Online Etymology Dictionary

dollar: 1553, from Low Ger. daler, from Ger. taler (1540, later thaler), abbrev. of Joachimstaler, lit. "(gulden) of Joachimstal," coin minted 1519 from silver from mine opened 1516 near Joachimstal, town in Erzgebirge Mountains in northwest Bohemia. Ger. Tal is cognate with Eng. dale. Ger. thaler was a large silver coin of varying value in the Ger. states (and a unit of the Ger. monetary union of 1857-73 equal to three marks); it was also a currency unit in Denmark and Sweden. Eng. colonists in America used the word in ref. to Spanish pieces of eight. Continental Congress July 6, 1785, adopted dollar when it set up U.S. currency, on suggestion of Gouverneur Morris and Thomas Jefferson, because the term was widely known but not British. But none were actually used until 1794. The dollar sign ($) is said to derive from the image of the Pillars of Hercules, stamped with a scroll, on the Spanish piece of eight. Phrase dollars to doughnuts attested from 1890; dollar diplomacy is from 1910.
bottom: O.E. botm, bodan "ground, soil, lowest part," from P.Gmc. *buthm- (cf. O.Fris. boden "soil," O.N. botn, O.H.G. bodam, Ger. Boden "ground, earth, soil"), from PIE base *bhu(n)d(h)- (cf. Skt. budhnah, Avestan buna- "bottom," Gk. pythmen "foundation," L. fundus "bottom, piece of land, farm," O.Ir. bond "sole of the foot"). Meaning "posterior of a man" is from 1794; the verb "to reach the bottom of" is from 1808. Bottom dollar "the last dollar one has" is from 1882. Bottomless is recorded from early 14c.
simoleon: slang for "a dollar," 1895, Amer.Eng., of unknown origin; related sambolio is attested from 1886.
greenback: "U.S. dollar bill," 1862, so called from the time of their introduction; bank paper money printed in green ink had been called this since 1778 (as opposed to redbacks, etc.).
sawbuck: "ten-dollar bill," Amer.Eng. slang, 1850, from resemblance of X (Roman numeral 10) to the ends of a sawhorse. Sawbuck in the sense of "sawhorse" only is attested from 1862 but presumably is older.
megabucks: 1946, originally "one million dollars," from mega- (q.v.) + slang buck "dollar." A jocular coinage of U.S. scientists working on expensive atomic research.
scads: "large amounts," 1869, Amer.Eng., earlier "dollar" (1858, usually in plural), of uncertain origin. Unknown connection to scad (c.1600), a Cornish name for a type of fish abundant on the British coast, which probably is a variant of shad (q.v.).
rutabaga: 1799, from Swed. dial. (W. Götland) rotabagge, from rot "root" + bagge "bag." Slang meaning "dollar" is from 1940s.
yen (1): "Japanese monetary unit," 1875, from Japanese yen, from Chinese yuan "round, round object, circle, dollar."
petrodollar: 1974, "surplus of petroleum exports over imports of all other goods," as a notational unit of currency (in ref. to OPEC nations), formed in Eng. from petro-, comb. form of petroleum (q.v.) + dollar.
mill (n.2): "one-tenth cent," 1791, introduced as a U.S. currency unit but now only used for tax calculation purposes, shortening of L. millesimum "one-thousandth," from mille "a thousand" (see mile). Formed on the analogy of cent, which is short for L. centesimus "one hundredth" (of a dollar).
piaster: "Sp. dollar" (1630), also "monetary unit and coin of Turkey" (1611, in Turk., ghurush, originally debased Sp. dollars), from Fr. piastre, from It. piastra "thin metal plate," short for impiastro "plaster," from L. emplastrum, from Gk. emplastron (see plaster).
almighty: O.E. ælmihtig, compound of æl "all" + mihtig "mighty," common Gmc. (cf. O.S. alomahtig, O.H.G. alamahtic), perhaps an early P.Gmc. loan-translation of L. omnipotens (see omnipotent).
