English words first recorded in the 17th century

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…

It is formed from English recruit + -er, as an agent noun of the verb. The verb is probably from the noun, which Etymonline dates to the 1640s. The OED traces the noun ultimately to French recrue…

The OED takes it as borrowed from Medieval Latin regulator, used from the 14th century in British sources, formed from the past participle stem of regulō (“to control, direct”) with a Latin agent…

It is borrowed from Latin resonātus, the past participle of resonō (“to produce a prolonged sound or echo, to resound”), which is formed from Latin re- (“back, again”) + sonō (“to sound”), from…

It is formed from English suitable + -ity, after the pattern of nouns in -bility. Suitable is formed from the verb suit with -able, after agreeable. The OED notes that the earlier noun was…

It is borrowed from Spanish tortilla, in American Spanish the name of a maize pancake, the diminutive of torta (“cake”) with the suffix -illa, from Late Latin tōrta (“flat cake; round loaf”). In…

It is formed from English un- + founded, the past participle of found, to lay the base of, establish; the verb is from Old French fonder, from Latin fundō (“to lay the bottom or foundation”), from…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin validātus, the past participle of validō (“to make valid”), from Latin validus (“strong, effective, powerful”), the source of valid, from valeō (“to be strong”)…

It is formed from English vision + -ary, and the OED compares French visionnaire, Italian visionario and Spanish visionario. Johnson derived it from the French word. Vision is from Anglo-Norman…

1. The employer is borrowed from Dutch baas (“master”), Middle Dutch baes, a word of obscure origin. If it first meant “uncle”, it may be related to Old High German basa “aunt”, but this is doubted…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κοσμικός (kosmikós, “of the world or universe”), from κόσμος (kósmos, “order; the world”), the source of cosmos. Etymonline takes it from a Latinized form of the…

It is from English design + -er, an agent noun from the verb.

It is formed from English devotion + -al. Devotion, recorded from about 1200, is from Middle English devocioun, from Old French devocion (“devotion, piety”) and directly Latin dēvōtiō, a noun of…

It is formed from English dis- + approval, after the verb disapprove; Etymonline takes it from disapprove and the suffix -al, though it allows that it could equally be dis- and approval. The OED…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin doxologia, from Ancient Greek δοξολογία (doxología, “praise, glory”), an abstract noun from δοξολόγος (doxológos, “uttering praise”), made up of δόξα (dóxa…

It is borrowed from Latin ēditor (“one who puts forth; a producer of games; a publisher”), an agent noun from ēditus, the past participle of ēdō (“to bring forth, produce, publish”), It is related…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin insēcūrus (“unsafe”), the negative of sēcūrus (“free from care”). The Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English also allow that it was formed in English…

It is formed from English insure + -er. The verb began in the mid 15th century as insuren, a spelling variant of ensuren (“to assure”), from Anglo-Norman enseurer and Old French ensurer, from en-…

It is formed from English ir- + responsible, with the form of the negative prefix in- used before r. The base came Old French responsible and goes back to Latin respondeō (“to answer, promise in…

It is a compound from English park + land.

It is borrowed from Late Latin prognōsis (“foreknowledge, prediction”), from Ancient Greek πρόγνωσις (prógnōsis, “foreknowledge; in medicine, a prognosis”), formed from προ- (pro-, “before”) and…

It is formed from English react + -ive. The chemical sense may follow French réactif, recorded in that sense from 1740, and the rare noun use follows the French noun. Merriam-Webster instead…

It is borrowed from French sérénade, from Italian serenata (“evening song”), literally “calm sky”, from sereno (“the open air; clear, calm”), from Latin serēnus (“peaceful, calm, clear”) (see…

Its origin is uncertain. The OED takes it as a variant of slutch, mud, mire, a word recorded from about 1400 and itself of uncertain, perhaps imitative or expressive origin; the American Heritage…

It is borrowed from Middle French esquade, a variant of escadre (modern French escouade), from Spanish escuadra or Italian squadra (“battalion”), literally “square”, from Vulgar Latin *exquadrō (“to…

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τονικός (tonikós, “of or for stretching; of tones”), from τόνος (tónos, “a stretching, tension; tone”), from Proto-Indo-European *ten- (“to stretch”). The OED…

It is formed from English un- + intended, the past participle of intend. The verb intend is from Old French entendre (“to direct one's attention”), from Latin intendō (“to stretch out; to turn one's…

It is borrowed from New Latin abdōminālis, recorded in abdominalis musculus (“abdominal muscle”) from 1590, from Latin abdōmen (“belly”) and the suffix -ālis. Compare French abdominal, an adjective…

It was formed in English from the Latin phrase ab orīgine (“from the beginning”) with the suffix -al, or, as Etymonline, the Shorter Oxford and the Oxford Dictionary of English put it, from the…

It is borrowed from Latin adeptus (“having reached, having attained”), the past participle of adipīscor (“to arrive at, attain, acquire”), formed from ad- (“to”) and apīscor (“to grasp, obtain”)…

It is formed from English anthropology + -ist. The OED notes that the word is recorded slightly before anthropology in the sense of a scientific discipline, and compares New Latin anthropologus…

It is borrowed from Latin ductus (“a leading, conduct, command”), in medieval Latin also an aqueduct, a noun of action formed from the past participle of dūcō (“to lead”), from Proto-Indo-European…

It is borrowed from Biblical Hebrew חֲנֻכָּה (ḥănukkāh, “dedication, consecration”), the name of the festival in the Babylonian Talmud and in the Bible a word for any inauguration or dedication. It…

It is a compound of high and light.

