Online Etymology Dictionary

warship (n.): 1530s, from war (n.) + ship (n.).
wart (n.): Old English wearte, from Proto-Germanic *warton- (cf. Old Norse varta, Old Frisian warte, Dutch wrat, Old High German warza, German warze "wart"), from PIE root *wer- (1) "high, raised spot on the body, or other bodily infirmity" (cf. Latin verruca "swelling, wart;" see vary). Phrase warts and all "without concealment of blemishes" is attested from 1763, supposedly from Oliver Cromwell's instruction to his portrait painter.
Warwickshire: 11c., from Old English Wærincwicum + scir "district." The first element means "dwellings by the weir or river-dam," from *wæring + wic (see wick (2)).
wary (adj.): 1550s, from Old English wær "prudent, aware, alert, wary," from Proto-Germanic *waraz (cf. Old Norse varr "attentive," Gothic wars "cautious," Old Saxon giwar, Middle Dutch gheware, Old High German giwar, German gewahr "aware"), from PIE root *wer- "to cover" (see weir). Related: Warily; wariness.
was (v.): Old English wesan, wæs, wæron 1st and 3rd person singular of wesan "to remain," from Proto-Germanic *wesanan (cf. Old Saxon wesan, Old Norse vesa, Old Frisian wesa, Middle Dutch wesen, Dutch wezen, Old High German wesen "being, existence," Gothic wisan "to be"), from PIE root *wes- "remain, abide, dwell" (cf. Sanskrit vasati "he dwells, stays;" cf. vestal). Wesan was a distinct verb in Old English, but it came to supply the past tense of am. This began to develop in Proto-Germanic, because it is also the case in Gothic and Old Norse. See be.
wasabi (n.): herb root used in cooking, 1903, from Japanese.
wash (v.): Old English wascan, wæscan, from Proto-Germanic *watskanan (cf. Old Norse vaska, Middle Dutch wasscen, Dutch wassen, German waschen), from stem *wat-, the source of water. Related: Washed; washing. Used mainly of clothes in Old English (the principal verb for washing the body, dishes, etc. being þwean). Washed-out "faded" is from 1837. Washed up is 1923 theater slang, from notion of washing up at the end of a job.
wash (n.): late Old English wæsc "act of washing" (see wash (v.)). Meaning "clothes set aside to be washed" is attested from 1789; meaning "thin coat of paint" is recorded from 1690s; sense of "land alternately covered and exposed by the sea" is recorded from mid-15c.
washable (adj.): 1620s, from wash (v.) + -able. Related: Washables (n.), 1892.
washboard (n.): clothes-cleaning device, 1882, from wash (v.) + board (n.1). As a percussion instrument, attested from 1925; in reference to abdominal muscles, recorded from 1950 in boxing jargon.
washer (n.): "flat ring for sealing joints or holding nuts," mid-14c., generally considered an agent noun of wash (v.), but the sense connection is difficult, and the noun may derive instead from the ancestor of French vis "screw, vise."
Washington: U.S. capital, founded 1791, named for President George Washington (1732-1799), the family name from a town in northeastern England, from Old English, literally "estate of a man named Wassa." The U.S. state was named when it was formed as a territory in 1853 (admitted to the union 1889).
washout (n.): "disappointing failure," 1902, from verbal phrase wash out "obliterate, cancel," attested from 1570s, hence colloquial sense of "to call off (an event) due to bad weather, etc."
wasp (n.): Old English wæps, wæsp, altered (probably by influence of Latin vespa) from West Germanic *wabis- (cf. Old Saxon waspa, Middle Dutch wespe, Dutch wesp, Old High German wafsa, German Wespe, Danish hveps), from PIE *wobhes-/*wops- (cf. Latin vespa, Lithuanian vapsa, Old Church Slavonic vosa "wasp," Old Irish foich "drone"), perhaps from *webh- "weave" (see weave (v.)). If that is the correct derivation, the insect would be so called for the shape of its nest. Wasp-waist in reference to women's figures is recorded from 1870 (wasp-waisted is from 1775).
WASP (n.): acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, 1962, often said to have been coined by University of Pennsylvania sociologist E. Digby Baltzell (1915-1996), but first recorded reference is in an article by E.B. Palmore in "American Journal of Sociology."
waspish (adj.): "irrascible, quick to take offense; spiteful," 1560s, from wasp + -ish. Related: Waspishly; waspishness.
wassail: mid-12c., from Old Norse ves heill "be healthy," a salutation, from ves, imperative of vesa "to be" (see was) + heill "healthy" (see health). Use as a drinking phrase appears to have arisen among Danes in England and spread to native inhabitants. A similar formation appears in Old English wes þu hal, but this is not recorded as a drinking salutation. Sense extended c.1300 to "liquor in which healths were drunk," especially spiced ale used in Christmas Eve celebrations. Meaning "a carousal, reveling" first attested c.1600. Wassailing "custom of going caroling house to house at Christmas time" is recorded from 1742.
Wassermann (n.): test for syphillis, 1909, from German bacteriorologist August Paul Wassermann (1866-1925), who devised it in 1906.
wastage (n.): 1756, from waste (v.) + -age.
waste (v.): c.1200, "devastate, ravage, ruin," from Anglo-French and Old North French waster "to spoil, ruin" (Old French guaster), altered (by influence of Frankish *wostjan) from Latin vastare "lay waste," from vastus "empty, desolate, waste" (see vain).

