Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

A linguistic rouzy-bouzy: Researchers resurrect 30 English lost words

Don't be a losenger!

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
September 18, 2017
in News, Science

Don’t be a losenger — delight yourself with this wlonk list of English words which have almost betrumped history.

Image credits: firepile / Flickr.

English can be a wonderful language, but it can also get quite weird at times. The language is also actively evolving, with new words constantly entering the dictionaries, while some older words are slowly phased out. Now, researchers from York University have spent three months looking for older English words that have left the common usage but are just funky enough to reenter language.

If you’ve ever spent your entire weekend in bed, there’s a word for that: slug-a-bed. A nickum is a cheating person, while something that causes angst and horror is tremblable. These unusual words may still be used by eccentrics, but linguists hope they could bring them back in the spotlight.

Dr Dominic Watt and his research team say that the words are still relevant now (slug-a-bed is seriously relevant), and they expressed their belief that modern society can re-engage with these words.

“As professional linguists and historians of English we were intrigued by the challenge of developing a list of lost words that are still relevant to modern life, and that we could potentially campaign to bring back into modern day language,” said dr. Watt.

“To allow people to really imagine introducing these words back into their everyday lives, we’ve chosen words that fit within themes still relevant to the average person. Within these themes, we’ve identified lost words that are both interesting and thought-provoking, in the hope of helping people re-engage with language of old.”

A special mention goes out to betrumped — there’s something funny in the president of the USA having a name that basically meant “deceiver” or “cheater.”

The list of 30 “Lost Words” is delightful to read and engaging. If you’ve made it this far, let’s make a pledge. Let’s choose one word, your very favorite from the list, and start using it.  The more the merrier, but let’s all pick at least one. Mine’s slug-a-bed. Which one is yours?

The full list is:

Ambodexter, n: One who takes bribes from both sides

Betrump, v: To deceive, cheat; to elude, slip from

Coney–catch b, v: To swindle, cheat; to trick, dupe, deceive

Hugger–mugger, n., adj., and adv: Concealment, secrecy; esp. in phr. in hugger-mugger: in secret, secretly, clandestinely. Formerly in ordinary literary use, now archaic or vulgar

Nickum, n.: A cheating or dishonest person

Quacksalver, n: A person who dishonestly claims knowledge of or skill in medicine; a pedlar of false cures

Rouker, n.: A person who whispers or murmurs; one who spreads tales or rumours

Man-millinery, adj: Suggestive of male vanity or pomposity

Parget, v: To daub or plaster (the face or body) with powder or paint; to cover with cosmetic

Snout-fair, adj.: Having a fair countenance; fair-faced, comely, handsome

Slug-a-bed, n: One who lies long in bed through laziness

Losenger, n.: A false flatterer, a lying rascal, a deceiver

Momist, n: A person who habitually finds fault; a harsh critic

Peacockize, v.: To behave like a peacock; esp. to pose or strut ostentatiously

Percher, n.: A person who aspires to a higher rank or status; an ambitious or self-assertive person

Rouzy-bouzy, adj.: Boisterously drunk

Ruff, v: To swagger, bluster, domineer. To ruff it out / to brag or boast of a thing

Sillytonian, n.: A silly or gullible person, esp. one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people

Wlonk, adj + n (also ‘wlonkness’) Proud, haughty /  Rich, splendid, fine, magnificent: in later use esp. as a conventional epithet in alliterative verse (N.  A fair or beautiful one)

Fumish, adj: Inclined to fume, hot-tempered, irascible, passionate; also, characterized by or exhibiting anger or irascibility

Awhape, v. To amaze, stupefy with fear, confound utterly

Hugge, v. To shudder, shrink, shiver, or shake with fear or with cold

Merry-go-sorry, n. A mixture of joy and sorrow

Stomaching, adj.: Full of malignity; given to cherish anger or resentment

Swerk, v. To be or become dark; in Old English often, to become gloomy, troubled, or sad

Teen, v To vex, irritate, annoy, anger, enrage / To inflict suffering upon; to afflict, harass; to injure, harm

Tremblable, adj. Causing dread or horror; dreadful

Wasteheart, int. Used to express grief, pity, regret, disappointment, or concern: ‘alas!’ ‘woe is me!’ Also wasteheart-a-day, wasteheart of me

Dowsabel, n. Applied generically to a sweetheart, ‘lady-love’

Ear-rent, n. The figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. These are the most metal words in the English language, data scientist says
  2. Forget dinosaurs. Researchers think they could resurrect an extinct rat
  3. Millions of LEGO pieces lost at sea 25 years ago are still washing up on the English coast
  4. Scientists resurrect microscopic creatures that were frozen for 24,000 years in Siberia
  5. Scientists on a mission to resurrect woolly mammoth raise $15 million
Tags: vocabularyword

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW