English words first recorded in the 14th century

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…

It is inherited from Middle English desirable, borrowed from Old French desirable, from desirer (“to desire”) (see desire) and -able, suggested by Latin dēsīderābilis, from dēsīderō (“to desire”).

It is inherited from Middle English destitut, borrowed from Latin dēstitūtus (“abandoned, forsaken”), the past participle of dēstituō (“to forsake, abandon, desert”), formed from dē- (“away”) and…

It is inherited from Middle English destroiere, also destruier and destroier, formed from English destroy + -er and probably partly borrowed from Old French destruiere, from destruire (“to…

It is inherited from Middle English dissolut, borrowed from Latin dissolūtus (“loose, disconnected; careless; licentious”), the past participle of dissolvō (“to loosen up, break apart”), from dis-…

It is from the past participle of the obsolete verb distincten, “to distinguish” (about 1303), borrowed from Old French distincter, and directly borrowed from Latin distīnctus, the past participle…

It is inherited from Middle English distribucioun, borrowed from Old French distribution, 13th century, and directly from Latin distribūtiō (“a division, distribution”) (accusative distribūtiōnem)…

It is borrowed from Old French doctrine (“teaching, doctrine”) (12th century), a learned borrowing of Latin doctrīna, teaching, learning, from doctor, teacher (see doctor), from doceō, to teach.

It is inherited from Middle English eloquence, borrowed from Old French eloquence, modern French éloquence, from Latin ēloquentia, from ēloquēns (“eloquent”), the present participle of ēloquor (“to…

It is inherited from Middle English enrichen, borrowed from Old French enrichir, also enrichier, formed from en- and riche (“rich”). It is related to rich. The Anglo-Norman verb is recorded from the…

It is borrowed from Old French evident and directly from Latin ēvidēns, perceptible, clear, obvious, from ē-, ex-, out, fully, and vidēns, present participle of videō, to see (see vision and wit)…

It is Middle English, borrowed from Old French excellence, itself from Latin excellentia, superiority, from excellēns, excellentem, distinguished, superior, present participle of excellō, to…

It is inherited from Middle English excellent, borrowed from Old French excellent (“outstanding, excellent”), from Latin excellēns (“towering, prominent, surpassing”) (accusative excellentem)…

It is inherited from Middle English exces, borrowed from Old French excès and directly excessus (“departure; going beyond bounds”), from excēdere (“to go beyond”) (see exceed), from ex- (“out”) and…

It is inherited from Middle English exclamacioun, borrowed from Latin exclāmātiō (“a loud calling or crying out”). The OED and Klein take it from French exclamation, itself from the Latin noun, and…

It is inherited from Middle English excluden, borrowed from Latin exclūdō (“to shut out, keep out, hinder”), from ex- (“out”) and claudō (“to shut, close”), the source of close. The same verb gave…

It is Middle English expense, borrowed from Anglo-Norman expense, an alteration of Old French espense (“money provided for expenses”), from Late Latin expēnsa (“outlay”), short for expensa pecunia…

It is formed from English fool + -ish, first recorded as Middle English folish. The noun fool is from Old French fol (“madman, idiot, jester; mad”), from Medieval Latin follus (“foolish”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English genital, also genytale, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman genitaile and genitaille, genital, and partly directly borrowed from Latin genitālis (“of or concerned…

It is inherited from Middle English gruggen, also grudgen and grucgen, an altered form of grucchen (“to murmur, grumble”) (the later grutch), which is borrowed from Old French grouchier (“to murmur…

It is formed from English hate + -ful, and is recorded as hateful. The OED compares Old Swedish hatfuller, now hatfull, and Old Norse hatrsfullr. The noun hate is from Old English hete (“hatred…

It is inherited from Middle English hedlong, first in the phrase bi hedlong, an alteration of the earlier hedling, formed from Middle English hed + -ling, with the adverbial suffix of darkling. The…

It is formed from English hill + -y, first as Middle English hilli, also spelt hully. Dictionary.com relates it to Old English hyllīc, an adjective meaning "hilly" that Bosworth–Toller records once…

It is inherited from Middle English houshold, a compound of hous “house” and hold, the second part in a Middle English sense “a dwelling, habitation” that survives in Northern English and Scots. It…

It is inherited from Middle English humanite, borrowed from Old French humanité (“human nature; humankind; pity”), from Latin hūmānitās (“human nature, the human race; kindness, refinement”)…

It is inherited from Middle English ymmunite, probably borrowed from Old French immunité (“privilege, inviolability”) and directly Latin immūnitās (“exemption from public service or charges”), from…

It is formed from English in + coming, after the verb come in.

