Online Etymology Dictionary

riding: one of the three districts into which Yorkshire was divided, 1295, from late O.E. *þriðing, a relic of Viking rule, from O.N. ðriðjungr "third part," from ðriði "third" (see third). The initial consonant merged with final consonant of preceding north, west, or east.
raid: c.1425, "military expedition on horseback," Scottish and northern English form of rade "a riding, journey," from O.E. rad "a riding" (see road). The word died out by 17c., but was revived by Scott, 1805 ("The Lay of the Last Minstrel") and 1818 ("Rob Roy"), with extended sense of "attack, foray." The verb is from 1865.
hobby: 1298, "small horse, pony," later "mock horse used in the morris dance," and c.1550 "child's toy riding horse," which led to a transferred sense of "favorite pastime or avocation," first recorded 1676. The connecting notion being "activity that doesn't go anywhere." Probably originally a proper name for a horse (cf. dobbin), a dim. of Robert or Robin. The original hobbyhorse was a "Tourney Horse," a wooden or basketwork frame worn around the waist and held on with shoulder straps, with a fake tail and horse head attached, so the wearer appears to be riding a horse. These were part of church and civic celebrations at Midsummer and New Year's throughout England.
road: O.E. rad "riding, hostile incursion," from P.Gmc. *ridanan, source of O.E. ridan (see ride). Also related to raid. In M.E., "a riding, a journey," sense of "open way for traveling between two places" is first recorded 1596. Modern spelling only established 18c. Roadblock is attested from 1940. Roadster "open two-seat automobile" is from 1908, earlier of light carriages (1892), originally "a ship lying near the shore" (1744), which is from the nautical sense of "narrow stretch of sheltered water" (c.1320, cf. Hampton Roads in Virginia). Road test is from 1906. Road hog is attested from 1891; road rage is from 1988; roadie "laborer employed by pop groups while on tour" first recorded 1969; road kill (n.) in the figurative sense is from 1992.
boot (1): "footwear," early 14c., from O.Fr. bote, with corresponding words in Prov. and Sp., of unknown origin, perhaps from a Gmc. source, originally for riding boots only. The verb meaning "kick" is Amer.Eng. 1877; that of "eject" is from 1880.
Hepplewhite: 1897, in ref. to style of furniture introduced in England by cabinetmaker George Hepplewhite (d.1786). The proper name is from Heblethwaite, near Sedbergh in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
centaur: late 14c., from L. centaurus, from Gk. Kentauros, origin disputed. In early Gk. literature they were a savage, horse-riding tribe from Thessaly.
nag (n.): "old horse," c.1400, nagge "small riding horse," of unknown origin, perhaps related to Du. negge, neg (but these are more recent than the Eng. word). Term of abuse is a transferred sense, first recorded 1598.
inroad: 1548, "hostile incursion, raid, foray," from in- "in," second element is road in the obsolete sense of "riding;" related to raid.
airedale: type of terrier, 1880, named for Airedale, a district in West Riding, Yorkshire.
"Name registered by Kennel Club (1886), for earlier Bingley (where first bred), or broken-haired terrier." [Weekley]
rodeo: 1914 as public entertainment show of horse-riding skill, from earlier meaning "cattle round-up" (1834), from Sp., "pen for cattle at a fair or market," lit. "a going round," from rodear "go round, surround," related to rodare "revolve, roll," from L. rotare "go around" (see rotary).
pentathlon: 1852, from Gk. pentathlon, from pente "five" + athlon "prize, contest," of uncertain origin. Earlier in L. form pentathlum (1706). The Gk. version consisted of jumping, sprinting, discus and spear throwing, and wrestling. The modern version (1912) consists of horseback riding, fencing, shooting, swimming, and cross-country running.
coattails: c.1600, from coat + tail. In 17c., to do something on one's own coattail meant "at one's own expense. Meaning "power of one person," especially in politics, is from 1848 (in a Congressional speech by Abraham Lincoln, in reference to Andrew Jackson); expression riding (someone's) coattails into political office is from 1949.
cassock: c.1550, from M.Fr. casaque "long coat," probably ultimately from Turk. quzzak "nomad, adventurer," (the source of Cossack), an allusion to their typical riding coat. Or perhaps from Arabic kazagand, from Pers. kazhagand "padded coat," from kazh "raw silk" + agana "stuffed."
gestation: 1533, "riding on horseback, etc., as a form of exercise," from L. gestationem (nom. gestatio) "a carrying," from gestare "bear, carry, gestate," freq. of gerere (pp. gestus) "to bear, carry, bring forth." Meaning "action or process of carrying young in the womb" is from 1615.
bus: 1832, abbreviation of omnibus (q.v.). The Eng. word is simply a Latin dative plural ending. The verb meaning "transport students to integrate schools" is first recorded 1961. Verb meaning "clear tables in a restaurant" is first attested 1913, probably from the four-wheeled cart used to carry dishes. To miss the bus, in the fig. sense, is from 1915. Busman's holiday "leisure time spent doing what one does for a living" (1893) is probably a reference to London bus drivers riding the buses on their days off.
joy: early 13c., "feeling of pleasure and delight," from O.Fr. joie, from L. gaudia, pl. of gaudium "joy," from gaudere "rejoice," from PIE base *gau- (cf. Gk. gaio "I rejoice," M.Ir. guaire "noble"). Joy-riding is Amer.Eng., 1908; joy stick is 1910, aviators' slang for the control lever of an airplane.
