Staff S of the English Wordbook.
Basic abbreviations: att'd=attested, OE=Old English, NHG=New High German, Du.=Dutch
For a full list of etymological and other abbreviations used in these wordlists, see Forshortenings.
| sacred | adj | holy, hallowed |
| Sacrament | n | holy oath, holy undertaking, hallowing, holy-work (<OE haligweorc) |
| sacrifice | n | (y)bloot (<OE (ge)blot) |
| sacrifice | vb | bloot [past bleet, ppt bloten] (<OE blotan)\ |
| sacrosanct | adj | holy, hallowed |
| safe | adj | shielded, sheltered, unharmed, whole (for older usages of 'safe'), sound |
| sagacity | n | wisdom, wit |
| Saint (St.) | epithet | Holy (Cf. NHG Heilige) |
| saint | n | holyman, hallow |
| salmon | n | lax (<OE leax, cf. NHG Lachs, Yid. לאַקס (laks), ON, Ic. & Swed. lax, Dan. & Norw. laks) |
| salamander | n | firenewt |
| salary | n | year's pay, earnings, income, salt |
| salutary | n | healthy, healthful, well, whole, hearty, sound, hale |
| salutation | n | greeting, welcome, hail |
| salvation | n | ferrownere (<OE feorhneru), ferrowrede (<OE feorhrǽd), healness (<OE hǽlnes), health |
| sanctify | vb | hallow |
| sanctuary | n | haven, grith, holyroom, hallow, holystead, |
| sapience | n | wisdom |
| sapient | adj | wise, thoughtful |
| sasquatch | n | bigfoot |
| Satanism | n | Satandom, Satanry |
| satchel | n | knapsack, rucksack, |
| satellite (artificial) | n | umworldliftfate ("around-world-air-vessel" att'd on the Old English Wikipedia as ymbeworuldlyftfæt) |
| satiate | vb | fulfill, quench, slake |
| satire | n | wry scolding, scoldcraft, scoldwriting |
| satirist | n | scolder, scoldcrafter, scoldwriter |
| satisfaction | n | aftergladness, befrithening/befrithying (Cf. NHG Befriedigung) |
| satisfy | vb | befrith,slake, fulfill, aftergladden, sate, quench |
| saturate | vb | sop, soak, steep, indrench (OE indrencan) |
| sauce | n | dip |
| sauerkraut | n | sourcole, sourkale |
| sauna | n | steam room, hot-house, hotroom, sweatbath |
| sausage | n | pudding, banger, swineflesh |
| save | vb | nere (<OE nerian, akin to NHG nähren), hain, stow, hoard, spare (cf. NHG sparen), heal |
| saviour | n | healand (cf. NHG Heiland, from OHG Heliand 'the healing one'), halend, healer, healant (<OE hælend, in light of MnE 'coolant') |
| savory | adj | hearthaft (Cf. NHG herzhaft), defty (cf. NHG deftig) |
| scale | vb | climb, go up |
| scar | n | healmark, woundheal, skinmark, woundfleck, woundmark, woundmole, wale, weal, wheal, wen, welt |
| scarabaeus stercoreous | n | turd-weevil |
| scarce | adj | short, scanty |
| scarcely | adv | hardly, barely, only, a little, ever so little, slightly, weakly |
| scarcity | n | lack, shortness, seldomness, fewness, dearth |
| scarlet | adj | wormred (<OE wyrmread) |
| scatter | vb | broadcast, cast, deal out, go-off, go through, let go, oversow, overspread, put to flight, spread, strew |
| scene | n | scape |
| Schleswig-Holstein | n | Sleswick-Holstan(-Holston) Cf. Ger Schleswig-Holstein, Dan Slesvig-Holsten (First element is from traditional English name for the territory: "Sleswick-Holsatia"; second element is a calque of the continental names. Note: '-stan', '-ston' element is the regular English reflex of continental -'stein' and '-sten' where it occurs in proper names and place names, e.g. 'Edelstein'= 'Athelstan', 'T(h)orsten= Thurston etc.) |
