Example of obsolete 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words have no synonyms, whereas archaic words have been replaced by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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Updated on February 27, 2018

Obsolete word is a temporal label commonly used by lexicographers (that is, editors of dictionaries) to indicate that a word (or a particular form or sense of a word) is no longer in active use in speech and writing.

«In general,» notes Peter Meltzer, «the difference between an obsolete word and an archaic word is that, although both have fallen into disuse, an obsolete word has done so more recently» (The Thinker’s Thesaurus, 2010).

The editors of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2006) make this distinction:

Archaic. [T]his label is attached to entry words and senses for which there is only sporadic evidence in print after 1755 . . ..
Obsolete. [T]his label is attached to entry words and senses for which there is little or no printed evidence since 1755.

In addition, as Knud Sørensen points out, «it sometimes occurs that words which have become obsolete in Britain continue to be current in the United States (compare Amer. Engl. fall and Brit. Engl. autumn)» (Languages in Contact and Contrast, 1991).

Following are some examples of obsolete words:

Illecebrous

«Illecebrous [ill-less-uh-brus] an obsolete word meaning ‘attractive, alluring.’ From a Latin word meaning ‘to entice.'»
(Erin McKean, Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. Oxford University Press, 2006)

Mawk

«The underlying meaning of mawkish is ‘maggotish.’ It was derived from a now obsolete word mawk, which meant literally ‘maggot’ but was used figuratively (like maggot itself) for a ‘whim’ or ‘fastidious fancy.’ Hence mawkish originally meant ‘nauseated, as if repelled by something one is too fastidious to eat.’ In the 18th century the notion of ‘sickness’ or ‘sickliness’ produced the present-day sense ‘over-sentimental.'»

(John Ayto, Word Origins, 2nd ed. A & C Black, 2005)

Muckrake

«Mudslinging and muckraking—two words commonly connected with the pursuit of an elected office and the flotsam the campaigns leave in their wake.
«Voters seem fairly familiar with the term used to describe malicious or scandalous attacks against opponents, but the latter ‘m’ word may be new for some people. It is an obsolete word describing a tool used to rake muck or dung and used in reference to a character in John Bunyan’s classic Pilgrim’s Progress [1678]—‘the Man with the Muck-rake’ who rejected salvation to focus on filth.»
(Vanessa Curry, «Don’t Muck It Up, and We Won’t Rake It.» The Daily Herald [Columbia, TN], April 3, 2014)|

Slubberdegullion

Slubberdegullion is «n: a slobbering or dirty fellow, a worthless sloven,» 1610s, from slubber «to daub, smear, behave carelessly or negligently» (1520s), probably from Dutch or Low German (cf. slobber (v)). Second element appears to be an attempt to imitate French; or perhaps it is French, related to Old French goalon «a sloven.» «Century Dictionary speculates the -de- means ‘insignificant’ or else is from hobbledehoy.»

Snoutfair

Snoutfair is a person with a handsome countenance (literally, a fair snout). Its origins are from the 1500s.

Lunting

Lunting means to walk while smoking a pipe. Lunting is also the emantion of smoke or steam from a tobacco pipe, or the flame used to light a fire, torch, or pipe, The word lunting originated in the 1500s «from either the Dutch word ‘lont’ meaning a slow match or fuse or the Middle Low German ‘lonte’ meaning a wick.

With Squirrel

With squirrel is a euphemism that means pregnant. It originated in the Ozark Mountains in the early 20th century.

Curglaff

Curglaff is commonly felt by people in northern climes —it is the shock that one feels when first plunging into cold water. The word curglaff originated from Scotland in the 1800s. (Also spelled curgloff).

Groak

To groak (verb) is to watch someone longingly while they are eating, in the hope that they will give you some of their food. The origin is possibly Scottish. 

Cockalorum

Cockalorum is a little man who has an over-inflated opinion of himself and thinks himself more important than he is; also, boastful speech. The origin of cockalorum may be from the from the obsolete Flemish word kockeloeren of the 1700s, meaning «to crow.»

What is an example of an obsolete word?

The definition of obsolete is something that is no longer being used or is out of date. An example of obsolete is the vcr. An example of obsolete is a Sony Walkman. Vestigial or rudimentary, especially in comparison with related or ancestral species, as the tailbone of an ape.

