Word origins

• cowhouseA house (barn or shed) for keeping cows.
• cowkindAll cows, considered as a group.
• cow milkSynonym of cow's milk (“milk produced by cows”).
• cow stallA compartment in which cows are housed and kept.
• cowtailThe tail of a cow.
• cowturdA piece of solid cow feces.
• cow weedSynonym of cowbane.
• crabbedlyIn a crabbed manner.
• crabbednessThe state or quality of being crabbed.
• crab treeA tree that bears wild apples.
• cracknelA hard, crisp or crunchy cake or biscuit.
• crackowA type of shoe worn in the Middle Ages, with a pointy pike.
• crackyHaving lots of cracks.
• -craftA skill of a particular kind.
• craftlessWithout craft; unskilled.
• craftlySkillful, expert; indicative of skill.
• cranageThe use of a crane to hoist goods.
• crapulousCharacterized by excessive eating or drinking.
• crapulouslyIn a crapulous manner.
• CraskA hamlet in Sutherland, Scotland (OS grid ref NC721625).
• crassitudethickness, coarseness.
• cratchTo scratch.
• CrathorneA village and civil parish in Hambleton district, North Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref NZ443030).
• creancefaith; belief; creed
• creancerA creditor.
• crevisThe crayfish.
• criminouscriminal
• crimpleto crumple, crimp
• crinchTo grind the teeth, crunch
• crockardA 13th-century coin minted in Europe as a debased counterfeit copy of the sterling silver penny of King Edward I, at first legally accepted as a halfpenny and then outlawed.
• cross-Shaped like a cross or X; crossing lines.
• crossletA small cross with crossed arms.
• crouponA cowhide with the belly and neck removed.
• crownerOne who, or that which, crowns.
• crownetA coronet, small crown.
• crownmentThe act of crowning; coronation.
• crow's feetWrinkles at the outer corners of the eye.
• crow's footA small wrinkle in the corner of an eye, emblematic of aging.
• crucifierOne who crucifies.
• cruelnessThe state of being cruel; cruelty.
• crupperA strap, looped under a horse's tail, used to stop a saddle from slipping.
• crwthAn archaic stringed instrument associated particularly with Wales, though once played widely in Europe, and characterized by a vaulted back and enough space for the player to stop each of the six strings on the fingerboard. Played variously by plucking or bowing.
• crystal clearWithout ambiguity or doubt; completely understood.
• cubebA tailed pepper plant (Piper cubeba), an Indonesian plant cultivated for its berries and essential oil.
• cuckoopintA flowering plant with arrow-shaped leaves and a cluster of scarlet berries, of species Arum maculatum.
• cuir bouilliLeather treated so as to become tough and rigid (and able to hold a moulded shape and decoration), used for artwork, carrying cases, and armor.
• cuirieAn item of leather body armor, a forerunner to the cuirass; a cuirass.
• cuisserSynonym of cuisse.
• cuissetteA small or light cuisse.
• CullopA surname from Middle English.
• culverinA kind of handgun.
• cupmakersomeone who makes cups
• CuppettAn English surname transferred from the nickname.
• cupsterA cupper (one who performs the medical operation of cupping).
• cursedlyIn a cursed manner; miserably
• cursednessThe state or quality of being cursed.
• cursefulhorrendous, horrific
• curvatebent in a regular form ; curved.
• cushatA pigeon, wood pigeon or ring dove.
• custronA kitchen-worker, a scullion; any worthless person.
• cutpurseA thief who steals from others' purses or pockets in public.
• cuttleboneSynonym of cuttlefish bone (“the calcareous, oval-shaped internal shell of a cuttlefish (order Sepiida), originally used in powdered form as an antacid and for absorbing moisture or polishing objects, and now chiefly as a dietary supplement for cage birds”).
• cyserA kind of mead made with apples.
• daintifulSynonym of dainty
• daintithA surname transferred from the nickname.
• dalkA pin; brooch; clasp.
• damagefulCharacterised by or causing damage; harmful
• damagelessWithout damage; unharmed
• dammerOne who builds a dam.
• damnablyIn a damnable manner.
• danceressA female dancer.
• danegeldA tax raised originally to pay tribute or protection money to the Viking raiders in the 10th and 11th centuries to save a land from being ravaged, and later continued as a land tax.
• DanelawThe part of Great Britain in which the laws of the Scandinavians dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons.
• darnelAny of the genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
• dastardA malicious coward; a dishonorable sneak.
• daughter-in-lawThe wife of one's child.
• daughterlessWithout a daughter.
• dayworkThe work done in a day; a day's work.
• dead as a doornailUnquestionably dead. Used for both inanimate objects and once living beings.
• deadlinessThe quality of being deadly.
• dearworthPrecious, valuable; beloved.
• deathdayThe day of a person's death, especially when viewed as being appointed by fate.
• deathfulInvolving the danger of death; fatal, deadly.
• deathlinessThe state or quality of being deathly.
• deathworthyWorthy of death, worthy of capital punishment.
• deaurateTo gild.
• deceivableAble to be deceived; gullible.
• deceivablyIn a deceivable way; gullibly, ingenuously.
• decupleTenfold.
• deechTo smear, daub, plaster, or impregnate, especially with dirt which becomes hard and ingrained.
• deemsterA judge; one who pronounces sentence or doom.
• deep blueAn intense, relatively dark blue.
• deep seaThe deeper part of the sea or ocean in which no light penetrates.
• deerfoldA fold or park for deer.
• defendressfemale defender.
• defoilTo defile or despoil.
• defoulTo trample underfoot.
• delatorAn accuser; an informer.
• delectabilityThe quality of being delectable.
• deliciosityquality of being delicious