English words first recorded in the 16th century

It is formed from English ware + -y, from the older adjective ware, from Middle English war, also ware, inherited from Old English wær (“prudent, aware, alert”), from Proto-Germanic *waraz. It is…

It is formed from English amaze + -ment. The verb is usually traced to Old English āmasian (“to amaze, stupefy, confound”), past participle āmasod, but the OED, revising the entry in 2021, takes it…

1. Its origin is uncertain. In the 16th and 17th centuries it was often written Q or q, and writers of the time explained it as an abbreviation of a Latin word, Latin quandō (“when”) or quālis (“of…

It is borrowed from Middle French cultivation, a noun of action from cultiver, or it was formed in English from the past participial stem of Medieval Latin cultivō (“to till”), with the suffix -ion…

It is borrowed from Late Latin dēspicābilis (“contemptible”), from Latin dēspicor (“to look down on, despise”), with -ābilis (“-able”). The Latin verb is related to dēspiciō (“to look down on”), the…

1. It is the nickname Dick, a rhyming form of Rick, short for Richard, one of the commonest English names. The SOED calls it a playful alteration of Ric- in Anglo-Norman Ricard. 2. It is perhaps a…

It is formed from English discover + -y, on the pattern of the pair recover, recovery. It is related to cover and recovery.

It is formed from English enjoy + -ment, from the verb with the noun suffix. The verb is from Middle English enjoyen (“to rejoice, be glad”), from Old French enjoir (“to give joy, take delight in”)…

It is borrowed from Latin frequentia (“an assembling in great numbers, a crowd”), from frequēns (“crowded, frequent”) (see frequent). It gradually replaced Middle English frequence.

It is formed from English hypocritic + -al, and Merriam-Webster derives it from hypocrite with -ical. Hypocritic is from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós, “acting a part, pretending”)…

It is a variant of ensurance “assurance, pledge, guarantee”, borrowed from Old French enseürance (“assurance”), from enseürer, from en- “to make” and seür “safe, secure”, the source of sure…

It is formed from English island + -er. Johnson noted that it was pronounced “ilander”.

1. It is an agent noun formed from the verb light, to kindle, and -er. 2. It is Middle English, perhaps formed from light, to lighten a load, and -er, or from Middle Dutch *lichter (Dutch lichter)…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin lobia, laubia, a covered walk, portico, from a Germanic source, compare Old High German louba, hall, roof, and German Laube (“covered way, arbour”). It is a…

It is borrowed from Latin opponens (“setting against”), the present participle of oppōnere (“to set against, oppose”), from ob (“against, in front of”) and pōnere (“to put, place”) (see position).

It is formed from English over- + load. The verb comes first, from load the verb; the noun is from load the noun. Middle English had overladen in the same sense, the source of overladen. An Old…

1. The seed case is of uncertain origin. Hoad, the Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford take it as a back-formation from Middle English podware (“seed of legumes, field crops”), also…

It is borrowed from Late Latin prōstitūtiō, partly through Middle French prostitution, a noun of action from Latin prōstitūtus, the past participle of prōstituō (“to expose publicly, offer for…

It is formed from English scare + crow, from the verb scare and the noun crow. It is a compound of a verb and its object, the same kind of formation as daredevil and cutthroat.

It is borrowed from Latin schēma (“shape, figure; figure of speech”), from Ancient Greek σχῆμα (skhêma, “figure, appearance, form”), related to skhein “to get” and ekhein “to have, hold”, from…

It is formed from English un- + grateful. Grateful is formed from the obsolete adjective grate, agreeable, pleasant, which is from Latin grātus (“pleasing”), and Etymonline calls grateful a rare…

It is borrowed from Late Latin validitās (“strength”), or, according to Klein, borrowed from Middle French validité; Etymonline, the Shorter Oxford and Merriam-Webster allow either source. The noun…

It is borrowed from Latin castrātus, the past participle of castrō (“to castrate, prune, expurgate”), though Barnhart and Etymonline allow that it may be a back-formation from castration, recorded…

It comes from the phrase “make shift” or “make a shift”, to manage with what is at hand, formed from English make + shift. For the formation, Etymonline compares makeweight. Shift here means an…

1. It is a word of unknown or obscure origin, perhaps a merger of several separate words, possibly related to Low German or obsolete Flemish pad, the sole of the foot. 2. It is probably borrowed…

It is borrowed from Latin prōtrūdō (“to thrust or push forward”), from prō- (“forward”) and trūdō (“to thrust, push”), from Proto-Indo-European *treud- (“to press, push, squeeze”), the root of threat.

It is borrowed from Late Latin antagōnista (“opponent”), used by Jerome in the 4th century, and partly borrowed from French antagoniste, from Ancient Greek ἀνταγωνιστής (antagōnistḗs, “opponent…

It is formed from English apply + -ance, and the OED compares the earlier application and applying. The verb apply is from Anglo-Norman applier (“to apply, use”), from Latin applicō (“to attach to…

It is borrowed from Middle French architecture, possibly influenced by Italian architettura, from Latin architectūra, from architectus (“master builder, chief workman”), from Ancient Greek…

It is borrowed from Spanish canoa, partly through French canoe, from Taíno canoa, the form recorded by Columbus in Haiti, of Cariban origin: compare Carib canaoua.

