English words first recorded in the 14th century

It is inherited from Middle English sorte, borrowed from Old French sorte (“class, kind”), from an altered form of Latin sors (“lot, fate; share; rank, category”) (accusative sortem), from…

It is inherited from Middle English speculatif, borrowed from Old French speculatif (“theoretical”) and directly borrowed from Late Latin speculātīvus, from Latin speculātus, the past participle of…

It is inherited from Middle English spedi, formed from English speed + -y, after or beside Old English spēdig (“prosperous, successful, wealthy”), which matches Middle Dutch spoedich (modern…

It is inherited from Middle English stabben, found before 1530 only in Scots writers, while the noun stabbe is in an English glossary of 1440. Its origin is uncertain. The OED relates it to the…

It is inherited from Middle English stadie, borrowed from Latin stadium (“a measure of length; a course for foot races”), from Ancient Greek στάδιον (stádion, “a measure of length; a racecourse”)…

Used as an adjective, it is the old past participle from English strike, now largely replaced by struck. That verb is from Middle English striken, from Old English strīcan (“to pass lightly over…

It is Middle English sufficient, borrowed from Old French soficient (“satisfactory”) or directly borrowed from Latin sufficiēns (“adequate”) (accusative sufficientem), the present participle of…

It is inherited from Middle English soulfre, also sulphur, solfre and soufre, borrowed from Anglo-Norman sulfre and Old French soufre, and partly directly borrowed from Latin sulphur, from Late…

It is inherited from Middle English temperat, borrowed from Latin temperātus (“tempered, regulated, restrained, moderate”), the past participle of temperō (“to moderate, regulate, mix in due…

1. The canopy is inherited from Middle English tester, also testre, testour and testure, probably borrowed from Old French testre (“the upright part of a bed behind the head”) or directly borrowed…

It is inherited from Middle English tradicioun, borrowed from Old French tradicion (“handing over”), and directly from Latin trāditiō (“a handing down, surrender”), a noun of action from trādō “to…

It is inherited from Middle English troye, probably from French Troyes, a city in France where a fair was held at which this weight is said to have been used. Troyes was the Roman capital of the…

Barnhart, Etymonline, Klein and Wiktionary take it as borrowed from Old French tumulte, recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1121–25; the OED and the American Heritage Dictionary take it directly as…

It is formed from English un- + able in Middle English, perhaps modelled on Old French inhabile or Latin inhabilis.

It is inherited from Middle English uncertainte, from uncertain with the suffix -ty, or from un- and certainty.

It is formed from English un- + foreseen, the past participle of foresee. In Middle English it was unforsein, from forsein, the past participle of foresen. Similar formations exist in Middle Dutch…

It is inherited from Middle English whanne-ever, when ever, a compound of when and ever. It is contracted in poetry to whene'er.

It is a respelling of earlier endoss, inherited from Middle English endosen, borrowed from Old French endosser (“to put on the back”), from en- (“on”) and dos (“back”), from Latin dossum, a variant…

It is borrowed from Old French gelee (“frost; jelly”), also gelé, a noun use of the feminine past participle of geler (“to freeze, congeal”). This goes back to Vulgar Latin *gelāta (“something…

It is inherited from Middle English mincen, borrowed from Old French mincier (“to make into small pieces”), also mincer, from Vulgar Latin *minūtiō (“to make small”), from minūtia (“smallness”)…

1. The verb meaning to pinch is inherited from Middle English nippen, also nipen, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch nīpen (“to pinch”). The OED takes it from an unrecorded intensive form of the…

It is formed from English oat + meal. The earliest form is ote-mele, from ote and mele. The first part is from Old English āte, plural ātan, a word of uncertain origin; the second is from Old…

1. The bird is inherited from Middle English quaile, also quaille, borrowed from Anglo-Norman quaile, also quaille, and Middle French caille; in Old French the word is recorded from the 12th…

It is inherited from Middle English requeren, later requiren, borrowed from Old French requerre (“to seek, ask, demand”), from Vulgar Latin *requaerō, from Latin requīrō (“to seek again, ask for”)…

It is formed from English rose + -y. The Middle English form was rosi, also rosie. Rose itself is from Old English rōse, from Latin rosa. Etymonline suggests that the adjective was probably modelled…

1. The word for the rutting season is inherited from Middle English rutte, borrowed from Old French rut, also ruit, recorded in Anglo-Norman from 1160–74. It comes, with the loss of the medial g…

It is borrowed from Old French absent, a learned borrowing of Latin absēns, present participle of absum, to be away, from ab-, away, and sum, to be (see essence). The verb is from Old French…

It is inherited from Middle English aboundaunt, also habundaunt, borrowed from Anglo-Norman abundant and in part directly borrowed from Latin abundāns (“overflowing, abounding”), the present…

It is inherited from Middle English accusacioun, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman accusacioun, also accusaciun, and accusacion, and partly borrowed directly from their source, Latin accūsātiō (“act…

It is inherited from Middle English actour (“doer, pleader”), borrowed from Latin āctor (“agent, doer; driver of animals; in law, plaintiff; player, orator”), partly through Anglo-French, from…

It is inherited from Middle English ambicious, borrowed from Latin ambitiōsus (“eager for public office, eager to win favour”), perhaps partly through Old French ambitieux, from ambitiō (“a going…

