An obsolete word an archaic word

The word-stock of a language
is in the state of constant change. Words change their meanings, and
sometimes drop out of the language. New words spring up and replace
the old ones. Some words stay in the language for a long time and do
not lose their faculty of gaining new meanings, others live but a
short time to disappear without any trace of their existence.

There are 3 stages in the
aging process of words:

1. Words in the stage of
gradually passing out of general use are called obsolescent. Here
belong — morphological forms belonging to the earlier stages in the
development of the language:

e.g.
pronouns
thou, thee, thy, thine,
ye

verb
forms art,
wilt (thou makest, thou wilt)

verbal
endings:
-est

ending
(e)th
(instead of –(e)s)
he maketh

French borrowings kept in the
language as a means of preserving the spirit of earlier periods:

garniture = furniture

to emplume = to adorn with
feathers or plumes

2. The second group of archaic
words that have already gone completely out of use but are still
recognized by the English –speaking community are called obsolete:

e.g.
methinks = it seems to me

nay (= no)

3. The third group, which may
be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer recognizable
in modern English:

e.g.
troth=faith

losel –a
worthless, lazy fellow

In the chart, the small
circles denoting archaic and poetic words overlap and extend beyond
the large circle of “special literary vocabulary”. This means
that some of the words in these layers do not belong to the
present-day English vocabulary.

There is
still another class of words, which are classified as archaic i.e.
historical words. By-gone periods in the life of any society are
marked by historical events, by institutions, customs, material
objects which are no longer in use, for example:

baldric
—
перевязь
для меча, рога

yeoman—
йомен (мелкий землевладелец)

mace
— булава,
жезл

goblet
— бокал,
кубок

Words of
this type never disappear from the language; they remain terms
referring to things and phenomena no longer existing. Historical
words have no synonyms, whereas archaic words have been replaced by
modern synonyms.

Archaic
words are predominantly used in the creation of a realistic
background in historical novels. (Cf.: in scientific style — e.g. an
essay on the history of Scandinavian invasions- they will bear no
stylistic function). In official style the use of archaic words is
terminological in character. Obsolescent elements of the English
vocabulary are also preserved in the style of official documents:

aforesaid
—
вышеупомянутый,
вышеприведённый

hereby
-им,
этим, настоящим (юр.)

therewith—
сим , этим,
к тому же, тотчас, немедленно

hereinafter
–
ниже, в
дальнейшем

In poetry
archaic and obsolete words are also used as special terms.

Archaic words and particularly
archaic forms of words are sometimes used for satirical purposes.
Archaic words, word-forms and word-combinations are also used to
create an elevated effect.

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The word-stock of a language is in an increasing state of change. Words change their meaning and sometimes drop out of the language altogether. New words spring up and replace the old ones. Some words stay in the language a very long time and do not lose their faculty of gaining new meanings and becoming richer and richer polysemantically. Other words live but a short time and are like bubbles on the surface of water — they disappear leaving no trace of their existence.

In every period in the development of a literary language one can find words which will show more or less apparent changes in their meaning or usage, from full vigor, through a moribund state, to death, i. e. complete disappearance of the unit from the language.

The beginning of the aging process when -the word becomes rarely used. According to Galperin, such words are called obsolescent, i.e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general use. To this category first of all belong morphological forms belonging to the earlier stages in the development of the language. In the English language these are the pronouns thou and its forms thee, thy and thine; the corresponding verbal ending –est and the verb-forms art, wilt ( thou makest, thou wilt); the ending -(e)th instead of -(e)s (he maketh) and the pronoun ye.

The second group of archaic words are those that’ have already gone completely out of use but are still recognized by the English-speaking community: e. g. methinks (= it seems to me); nay (=ло). These words are called obsolete.

The third group, which may be called archaic proper , are words which are no longer recognizable in modem English, words that were in use in Old English and which have either dropped out of the language entirely or have changed in their appearance so much that they have become unrecognizable, e. g. troth (—faith); a losel (==a worthless, lazy fellow).

