Online Etymology Dictionary

-fest: in compounds such as hen-fest, gab-fest, etc., 1889, Amer.Eng., borrowed from Ger. Fest "festival," abstracted from Volksfest, etc., from M.H.G. vëst, from L. festum (see festivity).
-fication: suffix meaning "a making or causing," from L. -ficationem, acc. of -ficatio, ult. from facere "to make, do" (see factitious).
-fid: comb. form meaning “split, divided into parts,” from L. -fidus, related to findere “to split” (see fissure).
-fold: multiplicative suffix, from O.E. -feald, related to O.N. -faldr; Ger. -falt; Goth. falþs; Gk. -paltos, -plos; L. -plus. Crowded out in Eng. by Latinate double, triple, etc., but still in manifold (q.v.).
-fuge: from Mod.L. -fugus, with sense from L. fugare "to put to flight," but form from L. fugere "to flee."
-ful: O.E. -full, -ful, from suffix use of full (adj.).
fa: fourth note in Guidonian scale; see gamut.
fab: 1957, slang shortening of fabulous (q.v.).
Fabian: "socialist," from Fabian Society, founded in Britain 1884, named for Quintus Fabius Maximus (surnamed Cunctator "the Delayer"), the cautious tactician who opposed Hannibal in the Second Punic War. The Fabians sought to draw a distinction between their slow-going tactics and those of anarchists and communists. The Latin gens name is possibly from faba "a bean."
fable: c.1300, from O.Fr. fable, from L. fabula "story, play, fable," lit. "that which is told," from fari "speak, tell," from PIE base *bha- "speak" (see fame). Sense of "animal story" comes from Aesop. In modern folklore terms, defined as "a short, comic tale making a moral point about human nature, usually through animal characters behaving in human ways." Most trace to Greece or India.
fabled: c.1600, “unreal, invented,” pp. adj. from fable (v.) “to tell tales” (late 14c.); see fable. Meaning “celebrated in fable” is from 1706.
fabric: late 15c., "building, thing made," from M.Fr. fabrique, from L. fabrica "workshop," from faber "artisan who works in hard materials." Sense evolved via "manufactured material" (1753) to "textile" (1791).
fabricate: mid-15c., from L. fabricatus, pp. of fabricare "to fashion, build," from fabrica (see fabric). In bad sense of "to tell a lie," etc., it is first recorded 1779. Related: Fabricated; fabricating.
fabrication: c.1500, “manufacturing,” from L. fabricationem, noun of action from fabricare (see fabricate). Meaning “lying, falsehood, forgery” is from late 18c.
fabulist: 1590s, from Fr. fabuliste, from L. fabula (see fable).
fabulous: early 15c., from L. fabulosus "celebrated in fable," from fabula (see fable). From "mythical," sense of "incredible" first recorded c.1600. Slang shortening fab first recorded 1957; popularized in reference to The Beatles, c.1963.
"Fabulous (often contracted to fab(s)) and fantastic are also in that long list of words which boys and girls use for a time to express high commendation and then get tired of, such as, to go no farther back than the present century, topping, spiffing, ripping, wizard, super, posh, smashing." [Fowler, 1965]
facade: 1650s, from Fr. façade, It. facciata, from faccia "face," from V.L. *facia (see face).
face (n.): late 13c., from O.Fr. face, from V.L. *facia, from L. facies "appearance, form, figure," and secondarily "visage, countenance;" probably related to facere "to make" (see factitious). Replaced O.E. andwlita. To face (v.) "confront" is first recorded mid-15c. Related: Faced. Facing “front or outer part of a wall, building, etc., is from 1823. To lose face (or save face), 1876, is said to be from Chinese tu lien; to face the music is theatrical. Face value was originally (1878) of bank notes, postage stamps, etc.
facebook: directory listing names and headshots, by 1983, originally U.S. college students, from face (n.) + book. The social networking Web site dates from 2004.
facelift: also face-lift (n.), 1934, from face-lifting (1922); see face + lift.
facet: 1620s, from Fr. facette, from O.Fr., dim. of face (see face). The diamond-cutting sense is the original one. Related: Faceted; facets.
facetious: 1590s, from Fr. facétieux, from facétie "a joke," from L. facetia, from facetus "witty, elegant," of unknown origin, perhaps related to facis "torch." It implies a desire to be amusing, often intrusive or ill-timed. "Facetiæ in booksellers' catalogues, is, like curious, a euphemism for erotica." [Fowler] Related: Facetiously; facetiousness.
facia: variant of fascia.
facial (adj.): c.1600, from Fr. facial, from M.L. facialis “of the face,” from facies (see face (n.)). The noun meaning “beauty treatment for the face” is from 1914.
