Online Etymology Dictionary

women: plural of woman (q.v.).
won: past tense and past participle of win, from Old English gewinnen, past participle of winnan.
won't: contraction of will not, first recorded mid-15c. as wynnot, later wonnot (1580s) before the modern form emerged 1660s. See will.
wonder (n.): Old English wundor "marvelous thing, marvel, the object of astonishment," from Proto-Germanic *wundran (cf. Old Saxon wundar, Middle Dutch, Dutch wonder, Old High German wuntar, German wunder, Old Norse undr), of unknown origin. In Middle English it also came to mean the emotion associated with such a sight (late 13c.). The verb is from Old English wundrian. Used colloquially in Pennsylvania German areas in some transitive senses (It wonders me that ... for "I wonder why ..."); this was common in Middle English and as late as Tindale (1533), and a correspondent reports the usage also yet survives in Yorkshire/Lincolnshire. Related: Wondered, wondering, wonders.
wonder-worker (n.): 1590s, translating Greek thaumatourgos.
wonderful (adj.): late Old English wunderfull (see wonder). Related: Wonderfully.
wonderland (n.): "imaginary realm," 1790, from wonder + land (n.).
wonderment (n.): 1530s, from wonder (n.) + -ment.
wonderous (adj.): see wondrous.
wondrous (adj.): c.1500, from Middle English wonders (adj.), c.1300, originally genitive of wonder (n.), with suffix altered by influence of marvelous, etc.
wonk (n.): "overly studious person," 1954, American English student slang, popularized 1993 during Clinton administration in U.S.; perhaps a shortening of British slang wonky "shaky, unreliable." Or perhaps a variant of British slang wanker "masturbator." It was earlier British naval slang for "midshipman" (1929).
wonky (adj.): "shaky, groggy, unstable," 1919, of unknown origin. Cf. German prefix wankel-, which has a similar sense. Or perhaps from from surviving dialectal words based on Old English wancol "shaky, tottering" (see wench).
wont (adj.): "accustomed," Old English wunod, past participle of wunian "to dwell, be accustomed," from Proto-Germanic *wun- "to be content, to rejoice" (cf. Old Saxon wunon, Old Frisian wonia "to dwell, remain, be used to," Old High German wonen, German wohnen "to dwell;" related to Old English winnan, gewinnan "to win" (see win) and to wean. The noun meaning "habitual usage, custom" is attested from c.1300.
wonted (adj.): "accustomed, usual," c.1400, past participle adjective from wont. An unconscious double past participle.
wonton (n.): also won ton, 1948, from Cantonese Pinyin wan t'an, Mandarin hun tun "stuffed dumpling."
woo (v.): Old English wogian, of uncertain origin and with no known cognates; perhaps related to woh, wog- "bent, inclined," as with affection.
wood (n.): Old English wudu, earlier widu "tree, trees collectively, the substance of which trees are made," from Proto-Germanic *widuz (cf. Old Norse viðr, Danish and Swedish ved "tree, wood," Old High German witu "wood"), perhaps from PIE *widhu- "tree, wood" (cf. Welsh gwydd "trees," Gaelic fiodh- "wood, timber," Old Irish fid "tree, wood"). Woodsy is from 1860. Out of the woods "safe" is from 1792.
wood (adj.): "violently insane" (now obsolete), from Old English wod "mad, frenzied," from Proto-Germanic *woth- (cf. Gothic woþs "possessed, mad," Old High German wuot "mad, madness," German wut "rage, fury"), from PIE *wet- "to blow, inspire, spiritually arouse;" source of Latin vates "seer, poet," Old Irish faith "poet;" "with a common element of mental excitement" [Buck]. Cf. Old English woþ "sound, melody, song," and Old Norse oðr "poetry," and the god-name Odin.
woodbine (n.): Old English wudubinde, a climbing plant, from wudu "wood" (see wood (n.)) + binde "wreath," related to bind (v.). Used of various climbing plants on three continents.
woodchuck (n.): 1670s, alteration (influenced by wood (n.)) of Cree (Algonquian) otchek or Ojibwa otchig, "marten," the name subsequently transferred to the groundhog.
woodcock (n.): Old English wuducoc, from wudu "wood" (n.) + coc "cock."
woodcut (n.): 1660s, from wood (n.) + cut (n.).
wooden (adj.): 1530s, from wood (n.) + -en (2). Figurative use by 1560s. Related: Woodenly; woodenness.
woodland (n.): Old English wudulond; see wood (n.) + land (n.).
woodlouse (n.): 1610s, from wood (n.) + louse (n.). So called from being found in old wood.
woodpecker (n.): 1520s, from wood (n.) + pecker.
woodshed (n.): 1844, from wood (n.) + shed (n.). Sometimes a euphemism for "outhouse." Figuratively, as the place for private punishment, 1907, American English colloquial.
woodwind (n.): 1876, from wood (n.) + wind (n.).
woodwork (n.): "article made of wood," 1640s, from wood (n.) + work (n.).
