English words first attested in Chaucer

English words first attested in Chaucer, or special manuscript words of Chaucer, are a set of about two thousand English words whose first use found in existing manuscripts is credited to Geoffrey Chaucer.[1][2][3] This does not necessarily mean that he was the person to introduce these words into English, but that the earliest extant uses of these words are found in Chaucerian manuscripts.[4][5] Many of the words were already in everyday speech in 14th-century England (especially London).[6][7] The claim is that these words are found for the first time in written manuscripts where he introduced them in one of his extensive works from 1374 to 1400 as the first author to use these particular words.[2] Many of Chaucer's special manuscript words from the 14th century are used today:
absent, accident, add, agree, bagpipe, border, box, cinnamon, desk, digestion, dishonest, examination, finally, flute, funeral, galaxy, horizon, infect, ingot, latitude, laxative, miscarry, nod, obscure, observe, outrageous, perpendicular, Persian, princess, resolve, rumour, scissors, session, snort, superstitious, theatre, trench, universe, utility, vacation, Valentine, veal, village, vulgar, wallet, and wildness.[3]

Etymology

Christopher Cannon, in The Making of Chaucer's English, gives a complete detailed work on the etymology of Chaucer's special manuscript words and references the Middle English Dictionary (MED) definitions and etymology of each of these words.[8] He points out that the MED does not give details on the etymology of many of Chaucer's derived words, including many compounds, some participial adjectives, and most gerunds.[8] Cannon also points out that, while the Oxford English Dictionary lists Chaucer as the first cited author of these words, it also is mostly silent on the etymologies of these particular derived words.[8][9] Cannon furnishes a complete list of Chaucer's special manuscript words with their etymology.[8]

Historian Albert Baugh points out that some of Chaucer's aureate words came from Latin or French origin.[10] Some of Chaucer's aureate words like laureate, mediation, and oriental eventually became a part of everyday English. Baugh points out that the innovations of word development into common speech and everyday usage, such as these Chaucer words, is of considerable interest in the history of style.[11]

List

Below is a complete list of the 1,977 Chaucer's special manuscript words that are first found in the existing manuscripts below as listed in the Oxford English Dictionary as being the first cited author.[9] Some now have different spellings and others are given the "root" word definition.[8] Some of these words are now dated or obsolete.[12] These manuscript words first found written in Chaucer's work, from The Canterbury Tales and other of his publications as shown below, were published in the 14th century.[8][9]

The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of tales written sometime after 1373, with 'sondry folk' that resemble Boccaccio's stories of The Decameron of fleeing nobles.

General Prologue

The General Prologue introduces the tellers of the tales, with much wry and subtle social commentary.

acate, affile, alight, ambler, army, arrive, bagpipe, begster, borax, bourdon, bracer, bream, cape, ceruse, chape, clasp, cordial, dagger, debtless, digestible, dormant, Flandrish, foot-mantle, foster, gaud, hostelry, householder, in, jingle, knob, licentiate, line, luce, magic, magician, marrowbone, mercenary, miscarry, moral, pardoner, parvis, patent, perse, session, significavit, stew, wallet, whistling

The Knight's Tale

The Knight's Tale introduces many typical aspects of knighthood such as courtly love and moral issues.

alan, attourne, breastplate, broid, buckle, cerrial, chaas, Circe, citrine, clottered, collared, execute, expel, expulsive, feminie, fluttery, funeral, gigge, holm, howl, huntress, intellect, kemp, lacing, laxative, Lucina, melancholic, menacing, mishap, mortal, mover, murmur, murmuring, muzzle, naker, narcotic, nymph, obsequy, obstacle, opie, opposite, oyez, parament, party, perturb, pharmacy, plain, portraiture, possibility, princess, progression, refuge, renting, returning, save, saving, serie, shouting, smiler, strangle, strangling, tester, thoroughfare, turret, vanishing, variation, vital, vomit, whippletree, winged

The Miller's Tale

The Miller's Tale is told by a drunken miller to "quite" (requite) The Knight's Tale. The word "quite" here means to make repayment for a service – telling stories.

almagest, bragget, chant, cinnamon, forge, haunch-bone, interrogation, keek, kneading, kneading-trough, lab, mislie, out, pearl, Pilate, piping, shelf, slumber, swive, tub, very, vere, watchet

The Reeve's Tale

The Reeve's Tale is about two clerks tricking a miller. This tale is possibly based on Boccaccio's sixth story of the ninth day (IX.6) in The Decameron.

bodkin, bolt, chime, derere, easement, grass time, halfway, jossa, messuage, mullock, popper, quack, sack, Sheffield, thick and thin, varnish

The Cook's Tale

From the first page of Canterbury Tales: The Wife of Bath's Tale [13]

