Word origins

• épauléPresenting one's shoulder to the audience.
• epaulementA barricade of heaped earth for protection from gunfire.
• epauletteAn ornamentation, worn on the shoulders of a military uniform, as a sign of rank.
• epauliereThe part of a suit of armor covering the shoulder; a shoulder plate.
• epergneA table centerpiece, usually made of silver, generally consisting of a central bowl with radiating dishes or holders.
• épicierA French grocer.
• epigeicLiving on the surface of the land.
• epigoneA follower or disciple.
• EpigravettianA late Paleolithic culture following the Gravettian, c. 21000–10000 BCE.
• epingletteAn iron needle or pin for piercing the cartridge of a cannon before priming.
• epizootyAn epizootic disease or outbreak.
• epluchageThe removal of contaminated tissue from an infected wound.
• ÉpoissesA traditional soft, pungent French cheese made from cows' milk.
• epopeean epic, saga
• eprouvetteA one-piece, fixed-elevation mortar formerly used to test the strength of gunpowder.
• epurationpurification of a product (such as in the process of sugar extraction)
• equilibristA tightrope walker.
• équipeA team.
• equipollenthaving equal power or force
• eraillureA flake removed from a lithic flake's bulb of force.
• erethismAbnormal excitement of a bodily organ or tissue.
• ergotismThe plant disease caused by ergot.
• ErnyA surname from French.
• ÉroneA village in Haute-Corse department, Corsica, France.
• Errera ChannelA channel in Antarctica.
• eruditAn erudite person, a scholar, especially in French contexts.
• escadrilleA small squadron.
• EscaichA surname from French.
• escalopeA thin slice of meat, especially veal or poultry.
• escamotagetrickery; legerdemain
• escamoteriecheat; deception
• escargatoireA nursery for snails.
• escarmoucheA skirmish.
• EscautThe river Scheldt, which springs modestly in Northern France but becomes navigable for seaships in Flanders (Belgium) and the Netherlands.
• EscheteA surname from French.
• Esch-sur-AlzetteOne of the twelve cantons of Luxembourg, located in the south of the country.
• esclavageA type of chain or bead necklace.
• esclavagismSlavery.
• escouadeA squad.
• escritoireA writing desk with a hinged door that provides the writing surface.
• escrocA villain or crook, especially in French contexts.
• eserineAn alkaloid C₁₅H₂₁N₃O₂, originally extracted from the Calabar bean.
• EsméA male given name from French.
• espadonA long, heavy, two-handed and two-edged sword, formerly used by Spanish foot soldiers and by executioners.
• espagnoletteA locking device normally mounted on a pair French windows or casement window.
• esparcetcommon sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa)
• EspeletteA village and commune of Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, France.
• EsperandieuA surname from Occitan.
• espieglerieImpish or playful behaviour; mischief.
• esprit de corpsA shared spirit of comradeship, enthusiasm, and devotion to a cause among the members of a group, for example of a military unit.
• esprit fortA person of strong character.
• -esqueIn the style or manner of; appended to nouns, especially proper nouns, and forming adjectives.
• esquisseThe first sketch of a picture or model of a statue.
• esquivalienceDeliberate shirking of one's official duties.
• essencierA type of separating funnel used to separate distilled essential oils
• estacadeA dyke of piles in the sea, a river, etc., to hinder the approach of an enemy.
• estafetteA dispatch rider, especially military; a mounted courier.
• estaminetA small café or bar.
• estampageA pattern stamped on clay or other material by a press
• estampieA medieval French dance.
• estavelleA hole that may function as an ephemeral spring or a sinkhole, depending on hydrological conditions.
• estocA type of sword used from the 14th to the 17th century, characterized by a long, straight, edgeless, sharply pointed blade designed for penetrating mail or plate.
• estouffadeA Southern French stew of meat added to a base of onion, garlic, tomato, etc., fried in oil and cooked very slowly in a closed container
• estradeA dais or raised platform.
• estragoleThe methyl ether of chavicol; it occurs in the essential oil of tarragon
• estramaconA straight, heavy sword with two edges, used in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• estrapadeThe rearing, plunging, and kicking actions of a horse trying to get rid of its rider.
• estrepeTo commit estrepement.
• etaerioAn aggregate fruit comprised of achenes, drupelets, follicles, or berries.
• étageAny of the distinctive forms that a cloud takes relating to the altitude of its base, either "low", "middle", or "high", and designated by the respective prefixes strato-, alto-, and cirro-.
• etamineA soft cotton or worsted fabric with an open mesh.
• étapeA public storehouse.
• état de languea form of a language at any given time, seen synchronically
• etatismSynonym of statism, sometimes (derogatory) with specific distinctions derived from Mises's political theories.
• etatisteA statist.
• etendueA conserved property of the light in an optical system which characterizes how "spread out" the light is in terms of angle and area: it is the product of its cross-sectional area (normal to the direction of propagation) and the solid angle it subtends.
• ethnieAn ethnic group; an ethnicity.
• ethographyThe study and recording of moral behaviour and human manners
• etiolateTo make pale through lack of light, especially of a plant.
• étoileThe leading ballet dancer in a company
• EtonicèThe characteristic speech or slang of Eton College.
• étourderieThoughtlessness, carelessness; a thoughtless act.
• étrécissementThe surrealist technique of cutting away parts of images to develop a new image.
• étrierA mountaineer's stirrup.
• étuiA small, ornamental bag or rigid container used for holding articles such as needles.
• eucalyptolA polycyclic monoterpenoid ether, obtained from eucalyptus oil, used in perfumery and in the production of pharmaceuticals etc.
• euchlorineA rare emerald-green sulfate mineral found as a natural sublimate in fumaroles around volcanic eruptions, and having the chemical formula KNaCu₃(SO₄)₃O).
• euchologueA euchologion.
• Eure-et-LoirA department of Centre-Val de Loire, France. Capital: Chartres (INSEE code 28).
• -euseForming nouns denoting female people, usually from terms ending in French -eur.
• evangilegood tidings, or evangel.
• evenementialPertaining to events, as directly experienced, as opposed to ideas about them.
• eventerateTo rip open; to disembowel.
• eventrateTo open the bowels of, disembowel.
• eventrationA tumour containing a large portion of the abdominal viscera, caused by relaxation of the walls of the abdomen.
• evertuateTo sap the strength of.
• evidementThe scraping-away of diseased tissue.
• évoluéA native African (especially in a European colony) who has been educated on European principles or who has adopted European attitudes etc.
• excusez-moiSynonym of excuse me.
• executantA person who executes a dance or piece of music; a performer.