Online Etymology Dictionary

Piltdown: village in Sussex, England, site where a fossil humanoid skull was said to have been found (1912), proved a fraud in 1953.
Pima: Uto-Aztecan people of Arizona, from Sp., probably from native pi ma:c "(I) don't know," given in answer to some question long ago and mistaken by the Spanish as a tribal name.
pimento: 1690, from Sp. pimiento "green or red pepper," also pimienta "black pepper," from L.L. pigmenta, pl. of pigmentum "vegetable juice," from L. pigmentum "pigment," from stem of pingere "to paint" (see paint). So called because it added a dash of color to food or drink.
"[I]n med.L. spiced drink, hence spice, pepper (generally), Sp. pimiento, Fr. piment are applied to Cayenne or Guinea pepper, capsicum; in Eng. the name has passed to allspice or Jamaica pepper. [OED]
The piece of red sweet pepper stuffed in a pitted olive so called from 1918, earlier pimiento (1901), from Sp.
pimp: 1607, perhaps from M.Fr. pimper "to dress elegantly" (16c.), prp. of pimpant "alluring in dress, seductive." Weekley suggests M.Fr. pimpreneau, defined in Cotgrave (1611) as "a knave, rascall, varlet, scoundrell." The word also means "informer, stool pigeon" in Australia and New Zealand and in S.Africa, where by early 1960s it existed in Swahili form impimpsi. The verb is attested from 1636. Pimpmobile first recorded 1973.
pimpernel: c.1400, from O.Fr. pimprenelle, earlier piprenelle (12c.), from M.L. pipinella "a medicinal plant," perhaps from *piperinus "pepper-like" (so called because its fruits resemble peppercorns), a derivative of L. piper "pepper" (see pepper). "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was the code name of the hero in an adventure novel of that name published 1905.
pimple: c.1400, of unknown origin, perhaps related to O.E. pipligende "having shingles."
pin (n.): late O.E. pinn "peg, bolt," from P.Gmc. *penn- "jutting point or peak" (cf. O.N. pinni "peg, tack," M.Du. pin "pin, peg," O.H.G. pfinn, Ger. Pinne "pin, tack") which may be via L. pinna "wing, feather," also used for "pointed peak," from PIE *bend- "something protruding." The modern slender wire pin is first attested by this name c.1380. Transferred sense of "leg" is recorded from 1530. The verb is recorded from c.1300; sense of "to hold someone or something down so he or it cannot escape" is attested from 1740. Pin-up (adj.) is from 1941 (first in ref. to Dorothy Lamour); the noun is recorded from 1943. Pinwheel is from 1696, "a wheel in the striking train of a clock in which pins are fixed to lift the hammer;" fireworks sense is from 1869. Pinhead "person of small intelligence" is first attested 1896. Pin-stripe is attested from 1896. Pin-money "annual sum allotted to a woman for personal expenses on dress, etc." is attested from 1621.
PIN: acronym for personal identification number, 1981, from the first ref. used with redundant number.
piña colada: 1975, from Sp., lit. "strained pineapple." First element from L. pinea (see pineapple). For second element, see colander.
pinafore: "sleeveless apron worn by children," 1782, from pin (v.) + afore "on the front." So called because it was originally pinned to a dress front.
pinata: from Mex.Sp. piñata, in Sp. lit. "jug, pot," utl. from L. pinea "pine cone," from pinus (see pine (n.)).
pinball: game played on a sloping surface, 1911, from pin + ball. Earlier it meant "a pincushion" (1803).
pince-nez: folding eyeglasses, 1876, from Fr., lit. "pinch-nose," from pincer "to pinch" + nez "nose."
pincers: 1338, from O.Fr. pinecure "pincers," from pincier "to pinch" (see pinch).
pinch (v.): c.1230, from O.N.Fr. *pinchier, var. of O.Fr. pincier, possibly from V.L. *punctiare "to pierce" (from L. punctum "point"), and *piccare "to pierce." Meaning "to steal" is from 1656. Sense of "to be stingy" is recorded from early 14c. Noun meaning "critical juncture" (as in baseball pinch hitter, attested from 1912) is from 1489; older than the literal sense of "act of pinching" (1591).
