Dated/ Regional Vocabulary

[Huntn]

In Praise of Fancy Words.

I'm curious, how many of us are familiar with these examples of ancient (100 years or more) words? No fibbing!

Bedizened
Biffing (not boffing)
Cozenage
Bootless
Jinking
Maledictory
Spavined
Tintinnabulation
Anabasis
Flinders

Answer in next post.





























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Bedizened = Adorned
Biffing (not boffing) = Smacking
Cozenage= Fraud
Bootless= Useless
Jinking= Dodging
Maledictory= Profane
Spavined= Decrepit
Tintinnabulation= Jingle
Anabasis= Advance
Flinders= Splinters

Because I'm a pilot, I was familiar with "jinking". And I figured that Maeledictory, ment "bad" in some manner. The rest, I had no clue.

 

[maflynn]

The only one I heard of was Maledictory, could these be some local dialects. For instance, back when I was a kid, we called soda, tonic, and blue jeans dungarees. I know many parts of the US, those words weren't used.

 

[robbieduncan]

I'd have said biffing is more like punching. Jinking is still in use (I'd say).

 

[Scepticalscribe]

What an absolutely charming, delightful and most interesting thread. Thank you for creating it.

Well, I'm an avid reader, passionate about the English language, and something of a collector of wonderfully strange and interesting words. I used to be an academic, and am a published author (of history books), and have worked as an editor for the official records of the parliament.

So, yes, I have come across (and know the meaning of) several (though not all!) of the words on your list.

Biffing (British children's cartoons from the 40s up until the late 60s, featured the word 'biff' quite frequently when depicting one character walloping another), jinking (yes, aerial battles), maledictory, and spavined (the origin of which I believe goes back to horse husbandry and care) are all words I am familiar with.

Bedizened and tintinnabulation are words I have come across but have never myself actually used.

The others are completely new to me, so, thank you for posting them. I shall now have a happy time hunting them down and mulling over their history, usage and etymology.

 

[Huntn]

The only one I heard of was Maledictory, could these be some local dialects. For instance, back when I was a kid, we called soda, tonic, and blue jeans dungarees. I know many parts of the US, those words weren't used.

I don't know how many younger people today know what dungarees means. It was commonplace in 60's. As far as regional, I use the term "pop" to describe soda pop. And the phrase/question "can I go with" dropping the "you". I picked these up in Minnesota, but I don't know how prevalent they are across the country.

What an absolutely charming, delightful and most interesting thread. Thank you for creating it.
Well, I'm an avid reader, passionate about the English language, and something of a collector of wonderfully strange and interesting words. I used to be an academic, and am a published author (of history books), and have worked as an editor for the official records of the parliament.

So, yes, I have come across (and know the meaning of) several (though not all!) of the words on your list.

Biffing (British children's cartoons from the 40s up until the late 60s, featured the word 'biff' quite frequently when depicting one character walloping another), jinking (yes, aerial battles), maledictory, and spavined (the origin of which I believe goes back to horse husbandry and care) are all words I am familiar with.

Bedizened and tintinnabulation are words I have come across but have never myself actually used.

The others are completely new to me, so, thank you for posting them. I shall now have a happy time hunting them down and mulling over their history, usage and etymology.

You are welcome! Some of these words are really forgotten, most noticeable word to me was anabasis. I was in the service and never heard that used, ever. And I really don't know if I'd want to be "bedizened"

 

[localoid]

Biff=smacking is the only term from the list I'm familiar with, primarily because I remember looking up its definition in the early '90s, when I was trying to gain more insight into an Internet (Usenet) user known as "Biff", one of the earliest Internet trolls/memes.

Biff's signatures (example below) were always long and annoying...

 

[ejb190]

I have moved around enough that I have noticed some interesting regional speech differences. I ran across this set of maps that I thought was intriguing. My family does not follow some of the preferences indicated by these maps, which makes me curious what kind of sample size they used.

Like most of you, I only knew one of those words, but I had a suspicion I was right on two others.

 

[localoid]

I don't know how many younger people today know what dungarees means. It was commonplace in 60's. ...

