- awhile (adv.)
- Old English ane hwile "(for) a while" (see while (n.)); usually written as one word since 13c.
- spat (n.1)
- "petty quarrel," 1804, American English, of unknown origin; perhaps somehow imitative (compare spat "smack, slap," attested from 1823).
- Spandex (n.)
- synthetic fiber, 1959, American English, proprietary name, an arbitrary formation from expand + commercial suffix -ex.
- stent (n.)
- "tube implanted temporarily," 1964, named for Charles T. Stent (1807-1885), English dentist.
- sitz-bath (n.)
- 1849, a hybrid, from German Sitzbad, literally "bath in a sitting position," with English bath for German Bad.
- smack (n.4)
- "heroin," 1942, American English slang, probably an alteration of schmeck "a drug," especially heroin (1932), from Yiddish schmeck "a sniff."
- souter (n.)
- "maker or mender of shoes," Old English sutere, from Latin sutor "shoemaker," from suere "to sew, stitch" (see sew).
- thereafter (adv.)
- Old English þær æfter; see there + after. Similar formation in Dutch daarachter, Swedish derefter.
- thereof (adv.)
- "of that, of it," Old English þærof; see there + of. Similar formation in Swedish, Danish deraf.
- thereon (adv.)
- Old English þæron; see there + on. Similar formation in German daran.
- thereunder (adv.)
- Old English þærunder; see there + under. Similar formation in Old Frisian therunder, German darunter.
- throughout (prep.)
- late Old English þurhut; see through + out (adv.). Similar formation in German durchaus.
- tighten (v.)
- "to make tight," 1727; the earlier verb was simply tight, from Old English tyhtan, from the root of tight. Related: Tightened; tightening.
- told
- past tense and past participle of tell (v.), from Old English tealde, past tense of tellan.
- took
- past tense of take (v.), from late Old English toc, past tense of tacan.
- wrong (n.)
- "that which is improper or unjust," late Old English, from wrong (adj.). Meaning "an unjust action" is recorded from c. 1200.
- colour
- chiefly British English spelling of color (q.v.); for ending see -or. Related: Coloured; colouring; colourful; colours.
- honour
- chiefly British English spelling of honor; also see -or. Related: Honoured; honouring; honours.
- humour
- chiefly British English spelling of humor; see -or. Related: Humourous; humourously; humourist; humourless, etc.
- favour
- chiefly British English spelling of favor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Favourite; favouritism.
- within (adv., prep.)
- Old English wiðinnan "within, from within," literally "against the inside," see with + in.
- tchotchke (n.)
- "trinket, gewgaw," also (transferred) "pretty girl," 1964, American English, from Yiddish, from a Slavic source (compare Russian tsatska).
- wreathe (v.)
- 1520s (transitive), a back-formation from wrethen, Middle English past participle of writhe. Intransitive sense from 1580s. Related: Wreathed; wreathing.
- walkabout (n.)
- "periodic migration by a westernized Aboriginal into the bush," 1828, Australian English, from walk (v.) + about.
- yclept
- Old English gicliopad; from y- + past participle of cleopian, cpipian "to speak, call; summon, invoke; implore" (see clepe).
- upchuck (v.)
- "to vomit," by 1960, American English slang, from up (adv.) + chuck (v.) "to throw."
- twister (n.)
- late 15c., "one who spins thread," agent noun from twist (v.). Meaning "tornado" is attested from 1881, American English.
- underclassman (n.)
- "sophomore or freshman," 1869, American English, from under (adj.) + class (n.) in the school form sense + man (n.).
- understanding (n.)
- Old English understanding "comprehension," verbal noun from understand (v.). Meaning "mutual agreement" is attested from 1803.
- underling (n.)
- late Old English, "one who owes allegiance to a sovereign or ruler," from under + diminutive suffix -ling.
- unfasten (v.)
- early 13c., from un- (2) "opposite of" + fasten. Old English had unfæstnian "to unfasten." Related: Unfastened; unfastening.
- untie (v.)
- Old English untigan "loosen, unchain," from un- (2) "opposite of" + tie (v.). Related: Untied; untying.
- savour
- chiefly British English spelling of savor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Savoured; savouring.
- ach (interj.)
- aspirated form of ah; in English often used to represent German or Celtic speech.
- advantageous (adj.)
- 1590s, formed in English from advantage, or else from French avantageux (15c.), from avantage (see advantage). Related: Advantageously; advantageousness.
- anywise (adv.)
- Old English ænige wisan, from any + wise (n.). One-word form from c. 1200.
- ascendance (n.)
- 1742, from ascend + -ance. Properly "the act of ascending," but used from the start in English as a synonym of ascendancy.
- amortise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of amortize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Amortised; amortising.
- clamour
- chiefly British English spelling of clamor (q.v.); for spelling, see -or. Related: Clamoured; clamouring; clamourous.
- A.A.A.
- also AAA, abbreviation of American Automobile Association, attested 1902, American English, the year the organization was founded.
- apologise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of apologize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Apologised; apologising.
- recognise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of recognize; for spelling, see -ize. Related: Recognised; recognising; recognisance.
- emphasise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of emphasize; for spelling, see -ize. Related: Emphasised; emphasising.
- empathise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of empathize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Empathised; empathising.
- realise (v.)
- chiefly British English spelling of realize; for suffix, see -ize. Related: Realisation; realised; realising.
- anticyclone (n.)
- 1863, coined by Francis Galton (1822-1911), English polymath, explorer, and meteorologist, from anti- + cyclone. Related: Anticyclonic.
- still (n.1)
- "distilling apparatus," 1530s, from Middle English stillen "to distill" (c. 1300), a variant of distillen (see distill).
- swollen (adj.)
- early 14c., past participle adjective from strong conjugation of swell (v.); from Old English geswollen, past participle of swellan.
- shay (n.)
- 1717, back-formation from chaise (q.v.), wrangled into English and mistaken for a plural.
- sliver (n.)
- "splinter of wood," late 14c., from obsolete verb sliven "to split, cleave," from Old English toslifan "to split, cleave" (see sleave).