English words first recorded in the 15th century

It is inherited from Middle English fomelen (“to grope”), probably borrowed from Middle Low German fummelen (“to grope, move aimlessly”) or Middle Dutch fommelen, though both are recorded later than…

It is formed from English game + -er, partly from the noun and partly from the verb; Etymonline takes it as an agent noun from the verb. The noun game is from Middle English game, from Old English…

1. The berry is inherited from Middle English hawe, inherited from Old English haga, which in Old English meant both the fruit of the hawthorn and a hedge or fenced enclosure. The two are probably…

It is formed from Middle English hegge (“hedge”) + hogge (“hog”), that is hedge and hog, named for its haunting of hedgerows and for its piglike snout. Late Middle English also has the spelling…

It is borrowed from Middle French helmet, a diminutive of helme, helmet, from Frankish, compare Old High German helm and Gothic 𐌷𐌹𐌻𐌼𐍃 (hilms), from Proto-Germanic *helmaz, from Proto-Indo-European…

It is imitative of the sound of puffing or of a blast of air, like puff. It appears first as the Middle English interjection huf, about 1450, and the verb, recorded from 1582, was formed like it…

It is inherited from Middle English humain (also humayne), borrowed from Old French humain (“of or belonging to man”), from Latin hūmānus (“of man, human; humane, kind”), related to homō (“man…

It is borrowed from Late Latin immersiō (“a dipping in”), first found in Arnobius; in Barnhart it is also borrowed from French immersion, which the OED records from the 14th century. The Latin noun…

It is inherited from Middle English impurite, borrowed from Latin impūritās (“uncleanness”), used in Latin in a moral sense, from impūrus (“not pure, unclean”), from in- (“not”) and pūrus (“clean…

It is inherited from Middle English indicatif, borrowed from Middle French indicatif, recorded in French from the 14th century, in Oresme, and in Anglo-Norman as indicatif from the 13th century. The…

It is borrowed from Latin indifferentia (“lack of difference, similarity”), Merriam-Webster takes it through Middle French indifférence. The Anglo-Norman indifference is recorded from 1385–86. The…

It is inherited from Middle English infinitif, first an adjective, borrowed from Old French infinitif and directly borrowed from Late Latin īnfīnītīvus (“unlimited, indefinite, infinitive”). The…

It is a back-formation from injury. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, the MED, Etymonline and Skeat, it is instead borrowed from Old French injurier, from Latin iniūrior (“to do an…

It is borrowed from Latin intāctus (“untouched, unhurt, undefiled”), possibly through Middle French intact, from in-, not, and tāctus, past participle of tangō, to touch (see tangent and tact).

It is borrowed from Latin integrātus, the past participle of integrō (“to make whole; to renew, restore”), from integer (“whole, complete; literally, untouched”), which is formed from in- (“not”)…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin intoxicātiō (“the action of poisoning; poison”), recorded from the 14th century in British and continental sources, also in figurative use. The Latin noun is…

It is inherited from Middle English intuicioun, borrowed from Late Latin intuitiō (“a looking at, consideration, contemplation”), a noun of action from the past participle of Latin intueor (“to look…

The verb is inherited from Middle English lamenten, also lementen, borrowed from Old French lamenter (“to moan, bewail”) and directly borrowed from Latin lāmentor (“to wail, moan, weep”), from…

It is formed from English length + -en, and the OED compares strengthen. The base noun is from Old English lengþu, from Proto-Germanic *langiþō, an abstract noun from *langaz (“long”), the root of…

It is probably formed with -able from Old French lier (“to bind, tie”), from Latin ligō (“to bind, tie”) (see ligament), from Proto-Indo-European *leyǵ- (“to tie, bind”). It may come from an…

It is probably borrowed from Middle French martin, from the man's name Martin, from Latin Martīnus, a derivative of Mars, the Roman god of war. Seventeenth-century writers said the bird was named…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin mi, from the first syllable of Latin mīra (“wonders”), the word sung to this note in a hymn for Saint John the Baptist's day, from mīrus (“wonderful”) (see…

The verb is either borrowed from Middle Dutch moddelen (“to make water muddy”), a frequentative of modden (“to dabble in mud”), from modde (“mud”), or formed directly from English mud + -le. The…

It is formed from English mud + -y. In Middle English it was muddi, also moddy, and the OED compares Middle Low German moddich, also muddich, "muddy, mouldy". The noun mud, recorded from the late…

It is inherited from Middle English narratyf, borrowed from Middle French narratif, from Late Latin narrātīvus (“suited to narration”), from narrō (“to tell, relate”). Barnhart thinks it was…

It is formed from English new + comer, perhaps after the adjective neue-comen (“recently come, just arrived”), which goes back to Old English nīwcumen (“newly come”). Old English also used nīwcumen…

It is inherited from Middle English nominalle (“of nouns”), borrowed from Latin nōminālis (“of names; of nouns”), from nōmen (“name”) and the suffix -ālis, English -al. The OED notes that in…

It is borrowed from Latin nōminātus (“named, called; appointed”), the past participle of nōminō (“to name, call by name; to appoint”), from nōmen (“name”), from Proto-Indo-European *no-men-…

The origin is uncertain. It is first recorded as inherited from Middle English nose, which most dictionaries take as probably or perhaps borrowed from Old French nos or nous, a form of no or nou…

