Online Etymology Dictionary

mendicant: mid-15c., from L. mendicantem (nom. mendicans) "beggar," prp. of mendicare "to beg," from mendicus "beggar," originally "cripple" (connection via cripples who beg), from menda "fault, physical defect" (see mendacious). Earlier form in M.E. was mendinant (mid-14c.), from O.Fr. mendinant, prp. of mendiner "to beg," from the same L. source.
Menelaeus: king of Sparta, husband of Helen, brother of Agamemnon, L., from Gk. Menelaos, lit. "restraining the people," from menein "to stay, abide, remain" + laos "people."
menhaden: 1792, from Algonquian (probably Narragansett) munnawhateaug (1643), lit. "they fertilize," because the abundant little fishes were used by the Indians as fertilizer.
menhir: 1840, "upright monumental stone," lit. "long stone," from Fr., from Breton men "stone" + hir "long" (cf. Welsh maen hir, Cornish medn hir).
menial: 1387, "pertaining to a household," from Anglo-Fr. meignial, from O.Fr. mesnie "household," earlier mesnede, from V.L. *mansionata, from L. mansionem "dwelling" (see mansion). Sense of "lowly, humble, suited to a servant" is first recorded 1673. Noun meaning "domestic servant" is 1388, meynyal.
meningitis: 1828, coined from Mod.L. meninga, from Gk. menix (gen. meningos) "membrane," especially that of the brain + -itis "disease."
meniscus: "crescent-shaped body," 1693 in ref. to lenses, c.1812 in ref. to liquid surfaces, Mod.L. meniscus, from Gk. meniskos "lunar crescent," dim. of mene "moon."
Mennonite: member of an Anabaptist sect, 1565, from name of Menno Simons (1492-1559), founder of the sect in Friesland.
menopause: 1872, from Fr. ménopause, from Gk. men (gen. menos) "month" + pausis "a cessation, a pause," from pauein "to cause to cease." Opposite of menarche "onset of menstruation," 1900, from Ger. (1895), from Gk. arkhe "beginning."
menorah: 1888, from Heb. menorah "candlestick," from Sem. stem n-w-r "to give light, shine" (cf. Ar. nar "fire," manarah "candlestick, lighthouse, tower of a mosque," see minaret).
mens sana in corpore sano: 1605, from L., lit. "a sound mind in a sound body," a line found in Juvenal, "Satires," x.356.
"Mens sana in corpore sano is a contradiction in terms, the fantasy of a Mr. Have-your-cake-and-eat-it. No sane man can afford to dispense with debilitating pleasures; no ascetic can be considered reliably sane. Hitler was the archetype of the abstemious man. When the other krauts saw him drink water in the Beer Hall they should have known he was not to be trusted." [A.J. Liebling]
mensa: "altar top," 1848, from L., lit. "table," hence used in Church L. for "upper slab of an altar." With a capital M-, the name of an organization for people of IQs of 148 or more founded in England in 1946, the name chosen, according to the organization, to suggest a "round table" type group.
mensch: "person of strength and honor," 1909, from Yiddish, from Ger., lit. "man, person."
menses: "monthly discharge of blood from the uterus," 1597, from L. menses, pl. of mensis "month," from PIE *menes- "moon, month."
menshevik: 1917, from Rus. men'shevik, from men'she "lesser" (comp. of malo "little," from PIE base *men- "to lessen, diminish") + -evik "one that is." So called by Lenin because they were a minority in the party. Earlier used in ref. to the minority faction of the Social-Democratic Party, when it split in 1903. Russian pl. mensheviki occasionally was used in Eng.
menstrual: late 14c., from O.Fr. menstruel, from L. menstrualis "monthly," especially "of or having monthly courses," from menstruus "of menstruation, monthly," from mensis "month" (see menses). Menstruation first attested 1776; O.E. equivalent was monaðblot "month-blood." Verb menstruate (1800) probably is a back-formation.
mensuration: 1571, "act of measuring," from L.L. mensurationem (nom. mensuratio), from mensuratus, pp. of mensurare "to measure."
mental: c.1422, from M.Fr. mental, from L.L. mentalis "of the mind," from L. mens (gen. mentis) "mind," from PIE base *men- "to think" (cf. Skt. matih "thought, mind," Goth. gamunds, O.E. gemynd "memory, remembrance," Mod.Eng. mind). Meaning "crazy, deranged" is from 1927. Mentality formed in Eng. 1691.
menthol: 1876, from Ger. Menthol, coined 1861 by Oppenheim from L. mentha "mint" (see mint (1)) + oleum "oil." So called because it was first obtained from oil of peppermint.
mention (n.): c.1300, from O.Fr. mencion "call to mind," from L. mentionem (nom. mentio) "a calling to mind, a speaking of, mention," from root of Old L. minisci "to think," related to mens (gen. mentis) "mind," from PIE base *men- "think" (see mental). The verb is first attested 1530. Don't mention it as a conventional reply to expressions of gratitude or apology is attested from 1840.