What are some outdated words?

50 Outdated Words That Instantly Age You

• “Mobile phone”
• “Dungarees”
• “Rolodex”
• “Card”
• “Stewardess”
• “Lousy”
• “Pictures”
• “Groovy”

How do words become obsolete?

Words become obsolete because the thing they refer to no longer exists; fashionable terms can become passe and words can be superseded by other ways of speaking. “The reason language changes is because each generation has to learn a language for themselves and what they do is construct a slightly changed version.

What are some obsolete English words?

14 Obsolete English Words that Deserve Another Chance

• Beef-Witted. Adjective.
• Boreism. Noun.
• Brabble. Verb.
• Cockalorum. Noun: A braggart, a person with an overly high opinion of himself.
• Crapulous. Adj: It sounds like a word Dr Seuss made up, but it’s legit.
• Fudgel.
• Fuzzle.
• Groak.

What is thou mean?

Thou is an old-fashioned, poetic, or religious word for ‘you’ when you are talking to only one person. It is used as the subject of a verb.

Is thou a real word?

The word thou /ðaʊ/ is a second-person singular pronoun in English. It is now largely archaic, having been replaced in most contexts by you. Early English translations of the Bible used the familiar singular form of the second person, which mirrors common usage trends in other languages.

What is another word for thou?

In this page you can discover 22 synonyms, antonyms, idiomatic expressions, and related words for thou, like: yourself, you, thee, ye, thine, thyself, yard, thy, 1000, wherefore and hast.

What is formal way to say you?

“Thou” may sound stuffy and formal now, but it used to be the informal version of “you.” Saying “you” was actually a sign of respect….Thou and Thee.

informal English:	formal English:
thou to thee thy	you to you your

What is a polite way of saying you?

Actually, “you” is the polite or formal form. Historically, it would have been used as a plural or as a formal singular. The informal singular was “thou” or “thee.” Ironically, you’ll usually only hear “thou” or “thee” today in very formal religious settings.

How do you say you are in a respectful way?

1. My method of saying “you” in a more respectful way is to make my statement include myself, so instead of saying “you”, I say “we” or “us”.
2. Instead of, “you must work harder”, I would say, “we must work harder”.
3. Of course, that could ring hollow if I didn’t apply it to my own work, so I try to.

What are the some polite words?

Words that are polite include “Please,” “Thank you,” and “Excuse me.” “Excuse me” is what I say when I would like the attention of another person. I can use my words to say, “Excuse me” when I want to talk to another person.

What are polite words called?

cordial, civil, gentle, thoughtful, genteel, well-behaved, affable, sympathetic, neighborly, friendly, amiable, deferential, pleasant, courtly, well-mannered, attentive, considerate, sociable, gracious, respectful.

How do you say OK nicely?

OK

1. agreeable,
2. all right,
3. alright,
4. copacetic.
5. (also copasetic or copesetic),
6. ducky,
7. fine,
8. good,

What to reply if a girl says sorry?

How To React To Her Apology

• Thank You. Saying thank you means that you accept her apology.
• Please Don’t Do It Again. These words will remind her that what she did revokes negativity.
• It’s Okay.
• Don’t Worry About It.
• You Should Be.
• I Forgive You.
• I Still Love You.
• It’s Alright.

How do you reply to okay?

“Ok” is a reply. Unless you want to get into an endless cycle of “Ok” then “Ok, great!” then “Ok, fine” etc etc, leave it at the first ok and don’t reply at all. Just smile and move on, either to another topic or another location.

Why a guy is being distant?

One of the biggest reasons that a guy might start acting distant towards you is if something in his life is stressing him out outside the relationship, and he wants to tackle it alone. Maybe he’s having problems at work and doesn’t feel like talking about them. Or maybe work is just extra stressful for a little while.

What are the five signs that a guy likes you?

How to Tell If a Guy Likes You

• He is touching you. (istock)
• He remembers small details about you.
• You two are social media friends.
• He gives you eye contact.
• He makes an effort in the conversations you have.
• He’s using “alpha” body language.
• He asks if you have a boyfriend.
• He gets jealous when you talk to other guys.

Just like life, facts and even chocolate, words in the English language have a life-span.

Some that we use today are actually thousands of years old, and originate from a time before English even existed.

