Online Etymology Dictionary

disciple: O.E. discipul (fem. discipula), Biblical borrowing from L. discipulus "pupil," from *discipere "to grasp intellectually, analyze thoroughly," from dis- "apart" (see dis-) + capere "take" (see capable).
discipline: early 13c., from O.Fr. descepline, from L. disciplina "instruction given to a disciple," from discipulus (see disciple). Sense of "treatment that corrects or punishes" is from notion of "order necessary for instruction." The Latin word is glossed in O.E. by þeodscipe. Meaning "branch of instruction or education" is first recorded late 14c. Meaning "military training" is from late 15c.; that of "orderly conduct as a result of training" is from c.1500. The verb is attested from c.1300. Related: Disciplined; disciplines.
magdalen: "reformed prostitute," 1697, so called for Mary Magdalene, disciple of Christ (Luke viii.2), who is often identified with the penitent woman in Luke vii.37-50. See Magdalene.
Sikh: 1781, sect established 16c. in Punjab by Nanak Shah, from Hindi sikh "disciple," from Skt. siksati "studies, learns," related to saknoti "he is able, he is strong."
Baha'i: 1889, mystical, tolerant Iranian religion founded by a Mirza Ali Mohammed ibn Radhik, Shiraz merchant executed for heresy in 1850, and named for his leading disciple, Baha Allah (Pers. "splendor of God;" ultimately from Arabic). It also is sometimes called Babism, after the name taken by the founder, Bab-ed-Din, "gate of the faith."
dunce: 1577, from earlier Duns disciple "follower of John Duns Scotus" (c. 1265-1308), Scot. scholar of philosophy and theology supposed to have been born at Duns in Berwickshire. By 16c., humanist reaction against medieval theology singled him out as the type of the hairsplitting scholastic. It became a term of reproach to more conservative philosophical opponents c.1527, later extended to any dull-witted student.
mulligan: "stew made with whatever's available," 1904, hobo slang, probably from a proper name. The golf sense of "extra stroke after a poor shot" (1949) is sometimes said to be from the name of a Canadian golfer in the 1920s whose friends gave him an extra shot in gratitude for driving them over rough roads to their weekly foursome at St. Lambert Country Club near Montreal. The name is from Gael. Maolagan, O.Ir. Maelecan, a double dim. of mael "bald," hence "the little bald (or shaven) one," probably often a reference to a monk or disciple.
peripatetic: c.1400, n., "disciple of Aristotle," from O.Fr. perypatetique (14c.), from L. peripateticus "pertaining to the disciples or philosophy of Aristotle," from Gk. peripatetikos "given to walking about" (especially while teaching), from peripatein, from peri- "around" + patein "to walk." Aristotle's custom was to teach while strolling through the Lyceum in Athens. In Eng., the philosophical meaning is older than that of "person who wanders about" (1617). As an adj., attested in Eng. 1566 in the philosophical sense, 1642 in the lit. sense.
pupil (1): "student," 1382, originally "orphan child, ward," from O.Fr. pupille (14c.), from L. pupillus (fem. pupilla) "orphan, ward, minor," dim. of pupus "boy" (fem. pupa "girl"), probably related to puer "child," probably from PIE *pup-, from base *pu- "to swell, inflate." Meaning "disciple, student" first recorded 1563.
thane: O.E. ðegn "military follower," also "servant, attendant," from P.Gmc. *thegnas (cf. O.S. thegan "follower, warrior, boy," O.N. þegn "thane, freeman," O.H.G. thegan, Ger. Degen "thane, warrior, hero"), from PIE *tek-no- (cf. Skt. takman "descendant, child," Gk. teknon "child"), from base *tek- "to beget, give birth to" (cf. Gk. tekos "child, the young of animals," tokos "childbirth, offspring, produce of money, interest"). Also used in O.E. for "disciple of Christ." Specific sense of "man who ranks between an earl and a freeman" is c.1470. The modern spelling is from Scottish, where c.1220 it came to mean "chief of a clan, king's baron," and probably predominated in Eng. due to influence of "Macbeth;" normal orthographic changes from O.E. ðegn would have produced Mod.Eng. *thain. Some historians now use thegn to distinguish Anglo-Saxon thanes from Scottish thanes.