mount (v.): 13c., from O.Fr. monter "to go up, ascend, climb, mount," from V.L. *montare, from L. mons (gen. montis) "mountain" (see mount (n.)). Meaning "to set or place in position" first recorded 1539. Sense of "to get up on (a horse, etc.) to ride" is from 1509; "to get up on for purposes of copulation" is from 1592. The colloquial noun meaning "a horse for riding" first recorded 1856.
loop: c.1390, probably of Celtic origin (cf. Gael. lub "bend," Ir. lubiam), influenced by O.N. hlaup "a leap, run." In ref. to magnetic recording tape or film, first recorded 1931. Computer programming sense first attested 1947. The verb meaning "to form a loop" is first recorded 1856. Looped "drunk" is from 1934; loopy "crazy" is from 1925. To loop the loop (1902) originally was a stunt of bicycle-riding.
hood (1): "covering," O.E. hod, from P.Gmc. *khodaz (cf. O.Fris. hod, M.Du. hoet, Ger. Hut "hat," O.Fris. hode "guard, protection"), from PIE *kadh- "cover" (see hat). Modern spelling is early 1400s to indicate a "long" vowel, which is no longer pronounced as such. Little Red Riding Hood (1729) translates Charles Perrault's Petit Chaperon Rouge ("Contes du Temps" 1697).
dromedary: c.1280, from O.Fr. dromadaire, from L.L. dromedarius "kind of camel," from L. dromas (gen. dromados), from Gk. dromas kamelos "running camel," from dromos "a race course," from PIE *drem-, from possible base *der- "to run, walk, step" (cf. Skt. dramati "runs, goes," Gk. dromas "running," M.H.G. tremen "to rock, shake, sway"). One-humped Arabian camels were bred and trained for riding. A charming early variant was drumbledairy (1570).
palfrey: 1148, "saddle horse for ordinary riding (opposed to a war horse), small horse for ladies," from O.Fr. palefrei (11c.), from M.L. palafredus, alt. by dissimilation from L.L. paraveredus "post horse for outlying districts" (6c.), originally "extra horse," from Gk. para "beside, secondary" + L. veredus "post horse; light, fast horse used by couriers," from Gaul. *voredos (cf. Welsh gorwydd "horse," O.Ir. riadaim "I ride"). The L. word passed to O.H.G. as pfarifrid, where in modern Ger. it has become the usual word for "horse" (pferd).
tube: 1611, from M.Fr. tube (1460), from L. tubus "tube, pipe," of unknown origin. The London subway was christened the Twopenny Tube before it even opened (H.D. Browne, in the "Londoner" of June 30, 1900); tube for "cylindrical railway tunnel" is attested from 1847. The meaning "TV as a medium" is from 1959, short for cathode ray tube or picture tube. Tube top as a women's clothing style is attested from 1972. Tubular is attested from 1673, "having the form of a tube or pipe," but the modern slang sense is from 1982, Valspeak, from surfers' slang for a hollow, curling wave, ideal for riding. Tube steak is attested from 1963 as "frankfurter," slang meaning "penis" is recorded by mid-1980s. Tubing as a recreational pastime is recorded from 1975.
switch (n.): 1592, "slender riding whip," probably from a Flemish or Low German word akin to Hanoverian swutsche, a variant of Low Ger. zwukse "long thin stick, switch," from Gmc. base *swih- (cf. O.H.G. zwec "wooden peg," Ger. Zweck "aim, design," originally "peg as a target," Zwick "wooden peg"), perhaps connected with PIE base *swei- "to swing, bend, to turn." The meaning "device for changing the direction of something or making or breaking a connection" is first recorded 1797. "The peg sense suits the mech(anical) applications" [Weekley], and these senses may be a direct borrowing from those senses in Continantal Gmc. languages rather than a continuation of the "pliant wand" sense. The meaning "a change, a reversal, an exchange, a substitution" is first recorded 1920. Switchblade dates from 1932, from the "switch" which is pressed to spring the knife open. Switchboard first attested 1884.
hell: O.E. hel, helle "nether world, abode of the dead, infernal regions," from P.Gmc. *khaljo (cf. O.Fris. helle, O.N. hel, Ger. Hölle, Goth. halja "hell") "the underworld," lit. "concealed place," from PIE *kel- "to cover, conceal, save" (see cell). The Eng. word may be in part from O.N. Hel (from P.Gmc. *khalija "one who covers up or hides something"), in Norse mythology Loki's daughter, who rules over the evil dead in Niflheim, the lowest of all worlds (nifl "mist"), a death aspect of the three-fold goddess. Transfer of a pagan concept and word to a Christian idiom, used in the K.J.V. for O.T. Heb. Sheol, N.T. Gk. Hades, Gehenna. Used figuratively for "any bad experience" since at least 1374. As an expression of disgust, etc., first recorded 1678. Hell-bent is from 1835. Hell-raiser is from 1914 (to raise hell is from 1896); hellacious is 1930s college slang. Expression Hell in a handbasket is c.1941, perhaps a revision of earlier heaven in a handbasket (c.1913), with a sense of "easy passage" to whichever destination. Expression hell of a _____ is attested from 1776. Hell or high water is apparently a variation of between the devil and the deep blue sea. To wish someone would go to hell is in Shakespeare (1596). Snowball's chance in hell "no chance" is from 1931; till hell freezes over "never" is from 1919. To ride hell for leather is from 1889, originally with reference to riding on horseback. Hell on wheels is from 1843.