| scholar | n | lered (Cf. NHG Gelehrte), lorechild, learned man, thinker, brainwright, man of books, underseeker, learner, booksman |
| scholarship | n | bookhood, booksmanship |
| school | n | lorehall, lorehouse |
| science | n | witship (calque from Nynorsk Vitskap, NHG Wissenschaft), lore, learncraft, wisecraft, worldken, the knowledges, -kith (analogous usage to Ger and Dutch '-kunde' which means 'knowledge', 'acquaintance', and 'science'. OE used the ancestor of 'kith' in a similar manner, meaning both acquaintance, i.e. 'kith', and knowledge. It maybe argued, therefore, that it is only natural to extend the meaning of the word, as German and Dutch did, from knowledge to science. |
| scientific | adj | worldkenly, witshiply |
| scientific language | n | craftspeech (<OE cræftspræc) |
| scintillate | vb | sparkle, flash, shine |
| scintillating | adj | sparkling |
| scissors | n | shears, hand-shears |
| scorpion | n | stingtail |
| scout | n | pathfinder |
| scowling | adj | black-browed, threatening in look, |
| scrotum | n | cod (<OE codd), ballsack |
| search | vb | seek, comb, delve, seek through/throughseek (Cf. Du. doorzoeken) |
| search word | n | seekword |
| season | n | yeartide, yeartime, time of year, forth o'year |
| sebum | n | tallow |
| second | adj | other (<OE ōþer), twoth [pronounced tooth] (Cf. NHG zweite, Du. tweede) |
|
Second World War |
n | Other World Orlay, Other World Orlaw, Other World Unfrith, World War Two, Twoth World War |
| secret | adj | hidden, withdrawn, unseen, inward, stealthy, untold, unbeheld, underground, underhanded, hushhush, |
| secret | n | hushthought, hushword, hiddle, dern (OE dyrne) |
| secrete | vb | hide, seep, leak, ooze |
| sect | n | afterfollowing (<OE æfterfylgung) |
| secular | adj | worldly (att'd) |
| secularise/-ize | vb | forworldly (Calque of NHG verweltlichen) |
| secure | adj | belayed, fast, steadfast |
| secure | vb | belay, fasten, steadfasten, make wis (make sure) |
| sediment | n | dregs, silt, draff, dross |
| seduce | vb | spane (<OE spanan) |
| segregation | n | asunderhood |
| seizure | n | fit |
| select | vb | choose, pick, wale |
| self-esteem | n | self-worth |
| selvedge | vb & n | forel |
| semester | n | sixmonth, half-year |
| seminar | n | workshop |
| sempiternity | n | endlessness, unendinghood, alwayness, everlastingness |
| semi- | pref | half-, sam-/sand-/some- (<OE sam-) |
| Senate | n | eldermoot [elder: <L. senex + moot (council)] |
| senator | n | folkwite [pl folkwiten] (<OE folcwita), elder |
| senile | adj | doddery, doddering, elderly, old, doted |
| senior citizens | n | elderly, old folks, eldfolk, eldman |
| sensate | adj | feeling |
| sensation | n | feeling |
| sensational | adj | amazing |
| sense | n | feeling, meaning |
| sense | vb | feel |
| sensible | vb | feelbere (calque), understandbere |
| sensitive | adj | yfeel (<OE gefele), feeling, keen, sharp |
| sentence | n | wordset; byword, saw; judging |
| sentence | vb | doom |
| sententious | adj | pithy |
| sentiment | n | feeling |
| separate | vb | shide [shode, shidden] (Cf. NHG/Du. scheiden), shad [shed, shadden] (OE), sunder, split |
| separate | adj | sundry, freestanding, sundered |
| separation | n | betwixgang (OE), asunderhood |
| September | n | Holymonth (which was noted in OE), sheddingmonth, harvestmonth |
