Online Etymology Dictionary

work (v.): a fusion of O.E. wyrcan (past tense worhte, pp. geworht), from P.Gmc. *wurkijanan; and O.E. wircan (Mercian) "to work, operate, function," formed relatively late from P.Gmc. noun *werkan (see work (n.)). Worker as a type of bee is recorded from 1747. Work out "do strenuous physical exercise" first recorded 1909, originally in boxing jargon. Working-class first attested 1789 (n.), 1839 (adj.). Workmanlike "efficient, no-nonsense" is recorded from 1739.
work (n.): O.E. weorc, worc "something done, deed, action, proceeding, business, military fortification," from P.Gmc. *werkan (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du. werk, O.N. verk, M.Du. warc, O.H.G. werah, Ger. Werk, Goth. gawaurki), from PIE base *werg- "to work" (see urge (v.)).
"Work is less boring than amusing oneself." [Baudelaire, "Mon Coeur mis a nu," 1862]
In O.E., the noun also had the sense of "fornication." Workhouse in the sense of "place where the poor or petty criminals are lodged" first appeared 1652. Works "industrial place" (usually with qualifying adj.) is attested from 1581. Work station is recorded from 1950.
workaholic: 1968, coined from work (n.) with second element abstracted absurdly from alcoholic, setting up the Rodney Dangerfield joke, "My old man was a workaholic: every time he thought about work, he got drunk."
workaday: c.1200, werkedei, from O.N. virkr dagr "working day;" see work (n.) + day. Older than workday (c.1430). It passed into an adj. 16c.
oeuvre: "a work," esp. a work of literature, also "the body of work produced by an artist," 1875, from Fr. oeuvre "work," from L. opera (see opus).
urge (v.): 1560, from L. urgere "to press hard, push, drive, compel," from PIE base *werg- "to work" (cf. Avestan vareza "work, activity;" Gk. ergon "work," orgia "religious performances," organon "tool;" Armenian gorc "work;" Lith. verziu "tie, fasten, squeeze," vargas "need, distress;" O.C.S. vragu "enemy;" Goth. waurkjan, O.E. wyrcan "work;" Goth. wrikan "persecute," O.E. wrecan "drive, hunt, pursue;" O.N. yrka "work, take effect"). The noun is first attested 1618, from the verb; in frequent use after c.1910.
opus: 1809, "a work, composition," esp. a musical one," from L. opus "a work, labor, exertion" (cf. It. opera, Fr. oeuvre, Sp. obra), from PIE base *op- (Gmc. *ob-) "to work, produce in abundance," originally of agriculture later extended to religious acts (cf. Skt. apas- "work, religious act;" Avestan hvapah- "good deed;" O.H.G. uoben "to start work, to practice, to honor;" Ger. üben "to exercise, practice;" Du. oefenen, O.N. æfa, Dan. øve "to exercise, practice;" O.E. æfnan "to perform, work, do," afol "power"). The plural, seldom used, is opera.
synergy: 1660, "cooperation," from Mod.L. synergia, from Gk. synergia "joint work, assistance, help," from synergos "working together," related to synergein "work together, help another in work," from syn- "together" + ergon "work" (see urge (v.)). Meaning "combined activities of a group" is from 1847.
make-work: "busy-work, activity of no value," 1937, Amer.Eng., from make (v.) + work.
homework: 1683, "work done at home," as opposed to work done in the shop or factory; in sense of "lessons studied at home," it is attested from 1889.
overwork (v.): "to cause to work too hard," 1530, from over + work (q.v.). O.E. oferwiercan meant "to work all over," i.e. "to decorate the whole surface of."
mosaic: c.1400, from O.Fr. mosaicq "mosaic work," from M.L. musaicum "mosaic work, work of the Muses," neut. of musaicus "of the Muses," from L. Musa (see muse). Medieval mosaics were often dedicated to the Muses. The word formed in M.L. as though from Gk., but the (late) Gk. word for "mosaic work" was mouseion. Fig. use is from 1644.
operation: late 14c., "action, performance, work," also "the performance of some science or art," from O.Fr. operacion, from L. operationem (nom. operatio) "a working, operation," from operari "to work, labor" (in L.L. "to have effect, be active, cause"), from opera "work, effort," related to opus (gen. operis) "a work" (see opus). The surgical sense is first attested 1597. Military sense of "series of movements and acts" is from 1749. Operational attested from 1922.
lucubration: 1595, "literary work showing signs of too-careful elaboration," from L. lucubrationem (nom. lucubratio) "nocturnal study, night work," from lucubratus, pp. of lucubrare, lit. "to work by artificial light," from stem of lucere "to shine" (see light (n.)).
