Online Etymology Dictionary

traffic (n.): c.1500, "trade, commerce," from M.Fr. trafique (1441), from It. traffico (1323), from trafficare "carry on trade," of uncertain origin, perhaps from a V.L. *transfricare "to rub across" (from L. trans- "across" + fricare "to rub"), with the original sense of the It. verb being "touch repeatedly, handle." Or the second element may be an unexplained alteration of L. facere "to make, do." Klein suggests ultimate derivation of the Italian word from Arabic tafriq "distribution." Meaning "people and vehicles coming and going" first recorded 1825. The verb is from 1540s (and preserves the original commercial sense). Traffic jam is 1917, ousting earlier traffic block (1895).
negotiation: 1579, from L. negotiationem (nom. negotiatio) "business, traffic," from negotiatus, pp. of negotiari "carry on business," from negotium "business," lit. "lack of leisure," from neg- "not" (see deny) + otium "ease, leisure." The shift from "doing business" to "bargaining" about anything took place in Latin.
red (1): O.E. read, from P.Gmc. *rauthaz (cf. O.N. rauðr, Dan. rød, O.Fris. rad, M.Du. root, Ger. rot, Goth. rauþs), from PIE base *reudh- (cf. L. ruber, also dial. rufus "light red," mostly of hair; Gk. erythros; Skt. rudhira-; Avestan raoidita-; O.C.S. rudru, Pol. rumiany, Rus. rumjanyj "flushed, red," of complexions, etc.; Lith. raudas; O.Ir. ruad, Welsh rhudd, Bret. ruz "red"). The only color for which a definite common PIE root word has been found. The surname Read/Reid retains the original O.E. long vowel pronunciation. The color as characteristic of "British possessions" on a map, is attested from 1916. The red flag was used as a symbol of defiance in battle on land or sea from 1602. To see red "get angry" is an Amer.Eng. expression first recorded 1900. Red light as a sign to stop is from 1849, long before traffic signals. As the sign of a brothel, it is attested from 1900. As a children's game (in ref. to the traffic light meaning) it is recorded from 1953. Red-letter day (c.1385) was originally a saint's day, marked on church calendars in red letters. Red ball signifying "express" in railroad jargon is 1927, from the red ball mounted on a pole as a controlling signal. Red-blooded "vigorous, spirited" is recorded from 1877. Red dog, type of U.S. football pass rush, is recorded from 1959. Red shift in spectography is first recorded 1923. Red carpet "sumptuous welcome" is from 1934, but the custom for dignitaries is described as far back as Aeschylus (e.g. "Agamemnon").
bollard: 1844, originally a post for fixing mooring ropes; since 1948, usually a traffic control device; probably from bole (q.v.) + suffix -ard.
roundabout (adv.): "by a circuitous route," 1870, from round (adv.) + about. Noun sense of "traffic circle" is attested from 1927.
pornography: 1857, "description of prostitutes," from Fr. pornographie, from Gk. pornographos "(one) writing of prostitutes," from porne "prostitute," originally "bought, purchased" (with an original notion, probably of "female slave sold for prostitution;" related to pernanai "to sell," from PIE root per- "to traffic in, to sell," cf. L. pretium "price") + graphein "to write." Originally used of classical art and writing; application to modern examples began 1880s. Main modern meaning "salacious writing or pictures" represents a slight shift from the etymology, though classical depictions of prostitution usually had this quality.
"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description [hard-core pornography]; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that." [U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, concurring opinion, "Jacobellis v. Ohio," 1964]
Pornographer is earliest form of the word, attested from 1850. Pornocracy (1860) is "the dominating influence of harlots," used specifically of the government of Rome during the first half of the 10th century by Theodora and her daughters.
cope (v.): c.1350, from O.Fr. couper, earlier colper "hit, punch," from colp "a blow" (see coup). Meaning of "come to blows with" evolved 17c. into "handle successfully," perhaps influenced by obs. cope "to traffic" (15c.-17c.), a word in North Sea trade, from the Flem. version of the Gmc. source of Eng. cheap (q.v.).
bottleneck: "narrow entrance, spot where traffic becomes congested," 1896; from bottle + neck. Meaning "anything which obstructs a flow" is from 1928; so is the verb in this sense.
congestion: 1590s, "action of gathering together," from Fr. congestion (16c.), from L. congestionem, noun of action from congerere (see congest). Medical sense is from 1630s; meaning "a crowding together of people, traffic, etc." is from 1883.