English words first recorded in the 16th century

It is borrowed from Latin ēmeritus (“a veteran soldier who has served his time”), the past participle of ēmereō (“to earn by service, serve out one's term”), formed from ē- (“out”), a form of ex-…

It is borrowed from Late Latin explānātōrius (“having to do with an explanation”), recorded in the 5th century, from explānātus, the past participle of explānō (“to make plain or clear”), the source…

It is borrowed from Malay gong, also gung, or Javanese gong; Partridge thinks it may come from both. Hobson-Jobson cites Crawfurd for a Javanese origin and notes that the word is found in all the…

It is an alteration from English hurrah, and the American Heritage Dictionary calls it an alteration of huzzah. Merriam-Webster enters hooray with hurrah and hurray as its variants, and derives it…

It is borrowed from Latin inclūsiō (“a shutting up, confinement”), inclūsiōnem, from inclūsus, past participle of inclūdō, to shut in (see include).

It is formed from English individual + -ity, and Etymonline and the Oxford Dictionary of English take it in early use also from Medieval Latin individualitas. The OED only compares the Latin noun…

It is a compound from English master + piece, probably modelled on Dutch meesterstuk or German Meisterstück, which named the piece of work by which a craftsman qualified for the rank of master in…

The origin is unknown. Several dictionaries connect it, with some hesitation, with Middle French pimpant (“alluring or seductive in dress”), the present participle of pimper (“to dress up…

It is borrowed from French progressif (feminine progressive) or Medieval Latin progressivus, from progress-, the past participle stem of prōgredior (“to go forward”) (see progress); Etymonline and…

In its legal sense, the renewal of a lease, it is borrowed from Late Latin relocātiō, from the past participle stem of relocō (“to let again”); compare Middle French relocation, recorded at the end…

It is borrowed from Middle French voluntaire (“a volunteer; voluntary”), from Latin voluntārius (“voluntary, of one's free will”), in the plural meaning volunteers, from voluntas (“will”) (see…

It is formed from English watch + dog, the OED and the Shorter Oxford taking the first element as the noun, Etymonline as the verb. The first element goes back to Old English wæcce (“a watching…