The English language descends from Old English, the West Germanic language of the Anglo-Saxons. Most of its grammar, core vocabulary and commonmost words are Germanic
This is only a personal collection of words, not intended to be a comprehensive resource
a
ablaze
: on fire, burning strongly
"By the time firefighters arrived, the entire complex was ablaze"
From "blaze" with the prefix “a-”
aft
: in, near, or toward the stern of a ship
This word is now purely nautical. From Old English æftan "from behind, behind, farthest back," superlative of æf, af, of "away, away from, off"
Related: fore-and-aft
Tags: nautical
allay
: to reduce in intensity, and related senses
"Rations had been distributed to allay the townspeople's hunger"
From Middle English alegen, from Old English alecgan “to put down, suppress, lessen,” with the a-prefix from Old English lecgan (lay) “to lie down, put down"
Tags: verb
amiss
: wrong; not quite right;
"Something seemed amiss in the way he avoided the question"
From Old English missan "fail to hit, miss a mark"
Tags: adjective
avast
: stop; hold still (especially a ship or crew)
"Avast! Hoist the sails and secure the deck!"
From Dutch houd vast “hold fast” adopted into English nautical slang in the 17th century
Tags: interjection, nautical
awry
: off course; amiss; not as intended
"Something had gone awry with their plans, and the assassination was foiled"
From Middle English wry "to contort, twist ones neck, deviate from a straight course," from Old English wrigian "to turn, bend"
Tags: adjective
b
balk
: to hesitate or refuse to proceed; to stop short
"He balked at the suggestion to invest in the risky venture"
From Old English balca "ridge, bank', originally "to leave an unplowed ridge when plowing." Extended meaning "omit, intentionally neglect" comes from the notion of a balk as a hindrance or obstruction. The sense of "stop short in one's course" (as a horse confronted with an obstacle) and "to refuse" developed later
Tags: verb
bane
: a cause of great distress, ruin, or death
"Unpaid overtime is the bane of my very existence"
From Old English bana "killer, a worker of death" (human, animal, or object), also "the devil." The sense of "that which causes ruin or woe" developed later.
Related: baneful. Not related to banal or banality
Tags: noun
bask
: to lie or relax in warmth; to take pleasure from a comfortable situation
"The cat basked in the afternoon sun on the windowsill"
Late 14c., from Middle English basken "to wallow" (especially in warm water or blood; of unknown etymology). The sense of "soak up a flood of warmth" was popularized by Shakespeare in As You Like It (1600).
Related: basked; basking.
Tags: verb
beck
: to make a gesture to encourage someone to come nearer or follow
"She beckoned him to come closer"
From Old English gebecnian "to make a mute sign, signal by a nod or gesture,"
Related: beck-and-call, beckoned, beckoning
Tags: verb
befall
: (of something bad) to happen to someone; to occur
"A great misfortune befell the town after the storm"
From Old English befeallan "to deprive of; fall to, occur to, be assigned to,"
Related: befell; befalling
Tags: verb
befoul
: to become dirty, rot, or decay
"The milk began to foul after being left out in the heat"
From Old English fulian "to become foul, rot, decay," from ful.
Related: fouled; fouling
Tags: verb
bereft
: deprived of something; lacking
"He was bereft of hope after hearing the news"
Past-participle adjective from bereave. From Old English bereafian "to deprive of, take away by violence, seize, rob," from be- + reafian "rob, plunder." Since the mid-17c., mostly used for loss of life, hope, loved ones, or other immaterial possessions
Related: bereaved
Tags: adjective
beget
: to father; to cause to exist; to generate
"Christians believe God begot His only son"
"The king hoped to beget an heir to continue his dynasty"
From Old English begietan, "to get by effort, find, acquire, attain, seize," from be- + get. The sense of "to procreate" is generally used of the father.
Related: begot, begotten
Tags: verb
bequeath
: to leave property or possessions to someone by will
"He chose to bequeath his estate to the church"
From Old English becweðan "to say, speak to, exhort, blame," also "leave by will," from be- + cweðan "to say." The original sense of "say, utter" died out, leaving the legal sense of "transfer by legacy."