| series | n | chain, line, stream |
| serious | adj | earnest, unfunny, grave |
| seriously | adv | earnestly, thoroughly, wholeheartedly, with heart & soul, willingly, agoodly, weightily |
| serpent | n | snake, wirm (<OE wyrm), nadder (<OE nædre, cf. ON naðra, OHG natra), slang (Cf. NHG Schlange, Du. slang, Dan. slange) |
| servant | n | housekeeper, maid (fm.), dey (fm.), bondsman, loaf-eater, thaner, knight |
| serve | vb | stead, bestead, thane, theen, betheen (OE thegnian, NHG dienen) |
| session | n | sitting, stint |
| several | adj | sundry, many |
| severe | adj | stern, hard, harsh, tough, unyielding, thorough |
| severely | adv | badly, bitterly,not mildy, sharply, roughly, keenly, unfeelingly, thoroughly |
| sex | n | folkhalf |
| sex act | n | heamedlock (<OE hæmedlac), fleshly knowledge, swive, houghmagandie, bysleep (cf. NHG Beischlaf) |
| sexual reproduction | n | breeding, swiveful matchyielding, swiveful matchbearing |
| shantytown | n | tinstow, hutstead, slum |
| shark | n | highcarl (from O.N. hákarl), dreadfish |
| shingles | n | tetter |
| siege | vb | beset, umbeset |
| sign | n | token, shingle |
| sign | vb | underwrite |
| signal | n | bale-fire, beacon |
| signal | vb | beckon |
| significantly | adj | weightily |
| signify | vb | betoken, mean |
| silence | n | stillness |
| silhouette | n | outline, shadow |
| similar | adj | like, alike, same, likekind; much of a muchness, much the same, not unlike, something like, near, nearly |
| similarity | n | alikeness |
| similarly | adv | likewise |
| simple | adj | straightforward, fewfold, onefold |
| simpleton | n | half-wit, gowk |
| single (trip) | n | one-way |
| single out | vb phr | key in on |
| sinister | adj | ill-boding, boding evil, foreshadowing darkness, forbidding, threatening, black, black-in-deed |
| site | n | stead, setting, ground |
| site | vb | put |
| situation | n | onstand, setting, stand, footing |
| skeleton | n | frame, boneframe, bodyframe |
| sketch | vb | draw, inword, write |
| slander | vb | harmquithle (<OE hearmcwidolian) |
| slander | n | harmquithleness (<OE hearmcwidolnes) |
| slanderer | n | backbiter, knocker, harmquithler |
| slash | vb | sharpstrike, sharpcut |
| slave | n | thrall, theow (OE þéow) |
| slave driver | n | hardmaster, harry-goad |
| slavery | n | thraldom, theowdom (OE þéowdom) |
| sluggard | n | slug, slacker, sloth, slouch, loafer, bum, deadbeat, do-nothing, idler, sleepyhead, drone |
| snooping | n | key-holeing |
| socialism | n | fellowdom |
| socialize | vb | chat, hobnob |
| society | n | fellowship, club, fereship, guild, folkset, folkweld, seldship, selship (Cf. NHG Gesellschaft), overkinship |
| sociology | n | kithlore |
| sofa | n | settee |
| soil | n | earth, ground, dirt |
| soil science | n | bottomkith (Cf. Du. bodemkunde) |
| solar | adj | sun (in compounds), sunly (OE) |
| soldier | n | hereman (<OE heremann), warrior |
| sole | adj | only |
| sole | n | last (of the foot) |
| solicit | vb | seek, tout |
| solid | n | thickstuff, faststuff (calque from Ger. 'Feststoff', Du. 'veste stoff' and other continental Germanic cognates), hardstuff |
| solitary | n | lonesome, alone, unkithed and unkinned |
| solitude | n | onesomehood, loneliness, aloneness, lonehood |
| solstice | n | sunwend |
| solution | n | loosening, answer |
