Staff U 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 | |||
| ubiquitous | adj | everywhere, all-over; everyday, household; wall-to-wall | - | |
| ubiquity | n | everywhereness | - | |
| Ukraine | n | Borderland, Innerland, Inethel | ||
| Unidentified Flying Object | n | - | Unmarked Flying Onget, Unknown Flying Ware | |
| ulcer | adj | - | sore (calque) | |
| ulna | n | - | ell, elbone | |
| ulterior | adj | later | motive: backthought (calque) | |
| ultimate | adj | last | - | |
| ultimately | adv | someday, sometime; after all, sooner or later; deep down | endily, lastingly | |
| umbrella | n | rainshade | rainshield, shade, shower-stick | |
| unabated | adj | - | unlessened (Barnes) | |
| unanimous | adj | kindred, like-minded | all-thwaring, oneholly (cf. NHG einhellig, Sw. enhällig) | |
| unanimously | adv | - | thwaringly (OE þwarian 'to agree') | |
| unanticipated | adj | unforeseen | - | |
| unassailable | adj | hallowed, holly | unthwartsome | |
| unbalanced | adj |
barmy, bats, haywire, unhinged; unsteady |
unmeted | |
| uncelebrated | adj | nameless, unsung | unfrealsed (OE freolsian) | |
| uncertain | adj | flickery, unsettled, trustless | wendful | |
| uncertainty | n | mistrustfulness | uncouthness | |
| uncle | n | eam | paternal: fathere, farbror
maternal: eam, morbror | |
| unconscious | adj | cold; clueless | unheeding | |
| uncritical | adj | beam-blind | - | |
| undamaged | adj | unscathed, unharmed | ||
| undercurrent | n | undertow, tideway | - | |
| underdeveloped | adj | underbuilt, undergrown | underblown (OE blowan) | |
| undermine | vb | hinder | - | |
| undistinguished | adj | unknown | bremeless | |
| undress | vb | strip, unclothe | - | |
| undressed | adj | unclothed | ||
| undulating | adj | wavering | - | |
| uneasy | adj | restless, ill at ease | - | |
| unedifying | adj | unwholesome, unhealthy | - | |
| uneducated | adj | unread, unlearnt, untaught; lowbrow | - | |
| unemployed | adj | jobless, idle, unhired, workless | unbehired (full-time) | |
| unexpected | adj | unforeseen | unweened (OE wenan), unbewaited | |
| unfamiliar | adj | unheard of, unknown, unkindred, beyond your ken | seldcouth (<OE seldcúþ) | |
| unfavourable | adj | unfriendly, untoward | - | |
| unfortunate | adj | hapless, hardluck, ill-starred (Barnes), snakebit; heartbreaking, woeful | uneady | |
| ungenerous | adj | selfish | littly (cf. NHG kleinlich) | |
| unhabited | adj | undwelled | unerned, unwoned | |
| unharness | vb | outspan | - | |
| unicorn | n | - | onehorn (Du. eenhorn) | |
| uniform | n | - | clothing: evenwear | |
| uniformity | n | evenness | - | |
| uninjured | adj | unscathed | ||
| unintelligent | adj | bonehead, witless, dumb | ape-minded, barm-brain | |
| uninteresting | adj | leaden, reckless, unrecking | - | |
| union | n | - |
fay, gathertang, thede, coming-together, meanship (<OE ġemænscipe, cf. NHG Gemeinschaft) | |
| unionism | n | - | thedehood | |
| unionist | n/adj | - | adj: thedish n: theder | |
| unique | adj | one-off, one-of-a-kind, one and only, outstanding | - | |
| unit | n | - | fach (pl. fax), onhood (cf. Du. eenheid), whit | |
| unite | vb | knit, link up, bind, fay, one |
onlay, anledge, oneledge (<OE anlæcan), forone, agether, bewed | |
| united | adj | knitted, oned | oneleight, fayed, foroned, sammed | |
| United States of America | n | Oned Rikes Of America |
Foroned Rix of Markland, Sammed Rikes of America Redland ethels informal | |
| unity | n | oneness (Barnes), onehead, onehood, togetherness, wholeness |
onefoldness (<OE ānfealdnes), oneledgehood, oneledgeness of voices: evenleether (<OE efenhlēoðor) pl: evenleethru | |
