English words first recorded in the 16th century

The OED takes it as formed from English proficient + -ency, or else from its Latin source, the present participle Latin prōficiēns, with the same English suffix. Barnhart notes that the noun is…

It is formed from English Satan + -ic. The OED notes the earlier satanical, and compares Byzantine Greek Σατανικός (Satanikós), post-classical Latin satanicus (6th century), French satanique (late…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin superintendēns (“an overseer”), the present participle of Late Latin superintendere, to oversee (see superintend), from super-, above, and intendō, to turn one's…

It is formed from Latin āerius (“airy, lofty”) and -al, from Ancient Greek ἀέριος (aérios, “of the air”), from ἀήρ (aḗr, “air”) (see air). The spelling aereal comes from the variant aereus.

It is borrowed from Latin archetypum (“an original”), possibly through Middle French archétype, from Ancient Greek ἀρχέτυπον (arkhétupon, “pattern, model”), the neuter of ἀρχέτυπος (arkhétupos…

It is formed from English bake + -ery, probably partly after baker, especially in the sense of a place where bread is baked. Dictionary.com analyses it as baker with the suffix -y, now understood as…

It is formed from English bar + -ster, from bar in its legal sense, though the middle part of the word is obscure. Merriam-Webster analyses it as bar with a linking -i- and -ster, and the OED notes…

It is borrowed from Middle French calamiteux, from Latin calamitōsus (“causing loss, destructive; liable to damage”), a contraction of *calamitātōsus, from calamitās (“damage, loss, disaster…

It is borrowed from Latin coniugālis (“relating to marriage”), possibly through conjugal, and Etymonline derives it from the French word, which it dates to the 13th century. The OED compares the…

It is borrowed from Latin cōnspicuus (“visible, open to view; striking”) with the suffix -ous, from cōnspiciō (“to catch sight of, observe, notice”), formed com-, here probably an intensive prefix…

It is borrowed from Middle French dialecte, recorded in French from 1550 for a regional form of a language, and directly borrowed from Latin dialectus (“local language, way of speaking…

It is formed from dis- and ability.

It is formed from English head + master, with head in its adjectival sense "chief". The OED compares the earlier schoolmaster. Head goes back to Old English hēafod, and master to Old English…

It is borrowed from French hutte (“cottage”), from Middle High German hütte or Old High German hutta (“roughly built shelter”), from Proto-Germanic *hudjōn, probably related to Old English hȳdan…

It is borrowed from Middle French identité, 14th century, from Late Latin identitās (“sameness”), formed irregularly from Latin idem (“the same”), from id “it”, probably on the model of Late Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin īnsidiōsus (“cunning, deceitful, artful, treacherous”), perhaps influenced by Middle French insidieux, which is recorded from 1420. The Latin adjective is from īnsidiae…

It is borrowed from Middle French reviser and directly borrowed from Latin revīsō (“to visit again, look at again”). The French verb is recorded from the 13th century, first meaning to examine or…

It is a shortening of earlier tragical (1489, Caxton), modelled on Latin tragicus (“of tragedy”) and partly through French tragique, from Greek τραγικός (tragikós, “of tragedy; literally of a…

It is borrowed from Middle French troupe, from Old French trope, also trupe, a band of people, company or crowd, recorded from the 13th century. Its further origin is uncertain. Several dictionaries…

It is formed from English un- + fit, from the adjective fit. The adjective fit is recorded from the mid 15th century and is of unknown origin. The verb unfit is taken from the adjective by the OED…

It is formed from English work + -able. The verb work continues Old English wyrcan (“to prepare, perform, make, produce by labour”).

It is formed from English amplify + -er. The verb comes from Middle French amplifier and Latin amplificō (“to enlarge”), formed from amplus (“large”), the source of ample, and a combining form of…

It is borrowed from Middle French cavallerie, from Italian cavalleria (“mounted militia, horsemanship, knighthood”), formed on cavaliere (“horseman, knight”), or directly on cavallo (“horse”). The…

It is a compound from English honey + moon. The OED thinks that the allusion was perhaps at first to love that wanes as the moon does, and that a second reading, love that lasts only a month, soon…

The verb is probably a back-formation from Middle English husht (“silent, quiet”), whose final -t came to be taken for the ending of a past participle, as if the adjective meant "hushed". Etymonline…

1. The adjective meaning internal is borrowed from Middle French interne, or directly Latin internus (“situated inside, internal, domestic”), which the OED takes as its source. The Latin adjective…

It is borrowed from Latin monitor (“one who reminds, admonishes or checks; an overseer”), an agent noun from moneō (“to remind, advise, warn”), from Proto-Indo-European *moneie- “to make think of”…

It is a back-formation from partaker, or from partaker and partaking; Dictionary.com derives it from partaking alone. The OED calls it "apparently" a back-formation, with the past tense and past…

It is borrowed from Middle French persistence, also persistance, formed from the verb persister, the source of persist, which is from Latin persistō (“to continue steadfastly”). Etymonline instead…

It is borrowed from Middle French popularité, or formed from popular and -ity, from Latin populāritas, from populāris (“of the people”), from populus (“people”). Latin popularitas meant fellow…

It is borrowed from Latin praedictus, past participle of praedīcere (“to foretell, give notice”), from prae-, before, and dīcō, to say (see diction), perhaps as a back-formation from the earlier…

