English words from Middle English
- by-Town or city.
- by and byAfter a short time.
- by footwalking, jogging or running but not in a vehicle or on the back of an animal
- by heartFrom unaided memory and in full detail.
- byhoveTo suit; to befit.
- bypathAn unfrequented path; an indirect route; a byway.
- byrnieA short chain mail shirt, covering from the upper arms to the upper thighs.
- byspelAn example.
- by virtue of(originally) By the authority or power of; (now) because of; on the grounds of; by reason of.
- cacklerA person or creature that cackles.
- cadgeTo tie, fasten.
- calcineTo heat (a substance) to remove its impurities and refine it.
- calculeA reckoning; computation.
- calendererOne who operates a calender; a person who calenders, who smooths.
- calendsOften with initial capital: the first day of a month.
- calffleshThe meat or flesh of a calf; veal.
- calflessHaving no or extremely reduced calves.
- callosityA callus.
- callownessThe condition of being callow; immaturity.
- caltropA metal object, usually small, with spikes arranged so that, when thrown onto the ground, one always faces up as a threat to pedestrians, horses, and vehicles (also used as a heraldic charge).
- cambucaA 12th-century English game somewhat similar to golf in that it was played with a wooden ball similar to a golf ball.
- CameliardThe kingdom of the young Princess Guinevere, ruled by her father, King Leodegrance.
- camelineOf or pertaining to camels.
- camletA fine fabric made from wool (originally camel, but later goat) and silk.
- cammockA common restharrow (Ononis spinosa subsp. maritima, syn. Ononis spinosa), a plant with long, hard, crooked roots.
- camousflat; depressed; crooked
- cankGossip, chatter.
- cankeredInfected with a canker or having a cankerous part.
- capitularAn act passed in a chapter.
- captainessfemale captain
- captainryPower or command over a district; chieftainship.
- captainshipcaptaincy
- captiousThat captures; especially, (of an argument, words etc.) designed to capture or entrap in misleading arguments; sophistical.
- carfulAs much as a car will hold. (Usually with reference to an automobile; sometimes with reference to a railroad car, especially in 19th-century texts.)
- CarrigtohillA small town in County Cork, Ireland (Irish grid ref W 8273).
- carry outTo hold while moving it out.
- carthorseA large, strong horse used for pulling heavy loads.
- cartloadThe amount that a cart can carry.
- cartularyA medieval manuscript register containing full or excerpted transcriptions of important documents, especially of originally loose, single-sheet charters.
- cartwainA wagon using for hauling loads.
- cartwayA way or road for carts.
- cast downTo make (a person) discouraged or dejected.
- castlelikeResembling a castle
- castletA small castle.
- catamountainA leopard, a panther (Panthera pardus); also, an ocelot (Leopardus pardalis).
- caterwaulTo cry as cats in heat; to make a harsh, offensive noise.
- catholiconA supposed universal remedy.
- catstailTimothy grass (Phleum pratense)
- catwortSynonym of catnip (the plant).
- 'causeApheretic form of because.
- cavelA gag.
- cavillationThe act of cavilling.
- ceduleA scroll, written document, or schedule.
- cellar doorA door leading to a cellar.
- centenierSynonym of centurion: An officer overseeing 100 men, especially (historical) in the Roman army.
- cerateAn unctuous preparation for external application — mainly wax (or resin or spermaceti) mixed with oil, lard, and various medicinal ingredients — of a consistency between ointment and plaster, so that it can be spread upon cloth without the use of heat, but does not melt when applied to the skin.
- Chadwell HeathA suburb in the borough of Barking and Dagenham and borough of Redbridge, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ4887).
- chairmakerA manufacturer of chairs.
- Chalk FarmA neighbourhood in the borough of Camden, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ2884).
- challengeableAble to be challenged or disputed.
- ChalveyA southern suburb of Slough, Berkshire, England (OS grid ref SU965795).
- chambererA high-ranking female servant who attends in a royal's or noble's chamber.
- champertyThe investing of money into a third party's lawsuit in which one has no vested interest.
- chancefullyby chance or coincidence
- chancelyBy chance.
- chantmentenchantment
- chantressA female singer or chanter.
- chapeThe lower metallic cap at the end of a sword's scabbard.
- chapedFurnished with a chape or chapes.
- chapiterThe capital or uppermost part of a column, upon which the roof and its decorations are supported.
- chapmanhoodThe activity or business of a chapman (merchant, peddler); trading, bargaining.
- chapwomanA woman who buys and sells; a female trader.
- chargeousburdensome
- charkCharcoal; coke.
- Charles' WainA bright circumpolar asterism of the northern sky, said to resemble a wagon or cart. It is part of the constellation Ursa Major and includes the seven stars Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid.
- charmeressA female charmer; an enchantress.
- chastenessThe state of being chaste; chastity
- chastiserSomeone who chastises
- chavelThe jaw, especially of an animal.
- chavel-boneJawbone.
- chawdronThe entrails of an animal, especially when used as a food ingredient; offal.
- chawlA type of residential tenement building found in India, typically for poor working-class people.
- chawnA gap, rift, or fissure.
- cheek toothA hinder or molar tooth.
- cheerlyCheerful, gay; not gloomy.
- cheeselepThe dried stomach of a calf, used for curdling milk for cheese.
- cheesemakerA person skilled in the art of making cheese
- chelydreA fetid water snake.
- cherry treeAny tree of the subgenus Prunus subg. Cerasus, the members of which are valued agriculturally for their fruit, the cherry, and the wood of the tree, cherrywood, used in woodworking.
- chessilgravel or pebbles
- chestenA chestnut.
- chevaucheeA military raid by cavalry through enemy territory, designed to disrupt rural communities and weaken an opponent.
- cheveTo come to an issue; to turn out; to succeed.
- chewetA kind of meat pie.
- childbedThe final stage of pregnancy; confinement.
- childerA child.
- ChildermasA religious service and holiday commemorating the supposed Massacre of the Innocents in Judea around the time of the birth of Christ, typically observed on 28 December in Western Christianity and 29 December in Eastern Christianity; in Spanish and Latin American contexts, the day is frequently filled with light-hearted pranks similar to April Fools' Day.
- childingAble to bear children; fertile; also, pregnant, or in the process of childbirth, or having just given birth to a child.
- childlyOf or pertaining to a young child; childlike
- childrenlessChildless.