there used to be some really cool words in the english language

[idgiehkt]

I found this website today, and I like these words a whole lot better than the ones we have around today. Wonder why they faded out...with a couple of them it's obvious, though.
more at the link
http://phrontistery.info/clw.html



alabandical adj 1656 -1775
barbarous; stupefied from drink
His behaviour after the party was positively alabandical.

blateration n 1656 -1864
chatter; babbling
I've had just about enough of your garrulous blateration, you clod!

brephophagist n 1731 -1875
one who eats babies
The character Fat Bastard is a disgustingly obese Scottish brephophagist.
:rofl:

circumbilivagination n 1611 -1693
going around in a circular motion; circumambulation
She saw many quaint seaside towns in her circumbilivagination of England


dodrantal adj 1656 -1883
of nine inches in length
The male stripper's dodrantal instrument impressed the ladies greatly.

fallaciloquence n 1656 -1761
deceitful speech
Your fallaciloquence, though charming, will not convince the jury to acquit.

flosculation n 1651 -1651
an embellishment or ornament in speech
The speaker's lecture was rendered laughable by ridiculous flosculations.


gleimous adj 1398 -1790
slimy; full of phlegm
Its gleimous tongue slipped between its teeth and ensnared the moose.

molrowing n 1860 -1896
caterwauling; cavorting with prostitutes
Her son is a molrowing vagabond without any social graces, much to her shame.

murklins adv 1568 -1674
in the dark
She stumbled murklins about the house until she found the light switch.


orgiophant n 1886 -1886
one who presides over orgies
The orgiophant had dozens of hangers-on who sought to attend his parties.

sementine adj 1656 -1656
pertaining to sowing; of the time of seeding fields
This year's drought means that our springtime sementine efforts were in vain.

surgation n 1688 -1688
erection of the penis
His surgation caused him embarassment when he had to speak in front of the class

vampirarchy n 1823 -1823
set of rulers comparable to vampires
Some believe that we are secretly ruled by the Illuminati or a similar vampirarchy

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. Most excellent find!! This word:

scathefire n 1632 -1796
great destructive fire; conflagration
Despite the scathefire that razed the town, its citizens were determined to rebuild.

should be revived and used frequently around here ;)

[idgiehkt]

2. I love it!

I think the flamewars back then would have rocked, with all those 4 and 5 syllable insults to fling around. :) :rofl:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. It would be great for the Renassaince Festival!!

What fun one could have :D

[datasuspect]

4. "benision"

i read that in a 1916 newspaper article in my research.

[idgiehkt]

5. I wonder why some of them fade out

at least in american speech we seem to want everything to be no more than two syllables most of the time, now we are even to lazy to write one syllable words correctly, it's 'ur' for your', etc.

[datasuspect]

12. it's because people are illiterate nowadays

and it used to be bad form to display excessive emotion publicly. there is a lot to be said for being reserved in matters.

[idgiehkt]

15. the words seemed to be so much more creative back then

I think they probably had more greek and latin origin than they do now; I think you are right, now we just use profanity and one word interjections to express stuff, rather than dryly insulting someone with a 5 syllable word or two. :hi:

[jeff30997]

13. Hey-Ho ! idgiehkt !I'm back.

I was ..er...on the can...:blush:

There's a weird paradox happening in France:

French words who became English words to finally

become..Yes you guessed it French Words!

Ok,err...Boogie-Man.

Did you know that this was the Nickname of Napoleon ?

"Bougre d'homme" Witch back then meant something like short-man but

today would mean more like little ass-hole.

[idgiehkt]

14. lol

I think people discount the french influence in language anyway. I get confused about the origins once we go back one or two thousand years but as aren't celtic/gaelic essentially the same language and isn't gaelic related to gallic which were the french back then, which means people of Irish descent might have had more native french dialect than english. 'Course I might just have it all tangled up. :shrug:

Funny anecdote about Napoleon. I love etymology, I should have gone into linguistics in college but I didn't even know such a thing existed.

[Kutjara]

30. Actually, English is more French influenced than Gaelic.

The Norman (French) conquest of 1066 introduced many French words into the language. Modern English is essentially an Anglo Saxon/French/Latin mashup.

It's the reason we have two different words for certain types of animals, depending on if they're walking around the farm or sitting on a plate. For example, the lowly Saxon farmers would have called their animals Saxon things like "cow" and "pig," while their Francophone conquerers up in the manor house would call the food they received "boeuf" and "porc."

[idgiehkt]

31. more more more!

