a lie

before 1850, from Fr. "a hoax," lit. "a duck," said by Littré to be from the phrase vendre un canard à moitié "to half-sell a duck," thus, from some long-forgotten joke, "to cheat." From O.Fr. quanart, probably echoic of a duck's quack. 

procrastinating; intended to delay; sluggish

1535, from L. dilatorius, from dilator "procrastinator," from dilatus, serving as pp. of differe "delay" (see defer). 

to dance or skip around playfully; frolic

1726 (implied in gambling), from a dialectal survival of M.E. gammlen, variant of gamenen "to play, jest, be merry," from O.E. gamenian "to play," from gamen (see game). Or possibly gamble is from a derivative of gamel "to play games" (1594), itself likely a frequentative from game. Originally regarded as a slang word. The intrusive -b- may be from confusion with gambol. 

very old; whitish or gray from age

O.E. har "gray, venerable, old," the connecting notion being gray hair, from P.Gmc. *khairaz, from PIE *koi- "to shine." Ger. retains the word as a title of respect, in Herr. Of frost, it is recorded in O.E. (hoar-frost is c.1290), expressing the resemblance of the white feathers of frost to an old man's beard. Used as an attribute of boundary stones in O.E. (probably in ref. to being gray with lichens), hence common in place names. 

sin; evil act

c.1300, from O.Fr. iniquité, from L. iniquitatem (nom. iniquitas) "unequalness, injustice," noun of quality from iniquus "unjust, unequal," from in- "not" + æquus "just, equal." 

ceremony conferring authority; inauguration

1387 (implied in investiture), "to clothe in the official robes of an office," from L. investire "to clothe in, cover, surround," from in "in, into" + vestire "to dress, clothe" (see wear). The meaning "use money to produce profit" first attested 1613 in connection with the East Indies trade, and is probably a borrowing of It. investire (13c.) from the same L. root, via the notion of giving one's capital a new form. The military meaning "to besiege" is from 1600. 

fatigue

1533, from M.Fr. lassitude, from L. lassitudinem (nom. lassitudo) "faintness, weariness," from lassus "faint, tired, weary," from PIE base *lad- "slow, weary" (cf. O.E. læt "sluggish, slow;" see late (adj.)). 

an inappropriate lack of seriousness; overly casual

1564, from L. levitas (gen. levitatis) "lightness, frivolity," from levis "light" in weight (see lever). 

limber; agile

O.E. liðe "soft, mild, gentle, meek," from P.Gmc. *linthijaz (cf. O.S. lithi, O.H.G. lindi, Ger. lind, O.N. linr, with characteristic loss of "n" before "th" in Eng.), from PIE base *lent- "flexible" (cf. L. lentus "flexible, pliant, slow"). In M.E., used of the weather. Current sense of "easily flexible" is from c.1400. 

gaudy; falsey attractive

1626, from L. meretricius "of or pertaining to prostitutes," from meretrix (gen. meretricis) "prostitute," lit. "woman who earns money," from merere, mereri "to earn, gain" (see merit). 

model of excellence

1548, from M.Fr. paragon "a model, pattern of excellence" (15c.), from It. paragone, originally "touchstone to test gold" (c.1324), from paragonare "to test on a touchstone, compare," from Gk. parakonan "to sharpen, whet," from para- "on the side" + akone "whetstone," from PIE base *ak- "be pointed." 

to ward off or deflect; avoid; evade; repel

1634, from Fr. parez! (which commonly would have been heard in fencing lessons), imper. of parer "ward off," from It. parare "to ward or defend a blow," from L. parare "make ready, prepare" (see pare). Non-fencing use is from 1718. 

to wander; to travel, especially on foot

shares root with the peregrine falcon 

response; retort

"to answer," 1447, legal term, from M.Fr. rejoin-, stem of rejoindre "to answer to a legal charge," from O.Fr. re- "back" + joindre "to join" (see join). General (non-legal) meaning first recorded 1637. Rejoinder is 1450, from M.Fr. rejoindre; originally "defendant's answer to the replication." 

cynical; mocking

1638, from Fr. sardonique (16c.), from L. sardonius (but as if from L. *sardonicus) in Sardonius risus, loan-translation of Gk. sardonios (gelos) "of bitter or scornful (laughter)," altered from Homeric sardanios (of uncertain origin) by influence of Sardonios "Sardinian," because the Greeks believed that eating a certain plant they called sardonion (lit. "plant from Sardinia," see Sardinia) caused facial convulsions resembling those of sardonic laughter, usually followed by death. For nuances of usage, see humor. 

grammatical mistake; blunder in speech

1577, from M.Fr. solécisme, from L. soloecismus "mistake in speaking or writing," from Gk. soloikismos "to speak (Greek) incorrectly," from soloikos "ungrammatical utterance," prop. "a speaking like the people of Soloi," from Soloi, Athenian colony in Cilicia, whose dialect the Athenians considered barbarous. 

a person devoted to pleasure and luxury

1617 (implied in Sybaritical), "person devoted to pleasure," lit. "inhabitant of Sybaris," ancient Gk. town in southern Italy, whose inhabitants were noted for their love of luxury. From L. Sybarita, from Gk. Sybarites. 

to scold sharply

O.E. upbregdan "bring forth as a ground for censure," from up "up" + bregdan "move quickly, intertwine" (see braid). Cf. M.Swed. upbrygdha. Meaning "scold" is first attested c.1290. 

undisciplined; reckless

c.1300, wan-towen, from M.E. privative prefix wan- "wanting, lacking" (from O.E. wan "wanting;" see wane) + togen, pp. of teon "to train, discipline;" lit. "to pull, draw," from P.Gmc. *teuhan (cf. O.H.G. ziohan "to pull;" see tug). The basic notion perhaps is "ill-bred, poorly brought up;" cf. Ger. ungezogen "ill-bred, rude, haughty," lit. "unpulled."
"As Flies to wanton Boyes are we to th' Gods, They kill vs for their sport." [Shakespeare, "Lear," 1605]
Noun sense of "lascivious, lewd person" is attested from 1529. The verb is recorded from 1582. The only Eng. survival of a once-common Gmc. negating prefix still active in Du. (cf. wanbestuur "misgovernment," wanluid "discordant sound"), Ger. (wahn-), etc.