| A | Anglian dialects (of OE) |
| AE | American English |
| AF | Anglo-French (the preferred designation; see also 'AN') |
| AL | Anglo-Latin |
| AN | Anglo-Norman (rare; see also 'AF') |
| Ar. | Arabic |
| Biblical L | Latin (Vulgate usage) |
| Bret. | Breton |
| Brks. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Berkshire dialect (of English) |
| Cat. | Catalan |
| Celt. | Celtic (often spelled out) |
| CF | Central French or Continental (as opposed to Anglo-) French |
| CL | Classical (as opposed to Medieval or Neo-) Latin |
| Corn. | Cornish |
| Cornw. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Cornwall dialect (of English) |
| Cum. | Cumbrian dialect (of English) |
| Dan. | Danish |
| Dev. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Devon dialect (of English) |
| dial. | dialect, -al (usu. combined with a language, e.g. 'Dan.dial.' 'MnE dial.' 'Swed.dial.' etc.) |
| Du. | Dutch |
| Dur. | Durham dialect (of English) |
| E | English |
| EAn. | (with 'MnE dial.':) East Anglian dialect (of English) |
| Early ME | Early Middle English |
| EFris. | East Frisian |
| EM | East Midland dialect (of ME) |
| EMn | Early modern (prefixed to various lgs., e.g. 'EMn Scot.', 'EMn Du.') |
| EMnE | Early Modern English |
| Essex | (with 'MnE dial.':) Essex dialect (of English) |
| EWS | Early West Saxon |
| F | French |
| Faroese | Faroese |
| Flem. | Flemish |
| Fris. | Frisian |
| G | German |
| Gael. | Scottish or Irish Gaelic (see also 'Sc.Gael.', 'Ir.') |
| Glo. | Gloucester dialect (of English) |
| Gmc. | Germanic |
| Goth. | Gothic |
| Gr. | Greek |
| Heb. | Hebrew (sometimes spelled out) |
| HG | High German |
| Hmp. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Hampshire dialect (of English) |
| Icel. | Icelandic (see also 'OI') |
| Ir. | Irish Gaelic |
| It. | Italian |
| Jutland | Jutland dialect |
| K | Kentish dialect (of OE or ME) (OE dialect sometimes specified as 'OK') |
| Kent | (with 'MnE dial.':) Kentish dialect (of Modern English) |
| L | Latin (including CL and ML; also spelled out) |
| Lan. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Lancashire dialect (of English) |
| Latinate | Latinate (i.e., Latin in form) |
| LG | Low German |
| Lin. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Lincoln dialect (of English) |
| LL | Late Latin (used only in E- and F- vols. of MED; elsewhere 'L' or 'ML') |
| LOE | Late Old English |
| LWS | Late West Saxon dialect (of OE) |
| M | Midland dialects (of ME) |
| MDan. | Middle Danish |
| MDu. | Middle Dutch |
| ME | Middle English |
| Merc. | Mercian dialect (of OE) |
| MFlem. | Middle Flemish |
| MHG | Middle High German |
| Midlands | Midlands dialects (of English) |
| MIr. | Middle Irish |
| ML | Medieval Latin |
| MLG | Middle Low German |
| Mn | Modern (prefixed to lgs. and dialects, e.g. 'Mn F,' 'Mn G,' 'Mn Ir.,' 'Mn Norman,' 'Mn Yks.,' 'Mn Scot.') |
| Mn L | Neo-Latin |
| MnE | Modern English |
| MScot. | Middle Scots (see also 'EMn Scot.' & 'OScot.') |
| MSwed. | Middle Swedish |
| MWel. | Middle Welsh |
| N | Northern dialect (of ME); also (with 'MnE dial.':) northern dialects (of modern English); also appears as "North, Northern") |
| NEM | Northeast Midland dialect (of ME) |
| NF | Northern French |
| Nhb. | Northumbrian dialect (of OE) |
| Nhp. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Northamptonshire dialect (of English) |
| NM | North Midland dialect (of ME) |
| NMidl | (with 'MnE dial.':) North midlands dialect (of English) |
| Norman | Norman dialect (of French) |
| Norw. | Norwegian |
| Nrf. | Norfolk dialect (of English) |
| NWM | Northwest Midland dialect (of ME) |
| O | Old(er) (prefixed to various lgs. and dialects, e.g. 'O G[erman],' 'O Gascon,' 'O Pic.,' 'O Walloon,' 'O Wel.') |
| ODan. | Old Danish (cp. also 'older Dan.') |
| OE | Old English |
| OF | Old French |
| OFlem. | Old Flemish |
| OFris. | Old Frisian |
| OHG | Old High German |
| OI | Old Icelandic |
| OIr. | Old Irish |
| OIt. | Old Italian |
| OK | Old Kentish (i.e., the Kentish dialect of OE) |
| OLFc. | Old Low Franconian |
| OLG | Old Low German |
| ON | Old Norse |
| ONF | Old Northern French |
| ONorw. | Old Norwegian |
| OPort. | Old Portuguese |
| OProv. | Old Provençal/Occitan |
| Ork. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Orkneys dialect (of English) |
| OS | Old Saxon |
| OScot. | Older Scots (used only in A-F of MED; ?= 'MScot.') |
| OSpan. | Old Spanish |
| OSwed. | Old Swedish |
| Pers. | Persian |
| Pgmc. | Proto-Germanic |
| Pic. | Picard dialect (of French) |
| Port. | Portuguese |
| Prov. | Provençal/Occitan |
| S | Southern dialects (of ME), excluding Kent; also (with 'MnE dial.'): southern dialects (of modern English) |
| Sc.Gael. | Scottish Gaelic (sometimes "Mn Sc.Gael.") |
| Scand. | Scandinavian |
| Scot. | Scots (modern lang. sometimes distinguished as 'Mn Scot.'; cp. 'OScot.' and 'MScot.') |
| SE | Southeastern dialects (of ME), excluding Kent |
| Septuagint Gk. | Greek (LXX usage) |
| Shetl. | Shetland dialect |
| Shetland | (with 'MnE dial.':) Shetland dialect (of English) |
| Shr. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Shropshire dialect (of English) |
| Skt. | Sanskrit |
| SM | South Midlland dialects (of ME) |
| Som. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Somerset dialect (of English) |
| Span. | Spanish |
| Suf. | Suffolk dialect (of English) |
| Sus. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Sussex dialect (of English) |
| SW | Southwestern dialects (of ME) |
| Swed. | Swedish |
| SWM | Southwest midland dialect (of ME) |
| VL | Vulgar Latin |
| Vulg. L | Latin (Vulgate usage) (= 'Biblical L') |
| W | (with 'MnE dial.':) western dialects (of English) |
| Walloon | Walloon dialect |
| War. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Warwickshire dialect (of English) |
| Wel. | Welsh |
| WFlem. | West Flemish |
| WFris. | West Frisian |
| WGmc. | West Germanic |
| Wil. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Wiltshire dialect (of English) |
| WM | West Midland dialects (of ME) |
| Wor. | (with 'MnE dial.':) Worcestershire dialect (of English) |
| WS | West Saxon dialect (of OE) |
| Yks. | Yorkshire dialect (of English) |
| York | (with 'MnE dial.':) City of York dialect (of English) |