Online Etymology Dictionary

soporific (adj.): 1680s, from French soporifique (1687), formed in French from Latin sopor (genitive soporis) "deep sleep," from a causative form of the PIE root *swep- "to sleep" (see somnolence).
sopping (adj.): "very wet," 1877, from sop (v.) "to drench with moisture" (1680s), from sop (q.v.).
soppy (adj.): "very wet," 1823, from sop + -y (2). Meaning "sentimental" first recorded 1918.
soprano (n.): 1730, "the highest singing voice," from Italian soprano "the treble in music," literally "high," from sopra "above," from Latin supra, fem. ablative singular of super (see super-). Meaning "a singer having a soprano voice" is from 1738. Soprano saxophone is attested from 1859.
sora (n.): North American bird species, 1705, probably from a native name.
Sorb: 1836 (implied in Sorbian), from German Sorbe, from Slavic Serb, the national designation. Slavic people surviving in Lusatia, eastern Saxony, also known as Wends.
sorb (n.): "fruit of the service tree," 1520s, from French sorbe, from Latin sorbum "service-berry" (small, edible fruit of the European mountain ash), from sorbus, from PIE root *sor-/*ser- "red, reddish-brown."
sorbet (n.): 1580s, "cooling drink of fruit juice and water," from French sorbet, probably from Italian sorbetto, from Turk. serbet (see sherbet). Meaning "frozen dessert, sherbet" first recorded 1864.
sorbic (adj.): 1815, in sorbic acid, so called because it was first isolated from the berries of the mountain ash (see sorb).
Sorbonne: 1560, from Sorbon, place name in the Ardennes. Theological college in Paris founded early 13c. by Robert de Sorbon (b.1201), chaplain and confessor of Louis IX.
sorcerer (n.): 1520s, earlier sorcer, from Old French sorcier (see sorcery). Sorcerer's apprentice was a symphonic poem by Paul Dukas (1897) based on a Goethe ballad ("Der Zauberlehrling," 1797), but the common figurative use of the term (1952) comes after Disney's "Fantasia" (1940).
sorceress (n.): late 14c., from Anglo-French sorceresse, from sorcer (see sorcerer).
sorcery (n.): c.1300, from Old French sorcerie, from sorcier "sorcerer," from Vulgar Latin *sortiarius, literally "one who influences, fate, fortune," from Latin sors (genitive sortis) "lot, fate, fortune" (see sort).
sord (n.): "flock of mallards," 15c., perhaps from sord (v.) "to take flight," from Old French sordre, from Latin surgere "to rise" (see surge).
sordid (adj.): 1580s, "festering," from Latin sordidus "dirty," from sordere "be dirty, be shabby," related to sordes "dirt," from PIE root *swordo- "black, dirty" (cf. Gothic swarts, Old English sweart "black"). Sense of "foul, low, mean" first recorded 1610s.
sore (adj.): Old English sar "painful, grievous, aching," influenced in meaning by Old Norse sarr "sore, wounded," from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (cf. Old Frisian sar "painful," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer "sore, ache," Old High German ser "painful"), from PIE root *sai- "suffering" (cf. Old Irish saeth "pain, sickness"). Adverbial use (e.g. sore afraid) has mostly died out (replaced by sorely), but remains the main meaning of German cognate sehr "very." Slang meaning "angry, irritated" is first recorded 1738; sorehead "mean, discontented person" is first recorded 1848, American English.
sore (n.): Old English sar "bodily injury, sickness, disease, pain, suffering," from root of sore (adj.). Now restricted to ulcers, boils, blisters.
sorely (adv.): Old English sarlice; see sore + -ly (2).
sorghum (n.): 1590s, "Indian millet," from Modern Latin Sorghum, the genus name, from Italian sorgo "a tall cereal grass," probably from Medieval Latin surgum, suricum (12c.), perhaps a variant of Latin syricum "Syrian," as in Syricum (gramen) "(grass) of Syria," from Syria, a possible source of the plant or its grain in ancient times.