mentor: "wise advisor," 1750, from Gk. Mentor, character in the "Odyssey," friend of Odysseus, adviser of Telemachus (often actually Athene in disguise), perhaps ult. meaning "adviser," since the name appears to be an agent noun of mentos "intent, purpose, spirit, passion" from PIE *mon-eyo- (cf. Skt. man-tar- "one who thinks," L. mon-i-tor "one who admonishes"), causative form of base *men- "to think" (see mental).
menu: 1837, from Fr. menu de repas "list of what is served at a meal," from M.Fr. menu (adj.) "small, detailed," from L. minutus "small," lit. "made smaller," pp. of minuere "to diminish," from root of minus (see minus). Computer usage is from 1971, from expanded sense of "any detailed list," first attested 1889.
meow: 1873, earlier miaow, also miau (1634), meaw (1632). Of imitative origin, cf. Fr. miaou, Ger. miauen, Pers. maw, Japanese nya nya, Ar. nau-nau. In Chinese, miau means "cat."
Mephistopheles: 1598, the evil spirit whom Faust sold his soul to in the Ger. legend, from Ger. (1587), of unknown origin. According to the speculation of eminent Göthe scholar K.J. Schröer (1886) it is a compound of Heb. mephitz "destroyer" + tophel "liar" (short for tophel sheqer, lit. "falsehood plasterer;" cf. Job xiii.4). Names of devils in the Middle Ages in most cases derived from Heb.
mercantile: 1642, via Fr., It., and M.L. mercantile, from L. mercantem (nom. mercans) "a merchant," also "trading," prp. of mercari "to trade," from merx (see market).
Mercator: type of map projection, 1669, invented by Flem. geographer Gerhard Kremer (1512-94), who Latinized his surname, which lit. means "dealer," as Mercator. He first used this type of map projection in 1568.
Mercedes-Benz: 1886, named by its Austrian manufacturer Emil Jellinik for his daughter, Mercedes. The fem. proper name is from Sp., abbrev. of Maria de las Mercedes "Mary of the Mercies," from pl. of merced "mercy, grace," from L. mercedem (nom. merces), see mercy.
mercenary (n.): late 14c., "one who works only for hire," from L. mercenarius "one who does anything for pay," lit. "hired, paid," from merces (gen. mercedis) "pay, reward, wages," from merx (see market). The adj. is recorded from 1530s.
mercer: c.1123, "dealer in textile," from Fr. mercier "trader," from V.L. *merciarius, from L. merx (see market).
merchandise: late 13c., "commodities of commerce," from Anglo-Fr. marchaundise, from marchaunt (see merchant). The verb is recorded from late 14c.
merchant: c.1200, from Anglo-Fr. marchaunt (O.Fr. marcheant, Fr. marchand), from V.L. *mercatantem (nom. *mercatans) "a buyer," prp. of *mercatare, freq. of L. mercari "to trade" (see market).
Mercia: Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the Midlands, Latinized from O.E. Mierce "men of the Marches," from mearc (see march (n.)).
mercurial: 1390, "pertaining to the planet Mercury" (see Mercury). Meaning "sprightly, volatile, quick" (1593) is from supposed qualities of those born under the planet Mercury, probably partially by association with quicksilver.
Mercury: c.1150, from L. Mercurius "Mercury," the Roman god, originally a god of tradesmen and thieves, from merx "merchandise;" or perhaps from Etruscan and infl. by merx. Later he was associated with Gk. Hermes. The planet closest to the sun so called in classical L. (late 14c. in Eng.). Sense of "silver-white metal, quicksilver" is first recorded late 14c., when elements were commonly associated alchemically with the planets. This one probably so associated for its mobility.
mercy: late 12c., "God's forgiveness of his creatures' offenses," from O.Fr. mercit, merci "reward, gift, kindness," from L. mercedem (nom. merces) "reward, wages, hire" (in V.L. "favor, pity"), from merx (gen. mercis) "wares, merchandise." In Church L. (6c.) applied to the heavenly reward of those who show kindness to the helpless. Meaning "disposition to forgive or show compassion" is attested from early 13c. As an interjection, attested from mid-13c. In French largely superseded by miséricorde except as a word of thanks. Seat of mercy "golden covering of the Ark of the Covenant" (1530) is Tyndale's loan-translation of Luther's gnadenstuhl, an inexact rendering of Heb. kapporeth, lit. "propitiatory."
merd: "dung," 1477, from Fr. merde, from L. merda "dung," of unknown origin.
