Online Etymology Dictionary

up-to-date (adj.): 1868, "right to the present time," from phrase up to date, probably originally from bookkeeping. Meaning "having the latest facts" is recorded from 1889; that of "having current styles and tastes" is from 1891.
Upanishad: class of treatises in Sanskrit literature, 1805, from Sanskrit upa-nishad, literally "a sitting down beside," from upa "near to" (see up) + ni-shad "to sit or lie down."
upas: legendary poisonous tree of Java, 1783, from Malay upas "poison," in pohun upas "poison tree." The story appears to have originated in Dutch in 1770s.
upbeat (adj.): "with a positive mood," 1947, apparently from the musical noun upbeat (1869), referring to the beat of a bar at which the conductor's baton is in a raised position; the "optimistic" sense apparently for no other reason than that it sounds like a happy word (the musical upbeat is no more inherently "positive" than any other beat). Expression on the upbeat "improving, getting better" is recorded from 1934.
upbraid (v.): Old English upbregdan "bring forth as a ground for censure," from up "up" + bregdan "move quickly, intertwine" (see braid (v.)). Cf. Middle Swedish upbrygdha. Meaning "scold" is first attested late 13c. Related: Upbraided; upbraiding.
upbringing (n.): 1510s, "act of rearing a young person," from up + bringing (see bring). Mainly in Scottish till c.1870, when it became general.
upchuck (v.): "to vomit," by 1960, American English slang, from up + chuck (v.) "to throw."
upcoming: c.1300 (n.), "action of coming up," from up + coming (see come (v.)). Adjectival sense of "forthcoming" first attested 1954.
update (v.): 1948, in reference to information, 1952 in reference to persons, from up + date (v.1). Related: Updated; updating. The noun is attested from 1967.
updraft (n.): "rising air current," 1909, from up + draft (n.).
upend (v.): 1823, from up + end. Related: Upended; upending.
upfront (adj.): 1932 (two words) "in the front," from up + front. Meaning "honest, open; paid in advance" is from 1967.
upgrade (n.): 1873, "upward slope," from up + grade. The meaning "upgraded version" is recorded from 1980; the verb in this sense is attested from 1920 (implied in upgrading).
upheaval (n.): 1838, in geology, from Middle English verb upheave (c.1300, cf. Old Frisian upheva, Old High German ufhevan, German aufheben), from up + heave (v.) + -al (2). Figurative sense, with reference to convulsions of society, etc., recorded from 1850.
upheld: past participle of uphold (q.v.).
uphill (adj.): 1610s, from up + hill.
uphold (v.): early 13c., "support, sustain," from up + hold (v.). Cf. Old Frisian upholda, Middle Dutch ophouden, German aufhalten. Related: Upheld; upholding.
upholster (v.): 1853, back-formation from upholsterer "tradesman who finishes or repairs articles of furniture" (1610s), from upholdester (early 15c.), formed with a diminutive (originally fem.) suffix, from obsolete Middle English noun upholder "dealer in small goods" (early 14c.), from upholden "to repair, uphold, keep from falling or sinking" (in this case, by stuffing); see uphold.
upholstery (n.): "upholsterer's work," 1640s; see upholster + -ery.
upkeep (n.): "maintenance; cost of maintenance," 1884, from up + keep (v.).
uplift (v.): mid-14c., from up + lift (v.). Related: Uplifted; uplifting.
upload (v.): by 1980, from up + load (v.). Related: Uploaded; uploading.
upon: early 12c., from up + on; probably influenced by Old Norse upp a. Distinct from Old English uppan which merely meant "up."
In the mod. Scand. tongues, except Icelandic and Færöese, the reduced form pa, paa, corresponding to Eng. (colloq. or dial.) 'pon, 'po', has displaced the simple prep. å, aa = on. [OED]
upper (adj.): c.1300, originally comparative of up. Cf. Middle Dutch upper, Dutch opper, Low German upper, Norwegian yppare. Noun meaning "part of a shoe above the sole" is recorded from 1789; sense of "stimulant drug" is from 1968. Upper crust is attested from mid-15c. in reference to the top crust of a loaf of bread, 1836 in reference to society. The pugilistic uppercut is first recorded 1842. Upper hand "advantage" is late 15c., probably from wrestling. Upperclassman is recorded from 1871. Upper middle class (adj.) is first recorded 1872.
uppermost: late 15c., from upper + -most.
uppity (adj.): 1880, from up + -ity; originally used by blacks of other blacks felt to be too self-assertive (first recorded use is in "Uncle Remus"). The parallel British variant uppish (1670s) originally meant "lavish;" the sense of "conceited, arrogant" being first recorded 1734.
upright: Old English upriht, from up "up" + riht "right." Similar compounds are found in other Germanic languages (cf. Old Frisian upriucht, Middle Dutch oprecht, Old High German ufreht, German aufrecht, Old Norse uprettr). Figurative sense of "good, honest" is first attested 1520s. The noun in the sense of "something standing erect" is from 1742.