The OED takes it as borrowed from Medieval Latin retāliātiō (“revenge”), recorded in continental Latin from 1520, formed from the past participle stem of Latin retāliō (“to pay back in kind”)…

It is borrowed from Late Latin trias (“the number three, a triad”), from Ancient Greek τριάς (triás, “the number three, a group of three”), from τρεῖς (treîs, “three”), which is related to three…

It is formed from English un- + touchable, from the verb touch; the OED compares intouchable, recorded from 1569. Its use with reference to Hindu caste follows a Sanskrit word meaning "not to be…

It is borrowed from Middle French agitation and directly borrowed from Latin agitātiō (“violent moving, shaking, disturbance”), a noun formed from agitātus, the past participle of agitō (“to set in…

It is borrowed from French bile, from Latin bīlis (“bile; anger”), which in old medicine was also one of the four humours, called choler. Barnhart calls the French word a learned borrowing from…

It is formed from English contend + -er. The verb contend is from Old French contendre and directly Latin contendō (“to stretch out; strive after; vie with, fight”), from com- and tendō (“to…

It is formed from critic and the suffix -al, after Late Latin criticus, which comes through Latin from Ancient Greek κριτικός (kritikós) “able to judge”.

It was formed from English endorse + -ment, replacing an earlier endosement of the early 15th century, borrowed from endossement. The verb endorse is endosen, endosser (“to put on one's back, to…

Its origin is unknown. The OED thinks it may be short for “gale wind”, where gale was perhaps first an adjective, and Ayto cites “gale wind” from Zachary Boyd (1619). Some scholars have connected it…

It is borrowed from Latin geōmetricus (“of geometry, geometrical”), from Ancient Greek γεωμετρικός (geōmetrikós), from γεωμέτρης (geōmétrēs, “geometer”) and the suffix -ικός (-ikós). Merriam-Webster…

It is borrowed from French offensif and directly from Medieval Latin offēnsīvus, from Latin offēns-, the past participle stem of offendō “to strike against”, the source of offend.

It is borrowed from French peloton (“little ball; group of people, platoon”), or, according to the OED, its variant plauton, recorded in Cotgrave in 1611 and in Middle French as ploton in 1572…

It is formed from English real + -ist, after French réaliste; Merriam-Webster and Klein take it directly from the French word, which goes back to Middle French realiste. The OED dates the French…

Most dictionaries take it as a borrowing from a Scandinavian language. Etymonline and Wiktionary derive it borrowed from Old Norse rǫgg (“shaggy tuft”), from Proto-Germanic *rawwō (“long wool”), and…

It is borrowed from Middle French sédiment, recorded in French from the 16th century, and probably also directly borrowed from Latin sedimentum (“a settling, sinking down, subsidence”), from sedeō…

It is borrowed from Latin temporārius (“of seasonal character, lasting a short time”), from tempus, temporis “time, season” and the suffix -ary. It is related to temporal, the earlier word for…

It is formed from English advertise + -er. The OED compares Middle French avertisseur (“one who informs or warns”), recorded in Old French in 1281 as avertisseor. Advertise is from Old French…

It is from Old French applicable or Medieval Latin applicabilis, from applicāre (“to attach to, devote to”) (see apply) and -able; MWU traces it through French appliquer.

The noun and the verb both appear in the mid-16th century; their relation to each other is doubtful and the origin of both is unknown. They are often taken as a variant of blear, or as related to…

It is probably borrowed from Middle French braverie (“the action of braving”), from braver (“to brave”), or else from Italian braveria, from bravare. Both go back to the adjective brave, from…

It is from Modern Latin Cannabis, the plant genus named by Linnaeus, from Latin cannabis (“hemp”), from Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis, “hemp”), perhaps a Scythian or Thracian word, also the source of…

It is borrowed from Middle French coronel, with the later spelling from Middle French colonel, from Italian colonnello (“commander of the column of soldiers at the head of a regiment”), from colonna…

It is formed from English companion + -ship. The OED compares the earlier companyship, and notes that the sense of a journeyman's years of service follows compagnonnage (1719).

It is borrowed from Latin congrātulātus, the past participle of congrātulor (“to wish joy”), perhaps through Middle French congratuler, formed from com- (“together, with”) and grātulor (“to give…

It is borrowed from Late Latin contractor (“one who makes a contract”), an agent noun from the past participle stem of Latin contrahere (“to draw together; to make a bargain”) (see contract), from…

It is borrowed from Latin dēfūnctus (“discharged, finished; deceased, dead”), the past participle of dēfungor (“to discharge, finish, have done with; to die”), formed from dē- (“off, completely”)…

It is borrowed from Latin demonstratus, the past participle of dēmōnstrāre (“to point out, show; prove”), from de- (“entirely”) and mōnstrāre (“to show”), from monstrum (“divine omen, wonder”) (see…

It is formed from English dis- + credit. The verb, recorded from 1548, was formed from the verb credit; the noun, from 1551, from the noun credit after the verb. Barnhart thinks it was probably…

It is borrowed from Latin dubiōsus (“doubtful”), from dubium (“doubt”), the neuter of dubius (“wavering, doubtful”), from duo (“two”), with the sense of being undecided between two things…