In language, an archaism is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a historical epoch long beyond living memory, but that has survived in a few practical settings or affairs. Lexical archaisms are single archaic words or expressions used regularly in an affair (e.g. religion or law) or freely; literary archaism is the survival of archaic language in a traditional literary text such as a nursery rhyme or the deliberate use of a style characteristic of an earlier age—for example, in his 1960 novel The Sot-Weed Factor, John Barth writes in an 18th-century style.[1] Archaic words or expressions may have distinctive emotional connotations—some can be humorous (forsooth), some highly formal (What say you?), and some solemn (With thee do I plight my troth). The word archaism is from the Ancient Greek: ἀρχαϊκός, archaïkós, 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately ἀρχαῖος, archaîos, 'from the beginning, ancient'.
A distinction between archaic and obsolete words and word senses is widely used by dictionaries. 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. A reader encounters them when reading texts that are centuries old. For example, the works of Shakespeare are old enough that some obsolete words or senses are encountered therein, for which glosses (annotations) are often provided in the margins.
Archaisms can either be used deliberately (to achieve a specific effect) or as part of a specific jargon (for example in law) or formula (for example in religious contexts). Many nursery rhymes contain archaisms. Some archaisms called fossil words remain in use within certain fixed expressions despite having faded away in all other contexts (for example, vim is not used in normal English outside the set phrasevim and vigor).
An outdated form of language is called archaic. In contrast, a language or dialect that contains many archaic traits (archaisms) relative to closely related languages or dialects spoken at the same time is called conservative.
Archaisms are most frequently encountered in history, poetry, fantasy literature, law, philosophy, science, technology, geography and ritual writing and speech. Archaisms are kept alive by these ritual and literary uses and by the study of older literature. Should they remain recognised, they can potentially be revived.
Because they are things of continual discovery and re-invention, science and technology have historically generated forms of speech and writing which have dated and fallen into disuse relatively quickly. However, the emotional associations of certain words have kept them alive, for example: 'Wireless' rather than 'Radio' for a generation of British citizens who lived through the Second World War, even though the older word 'wireless' is an archaism, and in recent years the term has gained renewed popularity.
A similar desire to evoke a former age means that archaic place names are frequently used in circumstances where doing so conveys a political or emotional subtext, or when the official new name is not recognised by all (for example: 'Madras' rather than 'Chennai'). So, a restaurant seeking to conjure up historic associations might prefer to call itself Old Bombay or refer to Persian cuisine in preference to using the newer place name. A notable contemporary example is the name of the airline Cathay Pacific, which uses the archaic Cathay ("China").
Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to changes in usage. One example is found in the phrase "the odd man out", which originally came from the phrase "to find the odd man out", where the verb "to find out" has been split by its object "the odd man", meaning the item which does not fit. The object + split verb has been reinterpreted as a noun + adjective, such that "out" describes the man rather than any verb.
The pronominal adverbs found in the writing of lawyers (e.g. heretofore, hereunto, thereof) are examples of archaisms as a form of jargon. Some phraseologies, especially in religious contexts, retain archaic elements that are not used in ordinary speech in any other context: "With this ring I thee wed." Archaisms are also used in the dialogue of historical novels in order to evoke the flavour of the period. Some may count as inherently funny words and are used for humorous effect.
Examples
A type of archaism is the use of thou, the second-person singular pronoun that fell out of general use in the 17th century, while you or ye, formerly only used to address groups, and then also to respectfully address individuals, is now used to address both individuals and groups. Thou is the nominative form; the oblique/objective form is thee (functioning as both accusative and dative), and the possessive is thy or thine.
Though thou hast ever so many counsellors, yet do not forsake the counsel of thy own soul.[2]
The meaning of this proverb is that something that happens to a person, is likely to eventually happen to another who observes it, especially if the two people are similar.
The meaning of this saying is simply that it is unwise to lie to yourself. In its contemporary context it meant to be true (loyal, faithful, supportive) to one's own interests (the 'self' of person, property, and goals). In other words, put yourself before others.
Archaisms in proverbs are often retained, far longer than in other parts of the language. This is because they make the proverbs "fall easier on the tongue",[5] and also because of the rhetorical effect they evoke by the use of two of the four fundamental operations in rhetoric. Namely, permutation (immutatio) and addition (adiectio).[6]
^Thomas Burns McArthur; Roshan McArthur (2005). Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press. p. 162. ISBN978-0-19-280637-6. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
^Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European Proverbs. Volume 2. Routledge. p. 1044. ISBN0415096243.
^Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European Proverbs. Volume 2. Routledge. p. 1038. ISBN0415096243.