It is borrowed from Spanish coco, also borrowed from Portuguese coco, the Portuguese word meaning "grinning face, grimace", or according to MWU "bogeyman", because the three hollows at the base of…

It is borrowed from Middle French cohérent, from Latin cohaerēns (“sticking together”), the present participle of cohaereō (“to cling together”), formed from co- (“together”), the assimilated form…

It is borrowed from Latin cōnflagrātiō (“a burning”), and the OED compares French conflagration, of the 16th century. Etymonline allows either source, and Barnhart and Klein take the word through…

It is borrowed from Latin dēflectō (“to bend aside or downward”), formed from dē- (“away, down”) and flectō (“to bend, turn”). Etymonline calls the Latin verb flectō of uncertain origin. It is…

It is borrowed from Latin dīlūtus (“washed away, dissolved; diluted, weak”), the past participle of dīluō (“to wash away, dissolve, dilute”), formed from dī- (“apart, away”) and -luō, the combining…

It is borrowed from Middle French disparité, also desparité, from Late Latin disparitās (“inequality”), formed from dis- (“not”) and paritās (“equality”), from pār (“equal”). Etymonline takes the…

It is formed from English dis- + proportionate, probably on the pattern of Middle French disproportionné, recorded from 1534. proportionate is from Medieval Latin proportionatus (“proportioned”)…

It is formed from English en- + gulf, though the OED compares French engouffrer, earlier engoulfer, as a possible source, and Etymonline names Old French engolfer as the alternative. The noun gulf…

It is borrowed from Latin frūstrātiō (“a deception, a disappointment”), a noun from frūstror, to deceive, disappoint, make vain (see frustrate), from frūstrā, in vain, related to fraus, harm (see…

It is borrowed from French fusion or directly borrowed from Latin fūsiō (“an outpouring, effusion”), fūsiōnem, from fūsus, past participle of fundō, to pour, melt (see found, to cast metal), from…

It is borrowed from Middle French futile and directly borrowed from Latin fūtilis (“that pours out easily, leaky; vain, worthless”), also futtilis, a figurative use of a word meaning literally…

It is an alteration of earlier hamaca, borrowed from Spanish hamaca, from Taíno hamaka, an Arawakan language of Haiti, in which the word apparently meant “fish nets”. Klein compares Yukuna hamaca…

It is borrowed from Polish horda, which also passed into horde and Horde; Barnhart thinks English took it at different times from Spanish, perhaps from Polish (the first English spelling is horda)…

It is borrowed from French horizontal or New Latin horizontālis, from Late Latin horizōn (stem horizont-; see horizon), from Ancient Greek ὁρίζων (horízōn, “bounding (circle)”), from ὁρίζω (horízō…

The verb is of uncertain origin. It is perhaps borrowed from Low German hudern (“to cover, shelter”), said of a hen sheltering her chicks, an iterative of hûden (“to hide”); Etymonline traces it…

It is formed from magic and -al.

1. The word for a mother is a reduplication of the syllable ma, one of the first sounds made by infants; Barnhart thinks it probably imitative, and Etymonline suggests an imitation of the sound of…

It is borrowed from Latin nectar (“the drink of the gods; wine or other sweet drink”), from Ancient Greek νέκταρ (néktar, “the drink of the gods”). In post-classical Latin the word was also used of…

It is borrowed from Latin notātiō (“a marking; observation; etymological explanation”), from notō (“to note, mark”), from nota (“mark, note”). Etymonline and Barnhart see it also as a borrowing of…

It is apparently borrowed from Anglo-Norman noche (“notch, tally mark”), recorded in Anglo-Norman from the early 14th century, a variant of osche, also Middle French, Old French osche (1170) and…

It is formed from observe and -er.

It is a compound of off and set, formed after the verb phrase set off.

1. The supporter is borrowed from Middle French partisan, recorded in French from the late 15th century, adapted from a northern Italian dialect form, partezan or partisano, corresponding to…

It is borrowed from Spanish patata, a variant of Taino batata (“sweet potato”), from the Carib language of Haiti, probably influenced by or blended with Spanish papa, potato, from Quechua.

It is borrowed from Latin rotatio (“a turning about in a circle”), from the past participle stem of rotāre (“to turn, revolve, roll”) (see rotate), from rota, wheel (see rotary).

1. The adjective meaning covered with rust is inherited from Middle English rusti, inherited from Old English rūstig, formed from Old English rūst + -ig, from rust. It is cognate with West Frisian…

It is borrowed from Late Latin sēgregātiō, a noun of action from sēgregō (“to separate from the flock, set apart, isolate, divide”). The Latin verb is formed from sē- (“apart from”) and grex (“herd…

It is borrowed from Middle French sultan (“ruler of Turkey”), or sultānus, from Arabic سُلْطَان (sulṭān, “power, dominion; ruler, sovereign”). The American Heritage Dictionary, Dictionary.com and…

It is formed from English sun + dial. The second element by itself had already meant a sundial in the early 15th century, and it comes from Old French dyal, apparently from Medieval Latin dialis…

It is borrowed from Middle French surpasser (“to go beyond, exceed, excel”), formed in Old French from sur- (“above, beyond”) and passer (“to pass”). In Old French the verb meant "to transgress"…