It is borrowed from Latin latex (“water, running water, liquid, juice”), which was already used in post-classical Latin of a body fluid by van Helmont in 1648, and of plant juice in 1823. The Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin nūtriēns (“nourishing”), the present participle of nūtriō (“to nourish, suckle, feed”), which Etymonline derives from an older form of nūtrīx (“nurse”), from a suffixed…

It is formed from English patho- + -logist, after pathology; Etymonline and the Shorter Oxford analyse it as pathology with the suffix -ist. Pathology is from French pathologie and New Latin…

It is partly borrowed from French périodique and partly borrowed from Latin periodicus (“intermittent”), from Ancient Greek περιοδικός (periodikós, “recurring, intermittent”), from περίοδος…

It is an alteration of earlier rochet, borrowed from French rochet, which in French meant a tooth on the edge of a wheel, earlier a bobbin or spool, and first, in Old French from 1285, the head of a…

It is borrowed from Late Latin respīrātōrius (“relating to breathing”) (5th century), formed on respīrātus, the past participle of respīrō (“to breathe out, breathe again”), with the suffix -ōrius…

It is formed from English re- (“back, again”) + wind. The noun is a conversion of the verb.

The OED takes it as borrowed from Yiddish שמשׂ (shames, “attendant”), from Biblical Hebrew שַׁמָּשׁ (šammāš, “attendant, servant, caretaker”), which in post-biblical Hebrew was also the sexton of a…

It is borrowed from Latin stāmen (“warp in the upright loom, thread”), which Pliny already applied to the stamens of the lily. Etymonline has the botanical word come through New Latin stāmen, used…

It is formed from English tooth + brush. Tooth is from Old English tōþ, and brush is from Old French brosse, also broisse.

It is borrowed from Latin vibrātiō (“a shaking, a brandishing”), a noun of action formed from the past participle stem of vibrō (“to shake, set in tremulous motion”). Wiktionary takes it through…

It is from Latin administrātīvus, from administrāt-, the past participle stem of administrō “to manage, control”, the source of administer. MWU analyses it as administration with the suffix -ative…

It is borrowed from Latin album (“white tablet; list of names”), through German use, the noun use of the neuter of albus (“white”). In Roman times an album was a board painted white on which public…

It is formed from English bomb + shell. It was also written with a hyphen.

It is borrowed from French bulletin, which was modelled on Italian bullettino (also bollettino), a note, pass or bill of health, a diminutive of bulletta (“passport, voting slip, lottery ticket”)…

It is borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“to cross; to sail to and fro”), from kruis (“cross”), from Latin crux (“cross”) (see cross).

It was formed from English eligible + -ity in English. The OED compares Medieval Latin eligibilitas, found in a British source of the 14th century, and Klein French éligibilité.

It is formed from English empower + -ment. The verb empower, recorded from 1641, is made of the prefix em- (also im-) and the noun power.

It is formed from English equip + -ment, or it is borrowed from French équipement, from équiper (“to equip”). It superseded the earlier equipage.

It is borrowed from French érotique, from Ancient Greek ἐρωτικός (erōtikós, “caused by love, relating to love”), formed on ἔρως (érōs, “sexual love”), with the suffix that became -ic. The OED takes…

It is formed on from Latin expānsus (“spread out”), the past participle of expandō (“to spread out, unfold”), with the suffix -ive. Dictionary.com analyses it instead as expansion with the same…

It is borrowed from Latin genitālia, the neuter plural of genitālis (“of generation or birth, genital”), used as a noun, short for genitālia membra (“genital members”). The American Heritage…

It is borrowed from French grimace, which the OED dates in French to the 14th century and calls of uncertain origin; Etymonline dates it to the 15th century. The French word is an alteration of…

It is borrowed from Latin indicō (“to point out, show”), from its past participle indicātus, or a back-formation from indication; the Latin verb is from in- (“towards”) and dicō (“to proclaim, make…

It is formed from English in- + effective, with the prefix meaning "not". Johnson (1755) compared French ineffectif.

It is formed from English in- (“not”) + significant, and the OED compares French insignifiant. The base, recorded from the 1570s, is from Latin significāns, the present participle of significō (“to…