woody (adj.): late 14c., "overgrown with trees and shrubs," from wood (n.) + -y (2). Of plants, "having a stem of wood," from 1570s. As a name for a kind of station wagon with wood panels, by 1961, U.S. surfer slang (real wood exterior panels were rare after 1951 and the last use of real wood was in the 1953 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon). Slang meaning "erection" attested by 1990 (for hardness).
woof (n.1): "weft, texture, fabric," Old English owef, from o- "on" + wefan "to weave" (see weave). With excrescent -w- by influence of warp or weft.
woof (n.2): dog bark noise, first recorded 1804, echoic. Woofer "loudspeaker for bass notes" first attested 1935.
wool (n.): Old English wull, from Proto-Germanic *wulno (cf. Old Norse ull, Old Frisian wolle, Middle Dutch wolle, Dutch wol, Old High German wolla, German wolle, Gothic wulla), from PIE *wele- (cf. Sanskrit urna; Avestan varena; Greek lenos "wool;" Latin lana "wool," vellus "fleece;" Old Church Slavonic vluna, Russian vulna, Lithuanian vilna "wool;" Middle Irish olann, Welsh gwlan "wool"). Figurative expression pull the wool over (someone's) eyes is recorded from 1839, American English.
woolen (adj.): chiefly British English woollen, Old English wullen, from wool + -en (2). Related: Woolens; woollens.
woolgathering (n.): 1550s, "indulging in wandering fancies and purposeless thinking," from the literal meaning "gathering fragments of wool torn from sheep by bushes, etc." (see wool + gather).
wooly (adj.): also woolly, 1570s, "resembling or made of wool," from wool + -y (2). Meaning "barbarous, rude" is recorded 1891, from wild and wooly (1884) applied to the U.S. western frontier, perhaps in reference to range steers or to unkempt cowboys.
woozy (adj.): 1897, "muddled or dazed, as with drink," American English colloquial, variant of oozy "muddy," or an alteration of boozy.
wop (n.): derogatory for "Italian," 1912, American English slang, apparently from southern Italian dialect guappo "dandy, dude, stud," a greeting among male Neapolitans, said to be from Spanish guapo "bold, dandy," which is from Latin vappa "sour wine," also "worthless fellow;" related to vapidus (see vapid).
Worcester: Wireceastre (1086), Old English Wigranceastre (717), Weogorna civitas (691), from Weogora, a tribal name. Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrin's) is attested from 1843.
word (n.): Old English word "speech, talk, utterance, word," from Proto-Germanic *wurdan (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian word, Dutch woord, Old High German, German wort, Old Norse orð, Gothic waurd), from PIE *were- "speak, say" (see verb).

The meaning "promise" was in Old English, as was the theological sense. In the plural, the meaning "verbal altercation" (as in to have words with someone) dates from mid-15c. Word processor first recorded 1973; word processing is from 1984; word wrap is from 1977. A word to the wise is from Latin phrase verbum sapienti satis est "a word to the wise is enough." Word of mouth is recorded from 1550s.
It is dangerous to leave written that which is badly written. A chance word, upon paper, may destroy the world. Watch carefully and erase, while the power is still yours, I say to myself, for all that is put down, once it escapes, may rot its way into a thousand minds, the corn become a black smut, and all libraries, of necessity, be burned to the ground as a consequence. [William Carlos Williams, "Paterson"]
wording (n.): "choice of words," apparently was coined by Milton in "Eikonoklastes" (1649). From present participle of word (v.).
wordplay (n.): also word-play, 1855; see word (n.) + play (v).
wordsmith (n.): 1896, from word (n.) + smith (n.).
wordy (adj.): Old English wordig "verbose;" see word (n.) + -y (2).
wore: modern past tense form of wear (v.).
work (n.): Old English weorc, worc "something done, deed, action, proceeding, business, military fortification," from Proto-Germanic *werkan (cf. Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch werk, Old Norse verk, Middle Dutch warc, Old High German werah, German Werk, Gothic gawaurki), from PIE root *werg- "to work" (see urge (v.)).
Work is less boring than amusing oneself. [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]
In Old English, the noun also had the sense of "fornication." Workhouse in the sense of "place where the poor or petty criminals are lodged" first appeared 1650s. Works "industrial place" (usually with qualifying adj.) is attested from 1580s. Work ethic recorded from 1959.
work (v.): a fusion of Old English wyrcan (past tense worhte, past participle geworht), from Proto-Germanic *wurkijanan; and Old English wircan (Mercian) "to work, operate, function," formed relatively late from Proto-Germanic noun *werkan (see work (n.)). Related: Worked; working. Working class is from 1789 as a noun, 1839 as an adjective.
workable (adj.): 1540s, from work (v.) + -able. Related: Workably.
workaday: c.1200, werkedei, from Old Norse virkr dagr "working day;" see work (n.) + day. Older than workday (early 15c.). It passed into an adj. 16c.
workaholic (n.): 1968, coined from work (n.) with second element abstracted absurdly from alcoholic, setting up the Rodney Dangerfield joke, "My old man was a workaholic: every time he thought about work, he got drunk."