mid-14c., resistence, "moral or political opposition;" late 14c., "military or armed physical opposition by force; difficulty, trouble," from Old French resistance, earlier resistence, and directly from Medieval Latin resistentia, from present-participle stem of Latin resistere "make a stand against, oppose" (see resist).

From 1580s as "power or capacity of resisting." The meaning "organized covert opposition to an occupying or ruling power" [OED] is from 1939. The electromagnetic sense of "non-conductivity" is from 1760. Also used  in science and engineering with a sense of "force exerted by a medium to retard motion through it," hence the figurative phrase path of least resistance "easiest method or course" (1825), earlier a term in physical sciences and engineering.

also nonresistance, "absence of resistance; passive obedience; submission to authority, even if unjustly exercised," 1640s, from non- + resistance. Related: Non-resistant; non-resisting.

early 15c., repugnaunce, "logical contradiction, inconsistency; incompatibility; resistance, opposition"(senses now obsolete), from Old French repugnance "opposition, resistance" (13c.) or directly from Latin repugnantia "incompatibility," from stem of repugnare "resist, disagree, be incompatible," from re- "back" (see re-) + pugnare "to fight" (from PIE root *peuk- "to prick"). The meaning "mental opposition or antagonism, aversion, strong dislike" is from 1640s. Related: Repugnancy.

"to revolt against lawful authority, with or without armed resistance, especially in the army or navy," 1580s, from mutiny (n.). Alternative mutine is recorded from 1550s. Related: Mutinied; mutinying.

1843, "instrument for regulating or adjusting the resistance in a circuit," coined by English inventor Charles Wheatstone from Greek rheos "a flowing, stream" (see rheo-) + -stat "regulating device." Related: Rheostatic.

1550s, "slowness, a making slower, retardation," from French retardance, from retarder (see retard (v.)). It seems to persist in reference to resistance to fire, in which sense it dates from 1921. Related: Retardancy.

"a hardening," especially "morbid hardening of the tissue," late 14c., from Medieval Latin sclerosis "a hardness, hard tumor," from Greek sklērosis "hardening," from sklēros "hard" (see sclero-). Figurative use, "excessive resistance to change," is by 1954.