University academics reveal list of lost English words
- Linguistics experts have revealed a list of 30 ‘lost’ words in the English language
- Privilege Insurance launches the ‘Lost Words Campaign’ – asking the public to vote for the words they’d most like to see returned to modern English
- Highlights include ‘betrump’ – to deceive or cheat, ‘snout-fair’ – handsome, and ‘dowsabel’ – the original sweetheart
David Gandy is snout-fair and Jeremy Paxman is a momist.
Language experts at the University of York have worked with straight talking insurer, Privilege, to create a comprehensive list of 30 words that have fallen out of the English language.
Dr Dominic Watt and his research team at the Department of Language and Linguistic Science spent three months scouring historic texts and etymological dictionaries to create the curated list of words, which they – along with Privilege Insurance – believe are still relevant to modern life.
The list of 30 ‘Lost Words’ was formed by grouping the words within themes that Watt believes to be highly relevant to modern life. These are post-truth (deception), appearance, personality and behaviour, and emotions.
The final list includes ‘ear-rent’ – the figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk, ‘slug-a-bed’ – a person who lies in late, and ‘merry-go-sorry’ – a mixture of joy and sorrow.
As part of the ‘Lost Words Campaign’, Privilege is inviting the public to vote for their favourite words to bring back to everyday English: Click here to vote now
Lost words of the English language
Source: Privilege Insurance
Word |
Theme |
Meaning |
Ambodexter, n: |
Post – truth |
One who takes bribes from both sides |
Betrump, v: |
Post – truth |
To deceive, cheat; to elude, slip from |
Coney-catch, v: |
Post – truth |
To swindle, cheat; to trick, dupe, deceive |
Hugger-mugger, n., adj., and adv: |
Post – truth |
Concealment, secrecy; esp. in phr. in hugger-mugger: in secret, secretly, clandestinely. Formerly in ordinary literary use, now archaic or vulgar |
Nickum, n.: |
Post – truth |
A cheating or dishonest person |
Quacksalver, n: |
Post – truth |
A person who dishonestly claims knowledge of or skill in medicine; a pedlar of false cures |
Rouker, n.: |
Post – truth |
A person who whispers or murmurs; one who spreads tales or rumours |
Man-millinery, adj: |
Appearance |
Suggestive of male vanity or pomposity |
Parget, v: |
Appearance |
To daub or plaster (the face or body) with powder or paint; to cover with cosmetic |
Snout-fair, adj.: |
Appearance |
Having a fair countenance; fair-faced, comely, handsome |
Slug-a-bed, n: |
Personality & behaviour |
One who lies long in bed through laziness |
Losenger, n.: |
Personality & behaviour |
A false flatterer, a lying rascal, a deceiver |
Momist, n: |
Personality & behaviour |
A person who habitually finds fault; a harsh critic |
Peacockize, v.: |
Personality & behaviour |
To behave like a peacock; esp. to pose or strut ostentatiously |
Percher, n.: |
Personality & behaviour |
A person who aspires to a higher rank or status; an ambitious or self-assertive person |
Rouzy-bouzy, adj.: |
Personality & behaviour |
Boisterously drunk |
Ruff, v: |
Personality & behaviour |
To swagger, bluster, domineer. To ruff it out / to brag or boast of a thing |
Sillytonian, n.: |
Personality & behaviour |
A silly or gullible person, esp. one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people |
Wlonk, adj + n (also ‘wlonkness’) |
Personality & behaviour |
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: |
Emotions |
Inclined to fume, hot-tempered, irascible, passionate; also, characterized by or exhibiting anger or irascibility |
Awhape, v. |
Emotions |
To amaze, stupefy with fear, confound utterly |
Hugge, v. |
Emotions |
To shudder, shrink, shiver, or shake with fear or with cold |
Merry-go-sorry, n. |
Emotions |
A mixture of joy and sorrow |
Stomaching, adj.: |
Emotions |
Full of malignity; given to cherish anger or resentment |
Swerk, v. |
Emotions |
To be or become dark; in Old English often, to become gloomy, troubled, or sad |
Teen, v |
Emotions |
To vex, irritate, annoy, anger, enrage / To inflict suffering upon; to afflict, harass; to injure, harm |
Tremblable, adj. |
Emotions |
Causing dread or horror; dreadful |
Wasteheart, int. |
Emotions |
Used to express grief, pity, regret, disappointment, or concern: ‘alas!’ ‘woe is me!’ Also wasteheart-a-day, wasteheart of me |
Dowsabel, n. |
Miscellaneous |
Applied generically to a sweetheart, ‘lady-love’ |
Ear-rent, n. |
Miscellaneous |
The figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk |
Dominic Watt, Senior Lecturer in Language and Linguistic Science, University of York, said:
“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.
“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.”
Christian Mendes, head of Privilege home insurance, said:
“We’re constantly presented with new additions to the English language, but we rarely discuss the words that are leaving and becoming obsolete.
“As a company, we believe in using ‘plain English’, and the need to communicate clearly and concisely in important documents such as insurance policies is more evident than ever.
“Research like this is important, and it highlights the constantly evolving nature of the English language, with as many words entering as leaving. We’re looking forward to supporting the reintroduction of some long-lost words!”
ENDS
Privilege
Privilege Insurance specialises in car insurance for safe drivers. It also offers home insurance and breakdown cover by phone or on-line.
Privilege general insurance policies are underwritten by U K Insurance Limited, Registered office: The Wharf, Neville Street, Leeds LS1 4AZ. Registered in England and Wales No 1179980. U K Insurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Privilege and U K Insurance Limited are both part of Direct Line Insurance Group plc.
Customers can find out more about Privilege’s products or get a quote by calling 0345 246 0515 or visiting www.privilege.co.uk