Online Etymology Dictionary

absolute: late 14c., from M.Fr. absolut, from L. absolutus, pp. of absolvere "to set free, make separate" (see absolve). Most of the current senses were in L. Sense evolution is from "detached, disengaged," thus "perfect, pure." Meaning "despotic" (1610s) is from notion of "absolute in position;" hence absolutism. Absolute monarchy is recorded from 1735 (absolute king is recorded from 1610s); scientific absolute magnitude (1902), absolute value (1907) are 20c.
absolute zero: the idea dates back to 1702 and its general value was guessed to within a few degrees soon thereafter, but not precisely discovered until Lord Kelvin's work in 1848. It was known by many names, e.g. infinite cold, absolute cold, natural zero of temperature; the term absolute zero was among them by 1806.
absolutely: 1530s, "in a manner detached from other things," from absolute + -ly. Meaning "completely, to the utmost degree" emerged by mid-16c. As a colloquial emphatic in American English, it is attested from 1892.
despot: 1560s, "absolute ruler," from M.L. despota, from Gk. despotes "master of a household, lord, absolute ruler." Faintly pejorative in Gk., progressively more so as used in various languages for Roman emperors, Christian rulers of Ottoman provinces, and Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
autarchy: 1660s, "absolute sovereignty," from Gk. autarkhia, from autarkhein "to be an absolute ruler," from autos "self" + arkhein "to rule" (see archon).
dictator: late 14c., from L. dictator, agent noun from dictare (see dictate). Transf. sense of "one who has absolute power or authority" in any sphere is from c.1600. In Latin use, a dictator was a judge in the Roman republic temporarily invested with absolute power.
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).
Kelvin: unit of absolute temperature scale, 1911, in honor of British physicist Sir William Thompson, Lord Kelvin (1824-1907).
dead reckoning: might be from nautical abbreviation ded. ("deduced") in log books, but it also fits dead (adj.) in the sense of "unrelieved, absolute."
absolutism: 1753 in theology; 1830 in politics, in which sense it was first used by British reformer and parliamentarian Maj. Gen. Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783-1869). See absolute and -ism.
totalitarian (adj.): 1926, first in ref. to Italian fascism, formed in Eng. on model of It. totalitario "complete, absolute, totalitarian," from the It. cognate of Eng. total (q.v.). The noun is recorded from 1938.
resolute: early 15c., "dissolved, of loose structure," from L. resolutus, pp. of resolvere (see resolution). Meaning "determined, absolute" is from c.1500.
freight: early 13c., from M.Du. or M.L.G. vracht, vrecht, originally "cost of transport," probably from O.Fris., from P.Gmc. *fra-aihtiz "absolute possession, property," from *fra-, intensive prefix + *aik "to be master of, possess."
Essene: 1553, member of a Jewish sect (first recorded 2c. B.C.E.), from L., from Gk. Essenoi, of disputed etymology, perhaps from Heb. tzenum "the modest ones," or Heb. hashaim "the silent ones." Klein suggests Syriac hasen, pl. absolute state of hase "pious."
autocracy: 1650s, "independent power, self-sustained power," from Fr. autocratie, from Gk. autokrateia "ruling by oneself," noun of state from autokrates (see autocrat). Meaning "absolute government, supreme political power" is recorded from 1855.
brahmin: "member of Boston's upper class," 1823, figurative use of Brahman "member of the highest priestly Hindu caste," late 15c., from Skt. brahmana-s, from brahman- "prayer," also "the universal soul, the Absolute," of uncertain origin. Related to Brahma.
arbitration: late 14c., "absolute decision," from O.Fr. arbitracion, from L. arbitrationem (nom. arbitratio) "judgment, will," noun of action from arbitratus, pp. of arbitrari, from arbiter (see arbiter). Meaning "settlement of a dispute by a third party" is from 1630s.
during: late 14c., prp. of obsolete verb duren "to last, endure" (late 13c.), from O.Fr. durer, from L. durare "endure." During the day really is "while the day endures," and the usage is a transference into Eng. of a L. ablative absolute.
monarchy: "rule by one person," late 14c., from O.Fr. monarchie, from L.L. monarchia, from Gk. monarkhia "absolute rule," lit. "ruling of one," from monos "alone" (see mono-) + arkhein "to rule" (see archon). Meaning "a state ruled by monarchical government" is from early 15c.
bare: O.E. bær "naked, uncovered," from P.Gmc. *bazaz (cf. Ger. bar, O.N. berr, Du. baar), from PIE *bhosos (cf. Armenian bok "naked;" O.C.S. bosu, Lith. basas "barefoot"). Meaning "sheer, absolute" (c.1200) is from the notion of "complete in itself." The verb is O.E. barian.
