English words first recorded in the 15th century

It is formed from English beauty + -ful, the base being bealte, later beaute, from Anglo-Norman beute and Old French biauté, from Vulgar Latin *bellitās, from Latin bellus (“fine, handsome”). Klein…

It is inherited from Middle English benevolent, also benivolent, borrowed from Old French benivolent, also benvolent, and directly borrowed from Latin benevolēns (“wishing well, kindly”), formed…

It is formed from English conceive + -able. The Shorter Oxford compares French concevable. Conceive is from Old French conceveir, from Latin concipiō (“to take in and hold; to become pregnant”)…

It is borrowed from Middle French détention and directly from Late Latin dētentiō, retention, from dētineō, to hold back (see detain).

It is inherited from Middle English faisible, later feseable, borrowed from Anglo-Norman faisible, from Old French faisable (“possible, that may be done; easy, convenient”), formed from fais-, a…

It is probably formed from English fundament + -al, modelled on Late Latin fundāmentālis (“of the foundation”), from fundāmentum (“foundation”), from fundō “to found” (see found); the NODE and SOED…

It is formed from English lay + man, in Middle English lai-man, at first written apart. Etymonline compares the similar Old Frisian lekman and Danish lægmand. The adjective is from Old French lai…

It is from English perform + -er.

It is borrowed from Middle French précis (“condensed, cut short”), and directly Medieval Latin precisus, from Latin praecisus, abridged, cut off, past participle of praecīdere (“to cut off…

It was formed from English present + -er in English, from the verb present and the agent suffix -er. Merriam-Webster also records a less common spelling presentor, from the earlier presentour, which…

It is formed from English probable + -ly, first spelled probabli, also probabili. The OED compares Middle French probablement, recorded from about 1370. The adjective is from Middle French probable…

It was formed from English question + -able within the language. According to the OED its first example is based on the noun question, and later uses on the verb. Johnson (1755) also derived it from…

It is inherited from Middle English resumpcion, borrowed from Anglo-Norman resumpcion, also Middle French resumption and resompcion, and directly borrowed from Late Latin resūmptiō (“a taking up…

It is borrowed from Late Latin satisfactōrius (“penitential, serving to make atonement”), perhaps partly also borrowed from Old French satisfactoire. The Latin adjective is recorded from the 5th…

It is the past participle of disable, used as an adjective; Barnhart analyses it as Middle English dis-abled, from the verb ablen, to make able or fit.

It is inherited from Middle English gratis, borrowed from Latin grātīs (“freely, for nothing”), a contraction of grātiīs (“out of favour or kindness”), the ablative plural of grātia (“grace…

It is inherited from Middle English importante, borrowed from Medieval Latin importāns (“important, momentous”) (stem important-), the present participle of importō (“to be significant, to…

It is inherited from Middle English surounden (“to flood, overflow”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman surounder, a variant of soronder or suronder (“to overflow, abound; to surpass, dominate”), from Late…

It is inherited from Middle English comprehensioun, borrowed from Latin comprehēnsiō (“a seizing, laying hold of; perception”), partly also borrowed from Middle French compréhension, recorded in…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin dēprīvātiō (“the action of depriving; deposition”), recorded from the 14th century in British sources. The Latin noun is formed from dēprīvātus, the past…

It is inherited from Middle English disablen, formed from English dis- + able, originally after Anglo-Norman desabler (“to deprive of a legal right”), which the Anglo-Norman Dictionary records from…

It is inherited from Middle English frustraten, borrowed from Latin frūstrātus, the past participle of frūstror (“to deceive, disappoint”), also frūstrō, from frūstrā (“in vain, in error”). The OED…

It is inherited from Middle English prescriben, borrowed from Latin praescrībō (“to write before, put in writing in front; to order, direct”), formed from prae- (“before”) and scrībō (“to write”)…

It is inherited from Middle English collegiat, borrowed from Latin collēgiātus, formed from collēgium (“community, society, guild”) and the suffix -ātus. In classical Latin collēgiātus was a noun, a…

It is inherited from Middle English proprietarie, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman proprietarie (“owner”) and Middle French proprietaire (now French propriétaire), and partly borrowed from Latin…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin allocātiō, used in British sources from the 13th century for allowing an item in an account and for legal acceptance, the noun of action of allocō (“to allocate…

It is inherited from Middle English attachement, borrowed from Anglo-Norman attachement, from atachier (“to fasten, fix”) (see attach) and -ment.