The border lines between the groups are not distinct. In fact they interpenetrate. It is specially difficult to distinguish between obsolete and obsolescent words. But the difference is important when we come to deal with the stylistic aspect of an utterance in which the given word serves a certain stylistic purpose. Obsolete and obsolescent words have separate functions, as we shall point out later.

There is still another class of words which is erroneously classed as archaic, viz. historical words. By-gone periods in the life of any society are marked by historical events, and by institutions, customs, material objects, etc. which are no longer in use, for example: Thane, yeoman, goblet, baldric, mace. Words of this type never disappear from the language. They are historical terms and remain as terms referring to definite stages in the development of society and cannot therefore be dispensed with, though the things and phenomena to which they refer have long passed into oblivion. Historical words have no synonyms, whereas archaic words have been replaced by modern synonyms.

Archaic words are primarily and predominantly used in the creation of a realistic background to historical novels. It must be pointed out, however, that the use of historical words (terms) in a passage written in scientific style, say, in an essay on the history of the Danish invasion, will bear no stylistic function at all. But the same terms when used in historical novels assume a different stylistic value. They carry, as it were, a special volume of information adding to the logical aspect of the communication.

This, the main function of archaisms, finds different interpretation in different novels by different writers. Some writers overdo things in this respect, the result being that the reader finds all kinds of obstacles in his way. Others under-estimate the necessity of introducing obsolete or obsolescent elements into their narration and thus fail to convey what is called “local color”.

Besides the function just mentioned, archaic words and phrases have other functions found in other styles. They are, first of all, frequently to be found in the style of official documents. In business letters, in legal language, in all kinds of statutes, in diplomatic documents and in all kinds of legal documents one can find obsolescent words which would long ago have become obsolete if it were not for the preserving power of the special use within the above-mentioned spheres of communication. It is the same with archaic and obsolete words in poetry. As has already been pointed out, they are employed in the poetic style as special terms and hence prevented from dropping completely out of the language.

Among the obsolescent elements of the English vocabulary preserved within the style of official documents, the following may be mentioned: aforesaid, hereby, therewith, hereinafternamed.

The function of archaic words and constructions in official documents is terminological in character. They are used here because they help to maintain that exactness of expression so necessary in this style. Archaic words and particularly archaic forms of words are sometimes used for satirical purposes. This is achieved through what is called Anticlimax. The situation in which the archaism is used is not appropriate to the context. There appears a sort of discrepancy between the words actually used and the ordinary situation which excludes the possibility of such a usage. The low predictability of an archaism when it appears in ordinary speech produces the necessary satirical effect.

Here is an example of such a use of an archaic form. In Shaw’s play “How He Lied to Her Husband” a youth of eighteen, speaking of his feelings towards a “female of thirty-seven” expresses himself in a language which is not in conformity with the situation. His words are:“Perfect love casteth off fear”.

The stylistic significance of archaic words in historical novels and in other works of fiction (emotive literature—belles-lettres) is different. In historical novels, as has been pointed out, they maintain ‘local color”, i.e. they perform the function of creating the atmosphere of the past. The reader is, as it were, transplanted into another epoch and therefore perceives the use of archaic words as a natural mode of communication.

Not so when archaic words are encountered in a depiction of events of present-day life. Here archaisms assume the function of an SD proper. They are perceived in a twofold function, the typical quality of an SD, viz. diachronically and synchronically.

Stylistic functions of archaic words are based on the temporal perception of events described. Even when used in the terminological aspect, as for instance in law, archaic words will mark the utterance as being connected with something remote and the reader gets the impression that he is faced with a time-honored tradition.

List of References:

Galperin I. R. English Stylistics. Москва, 2014

Арнольд И.В. Стилистика современного английского языка. «Флинта», 2002

ГуревичВ.В. English stylistics. Стилистика английского языка, 2017

Разинкина Н.М. Функциональная стилистика английского языка. — М.: Высшая школа, 1989.

Архаизмы и устаревшие слова в английском языке

Любой язык постоянно развивается и меняется с течением времени. В нем появляются новые слова и образуются новые выражения. А старая лексика забывается, исчезает, утрачивает свое значение. Это происходит по разным причинам: слова могут выйти из употребления, так как они больше не соответствуют реальности или их вытеснили более современные и удобные синонимы. Так появляются историзмы, архаизмы и устаревшие слова.