The Cook's Tale is a tale of an apprentice named Perkins who is fond of drinking and dancing. He ultimately is released from his master and moves in with a friend. This friend's wife is a prostitute. The story becomes more 'seedy', continuing the downward trend of the preceding tales.

bribe, convertible, galliard, Harry, Hodge, louke, prenticehood

The Man of Law's Tale

The Man of Law's Tale is a story about a Christian princess named Constance. She is to marry a Syrian Sultan on condition that he convert to Christianity. His mother gets involved and sets her adrift at sea.

constabless, crone, dilatation, erect, femininity, feminity, man of law, mortally, motive, muse, peace, seriously, victorious, wrack

The Wife of Bath's Tale

The Wife of Bath's Tale is a tale about marriage. Scholars have associated this story as one of the so-called "marriage group" of Chaucer tales.

annex, ascendant, ba, bum, bumble, caterwaul, chose, disfigure, Ecclesiast, inclination, lure, Martian, peace, preamble, preambulation, resemblance, reveller, sip, spaniel, squire, stubborn, taur, vacation

The Friar's Tale

The Friar's Tale is a satirical attack on the profession of summoner.

approver, bribe, bribery, determinate, flattering, foal, rebeck

The Summoner's Tale

The Summoner's Tale is a tale in defense of the satirical attack by the Friar.

acceptable, chirt, dagon, demoniac, demonstrative, Dives, equally, pismire, reverberation, spence, swarm, tip, trip

The Clerk's Tale

Decamaron prologue,[14] Boccaccio

The Clerk's Tale is the story of Griselda, a young woman whose husband tests her loyalty.

amble, archwife, Chichevache, constant, dishonest, frowning, gaze, laureate, marquisess, mazedness, proem

The Merchant's Tale

The Merchant's Tale reflects Boccaccio's Decameron seventh day in his ninth tale. Chaucer's tale is a sexually explicit story.

a-noon, arc, bedstraw, brotelness, court-man, crake, hippocras, houndfish, ordinate, preen, Priapus, procreation, skink, sole, struggle, superlative, veal, vernage, visage

The Squire's Tale

The Squire's Tale is a tale of the Squire who is the Knight's son. The tale is an epic romance about a novice warrior and lover with more enthusiasm than experience. It is quite explicit and descriptive.

albe, digestion, exaltation, feastly, heronsew, Pegasus, peregrine, plumage, poleyn, prolixity, prospection, prospective, resound, serve, Tartar, Tatar, trench, trill

The Franklin's Tale

The Franklin's Tale focuses on issues of providence, truth, and generosity. A franklin was a medieval landowner.

alnath, Armorica, arrayed, begged, begeth, collect, considering, declination, desk, equation, expanse, falconer, faring, Nowell, opposition, Parnassus, proportional, rigour, superstitious

The Physician's Tale

The Physician's Tale is a domestic drama about the relationship between a daughter and her father.

award, definitive, notable, vicar general

The Pardoner's Tale

From the first page of Canterbury Tales The Knight's Tale [15]

The Pardoner's Tale is a tale in the form of a moral example.

bet, cinque, cinq, clink, corny, corpus, domination, envelop, fen, Galianes, policy, rioter, saffron, sane, village

The Shipman's Tale

The Shipman's Tale is similar to some of Boccaccio's stories in his Decameron and tells the story of a stingy merchant, his greedy wife and her lover.

creance, porteous, score

The Prioress's Tale

The Prioress's Tale story is of a child martyr killed by Jews.

outcry, sold

The Tale of Sir Thopas

The Tale of Sir Thopas is told by the narrator of the frame story of the Tales, presented unflatteringly as an awkward, reserved person. It is a parody of grandiose Gallic romances. The narrator is interrupted by the Host before the story is finished.

amble, piercing, poppet

The Tale of Melibee

The Tale of Melibee, told by the narrator of the frame story, consists largely of a debate between Melibee and his wife on how to seek redress for a violent crime.

accidental, accomplish, annoyful, anoyful, arbitration, blameful, brigue, chincher, chinchery, commit, counterwait, damnably, desiring, edifice, especial, estable, examination, examining, formal, garnison, hotchpotch, information, mishappy, persevere, pertinent, retain, withholding

The Monk's Tale

The Monk's Tale is a collection of seventeen short stories on the theme of tragedy. These are of Lucifer, Adam, Samson, Hercules, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Zenobia, Pedro of Castile, Peter I of Cyprus, Bernabò Visconti, Ugolino of Pisa, Nero, Holofernes, Antiochus, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and Croesus. The Monk's Tale De Casibus Virorum Illustrium of these illustrious men is modeled after Boccaccio's De Casibus Virorum Illustrium of illustrious men.