The word also existed in Old English as westan. Meaning "to lose strength or health; pine; weaken" is attested from c.1300; the sense of "squander, spend or consume uselessly" is first recorded mid-14c.; meaning "to kill" is from 1964. Wasted "intoxicated" is slang from 1950s. The adjective is recorded from late 13c.
waste (n.): c.1200, "desolate regions," from Old French wast, from Latin vastum, neuter of vastus "waste" (see waste (v.)).

Replaced Old English westen, woesten "a desert, wilderness," from the Latin word. Meaning "useless expenditure" is recorded from c.1300; sense of "refuse matter" is attested from c.1400. Waste basket first recorded 1850. Waste-paper first recorded 1580s.
wasteful (adj.): 14c., from waste (n.) + -ful. Related: Wastefully; wastefulness.
wasteland (n.): 1887, from waste (adj.) + land (n.).
wastewater (n.): mid-15c., from waste (adj.) + water (n.1).
wastrel (n.): "spendthrift, idler," 1847, from waste (v.) + pejorative suffix -rel.
wat (n.): Thai Buddhist temple, said to be from Sanskrit vata "enclosure, grove."
watch (v.): Old English wæccan "keep watch, be awake," from Proto-Germanic *wakojan; essentially the same word as Old English wacian "be or remain awake" (see wake (v.)); perhaps a Northumbrian form. Meaning "be vigilant" is from c.1200. That of "to guard (someone or some place), stand guard" is late 14c. Sense of "to observe, keep under observance" is mid-15c. Related: Watched; watching.
watch (n.): Old English wæcce "a watching," from wæccan (see watch (v.)). Sense of "sentinel" is recorded from c.1300; that of "person or group officially patroling a town (especially at night) to keep order, etc." is first recorded 1530s. Meaning "period of time in which a division of a ship's crew remains on deck" is from 1580s. Sense of "period into which a night was divided in ancient times" translates Latin vigilia, Greek phylake, Hebrew ashmoreth.
The Hebrews divided the night into three watches, the Greeks usually into four (sometimes five), the Romans (followed by the Jews in New Testament times) into four. [OED]
The meaning "small timepiece" is from 1580s, developing from that of "a clock to wake up sleepers" (mid-15c.).
watchdog (n.): c.1600, from watch (v.) + dog (n.). Figurative sense is attested from 1845.
watcher (n.): late 14c. (early 13c. as a surname), agent noun from watch (v.).
watchful (adj.): c.1500, waccheful, from watch (v.) + -ful. Related: Watchfulness.
watchmaker (n.): 1620s, from watch (n.) + maker.
watchman (n.): also watch-man, c.1400, "guard, sentinel, lookout" (late 12c. as a surname), figuratively "guardian, protector" (mid-15c.), from watch (n.) + man (n.). Also "person characterized by wakefulness" (mid-15c.).
watchtower (n.): 1540s, from watch (v.) + tower (n.).
watchword (n.): also watch-word, c.1400, "password," from watch (n.) in the military sense of "period of standing guard duty" + word (n.). In the sense of "motto, slogan" it dates from 1738.
water (n.1): Old English wæter, from Proto-Germanic *watar (cf. Old Saxon watar, Old Frisian wetir, Dutch water, Old High German wazzar, German Wasser, Old Norse vatn, Gothic wato "water"), from PIE *wodor/*wedor/*uder-, from root *wed- (cf. Hittite watar, Sanskrit udrah, Greek hydor, Old Church Slavonic and Russian voda, Lithuanian vanduo, Old Prussian wundan, Gaelic uisge "water;" Latin unda "wave").