THREE-PENNY UPRIGHT. A retailer of love, who, for the sum mentioned, dispenses her favours standing against a wall. ["Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue," 1811]

The bent-over rear-entry posture they are talking about, of course, is kubda, the three-obol position at the bottom-end of a prostitute's price-range. [James N. Davidson, "Courtesans and Fishcakes: The Consuming Passions of Classical Athens," 1997]
uprise (v.): c.1300, "stand up; get out of bed; ascend to a higher level," from up + rise (v.). Cf. West Frisian oprize, Middle Dutch oprisen, Dutch oprijzen.
uprising (n.): mid-13c., "action of rising from death or the grave, resurrection," from up + rising (see rise). Meaning "action of rising from bed" is recorded from c.1300; sense of "insurrection, popular revolt" first attested 1580s.
uproar (n.): 1520s, used by Tindale and later Coverdale as a loan-translation of German Aufruhr or Dutch oproer "tumult, riot," literally "a stirring up," in German and Dutch bibles (cf. Acts xxi:38), "outbreak of disorder, revolt, commotion," from German auf (Middle Dutch op) "up" + ruhr (Middle Dutch roer) "a stirring, motion," related to Old English hreran "to move, stir, shake" (see rare (adj.2)). Meaning "noisy shouting" is first recorded 1540s, probably by mistaken association with unrelated roar. First record of uproarious is from 1819.
uproarious (adj.): 1818, from uproar + -ous. Related: Uproariously.
uproot (v.): 1590s (implied in uprooted), in the figurative sense, from up + root. The literal sense is first recorded 1690s. Related: Uprooted; uprooting.
upscale (adj.): 1966, "at the higher end of a scale, superior," from up + noun derivative of scale (v.).
upset (v.): mid-15c., "to set up, fix," from up + set (v.). Cf. Middle Dutch opsetten, German aufsetzen. Modern sense of "overturn, capsize" (1803) is that of obsolete overset. Meaning "to throw into mental discomposure" is from 1805. The noun sense of "overturning of a vehicle or boat" is recorded from 1804.
upshot (n.): 1530s, from up + shot (n.); originally, the final shot in an archery match, hence the figurative sense of "result, issue, conclusion" (c.1600).
upside: 1610s, "upper side or surface," from up + side. Phrase upside (someone's) head in reference to a blow to the head is recorded from 1970, U.S. black slang.
upside down: late 15c., earlier upsadoun (late 14c.), up so down (c.1300); the so perhaps meaning "as if."
upsilon: "20th letter of the Greek alphabet," 1640s, from Greek u psilon, literally "a mere (or bare) 'u;' " so called in contradistinction to the diphthongs -oi-, -ei-, which are pronounced exactly like upsilon.
upstage: 1918 (adj.), 1921 (v.); the notion is of drawing attention to oneself (and away from a fellow actor) by moving upstage -- to the rear of the stage -- so that the other actor must face away from the audience. The noun upstage "back of the stage" is recorded from 1870.
upstairs: 1590s (adj.), from up + stairs (see stair). The noun is first attested 1872. Meaning "characteristic of upstairs life" (in private rooms of a household, as opposed to servants' quarters) is recorded from 1942.
He [Halifax] had said he had known many kicked down stairs, but he never knew any kicked up stairs before. [Gilbert Burnet, supplement to "History of My own Time," from his original memoirs, c.1697]
upstanding (adj.): Old English, in the literal sense, from up + standing (see stand (v.)). Figurative sense of "honest" is attested from 1863.
upstart (n.): 1550s, "one newly risen in importance or rank, a parvenu," also start-up, from up + start (v.) in the sense of "jump, spring, rise." Cf. the archaic verb upstart "to spring to one's feet," attested from c.1300.
upstream (adj.): 1680s, from up- + stream. In common use from c.1890.
upsurge (n.): 1928, from up- + surge (n.).
upswing (n.): 1922, in golf, from up + swing (n.). Sense in economics is attested from 1934.
upsy-daisy: 1711, up-a-daisy, baby talk extension of up.
uptake: "capacity for understanding," 1816, from up + take. Cf. obs. verb uptake "to pick or take up," attested from c.1300.
uptick: "upward trend," 1962, an economist's term, from up- + tick (v.).
uptight (adj.): "tense," slang, 1934, from up + tight. Meaning "straight-laced" first recorded 1969. It was used in a sense of "excellent" in jazz slang c.1962.
uptown (n.): 1802, "the higher or upper portion of a town," from up + town. As this usually was the residential portion of a town (especially a port) the word had overtones of that. Specific meaning "more prosperous area of town" is recorded from 1946.