job: 1557, in phrase jobbe of worke "piece of work" (contrasted with continuous labor), perhaps a variant of gobbe "mass, lump" (c.1400, see gob). Sense of "work done for pay" first recorded 1660. Slang meaning "specimen, thing, person" is from 1927. The verb is attested from 1670. On the job "hard at work" is from 1882. Jobber "one who does odd jobs" is from 1706. Job lot is from obsolete sense of "cartload, lump," which may also be ult. from gob.
task: c.1300, "piece of work imposed as a duty," from O.N.Fr. tasque (13c., O.Fr. tasche, Fr. tâche) "duty, tax," from V.L. *tasca "a duty, assessment," metathesis of M.L. taxa, a back-formation of L. taxare "to evaluate, estimate, assess" (see tax). General sense of "any piece of work that has to be done" is first recorded 1593. Verb "to put a strain upon" is from 1598. Phrase take one to task (1682) preserves the sense that is closer to tax. Ger. tasche "pocket" is from the same V.L. source (via O.H.G. tasca), with presumable sense evolution from "amount of work imposed by some authority," to "payment for that work," to "wages," to "pocket into which money is put," to "any pocket." Task force is attested from 1941, originally military; taskmaster is from 1530.
drudge (n.): late 15c., "one employed in mean, servile, or distasteful work," missing in O.E. and M.E., but apparently related to O.E. dreogan "to work, suffer, endure." The verb is from 1540s. Related: Drudgery (1540s).
toil (1): "hard work," c.1300, "turmoil, contention, dispute," from Anglo-Fr. toil (13c.), from toiler "agitate, stir up, entangle," from O.Fr. toeillier "drag about, make dirty" (12c.), usually said to be from L. tudiculare "crush with a small hammer," from tudicula "mill for crushing olives, instrument for crushing," from root of tundere "to pound" (see obtuse). Sense of "hard work, labor" (1590s) is from the related verb toilen (early 14c.) "to drag, struggle," which had acquired a sense of "hard work" by late 14c. Replaced O.E. swincan.
opera: "a drama sung," 1644, from It. opera, lit. "a work," from L. opera "work, effort" (L. plural regarded as fem. sing.), secondary (abstract) noun from operari "to work," from opus (gen. operis) "a work" (see opus). Defined in "Elson's Music Dictionary" as, "a form of musical composition evolved shortly before 1600, by some enthusiastic Florentine amateurs who sought to bring back the Greek plays to the modern stage."
"No good opera plot can be sensible. ... People do not sing when they are feeling sensible." [W.H. Auden, 1961]
As a branch of dramatic art, it is attested from 1759. Operatic (adj.) formed 1749, on model of dramatic. First record of opera glass "small binoculars for use at the theater" is from 1738. Soap opera is first recorded 1939, as a disparaging reference to daytime radio dramas sponsored by soap manufacturers. Operetta, with It. diminutive ending, first recorded 1770.
ergophobia: "fear of work," 1905, jocular coinage from Gk. ergos "work" (see urge (v.)) + phobia "fear."
manure (v.): c.1400, "to cultivate land," also "to hold property," from Anglo-Fr. meynoverer, from O.Fr. manouvrer "to work with the hands," from M.L. manuoperare, from L. manu operari, from manu, abl. of manus "hand" (see manual) + operari "to work, operate" (see operation). Sense of "work the earth" led to "put dung on the soil" (1599) and to the current noun meaning "dung spread as fertilizer," which is first attested 1549. Until late 18c., however, the verb still was used in a fig. sense of "to cultivate the mind, train the mental powers."
"It is ... his own painfull study ... that manures and improves his ministeriall gifts." [Milton, 1641]
laboratory: 1605, "building set apart for scientific experiments," from M.L. laboratorium "a place for labor or work," from L. laboratus, pp. of laborare "to work" (see labor). Shortened form lab first attested 1895.
fret (n.): "ornamental interlaced pattern," late 14c., from O.Fr. frete "interlaced work, trellis work," probably from Frank. *fetur (cf. O.E. fetor, O.H.G. feggara "fetter") perhaps from notion of "decorative anklet," or of materials "bound" together. The other noun, "ridge on the fingerboard of a guitar," is c.1500 of unknown origin but possibly another sense of O.Fr. frete.
cooperation: late 14c., from L.L. cooperationem "a working together," from cooperari "to work together," from com- "with" + operari "to work" (see operation).
inure: c.1420, in ure "in practice," from obsolete ure "work, practice, exercise, use," probably from O.Fr. uevre, oeuvre "work," from L. opera (see opus).
collaborate: 1871, back-formation from collaborator (1802), from Fr. collaborateur, from L. collaboratus, pp. of collaborare "work with," from com- "with" + labore "to work."
wright: O.E. wryhta "worker," variant of earlier wyhrta, from wyrcan "to work" (see work). Now usually in combinations (wheelwright, playwright, etc.) or as a common surname. Common W.Gmc.; cf. O.S. wurhito, O.Fris. wrichta, O.H.G. wurhto.
