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 |
|---|---|
| sirpea | Latin, a wicker basket or wagon body |
| siruaballi | Guyanese Arawak, a laurel timber tree |
| siruelas | Spanish, ciruelas, plums |
| sirvent | Provencal, a troubadour satire, sirventes |
| sisham | Hindi, shisham, the Indian rosewood |
| sissu | Hindi, sissoo, the Indian rosewood |
| sitringee | Hindi, satranji, a striped cotton floor rug |
| skaalpund | Danish, a pound weight |
| skenai | Greek, plural of skene, the stage building |
| sketiotai | Greek, monks of the Scetis desert |
| skibslast | Danish, a ship-load, a unit of burden |
| skieppe | Danish, a bushel measure |
| skiepper | Danish, a bushel measure, a form of skieppe |
| slangkop | Afrikaans, "snake-head", a poisonous bulb |
| smiris | Greek, emery |
| snemovna | Czech, a chamber of parliament |
| soapolallie | Chinook Jargon, the soapberry Shepherdia canadensis |
| sobrevest | Spanish, a surcoat worn over armour |
| soggarth | Irish, a priest (sagart) |
| soixantine | French, a set or period of sixty, from soixante |
| solazzi | Italian, licorice juice or paste |
| soloecophanes | Greek, in rhetoric, a phrase that looks like a solecism |
| somaten | Spanish, a Catalan armed militia; cf. somatenes |
| soneri | Hindi, golden; a gold-coloured cloth |
| soniou | Breton, songs; the plural of son |
| soorki | Hindi, powdered brick used in mortar, surki |
| soosoo | Hindi, the Ganges river dolphin, susu |
| sosquil | Mexican Spanish, henequen fibre |
| sossiego | Spanish and Portuguese, quiet or composure, sosiego |
| sostinente | Italian, sustaining, as in sostinente pianoforte |
| sostinento | Italian, a sustaining instrument or stop; cf. sostinente |
| sottie | French, a medieval satirical farce |
| soulx | Old French, sous; a plural of sol, the coin |
| soulz | Old French, sous; the -z plural of sol |
| sovenez | French, "remember" (imperative), as in mottoes |
| sovkhos | Russian, a state farm (sovkhoz) |
| soyate | Mexican Spanish from Nahuatl, palm-leaf fiber |
| spadrone | Italian, a cut-and-thrust sword (spadroon) |
| speciestaler | German Speciesthaler, a full-weight silver coin |
| speron | Italian, the beak or spur of a galley |
| sphagia | Greek, sacrificial victims or offerings |
| sphagion | Greek, a vessel for sacrificial blood |
| spitzflute | German Spitzflote, a tapering organ flute stop |
| springwurzel | German Springwurzel, the springwort root |
| staatsraad | Dutch, council of state |
| staatsrat | German, council of state |
| stalagma | Greek, a drop, as in stalagmite |
| stamba | Sanskrit, a pillar or column |
| stanitza | Russian stanitsa, a Cossack village |
| stanjen | Romanian stanjen, a fathom-like measure of length |
| staphisagria | New Latin, stavesacre, Delphinium staphisagria |
| starik | Russian, "old man", a name for the auklet |
| starosti | Russian, headmen or elders, plural of starosta |
| steekkannen | Dutch, tankards, plural of steekkan |
| stigmai | Greek, points or dots, plural of stigme |
| stooter | Dutch, an old coin of two and a half stuivers |
| stosston | German Stosston, the pushed tone, Danish stod |
| stoter | Dutch, an old coin of two and a half stuivers |
| stratopedarch | Greek stratopedarches, commander of a camp |
| stridhanum | Sanskrit, a Hindu wife's separate property |
| stuffata | Italian, a stew (stufato) |
| subarmale | Late Latin, garment worn under armor |
| subdiaconus | Latin, subdeacon |
| subsella | Latin, a low bench or seat (sing. of subsellia) |
| suclat | Anglo-Indian, European broadcloth |
| sucupira | Portuguese from Tupi, a Brazilian timber tree |
| sucuriu | Portuguese from Tupi, the anaconda |
| sucury | Tupi, the anaconda; shorter form of sucuriu |
| sugann | Irish, a rope of twisted straw |
| sugsloot | Afrikaans, a seepage or drainage ditch (sloot) |
| suikerbosch | Afrikaans, the sugarbush protea |
| sultanin | Turkish, a gold coin, the sultani |
| sunnyasse | Hindi sannyasi, a wandering ascetic, old spelling |
| surahee | Hindi surahi, a long-necked water jar |
| surdeline | Italian sordellina, a small bagpipe |
| surdent | French, an overgrown or projecting tooth (veterinary) |
| surfrappe | French, overstrike of a coin |
| surnai | Persian, a reed oboe (zurna) |
| susanee | Persian, an embroidered Bokhara hanging (suzani) |
| svamin | Sanskrit, lord or master (swami) |
| svarloka | Sanskrit, the heavenly world |
| syncopare | Latin, syncopare, to cut short or syncopate |
| syneidesis | Greek, conscience |
| synemmenon | Greek music, the conjunct tetrachord |
| synkatathesis | Greek, assent, a Stoic term |
| syrmaea | Greek syrmaia, an Egyptian purgative drink |
| sysselman | Danish sysselmand, a district magistrate |
| syssita | Greek, a common public meal |
| syssition | Greek syssition, a common mess or meal |
| taccada | native name of the shrub Scaevola taccada |
| tacso | Andean name for a banana passion-fruit |
| tagassu | Tupi name for the peccary |
| tagnicati | South American name for the white-lipped peccary |
| taheen | Arabic tahin, sesame paste |
| tahin | Arabic tahin, sesame paste |
| taikih | Chinese t'ai kih, the Great Absolute |
| talayoti | Balearic talayot, a prehistoric stone tower |
| talismanni | Latinized plural, Muslim priests or diviners |
| talliatum | Medieval Latin, a tallage |
| talpatate | Spanish talpetate, hardened volcanic soil |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
