Staff F of the English Wordbook.
Basic abbreviations:
- OE = Old English
- ME = Middle English
- SC = Scots
- WF = West Frish
- NF = North Frish
- SF = Saterlandish Frish
- WLG = West Low Theech
- ELG = East Low Theech
- NL = Netherlandish
- NHG = New High Theech
- IC = Icelandish
- HIC = High Icelandish
- NO = Nornish
- SW = Swedish
- DN = Danish
- MLG = Middle Low Theech
- MNL = Middle Netherlandish
- MHG = Middle High Theech
- OF = Old Frish
- OS = Old Saxish
- OHG = Old High Theech
- ON = Old Norse
- GO = Gottish
- PWG = Or-West-Theedish
- PG = Or-Theedish
For a full list of etymological and other abbreviations used in these wordlists, see: Offshortenings.
| Chancery English | Class | Anglish/English | ||
| Attested | Unattested | |||
| fable | n | tale, wonder-tale | byquide (<OE bigcwide) | |
| fabric | n | cloth, argmt: shell, framework | thrum (<OE) | |
| fabricate | vb | bring into being, build, make, put together, run up, set up, shape; think up, write; lie, make up | bework (cf Du. Bewerken), falsh (cf. NHG fälschen) | |
| fabrication | n | making | beworking (cf Du. Bewerken) + ing | |
| fabulous | adj | groovy, amazing, sterling, top-shelf, wonderful | - | |
| facade | n | foreside, forehead; outer-skin, put-on, show | - | |
| face | n | shell, cast, side, foreside | anatomy:
leer (<OE hléor) | |
| facet | n | side, bearing | - | |
| facetious | adj | biting, tung-in-cheek, sharp-witted, salty, smart, witty | - | |
| facilitate | vb | easen | - | |
| fact | n | truth | deedsake (cf. NHG Tatsache) | |
| fact, in | phr | indeed, in truth | soothly | |
| factor | n | building block | - | |
| factory | n | - | buildworks worksmithy (cf. Ic. verksmiðja) | |
| faculty | n | - | lorehalldeal | |
| fad | n | hit, brainstorm | - | |
| fade | vb | dwindle, wane | sear | |
| feces | n | shit, shite, stool, dirt, dung | - | |
| faggot | n | - | stickbind, stickfasten, stickbundle | |
| faience | n | - | tin-glazed earthenware | |
| fail | vb | fizzle, flop, flunk, let down | trock (<OE trucian), swether | |
| failure | n | oversight, blunder, washout | trockness (<OE trucian), swethering | |
| faint | vb | swoon, flake out, black out | - | |
| fair | n | hoppings | - | |
| fairy | n | elf | - | |
| fairytale | n | - | elvinrime | |
| fait accompli | n | done deed, done deal, fulfilled, carried out, (thing) over and done | - | |
| faith | n | belief, troth, trow | lief (<OE lēafa) | |
| faithful | adj | down-the-line, fast, good, steadfast, steady, true-blue | trowful
liefful (<OE ġelēafful) | |
| faithfulness | n | - | lieffulness (<OE ġelēaffulnes) pl: lieffulnessa (<OE ġelēaffulnessa)
trowfulness | |
| faith, to have | vb | trust, lief | trow | |
| falcon | n | - | falk (cf. Dan./Now./Swed. Falk, Du. valk, NHG. Falke) | |
| fallacy | n | - | untrue/wrong/unsound rake | |
| fallible | adj | unsound, wanting | - | |
| false | adj | lease, off, unsound, untrue, wrong; sham; crooked; flicke; misdealing, misleading | - | |
| falsely accuse | vb | - | forwray (<OE forwregan) | |
| fame | n | name, wellstanding, stardom, limelight, greatness | bremeness, reem (<OE hrēmiġ; cf. NHG Ruhm, Du. roem), reth (<OE hreþ) | |
| familiar | adj | couth, friendly, inward, near, thick, tight; abreast; household | hewcouth (<OE hiwcuþ), forwildering (as unlike bewildering) | |
| family | n | kin, kindred, kinfolk, ilk, sib, household | ilk, inherd, kneeris (<OE cnēoris), Slag (<NHG geschlecht), Sippe (German) | |
| family household | n | - | hewreaden (<OE hiwræden) | |
| famine | n | dearth, hunger | - | |
| famished | adj | hungry, starving, hunger-bitten | - | |
| famous | adj | well-known, couth | bereemed (cf. NHG berühmt, beroemt), beknown (cf. NHG bekannt), breme (<OE brēme) | |
| fan | n | lover, nut | device: blower, waffer, waffend
enthusiast: fultumer (<OE: fultum, support) bewonderer (cf. Du. bewonderaar), wonderling | |
