Online Etymology Dictionary

ziggurat (n.): 1858, from Assyrian ziqquratu "height, pinnacle," from zaqaru "to be high."
zilch (n.): "nothing," 1966, from earlier sense of "meaningless speech" (1960), originally Mr. Zilch (1931), comic character in the magazine "Ballyhoo." Perhaps from U.S. college slang (early 1900s) Joe Zilsch "an insignificant person." Probably a nonsense syllable, but Zilch is an actual German surname of Slavic origin.
zillion (n.): 1944, arbitrary coinage with no definite numerical value; first recorded in Damon Runyon.
Zimbabwe: southern African nation, 1980, named for an ancient city there, from Bantu zimba we bahwe "houses of stones," from zimba, plural of imba "house" + bahwe "stones." Previously known as Rhodesia (1964-80).
zinc (n.): 1650s, from German Zink, perhaps related to Zinke "prong, point;" said to have been used first by Paracelsus (c.1526) on analogy of the form of its crystals after smelting. Zinke is from Old High German zint "a point, jag," from Proto-Germanic *tindja "tine" (cf. Old Norse tindr "point, top, summit," Old English tind "prong, spike;" cf. tine).
zine (n.): 1965, short for fanzine.
zinfandel (n.): 1896, "red or white dry California wine," origin uncertain; used earlier as the name of the grape from which it was made (1880). The wine itself is said to have been known in U.S. since 1829. Some wine experts suggest a corruption of the Austrian grape name Zierfandler, though these grapes are not related to those of zinfandel. See this article:
The similarity in the names Zinfandel and Zierfandler arouses some speculation. Modern vine identification systems did not yet exist in 1829, so it is conceivable that the cuttings George Gibbs imported to the USA had never been correctly identified in Austria.
zing (n.): 1911, "high pitched sound," 1918, of echoic origin. Slang meaning "energy, zest" is attested from 1918.
zinger (n.): "cruel quip," 1970, from zing + -er (1). Earlier it was baseball slang for "fastball" (by 1957).
zinnia (n.): genus of herbs of the aster family, 1767, from Modern Latin (Linnæus, 1763), named for German botanist Johann Gottfried Zinn (1729-1759).
Zion: Old English Sion, from Greek Seon, from Hebrew Tsiyon, name of a Canaanite hill fortress in Jerusalem captured by David and called in the Bible "City of David." It became the center of Jewish life and worship.
Zionism (n.): "movement for forming (later supporting) a Jewish national state in Palestine," 1896, from German Zionismus (from Zion + Latin-derived suffix -ismus; see -ism); first recorded 1886 in "Selbstemancipation," by "Matthias Acher" (pseudonym of Nathan Birnbaum).
Zionist: 1896 (adj. and noun), from Zion + -ist.
zip (v.1): "move rapidly," 1852, of echoic origin. Related: Zipped; zipping. Zip gun "homemade pistol" first recorded 1950.
zip (adj.): 1963, in U.S. postal ZIP code, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, no doubt chosen with conscious echo of zip (v.1).
zip (n.): "zero," 1900, student slang for a grade of zero on a test, etc.; of unknown origin; cf. zilch.
zip (v.2): "to close or fasten by means of a zipper," 1932, back-formation from zipper. Related: Zipped; zipping.
zipper (n.): 1925, probably an agent noun from zip (v.1). The trademark taken out on the name that year applied to a boot with zippers, not to the "lightning fastener" itself, which was at first called a zip.
Zippo: proprietary name of a brand of cigarette lighter, patented 1934 by Zippo Manufacturing Co., Bradford, Pa.
zippy (adj.): 1904, from zip + -y (2).
zircon (n.): 1794, new name given in chemistry to jacinth, from German Zirkon (cf. French jargon, Italian giargone), from Arabic zarqun "cinnabar, bright red," from Persian zargun "gold-colored," from Avestan zari- "gold-colored," from zar "gold."
zirconium (n.): metallic chemical element, 1808, coined by German chemist and mineralogist Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817) in 1789; so called because it was found in zircon.
zit (n.): "acne pimple," 1966, originally U.S. teenager slang, of unknown origin.
zither (n.): stringed musical instrument, 1850, from German Zither, from Old High German zitara, from Latin cithara, from Greek kithara "lute" (see guitar).
ziti (n.): type of tubular pasta, plural of zita (1845), from Italian.
zloty (n.): monetary unit of Poland, 1842, from Polish złoty, literally "of gold," from złoto "gold," related to Russian zoloto, Czech zlato "gold" (see gold).
zoa (n.): plural of zoon.
zoanthropy (n.): form of mania in which a man imagines himself to be another type of beast, 1856, from Modern Latin zoanthropia, from Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + anthropos "man" (see anthropo-).
zodiac (n.): late 14c., from Old French zodiaque, from Latin zodiacus "zodiac," from Greek zodiakos (kyklos) "zodiac (circle)," literally "circle of little animals," from zodiaion, diminutive of zoion "animal" (see zoo).