| somnolent | adj | drowsy, sleepy, yawny, weary, heavy-eyed, half-asleep, sloomy |
| sophisticated | adj | worldly |
| sorority | n | sisterhood |
| sort | n | kind |
| sort of | adj | somewhat |
| sound | n |
galdor (OE), loud, din, pitch, sway, swey (<OE sweg), lid (<OE ge-hlȳd) (cf. NHG Lied) (cf. Du. lied) |
| soup | n | broth |
| source | n | springhead, root, stem, beginning, start, rise, wellhead, wellspring |
| source code | n | wroughtdraught, working draught |
| souvenir | n | keepsake |
| space | n | room |
| space (outer space) | n | worldroom (cf. NHG Weltraum), worldall (cf. NHG Weltall), outsky, heaven |
| spacious | adj | roomy, gapful |
| spaghetti | n | strings (calque from original word, plural of "spaghetto", meaning string) |
| spasm | n | throe, pang |
| special | adj | sunder-, byous |
| species | n | maithwlite (<OE mǣġþwlite) |
| specific | adv | ahone |
| specifically | adv | ahonely |
| specified | adj | hone, spell out |
| specious | adj | empty-truth, hollow-truth |
| spectacles | n | glasses, looking glasses |
| spectator | n | bystander, onlooker |
| spend | vb | outlay |
| speleothem | n | dripstone, dropstone |
| spending | n | outlay |
| spine | n | backbone |
| spiral | n | whorl |
| spirit | n |
ghost (as in soul, att'd <OE gast, cf. NHG Geist) ferth (<OE ferhþ) athom (<OE ǽðm "breath, air") elf wraith (as in specter) poost (cf. Yola: 'poust,' cf. Ger 'puste,' and Dan. 'puse')- meaning breath that gives strength/energy |
| spirit | n | might |
| spleen | n | milt (att'd <OE milte, cf. NHG Milz) |
| splendour | n | thrim (<OE þrymm) |
| spoil | vb | rot, mar |
| sponsor | vb | back, stake, underwrite, uphold |
| spool | n | reel |
| sports | n | games |
| sporty | adj | gamesome |
| spouse | n | helpmeet, helpmate, mate |
| spy | vb | keek |
| square | n | (of a town) folkstead; (shape) foursides |
| squid | n | inkfish |
| squirrel | n | aquern |
| stable | n | stall, horsestead |
| stable | adj | selfstanding, upright |
| stack | n | rick, mow (of hay), heap, cluster |
| stack | vb | heap |
| stagnant | adj | forstilled, gone orf, still, unflowing |
| stain | n | spot, fleck, blot |
| stainless steel | n | unrusting steel, eversteel |
| stampede | n | headlong rush, wild flight, stamping, stampet (stamp + -et) |
| stanch/staunch | vb | stem, halt |
| standard | n | set way (of), benchmark |
| standardize | vb | set down a way |
| state | n | rike, shire, rick, leeward |
| state | vb | say, foresay |
| stateless | n | rikelacking, lackrike, rickless |
| statism | n | rikedom |
| status | n | standing |
| stay | vb | linger, be left, tarry, keep |
| stellar | adj | star (in compounds), starly |
| stelliferous | adj | starry, star-filled |
| Stellingwerf (Netherlands) | n | Stellingwharf |
| sternum | n | breastbone |
| stimulate | vb | kittle, whet, quicken |
| stingray | n | stingtail |
| stipulate | vb | bename (<OE benemnan), bething (Calque of NHG bedingen) |
| stomach | n | belly, bouck (Old English buc, cf. Dutch buik German Bauch), midriff, maw |
| stomach | vb | bear, abide, brook, swallow, take, withstand |
| store | n | shop, hoard, stock, warehouse |
| store | vb | keep, hoard |
| story | n | tale, yarn |
| strange | adj | odd, fremd, weird, uncouth, unbeknown, queer, outlandish |
| strangle | vb | throttle, forworry |
| stratagem | n | wile |
