Archaic vocabulary

These 10 archaic words would make our modern vocabularies so much better!

Image: Patrick Tomasso

Language is considered a living tissue, so it stands to reason that the words we use as we move through the decades change with us: Since we have no use for some words, they sadly fade from existence and are ultimately forgotten. However, that doesn’t need to be the case: Who says we can’t launch some kind of conservation effort to keep words relevant? With that in mind, we have selected 10 forgotten words that we think should make a well-deserved comeback. We honestly believe that adding these terms to our collective vocabularies would make our lives easier, or at least, more colorful. Enjoy!

Image: Torsten Dederichs

"Balderdash" sounds like the perfect noun for a bold and daring adventurer, someone who doesn’t fret in the face of danger. However, the actual definition of this word can’t be further from these notions: Balderdash is an extremely old expression used to describe a senseless, stupid, or exaggerated way of speaking or writing. Not only that, but it can also be used as an exclamation of disbelief, similar to other old-timey terms like "baloney" or "hogwash."

Image: Resume Genius

For such a silly-sounding word, "donnybrook" has some rather rowdy definitions. While some dictionaries define it as a synonym for fight or brawl, others definitions for these words don’t delve into physical altercations: A donnybrook could be a flashy and public argument, for instance. It would seem that the one quality that any "donnybrook" worth its wacky name should cause some sort of uproar.

Image: JOSHUA COLEMAN

Another funny-sounding word in this article (be ready for many more), the term ballyhoo is as charming as it sounds. This word is used to describe something that tries to get people excited, usually in a flashy or ostentatious manner. For instance, an advertisement campaign might make a lot of "ballyhoo" to get audiences excited about a certain product, movie, or book.

Image: Noah Buscher

Now, I know what you are thinking: Although not extremely popular, this word is sometimes used in our modern times. However, we would like to make the case that it is not used nearly enough. As you probably know, "tomfoolery" is a term used to describe playful, silly, or foolish behavior. While it is sometimes used as a pejorative term, especially in formal situations where foolish behavior is looked down upon, the truth is that this term is harmless enough to warrant its promotion in modern vocabularies.

Image: Maxime Gilbert

Let’s start with a small disclaimer: We do not condone physical violence, so please don’t go around throwing fisticuffs with strangers. This old-timey term dates back to at least the 17th century and remained popular until the 1930s. As the name suggests, the word fisticuffs relates to fighting with your fists: However, in some cases, it has also been used to describe an extremely heated or volatile argument between two people.

Image: charlesdeluvio

Galoot definitively sounds like a term of endearment. You might have heard someone refer to their beloved (and massive) Big Dane as "a big galoot." However, tread lightly if you think about using this word: After all, it describes someone extremely clumsy or awkward. In any case, "galoot" is such a silly-sounding word that bringing it back seems like a good idea, if only for the many adorable dogs that might be called a galoot.

Image: Towfiqu barbhuiya

We live in a world that loves abbreviations: The internet age has given us extremely popular terms like LOL and OMG. In that sense, don’t you think the expression "the day after tomorrow" is a bit of a mouthful? However, the archaic word "overmorrow" might be the answer we are looking for. This term is short, concise, and perfectly summarizes the day after tomorrow in only one word. We hope that this article helps launch this term into popularity.

Image: Everton Vila

Limerence is basically another word for being lovesick: It describes the involuntary obsession and melancholic feelings that come with falling in love with someone. Think of all those soap opera characters longing for the one they can’t have, often staring at a picture on a locket or at the falling rain: Those are, in our opinion, the best examples of limerence.

Image: Ben White

If old-timey gangster films have taught us anything, it is that "rat" is not only the name of one of our least favorite rodents but also the term used to describe someone who discloses information to the police. In that sense, the pejorative term "ratfink" applies to not only the act of "snitching", but also to someone utterly unpleasant or obnoxious.

Image: Wonderlane

"Chatoyant" is one of those words that doesn’t really do justice to the gorgeous natural event it describes: This term (which derives from a concept known as "the chatoyancy effect") describes a unique concept on which reflected light appears as well-defined bands on a glossy surface. This gorgeous occurrence, reminiscent of a cat’s eye, doesn’t seem reflected by the clumsiness of the word "chatoyant," but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t bring it to our collective attention.

