Comments on: Old Words

By: Sofar

Sofar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:55:34 +0000

You don’t have to stop using words just because they aren’t in the dictionary anymore.

By: Ty

Ty — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:12:52 +0000

the GRE doesn’t use words like these; they’re so super obscure. i personally wouldn’t mind if they left the dictionary.

By: Evil Pundit

Evil Pundit — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:40:49 +0000

They better keep their dirty mitts off ‘floccinaucinihilipilification’!

By: Word Watcher

Word Watcher — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:16:33 +0000

Hear hear – let’s show some respect for elderly words. They grow more honorable with age. On my shelf there are several books filled with old words, such as Poplollies & Bellibones, Words On Words, and a 80′s edition of Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary. Growing up, I flipped through the pages of that dictionary and read words aloud, relishing the sound of those supposedly antiquated words on my tongue.

Words are like a fine wine, getting better with age.

I hope to add a feature on Word Watcher specifically dedicated to old, lesser used words in the future.

By: Tony LaRocca

Tony LaRocca — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 21:00:14 +0000

Perhaps those old words could be removed from print media, but in the digital age, there’s no excuse not to keep them all.

By: Christophe

Christophe — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 18:09:08 +0000

Internet killed the dico star.

I vote for wiktionary!

By: anon

anon — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:25:06 +0000

I’m glad I’m not the only old word dork out there.

While I don’t use them when writing, I do love to throw them out in regular conversation just to screw with people.

Removing old words from the dictionary is fine. That’s what a thesaurus is for.

Doubleplusgood.

By: just a guy

just a guy — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:57:54 +0000

I agree. The dictionary is where you are supposed to find all sorts of obscure words. (also, how else will annoyingly good Scrabble players prove they are using a real word).

Also, a lot of those words were new to me, but ‘forthcoming’ and ‘reprieve’ are cosidered obscure?!

By: CelticCatEyes

CelticCatEyes — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:34:58 +0000

Taking all these obscure words OUT of the Dictionary is going to make taking the Graduate Record Examination even more impossible!

On a more serious note, eliminating vocabulary to the void of time and space doesn’t seem very practical. Somewhere down the line, we’ll hit thesaurus on our word processors and be severely disappointed with the slim choices available.