(a) A discrete act performed or undertaken by someone, (someone’s) deed; coll. & pl. (one’s) individual acts, deeds, or actions, the things one does or has done in one’s life, (one’s) doings; also, the characteristic, habitual, or regular actions that one performs, (one’s) customary acts; also fig. and in fig. context; ~ and dede, werkes and dedes (weies); (b) an act, action, or activity considered apart from an individual actor; also, that which is afoot, goings on, an affair, a matter; foul (wikkede) ~, an unfortunate situation, a bad business; wonder ~, a remarkable thing; (c) a morally commendable act, (one’s) act of piety; an exercise or demonstration of virtuous activity; also, a defined act of charity, devotion, etc. mandated by the church; coll. & pl. (one’s) good deeds; righteous acts; all the good deeds one does or has done in life; also, (one’s) virtuous mode of living; good behavior; also fig. and in fig. context; god (holi, wise, etc.) ~; (d) a morally culpable act, an act of impiety, a misdeed; (one’s) crime, sin; demonstration of wickedness, misbehavior, wrongdoing; coll. & pl. (one’s) bad deeds; immoral acts; the evil deeds one does or has done in one’s life; also, a vicious manner of life, bad conduct; also fig. and in fig. context; ~ of sinful dede; cursed (fals, wel, sinful, wikkede, etc.) ~; (e) a notable deed, praiseworthy act; a feat, (one’s) act of bravery, skill, or strength; also, a supernatural feat, miracle; the manifestation of divine power; coll. (one’s) accomplishments; also, repeated or continuous displays of divine power, miracles; a gret ~; werkes merveillous, wonder werkes; (f) an act or action contrasted explicitly with words, thoughts, appearance, intent; also, an act or action, esp. an act of piety or virtuous action, contrasted to faith alone, the demonstration of piety as opposed to the profession of it; werk(es and wille, wille speche and ~; mid ~ and mid word, neither in ~ ne in thought, on ithought on word and on ~, etc.; in ~, in action or deeds; also, with diminished force: in fact, actually [quot. c1390 Marie Mayden]; outwarde werkes, overt, perceptible actions as opposed to internal ones; unholi of werkes, ?not sanctified by the performance of charitable activities in the world, holy only in respect of one’s faith.

In selected phrases: (a) bok of aposteles werkes, the Biblical book of Acts; (b) ~ of charite (merci), mild-hertnesse ~, any one of the fourteen acts of charity or kindness, either physical or spiritual; werkes of almesse (charite, misericorde, etc.), almesse werkes; seven werkes of merci (merci bodili, pite), six werkes of charite (merci), six mild-hertnesse werkes, etc.; ~ of humilite, an act of devotional self-abasement; werkes of penaunce (penitence), acts of self-mortification, penances; (c) the werkes of brightnesse, the set of theological virtues; the werkes of derknesse, evil or evildoing in general; the werkes of thesternesse, the deadly sins; (d) bringen to ~, don in ~, to act upon (a desire, etc.), put into action; comen to ~, step forward, act now; also, ?achieve (notable) success [last quot.]; don (putten, setten) to ~, urge (sb.) to action, set to work; also, put (sth.) into action.

(a) The role that someone or something properly fulfills, (someone’s or something’s) function; also, coll. & pl. the operations, actions, or functions properly ascribed to someone or something, workings, functionings; (b) anat. & physiol. pl. physical functions; animal werkes, ?the animating functions of the brain, vital faculties; (c) use; a purpose, a use; putten in (setten on) ~; (d) ?the functioning component of something; ?the visible operating of something.

(a) An act or action considered with respect to its causal role, an act of explicit or implicit causality; also, the performance or commission of such an act; (b) an intention, a plan, or a plot designed to bring something about.

(a) An act, action, or activity one is enjoined to do in satisfaction of an obligation, an order, a law, a requirement, etc.; (one’s) assigned work, obligation, or duty; (b) that which one does in service to an authority, an act or activity willingly undertaken or performed as a show of deference, obedience, or loyalty, service;—usu. with gen. or gen. phrase identifying the authority served; (c) the ~ of mars, service to Mars, a military career; (d) those whom it is (someone’s) responsibility to guide, (one’s) charge.