I confused myself with my own post but thanks for posting that it is very interesting. Those examples make a lot of sense. One cool thing about studying language is you realize just how everything really *does* make sense. :hi:

One thing I notice whenever they are doing the spelling bees on tv is that when the kids ask for the origin it is Greek a large portion of the time. When you say latin do you mean derived from greek or is the latin influence on language separate?

[Kutjara]

32. I find the origin of languages fascinating. It really is the story of...

...of the human race, our migrations, alliances, wars, occupations, preoccupations and everything else about us.

To answer your question, when we refer to the "Greek" origins of English words, we generally mean Ancient Greek, the language of Aristotle, Plato and the rest. That was the language spoken in Greece around the first millennium BC. It is different from Modern Greek the way Old English is different from Modern English.

Latin, was the language of Rome at the time of the Roman Empire. It became the first universal language of Europe, spoken by educated people across the Continent. Uneducated peasants spoke their own local "vulgar" tongues, so there was a very clear social divide based on language. When the Roman Empire fell, most communication reverted to "vulgar" languages, which evolved into what we know today as German, Spanish, French, Italian, English etc. The remnants of European intellectual life continued to write and speak Latin in their churches and universities, but its days were numbered. Nevertheless, Latin lies at the heart of the "Romance" languages (meaning they are derived from "Roman" or Latin) like Italian and Spanish. It is also very important to English, which is the "great thief," borrowing words from anywhere and everywhere.

Where Latin exerts its most powerful influence is in grammar. All that verb conjugation and sentence diagramming kids do in grammar school English and Foreign Language classes is essentially imposing Latin language rules on modern languages.

:hi:

[sarge43]

38. It's estimate that approximately three fourths of the Old English

vocabulary was dropped in the two centuries following the Conquest. The basic words, numbers, body parts, family relationships, etc are still English, but Norman French took over the cultural vocabulary, such as military, law, art, fashion, etc.

However, when an English speaking rhetorician wants to hit one out the park, s/he goes back home to the basic words. Churchill's "We shall fight ... We shall never surrender." is pure English except for 'surrender' and even that has been in the word box since Billy the Bastard and his boys.

[idgiehkt]

39. very interesting

thanks. :hi:

[jeff30997]

6. Lol! Hey!I like old languages too !

I'm French-Canadian and let me tell you that

their's a ton of English words that come from French and

Vice-versa!


