English words first recorded in the 15th century

It is inherited from Middle English sinus, borrowed from Medieval Latin sinus (“a hollow in the body”), from Latin sinus (“bend, fold, curve; bay, gulf; the fold of the toga over the breast…

It is formed from English stink + -y. A Middle English adjective stinkī, having an offensive smell, was formed in the same way from the noun stink, and the Shorter Oxford treats it as the same word…

It is borrowed from Latin strictus (“drawn together, tight, rigid”), the past participle of stringere (“to draw or bind tight”) (see strain). It is a doublet of strait.

It is borrowed from Latin subdīvīsiō (“subordinate division”), which the OED records from the 2nd century AD and, in the sense of the act of subdividing, in Chauliac's Latin in 1363; most other…

It is inherited from Middle English subscriben, borrowed from Latin subscrībō (“to write underneath, sign one's name”), from sub-, underneath, and scrībō, to write (see scribe), from…

It is inherited from Middle English subtraccioun, partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman subtraccion, and partly borrowed from Late Latin subtractiō (“a withdrawal, taking away”), formed from the past…

It is borrowed from Middle French somptueux, also sumptueux, and directly borrowed from Latin sūmptuōsus (“expensive, lavish, extravagant”). Most other dictionaries name only French, and…

It is inherited from Middle English supernaturel, borrowed from Medieval Latin supernātūrālis (“above or beyond nature”), from super- (“above”) and nātūra (“nature”) (see nature), with -ālis. The…

It is inherited from Middle English swyrl (“whirlpool, eddy”), first recorded in Scots, and its source is uncertain. The OED thinks that, unless it was formed independently by onomatopoeia, it is…

It is inherited from Middle English tenacite, borrowed from Old French ténacité and directly borrowed from Latin tenācitās (“a holding fast”), from tenāx (“holding fast, tenacious”), from teneō (“to…

It is borrowed from Latin terminātus, the past participle of terminō (“to mark the boundaries of, limit; to bring to an end”), from terminus (“end, boundary, limit”). In Middle English it is…

It is inherited from Middle English terrestrial, also terrestrialle and terestial, borrowed from Latin terrestris (“earthly, of the earth, on land”) with the English suffix -al added; the MED also…

It is inherited from Middle English tollerabill, borrowed from Old French tolerable, also tollerable, and directly borrowed from Latin tolerābilis (“that may be endured; that can endure”), from…

It is inherited from Middle English topographīe, borrowed from Late Latin topographia, found in Servius and Jerome, from Ancient Greek τοπογραφία (topographía, “description of a place”), from…

It is borrowed from Middle French torture (“infliction of great pain; agony”) and directly borrowed from Late Latin tortura (“twisting, writhing, torment”), from tortus, the past participle of…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin tractiō (“a drawing, pulling”), in Middle English traccioun; the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English allow that it may also be from French…

It is borrowed from Latin triumphāns (“celebrating a triumph”), the present participle of triumphō (“to celebrate a triumph”), which comes from triumphus (“an achievement; a triumphal procession”)…

It is borrowed from Latin tumor (“a swelling”), from tumeō, to swell, from a root also seen in thumb.

It is borrowed from Late Latin turbulentia (“trouble, disquiet”), from turbulentus (“full of commotion, restless, stormy”), from turba (“turmoil, crowd”) and turbō (“to disturb, agitate”). The OED…

It is inherited from Middle English turbulent, borrowed from Old French turbulent and directly borrowed from Latin turbulentus (“full of commotion, restless”), from turba (“turmoil, crowd”), which…

It is formed from English un- + equal, with the negative prefix. Equal is from Latin aequālis (“uniform, identical, equal”), from aequus (“level, even; just, fair”), which is of unknown origin. The…

It is formed from English un- + friendly, in Middle English unfrendli, also unfrendeli. Old English already had the adverb unfrēondlīce (“in an unfriendly manner”), from frēondlīc (“friendly”)…

It is inherited from Middle English uniten, borrowed from Late Latin ūnītus, the past participle of ūniō (“to join together, make one”), from ūnus (“one”), from Proto-Indo-European *oi-no- (“one…

It is inherited from Middle English various, from Latin varius (“changing, different, diverse, variegated”) with the suffix -ous, perhaps partly through Middle French varieux or Medieval Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin vēlōcitās (“swiftness, speed”), perhaps through Middle French vélocité, from vēlōx (“swift, rapid”), a word of uncertain origin, perhaps related to vehō (“to carry”).

It is borrowed from Middle French verbal and directly Late Latin verbālis (“consisting of words, relating to verbs”), from Latin verbum (“word, verb”) (see verb and word).