God’s creative activity, the act of creation; a creative act of God; also, creation itself, God’s handiwork; a created thing; a creature; the werk(es of thin hondes, ertheli werkes, etc.

(a) Physical labor, toil; servile or menial work, domestic chores; honest work as opposed to idleness or mischief; also, work as opposed to observance of the Sabbath; also, a laborious or burdensome task, chore; also fig.; (b) labor as a commodity or measurable entity; a daies (two daies) ~, etc.; thre peni-worth(es of ~; on daies ~, ?pay for a day’s work; (c) a quantity of labor provided as a customary service; werkes and bene daies, bene daies and werkes, days designated for the doing of customary labor service and boonwork; (d) physical exertion, striving; a physical effort; waken mid ~, ?to begin to flag; ?waver in the face of hardship; (e) maken clene ~ of, to dispatch (enemies), make short work of; (f) in proverbs.

In cpds. and combs: (a) ~ beste, a draft animal, work beast; ?also fig. [quot. a1425, 2nd]; ~ folk, those who labor for their living, laborers; ~ womman, a maidservant; ?also, a skilled craftswoman, one who does skilled handiwork [quot. a1500(c1450)]; (b) ~ dai, a day designated for labor rather than for religious observance, recreation, or rest, a workday; also fig. [last quot.]; also, liturg. a day in ordinary time, distinguished from a Sunday or other holy day, for which there is no specially designated liturgy; also glossing L ferialis adj. & profestus adj. [quot. ?c1475]; develes ~ dai, a day on which the devil works to his profit; dai ~, q.v.; (c) ~ lof, ?a loaf of bread allotted to persons fulfilling a feudal work obligation; ~ lond, ?land held by payment in labor; (weke) ~ silver, money paid in commutation of a (week’s) labor service; feld ~, agricultural labor; (d) ~ hous, a building, room, or other space designated for the performance of domestic chores or labor; also, a workshop; ?also, a place in which penal labor is exacted, a workhouse [quot. ?c1475]; ~ led, ?a vessel in which some work, perh. brewing, is done; ~ lome, a tool; (e) ~ hop, a measure for grain, prob. containing two and a half bushels.

The fruits of unspecified labor, the product or result of one’s toil; also fig.; werkes of hondes, hondes werkes; a mannes werkes; daies werk(es, that which someone has produced in a day; also, things that require (many) days’ labor for their production [quot. ?a1450].

Sexual activity; an occasion or instance of sexual activity; ~ of flesh (kinde), fleshlich ~; ~ of gendringe (generacioun), the procreative act; ~ of matrimoine, conjugal relations; werkes of venus, venus werkes, amorous activities, dalliance; the mannes (wommanes) ~, the male (female) role in sexual relations.

(a) A skilled trade, craft, or occupation, (one’s) trade or means of earning a living; work at one’s craft, the plying of (one’s) trade; also, an operation pertaining to a skilled trade or occupation; specif. ?a military maneuver or action [quot. a1450, 2nd]; ~ of honde; werkes of bras and of iren, the crafts or operations of metalworking; feld werkes, ?military exercises, drills, regimens; iren ~ [see iren-werk n. (b)]; silke ~ [see silk-werk n. (b)]; tre-werkes, carpentry, woodworking; whitinge ~, ?plastering, whitewashing; (b) an object or a product resulting from the exercise of skill at a craft or trade, the result of the employment of a particular technique pertaining to a craft, etc.; also fig. and in fig. context; cook. a dish or recipe [quot. a1500]; ~ of peutre (silver); ~ of carpentrie, a wooden item; grave ~, ?a tomb; ?an engraved stone to decorate a tomb; iren ~ [see iren-werk n. (a)]; masoun (ston) ~, masonry, stonework [see also ston n. 7b.(a)]; plaine ~, ?unornamented carpentry work; timber ~ [see timber n.(1) 1.(d)]; tre (treen) ~, ?timber work, work in wood; (c) specif. ornamentation produced by skilled craftsmanship, decorative work; boced ~, ornamental chasing; wilde werkes, extravagant or fanciful decorations; (d) workmanship, artistry, fashioning; also, a kind of workmanship, style of manufacture [1st quot.]; biyonde the se ~, foreign manufacture; (e) an article in the process of being worked on, (one’s) work in hand.

