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Languages are malleable – they’re constantly shifting and changing, with new words being coined almost every day and others falling out of use. It’s one of the most interesting things about how we communicate, and to see how fast things change, you’ve only got to try to get your Mom to understand what you mean when you say her new Live, Laugh, Love plaque is kind of cheugy.
But instead of looking forwards into a landscape of 2021’s weird and wonderful words (that’s another article entirely – so stay tuned), we’re looking back at the good, the bad, and the downright ridiculous combinations of letters that our English-speaking ancestors would have grappled with on a daily basis.
So here are 26 lost English words that we’re pretty sure are due a comeback, from the weird and wild language of Shakespeare’s day to the hip new phrases your grandparents used when they were growing up in the fifties and sixties. We’d encourage you to use them in everyday conversation, but honestly, even we’re not that cruel.
Acnestis
The part of the back or the backbone between the shoulder blades and the coccyx that is, no matter how diligently you try, impossible to satisfyingly scratch.
Betrump
To cheat, or to lie. We’ve been informed that there may be some political jokes to be made here for our US friends, but we don’t know what they could be.
Curglaff
The specific and horrendous shock felt when plunging into icy water, or a bath that you’ve left to cool for approximately three and a half seconds.
Dowsabel
A generic term for a sweetheart, or a lady that you’re romantically interested in.
Ear-rent
The act of having to listen to boring or incessant speech; a boring conversation – “I can’t believe I had to pay ear-rent to that man at the bus stop for a whole hour!”
Fly rink
A bald head - the reflecting light from a shiny bald head was thought to attract flies and all kinds of nasty critters.
Groak
To silently watch somebody whilst they’re eating, with the hopes of being offered food.
Hugger-Mugger
Secretive and clandestine, sneaky, and up to no good. Think seeing your cat slinking into the kitchen when you’ve left a roast to defrost on the counter.
Icthyarchy
The domain or rule of fishes. No, we’re not sure what kind of dark parallel universe this one came from, either.
Jussulent
Full of soup.
Ketchup, in the
To be “In the Ketchup” was to be in debt, or in the red, usually referring to personal finances – “I can’t meet you at the social tonight man, ever since I bought the new Beatles LP I’ve been in the red.”
Losenger
A false flatterer, somebody who appeals to your vanity.
Merry-go-Sorry
A feeling of happiness and sadness at the same time; a melancholy coupled with happiness.
Nameling
Somebody who bears the same name as you, often in a familial sense – If your father’s name was John and you’d been named John after him, you’d be his nameling.
Oncethmus
The braying sound a donkey or a mule makes, often applied to the bragging conversation of a bore… or that guy in your office who can’t stop talking about his adventures in craft brewing.
Pang-Wangle
To live and proceed cheerfully through life in spite of minor misfortunes.
Quercivorous
Feeding on, or being sustained by the by-products of, English oak trees.
Rouker
The neighbourhood gossip. Somebody who knows a little about everybody, and loves to share the details with any and all who cross their path. See also: that person who screenshots your conversations and goes ‘oops, my thumb slipped’.
Soup, dog
“Dog Soup” is just water – playing on the idea of a soup for dogs, rather than a hearty bowl of poor Rover.
Tussicate
To cough or to clear the throat with irritating regularity.
Undisonant
Making the sound of waves, a rythmic roar or lapping motion.
Vulpeculated
Robbed by a fox.
Wlonk
Somebody proud and aloof who flaunts their wealth, constantly makes expensive purchases they don’t need, or makes great displays of their affluence for a public audience. You probably follow a couple of these guys on Instagram.
Xyst
A garden walk planted with small trees, such as you’d find in an ancient Roman villa. Can also mean a covered portico or promenade in ancient Greek architecture.
Yelve
A dung-shovelling tool, a garden fork type-tool often used for cleaning stables out.
Zygostatical
The knowledge of a medieval market official who’s in charge of weights and measures. “His zygostatical expertise made it much easier for him to check that the merchants weren’t short-changing the farmers.”
So there we have it – 26 quirky little additions to the English language that were formed, flourished and fell out of use.