| fanatic | n | hardnose | - | |
| fanaticism | n | - | ellentroth | |
| fancy | n | liking, longing, bent, flighty thought, daresay, brainwave | - | |
| fancy | adj | showy | - | |
| fantastic | adj | wonderful | - | |
| fantasy | n | daydream, dreamland, dreamworld, dreamscape, (genre) wonder-tales | mindwonder; wonder flight | |
| farce | n | take-off, dry-wit | - | |
| farm | n | holding | earthfield | |
| farmer | n | small holder, fieldman | landwarden, earthtilther, cropcrafter, tillager | |
| farming | vb | tillage | earthtilthing cropcrafting | |
| farrago | n | mash, mashing, all-kinds-of | sundrying | |
| farro | n | |||
| Emmer (<German) | ||||
| fasces | n | bundle | - | |
| fascia | n | strip. band | - | |
| fascism | n | - | bundlerikedom | |
| fascist | adj/n | - | bundlerike
n: bundleriker | |
| fascinate | vb | bewitch, spellbind, draw, fire, inthrall, eyebite (cited by Richard Chenevix Trench) | - | |
| fascinated | adj | inthralled, bewitched, spellbound | - | |
| fashion | vb | fit, put, shape; frame | hue (<OE hiwian), fangle | |
| fashion | n | trend, way | fangle | |
| fashionable | adj | dashing; cool (slang); trendy; crowd-pleasing | - | |
| fastidious | adj | choosy, picky | - | |
| fatal | adj | deadly | - | |
| fatal wound | n | - | wealben (<OE wælbenn) pl: wealbenna (<OE wælbenna) | |
| fatamorgana | n | - | loftglass | |
| fate | n | doom, lot
weird meaning was skewed by Shakespear's Weird Sisters, revived after dying as a word meaning "destiny" |
wyrd (<OE), orlay (<OE orlæg) | |
| fatigue | n | frazzle, tiredness, weariness | - | |
| fatuous | adj | brainless, half-witted, thickheaded | - | |
| fault | n | shortcoming, want, weakness; mistake, oversight, trip; pockmark, misstep, | dwild (<OE), Shild (Eng.) (<ME schuld, OE scyld, cf. NHG./Du. Schuld) | |
| fauna | n | wildlife | deerworld, wightlife | |
| faux-pas | n | mistake, misstep, slipup | fake-step (Calque of the French) | |
| favor | n | kindness, blessing; one-sideness, shine | gunst (cf. NHG) hild, milts (<OE) | |
| favorable | adj | bright, golden, heartening, hopeful | belikening, fair-boding
gunsty (cf. NHG günstig) | |
| favorite | adj | beloved, darling, fair-haired, fond, loved, sweet, white-headed, chosen, handpicked, most liked, most loved, crowd-pleasing | fondmost, belikened, darling (cf. NHG Lieblings-), gunstelling (Afrikaans) | |
| feasible | adj | likely, doingly, seemingly, timely, welltimed, wieldly, worthwhile | howingly (<OE hogian: plan) | |
| feast | n | feed, spread; wealth | simble (<OE symbel) | |
| Feast day (religious) | n | - | simbleday (<OE symbeldæg) | |
| Feast of Tabernacles | n | - | Simble of Ingathering | |
| Feast of the Cross | n | Holy Rood Day | - | |
| Feast of the Transfiguration | n | - | Forhallowing Day | |
| Feast of Trumpets | n | - | Simble of Trumpets | |
| Feast of Unleavened Bread | n | - | Simble of Unraised Bread | |
| feat | n | deed, stroke | ||
| feature | n | shape, look, make, mark | - | |
| February | n | - | Mudmonth (< OE), Filibrook, Solmonth, Horningmonth | |
| feckless | adj | bootless, hamstrung | - | |
| federal | adj | - | kernelish, rikebandish | |
| federation | n | - | gathertang (<OE gadertang), rikeband | |
| feeble | adj | weak, backboneless | - | |
| fee simple | n | freehold | - | |
| feign | vb | sham, put on | - | |
| feint | n | blind, hoodwinking, put-on, red herring | - | |
| felicitate | vb | hug | - | |
| feline | adj | pusslike, catlike | carlcatlike, queencatlike | |
| fellow | n | gesith | sith (<OE ġesīþ) | |
| fellowship | n | - | gesithship, ship, sithship (<OE ġesīþsċipe) | |
| felony | n | - | headsin, deathshild (<OE dēaþscyld) | |
| female | n | quean, lady, wifekind, she-kind (pre: she-) | frow (<OE frōwe, cf. NHG Frau) | |
| feminazi (slang) | n | - | she-fiend | |
