Tagged Questions
2
votes
2answers
86 views
“recce” — the reck which a reckless is lacking
While thinking about good antonyms for reckless, I noticed there’s no reckful nor any reck in English, for that matter. So, what would that reck be?
Etymonline offers the following scrap:
rece, ...
5
votes
1answer
179 views
Could “old fashioned” mean “angry” or “disconsolate” in early 19th Century England?
Patrick O'Brian wrote the Aubrey/Maturin seafaring novels during the late 20th Century, but the novels read as if they were written during the early 1800s (at least as far as I can tell, which isn't ...
7
votes
3answers
990 views
Why is the term “touched” no longer commonly used?
I’ve heard the term touched used to refer to someone who is “not quite right”. I’m curious as to where this term came from, what it really means, and why it doesn’t tend to be used often anymore.
Is ...
20
votes
5answers
1k views
King James Bible archaic style
I am currently reading the King James Version of the Bible and I have noticed some features that I would like to know more about.
Almost every verse of the First Book of Moses starts with “and”. ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
What was “well met!” supposed to mean?
I know it was a sort of archaic greeting, but I don't know how to interpret the actual words.
I had a foggy idea that it meant "It is good that we met here and now", but even then, "well met" is not ...
10
votes
4answers
374 views
What exactly is “noonday night”?
In answering the question Is there a term for “midnight” that is like “noon”, I came across the phrase noonday night listed as a synonym for midnight in my copy of Roget's International ...
6
votes
2answers
281 views
Help me parse this sentence so I can understand what joke my ancestors played on the King
I'm reading an old history book about my ancestors entitled "Rulewater And Its People: An Account Of The Valley Of The Rule And Its Inhabitants" published in 1907 by George Tancred. In it, I'm having ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the origin and use of “remember me to her/him”?
Is anybody familiar with the use of remember as in remember me to her/him? I think I've see it in 19th century literature. Most likely it's archaic.
I believe the speaker is commanding someone to ...
7
votes
4answers
764 views
What did they call illegitimate children in Old English days?
I know that the word bastard in this sense appeard only in 13th century. So what was the normal term before that?