"The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land." [Washington Irving, 1836]
sixty: O.E. sixtig, from siex (see six) + -tig (see -ty (1)). Phrase sixty-four dollar question is 1942, from radio quiz show where that was the top prize. Sixty-nine in sexual sense is first attested 1888, as a transl. of Fr. faire soixante neuf, lit. "to do 69."
bit (1): related O.E. words bite "act of biting," and bita "piece bitten off," are probably the source of the modern words meaning "boring-piece of a drill" (1594), "mouthpiece of a horse's bridle" (c.1340), and "a piece bitten off, morsel" (c.1000). All from P.Gmc. *biton, from PIE base *bheid- "to split" (see fissure). Meaning "small piece, fragment" is from 1606. Theatrical bit part is from 1926. Money sense in two bits, six bits, etc. is originally from Southern U.S. and West Indies, in ref. to silver wedges cut or stamped from Sp. dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."
two: O.E. twa, fem. and neut. form of twegen "two" (see twain), from P.Gmc. *twai (cf. O.S., O.Fris. twene, twa, O.N. tveir, tvau, Du. twee, O.H.G. zwene, zwo, Ger. zwei, Goth. twai), from PIE *duwo (cf. Skt. dvau, Avestan dva, Gk. duo, L. duo, O.Welsh dou, Lith. dvi, O.C.S. duva, first element in Hittite ta-ugash "two years old"). Twofold is O.E. tweofeald. Dance style two-step is recorded from 1900. Twofer is first recorded 1911 (originally in ref. to cigars), from two for (a dollar, etc.). Two-faced "deceitful" first recorded 1619. Two cheers for _____, expressing qualified enthusiasm first recorded 1951 in E.M. Forster's title "Two Cheers for Democracy." Two-dimensional is recorded from 1883; fig. sense of "lacking substance or depth" is attested from 1934.
ten: O.E. ten (Mercian), tien (W.Saxon), from P.Gmc. *tekhan (cf. O.S. tehan, O.N. tiu, Dan. ti, O.Fris. tian, O.Du. ten, Du. tien, O.H.G. zehan, Ger. zehn, Goth. taihun "ten"), from PIE *dekm (cf. Skt. dasa, Avestan dasa, Armenian tasn, Gk. deka, L. decem, O.C.S. deseti, Lith. desimt, O.Ir. deich, Bret. dek, Welsh deg, Alb. djetu "ten"). Tenth is O.E. teoða, teogoða. Tenner "ten-pound note" is slang first recorded 1861; as "ten-dollar bill," 1887 (ten-spot in this sense dates from 1848). The ten-foot pole that you wouldn't touch something with (1909) was originally a 40-foot pole; the idea is the same as the advice to use a long spoon when you dine with the devil. Ten-four "I understand, message received," is attested in popular jargon from 1962, from use in CB and police radio 10-code (in use in U.S. by 1950).
buck: O.E. bucca "male goat," from P.Gmc. *bukkon (cf. M.Du. boc, O.H.G. boc, O.N. bokkr), perhaps from a PIE base *bhugo (cf. Avestan buza "buck, goat," Arm. buc "lamb"), but some speculate that it is from a lost pre-Gmc. language. Apparently O.E. also had buc "male deer." The two words (if truly separate) were fully merged by c.1100. Verb is 1848, apparently with a sense of "jump like a buck." Meaning of "dollar" is 1856, Amer.Eng., perhaps an abbreviation of buckskin, a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days, attested in this sense from 1748. Buck up "cheer up" is from 1844. Pass the buck is first recorded in the lit. sense 1865, Amer.Eng.:
"The 'buck' is any inanimate object, usually knife or pencil, which is thrown into a jack pot and temporarily taken by the winner of the pot. Whenever the deal reaches the holder of the 'buck', a new jack pot must be made." [J.W. Keller, "Draw Poker," 1887]
The fig, sense of "shift responsibility" is first recorded 1912.
piece: early 13c., "fixed amount, measure, portion," from O.Fr. piece (11c.), from V.L. *pettia, probably from Gaulish (cf. Welsh peth "thing," Breton pez "piece"), from O.Celt. base *pett-. Sense of "portable firearm" first recorded 1580s; that of "chessman" is from 1562. Meaning "person regarded as a sex object" is first recorded 1785 (cf. piece of ass, human beings colloquially called piece of flesh from 1590s; cf. also L. scortum "bimbo, anyone available for a price," lit. "skin," dim. scortillum "bimbette"). Meaning "a portion of a distance" is from 1612; that of "literary composition" dates from 1530s. The verb meaning "to mend by adding pieces" is recorded from late 14c.; sense of "to join, unite, put together" is from late 15c. Piece of my mind is from 1570s. The Mod.Fr. form is reborrowed into English in pièce de résistance (1839), originally "the most substantial dish in a meal." Piece-work dates from 1540s. Piece of work "remarkable person" echoes Hamlet. Piece of Eight is the old name for the Spanish dollar (c.1600) of the value of 8 reals.