Online Etymology Dictionary

lord: M.E. laverd, loverd (13c.), from O.E. hlaford "master of a household, ruler, superior," also "God" (translating L. Dominus, though O.E. drihten was used more often), earlier hlafweard, lit. "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian, ward." Cf. lady, and O.E. hlafæta "household servant," lit. "loaf-eater." Modern monosyllabic form emerged 14c. The verb meaning "to play the lord, domineer" is from late 14c.; to lord it is from 1570s. Interjection Lordy first attested 1853, Amer.Eng. Lord of the Flies translates Beelzebub (q.v.) and was name of 1954 book by William Golding.
heriot: O.E. here-geatwe (pl.) "army-gear." An Anglo-Saxon service of weapons, loaned by the lord to his retainer and re-payable to him upon the retainer's death; transferred by 13c. to a feudal due upon the death of a tenant, payable to his lord in beasts.
laird: mid-15c., Scottish and northern England dialectal variant of lord, from M.E. laverd (see lord). Attested as a surname from 1257.
danger: early 13c., "power of a lord or master, jurisdiction," from Anglo-Fr. daunger, O.Fr. dangier "power to harm, mastery," alteration (due to assoc. with damnum) of dongier, from V.L. *dominarium "power of a lord," from L. dominus "lord, master" (see domain). Modern sense of "risk, peril" (from being in the control of someone or something else) evolved first in French and was in English late 14c. Replaced O.E. pleoh; in early M.E. this sense is found in peril.
junker: "young Ger. noble," 1554, from Ger., from O.H.G. juncherro, lit. "young lord," from junc "young" + herro "lord." Pejorative sense of "reactionary younger member of the Prussian aristocracy" (1865) dates from Bismarck's domestic policy.
monsieur: 1512, from Fr., from mon sieur "my lord," from sieur "lord," shortened form of seigneur (see monseigneur) It was the historical title for the second son or next younger brother of the king of France.
Beelzebub: O.E. Belzebub, Philistine god worshipped at Ekron (2 Kings i.2), from L., used in Vulgate for N.T. Gk. beelzeboub, from Heb. ba'al-z'bub "lord of the flies," from ba'al "lord" + z'bhubh "fly." By later Christian writers often taken as another name for "Satan," though Milton made him one of the fallen angels.
monseigneur: 1610, from Fr., title of honor equivalent to "my lord," from mon "my" + seigneur "lord," from L. seniorem, acc. of senior "older." Plural messeigneurs.
ban (n.2): "governor of Croatia," from Serbo-Croat. ban "lord, master, ruler," from Pers. ban "prince, lord, chief, governor," related to Skt. pati "guards, protects." Hence banat "district governed by a ban," with Latinate suffix -atus. The Persian word got into Slavic perhaps via the Avars.
tycoon: 1857, title given by foreigners to the shogun of Japan (said to have been used by his supporters when addressing foreigners, as an attempt to convey that the shogun was more important than the emperor), from Jap. taikun "great lord or prince," from Chinese tai "great" + kiun "lord." Transf. meaning "important person" is attested from 1861, in ref. to U.S. president Abraham Lincoln (in Hay's diary); specific application to "businessman" is post-World War I.
Sabaoth: early 14c., from L.L., from Gk. Sabaoth, from Heb. tzebhaoth "hosts, armies," plural of tzabha "army." A word translated in O.T. in phrase "the Lord of Hosts," but originally left untranslated in N.T. and "Te Deum" in the designation Lord of Sabaoth; often confused with sabbath (q.v.).
Joel: masc. proper name, from Heb. Yoh'el, name of a minor O.T. prophet, lit. "the Lord is God;" the same name as Elijah (q.v.) but with the elements reversed. But the personal name that became common in Devon and Cornwall and the Breton districts of Yorkshire and the Eastern Counties immediately after the Conquest is from O.Bret. Iudhael, from Iud- "chief, lord" + hael "generous." It is the source of the modern British surname Joel, as well as Jewell, Joule and Jolson.
juggernaut: 1638, "huge wagon bearing an image of the god Krishna," especially that at the town of Puri, drawn annually in procession in which (apocryphally) devotees allowed themselves to be crushed under its wheels in sacrifice. Altered from Jaggernaut, a title of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), from Hindi Jagannath, lit. "lord of the world," from Skt. jagat "world" + natha-s "lord, master." The first European description of the festival is by Friar Odoric (c.1321). Fig. sense of "anything that demands blind devotion or merciless sacrifice" is from 1854.
