Online Etymology Dictionary

manual (adj.): c.1400, from Latin manualis "of or belonging to the hand; that can be thrown by hand," from manus "hand, strength, power over; armed force; handwriting," from PIE *man- (2) "hand" (cf. Old Norse mund "hand," Old English mund "hand, protection, guardian," German Vormund "guardian," Greek mane "hand").
manual (n.): early 15c., "service book used by a priest," from Old French manuel "handbook" (also "plow-handle"), from Late Latin manuale "case or cover of a book, handbook," noun use of neuter of Latin manualis (see manual (adj.)). Meaning "a concise handbook" of any sort is from 1530s.
manually (adv.): late 15c., from manual (adj.) + -ly (2).
manubrium (n.): "handle-like process," 1848 in anatomy and zoology, from Latin manubrium "handle, hilt," properly "that which is held in the hand," from manus "hand" (see manual (adj.)).
Manuel: masc. proper name, short for Emmanuel.
manufacture (n.): 1560s, "something made by hand," from Middle French manufacture, from Medieval Latin *manufactura (source of Italian manifattura, Spanish manufactura), from Latin manu, ablative of manus "hand" (see manual (adj.)) + factura "a working," from past participle stem of facere "to perform" (see factitious). Sense of "process of manufacturing" first recorded c.1600. Related: Manufactures.
manufacture (v.): 1680s, from manufacture (n.). Related: Manufactured; manufacturing; manufacturable.
manufacturer (n.): 1719, "worker in a manufacturing establishment," agent noun from manufacture (v.). Meaning "one who employs workers in manufacturing" is from 1752.
manumission (n.): c.1400, from Old French manumission "freedom, emancipation," and directly from Latin manumissionem (nominative manumissio) "freeing of a slave," noun of action from past participle stem of manumittere "to set free," from the phrase manu mittere "release from control," from manu, ablative of manus "power of a master," literally "hand" (see manual (adj.)) + mittere "let go, release" (see mission).
manumit (v.): early 15c., from Latin manumittere "to release, set at liberty, emancipate," literally "to send from one's 'hand'" (i.e. "control"); see manumission. Related: Manumitted; manumitting.
manure (v.): c.1400, "to cultivate land," also "to hold property," from Anglo-French meynoverer, Old French manouvrer "to work with the hands, cultivate; carry out; make, produce," from Medieval Latin manuoperare (see maneuver (n.)). Sense of "work the earth" led to "put dung on the soil" (1590s) and to the current noun meaning "dung spread as fertilizer," which is first attested 1540s. Until late 18c., however, the verb still was used in a figurative 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]
Related: Manured; manuring.
manure (n.): "dung or compost used as fertilizer," 1540s, see manure (v.).
manuscript (n.): "document or book written by hand," 1590s (adj.), c.1600 (n.), from Medieval Latin manuscriptum "document written by hand," from Latin manu scriptus "written by hand," from manu, ablative of manus "hand" (see manual (adj.)) + scriptus (neuter scriptum), past participle of scribere "to write" (see script). Abbreviation is MS, plural MSS.
Manx: 1798, earlier Manks (1620s), metathesized from Maniske (1570s) "of the Isle of Man," from Old Norse *manskr, from Man (from Old Irish Manu "Isle of Man") + suffix -iskr "ish." Manx cat, without a tail, first attested 1843.
manxome: 1871, a word invented by Lewis Carroll.
many (adj.): Old English monig, manig "many, many a, much," from Proto-Germanic *managaz (cf. Old Saxon manag, Swedish mången, Old Frisian manich, Dutch menig, Old High German manag, German manch, Gothic manags), from PIE *menegh- "copious" (cf. Old Church Slavonic munogu "much, many," Old Irish menicc, Welsh mynych "frequent," Old Irish magham "gift"). Pronunciation altered by influence of any (see manifold).
many (n.): Old English menigu, from many (adj.). The many "the multitude" attested from 1520s. Cf. also Gothic managei "multitude, crowd," Old High German managi "large number, plurality," German Menge "multitude."
many-headed (adj.): 1580s; see many + head (n.).
Mao (adj.): "simple style of clothing based on dress in Communist China," 1967, from French, from name of Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976), Chinese communist leader. Related: Maoism.
Maoist: 1951 (adj.), 1963 (n.), in reference to the sort of Marxist-Leninist communist doctrines invented by Chairman Mao Tse-tung of China.