Others have since changed, been replaced, or completely ditched.

Here are 30 obsolete or uncommon words that we think have gone before their time. Have fun in your next conversation and try a few!

30 Amazing, Intriguing, Obsolete Words We Should Absolutely Start Using Again

1. Crapulous – we know what you’re thinking; you’re thinking this has something to do with feeling crappy, right? Well, you’re not entirely wrong. It means to feel ill from excessive eating or drinking, like feeling crapulous the morning after your cake-binge-worthy birthday celebration.

2. Grumpish – this one dates back to the 1720s and it makes us pretty grumpish to realize it’s no longer used. It’s an alternative to sullen or grumpy.

3. Groak – while the origin of this word is unknown, it means to watch someone silently as they eat, in the hope that you will be invited to join them. For instance, how am I supposed to enjoy my sushi while that guy is groaking me the entire time? Whoa, that sounds similar to something else…maybe let’s not revive that one…

4. Pismire – literally, a word that’s derived from small insect and piss. Defined as an ant. “Hey look, there goes another pismire!”  Em gee. Let’s bring that back, shall we?

5. Snowbrowth – dating all the way back to the 1590s, snowbrowth refers to freshly melted snow, as in “this morning there was a perfect carpet of white on the lawn, but now it’s merely snowbrowth.”

6. Excogigate – To plot, plan, devise, with Latin roots that mean to bring out by thinking. Also, NOT used in relation to writing lists. “Oh my, what is George excogigating over there?” (Yikes, that almost sounds bad – like George is choking to death or something.)

7. Apricity – you know when it’s a cold winter’s day but the sun is just gloriously warm? That’s “apricity” and the word dates back to the 1620s.

8. Twattle – this sounds like garbage that you’d tweet, doesn’t it? What it really means is to gossip, as in stop twattling and get back to work!

9. Elflock – if you have wavy hair and you wake up with it tangled and mangled, that’s elflock, as though the elves have tied it into knots during the night. For instance, Geesh, have you seen the state of my elflocks today?

10. Gorgonize – from the early 17^th century, this lovely word means to have a mesmerizing effect on someone, as in, “I was gorgonized by his charisma as he spoke to me.”

11. Cockalorum – coming straight out of the 1710s, this word refers to a little man who has a high opinion, as in that guy has short-man syndrome, he’s a total cockalorum.

12. Snoutfair – No, it doesn’t refer to a festival of cute pigs with lovely looking snouts. It actually refers to a good-looking person and comes from the 1500s. Today we’d use it as, the girl who plays Super Girl? Total snoutfair!

13. Jollux ­– even in the 1780s they had slang and “jollux” was a term to refer to a fat person.

14. Curglaff – you know when you plunge into that cold ocean water and want to scream? That shock is curglaff! It’s a Scottish term from the 1800s.

15. Brabble – remember when you heard that mom and daughter having a rather loud argument in the grocery store? They were brabbling over something inconsequential.

16. Twitter-light – no, this doesn’t refer to the backlight on your phone as you’re scrolling through Twitter, believe it or not. It’s actually a 1600s alternative to the time of day we call twilight.

17. Lunting – in the 1820s gentlemen would enjoy a post-meal lunt. That means they would go for a walk and smoke a pipe.

18. Beef-witted – some of today’s reality shows are totally beef-witted! The 1590’s word refers to something stupid.

19. Monsterful – out of the 1810s, this word refers to something rather extraordinary and wonderful. The Dead Pool movie was every bit as monsterful as the trailer promised.

20. Callipygian – this word is something the likes of J-Lo and Beyoncé own. While it was used in the 1640s, it means to have a beautifully shaped buttocks.

21. Fuzzle – now here’s what probably happened to you on your stag night. In the 1910s friend would gather and get fuzzled to have a good time – drunk or intoxicated.

22. Quockerwodger – from the 1850s, this funny-sounding English term referred to a wooden puppet that was controlled by strings. She can’t think for herself, she’s such a quockerwodger!

23. Resistentialism – a little more “recent” (as in 1940’s), this phrase refers to malevolent behavior that would be displayed by inanimate objects, such as, that statue looks a little vicious, I think it exhibits resistentialism.

24. Lethophobia – do you fear oblivion at all? You may well be lethophobic!

25. Sluberdegullion – did you spend the weekend sprawled on the sofa with no intentions of moving? In the 1600s you’d be known as a sluberdegullion, as is slovenly.