| universal | adj | broad-brush, overall; all-in; wall-to-wall | almean (cf. NHG allgemein, Du. algemeen), alworldly, allsome (<Barnes), allhomely | |
| universality | n | allness | - | |
| universe | n | world | allworld (cf. NHG Weltall), wholeäll (cf. Du. heelal) | |
| university | n | lorestead (<Barnes), seat of learning (<Barnes) | learnhall | |
| unjustified | adj | unshown | unsweetled | |
| unleash | vb | loosen, unlock | - | |
| unleashed | adv | unbound | - | |
| unlimited | adj | unstinted | mireless (OE mære 'limit, border') | |
| unmaintained | adj | unkempt | - | |
| unmanageable | adj | headstrong, untoward | - | |
| unnecessary | adj | needless, uncalled for, unneeded | - | |
| unnerve | vb | unsettle, faze | - | |
| unoccupied | adj | empty, leer, free of | ||
| update | vb | - | bywork (cf. Du. bijwerken), ednew, uptime, upday | |
| UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) | n | mains backup | - | |
| unpleasant | adj | bad, bitter, rotten, unlovely, wicked | uncweming | |
| unpopular | adj | - | unfolkly | |
| unprepared | adj | unreadied | ||
| unproductive | adj | bony, geason, unbearing, unyielding | unteeming | |
| unprofitable | adj | barren | fremeless | |
| unprogressive | adj | hidebound | unforwaying | |
| unreservedly | adj | wholeheartedly | - | |
| unresponsive | adj | - | sloom (cf. Du.) | |
| unrestrained | adj | loose | - | |
| unrevealed | adj | untold, hidden, in dern | - | |
| unrighteous (foreign suffix) | adj | unrightly (<OE unrightlic) | ||
| unsuccessful | adj | - | unspeedful, unspowing | |
| unsuitable | adj | unbefitting, unbecoming | unbeseeming | |
| unsympathetic | adj | slash-and-burn, unfeeling; untoward | - | |
| unusual | adj | funny, out-of-the-way, weird | frimdy, seldcouth, unbrooklike, unbrookly, wonely (<OE ġewunelīċ) | |
| unveil | vb | bare, let on about, spill, tell, unbosom | unhele, unmesh | |
| uproar | n | uprear | mickle-din | |
| urban | adj | townish | townwise, boroughwise | |
| urbanite | n | townsman | boroughwere | |
| urbanization | n | - | betowning, beboroughing | |
| urbanize | vb | - | betown, beborough | |
| urbanize | vb | - | betown, beborough | |
| urban sprawl | n | endless-streets | - | |
| urination | n | weeing slang | migothening, migothletting, thwayletting, harnening, landening, midgening | |
| urine | n | wee slang, sig, lant | migoth (<OE migoða), midge (<OE micga), wetness (<OE wæta), harn (cf. NHG "Harn"), thway (cf. Ic. "þvag") | |
| urinate | v | wee slang, wet | migothen (on basis of German Harn and Harnen), migothlet, landen, midgen, harnen, thwaylet (cf. Ic. "þvaglát") | |
| ursa major | n | The Plough, The Great Bear | - | |
| use | n | need | brook, note, noteing, frim (<ME), brookness | |
| use | vb | brook, handle, deal with, milk, wield, work, nait | note (Eng. ety.2 , <ME <OE notu, cf. NHG nutzen), benote (<ME binoten, cf. NHG benutzen), neet (OE neotan) | |
| used to | adj | wonted to, weaned to, hardened to | - | |
| used to | vb | formerly, would | English imperfect | |
| (get) used to | vb | get wonted to | wone, wean (<OE wenian) | |
| useful | adj | handy, noteful, helpful, naitly | frimful (<OE fremful), brookful | |
| useless | adj | idle, unhandy, unhelpful, noteless | fremeless, brookless | |
| usual | adj | household; cut-and-dried | grove kind, brooklike, brookly, gewonely | |
| usurer | n | loan shark | wastomshatster | |
| usury | n | - | wooker (<OE wócor, cf. NHG Wucher, Du woeker), wastomshat (<OE wæstmsceatt) | |
| utensil | n | tool | - | |
| uterus | n | womb | ||
| utopia | n | neverland, never-never land, | heaven-on-earth, eadstead. | |
| utopian | adj | - | blissful, heavenly, unwordly, starry-eyed. | |
| uxorious | adj | - | wifefondly, wife-yearning | |