| feminine | adj | - | wifely (<OE wíflic, NHG weiblich)
shesome | |
| feminism | n | - | wifehoodness, queanhoodness, shehoodness | |
| feminist | n | - |
wifehooder, shehooder, queanhooder | |
| femme fatale | n | maneater | - | |
| femto (-byte) | pref | fifteen- | - | |
| femur | n | thigh bone | - | |
| fence | n | waugh, hedge, sundering | - | |
| fend (off) | vb | ward off, hold off, keep off | - | |
| fender | n | shield, windshield, hob; midriff | - | |
| fennec | n | - | dryland fox | |
| feodalism | n | - | flack fellowship | |
| feral | adj | wild, untamed, running mad, tameless | - | |
| feric | adj | ironlike | - | |
| feriferous | adj | - | iron-yielding, ironbear, ironbere | |
| ferment | n/v | n: barm, yeast
v: yeast |
- | |
| ferocious | adj | fiendish, mad, grim, warlike, wild, frothing | - | |
| ferret | n | - | neasle | |
| ferret | vb | hound, harry, seek out | nease (<OE neosian) | |
| Ferris wheel | n | big wheel | - | |
| fertile | n | fallow, yielding, loamy | wastombear | |
| fervent | adj | glowing, warm-blooded | - | |
| fester | vb | burn, rot, weep, blain | - | |
| festival | n | holiday | guild (<OE gield), frealsing | |
| festive | adj | festlike, cheery, grooving, upbeat, hearty, merry, gleeful | frealsing | |
| festoon | n | - | wreathe | |
| festoon | vb | deck, trim, doll up | clad up | |
| fetid | adj | smelly, stenchy, rank | - | |
| fetish | n | - | kink, overlust | |
| feudal | adj | toll-run, feeholding, lendship | - | |
| feud | n | foe-fighting, bad blood, ill-feeling | - | |
| fever | n | ail, sickness | driff, rithing (<OE), raised body heat, to be burning up | |
| fiancé | n | betrothed, husband-to-be | forloved (<NHG verlobter) | |
| fiancée | n | betrothed, wife-to-be | forloved (<NHG verlobter) | |
| fiasco | n | out-and out breakdown, full-blight, misdeal | - | |
| fibre/fiber | n | bristle, thread; backbone, grit, guts, pluck | thrum | |
| fibula | n | calf bone, bow pin | - | |
| fiction | n | - | literature: sheenwritcraft (cf. Dan. skønlitteratur)
umtruth, playtruth | |
| fictional | adj | made up | literature: sheenwritsome | |
| fidelity | n | faithfullness, troth | heldrede (<OE hyldræden) | |
| fifth columnist | n | back-friend | ||
| figment | n | daydream | dwimmer | |
| figure | n | - | gestelld (cf. NHG Gestalt), anseen (<OE ansien), beaconing (<OE bycnung) | |
| figure out | vb | riddle, work out | - | |
| file | n | binder, writ | - | |
| filings | n | - | swarf | |
| Filipino Language | n | Philipslandish Tung | ||
| Filipino (people) | n | Philipslander | ||
| filter | n/vb | sieve, sift, winnow, trawl | - | |
| final | adj | last, rearmost, hindmost; flat, frozen, hard, set, settled, endmost | - | |
| finale | n | ending, showdown | - | |
| finally | adv | at last, endily, endly,
in the end, |
- | |
| finance | n | thrift | geltlore, geltwist (cf. NHG geldwesen, Du. geldwezen) | |
| fine (payment) | n | bote | - | |
| fine | n/adj |
dusty, finespun, hairline; neat, straight, spot-on; four-star; keen, sharp; tasteful; adv: all right, good, middlingly |
sifer, swotel n: lawslight | |
| finish | vb | end, fullcome | beend (be-end) (cf. NHG beenden) | |
| finish | n | ending | - | |
| finished | adj | ready, done | ||
| fireplace | n | hearth | - | |
| firm | adj | fast, bound, unyielding, stalwart | - | |
| firmament | n | blue, heaven(s), high, welkin |
swail, rother (<OE), heaven-wheel (<OE), beaten-stretch (more literal to Biblical 'raqia') | |
| fiscal | adj | - | gelth | |
| fissure | n | crack, split, cleft | chine (<OE chin) | |
| fix | n | fastening, righting, overhaul, setting, patch | - | |
| fix | vb | fasten, right, work, overhaul, set, patch |
- | |
| fixed | adj | given, fast, fastened, wrought, set, patched | - | |
| flaccid | adj | limp | - | |
| flagellate | n | lash, leather, rawhide | - | |
