Interesting Etymologies

Note, when I say "root" below, I mean Proto-Indo-European root, and even then I'm simplifying it just to get a general sense. Same simplification goes for references to Old English where I'm not using the proper Old English letters like Thorn because they're not on my keyboard. The point is just to broadly understand how common words we take for granted are connected to the past and to other languages, not to be academic about it.

Function words

• a/an: original form was "an" from Old English, meaning "one" or "single". Same root "oi-no-" as "one" and "unique".
• the/that/this: from Old English and related to roots "to-/te-", "so-/se-", and "-s/-es". "This" emphasizes nearness.
• then/than: both from an Old English word meaning "at that time", with "than" diverging to be used comparatively.
• what/who/why/where/when/how: originally from words starting with a "k" sound, hence why Latin and Spanish equivalents start with "q".
• and: from roots "en/eti", meaning "in addition" or "also".
• but: from Old English "butan", derived from "be" and "utan", meaning "outside", so "be outside". Related to root "ud-" meaning "up" or "out" and Latin "ut". First spacial, then logical.
• or/other: from Old English "othe", related to Proto-Germanic "aththau" and root "-eter", meaning either/or.
• no: from Old English "na", meaning "not ever", and related to root "ne".
• in/on: from root "en/n".
• at: from root "ad-", meaning "to" or "toward". Originally directive and became locative.
• to: from root "de/do", meaning "give".
• from: from root "pro-mo-" or "per-", meaning "forward", and related to German "von".
• come: from Old English "cuman" and root "gwem" which originally meant motion in general.
• go: from root "ghe-/ge-", to go or leave.
• went: from past tense of Old English "wendan" (to turn or go), displaced "eode" as the past tense of "go". Related to "wander" and root "wendh-", to turn or wind.

Pronouns

• you: from Old English, related to root "yu-" and Latin "vos".
• me: from Old English, related to root "me-".
• I: from Old English "ic", related to root "egh-" and Latin "ego".
• them: from Old Norse, displaced Old English "hie" and related to roots "to-/te-".
• self: from Old English, meaning "own" or "same".

Connectives

• there: from Old English, meaning "in that place", related to "that" and rooted in "to- + -er"
• also: from Old English "eallswa", literally "all so" meaning "just as".
• because: from Middle English "bi cause" meaning "by cause (of)" and related to roots "bhi", meaning "near" or "about", and "keu-" meaning to set in motion.
• am: from Old English "eom", related to Latin "sum" and root "es-".
• are: from Old English "earun", possible rooted in "es-" or "er-".
• was: from root "wes-".
• just: from Latin "iustus" and root "yew(e)-", meaning lawful or rightful. Modern sense of "only" or "barely" developed later.
• if: from Old English "gif" and derived from "give", as in "given that...".
• else: from root "al-" meaning "beyond", "other", or "strange", related to Latin "alius" and therefore "alias".
• though: from Old English "theah", cognate with German "doch", roots "to-ke" or "to-ghe", meaning "nevertheless".
• albeit: from Middle English "al be it", "although it be".
• hence: from "hen", an Old/Middle English word meaning "here", evolved from Middle English "hennes", meaning "from here".
• since: from Middle English "sithen", Old English "sith" and "than", meaning "after then".

Common nouns

• it: very old, from Proto-Germanic (split from German, where it became "es"), Proto-Indo-European "id"
• dog: unclear origin in comparison with "hound", which comes from Old English and German "hund".
• cat: from Latin "cattus", Greek "katta".
• thing: Old English word meaning more specifically a public assembly, meeting, or legal matter, root "ten-" meaning to appoint.
• stuff: from Old French "estoffe", meaning materials, provisions, or furniture. Originally referred more specifically to furnishings or fabric.
• man: from Old English "mann", which replaced "wer", originally meaning "person" with no gender connotation.
• woman: from Old English "wifmann", meaning "woman-person"
• lady: from Old english "hlaefdige", meaning "loaf-kneader"
• girl: in Middle English, "girl" referred to any young person, only becoming specific to females over time

Other interesting etymologies

• cloud: from Old English "clud", meaning "mass of rock", later reinterpreted as "sky rock"
• meat: from Proto-Germanic "matiz", originally meant any kind of food in Old English
• starve: from Proto-Germanic "sterbana", meaning "to die" in a more general sense
• deer: from Proto-Germanic "djur", originally meant any kind of animal
• worm: from Proto-Germanic "wurmaz", meaning "serpent" or "creeping thing"
• knight: from Proto-Germanic "knechtaz", meaning "young man" or "servant"
• silly: from Proto-Germanic "saeligaz", meaning "blessed" or "happy"
• gossip: from Proto-Germanic "godsibb", meaning "a person related through God" (godparent)
• sky: from Old Norse, where it meant "cloud"
• bread: from Proto-Germanic brauda, meaning "something cooked". Originally referred to food in general while "hlaf" (loaf) was used for bread
• ghost: from Proto-Germanic gaistaz, meaning "spirit" or "breath"
• nice: from Latin nescius, meaning "ignorant", "not to know"
• thrill: from Proto-Germanic "thrilliana", originally meaning "to pierce" in Old English
• queen: from Proto-Germanic "kweniz", Old English "cwen", meaning "woman"
• perhaps: from Latin "per" and Middle English "hap", literally meaning "by chance"
• bother: of Anglo-Irish origin, originally in the sense "confuse with noise"
• world: from Old English "weorold", a compound of "wer" (man) and ald (age), or "age of man"
• field: from Old English "feld" (plain, pasture, cultivated land), Proto-Germanic "felthan" (flat land)
• boss: from Dutch "baas", meaning "master"
• tinker: may be a shortened form of "tinkerere" meaning "worker in tin" or an onamatopoea of the sound of metal work
• tome: originally referred to a single volume of a larger work, from Latin "tomus", rooted in "tem-" (to cut)
• excrutiating: from Latin, literally "out of crucifying"
• salient: from Latin "salire", meaning to leap, spring, or jump (hence something that "stands out")
• goodbye: originally a contraction of "God be with you"
• clue: from Middle English "clewe", meaning a ball of thread
• whiskey: derived from the Gaelic "uisce beatha" meaning "water of life"
• disaster: from Italian "disastro", literally meaning "bad star"
• alarm: from Italian "all'arme", meaning "to arms"
• window: from Old Norse "vindauga", meaning "wind eye"
• rather: from Old English "hraether" and "hraed", meaning more quickly or quick
• kudos: from ancient Greece, meaning "glory" or "fame"
• bogeyman: believed to have originated from the Middle English "bogge", meaning a scarecrow or specter.
• water: from Proto-Indo-European "wodr"
• vodka: literally "little water" or "dear water" in Russian