What is the origin of 'sleep tight'?
Read moreOne of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Archaic words
These words are no longer in everyday use or have lost a particular meaning in current usage but are sometimes used to impart an old-fashioned flavour to historical novels, for example, or in standard conversation or writing just for a humorous effect. Some, such as bedlam, reveal the origin of their current meaning, while others reveal the origin of a different modern word, as with gentle, the sense of which is preserved in gentleman. Some, such as learn and let, now mean the opposite of their former use.
| abroad | out of doors |
| accouchement | birthing |
| advertisement | a notice to readers in a book |
| afeard/afeared | frightened |
| affright | frighten (someone) |
| ague | malaria or a similar illness |
| aliment | food; nourishment |
| ambuscade | an ambush |
| animalcule | a microscopic animal |
| apothecary | a person who prepared and sold medicine |
| appetency | a longing or desire |
| assay | attempt |
| asunder | apart |
| audition | the power of hearing |
| aught | anything at all |
| avaunt | go away |
| bane | poison |
| baseborn | of low birth or social standing |
| bedlam | an asylum |
| behold | see or observe |
| behoof | benefit or advantage |
| beldam | an old woman |
| bethink oneself of | remember; recollect |
| betimes | in good time; early |
| bibliopole | a dealer in books |
| bijoux | jewellery; trinkets |
| billow | a large sea wave |
| blackguard | a scoundrel |
| blow | produce flowers or be in flower |
| bodkin | a dagger |
| bootless | (of a task) ineffectual; useless |
| breech | a person's buttocks |
| bridewell | a prison or reform school for petty offenders |
| brimstone | sulphur |
| bruit | a report or rumour |
| buck | a fashionable and daring young man |
| bumper | a generous glass of an alcoholic drink |
| burgess | a full citizen of a town or borough |
| buss | a kiss |
| caboose | a kitchen on a ship's deck |
| cadet | a younger son or daughter |
| caducity | the infirmity of old age; senility |
| camelopard | a giraffe |
| cannonade | bombard |
| carl | a man of low birth |
| ceil | line or plaster the roof of (a building) |
| champaign | open level countryside |
| chapman | a peddler |
| chicane | deceive; hoodwink |
| circumjacent | surrounding |
| cicisbeo | a married woman's male companion or lover |
| cispontine | on the north side of the Thames in London |
| cleanse | restore to health |
| clerk | a literate or scholarly person |
| clew | a ball of thread |
| clout | a piece of cloth or clothing |
| collogue | talk confidentially |
| commend | entrust someone or something to |
| commons | provisions shared in common; rations |
| communicant | a person who imparts information |
| compass | encircle or surround |
| compeer | a companion or close associate |
| con | study attentively or learn by heart (a piece of writing) |
| condition | social position |
| conjure | implore (someone) to do something |
| contemn | treat or regard with contempt |
| contumely | insolent or insulting language or treatment |
| cordwainer | a shoemaker |
| corrupt | rotten or putrid |
| corse | a corpse |
| cottier | a rural labourer living in a cottage |
| coxcomb | a vain and conceited man; a dandy |
| coz | cousin |
| crinkum-crankum | elaborate decoration or detail |
| crookback | a person with a hunchback |
| crumpet | a person's head |
| cruse | an earthenware pot or jar |
| cully | a friendly form of address for a man |
| cutpurse | a pickpocket |
| dame | an elderly or mature woman |
| damsel | a young unmarried woman |
| dandiprat | a young or insignificant person |
| darbies | handcuffs |
| dark | ignorant |
| degrade | reduce to a lower rank, especially as a punishment |
| degree | social or official rank |
| delate | report (an offence) |
| demesne | a region or domain |
| demit | resign from (an office or position) |
| demoralize | corrupt the morals of |
| dight | clothed or equipped |
| discover | divulge (a secret) |
| disport | frolic |
| dispraise | censure or criticize |
| divers | of varying types; several |