Soroptimist: international society of business women and women executives, first club formed 1921 in Oakland, Calif., U.S., from sorority + optimist, probably after the Optimist Club.
sororal (adj.): 1650s, from Latin soror "sister" (see sister) + -al (1).
sorority (n.): 1530s, "body of women united for some purpose," from Medieval Latin sororitas "sisterhood, of or pertaining to sisters," from Latin soror "sister" (see sister). Sense of "women's society in a college or university" attested by 1887 (Alpha Delta Pi claims founding in 1851).
sorrel (adj.): "reddish brown," early 15c., from Middle French sorel, from sor "yellowish-brown," probably from Frankish *saur "dried" (cf. Middle Dutch soor "dry," Old High German soren "to become dry," Old English sear "withered, barren;" see sere). Perhaps a diminutive form.
sorrel (n.): "small perennial plant," c.1400, from Old French surele (12c.), from sur "sour," from Frankish *sur (cf. Old High German, Old English sur "sour;" see sour). So called for the taste of its leaves.
sorrow (n.): Old English sorg "grief, regret, trouble, care," from Proto-Germanic *surgo (cf. Old Saxon sorga, Old Norse sorg, Middle Dutch sorghe, Dutch zorg, Old High German soraga, German sorge, Gothic saurga), perhaps from PIE *swergh- (cf. Sanskrit surksati "cares for," Lithuanian sergu "to be sick," Old Church Slavonic sraga "sickness," Old Irish serg "sickness"). The verb is Old English sorgian.
sorrowful (adj.): Old English sorgful; see sorrow + -ful. Related: Sorrowfully; sorowfulness.
sorry (adj.): Old English sarig "distressed, full of sorrow," from West Germanic *sairig-, from *sairaz "pain" (physical and mental); related to sar (see sore). Meaning "wretched, worthless, poor" first recorded mid-13c. Spelling shift from -a- to -o- by influence of sorrow. Apologetic sense (short for I'm sorry) is attested from 1834; phrase sorry about that popularized 1960s by U.S. TV show "Get Smart."
sort (n.): late 14c., from Old French sorte "class, kind," from Latin sortem (nominative sors) "lot, fate, share, portion, rank, category," from PIE root *ser- "to line up" (cf. Latin serere "to arrange, attach, join;" see series). The sense evolution in V.Latin is from "what is allotted to one by fate," to "fortune, condition," to "rank, class, order." Out of sorts "not in usual good condition" is attested from 1620s, with literal sense of "out of stock."
sort (v.): mid-14c., "to arrange according to type or quality," from Old French sortir "allot, sort, assort," from Latin sortiri "draw lots, divide, choose," from sors (see sort (n.)). In some senses, the verb is a shortened form of assort.
sortie (n.): "attack of the besieged upon the besiegers," 1778, from French sortie, literally "a going out," noun use of fem. past participle of sortir "go out," from Vulgar Latin *surctire, from past participle of Latin surgere "rise up" (see surge).
SOS: 1910, from International Morse code letters, chosen arbitrarily as being easy to transmit and difficult to mistake. Not an initialism for "save our ship" or anything else. Won out over alternative suggestion C.Q.D., which is said to mean "come quickly, distress," or "CQ," general call for alerting other ships that a message follows, and "D" for danger. SOS is the telegraphic distress signal only; the oral equivalent is mayday.
sot (n.): late Old English sott "stupid person, fool," from Old French sot, from Gallo-Romance *sott- (cf. Medieval Latin sottus, c.800), of uncertain origin, with cognates from Portugal to Germany. Meaning "one who is stupefied with drink" first recorded 1590s. As a verb, it is attested from late 14c. (implied in sotted).
soteriological (adj.): 1879, from German soteriologisch; see soteriology.
soteriology (n.): 1847, in reference to health; 1864 in reference to salvation, from Greek soteria "preservation, salvation," from soizein "save, preserve" + -ology.
