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The English language is always changing and evolving — into something better, one would hope. But what about those perfectly good but archaic words?
The Oxford University Press is trying to resurrect as many of the lost words as it can. Its website, savethewords.org, is full of wonderful examples of words virtually no one has ever heard of — and, to be perfectly honest, probably no one ever will.
These aren’t technical words, such as those that might be used by a doctor, astrophysicist or computer insider. No, most of them are words for fairly ordinary things. They don’t trip lightly off the tongue these days, and most can look high-falutin’.
Still, they’re fun to ponder. Here are a few examples. Attention, Scrabble fans:
>> Blateration: Blather, chatter.
>> Pessundate: To destroy or cast down.
>> Pigritude: Slothfulness.
>> Panchymagogue: A purgative, a medicine to expel all unhealthy humors from the body.
>> Prandicle: A small meal.
>> Kexy: Brittle, withered.
>> Squiriferous: To have the characteristics of a gentleman.
>> Vacivity: Emptiness.
>> Absquatulate: To abscond in a hurry, usually with something such as the family silver.
Now, everybody head for the phrontistery (a place for thinking) and . . .
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