I too remember people calling jeans "dungarees" in the '60s. I also remember my grandmother absolutely hating them because, according to her, they were "work clothes", that no well-raised person should ever consider wearing in public, unless they were going to or coming from their workplace. A proper worker would change out of their (blue) work clothes immediately after arriving home from work, before venturing back out into public.

She had been a tailor by profession, so I never tried to argue with her. But I can remember her claiming that "dungaree" was a somewhat different kind of cloth from "denim", but I can't remember what the difference was... it's been too long now.

 

[Raid]

You guys might like a website started long ago by a friend of mine. The Phrontistery Useful for scrabble enthusiasts too!


Oh and Tintinnabulation can be found in the list here.

 

[Huntn]

I too remember people calling jeans "dungarees" in the '60s. I also remember my grandmother absolutely hating them because, according to her, they were "work clothes", that no well-raised person should ever consider wearing in public, unless they were going to or coming from their workplace. A proper worker would change out of their (blue) work clothes immediately after arriving home from work, before venturing back out into public.

She had been a tailor by profession, so I never tried to argue with her. But I can remember her claiming that "dungaree" was a somewhat different kind of cloth from "denim", but I can't remember what the difference was... it's been too long now.

I remember blue jeans as something only children wore, so it was quite the novelty when blue jeans and then bell bottom hit the high school scene (1969-70ish).

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You guys might like a website started long ago by a friend of mine. The Phrontistery Useful for scrabble enthusiasts too!


Oh and Tintinnabulation can be found in the list here.

Wow! And I thought I had a decent list...

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I'd have said biffing is more like punching. Jinking is still in use (I'd say).

I concur. Both are still terms in pretty regular use Over Here™ I'd say.

Flinders rings a bell too, although it's certainly not something I've heard used often.

 

[localoid]

I remember blue jeans as something only children wore, so it was quite the novelty when blue jeans and then bell bottom hit the high school scene (1969-70ish).

The first marketing example I remember seeing of adults wearing blue jeans (that weren't overalls) was on a adverting mural that covered an entire wall in a dept. store that featured different sets of (jean wearing) cowboys doing cool cowboy stuff, sometime in the late-1950s. I think I talked my parents into a pair or two of blue jeans, but I was never, ever allowed to wear them to school.

By the early-1960s, a lot of the older "greaser" kids in high school seemed to be wearing them. Once flower-power became vogue in the mid to late '60s, all the cool kids were wearing bell bottom jeans. When I left for college in '71, I don't think I had a single pair of pants (other than suit pants) that weren't blue jeans. Although I do think I remember having at least one pair of jeans made of hickory striped denim.

BTW, I looked online for the difference between dungaree and denim. According to the ol' Wikipedia: "Dungaree is often compared to denim, but the two fabrics are coloured in different ways, dungaree traditionally being woven from pre-coloured yarn, while denim was made from uncoloured yarn and only coloured after weaving."

 

[mobilehaathi]

davenport - A proprietary eponym for sofa. I believe it was most commonly used in the mid-western US and northern NY ca. 1940.

I've only ever heard one person use it, and she was born in 1922.

 

[localoid]

davenport - A proprietary eponym for sofa. I believe it was most commonly used in the mid-western US and northern NY ca. 1940.

I've only ever heard one person use it, and she was born in 1922.

Born before 1920 seems about right, at least where I grew up. I heard a lot of people in Appalachia call every generic sofa a "davenport" when I was a kid. But "couch" seemed to be a popular term as well.

Davenport was actually a brand name at one time, apparently a rather high-end brand used in some of the finest homes in America, including the White House (if my memory is correct).

I can remember going with my grandmother several times during my early grade school years to "take measurements" of various people's vintage "Davenports". She had retired and sold her business years before, but she'd still make a few "covers" for folks who regarded their old Davenports as irreplaceable. Most of them were impressive beasts, although the cloth areas were usually a bit worn.

She'd measure, make notes, and then go back to the house and start making a pattern out of paper, then take the patterns back to double check their accuracy, then she'd go back home and cutout material, sew in zippers and put everything together, ending up with something that looked like the image below:

 

[AustinIllini]

davenport - A proprietary eponym for sofa. I believe it was most commonly used in the mid-western US and northern NY ca. 1940.