26. Curmuring – remember that day you had an important meeting and no time to grab a bite to eat beforehand? And then just at the moment the director got up to speak your stomach gave a proper, loud rumbling? That’s curmuring!

27. Lumming – in the 1900s it could come lumming down on rainy days.

28. California widow – did you marry a man who goes off to work in other parts of the state for long periods of time? You’re an 1889 California widow.

29. Zenzizenzizenzic – yes, I might have saved the best two for last two. You’ve been rewarded, reader that stuck with me! This wondrous word means to the power of eight. In the 16th century, when people explained it to one another, they’d say: “It doth represent the square of squares quite squarely.” Nice.

30. Houppelande – saving for last but not least! My personal favorite word of all time, or at least for today. It means cloak and was used in the medieval days. I mean, how much cooler does it sound then to say where’s my houppelande? Or even the grandiose imaginative picture of swinging your houppelande about you as you take your leave, head held high. I just love that word so much!

BONUS: Two Amazing, Obsolete Words We Really Shouldn’t Bring Back to Life

31. Wonder-wench – have you told your wonder-wench how much you love her today? No, not your mother-in-law, your sweetheart, according to this word! Okay, DON’T use that one. No, really, if you love her, don’t.

32. With squirrel – recently had the great news that you’re expecting in 6 months’ time? In 1953 people would have referred to you as being with squirrel. Don’t try this on any pregnant ladies…ever.

While I pride myself on being a bookwright (an author), it seems there are so many incredible words from the English language you and I could be using to create more impactful content and I think it’s about time we brought them back.

Do you have any great words that are Englishable? (that can be rendered into English?) Feel free to share them with us!

Don’t have the gift of the gab? Don’t worry! Our creative, expressive team can help you create sensational copy! Get in touch today.

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

Languages evolve, and English is no exception. Words come and go over time, and many eventually fall into obscurity. Sometimes, this sad fate befalls even perfectly good words…words that deserve another chance at life.  Enrich your vocabulary with these 14 obsolete English words that deserve another chance.  Let’s bring them back!

Beef-Witted

Adjective. Slow-witted; stupid. According to the United Editors Encyclopedia and Dictionary, “beef-witted”
implies “a heavy, ox-like intellect.” Other sources say it’s because back in the day, people believed that eating too much beef would make you dumb. Either way, it’s an excellent insult.

He’s so beef-witted, he asked for a price check at the dollar store!

Boreism

Noun. The act or condition of being a bore.

I had to skip history class today – the professor has a serious case of boreism. 

Brabble

Verb. To bicker loudly about nothing.

I wish those two would stop brabbling and just break up already.  

Cockalorum

Noun: A braggart, a person with an overly high opinion of himself.

I can’t believe that cockalorum is actually running for office! 

Crapulous

Adj: It sounds like a word Dr Seuss made up, but it’s legit.  Crapulous describes that feeling you get when you realize you’ve eaten and/or drank yourself sick.

That cake was delicious, but I shouldn’t have eaten it all. Now I feel crapulous. Ugh. 

Fudgel

Verb: Pretending to work when you’re really just goofing off.

He pretends to be so busy, but the entire office knows he really just sits in his office and fudgels all day.

Fuzzle

To intoxicate or confuse.

“That wine last night had me quite fuzzled. I hope I didn’t do anything embarrassing!” 

Groak

Verb: To silently stare at someone as they eat, hoping they will invite you to join them.

“All right, all right! Stop groaking and share my pizza.”

Grog-Blossom

Noun: The rosy red hue of an alcoholic’s nose.

Been spending a lot of time at the pub, have you? Is that grog-blossom on your nose or did you decide to join the circus? 

Growlery

Noun: The word “growlery” was created by Charles Dickens.  It means “a place where you can retreat from the world when you’re in bad mood.” Frederick Douglass liked the word so much that he built a “growlery” of his own in his Cedar Hill home. According to the National Park Service, it was “a tiny stone cabin” that “contained a single room with a fireplace. Douglass kept it simply furnished with a desk, stool, and couch. He retreated here to do some of his deep thinking, writing, and reading in seclusion.”

