English words first recorded in the 15th century

It is inherited from Middle English intestine, borrowed from Old French intestin or directly borrowed from Latin intestīnum (“a gut”), the noun use of the neuter of the adjective intestīnus…

It is borrowed from Latin intrīcātus (“entangled”), the past participle of intrīcō (“to entangle, perplex, embarrass”), formed from in- (“in, into”) and trīcae (“trifles, tricks, perplexities…

It is inherited from Middle English introducen, borrowed from Latin intrōdūcō (“to lead in, bring in”), possibly as a back-formation from introduction, which is from about 1395. The Latin verb is…

It is inherited from Middle English intrusioun, also intrucioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman intrusion and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin intrūsiō (“a thrusting in”), the Anglo-Norman word…

It is inherited from Middle English inundacioun, borrowed from Latin inundātiō (“an overflowing”), perhaps through Old French inundacion, which the OED records from the 12th to the 14th century and…

It is inherited from Middle English inventif, borrowed from Old French inventif, feminine inventive, recorded in French in the 15th century. Merriam-Webster gives the source as Middle French, formed…

It is borrowed from Latin inversus (“turned upside down, inverted; perverted”), the past participle of invertō (“to turn upside down, turn about, reverse”), from in- and vertō (“to turn”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English irritacion, borrowed from Latin irrītātiō (“incitement, stimulus; irritation, anger”), partly through Old French irritacion, a noun of action from irrītātus, the…

It is inherited from Middle English iteracioun, borrowed from Latin iterātiō (“repetition”), a noun of action from the past participle stem of iterō (“to do again, repeat”), from iterum (“again”)…

It is inherited from Middle English jousy, formed from Middle English jous + -y, from juice, Middle English jus, jous, from Old French jus (“juice, sap, liquid”), from Latin ius (“broth, sauce…

It is first inherited from Middle English lacca, used in medicine about 1425. It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman lac and Middle French laque, and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin lacca, also lac…

The noun is borrowed from Middle French laps, and directly borrowed from Latin lāpsus (“a slipping and falling, flight of time, falling into error”), from the past participle of lābor (“to glide…

It is borrowed from Latin laterālis (“of or on the side of the body”), partly through latéral, recorded in French from 1315. The Latin adjective was formed from latus (“side, flank”) with the suffix…

It is inherited from Middle English lesioun, also lecioun, borrowed from Old French lesion (“hurt, offence, wrong, injury, wound”), from Latin laesiō (“a hurting, injury, personal attack”), a noun…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin licentiōsus (“full of licence, unrestrained”), from Latin licentia (“freedom, liberty, licence”), from licēns, present participle of liceō (“to be allowed, be…

It is inherited from Middle English litterate, borrowed from Latin litterātus (“marked with letters; learned, cultured”), also spelled līterātus, from littera (“letter”) and the suffix -ātus…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin lobus (“lobe”), from Late Latin lobus (“hull, husk, pod”), from Ancient Greek λοβός (lobós, “lobe of the ear or liver; pod”). Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and Klein…

It is partly borrowed from Middle French longitudinal (“running lengthwise”), recorded in Old French in 1314 as longitudinaus, and partly borrowed from Medieval Latin longitūdinālis (“running…

It is inherited from Middle English luminous, also luminose, borrowed from Latin lūminōsus (“full of light, shining”), or else borrowed from Old French lumineux; Barnhart thinks the French word may…

It is borrowed from Latin lūnāris (“of the moon”), perhaps through lunaire, from lūna (“moon”). The Latin noun goes back to an earlier *leuksnā, Skeat's “giver of light”, from the Indo-European root…

It is borrowed from Late Latin Maccabaeus, from Koine Greek Μακκαβαῖος (Makkabaios), the epithet of the Jewish patriot Judas Maccabaeus; the plural came through Late Latin Machabaei and French…

It is borrowed from Latin magus (“magician”), in an anglicized form, or from Anglo-Norman mage, also Middle French, recorded late in the 15th century but as mague already in the 13th. The American…

It is inherited from Middle English manifestacioun, borrowed from Late Latin manifestātiō, a noun of action from manifestātus, the past participle of manifestō (“to discover, disclose, make…

Most dictionaries take it as inherited from Middle English masonrie, also masonerie, borrowed from Old French maçonerie, from maçon (“mason”) and the suffix -erie, the source of -ery. The revised…

It is borrowed from Latin membrāna (“skin covering a part of the body; parchment”), from membrum (“limb, member of the body”) with the feminine of the suffix -ānus, so that it first meant what…

It is borrowed from Latin metallicus (“of metal; of mines”), from Ancient Greek μεταλλικός (metallikós, “of mines”), which in Hellenistic Greek also meant "of metal", from μέταλλον (métallon, “mine…

It is borrowed from Latin methodus (“way of teaching or proceeding”), perhaps through French méthode, from Ancient Greek μέθοδος (méthodos, “pursuit of knowledge, inquiry; originally a following…

It is inherited from Middle English militant, borrowed from Middle French militant, also taken directly as a learned borrowing from Latin mīlitāns (“serving as a soldier”), the present participle of…

1. The legal term is Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-Norman misprisioun (“mistake, error, wrong action or speech”), also mesprisioun, mesprison (“mistake, wrongdoing, fault”), from mespris, the…

It is inherited from Middle English mitigaten, borrowed from Latin mītigō (“to soften, soothe, make mild”), taken from its past participle mītigātus. The Latin verb is formed from mītis (“mild…

