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).
-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.).
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.
fabric: 1483, "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 is c.1450, from L. fabricatus, pp. of fabricare "to fashion, build," from fabrica. In bad sense of "to tell a lie," etc., it is first recorded 1779.
fabulous: 1546, from L. fabulosus "celebrated in fable," from fabula (see fable). From "mythical," sense of "incredible" first recorded 1609. 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: 1656, 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. To lose face (or save face), 1876, is said to be from Chinese tu lien; to face the music is theatrical. Face-lift (n.) first recorded 1934, from face-lifting (1922).
facet: 1625, from Fr. facette, from O.Fr., dim. of face (see face). The diamond-cutting sense is the original one.
facetious: 1592, 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]
facile: 1483, 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 1611.
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).
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: 1662, from L. fac simile "make similar," from fac imperative of facere "to make" (see factitious) + simile, neut. of similis "like, similar."
fact: 1539, "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 1632, 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. Factoid is from 1973, 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]
faction: 1509, 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."
factious: 1532, from M.Fr. factieux, from L. factiosus "inclined to form parties," from factionem (see faction).
factitious: 1646, 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").
factor (n.): 1432, "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.
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).
faculty: 1382, "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 Eng. (attested in Anglo-L. from 1184), on notion of "ability in knowledge." Originally each department was a faculty; the use in ref. 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."
fade: c.1320, 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."
faerie: 1590, var. of fairy (q.v.), probably existing in M.E., but first attested in Spenser's "Faery Queene," where he used it in his own sense, to mean "the realm of fairies," in a dignified and poetic sense divorced from the common folk tales.
fag (v.): "to droop, decline, tire," 1530, apparently an alteration of flag in its verbal sense of "droop." Trans. sense of "to make (someone or something) fatigued" is first attested 1826.
fag (n.): British slang for "cigarette" (originally, especially, the butt of a smoked cigarette), 1888, probably from fag-end "extreme end, loose piece" (1613), from fag "loose piece" (1486), perhaps related to fag (v.).
faggot (1): 1279, "bundle of twigs bound up," from O.Fr. fagot "bundle of sticks," from It. faggotto, dim. of V.L. *facus, from L. fascis "bundle of wood" (see fasces). Esp. used for burning heretics (a sense attested from 1555), so that phrase fire and faggot was used to mean "punishment of a heretic." Heretics who recanted were required to wear an embroidered figure of a faggot on their sleeve, as an emblem and reminder of what they deserved.
faggot (2): "male homosexual," 1914, Amer.Eng. slang (shortened form fag is from 1921), probably from earlier contemptuous term for "woman" (1591), especially an old and unpleasant one, in reference to faggot (1) "bundle of sticks," as something awkward that has to be carried (cf. baggage). It was used in this sense in 20c. by D.H. Lawrence and James Joyce, among others. It may also be reinforced by Yiddish faygele "homosexual," lit. "little bird." It also may have roots in Brit. public school slang fag "a junior who does certain duties for a senior" (1785), with suggestions of "catamite," from fag (v.). This was also used as a verb.
"He [the prefect] used to fag me to blow the chapel organ for him." ["Boy's Own Paper," 1889]
Other obsolete senses of faggot were "man hired into military service simply to fill out the ranks at muster" (1700) and "vote manufactured for party purposes" (1817). The oft-heard statement that male homosexuals were called faggots in reference to their being burned at the stake is an etymological urban legend. Burning was sometimes a punishment meted out to homosexuals in Christian Europe (on the suggestion of the Biblical fate of Sodom and Gomorah), but in England, where parliament had made homosexuality a capital offense in 1533, hanging was the method prescribed. Any use of faggot in connection with public executions had long become an English historical obscurity by the time the word began to be used for "male homosexual" in 20th century American slang, whereas the contemptuous slang word for "woman" (and the other possible sources or influences listed here) was in active use.
Fahrenheit: 1753, named for Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit (1686-1736), Prussian physicist who proposed the scale in 1714. An abstract surname meaning lit. "experience."
fail: early 13c., from O.Fr. faillir "be lacking, miss, not succeed," from V.L. *fallire, from L. fallere "deceive, be lacking or defective." Replaced O.E. abreoðan. The Anglo-Norm. form, failer, came to be used as a noun, hence failure (1640s). Fail-safe dates from 1948.
fain: O.E. fægen, fagen "glad, cheerful, happy," from a common Gmc. root (cf. O.N. feginn "glad," O.H.G. faginon, Goth. faginon "to rejoice").
faint (adj.): c.1300, "wanting in courage," now mostly in faint-hearted (c.1440), from O.Fr. faint "soft, weak, sluggish," pp. of faindre "avoid one's duty by pretending" (see feign). Sense of "weak, feeble" is c.1320. Meaning "producing a feeble impression upon the senses" is from 1660. The v. originally meant "to lose heart" (c.1350); sense of "swoon" is c.1400.
