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 |
|---|---|
| disalliege | obs., to release from allegiance |
| disanney | obs., to annoy or harm greatly |
| discatter | obs., to scatter apart |
| disclander | ME, slander, disgrace |
| discour | obs. form of discure, to discover, disclose |
| discrepation | obs., disagreement, discrepancy |
| discubation | obs., the act of reclining at table |
| discumb | obs., to recline at table |
| discuren | ME, to discover, reveal |
| discursative | obs., discursive, rambling |
| diseasy | obs., uneasy, ill at ease |
| disembocation | obs., outflow, mouth of a river |
| disencrease | obs., to decrease (dis- + encrease) |
| disenorm | obs., to free from what is enormous or irregular |
| disgenius | obs., an evil genius or spirit |
| disgout | obs., disgust, distaste (F. dégoût) |
| disgradulate | obs., to degrade from ecclesiastical rank |
| disguisay | obs., strange or fantastic in fashion |
| disherent | obs., disinheriting (cf. disherison) |
| disinteress | obs., to divest of interest (F. désintéresser) |
| disjeune | obs., to breakfast (F. déjeuner) |
| disjudication | obs., the act of judging between, dijudication |
| disloign | obs. (Spenser), to remove to a distance |
| dismain | obs., to deprive of strength, to maim |
| dismembrate | obs., to dismember |
| dismit | obs., to dismiss, send away |
| disordeine | ME, to disorder or derange |
| dispaint | obs., to depict or variegate |
| dispansive | obs., spreading out, expansive |
| disparison | obs., disparity, unequal match |
| dispicion | ME, disputation or discussion |
| dispoint | obs., to disappoint |
| disputisoun | ME, disputation |
| disquisit | obs. verb, to inquire into, discuss |
| dissait | obs. Scots and ME spelling of deceit |
| dissembly | Dogberry's blunder for assembly |
| dissonous | obs., discordant, dissonant |
| dissour | ME disour, a reciter or jester |
| distemperure | obs., distemperature, disorder |
| disterr | obs., to unearth or to banish |
| disvantage | obs. aphetic form of disadvantage |
| diswere | ME, doubt or perplexity |
| divaporation | obs., evaporation, dispersal in vapour |
| diverberate | obs., to strike or beat apart |
| divinail | ME, a riddle or divination |
| divinesse | obs., divineness, a female diviner |
| divinister | ME divinistre, a theologian or diviner |
| divort | obs., to divorce |
| doddypoll | obs., a blockhead or fool |
| doleance | obs., a complaint or grievance |
| dolesman | obs., one entitled to a dole or share |
| dolous | obs. and legal, deceitful, done with dolus |
| dorlot | obs., ornament or knot for the hair |
| dormette | obs., a short sleep, a nap (F. dormir) |
| dotarie | obs., dower, dowry |
| doubtous | ME, doubtful |
| doutous | ME, doubtful (= doubtous) |
| dowage | obs., dower, dowry |
| dowitch | obs., the dowitcher, a snipe-like shorebird |
| dowment | obs., endowment (aphetic form) |
| dowsabel | obs., a sweetheart (from the name Dowsabel) |
| dozener | obs., headman of a tithing of twelve |
| dreche | ME drecchen, to vex, delay, tarry |
| dreint | ME, drowned (past participle of drench) |
| drengh | obs., a dreng, a Northumbrian free tenant |
| drevel | obs., a drudge, a dirty fellow |
| dreynt | ME, drowned (var. of dreint) |
| drofland | obs. law, tribute paid for driving cattle |
| droiturel | ME, rightful, just (OF droiturel) |
| dronkelew | ME, drunken, given to drink |
| droyl | obs., to drudge; a drudge (= droil) |
| druggister | obs., a druggist, dealer in drugs |
| drumbler | obs., a small swift vessel of war |
| drumler | obs., var. of drumbler, a small vessel |
| drumsler | obs., var. of drumbler, a small vessel |
| drunkelew | ME, drunken, given to drink |
| ducape | obs., a stout plain-woven silk fabric |
| ducdame | Shakespeare's nonsense refrain, As You Like It |
| duchery | obs., a duchy or dukedom |
| ductibility | obs., ductility |
| dulcarnon | obs., a dilemma; Euclid's 47th proposition |
| dummered | obs. cant, made or feigning dumb |
| duomachy | obs., single combat between two, a duel |
| duplicious | obs., double, double-dealing |
| duscle | obs. plant name, prob. the black nightshade |
| dyscrase | obs. medical, to disorder the humors |
| earthquaken | obs. pp., shaken by an earthquake |
| earthquave | obs., an earthquake (quave = quake) |
| ebraick | obs. spelling of Hebraic |
| ebricty | obs., drunkenness (L. ebrietas) |
| edituate | obs., to guard as a churchwarden |
| efecks | minced oath, "in faith!" |
| effierce | Spenser, to make fierce |
| efford | obsolete spelling of afford |
| effude | obs., to pour out (L. effundere) |
| egma | Shakespeare's corruption of enigma |
| egremoigne | Middle English form of agrimony |
| egurgitate | obs., to disgorge, vomit forth |
| ejulate | obs., to wail or lament |
| ejurate | obs., to renounce on oath (L. ejurare) |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