Related: bequeathed, bequeathing
Tags: verb
bind
: to tie or fasten; to hold together; to restrain
"They used rope to bind the prisoner’s hands"
From Old English bindan "to tie up with bonds," also "to make captive; cover with dressings and bandages"
Related: bound, binding
Tags: verb
betide
: to happen; to come to pass (often used in warnings)
"Woe betide anyone who breaks the sacred oath"
From Old English getidan "to happen, come to pass," from be- + tide (in its original sense "to happen"). It survives chiefly in the expression "woe betide."
Related: betided, betiding
Tags: verb
bewitch
: to enchant or cast a spell upon, to charm greatly
"She seemed to bewitch everyone with her voice"
From be- + Old English wiccian "to enchant, to practice witchcraft." The original sense was literal and often harmful; the figurative sense of "fascinate, charm past resistance" developed later.
Related: bewitched, bewitching, bewitchery, bewitchment
Tags: verb
bide
: to remain; to stay; to wait patiently
"He chose to bide his time before making a decision"
From Old English bidan "to stay, continue, live, remain," also "to trust, rely." It survives chiefly in the expression "bide one's time."
Related: bided, biding
Tags: verb
bode
: to be a sign of something to come, especially something bad
"The dark clouds seemed to bode trouble for the travelers"
From Old English bodian "to proclaim, announce; foretell," from boda "messenger". A shortened form of forebode "to presage, give warning of," especially of something evil
Related: boded, boding, forebode
Tags: verb
bore
: to pierce or make a hole with a rotating tool
"They used a drill to bore through the thick wall"
From Old English borian "to bore through, perforate"
Related: bored, boring
Tags: verb
bout
: a short, specific period of an activity, illness, or emotion
"He suffered a bout of fever during the winter"
From Middle English bught "a roundabout way" (obsolete), probably from an unrecorded Old English variant of byht "a bend". The sense evolved from "a circuit of any kind" (as of a plow) to "a round at any kind of exercise" (1570s), "a round at fighting" (1590s), "a fit of drinking" (1660s), and "a fit of illness" (by 1938)
Related: bouts
Tags: noun
briar
: a thorny shrub or prickly plant, especially a wild rose
"The path was overgrown with briars and thorns"
From Old English brer, "bramble, prickly bush"
Related: brier
Tags: noun
brunt
: the main force or worst part of something
"She bore the brunt of her insults"
"a sharp blow," of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse brundr "sexual heat," or bruna "to advance like wildfire" (said of a ship under sail, etc.). The meaning "chief force, the heaviest or worst (of something)," as in bear the brunt, is from early 15c
Tags: noun
bulwark
: a defensive wall or structure, a strong protection or support
"The fortress served as a bulwark against invading armies"
From Middle Dutch bulwerke or Middle High German bolwerc, likely from Germanic bole "plank, tree trunk" + work. Thus "bole-work" a construction of logs. Figurative sense "means of defense or security" is from mid-15c.
Tags: noun
c
cleave (v.1)
: to split or divide by force
"The lumberjack cleaved the log with a single stroke"
From Old English cleofan, cleven, cliven "to split, separate". Past tense clave recorded from the 14c., weak past tense cleaved emerged later; past participle cloven survives in compounds
Related: cleaved, cloven, cleft
Tags: verb
cleave (v.2)
: to adhere or cling
"The child cleaved to her mother in fear"
From Old English clifian, cleofian "to stick fast, adhere," also figurative. Both verbs of cleave are now largely superseded by stick and split
Related: cleaved, cleaving
Tags: verb
d
dregs
: the sediment or residue left at the bottom of a liquid; the most worthless part of something
"He drank the dregs of the cup without complaint"
From Old Norse dregg "sediment"
Related: dreggy
Tags: noun
e
earthen
: made of earth or clay
"The village had earthen walls and floors"
From early 13c., earth + -en (adjectival suffix). Not attested in Old English (where eorðen meant "of or in the earth"); cognate with Old High German irdin, Dutch aarden, Gothic airþeins. Sense "made of clay" attested from late 14c
Related: earthenware
Tags: adjective
f
forebear
: an ancestor; a person from whom one is descended
"He honored the traditions of his forebears"
From fore "before" + Old English beon "be, exist, come to be"
Tags: noun
forebode
: a feeling or sense that something bad is about to happen
"A sense of foreboding filled the air before the storm"
From fore- + bode (v.), from Old English bodian "to proclaim, announce; foretell"
Related: bode, forebodingly
Tags: noun
forestall
: to prevent or hinder by acting in advance
"Better diplomacy could forestall a war for a few years"
From Old English foresteall "intervention, hindrance; ambush," literally "a standing before," from fore- "before" + steall "standing place, position"
Related: forestalled, forestalling
Tags: verb
forewarn
: to warn in advance of danger or trouble
"They were forewarned of the approaching storm"
From Old English warnian "give notice of impending danger," with fore- "before"
Related: forewarned, forewarning
Tags: verb
forlorn
: abandoned, forsaken; miserable or desolate
"The forlorn child wandered the empty streets"
From Old English forleosan "to lose, abandon, let go; destroy, ruin," from for- "completely" + leosan "to lose". Sense of "forsaken, abandoned" is 1530s; that of "wretched, miserable" first recorded 1580s
Related: forlornly, forlornness
Tags: adjective
forthright
: direct and straightforward; honest and plain
"She gave a forthright answer without hesitation"
From Old English forðriht "direct, plain," from forth + right
Related: forthrightly, forthrightness
Tags: adjective
fraught
: filled or loaded with something, often something undesirable
"The situation was fraught with danger"
From Middle English fraughten "to load (a ship) with cargo," from fraught "a load, cargo, lading of a ship," the older form of freight. Late 14c. "freighted, laden, loaded, stored with supplies" (of vessels); figurative use became the main sense from early 15c.
