English words from Middle English
- tipperSomeone who tips; someone who gives a gratuity.
- spongA long and narrow piece of land, resembling a tongue, especially a short peninsula.
- quandaryA state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or puzzlement; a dilemma, a difficult decision or choice.
- scudNaked.
- sayerOne who says; one who makes announcements; a crier.
- gainwardToward; facing; over against.
- haggleTo argue for a better deal, especially over prices between a buyer and seller.
- HollingsA surname from Middle English.
- WolseleyA style of pith helmet
- hakeA hook; a pot-hook.
- beveridgeA surname from Middle English.
- wileA trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly, insidious artifice
- culpableMeriting condemnation, censure or blame, especially as something wrong, harmful or injurious; blameworthy, guilty.
- gaultA type of stiff, blue clay, sometimes used for making bricks.
- telltaleOne who divulges private information with intent to hurt others.
- burlapA very strong, coarse cloth, made from jute, flax, or hemp, and used to make sacks, etc.
- cannyCareful, prudent, cautious.
- FlyntA surname.
- GreveA surname.
- mumbleTo speak unintelligibly or inaudibly; to fail to articulate.
- CoulthardA surname from Middle English.
- matchlessHaving no match; without equal.
- BellasA surname from Middle English.
- cobleA small flat-bottomed fishing boat suitable for launching from a beach, found on the north-east coast of England and in Scotland.
- AxtellA surname.
- HawkenA surname from Middle English.
- peasantryImpoverished rural farm workers, either as serfs, small freeholders or hired hands.
- solemnityThe quality of being deeply serious and sober or solemn.
- biggTo build.
- BothwellA large village in South Lanarkshire council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NS7058).
- mangleTo change, mutilate, or disfigure by cutting, tearing, rearranging, etc.
- dragnetA net dragged across the bottom of a body of water.
- doucetA sweetened dish.
- sumpterThe driver of a packhorse.
- ondeenvy; hatred; malice
- doldrumsUsually preceded by the: a state of apathy or lack of interest; a situation where one feels boredom, ennui, or tedium; a state of listlessness or malaise.
- DolphA surname.
- bloodlessLacking blood; ashen, anaemic.
- kameA round hill or short ridge of sand or gravel deposited by a melting glacier.
- bungA stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
- leetA portion or list, especially a list of candidates for an office; also the candidates themselves.
- PentlandA surname from Middle English.
- offhandWithout planning or thinking ahead.
- infixTo set; to fasten or fix by piercing or thrusting in.
- potholeA shallow pit or other edged depression in a road's surface, especially when caused by erosion, weather or traffic.
- LoderA surname.
- turpentineAny oleoresin secreted by the wood or bark of certain trees.
- SheddA surname from Middle English.
- gapeTo open the mouth wide, especially involuntarily, as in a yawn, anger, or surprise.
- boleThe trunk or stem of a tree.
- magnesiamagnesium oxide
- atoneTo make reparation, compensation, amends or satisfaction for an offence, crime, mistake or deficiency.
- stourTall; big; stout.
- CoppA surname.
- LetcherA surname originating as an occupation.
- verdigrisA blue-green patina or rust that forms on copper-containing metals.
- AnfieldAn area of Liverpool, England.
- dallyTo waste time in trivial activities, or in idleness; to trifle.
- ChaffinA surname transferred from the nickname.
- millmanA male worker in a mill.
- loutA troublemaker, often violent; a rude violent person; a yob.
- cubitThe distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger used as an informal unit of length.
- dwindleTo decrease, shrink, diminish, reduce in size or intensity.
- BriggA market town and civil parish with a town council in North Lincolnshire district, Lincolnshire, England (OS grid ref TA0007).
- RunnymedeA meadow near the Thames in Surrey, where the Magna Carta was signed.
- HampA surname.
- AckroydA surname from Middle English.
- kileAn ulcer; sore.
- demeanTo debase; to lower; to degrade.
- squeamishEasily shocked, sickened or frightened; tending to be nauseated or nervous; oversensitive.
- EasterbrookA surname from Middle English.
- maudlinThe Magdalene; Mary Magdalene.
- perpetrateTo be guilty of, or responsible for a crime etc; to commit.
- harpeA type of curved weapon or implement, variously described as a sickle, a pruning hook, or a curved sword like a scimitar. In later depictions it became a combination of a straight sword on one side and a curved blade on the other.
- scrawlIrregular, poor handwriting; especially, such writing that is illegible.
- BissA surname from German or Middle English or transferred from the nickname.
- palfreyA small horse with a smooth, ambling gait, popular in the Middle Ages with nobles and women for riding (contrasted with a warhorse).
- stithAn anvil; a stithy.
- WagstaffA surname from Middle English.
- junketA basket.
- treacleA syrupy byproduct of sugar refining; molasses or golden syrup.
- NesmithA surname from Middle English [in turn originating as an occupation].
- unremittingIncessant; never slackening.
- halfpennyA discontinued English (later British) coin worth half of one penny (old or new).
- trowTo trust or believe.
- lantAged urine, historically used by the Anglo-Saxons and others as fertilizer for high nitrogen content.
- FaircloughA surname from Middle English.
- wagtailAny of various small passerine birds, principally of genus Motacilla, of the Old World, notable for their long tails.
- StangerA surname.
- ElmanA surname originating as an occupation.
- teyAn English measure of length for rope, perhaps equivalent to the fathom.
- ramshackleIn disrepair or disorder; poorly maintained; lacking upkeep, usually of buildings or vehicles.
- sheldrakeAn Old World duck of the genus Tadorna (shelducks).
- thewAn attractive physical attribute; also, physical, mental, or moral strength or vigour.
- fittA surname from Middle English.
- pigginA small pail, can, or ladle with the handle on the side; a lading-can. In the colonial era, some buckets were made like a small barrel, but with one stave left extra long. This stave would be carved into a handle so the bucket could be used as an oversized scoop for scattering grain, slopping the hogs, etc.
- spittleSpit, usually frothy and of a milky coloration.
- rudgeA partridge.
- WednesburyA market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England (OS grid ref SO9894).
- SADDA surname from Middle English.