# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/81 "2017-01-21T04:20:29Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I’d also like to resurrect the distinctions between no/nay and yes/yea. OK, you got me. What are the distinctions? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/82 "2017-01-21T04:30:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, you got me. What are the distinctions? They have to do with whether you are answering a question posed as a positive or negative. From Wikipedia— > [@](#): > > While Modern English has a two-form system of yes and no for affirmatives and negatives, earlier forms of English had a four-form system, comprising the words yea, nay, yes, and no. In essence, yes and no were the responses to a question posed in the negative, whereas yea and nay were the responses to positively framed questions. > > Will he not go? — Yes, he will. > Will he not go? — No, he will not. > Will he go? — Yea, he will. > Will he go? — Nay, he will not. Without this distinction it is very hard to figure out how to answer a negative question. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2017, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/83 "2017-01-21T05:02:54Z")
I would like the word codex to make a comeback. Now that there are audiobooks and e-books it would be cool to use codex when refering specifically to hardcover books. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/84 "2017-01-22T00:00:02Z")
Here’s another great list of archaic words. [http://shakespearestudyguide.com/Archaisms.html](http://shakespearestudyguide.com/Archaisms.html) **Alas** should definitely return to common usage. It’s much simpler than some of the constructions we use now to express disappointment. **costermonger** : A street vendor of vegetables, fruit, fish, and other foods. **Daubery** : Something produced in a messy, crude, or unskilled manner. Example: “She works by charms, by spells, by the figure, and such daubery as this is” And **lest** is a downright convenient word, which we should bring back, lest something more complex take its place. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/85 "2017-01-22T01:39:30Z")
Tarry: to linger or loiter Boon: a beneficial object or favor Anon: meaning soon-ish ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2017, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934/86 "2017-01-22T06:04:21Z")
I would like the phrase “In [someone’s] danger” to come back." I definitely feel within President Trump’s danger, and I have never felt this way about a sitting president before. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-obsolete-archaic-words-in-english-do-you-think-should-be-ressurrected/776934.md?page=4)