"fluid drop from the eye," Old English tear "tear, drop, nectar, what is distilled in drops," from earlier teahor, tæhher, from Proto-Germanic *tahr-, *tagr- (source also of Old Norse, Old Frisian tar, Old High German zahar, German Zähre, Gothic tagr "tear"), from PIE *dakru- (source also of Latin lacrima, Old Latin dacrima, Irish der, Welsh deigr, Greek dakryma).

To be in tears "weeping" is from 1550s. Tear gas is so called by 1917.

c. 1300, "sweet smell, scent, fragrance," from Anglo-French odour, from Old French odor "smell, perfume, fragrance" (12c., Modern French odeur) and directly from Latin odor "a smell, a scent" (pleasant or disagreeable), from PIE root *hed- "to smell" (source also of Latin olere "emit a smell, to smell of," with Sabine -l- for -d-; Greek ozein "to smell," odmē "odor, scent;" Armenian hotim "I smell;" Lithuanian uodžiu, uosti "to smell, sniff;" Old Czech jadati "to investigate, explore").

Neutral sense of "smell as an inherent property of matter; scent or fragrance whether pleasant or not" is from late 14c. "[W]hen used without a qualifying adjunct, the word usually denotes an agreeable smell" [Century Dictionary, 1895]. Good or bad odor, in reference to repute or esteem, is from 1835. Odor of sanctity (1756) is from French odeur de sainteté (17c.) "sweet or balsamic scent said to be exhaled by the bodies of eminent saints at death or upon disinterment." In Middle English odor also had a figurative sense of "spiritual fragrance of Christ's sacrifice." 

"device for securing ships to the ground under the water by means of cables," Old English ancor, borrowed 9c. from Latin ancora "an anchor," which is from or cognate with Greek ankyra "an anchor, a hook," from PIE root *ang-/*ank- "to bend" (see angle (n.)).

A very early borrowing into English and said to be the only Latin nautical term used in the Germanic languages (German Anker, Swedish ankar, etc.). The unetymological -ch- emerged late 16c., a pedantic imitation of a corrupt spelling of the Latin word. The figurative sense of "that which gives stability or security" is from late 14c. The meaning "host or presenter of a TV or radio program" is from 1965, short for anchorman (q.v.).

"beauty, fairness," c. 1400, pulcritude, from Latin pulchritudo "beauty; excellence, attractiveness," from pulcher "beautiful," a word of unknown origin. De Vaan writes that Latin the -ch- spelling is by Greek influence and posits a stem *polkro- or *pelkro-, but that's as far as he confidently takes it.

also sepulcher, c. 1200, sepulcre, "tomb, burial place," especially the cave where Jesus was buried outside Jerusalem (Holy Sepulcher or Saint Sepulcher), from Old French sepulcre, sepulchre, "tomb; the Holy Sepulchre" (11c.), from Latin sepulcrum (also, erroneously, sepulchrum) "grave, tomb, place where a corpse is buried," from root of sepelire "to bury, embalm," originally "to perform rituals on a corpse."

This is held to be from PIE *sepel-io- "to honor," with a cognate in Sanskrit saparyati "to honor, worship." Whited sepulchre "hypocrite" is from Matthew xxiii.27.

also lachrimal, lacrymal, early 15c., from Medieval Latin lacrimalis "pertaining to tears," from Latin lacrima, lacryma "a tear" (see lachrymose). The corrupted spelling with -ch- began in Medieval Latin. Hence French larme, Spanish lagrima "a tear," French larmoyer "to shed tears."

"small, slender glass vessel," of a type found in ancient sepulchers, 1650s, from Medieval Latin lacrimatorium, noun use of neuter of adjective lacrimatorius "pertaining to tears," from Latin lacrima "a tear" (see lachrymose). "It seems established that in some of them, at least, the tears of friends were collected to be buried with the dead" [Century Dictionary]. As an adjective 1849; the older adjective is lacrymary "designed to contain tears" (1705).

mid-14c. variant of lorrer (c. 1300), from Old French laurier, lorier "bay tree, laurel tree" (12c.), from Latin laurus "laurel tree," which is probably related to Greek daphne "laurel" (for change of d- to l- see lachrymose), which is probably from a pre-IE Mediterranean language.

The second -r- changed to -l- in late Middle English by dissimilation. An emblem of victory or of distinction, hence the phrase to rest (originally repose) on one's laurels, first attested 1831. Related: Laurine (adj.).

c. 1200, "graphic symbol, alphabetic sign, written character conveying information about sound in speech," from Old French letre "character, letter; missive, note," in plural, "literature, writing, learning" (10c., Modern French lettre), from Latin littera (also litera) "letter of the alphabet," also "an epistle, writing, document; literature, great books; science, learning;" a word of uncertain origin.

According to Watkins, perhaps via Etruscan from Greek diphthera "tablet" (with change of d- to l- as in lachrymose), from a hypothetical root *deph- "to stamp." In this sense it replaced Old English bocstæf, literally "book staff" (compare German Buchstabe "letter, character," from Old High German buohstab, from Proto-Germanic *bok-staba-m).

Latin littera also meant "a writing, document, record," and in plural litteræ "a letter, epistle, missive communication in writing," a sense passed through French and attested in English letter since early 13c. (replacing Old English ærendgewrit "written message," literally "errand-writing"). The Latin plural also meant "literature, books," and figuratively "learning, liberal education, schooling" (see letters).

The custom of giving the school letter as an achievement award in sports, attested by 1908, is said to have originated with University of Chicago football coach Amos Alonzo Stagg. Earlier in reference to colleges it meant "university degree or honor that adds initials to a name" (1888). Expression to the letter "precisely" is from 1520s (earlier after the letter, mid-14c.). Letter-quality (adj.) "suitable for (business) letters" is from 1977. For letters patent (with French word order) see patent (n.).

1510s, "one who steers a ship," especially one who has charge of the helm when the ship is passing in or out of harbor, from French pillote (16c.), from Italian piloto, supposed to be an alteration of Old Italian pedoto, which usually is said to be from Medieval Greek *pedotes "rudder, helmsman," from Greek pedon "steering oar," related to pous (genitive podos) "foot," from PIE root *ped- "foot." The change of -d- to -l- in Latin-derived languages ("Sabine -l-") parallels that in odor/olfactory; see lachrymose.

The transferred or figurative sense "a guide, a director of the course of others" is by 1590s. The literal sense was extended by 1848 to "one who controls a balloon," and by 1907 to "one who flies an airplane."

As an adjective, 1788 as "pertaining to a pilot;" from 1928 as "serving as a prototype," thus the noun pilot meaning "pilot episode" (etc.), attested from 1962. A pilot light (by 1890) is a very small light kept burning beside a large burner to automatically light the main burner when the flow is turned on.