mere (adj.): c.1400, "unmixed," from O.Fr. mier "pure, entire," from L. merus "unmixed, pure, bare," used of wine, probably originally "clear, bright," from PIE *mer- "to gleam, glimmer, sparkle" (cf. O.E. amerian "to purify," O.Ir. emer "not clear," Skt. maricih "ray, beam," Gk. marmarein "to gleam, glimmer"). Original sense of "nothing less than, absolute" (1536, now only in vestiges such as mere folly) existed for centuries alongside opposite sense of "nothing more than" (1581, e.g. a mere dream).
mere (n.): O.E. mere "sea, lake, pool, pond," from P.Gmc. *mari (cf. O.N. marr, O.S. meri "sea," Du. meer "lake," O.H.G. mari, Ger. Meer "sea," Goth. marei "sea," mari-saiws "lake"), from PIE *mori-/*mari "sea" (cf. L. mare, O.C.S. morje, Rus. more, Lith. mares, O.Ir. muir, Welsh mor "sea," Gaulish Are-morici "people living near the sea").
meretricious: 1626, from L. meretricius "of or pertaining to prostitutes," from meretrix (gen. meretricis) "prostitute," lit. "woman who earns money," from merere, mereri "to earn, gain" (see merit).
merganser: type of duck, 1752, from Mod.L. (1555), from L. mergus "waterfowl, diver," from mergere "to dip, immerse" (see merge) + anser "goose" (see goose).
merge: 1636, "to plunge or sink in," from L. mergere "to dip, immerse," probably rhotacized from *mezgo, and cognate with Skt. majjati "dives under," Lith. mazgoju "to wash." Legal sense of "absorption of an estate, contract, etc. into another" is from 1726. Merger (n.) in the business sense first recorded 1889; not common until c. 1926.
meridian: c.1380, "noon," from O.Fr. meridien, from L. meridianus "of noon, southern," from meridies "noon, south," from meridie "at noon," altered by dissimilation from pre-L. *mediei die, loc. of medius "mid-" (see medial) + dies "day" (see diurnal). Cartographic sense first recorded 1391. The city in Mississippi, U.S., was settled 1854 (as Sowashee Station) at a railway junction and given its current name in 1860, supposedly by people who thought meridian meant "junction" (they perhaps confused the word with median).
meringue: 1706, from Fr. méringue, of unknown origin.
merino: "fine-wool breed of sheep," 1781, from Sp., possibly from Ar. Merini, a Berber family or tribe of sheep farmers in northwest Africa whose animals were imported into Spain 14c.-15c. to improve local breeds. Or from L. majorinus, from major "greater," either in ref. to size of the animals or from Sp. derivative merino (n.) "overseer of cattle pastures," also a title of judicial officers.
merism: "synecdoche in which totality is expressed by contrasting parts" (e.g. high and low, young and old), 1894, from Mod.L. merismus, from Gk. merismos "dividing, partition," from merizein "to divide," from meros "part."
merit (n.): c.1300, from O.Fr. merite, from L. meritum "desert, reward, merit," neut. of meritus, pp. of merere, meriri "to earn, deserve, acquire, gain," from PIE base *(s)mer- "to allot, assign" (cf. Gk. meros "part, lot," moira "share, fate," moros "fate, destiny, doom," Hittite mark "to divide" a sacrifice). The verb meaning "to be entitled to" is from 1526. L. meritare, freq. of mereri, meant "to earn (money), to serve as a soldier." Merit-monger was in common use 16c.-17c. in a sense roughly of "do-gooder." Meritocracy coined 1958 by Michael Young and used in title of his book, "The Rise of the Meritocracy."
meritorious: 1432, from L. meritorius "that for which money is paid, that by which money is earned," from meritus, pp. of merere (see merit (n.)).
merkin: "female pudenda," 1535, apparently a variant of malkin (q.v.) in its sense of "mop." Meaning "artificial vagina or 'counterfeit hair for a woman's privy parts' " is attested from 1617. According to "The Oxford Companion to the Body," the custom of wearing merkins dates from c.1450, was associated with prostitutes, and was to disguise either pubic hair shaved off to exterminate body lice or evidence of venereal disease.
"This put a strange Whim in his Head; which was, to get the hairy circle of [a prostitute's] Merkin .... This he dry'd well, and comb'd out, and then return'd to the Cardinall, telling him, he had brought St. Peter's Beard." [Alexander Smith, "A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the most notorious Highwaymen," 1714]
merlin: "small, strong European falcon," early 14c., from Anglo-Fr. merilun, an aphetic form of O.Fr. esmerillon (Fr. émerillon), from Frank. *smiril (cf. O.H.G. smerlo, Ger. Schmerl "merlin"). Sp. esmerejon, It. smeriglio also are Germanic loan-words.
Merlin: sorcerer and soothsayer in Arthurian legends, from O.Fr. form of Welsh Myrddhin, probably from O.Celt. *Mori-dunon, lit. "of the sea-hill," from *mori "sea" + dunom "hill."