facile: late 15c., from M.Fr. facile "easy," from L. facilis "easy to do" and, of persons, "pliant, courteous," from facere "to do" (see factitious). Facilitate is from 1610s.
facile princeps: 1834, from L., lit. "easily first." An acknowledged leader or chief.
facilis descensus Averni: 1618, from L., lit. "the descent of Avernus (is) easy" [Virgil, "Aeneid," VI.126], in ref. to Avernus, a deep lake near Puteoli, a reputed entrance to the underworld; hence, "it is easy to slip into moral ruin."
facilitate: 1610s, from Fr. faciliter "to render easy," from L. facilis "easy" (see facile). Related: Facilitated; facilitates; facilitating.
facilitation: 1610s, from facilitate + -tion.
facilitative: 1864, from facilitate + -ive.
facilitator: 1824, agent noun from facilitate.
facilities: “opportunities,” 1809, pl. of facility. Sense of “physical means of doing something” is from 1872.
facility: early 15c., from M.Fr. facilité, from L. facilitatem, from facilis "easy" (see facile). Its sense in English moved from "genteelness" to "opportunity" (1510s), to "aptitude, ease" (1530s). Meaning "place for doing something," which makes the word so beloved of journalists and fuzzy writers, first recorded 1872.
facsimile: 1660s, from L. fac simile "make similar," from fac imperative of facere "to make" (see factitious) + simile, neut. of similis "like, similar."
fact: 1530s, "action," especially "evil deed," from L. factum "event, occurrence," lit. "thing done," from neut. pp. of facere "to do" (see factitious). Usual modern sense of "thing known to be true" appeared 1630s, from notion of "something that has actually occurred." Facts of life "harsh realities" is from 1854; specific sense of "human sexual functions" first recorded 1913.
faction: c.1500, from L. factionem (nom. factio) "political party, class of persons," lit. "a making or doing," from facere "to do" (see factitious). In ancient Rome, "one of the companies of contractors for the chariot races in the circus."
factionalism: 1904, Amer.Eng., from factional + -ism.
factious: 1530s, from M.Fr. factieux, from L. factiosus "inclined to form parties," from factionem (see faction).
factitious: 1640s, from L. factitius "artificial," from factus, pp. of facere "do" (cf. Fr. faire, Sp. hacer), from PIE base *dhe- "to put, to do" (cf. Skt. dadhati "puts, places;" Avestan dadaiti "he puts;" O.Pers. ada "he made;" Hitt. dai- "to place;" Gk. tithenai "to put, set, place;" Lith. deti "to put;" Czech diti, Pol. dziac', Rus. det' "to hide," delat' "to do;" O.H.G. tuon, Ger. tun, O.S., O.E. don "to do;" O.Fris. dua, O.Swed. duon, Goth. gadeths "a doing;" O.N. dalidun "they did").
factoid: 1973, from fact + -oid, first explained, if not coined, by Norman Mailer.
"Factoids ... that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority." [N. Mailer, "Marilyn," 1973]
factor (n.): early 15c., "agent, deputy," from M.Fr. facteur "agent, representative," from L. factor "doer or maker," from facere "to do" (see factitious). Sense of "circumstance producing a result" is from 1816; the v. use in mathematics is attested from 1837. Related: Factored; factoring.
factorial: 1816 (n.), 1837 (adj.), from factor + -al (2).
factory: 1560, "estate manager's office," from M.Fr. factorie, from L.L. factorium "office for agents (factors)," also "oil press, mill," from L. factor "doer, maker." Sense of "building for making goods" is first attested 1618.
factotum: 1566, from M.L. fac totum "do everything," from fac, imperative of facere "do" (see factitious) + totum "all" (see total).
factual: 1834, from fact on model of actual. Related: Factually.
faculties: early 16c., “powers or properties of one’s self;” also “physical functions,” plural of faculty.
faculty: late 14c., "ability, means, resources," from O.Fr. faculté, from L. facultatem (nom. facultas) "power, ability, wealth," from *facli-tat-s, from facilis (see facile). Academic sense was probably the earliest in English (attested in Anglo-L. from late 12c.), on notion of "ability in knowledge." Originally each department was a faculty; the use in reference to the whole teaching staff of a college dates from 1767.
fad: 1834, "hobby, pet project;" 1881 as "fashion, craze," perhaps shortened from fiddle-faddle. Or perhaps from Fr. fadaise "trifle, nonsense," ult. from L. fatuus "stupid."
faddish: 1855, from fad + -ish.
fade: early 14c., from O.Fr. fader, from fade "pale, weak, insipid," probably from V.L. *fatidus, some sort of blending of L. fatuus "silly, tasteless" + vapidus "flat, flavorless." Related: Faded; fading.