Online Etymology Dictionary

ver (n.): "springtime," late 14c., from Old French ver or directly from Latin ver (see vernal).
ver-: German prefix "denoting destruction, reversal, or completion" [Watkins], from Proto-Germanic *fer-, *far- (see per).
Vera: fem. proper name, from Latin, literally "true" (see very).
veracious (adj.): 1670s, from Latin verac-, stem of verax "according to truth, truthful," from verus "true" (see very) + -ous.
veracity (n.): 1620s, from French véracité, from Medieval Latin veracitatem (nominative veracitas) "truthfulness," from Latin verax (genitive veracis) "truthful," from verus "true" (see very).
veranda (n.): 1711, from Hindi varanda, which probably is from Portuguese varanda, originally "long balcony or terrace," of uncertain origin, possibly related to Spanish baranda "railing," and ultimately from Vulgar Latin *barra "barrier, bar." French véranda is borrowed from English.
verb (n.): late 14c., from Old French verbe "part of speech that expresses action or being," from Latin verbum "verb," originally "a word," from PIE root *were- (cf. Avestan urvata- "command;" Sanskrit vrata- "command, vow;" Greek rhetor "public speaker," rhetra "agreement, covenant," eirein "to speak, say;" Hittite weriga- "call, summon;" Lithuanian vardas "name;" Gothic waurd, Old English word "word").
verbage (n.): variant of verbiage (q.v.).
verbal (adj.): late 15c., "dealing with words" (especially in contrast to things or realities), from Latin verbalis "consisting of words, relating to verbs," from verbum "word" (see verb). Verbal conditioning is recorded from 1954. Colloquial verbal diarrhea is recorded from 1823.
verbalize (v.): c.1600, "use too many words," from French verbaliser (16c.); see verbal. Meaning "express in words" is attested from 1875. Related: Verbalized; verbalizing.
verbatim (adv.): late 15c., from Medieval Latin verbatim "word for word," from Latin verbum "word" (see verb).
verbena (n.): genus of plants, the vervain, 1560s, from Latin verbena "leaves or twigs of olive, myrtle, laurel, or other sacred plants employed in religious ceremonies," from PIE *werbh- (cf. Lithuanian virbas "twig, branch, scion, rod"), from root *werb- "to turn, bend" (see warp (v.)).
verbiage (n.): 1721, from French verbiage "wordiness" (17c.), from Middle French verbier "to chatter," from Old French verbe "word," from Latin verbum "word" (see verb).
verbose (adj.): 1540s (implied in verbosity), from Latin verbosus "full of words, wordy," from verbum "word" (see verb).
verbosity (n.): 1540s, from French verbosité (16c.) or directly from Latin verbositas, from verbosus (see verbose).
verboten (adj.): German, literally "forbidden" (see forbid).
verdant (adj.): 1580s, "green," from Middle French virdeant "becoming green," present participle of Old French verdeiier "become green," from Vulgar Latin *viridiare "grow green, make green," from Latin viridis "green" (see verdure). Related: Verdantly.
verdict (n.): 1530s, from Middle English verdit (c.1300), "a jury's decision in a case," from Anglo-French verdit (Old French voirdit), from ver, veir "true" (see very) + dit, past participle of dire "to say" (see diction). Spelling influenced by Medieval Latin verdictum.
verdigris (n.): c.1300, from Old French verte grez (13c.), verte de Grece (late 12c.), literally "green of Greece," from obsolete French verd, from Latin viridis (see verdure). The reason for it being called that is not known. In chemistry, confined to a basic copper acetate; popularly applied to the green encrustation on copper or brass exposed to the air.
verdure (n.): c.1300, "fresh green color," from Old French verdure "greenness," from verd, variant of vert "green," from Latin viridis (source of Spanish, Italian verde), related to virere "be green," of unknown origin. Perhaps ultimately from a root meaning "growing plant" and cognate with Lithuanian veisti "propagate," Old Norse visir "bud, sprout," Old English wise "sprout, stalk, etc." Meaning "green plants, vegetation" is attested from c.1400.
verdurous (adj.): c.1600, from verdure + -ous.
verge (n.): "edge, rim," mid-15c., from Middle French verge "rod or wand of office," hence "scope, territory dominated," from Latin virga "shoot, rod stick," of unknown origin. Earliest attested sense in English is now-obsolete meaning "male member, penis" (c.1400). Modern sense is from the notion of within the verge (c.1500, also as Anglo-French dedeinz la verge), i.e. "subject to the Lord High Steward's authority" (as symbolized by the rod of office), originally a 12-mile radius round the king's court. Sense shifted to "the outermost edge of an expanse or area." Meaning "point at which something happens" (as in on the verge of) is first attested c.1600. "A very curious sense development." [Weekley]
verge (v.): "tend, incline," c.1600, from Latin vergere "to bend, turn, tend toward, incline," from PIE *werg- "to turn," from root *wer- (3) "to turn, bend" (see versus). Much influenced by verge (n.) in its verbal form meaning "to be adjacent to" (1787). Related: Verged; verging.
vergence (n.): 1902, from verge + -ence.
verger (n.): c.1400, probably from Anglo-French *verger, agent noun from verge (see verge (n.)).
veridical (adj.): 1650s, from Latin veridicus, from verum "truth," neuter of verus "true" (see very) + dic-, stem of dicere "to speak" (see diction).
verification (n.): 1520s, from Old French verificacion or directly from Medieval Latin *verificationem (nominative verificatio), noun of action from past participle stem of verificare (see verify). Middle English had verifiaunce (c.1400).