It is inherited from Middle English moderacioun, also moderation, borrowed from Anglo-Norman moderacion and Middle French moderacion, and directly borrowed from Latin moderātiō (“self-control…

It is inherited from Middle English monchen, a variant of mocchen (“to eat greedily, chew audibly”), apparently imitative, like crunch and craunch. The OED adds that it was perhaps partly suggested…

It is borrowed from Middle French mythologie, recorded in 1403, or its source, Late Latin mythologia (“exposition of myths”), from Ancient Greek μυθολογία (muthología, “story-telling, legendary…

It is inherited from Middle English nasale, borrowed from Medieval Latin nāsālis (“of the nose”), recorded in 1363 in Guy de Chauliac, formed from Latin nāsus (“nose”) with the suffix -ālis, from…

It is borrowed from Latin nāvālis (“relating to ships”), perhaps partly through naval, from nāvis (“ship”) (see navy), from PIE Proto-Indo-European *nau- (“boat”), also the source of Ancient Greek…

It is inherited from Middle English negacioun, borrowed from Middle French negation (“act of denial”), recorded in Old French in 1174 as negatiun, or directly borrowed from Latin negātiō (“denial…

It is inherited from Middle English newte, also neute, from a misdivision of “an ewte” as “a newte”: the n of the article an was taken as the first letter of the noun. ewte, also eute, is a variant…

It is borrowed from Latin nōdus (“knot”), perhaps related to nectō (“to bind”), from Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to bind, tie”) (see net).

It is late Middle English nominacioun, from Middle French nomination or directly borrowed from Latin nōminātiō (“a naming, designation”), from nōminātus, past participle of nōminō, to name, from…

It is inherited from Middle English numerous, borrowed from Latin numerōsus, partly through Middle French numereux, from numerus (“a number”), the source of number, with the suffix -ous.

It is inherited from Middle English nutricioun, borrowed from Middle French nutrition and directly Late Latin nūtrītiō (“a nourishing”), from the past participle stem of nūtrīre (“to nourish…

It is inherited from Middle English oblique, also oblike, borrowed from Middle French oblique (“slanting; indirect”), recorded in Old French as oblike from the 13th century, and directly borrowed…

It is formed from English offend + -er. Middle English also had offendour, compare Anglo-Norman offendour, recorded from 1409–10, and Middle French offendeur (about 1440–75). The verb offend is from…

It is inherited from Middle English optik, also spelled obtik, borrowed from Middle French optique, and directly borrowed from Medieval Latin opticus (“of sight or seeing”), from Ancient Greek…

It is inherited from Middle English palliatif, borrowed from Middle French palliatif, or directly borrowed from Medieval Latin palliativus, formed from palliātus, the past participle of Late Latin…

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman pascal, also paschal, and Middle French pascal (“of Easter”), and directly borrowed from Late Latin paschālis, formed from pascha (“Passover, Easter”) and -ālis. The…

It is inherited from Middle English patricion, borrowed from Middle French patricien, from Latin patricius (“of the rank of the senators; noble”), from patrēs (“senators, fathers”), plural of pater…

It is inherited from Middle English penetracioun, partly borrowed from Middle French penetracion, modern French pénétration, and partly borrowed from Latin penetrātiō (“a piercing”), a noun of…

It is inherited from Middle English penitenciarie, borrowed from Medieval Latin poenitentiārius (“of penance”), from paenitentia (“penitence”), from paenitēns (“penitent”), with the suffix -ārius…

It is inherited from Middle English percussioun, borrowed from Anglo-Norman percussioun (“striking, blow”) or Middle French percussion, and directly borrowed from Latin percussiō (“a beating…

It is borrowed from Latin perforō (“to bore through, pierce”), through the past participle perforātus and its stem. The Latin verb is formed from per- (“through”) and forō (“to bore, pierce”), which…

It is inherited from Middle English perimetre, borrowed from Latin perimetros (“circumference”), from Ancient Greek περίμετρος (perímetros), a noun use of the Greek adjective meaning "going round…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin petroleum, from petra (“rock”) and oleum (“oil”) (see oil), the first from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétrā).

The OED takes it as borrowed from Late Latin phi, recorded from the late 4th century, from Ancient Greek φεῖ (pheî), the Greek name of the letter Φ, φ. The American Heritage Dictionary gives the…

It is inherited from Middle English phisicale (“medical”), borrowed from Medieval Latin physicālis (“of nature, natural; medicinal”), from Latin physica (“the study of nature”), from Greek Ancient…

It is inherited from Middle English plantacioun, also plantacion, borrowed from Latin plantātiō (“a planting”), from plantō (“to plant”); Barnhart also derives it from Middle French plantation. The…

It is inherited from Middle English plenarie, borrowed from Late Latin plēnārius (“entire, complete; fully attended”), recorded from the late 4th century in Augustine, in the phrase plenarium…

It is formed from English poison + -ous. Poison is from Old French poison (“a drink”), from Latin pōtiō (“a drinking”).

It is inherited from Middle English populous, borrowed from Latin populōsus (“full of people”), formed from populus (“people”) and the suffix -ōsus. The OED treats the source as classical Latin…

It is formed from Middle English practic “dealing with practical matters” or the noun practic “method, practice, use” and the suffix -al, partly from Medieval Latin practicalis. Practic is from Old…