It is inherited from Middle English annuel, borrowed from Old French annuel (“yearly”), or a learned borrowing from Late Latin annuālis, a blend or alteration of Latin annuus and annālis “yearly”…

It is inherited from Middle English argument, borrowed from Old French arguement (“reasoning, opinion; accusation, charge”), from Latin argūmentum (“a logical argument; evidence, ground, proof”)…

It is inherited from Middle English ascenden, borrowed from Latin ascendō (“to climb up, mount”), formed from ad- (“to”) and scandō (“to climb”). Barnhart, the AHD and Dictionary.com take it partly…

It is inherited from Middle English asterisc, earlier asterich, borrowed from Late Latin asteriscus, from Ancient Greek ἀστερίσκος (asterískos, “little star”), a diminutive of ἀστήρ (astḗr, “star”)…

The revised OED takes it as probably formed partly from English astrology + -er and partly from Latin astrologus with the same suffix. Etymonline likewise forms it from astrology and -er…

It is formed from English astronomy + -er, and replaced astronomien (about 1330), astronomien, recorded in Old French from 1119 and formed from astronomie. The OED sees it partly as an alteration of…

It is formed from English believe + -able, first as bilevable or belevable, modelled on Latin crēdibilis (“credible”). Believe is from Middle English bileven, from Old English belyfan (“to have…

It is inherited from Middle English bocchen (“to mend, patch”), a word of unknown or uncertain origin. The Middle English Compendium, cited by Etymonline, takes it as probably the same as bocchen…

It is inherited from Middle English britel, also brotel, brutel and bretel, probably from an unrecorded inherited from Old English *brytel, from the base of gebryttan (“to break in pieces…

1. The word for the plant is inherited from Middle English caperis, also capres, borrowed from Latin capparis, which is from Ancient Greek κάππαρις (kápparis, “the caper plant or its fruit”), of…

It is formed from English cast + -er, an agent noun from the verb. The Middle English noun was caster, also kaster, from casten (“to cast”). Cast itself comes from a Scandinavian source akin to Old…

It is inherited from Middle English chalenger, formed from Middle English chalengen + -er, that is, challenge + -er; Etymonline takes it from Anglo-Norman chalengeour (chalongeor (“slanderer…

It is inherited from Middle English circuyt, borrowed from Old French circuit (“a circuit, a journey around”), from Latin circuitus (“a going around”), from circū̆eō, circumīre “to go around”…

It is inherited from Middle English clamour, also clamor, borrowed from Old French clamour, also clamor and clamur, recorded in Anglo-Norman as clamur from the first half of the 12th century, from…

It is inherited from Middle English colonie, borrowed through Old French colonie or directly from Latin colōnia (“settled land, farm, landed estate”), from colōnus, cultivator, settler, from colere…

It is inherited from Middle English communicacioun, borrowed from Old French comunicacion and directly from Latin commūnicātiō (“a making common, imparting, communicating”) (accusative…

It is inherited from Middle English communioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman communiun, also comunion, and communion, and partly borrowed from Latin commūniō (“mutual participation, association…

It is inherited from Middle English consumen, borrowed from Old French consumer and directly Latin cōnsūmō (“to take up completely, use up, eat, waste”), from com- (here an intensive) and sūmō (“to…

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French continent and directly from Latin continēns, continentem, holding together, continuous, present participle of contineō, to hold together, restrain…

It is inherited from Middle English contradiccioun, borrowed from Old French contradiction and directly borrowed from Latin contrādictiō (“a reply, objection, counterargument”), a noun of action…

It is inherited from Middle English controversie, borrowed from Old French controversie (“quarrel, disagreement”) or directly contrōversia (“a turning against; dispute”), from contrōversus (“turned…

It is inherited from Middle English corour, also currour and courour, borrowed from Anglo-Norman corour, coreor (“runner; scout; messenger; swift horse”), an agent noun from courir (“to run”). The…

It is inherited from Middle English cuttere, also kittere, formed from English cut + -er, a person or thing that cuts. The OED notes that surnames such as Alexander Cuter (1279) and Adam Cutter…

It is inherited from Middle English dauben, borrowed from Old French dauber (“to whitewash, plaster”), a verb recorded in Anglo-Norman from the third quarter of the 12th century. Most dictionaries…

It is borrowed from Old French dedicacion (“consecration of a church”) and directly from Latin dēdicātiō, from dēdicō, to devote, consecrate (see dedicate), from dē-, away, and dicō, to proclaim.

1. The verb meaning to postpone is inherited from Middle English differren, also deferren, borrowed from Old French differer and directly borrowed from Latin differō (“to carry apart, scatter; to…

It is inherited from Middle English diffinicioun, definicion, borrowed from Old French definicion, or directly from Latin definitionem (“a bounding; a limiting, prescribing; a definition…

The verb is inherited from Middle English deformen, also difformen, borrowed from Middle French deformer and directly borrowed from Latin dēfōrmō (“to disfigure, spoil”), from dē- and either fōrmō…

It is inherited from Middle English depthe, formed from dēp, deep, and the suffix -th, on the pattern of long and length, broad and breadth. The word is not recorded in Old English, but the…