25 Old-Fashioned Words That Deserve to Make a Comeback

AJDom Published 11/23/2021 in ftw

Quit perambulating in the rain without your bumbershoot — overmorrow is supposed to be clement, after all.

Instead, why don’t you take a gander at this pulchritudinous list of oft-overlooked, dated words that are in dire need of a lingual revival.

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1. “‘Perambulate’ — walking for pleasure.” - u/KnotKarma
2. “‘Somnambulate,’ which is sleepwalking.” - u/ZSAD13
3. “‘Pantaloons.’ There’d probably have to be a wild shift in fashion first, but still…” - u/TheUnblinkingEye1001
4. “‘Defenestration’ — the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.” - u/TimeTraveler3056
5. “‘Clement,’ which means ‘mild’ and is most often used as an adjective to describe weather. We use ‘inclement weather’ all the time, so why not ‘clement weather?’” - u/atreeofnight
6. “‘Antediluvian’ — meaning archaic or old, as in before the flood (i.e., that of Noah’s Ark).” - u/ebaylus
7. “‘Gloam’ — it is the blue darkness that follows sunset but comes before the true darkness of nightfall.” - u/ilessthanthreekarate
8. “‘Uht’ (Old English) — the hour before sunrise.” - u/jondru
9. “My grandma called umbrellas ‘bumbershoots.’ That is a way more fun word than ‘umbrella.’” - u/Thirty_Helens_Agree
10. “‘Aglet.’ That’s what the end of a shoelace is called, but I never hear it being used.” - u/orangeheatt
11. “‘Boondoggle.’ Something that is a waste of time but has the appearance of being practical.” - u/aloha_skye
12. “‘Pulchritude.’ An ugly word meaning beauty.” - u/DasBloat
13. “‘Overmorrow’/‘ereyesterday’ are just easier to say than ‘the day after tomorrow’/‘the day before yesterday.’” - u/cantbamistake
14. “‘Boustrophedon’ — as the ox plows. It describes a numbering or writing system that goes left to right, then right to left.” - u/ColonelMoseby
15. “‘Sunder’ (verb) and ‘asunder’ (adverb). About the only time you encounter them nowadays is in formal settings, especially religious settings.” - u/balthazar_blue
16. “The word ‘dingbat.’ It was used up until like the 1950s to describe someone who was acting foolish . . . but it used to mean an an alcoholic drink of unknown ingredients.” - u/LazyUserName74
17. “I love the word ‘niblings’ (a gender-neutral word for nephews and nieces).” - u/emkatheriine
18. “‘Swan’ — not the bird, but as in ‘he swanned around the office as if he hadn’t a care in the world.’” - u/JennH19
19. “‘Prandicle’ — a small meal.” - u/theshortlady
20. “If I could throw in an Old English word I wish we used, ‘bōchord’ or ‘bochord’ — a library or collection of books (essentially, ‘book’ plus ‘hoard’).” - u/KarmaKitty4-3
21. “‘Sesquipedalian,’ which means a ‘word with six feet’ — i.e., a very long word.” - u/mkaibear
22. “‘Zounds.’ It basically means ‘by God’s wounds,’ but it used to be extremely vulgar.” - u/RedWestern
23. “Back in the ’20s, the term for mocking someone who was full of baloney was ‘applesauce.’” - u/Black_Leopard1904
24. “Sublime, a word that describes how pain and terror can be associated with delight. In Gothic literature, sublime and beauty are not the same concept: beauty comes from aesthetically pleasing things, while the sublime, coming from fear, is considered far superior.” - u/misatocazzoragi
25. “‘Coolth.’ It’s the opposite of warmth, and I don’t know why we don’t use it anymore. It’s a good word.” - u/Oscarmaiajonah