Что такое архаизмы

Историзмы – это слова, которые полностью исчезли из современного языка. Они описывают предметы и явления, которые больше не существуют. К ним нельзя подобрать синонимы. Многие историзмы современным людям неизвестны, другие относятся к пассивному словарному запасу и знакомы из исторических книг или другой специальной литературы. Историзмы полностью вышли из активного использования в языке. Англоязычные лингвисты называют историзмы obsolete words. Это такие слова, как goblet – кубок, mace – булава, yeoman – йомен.

Архаизмы – это устаревшие слова, которые в современном языке имеют более актуальные синонимы. Они описывают обычные, не специфические предметы и явления, которые стали называть по-другому. В отличие от историзмов, архаизмы в некоторой степени сохраняются в активном лексическом запасе носителя языка. Они продолжают использоваться в отдельных сферах с определенными целями. Они стилистически маркированы – то есть их значение не нейтрально, а имеет окраску (например, возвышенную, формальную или ироническую). Как правило, архаизмы и историзмы имеют соответствующие пометки в словарях. По-английски архаизмы называются archaisms или archaic words.

Некоторые слова выходят из употребления и начинают приобретать старомодные оттенки значения, но их еще сложно отнести к архаизмам. Их могут активно использовать люди старшего возраста, они встречаются в художественной литературе предыдущих десятилетий. С точки зрения лингвистов это актуальные слова, но носители языка уже чувствуют, что они устаревают. С бытовой точки зрения их можно назвать устаревшими или старомодными, по-английски – outdated words.

Существуют также устаревшие слова, которые в английском языке известны как «ископаемые» – fossil words. Это архаизмы и историзмы, которые вышли из употребления в обычной речи, но сохранились в составе идиом. Сами идиомы широко используются, поэтому такие слова еще входят в словарный запас носителей языка. Например, архаичное слово ado все еще существует в английском языке благодаря выражению without further ado.

Устаревшими могут быть не только слова, но и грамматические формы слов. Например, в английском языке не сохранилась неправильная форма глагола to work – wrought. Также в прошлом существовало окончание -t, которое использовалось во втором лице единственном числе: например, вместо you shall говорили you shalt. В третьем лице при этом использовалось окончание -eth. Сейчас такие формы тоже считаются архаизмами. Архаичными также являются формы прилагательных darksome вместо dark, beauteous вместо beautiful.

Зачем нужно знать архаизмы

Зачем изучающим английский язык нужны архаизмы и устаревшие слова, если они почти не используются или кажутся старомодными? Вопрос кажется закономерным, но мы рекомендуем обращать внимание на архаичную лексику. Это может показаться странным, но архаизмы могут быть более полезными, чем самые модные неологизмы, которые знакомы небольшому проценту носителей языка. Вот несколько причин знать английские архаичные слова:

1. Чтобы читать англоязычную художественную литературу прошлых веков в оригинале. И сюда относится не только Шекспир, который писал несколько столетий назад и поэтому часто использовал архаизмы, но и Диккенс, Остин, Моэм, сестры Бронте и даже более современный Фаулз или Болдуин. Особенно важно знать архаизмы, если вы интересуетесь англоязычной поэзией. В художественной литературе вы можете встретить такие архаичные или устаревшие слова как whence – where, thine – yours, verdant – green.
2. Чтобы понимать официальный язык документов и изучать законы. Многие британские законы были написаны несколько столетий назад и с тех пор не менялись. Новые повторяли их язык. Современные юридические документы на английском языке продолжают по традиции использовать слова и выражения из старых законов. В юриспруденции архаизмы превратились в профессиональный жаргон. Если ваша работа связана с официальными документами, вам нужно знать такие слова как thereof, hereby, aforesaid.
3. Чтобы слыть эрудированным человеком и уметь иронизировать. Иногда архаизмы и устаревшие обороты специально используются в современной речи. Образованные и эрудированные люди могут вставлять в предложения архаичные слова, чтобы с помощью их стилистической окраски добиться нужного эффекта. Например, они придают речи торжественный и возвышенный вид. Или, наоборот, это ироничный прием: если использовать устаревшее слово в современном контексте, это поможет разрядить обстановку.