| doit | a very small amount of money |
| dot | a dowry from which only the interest or annual income was available to the husband |
| doxy | a lover or mistress |
| drab | a slovenly woman |
| drought | thirst |
| egad | exclamation of surprise, anger, or affirmation |
| embarrass | hamper or impede |
| embouchure | the mouth of a river |
| equipage | gear; equipment |
| ere | before (in time) |
| espousal | a marriage or engagement |
| estate | a particular state, period, or condition in life |
| esurient | hungry |
| expectations | one's prospects of inheritance |
| expiry | death |
| fain | pleased or willing under the circumstances |
| fainéant | an idle or ineffective person |
| fair | beautiful |
| fandangle | a useless or purely ornamental thing |
| fane | a shrine or temple |
| fare | travel |
| fell | an animal skin; a pelt |
| feminal | feminine; womanly |
| fervent | hot or glowing |
| fie | exclamation used to express disgust or outrage |
| filibeg | a kilt |
| fishwife | a woman who sells fish |
| fizgig | a silly or flirtatious young woman |
| flux | diarrhoea or dysentery |
| forfend | avert or prevent (something evil or unpleasant) |
| forsooth | indeed |
| fourscore | eighty |
| freak | a whim |
| frore | frozen or frosty |
| froward | (of a person) difficult to deal with; contrary |
| fruit | offspring |
| fudge | nonsense |
| furbish | polish (a weapon) |
| gadzooks | an expression of surprise or annoyance |
| gage | a valued object deposited as a guarantee |
| gallant | a dashing gentleman |
| gammer | an old woman |
| garland | a literary anthology |
| garth | a yard or garden |
| gaud | a trinket |
| gentle | noble or courteous |
| glabriety | baldness |
| glaciate | freeze over |
| glebe | a meadow |
| glim | a candle |
| go-cart | a baby walker |
| God's acre | a churchyard |
| goodly | attractive, excellent, or virtuous |
| goody | (with a name) an elderly woman of humble position |
| grateful | received with gratitude |
| greenwood | a forest |
| grimalkin | a cat |
| gudgeon | a credulous person |
| guerdon | a reward |
| gyve | a fetter or shackle |
| habiliment | clothing |
| halt | lame |
| handmaid | a female servant |
| hearken | listen |
| hence | from here |
| herbary | a herb garden |
| hereat | as a result of this |
| hereunto | to this document |
| hereupon | after or as a result of this |
| hie | go quickly |
| hight | named |
| hither | to or toward this place |
| hoar | frost |
| horse-coper | a person who deals in horses |
| horseless carriage | a car |
| host | an army |
| howbeit | nevertheless |
| husbandman | a farmer |
| immedicable | untreatable |
| imminent | overhanging |
| indite | write; compose |
| inscribe | enter the name of (someone) on a list |
| in sooth | actually |
| intelligence | news |
| intelligencer | a person who gathers intelligence |
| invest | surround (a place) in order to besiege or blockade it |
| iron horse | a steam locomotive |
| izzard | the letter Z |
| jade | a bad-tempered or disreputable woman |
| jakes | an outdoor toilet |
| job | turn a public office or a position of trust to private advantage |
| kickshaw | a fancy but insubstantial cooked dish |
| kine | cows collectively |
| kirtle | a woman's gown or a man's tunic |
| knave | a dishonest or unscrupulous man |
| larcener | thief |
| latchet | a narrow thong or lace for fastening a shoe or sandal |
| laud | praise |
| laver | a basin or similar container used for washing oneself |
| learn | teach |
| leech | a doctor or healer |
| leman | a lover or sweetheart |
| let | hinder |
| levant | abscond leaving unpaid debts |
| Levant | the eastern part of the Mediterranean |
| levy | a body of enlisted troops |
| lief | as happily; as gladly |
| like enough | probably |
| loathly | repulsive |
| lordling | a minor lord |
| love apple | a tomato |
| Lucifer | a match |
| lurdan | an idle or incompetent person |
| lying-in | seclusion before and after childbirth |
| magdalen | a reformed prostitute |
| mage | a magician or learned person |
| magnify | glorify; extol |
| maid | a girl or young woman |
| malapert | presumptuous and impudent |
