Gk. Elaphebolion, name of the ninth month of the Attic year (corresponding to late March-early April), lit. "deer-hunting (month)."
elapse: 1640s, from M.Fr. elapser, from L. elapsus, pp. of elabi "slip or glide away," from ex- "out, away" + labi "to slip, glide." The noun now corresponding to elapse is lapse. Related: Elapsed; elapsing.
elasmosaurus: giant sea reptile from the Mezozoic, 1879, from Mod.L. (coined 1868 by E.D. Cope), from Gk. elasmos "metal plate" + sauros "lizard."
elastic (adj.): 1653, coined in Fr. (1651) as a scientific term to describe gases, from Gk. elastos "ductile, flexible," related to elaunein "to strike, beat out," of uncertain origin. Applied to solids from 1674. The noun, "cord or string woven with rubber," is 1847, Amer.Eng.
elasticity: 1660s, from elastic + -ity.
elate: late 14c., probably from L. elatus (see elation).
elated: 1610s, pp. adj. from elate.
elation: late 14c., from O.Fr. elacion, from L. elationem (nom. elatio), from elatus "elevated," pp. of efferre, from ex- "out" + latus (see oblate), pp. of ferre "carry" (see infer). Metaphoric sense of "lifting spirits" was in Latin and has always been the principal meaning in English.
elbow: O.E. elnboga, from ell "length of the forearm" + boga "bow, arch," from W.Gmc. *alinobogan, from P.Gmc. *elino-bugon, lit. "bend of the forearm." Second element related to O.E. bugan "to bend;" first element from *alina "arm," from PIE *el- "elbow, forearm" (see ell). The verb meaning "thrust with the elbow" is from 1605; fig. sense is from 1863. Phrase elbow grease "hard rubbing" is attested from 1672, from jocular sense of "the best substance for polishing furniture."
eld: poetic or archaic form of old; in some cases from O.E. eald.
elder (berry): O.E. ellæn, ellærn "elderberry tree," origin unknown, perhaps related to alder.
elder, eldest: O.E. (Mercian) eldra, eldrost, comp. and superl. of eald, ald "old;" only English survival of umlaut in comparison. Superseded by older, oldest since 16c. Elder statesman (1921) originally was a translation of Japanese genro. As a noun, elder was used in biblical translation for Gk. presbyter. The O.E. for "grandfather" was ealdfæder.
elderly: 1610s, from elder + -ly (1).
eldorado: 1596, from Sp. El Dorado "the golden one," name given 16c. to country or city believed to lie in the heart of the Amazon jungle, from pp. of dorar "to gild."
eldritch: c.1500, apparently somehow from elf.
Eleanor: from Provençal Ailenor, a variant of Leonore, introduced in England by Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122-1204), wife of Henry II.
elect (v.): late 15c., from L. electus, pp. of eligere (see election). Related: Elected; electing.
election: late 13c., from Anglo-Fr. eleccioun, from L. electionem, from stem of eligere "pick out, select," from ex- "out" + -ligere, comb. form of legere "to choose, read" (see lecture). Electioneer first attested 1789 in writing of Thomas Jefferson (probably on model of auctioneer, as the verb engineer was not yet in use).
elective: M.E., from L.L. electivus, from eligere (see election). In reference to school subjects studied at the student's choice, first recorded 1847.
elector: mid-15c., from L. elector, from eligere (see election).
electoral: 1670s, in reference to Germany, from elector + -al.
electorate: 1670s, in reference to Germany, from elector + -ate (1). Meaning “whole body of voters” is from 1879.