Words from Old English
Study Words
- watery
- fiend
- goatee
- earthenware
- windily
- dealership
- bookkeeping
- fiery
- learned
- nosiest
- creepy
- errand
- daily
- broadleaf
- stringy
- workmanship
- newfangled
- timely
- dogged
- mootable
- womanly
- manhandle
- folksiness
- dairy
- quell [1]
- barrow
- dearth
- bower
- paddock
- blithe
- keen
- mongrel
- reckless
- alderman
- whirlpool
- belay [2]
- cleanser
- dreary [3]
- bequeath
- sallow [4]
- dross
- lithe
- gristle
- earwig
- fickle
- nestle [5]
- fennel
- nostril
- abide
- behest
- slaughter [6]
- gospel
- furlong
- linseed
- nether
- fathom
- nightingale
- farthing
- threshold
- kith
- wanton
- loam [7]
- yield
- mattock
- hawthorn
- tithe
- behoove
- aspen
- mermaid
- anvil
- forlorn
- quiver
- hustings
- barley
- linden
- hassock
- orchard
- hearth [8]
Challenge Words
- heifer
- mistletoe
- salve
Spelling Tips
- 1 Old English likes double consonants following short vowels, especially if the vowel is in a stressed syllable. Examples include quell, paddock, mattock, sallow, fennel, hassock, and errand.
- 2 A long a sound (\ā\) at the end of an Old English word is often spelled ay as in belay.
- 3 Long e (\ē\) at the end of an adjective or adverb from Old English is nearly always spelled with y. Examples include dreary, watery, windily, fiery, creepy, daily, stringy, timely, and womanly.
- 4 Long o (\ō\) at the end of Old English words is typically spelled with ow as in sallow. By contrast, a long o at the end of a word in many languages that English has borrowed from is simply spelled with o.
- 5 When the syllable \səl\ ends an Old English word, it is nearly always spelled stle, with the t being silent. The only common exception to this rule is pestle, which some people pronounce as \ˈpes-təl\.
- 6 Silent gh after a vowel is common in Old English words, as in slaughter. Silent gh usually appears after i in words like plight (not on the study list) and nightingale, and it signals that the vowel is pronounced \ī\.
- 7 The vowel combination oa in Old English words is nearly always pronounced as long o (\ō\) as in loam and goatee. Examples not on the study list include shoal, loathe, and gloaming.
- 8 Silent e on the end or not? For words from Old English that end in either hard th (\th\) or soft th (\th\), remember this: More often than not, soft th will have a silent e at the end of the word. Consider, for example, bequeath, dearth, kith, and hearth versus tithe and lithe. Interestingly, the word blithe can be pronounced both ways.