English words first recorded in the 13th century

It is inherited from Middle English maiour (also majour), borrowed from Latin māior (“greater”), the irregular comparative of magnus (“great, large”), from Proto-Indo-European *meg- (“great”). The…

It is Middle English, formed from make and -er.

It is inherited from Middle English maner, borrowed from Anglo-Norman maner, corresponding to Old French manoir (“dwelling, residence”) (12th century), the noun use of the infinitive maneir, manoir…

It is inherited from Middle English merveile, borrowed from Old French merveille (“a wonder, surprise, miracle”), from Vulgar Latin *miribilia, an alteration of Late Latin mirabilia (“wonderful…

It is inherited from Middle English merveillous, borrowed from Old French merveillos (“marvellous, wonderful”), in Anglo-Norman merveillus, recorded from 1113–19, and in modern French merveilleux…

It is inherited from Middle English mase (“delusion, bewilderment”), also spelled maze and masse. Most dictionaries take the noun from the verb masen (“to confuse, daze”), inherited from Old English…

It is inherited from Middle English melodie, borrowed from Old French melodie (“song, music, tune”), and partly a direct borrowing of Late Latin melōdia, from Ancient Greek μελῳδία (melōidía…

It is inherited from Middle English mencioun, borrowed from Old French mencion (“mention, memory, speech”), from Latin mentiō (“a calling to mind, a speaking of”) (accusative mentiōnem), from the…

It is inherited from Middle English mes, borrowed from Old French mes (“portion of food, prepared dish, course at dinner”), from Late Latin missus (“course at dinner”), literally “a placing, a…

It is inherited from Middle English midwif, also medwif and midewif, probably formed from Middle English mid (“with”) + wif (“woman”), so that a midwife was a woman who is with the mother at the…

It is inherited from Middle English minour, also miner, borrowed from Anglo-Norman minour, minor, from Old French mineor, an agent noun from miner (“to mine”), which is probably from mine, the…

It is inherited from Middle English maistresse, borrowed from Old French maistresse, the feminine of maistre (“master”), from Latin magister (“chief, director, teacher”) (see master). Forms in mis-…

It is inherited from Middle English mote (“mound, embankment”), borrowed from Old French mote (“mound, hillock, embankment; castle on a hill”), now motte (“clod, mound”), and directly borrowed from…

It is inherited from Middle English molten, inherited from Old English molten, the old strong past participle of meltan (“to melt, dissolve; to digest”), the source of melt. The verb goes back to…

It is inherited from Middle English monstre, borrowed from Old French monstre and directly from Latin mōnstrum (“divine omen, portent; monster”), a derivative of moneō “to remind, warn”, from…

It is inherited from Middle English monelight, formed from Middle English mone (“moon”) + light (“light”). Similar compounds are Dutch maanlicht and German Mondlicht.

1. It is inherited from Middle English morter, partly inherited from Old English mortere, borrowed from Latin mortārium (“a vessel for pounding; the material pounded in it”), and partly reborrowed…

1. It is inherited from Middle English mounten, borrowed from Old French monter (“to go up, climb”), from Vulgar Latin *montō, from Latin mōns, montis “mountain”. It is related to amount, paramount…

It is inherited from Middle English mulberie, a dissimilated form of murberie, partly inherited from Old English mōrberie and partly borrowed from Middle High German mūlberi, an alteration of Old…

It is inherited from Middle English nacioun, borrowed from Old French nacion (“birth, rank; descendants; country, homeland”), and directly borrowed from Latin nātiō (“birth, origin; breed, stock…

It is borrowed from Old French neveu (“grandson, descendant”), from nepōs (“sister's son, grandson, descendant”) (stem nepōt-), cognate with Sanskrit नपा॑त् (nápāt), Old Lithuanian nepuotis, Old…

It is Middle English never the lesse, from never, the (in its adverbial use, as in “the more the merrier”) and less. Never here means “not at all”, as in “never the wiser”.

It is inherited from Middle English nece, borrowed from Anglo-Norman nece and Old French niece (“niece; granddaughter”) (earlier niepce), from Late Latin neptia, which replaced Latin neptis…

It is inherited from Middle English nok, also noke and northern nuke and nouk, of unknown origin. The MED and the American Heritage Dictionary take it as probably of Scandinavian origin, comparing a…

It is inherited from Middle English noricerie, borrowed from Old French nourricerie, formed from norrice (“nurse”) (see nurse) and -erie (see -ery), ultimately from Latin nūtriō (“to nourish…

It is inherited from Middle English norture, borrowed from Anglo-Norman norture, also nurtur, variants of noreture and norreture (modern French nourriture), from Late Latin nūtrītūra (“a nursing…

It is inherited from Middle English octaves, a plural noun, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman octaves and partly borrowed from Medieval Latin octāvae, the noun use of the feminine plural of Latin…

It is inherited from Middle English odde (“left over, single”), borrowed from Old Norse odda-, the combining form of oddi (“third or odd number; point of land, triangle”), as in odda-maðr “third or…

It is inherited from Middle English odour, also odur and odor, borrowed from Anglo-Norman odour, also odur, from Old French odor, now odeur, and directly borrowed from Latin odor (“smell, scent”)…

It is inherited from Middle English oinement, also oynement and oignement, borrowed from Old French oignement (“ointment, salve; anointing”), also oingnement, whose Anglo-Norman form uignement is…

It is inherited from Middle English ordeinen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman ordeiner, also ordener and ordainer, and ordener, with the stressed stem ordein-, later ordonner (modern French ordonner)…

It is inherited from Middle English ordinaunce, borrowed from Anglo-Norman ordenance, also Old French ordenance (now ordonnance), a decision made by a superior, recorded in Old French from about…

It is inherited from Middle English oures, ures, formed from our with the genitive -s, a double possessive. It originated in northern England.

