Words Formerly Used Trivia

1. Think about this long and hard during your wintry weather overseas. Can you define the word AFFUAGE?

From Quiz Lost Words 2

Answer: The right to cut forest wood for a family fire

Affuage is a noun that was in use in England between 1753 and 1847. It was the right of homeowners to cut wood in a forest for use in the family home, but the wood had to be most definitely used for that and nothing else. Interestingly, that right still exists today, but most commoners who were entitled to it have since sold their rights to the Forestry Department.

From Quiz Lost Words

Answer: Bad tempered

If someone is described as acrasial, that person is known to be ill-tempered and usually with accompanying bad manners. This 1851 adjective was only in use for one year before disappearing from everyday use.

From Quiz Aunt Petunia's Old-fashioned Silly Word Quiz

Answer: Flummoxed

Flummoxed means bewildered or confused, with perhaps a little touch of exasperation thrown in. Persnickety is from the late 1800s and means overly picky or snobby. Highfalutin' also hails from the 1800s. "High" + "fluting" creates an image of one who thinks too highly of one's self. Satirical journalist H.L. Mencken referred to "Highfalutin'" as an example of American Folk speech. Hoity-toity can be traced back to the late 1600s and means one that has a haughty attitude. It is an example of the linguistic process of rhyming reduplication, where the root on an original word is rhymed, thus creating a whole new word.

From Quiz Uncommon words

Answer: A dog

Cynanthropy is a form of delusion in which the sufferer imagines that he/she is a dog and may behave accordingly. The word is derived from the Greek words kynos (meaning dog) and anthropos (mankind). It is one manifestation of the more general illness known as zoanthropy, whose prefix is derived from the Greek word zoion (an animal). Another example of this type of delusion is hippanthropy, or imagining one is a horse, from the Greek word hippo (horse).

From Quiz Forgotten But Not Gone

Answer: Dice game

"Lurch" was a popular game where the loser acquired a "lurch", something like the "Black Peter" in a children's card game, or a "skunk" in cribbage.

From Quiz Can You Eat a Hassock?

Answer: footstool

Another meaning for this Middle English word is "tussock, or clump of ground tufted with grass."

From Quiz Lost Words 2

Answer: A judge in any contest

An agonarch was a person who judged any game or contest during times of public celebration. This noun was in use in English-speaking countries for a short time only - during the year 1656. He, and it was usually a he, was also known as a "Master of Revels".

From Quiz Lost Words

Answer: Constant chatter

Blateration is a noun that was in use between 1656-1864. It means the sound of constant chatter or babble, as in the sound of a large group of people all talking at once, or one sole person who constantly rambles on about nothing at all that makes any sense. I have a cousin like that, and once went and made a cup of tea while she was talking to me on the phone. She didn't realise I'd gone and was still talking non-stop when I got back.

From Quiz Words found in Scrabble and Crosswords

Answer: Alb

An alb is a long white robe worn by priests, typically underneath other vestments. A bal is a hat worn in Scotland. Aba is a type of clothing made from camel hair in the middle east, and fez is a type of brimless hat.

From Quiz Aunt Petunia's Old-fashioned Silly Word Quiz

Answer: Mugwump

Mugwump is a word of Algonquin origin that means an independent or neutral politician. The word was used in 1884 America to describe Republicans who refused to support James Blaine's candidacy for president of the United States. Lollygag is a wonderful word of unknown origin meaning fooling around or dawdling. Tomfoolery means nonsensical or foolish behavior. The root of this word; "Thome fole" (Tom the fool) can be traced all the way back to Middle English of the 1300s. Shenanigans are nonsense, but with a bit of mischief thrown in. It is an American word of unknown origins.

From Quiz Uncommon words

Answer: An antidote to poison

King Mithridates VI reigned over Pontus, a small realm by the Black Sea in what is now Turkey, from 120 to 63 BC. He supposedly desensitised himself to poison by taking progressively larger doses of it. The word mithridate came to mean a general antidote to poisons, although its actual ingredients could vary. Mithridates VI was a successful military commander and fought several wars against the numerically superior forces of the Roman Empire until his death (by the sword, not by poison) after he was finally beaten by Pompey's forces.

From Quiz Forgotten But Not Gone

Answer: Elegant

From Latin and French for "throat", it used to refer to a decorative metal disc worn around the neck and breast, later to a female headdress that covered the throat as well as the head. Its derivative "gorgeous" has survived into our time.

From Quiz Can You Eat a Hassock?

Answer: cover to protect furniture

Macassar was a kind of hair oil. Antimacassars were originally invented to protect furniture when macassar users leaned back. Antimacassars are those little crocheted doily-type things that your grandma used to put on the backs and arms of sofas and armchairs (or, at least, my grandma did).

From Quiz Lost Words 2

Answer: Drunk

Alabandical was an adjective in use between 1656 and 1775 before it disappeared from common usage. Quite possibly this was because nobody could pronounce it if they were in that state. It means to be out of control as a result of consuming too much alcohol and/or to be in a state of unconsciousness as a result. Passed out, in other words.

From Quiz Lost Words

Answer: Called like a cowherd

Bubulcitate was in use as a verb between 1623 and 1678. It means to call out loudly like a cowherd. One could even laugh in such a fashion. Cowherds, cowboys, stockmen and assorted workers such as these are not exactly known for being demure whisperers when working with their various hordes of cattle. It's fascinating listening to them at cattle sales or out on properties. If you don't care for the occasional burst of profanity, then it's advisable not to attend same. My brother-in-law had a bull roll on him once. There was plenty of bubulcitation going on when he eventually recovered consciousness and could talk again.