It is borrowed from Latin vertīgō (“a turning or whirling round; dizziness”), from vertō (“to turn”), with the noun suffix -īgō. Etymonline traces the verb to Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to turn…

It is borrowed from French vestige, from Latin vestīgium (“sole of the foot, footprint, trace”). An earlier Middle English vestige came from vestige, vestigie and the Latin noun, and the OED and…

It is Middle English, from Anglo-Norman vintage, an alteration, influenced by vineter, vintner, of late Middle English vendage, borrowed from Old French vendange (“grape harvest, yield of a…

1. The plant is inherited from Middle English viola, borrowed from Latin viola (“violet”), which was later used as the botanical name of the genus. The Latin word, also the source of violet through…

It is inherited from Middle English violaten, borrowed from Latin violātus, the past participle of violō (“to treat with violence, outrage, dishonour”), with the verb suffix -ate. The Latin verb is…

It is inherited from Middle English wysard (“wise man, sage”), formed from wys (“wise”) (see wise) and -ard. Etymonline compares Lithuanian žynys (“sorcerer”) and žynė (“witch”), from žinoti (“to…

It is borrowed from Late Latin zēta, recorded from the 4th century, and its source, Ancient Greek ζῆτα (zêta), the name of the letter Ζ, ζ. The Greek name is of Semitic origin. Klein and Beekes…

It is inherited from Middle English accompanien, borrowed from Anglo-Norman acompaigner and accompagner, from acompaignier (“to take as a companion”) (12th century), formed from a- (“to”) (from ad)…

It is inherited from Middle English advertisen, also avertysen, borrowed from Middle French advertir, also avertir, through its lengthened stem advertiss-, from Vulgar Latin *advertiō, corresponding…

It is inherited from Middle English advertisement, borrowed from Middle French avertissement, often spelled advertissement from the late 14th to the 16th century after Latin, with avertisement and…

It is inherited from Middle English arbitratour, borrowed from Old French arbitratour, also arbitrateur, and directly borrowed from Late Latin arbitrātor (“a spectator, hearer, witness; a judge”)…

It is inherited from Middle English assisten, borrowed from Middle French assister (“to stand by, help”), from Latin assistō (“to stand by, take a stand near, attend”), from ad- (“to”) and sistō…

It is inherited from Middle English compilacioun, borrowed from Old French compilacion (“compilation, collection”), from Latin compīlātiō (“a compilation; literally a pillaging”), from the past…

It is borrowed from Middle French compromis, from Latin compromissum (“a mutual promise to abide by an arbiter's decision”), the neuter past participle of comprōmittere (“to make a mutual promise”)…

It is inherited from Middle English garde, borrowed from Middle French garde (“guardian, keeper; custody”), from garder (“to keep, protect”) or guarder, from Frankish *wardōn, from Proto-Germanic…

It is borrowed from Middle French immense, from Latin immēnsus (“immeasurable, boundless”), from in- (“not”) and mēnsus (“measured”), the past participle of mētior (“to measure”) (see measure).

It is formed from English loft + -y, the noun being taken in its sense in the phrase “on loft”, aloft; the Shorter Oxford and the ODE see the influence of that adverb. In Middle English it was…

It is borrowed from Middle French pause and directly from Latin pausa, a halt, stop, from Greek παῦσις (paûsis, “stopping, ceasing”), from παύειν (paúein), to stop, cease, a word of unknown origin…

It is inherited from Middle English sub-pena, also suppena, borrowed from Medieval Latin sub poenā (“under a penalty”), the first words of the writ, which ordered a person to appear under a penalty…

It is formed from English un- + cut, the negative prefix with the past participle of the verb cut. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com give the Middle English form as unkitt or unkyt, from kitt…

It is an agent noun from visit and partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman visitour, Old French visiteor, visitor, inspector, from visiter, to visit.

It is inherited from Middle English dromme, probably borrowed from Middle Dutch tromme (“drum”), a common Germanic word, compare German Trommel, Danish tromme and Swedish trumma, probably imitative…

It is inherited from Middle English absurdite, first borrowed from Late Latin absurditās (“dissonance”) and later also borrowed from Middle French absurdité. The Late Latin noun, recorded in the…

It is borrowed from Anglo-Norman accountaunt, Middle French acomptant, the present participle of aconter (“to count, enumerate”), the source of account. The OED explains it as the participle used as…

It is formed from English accustom + -ed, the past participle of that verb used as an adjective, and Merriam-Webster gives the Middle English form acustumed (“customary, used to”). The OED compares…

It is inherited from Middle English adoptif, borrowed from Middle French adoptif and directly borrowed from Latin adoptīvus (“obtained or constituted by adoption”). Old French adoptif is recorded…

It is an imitative or expressive formation, perhaps symbolic of a drop of liquid. The OED explains it, like bleb, as imitating the action of the lips in making a bubble, and thinks that a felt…

It is inherited from Middle English clement, borrowed from Latin clēmēns (“mild, calm, gentle, merciful”), perhaps through Old French clement. Anglo-Norman had clement (“merciful”) from 1153, as a…

It is inherited from Middle English convenen, borrowed partly borrowed from Anglo-Norman convenir and Middle French convenir (“to fit together; to come together, meet; to agree”), and partly…

It is borrowed from Middle French descendant, the present participle of descendre (“to go down”), and partly borrowed from Latin dēscendēns, the present participle of dēscendō. In Anglo-Norman the…

It is inherited from Middle English encoragen, borrowed from Middle French encoragier, from Old French en- “make, put in” and corage “courage, heart”. It is related to courage.

It is inherited from Middle English fortificacioun, borrowed from Old French fortification (“strengthening, fortification”), and directly borrowed from Late Latin fortificātiō (“a strengthening…

It is inherited from Middle English inhabitaunt, also enhabitant, borrowed from Anglo-Norman enhabitant and Old French enhabitant, the present participle of enhabiter (“to inhabit, dwell in”), which…

It is borrowed from Middle French pact, later pacte, and directly borrowed from Latin pactum (“agreement, covenant”), a noun use of the neuter past participle of paciscor (“to make a covenant…