It is inherited from Middle English outrage, borrowed from Anglo-Norman utrage and Old French outrage (earlier oltrage), from outre (“beyond”) and -age, from Latin ultrā (“beyond”), or through a…

It is inherited from Middle English outright (“completely; straight onward”) (also outriȝt), a compound from English out + right. The OED analyses the second element as the suffix -right, as in…

It is formed from over and night.

1. The word for a frog or toad is inherited from Middle English paddok, formed from Middle English padde (“toad”) + -ok, probably as a diminutive. The simple noun is probably from Old Norse padda…

It is inherited from Middle English palmere, borrowed from Anglo-Norman palmer, Old French palmier, from Medieval Latin palmārius, a pilgrim, from Latin palma, palm tree (see palm), so called…

It is inherited from Middle English panteon, borrowed from Medieval Latin panteon, and was borrowed again in the 16th century from Latin pantheon, which the OED records in post-classical Latin from…

The noun is inherited from Middle English pardoun, borrowed from Old French pardon (“forgiveness, indulgence”) (Anglo-Norman pardun), from the verb pardoner (“to grant, forgive”), from Medieval…

It is inherited from Middle English paroche, later parosshe and parish, borrowed from Anglo-Norman paroche, Old French paroisse, from Late Latin parochia (“a diocese”), paroecia, from Late Greek…

It is inherited from Middle English partiner, an alteration, under the influence of part, of earlier parcener, borrowed from Anglo-Norman parcener (“partner, joint heir”), Old French parçonier, from…

It is inherited from Middle English partie (“part, side, group”), borrowed from Old French partie (“part, share; side; separation”), the noun use of the feminine past participle of partir (“to…

It is inherited from Middle English pasture, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman pasture (“pastureland, animal feed”), also pastour, and Middle French pasture, recorded in Old French from the 12th…

It is inherited from Middle English patroun, borrowed from Old French patron (“patron, protector, patron saint”), and directly from Medieval Latin patrōnus (“patron saint, bestower of a benefice…

It is inherited from Middle English pavement, also paviment and pament, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pavement, also paviment, and partly directly borrowed from Latin pavīmentum (“paved surface or…

It is inherited from Middle English paiement, payement, borrowed from Old French paiement, 13th century, from paiier (“to pay”), the source of pay, with the suffix -ment.

It is inherited from Middle English penaunce, also penance, borrowed from Anglo-Norman penaunce and directly borrowed from Old French peneance, also penance and penanche, from Latin paenitentia…

It is inherited from Middle English parfourmen, later performen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman parfourmer, performer, an alteration under the influence of Old French forme “form” of parfornir (“to do…

It is inherited from Middle English perilous, borrowed from Anglo-Norman perillus, also perilous and perilleus, and Old French perillus, perillos, now périlleux. The French word is recorded from…

It is inherited from Middle English pinacle, borrowed from Anglo-Norman pinacle and Middle French pinacle, and directly borrowed from Late Latin pinnāculum (“peak, gable; small wing”), formed from…

It is borrowed from Old French pirate and directly from Latin pīrāta, from Greek πειρατής (peirātḗs, “brigand, pirate”), literally one who attacks, from πειράω (peiráō), to attack, attempt, from…

1. The jug is borrowed from Anglo-Norman picher and pichier (now pichet), recorded in Anglo-Norman from the second half of the 12th century. It is an altered form of bichier, from Medieval Latin…

It is inherited from Middle English playne, pleyn, borrowed from Old French plain (“flat, smooth, even”), from Latin plānus (“flat, even, level”), from Proto-Indo-European *pele- (“flat; to…

1. The verb meaning to braid is inherited from Middle English platen, an alteration of plaiten (“to fold, braid”), perhaps influenced by plat (“flat”); see plait. The OED explains it instead as…

1. The verb meaning to fall heavily is inherited from Middle English plumpen, also plump, past tense plumte, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch plompen (“to fall into water”), or Middle Low German…

It is borrowed from Old French poete and directly borrowed from Latin poēta (“poet, author”), from Ancient Greek ποητής (poētḗs, “maker, author, poet”), a variant of ποιητής (poiētḗs), from ποιέω…

Middle English ponde is a variant of pound, an enclosed place, a sense that pound still has in dialect. The form appears earlier in pundpani, pond-penny (1248), a levy for the upkeep of ponds, and…

It is inherited from Middle English porcioun, borrowed from Old French porcion (“part, portion”), and directly from Latin portiō (“share, part”), a noun that was at first found only in the phrase…

It is inherited from Middle English pocioun, borrowed from Old French pocion (“potion, draught, medicine”), also pocioun and potion, from Latin pōtiō (“a drinking, a drink; a poisonous draught, a…