fair (adj.): O.E. fæger "beautiful, pleasant," from P.Gmc. *fagraz (cf. O.N. fagr, O.H.G. fagar "beautiful," Goth. fagrs "fit"), from PIE *fag-. The meaning in ref. to weather (c.1200) preserves the original sense (opposed to foul). Sense of "light complexioned" (1550s) reflects tastes in beauty; sense of "free from bias" (mid-14c.) evolved from another early meaning, "morally pure, unblemished" (late 12c.). The sporting senses (fair ball, fair catch etc.) began in 1856. Fair play is from 1590s; fair and square is from c.1600. Fair-haired in the fig. sense of "darling, favorite" is from 1909. Fairly in the sense of "somewhat" is from 1805; it earlier meant "totally." Fairway (1584) originally meant "navigational channel of a river;" golfing sense is from 1910. First record of fair-weather friends is from 1736.
fair (n.): early 14c., from Anglo-Fr. feyre (late 13c.), from O.Fr. feire, from V.L. *feria "holiday, market fair," from L. feriæ "religious festival, holiday" (see feast).
fairing: "piece added for streamlining purposes," 1865, from fair (v.) a ship-building word meaning "to make fair or level, to correct curvatures," from fair (adj.).
fairy: c.1300, "enchantment, magic," from O.Fr. faerie "land of fairies, meeting of fairies, enchantment, magic," from fae "fay," from L. fata (pl.) "the Fates." In ref. to a class of supernatural beings, the word is used from 1393. The slang meaning "effeminate male homosexual" is first recorded 1895. Fairy tale "oral narrative centered on magical tests, quests, and transformations" (1749) translates Fr. Conte de feés of Madame d'Aulnois (1698, translated into Eng. 1699). Fairy ring is from 1599. Fossil sea urchins found on the Eng. downlands were called fairy loaves.
fait accompli: 1845, from Fr., lit. "an accomplished fact" (see feat).
faith: c.1250, "duty of fulfilling one's trust," from O.Fr. feid, from L. fides "trust, belief," from root of fidere "to trust," from PIE base *bhidh-/*bhoidh- (cf. Gk. pistis; see bid). For sense evolution, see belief. Theological sense is from 1382; religions called faiths since c.1300. Faith-healer is from 1885. Old Faithful geyser named 1870 by explorer Gen. H.D. Washburn, Surveyor-General of the Montana Territory, in ref. to the regularity of its outbursts.
fake: attested in London criminal slang as adj. (1775), verb (1812), and noun (1827), but probably older. Likely source is feague "to spruce up by artificial means," from Ger. fegen "polish, sweep," also "to clear out, plunder" in colloquial use. "Much of our early thieves' slang is Ger. or Du., and dates from the Thirty Years' War" [Weekley]. Or it may be from L. facere "to do."
fakir: 1609, from Arabic faqir "a poor man," from faqura "he was poor." Term for Muslim holy man who lived by begging, misapplied in 19c. Eng. (possibly under influence of faker) to Hindu ascetics. Arabic plural form fuqara may have led to variant early Eng. forms such as fuckiere (1638).
Falangist: 1937, member of the Falange, the fascist party in Spain (founded 1933), from Sp. Falange (Española) "(Spanish) Phalanx," from L. phalanx (gen. phalangis), see phalanx.
Falasha: "dark-skinned Jewish tribe of Abyssinia," 1710, from Ethiop., lit. "exiled, wanderer, immigrant," from falasa "he wandered."
falchion: "broad sword, somewhat curved," c.1300, from O.Fr. fauchon, from V.L. falcionem, from L. falx "sickle."
falcon: c.1250, from O.Fr. faucon, from L.L. falconem (nom. falco), probably from L. falx (gen. falcis) "sickle," usually said to be so called for the shape of its talons or beak, but possibly from the shape of its spread wings. The other theory is that falx is of Gmc. origin, which is supported by the antiquity of the word in Gmc. but opposed by those who point out that falconry by all evidences was imported from the East, and the Germans got it from the Romans, not the other way around.
falderol: 1701, nonsense refrain in songs; meaning "gewgaw, trifle" is attested from 1820.
fall (v.): O.E. feallan (class VII strong verb; past tense feoll, pp. feallen), from P.Gmc. *fallanan (cf. O.N. falla, O.H.G. fallan), from PIE base *phol- "to fall" (cf. Armenian p'ul "downfall," Lith. puola "to fall," O.Prus. aupallai "finds," lit. "falls upon"). Noun sense of "autumn" (now only in U.S.) is 1664, short for fall of the leaf (1545). That of "cascade, waterfall" is from 1579. Most of the figurative senses had developed in M.E. Meaning "to be reduced" (as temperature) is from 1658. To fall in love is attested from 1530; to fall asleep is 1393. Fall guy is from 1906. Fallout "radioactive particles" is from 1950. Fallen "morally ruined" is from 1628.