Sothic (adj.): as in Sothic cycle, a period of 1,460 years, from French Sothique, from Greek Sothis, an Egyptian name of the star Sirius.
sotto voce: 1737, Italian, literally "under voice," from sotto, from Latin subtus "below" (cf. French sous).
sou (n.): "small French coin," 1550s, back-formation from sous, plural of Old French soul, formerly a coin worth one-twentieth of a livre, from Latin solidus (see solidus).
soubrette (n.): 1753, theatrical jargon word for lady's maid characters in plays and operas, who typically were pert, flirtatious, and intriguing, from French, from Provençal soubreto "affected, conceited," fem. of soubret "coy, reserved," from soubra "to set aside," originally "to exceed," from Old Provençal sobrar, from Latin superare "to rise above, overcome," from super "over, above, beyond" (see super-).
souffle (n.): 1813, from French soufflé, noun use of past participle of souffler "puff up," from Latin sufflare, from sub- "under, up from under" + flare "to blow" (see blow (v.1)).
souffre-douleur (n.): 1845, French, literally "suffer sorrow;" one who is in a subservient position and must listen to or share another's troubles, specifically "a woman who acts as a paid companion to an older woman."
sough (v.): "to make a moaning or murmuring sound," Old English swogan, from Proto-Germanic *swoganan (cf. Old Saxon swogan "to rustle," Gothic gaswogjan "to sigh"), from PIE imitative root *(s)wagh- (cf. Greek echo). The noun is late 14c., from the verb.
sought: past tense and past participle of seek, from Old English sohte (see seek). Sought-after is from 1881 (sought-for in same sense is from c.1600).
souk (n.): Arab bazaar, 1826, from French souk, from Arabic suq "marketplace."
soul (n.1): Old English sawol "spiritual and emotional part of a person, animate existence," from Proto-Germanic *saiwalo (cf. Old Saxon seola, Old Norse sala, Old Frisian sele, Middle Dutch siele, Dutch ziel, Old High German seula, German Seele, Gothic saiwala), of uncertain origin. Sometimes said to mean originally "coming from or belonging to the sea," because that was supposed to be the stopping place of the soul before birth or after death. Hence, from Proto-Germanic *saiwaz (see sea). Meaning "spirit of a deceased person" is attested in Old English from 971. As a synonym for "person, individual" (e.g. every living soul) it dates from early 14c. Soul-searching (n.) is attested from 1948, from the phrase used as a past participle adjective (1610s).
soul (n.2): "instinctive quality felt by black persons as an attribute," 1946, jazz slang, from soul (n.1). Soulful "full of feeling" is attested from 1863, but in a specific African-American sense from 1964. Hence Soul music, essentially gospel music with "girl" in place of "Jesus," etc., first attested 1961; William James used the term in 1900, in a spiritual/romantic sense, but in reference to inner music. Also from this sense are soul brother (1957), soul sister (1967), soul food (1957), etc.
soulful: 1640s, "as much as a soul can hold," from soul (n.1) + -ful. Meaning "full of feeling" is from 1860; that of "expressive of characteristic Black feeling" is from 1964 (see soul (n.2)).
soulless (adj.): Old English sawolleas; see soul + -less.
soulmate (n.): 1822 (as soul mate, first attested in Coleridge, from soul (n.1) + mate (n.). One-word form is from early 20c.
sound (n.1): "noise," late 13c., soun, from Old French son, from Latin sonus "sound," from PIE *swonos, from root *swen- "to sound" (cf. Sanskrit svanati "it sounds," svanah "sound, tone;" Latin sonare "to sound;" Old Irish senim "the playing of an instrument;" Old English geswin "music, song," swinsian "to sing;" Old Norse svanr, Old English swan "swan," properly "the sounding bird"). The final -d was established c.1350-1550 as part of a tendency to add -d- after -n-. First record of sound barrier is from 1939. Sound check is from 1977; sound effects is 1909, originally live accompaniments to silent films.
The experts of Victor ... will ... arrange for the synchronized orchestration and sound effects for this picture, in which airplane battles will have an important part. ["Exhibitor's Herald & Moving Picture World," April 28, 1928]
sound (adj.): "uninjured," Old English gesund "sound, safe, healthy," from Proto-Germanic *sundas, from root *swen-to- (cf. Old Saxon gisund, Old Frisian sund, Dutch gezond, Old High German gisunt, German gesund "healthy," source of the post-sneezing interjection gesundheit; also Old English swið "strong," Gothic swinþs "strong," German geschwind "fast, quick"), with connections in Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic. Meaning "financially solid or safe" is attested from c.1600; of sleep, "undisturbed," from 1540s. Sense of "holding accepted opinions" is from 1520s. Soundly "completely" is attested from 1570s.