Thou art beautiful!

Today’s English
June 19th, 2017

Obsolete English words are those which are no longer in use both in speech and writing especially ever since the year 1755 when Dr.Johnson’s dictionary was born.  Any word in dictionary with the label –“obsolete” is only to understand the English books of the past, strictly not for today’s use.  On the other hand, archaic words are those which were common once but used today only in special contexts such as poetry, law and religion. If you want to add poetic flavour to your speech, you can use archaic words which will make your speech more beautiful than ever. For example, you can say, “thou art beautiful” in stead of saying “you are beautiful.”.  Archaic words are not dead. They are restricted to some contexts and may become worthy of revival if frequency goes up. Here are some samples for both categories.

Obsolete Words that you must not use:

1.Government in the sense of “one’s moral conduct or behavior.”

Incorrect:  Her government is good.
Correct: Her conduct is good.

2.Commune – to discuss

Incorrect: I want to commune with you.
Correct: I want to discuss with you.

3.Accountant (adjective)- answerable for, responsible for

Incorrect: You are accountant for your decisions.
Correct: You are responsible / accountable for your decisions.

4.Illecebrous – attractive

Incorrect: The design is so illecebrous. (Use the word attractive)

5.Manurance – agriculture

Incorrect: where can we find fertile soil for manurance today? (Use “agriculture”)

Archaic words that you may use in special contexts:

1.Thou  = you (Used as subject)

Archaic: Thou speak truth.
Common:  You speak truth.

2.Thee = you (Used as object)

Archaic: I love thee more.
Common: I love you more.

3.Thy = your

Archaic = I appreciate thy effort.
Common: I appreciate your effort.

4.Thine = yours

Archaic: Whatever is mine, that is thine.
Common: Whatever is mine, that is yours.

5.Methinks = I think, it seems to me

Archaic: Methinks, people are hungry for money and power.
Common: I think, people are hungry for money and power.

Do you know? : one of the meanings of the word “learn" in the past is “to teach.”  Methinks, thou learn and have thy moral responsibility to teach that others in need.