Maori: "Polynesian inhabitant of New Zealand," 1843, native name, said to mean "of the usual kind."
map (n.): 1520s, shortening of Middle English mapemounde "map of the world" (late 14c.), and in part from Middle French mappe, shortening of Old French mapemonde, both English and French words from Medieval Latin mappa mundi "map of the world;" first element from Latin mappa "napkin, cloth" (on which maps were drawn), "tablecloth, signal-cloth, flag," said by Quintilian to be of Punic origin (cf. Talmudic Hebrew mappa, contraction of Mishnaic menaphah "a fluttering banner, streaming cloth") + Latin mundi "of the world," from mundus "universe, world" (see mundane). Commonly used 17c. in a figurative sense of "epitome; detailed representation." To put (something) on the map "bring it to wide attention" is from 1913.
map (v.): 1580s, from map (n.). Related: Mapped, mapping. To map (something) out in the figurative sense is from 1610s.
maple (n.): c.1300, from Old English mapultreow "maple tree," also mapolder, mapuldre, related to Old Norse möpurr, Old Saxon mapulder, Middle Low German mapeldorn, from Proto-Germanic *maplo-. There also was a Proto-Germanic *matlo- (cf. Old High German mazzaltra, German maszholder), but the connection and origins are mysterious. Formerly with adjectival form mapelin (early 15c.; Old English mapuldern). Maple syrup attested from 1824, American English. The maple leaf is mentioned as the emblem of Canada from 1850.
MapQuest: Internet mapping service, known by that name from 1996; acquired by AOL in 2000. As a verb, by 1997.
maquette (n.): "artist's preliminary model or sketch," 1903, from French maquette (18c.), from Italian macchietta "speck," diminutive of macchia "spot," from macchiare "to stain," from Latin maculare (see maculate). From 1893 as a French word in English.
maquis (n.): 1858, from French maquis "undergrowth, shrub," especially in reference to the dense scrub of certain Mediterranean coastal regions, long the haunts of outlaws and fugitives, from Corsican Italian macchia "spot," from Latin macula "spot, stain;" the landscapes so called from their mottled appearance. Used figuratively of French resistance in World War II (1943). A member is a maquisard.
mar (v.): Old English merran (Anglian), mierran (West Saxon) "to waste, spoil," from Proto-Germanic *marzjan (cf. Old Frisian meria, Old High German marren "to hinder, obstruct," Gothic marzjan "to hinder, offend"), from PIE root *mers- "to trouble, confuse" (cf. Sanskrit mrsyate "forgets, neglects," Lithuanian mirszati "to forget"). Related: Marred; marring.
maraca (n.): gourd rattle used as a percussion instrument, 1813, from Portuguese, from Brazilian native name.
maracas: see maraca.
Maranatha: late 14c., a Bible word, from Greek maranatha, untranslated Semitic word in I Cor. xvi:22, where it follows Greek anathema, and therefore has been taken as part of a phrase and used as "a curse." Usually assumed to be from Aramaic maran atha "Our Lord has come," which would make the common usage erroneous (see OED entry), but possibly it is a false transliteration of Hebrew mohoram atta "you are put under the ban," which would make more sense in the context. [Klein]
maraschino (n.): 1791, "cherry liqueur," from Italian maraschino "strong, sweet liqueur made from juice of the marasca" (a bitter black cherry), a shortening of amarasca, from amaro "bitter," from Latin amarus "sour," from PIE root *om- "raw, bitter." Maraschino cherry, one preserved in real or imitation maraschino, first recorded 1820.
marasmus (n.): "wasting away of the body," 1650s, Modern Latin, from Greek marasmos "a wasting away, withering, decay," from marainein "to quench, weaken, wither," from PIE root *mer- "to rub away, harm" (see morbid). Maras (n.) evidently in the same sense is attested from mid-15c. Related: Marasmic.
Maratha: state in southwestern India, also in reference to the Scytho-Dravidian race living there, 1763 (Mharatta), from Marathi Maratha, corresponding to Sanskrit Maharastrah, literally "great country," from maha- "great" (from PIE root *meg- "great;" see magnate) + rastra "kingdom," from raj "to rule" (see rajah).
marathon (n.): 1896, marathon race, from story of Greek hero Pheidippides, who in 490 B.C.E. ran the 26 miles and 385 yards to Athens from the Plains of Marathon to tell of the allied Greek victory there over Persian army. The original story (Herodotus) is that he ran from Athens to Sparta to seek aid, which arrived too late to participate in the battle. Introduced as an athletic event in the 1896 revival of the Olympic Games, based on a later, less likely story, and quickly extended to mean "any very long event or activity." Related: Marathoner (by 1912).
