English words first recorded in the 17th century

It is borrowed from Latin dissēminātiō (“a scattering of seed, a sowing”), a noun of action from dissēminō (“to spread abroad, disseminate”), which is formed from dis- (“in every direction”) and…

It is borrowed from New Latin ēlectricus (“resembling amber, produced from amber by friction”), coined by the English physicist William Gilbert in his treatise De Magnete (1600), from Latin ēlectrum…

It is from English electric + -ity, first used by the physician Sir Thomas Browne in 1646, from William Gilbert's Modern Latin. Gilbert had used electricus in his treatise De Magnete (1600), from…

It is borrowed from Latin ēlevātor (“one who raises up”), in Modern Latin a muscle that raises a part of the body, an agent noun from the past participle stem of ēlevō (“to raise”) (see elevate)…

It is borrowed from Latin ēmigrātiō (“removal from a place”), which Etymonline, Barnhart, Merriam-Webster and the Shorter Oxford call Late Latin; the OED, in its 2023 revision, finds it in classical…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek εὐθανασία (euthanasía, “an easy or happy death”), formed from εὖ (eû, “well”) and θάνατος (thánatos, “death”), with the abstract noun ending -ia. Collins and…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin executivus, from exsecūt-, the past participle stem of Latin exsequor (“to follow after; to carry out, accomplish”), the source of execute and execution.

It is from Latin ferōx (“fierce, wild-looking”), from its stem ferōc-, with the English suffix -ious. Barnhart suggests it may have been modelled on Middle French férocieux and prompted by the…

It is borrowed from Latin generātor (“a begetter, producer”), an agent noun from the past participle stem of generō (“to bring forth”) (see generation).

It is borrowed from Late Latin hyperbolicus, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολικός (huperbolikós, “extravagant, excessive”); the OED takes it directly from the Greek. The Greek adjective is from ὑπερβολή…

It was formed from English in- + consistent in English, with the negative prefix meaning "not". The OED compares inconsistant. Johnson (1755) explained it the same way.

It is formed from Latin indigena (“a native; sprung from the land”) and -ous, or from Late Latin indigenus, born in a country, from Old Latin indu (“in, within”) (from endo) and -gena, from the root…

It is probably borrowed from Medieval Latin insēcūritās (“danger, hazard”), from insēcūrus (“insecure”), from Latin in- (“not”) and sēcūrus (“free from care, secure”), itself from sē- (“free from”)…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin intimidō (“to frighten, make afraid”), through its past participle stem, formed from Latin in- and timidus (“fearful”), the source of timid, which comes from timeō…

It is formed from English jeopardy + -ize, or, in the OED's view, from the older verb jeopard with the same suffix. That verb, recorded from about 1374 in Chaucer's “Troilus and Criseyde”, is a…

It is borrowed from French littéraire and directly borrowed from Latin litterārius (“belonging to letters or learning”), from littera (“letter”) (see letter) and the suffix -ārius (see -ary).

It is borrowed from New Latin Mantis, from Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis, “prophet, seer”), which Theocritus also used of a kind of long insect with long forelimbs. It is related to μαίνεσθαι…

It is borrowed from French médical, or directly from Late Latin medicālis (“of a physician”), from medicus (“physician; healing”), from medeor (“to heal”), originally “to know the best course for”…

It is borrowed from Latin minimum (“smallest (thing)”), the neuter of minimus (“smallest, least”), earlier minumus, the superlative of minor (“smaller”), from Proto-Indo-European *mei- (“small”)…

It is borrowed from French parole (“word, speech; formal promise”), in the sense of parole d’honneur (“word of honour”); in Old French the word is recorded from the 12th century, and in Anglo-Norman…

It is formed from Latin pictōrius (“of a painter”) with the English suffix -al, as if from a Latin form *pictōriālis, in Barnhart's words. The OED dates the Latin adjective to the 2nd century AD…

It is formed from English polar + -ity. Polar is from French polaire or directly from Medieval Latin polāris (“of or pertaining to the poles”), from polus (“an end of an axis”), the source of pole…

It is borrowed from French précipiteux (“steep; rash, impetuous”), recorded from the mid 16th century. The OED takes the French word as probably formed from precipit (“hasty, impetuous”) and -eux…

It is borrowed from French sécrétion, or directly borrowed from Latin sēcrētiō (“a dividing, separation”), a noun of action from sēcrētus, the past participle of sēcernō (“to separate, set apart”)…

It is formed from English skeptic + -ism. Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com instead give New Latin scepticismus, from Latin scepticus (“skeptic”) and -ismus, and Johnson (1755) derived it from…

It is probably a shortening of earlier therapeutical (1605), modelled on New Latin therapeuticus (“curing, healing”), from Ancient Greek θεραπευτικός (therapeutikós), from θεραπευτής (therapeutḗs…

It is formed from English transfer + -able, on the model of preferable and referable, as the OED notes. It is also spelled transferrable. The verb transfer is from French transférer or directly from…

It is borrowed from Late Latin ūsūfrūctus, which Hoad and the Oxford Dictionary of English call medieval Latin, a form of Latin ūsusfrūctus, itself short for ūsus et frūctus (“use and enjoyment”)…

It is from Latin veterīnārius (“of beasts of burden; a cattle doctor”) with the English suffix -an. The Latin word is from veterīnus (“of beasts of burden”), whose plural veterīnae meant beasts of…

It is formed from afford and -able.