Забавные историзмы и архаизмы, которые никто не поймет

•         To grubble – искать вещь в кармане или ящике стола
•         Quoth – говорить
•         To jangle – сплетничать
•         Famelicose – постоянно хотеть есть, быть голодным
•         Woofits – похмелье
•         Whilome – когда-то
•         Methinks – мне кажется

Высокопарные архаизмы для торжественности

В поэзии, исторических новеллах и других художественных произведениях, а также для придания речи торжественности, в современном английском языке используют такие архаизмы как:

•         Thou – ты
•         Morn – утро
•         Eve – канун
•         Woe – горе
•         Behold – узреть
•         Billow – волна
•         Pray – пожалуйста
•         What say you? – что скажете?

Архаизмы из официальных документов

В современных юридических и других документах часто встречаются такие устаревшие слова и выражения как:

•         Beg to inform – извещаем вас
•         Therewith – с тем
•         Aforesaid – вышеизложенный
•         Hereby – этим

Устаревшие значения современных слов

Иногда устаревают не слова, а только их отдельные значения. Вот несколько примеров из английского языка:

•         Hall в значении «дворец», «дом»
•         Tale в значении «счет»
•         Fair в значении «прекрасный» 
•         Maid в значении «девушка»
•         Pray в значении «пожалуйста»

Устаревшие слова и выражения, которые лучше не использовать

Некоторые слова устарели не так давно. Они еще встречаются в учебниках по английскому языку или в речи старшего поколения. Их лучше не использовать в современной речи, потому что они выглядят старомодно и нелепо. Вот несколько примеров с более современными синонимами:

•         Pupil – student
•         It goes without saying – obviously
•         Television – TV
•         How do you do – how is it going?
•         Rather – kind of, fairly
•         What a pity – too bad, I’m sorry

«Ископаемые» слова в английских идиомах

Так называемые fossil words используются только в составе пословиц, поговорок и фразеологизмов. Их значения понятны носителям языка, но отдельно они не встречаются. При этом сами идиомы вполне широко употребляются:

•         Riddance in “good riddance” – избавляться, скатертью дорога
•         Hither in “hither and thither” – сюда, туда и сюда
•         Kith in “kith and kin” – друзья, друзья и семья
•         Yore in “days of yore” – прошлое, былые дни

Obsolescent, Obsoleteand Archaic Words

All these terms denote old words but those of different degrees. It is worth mentioning here that there is no distinct border between obsolescent, obsolete and archaic words.

We distinguish 3 stages in the aging process of words:

1. The beginning of the aging process when the word becomes rarely used. Such words are called obsolescent, i. e. they are in the stage of gradually passing out of general: e. g. a pallet = a straw mattress, a palfrey = small horse, garniture = furniture – mainly French borrowings.

2. The second group of archaic words are those that have already gone completely out of use but are still recognized by the native speakers, e. g. methinks = it seems tome, nay = no. These words are called obsolete.

3. The third group which may be called archaic proper, are words which are no longer recognizable in modern English, words that were in use in old English, e. g. troth = faith, a losel = a worthless, lazy fellow.

Speaking of their function in fiction, they all have different functions but still have something in common: all of them make a realistic background in historical novels. In some particular cases though such words can be used for satirical purposes.

As for archaic words in particular, they are frequently used in official documents for to create terminological character of texts.

One should also note here that the literary layer of words includes a specific group that needs to be distinguished from archaic words — so-called historical words. They illustrate objects and phenomena of no longer use or existence, however the words have not disappeared from the language and are still recognized by the reader. E. g. knight, spear, goblet.

This is a policy truly in development. Thus this page includes many aspects of reasoning and discussion which may later be removed for conciseness.

This «policy» will be renamed, if necessary, as appropriate when the current debate resolves. It may well be renamed to something like «Inclusion and Classification of Old Words». Until then it will remain at this «page address».

Policy for inclusion of old words[edit]

• obsolete, archaic and unfashionable/dated terms and meanings are to be included in Wiktionary.