afear, annunciate, appurtenant, armless, centaur, Cerberus, clubbed, consecrate, conspiracy, contributary, cursedly, customance, custumance, hexameter, humblehede, importable, leonine, lim-rod, misery, misgovernance, monster, morality, Occident, orient, officer, Persian, pompous, precept, proverb, Septentrion, size, sperm

The Nun's Priest's Tale

The Nun's Priest's Tale of the Cock and the Hen, Chanticleer and Partlet poem is a vigorous and comical beast fable and mock epic.

aha, apoplexy, catapuce, centaury, cholera, chuck, clinking, cottage, digestive, embattled, fortunate, fumitory, herb Ive, jade, jet, laureole, poop, reverse, tame, tiptoe

The Second Nun's Tale

The Second Nun's Tale tells the story of Saint Cecilia.

chasteness, eternal, noble, oppose, oppress, outer, preface, prefect, proceed, rote, soul, trine

The Canon's Yeoman's Tale

The Canon's Yeoman's Tale is an attack on alchemists.

ablution, amalgam, ammoniac, argol, arsenic, blunder, bole, calcination, calcining, cered, chalk-stone, citrination, clergial, coagulate, corrosive, crude, cucurbit, elixir, fermentation, fusible, gris, hayne, hazelwood, induration, ingot, introduction, lamp, luna, lunary, magnesia, malleable, mollification, orpiment, pellitory, porphyry, proffered, prowl, rap, rehearsal, relent, rosary, sal, sluttish, sol, sublime, sublimed, tartar, test, vitriol

The Manciple's Tale

The Manciple's Tale is a story of a purchasing agent for a law court telling a fable about Phoebus Apollo and his pet crow.

affect, bottle, cock, nod, palled, python, rackleness, textual, titleless

The Book of the Duchess

The Book of the Duchess is a poem on the death of Blanche, Duchess of Lancaster and the first wife of John of Gaunt.

aside, bagge, bear

A page from c. 1440 manuscript of Canterbury Tales Romaunt of Rose [17]

The Parson's Tale

The Parson's Tale is a prose treatise on virtuous living.

annoyance, appertain, ardour, ardor, arrogant, barring, bending, castle, closure, clotheless, consideration, contract, contumacy, create, curiousness, cutted, dedicate, departed, dishonesty, durable, elation, embracing, emprise, eschew, furring, gabber, hernia, homicide, homily, hostler, humiliation, impudent, manslaughter, material, mistrest, mortification, mystery, natural law, nigromancian, observe, ordure, ours, paling, parting, pax, perdurable, performing, platly, pounced, pouncing, raffle, replenish, retraction, slumbery, somnolence, springer, sticking, strangeness, sustenant, talker, thunderclap, total, trey, uncharitably

Parlement of Foules

The Parliament of Fowls is a love poem associated with Valentine's Day. Many claim Chaucer is the mythmaker of the concept as we know it today.[18]

abstinent, bedside, blossomed, cackling, Cupid, disfigurate, dishevel, disobeisant, entitle, facund, formel, formal, horologe, messagery, mirthless, tercel, tiercel, tercelet, tiercelet, uncommitted, untressed, valence, Valentine, west

The Romaunt of the Rose

The Romaunt of the Rose is an allegorical dream, in which the narrator receives advice from the god of love on gaining his lady's favor, her love being symbolized by a rose.

absent, communably, forwelk, fresh, fur, galantine, guerdon, habit, householding, jacounce, jagounce, jargon, jocund, lambskin, lightsome, lozenge, mansuete, masonry, mavis, medlar, mendicity, mendience, miscoveting, misway, mourning black, muid, nock, non-certain, obscure, overgilt, outwine, outstretch, outsling, palasin, papelardy, par coeur, parochial, patter, praise, prill, prime temps, Proteus, quail-pipe, racine, ravisable, recreandise, refraining, reft, resemblable, return, reverie, ribanding, rideled, riverside, roin, roinous, rose-leaf, sailour, Sarsenish, satin, savorous, scutcheon, seemlihead, shutting, slitter, smallish, snort, squirrel, suckeny, tassel, terin, thick-set, thread, timbester, tissue, tress, tretis, villainsly, volage, waterside, well-arrayed, well begone, well beseen, well-fed, wyndre

The House of Fame

The House of Fame is a love poem based on works by Ovid and Virgil. The allegorical poem consists of a dream that journeys to two temples, The House of Fame and The House of Rumour which are various aspects of truth and falsehood.

