English Wordbook/F
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< English Wordbook
Staff F of the English Wordbook.
Basic abbreviations: att'd=attested, OE=Old English, NHG=New High German, Du.=Dutch
For a full list of etymological and other abbreviations used in these wordlists, see Forshortenings.
| English | Word Class | Anglish | ||
| Attested | Not attested | |||
| fable | n | tale | - | |
| fabric | n | cloth | thrum | |
| fabricate | vb | bring into being, build, make, put together, run up, set up, shape; think up, write; lie, make up | - | |
| fabulous | adj | groovy, amazing, sterling, top-shelf, wonderful | - | |
| facade | n | foreside, out side, outer side, outer skin, outward look, bold outer, seeming, outward show, put-on | - | |
| face (any surface) | n | side, foreside | - | |
| face (anatomy) | n | - | nebb (<OE nebb) andlit, anleth (<ME anleth) leer (originally meant the face) hue, blee, mug | |
| face-to-face | phr | - | nebb with nebb (<OE nebb wið nebb) | |
| facet | n | side, bearing | - | |
| facetious | adj | biting, tung-in-cheek, sharp-witted, salty, smart, witty | - | |
| facilitate | vb | easen | - | |
| facsimile | n | - | farwriter, bildsender | |
| fact | n | truth | deedsake (cf. NHG Tatsache) | |
| fact, in | adv phr | in truth, indeed | in sooth | |
| factor | n | maker, doer grounds | - | |
| factory | n | - | buildworks worksmithy (cf. Ic. verksmiðja) | |
| faculty | n | - | lorehalldeal | |
| fad | n | hit, brainstorm | - | |
| fade | vb | dwindle, wane | - | |
| faeces | n | shit, shite, stool, dirt, dung, scat | - | |
| faggot | n | - | stickbind, stickfasten, stickbundle | |
| fagocyte | n | - | eatlot | |
| faience | n | - | earthenware | |
| fail(ure) | vb/n | - | trock(ness) (<OE trucian) swether(ing) forsay(ing) (cf. NHG versagen) | |
| faint | vb | swoon, flake out, black out | - | |
| fair | n | hoppings | - | |
| fairy (tale) | n | - | elvin (rime) | |
| fait accompli | n | done deed, done deal fulfilled, carried out, (thing) over and done | - | |
| faith | n | belief, troth | lief (<OE léafa) | |
| faithful | adj | trothen, steadfast, lieveful | - | |
| faith, to have | vb | trust, lief | - | |
| falcon(er/ry) | n | - | falk (er/craft) (cf. NHG Falke, Du. valk) | |
| fallible | adj | wanting, unsound | - | |
| false | adj | lease, wrong, fake, untrue | - | |
| falsely accuse | vb | - | forwray (<OE forwregan) | |
| fame | n | name, wellstanding, stardom, limelight, greatness | breme (<OE) | |
| familiar | adj | kithy, trusted | hiewcouth (<OE hiwcuþ) forwildering (as unlike bewildering) | |
| family | n | kin, kinline, kindred, household, ilk | inherd | |
| famine | n | dearth, hunger | - | |
| famished | adj | hungry, starving, hunger-bitten | - | |
| famous | adj | well-known | breme (<OE brēme) | |
| fan | n | - | device: blower, waffer, waffend
enthusiast: fultumer (<OE: fultum, support) bewonderer (cf. Du. bewonderaar), lovehaver (cf. Du. liefhebber, NHG Liebhaber) | |
| fanatic | n | diehard, hardnose | - | |
| fanatism | n | - | overingod, diehardness | |
| fancy | n | liking, longing, bent, flighty thought, daresay, brainwave | - | |
| fancy | adj | showy | - | |
| fanfare | n | outward show, loud outburst, great-to-do | - | |
| fantastic | adj | wonderful | - | |
| fantasy | n | - | wonder flight (a fantasy adventure or wonderful dream)
daydream, mindwander (wonderful daytime envisionment) | |
| farce | n | take-off, dry-wit | - | |
| farm (of OE origin) | n | wick, thorp | - | |
| farmer | n | ackerman, plowman, yeoman, tiller, tillerman, tillman | - | |
| farming | n | tilling, husbandry | - | |
| farrago | n | mash, mashing, all-kinds-of | sundrying | |
| fasces | n | bundle | - | |
