Staff V of the English Wordbook.
Basic abbreviations:
- OE = Old English
- ME = Middle English
- PG = Or-theedish
- SC = Scots
- SW = Swedish
- Dan. = Danish
- ON = Old Norse
- OS = Old Saxon
- NHG = New Hightheech
- IC = Icelandish
- H.IC = High Icelandish
- Du. = Netherlandish
- Fris. = Freesish
For a full list of etymological and other abbreviations used in these wordlists, see: Offshortenings.
| Chancery English | Class | Anglish/English | |
| Attested | Unattested | ||
| vacancy | n | black hole, emptiness, bareness | - |
| vacant | adj | bare, fallow, off, deadpan, numb; forgotten, forsaken | toom (<OE tóm) |
| vacate | vb | empty | - |
| vacation | n | break, holiday, leave | - |
| vaccine | n | imper (cf. NHG impfen 'inoculate' + -er); impwork, impstuff impware, life-drops (oral); needle-drops, one-shot-wonder (slang) | |
| vaccinate | n | needle-up | |
| vacuity | n | black hole, emptiness, bareness | - |
| vacuum | n | tow | toom (<OE tōm 'empty') |
| vacuum cleaner | n | sweeper | dustsucker, crumb thief |
| vaettir | n | wight | - |
| vagabond | n | - | waybound |
| vagrancy | n | - | eardless wandering, |
| vagrant | n | drifter, floater, wanderer | eardless wanderer |
| vague | adj | fuzzy; dim; shadowy; hazy | unsuttle (<ME sutel <OE sweotol clear) |
| vagina | n |
cunt (vulgar), pussy (slang; also vulgar), womanhood (also slang) |
sheath (translation of the Latin, <OE scæþ, cf. Du. Schede, NHG. Scheide), maytril, birthhole |
| vain | adj |
1. cocky, high-and-mighty, snotty; |
- |
| vain, in | phr | for nothing, worthlessly, in wanhope | - |
| valediction | n | goodbye, farewell, leave-taking | - |
| valerian | n | all-heal | - |
| valet | n | theen, steward | - |
| valiant | adj | bold, doughty, fearless, stalworth | doughty |
| valid | adj | sound, well-grounded | - |
| valkyrie | n | - | walcury |
| valley | n | dale deep, of a stream: dene wide, grassy: slade narrow, steep: clove |
comb, deneland, earthdene |
| valorous | adj | - | ellenful |
| valour | n | ellen | - |
| valueable | adj | worthy, worthful | dearworthy (<OE dēorwyrthe and <OE dẹ̄̆re-wŏrth) |
| value | n | worth | merit: meed |
| value | vb | worthen | - |
| vampire | n | bloodsucker, shark, wolf | dreigh (<OE dréag), bloodfiend, bloodnicker |
| vanadium | n | vanadistuff (<ON Vanadís) | |
| vanguard | n | - | andward (calque) |
| Vánir | n | sea gods, storm gods, fishing gods, shipwreckers, freight-gods, lade-ghosts, hoard-ghosts; foe gods, foes; water wights, fiends, mermen | Wones (OED, ‘prosperous ones, bountiful ones: treasure demons of the sea’) |
| vanish | vb | wither, melt, sink | fordwine, quink, swind (<OE swinden; cf. NHG schwinden, Du. zwinden, Dan. svinde, LG swinnen, & others), betwing or twing (cf. NHG bezwingen) |
| vanity | n | pride, idleness | idle, renk |
| vanquish | vb | beat, win, downtread | besye (cf. NHG besiegen) |
| vapour | n | mist, steam, loft |
athom (<OE ǽðm), damp (original meaning of damp), breath, watersmoke |
| variant | n | offshoot, sundry | sundering |
| variation | n | sundriness | forothering, offwrixling (cf. Fr. ôfwikseling) |
| variegated | adj | rainbow, dotted, many-hued | manyhued |
| variety | n | kind, many kinds | - |
| various | adj | many, manifold, sundry, rainbow | mistly (<OE mistlic), forshed (cf. NHG verschieden), manifoldly (<OE manig-fealdlīc and <ME manī-fældlīce), fele (<OE fela) |
| vas deferens | n | - | seedladder (calque) |
| vassal | n | feeman, knave, thane, man, churl | neat, younger, maythegn |