It is formed from English attain + -able; the OED compares Old French ataignable. Attain is from Old French ataindre (“to come up to, reach”), from *attangō, corresponding to Latin attingō (“to…

1. The soup is borrowed from French bisque (“crayfish soup; a rich stew”), recorded in French in the 1620s and of uncertain origin. It has been said to be an altered form of French Biscaye…

It is formed from English botanic + -y, after pairs such as astronomy and astronomical; the American Heritage Dictionary calls it a back-formation from the earlier adjectives. The revised OED…

It is borrowed from French central or directly borrowed from Latin centrālis (“pertaining to a centre”), from centrum (“centre”), the source of centre. Barnhart and Etymonline note that an adverb…

It is borrowed from French critique, from Ancient Greek κριτική (kritikḗ), short for the phrase κριτική (kritikḗ) τέχνη (tékhnē, “art”), "the critical art", the feminine of κριτικός (kritikós, “able…

It is borrowed from Late Latin culminō (“to top, crown; to exalt”), through its past participle culminātus, with the English ending -ate; Merriam-Webster takes the participle as Medieval Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin flōrālis (“of Flora”), from Flōra, the goddess of flowers, whose name comes from flōs (“flower”); Etymonline also names French floral, recorded in the 16th century, as a…

It is borrowed from Latin forēnsis (“of or belonging to the Forum, of the law courts, public”) with the English suffix -ic. The Latin adjective was formed on forum (“forum, marketplace, public…

It is borrowed from Latin haesitāns (“hesitating; stammering”), the present participle of haesitō (“to stick fast; to stammer; to be undecided”), a frequentative of haereō (“to stick, adhere, hold…

It is formed from English inconsistent + -ency, on the pattern of consistency, or, as Etymonline, Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com analyse it, in- (“not”) added to that noun. That noun comes from…

It is borrowed from Latin iners (“unskilled; inactive, sluggish”), perhaps through French inerte, recorded in French from the 16th century. The Latin adjective is formed from in- (“not, without”)…

It is formed from English lone + -some, with the suffix that forms adjectives meaning "tending to, causing". An older adjective of the same meaning was loneful, from the 1560s.

It is borrowed from French multiple, from Late Latin multiplus (“manifold”), from Latin multi- (“many, much”) and -plus (“-fold”). The Shorter Oxford and the Concise Oxford call the Late Latin word…

It is formed from English out- + lying, with the present participle of lie (to be situated), after the verb phrase “lie out”. The OED compares the verb outlie. The verb lie is from Middle English…

It is formed from English re- + invent. The OED compares the post-classical Latin verb Late Latin reinveniō, recorded from the 6th century, and the earlier redinveniō, used by Tertullian in the…

It is borrowed from Late Latin additīvus (“added, annexed”), which the OED records in Priscian in the 5th or 6th century, formed from additus, the past participle of addō (“to add, join, attach”)…

It is formed from English anarchy + -ist, partly after anarchism. The Shorter Oxford takes the early uses as formed from anarch with the same suffix, and the later ones as modelled on French…

It is formed from English bombast + -ic. The noun bombast, first cotton padding and then inflated language, is a variant with an added -t of obsolete bombace, which is from Old French bombace…

It is formed from English brewer + -ery, or, according to Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com and Etymonline, from brew and the same suffix, probably on the model of Dutch brouwerij. The verb brew comes…

1. The word for a strong point is borrowed from French fort, the noun use of the adjective meaning "strong", which Barnhart and Merriam-Webster give as Middle French; it first meant the strong part…

It is borrowed from Latin gradiēns (“walking, stepping”), the present participle of gradior (“to walk, step, go”), which the OED derives from gradus (“step”). Etymonline traces the Latin verb to…

It is borrowed from Latin īnsignia (“badges, marks of office”), the plural of īnsigne (“mark, sign, badge of office”), the noun use of the neuter of the adjective īnsignis (“distinguished, marked”)…

It is borrowed from French liaison (“a union, a binding together”), from lier (“to bind”), itself from Latin ligō (“to bind”). The French noun, recorded from the 13th century, continues Late Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin locus (“place, position, location; topic, subject”), from Old Latin stlocus, of unknown origin according to the OED and Etymonline. Klein derives it from…

It is borrowed from French mêlée, from Old French meslee (“a quarrel, a confused fight; a mixture”), the feminine past participle of mesler (“to mix”), the source of meddle. The Shorter Oxford takes…

Most dictionaries take it as borrowed from New Latin microscopium (“an instrument for viewing what is small”), which Barnhart dates to about 1628. The OED instead takes the English word as borrowed…

It is formed from English original + -ity, probably after French originalité, which the OED records from 1699, with an isolated Middle French use in 1380 in the sense "lineage, extraction"…

It is borrowed from Ottoman Turkish پاشا (pāšā) (modern Turkish paşa), which the OED derives from Persian پادشاه (pādšāh), the source of padishah. It describes it as a title created by the Ottoman…

It is from Late Latin pharmaceuticus (“of drugs”) with the English suffix -al, from Ancient Greek φαρμακευτικός (pharmakeutikós), from φαρμακεύς (pharmakeús, “preparer of drugs, poisoner”), from…

It is the singular of the earlier plural pot-ashes (1648), a loan translation of obsolete Dutch potaschen (“pot ashes”), from pot (“pot”) and asch (“ash”); see pot and ash. It is so called because…