It is inherited from Middle English calumnie, also calumpnie, borrowed from Middle French calomnie and directly borrowed from Latin calumnia (“trickery, subterfuge, false accusation”), although…

It is inherited from Middle English certificat, borrowed from Middle French certificat or directly borrowed from Medieval Latin certificatum (“a thing certified”), the noun use of the neuter past…

It is inherited from Middle English cognicioun, borrowed from Latin cognitiō (“a getting to know, acquaintance, knowledge”), a noun of action formed from cognitus, the past participle of cognōscō…

It is borrowed from Latin comparātīvus (“of or relating to comparison”), formed on comparātus, the past participle of comparō (“to compare, liken, pair, match”), with the suffix -īvus (-ive)…

It is inherited from Middle English curlen, a form with the r and the vowel transposed (a metathesis) of crullen, also crollen, from the adjective crul (“curly”), also crol and crulle. The OED notes…

It is inherited from Middle English detecten, borrowed from Latin dētēctus, past participle of dētegō, to uncover, expose, figuratively to discover, from dē-, un-, off, and tegō, to cover (see…

It is inherited from Middle English educaten, borrowed from Latin ēducātus, the past participle of ēducō (“to bring up, rear, educate”), related to the verb behind educe, formed from ex- (“out”) and…

It is inherited from Middle English endouement, also indoument, formed from English endow + -ment. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com take it instead from Anglo-Norman endouement, and the MED calls…

It is formed from English entreat + -y, on the pattern of treaty. Merriam-Webster gives the older form as entrety, from entreten. The verb is from Anglo-Norman entraiter, also Middle French…

It is inherited from Middle English exhibiten, borrowed from Latin exhibitus, the past participle of exhibēre (“to hold out, show, display”), from ex (“out”) and habēre (“to hold”) (see habit)…

1. The light blow is of imitative origin, probably imitating the sound of a light stroke with a whip. The OED compares French flicflac (“the cracking of a whip”), and the Oxford Dictionary of…

It is inherited from Middle English foilage, borrowed from Middle French fueillage, also foillage, from Old French fueille (“leaf”), also foille, from Latin folia (“leaves”), plural of folium…

It is inherited from Middle English folio, borrowed from Late Latin foliō (“leaf or sheet of paper”), the ablative of folium (“leaf”), used in medieval Latin page references to mean "at leaf…

It is borrowed from Middle French gratitude or directly Medieval Latin grātitūdō (“thankfulness”), from Latin grātus (“thankful, pleasing”) (see grace), which Watkins traces to Proto-Indo-European…

It is inherited from Middle English impenetrabel, borrowed from Middle French impénétrable, recorded in French from the 14th century, and directly borrowed from Latin impenetrābilis (“that cannot be…

It is borrowed from Middle French inciter (Old French also enciter, recorded from the 14th century), from Latin incitō (“to put into rapid motion; to rouse, urge on”), formed from in- (“in, on”) and…

It is inherited from Middle English invasif (“offensive (of weapons)”), borrowed from Middle French invasif, or directly from Medieval Latin invāsīvus, from Latin invāsus, the past participle of…

It is borrowed from Middle French légal or directly borrowed from Latin lēgālis (“pertaining to the law”), from lēx (“law”), genitive lēgis, probably related to legō (“to gather”), as a collection…

It is borrowed from Latin metamorphōsis, from Ancient Greek μεταμόρφωσις (metamórphōsis, “a transforming”). Barnhart says the word came perhaps through Latin from the Greek. The OED analyses the…

It is formed from Middle English mid + lond (“land”), the Middle English forms of mid and land. An earlier noun with the same meaning was Middle English middel lond, recorded about 1300. In the…

It is inherited from Middle English miraclous, borrowed from Middle French miraculeux, and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin mīrāculōsus, from Latin mīrāculum (“miracle, marvel, wonder”) with…

It is inherited from Middle English motour, borrowed from Latin mōtor (“mover”), an agent noun from mōtus, the past participle of moveō “to move”, from Proto-Indo-European *meue- (“to push away”)…

It is inherited from Middle English noselle (“socket of a candlestick”), a diminutive formed from English nose + -le. The early spellings were nosle and nosel, and the spelling nozzle is recorded…

1. The verb meaning to answer is inherited from Middle English rejoinen, borrowed from Anglo-Norman rejoin-, the stem of rejoindre (“to reply to a charge or pleading”), recorded in this legal use…

It is inherited from Middle English rethorical, also rethorycal, formed on from Latin rhētoricus (“rhetorical”) with the suffix -al, or else from English rhetoric + -al. The Latin adjective is from…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin specificātiō, "assignment to a species; precise statement", a noun of action formed on the past participle of specificō (“to mention particularly, specify”), the…

It is borrowed from Old French tribunal (“judgement seat”) and directly Latin tribūnal (“platform for magistrates' seats”), from tribūnus (“Roman official, magistrate”), literally the head of a…

It comes from the name of Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century Roman martyr commemorated on 14 February, from Old French Valentin, from Late Latin Valentīnus, the name of two early Italian saints…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin versus (“against”), a Medieval Latin use of Latin versus (“turned toward; towards”) in the sense of adversus “against”, the past participle of vertō (“to turn”)…

It is inherited from Middle English commissioner, borrowed from Anglo-Norman commissionaire, from or on the model of Medieval Latin commissionarius (“one entrusted with a commission”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English confiden, borrowed from Latin cōnfīdō (“to have full trust, rely completely”), perhaps partly through Old French confider, as the American Heritage and…

It is inherited from Middle English ydy, a Scottish form of the mid-15th century, probably borrowed from Old Norse iða (“eddy, whirlpool”), although the OED calls its history unknown and only…

It is borrowed from Latin imprecātiō (“an invoking of evil”), a noun of action from imprecor (“to invoke, pray, call down upon”), formed from an assimilated form of in- (“in, into, on”) and precor…