Anno Domini: 1570s, from L., lit. "in the year of (our) Lord."
kyrie eleison: early 13c., Gk. liturgical formula, adopted untranslated into Latin Mass, lit. "lord have mercy" (Ps. cxxii.3, Matt. xv.22, xvii.15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show mercy to," from eleos "pity, mercy" (see alms).
patron: "a lord-master, a protector," c.1300, from O.Fr. patrun (12c.), from M.L. patronus "patron saint, bestower of a benefice, lord, master, model, pattern," from L. patronus "defender, protector, advocate," from pater (gen. patris) "father." Meaning "one who advances the cause" (of an artist, institution, etc.), usually by the person's wealth and power, is attested from late 14c.; "commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is paid with flattery" [Johnson]. Commercial sense of "regular customer" first recorded c.1600.
don (n.): 1523, from Sp. or Port. don, title of respect, from L. dominus "lord, master." The university sense is c.1660, originally student slang; underworld sense is 1952, from It. don, from L.L. domnus, from L. dominus (see domain). Don Juan "philanderer" is from the legendary dissolute Sp. nobleman dramatized by Gabriel Tellez in "Convivado de Piedra" and popularized in Eng. by Lord Byron. The fem. form is Dona (Sp./Port.), Donna (It.).
host (1): "person who receives guests," late 13c., from O.Fr. hoste "guest, host" (12c.), from L. hospitem (nom. hospes) "guest, host," lit. "lord of strangers," from PIE *ghostis- "stranger" (cf. O.C.S. gospodi "lord, master," Goth. gasts, O.E. gæst "guest"). The biological sense of "animal or plant having a parasite" is from 1857. The verb is early 15c., from the noun. Hostess is attested from late 13c.
Pooh-Bah: 1888, name of the "Lord High Everything Else" in Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado" (1885).
liege: word used by a vassal to address his superior or lord in the feudal system, c.1300, from Anglo-Fr. lige (1292), from O.Fr. liege, perhaps from L.L. laeticus "cultivated by serfs," from laetus "serf," which probably is from a Gmc. source (cf. O.E. læt "half-freedman, serf;" O.H.G. laz, O.Fris. lethar "freedman"). Or the M.E. word may be directly from O.H.G. leidig "free." Hence, liege-man "a vassal sworn to the service and support of a lord, who in turn is obliged to protect him" (c.1350).
Bhagavad-Gita: dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna inserted in Mahabharata, from Skt., "Song of the Sublime One," from Bhaga, a god of wealth, from Skt. bhagah, lit. "allotter, distributor, master, lord," from bhajati "assigns, allots, apportions, enjoys, loves" (related to Avestan baga, O.Pers. baga "master, lord, god") + gita "song," fem. pp. of gayate "sings, calls," from PIE base *gei- "to sing" (cf. Avestan gatha "song," Lith. giedoti "to sing").
church: O.E. cirice "church," from W.Gmc. *kirika, from Gk. kyriake (oikia) "Lord's (house)," from kyrios "ruler, lord." For vowel evolution, see bury. Gk. kyriakon (adj.) "of the Lord" was used of houses of Christian worship since c.300, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ekklesia or basilike. An example of the direct Gk.-to-Gmc. progress of many Christian words, via the Goths; it was probably used by W.Gmc. people in their pre-Christian period. Also picked up by Slavic, via Gmc. (cf. O.Slav. criky, Rus. cerkov). Romance and Celtic languages use variants of L. ecclesia. Slang church key for "can or bottle opener" is from 1950s. Church-mouse, proverbial in many languages for its poverty, is 1731 in Eng.
Jehovah: 1530, Tyndale's erroneous transliteration of Heb. Tetragramaton YHWH, using vowel points of Adhonai "my lord" (see Yahweh). Used for YHWH (the full name being too sacred for utterance) in four places in the Old Testament in the K.J.V. where the usual translation lord would have been inconvenient; taken as the principal and personal name of God. The vowel substitution was originally made by the Masoretes as a direction to substitute Adhonai for "the ineffable name." European students of Heb. took this literally, which yielded L. JeHoVa (first attested in writings of Galatinus, 1516). Jehovah's Witnesses "member of Watchtower Bible and Tract Society" first attested 1933; the organization founded c.1879 by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916); the name from Isa. xliii:10.
Fauntleroy: in various usages, from the hero of Frances Hodgson Burnett's popular novel "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1885).
chiral: 1894, coined by Lord Kelvin from Gk. kheir "hand."
Inca: 1594, from Sp. (1526), from Quechea, lit. "lord, king." Technically, only of the high Inca, but it was used widely for "man of royal blood."
Obadiah: masc. proper name, fourth of the Twelve Prophets of the O.T., from Heb. Obhadyah, lit. "servant of the Lord."
tyrant: c.1300, "absolute ruler," from O.Fr. tyrant (12c.), from L. tyrannus "lord, master, tyrant" (cf. Sp. tirano, It. tiranno), from Gk. tyrannos "lord, master, sovereign, absolute ruler," a loan-word from a language of Asia Minor (probably Lydian); cf. Etruscan Turan "mistress, lady" (surname of Venus).
