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 |
|---|---|
| brender | brend (to burn, to brand) + -er |
| brendice | a cup in which a health is drunk |
| brethel | a worthless fellow, a wretch |
| brigatry | brigandage, robbery by brigands |
| brigbote | Old English law, duty to repair bridges |
| brigous | full of strife, contentious |
| brimly | fiercely (from brim, fierce) |
| broadling | flatwise, with the broad side |
| broadlings | flatwise, with the broad side |
| brogger | a broker, an unlicensed wool dealer |
| broiden | braided, embroidered |
| broilery | turmoil, disturbance |
| bronstrops | cant, a bawd or prostitute |
| broquery | obs., brokery, a broker's trade |
| broquineer | obs., a broker or pawnbroker |
| brothe | ME, fierce, violent |
| browd | obs. pp. of braid, embroidered |
| browet | obs., a broth or soup |
| bruet | obs., a broth (cf. browet) |
| bubblebow | obs., a bauble or trinket |
| bucoliast | obs., a writer of bucolics |
| bullyhuff | obs. cant, a bully or hector |
| bullyrock | obs. cant, a swaggering bully |
| bullyrook | obs. cant, a swaggering bully |
| bultell | obs., bolting-cloth or sifted bran |
| bultey | obs., variant of bultell, bolting-cloth |
| bumpsy | obs. slang, tipsy, drunk |
| burgality | obs., burghal status or franchise |
| burgensic | obs., pertaining to a burgess or burgh |
| burghalpenny | obs., a borough toll, burgh-halfpenny |
| burghemot | obs., a borough court (burghmote) |
| burghmoot | obs., a borough court |
| burgullian | obs., a braggart or swaggerer |
| burgwere | OE burhware, the citizens of a borough |
| burhmoot | OE burh-mote, a borough court |
| burlace | obs., a grape variety, from Bordelais |
| burlet | obs., a head-roll or cap (OF bourrelet) |
| buscarl | OE butsecarl, a seaman-retainer |
| bustian | obs., a cotton fabric akin to fustian |
| butyr | obs. spelling of butter |
| buzzgloak | obs. cant, a pickpocket |
| bygo | obs., a going by (cf. bygoing) |
| byspell | obs., a parable or by-word |
| byss | obs., byssus, fine linen |
| byssin | obs., fine linen, byssus |
| cabble | obs. metallurgy, to break up iron bars |
| caddesse | a jackdaw |
| cadouk | frail, perishable (var. of caduke) |
| caduac | a windfall or casual profit |
| caitifty | wretchedness, the state of a caitiff |
| calaber | the gray squirrel fur of trade |
| camelopardel | heraldry, a fabulous giraffe-like beast |
| camister | cant, a clergyman or preacher |
| camleteen | a light worsted fabric imitating camlet |
| camoca | a costly medieval silk fabric |
| camois | flat or snub, of the nose |
| camused | snub-nosed, from camus |
| caneva | an early form of canvas |
| cannelated | fluted, channelled |
| canroy | confectioner's revolving coating pan |
| caperdewsie | prison or the stocks |
| capitle | chapter, article |
| caribal | early form of cannibal |
| carity | dearness, costliness |
| carroon | London rent paid by licensed carmen |
| carvist | falconry, hawk fit to carry on the fist |
| casshe | early spelling of cash |
| cassidoine | chalcedony |
| catalowne | old form of Catalan |
| catapuce | old name for caper spurge, Euphorbia lathyris |
| caterbrawl | a caterwaul; a squabbling brawl |
| catzerie | roguery, knavery (from catso, a rogue) |
| cauponate | to keep a tavern; to traffic pettily |
| cauponation | tavern-keeping; adulteration of wine for sale |
| caynard | a sluggard, a dotard |
| celation | concealment, especially of a birth |
| celative | tending to conceal |
| cenation | the taking of supper (L. cena) |
| cenobe | a cenobite, monk living in community |
| cenoby | a convent or monastic community |
| cenosity | filthiness, foulness (L. caenum, mud) |
| centinody | old name for knotgrass, Polygonum aviculare |
| centure | old form of cincture, a girdle |
| cepter | old form of sceptre |
| ceration | alchemy, softening to a waxy consistency |
| cerevisial | of or pertaining to beer (L. cerevisia) |
| cerfoil | old form of chervil (F. cerfeuil) |
| cerniture | obs., act of deciding or accepting (L. cernere) |
| certiorate | obs., to inform, apprise, certify |
| certioration | obs., the act of informing or certifying |
| cervisial | obs., pertaining to beer (L. cervisia) |
| cesure | obs., a pause, a caesura |
| chapitle | obs. form of chapiter (capital of a column) |
| charely | obs., carefully, charily |
| chareter | obs., a charioteer (charet = chariot) |
| charitative | obs./rare, charitable |
| charlet | obs., a dish of milk, eggs and minced pork |
| chasty | obs., to chastise, correct |
| cherely | obs., cheerfully (ME chere + -ly) |
| chernites | obs., an ivory-like marble named by Pliny |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