(a) Building, construction work; a specific building project; work at or on a construction project; also, large-scale excavation, erection of earthworks; also, shipbuilding; ~ ston, a stone block for use in construction, a building stone;—also coll.; chirche ~ [see chirche-work n. (a)]; clerk (countrollour, maister, provost) of (the) werkes, the person in charge of a construction project, supervisor of building operations; also in fig. context [quot. 1340]; (b) a structure, an edifice, a building; also fig.; a part or structural member of a building; a monument; also, a fortification, an earthwork, a seawall, or similar construction [often difficult to distinguish from (a) and vice versa]; godes ~, a monastery; (c) construction, making; of olde (romain) ~; (d) the edifice under construction; the building job at hand.

(a) Embroidery, stitchery, needlepoint, fancywork; the decoration of fabric with fancywork; also, the ornamented or embroidered fabric itself or the design, motif, pattern, etc. produced; of ~, fancy; cheker ~, a checked design; couched (english, frensh, grene, steined) ~; diaper ~, diapered fabric; gold-smith(es ~ [see gold-smith n. 1.(c)]; linen (weven) ~, linen (woven) fabric; paris ~ [see Paris n.(1) (c)]; silke ~ [see silk-werk n. (a)]; stol ~, embroidery made on a frame; (b) fancy weaving, ornately woven fabric; arras ~ [see arras n. 2.(b)]; carpete ~, fabric for decorative coverings, hangings, etc.; tapestrie ~ [see tapestri(e n. (b)]; tapicer(es ~ [see tapicer n. (b)]; tapiserie (tapistere) ~, tapestry, tapestry cloth.

The surgeon’s craft, surgery, medical practice; also, a medical procedure, an operation; also, treatment; comen to ~ ward, to respond to treatment.

(a) The operations pertinent to the maintenance, repair, or continued functioning of a large household, town, system of fortifications, religious foundation, etc., all that goes into the upkeep of a physical plant;—usu. pl.; also in fig. context [last quot.]; also, the obligation to contribute toward such operations [quot. a1475]; chirche ~ [see chirche-work n. (b)]; clerk (supervisor) of werkes; commune werkes, municipal operations having to do with the maintenance of public structures; (b) tin ~, a place where the operations necessary for obtaining and processing tin are carried out.

(a) An art, esp. an arcane art; a display of skill at an art [quot. a1400]; also, an operation pertaining to an art; ~ of nigromauncie (wicchecraft); ~ supersticious; ivel (prive, shondli) ~; (b) the art of alchemy; an alchemical operation or process; also, an alchemical method [quot. a1500(c1477), 2nd]; ~ of alkamie; ~ of generacioun (quint-essence), the procedure designed to produce the philosophers’ stone (the quintessence); gros ~, preliminary operations; philosophres ~, the process of attempting to engender the philosophers’ stone; red ~ [see red-werk n. (b)]; sotil ~, advanced procedures, operations demanding skill or knowledge; whit ~, the operations designed to produce the white elixir.

Scholarly labor, the exercise of scholarly zeal; the product of scholarly effort; a work of learning or literature, scholarly writing, literary work; also in fig. context [quot. a1400]; also, the written work at hand, work in composition; mannes ~, secular learning.

An artistic endeavor; the product of artistic endeavor, as a sculpture or painting; ?a song [quot. c1275]; of (olde) ~, of (venerable) artistry.

Coll. & pl. Peltry, prob. squirrel skins, as a commodity or raw material; grei (red) ~ [see also grei n.(2) (b) & red-werk n. (a)]; wilde ~, q.v.

Adversity, trouble; also, ?vengeance [quot. a1400].

The word ‘werk’ in a concordance or used in an etymology.

?Error for burgh n.(1).

(a) In surnames; (b) in place names and names of buildings and other structures [see Smith PNElem. 2.230,254].