Chaucer’s
words
In the Oxford English Dictionary the person cited for using a word first is Geoffrey Chaucer for 2004 words. Obviously this does not mean that he was the person to introduce a word in English, just that it is found for the first time in his extensive writings between 1374 and 1386. Here are some of these words.
|
Absence |
Accident |
Add |
|
Agree |
Bagpipe |
Bed-head |
|
Blunder
to |
Border |
Box |
|
Chant
to |
Cholera |
Chuck
to |
|
Cinnamon |
Desk |
Digestion |
|
Dishonest |
Dung-cart |
Effect
n |
|
Elixir |
Examination |
Femininity
|
|
Finally |
Flute |
Funeral |
|
Galaxy |
Gaze
to |
Glow
to |
|
Hernia
|
Horizon |
Increase
N |
|
Infect
to |
Ingot |
Jolliness |
|
Latitude |
Laxative |
Milksop |
|
Miscarry
to |
Nod
to |
Notify |
|
Obscure |
Observe |
Outrageous |
|
Peregrine |
Perpendicular |
Persian |
|
Princess |
Resolve
v |
Rumour |
|
scissors |
session |
snort
v |
|
superstitious |
theatre |
trench |
|
universe |
utility |
vacation |
|
veal |
village |
vitriol |
|
vulgar |
wallet |
wildness |
Of
course there are many that did not catch on, such
as:
agreeability
besmottered
corrumpable
displeasant
fecund
gastness
horsely
jangleress
necessarious
rete
withinforth
Many of these words reflect the influence in England of French as the main language for some 300 years and of Latin as the languageof educationand scholarship. However English was also open to other languages. For example here are some of Chaucer’s words that come from Arabic: almanac, nadir alkali, borax, tartar, satin, gipon, checkmate, damask,