People reading a text from an earlier era should be able to refer to Wiktionary to find the meaning of a word it employs when either meaning or word has since fallen out of general use. (And its having fallen out of use may itself be helpful to know.) This guideline applies whether the term is peculiar to the court of Queen Elizabeth I or to the punk scene of the 1980s.

Note: Such terms are still subject to WT:CFI, so it does not justify including a word that was only used by a very small group and only published in a single publication of limited readership.

Classifications of old words[edit]

The following tags are not intended to dictate whether or how to use the tagged entries, but to inform the reader of the modern rarity and possible connotations within modern contexts.

Old English[edit]

Old English words (ISO 639-3 language code ang), used before 1100 C.E., are so differently spelt from current spelling, or completely different in meaning, as to be virtually a foreign language to modern English speakers. Entries for such terms are treated as foreign words with the L2 language heading ==Old English==, categorized within Category:Old English language, and defined with a modern English translation. No “(archaic)”, “(obsolete)”, or “(dated)” tags are used.

Middle English[edit]

Middle English words (ISO 639-3 language code enm), used between circa 1100 C.E. and circa 1500 C.E., are also regarded as words from a foreign language. Entries for such terms are given an L2 language header of ==Middle English==, classified within Category:Middle English language, and defined with a modern English translation. No “(archaic)”, “(obsolete)”, or “(dated)” tags are used.

Obsolete[edit]

No longer in use; found only in very old texts. Can also apply to a no longer understood sense of a word. Examples: perdifoil, “to pay” sense of yield.

Virtually no one would currently use the word or meaning; and very few would understand the word or meaning, whether spoken or written.

Archaic[edit]

No longer in general use, but still found in some contemporary texts (e.g. the Bible). Examples: thou (singular second-person subject; «you»), œconomy.

Generally understood by educated people, but rarely used in current texts or speech.

Unfashionable/Dated[edit]

Still in use, but generally only by older people, and considered unfashionable or superseded, particularly by younger people. Examples: wireless (in sense «broadcast radio tuner»), groovy, gramophone, gay (in the senses of «bright», «happy» etc.).

Please keep in mind that what may be considered «unfashionable» or «dated» in one region may not be in another (example: «strange or weird» definition of queer, dated in most areas but still current in Scotland and Ulster), so where possible please include regional information. If in doubt, make a Usage Note stating that the term may be considered unfashionable or dated in some areas. (See also WT:NPOV.)

Historical[edit]

The labels «obsolete», «archaic», «dated» and so forth concern the term itself. It is important to distinguish these labels from the «historical» label, which is used for terms that describe an object or concept which no longer exists or is not current. Examples: Czechoslovakia, raphigraph, or phlogiston.

The term is still used by modern authors who need to refer to the superseded object or concept. Modern texts will generally define the term at its first use.

Tagging words and meanings with “archaic” or “obsolete” or “dated”[edit]

To tag definitions in entries:

• {{lb|xx|obsolete}} tags and categorises as (obsolete)
• {{lb|xx|archaic}} tags and categorises as (archaic)
• {{lb|xx|dated}} tags and categorises as (dated)

Where xx is the relevant language code. As well as tagging words or meaning with “archaic”, “obsolete” or “dated”, it would be helpful to indicate the era in which the word fell into this classification of usage. For example:

• (archaic) — Shakespearean era
• (archaic) — 1920s
• (dated) — 1960s
• (unfashionable) — 1990s

To tag things that aren’t definitions, such as links to other entries, use {{q}} instead and omit the language code.

Limit of Wiktionary’s scope[edit]

• see the definitions in archaic and obsolete and Old English
• see the category definitions in Category:English terms with archaic senses, Category:English terms with obsolete senses

This policy and the category definitions should be aligned at least. And hopefully aligned with common dictionary usage of the terms «archaic» and «obsolete», to be reflected in the entries archaic and obsolete.

• as a dynamic new technology dictionary we will need to «invent» a meaning for «unfashionable» (or dated) that meets our needs. Previous technology dictionaries were less able to classify this kind of word, and thus may not have had a precise word/meaning to use for our purposes.

See also[edit]

• {{obsolete spelling of}}