accustomance, check, act, agreeable, airish, appearance, arrivage, arrival, assail, babery, blaze, burned, cadence, casually, celestial, clarion, congealed, conservative, corbet, cornemuse, covercle, crowding, dear-bought, desesperat, dissimulation, doucet, dowset, ducat, duration, encumbrous, existence, feminine, fouldre, fumigation, galaxy, gig, greenish, harmony, Hebraic, herald, herd-groom, herewithal, humble, inclined, inclining, intermeddle, lee, lilting, masty, Milky Way, minstrelly, misgovernment, ray, renovelance, rumble, scissors, signal, spring, stellify, sorceress, sweynt, syllable, tewel, tuel, tinned, unshut, upper

Boece

Boece is Chaucer's work derived from The Consolation of Philosophy, a Latin work originally written by the Roman Christian philosopher Boethius around AD 524.

abashing, accordable, add, address, adjection, adjoust, adjudge, administer, admonishing, admonition, agreeability, agreeably, albeit, alien, all-utterly, amenuse, amenusing, amoved, annoying, annoyously, anointed, arbitry, Arcturus, ardent, armourer, asperness, assigned, astoning, attaste, attemper, attemperance, attention, auster, autumn, awaiter, beholder, bespot, betiding, biting, blandishing, blissfulness, border, byname, Caurus, cavern, celebrable, centre, center, coemption, coetern, commonality, commove, complish, compotent, compound, comprend, compress, conject, conjoin, conjunction, conjuration, consequent, conservation, consular, contagious, continuation, contrary, convenient, corollary, corrige, Corybant, credible, declaring, decreet, defeat, definish, delicate, delie, delye, deluge, demonstration, despoiling, destinable, destinal, differing, disarm, discording, discourse, disincrease, disordinance, dispensation, dispense, dissolve, distempre, distrait, divide, divination, division, dull, durability, during, eager, echinus, egality,

A page from original manuscript of
Anelida and Arcite [19]

empoisoning, emprent, enbaissing, enchafe, enchantress, encharge, endamage, endark, enduring, enhance, enlace, ensampler, entach, entech, entalent, environing, eschaufe, establish, estimation, eternity, everyday, eve-star, evidently, exceed, exempt, exerce, exercitation, exiling, fellness, fellowship, felonous, festivally, fleeing, flitting, fluttering, foleye, forline, formly, fortuit, fortunel, fortunous, frounce, furthest, gaping, gastness, geometrian, ginner, gizzard, glaring, glow, governail, guerdon, guideress, habitacule, habitation, harmfully, henter, Hesperus, hider, honeyed, honied, hustlement, hydra, ignorant, imaginable, immovability, immovable, impair, imperial, impetre, imply, imposition, imprint, inconvenient, indifferently, indignation, inestimable, infect, infinity, infirm, inhabit, interchanging, intercommuning, interlace, interminable, jangling, jaw, jointure, knower, lash, leecher, lost, luxure, manifest, Marmaric, marvelling, marveling, meanly, misdrawing, misknowing, miswandering, movability, mowing, mutable, necess, nilling, orphelin, overlight, over-swift, overthrowing, overwhelve, perdurability, plungy, poetical, porism, portionable, presentary, previdence, pronouncer, proportionable, purveyable, reasoning, reddy, redoubt, reduce, remount, rending, replenished, replication, requirable, resist, resolve, resounding, resounding, rhetorian, roil, roundness, rower, rumour, sarplier, scaping, scorkle, semblable, senatory, sensibility, sensible, shadowy, showing, similitude, simplicity, singler, Sirius, skilling, slaked, slead, smoking, smoothness, stadie, starlight, starry, speculation, Stoician, suasion, submit, summit, superfice, supply, sway, sweller, tempest, theatre, theater, thenceforth, thunderer, thunderlight, tragedian, tragedy, tranquillity, transport, troublabla, tumbling, twitter, two-footed, unagreeable, unassayed, unbetide, unbowed, uncovenable, undepartable, undiscomfited, undoubtous, uneschewable, unexercised, ungentle, unhoped, universal, universality, universality, unleeful, unmovablety, unparegal, unperegal, unpiteous, unpiteous, unplight, unplite, unraced, unscience, unsolemn, unstanchable, unstanched, untreatable, unusage, unweened, unwit, unworshipful, unwrap, upheaping, used, variant, vengeress, voluntarily, weening, weeply, withinforth, witnessfully, wood

Anelida and Arcite

Anelida and Arcite is a retelling of an old Roman story previously written by Boccaccio.

assure, awaiting, causeless, chair, chantepleure, crampish, crookedly, desolate, doubleness, ecliptic, excuse, lowly, sound, subtile, Theban, whaped, unfeigned, whaped, womanhead

Troilus and Criseyde

Troilus and Criseyde is a story from Boccaccio's Il Filostrato.