^David John Allerton; Nadja Nesselhauf; Paul Skandera (2004). Phraseological Units: Basic Concepts and Their Application. Schwabe Verlag Basel. p. 80. ISBN978-3-7965-1949-9. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
Archaism entry in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology
January 13, 2023
archaism, this, article, possibly, contains, original, research, please, improve, verifying, claims, made, adding, inline, citations, statements, consisting, only, original, research, should, removed, march, 2009, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, . This article possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed March 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message In language an archaism is a word a sense of a word or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a historical epoch long beyond living memory but that has survived in a few practical settings or affairs Lexical archaisms are single archaic words or expressions used regularly in an affair e g religion or law or freely literary archaism is the survival of archaic language in a traditional literary text such as a nursery rhyme or the deliberate use of a style characteristic of an earlier age for example in his 1960 novel The Sot Weed Factor John Barth writes in an 18th century style 1 Archaic words or expressions may have distinctive emotional connotations some can be humorous forsooth some highly formal What say you and some solemn With thee do I plight my troth The word archaism is from the Ancient Greek ἀrxaikos archaikos old fashioned antiquated ultimately ἀrxaῖos archaios from the beginning ancient A distinction between archaic and obsolete words and word senses is widely used by dictionaries 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 A reader encounters them when reading texts that are centuries old For example the works of Shakespeare are old enough that some obsolete words or senses are encountered therein for which glosses annotations are often provided in the margins Archaisms can either be used deliberately to achieve a specific effect or as part of a specific jargon for example in law or formula for example in religious contexts Many nursery rhymes contain archaisms Some archaisms called fossil words remain in use within certain fixed expressions despite having faded away in all other contexts for example vim is not used in normal English outside the set phrase vim and vigor An outdated form of language is called archaic In contrast a language or dialect that contains many archaic traits archaisms relative to closely related languages or dialects spoken at the same time is called conservative Contents 1 Usage 2 Examples 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksUsage EditArchaisms are most frequently encountered in history poetry fantasy literature law philosophy science technology geography and ritual writing and speech Archaisms are kept alive by these ritual and literary uses and by the study of older literature Should they remain recognised they can potentially be revived Because they are things of continual discovery and re invention science and technology have historically generated forms of speech and writing which have dated and fallen into disuse relatively quickly However the emotional associations of certain words have kept them alive for example Wireless rather than Radio for a generation of British citizens who lived through the Second World War even though the older word wireless is an archaism and in recent years the term has gained renewed popularity A similar desire to evoke a former age means that archaic place names are frequently used in circumstances where doing so conveys a political or emotional subtext or when the official new name is not recognised by all for example Madras rather than Chennai So a restaurant seeking to conjure up historic associations might prefer to call itself Old Bombay or refer to Persian cuisine in preference to using the newer place name A notable contemporary example is the name of the airline Cathay Pacific which uses the archaic Cathay China Archaisms are frequently misunderstood leading to changes in usage One example is found in the phrase the odd man out which originally came from the phrase to find the odd man out where the verb to find out has been split by its object the odd man meaning the item which does not fit The object split verb has been reinterpreted as a noun adjective such that out describes the man rather than any verb The pronominal adverbs found in the writing of lawyers e g heretofore hereunto thereof are examples of archaisms as a form of jargon Some phraseologies especially in religious contexts retain archaic elements that are not used in ordinary speech in any other context With this ring I thee wed Archaisms are also used in the dialogue of historical novels in order to evoke the flavour of the period Some may count as inherently funny words and are used for humorous effect Examples EditA type of archaism is the use of thou the second person singular pronoun that fell out of general use in the 17th century while you or ye formerly only used to address groups and then also to respectfully address individuals is now used to address both individuals and groups Thou is the nominative form the oblique objective form is thee functioning as both accusative and dative and the possessive is thy or thine Though thou hast ever so many counsellors yet do not forsake the counsel of thy own soul 2 English proverb Today me tomorrow thee 3 English proverb The meaning of this proverb is that something that happens to a person is likely to eventually happen to another who observes it especially if the two people are similar To thine own self be true 4 William Shakespeare The meaning of this saying is simply that it is unwise to lie to yourself In its contemporary context it meant to be true loyal faithful supportive to one s own interests the self of person property and goals In other words put yourself before others Archaisms in proverbs are often retained far longer than in other parts of the language This is because they make the proverbs fall easier on the tongue 5 and also because of the rhetorical effect they evoke by the use of two of the four fundamental operations in rhetoric Namely permutation immutatio and addition adiectio 6 See also EditAnachronism Fossil word Historical linguistics Legal English Linguistic conservatism List of alternative country names List of archaic technological nomenclature Neologism Thou Ye oldeReferences Edit Thomas Burns McArthur Roshan McArthur 2005 Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language Oxford University Press p 162 ISBN 978 0 19 280637 6 Retrieved 4 September 2013 Strauss Emanuel 1994 Dictionary of European Proverbs Volume 2 Routledge p 1044 ISBN 0415096243 Strauss Emanuel 1994 Dictionary of European Proverbs Volume 2 Routledge p 1038 ISBN 0415096243 Polonius Hamlet scene III David John Allerton Nadja Nesselhauf Paul Skandera 2004 Phraseological Units Basic Concepts and Their Application Schwabe Verlag Basel p 80 ISBN 978 3 7965 1949 9 Retrieved 4 September 2013 ARHAIKA Mediaenciklopediya IZO External links EditArchaism entry in the UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Archaism amp oldid 1133425971, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