TYPING MADNESS

10 Words And Phrases Typed Using Just One Row On The Keyboard

Image: Luca Onniboni

Have you ever tried to see how many words you can write using just one row on the keyboard? Well, although you might have to squeeze your brain a little, it turns out there are a lot of one-row words! But why stop at just words? Meaningful phrases can be constructed too, if you have the patience. After reading the ones we have come up with, try and see how many more you can find!

Image: camilo jimenez

Isn’t it ironic? Picture yourself in front of an old-timey typewriter, a gentle breeze coming from an open window on a summer afternoon. And then clack, clack, clack, you find out that you can write "typewriter" with just one row.

Also, did you know that the QWERTY keyboard layout we use today was first devised in the early 1870s? Some things are older than you think.

Image: Ricky Kharawala

It sounds made up, doesn’t it? However, if you are well-versed in medicinal plants, you might already be familiar with this one. The smooth rupturewort, the common name of the Herniaria glabra, is a plant found in Europe and North America that is used for various medicinal purposes. Its name comes from the ancient belief that it was a remedy for hernia ruptures.

It is also considered a sturdy ground-covering plant, known for being resistant to droughts and thriving in poor soils.

Image: Kumpan Electric

"A proper prototype, innit?" This alliterative conjunction sounds like something taken out of a British sci-fi script. The longest word that can be written with the top row of a QWERTY keyboard is actually quite close: proterotype, meaning "a first or primitive type." Look it up in the dictionary, it’s there!

Image: Álvaro Serrano

Pier doesn’t feel like writing his poetry homework, and he needs to be reminded to keep his focus by his very stern mother. If you are so inclined or want to give Pier a break, try and write a one-row poem. They say creativity flourishes under limitations!

Image: Ed Robertson

A trope can be a figure of speech, or, in literature, a common theme or cliché. Similarly, trite is something (an opinion, an idea) tired and overused. Many tropes can indeed be a bit trite, like the protagonist who needs to save the world, or the successful person who returns to their small hometown. However, one could argue that no trope is necessarily trite by itself, maybe it just needs better writing.

Image: Darla Hueske

Alfalfa prefers to grow in temperate climates, so this one must be a blatant lie, or so I thought. Apparently, a team of scientists back in the 70s engineered a variety resistant to the Last Frontier’s extremely harsh winters by crossing common alfalfa plants with Siberian species. Although the crop’s popularity never caught up with the industry, there are some plans to bring it back.

So, Alaska may have alfalfa, after all. Ahoy, and north to the future!

Image: GoodEats YQR

Maybe I will pass on this one. To be honest, algal salsa doesn't sound too yummy. That being said, a lot of foods are made with edible algae, and even soy sauce can be made of fermented seaweed instead of, well, soy. Kelp and other types of marine flora are harvested to make gel-forming products like algin, agar, or carrageenan, that end up in all sorts of processed foods, even ice-cream!

Image: PHÚC LONG

Our poor gal has started a diet, and she’s obviously sad because all she has now for lunch is a meager salad. Long gone are the fries and burgers, but don’t despair, salad doesn’t have to be lean and flavorless to be healthy. Also, in case you didn’t know, gal is not exactly a real word, but rather a phonetic transcription used in written English to represent the way certain accents pronounce the word girl.

Image: Annie Spratt

The lads are back in town, and they are throwing up a special gala to celebrate the occasion. If you are not invited, worry not, you can still have fun with some etymology. The word lad can be traced back to Middle English ladde, meaning either "foot soldier" or "young male servant." It eventually evolved to refer to almost any young man or boy. Gala, on the other hand, is a borrowed word from Old French, meaning "merriment."

Image: Bianca Ackermann

An onomatopoeia for the sound of a bee buzzing. This may be cheating, but try and come up with anything better with just the bottom letters of a QWERTY keyboard. A fun fact regarding this one: it is considered a cross-linguistic onomatopoeia, meaning it is replicated in a very similar fashion in different languages worldwide. And yes, that also means not all onomatopoeias are directly understood by speakers of different languages, despite the fact that they are all based on specific sounds.