It is partly borrowed from Middle French nul (“none, not one”) (feminine nulle), and partly borrowed from Latin nūllus (“not any, none”). The French word is recorded from the mid-9th century, and in…

It is formed from English nut + -y. The base noun is from Old English hnutu, from Proto-Germanic *hnut- and Proto-Indo-European *kneu- (“nut”). The adjective appears in Middle English as notti, also…

It is inherited from Middle English obdurat, borrowed from Late Latin obdūrātus (“hardened, hardened in heart”), the past participle of obdūrō (“to harden”), from ob- and dūrō (“to harden”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English oblivious, borrowed from Latin oblīviōsus (“forgetful; producing forgetfulness”), from oblīviō (“forgetfulness, a being forgotten”), the source of oblivion, and…

It is apparently from English pack + -et, a diminutive of the noun pack, perhaps modelled on or formed in Anglo-Norman paket, which the Anglo-Norman Dictionary records from 1176, as a surname. The…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin passionatus (“affected with passion”), from Latin passio (genitive passionis), suffering, enduring (see passion).

It is inherited from Middle English paternal, also paternel, borrowed from Old French paternel and directly borrowed from Late Latin paternālis (“of or relating to a father”), from paternus (“of a…

It was formed from English path + way in English. Etymonline calls it an etymological tautology, since both elements mean a way.

It is borrowed from Late Latin patriarchālis (“of or relating to a patriarch”), used from the 5th century of both Christian and biblical patriarchs, from patriarcha (“patriarch”) and the suffix…

It is inherited from Middle English persecuten, borrowed from Middle French persecuter, recorded in Old French from the beginning of the 14th century, and directly borrowed from Latin persecūtus…

It is borrowed from Middle French persuader (c. 1370) and its source Latin persuādeō (“to persuade, prevail upon”), formed from per- (“through, thoroughly”) and suādeō (“to advise, urge”). Barnhart…

It is borrowed from Latin pius (“dutiful, devout, conscientious”), with the ending -ous; it is recorded about 1450 as piouse. The OED gives it a double source, borrowed from Anglo-Norman piu and…

It is formed from English plumb + -ing, partly from the verb and partly from the noun, and for the first sense the OED compares the earlier plumber. The noun plumb, a weight of lead on a line, came…

It is inherited from Middle English possessif, borrowed from Middle French possessif and directly borrowed from Latin possessīvus (“indicating possession”), formed from the past participle stem of…

It began as a variant of poesy, reflecting a pronunciation of that word in two syllables, a contracted form that the Shorter Oxford calls syncopated. That word is inherited from Middle English…

It is formed from English power + -ful, Middle English pouerful and powarfull. Power is from Anglo-Norman pouair, from Old French povoir (“to be able”), which goes back to Latin potis (“powerful”)…

1. The verb meaning to dress up or show off is inherited from Middle English pranken (“to show off”), probably borrowed from Middle Dutch pronken (“to show off, strut”), from pronk (“show…

The noun is borrowed from Middle French predicat (“that which is said of a subject”) and directly borrowed from Late Latin praedicātum, a noun use of the neuter past participle of Latin praedicō…

It is formed from English private + -cy, Middle English privacie. An earlier word was privatie, a secret or solitude, from Old French privauté.

It is inherited from Middle English prodige, borrowed from Latin prōdigium (“extraordinary event taken as an omen; monster; marvel”), which Etymonline says came also through Old French prodige. The…

It is inherited from Middle English propagacioun, borrowed from Old French propagacion (“offshoot, offspring”), and directly from Latin prōpāgātiō (“propagation, extension”), from prō̆pāgō (“to set…

It is inherited from Middle English quocient, also quociens, borrowed from Latin quotiēns (“how many times, how often”), from quot (“how many”), which is akin to quis (“who”), from…

It is borrowed from Latin radiāns (“shining, beaming”), stem radiant-, the present participle of radiō (“to beam, shine, emit rays”), from radius (“beam, ray”). Barnhart thinks it may have come…

It is inherited from Middle English rebellious, also rebellous, formed from English rebellion + -ous according to the Shorter Oxford. The OED takes it as Latin rebellis (“rebellious”) or rebelliō…

1. The verb meaning to go back is inherited from Middle English receden, borrowed from Latin recēdō (“to go back, withdraw”), alongside Old French receder, formed from re- (“back”) and cēdō (“to go…

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman receptour, receptur, and Middle French recepteur (“a person who harbours criminals”), recorded in Anglo-Norman from about 1292 or earlier, and of their source Latin…

It is inherited from Middle English recognicion, borrowed from Middle French recognition and directly from Latin recognitiō (“a reviewing, examination”), from recognit-, past participle stem of…

It is inherited from Middle English recommendacion, borrowed from Old French recommendation and directly Medieval Latin recommendatio, from the past participle stem of recommendare (see recommend).

1. The curdling agent is inherited from Middle English rennet, originally a Kentish word, probably from an unrecorded inherited from Old English *rynet, related to ġerennan (“to cause to run…

1. The verb meaning to rest is inherited from Middle English reposen, borrowed from Old French reposer, and Anglo-Norman reposir, from earlier repauser, recorded in the 10th century. That comes from…

It is borrowed from Latin resultāns, the present participle of resultō, which Etymonline and Merriam-Webster call Medieval Latin. In English it was first a noun; the adjective may also have been…