"In the exact sense, a tyrant is an individual who arrogates to himself the royal authority without having a right to it. This is how the Greeks understood the word 'tyrant': they applied it indifferently to good and bad princes whose authority was not legitimate." [Rousseau, "The Social Contract"]
The spelling with -t arose in O.Fr. by analogy with prp. endings in -ant. Fem. form tyranness is recorded from 1590 (Spenser); cf. M.L. tyrannissa (1372).
Nehemiah: masc. proper name, Jewish leader under Pers. king Artaxerxes, from Heb. Nehemyah, lit. "the Lord comforts."
lady: M.E. lafdi, lavede, ladi, from O.E. hlæfdige "mistress of a household, wife of a lord," lit. "one who kneads bread," from hlaf "bread" (see loaf) + -dige "maid," related to dæge "maker of dough" (see dey (1); also compare lord). Not found outside English except where borrowed from it. Sense of "woman of superior position in society" is c.1200; "woman whose manners and sensibilities befit her for high rank in society" is from 1861 (ladylike in this sense is from 1580s). Meaning "woman as an object of chivalrous love" is from late 14c. Used commonly as an address to any woman since 1890s. Applied in O.E. to the Holy Virgin, hence many extended usages in plant names, etc., from gen. sing. hlæfdigan, which in M.E. merged with the nominative, so that lady- often represents (Our) Lady's; e.g. ladybug. Ladies' man first recorded 1784.
sayyid: Muslim title of honor, applied to descendants of Hussein, Muhammad's grandson, 1788, from Arabic sayyid, lit. "lord, chief."
brougham: 1851, one-horse closed carriage with two or four wheels, for two or four persons, from first Lord Brougham (1778-1868). The family name is from a place in Westmoreland.
Kelvin: unit of absolute temperature scale, 1911, in honor of British physicist Sir William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907).
coterie: 1738, from Fr., originally an organization of peasants holding land from a feudal lord, from cotier "tenant of a cote" (see cottage).
dundrearies: 1862, long, flowing whiskers, like those worn by actor E.A. Sothern (1826-1881) while playing Lord Dundreary, witless, indolent chief character in English dramatist Tom Taylor's play "Our American Cousin" (1858).
Waterloo: battle took place June 18, 1815, at village near Brussels; extended sense of "a final, crushing defeat" is first attested 1816 in letter of Lord Byron. The second element in the place name is from Flemish loo "sacred wood."
droit du seigneur: 1784, alleged medieval custom whereby the feudal lord had the right to have sex with the bride of his vassal on their wedding night before she went to her husband, from Fr., lit. "the lord's right." There is little evidence that it actually existed; it seems to have been invented in imagination 16c. or 17c. The L. form was jus primæ noctis, "law of the first night."
Bel: heaven-and-earth god of Babylonian religion, from Akkad. Belu, lit. "lord, owner, master," cognate with Heb. ba'al.
Cid: 1687, from Sp. cid "chief, commander," from Arabic sayyid "lord." A title given in Sp. lit. to Castilian nobleman and warlord Ruy Diaz, Count of Bivar (c.1040-1099).
Elijah: name of the great O.T. prophet, from Heb. Elijjah, lit. "the Lord is God." The Gk. form is Elias.
jiminy: exclamation of surprise, 1803, a disguised oath, probably for Jesu Domine "Jesus Lord." Extended form jiminy cricket is attested from 1848.
sahib: respectful address to Europeans in India, 1673, from Hindi or Urdu sahib "master, lord," from Arabic, originally "friend, companion," from sahiba "he accompanied."
profanity: c.1600, from L.L. profanitas, from L. profanus (see profane). Extended sense of "foul language" is from Old Testament commandment against "profaning" the name of the Lord.
Passover: 1530, coined by Tyndale from pass over, to translate Heb. pesah (see paschal), in reference to the Lord "passing over" the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when he killed the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. xii).
effendi: 1614, from Turk. efendi, title of respect applied to professionals and officials, corruption of Gk. authentes "lord, master" (in Modern Gk. aphente).
landlord: early 15c. in modern usage, from land + lord. Landlady is from 1530s.
Dom Pérignon: trademark name, 1954 (in use from 1936), from monk of that name (1638-1715), blind cellarmaster of the monastery of Hautvilliers near Epernay, France, who was said to have discovered the advantage of corked bottles in fermentation. Dom was a title of authority, from L. dominus "lord, master" (see domain).
Joshua: masc. proper name, biblical successor of Moses, from Heb. Yehoshua, lit. "the Lord is salvation." Joshua tree (1867) is perhaps so called because its shape compared to pictures of Joshua brandishing a spear (Josh. viii.18). In the top 10 list of names for boys in the U.S. since 1979.
Magnificat: c.1200, from L. third pers. sing. of magnificare (see magnificence), from first words of the Virgin's hymn (Luke i.46, in Vulgate Magnificat anima mea dominum "My soul doth magnify the Lord") used as a canticle.
aga: title of rank, especially in Turkey, c.1600, from Turk. agha "chief, master, lord," related to E.Turk. agha "elder brother."