Pindaric: 1640, pertaining to or in the style of Pindar, from Gk. Pindaros, Gk. lyric poet (c.522-443 B.C.E.).
pine (n.): "coniferous tree," O.E. pintreow, the first element from L. pinus, from PIE *pei- "fat, sap, pitch" (cf. Skt. pituh "juice, sap, resin," pitudaruh "pine tree," Gk. pitys "pine tree," L. pinguis "fat"). Pine-top "cheap illicit whiskey," first recorded 1858, Southern U.S. slang.
pine (v.): O.E. pinian "torture, torment, afflict, cause to suffer," from *pine "pain, torture, punishment," possibly ult. from L. poena "punishment, penalty," from Gk. poine (see penal). A Latin word that rode into Germanic (cf. M.Du. pinen, O.H.G. pinon, O.N. pina) with Christianity. Intransitive sense of "to languish, waste away" is first recorded c.1440.
pineal: 1681, in ref. to the gland in the brain, from Fr. pinéal, lit. "like a pine cone," from L. pinea "pine cone," from pinus "pine tree" (see pine (n.)).
pineapple: late 14c., "pine cone," from pine (n.) + apple. The reference to the fruit of the tropical plant (from resemblance of shape) is first recorded 1660s, and pine cone emerged 1690s to replace pineapple in its original sense. For "pine cone," O.E. also used pinhnyte "pine nut."
ping (n.): 1835, imitative of the sound of a bullet striking something sharply. Meaning "short, high-pitched electronic pulse" is attested from 1943. Verb use, in computer sense, is from at least 1981.
ping-pong (n.): 1900, as Ping-Pong, trademark for table tennis equipment (Parker Brothers). Both words are imitative of the sound of the ball hitting the paddle; from ping (q.v.) + pong, attested from 1823. The verb is from 1901; in the figurative sense, 1952.
pinguid: 1635, from L. pinguis "fat," from stem of pinguere, from PIE *pei- "fat, sap, juice" (see pine (n.)).
pinion (1): "wing joint," c.1440, from M.Fr. pignon (c.1400), from V.L. *pinnionem, from L. penna "wing" (see pen (1)). Verb meaning "disable by binding the arms" is from 1558, older than lit. sense "cut the pinions of a wing to prevent a bird from flying" (1577).
pinion (2): "small gear with teeth" (as in rack and pinion), 1659, from Fr. pignon, from O.Fr. pignon "crenellation, battlement," aug. of L. pinna "battlement, pinnacle;" confused with (but perhaps ult. a variant of) penna "wing, feather, peak" (see pen (1)).
pink (n., adj.): 1570s, common name of Dianthus, a garden plant of various colors. Attribution to "pale rose color" first recorded 1733 (pink-coloured is recorded from 1681). The plant name is perhaps from pink (v.) via notion of "perforated" petals, or from Du. pink "small" (see pinkie), from the term pinck oogen "half-closed eyes," lit. "small eyes," which was borrowed into Eng. (1575) and may have been used as a name for Dianthus, which sometimes has pale red flowers. The flower meaning led to a figurative use for "the flower" or finest example of anything (e.g. Mercutio's "Nay, I am the very pinck of curtesie," Rom. & Jul. II.iv.61). Pink slip "discharge notice" is first recorded 1915. Pink-eye "contagious eye infection" first recorded 1882, Amer.Eng. Pink collar in reference to jobs generally held by women first attested 1977. To see pink elephants "hallucinate from alcoholism" first recorded 1913 in Jack London's "John Barleycorn."
pink (v.): c.1307, "pierce, stab, make holes in," perhaps from a Romanic stem *pinc- (cf. Fr. piquer, Sp. picar), from L. pungere "to pierce, prick" (see pungent). Surviving mainly in pinking shears.
Pinkerton: "semi-official detective," 1888, from the detective agency begun in U.S. 1850 by Allan Pinkerton.
pinkie: "the little finger," 1808, in Scottish, from Du. pinkje, dim. of pink "little finger," of uncertain origin.
pinko: 1936, derogatory slang form of pink (n., adj.), used of people whose social or political views "have a tendency toward 'red;' " a metaphor that had existed since at least 1837.
pinnacle: c.1300, from O.Fr. pinacle (1261), from L.L. pinnaculum "gable," dim. of pinna "peak, point," often confused with penna "wing, feather." Fig. use is attested from c.1400.
pinniped: 1842, from Mod.L. pinnipedia, suborder of aquatic carnivorous mammals (seals and walruses), lit. "having feet as fins," from L. pinna "fin" + pes, gen. pedis "foot" (see foot).
