• EAR MAN
n. 1970s African-American sl. – a person expressing a natural ability to excel at an endeavour; a virtuoso
• EAR-MOLL
vb. 1984 UK sl. – to listen in; to eavesdrop
• EARMUFFS
n. 1942 US sl. – headphones
• EARN
adv. 1230 obs. rare – earnestly, longingly
n. 1. a1000 obs. rare – a place, a dwelling, a hut
n. 2. 1960s sl., orig. UK criminals’ usage – any job or plan that pays well, almost invariably criminal
n. 3. 1977 Aust. sl. – an amount of money earned, esp. earned illicitly
vb. 1. 1579 obs. – to desire strongly, to long
vb. 2. 1674 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to curdle
vb. 3. 1950s UK criminals’ sl. – to work as a prostitute
vb. 4. 1950s UK criminals’ sl. – of a policeman: to take bribes
vb. 5. 1950s UK criminals’ sl. – to make a dishonest profit from a crime
• EARN A GALLON OF OATS
vb. 19C colloq. – of horses: to fall on the back and roll from side to side
• EAR NEEDLE
n. c1955 Amer. dial. – a dragonfly
• EARNER
n. 1. 1960s UK police sl. – a bribe, often paid as regularly as more legitimate wages
n. 2. 1970 sl. – a lucrative or profitable job or enterprise
n. 3. 1970 UK sl.- money earned, esp. money from an illicit source or corrupt practice
n. 4. 1977 UK sl. – any circumstance that criminals can turn to profitable advantage
n. 5. 1995 US sl. – a member of an organized crime enterprise who produces high profits, however unpleasant his character may be
• EARNEST
n. 1. c1205 obs. – ardour in battle; broadly, intense passion or desire
n. 2. a1225 – money, or a sum of money, paid as an installment, esp. for the purpose of securing a bargain or contract
n. 3. L17 UK criminals’ sl. – a share of the booty
• EARNESTFUL
adj. 1. c1386 obs. – important
adj. 2. 1430 obs. – earnest; sincerely zealous; intense, ardent
• EARNESTY
n. 1572 obs. rare – earnestness
• EARNFUL
adj. c1500 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – causing anxiety or yearning; anxious; full of longing desire; sorrowful, lamentable, melancholy, sad
• EARNING
n. 1. c1020 obs. – the fact of deserving, merit; that which one deserves
n. 2. 1575 obs. – the act of uttering the prolonged cry of hounds or deer
n. 3. 1631 obs. – longing desire; poignant grief or compassion
• EARNINGS
n. 1. a1200 obs. – gain, profit
n. 2. 1974 S. Afr. sl. – proceeds from crime
• EARN ONE’S KALE
vb. 1870 Eng. dial. – to earn one’s livelihood
• EARN ONE’S PEASOUP
vb. L19 sl. – to earn at least enough for one’s bed and board
• EARN ONE’S SCONE
vb. 1954 Sc. – to pay for one’s keep
• EARN ONE’S STRIPES
vb. 1990s African-American gang & teen sl. – of a young gang member: to commit a crime to advance his status
• EARN ONE’S TUCKER
vb. L19 sl. – to earn at least enough for one’s bed and board
• EARN SALT TO ONE’S KAIL
vb. 1895 Sc. – to earn one’s living; to make a sufficient livelihood
• EARN SALT TO ONE’S KALE
vb. 1891 Sc. – to make something more than the barest livelihood
• EARNSTFUL
adj. 1857 Eng. dial. – earnest; with great longing or yearning
• EARNSTFULLY
adv. 1844 Eng. dial. – earnestly, wistfully, yearningly
• EAROCK
n. 1794 Sc. – a hen of the first year; one that has only just begun to lay; a pullet
• EAR OF CORN
n. 1912 US sl. – a derisive term for a country person
• EAR’OLE
n. 1991 UK sl. – in betting: odds of 6-4
• EARP
n. 20C US sl. – vomit
vb. 20C US sl. – to vomit
• EAR-PIECE
n. 1980s Black British sl. – an ear
• EAR-PIERCER
n. 1875 – the earwig
• EAR-PIERCING
adj. a1616 – so loud or shrill as to hurt the ears
• EAR-RENT
n. 1610 obs. – the ‘tax’ imposed on a listener’s patience by a profitless or noisy talker
• EAR-RING
n. Bk1897 Eng. dial. – the common fuchsia
• EAR-ROWNER
n. a1388 obs. – an ear-whisperer
• EARS
n. 1. 1920s euphemism – the buttocks; the anus
n. 2. 1942 Amer. sl – radio headphones .