| strict | adj | narrow |
| strictly | adv | narrowly |
| structure | n | frame, framework, shapework, brandrod |
| struggle | n | camp, clash, unfrith, fight, strithe, strout |
| student | n | schooler (as in highschooler) |
| studio | n | workroom, workfloor |
| study | n | reading room, drawing room |
| study | vb | con, learn, learn about |
| stuff | vb | pack |
| stupefy | vb | amaze, bewilder |
| stupid | adj | dumb, dull, dim, daft, dumheaded |
| Stuttgart | pn | Studyard, Studgarth (Calque) |
| stylish | adj | dapper |
| Styria | n | Styrmark (cf. NHG Steiermark) |
| Styrian | n | Styrer (cf. NHG Steirer) |
| Styrian | adj | Styrish, Styrmarkish (cf. NHG steirisch, steiermärkisch) |
| subconcious | n | undermind, nethermind |
| subdue | vb | overcome, quell, tame, forthrutch |
| sublime | n | awesome, lofty, lordly |
| submarine | n | underseaboat (Calque of German 'Unterseeboot') |
| subordinate | n | underling |
| subjugate | vb | yoke, underyoke (cf. NHG unterjochen) |
| subjugation | n | yoke |
| submerge | vb | overwhelm, dip, dunk |
| submission | n | yielding, underbringing, underwilling |
| submissive | adj | weak, yieldly, underwillful |
| submit | vb | yield, buckle, abow, underwill, give in, bend to, come over to, fall in with, go along with, put up with; put forward, bring before, set down |
| subsequent | adj | following, later |
| substance | n |
(material) andwork (<OE andweorc), atwist (<OE ætwist), stalness (<OE staðolnes, ME stayelnes), stuff (organic/figurative) pith |
| substantial | adj | stalworth (calque of Scots stalwart, OE stælwierðe) sound, strong, stout, hefty, heavy, weightly |
| substitute | n | asetting (Cf. NHG Ersatz < ersetzen) |
| subterranean | adj | underground |
| subtract | vb | take away, withdraw |
| suburbs | n | foretown(s), outerborough(s), outskirts, outerwick(s), outerwike(s) |
| subvert | vb | overthrow, underwend, underdig, upset, fell, weaken, unsteady |
| succeed (in) | vb | win (in), follow, thrive, speed, gain, gain one's end, work out (well), come about, make good, make out (well), pull sth./it off, make forthgang, strike (it) lucky, strike it rich, gain sighe |
| success | n | sigspeed |
| successful | adj | thriving, fruitful, well-ended, winning, lucky, forespeedy (Du. voorspoedig), forespeeding, outcomerich, outcomeful, upshotful, rich, wellspeedy, wellspeeding, lucky-striking, rich-striking, unbeaten, speedsome, sigherich |
| successor | n | aftercomer, afterfollower |
| succour | n | food, help, bread, manna, heavenly-food |
| succour | vb |
help, run [to], breadcast (phr) free from hunger, drop food |
| sudden | adj | headlong, hasty |
| suet | n | tallow, wightfat |
| suffer | vb | thraw (OE throwian), bear, undergo, stand, put up with, live through, given to, abide, brook, not forbid, adree, thole |
| suffice | vb | be enough, answer, do |
| sufficient | adj | fuldoing, enough |
| suffix | n | endfastening |
| suffocate | vb | choke, achoke, throttle, smother, stop the breath |
| sugar | n | beeless honey, sweetstuff, sweetener, sweetening, sweetness, sweetnand, asweetener, sweet salt (noted in the middle eld) |
| suicide | n | selfslaughter, selfkilling, selfmurder |
| suit | n | outfit |
| suit | vb | befit, beseem, fit |
| suitable | adj | seemly, fitting, becoming, comely |
| sullen | adj | sulky |
