Online Etymology Dictionary

trump (n.1): "playing card of a suit ranking above others," 1520s, alteration of triumph, name of a card game.
trump (v.): "fabricate, devise," 1690s, from trump "deceive, cheat" (1510s), from Middle English trumpen (late 14c.), from Old French tromper "deceive," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a verb meaning "to blow a trumpet." Related: Trumped; trumping. Trumped up "false, concocted" first recorded 1728.
trump (n.2): "trumpet," c.1300, from Old French trompe "long, tube-like musical wind instrument" (12c.), cognate with Provençal tromba, Italian tromba, all probably from a Germanic source (cf. Old High German trumpa and Old Norse trumba "trumpet"), of imitative origin.
trumpery (n.): mid-15c., "deceit, trickery," from Middle French tromperie (14c.), from tromper "to deceive," of uncertain origin. Spelling influenced by trump (v.). Meaning "showy but worthless finery" is first recorded c.1600.
trumpet (n.): c.1300, from Old French trompette "trumpet," diminutive of trompe (see trump (n.2)). The verb is recorded from 1520s; figurative sense of "to proclaim, extol" is attested from 1580s.
truncate (v.): late 15c., from Latin truncatus "cut off," past participle of truncare "to maim, cut off," from truncus "mutilated, cut off" (see trunk). Related: Truncated; truncating.
truncated (adj.): late 15c., past participle adjective from truncate. Originally in heraldry; modern senses are post-1700.
truncation (n.): 1570s, from Late Latin truncationem, noun of action from past participle stem of truncare (see truncate).
truncheon (n.): c.1300, "shaft of a spear," also "short stick, cudgel," from Old North French tronchon, Old French tronchon (11c.) "a piece cut off, thick stick, stump," from Vulgar Latin *truncionem (nominative *truncio), from Latin truncus (see trunk). Meaning "staff as a symbol of office" is recorded from 1575; sense of "policeman's club" is recorded from 1880.
trundle: 1540s (implied in trundle bed "low bed on small wheels"), possibly from Middle English trendle "wheel, suspended hoop" (early 14c.), from Old English trendel "ring, disk" (see trend). Also probably in part from Old French trondeler "to roll," which is of Germanic origin.
trunk (n.): mid-15c., "box, case," from Old French tronc "alms box in a church" (12c.), also "trunk of a tree, trunk of the human body," from Latin truncus, originally "mutilated, cut off." The meaning "box, case" is likely to be from the notion of the body as the "case" of the organs. English acquired the other two senses of the Old French in late 15c.: "main stem of a tree" and "torso of a human body." The sense of "luggage compartment of a motor vehicle" is from 1930. The use in reference to an elephant's snout is from 1560s, perhaps from confusion with trump (short for trumpet). Railroad trunk line is attested from 1843; telephone version is from 1889.
trunnion (n.): "either of two round projections of a cannon," 1620s, from French trognon "core of fruit, stump, tree trunk," from Middle French troignon (14c.), probably, from Latin truncus (see trunk).
truss (n.): c.1200, "collection of things bound together," from Old French trousse, torse, of unknown origin, perhaps from Vulgar Latin *torciare "to twist." Meaning "surgical appliance to support a rupture, etc." first attested 1540s. Sense of "framework for supporting a roof or bridge" is first recorded 1650s.
truss (v.): c.1200, "to load, load up," from Anglo-French trusser, Old French trusser "to load, pack, fasten" (11c.), from Old French trousse (see truss (n.)). Related: Trussed; trussing.
trust (n.): c.1200, from Old Norse traust "help, confidence," from Proto-Germanic *traust- (cf. Old Frisian trast, Dutch troost "comfort, consolation," Old High German trost "trust, fidelity," German Trost "comfort, consolation," Gothic trausti "agreement, alliance"). Related to Old English treowian "to believe, trust," and treowe "faithful, trusty" (see true). Meaning "businesses organized to reduce competition" is recorded from 1877. Trust-buster is recorded from 1903.
trust (v.): early 13c., from Old Norse treysta "to trust," from traust (see trust (n.)). Related: Trusted; trusting.
trustee (n.): "person who is responsible for the property of another," 1640s, from trust (v.) + -ee.
trustful (adj.): 1570s, "trustworthy," from trust (n.) + -ful. Meaning "trusting" attested from 1832. Related: Trustfulness.
trustworthy (adj.): 1791, from trust (n.) + worthy. Related: Trustworthiness.
trusty (adj.): early 13c., "trusting," from trust; meaning "reliable, to be counted on" is from early 14c. The noun meaning "a prisoner granted special privileges as reward for good conduct" is first attested 1855.
truth (n.): Old English triewð (West Saxon), treowð (Mercian) "faithfulness, quality of being true," from triewe, treowe "faithful" (see true). Meaning "accuracy, correctness" is from 1560s. Unlike lie (v.), there is no primary verb in English or most other IE languages for "speak the truth." Noun sense of "something that is true" is first recorded mid-14c.
Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. [Milton, "Areopagitica," 1644]
Truth squad in U.S. political sense first attested 1952. Truthiness "act or quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than those known to be true," catch word popularized in this sense by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, declared by American Dialect Society to be "2005 Word of the Year."
truthful (adj.): 1590s, from truth + -ful. Related: Truthfully; truthfulness.
try (v.): c.1300, "examine judiciously, sit in judgment of," from Anglo-French trier (late 13c.), from Old French trier "to pick out, cull" (12c.), from Gallo-Romance *triare, of unknown origin. The ground sense is "separate out (the good) by examination." Meaning "to test" is first recorded mid-14c.; that of "attempt to do" is from early 14c. Sense of "to subject to some strain" (of patience, endurance, etc.) is recorded from 1530s. Trying "distressing" is first attested 1718. To try (something) on for size in the figurative sense is recorded from 1956.
tryout (n.): also try-out, by 1900, from phrase to try out "to examine, test," attested by 1785.
trypsin (n.): chief digestive enzyme of pancreatic juice, 1876, apparently from Greek tripsis "rubbing" + chemical suffix -in (2). Said to be so called because it first was obtained by rubbing the pancreas with glycerin.
tryptic (adj.): 1888, from trypsin + -ic (cf. pepsin/peptic).
tryptophan (n.): also tryptophane, complex amino acid, 1890, coined in German from trypto-, taken as a comb. form of tryptic "by trypsin," + Greek phainein "to appear" (see phantasm).
tryst (n.): late 14c., from Old French tristre "appointed station in hunting," possibly from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse treysta "to trust;" see trust).
tsar (n.): 1660s, the more correct Latinization of Russian czar, from prehistoric Slavic *tsesar, from a Germanic source, ultimately from Latin Caesar. See czar.
tsetse fly (n.): 1849, probably via South African Dutch, from a Bantu language (cf. Setswana tsetse. Luyia tsiisi "flies").
tsk: sound expressing commisseration or disapproval, 1947; as a verb, tsk-tsk is recorded from 1967.
Tso: Chinese restaurant dish, named for General Tso Tsungtang (1812-1885), military leader during the late Qing dynasty who crushed the Taiping rebels in four provinces. The chicken dish that bears his name (for no good reason) in Chinese restaurants apparently is modified from a traditional Hunan chung ton gai and may have been named for the general c.1972 by a chef in New York City during the time Hunan cuisine first became popular among Americans.
tsunami (n.): 1897, from Japanese tsunami, from tsu "harbor" + nami "waves."
tu quoque: Latin, literally "thou also" (or, in modern slang, "so are you!"); an argument which consists in retorting accusations.
tuatara (n.): New Zealand lizard, 1890, from Maori, from tua "on the back" + tara "spine."
Tuatha de Danann: 1680s, from Irish Tuatha dé Danann, literally "the people of Danann," from plural of tuath (see Teutonic) + Danann, mother of the gods.
tub (n.): "open wooden vessel," late 14c., from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch, or Middle Flemish tubbe, of uncertain origin. Related to Old High German zubar "vessel with two handles, wine vessel," German Zuber. Considered to be unrelated to Latin tubus (see tube); one theory connects it to the root of two based on the number of handles. Also 17c. slang for "pulpit;" hence tub-thumper (1660s) "speaker or preacher who thumps the pulpit for emphasis."
tuba (n.): 1852, from French tuba, from Latin tuba (plural tubæ) "straight bronze war trumpet" (as opposed to the crooked bucina), related to tubus (see tube).
tubby (adj.): "shaped like a tub, corpulent," 1835, from tub + -y (2). The noun meaning "a fat person" is attested from 1891.
tube (n.): 1610s, from Middle French tube (mid-15c.), from Latin tubus "tube, pipe," of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube before it even opened (H.D. Browne, in the "Londoner" of June 30, 1900); tube for "cylindrical railway tunnel" is attested from 1847. The meaning "TV as a medium" is from 1959, short for cathode ray tube or picture tube. Tube top as a women's clothing style is attested from 1972. Tube steak is attested from 1963 as "frankfurter," slang meaning "penis" is recorded by mid-1980s. Tubing as a recreational pastime is recorded from 1975.
tuber (n.): "thick underground stem," 1660s, from Latin tuber "lump, bump," perhaps related to tumere "to swell" (see thigh).
tubercle (n.): 1570s, from Latin tuberculum "a small swelling," diminutive of tuber "lump" (see tuber).
tubercular (adj.): 1799, from Latin tuberculum (see tubercule) + -ar.
tuberculosis (n.): 1860, from Modern Latin, from Latin tuberculum "small swelling, pimple," diminutive of tuber "lump" (see tuber) + -osis, a suffix of Greek origin. So called in reference to the tubercules which form in the lungs. Originally in reference to any disease characterized by tubercules; since the discovery of the tubercule bacillus by Koch (1882) restricted to disease caused by this.
tubular (adj.): 1670s, "having the form of a tube or pipe," from Latin tubulus "a small pipe" (see tube) + -ar. Teen slang sense attested by 1982, Valspeak, apparently from surfers' slang for a hollow, curling wave, ideal for riding.
tuck (v.): late 14c., "to pull or gather up," earlier "to pluck, stretch" (late 13c., implied in tucker), probably from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch tucken "pull up, draw up, tug" (cognate with Old English tucian "mistreat, torment," and related to Old English togian "to pull," German zucken; see tow). Sense of "thrust into a snug place" is first recorded 1580s. Slang meaning "to consume, swallow" is recorded from 1784. The noun is first attested late 14c.
tuckahoe (n.): edible plant root, 1610s, American English, from Powhatan (Algonquian) tockawhoughe (cf. Mohegan tquogh, Shawnee tukwhah), perhaps related to Cree (Algonquian) pitikwaw "made round."
tucker (n.): "piece of lace worn around the neck," 1680s, from Middle English tokker "tucker, one who dresses or finishes cloth" (see tuck).
tucker (v.): "to tire, weary," 1833, New England slang, of uncertain origin, perhaps from tucked (past participle of tuck (v.)), which had, in reference to dogs, a slang sense of "exhausted, underfed." Related: Tuckered; tuckering.
Tucson: city in Arizona, U.S.A., from Spanish Tucson, from O'odham (Piman) cukson "black base."