| fascia | n | strip. band | - | |
| fascism | n | - | rikeboundom, rike businessdom | |
| fascinate | vb | bewitch, spellbind, draw, fire, inthrall, eyebite (cited by Richard Chenevix Trench) | - | |
| fascinated | adj | inthralled, bewitched, spellbound, eyebitten | - | |
| fashion | vb | - | hue (<OE hiwian) maithwlite (<OE mǣġþwlitian) fangle | |
| fashion | n | trend, way | fangling | |
| fashionable | adj | trendy, dapper | - | |
| fashioned, old | adj | - | old-fangled | |
| fastidious | adj | choosy, picksome | - | |
| fatal | adj | deadly | - | |
| fatamorgana | n | - | loftglass | |
| fate | n | doom | wyrd (<OE) orlay (<OE orlæg) | |
| fatigue | n | tireness, weariness, burn out, bone sore, strengthlessness, weakliness | - | |
| fatuous | adj | weak, silly, mindless, shallow, brainless, cock-eyed, hollow, thoughtless, unthinking, witless, unwitty | - | |
| fault | n | failing, shortcoming, want, weakness |
dwild (<OE) misfeng (<OE) shild (<OE scyld; cf. NHG Schuld) | |
| fauna | n | - | deerworld, wightlife | |
| faux-pas | n | mistake, misstep, slipup | - | |
| favor, grace, pleasure | n | kindness | est | |
| favourable | adj | fair-boding | belikening | |
| favourite | adj | beloved, darling, most liked | belikened | |
| fawn | adj | (hue) brownish-yellow, dun, dun-brown | - | |
| fawn | vb | bow, stoop, bootlick, yield, woo, suck up to | - | |
| fax (machine) | n | - | farwrit(er), bildsend(er) | |
| feasible | adj | likely, doingly, seemingly, timely, welltimed, wieldly, worthwhile | howingly (<OE hogian: plan) | |
| feast | n | merrymaking | simble (<OE symbel) | |
| Feast day (religious) | n | holiday | simbleday (<OE symbeldæg) | |
| feature | n | shape, look, make, mark | - | |
| February | n | - | Solmonth, Horningmonth | |
| feckless | adj | bootless, careless, good-for-nothing, worthless, untrustworthy, thoughtless, thriftless, unthinking | - | |
| federal(ist) | adj/n | - | gade- (<egade as "confederate"<OE gegada "confederate, colleague, consort," with derivative < *gada being "federate" having removed the ge->e- prefix which is cognate to con-), bandish(er) | |
| federation | n | - | band | |
| fee (of OE origin) | n | toll, scot | - | |
| feeble | adj | weak | - | |
| fee simple | n | freehold | - | |
| feign | vb phr | make lieve, let on like, make as if, make out like, play, put on | - | |
| feint | n | blind, hoodwinking, make- believe, put-on, red herring | - | |
| felicitate | vb phr | hail | - | |
| female | adj | she-kind pref: she- | - | |
| female sex | n | - | wifehood (<OE wífhád), womanhood | |
| feminism | n | - | shehoodness | |
| femto-byte | pre | fifteen- | - | |
| femur | n | thigh bone | - | |
| fence | n | wall, hedge, sundering | - | |
| fend (off) | vb | ward off, hold off, keep off | - | |
| fender | n | shield, windshield, hob; midriff | - | |
| fennec | n | - | dryland fox | |
| feodalism | n | - | loanframework | |
| feral | adj | wild, untamed, running mad, tameless | - | |
| feric | adj | ironlike | - | |
| feriferous | adj | - | iron-yielding, ironbear, ironbere | |
| ferment | n | barm | - | |
| ferocious | adj | fiendish, mad, grim, warlike, wild, frothing | - | |
| ferret | n | - | whitrat | |
| ferret | vb | hound, harry, seek out | nease (<OE neosian) | |
| fertile | n | fallow, yielding, loamy | wastombear | |
| fervent | adj | fiery, fast, heated, het-up, hardworking, heartfelt, hot blooded, whole-hearted | - | |
| fester | vb | burn, rot, weep, blain | - | |
| festival | n | - | guild (<OE gield), frealsing | |
| festive | adj | festlike, cheery, grooving, upbeat, hearty, merry, gleeful | frealsing | |
| festoon | n | wreathe, streamers | - | |
| festoon | vb | - | clad up | |
