Juxtapose. Lilt. Wring. Wiry. Magnum Opus. Save The Words. Bastion. 20 Obsolete English Words that Should Make a Comeback. Photo: Katherine Hodgson If we all start using them, these words can be resurrected. DURING MY UNDERGRADUATE studies as a Linguistics major, one of the things that struck me most is the amazing fluidity of language.
New words are created; older words go out of style. Words can change meaning over time, vowel sounds shift, consonants are lost or added and one word becomes another. The following words have sadly disappeared from modern English, but it’s easy to see how they could be incorporated into everyday conversation. Words are from Erin McKean’s two-volume series: Weird and Wonderful Words and Totally Weird and Wonderful Words. 1. Verb trans. – “To confuse, jumble” – First of all this word is just fun to say in its various forms. 2. 3. Verb trans. – “To scrape together; to gather together from various sources” – I’m sure this wasn’t the original meaning of the word, but when I read the definition I immediately thought of copy-pasting. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Insomniac. Insomnia. Ignominous. Insurgent. Word Spy. Online Etymology Dictionary. Oblique. Enigmatic. Exhume. Egotistic. Equivocation. Euphemism. Aficionado. Armistice. Avant-garde. Martyr. Melancholy. Mundane. Mantra. Savvy. Surly. Sacrosanct. Solace. Soliloquy. Solder. Stoic. Nihilism. Vehement. Orthodox. Vicar. Clemency. Cesspool. Cadence.
Convergent. Catch-22. Consumerism. Cynosure. Candor. Contagion. Hobson's choice. Hedonist. Hiatus. Gallimaufry. Grievance. Genocide. Debonair. Purloin. Paradox. Pyromania. Pensive. Truant. Homicide.