verify (v.): early 14c., from Old French verifier, from Medieval Latin verificare "make true," from Latin verus "true" (see very) + root of facere "to make" (see factitious).
verily (adv.): c.1300, from Middle English verray "true, real" (see very) + -ly (2).
verisimilitude (n.): c.1600, from French verisimilitude (1540s), from Latin verisimilitudo "likeness to truth," from veri, genitive of verum, neuter of verus "true" (see very) + similis "like, similar" (see similar).
veritable (adj.): late 15c., from Anglo-French and Old French veritable "true," from verité (see verity) + -able. Probably lost mid-17c. and reborrowed or revived after 1830. Related: Veritably.
veritas (n.): Latin, literally "truth, truthfulness," from verus "true" (see very). Latin phrase in vino veritas is attributed to Pliny the Elder, though there is a Greek version of it.
verity (n.): late 14c., from Anglo-French and Old French verite "truth," from Latin veritatem (nominative veritas) "truth, truthfulness," from verus "true" (see very). Modern French vérité, literally "truth," borrowed 1966 as a term for naturalism or realism in film, etc.
vermeil (n.): "bright-red;" c.1400, from Anglo-French and Old French vermail (11c. in Old French), from Late Latin vermiculus "a little worm," specifically, the cochineal insect from which crimson dyes were obtained (cf. kermes), in classical Latin, "larva of an insect, grub, maggot," diminutive of vermis "worm" (see worm (n.)). As an adjective from 1580s.
vermicelli (n.): kind of pasta, 1660s, literally "little worms," from Italian vermicelli, plural of vermicello, diminutive of verme, accusative singular of Latin vermis "worm" (see worm). So called for resemblance.
vermiculite (n.): 1814, from Latin vermiculari (from vermiculus, diminutive of vermis; see worm) + -ite.
vermiform (adj.): "worm-shaped," 1730, from Modern Latin vermiformis, from Latin vermis "worm" (see worm (n.)) + forma "form" (see form).
vermilion (n.): late 13c., "cinnabar, red dye," from Anglo-French and Old French vermeillon, from vermeil (see vermeil). As an adjective, from 1580s.
vermin (n.): c.1300, "noxious animals," from Anglo-French and Old French vermin, from Vulgar Latin *verminum "vermin," possibly including bothersome insects, collective noun formed from Latin vermis "worm" (see worm). Extended to "low, obnoxious people" by 1560s.
Vermont: U.S. state, 1777, based on French words for "Green Mountain," but perhaps was formed by one with limited knowledge of French, where the correct form would be Mont Vert (as in the village of Pont-de-Montvert).
vermouth (n.): 1806, from French vermouth, from German Wermuth "wormwood," from Middle High German wermuot, from Old High German wermuota (see wormwood), name of the aromatic herb formerly used in the flavoring of the liqueur.
vernacular (adj.): c.1600, "native to a country," from Latin vernaculus "domestic, native," from verna "home-born slave, native," a word of Etruscan origin. Used in English in the sense of Latin vernacula vocabula, in reference to language.
vernal (adj.): "pertaining to spring," 1530s, from Latin vernalis "of the spring," from vernus "of spring," from ver "spring," from PIE *wesr- "spring" (cf. Old Norse var "spring," Greek ear, Sanskrit vasantah, Persian bahar, Old Church Slavonic vesna "spring," Lithuanian vasara "summer").
vernier (n.): 1766, device for making precise measurements, from name of inventor, French mathematician Paul Vernier (1580-1637), who described it in a tract published 1631.
Veronica: fem. proper name, a variant of Greek Berenike (see Berenice). The popular "Saint Veronica" (not in the Roman Martyrology) traditionally was a pious woman who wiped the face of Christ when he fell carrying the cross to Calvary. The image of his face remained on the cloth, and the "veil of Veronica" has been preserved in Rome from the 8c. Her popularity rose with the propagation of the Stations of the Cross. Some also identified her with the woman with the issue of blood, cured by Christ, as in the East this woman was identified from an early date by the name Berenike.
In sum, it seems likely that the story of Veronica is a delightful legend without any solid historical basis; that Veronica is a purely fictitious, not a historical character, and that the story was invented to explain the relic. It aroused great interest in the later Middle Ages in the general devotional context of increased concern with the humanity of Christ, especially the Holy Face, and the physical elements of his Passion. [David Hugh Farmer, "The Oxford Dictionary of Saints," 1978]
Hence vernicle (mid-14c.) "picture of the face of Christ," from Old French veronicle, variant of veronique.
verruca (n.): 1560s, from Latin verruca "wart" (see vary).
vers libre (n.): 1902, from French, literally "free verse," lines of varying length.
I remarked some years ago, in speaking of vers libre, that 'no vers is libre for the man who wants to do a good job.' The term, which fifty years ago had an exact meaning in relation to the French alexandrine, now means too much to mean anything at all. [T.S. Eliot, introduction to "Selected Poems of Ezra Pound," 1928]
Versailles: of uncertain origin; perhaps from Latin versus "slope." Originally a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII; made into a palace 17c. by Louis XIV.
versant (n.): 1640s, from Latin versantem (nominative versans), present participle of versare (see versus).
versatile (adj.): c.1600, from Latin versatilis "turning, revolving, moving, capable of turning to varied subjects or tasks," from past participle stem of versare "keep turning, be engaged in something, turn over in the mind," frequentative of vertere "to turn" (see versus).