our: O.E. ure "of us," genitive plural of the first person pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ons (cf. O.S. usa, O.Fris. use, O.H.G. unsar, Ger. unser, Goth. unsar "our"). Ours, formed c.1300, is a double possessive, originating in northern England, and has taken over the absolute function of our. Ourselves (1495), modeled on yourselves, replaced original construction we selfe, us selfum, etc.
omnipotent: early 14c., from O.Fr. omnipotent (11c.), from L. omnipotentem (nom. omnipotens) "all-powerful, almighty," from omnis "all" (see omni-) + potens (gen. potentis) "powerful" (see potent). Strictly only of God or a deity; general sense of "having absolute power or authority" is attested from 1590s.
his: O.E. his (gen. of he), from P.Gmc. *khisa (cf. Goth. is, Ger. es). Originally also the neut. possessive pronoun, but replaced in that sense c.1600 by its. In M.E., hisis was tried for the absolute pronoun (cf. her/hers), but it failed to stick. For dialectal his'n, see her.
personality: late 14c., "quality or fact of being a person," from M.L. personalitatem (nom. personalitas), from L. personalis (see personal). Sense of "a distinctive character" is first recorded 1795, from Fr. personnalité.
"Personality is the supreme realization of the innate idiosyncrasy of a living being. It is an act of courage flung in the face of life, the absolute affirmation of all that constitutes the individual, the most successful adaptation to the universal conditions of existence, coupled with the greatest possible freedom of self-determination." [C.G. Jung, 1875-1961]
Meaning "person whose character stands out from that of others" is from 1889. Personality cult is attested from 1956.
sheer: c.1200, "exempt, free from guilt," later schiere "thin, sparse" (c.1400), from O.E. scir "bright, clear," influenced by O.N. cognate scær "bright, clean, pure," from P.Gmc. *skairijaz (cf. O.S. skiri, O.Fris. skire, Ger. schier, Goth. skeirs "clean, pure"), perhaps from PIE base *skai- "to shine" (see shine). Sense of "absolute, utter" (sheer nonsense) developed 1580s; that of "very steep" (sheer cliff) is first recorded 1800.
mere (adj.): c.1400, "unmixed," from O.Fr. mier "pure, entire," from L. merus "unmixed, pure, bare," used of wine, probably originally "clear, bright," from PIE *mer- "to gleam, glimmer, sparkle" (cf. O.E. amerian "to purify," O.Ir. emer "not clear," Skt. maricih "ray, beam," Gk. marmarein "to gleam, glimmer"). Original sense of "nothing less than, absolute" (1530s, now only in vestiges such as mere folly) existed for centuries alongside opposite sense of "nothing more than" (1580s, e.g. a mere dream).
apparent: late 14c., from O.Fr. aparant, from L. apparentem (nom. apparens), prp. of apparere (see appear). First attested in phrase heir apparent (see heir). Apparently in the sense of "as far as one can judge, seemingly," first attested 1846. Apparent magnitude in astronomy (how bright a heavenly body looks from earth, as opposed to absolute magnitude, which is how bright it really is) is attested from 1875.
Catch-22: from the title of Joseph Heller's 1961 novel. In widespread use only after release of movie based on the book in 1970. The "catch" is that a bomber pilot is insane if he flies combat missions without asking to be relieved from duty, and is thus eligible to be relieved from duty. But if he asks to be relieved from duty, that means he's sane and has to keep flying. Catch in this sense of "hidden cost, qualification, etc." is slang first recorded 1885.
There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that Catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.
dead: O.E. dead, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz, from PIE *dheu-. Meaning "insensible" is first attested early 13c. Of places, meaning "inactive, dull," it is recorded from 1580s. Used from 16c. in adj. sense of "utter, absolute, quite." Dead heat is from 1796. Dead soldier "emptied liquor bottle" is military slang from 1913. Dead on is 1889, from marksmanship; dead drunk first attested 1599; dead duck is from 1844. Dead letter is from 1703, used of laws lacking force as well as uncollected mail. Phrase in the dead of the night first recorded 1540s.
"For but ich haue bote of mi bale I am ded as dorenail" (c.1350).
fee: late 13c., from O.Fr. fieu, from M.L. feodum "land or other property whose use is granted in return for service," probably from Frank. *fehu-od "payment-estate," in which the first element is cognate with O.E. feoh "money, property, cattle" (also Ger. Vieh "cattle," Goth. faihu "money, fortune"), from PIE *peku- "cattle" (cf. Skt. pasu, Lith. pekus "cattle;" L. pecu "cattle," pecunia "money, property"); second element similar to O.E. ead "wealth." Sense of "payment for services" first recorded late 14c. Fee-simple is "absolute ownership," as opposed to fee-tail "entailed ownership," inheritance limited to some particular class of heirs (from O.Fr. taillir "to cut, to limit").