abbetting, abusion, accident, accord, accusement, adieu, adorn, adverse, advertence, advocary, a-game, agree, alembic, aloud, alter, ambassador, appoint, argument, alite, ambage, amphilbology, argument, Aries, a-root, asfast, askance, asper, aspre, astrologer, atrede, attendance, attrition, atwixt, audience, augury, avaunter, await, bawdry, bay, beblot, befalling, benignity, bestiality, betrend, beware, blossomy, bounteous, burn, bypath, calculing, captive, casual, childishly, chittering, circle, circumscrive, collateral, combust, comedy, complain, complete, conceit, concord, conserve, consolation, constraint, continuance, convers, counterpoise, cramp, crow's foot, cumber-world, curation, dart, defeit, defet, define, deliber, deliberation, derring do, desespeir, desesperance, desesperaunce, determine, digression, direct, disadvance, disadventure, disblame, disconsolate, discordable, discordant, disdainous, disjoint, dispone, disport, disposition, disseverance, dissimule, distil, distill, disturn, divineress, dulcarnon, embassador, enchant, enterpart, entune, erratic, estately, estrange, exchange, excusable, execute, executrice, expert, eyed, faithed, farewell, fatal, fate, faun, feasting, fervently, fetching, finally, firmly, fix, forbysen, forlose, forpass, fury, future, gaure, goodlihead, good night, goosish, governance, graceless, groof, grufe, guide, half-god, hardiment, hawking, heinous, hemisphere, herdess, heroner, hollowness, homecoming, horizon, howne, humbly, hust, immortal, impression, increase, in-eche, infernal, influence, infortune, inhelde, inhielde, injure, inknit, intendment, interchange, intercommune, janglery, jeopard, Jove, jumper, just, kankedort, knotless, let-game, lethargy, liberty, lign-aloes, loadstar, lodestar, martial, mask, melodious, misaccount, misconstrue, misforgive, mislived, mismeter, molest, muck, mucker, munch, mutability, natal, native, new, nouriture, occidental, oriental, ounded, outring, overcarve, over-haste, over-rede, palaceward, palaceward, palaestrial, parody, peoplish, philosophical, phrenetic, plumb rule, pole arctic, predestiny, pregnant, Progne, proverb, qualm, racket, rackle, railed, refigure, refrain, refreid, reheting, reprehension, repression, resistence, resort, resport, return, revoke, Robin, rootless, rosy, royal, ruin, safeguard, saluing, sand, satyr, scrivenliche, secondly, sentiment, shapely, signifer, sling-stone, slink, sliver, snowish, soar, sob, space, strangely, subtilty, sugared, sunnish, surplus, supprise, teary, tempestous, testy, thriftily, thrifty, trance, transitory, transmew, trapdoor, tremor, unapt, unbody, unbridled, unbroided, uncircumscript, undeserved, unespied, unfeelingly, unhappily, universe, unkissed, unlikeliness, unlove, unmanhood, unnest, unprayed, unsheathe, unsitting, unswell, unthrifty, untied, untormented, untroth, unwist, urn, vapour, verre, vetch, virtueless, voidee, voluptuous, vulgarly, vulture, wantrust, weak, well-shapen, well-willy, wester, wieldy, womanhood, womanish, wrongfully, yfled, yold, yolden

The Legend of Good Women

The Legend of Good Women is a dream vision love poem.

accompass, adulation, agrote, angel-like, angrily, appete, appetite, arguing, bedote, bench, betraising, bleeding, box, bridled, browd, clift, complaining, countryward, crinkled, distain, during, emboss, ensure, eternally, everything, famous, father-in-law, felicity, figuring, fingering, fleuron, forgiving, foundation, fret, gledy, graciousness, imagining, infinite, joining, knightly, lure, Mantuan, paper-white, penful, presenting, radevore, reclaiming, renownee, ruled, seemliness, skirmishing, stately, storial, subtilly, subtilely, tidife, tidive, tuteler, toteler, virelay, well, wifehood

Treatise on the Astrolabe

Treatise on the Astrolabe is Chaucer's scientific paper of clearer definitions on how to use the Astrolabe, an astronomical instrument.

adding, aline, almanac, almucantar, almury, altitude, Arabic, Arctic, arm-hole, Arsechieles tables, azimuth, calculer, Capricorn, coldness, compilator, concentric, couching, crepuscule, cross-line, denticle, depression, descension, direct, distant, elevate, elevation, elongation, embelif, epicycle, equal, equator, equinox, fraction, Gemini, gerful, Greek, half-ebb, hence-forthward, indeterminate, intercept, introductory, latitude, line-right, longitude, lop-web, meridian, perpendicular, possibly, precedent, rete, retrograde, right angle, scale, Scorpio, second, septentrional, site, solid, solsticion, succedent, Taurus, tortuous, tropic, unstrange, usward, utility, vulgar

Miscellaneous poems

Below are words first attested to in his miscellaneous poems.