Milicent: fem. proper name, earlier Malasintha, from aphetic form of O.H.G. Amalswind, lit. "strong in work," from amal "work" + *swind "strong" (cf. O.E. swið "strong," gesund "healthy").
supervise: 1588, "to look over," from M.L. supervisus, pp. of supervidere "oversee, inspect," from L. super "over" (see super-) + videre "see" (see vision). Meaning "to oversee and superintend the work or performance of others" is attested from c.1645; supervisor in this sense of "one who inspects and directs the work of others" is first recorded 1454.
operate: 1606, "to be in effect," from L. operari "to work, labor" (in L.L. "to have effect, be active, cause"), see operation. Surgical sense is first attested 1799. Meaning "to work machinery" is from 1864 in Amer.Eng. Operator is first recorded 1597, "one who performs mechanical or surgical operations." Meaning "one who carries on business shrewdly" is from 1828. Specific sense of "one who works a telephone switchboard" (1884) grew out of earlier meaning "one who works a telegraph" (1847).
dung: O.E. dung "manure," from PIE *dhengh- "covering" (cf. Lith. dengti "to cover," O.Ir. dingim "I press"); the word recalls the ancient Gmc. custom (reported by Tacitus) of covering underground shelters with manure to keep in warmth in winter.
"The whole body of journeymen tailors is divided into two classes, denominated Flints and Dungs: the former work by the day and receive all equal wages; the latter work generally by the piece" [1824].
obscene: 1593, "offensive to the senses, or to taste and refinement," from M.Fr. obscène, from L. obscenus "offensive," especially to modesty, originally "boding ill, inauspicious," perhaps from ob "onto" + cænum "filth." Meaning "offensive to modesty or decency" is attested from 1598. Legally, in U.S., it hinged on "whether to the average person, applying contemporary community standards, the dominant theme of the material taken as a whole appeals to a prurient interest." [Justice William Brennan, "Roth v. United States," June 24, 1957]; refined in 1973 by "Miller v. California":
The basic guidelines for the trier of fact must be: (a) whether 'the average person, applying contemporary community standards' would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest, (b) whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by the applicable state law; and (c) whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.
opulence: c.1510, from M.Fr. opulence, from L. opulentia, from opulentus "wealthy," dissimilated from *op-en-ent-, related to ops "wealth, power, resources," opus "work, labor, exertion," from PIE base *op- "to work, produce in abundance" (see opus).
office: c.1250, "a post, an employment to which certain duties are attached," from L. officium "service, duty, function, business" (in M.L., "church service"), lit. "work-doing," from ops (gen. opis) "power, might, abundance, means" (related to opus "work") + stem of facere "do, perform" (see factitious). Meaning "place for conducting business" first recorded c.1565. Office hours attested from 1841.
earn: O.E. earnian "get a reward for labor," from W.Gmc. *aznojanan, from *aznu "work, labor" (cf. O.H.G. aran, Ger. Ernte "harvest," Goth. asans "harvest, summer," O.N. önn "work in the field"). Related to O.E. esne "serf."
irk: mid-15c., irken "be weary of, be disgusted with;" earlier intrans., "to feel weary" (early 14c.). Of uncertain origin, perhaps related to O.N. yrkja "work" (from PIE base *werg- "to work;" see urge (v.)), or M.H.G. erken "to disgust." Modern sense of "annoy" is from late 15c. An adjective, irk "weary, tired" is attested from c.1300 in northern and midlands writing. Modern adjective irksome "bothersome, burdensome" is recorded from 1510s.
TGIF: by 1970, slang abbreviation of "Thank God, it's Friday" (end of the work week).
strike (n.): "concentrated cessation of work by a body of employees," 1810, from verb meaning "refuse to work to force an employer to meet demands" (1768), from strike (v.). Perhaps from notion of striking or "downing" one's tools, or from sailors' practice of striking (lowering) a ship's sails as a symbol of refusal to go to sea (1768), which preserves the verb's original sense of "make level, smooth." Baseball sense is first recorded 1841; bowling sense attested from 1859. Meaning "sudden military attack" is attested from 1942.
pseudonym: 1706 (in pseudonymous), from Fr. pseudonyme (adj.), from Gk. pseudonymos "having a false name," from pseudes "false" + onyma dial. form of "name." Properly of made-up names; the name of an actual author or person of reputation, affixed to a work he or she did not write, is an allonym. An author's actual name affixed to his or her work is an autonym (1867). Pseudonymous first recorded 1706.