n. 3. 1976 Amer. Citizens Band usage – a CB radio; CB equipment
• EARSCREW
n. 1927 Amer. dial. – an earring, esp. one with a screw fastener
• EAR SEWER
n. 1. 1956 Amer. dial. – a dragonfly (as in ‘sew’)
n. 2. 1968 Amer. dial. – a praying mantis
• EAR SEX
n. a1988 US sl. – a sexually stimulating telephone conversation, as with an employee of a sexual phone service
• EARSOME
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – pleasing to the ear
• EAR-SORE
adj. 1594 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – irritable, ill-tempered, morose, peevish, quarrelsome; apt to take offense
n. 1594 obs. – an annoyance to the ear; something that offends the ear
• EAR-SPLITTING
adj. 1761 – so loud or shrill as to hurt the ears
• EAR-SPORTS
n. 1870 Amer. – entertainments of song or music
• EARTH
n. 1. c890 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – the act of ploughing; a ploughing
n. 2. a1600 – the body
n. 3. M19 back-slang – three
n. 4. 1982 Bahamas sl. – a marijuana cigarette
vb. 1. 1375 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to commit a corpse to the earth; to bury
vb. 2. Bk1900 Sc. – to knock with violence to the ground
• THE EARTH
n. 1. L19 sl. – everything; a large amount or quantity
n. 2. 1924 sl. – great expense; the cost of something
• EARTHA
n. 1. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shit’ (Eartha Kitt) – excrement
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shit’ (Eartha Kitt) – an act of defecation
• EARTHA KITT
n. 1. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shit’ – excrement
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shit’ – an act of defecation
n. 3. 2001 UK rhyming sl. for ‘tit’ – the female breast
• EARTHA KITTS
n. 1. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shits’ – diarrhoea
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘tits’ – the female breasts
► EARTH-APPLE
n. 1. c1000 obs. – in Old English ? a cucumber
n. 2. 1750 – the potato (translated French pomme de terre)
n. 3. 1601 obs. – sow-bread, a plant of the genus Cyclamen; especially the C. europaeum, the fleshy tuberous root-stocks of which are eaten by swine
• EARTHAS
n. 1. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘shits’ (Eartha Kitts) – diarrhoea
n. 2. 1950s rhyming sl. for ‘tits’ (Eartha Kitts) – the female breasts
• EARTH-BALLS
n. Bk1897 – truffles
• EARTH-BARE
adj. Bk1900 Eng. dial. – unpaved
• EARTH-BATH
n. 1. 1765 obs. – a kind of medical treatment in which the patient was buried up to the shoulders in the ground
n. 2. 1765 sl. – a grave
• EARTH-BED
n. 1637 – the grave
• EARTH BISCUIT
n. 1990s US college sl. – someone who identifies with the styles and concerns of the 1960s
• EARTHBOUND
adj. 20C – lacking in imagination; pedestrian or dull
• EARTH CLOSET
n. 1863 – a type of lavatory in which earth is used to cover excreta
• EARTH-CLOWED
adj. Bk1900 Eng. dial. – having mud stuck about the feet
• EARTH DADDY
n. 1980s US college sl. – an older than average college male who professes the values of the 1960s
• EARTH-DIN
n. 1. a1079 obs. or Sc. – an earthquake; thunder in the earth
n. 2. 19C Sc. – thunder
• EARTH-DOG
n. 1616 obs. – a terrier
• EARTHFALL
n. 1792 – a fall of earth or a landslide
• EARTH GENS
n. M19 back-slang – 3 shillings
• EARTH-GRINE
n. 1297 obs. rare – an earthquake
• EARTH-GRITH
n. 1297 obs. rare – an earthquake
• EARTH-GRUB
n. Bk1900 Eng. dial. – an earthworm
• EARTH-HOG
n. 1731 – an aardvark
• EARTH-HOLE
n. 1200 – a cave → obs.
• EARTH-HOUSE
n. 1856 – the grave
• EARTH-HUNGER
n. 1856 – desire to possess land, greed of territory
• EARTHING
n. 1. 1300 – burial → obs. exc. Sc. & N. Eng. dial.
n. 2. 1300 – the state of being buried → obs.
n. 3. 1646 – anchorage → obs.
• EARTHISH
adj. 1536 – earthly, terrestrial → obs.
• EARTHITE
n. 1825 – an inhabitant of earth
• EARTH JUICE
n. 1939 – water → Amer. jocular usage
• EARTHLESS
adj. 1965 – used as a non-profane negative intensifier → Barbados sl.
• EARTHLING
n. 1000 – a ploughman, a cultivator of the soil → obs.
• EARTHLINS
adv. 1809 – towards the earth or ground → Sc.
