Explanation of Abilities

 Etymologies provided by the Online Etymology Dictionary:

Strength: Old English strengþu, strengð "bodily power, force, vigor, firmness, fortitude, manhood, violence, moral resistance," from Proto-Germanic *strangitho (source also of Old High German strengida "strength"), from PIE *strenk- "tight, narrow" (see string (n.)), with Proto-Germanic abstract noun suffix *-itho (see -th (2)). Compare length/long. 

Intelligence: late 14c., "the highest faculty of the mind, capacity for comprehending general truths;" c. 1400, "faculty of understanding, comprehension," from Old French intelligence (12c.) and directly from Latin intelligentia, intellegentia "understanding, knowledge, power of discerning; art, skill, taste," from intelligentem (nominative intelligens) "discerning, appreciative," present participle of intelligere "to understand, comprehend, come to know," from assimilated form of inter "between" (see inter-) + legere "choose, pick out, read," from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')."

Wisdom: Old English wisdom "knowledge, learning, experience," from wis (see wise (adj.)) + -dom. A common Germanic compound (Old Saxon, Old Frisian wisdom, Old Norse visdomr, Old High German wistuom "wisdom," German Weistum "judicial sentence serving as a precedent"). Wisdom teeth so called from 1848 (earlier teeth of wisdom, 1660s), a loan-translation of Latin dentes sapientiae, itself a loan-translation of Greek sophronisteres (used by Hippocrates, from sophron "prudent, self-controlled"), so called because they usually appear ages 17-25, when a person reaches adulthood.

Constitution: Meaning "action of establishing, creation" is from c. 1400; that of "way in which a thing is constituted" is from c. 1600; that of "physical health, strength and vigor of the body" is from 1550s; of the mind, "temperament, character" from 1580s.

Dexterity: 1520s, "manual skill, skill in using the hands; physical adroitness in general," from French dexterité (16c.), from Latin dexteritatem (nominative dexteritas) "readiness, skillfulness, prosperity," from dexter "skillful," also "right (hand)," from PIE root *deks- "right, on the right hand," also "south." Compare dexter. In 16c.-18c. also "mental adroitness or skill," often in a bad sense, "cleverness in taking advantage or avoiding responsibility."

Charisma: In the form charism (plural charismata) it is attested in the "special spiritual gift from god" sense from 1640s. Middle English, meanwhile, had karisme "spiritual gift, divine grace" (c. 1500).

Meaning "gift of leadership, power of authority" is from c. 1930, from German, used in this sense by Max Weber (1864-1920) in "Wirtschaft u. Gesellschaft" (1922). More mundane sense of "personal charm" recorded by 1959.

Clear?  No, of course it's not clear.  Gygax is very clear in the DMG that strength includes "endurance and stamina," NOT constitution.  He's very clear that intelligence assumes "reasoning and learning ability," NOT wisdom.  But it's no good, because he also says that constitution includes "fitness," and most people automatically identify fitness with strength and endurance, so we're already lost.  Gygax also says that wisdom includes "judgement and intuitiveness," which are clearly traits associated with being able to think well, which people identify with intelligence.  And so, round and round we go.  No one is clear on what charisma means, since even though Gygax tried to define it as "physical appearance, persuasiveness and personal magnetism," people identify persuasiveness with cleverness, which sounds like it ought to belong to intelligence, and personal magnetism with good judgement, so it ought to be in wisdom.  Though of course, not everyone agrees with either the denotative or connotative definitions of any of these words, or where they belong, so as I said, "round and round we go."

If Gygax and crew had picked six other words, I'd be putting up different etymology listings which still wouldn't agree with the way any of those words were used in the game.   It's all ridiculous anyway.  Just look at "charisma" above.  The word only existed anything like the way Gygax and crew used it after 1959, FIFTEEN years before the use of the term in D&D.  Like wow, talk about propping up a kid on the throne.  Jeebus, is it any wonder people didn't know for sure what the word meant.

Now, if you, Dear Reader, are thinking to stretch your fingers and write a comment about how YOU define wisdom or intelligence in the game,

DON'T

The etymology and the dictionary definitions are much, much smarter than you are, since they're written by people who study words most of their lives, so please just don't.  The point of this post is not to define meanings for these words.  That would be idiocy.

Language has no absolute meaning.  That's why we start wars, and get divorced, and fail to explain our position to our children and find that our children are screaming what we think of as garbage at us.  We don't understand each other.  We'll never understand each other.  So let's not get bogged down in trying to make our personal opinions about something that someone else has already proven can't be nailed down absolutely.  It's just an enormous waste of our time.

It does not matter where the lines between the stats are drawn.  Mine will be drawn differently than yours, because I am different from you.  It matters that the lines are drawn concretely, and that you can explain the concreteness of your lines to your players, so that in the game they comprehend concretely which stat is in play at which time.  That depends on your game.  I give you the English language to help, but do it in German, Chinese or Bantu — whatever works.  Use the language.  Piece together from the dictionary, the thesaurus and the word's etymology to comprehend where to draw a clean, easy to understand line, that you can explain to your players in a way that they will "get."

This won't make your game world better.  But it will resolve a lot of arguments and save your game world from spinning into worse.

P.S.,

Seriously.  Don't try to convert me or educate me.  I won't publish any comment that tries to explain how you define these terms.  We have enough examples already with which to strangle ourselves.