From The BBC
15 September 2017
Snout-fair, dowsabel and percher are among 30 "lost" words which experts believe are still in current use. Researchers have drawn up the list to persuade people that these defunct words can still have a relevance. Snout-fair is a word for handsome, dowsabel means "lady-love", and a percher is a social climber. Dominic Watt, senior linguistics lecturer at the University of York, said he hoped people would re-engage with the language of old. The team spent three months searching through old books and dictionaries to create the list.
Mr Watt wants to bring these words back into modern conversations. "We've identified lost words that are both interesting and thought-provoking, in the hope of helping people re-engage with language of old," he said. "Snout-fair", for example, means "having a fair countenance; fair-faced, comely, handsome", while "sillytonian" refers to "a silly or gullible person, esp one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people". "Dowsabel" is "applied generically to a sweetheart, 'lady-love'". Margot Leadbetter, the snobby neighbour from 1970s BBC sitcom, The Good Life, could be seen as an arch example of a "percher" - someone "who aspires to a higher rank or status; an ambitious or self-assertive person". The BBC series Trust Me is the story of a "quacksalver" - a person who "dishonestly claims knowledge of, or skill in, medicine; a pedlar of false cures".
The list of 30 "lost words" are grouped into three areas the researchers feel are relevant to modern life: post-truth (deception); appearance, personality and behaviour; and emotions. The final list also includes the words "ear-rent" - described as "the figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk", "slug-a-bed" - meaning "a person who lies in late", and "merry-go-sorry" - a phrase used to describe "a mixture of joy and sorrow".
[I do so love the English language. It’s just so rich and full of wonderfully strange words and, especially, insults. I think that ‘percher’ could catch on. It’s very descriptive of the social climber. I really like the idea of ‘ear-rent’. Again very descriptive and so true when you can’t get away from incessant chatting! As to ‘slug-a-bed’ I’m pretty sure I’ve heard my Mum use that so it’s not a dead turn of phrase – at least not in the North of England….. So, English words – use them or lose them.]
5 comments:
Slug-a-bed is the only word that is familiar also. I think I've encountered it in fiction, as I don't remember anybody saying it.
most of these are familiar; but they left out some of the best:: googlefink, to trumpicate, argubell, locatrice, apolaudical, and last but not least, brainifart...
This is so cool. I love obscure words. I hate the concept that words might be lost.
I will try to use one or more of these words in real conversation :)
@ Fred: It's one of the delights of reader older books that you come across words that have fallen out of use. Some of them are really good and should be brought back to life.
@ Mudpuddle: So many good (and new) words so little time!
@ Brian: One of my ex-Bosses (many years ago) used to right up the minutes of our meetings. He tried to add at least one little known word into each set to see if anyone was paying attention. I became notorious a while back for using the word 'winnowing' in a report at work. Apparently people had to Google it. I thought it was obvious from the context... apparently not!
I can see percher used today!
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