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 |
|---|---|
| topiwala | Hindi, hat-wearer, a European |
| tornilla | Spanish, the screw-bean mesquite (tornillo) |
| torotoro | Papuan name of the yellow-billed kingfisher |
| tosaphoth | Hebrew, the Tosafot, glosses on the Talmud |
| totquot | Latin, "as many as", a papal dispensation |
| toug | Turkish, a horsetail standard (tugh) |
| tournasin | French, a potter's turning tool |
| tovah | Hebrew, "good" |
| toxicon | Greek, arrow poison (toxikon) |
| trabascolo | Italian, an Adriatic coasting vessel (trabaccolo) |
| trabucho | Spanish, a short blunderbuss (trabuco) |
| tranchefer | French tranche-fer, a cutting iron |
| trapezophoron | Greek, a carved support for a table slab |
| treckpot | Cape Dutch trekpot, a teapot |
| tremoloso | Italian, with tremolo, tremulously |
| tricinium | Latin, a composition for three voices |
| tricotee | French, an old country dance |
| trifa | Hebrew and Yiddish, not kosher, trefa |
| trihemimeris | Greek, caesura after one and a half feet |
| trihemiobolion | Greek, coin worth one and a half obols |
| trilletto | Italian, a short trill |
| triseriatim | Latin, in three rows |
| tritemorion | Greek, a third part |
| tritetartemorion | Greek, three quarters of a unit |
| trombash | Sudanese, a curved throwing knife |
| troolie | Guyanese, a thatch palm and its leaf |
| trophaeum | Latin, a trophy monument |
| trubu | Malay, a shad of southeast Asian waters |
| trullisatio | Latin, the rough first coat of plaster |
| trumscheit | German, the tromba marina, Trumscheit |
| tscharik | Turkish, a rough leather peasant shoe |
| tsures | Yiddish, troubles, woes, tsuris |
| tsutsutsi | Japanese, the azalea, tsutsuji |
| tucktoo | Anglo-Indian, the tokay gecko, named from its cry |
| tucutucu | Spanish American, the tuco-tuco burrowing rodent |
| tugui | Tagalog, the greater yam |
| tukra | Hindi, a fixed tabla composition |
| tumbaki | Persian, tobacco smoked in the hookah |
| tumbek | Persian, hookah tobacco (tumbak) |
| tumbeki | Persian, hookah tobacco (tumbak) |
| tummeler | Yiddish, a tummler, a resort entertainer |
| tummuler | Yiddish, tummler, an entertainer |
| turrum | Australian, a trevally fish |
| ubussu | Tupi and Portuguese, an Amazonian palm |
| uckia | Arabic, a weight, the ounce (ukiyah) |
| ulaula | Hawaiian, a red snapper |
| ullucu | Quechua, an Andean tuber, the ulluco |
| umbrana | Italian ombrina, a Mediterranean croaker |
| unctuarium | Latin, room for oils in a Roman bath |
| upanaya | Sanskrit, the application step of a syllogism |
| upharsin | Aramaic, "and divided" (Daniel 5:25) |
| urucury | Tupi via Portuguese, a Brazilian palm |
| vaadim | Hebrew, councils, plural of vaad |
| vacoa | French creole, the screw pine Pandanus utilis |
| vacoua | French, the screw pine Pandanus utilis |
| vahini | Tahitian, woman, also vahine |
| valetudinaire | French, a sickly person, a valetudinarian |
| varahan | Tamil, the gold pagoda coin, varaha |
| varletaille | French, the varlet crew, rabble |
| vasundhara | Sanskrit, the earth |
| veadore | Portuguese veador, an overseer or inspector |
| vehmgericht | German, the Vehmic secret tribunal |
| veldschoenen | Dutch and Afrikaans, plural of veldschoen, hide shoes |
| verzino | Italian, brazilwood used as a dye |
| vicara | Sanskrit vicara, sustained mental application |
| vidduy | Hebrew, the viddui or confession prayer |
| viertelein | German, a small quarter-measure of wine |
| vigone | French vigogne, a soft yarn imitating vicuña wool |
| villote | Italian, villotte, rustic part-songs |
| virason | Spanish virazón, the sea breeze of the Peruvian coast |
| visney | Turkish vişne, a morello-cherry cordial |
| vistamente | Italian, a music direction, quickly |
| vodum | Fon (Dahomey), a god or fetish; also vodun |
| wabayo | East African, an arrow poison from Acokanthera |
| wabena | Ojibwe, a wabeno, a class of medicine man |
| wacapou | Guianese, the partridge-wood tree Vouacapoua americana |
| wairepo | Maori, the stingray or eagle ray |
| waldglas | German, "forest glass", greenish medieval glass |
| warranto | Latin, as in quo warranto, by what authority |
| warree | Central American, the white-lipped peccary |
| wawah | Chinook Jargon, talk or speech (also wawa) |
| whapukee | Maori, the hapuku or New Zealand groper |
| wilgers | South African Dutch, willow trees |
| woilie | Australian Aboriginal, the woylie or brush-tailed bettong |
| wollomai | Australian Aboriginal, the snapper fish |
| womerah | Australian Aboriginal, a spear thrower, woomera |
| wommala | Australian Aboriginal, a spear thrower, variant of woomera |
| wommerah | Australian Aboriginal, a spear thrower, woomera |
| wuntee | Plains Indian term, a solitary buffalo bull |
| wurrus | Arabic wars, a yellow dye from Flemingia |
| xeromyron | Greek, a dry ointment or powder |
| xeromyrum | Latin, pharmacy, a dry ointment |
| xurel | Spanish jurel, the scad or horse mackerel |
| yadayim | Hebrew, hands; also a Mishnah tractate |
| yamstchick | Russian yamshchik, a post coachman |
| yariyari | Guyanese, the lancewood tree Duguetia |
| yeguita | Spanish, a little mare |
| yemschik | Russian yamshchik, a post coachman |
| yikirgaulit | an Inuit word recorded in English |
| yomim | Hebrew, days |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
