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 |
|---|---|
| elamp | Spenser, to shine forth |
| elargement | obs., enlargement, release |
| eleemosinar | obs., an almoner |
| elengely | Middle English, drearily, wretchedly |
| elephancy | obs., elephantiasis |
| elinguate | obs., to cut out the tongue |
| elingued | obs., deprived of the tongue |
| eliquidate | obs., to melt or make liquid |
| elucid | obs., clear, lucid |
| elychnious | obs., of the nature of a lamp-wick |
| embain | obs., to bathe (F. bain) |
| embarricado | obs., to barricade |
| embassiate | obs., an embassy or message |
| embrowd | Spenser, to embroider |
| emeroid | obs., a hemorrhoid (KJV "emerods") |
| emperish | obs., to impair or injure |
| emperize | obs., to play the emperor |
| empiry | obs., empirical practice, quackery |
| emportment | obs., outburst of passion (F. emportement) |
| empover | obs. form of empoverish, to impoverish |
| emprent | ME, imprint, impression |
| emptory | obs., pertaining to buying (L. emptorius) |
| emraud | ME form of emerald |
| emrode | obs. emerod, a hemorrhoid |
| emunct | obs., wiped clean; keen-witted |
| enbaissing | ME, abashing, casting down |
| enbusshe | ME, to ambush |
| enchantery | obs., enchantment, sorcery |
| encheat | obs., to confiscate as escheat |
| encomic | obs., of or like an encomium |
| encomy | obs., an encomium |
| encorpore | obs., to incorporate |
| endent | obs. form of indent |
| endore | obs., to gild or glaze |
| endoute | ME, to fear or dread |
| enent | ME form of anent, concerning |
| enfect | obs. form of infect |
| enfeeblish | ME, to enfeeble |
| enfirm | obs. form of infirm |
| enfort | obs., effort, force |
| enforth | ME, according to, as far as |
| enfoulder | Spenser, to charge with lightning |
| enfranch | obs., to enfranchise |
| engendure | ME engendrure, generation, offspring |
| enghle | obs., to fondle (cf. ingle) |
| engineery | Milton, engines or artillery collectively |
| engleim | obs., to clog with slime |
| englute | obs., to glue or cement together |
| engrege | ME, to aggravate, make heavier |
| engregge | ME, to aggravate (var. of engrege) |
| enhaulse | obs., to embrace (halse) |
| enheritage | ME, inheritance |
| enhuile | obs., to oil or anoint (F. huile) |
| entach | obsolete, to stain or taint (OF entachier) |
| entermete | ME, to meddle or intervene (OF entremettre) |
| entertissue | obsolete, to interweave; cf. intertissued |
| entortill | obsolete, to twist or coil (OF entortiller) |
| entremess | obsolete, a side dish; = entremets |
| entrike | ME, to entangle or ensnare (Chaucer) |
| envaye | obsolete, to assail or invade (OF envaïr) |
| envire | obsolete, to environ or surround |
| envolupen | ME, to envelop or wrap up (Chaucer) |
| epenetic | obsolete, laudatory (Gk epainetikos) |
| ephestian | obsolete, of the hearth, domestic (Gk ephestios) |
| epiky | obsolete, equity in applying law, epikeia |
| epithyme | old herbal name for dodder growing on thyme |
| erept | archaic, snatched away |
| ergotist | archaic, a wrangler who argues by "ergo" |
| erthling | archaic spelling of earthling |
| erugation | archaic, a smoothing away of wrinkles |
| erugatory | archaic, tending to remove wrinkles |
| erump | archaic, to burst forth |
| eschaufe | Middle English, to warm or chafe |
| escheve | archaic form of eschew |
| escoted | archaic, paid for (from escot) |
| escoting | archaic, paying the scot of |
| escry | archaic, to descry or raise an outcry |
| esloign | archaic, to remove to a distance |
| esmayle | archaic form of enamel |
| esprove | archaic, proof or trial |
| essency | archaic, essence or being |
| estall | archaic, to instal or pay by instalments |
| estamp | archaic form of stamp |
| estantion | archaic form of stanchion |
| estately | archaic form of stately |
| estuant | archaic, burning or boiling |
| estudy | archaic form of study |
| estuosity | archaic, burning heat |
| estuous | archaic, glowing hot |
| esture | archaic, commotion or violent motion |
| eternish | to make eternal, to eternize |
| ethnish | heathen, gentile |
| etwite | to twit, upbraid, reproach |
| eupatory | old herbal name for agrimony, hemp agrimony |
| euphemious | of good omen in speech, euphemistic |
| euphemous | well-spoken, auspicious in utterance |
| euphemy | use of words of good omen |
| evalue | to value or appraise (French evaluer) |
| eveck | old name for the ibex |
| evelong | oblique, slanting |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
