English words from Middle English
- quickbeamThe European rowan tree.
- quickenerOne who, or that which, quickens, hastens, or speeds up an object or action.
- quinchTo twitch, as if in pain; flinch, wince.
- quinsyA peritonsillar abscess; a painful pus-filled inflammation or abscess of the tonsils and surrounding tissues, usually a complication of tonsillitis, caused by bacterial infection and often accompanied by fever.
- quitchTo shake (something); to stir, move.
- quittanceA release or acquittal.
- quittorA chronic abscess, or fistula of the coronet, in a horse's foot, resulting from inflammation of the tissues investing the coffin bone.
- quobTo throb; to quiver.
- quobbyMarshy, boggy.
- quopTo throb or beat.
- rackanA chain or bar drilled with holes to accommodate pot-hooks from which cooking vessels can be suspended over a fire; a pot-hook.
- rackieA parrel
- rackleA chain.
- radicationThe process of taking root, or state of being rooted.
- radiousradiant
- raikA walk, or a journey taken (especially on foot); the act of taking a walk or journey.
- rainwormAn earthworm.
- raising pieceA piece of timber laid on a brick wall, or on a frame, to carry one or more beams.
- rammishResembling a ram
- ramsonsA wild relative of chives, of species Allium ursinum, having edible leaves and roots.
- ranklyIn a rank manner.
- ranknessThe quality of being rank, of having a repulsive or pungent odor.
- ransomerA person who pays a ransom.
- rape oilSynonym of rapeseed oil.
- rarefyTo make rare, thin, porous, or less dense.
- rasureScraping the surface of a parchment etc. in order to erase something from the document; erasure, more generally.
- rathelTo fix; root.
- rationabilitySynonym of rationality or reasonability.
- rationableSuitable for being rationed.
- rattlewortRattlebox.
- rattonA rat.
- rattonerA ratcatcher.
- RattueA surname from Middle English.
- raven's footCinquefoil; potentilla.
- RaweA surname from Middle English.
- raxleTo stretch oneself; rouse up from sleep.
- re-again, anew
- reading bookA type of book designed for individuals who are learning to read in a particular language.
- ready-madePreexisting or made previously and suitable for use without further preparation or modification; comparable with regard to the amount of preparation required.
- realgarA mineral, arsenic sulfide (AsS), often associated with orpiment and stibnite in lead, silver and gold ores.
- reardA voice; a sound.
- reasonlessLacking reason or purpose.
- reaveTo plunder, pillage, rob, pirate, or remove.
- rebellerOne who rebels; a rebel.
- receptoryA receptacle, a container .
- recidivationRelapse of a disease or a symptom.
- recidiveSynonym of recidivous (“recurring”).
- recoverancerecovery
- recuperablerecoverable
- recurableCurable, restorable.
- recureTo cure, heal.
- -redA suffix forming nouns of condition or state.
- redargueTo disprove or refute (someone) in an argument.
- redemptorOne who redeems (especially used of Jesus).
- red gumCorymbia calophylla (marri), native to Western Australia, with red gum effusions.
- red-gumA rash in infants marked by red or sometimes whitish papules surrounded by reddish halos and popularly associated with teething distress; strophulus.
- red wineRed-coloured wine made mostly from black grapes, including the skin.
- reedenMade from reeds.
- reedingThatching.
- reekySoiled with smoke or steam; smoky; foul.
- refretTo replace the frets on (a musical instrument).
- regalityRoyalty; sovereignty; sovereign jurisdiction.
- regardantWith the head turned toward the back of the body.
- registererOne who registers.
- rejoyTo rejoice
- -relpejorative suffix
- relevationA raising or lifting up
- remedilessNot having a remedy; not capable of being remedied.
- remeidLegal redress of a wrong.
- remewTo remove.
- remordTo feel remorse.
- -renUsed to form the plural of nouns
- rencounterTo meet, encounter, come into contact with.
- rent seckA right to receive rent where the tenant's goods cannot be seized as security for the payment of rent.
- representativelyIn a representative manner.
- repugnancyThe quality of being repugnant: offensiveness, repulsion.
- rerebraceArmour for the upper part of the arm.
- reredemainA backward stroke of the hand.
- reredorterA latrine situated at the rear of a medieval monastery or convent.
- reredosA screen or decoration behind the altar in a church, usually depicting religious iconography or images, akin to the iconostasis of the Eastern Churches.
- reremouseA bat (flying mammal).
- rere-supperA late supper; a meal eaten at night.
- rescousrescue, deliverance
- resiantA resident.
- resplendenceThe property of being, or that which causes something to be, resplendent.
- rest dayA day spent resting from work or any other activity.
- restfullyIn a restful manner.
- restfulnessThe property of being restful.
- resting placeA place where one is buried or laid to rest; a tomb.
- retchlesscareless; reckless
- rethe(of persons) Fierce; cruel; savage; stern; zealous; ardent; keen.
- rethenessThe character, state, or condition of being rethe; fierceness; wildness; roughness; harshness; sternness; cruelty.
- revellerOne who attends revels; a partygoer.
- rewaltTo overturn; throw down.
- reyseTo go on a military expedition.
- ribaldryJoking or humorous language or behaviour used in a vulgar or lewd fashion.
- ridgeboneThe backbone or spine.
- riding hoodA hood intended for use by women while horseriding.
- rightenTo make right; correct.
- rightfulnessThe state or quality of being rightful.