English words first recorded in the 14th century

It is inherited from Middle English massiffe or massif, borrowed from Middle French massif (“bulky, solid”) (feminine massive), an alteration of Old French massiz, from Vulgar Latin *massīceus, from…

It is from Medieval Latin mathēmaticus or mathēmaticālis, of mathematics, from Latin mathēmatica (see mathematics), with the suffix -al, from Greek μαθηματικός (mathēmatikós, “scientific”), from…

It is Middle English, borrowed from Latin mātūrus (“ripe, timely, early”), partly through French mature; the verb is from mātūrāre (“to ripen”). The Latin word is related to māne (“early, in the…

It is inherited from Middle English may be, a shortening of the phrase it may be (that), from may and be. It corresponds to the archaic mayhap, from it may hap “it may happen”.

It is inherited from Middle English medicacioun, borrowed from Old French medication and directly borrowed from Latin medicatio (“healing, cure”), from the past participle stem of medicārī (“to…

It is inherited from Middle English mediocrite, borrowed from Latin mediocritās (“a middle state, moderation”), perhaps partly through Middle French médiocrité; the OED compares the French word…

It is inherited from Middle English memento, borrowed from Latin mementō (“remember!”), the imperative of meminī (“to remember”), a reduplicated formation related to mēns (“mind”), from…

It is borrowed from Old French misture, French mixture, and directly borrowed from Latin mixtura (“a mixing”), mistura, from mixtus, the past participle of miscēre (“to mix”) (see mix), from PIE…

It is inherited from Middle English monasterie, borrowed from Late Latin monastērium (“monk's cell, monastery”), partly through Old French monastere, recorded in Old French from 1279. The Latin…

It is first inherited from Middle English mordaunt, also mourdaunt, the name of a clasp, borrowed from Anglo-Norman mordant, also mordaunt (“tongue of a buckle”), and the same word in Middle French…

It is an alteration of earlier muskee, moskee, borrowed from Middle French mosquée, from Italian moschea, an alteration of moscheta, from Old Spanish mezquita, from Arabic مَسْجِد (masjid, “temple…

The drinking vessel is of uncertain origin. It is apparently related to Dutch mok (“mug”), Low German muck and mukke, Norwegian mugge (“open can or jug”), Danish mugge, Swedish mugg (“mug”) and…

It is inherited from Middle English muet, also mewet and muwet, borrowed from Anglo-Norman muet and Old French muet (“unable to speak; silent”), a diminutive in -et of mu or mut, from Latin mūtus…

It is borrowed from Latin nervōsus (“sinewy, vigorous”), from nervus (“sinew, nerve”). It is related to nerve.

It is a compound from English new + born, of the adverb new, newly, and the adjective born; Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com trace it to a Middle English compound. The OED compares similar…

It is inherited from Middle English nome, also nomen and nomme, inherited from Old English numen, the past participle of niman (“to take, seize”), so that the adjective meant literally "taken…

It is formed from English nut + shell, in Middle English nut schell. It replaced the older compound nutshale, from nut and shale, recorded from about 1275. The OED compares early modern Dutch…

It is inherited from Middle English obligatorie, borrowed from Anglo-Norman obligatorie and obligatoire, also borrowed from Old French obligatoire (“creating an obligation”), and directly borrowed…

It is borrowed from Old French obscur (“dark, dim, not clear”) (also oscur) and directly Latin obscūrus (“covered over, dark”), from ob (“over”) and a form -scūrus, covered, from Proto-Indo-European…

It is inherited from Middle English omissioun, also omiscioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman omission, also borrowed from Middle French omission, and directly borrowed from Late Latin omissiō (“an…

It is inherited from Middle English ordinacioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman ordinatiun and ordination, and directly borrowed from Latin ōrdinātiō (“the action of ordering, arranging”). The…

It is borrowed from Latin organicus, from Ancient Greek ὀργανικός (organikós, “of an instrument or organ”), from ὄργανον (órganon, “instrument, tool”). The earliest Middle English organik came…

It is inherited from Middle English organisacioun, borrowed from Medieval Latin organizātiō, a noun of action from the past participle of organizō, from Latin organum (“instrument, organ”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English ornat, borrowed from Latin ōrnātus (“properly arrayed, adorned, (of style) elaborate”), the past participle of ōrnō (“to fit out, furnish, adorn”). Barnhart takes…

It is inherited from Middle English overloken, formed from Middle English over + loken (“to look”). The OED compares the phrasal verb look over. The noun, recorded from 1584, is formed in the same…

It is inherited from Middle English oversight, formed in Middle English from over- and sight, after the earlier verb oversee.