| flagellum | n | whip | - | |
| flame | n | blaze, fire, fire-shoot, lowe | - | |
| flamingo | n | - | stiltswan, fireswan | |
| flange | n | rim | - | |
| flask | n | - | flax (<OE flaxe/flasce) | |
| flatulence | n | wind | - | |
| flavor | n | tang, smack, smatch | - | |
| flax | n | - | linwort | |
| Flensburg | n | - | Flensburgh | |
| flexible | adj | lithe, bendy, limber, bendfull, bendsome, bowsome | - | |
| flexibility | n | limberness | bendfullness (<OE bendfulnes) | |
| flight-hooligan | n | flight-dretch | ||
| flinch | vb | draw back, wince, hang back, reel, shy, blench | - | |
| flirt | vb | eye-tease, eye play | - | |
| floccinaucinihilipilificate | vb | deem worthless | - | |
| flora | n | green | bloomlife, wortlife | |
| Florence | n | - | Fairburgh (cf. Ic. Fagurborg) | |
| floss | n/vb | thread | tooththread | |
| flotsam and jetsam | n | - | sea-bits and strew | |
| flour | n | meal | - | |
| flourish | vb | bloom, blossom | forblow (OE blowan, NHG blühen) | |
| flower | n | bloom, blossom | ||
| fluctuate | n | swing | - | |
| fluent | adj | flowing, smoothspoken | - | |
| fluid | adj | runny, flowing | ||
| fluorescent | adj | leaming | flowglowing | |
| fluorine | n | - | yellowstuff, flowstuff | |
| flux | n | flowing | outierning (<OE ūtiernung) pl: outiernyga (<OE ūtiernunga) | |
| flying buttess | n | - | loftbow (cf. Du. luchtboog) | |
| focus | n | eye; lodestar | fuster (< OE fustra) | |
| focus | v | spotlight | ||
| folly | n | dullness, unwisdom, witlessness, boneheadedness | wanwit, dullship, stuntness, fleard, oodness, unwareship, sotship, | |
| fondant | n | frosting, icing | - | |
| fondue | n | - | smeltcheese | |
| font | n | - | casting
staffbuild | |
| fool | n/adj | dotty, half-baked; sucker; halfwit, bonehead, meathead | narr (cf. other Germ. langs.) | |
| fool's gold | n | mullock | - | |
| foolhardy | adj | brash, bold, headlong, heedless, hot-headed, daring, daresome, reckless | - | |
| footprint | n | footmark | footspoor, trod, last, footlast | |
| force | n'/vb" | strength, dint, might, thring; thrust, shove, pull, make to |
thrack (<OE þracu)groundswell (nautical) military: manfulltume (<OE manfultum) heavenly: heavenmaiën (<OE heofonmæġen) vb: twing (<NHG zwingen) | |
| forceps | n | tongs | - | |
| forcible | adj | strong-arm, make to | - | |
| foreign | adj | new, | Welsh (<OE wealh + -ish), farborn, outlandish
Fremd (English but seldom), ellendish (<ME elendish, ellendish, <OE elelendisc) | |
| foreign country | n | farland, faraway land, outland | althede, elland (<OE eleland, elland) | |
| foreigner | n | outlander, outsider | farlander, fremd-folk
Fremdling (NHG. Fremdling) Fremder | |
| forest | n | wald, weald, wood(land), woods, holt, frith, timberland | - | |
| forester | n | woodward, woodsman | frither (cf. NHG Förster) | |
| forestry | n | - | woodward-craft, firthery | |
| forficula | n | earwig | forky tail, clipshear | |
| forge | vb/n |
get along; carve out, grind out, thrash out, work up; beat, draw, pound n: smithy, hammermill |
- | |
| form | n | shape | hue (<OE hiwian) | |
| form | vb | shape, make, begin, build | maithlite, maithwlite, maithowlite (<OE mǣġþwlitian)
bilth (cf. NHG bilden, Du. beelden) | |
| formal | adj | starchy, stiff-necked, stilted; lofty, high-flown | - | |
| formation | n | setting up, shaping, building, making | bilthing (cf. NHG Bildung), forestalling; maithlite, maithwliting, maithowliting | |
| formatted | n | shaped | ||
| formidable | adj | stalwart | - | |
| formula | n | draft | leechwrit, spellwrit | |
| fornication | n | - | dernledging (<OE diernlicgan) | |
| fort(ress) | n | keep, stronghold, fastness | hillwark | |
| fortification | n | stronghold | umthrimming (<OE ymbtrymming)
befastening (calque) | |
| fortitude | n | backbone, grit, grittiness, pluck | ellen, strength | |