| malison | a curse |
| man-at-arms | a soldier |
| marry | an expression of surprise, indignation, or emphatic assertion |
| mayhap | perhaps; possibly |
| mazed | bewildered |
| measure | a dance |
| meat | food of any kind |
| mechanical | a manual worker |
| meet | suitable or proper |
| melodist | a singer |
| methinks | it seems to me |
| moil | drudgery |
| mooncalf | a foolish person |
| morrow, the | the following day |
| mummer | an actor in the theatre |
| natheless | nevertheless |
| natural | a person born with impaired intelligence |
| naught | nothing |
| nay | no |
| neat | a bovine animal or animals |
| nice | fastidious |
| nigh | near |
| nithing | a contemptible or despicable person |
| noise (something) about | talk about or make known publicly |
| nubbing- cheat | a gallows |
| numbles | a deer's entrails as food |
| orison | a prayer |
| orts | scraps; remains |
| otherwhere | elsewhere |
| otiose | lazy; slothful |
| overbrim | spill; overflow |
| overleap | jump over or across |
| overset | capsize; flip over |
| pale | an area within determined bounds or subject to a particular jurisdiction |
| palfrey | a docile riding horse |
| pate | a person's head |
| paynim | a pagan |
| peccant | sinful; offending |
| peeler | a police officer |
| pelf | money, especially when gained dishonestly |
| peradventure | perhaps |
| perchance | by some chance |
| peregrinate | travel or wander from place to place |
| periapt | a charm or amulet |
| pest | bubonic plague |
| pestilence | a fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague |
| peterman | a thief or safecracker |
| physic | medicinal drugs or medical treatment |
| picaroon | a scoundrel |
| piepowder | a traveller or an itinerant merchant or trader |
| pismire | an ant |
| pistoleer | a soldier armed with a pistol |
| plain over | lament; cry over |
| plight | solemnly pledge or promise (faith or loyalty) |
| pollard | an animal that has lost its horns or cast its antlers |
| poltroon | an utter coward |
| popinjay | a parrot |
| pore on | think about |
| portage | the action of carrying or transporting |
| portion | a dowry |
| portion | a person's destiny or lot |
| posy | a short motto or line of verse inscribed inside a ring |
| potation | a beverage |
| pouncet-box | a small box with a perforated lid used for holding a substance impregnated with perfume |
| prithee | please |
| profess | teach (a subject) as a professor |
| purblind | short-sighted |
| purfle | an ornamental or embroidered edge of a garment |
| pythoness | a woman believed to be possessed by a spirit and to be able to foresee the future |
| quaggy | marshy or boggy |
| quality | high social standing |
| quean | an impudent girl or woman |
| quick, the | the living |
| quidnunc | an inquisitive, gossipy person |
| quiz | look intently at (someone) |
| quoth | said (in I/he/she quoth) |
| rack | (of a cloud) be driven by the wind |
| raiment | clothing |
| rapscallion | a mischievous person |
| rathe-ripe | (of fruit) ripening early in the year; (of a person) precocious |
| reave | carry out a plundering raid |
| receipt | a recipe |
| recipe | a medical prescription |
| recompense | punish or reward appropriately |
| recreant | cowardly |
| rede | advice or counsel |
| reduce | besiege and capture (a town or fortress) |
| relieve | make (something) stand out |
| remit | diminish |
| repair | an abode or haunt |
| repulsive | lacking friendliness or sympathy |
| riband | a ribbon |
| rover | a pirate |
| rude | ignorant and uneducated |
| ruth | a feeling of pity, distress, or grief |
| sables | black mourning clothes |
| sacring | the consecration of a bishop, a sovereign, or the Eucharistic elements |
| saddle-bow | the pommel of a saddle |
| salamander | a red-hot iron or poker |
| sanative | healing |
| sanguinary | involving or causing much bloodshed |
| sap | make (a building, etc.) insecure by removing its foundations |
| saturnism | lead poisoning |
| scantling | a specimen, sample, or small amount |
| scapegrace | a mischievous person; a rascal |
| scaramouch | a boastful but cowardly person |