  • An ABC
A manuscript copy of
Balade to Rosemounde'[20]
  • Balade to Rosemounde
  • Chaucers Wordes unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn
  • Complaint to His Lady
  • Fortune
  • Gentilesse
  • Lak of Stedfastnesse
  • Lenvoy de Chaucer a Scogan
  • Lenvoy de Chaucer a Bukton
  • Proverbs
  • The Complaint unto Pity
  • The Complaint of Chaucer to his Purse
  • The Complaint of Mars
  • The Complaint of Venus
  • The Former Age
  • The Truth
  • Womanly Noblesse

accumbrous, advocatrice, ancille, artillery, aspen, benevolence, besprent, blaspheme, blasphemer, cannel-bone, carrack, carack, cart-wheel, castigation, causer, collusion, comeliness, complaint, confeder, convict, coverter, craze, create, dapple-grey, delicacy, desespeire, desperation, distrouble, down, dullness, dulness, emboss, enfortune, enlumine, entune, envoy, envy, errant, eterne, fattish, fawn, feigned, fers, fickleness, fleshy, flute, forloin, fortune, fortuned, furious, gere, glazing, half-word, hearse, Hercules, humblesse, inconstance, interess, jane, knack, lake, lambish, lancegay, leer, likeliness, limer, litster, lustihead, meet, midpoint, overstrew, prose, rechase, resign, royalty, scant, seeming, solein, solitude, sore, sough, sturdily, suffisance, suing, surmount, sweaty, tall, Tantalus, tapet, Tartary, tickleness, tongued, traitress, traitoress, Turkey, tyranny, uncorven, uncoupling, unforged, ungrubbed, unsown, weld, well-faring, well-founded, whirling, wildly, wildness

Usages

Below are some of the words first found in Chaucer's manuscripts that we use today and how they were used in his poems in the 14th century.