maraud (v.): 1690s, from French marauder (17c.), from Middle French maraud "rascal" (15c.), of unknown origin, perhaps from French dialectal maraud "tomcat," echoic of its cry. A word popularized in several languages during the Thirty Years War (cf. Spanish merodear, German marodiren "to maraud," marodebruder "straggler, deserter") by punning association with Count Mérode, imperialist general. Related: Marauded; marauding.
marauder (n.): 1690s, agent noun from maraud (v.).
marble (n.): type of stone much used in sculpture, monuments, etc., early 14c., by dissimilation from marbra (mid-12c.), from Old French marbre (which itself underwent dissimilation of 2nd -r- to -l- in 14c.; marbre persisted in English into early 15c.), from Latin marmor, from or cognate with Greek marmaros "marble, gleaming stone," of unknown origin, perhaps originally an adjective meaning "sparkling," which would connect it with marmairein "to shine." The Latin word was taken directly into Old English as marma. German Marmor is restored Latin from Old High German marmul. Meaning "little balls of marble used in a children's game" is attested from 1690s.
marble (adj.): late 14c., "of marble," from marble (n.). Meaning "mottled like marble" is mid-15c. Marble cake is attested from 1864.
marble (v.): 1590s (implied in marbled), "to give (something) the appearance of marble," from marble (n.). Related: Marbling.
marbles (n.): children's game, from plural of marble (n.); first recorded by that name in 1709 but probably older (it was known in 13c. German as tribekugeln) and originally played with small balls of polished marble or alabaster, later clay; the modern glass ones with the colored swirl date from 1840s.

Meaning "mental faculties, common sense" is from 1927, American English slang, perhaps [OED] from earlier slang marbles "furniture, personal effects, 'the goods' " (1864, Hotten), a corrupt translation of French meubles (plural) "furniture" (see furniture).
marcasite (n.): crystalized pyrite, early 15c., from Medieval Latin marchasita, of obscure origin, perhaps via Spanish, probably from Arabic, though OED doubts this. Perhaps ultimately from Persian marquashisha [Klein]. "This name has been used for a number of substances but mainly for iron pyrites and especially for the crystalline forms used in the 18th century for ornaments." [Flood]
Marcella: fem. proper name, Latin, fem. of Marcellus.
Marcellus: masc. proper name, Latin, diminutive of Marcus.
marcescent (adj.): "withering," 1727, from Latin marcescentem (nominative marcescens), present participle of marcescere "to wither, languish, droop, decay, pine away," inchoative of marcere "to wither, droop, be faint," from PIE root *merk- "to decay."
march (v.): "to walk with regular tread," early 15c., from Middle French marcher "to march, walk," from Old French marchier "to stride, march," originally "to trample, tread underfoot," perhaps from Frankish *markon or some other Germanic source related to obsolete Middle English march (n.) "borderland" (see march (n.2)). Or possibly from Gallo-Roman *marcare, from Latin marcus "hammer," via notion of "tramping the feet." Meaning "to cause to march" is from 1590s. Related: Marched; marching. Marching band is attested from 1852. Italian marciare, Spanish marchar are said to be from French.
march (n.2): "boundary," late 13c. (in reference to the borderlands beside Wales, rendering Old English Mercia), from Old French marche "boundary, frontier," from Frankish *marka or some other Germanic source (cf. Old High German marchon "to mark out, delimit," German Mark "boundary;" see mark (n.1)). Now obsolete. There was a verb in Middle English (c.1300), "tohave a common boundary," from Old French marchier "border upon, lie alongside."
March: third month, c.1200, from Anglo-French marche, Old French marz, from Latin Martius (mensis) "(month) of Mars," from Mars (genitive Martis). Replaced Old English hreðmonaþ, the first part of which is of uncertain meaning, perhaps from hræd "quick, nimble, ready, active, alert, prompt." For March hare, proverbial type of madness, see mad.
march (n.1): "act of marching," 1580s, from march (v.) or else from Middle French marche (n.), from marcher (v.). The musical sense first attested 1570s, from notion of "rhythmic drumbeat" for marching. Transferred sense of "forward motion" is from 1620s.
marchen (n.): 1871, "German fairy or folk tale," from German Märchen, "a story or tale," from Middle High German merechyn "short verse narrative," from Old High German mari "news, tale," from Proto-Germanic *mærjo- "renowned, famous, illustrious" (cf. Old English mære) + diminutive suffix -chen.