art déco decorative art Short for art décoratif
art nouveau new art
attaché attached A person assigned to a diplomatic post
au contraire on the contrary Usually used playfully in English.
au fait conversant, informed Au fait is used in British English to mean "familiar" or "conversant": She's not really au fait with my ideas.
au gratin with gratings In French, au gratin refers to anything that is grated and put on top of a dish, like breadcrumbs or cheese. In English, au gratin means "with cheese."
au jus in the juice Served with the meat's natural juices.
au naturel in reality, unseasoned In this case naturel is a semi-false cognate. In French, au naturel can mean either "in reality" or the literal meaning of "unseasoned" (in cooking). In English, we picked up the latter, less common usage and use it figuratively, to mean natural, untouched, pure, real.
au pair at par A person who works for a family (cleaning and/or teaching the children) in exchange for room and board
aux trois crayons with three crayons Drawing technique using three colors of chalk
avant-garde before guard Innovative, especially in the arts
avoirdupois goods of weight Originally spelled averdepois
bête noire black beast Similar to a pet peeve: something that is particularly distasteful or difficult and to be avoided.
billet-doux sweet note Love letter
blond
blonde fair-haired This is the only adjective in English which agrees in gender with the person it modifies: blond is for a man and blonde for a woman. Note that these can also be nouns.
bon appétit good appetite The closest English equivalent is "Enjoy your meal."
bon vivant good "liver" Someone who lives well, who knows how to enjoy life.
bon voyage good trip English has "Have a good trip," but Bon voyage is more elegant.
brunette small, dark-haired female The French word brun, dark-haired, is what English really means by "brunette." The -ette suffix indicates that the subject is small and female.
café au lait coffee with milk Same thing as the Spanish term café con leche
carte blanche blank card Free hand, ability to do whatever you want/need
cause célèbre famous cause A famous, controversial issue, trial, or case
cerise cherry The French word for the fruit gives us the English word for the color.
c'est la vie that's life Same meaning and usage in both languages
chaise longue long chair In English, this is often mistakenly written as "chaise lounge" - which actually makes perfect sense.
chargé d'affaires charged with business A substitute or replacement diplomat
chef d'oeuvre chief work Masterpiece
cheval-de-frise Frisian horse Barbed wire, spikes, or broken glass attached to wood or masonry and used to block access
cheval glace horse mirror A long mirror set into a moveable frame
chic stylish Chic sounds more chic than "stylish."
cinéma vérité cinema truth Unbiased, realistic documentary filmmaking
comme il faut as it must The proper way, as it should be
cordon sanitaire sanitary line Quarantine, buffer zone for political or medical reasons.
coup de grâce mercy blow Deathblow, final blow, decisive stroke
coup d'état state blow Overthrow of the government
crème brûlée burnt cream Baked custard with carmelized crust
crème caramel caramel cream Synonym of flan - custard lined with caramel
crème de cacao cream of cacao Chocolate-flavored liqueur
crème de la crème cream of the cream Synonymous with the English expression "cream of the crop" - refers to the best of the best.
crème de menthe cream of mint Mint-flavored liqueur
crème fraîche fresh cream This is a funny term. Despite its meaning, crème fraîche is in fact slightly fermented, thickened cream.
crêpe de Chine Chinese crepe Type of silk
critique critical, judgment Critique is an adjective and noun in French, but a noun and verb in English; it refers to a critical review of something or the act of performing such a review.
cuisine kitchen, food style In English, cuisine refers only to a particular type of food/cooking, such as French cuisine, Southern cuisine, etc.
cul-de-sac bottom (butt) of the bag Dead-end street
debutante beginner In French, débutante is the feminine form of débutant - beginner (noun) or beginning (adj). In both languages, it also refers to a young girl making her formal début into society. Interestingly, this usage is not original in French; it was adopted back from English.
décolletage
décolleté low neckline
lowered neckline The first is a noun, the second an adjective, but both refer to low necklines on women's clothing.
dégustation tasting The French word simply refers to the act of tasting, while in English "degustation" is used for a tasting event or party, as in wine or cheese tasting.
déjà vu already seen This is a grammatical structure in French, as in Je l'ai déjà vu=> I've already seen it. It can also disparage a style or technique that has already been done, as in Son style est déjà vu=> His style is not original.
In English, déjà vu refers to the scientific phenomenon of feeling like you have already seen or done something when you're sure that you haven't: a feeling of déjà vu = une impression de déjà vu.
demimonde half world 1. A marginal or disrespectful group
2. Prostitutes and/or kept women
demitasse half cup Refers to a small cup of espresso or other strong coffee.
démodé out of fashion Same meaning in both languages: outmoded, out of fashion
de rigueur of rigueur Socially or culturally obligatory
dernier cri last cry The newest fashion or trend
de trop of too much Excessive, superfluous
double entendre double hearing A word play or pun. For example, you're looking at a field of sheep and you say "How are you (ewe)?"
du jour of the day "Soup du jour" is nothing more than an elegant-sounding version of "soup of the day."
eau de cologne water from Cologne This is often cut down to simply "cologne" in English. Cologne, which is the French/English name for the German city Köln, is capitalized in the French expression.