| fetid | adj | smelly, stenchy, rank | - | |
| fetish | n | kink, overlust | - | |
| feudal | adj | toll-run, feeholding, lendship | - | |
| feud | n | foe-fighting, bad blood, ill-feeling | - | |
| fever | n | - | driff, rithing (<OE) | |
| fiancee | n | betrothed, husband-to-be, wife-to-be | - | |
| fiasco | n | out-and out breakdown, full-blight, misdeal | - | |
| fibre | n | thread, thrum | - | |
| fibula | n | calf bone, bow pin | - | |
| fiction | n | - | umbtruth | |
| fidelity | n | faithfullness, troth | heldrede (<OE hyldræden) | |
| field of battle | n | - | gouthfield | |
| figment | n | - | dwimmer | |
| figure out | vb | work out | - | |
| filings | n | swarf | - | |
| filter | n/vb | sieve, sift, winnow, trawl | - | |
| final | adj | end, last | - | |
| finale | n | showdown | - | |
| finally | adv | at last, endily | - | |
| finance | n | thrift, money | geldlore, geldwist/geltwist (cf. NHG Geldwesen), geldwit/geltwit, markwist | |
| fine | adj | 1. sheer 2. good, well | 1. sifer, swotel | |
| fine (fee) | n | - | lawslight | |
| finish | vb | end, fullcome | - | |
| finish | n | ending | - | |
| firm | adj | fast, bound, unyielding, stalwart | - | |
| firmament | n | sky, heaven, welkin | - | |
| fiscal | n | - | tollstaid, geldstaid | |
| fissure | n | crack, split, cleft | chine (<OE chin) | |
| fix | vb/n | fasten(ing) | - | |
| fixed | adj | given, fast, fastened | - | |
| flaccid | adj | limp | - | |
| flagellate | n | - | whipwight | |
| flagellum | n | whip | - | |
| flame | n | blaze, fire, fire-shoot, lowe | - | |
| flamingo | n | - | stiltswan, fireswan | |
| flange | n | rim | - | |
| flatulence | n | wind | - | |
| flavour | n | tang, smack, smatch | - | |
| flax | n | - | linwirt | |
| flexible | adj | lithe, bendy, limber, bendfull, bendsome, bowsome | - | |
| flexibility | n | limberness | bendfullness (<OE bendfulnes) | |
| flinch | vb | draw back, wince, hang back, reel, shy, blench | - | |
| flirt | vb | eye-tease, eye play | - | |
| floccinaucinihilipilificate | vb | deem worthless | - | |
| flora | n | - | bloomlife, wortlife | |
| Florence | n | - | Fairburgh (cf. Icelandish Fagurborg) | |
| flour | n | meal | - | |
| flourish | vb | bloom, blossom | - | |
| flower | n | bloom, blossom | - | |
| fluctuate | n | swing | - | |
| fluent | adj | flowing, smoothspoken | - | |
| fluorescent | aj | leaming | flowglowing | |
| flux | n | flowing | - | |
| focus | n | sharpness | fuster (< OE fustra) | |
| folly | n | - | wanwit | |
| fondant | n | frosting, icing | - | |
| fondue | n | - | smeltcheese | |
| fool | n | crazy, sucker | nare/nore/narr (cf. other Germ. langs.) | |
| fool's gold | n | mullock | - | |
| foolhardy | adj | brash, bold, headlong, heedless, hot-headed, daring, daresome, reckless | - | |
| footprint | n | footmark | footspoor, trod | |
| force | n | strength, dint, might, thring | main (<OE mægen) thrake (<OE þracu), thrack (<OE þræc) groundswell (nautical) | |
| forceps | n | tongs | - | |
| forcible | adj | strong-arm | - | |
| foreign | adj | - | walsh/welsh (<OE wealh + -ish), walsk/welsk, farlandish, outlandish, ellendish, fremd, althedish | |
| foreign country | n | farland, faraway land, outland | althede | |
| foreigner | n | outlander, outsider | altheder, farlander, frem-folk | |
| forest | n | wald, weald, wold, wood(land), holt,, frith | - | |
| forficula | n | earwig | forky tail, clipshear | |
| forge | n | smithy | - | |
| form | n | shape | hue (<OE hiwian) | |
| form | vb | shape, make, begin, build | maithwlite (<OE mǣġþwlitian) | |
| formal | adj | starchy, stiff, stilted | - | |
| formation | n | setting up, shaping, building, making | forestalling | |