hors d'oeuvre: 1714, "out of the ordinary," from Fr. hors d'oeuvre, "outside the ordinary courses (of a meal)," lit. "apart from the main work," from hors, var. of fors "outside" (from L. fortis) + de "from" + oeuvre "work," from L. opera, (see opus). Meaning "extra dish set out before a meal or between courses" attested in Eng. from 1742.
dinkum: 1888, "hard work," Australian slang, of unknown origin, perhaps connected to Lincolnshire dialect. Meaning "honest, genuine" is attested from 1894.
op. cit.: 1883, abbreviation of L. opus citatum, lit. "the work quoted."
sluff: "avoid work," 1951 slang variant of slough (v.).
robot: 1923, from Eng. translation of 1920 play "R.U.R." ("Rossum's Universal Robots"), by Karel Capek (1890-1938), from Czech robotnik "slave," from robota "forced labor, drudgery," from robotiti "to work, drudge," from an Old Czech source akin to Old Church Slavonic rabota "servitude," from rabu "slave" (see orphan), from a Slavic stem related to Ger. Arbeit "work" (O.H.G. arabeit). According to Rawson the word was popularized by Karel Capek's play, "but was coined by his brother Josef (the two often collaborated), who used it initially in a short story." Robotics coined 1941 in a science fiction context by Isaac Asimov, who proposed the "Three Laws of Robotics" in 1968.
grave (n.): O.E. græf "grave, ditch," from P.Gmc. *graban (cf. O.S. graf, O.Fris. gref, O.H.G. grab "grave, tomb;" O.N. gröf "cave," Goth. graba "ditch"), from PIE base *ghrebh-/*ghrobh- "to dig, to scratch, to scrape" (cf. O.C.S. grobu "grave, tomb"); related to grafan "to dig" (see grave (v.)). From Middle Ages to 17c., they were temporary, crudely marked repositories from which the bones were removed to ossuaries after some years and the grave used for a fresh burial. "Perpetual graves" became common from c.1650. To make (someone) turn in his grave "behave in some way that would have offended the dead person" is first recorded 1888. Graveyard shift "late-night work" is c.1907, from earlier nautical term, in reference to the loneliness of after-hours work.
text: 1369, "wording of anything written," from O.Fr. texte, O.N.Fr. tixte (12c.), from M.L. textus "the Scriptures, text, treatise," in L.L. "written account, content, characters used in a document," from L. textus "style or texture of a work," lit. "thing woven," from pp. stem of texere "to weave," from PIE base *tek- "make" (see texture).
"An ancient metaphor: thought is a thread, and the raconteur is a spinner of yarns -- but the true storyteller, the poet, is a weaver. The scribes made this old and audible abstraction into a new and visible fact. After long practice, their work took on such an even, flexible texture that they called the written page a textus, which means cloth." [Robert Bringhurst, "The Elements of Typographic Style"]
Text-book is from 1779.
botch: 1382, bocchen "to repair," later, "to spoil by unskillful work" (1530), of unknown origin.
success: 1530s, "result, outcome," from L. successus "an advance, succession, happy outcome," from succedere "come after" (see succeed). Meaning "accomplishment of desired end" (good success) first recorded 1580s. Successor "one who comes after" is recorded from late 13c.
"The moral flabbiness born of the bitch-goddess SUCCESS. That -- with the squalid interpretation put on the word success -- is our national disease." [William James to H.G. Wells, Sept. 11, 1906]
Success story is attested from 1925. Successful first attested 1588 in Shakespeare. Among the Fr. phrases used in Eng. late 19c. were succès d'estime "cordial reception given to a literary work out of respect rather than admiration" and succès de scandale "success (especially of a work of art) dependent upon its scandalous character."
wire (n.): O.E. wir "metal drawn out into a thread," from P.Gmc. *wiraz (cf. O.N. viravirka "filigree work," Swed. vira "to twist," O.H.G. wiara "fine gold work"), from PIE *wei- "to turn, twist, plait" (cf. O.Ir. fiar, Welsh gwyr "bent, crooked;" L. viere "to bend, twist," viriæ "bracelets," of Celtic origin). The verb meaning "to furnish with wires" is recorded from 1435. Wiretapping is recorded from 1904, from earlier wiretapper (1893). Wiry in the sense of "lean, tough" is first recorded 1808. Wired (adj.) "nervous, jittery" is from 1970s. Wirepuller in the political sense is 1848, Amer.Eng. Wiring "wires collectively," esp. "electrical wirework" is recorded from 1809.
boondoggle: 1935, Amer.Eng., of uncertain origin, popularized during the New Deal as a contemptuous word for make-work projects for the unemployed. Said to have been a pioneer word for "gadget."