I've only ever heard one person use it, and she was born in 1922.

Also, this has mostly gone by the wayside, but the word sand used to be more regularly used to indicate someone with purpose. Sounds pretty archaic.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Born before 1920 seems about right, at least where I grew up. I heard a lot of people in Appalachia call every generic sofa a "davenport" when I was a kid. But "couch" seemed to be a popular term as well.

Davenport was actually a brand name at one time, apparently a rather high-end brand used in some of the finest homes in America, including the White House (if my memory is correct).

I can remember going with my grandmother several times during my early grade school years to "take measurements" of various people's vintage "Davenports". She had retired and sold her business years before, but she'd still make a few "covers" for folks who regarded their old Davenports as irreplaceable. Most of them were impressive beasts, although the cloth areas were usually a bit worn.

She'd measure, make notes, and then go back to the house and start making a pattern out of paper, then take the patterns back to double check their accuracy, then she'd go back home and cutout material, sew in zippers and put everything together, ending up with something that looked like the image below:

YouTube: video

Wow, I've only ever known one person who knew what a 'davenport' was. Maybe I just don't ask enough.

 

[ucfgrad93]

davenport - A proprietary eponym for sofa. I believe it was most commonly used in the mid-western US and northern NY ca. 1940.

I've only ever heard one person use it, and she was born in 1922.

My parents used that word all of the time. There were both born in Ohio in the 1930s.

 

[Huntn]

The first marketing example I remember seeing of adults wearing blue jeans (that weren't overalls) was on a adverting mural that covered an entire wall in a dept. store that featured different sets of (jean wearing) cowboys doing cool cowboy stuff, sometime in the late-1950s. I think I talked my parents into a pair or two of blue jeans, but I was never, ever allowed to wear them to school.

By the early-1960s, a lot of the older "greaser" kids in high school seemed to be wearing them. Once flower-power became vogue in the mid to late '60s, all the cool kids were wearing bell bottom jeans. When I left for college in '71, I don't think I had a single pair of pants (other than suit pants) that weren't blue jeans. Although I do think I remember having at least one pair of jeans made of hickory striped denim.

BTW, I looked online for the difference between dungaree and denim. According to the ol' Wikipedia: "Dungaree is often compared to denim, but the two fabrics are coloured in different ways, dungaree traditionally being woven from pre-coloured yarn, while denim was made from uncoloured yarn and only coloured after weaving."

I did not know that, assuming they were just different terms for the same thing. I suppose whether they are dyed before or after weaving is not that significant. I started college in 71 too.

 

[JackHobbs]

Biff is word that is familiar to me. I seem to remember a lot of comics using it for when someone had been punched. Even in old Batman and Robin tv programmes if I recall correctly. Maledictory I knew was something bad and spavined I thought had something to do with horses that meant that they were not easy to ride. I like the words that are a little unusual. I once taught a student who was always picking holes in ideas or comments. I told him that he was such a pedant. He replied that he thought I meant peasant. I told him that I definitely meant pedant and recommended he look the word up in a dictionary (BG – before Google and internet). I then laughed a lot.

 

[Huntn]

Biff is word that is familiar to me. I seem to remember a lot of comics using it for when someone had been punched. Even in old Batman and Robin tv programmes if I recall correctly. Maledictory I knew was something bad and spavined I thought had something to do with horses that meant that they were easy to ride. I like the words that are a little unusual. I once taught a student who was always picking holes in ideas or comments. I told him that he was such a pedant. He replied that he thought I meant peasant. I told him that I definitely meant pedant and recommended he look the word up in a dictionary (BG – before Google and internet). I then laughed a lot.

I remember "Biff" too in comics during fights, but I never realized it was a word that meant "hit", thinking it was just a sound...

 

[NewbieCanada]

I knew bootless, but only because it was used in one of Shakespeare's sonnets and I needed to look it up to find out what it meant.

When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes (Sonnet 29)

by William Shakespeare
When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least;
Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising,
Haply I think on thee--and then my state,
Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth sings hymns at heaven's gate;
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.

 

[mscriv]

Interesting and great words. I was not familiar with all of them, but it's no surprise that my vocabulary is lacking.

I think the study of language is pretty fascinating and fun stuff.