“Sit down, my dear,” said Mr Jarndyce. “This, you must know, is the growlery. When I am out of humour, I come and growl here.” — Charles Dickens, Bleak House

Hideosity

Noun. According to Wordnik, this is “the state or condition of being hideous; extreme ugliness. It could also refer to an extremely ugly object. Either way, it sounds a whole lot classier than “fugly.”

The hideosity of that outfit cannot be denied.

 That outfit is not just a fashion faux pas, it’s a hideosity!  

Hornswoggle

Verb: To scam or con.

“I thought the gentleman offering to carry my bags at the station was being helpful, but it turns out he was just trying to hornswoggle me.” 

Twattle

To chatter mindlessly or gossip.  According to Oxford Dictionaries, this was perhaps derived from “tattle.”

Co-workers crowded around the office watercooler, twattling about the latest petty scandal. 

 Tittynope

Relax, this word just means “a small quantity of something left over.” It’s got excellent shock value, though.

Should we get a to-go bag? No, there’s just a tittynope left. 

Of course, as old words die out, new words are often born. The Internet is a double-edged sword in that respect. It seems like every time you look, the OED is adding new, Internet-inspired words or acronyms to the lexicon. However, other researchers have suggested that Twitter and text messaging are basically destroying the language. For example, author JD Davidson told the Daily Telegraph,

“You only have to look on Twitter to see evidence of the fact that a lot of English words that are used say in Shakespeare’s plays or PG Wodehouse novels — both of them avid inventors of new words — are so little used that people don’t even know what they mean now.This could be viewed as regrettable, as there are some great descriptive words that are being lost and these words would make our everyday language much more colourful and fun if we were to use them.But it’s only natural that with people trying to fit as much information in 140 characters that words are getting shortened and are even becoming redundant as a result.”

Which of these forgotten English words is your favourite? And do you know of any other good ones we’ve forgotten? Let us know in the comments!

How often do you come across a word you’ve never seen before? Is it possible you’ve been missing out on it all this time? Probably not, more than likely it’s a word that has become “obsolete” English word …but what does that mean? Read more to find out some English words that you don’t come across every day.

English Words

Sometimes when you’re reading it can feel like you need translation services just to get through a page. With over one million words in the English language alone, learning every single one can seem daunting. Believe it or not; however, words do “disappear” (so no need to call a professional interpreter to read to you just yet). For an English word to be considered obsolete, there can’t be any evidence of its use since 1755 – the year of publication of Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary. Archaic words, on the other hand, are defined as words that were once commonly used but are now only heard sporadically or in special contexts. Here is a list of 10 obsolete words that you didn’t know you’ve been missing.

Overmorrow: the day after tomorrow

Lunting: walking while smoking a pipe

California widow: a married woman who is away from her husband for any extended period

Groak: to silently watch someone while they are eating, hoping to be invited to join them

Curglaff: the shock felt in bathing when one first plunges into cold water

Resistentialism: the seemingly spiteful behavior shown by inanimate objects

Zafty: a person very easily imposed upon

Hugger-mugger: to act in a secretive manner

Crapulous: to feel ill because of excessive eating/drinking

Jargogle: to confuse or bamboozle

Elflock: tangled hair, as if matted by elves

Snoutflair: a good-looking person

Monsterful: wonderful and extraordinary

Freck: to move swiftly or nimbly

It’s unlikely you’ll need to employ linguistic services to help you with these obsolete words in the near future (it’s also doubtful a translation company would even recognize them). The beauty of languages is that they are evolving all the time, allowing the translation and interpreting services providers, and even those not working in linguistics, to expand their vocabulary continuously. Who knows, a word that’s commonplace today may become obsolete tomorrow!

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The Russian language has a constantly changingvocabulary: some previously often common vocabulary is almost not used, the other, on the contrary, is increasingly being used by us. Examples of obsolete words and neologisms are numerous, which indicates the development of language.

Such phenomena are closely related to the changesocial life: a new word arises with the appearance of a new concept, and if people no longer refer to a certain object or phenomenon, then the term serving for its designation is not used. In this article, we will look at obsolete words and neologisms, examples of their use, types and features.

Obsolete words: definition

Obsolete words are those that are either very rarely used at this time or are not used at all (for example, the right hand, the child, the Red Army man, the mouth, the People’s Commissar).

