archaism

English

Alternative forms

• archaicism
• archæism (old-fashioned)
• archaeism (rare, old-fashioned)

Etymology

17th century, from New Latin archaismus, from Ancient Greek ἀρχαϊσμός (arkhaïsmós, “an antiquated phrase or style”), from ἀρχαίζω (arkhaízō, “to model one's style upon that of ancient writers”), from ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “old, ancient”), from ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “beginning”), from ἄρχω (árkhō, “I begin”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ergʰ- (“to begin, rule, command”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɑː.keɪ.ɪz.əm/

  • Audio (GB)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹ.kiˌɪz.əm/, /ˈɑɹ.keɪˌɪz.əm/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈaː.kæɪ.ɪz.əm/

Noun

archaism (countable and uncountable, plural archaisms)

1. The adoption or imitation of archaic words or style.
2. An archaic word, style, etc.

   In this text, the word "methinks" appears to be a deliberate archaism.

   • L. Douglas

     He had the fastidiousness, the preciosity, the love of archaisms, of your true decadent.

Synonyms

• gadzookery

Hyponyms

• (poor and high-flown use in writing) tushery

Related terms

• archaic

Translations

Further reading

• “archaism”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “archaism”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “archaism”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Charisma, charisma, machairs