| formidable | adj | stalwart | - | |
| formula | n | 1. draft | 2. leechwrit, spellwrit | |
| fornicate | vb | - | whore, awhore | |
| fornication | n | - | whorery (cf. NHG Hurerei), awhoring | |
| fort(ress) | n | keep, stronghold, fastness | burgfast (<OE burg-faesten) | |
| fortification | n | stronghold, fastness | umthrimming (<OE ymbtrymming)
befasting (cf. S.Fris befäästenge, Sw. befästning, Da. befæstning) | |
| fortitude | n | grit, pluck | mindthrack | |
| fortune | n | hap, luck | - | |
| forum | n | moot, soapbox | mootstow (<OE mótstów) | |
| fossil | n | forbone | wightstone | |
| fotanelle | n | mould | - | |
| found | vb | ground, build, begin, settle | - | |
| foundation | n | groundwork, groundstone, staddle | - | |
| fountain | n | wellspring | - | |
| fountainhead | n | headspring | - | |
| foyer | n | lobby | - | |
| fraction | n | share, lot, deal, breaking | - | |
| fracture | n & vb | break | - | |
| fragile | adj | brittle, weak, unstrong, untrim | brokenly (<OE brocenlic) | |
| fragment | n | thrum, scrap | breakdeal | |
| fragmentation | n | - | forsplintering | |
| framboise | n | raspberry | - | |
| fraternal | adj | brotherly | - | |
| fraternity | n | brotherhood | - | |
| fraud | n | swindle | - | |
| fray | vb | frazzle | - | |
| frenum (oral) | n | - | tungfrum | |
| frenzy | n | madness | hestmadness | |
| frequency | n | oftenness | - | |
| frequent | vb | beseek often, go often | - | |
| frequently | adv | often, oftentimes | unseld, unseldom (not infrequently) lome (<OE gelóma) oftsithe see also 'common' in C . | |
| fresco | n | - | chalkmealing | |
| fricative | aj | rubclank | - | |
| friction | n | rubbing | - | |
| fringe | n | edge, outskirt | - | |
| front | n | fore, afore, foreside | - | |
| frontier | n | border | - | |
| fructose | n | berrysweet | - | |
| fruit | n | - | ovet (cf. Du. ooft, NHG Obst)
wastom/wastem//wasthom (<OE wæstm/wæstem/wæsþm), wax (c.f. OE wæstm and PG *waχstmo-z) | |
| fruitful | adj | lush | wastomly (<OE wæstmlic), wastombere (<OE wæstmbære), wastomfast (<OE wæstmfæst) | |
| fruitfulness | n | - | wastombereness, wastomfastness | |
| frustrate | vb | thwart | - | |
| fucacae | n | seaweed | float-wort, seawrack | |
| fuchsia | n | - | foxbloom, bellbloom | |
| fuel | n | - | firefod (<OE fyrfoda), firefodder, firefood | |
| fugitive | n | runaway, lamster | flightling | |
| fulcrum | n | - | bethrowingsord (be {by} + throwing's {cf. NHG drehen} + ord {point}), throword (cf. NHG Drehpunkt) | |
| fulfilment | n | fulfilling | - | |
| fuliginous | adj | sooty, grimy, blackish, darkish, dusty, emberlike, cinderly, ashlike, coomy | - | |
| fulmination | n | lightning | skyfire, firelaught, fireflaught, skybolt, blixen, blitzen | |
| function | n | work | brooking (<OE brucing) workgoal | |
| functional | adj | working | - | |
| function, important | n | - | highthaning (<OE héahþegnung) | |
| fund | n | nest egg stock | groundfest | |
| fundament | n | groundwork | - | |
| fundamental | adj | underlying, innermost, key | needmickle (<OE nidmicel) | |
| funeral | n | - | begraving | |
| funeral fire | n | - | baleblaze | |
|
'fungus, 'fungi | n | - | ~ mushroom of French origin
swamb (<OE swamm; cf. OHG swamb, NHG Schwamb, ON svöppr); Kingdom: Swambendom | |
| furnace | n | oven | - | |
| furniture | n | fittings, roomware, houseware | - | |
| fuse | n | meld | forsmelt | |
| futile(ity) | adj/n | worthless(ness) | brookless(ness), neetless(ness) | |
| future | n & phr | forthshaft, hereafter, aftertide, aftertime, afterday(s), upcoming, time-to-come, yet-to-be, about to be, by-and -by, coming up | tocome (calque from Dutch, "toekomst") | |
| future | adj | forthcoming | - | |