Related: fraught
Tags: adjective
g
gainsay
: contradict, deny, dispute
"Few dared to gainsay the king's decree"
First attested c. 1300, literally "say against," from gain- (Old English gegn- "against") + say (v.)
Tags: verb
h
harbinger
: a forerunner; something that signals the approach of another
"The first frost was a harbinger of winter"
From Middle English herberger "provider of shelter, innkeeper". The earlier sense was "one sent ahead to arrange lodgings"; the meaning "forerunner" developed later
Related: harbingers
Tags: noun
headway
: forward movement or progress
"The team made little headway despite their efforts"
From Old English heafodweg "main road, highway," from head + way. The sense of "motion forward" developed later, likely from nautical use
Tags: noun
heed
: careful attention; notice or regard
"Take heed of my warning before it is too late"
From heed (v.). Now mostly used in set phrases or literary contexts
Tags: noun
helm (n.1)
: the instrument by which a ship is steered; the position of guidance or control
"The captain took the helm as the storm approached"
From Old English helma "rudder; position of guidance, control." In large ships, the helm may refer to the "wheel, tiller, or the entire steering gear"
helm (n.2)
: a helmet; a protective covering for the head
"The warrior’s helm shielded him from the falling debris"
From Old English helm "protection, covering; crown, helmet"
Tags: noun
herald (n.)
: a messenger or forerunner; one who proclaims or announces
"The first crocus is a herald of spring"
From late 13c., from Frankish hariwald "commander of an army," probably via Middle English herald "chief officer of a tournament or one sent ahead to announce arrivals"
Tags: noun
herald (v.)
: to proclaim, announce, or signal the coming of something
"The new policy heralded a shift in government priorities"
From late 14c., from herald (n.)
Related: heraldry, heralded, heralding
Tags: verb
homegrown
: produced, nurtured, or originating at home; locally cultivated or developed
"They preferred homegrown vegetables over imported ones"
"The movement had begun with a homegrown ideology"
From Old English ham "dwelling place, region, country" + growan "to flourish, increase, develop"
Tags: adjective
i
inroad
: a hostile incursion, raid, or foray
"The army made an inroad into enemy territory"
From 1540s, in- "in" + road in the obsolete sense of "riding" (from Old English rad "riding expedition, journey, hostile incursion"). Related to raid (v.)
Tags: noun
j
jowl (n.1)
: jaw, jawbone, especially the underjaw
"The boxer struck his opponent squarely on the jowl"
From late Middle English chawl (late 14c.), earlier chafle (c. 1200), from late Old English ceafl "jaw; cheek; jawbone; cheekbone"
Tags: anatomy
jowl (n.2)
: fold of flesh under the jaw
"The elderly man had prominent jowls that moved when he spoke"
From late Middle English cholle "fold of flesh hanging from the neck or jaw, double chin" (c. 1300), perhaps related to Old English ceole "throat;" see jowl (n.1)
Tags: anatomy
k
keel (n.)