1. “‘Perambulate’ — walking for pleasure.” - u/KnotKarma
2. “‘Somnambulate,’ which is sleepwalking.” - u/ZSAD13
3. “‘Pantaloons.’ There’d probably have to be a wild shift in fashion first, but still…” - u/TheUnblinkingEye1001
4. “‘Defenestration’ — the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.” - u/TimeTraveler3056
5. “‘Clement,’ which means ‘mild’ and is most often used as an adjective to describe weather. We use ‘inclement weather’ all the time, so why not ‘clement weather?’” - u/atreeofnight
6. “‘Antediluvian’ — meaning archaic or old, as in before the flood (i.e., that of Noah’s Ark).” - u/ebaylus
7. “‘Gloam’ — it is the blue darkness that follows sunset but comes before the true darkness of nightfall.” - u/ilessthanthreekarate
8. “‘Uht’ (Old English) — the hour before sunrise.” - u/jondru
9. “My grandma called umbrellas ‘bumbershoots.’ That is a way more fun word than ‘umbrella.’” - u/Thirty_Helens_Agree
10. “‘Aglet.’ That’s what the end of a shoelace is called, but I never hear it being used.” - u/orangeheatt
11. “‘Boondoggle.’ Something that is a waste of time but has the appearance of being practical.” - u/aloha_skye
12. “‘Pulchritude.’ An ugly word meaning beauty.” - u/DasBloat
13. “‘Overmorrow’/‘ereyesterday’ are just easier to say than ‘the day after tomorrow’/‘the day before yesterday.’” - u/cantbamistake
14. “‘Boustrophedon’ — as the ox plows. It describes a numbering or writing system that goes left to right, then right to left.” - u/ColonelMoseby
15. “‘Sunder’ (verb) and ‘asunder’ (adverb). About the only time you encounter them nowadays is in formal settings, especially religious settings.” - u/balthazar_blue
16. “The word ‘dingbat.’ It was used up until like the 1950s to describe someone who was acting foolish . . . but it used to mean an an alcoholic drink of unknown ingredients.” - u/LazyUserName74
17. “I love the word ‘niblings’ (a gender-neutral word for nephews and nieces).” - u/emkatheriine
18. “‘Swan’ — not the bird, but as in ‘he swanned around the office as if he hadn’t a care in the world.’” - u/JennH19
19. “‘Prandicle’ — a small meal.” - u/theshortlady
20. “If I could throw in an Old English word I wish we used, ‘bōchord’ or ‘bochord’ — a library or collection of books (essentially, ‘book’ plus ‘hoard’).” - u/KarmaKitty4-3
21. “‘Sesquipedalian,’ which means a ‘word with six feet’ — i.e., a very long word.” - u/mkaibear
22. “‘Zounds.’ It basically means ‘by God’s wounds,’ but it used to be extremely vulgar.” - u/RedWestern
23. “Back in the ’20s, the term for mocking someone who was full of baloney was ‘applesauce.’” - u/Black_Leopard1904
24. “Sublime, a word that describes how pain and terror can be associated with delight. In Gothic literature, sublime and beauty are not the same concept: beauty comes from aesthetically pleasing things, while the sublime, coming from fear, is considered far superior.” - u/misatocazzoragi
25. “‘Coolth.’ It’s the opposite of warmth, and I don’t know why we don’t use it anymore. It’s a good word.” - u/Oscarmaiajonah

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“‘Perambulate’ — walking for pleasure.” - u/KnotKarma

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NEXT GALLERY 29 Funny Memes Fresh Outta Dankville

25 Old-Fashioned Words That Deserve to Make a Comeback

1. “‘Perambulate’ — walking for pleasure.” - u/KnotKarma

2. “‘Somnambulate,’ which is sleepwalking.” - u/ZSAD13

3. “‘Pantaloons.’ There’d probably have to be a wild shift in fashion first, but still…” - u/TheUnblinkingEye1001

4. “‘Defenestration’ — the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.” - u/TimeTraveler3056

5. “‘Clement,’ which means ‘mild’ and is most often used as an adjective to describe weather. We use ‘inclement weather’ all the time, so why not ‘clement weather?’” - u/atreeofnight

6. “‘Antediluvian’ — meaning archaic or old, as in before the flood (i.e., that of Noah’s Ark).” - u/ebaylus

7. “‘Gloam’ — it is the blue darkness that follows sunset but comes before the true darkness of nightfall.” - u/ilessthanthreekarate

8. “‘Uht’ (Old English) — the hour before sunrise.” - u/jondru

9. “My grandma called umbrellas ‘bumbershoots.’ That is a way more fun word than ‘umbrella.’” - u/Thirty_Helens_Agree

10. “‘Aglet.’ That’s what the end of a shoelace is called, but I never hear it being used.” - u/orangeheatt

11. “‘Boondoggle.’ Something that is a waste of time but has the appearance of being practical.” - u/aloha_skye

12. “‘Pulchritude.’ An ugly word meaning beauty.” - u/DasBloat

13. “‘Overmorrow’/‘ereyesterday’ are just easier to say than ‘the day after tomorrow’/‘the day before yesterday.’” - u/cantbamistake

14. “‘Boustrophedon’ — as the ox plows. It describes a numbering or writing system that goes left to right, then right to left.” - u/ColonelMoseby

15. “‘Sunder’ (verb) and ‘asunder’ (adverb). About the only time you encounter them nowadays is in formal settings, especially religious settings.” - u/balthazar_blue

16. “The word ‘dingbat.’ It was used up until like the 1950s to describe someone who was acting foolish . . . but it used to mean an an alcoholic drink of unknown ingredients.” - u/LazyUserName74

17. “I love the word ‘niblings’ (a gender-neutral word for nephews and nieces).” - u/emkatheriine

18. “‘Swan’ — not the bird, but as in ‘he swanned around the office as if he hadn’t a care in the world.’” - u/JennH19

19. “‘Prandicle’ — a small meal.” - u/theshortlady

20. “If I could throw in an Old English word I wish we used, ‘bōchord’ or ‘bochord’ — a library or collection of books (essentially, ‘book’ plus ‘hoard’).” - u/KarmaKitty4-3

21. “‘Sesquipedalian,’ which means a ‘word with six feet’ — i.e., a very long word.” - u/mkaibear

22. “‘Zounds.’ It basically means ‘by God’s wounds,’ but it used to be extremely vulgar.” - u/RedWestern

23. “Back in the ’20s, the term for mocking someone who was full of baloney was ‘applesauce.’” - u/Black_Leopard1904

24. “Sublime, a word that describes how pain and terror can be associated with delight. In Gothic literature, sublime and beauty are not the same concept: beauty comes from aesthetically pleasing things, while the sublime, coming from fear, is considered far superior.” - u/misatocazzoragi

25. “‘Coolth.’ It’s the opposite of warmth, and I don’t know why we don’t use it anymore. It’s a good word.” - u/Oscarmaiajonah

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