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==Origin==
French or [[Greek]]; French archaïque, from Greek archaïkos, from archaios
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1832]
==Definitions==
*1: having the characteristics of the [[language]] of the [[past]] and [[surviving]] chiefly in specialized uses <an archaic [[word]]>
*2: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more [[primitive]] time : antiquated <archaic [[legal]] [[traditions]]>
*3 capitalized : of or belonging to the early or formative [[phases]] of a [[culture]] or a period of artistic [[development]]; especially : of or belonging to the period leading up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece classical period of Greek culture]
*4: [[surviving]] from an earlier period; specifically : typical of a previously [[dominant]] [[evolutionary]] [[stage]]
*5: capitalized : of or relating to the period from about [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8000_BC 8000 b.c.] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_BC 1000 b.c.] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas North American] [[cultures]] of that [[time]]
==Description==
In [[language]], an '''archaism''' (from the [[Greek]]: ἀρχαϊκός, archaïkós, 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately ἀρχαῖος, archaîos, 'from the beginning, [[ancient]]') is the use of a form of [[speech]] or [[writing]] that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately (to [[achieve]] a specific [[effect]]) or as part of a specific jargon (for example in [[law]]) or [[formula]] (for example in [[religious]] [[contexts]]). Many nursery rhymes contain archaisms. Archaic elements that occur only in certain fixed [[expressions]] (for example 'be that as it may') are not considered to be archaisms.
==Usage==
Archaisms are most frequently encountered in [[poetry]], [[law]], [[science]], [[technology]], [[geography]] and [[ritual]] [[writing]] and [[speech]]. Their deliberate use can be subdivided into [[literary]] archaisms, which seeks to evoke the style of older [[speech]] and [[writing]]; and lexical archaisms, the use of [[words]] no longer in common use. Archaisms are kept alive by these [[ritual]] and [[literary]] uses and by the [[study]] of [[Ancient|older]] literature. Should they remain recognised, they can be revived, as the word [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anent anent] was in this past century.
Because they are fields of [[continual]] [[discovery]] and re-[[invention]], [[science]] and [[technology]] have historically generated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forms_of_speech forms of speech] and [[writing]] which have dated and fallen into disuse [[relatively]] quickly. However the [[emotional]] [[associations]] of certain words (for example: 'Wireless' rather than 'Radio' for a [[generation]] of British citizens who lived through the [[World War II|second world war]]) have kept them alive even though the older word is clearly an archaism.
A similar [[desire]] to evoke a former age means that archaic place [[names]] are frequently used in circumstances where doing so conveys a [[political]] or [[emotional]] subtext, or when the official new name is not recognised by all (for example: 'Persia' rather than 'Iran', 'Bombay' rather than 'Mumbai', 'Madras' rather than 'Chennai'). So, a restaurant seeking to conjure up historic [[associations]] might prefer to call itself Old Bombay or refer to Persian cuisine in [[preference]] to using the newer place name. A notable contemporary example is the name of the airline [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific Cathay Pacific], which uses the archaic Cathay ("China").
Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to [[changes]] in usage. One example is found in the [[phrase]] "the odd man out", which [[originally]] came from the phrase "to find the odd man out", where the verb "to find out" has been split by its object "the odd man", [[meaning]] the item which does not fit.
The compound adverbs and prepositions found in the [[writing]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer lawyers] (e.g. heretofore, hereunto, thereof) are examples of archaisms as a form of jargon. Some phraseologies, especially in [[religious]] [[contexts]], retain archaic elements that are not used in ordinary [[speech]] in any other [[context]]: "With this ring I thee wed." Archaisms are also used in the [[dialogue]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_novel historical novels] in order to evoke the flavour of the period. Some may count as [[inherently]] funny words and are used for [[humorous]] [[effect]].
==Alternative meanings==
In [[anthropological]] [[studies]] of [[culture]], archaism is defined as the [[absence]] of [[writing]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence subsistence] [[economy]]. In [[history]], archaism is used to connote a superior, albeit [[mythical]], "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age golden age]".