Libra is not an animal, but it was not a zodiac constellation to the Greeks, who reckoned 11 but counted Scorpio and its claws (including what is now Libra) as a "double constellation." Libra was figured back in by the Romans. In Old English the zodiac was twelf tacna "the twelve signs," and in Middle English also Our Ladye's Waye and the Girdle of the Sky.
Zoe: fem. proper name, Greek, literally "life" (see zoo).
zoetrope (n.): 1867, literally "wheel of life," from Greek zoe "life" (see zoo) + trope "turn" (see trope).
Zohar: 1680s, Hebrew, literally "light, splendor."
zoic (adj.): 1863, from Greek zoikos, from zoion "animal" (see zoo).
zollverein (n.): 1843, German, literally "customs union," from Zoll "toll" (see toll (n.)) + Verein "union," from vereinen "to unite," from ver- + ein "one" (see one).
zombie (n.): 1871, of West African origin (cf. Kikongo zumbi "fetish;" Kimbundu nzambi "god"), originally the name of a snake god, later with meaning "reanimated corpse" in voodoo cult. But perhaps also from Louisiana creole word meaning "phantom, ghost," from Spanish sombra "shade, ghost." Sense "slow-witted person" is recorded from 1936.
zone (n.): late 14c., from Latin zona "geographical belt, celestial zone," from Greek zone "a belt," related to zonnynai "to gird," from PIE root *yes- "to gird, girdle" (cf. Avestan yasta- "girt," Lithuanian juosiu "to gird," Old Church Slavonic po-jasu "girdle").

Originally one of the five great divisions of the earth's surface (torrid, temperate, frigid; separated by tropics of Cancer and Capricorn and Arctic and Antarctic circles); meaning "any discrete region" is first recorded 1822. Zone defense in team sports is recorded from 1927. Zoning "land-use planning" is recorded from 1912. Zoned (adj.) in drug-use sense is attested 1960s, from ozone, which is found high in the atmosphere; the related verb to zone is from 1980s.
zonk (v.): 1950, "to hit hard;" 1968, "to put into a stupor;" slang term, of echoic origin.
zoo (n.): c.1847, short for Zoological Gardens of the London Zoological Society, established 1828 in Regent's Park to house the society's collection of wild animals. From comb. form of Greek zoion "an animal," literally "a living being," from PIE root *gwei- "to live, life" (cf. Greek bios "life," Old English cwicu "living;" see bio-). Slang meaning "crowded and chaotic place" first recorded 1935.
zoological (adj.): 1807, from zoology + -ical.
zoologist (n.): 1660s, from zoology + -ist.
zoology (n.): 1660s, from Modern Latin zoologia, from Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + -logia "study" (see -logy).
zoom: 1886, of echoic origin. Gained popularity c.1917 as aviators began to use it; zoom lens is 1936.
zoomorphic (adj.): 1872, from comb. form of Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + morphe "shape" (see Morpheus) + -ic.
zoon (n.): 1864, from Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo).
zoonosis (n.): plural zoonoses, 1876, from comb. form of Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + nosos "disease."
zoonotic (adj.): 1900, from zoonosis + -ic.
zoophilia (n.): "attraction to animals involving release of sexual energy," 1899, in a translation of Krafft-Ebing, from comb. form of Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + -philia. "[F]ormerly not implying sexual intercourse or bestiality" [OED].
zoophobia (n.): 1901, from comb. form of Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + -phobia. Related: Zoophobic; zoophobe.
zooplankton (n.): 1901, from comb. form of Greek zoion "animal" (see zoo) + plankton.
zoot suit (n.): 1942, American English slang, the first element probably a nonsense reduplication of suit (cf. reet pleat, drape shape from the same jargon).