pinochle: 1864, Peaknuckle, perhaps from Swiss dialect Binokel (Ger.), binocle (Fr.), from Fr. binocle "pince-nez," from M.L. binoculus "binoculars." Taken as a synonym for bésigue "bezique," the card game, and wrongly identified with besicles "spectacles," probably because the game is played with a double deck. Pinochle was popularized in U.S. late 1800s by Ger. immigrants.
pinot: type of grape vine used in wine-making, 1912, Amer.Eng. variant spelling of Fr. pineau (attested in Eng. from 1763), from pin "pine (tree)" + dim. suffix -eau. So called from the shape of the grape clusters.
pinpoint (v.): "locate precisely," 1917, from pin + point; originally aviators' slang.
pinscher: 1926, from Ger. Pinscher, probably from Eng. pinch, in reference to its "clipped" ears.
pint: late 14c., from O.Fr. pinte (13c.), from V.L. *pincta (cf. O.Prov., Sp., It. pinta), perhaps ult. from L. picta "painted," fem. pp. of pingere (see paint), on notion of a painted mark on a vessel indicating this measure. Used elliptically for "pint of ale" (or beer) from 1742. Pint-sized "small" (esp. in ref. to children) is recorded from 1938.
pinto: 1860, "marked black and white," from Amer.Sp. pinto, lit. "painted, spotted," from Sp., from V.L. *pinctus, from L. pictus "painted," pp. of pingere "to paint" (see paint). Pinto bean is attested from 1916.
Pinyin: system of Romanized spelling for Chinese, 1963, from Chinese pinyin "to spell, to combine sounds into syllables," from pin "put together" + yin "sound, tone." Adopted officially by the People's Republic of China in 1958.
pioneer: 1523, "foot soldier who prepares the way for the army," from M.Fr. pionnier, from O.Fr. paonier "foot soldier" (11c.), from peon (see pawn (2)). Fig. sense of "person who goes first or does something first" is from 1605. The verb is first recorded 1780.
pious: c.1600, from L. pius "dutiful, kind, devout," perhaps related to L. purus "pure, clean" (see pure).
pip (1): "seed of an apple," 1797, shortened form of pipin "seed of a fleshy fruit" (c.1300), from O.Fr. pepin (13c.), probably from a root *pipp-, expressing smallness (cf. It. pippolo, Sp. pepita "seed, kernel").
pip (2): "disease of birds," c.1420, probably from M.Du. pippe "mucus," from W.Gmc. *pipit (cf. E.Fris. pip, M.H.G. pfipfiz, Ger. pips), an early borrowing from V.L. *pippita, from L. pituita "phlegm."
pip (3): "spot on a playing card, etc." 1596, peep, of unknown origin. Because of the original form, it is not considered as connected to pip (1).
pip-pip: a slangy salutation current in Britain from c.1907-1923, said by Partridge to be in imitation of bicycle horn noise.
pipe: O.E. pipe "musical wind instrument," also "tube to convey water," from V.L. *pipa "a pipe" (cf. It. pipa, Fr. pipe, Ger. Pfeife, Dan. pibe, Du. pijp), a back-formation from L. pipare "to chirp or peep," of imitative origin. All tubular senses ultimately derive from "small reed, whistle." Meaning "device for smoking" first recorded 1594. The verb sense of "to play on a pipe" is from O.E. pipian; the meaning "convey through pipes" is first recorded 1889. A pipe dream (1896) is the sort of improbably fantasy one has while smoking opium. Piping hot is in Chaucer, a reference to hissing of food in a frying pan; to pipe up (c.1425) originally meant "to begin to play" (on a musical instrument). Pipe down "be quiet" first recorded 1900.
pipeline: 1873, "continuous line of pipes," from pipe + line. Fig. sense of "channel of communication" is from 1921; surfer slang meaning "hollow part of a large wave" is attested by 1963.
pipette: 1839, from Fr. pipette, from M.Fr. pipette "tube," dim. of O.Fr. pipe, from V.L. *pipa (see pipe).
pippin: "excellent person or thing," 1897, from coveted varieties of apple that were raised from seed (so called since early 15c.), from M.E. pipin "seed" (see pip (1)).
pipsqueak: 1910, from the trivial noise a young or weak creature makes.