1000s · Old English
English words first recorded in the 11th century
69 English words whose earliest known written record dates from the 11th century, earliest first (page 2). Words dated only to part of the century follow the ones with a year.
shipwreck
1100It is formed from English ship + wrack (“something cast up by the sea”), later remodelled after the related wreck, which was already felt as a variant of wrack in the early modern period. Etymonline…
snare
11001. The word for the trap is inherited from Middle English snare, partly inherited from Old English snearu and partly borrowed from Old Norse snara (“noose, snare”), from Proto-Germanic *snarhǭ…
sometime
1100It is Middle English sum tim, from late Old English sumtīma, formed from some and time. SOED notes that it was formerly spelled with a space.
southeast
1100It is inherited from Middle English south-est, from Old English sūþēast, from south and east.
southwest
1100–1199It is Middle English, inherited from Old English sūþwest (“to the south-west”), a compound of south and west. The noun and adjective developed from the adverb.
take
1100It is inherited from Middle English taken, inherited from Old English tacan (“to grasp, seize”), borrowed from Old Norse taka (“to take, grasp, lay hold of”), past tense tók, past participle tekinn…
upon
1100–1130It is a Middle English compound of up and on, formed after Old Norse upp á, continuing Old English uppon, uppan “on, up to, against”.
whore
1100It is inherited from Middle English hore, respelled with wh- in the 16th century, inherited from Old English hōre (“prostitute, harlot”), from Proto-Germanic *hōrōn, cognate with Dutch hoer, Old…
wildfire
1100–1199It is inherited from Middle English wilde fire, inherited from Old English wildfȳr, a compound from English wild + fire. Chaucer wrote it wilde fyr. The OED compares German Wildfeuer, which means…