From Quiz Aunt Petunia's Old-fashioned Silly Word Quiz

Answer: Cattywompus

Cattywompus means askew, crooked or just downright weird. Its history is pretty sketchy, but most seem to agree that it probably originated from the Southern United States. Finnimbrun is a rare/obsolete word meaning "trinket" or "knick-knack". It dates back to at least the mid-1600s. Gewgaws are not only trinkets, but are particularly useless trinkets at that! The word is Middle English in origin and dates all the way back to the late 1100s. Gimcrack, like Gewgaw is a gaudy, useless type of trinket. Its origin is unknown, but the word can be traced back to the late 1600s.

From Quiz Uncommon words

Answer: Playing a log-throwing game

A logget or loggat was a small log or thick piece of wood and the game of loggets/loggats consisted in throwing these logs at a wooden stake or post, with the winner being the person whose log landed nearest to the target. The derivation of the word is not known for certain but it is likely to have been either an alternative form or a diminutive of the word log.

From Quiz Forgotten But Not Gone

Answer: Instrument for bloodletting

It comes from Greek "phleb", vein, the same root as the word "phlebotomy".

From Quiz Can You Eat a Hassock?

Answer: low barrier

Balusters are those vase-shaped upright supports. When a line of balusters are topped by a railing, it's called a balustrade.

From Quiz Here We Come a-Wassailing

Answer: Mooing

The verb low comes from an Old English word, hlowan, which means to make a noise like a cow - the colloquial term would be to moo. It is not related to the idea of low as opposed to high, which comes from the older word lah. The obsolete use of low to describe a place as a hill is different in origin again - it comes from the Old English hlaw.

From Quiz Lost Words

Answer: Loose bowels

Cacatory, an adjective meaning loose bowels, was in use between the years of 1684 and 1753. Its origins can possibly be traced back to the old Greek word kakkan, which meant to void excrement. Not a pleasant thought at all, and a far worse experience if one has over indulged to that extent. Fortunately spicy foods all made me ill and the void is therefore avoided.

From Quiz Words found in Scrabble and Crosswords

Answer: Olio

You probably wouldn't want a stew made out of ova (ovum is the singular), which are egg cells. Bern, to the best of my knowledge, isn't a word at all (aside from being a city in Switzerland), and gaol is an older word, from England, meaning a prison. Also of interest, olio, due to its ratio of vowels to consonants, is a cruciverbalist's dream.

From Quiz Aunt Petunia's Old-fashioned Silly Word Quiz

Answer: Snickersnee

A snickersnee is a delightful old term for a large knife. Gilbert and Sullivan's Ko-Ko sang about using his snickersnee in The Mikado. This word probably comes from the obsolete Middle Dutch words steken (to stab) snijden (to cut). Snollygoster is a person who can't be trusted (politicians in particular). It is a 19th Century American word which seems to derive from the word "snallygaster" which refers to a nightmarish monster. A Rapscallion is a rogue or bad-guy. It evolved from the obsolete word "rascallion", from the Middle-English "rascal". A Scalawag or scallywag is a disreputable person. The term originated in the American South and was used to refer to a white southern man who supported the federal government's post-Civil War reconstruction of the south.

From Quiz Uncommon words

Answer: A stringed musical instrument

Similar to a lute or mandolin, a cittern (also known as a cithern, gittern or cither) was an early stringed instrument. Made of wood with metal strings, it often had a highly ornate carved head. The instrument could be played with the fingers, a quill or a plectrum. As did the later, larger guitar's name, its name is derived from the Greek kithara, meaning a musical instrument. A Tyrolese version of the instrument eventually developed into the zither.

From Quiz Forgotten But Not Gone

Answer: Head

"Megrim" from Old French "foul mood" came into common use in English around 1400. It lives on as "migraine".

From Quiz Can You Eat a Hassock?

Answer: chest of drawers

If you saw the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" or read "The Catcher in the Rye" you have heard about "chifferobes" and chiffoniers.

From Quiz Lost Words 2

Answer: Bitter

This old English word (as are all the words used in this quiz) was used between 1731 to 1755. It was a noun meaning to be filled with bitterness and spite, and probably seething with thoughts of revenge into the bargain.

From Quiz Lost Words

Answer: Swift footed

Celeripedean was an adjective in use between 1623 and 1656. It means to be fleet of foot or nimble heeled, with the earliest description found applied to a swift footman. Oh such fond memories of my now holier than thou daughter tearing madly up the road every high school day trying to beat the looming bus to the bus stop. "Wait! Wait for me, you cacatory driver, you!"

From Quiz Aunt Petunia's Old-fashioned Silly Word Quiz

Answer: A Ne'er do well

A Ne'er do well is an idle person, lacking in merit, but that doesn't mean they don't dress well! It probably began as a Scottish word made up of the contraction "Never do well" and was first seen in print in the mid 1700s. A Ragamuffin is a poor individual, usually a child, dressed in rags. It comes from a late 1500s Middle English word "Ragamuffyn" which meant an oafish person dressed in rags. A Tatterdemalion also means a person dressed in rags. Its origin is unknown, but it can be traced back to the early 1600s. A Draggletail is slovenly, shabby person, usually a woman. The word can also suggest a sexually promiscuous woman. "Draggle" (to soil or get dirty by dragging on the ground), + tail makes this word fairly self-explanatory. It is believed to have originated in the late 1500s.

From Quiz Uncommon words

Answer: Pease pudding

The term dogsbody (or dog's body/dog's-body) was originally nautical slang for pease pudding, which consisted of dried peas mixed into flour and seasoned with salt and pepper then boiled in a cloth. Similarly, suet pudding containing raisins and spices and boiled in a long bag was sometimes referred to as boiled baby by sailors. Possibly later, the word dogsbody was also used for sea-biscuit soaked in water containing sugar. The word's origin is obscure, as is the connection between the old and modern meanings.

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