It is inherited from Middle English injurie, borrowed from Anglo-Norman injurie (“wrongful action”) (Old French injure), from Latin iniūria (“wrong, injustice, insult, damage”), the noun use of the…

It is inherited from Middle English inscripcioun, borrowed from Latin īnscrīptiō (“a writing upon, inscription”), a noun of action from īnscrībō (“to write on or in”), from in- (“in, on”) and scrībō…

It is inherited from Middle English intelligible, borrowed from Latin intellegibilis, also intelligibilis, formed from intellegō (“to understand”) and -ibilis. The revised OED allows either the…

It is inherited from Middle English interpreten, borrowed from Old French interpreter (“to explain; to translate”), and also directly from Latin interpretor (“to explain, expound, translate…

It is inherited from Middle English interpretacioun, borrowed from Old French interpretacion (“explanation, translation”) and directly interpretātio (“explanation, exposition”), from interpretārī…

It is inherited from Middle English involven, borrowed from Latin involvere (“to roll into, envelop, entangle”), from in- (“in”) and volvere (“to roll”) (see volume), which Watkins derives from PIE…

It is “a word of difficult etymology” according to the OED. It is probably borrowed from Old French joe (“cheek”) (modern joue), which may go back to Gallo-Romance *gauta or a pre-Latin, perhaps…

It is borrowed from Latin jūdiciālis (“of a court of justice”), from jūdicium (“judgment, decision of a court”), from jūdex (“judge”) (see judge), a compound of ius, right, law, and the root of…

It is borrowed from Latin iūnctūra (“a joining, joint”), from iūnctus, the past participle of iungō (“to join”), with -ūra. The Latin verb goes back to a nasalized form of Proto-Indo-European *yeug-…

It is inherited from Middle English lamentacioun, borrowed from Old French lamentacion and directly borrowed from Latin lāmentātiō (“a wailing, moaning, weeping”), the noun of action from the…

It is inherited from Middle English lavatorie, borrowed from Late Latin lavātōrium (“place for washing”), the noun use of the neuter of lavātōrius (“of washing”), from lavāt-, the past participial…

It is inherited from Middle English legacie, borrowed from Old French legacie, from Medieval Latin lēgātia (“legateship”), from Latin lēgātus (“envoy, deputy”), the past participle of lēgō (“to send…

It is inherited from Middle English leviathan, borrowed from Late Latin leviathan, from Biblical Hebrew לִוְיָתָן (liwyāṯān, “dragon, serpent, huge sea animal”), of unknown origin. It is perhaps…

It is inherited from Middle English libacioun, borrowed from Latin lībātiō (“a drink offering”), a noun of action from lībātus, the past participle of lībō (“to pour out as an offering”). Klein…

It is inherited from Middle English liquide, borrowed from Old French liquide (“liquid, running”) and directly from Latin liquidus (“fluid, liquid, moist”), from liqueō (“to be fluid”), related to…

It is inherited from Middle English mene while, formed from mean “middle, intermediate” and while (noun).

It is inherited from Middle English merlioun, also merilioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman merilun, an aphetic form of esmerilun. This corresponds to Old French esmerillon (c. 1170), now émerillon…

The verb is inherited from Middle English mistrusten, formed from Middle English mis- (“badly, wrongly”) + trusten (“to trust”). The Shorter Oxford thinks it was probably modelled on Old French…

The verb is inherited from Middle English misusen, formed from Middle English mis- (“badly, wrongly”) + usen (“to use”), and probably partly modelled on Old French mesuser (“to misuse, abuse”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English mitigacioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mitigacion and Middle French mitigacion, and directly borrowed from Latin mītigātiō (“a soothing; a toning down”). The…

It is inherited from Middle English necligent, also negligent and necgligent, borrowed from Anglo-Norman negligent, also necligent, and directly borrowed from Latin negligēns (“careless, heedless”)…

It is inherited from Middle English newes, the plural of the noun new “a new thing”, modelled on Old French noveles (modern nouvelles), plural of novele, or on Medieval Latin nova (“new things”)…

It is inherited from Middle English observacioun, borrowed from Old French observation and directly Latin observatio (“a watching over, observance”), from the past participle stem of observāre (“to…

It is inherited from Middle English occasioun, borrowed from Old French ocasion (“cause, reason, opportunity”) or directly from Latin occāsiō (“opportunity, fit time”), in Late Latin “cause”, from…

It is inherited from Middle English odious, borrowed from Anglo-Norman odious, also odiose, recorded from the 13th century, and Middle French odieus, and directly borrowed from Latin odiōsus…

It is inherited from Middle English offenden, borrowed from Old French ofendre, also offendre, and directly borrowed from Latin offendō (“to strike against, stumble, displease”). The Latin verb is…