Obsolete words are a process, therefore differentconcepts can be at different stages of it. Still not released from active use, but used less often than before, the words are called «obsolete vocabulary.»

Neologisms and archaisms are used in differentpurposes. The latter are used, for example, for naming phenomena and objects, that is, they perform a nominative function (for example, in scientific and historical works). In works of fiction devoted to the historical theme, such vocabulary plays a nominative-stylistic role — serves not only to denote a concrete reality, but also creates a certain color of a given epoch.

In the literary text obsolete words canUsed to indicate the time when the action takes place. Archaisms (and neologisms) can serve the actual stylistic purpose. Obsolete words give the text solemnity, being means of expressiveness.

Neologisms: Definition

We answer the question of what is neologism,examples will also try to lead. These are new words that have not yet become everyday and habitual. Their composition is constantly changing, some of the neologisms are adopted in the Russian language, while others are not. So, the word «companion» in the middle of the 20th century was a neologism. Every year, the mass media use tens of thousands of new terms and concepts, but not all of them are part of everyday use. Some are used only once in oral speech or some text, while others are included in the language and, being used repeatedly, they lose their novelty. Certain new terms, not having time to enter the main lexical fund, immediately go out of use and become obsolete (such a fate befell, for example, the vocabulary of post-revolutionary years: universal, female girl, businesswoman, kerenka).

Ways of occurrence of new words

Obsolete words and neologisms of the Russian language — a very interesting phenomenon. It is especially curious to know how new concepts are emerging. They arise in several ways:

— the formation of lexical neologism (new term) from already existing in the language of morphemes and words according to existing models: drywall, disk drive, fiber optic;

— the borrowing of some foreign language with the subsequent formation from it new according to existing in the language models of word formation: scanner, scan, scan;

— the formation of a new lexical meaning is alreadyexisting in the language of the term (in this sense, the words are called semantic neologisms), including by means of calculating the meanings of the words of another language: the mouse is both a device for entering information into the computer, and an animal; Winchester — this is a device for storing information in the computer, and a gun;

— the formation of some stable word combinations with a new meaning (including the ones that have been squeezed): motherboard, hard disk.

Archaisms and historicisms

Among the obsolete vocabulary, archaisms and historicisms stand out. Obsolete words and neologisms, examples of which are indicated in this article, have different destinies.

It is determined by their use in speech, and not by»age»: those who call for necessary, vital concepts and terms do not age for centuries, while others quickly archaize, we stop using them, because the objects themselves, denoted by these words, disappear. For example, the education system in our country has changed, and therefore such terms as a classy lady, institute of noble maidens, an institute, a realist (in the sense of «a student in a real school») left the speech.

The concept of «historicism»

Employed by the names of already disappeared concepts,objects and phenomena of the word are called historicisms. All the above terms refer to them. These words occupy a special position in our language, since they are the only symbols of obsolete objects. Historicisms, therefore, do not and can not have any synonyms. In art works and historical literature about the past of the people they are inevitably used, because thanks to them the color of a particular epoch is recreated. These words give the features of historical authenticity to the description of the past.

Thus, historisms are words that weceased to apply due to the fact that the phenomena and objects they denoted disappeared: caftan, bursa, posadnik. They are used mainly in various texts describing the past (both artistic and scientific).

The concept of «archaism»

Archaisms — words that have passed into a passive reservebecause the names they denote, existing today, phenomena, objects and concepts have new names. Allocate different types of them, depending on which aspect of a particular word is out of date:

— lexical, if the word itself is obsolete and its sound-letter complex is no longer used, and meaning is now denoted by a new unit of vocabulary;

— semantic — in the case when the word in modern language exists, but has lost some meaning or several of them («depriving the belly»);

— phonetic — if the sound image of this or that term has changed, reflected in its writing («eighteen years»);

— word-building — when the very word-formation structure of this word is obsolete («poison drip»);

— grammatical — if certain grammatical forms have disappeared from use.

Archaisms do nothing fundamentally from historicismsare different. If the latter are the names of some obsolete items, then the first ones are obsolete names of ordinary concepts and phenomena that we encounter in everyday life.