| vast | adj | wide, great, endless | - |
| vault | n | - | wholve (ME wholve) |
| vault of heaven | n | - |
rother (<OE rodor), heavenwhalf (<OE hofonhwealf) pl: heavenwhalve (<OE heheofonhwealfa), heaven's wholve (ME, see above) |
| Vé | n | holy, hallowed | wigh (OED), Weoh (<ME weoh 'sacred, holy'), Way |
| veal | n | calf | calf-flesh |
| vector | n | wayload | - |
| veer | vb | swerve, trundle; bend | - |
| veil | n | wimple | rift, helster |
| vegan | n | - | greentheater, wortaloneater |
| vegetable | n | green, greens | foodwort, greenth (Du. groente) |
| vegetarian | n | - | greens-eater, greenmonger, fleshlesseater |
| vehicle | n | wain, craft | waincraft; farewain, farecraft |
| vein | n | - | edder (<OE ǣdre, cf. NHG Ader), leat, bloodburrow |
| velcro | n | - | graspcloth, fangcloth |
| velociraptor | n | - | quickreacker, dashsnatcher, quickfanger |
| velvet | n/adj | - | furrel (fur + dim. -el) |
| vendor | n | seller, dealer | - |
| venesection | n | blood-letting | - |
| venison | n | deer meat | hartflesh, roeflesh (cf. NHG Rehfleisch) |
| venom | n/vb | bane | atter (<OE ātor) |
| venomous | adj | - | attery (<OE ǣttriġ) |
| vent | n | hole, hatch; window | - |
| venturesome | adj | daring, bold, free-swinging | thriste (<OE) |
| venue | n | stead, coming | showstow |
| veracious | adj | true, truthful, wordfast | luter (OE: hlutor): lutter (ME) |
| verb | n | doing-word | deedword, workword, tideword |
| verbal | adj | wordy; spoken, unwritten, word-of-mouth | - |
| verbatim | adj | word-for-word, word for word | as was said, wordly (NHG. wörtlich) |
| verbose | adj | long-winded; speechy, wordy | - |
| verbosity | n | wordiness | speechiness |
| verdant | n | green, lush | - |
| verge | n | brink, edge, threshold | - |
| verify | vb | find out, look at/into | betrue, besooth |
| verily | adv | truly, soothly, indeed, forsooth, iwis | - |
| verity | n |
truth (see Truth and sooth, verity and reality) |
- |
| vernacular | n | unbookish, everyday speech | mean speech, umbgang speech (cf. NHG Umgangssprache, see umbgang) |
| vernal | adj | spring | - |
| verse | n | fit | yedding (<OE geddung), stave, staff, leethcraft (OE) |
| version | n | reading, betokening
offshoot; eld |
fading (<OE fadung), leaf, wend, reckoning, aspelling |
| versus | prep | against | - |
| vertebra | n | back bone | warvel (<OE hweorf, cf. Du. wervel, NHG wirfel) |
| vertical | adj | standing, upright | weft |
| vertically | adv | heightwise, upward(s), up and down, staffwise | - |
| vertigo | n | - | swindlehood (cf. Dn. svimmelhed) |
| veruca | n | wart | - |
| vervain | n | - | ash-throat (<OE æscðrote) |
| very | adj/adv |
1. sore, sorely; way, highly; fairly; greatly, mighty, through-, ful-, for-, so; 2. much, truly, soothly, forsooth, indeed, rather, rattling, mickle, dead, fele, fell; 3. same, selfsame; 4. sheer; utter; 5. true, truly, full; 6. true; 7. rightful, lawful very much: most (att'd <OE mǽst), well |
swithly (<OE swíðe + ly)
very fair: forfair (<OE forfæger) very good: eregood (<OE ǽrgód), fulgood (<OE fulgód) very guilty: throughshildy (<OE þurhscyldig) very many: fele (<OE fela), foremany (<OE foremanig), formany (<OE formanig) very much: forswithe (<OE forswíðe), fortharl (<OE forþearle), fulswithe (<OE fulswíðe), stithe (<OE stíðe), tharl (<OE þearle), yarrow (<OE gearwe) very old: orold (<OE oreald) very wealthy: throughspeedy (<OE þurhspédig), full (<ME ful; meant the same thing as very) |
| vesica | n | bladder | - |
| vespertilines | n | bat | reremouse, ryemouse, flittermouse |