word Middle English usage Modern English usage Poem and estimated year it came out
annoyanceSuffrance suffreth swetely alle the anoyauncesTolerance suffers sweetly all the annoyancesThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
approachwhan she approched to jhesu Cristwhen she approached Jesus ChristThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386 [21]
aspectSom wikke aspect or disposiciounSome evil disposition or aspectThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
beggerAnd been a beggere; heere may I nat dwelleAnd be a beggar; here I cannot dwellThe Franklin's Tale, c. 1386[21]
censeGooth with a sencer on the halidayWent with a censer on the holy dayThe Miller's Tale, c. 1386[21]
centaurHe of Centaures layde the boast adounOf centaurs laid he all the boastings downThe Monk's Tale, c. 1375[21]
choseFor if I wolde selle my bele choseFor if I would go peddle my belle choseWife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386[21]
cinnamonMy faire bryd, my sweete cynamome?My cinnamon, my fair bird, my sweetieThe Miller's Tale, c. 1386[21]
citrineHis nose was heigh, his eyen bright citrynHis nose was high, his eyes a bright citrineThe Knight's Tale, c. 1386[21]
consecrateAnd was to God Almighty consecrateAnd was to God Almighty consecratedThe Monk's Tale, c. 1375[21]
considerationHeere bihoveth the consideracioun of the grace Of jhesu cristhere it behooves one to give consideration to the grace of Jesus ChristThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
conspiracyFul privily hath made conspiracie Against this JuliusFull secretly did lay conspiracy Against this JuliusThe Monk's Tale, c. 1386[21]
contractwhan the soule is put in oure body, Right anon is contract original synnewhen the soul is put into a body, immediately is contracted original sinThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
createAnd Al be it so that God hath creat alle thynges In right ordreAnd though it be that God has created all things in right orderThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
departShal nat departe from his housWill not depart from his houseThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
deriveThat every part dirryveth from his hoolThat every part derives but from the wholeThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
deskHadde prively upon his desk ylaftWhich book he'd privately on his desk leftThe Franklin's Tale, c. 1386[21]
digestionThe norice of digestioun, the sleepThe nurse of good digestion, natural sleepThe Squire's Tale, c. 1395[21]
disfigureShe sholde tellen of his disfigure.She'd tell of his disfigurement impure.Wife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386[21]
dismemberingne swereth nat so synfully in dismembrynge of crist by souleswear not so sinfully, thus dismembering Christ by soulThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
displeasantMoost displesant to crist, and moost adversarie.this sin is most displeasing to Christ, and most hateful.The Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
double-tongueNow comth the synne of double-tongeNow comes the sin of the double-tonguedThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
durableRemoeven harmes and to han thynges espiritueel and durableremoval of evils and to obtain things spiritual and durableThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
exaltationFor he was neigh his exaltaciounFor he was near his exaltationThe Squire's Tale, c. 1386[21]
executeThat executeth in the world over alThat executes in this world, and for allThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
fartOf fartyng, and of speche daungerous.Of farting and of language haughtyish.The Miller's Tale, c. 1386[21]
feastHe leet the feeste of his nativiteeHe let the feast of his nativityThe Squire's Tale, c. 1386[21]
femininityHow wonnen was the regne of femenyeWas gained the realm of FemininityThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
forgeThat in his forge smythed plough harneysWho in his forge smithed plow partsThe Miller's Tale, c. 1386[21]
funeralPutte in the fyr of funeral servyseLighted the sacred funeral fireThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
galaxySee yonder, lo, the galaxyë lo, see yonder the galaxyThe House of Fame, c. 1380[22]
hexameterOf sixe feet, which men clepe examétronIn six feet, which men call hexameterThe Monk's Tale, c. 1375[21]
homicideOf worldly shame? certes, an horrible homicide.Certainly, such a one is called a horrible homicide.The Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
howlShrighte emelye, and howleth palamonShrieked Emily and howled now PalamonThe Knight's Tale, c. 1386[21]
humiliationNat sory of his humiliacioun.not sorry for his humiliation.The Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
huntressWith bowe in honde, right as an hunteresseWith bow in hand, like any right huntressThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
kneadingHe hadde yboght hym knedyng tubbes threProcured these kneading-tubs, or beer-vats, threeThe Miller's Tale, c. 1386[21]
laboriousAnd myn office is ful laborousMy job is most laboriousThe Friar's Tale, c. 1386[21]
laureateFraunceys petrak, the lauriat poeteFrancis Petrarch, the laureate poetThe Clerk's Tale, c. 1386[21]
laxativeVomyt upward, ne dounward laxatif.By vomiting or taking laxativeThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
lureWith empty hand men may none haukes lure.With empty hand men may no falcons lureWife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386[21]
magicianIn al the lond magicien was ther nonIn all that land magician was there noneThe Monk's Tale, c. 1375[21]
menacingBy manasynge of mars, right by figure.The menacing of Mars, in likeness sureThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
mercenaryHe was a shepherde and noght a mercenarie.He was a shepherd and not mercenary.Canterbury Prologue, c. 1387[22]
Milky WayWhich men clepeth the Milky Weywhich men call the Milky WayThe House of Fame, c. 1384[22]
muzzleAnd folwed hym with mosel faste yboundeAnd so they followed him, with muzzles boundThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
nobleAnd saluces this noble contree highte.Saluzzo is this noble region bright.The Clerk's Tale, c. 1395[21]
nymphThe nymphs, the fauns, the hamadryadesThe nymphs, the fauns, the hamadryadesThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
observeJhesu Crist and his freendes observede to shewen in hir lyve.Jesus Christ and His friends observed in their lives.The Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
outrageousoutrageous wratthe dooth al that evere the devel hym comaundethoutrageous wrath does all that the Devil ordersThe Parson's Tale, c. 1386[21]
Persianand it shal be To Meedes and to Perses gevenand it shall be To Medes and Persians given nowThe Monk's Tale, c. 1375[21]
philosophicalTo the and to the, philosophical Strodeand to you, philosophical StrodeTroilus and Criseyde, c. 1374[22]
plumageAs wel of plumage as of gentillesseAs well of plumage as of noblenessThe Squire's Tale, c. 1395[21]
princessThough that she were a queene or a princesseAlthough she be a queen or a princessThe Knight's Tale, c. 1385[21]
resoundThat all the wode resouned of hire cry.rill all the wood resounded mournfully.The Squire's Tale, c. 1395[21]
scissorsWithoute rasour or sisouresnot the kind with razor or scissorsThe House of Fame, c. 1384[21]
sessionAt sessiouns ther was he lord and sireAt county sessions was he lord and sireCanterbury Prologue, c. 1386[22]
soarI woot wel, for to sore As doth an haukI have no cause to soar like a hawkTroilus and Criseyde, c. 1374[22]
superlativeTher nys no thyng in gree superlatyfThere is no pleasure so superlativeThe Merchant's Tale, c. 1386[21]
superstitiousOf swich a supersticiuos cursednesse.Of such a superstitious wickedness.The Franklin's Tale, c. 1386[21]
thick and thinthurgh thikke and thurgh thenne.through thick and thin.The Reeve's Tale, c. 1386[21]
vacationWhan he hadde leyser and vacaciounWhen he had leisure and took some vacationWife of Bath's Tale, c. 1386[21]
walletHis walet lay biforn hym in his lappeHis wallet lay before him in his lapCanterbury Prologue, c. 1387[21]