It is inherited from Middle English panne-cake, also pankake and ponkake, formed from English pan + cake. The OED compares the parallel compounds in the other Germanic languages: Middle Dutch…

It is inherited from Middle English particioun, also partisoun, borrowed from Old French particion, also Anglo-Norman particion and partison, and partly from Latin partītiō (“a sharing, division…

It is formed from English peace + -ful, and is recorded as pesful, also peesfull and paisful. The noun peace is from Anglo-Norman pes, also Old French pais, from Latin pāx (“peace, compact…

1. The fruit is borrowed from Anglo-Norman pesche, peche, and Old French pesche, and partly a direct borrowing of Medieval Latin pesca, from Late Latin persica, an alteration of Latin persicum…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πῖ (pî), the name of the letter, which is of Semitic origin. Etymonline says it came from Phoenician, literally “little mouth”. As the mathematical constant, π…

It is inherited from Middle English pille, borrowed from Middle Dutch pille or Middle Low German pille and Old French pile, all from Latin pilula, a little ball, a diminutive of pila, a ball…

It is formed from English plenty + -ful, first recorded as plenteful, also plentiful. The base is from Old French plenté, also plentet, from Latin plēnitās (“fullness”), from plēnus (“full”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English polip, also polippe, borrowed from Anglo-Norman polipe and Middle French polype, and directly borrowed from Latin pōlypus (“octopus, nasal polyp”). The…

1. The sound word is inherited from Middle English poppe (“a blow, a stroke”), poppen, of imitative origin, like splash, crack and bang. 2. The word for a father is a shortened and altered form from…

It is inherited from Middle English populer (“commonly known, public”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman populer and Old French populeir, and directly borrowed from Latin populāris (“belonging to the…

It is borrowed from Middle French portable and directly from Late Latin portābilis, that can be carried, from Latin portō, to carry (see port). An earlier word in the same sense was portatif (late…

It is inherited from Middle English pultes, with a later change of spelling, borrowed from Medieval Latin pultēs (“mixtures of meal used as poultices”), the plural of Latin puls (“thick pap…

It is partly borrowed from Middle French precedent (“earlier in time”) (modern précédent), recorded in Old French from the 13th century, and partly a direct borrowing of Latin praecēdēns (“going…

It is inherited from Middle English precincte, earlier prasaynt, borrowed from Medieval Latin praecinctum (“enclosure, boundary line”), the noun use of the neuter past participle of Latin praecingō…

It is borrowed from Old French preservacion (13th century), from Medieval Latin praeservātiō, a noun from the past participle of praeservō, to guard beforehand, keep (see preserve).

It is formed from English print + -er.

1. The word meaning “in favor” is inherited from Middle English pro, borrowed from Latin prō (“for, on behalf of, before, in place of”), which is related to per and prae and to Latin prior and…

It is inherited from Middle English probat, also probeyt, borrowed from Latin probātum (“a thing proved”), the neuter past participle of probō (“to try, test, prove”) used as a noun; Etymonline…

The noun is inherited from Middle English projecte (“plan, draft, scheme”), borrowed from Medieval Latin prōiectum (“something thrown forth; a projecting roof”), the noun use of the neuter of Latin…

It is inherited from Middle English promis or promisse, borrowed from Latin prōmissum (“a promise”), the noun use of the neuter past participle of prōmittō (“to send forth, foretell, promise”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English propriete, borrowed from Anglo-Norman proprieté, also spelled proprietie, and directly borrowed from Latin proprietās (“ownership; special character; fitness”)…

It is inherited from Middle English protest, borrowed from Old French protest, from protester, from Latin prōtestor (“to declare publicly, testify”), from prō- “forth, before” and testor “to…

It is inherited from Middle English polet, also pulet and pullet, probably partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman pullet or poulet (“young chicken, young fowl”), which the Anglo-Norman record has from…

It is inherited from Middle English pulpe, borrowed from Latin pulpa (“fleshy part of the body, pulp of fruit, pith of wood”), perhaps partly through Anglo-Norman pulpe and Middle French pulpe…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin punctuālis (“of or relating to a point”), recorded in British sources from the early 13th century and used of a cauterization made with small pricks from the late…

It is inherited from Middle English puncture, borrowed from Late Latin pūnctūra (“a pricking, a puncture”), which was used in medieval Latin for a pointed object's penetration, a wound made by…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin radiālis, from Latin radius (“staff, rod; spoke of a wheel; beam of light”) with the suffix -ālis. In British sources the post-classical Latin adjective is…

It is borrowed from French ravine (“violent rush of water; gully”), from Old French ravine (“violent rush, impetuosity; robbery, rapine”), from Latin rapīna (“plunder, robbery”), a derivative of…

It is formed from English real + -ly. Merriam-Webster gives the Middle English form as rialliche, from rial and -liche. The OED compares Medieval Latin realiter (“actually, in fact”), frequent in…

It is from English re- + build, re- meaning back or again.

It is borrowed from Middle French regeneratif (“promoting the formation of new tissue”), now régénératif, and its source borrowed from Medieval Latin regenerātīvus (“that regenerates”), formed from…

It is partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman regimen (“government, administration; medical treatment”) and partly borrowed from Latin regimen (“control, management, guidance”). The Latin noun is formed…

It is inherited from Middle English regionale, borrowed from Late Latin regiōnālis (“of a region or province”), from Latin regiō (“direction, boundary, region”), from regō (“to direct, rule”). It is…

It is inherited from Middle English reindere, also raindere, reynder and rayne-dere, borrowed from Old Norse hreindýri, compounded of hreinn (“reindeer”), the usual Old Norse name of the animal, and…