Real Words Without Definition
This one is a judgement call.
A foreign word used in English without ever being translated.
adelphoi is Greek for brothers. aburabozu is a Japanese fish. achtelthaler is a German coin worth an eighth of a thaler. afghanets is a Russian word for a dusty Central Asian wind.
They turn up in English books, so somebody wrote them down. They never became English words, so no dictionary lists them.
2,016 words · sorted A to Z · each with a line on why it is here
Matches the word itself, not the note beside it. Case does not matter.
| Word, sorted Z to A | Language and meaning |
|---|---|
| abacay | Philippine (Tagalog) name for a parrot |
| abandum | Law Latin, a thing forfeited |
| abaptistum | Latin, non-plunging trepan crown |
| abodah | Hebrew, "(divine) service" |
| aboudikro | West African timber tree, sapele |
| abrico | Portuguese abricó, the mammee apple |
| aburabozu | Japanese, the skilfish |
| acensuador | Spanish, holder of land under censo |
| acequiador | Spanish, overseer of an irrigation ditch |
| achtehalber | German, old coin worth seven and a half |
| achtelthaler | German, an eighth of a thaler |
| acolytus | Latin, an acolyte, a minor order |
| acoupa | Tupi/Guianese name for a weakfish |
| acrostolia | Greek, ship's prow ornaments |
| acrostolion | Greek, ornament of a ship's prow |
| acrostolium | Latin form of acrostolion |
| adelphoi | Greek, "brothers" |
| aditio | Latin, entering upon (an inheritance) |
| adjudicata | Latin, adjudged (as in res adjudicata) |
| adlegiare | Law Latin, to purge oneself by oath |
| adscriptitius | Latin, a serf bound to the land |
| afghanets | Russian, dusty Central Asian wind |
| aghanee | Hindi, the winter rice crop (aghani) |
| aglaos | Greek, "splendid, shining" |
| agreation | French, approval of an envoy (agréation) |
| aguaji | Cuban Spanish, the black grouper |
| aguroth | Hebrew, small coins (pl. of agorah) |
| ahuaca | Nahuatl, the avocado tree |
| ahwal | Arabic, spiritual states (pl. of hal) |
| aikane | Hawaiian, friend, companion |
| aitesis | Greek, rhetorical figure of request |
| ajhar | Indian name of a Lagerstroemia tree |
| akhundzada | Persian, son of an akhund (title) |
| akolouthia | Greek, Orthodox liturgical office |
| akoluthia | Greek, Orthodox liturgical office |
| akpek | Inupiaq, the cloudberry |
| akroasis | Greek, a hearing or lecture |
| alabastoi | Greek, pl. of alabastos, perfume vases |
| alabastos | Greek, alabaster perfume vase |
| alachah | Persian/Turkic, striped silk fabric |
| alagao | Tagalog, the tree Premna odorata |
| alahee | Hawaiian, the tree Psydrax odorata |
| alaloi | Greek, "speechless ones" |
| alalus | Latin, "speechless" (Homo alalus) |
| alamiqui | Cuban Spanish, the solenodon (almiquí) |
| albarco | Spanish, a South American timber tree |
| alcazava | Spanish, Moorish citadel (alcazaba) |
| aldeament | Portuguese, a mission village in Brazil |
| aleikoum | Arabic, "upon you" (salaam aleikum) |
| aleikum | Arabic, "upon you" (salaam aleikum) |
| aleiptes | Greek, anointer or trainer at the gymnasium |
| alfiona | California Spanish, the halfmoon fish |
| algerienne | French, a striped dress fabric |
| alhacena | Spanish, a cupboard set in a wall |
| alhandal | Arabic, colocynth |
| alhet | Hebrew, the Al Het confession of sins |
| aliamenta | Law Latin, easements or conveniences |
| alilonghi | Italian, the albacore tuna |
| aliofar | Arabic, pearl |
| alipteria | Greek, anointing-rooms of a gymnasium |
| alipterion | Greek, anointing room of a palaestra |
| aljamado | Spanish, aljamiado, Romance in Arabic script |
| aljamiah | Spanish, aljamia, Romance in Arabic script |
| aljoba | Spanish, a Moorish tunic |
| alkenna | Arabic, the henna plant |
| allegiare | Law Latin, to defend or clear by law |
| alloeostropha | Greek, irregular in strophe (Milton) |
| almaciga | Spanish, mastic resin; the almaciga tree |
| almacigo | Spanish, the mastic or gumbo-limbo tree |
| almique | Cuban Spanish, the solenodon |
| almochoden | Arabic astrology, the giver of years |
| almocrebe | Portuguese, a muleteer |
| almuredin | Arabic, an astrological term |
| almury | Arabic, the pointer of an astrolabe |
| almuten | Arabic astrology, the ruling planet |
| alopekai | Greek, fox-skin caps |
| alopeke | Greek, a fox-skin cap |
| alpasotes | Mexican Spanish, epazote or wormseed |
| alpieu | French, a marked stake in the game basset |
| alquier | Portuguese, a dry measure |
| alraun | German, a mandrake charm |
| alrune | German, mandrake; a sorceress |
| altininck | Russian, altynnik, a three-kopeck coin |
| altoun | Turkish, a gold coin |
| altschin | Russian, altyn, a small coin |
| alya | Arabic, the fat tail of a sheep |
| amantillo | Spanish, a nautical topping-lift |
| amatito | Spanish, a red ochre or hematite |
| ameed | Arabic, a chief or leader |
| amelu | Akkadian, a Babylonian freeman |
| ammeos | New Latin genitive of Ammi, used in pharmacy |
| amoebeum | Latin, an amoebean or responsive song |
| amphithura | Greek, the doors of the iconostasis |
| amphithuron | Greek, curtain or doors of the sanctuary |
| amphithyra | Greek, doors of the sanctuary |
| amphithyron | Greek, the sanctuary door or curtain |
| amunam | Sinhalese, a measure of grain or of land |
| anabathmos | Greek, a step; hymn of the steps |
| anabong | Philippine, a fan palm |
| anacalypsis | Greek, an uncovering or revelation |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