: the lowest and principal timber of a ship; the structural backbone of a vessel
"The ship’s keel was carefully inspected before launching"
From mid-14c., probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Old Norse kjölr "keel," Danish kjøl, Swedish köl"), originally separate from the sense of "a strong, clumsy boat" (c. 1200, from Middle Dutch kiel, cognate with Old English ceol_ "ship’s prow"). Figurative use "on an even keel" (1560s) refers to stability
Tags: noun
knell (n.)
: the sound made by a bell rung slowly, often signaling death or disaster
"The mournful knell echoed across the village"
"Death's knell rang through the halls as the plague spread"
From Old English cnyll "sound made by a bell when struck or rung slowly," from knell (v.). Compare Dutch knal, German knall, Danish knald, Swedish knall
knell (v.)
: to toll a bell; to strike or sound slowly
"The church tower knelled for the fallen soldiers"
From Old English cnyllan "to toll a bell, strike, knock," cognate with Middle High German erknellen "to resound," Old Norse knylla "to beat, thrash;" probably imitative. Intransitive sense in reference to a bell is from late 14c.
Related: knelled, knelling
l
leer (v.)
: to look obliquely, often with a malicious or lustful intent
"He leered at the stranger from across the room"
From Old English hleor "the cheek, the face"
Related: Leered, leering
Tags: verb
leer (n.)
: a significant glance, amorous or malign or both
"She caught his leer from across the crowded hall"
From the verb leer
Tags: noun
leeway
: sideways drift of a ship from its intended course; deviation; figuratively, freedom to act, flexibility, margin of error
"The ship made leeway in the strong crosswind"
""The pilot allowed some leeway in navigation due to poor visibility"
"The pilot allowed some leeway in navigation due to poor visibility"
From Old English hleo "shelter, cover, protection" + weg "track, path, course"
Tags: noun
linchpin
: peg that holds a wheel on an axle
"He has become the linchpin of the city's success"
From Middle English lins "axle" a corruption of linspin "axle-pin". Now mainly figurative
Tags: noun
m
mar
: to deface, disfigure, or impair in form or substance
"The scandal marred his otherwise impeccable career"
From Old English merran "to waste, spoil," also mierran; from Middle English merren "to deface, disfigure; impair in form or substance"
Tags: verb
mire (n.)
: deep mud, bog, marsh, swampland
"The hikers struggled through the mire after the heavy rains"
From Old English mos "bog, marsh," cognate with Old Norse myrr "bog, swamp"; from Proto-Germanic miuzja-; from PIE meus- "damp"
Tags: noun
mire (v.)
: to involve in difficulties; to become stuck or bogged down
"The negotiations were mired in bureaucracy"
From noun mire "deep mud, bog, marsh"; figurative sense from c. 1400
Tags: verb
mete
: to allot, distribute, or apportion by measure
"The judge meted out punishment in accordance to the law"
From Old English metan "to measure, ascertain the dimension or quantity of; measure out; compare; estimate the greatness or value of"; sense of "distribute or apportion by measure" from c. 1300
Tags: verb
n
nary
: not any, none
"There was nary a soul in the empty village"
From 1746, alteration of ne'er a, short for never a; from Old English næfre "not ever, at no time"
Tags: adjective
nether
: down, lower, beneath
"The castle’s nether chambers were damp and cold"
From Old English niþera, neoþera "down, downwards, lower, below, beneath"; also used as an adverb in Old and Middle English. Of countries, "situated on lower ground" (late 14c.). In Middle English and after, used of body parts
Related: nethermost
Tags: adjective
nigh
: near, nearby, close together, adjacent
"The enemy camp was nigh to the city walls"
"The end was nigh"
From Middle English neigh, from Old English neah. The Old English progression was neah → near → niehsta, for "nigh - nigher - nighest." Comparative near and superlative nehst gradually evolved into separate words. New comparative and superlative forms nigher, nighest developed in the 14c. as phonetic changes obscured the original relationships. Used as an adjective and preposition in Middle English
Tags: adverb
o
oft
: repeatedly, again and again, many times; frequently
"It's oft said to be wary of strangers"
From Old English oft, archaic or poetic except in compounds (e.g., oft-told) and replaced by its derivative often. Also used as an adjective in Middle English meaning "frequent, repeated"
Tags: adverb
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This page was created using the merge app[1]. 26 pages in the /languages/english/vocabulary/germanic folder have been merged into this index pageTo post a comment you need to login first.
By: christ (Sun Apr 5 19:25:51 GMT 2026)
Sources used: etymonline, merriam-webster, oed