eau de toilette toilet water Toilet here does not refer to a commode - see toilette, below. Eau de toilette is a very weak perfume.
en banc on the bench Legal: indicates that the entire membership of a court is in session.
en bloc in a block In a group, all together
encore again A simple adverb in French, "encore" in English refers to an additional performance, usually requested with audience applause.
enfant terrible terrible child Refers to a troublesome or embarrassing person within a group (of artists, thinkers, etc).
en garde on guard Warning that one should be on his/her guard, ready for an attack (originally in fencing).
en masse in mass In a group, all together
en route on route On the way
en suite in sequence Part of a set, together
esprit de corps group spirit Similar to team spirit or morale
fait accompli done deed Fait accompli seems more fatalistic to me than done deed, which is so factual.
faux false, fake I once saw an ad for "genuine faux pearls." No worries that those pearls might be real, I guess - you were guaranteed fake ones. :-)
faux pas false step, trip Something that should not be done, a foolish mistake.
femme fatale deadly woman An alluring, mysterious woman who seduces men into compromising situations
fiancé
fiancée engaged person, betrothed Note that fiancé refers to a man and fiancée to a woman.
film noir black movie Black is a literal reference to the stark black-and-white cinematography style, though films noirs tend to be figuratively dark as well (e.g., morbid, bleak, depressing, etc).
finale final In French, this can refer to either the final in sport (e.g., quarter-final, semi-final) or the finale of a play. In English, it can only mean the latter.
fin de siècle end of the century Hyphenated in English, fin-de-siècle refers to the end of the 19th century.
fleur-de-lis
fleur-de-lys flower of lily A type of iris or an emblem in the shape of an iris with three petals.
folie à deux craziness for two Mental disorder which occurs simultaneously in two people with a close relationship or association.
force majeure greater force Refers to superior/greater force, or to an unexpected or uncontrollable event.
gamine playful,
little girl Refers to an impish or playful girl/woman.
gauche left, awkward Tactless, lacking social grace
genre type Used mostly in art and film - "I really like this genre..."
haute couture high sewing High-class, fancy (and expensive) clothing styles
haute cuisine high cuisine High-class, fancy (and expensive) cooking or food
hors de combat out of combat Out of action
hors d'oeuvre outside of work An appetizer. Oeuvre here refers to the main work (course), so hors d'oeuvre simply means something besides the main course.
idée fixe set idea Fixation, obsession
je ne sais quoi I don't know what Used to indicate a "certain something," as in "I really like Ann. She has a certain je ne sais quoi that I find very appealing."
joie de vivre joy of living The quality in people who live life to the fullest
laissez-faire let it be A policy of non-interference. Note the expression in French is laisser-faire.
maître d'
maître d'hôtel master of
master of hotel The former is more common in English, which is strange since it is incomplete: "The 'master of' will show you to your table."
mal de mer sickness of sea Seasickness
mardi gras fat Tuesday Celebration before Lent
matinée morning In English, refers to the day's first showing of a movie or play. Can also refer to a midday romp with one's lover.
ménage à trois household of three Sexual threesome
mot juste right word Exactly the right word or expression.
née born Used in genealogy to refer to a woman's maiden name: Anne Miller née (or nee) Smith.
noblesse oblige obligated nobility The idea that those who are noble are obliged to act noble.
nom de guerre war name Pseudonym
nom de plume pen name This French phrase was coined by English speakers in imitation of nom de guerre.
nouveau riche new rich Disparaging term for someone who has recently come into money.
nouvelle cuisine new cuisine
objet d'art art object Note that the French word objet does not have a c - you should never write "object d'art"
papier mâché mashed paper Used for art
par excellence by excellence Quintessential, preeminent, the best of the best
pas de deux step of two Dance with two people
peau de soie skin of silk Soft, silky fabric with a dull finish
petite small, short It may sound chic, but petit is simply the feminine French adjective "short."
petit-four little oven Small dessert, especially cake
pièce de résistance piece of stamina In French, this originally referred to the main course - the test of your stomach's stamina. In both languages, it now refers to an outstanding accomplishment or the final part of something - a project, a meal, etc.
pied-à-terre foot on ground A temporary or secondary place of residence.
prêt-à-porter ready to wear
protégé protected Someone whose training is sponsored by an influential person.
raison d'être reason for being Purpose, justification for existing
rendez-vous go to In French, this refers to a date or an appointment (literally, it is the verb se rendre - to go - in the imperative); in English we can use it as a noun or a verb (let's rendez-vous at 8pm).
repartee quick, accurate response The French repartie gives us the English "repartee," with the same meaning of a swift, witty, and "right on" retort.
risqué risked Suggestive, overly provocative
roman à clés novel with keys Novel with real people appearing as fictional characters
roman-fleuve novel river A long, multi-volume novel which presents the history of several generations of a family or community. In both French and English, saga tends to be used more.
rouge red The English refers to a reddish cosmetic or metal/glass-polishing powder, and can be a noun or a verb.
RSVP respond please This abbreviation stands for Répondez, s'il vous plaît, which means that "Please RSVP" is redundant.
sang-froid cold blood