| vessel | n | vat, ship | - |
| vest | n | British: undershirt American: waistcoat |
- |
| vestibule | n | - |
cavortown (<OE cafortūn), foreburrow (<OE foreburh), foredure (<OE foreduru), coavertown (<OE cāfortūn), inburrow (<OE inburh), wiketown (<OE wīctūn) entrance to: infarreld (<OE infæreld), ingang (<OE) def. 2: foredyrre (<OE), forthtie (<OE forþtīge) def. 3: foredere (<OE foredere), forestie (<OE forestige) |
| vex | vb | nettle |
teen (<OE teonian), grill (<OE grillan), dreve (<OE drefan), begrame, dreck (<OE dreccan), abeilan |
| vexation | n | feaze |
dreevedness (<OE drefednes), grame (<ME<OE gramian) |
| via | conj | by, through, by way of | - |
| vibrate | vb | shiver, shudder, quiver, shake, rattle | - |
| vicar | n | elder, holy man, leader | speller, spelland (<OE speliend); steadman |
| vicarious | adj | instead | wician, wice |
| vicepresident | n | - | underforesitter |
| viceroy | n | - | underking (<OE undercyning) |
| vicinity | n | nearness; neighbourhood | nighth |
| vicious | adj | wicked, evil, bad; marred | baderdy (cf. NHG bösartig), nithe |
| vicissitude | n | ups and downs, seesaw |
ebbs and flows, ebb and neap, wends and wynds, wax and wanes |
| victim | n | - | tiber (<OE tīber), armshed |
| victor | n | winner | syer, siger, sye(wo)man, sig(wo)man |
| victorious | adj | winning | syerich (cf. NHG siegreich), syely (<OE siġelīċ) |
| victory | n | win |
sye (<OE siġe) |
| video | n |
film, short film, short, show, showing, broadcast |
ewing (<OE īwung; meaning showing/revealing); showstrip |
| video CD | n | show-dish | white book |
| video game | n | game |
ewing game, reckoner game, stream game |
| Vietnam | n | - | Vietland, Southern Viet, Beyondsouthland |
| Vietnamese | adj | - | Vietish |
| view | n | outlook, eyeshot, sight, insight | outsene |
| view | vb | look, watch, see, gaze, gawk | - |
| viewer | n | onlooker, witness, watcher; seer | - |
| vigil | n | wakefulness, wake, watch | - |
| vigilance | n | heedness, wareness, watchfulness | rathing |
| vigilant | adj | eye-bright, all-eyed, wakeful, aware, wary, watchful, wide awake, wakerife, ware, sharp |
wakesome (cf. NHG wachsam) |
| vigilante | n |
watchman, warder, ward, keeper, overseer |
folkreve (<OE folcgérefa)
vigilance comittee member: selfbeadle, selfsheriff |
| vigour | n | liveliness, drive | - |
| vigorous | adj | hearty, rathe, lusty, goey, driving, lively, hale, yauld; strong; alne | rathsome (OE hræþ) |
| vile | adj | evil, wicked, loathsome, foul | - |
| Vili | n | ghost brother | Will |
| village | n | hem, thorpe/thorp/dorp, wick, town, whistle-stop | hemling, ham |
| villain | n | wretch, ne'er-do-well, cheat, black hat, baddy, evil-doer, wrong-doer, rotter, knave, scumbag | nithing (<OE niðing) |
| vindicate | v | uphold, whitewash, forgive | - |
| vine | n | - | droovebeam (cf. Fr. druvebeam) |
| vinegar | n | - | atched (<OE æced) |
| vintage | n | - | barn-find (antique: more tha 100 yers old; vintage several decades old) |
| viola (botany) | n | - | apple-leaf (<OE æppel-lēaf) |
| viola (music) | n | - | midfiddle |
| violate | vb | breach, befoul | overnim, sorthe, forbreak (<OS farbrekan) |
| violence | n | foul play, bloodshed, recklessness | threat, hest, hattleness, nid, strack, strength, swithness, unreck,wald or awald (cf. NHG Gewalt), eath (<OE eafoþ) |
| violent | adj | blood-soaked, stormy, dreadful, mad, reckless, wrathful |
heast (<OE haest), hattle, riff, tharl grimful (<OE grimful), waldsome (cf. NHG gewaltsam) |
