Archaism

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Obsolete word
)

In

The Sot-Weed Factor, John Barth writes in an 18th-century style.[1] Archaic words or expressions may have distinctive emotional connotations
—some can be humorous (forsooth), some highly formal (What say you?), and some solemn Example (With thee do I plight my troth). The word archaism is from the
Ancient Greek
: ἀρχαϊκός, archaïkós, 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately ἀρχαῖος, archaîos, 'from the beginning, ancient'.

A distinction between archaic and obsolete words and

Shakespeare are old enough that some obsolete words or senses are encountered therein, for which glosses (annotations)
are often provided in the margins.

Archaisms can either be used deliberately (to achieve a specific effect) or as part of a specific

set phrase
vim and vigor).

An outdated form of language is called archaic. In contrast, a language or dialect that contains many archaic traits (archaisms) relative to closely related languages or dialects spoken at the same time is called

conservative
.

Usage

Archaisms are most frequently encountered in history, poetry, fantasy literature, law, philosophy, science, technology, geography and ritual writing and speech. Archaisms are kept alive by these ritual and literary uses and by the study of older literature. Should they remain recognised, they can potentially be revived.

Because they are things of continual discovery and re-invention, science and technology have historically generated forms of speech and writing which have dated and fallen into disuse relatively quickly. However, the emotional associations of certain words have kept them alive, for example the archaic 'wireless' rather than 'radio' for a generation of British citizens who lived through the

Second World War; but in recent years the term has been repurposed as a non-archaic term for wifi and cell-phone
technology.

A similar desire to evoke a former age means that archaic place names are frequently used in circumstances where doing so conveys a political or emotional subtext, or when the official new name is not recognised by all (for example: 'Madras' rather than 'Chennai'). So, a restaurant seeking to conjure up historic associations might prefer to call itself Old Bombay or refer to Persian cuisine in preference to using the newer place name. A notable contemporary example is the airline Cathay Pacific, which uses the archaic Cathay for China.

Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to changes in usage. One example is the phrase "odd man out", which originally came from the phrase "to find the odd man out", where the verb "to find out" has been split by its object "the odd man", meaning the item which does not fit. The object + split verb has been reinterpreted as a noun + adjective, such that "out" describes the man rather than any verb.

The

historical novels to evoke the flavour of the period. Some may count as inherently funny words and are used for humorous
effect.

Examples

A type of archaism is the use of

possessive
is thy or thine.

Though thou hast ever so many counsellors, yet do not forsake the counsel of thy own soul.[2]

— English proverb

Today me, tomorrow thee.[3]

— English proverb

That is: today this happens to me, but tomorrow to you.

To thine own self be true.[4]

—William Shakespeare

Archaisms often linger in proverbs, "falling easier on the tongue",[5] and employing two of the four fundamental rhetorical effects, permutation (immutatio) and addition (adiectio).[6]

See also

References

External links