THE SIBFORDIAN 2018
Words that have gone out of fashion
T
he English department has been looking at words of the
past, discovering a host of gems that are no longer in daily use.
Research was undertaken into the origins of the words and the date they first came into use. Sentences were then devised to illustrate their meanings, and a display, using a backdrop of owls, was put up for visitors attending our annual Open Day in June.
Below we feature just some of the ‘ancient English words’ that were unearthed.
***
Lumming, meaning ‘heavy rain’, originates from the early 1900s. It’s absolutely lumming down outside.
Twitter-light is an early 1600s word which ultimately transformed into the modern-day word ‘twilight’. Sibford is at its most beautiful by twitter-light.
12
Gorgonize means to have a paralyzing or mesmerizing effect on someone and dates back to the early 17th century. Don’t look into his eyes. He’s so charismatic, you’ll be gorgonized.
Elflock means ‘tangled hair, as if matted by elves’. The word originated in the 1690s. Blimey, look at the state of those elflocks – have you not heard of a comb?
Curglaff is a Scottish word dating back to the 1800s and means ‘the shock one feels upon first plunging into cold water. Those outdoor swimmers must be so tough to cope with that kind of curglaff.
Twattle meaning ‘to gossip or talk idly’ originates from the 1600s.
I wish you’d quit twattling and get on with your work.
Brabble means to ‘argue loudly about something inconsequential’ and dates back to the 1530s. I can’t stand Question Time, it always descends into a brabbling.
The 1690s word Snowbroth means simply ‘freshly melted snow’. Yesterday we woke up to a perfect carpet of white, but now it’s just snowbroth.
A Quockerwodger is a wooden puppet controlled by strings. The word originates back to the early 1850s. The president has no real power, he is a mere quockerwodger.
Curmuring
Meaning: A low rumbling sound produced by the bowels. Origin: 1880s As in: My stomach is always
curmuring during Meeting.
Curmuring
Gorgonize Lumming
Twitter-light Elflock
Curglaff Twattle Brabble
Snowbroth Quockerwodger
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