| violet | adj | - | tever (<OE teafor), bawse (<OE basu) |
| violin | n | fiddle | - |
| violoncello | n | - | knee fiddle |
| virgin | n | maiden | unswiven |
| virginity | n | maidenhood | unswivenhood, famenhood |
| Virtual Reality | n | - | Aped Warehood (literally: simulated reality) |
| virtually | adv | almost, nearly, seemingly, all but | - |
| virtue | n | worth, uprightness, doughtiness, heart, goodness |
douth (<OE duguþ) |
| virtuous | adj | right-minded | douthsome (cf. Du. deugdzaam) |
| virus | n | - | smitter (cf. Sw. smitta), weevil |
| visage | n | blee, likeness | neb (<OE nebb); onsene (OED) |
| vis-à-vis | prep | in (the) light of | with casting to |
| viscosity | n | thick-flowingness, stickiness, clinginess; thickness | - |
| viscous | adj | thick-flowing (cf. NHG dickflüssig), sticky, clingy, ropy | - |
| viscum | n | mistletoe, balday's bane | - |
| visible | adj | seen | eyeseen (O.E.), seenly; seesome, seely (<ME sehelīche) |
| vision | n | sight; dream, sweven; spae, spaedom | - |
| visionary | adj | farsighted, foresighted; spaeman | - |
| visit | vb | call upon, drop in, see, come by | fandle (<OFR), beseek (<OE bísæce, cf. NHG besuchen), see home (ex. I saw my father home yesterday.) |
| visit | n | - | fandle, beseeking (<OE bísæce, cf. NHG Besuch) |
| visitor | n | caller, guest | fandler beseeker |
| vital | adj |
flush, lusty, red-blooded; mettlesome, springy; needed; fell; key; lively, snell, alne |
- |
| vitality | n | liveliness, beans | dodrive |
| vitamin | n | - | lifestuff (loan oversetting of "vitamin"; cf. Ic. fjörefni) |
| vocabulary | n | word-hoard | wordstock, wordstow |
| vocal | adj | loud, outspoken | - |
| vociferous | adj | outspoken, loudmouthed | - |
| voice | n | steven, (OED, <OE stefn) ("With dreary heart and sorrowful steven ..") one of the few words to rhyme with 'heaven' steaven (so the way it is written does indeed rhyme with heaven), stevvon |
reard (Sc. reird, raird (<OE reord)), leathor (<OE hlēoðor), sweyleathor (<OE swēġhlēoðor), swey (<OE swēġ) of thunder: thunderradestefen(<OE þunnorrādstefn) of water: watersteven (<OE wæterstefn), headwooth (<OE hēafodwōþ) |
| voiced | adj | soft, weak, flat | - |
| voiceless | adj | hard, strong, sharp | stevenless (calque) |
| void | n/adj |
n: black hole, emptiness adj: bereft |
roum (<OR rūm), toom (<OE tōm) |
| voilà | interj | behold, lo | - |
| volcano | n | - | firebarrow, firefell |
| völkisch | adj | folkish | - |
| volleyball | n | - | flightball (calque) |
| volume | n | book: wad acoustics: din, loudness |
physics: bulk, roommeal (cf. Ic. rúmmál), inhold (cf. Du. inhoud) |
| voluntary | adj | willing, freewilling, thank-you working | - |
| volunteer | n | - | freewill worker, freewiller, willing hands (attested), thank-you worker (slang) |
| volunteering | n | - | thank-you working |
| vomer | n | - | ploughshare bone |
| vomit | vb |
spew, puke, throw up, hurl, retch, upchuck |
- |
| vomit | n | spew, puke, sick, throw-up, hurl | - |
| vote | n/vb | poll, show of hands, choosing vb: choose |
steven |
| vow | n/vb | oath, behest, pledge, troth, word | behest, behight |
| vowel | n | - | clipple (<OE clipol), clipend |
| voyage | n/vb | sail | farfareld |
| vulgar | adj | low, filthy, ill-bred, churlish | churly (<OE ceorllic) |
| vulnerable | adj | helpless, powerless, strengthless, mightless | - |
| vulpine | adj | foxlike | - |
| vulture | n | - | geir (calque), ulter, tearbird |
| vulva | n | - | maidblade (<OE mæġþblæd), maidleaf (calque) |