| fortune | n | hap, luck | - | |
| forum | n | moot, soapbox | mootstow (<OE mótstów) | |
| fossil | n/adj | forbone | stonelaves (stone remains) adj: stonelave | |
| fotanelle | n | mould | - | |
| found | vb | ground, build, begin, put up, settle, set up, start up | ground (cf. NHG gründen), stift (cf. NHG stiften), staddle (<OE staþolian) | |
| founder | n | forenunner; father of; begetter. | grounder (cf. NHG Gründer), groundlayer (cf. Du. grondlegger, cf. Norwegian grunnlegger) staddler (<OE staþolian + NE -er) | |
| foundation | n | groundwork, staddle | grounding (cf. NHG Gründung), stifting (cf. NHG Stiftung) groundlaying (cf. NHG, Dan.), staddle (<OE staþol) | |
| fountain | n | cradle, root, seedbed, wellspring, bourn, burn head: headspring |
springwell, springbourn (cf. NHG Springbrunnen) | |
| foyer | n | waiting room | - | |
| fraction | n | share, lot, deal, breaking | - | |
| fracture | n/vb | break | - | |
| fragile | adj | brittle, weak | brokenly (<OE brocenlic) | |
| fragment | n | thrum, scrap, shatters, sherd | breakdeal | |
| fragmentation | n | - | forcleaving | |
| fragrance | adj | sweet smell | wortbreath (<OE wyrtbræþ) | |
| framboise | n | raspberry | - | |
| francophone | adj | French-speaking | ||
| franchise | n | saga, line | - | |
| France | n | Frankland | ||
| fraternal | adj | brotherly | - | |
| fraternity | n | brotherhood | - | |
| fraud | n | swindle | overcraft (<OE ofercræft), lot | |
| fray | vb | frazzle | - | |
| frenzy | n | madness | hestmadness | |
| French | adj/n | Francish (of the tung and adjective), Franklander(of the people) | ||
| frequency | n | oftenness | - | |
| frequent | vb/adj | hang at; adj: everyday, household | simble (<OE) | |
| frequently | adv | often, over and over | - | |
| fresco | n | - | chalkmealing | |
| fricative | adj | rubclank | - | |
| friction | n | rubbing | - | |
| frigate | n | lightship, lightboat | ||
| fringe | n | edge, outskirt | - | |
| front | n | fore, afore, foreside | - | |
| frontal bone | n | - | foreskull, forebone | |
| frontier | n | region: backlands, backwater, backwoods, bush, hinterland, outback | mear (<OE mære) | |
| fructose | n | - | berrysweet | |
| fruit | n | -apple, -berry, seed, spawn; output, work, yield, | blead, ovest (cf. Du. ooft, NHG Obst)
wassom (<OE wæstm), ovet (<OE Ofett) | |
| fruitful | adj | lush | wassomly (<OE wæstmlic) | |
| fruitfulness | n | - | wassombereness | |
| frustrate | vb | thwart | - | |
| fucacae | n | seaweed | float-wort, seawrack | |
| fuel | n | - | firefod (<OE fyrfoda) | |
| fugitive | n | runaway, lamster | flightling, wrack (< OE wræcca) | |
| fulcrum | n | shaft, heart, swivel | - | |
| fulfillment | n | fulfilling | - | |
| fuliginous | adj | sooty, grimy, blackish, darkish, dusty, emberlike, cinderly, ashlike, coomy | - | |
| fulminate | n | huff | - | |
| fumigate | vb | - | bereak (<berēocan) | |
| fun | vb | play | ||
| function | n | work | brooking (<OE brucing) workgoal | |
| functional | adj | working | - | |
| fund | n | nest egg; wherewithal; stock | groundfest | |
| fundament | n | groundwork | - | |
| fundamental | adj | underlying, innermost, key, | groundlaying (<NHG, Danish), needmickle (<OE nidmicel) | |
| funeral | n | burial | begraving, beearthing (cf. NHG beerdigung) | |
| fungus | n | - | swamb (<OE swamm) | |
| funk | n | dank | - | |
| furnace | n | oven | - | |
| furniture | n | fittings, roomware, houseware | - | |
| fuse | n | meld, cleave | forsmelt | |
| futile | adj/n | worthless | fremeless | |
| future | n | by-and-by, hereafter, offing, forthcomingness | forthshaft (<OE forðgesceaft),
towardness (<OE tōweardnes) pl': towardnessa (<OE tōweardnessa), fromtide (cf. IC framtíð) | |
| future | adj | forthcoming, upcoming, incoming, unborn |
forthtime near and far | |