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 |
|---|---|
| redivivous | obs., revived, living again (L. redivivus) |
| reeveland | hist., land held by the reeve of a manor |
| refectorarian | hist., the monk in charge of a refectory |
| refectorary | hist., refectory officer of a monastery |
| refectorer | hist., the monk in charge of a refectory |
| reflair | obs., scent or odour (OF flair) |
| reflexiue | reflexive, in the old u-for-v spelling |
| refractary | obs. spelling of refractory |
| refreid | ME refreiden, to chill or grow cold (OF refroidier) |
| refreit | ME, the refrain of a song (OF refrait) |
| refroid | obs., to chill (OF refroidir) |
| regalio | obs., a treat or delicacy (Sp. regalo) |
| regitive | obs., governing, having power to rule (L. regere) |
| rehayte | ME rehayte, to cheer or encourage (OF rehaitier) |
| remene | ME remene, to lead or bring back (OF remener) |
| remicate | obs., to quiver or flash (L. remicare) |
| remication | obs., a quivering or flashing |
| remigation | obs., rowing (L. remigatio) |
| reperible | obsolete, that may be found out |
| repleve | obsolete form of replevy, to recover goods |
| replial | obsolete, a reply |
| rescounter | obsolete, a set-off or counter-reckoning |
| rescusser | obsolete law, one who makes an unlawful rescue |
| resiancy | obsolete, residence or abode |
| respasse | obsolete, respite or recovery; Old French respas |
| respersive | obsolete, sprinkling; Latin respergere |
| resplendish | obsolete, to shine brightly |
| reviviction | a coming back to life |
| rewan | past tense of rewin, to win back |
| rewayle | ME re- + wayle (wail), to bewail again |
| rhabarb | old form of rhubarb |
| rialty | old form of royalty |
| rifart | ME, a radish (OF raifort) |
| rigadig | imitative of a drumming or rattling sound |
| rightforth | straightway, directly |
| rimation | a searching into, a prying (L. rimari) |
| ripier | one who carries fish inland to sell |
| ripperman | a hawker of fish carried inland from the coast |
| ritmaster | a cavalry captain (German Rittmeister) |
| rivell | obs. form of rivel, to wrinkle |
| roborean | of oak, strengthening (L. robur) |
| romble | obs. form of rumble |
| romeshot | Rome-scot, the tax of Peter's pence |
| rondelier | a soldier armed with a round shield |
| rondellier | double-l form of rondelier, a shield-bearing soldier |
| roomstead | a site or standing place |
| ropand | roping; Northern -and present participle |
| rosaker | realgar, red arsenic sulphide |
| rosalger | realgar, red arsenic sulphide |
| rotaman | a member of Harrington's Rota Club |
| rothermuck | cattle dung; rother is an ox |
| rounge | to gnaw or champ |
| rubedity | redness |
| rubiator | a rascal or mean fellow |
| ruely | ruefully, sorrowfully |
| rumbarge | a kind of vessel or barge |
| rumbowling | sailors' slang, poor drink or waste grog |
| rumbustion | early name for rum; also an uproar |
| rumpad | thieves' cant, the highway |
| rumpadder | thieves' cant, a highwayman |
| rumpade | thieves' cant, the highway; variant of rumpad |
| runagado | a renegade; variant of renegado |
| russelet | a russet pear or apple |
| rutilous | glowing red, ruddy |
| ryen | made of rye |
| saccadge | sackage, the sacking or pillage of a town |
| sackdoudle | to play the bagpipe, from German Sackdudel |
| saffior | safflor or zaffer, impure cobalt oxide |
| saronide | an old name for a Druid, Greek saronides |
| sarzan | old form of Saracen |
| sation | a sowing or planting, Latin satio |
| satisdiction | a saying enough, sufficient statement |
| satury | old form of savory, the herb (Latin satureia) |
| saulge | old form of sage, the herb |
| sautree | Middle English form of psaltery |
| sawlshot | soul-scot, the burial payment for a soul |
| scabbado | the itch or scab, a mock-Spanish form |
| scabid | scabby, affected with scab |
| scamell | the obscure bird of The Tempest, perhaps a gull |
| scamles | early form of shambles, butchers' benches |
| scension | an ascent or climbing |
| schematologetically | in figurative or schematic language |
| schistus | old geological form of schist |
| schoche | old spelling of shock, a pile of sheaves |
| schoenanth | old name for camel's hay, an aromatic grass |
| schoenobatist | a rope-dancer |
| scind | to cut or split |
| scintil | a spark, early form of scintilla |
| scioterique | old form of sciotheric, of a sundial |
| scious | knowing, aware; back-formation from conscious |
| scoggan | a buffoon or jester, after the jester Scogan |
| scogginism | a coarse jest, in the manner of Scogan |
| scogginist | a buffoon, a teller of Scogan's jests |
| scoleryng | Middle English, schooling, study |
| scoley | Middle English, to attend school, to study |
| sconcible | sensible, discreet; from sconce, the head |
| scorbuch | old name for scurvy, cf. German Scharbock |
| scotal | scotale, a forced ale-feast levied by foresters |
| scowbank | nautical slang, to loaf or shirk work |
| screwsman | old thieves' cant, a burglar using skeleton keys |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