[[Category: General Reference]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
==Origin==
French or [[Greek]]; French archaïque, from Greek archaïkos, from archaios
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19th_century 1832]
==Definitions==
*1: having the characteristics of the [[language]] of the [[past]] and [[surviving]] chiefly in specialized uses <an archaic [[word]]>
*2: of, relating to, or characteristic of an earlier or more [[primitive]] time : antiquated <archaic [[legal]] [[traditions]]>
*3 capitalized : of or belonging to the early or formative [[phases]] of a [[culture]] or a period of artistic [[development]]; especially : of or belonging to the period leading up to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Greece classical period of Greek culture]
*4: [[surviving]] from an earlier period; specifically : typical of a previously [[dominant]] [[evolutionary]] [[stage]]
*5: capitalized : of or relating to the period from about [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8000_BC 8000 b.c.] to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000_BC 1000 b.c.] and the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_of_the_Americas North American] [[cultures]] of that [[time]]
==Description==
In [[language]], an '''archaism''' (from the [[Greek]]: ἀρχαϊκός, archaïkós, 'old-fashioned, antiquated', ultimately ἀρχαῖος, archaîos, 'from the beginning, [[ancient]]') is the use of a form of [[speech]] or [[writing]] that is no longer current. This can either be done deliberately (to [[achieve]] a specific [[effect]]) or as part of a specific jargon (for example in [[law]]) or [[formula]] (for example in [[religious]] [[contexts]]). Many nursery rhymes contain archaisms. Archaic elements that occur only in certain fixed [[expressions]] (for example 'be that as it may') are not considered to be archaisms.
==Usage==
Archaisms are most frequently encountered in [[poetry]], [[law]], [[science]], [[technology]], [[geography]] and [[ritual]] [[writing]] and [[speech]]. Their deliberate use can be subdivided into [[literary]] archaisms, which seeks to evoke the style of older [[speech]] and [[writing]]; and lexical archaisms, the use of [[words]] no longer in common use. Archaisms are kept alive by these [[ritual]] and [[literary]] uses and by the [[study]] of [[Ancient|older]] literature. Should they remain recognised, they can be revived, as the word [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/anent anent] was in this past century.
Because they are fields of [[continual]] [[discovery]] and re-[[invention]], [[science]] and [[technology]] have historically generated [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forms_of_speech forms of speech] and [[writing]] which have dated and fallen into disuse [[relatively]] quickly. However the [[emotional]] [[associations]] of certain words (for example: 'Wireless' rather than 'Radio' for a [[generation]] of British citizens who lived through the [[World War II|second world war]]) have kept them alive even though the older word is clearly an archaism.
A similar [[desire]] to evoke a former age means that archaic place [[names]] are frequently used in circumstances where doing so conveys a [[political]] or [[emotional]] subtext, or when the official new name is not recognised by all (for example: 'Persia' rather than 'Iran', 'Bombay' rather than 'Mumbai', 'Madras' rather than 'Chennai'). So, a restaurant seeking to conjure up historic [[associations]] might prefer to call itself Old Bombay or refer to Persian cuisine in [[preference]] to using the newer place name. A notable contemporary example is the name of the airline [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay_Pacific Cathay Pacific], which uses the archaic Cathay ("China").
Archaisms are frequently misunderstood, leading to [[changes]] in usage. One example is found in the [[phrase]] "the odd man out", which [[originally]] came from the phrase "to find the odd man out", where the verb "to find out" has been split by its object "the odd man", [[meaning]] the item which does not fit.
The compound adverbs and prepositions found in the [[writing]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawyer lawyers] (e.g. heretofore, hereunto, thereof) are examples of archaisms as a form of jargon. Some phraseologies, especially in [[religious]] [[contexts]], retain archaic elements that are not used in ordinary [[speech]] in any other [[context]]: "With this ring I thee wed." Archaisms are also used in the [[dialogue]] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_novel historical novels] in order to evoke the flavour of the period. Some may count as [[inherently]] funny words and are used for [[humorous]] [[effect]].
==Alternative meanings==
In [[anthropological]] [[studies]] of [[culture]], archaism is defined as the [[absence]] of [[writing]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence subsistence] [[economy]]. In [[history]], archaism is used to connote a superior, albeit [[mythical]], "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_age golden age]".
[[Category: General Reference]]
[[Category: Languages and Literature]]