See also

Footnotes

  1. Cannon, p. 129
  2. Cannon, pp. 231–233
  3. Vivian Cook. "Chaucer's words". Archived from the original on 10 April 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  4. Cannon, pp. 226–230
  5. Phelan, pp. 61–70
  6. Baugh, pp. 193–194
  7. Fisher, pp. 7–8
  8. Cannon, 224–460
  9. Simpson, Weiner, et al, The Oxford English Dictionary. According to the Library of Congress for those that have academic library subscribing to the OED, here are the steps you can use to find such a list of words:
    • Once you are in the OED Online, select "Simple Search" found at the bottom of the screen.
    • Enter the word Chaucer in the box on the upper left of the screen where it says Search for
    • For the next box below labeled "in," use the pull-down arrow and click on "first cited author."
    • Most Universities and Colleges and many large public libraries have OED Online where the reference librarian can give you a listing.
    • The listing output shows Chaucer's works where he is cited as the first cited author of these words and the year the work was published.
  10. Baugh, p. 186
  11. Baugh, p. 186
  12. Cannon, p. 232
  13. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
  14. Medieval Sourcebook: Boccaccio: The Decameron – Introduction
  15. The Knight's Tale Prologue
  16. "award" – The Physician's Tale, line 202 This man shall have his slave, as my award.
    ^ "praise" – The Romaunt of The Rose, line 6930 I praise nothing whatever they see.
  17. The Romaunt of the Rose
  18. Oruch, Jack B., "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February," Speculum, 56 (1981): 534–565. Oruch's survey of the literature finds no association between Valentine and romance prior to Chaucer. He concludes that Chaucer is likely to be "the original mythmaker in this instance." Colfa.utsa.edu – "St. Valentine, Chaucer, and Spring in February." Chaucer as Valentine mythmaker
  19. Geoffrey Chaucer (1301–1400). "Anelida and Arcite". Wikisource. Retrieved 28 February 2010.
  20. Geoffrey Chaucer (2010). "Balade to Rosemounde". Wikisource. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
  21. Geoffrey Chaucer (1386). "Classic Literature – The Canterbury Tales". Canterbury Tales. About.com Classic Literature. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
  22. Geoffrey Chaucer (1374–1395). "Chaucer in the Twenty-First Century". various poems. eChaucer, Chaucer in the Twenty-First Century. Archived from the original on 30 March 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2010.

References

  • Baugh, Albert Croll, A History of the English Language, Prentice-Hall 1978, London. ISBN 0-13-389239-5.
  • Brown, Peter, A companion to Chaucer, Wiley-Blackwell, 2002. ISBN 0-631-23590-6.
  • Burnley, David, A guide to Chaucer's language, Macmillan, 1983. ISBN 0-333-33532-5.
  • Cannon, Christopher, The making of Chaucer's English: a study of words, Cambridge UP, 1998. ISBN 0-521-59274-7.
  • Chaucer, Geoffrey, The works of Geoffrey Chaucer, Macmillan, 1898.
  • Chaucer, Geoffrey, The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: The house of fame, The legend of good women , Editor: Walter William Skeat. Clarendon, 1894.
  • Cousin, John W., A short biographical dictionary of English literature, Babylon Dreams, 1910. ISBN 1-60303-696-2.
  • Davis, Norman, A Chaucer Glossary, Clarendon, 1979. ISBN 0-19-811171-1.
  • Elliott, Ralph Warren Victor, Chaucer's English, Deutsch, 1974. ISBN 0-233-96539-4.
  • Fisher, John H., The emergence of standard English, UP of Kentucky, 1996. ISBN 0-8131-0852-7.
  • Gardner, John, Life and Times of Chaucer, Barnes & Noble, 1999. ISBN 0-7607-1281-6.
  • Gosse, Edmund, English literature : an illustrated record , Heinemann, 1906.
  • Horobin, Simon, Chaucer's language, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. ISBN 1-4039-9356-4.
  • Langer, William Leonard, An encyclopedia of world history, ancient, medieval and modern ..., Volume 1, Houghton Mifflin, 1948.
  • Phelan, Walter S., The Study of Chaucer's Vocabulary, Computers and the Humanities, Vol. 12, No. 1/2, Medieval Studies and the Computer, 1978.
  • Stearns, Peter N., The Encyclopedia of world history: ancient, medieval, and modern , Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001. ISBN 0-395-65237-5.
  • Tatlock, John S. P., The Development and Chronology of Chaucer's Works, BiblioBazaar, 2009. ISBN 1-110-65731-5.
  • Simpson, J. A., Weiner, E. S. C., The Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford UP, 1989, Reprinted 1991. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
  • Wallace, David, Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, Cambridge UP, 1991. ISBN 0-521-38851-1.
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