# Which obsolete/archaic words in English do you think should be ressurrected? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934 "2017-01-12T02:44:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/21 "2017-01-12T14:20:31Z")
I’d like to see _ **swive** _ make a comeback, myself. It seems like a much happier word than the modern alternatives. Being an unfamiliar word, you can more easily get away with using it. And it doesn’t even have four letters. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/22 "2017-01-12T14:28:43Z")
I tend to use “albeit” quite a bit; even before Unca Cecil referred to it in one of his responses. Reading over the suggestions I find that I use most of them but mostly in a way to add emphasis to what I’m saying or in an attempt at humor. If I had to pick just one to reenter the vernacular I would probably pick varlet or rapscallion. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/23 "2017-01-12T14:31:34Z")
Egad, I use an awful lot of these, though like **Celyn** it’s often more for humor. [QUOTE=Flyer] I have two: dear, meaning expensive; and strumpet, an old word for prostitute. [/QUOTE] I use these, and would add “doxie”. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/24 "2017-01-12T14:32:22Z")
Hurple! It means to raise one’s shoulders to one’s ears in response to cold or fear. A word that describes an action we have no current word for, and it rhymes with purple. HURPLE, HURPLE, HURPLE!!! ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/25 "2017-01-12T15:43:06Z")
I think in the next few years we’ll have a great need for the word “condign” which means “appropriate to the crime or wrongdoing; fitting and deserved.” I suspect there’ll be a lot of condign punishment to go around. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/26 "2017-01-12T15:49:24Z")
I would fain re-introduce a lot of the terms mentioned here, especially yclept. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/27 "2017-01-12T15:58:43Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I would fain re-introduce a lot of the terms mentioned here, especially yclept. Forsooth, I believe you would. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/28 "2017-01-12T16:09:25Z")
_Purblind_. I flipped open my Shorter OED to a random page: _Cramble_ - (of roots) to creep about or twine, (of people) crawl or hobble. _Cramoisy_: crimson. BTW _hurple_ hasn’t made it to this side of the Atlantic and isn’t in my Shorter OED; the word you may want is _hur **k** le_ and refers to the drawing in of any limb (the OED says it’s related to the Dutch _hurken_ which means to squat). And _hirple_ means to walk with a limp - a less severe disablement than a cramble. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/29 "2017-01-12T16:38:38Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Actually, _y’all_ can be singular. Plural form is _[all y’all](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/all_y'all)_. Y’all is never singular, it always refers to 2 or more people. That is one sure way to spot someone faking a southern accent. The difference is that “y’all” can be used to identify a subset of a group, while “all y’all” applies to the whole group. Example: “Y’all on horses go east, y’all on foot go west” - directing 1 group to act as 2 subsets versus “All y’all go east” - directing 1 group to act as a whole. My nomination is “prithee”. Prithee, remove thine bag from the train seat! ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/30 "2017-01-12T21:38:36Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Y’all is never singular, it always refers to 2 or more people. That is one sure way to spot someone faking a southern accent. So all these store clerks and such that ask me (and I’m the only other person around) “Did y’all find what you’re looking for?” and such are all fake Southerners? That’s a _lot_ of fake Southerners! Maybe there’s a Fake Southerner Society with a myriad of members. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2017, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/31 "2017-01-12T22:19:50Z")
Yon. ---
**Author:** ![mikeargo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@mikeargo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikeargo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/32 "2017-01-13T00:29:08Z")
Whoremaster ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/33 "2017-01-13T04:41:38Z")
In another thread, someone suggested that a synonym for rigmarole/rigamarole might be ‘boondoggle’. That didn’t quite sound right to me, and I’ve finally figured that the word they might have meant was ‘blather.’ If only there were a use for the word ‘blather’ nowadays, I say most dryly. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/34 "2017-01-13T05:10:09Z")
> [@Civil\_Guy](#): > > In another thread, someone suggested that a synonym for rigmarole/rigamarole might be ‘boondoggle’. That didn’t quite sound right to me, and I’ve finally figured that the word they might have meant was ‘blather.’ > > If only there were a use for the word ‘blather’ nowadays, I say most dryly. _Blather_ is in current use in Hiberno-English. It’s not a synonym for _rigmarole_. _Blather_ is foolish, trivial or nonsensical while _rigmarole_ is involved or protracted. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/35 "2017-01-13T14:56:52Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > So all these store clerks and such that ask me (and I’m the only other person around) “Did y’all find what you’re looking for?” and such are all fake Southerners? That’s a _lot_ of fake Southerners! Maybe there’s a Fake Southerner Society with a myriad of members. Yep, pretty much. I have spent a lifetime in the South and never heard anyone do this who was not: A) trying to affect a southern accent or B) doing it in a mocking manner. From the cite in the post by **scr4** : > [@](#): > > (chiefly US, dialect, Southern US) Plural form of you. > > Usage notes > All y’all is used in the Southern United States when a speaker wishes to include everyone being addressed. Y’all may refer to an indefinite set of members of a group, but all y’all definitively includes everyone in the group. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/36 "2017-01-13T15:14:58Z")
Cordwainer Does anyone besides my wife get shoes repaired? Hers are organ shoes which can be _dear_. I use “youse.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/37 "2017-01-13T19:57:29Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > And I hate “you guys” (Michigan), “y’all,” etc. Maybe it’s time to reintroduce the distinction between “you” and “thou.” “Ye” is the plural “you”, according to my Irish-born mother. 🙂 Pluses: it’s short and doesn’t sound too much like “you”. Minus: nobody on this side of the Atlantic has used it in many decades, so unlike “y’all” it would have to be consciously revived for people to understand it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/38 "2017-01-13T20:04:23Z")
Slobberchops (messy eater) Mendicant (W.C. Fields swinging umbrella at teenagers: “Begone, mendicants!” ---
**Author:** ![Macrina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Macrina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macrina)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/39 "2017-01-13T20:25:23Z")
I do not know if it is considered archaic, but I favour the use of **‘whilst’** and use it at every opportunity. I love this thread, by the by, and am learning new archaic words. In the north of Texas “y’all” is considered singular and “all y’all” is plural. At least this was so when I lived there for awhile about 15 years ago and heard from the native Texans. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2017, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/40 "2017-01-13T20:29:40Z")
Kith used apart from kin. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934.md?page=3)