Types of Archaisms

Among the archaisms, it is possible to identify specific groupswords. Some of them differ from their common synonyms with specific features in sounding, incomplete sound combinations (young — young, gold — gold, city — hail, shore — breg, crow — vrane, second words in these pairs sound archaic). These obsolete words are called phonetic archaisms. These include terms such as the Klob (club in modern vocabulary), number (number), stara (curtain), hospital (hospital) and other obsolete words and phrases in Russian that can be found in writers and poets of the 19th century. From their «rivals» they often differ only with one sound, less often with a few of them or with an out-of-date accent.

As you can see from the examples that came out ofthe use of lexicon differs in the degree of its archaic: some words are still used in speech, for example by poets, and others are known to us only from the works of literature of the last century. There are some that are completely forgotten today.

A very interesting phenomenon is the archaization of a certain meaning of the word.

The result is the emergence of semantic,or semantic, archaisms, that is, words that are used in an outdated, unaccustomed meaning for us. Their knowledge helps to understand the language of classical literature.

How neologisms appear

We have already answered the question about what isneologisms, examples of which were given above. Now we will find out how they arise in the Russian language. What appears faster: archaisms and neologisms? Let’s figure it out.

The rate of appearance is different for such layersvocabulary, as obsolete words and neologisms, examples of which are proposed in this article. Much more intensive and faster is the process of replenishing the language with a new lexical composition. In recent years, about 15-20 years, there have been great historical changes in our country, which was reflected directly in the state of the vocabulary of the Russian language. The neologisms that appeared at this time include such entities that did not exist before this, not only in the literary language, but also in any other spheres of its use (territorial and social dialects, functional styles). Only with the restructuring of the vocabulary included such concepts as the agrobank (that is, the land bank), corporatization (transformation into a joint-stock company of a state enterprise by issuing and selling various shares), addressed (addressed to a specific group of people), anti- countries to a market economy), as well as hyperinflation (inflation, rapidly developing and threatening economic collapse) and some others.

Kinds of neologisms

As you have already noticed, obsolete wordscontrasted neologisms. New units of vocabulary in their design are either individual words (tenantism, anti-Stalinism, audio cassette, ATM, band-formation), or compound names (UFO is a flying saucer, the poverty line is a certain level of the population’s well-being providing minimal consumption of basic material goods).

Such neologisms are considered lexical. One can note here also the phraseological ones, which are newly emerged stable combinations of words, for example: to include a printing press (that is, to begin additional printing of paper money that is not provided for the production of goods), hang noodles on the ears (meaning «to mislead anyone» ) and etc.

Lexical-phraseological neologisms are phraseological units, compound terms and words.

Four groups of neologisms

As you can see, the functions of obsolete words and neologisms are different. We already mentioned the role of the former. All new words can be divided into four main groups according to their purpose.

The first of these includes the names of concepts and realities,which earlier in the life of the people did not exist: the revivalists are followers of the pseudo patriotic movements of Russia, seeking to revive it, the grant is certain grants that form a form of additional financial support for scientific research,

The second group of neologisms is created forthe designations of phenomena already taking place in public life, but not received for some reason, for example ideological, their designation: a returnee who voluntarily returned from exile to his homeland, extrajudicial-that is outside the limits of legal procedure, Lenin’s, command-bureaucratic, etc.

The third group is made up of thereal life not existing, but possible in fantasies, predicted with the further development of technology and science: space ship, nuclear winter, cyborg.

The last, fourth group includeslexical units that duplicate words with a certain lexical meaning. This includes ideographic (complete) synonyms, identical in stylistic color and meaning: thoughtful — weighed, statist — sovereign, historical — fateful, monastic — loyal.

Interstyle and neologisms characteristic of a certain style of speech

Neologisms in the sphere of use are mainlyare interstyle, that is, they are used in all types of speech (interdevochka, image, case, yogurt, beneficiary, liberal-democratic, drug business, interbank). However, a certain part of them is peculiar to a specific style: journalistic (dissident, rejection, drug lord, integrator, weightedness), scientific (biolocation, aura, ozone hole, radioecology, cloning), business (dealer, depository, natural monopoly) or conversational (xerit, kompromat, nal, cheating, bad luck, strained).

We answered the question of what is obsoletewords and neologisms. Examples of them can be given a variety of, in this article were listed only some of them. In fact, both are a significant layer of vocabulary. There are even special dictionaries in which you can find other examples of obsolete words and neologisms.

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.