Real Words Without Definition
This one is a judgement call.
Old English that fell out of use and got dropped from later dictionaries.
abush is an old form of ambush. absee was the alphabet. abiston was a name for asbestos. abbroachment was the offence of buying wholesale to sell on at retail.
These were normal words with normal definitions. People stopped using them and the dictionaries stopped carrying them.
2,710 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 | What it meant |
|---|---|
| allumine | to illuminate a manuscript |
| allutterly | wholly, entirely |
| almaine | the allemande; old name for Germany |
| almanner | Middle English, all manner of |
| almoin | alms, as in frank-almoin |
| alout | to bow down, to submit |
| alswith | Middle English, as quickly, at once |
| altify | to raise or exalt |
| altumal | pertaining to the high sea |
| amarity | bitterness |
| ambassiate | an embassy |
| ambrosine | ambrosial; also an old Milanese coin |
| amenuse | to lessen, to diminish |
| amerveil | to marvel, be astonished |
| amicous | friendly, amicable |
| aminish | to diminish, a- + minish |
| amiray | early form of admiral |
| amoinder | to lessen or diminish |
| amollish | to soften or mollify |
| amouret | a petty love affair; a sweetheart |
| amphibion | early form of amphibian |
| amphicome | a fabled stone of the ancient lapidaries |
| ampollosity | bombast, inflated style |
| anabasse | a coarse cloth used in trade |
| anacephalize | to recapitulate or sum up |
| anapes | fustian anapes, Naples fustian |
| anareta | astrology, the life-destroying planet |
| anaretic | astrology, life-destroying |
| anaretical | astrology, life-destroying |
| anathem | early form of anathema |
| anatheme | early form of anathema |
| anatifer | the goose-bearing barnacle |
| anaunter | Middle English, "lest, in case" |
| ancoly | old name for the columbine |
| andabatism | blindfold fighting, as an andabata |
| anfract | a winding or turn |
| angild | OE law, simple compensation |
| anicular | old-womanish, anile |
| aniente | ME, to bring to nothing |
| anientise | ME, to annihilate |
| animadversal | the perceiving faculty |
| animalillio | jocular, a tiny animal |
| animastical | pertaining to the soul |
| anlet | a little ring, an annulet |
| annection | a joining on, annexation |
| annihil | to annihilate |
| annominate | to name; to play upon a name |
| annuation | yearly recurrence or payment |
| annueller | priest hired to sing yearly masses |
| annuisance | old form of nuisance, annoyance |
| anour | honour (Middle English) |
| ansation | the furnishing of a handle |
| antelation | a setting before, preference |
| antelude | a prelude |
| antickt | archaic form of anticked, played antics |
| antigraphy | a copy or transcript; a written reply |
| antiloquy | contradiction; speech against something |
| antipasch | eccles., Low Sunday, the octave of Easter |
| antipastic | pertaining to an antipast, a foretaste |
| antistater | obs., an adversary (Gr. antistates) |
| apardon | obs., to pardon |
| apass | obs., to pass |
| apast | obs., past, gone by |
| apathaton | obs., corrupt form of epitheton, epithet |
| apickback | obs., pickaback, on the back |
| apocryph | obs., an apocryphal writing |
| apocryphate | obs., to treat as apocryphal |
| aportlast | naut. obs., with yards down to the portlast |
| aportoise | naut. obs., same as aportlast |
| aposthume | obs., an abscess, imposthume |
| apotactic | obs., renunciatory, of the Apotactici |
| apothec | obs., a storehouse or shop |
| appale | obs., to appall, make pale |
| apparail | obs. form of apparel |
| apparance | obs. form of appearance |
| appast | obs., fed, glutted |
| appendicate | obs., to append |
| appendicious | obs., appended, accessory |
| appenditious | obs., additional, appended |
| appere | obs. form of appear |
| appet | obs., to seek after, desire |
| appredicate | obs., to predicate as an attribute |
| appreve | obs. form of approve |
| apprompt | obs., to prompt, incite |
| appunctuation | obs., an agreement, appointment |
| apreynte | ME, imprinted, pressed |
| aquage | obs. law, a watercourse or water-right |
| aquarter | naut. obs., on the quarter |
| aquench | obs., to quench |
| aquilege | obs., the columbine (Aquilegia) |
| arake | obs., in a raking position, aslant |
| aratory | pertaining to plowing or tillage |
| archbanc | medieval chest serving as a bench |
| archebanc | chest used as a bench, Old French archebanc |
| archemastry | mastery of the occult arts, alchemy |
| ardurous | full of ardor, ardent |
| areason | to call to account, question |
| areche | to reach, attain (ME arechen) |
| arefact | dried up, withered (cf. arefaction) |
| arette | to impute, charge (ME aretten) |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
