Polyglot Dictionary of Etymology

The Concise Oxford Dictionary will tell you the origins of words. So does Wikipedia.

Concise Oxford Dictionary from Amazon.

Dear Friends 

I started making a list of words which were different in the English and American dictionary to help my pupils. I also started listing French loan words. Then I expanded my word collection to include other languages. 

French 

The French are fighting franglais words such as Le Weekend. I took words which we use in English, and words which are common in English-speaking countries.My results are shown below, with the first of alternative names listed for speed in locating nationality.British English is in brackets: 

 American 

bathrobe (dressing gown)call (phone, ring)closet (wardrobe - usually freestanding, walk-in wardrobe, dressing area) color (colour)diapers (nappies)downtown (city centre, in London 'the west end')drop in (call in)eraser (rubber)fall (autumn)favor (favour)fender (mudguard)figure out (guess)flashlight (torch)freeway (motorway)french fries (chips)garbage (rubbish)garbage can (rubbish bin, wastepaper bin)guess (imagine)hood (bonnet)jello (jelly)jelly (jam)john (bog, loo)math (maths)movie (film)outage (power cut)pacifier (dummy)pants (trousers)pavement (tarmac, roadway)pot luck supper (bring a dish)potato chips (crisps)purse (handbag)rest room (toilet)rollercoaster (big dipper)rookie (amateur, apprentice, junior, novice)sassy (cheeky)sidewalk (pavement)shopping cart (trolley)stroller (buggy, pram)take out (take away)throw up (be sick)trunk (boot)underpants (pants)vacation (holiday)washcloth (face flannel,flannel)windshield (windscreen)

What's the American for helter skelter?American - Native American /American Indian dakota (Name of US state from Sioux for friend) papoose paw paw pow wow squaw totem wigwam Winona Sioux for first-born daughter Australian sheila (girl, woman) 

 Arabic 

harem halal zero 

 Aramaic bar (son)

 Canada 

Canada's TV network devoted to aboriginal people is called "APTN" or Aboriginal People's Television Network and this channel may be available on your cable or satellite provider. Caribbean Hurricane Celtic ben (mountain) Chinese cha (tea) tofu Dutch yacht Eskimo / Inuit anorak French ballet bon appetit cliche cul-de-sac bizarre deja-vu garage genre Leroy (king) maisonette marionette RSVP silhouette German automobile delicatessen ersatz gesundheit kindergarten Greek acropolis hippodrome Haiti Barbecue Hebrew ben (son) Ben is son. So Reu-ben is see a son. Ben-jamin is son of my right hand.You find these explanations in microscopic print the footnotes at the bottom of the page in some bibles. Jo-el is a name combining the two old words for God. Hindi...Indian(Move to specific category after checking)bungalow jodhpur polo Irish / Gaelic / Celtic A correspondent writes: Believe it or not, Brendan means "smelly hair". I don't believe it because my dictionaries of names give Brendan as living by a beacon or firelight; Irish for little raven; or Irish Gaelic probably from Welsh for prince; Old Norse for sword. Brenda means the same. Caitlin Gaelic form of Catherine from Greek for pure"Colleen" means "young lady". Mac and Mc always mean "son of"O (son of) fitz (son of) Inuit (see Eskimo) Italian mama mia piano tempo villa Japanese bonsai judo karaoke karate Korean Taekwondo Latin sic; veni, vidi, vici. Victor, Victoria meaning victory. 

 Maori/NZ 

kia ora hello New Zealand barbie (barbecue) dunny (toilet) gumboot (UK Wellingtons) sneaker (US trainers also now used in UK; trainers in UK replacing plimsolls, tennis shoes) your shout (UK your round) 

 Russian 

sputnik 

 Sanskrit guru (teacher) mantra 

 Scottish 

bairn dram mac / mc (son on) wee 

 Singlish 

Flat - basic flat apartment - classy flat condo - has facilities in complex such as swimming pool and gym 

 South African 

apartheid commando trek 

 Spanish adios manana sombrero Swahili Safari Urdu (Many words of Urdu origin are also Hindi and Sanskrit)... Yiddish bagel, chutzpah, kosher. Booklist: Concise Oxford Dictionary (gives origins of words) Dictionaries of baby name and family names e.g. An A-Z of baby names published by Igloo; Babies' Names by Noam Friedlander published by Paragon Books; The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names; Baby's Names by Jenny Saville published by Ward Lock; The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames by Basil Cottle. Internet sources: Type in the word dictionary and any language. Your suggestions welcome......................... If you can add any words, or sources of such words, please keep sending them to me. Also any corrections, please tell me. Thanks.