Linguists believe PIE had two root words for water: *ap- and *wed-. The first (preserved in Sanskrit apah) was "animate," referring to water as a living force; the latter referred to it as an inanimate substance. The same probably was true of fire (n.).

To keep (one's) head above water in the figurative sense is recorded from 1742. Water cooler is recorded from 1846; water polo from 1884; water torture from 1928. First record of water-closet is from 1755. Water-ice as a confection is from 1818. Watering-place is mid-15c., of animals, 1757, of persons. Water-lily first attested 1540s.
water (v.): Old English wæterian (see water (n.1)). Meaning "to dilute" is attested from late 14c.; now usually as water down (1850). To make water "urinate" is recorded from early 15c. Related: Watered; watering.
water (n.2): measure of quality of a diamond, c.1600, from water (n.1), perhaps as a translation of Arabic ma' "water," which also is used in the sense "lustre, splendor."
water-pipe (n.): c.1400, "conduit for water," from water (n.1) + pipe (n.1). The smoking sense is first attested 1824.
water-ski (n.): 1931, from water (n.1) + ski (n.). As a verb from 1953.
waterbed (n.): 1610s, "a bed on board a ship," from water (n.1) + bed (n.). As a water-tight mattress filled with water, it is recorded from 1844, originally for invalids. Reinvented c.1970 as a hip furnishing.
waterboard (n.): 1610s (n.), "gutter," from water (n.1) + board (n.1). Waterboarding as the name of a type of torture is from 2005, but the practice is older.
watercolor (n.): 1590s, "pigment that dissolves in water," from water (n.1) + color. Meaning "picture painted in watercolors" is attested from 1854.
watercress (n.): also water-cress, c.1400, from water (n.1) + cress. Cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch waterkerse, German wasserkresse. It grows in or near streams.
waterfall (n.): Old English wætergefeal; see water (n.1) + fall. Cf. German wasserfall, Old Norse vatnfall.
Waterford: city in southeastern Ireland; 1783 in reference to a type of glassware manufactured there.
waterfowl (n.): c.1300, from water (n.1) + fowl (n.). Cf. Old High German wazzarvogel, Dutch watervogel.
waterfront (n.): 1856, from water (n.1) + front (n.).
watergate (n.): mid-14c., "channel for water," from water (n.1) + gate. The name of a building in Washington, D.C., that housed the headquarters of the Democratic Party in the 1972 presidential election, it was burglarized June 17, 1972, which led to the resignation of President Nixon.
waterline (n.): 1620s, line where the water rises to on the hull of a ship afloat, from water (n.1) + line (n.).