• EARTHLY
adj. 1. 1588 obs. – pale or lifeless as earth
adj. 2. 1593 obs. – existing or living in or on the ground
adj. 3. Bk1900 Eng. dial. – rough, austere
n. 1920s sl. – an idea
• EARTHLY-MINDED
adj. 1593 – having the affections fixed on the earth; worldly-minded
• EARTHLY-WISE
adv. 1874 – in an earthly manner
• EARTH-MAD
n. 1601 obs. rare – an earthworm
• EARTH MAMA
n. 1980 US sl. – a woman who eschews makeup, synthetic fabric, and meat
• EARTH-MARE
n. 1916 Sc. – a nightmare
• EARTH-MAWK
n. Bk1900 Eng. dial. – an earthworm
• EARTH MOTHER
n. 1980 US sl. – a sensual or fecund woman; a woman who eschews makeup, synthetic fabric, and meat
• EARTH MOVER
n. 1969 Amer. jocular usage – a very heavy rain
• EARTH-MOVING
n. 1382 obs. – an earthquake
• EARTH MUFFIN
n. 1980s US college sl. – an older than average college male; used pejoratively to indicate one who pursues a hippie lifestyle
• EARTH MULBERRY
n. 1963 Amer. dial. – a strawberry
• EARTH-NUT
n. 1548 – the truffle
• EARTH-OIL
n. 1755 – petroleum
• EARTHPADS
n. 1. 1946 US sl. – feet
n. 2. 1946 US sl. – shoes
• EARTH-PLANET
n. 1591 obs. nonce word – a fugitive, a wanderer
• EARTH-PUFF
n. 1585 obs. – a puffball
• EARTHQUAKE
n. 1. 1820 Eng. dial. – a social gathering
n. 2. 1845 US sl. – a powerful or invincible fighter
n. 3. 1869 US sl. – intoxicating liquor
• EARTHQUAKING
n. c1400 obs. – an earthquake
• EARTHQUAVE
n. 1382 obs. – an earthquake
• EARTH-SHAKE
n. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – an earthquake
• EARTHSHAKING
adj. Bk1942 Amer. sl. – of enormous importance or consequence; momentous
n. 1387 – an earthquake
• EARTH-SHATTERING
adj. a1859 colloq. – of enormous importance or consequence; momentous
• EARTH-SHOCK
n. c1315 obs. – an earthquake
• EARTH SIS NOMS
n. M19 back-slang – a 3-month prison term
• EARTH SITH-NOMS
n. M19 back-slang – a 3-month prison sentence
• EARTHSLIDE
n. 1942 Amer. dial. – a landslide
• EARTH-SPIDER
n. 1883 – the tarantula
• EARTH-SWEAT
n. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – a state of great anxiety in which one sweats a great deal
• EARTH-TILTH
n. c1000 obs. – cultivation of the soil; agriculture
• EARTH-WARE
n. c893 obs. – earth-dwellers
• EARTH-WOLF
n. Bk1897 – an aardvark
• EARTHWORM
n. 1. 1625 – a disparaging name for a person, esp. a mean or grovelling person
n. 2. 1889 Eng. dial. – a miser; a covetous, grasping person
n. 3. 1990s sl. – the penis
• EARTH YANNOPS
n. M19 back-slang – threepence
• EARTH YENNEPS
n. M19 back-slang – threepence
• EAR-WAG
vb. 1. Bk1942 – to listen intently; to eavesdrop → Amer. sl.
vb. 2. 1980s – to gossip → NZ sl.
• EARWIG
n. 1. 1633 – an ear whisperer, a flatterer, a parasite → obs.
n. 2. M19 – an eavesdropper → sl.
n. 3. M19 – a clergyman → sl.
n. 4. M19 – a close, intimate friend → sl.
n. 5. M19 – information → UK criminals’ sl.
n. 6. L19 – an inquisitive person → sl.
n. 7. 1938 – a centipede → Amer. dial.
n. 8. 1940s – a lookout, one who listens for approaching steps, then checks the owner before admitting them → sl.
vb. 1. 1837 – to urge, to importune; to pester with private importunities or admonitions; to influence or bias a person by secret communications
vb. 2. 19C – to gossip, esp. maliciously; to feed another with unpleasant rumours → sl.
vb. 3. M19 – to lecture, to sermonize → sl.
vb. 4. 1910s – to understand → rhyming sl. for ‘twig’
vb. 5. 1927 – to listen; to eavesdrop → sl.
• EARWIG-BRAIN
n. 1599 – one who has a ‘maggot’ or craze in his brain → obs.
• EARWIGGER
vb. M19 – an eavesdropper → sl.
• EARWIGGING
n. 1816 – orig., secret conversation or influence; whispered insinuation; a rebuke in private; later, listening to another’s private conversation, eavesdropping
• EAR-WORM
n. 1. a1670 – a secret counsellor
n. 2. 20C – an irritatingly catchy tune → colloq.
Back to INDEX E
Back to DICTIONARY
Lexicophilia 