Derived from the Greek word arkhaios, meaning ‘ancient’, archaic language in literature can be in the form of a word, a phrase, or even the way the sentence is formed (the syntax). … For example,
words like ‘thee’ and ‘thou’
are considered archaic.
What are some examples of archaic words?
- Anon = right away; immediately.
- Betwixt = in between.
- Crumpet = a person’s head.
- Erelong = soon.
- Fair = beautiful.
- Forthwith = immediately.
- Potation = a beverage.
- Scurvy = worthless.
What do we mean by archaic language?
An archaic word or sense is one that still has some current use but whose use has dwindled to a few specialized contexts, outside which it connotes
old-fashioned language
. In contrast, an obsolete word or sense is one that is no longer used at all. … An outdated form of language is called archaic.
What is archaism and examples?
An archaism is an archaic word or spelling. In other words, archaisms are
words that have gone out of use in modern language
. … Archaisms are also seen in idioms and proverbs, which can “preserve” them. For example: She doth protest too much.
What is archaism in figure of speech?
An archaism is a
figure of speech in which a writer’s choice of word or phrase is purposefully old fashioned
. Whether it’s a word, sentence, style of diction, or syntax, these examples all sound out of date.
What words do we not use anymore?
- Facetious. Pronounced “fah-see-shuss”, this word describes when someone doesn’t take a situation seriously, which ironically is very serious indeed. …
- Henceforth. …
- Ostentatious. …
- Morrow. …
- Crapulous. …
- Kerfuffle. …
- Obsequious.
Is archaic a form?
“
Are
” in the archaic second-person pronoun “thou”, become “art”. For example: thou art a fair lady. And also, she/he/it pronouns used to have their own verb form with the suffix -eth. For example: he goeth, he loveth, he singeth.
Why is archaic language used?
These words are
no longer in everyday use
or have lost a particular meaning in current usage but are sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavour to historical novels, for example, or in standard conversation or writing just for a humorous effect.
How do you use archaic?
- Because my archaic computer is no longer useful to me, I am giving it away for free.
- The original Ford Model T car is considered archaic when compared to modern vehicles.
- When I mentioned to my children that I still had videotapes, they were unfamiliar with the archaic movie format.
When was archaic language used?
The use of archaic language is found in the literary works of
ancient medieval ages
, as well as in the Victorian and Edwardian, 19th and 20th centuries.
What are examples of cliches?
- All that glitters isn’t gold.
- Don’t get your knickers in a twist.
- All for one, and one for all.
- Kiss and make up.
- He has his tail between his legs.
- And they all lived happily ever after.
- Cat got your tongue?
- Read between the lines.
What are examples of euphemism?
- passed away instead of died.
- passed over to the other side instead of died.
- late instead of deceased.
- dearly departed instead of deceased.
- resting in peace for deceased.
- no longer with us instead of deceased.
- departed instead of died.
- passed instead of died.
What are examples of oxymorons?
- “Small crowd”
- “Old news”
- “Open secret”
- “Living dead”
- “Deafening silence”
- “Only choice”
- “Pretty ugly”
- “Awfully good”
What is an example of Asyndeton?
Asyndeton is a writing style where conjunctions are omitted in a series of words, phrases or clauses. … For example,
Julius Caesar leaving out the word “
and” between the sentences “I came. I saw. I conquered” asserts the strength of his victory.
What is an example of archaic diction?
Doubtlessly, you encountered a lot of words like ‘shalt,’ ‘maketh,’ ‘thou,’ or ‘thine. ‘ If words like these sound old and dusty, that’s because they are! Such terms are called
archaisms
, or examples of archaic diction, which describes words, phrases, or pronunciations that are obsolete or outdated in current usage.
What is archaic style in writing?
Archaism
is the use of writing that is today considered outdated or old fashioned. Derived from the Greek word arkhaios, meaning ‘ancient’, archaic language in literature can be in the form of a word, a phrase, or even the way the sentence is formed (the syntax).