| sulphur | n | brimstone, swevel/sweffle (<OE swefel, Cf. NHG Schwefel) |
| sulphurous | adj | swefflen (<OE sweflen) |
| summary | n | outline, rundown |
| summit | n | peak, top, brow, cop, knap |
| summons | vb | draw on, call for |
| superficial | adj | shallow, skin-deep |
| superfluous | adj | overmuch, overneeded, more than is needed, unneeded |
| superior | n & vb | better, higher, oversome, overlaying, chest beating |
| superiority | n | higherness, betterhood, oversomeness, overmight, overlayingness |
| superstructure | n | overworks |
| supervise | vb | oversee |
| supervisor | n | overseer, foreman, overlooker |
| supple | adj | lithe |
| supplement | vb | eke |
| supply | vb | keep full, fill up, give, hand over, forsee (Cf. NHG versehen) |
| support | vb | underwrethe (<OE underwreðian), underhold (Cf. NHG unterhalten), back, uphold, help, strengthen, underpin, bolster, bear, carry, shore, shore up, backup |
| support | n | underwrething (<OE underwreðung), underhold, prop, crutch, backup |
| suppose | vb | bemind, trow, guess, reckon, feel, gather, hold as, look upon as, mean to say, take to be, think likely |
| suppress | vb | dampen, hold down, keep in, crush, quell, forthrick, forthrutch, underthrutch, stifle, smother |
| supremacy | n | leadership, overlordship |
| supreme | adj | uppermost, highest, best, utmost |
| supreme power | n | douthmight (<OE duguþmiht) |
| surface | n | topside, skin, husk |
| surgery | n | fleshwork, cutwork |
| surname | n | aftername, byname, lastname |
| surpass | vb | overtake, outdo, beat, draw away, overstride |
| surplice | n | nightshirt, sark |
| surplus | n | overmuch |
| surprise | n | wonder, unforeseen meeting, sudden hap |
| surprise | vb | take aback, strike with wonder, floor, waylay, come upon, take unaware, fall upon |
| surprising | adj | wondering, dumbfounding, flooring, earthshaking |
| surrender | vb | give over to, yield, give up |
| surround | vb | begird (att'd <OE begyrdan), girt, bego, umclap, umclip, beset, umbeset (OE) |
| surrounded | adj | begone, girt, beset |
| surrounding | adj | outlying |
| survey | vb | behold, look upon, ingather |
| survive | vb | overstand, overlive, live through, outlive, outlast, belive |
| suspend | vb | hang, (ban) undershut, stop |
| suspense | n | underhang |
| suspicion | n | misgiving, underfeel, inkling |
| suspicious | adj | shady, queer, misdeemful, underfeelsome, guessing |
| sustain | vb | underwrethe (<OE underwreðian), underhold (Cf. NHG unterhalten), keep going, bear, bolster, uphold |
| sustenance | n | food |
| svelte | adj | slim |
| swastika | n | fylfot, hookrood (cf. NHG Hakenkreuz) |
| sweet potato | n | sweet shaderoot/earthapple/groundapple |
| Swiss | n | Switzer (cf. Swiss Alemannic 'Schwitzer', NHG Schweizer), Switzerlander |
| Swiss | adj | Switzer, Switzerish (cf. NHG schweizerisch), Switzerlandish |
| sycophant | n | backscratcher, bootlicker, fawner, fleecher, mealymouth, selfseeker |
| syllable | n | worddeal |
| symbol | n | token |
| symbolise | vb | betoken |
| symptom | n | betokener of ill health, forerunner |
| synopsis | n | outline |
| synthetic | adj | man-made |
| syphillis | n | great pox |
| syphon | n | waterpipe, standpipe, drawpipe,reedpipe |
| syphon | vb | draw from, draw out, succk out |
| system | n | framework, make-up, set-up |