| schoolman | a teacher |
| science | knowledge |
| sciolist | a person who pretends to be knowledgeable |
| scold | a woman who nags or grumbles constantly |
| scot | a tax-like payment |
| scrag | a neck |
| scruple | a very small amount of something, especially a quality |
| scullion | a menial servant |
| scurvy | worthless or contemptible |
| sea coal | mineral coal |
| sea smoke | fog |
| seizing | a length of cord or rope on board a ship |
| sennight | a week |
| sepulture | burial |
| shambles | a slaughterhouse |
| shrift | forgiveness |
| shrive | (of a priest) absolve (a person making a confession) |
| silly | helpless; defenceless |
| sippet | a small piece of bread or toast for dipping into soup or sauce |
| skirt | an edge, border, or extreme part |
| slay | kill in a violent way |
| slipshod | (of shoes) worn down at the heel |
| slugabed | a lazy person who stays in bed late |
| small beer | weak beer |
| smite | defeat or conquer |
| soak | drink heavily |
| soft tack | bread, especially as rations for sailors or soldiers |
| soil | a stain |
| sooth | truth |
| sore | extremely; severely |
| speed | success; prosperity |
| spence | a pantry or larder |
| statuary | a sculptor |
| steed | a horse |
| stoup | a container for drinking beer, etc.; a flagon |
| stripe | a blow with a lash |
| strumpet | a female prostitute or a promiscuous woman |
| success | a good or bad outcome |
| suffer | endure; tolerate |
| surety, of/for a | for certain |
| swain | a country youth |
| swash | flamboyantly swagger about or wield a sword |
| sweeting | darling |
| sweetmeat | an item of confectionery or sweet food |
| taiga | a forest |
| tantivy | a rapid gallop or ride |
| tapster | a person who serves at a bar |
| tenter | a person in charge of something, especially factory machinery |
| thenceforth | from that time, place, or point onward |
| thereunto | to that |
| therewith | with or in the thing mentioned |
| thither | to or toward that place |
| thrice | three times |
| tilt with | engage in a contest with |
| timbrel | a tambourine or similar instrument |
| 'tis | it is |
| tithe | a tenth |
| tocsin | an alarm bell or signal |
| tope | drink to excess |
| trespass | a sin or offence |
| trig | neat and smart |
| trigon | a triangle |
| troth | faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn undertaking |
| truck | an exchange or transaction |
| turnkey | a jailer |
| 'tween | between |
| tweeny | a maid who assisted both the cook and the housemaid |
| twelvemonth | a year |
| uncle | a pawnbroker |
| uncommon | remarkably |
| unhand | release from one's grasp |
| up to snuff | up to the required standard |
| usher | an assistant teacher |
| vale | a farewell; a send-off |
| varlet | an unprincipled rogue |
| venery | hunting |
| verily | truly; certainly |
| verse | a line of poetry |
| very | real; genuine |
| virtue | virginity |
| visionary | existing only in the imagination |
| wain | a wagon or cart |
| wait on/upon | pay a respectful visit to |
| waits | street singers of Christmas carols |
| ware of | aware of |
| wassail | revelry |
| wast | second person singular past of be |
| watch | remain awake as religious observance |
| watchful | wakeful |
| watchword | a military password |
| weasand | the oesophagus or gullet |
| ween | think or suppose; be of the opinion |
| wench | a girl or young woman |
| whence | from what place or source |
| whereat | at which |
| wherefore | for what reason |
| wherewith | with or by which |
| whilom | formerly |
| white goods | domestic linen |
| whither | to what place or state |
| wife | a woman, especially an old or uneducated one |
| wight | a person of a specified kind |
| wise | manner, way, or extent |
| withal | in addition |
| without | outside |
| wondrous | wonderfully |
| wont | accustomed |
| wonted | usual |
| wool-stapler | a dealer in wool |
| wright | a maker or builder |
| yclept | by the name of |
| ye | you |
| yea | yes |
| yoke | the amount of land that one pair of oxen could plough in a day |
| yonder | over there |
| zounds | an expression of surprise or indignation |
