With reference to the referee, I refer you to the board. Enjoy this KS3 quiz on spelling words beginning at ref.
"The leader of the troop unlocked his word-hoard; the distinguished one delivered this answer: 'We belong by birth to the Great people and owe allegiance to Lord Hygelac.'" Beowulf, translated by Seamus Heaney.
A "word-hoard" is a beautiful term to express the concept of a personal vocabulary. The meaning of "word" is fairly obvious here. A "hoard" is, of course, a collection of some sort, usually of things of value. A hoard is precious, carefully stored and protected. By creating a new word as a compound of "word" and "hoard", the Old English wordhord poetically imagines a vocabulary as treasure. In Old English poems, this treasure is often "unlocked" when a character begins to speak.