And the list goes on and on...

And of course the reverse is true!!!

[idgiehkt]

8. great list

it's not surprising that the culinary words come from French because they have traditionaly had some of the greatest chefs. When I was in paralegal classes Louisiana was often an exception because apparently they have french law influences. I got interested in this after Katrina because of the Cajun (Acadian) influence in so much of the culture in the deep south that I'd not been exposed to before. Crap what is that other word for another culture influence in the deep south, I want to say Creole but I don't think that is it.

[jeff30997]

11. Sorry if I made you wait...

But there's something even more weird about French Language and English .

[liberaltrucker]

16. Yep, it's Creole

A combination of African and French. A beautiful one, IMHO.
Good food, good music, GREAT people.

[idgiehkt]

17. thanks

I know people are pretty exact about their heritage and don't like to be called the one if they are the other. :hi:

[Sugar Smack]

7. I like the Victorian ones like "quitted the room"

instead of "left the room". :toast:

[idgiehkt]

9. that is one of the most baffling periods of history to me

I've heard that is when tablecloths came into fashion because people thought it was immodest for the legs of the table to be showing...but I don't know how true that is.

[Sugar Smack]

10. Bwaaahhahahahahaha!

:rofl: Whether true or false, it was GOOD. :loveya:

[jeff30997]

18. Hey idgiehkt! Ihave tot go to bed but...

I'm VERY interested by this subject.

So,can we pick it up another day (Please say yes!)

:)

[idgiehkt]

19. sure!

:hi:

d'oh! I replied in the wrong place, but sure, Jeff. :)

[bridgit]

20. fiddlesticks!!!

x(

[idgiehkt]

23. there is another one I never thought of...

Aha!
Your boy Shakespeare is to blame:
At some point in Shakespeare’s lifetime, it seems fiddlestick began to be used for something insignificant or trivial, perhaps because fiddle-playing itself was regarded as something worthless or inconsequential.
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fid1.htm

:)

[Inchworm]

21. My favorite - Cuckold

noun
1. a man whose wife committed adultery
verb
1. be sexually unfaithful to one's partner in marriage; "She cheats on her husband"; "Might her husband be wandering?"

Funny thing is.. we used this in high school (NC Mountains) to mean, what one might say "to take your woman." As in.. shes hot.. careful or you may get cuckold.

How it became what we used it as.. no clue.

:hi:

[idgiehkt]

24. this makes sense

The word cuckold comes from a bird of different feather, however: the cuckoo. It seems that the female cuckoo bird is known for laying her eggs willy-nilly in the nests of other birds. The French name for the bird was borrowed into English to name the victim of a wanton and unfaithful wife (and, oddly, not the adulterous wife herself).

http://lynx.eb.com/cgi-bin/wftwarch.pl?071306

:hi:

[Inchworm]

26. so.. "to cuckold"

would be to lay an egg in random nest?

:)

[idgiehkt]

27. I think it means to unknowingly raise another man's child

they took it to it's logical conclusion. :hi:

[Inchworm]

28. so..

First things first.. HI! Idgie!!!

ok.. hmm.. where did kids come into this? Dang toothbrush?

:D

:hi:

[idgiehkt]

29. I think birth control wasn't as reliable back then

assumption of risk, and all that. :) :hi:

[Book Lover]

22. They're still there

Start using them! You will gain brobdingnagian amounts of respect.

[idgiehkt]

25. I think more likely I will gain strange glances.

I do like the ones I picked out especially.

:rofl:

[SKKY]

33. That's one of the coolest posts I've read in a very long time...

:yourock:

[idgiehkt]

34. speak of the devil :)

:hi:

Can you recommend some good Latin singers/bands? I know there is one you've posted about a couple of times but I can't remember the name of it, I need more than just Shakira and Juanes. :hi:

:yourock: way more than I do, Mr. long distance runner. :loveya:

[SKKY]

41. You betcha!

Check out a band called "Jarabe de Palo". I would recommend starting with the Album "La Flaca" and go from there. They're a very, very good band (One of my top 5 of all time regardless of genre) that mixes blues, rock, with the slightest hint of salsa. The album "La Flaca" is phenomenal, top to bottom.

:hi:

[idgiehkt]

42. Thanks!!

Will do. :) :hi:

[SKKY]

45. Here's some of my personal favorites...

"Depende"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTvhW8lDHFk

"La Flaca" (This song is so good it hurts!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSkWtvef4A0

"Bonito"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAmBN1BLmCQ

[Critters2]

35. Doctors used to be called "pisspots". nt

[idgiehkt]

36. aha

"Apparently in the early 17th century there were a number of wise women and wise men who would - for a price - examine your urine and predict your destiny, diagnose, ailments, etc. They were known as practitioners of "piss pot science"." www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/14/messages/164.html

Now they are called urologists, lol. :hi:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

37. I love words - thanks for posting this treasure!

[idgiehkt]

40. me too. :)

and with the internet you can find word origins almost immediately.

I think IM and text are killing us though. :(

[jpgray]

43. I will absquatulate from DU unless this thread is completely exfluncticated

[libodem]

44. Thank you

I love this and I'm bookmarking the site for my favorites. I'm going back when I have more time. I love words and their origins and derivations. Thanks again, whatta find.

[bif]

46. Merkin is one of my favorite old words

It's a wig for the female pudenda. I think it goes back to the time of the Plague. One of the first syumptons is your pubic hair fell out. So women would buy merkins to disguise the fact that they were sick.