english beauty
Posted by enab | | Posted on 1:59 PM
bequeath (one of my personal favorites) - To give or leave by will; to hand down.
beseech - request, ask.
besought – asked, made request. (past tense of beseech)
betwixt – between.
canst - can.
cometh – comes, or coming.
dearth - (durth) scarcity or scant supply of anything; want or lack.
dost - do, does.
draught or draft – Can mean the act of pulling or drawing loads; a pull or haul; a team of animals for pulling a load; the drawing in of a fish net; the bunch of fish that were drawn in by the net; but… your typical Rennie will prefer one of these usages: the act of inhaling; that which is inhaled; or, the number one definition for common folk everywhere: the drawing of a liquid from its receptacle, as of ale from a cask!!!!
durst – Dare; to have the necessary boldness or courage for something.
fere - friend, companion.
fullsome - rich, plentiful.
hath - equivalent of modern has.
henceforth - from now onhither - here.
huzzah - Huzza or huzzah is first recorded in 1573. According to a number of writers in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was originally a sailor's cheer or salute. (Old French, huzzer, “to shout aloud;” German, hussah!)
mere - An expanse of water; lake; pool.
midst – Middle, or among. e.g., "in the midst of the storm…
nary - None; absolutely nothing; not even close to anything.
"Thou dost hast nary an inkling on coveting thine lady."
"You wouldn't know how to please a babe if you spent 10 years on the set of Oprah!"
naught – Nothing. (Did you know our modern word “not” is actually an abbreviated form of this Olde-English word, which was itself a shortened form of “no whit” or “not a whit”?)
onuppan - above.
overmany - a lot.
pece - silverware, fork.
prithee - contracted form of "I pray thee", i.e., I ask of you, I beseech thee, etc.
proby - apprentice.
pudh - horrible.
Rennies - Renaissance fanatics; also people who are addicted to Renaissance Faires, costume, and anything else reminiscent of that era. Alright, this isn’t really an O.E. word at all – it’s a catchy name, though!
shall or shalt - will
seek - (O.E. secan, to seek) To go in search or quest of; to look or search for.
syllan - sell.
tallt - to stand above others in a snobby way.
tarry - to linger, deliberate, wait, stay, or pause.
thou - you
thee - you
thine - your
thither - there.
thy - your
trow – To think or suppose. e.g., "Wilt thou labor for naught? I trow not!"
whence - From where, e.g., "Whence, comest thou?" would translate to the modern "Where do you come from?"
wax - to grow, to become.
whither - To where, e.g., "Whither thou goest, I shall go." translates in modern English as "Where you go, I will go."
wilt – This one is tricky. It can mean very simply, will; but then it could also mean what a flower does without water, or what I do when asked to cook - it all depends on the context…
wist - knew; past tense of wit, e.g. He wist that his love was coming...
wit – To know, e.g., Canst thou wit what the day shall bring?
wrought - done, made, created; e.g. "...see what God hath wrought..."
ye - polite form of thou.
yore - years ago.
| Brood | To think alone. |
| Bucolic | In a lovely rural setting. |
| Bungalow | A small, cozy cottage. |
| Chatoyant | Like a cat's eye. |
| Comely | Attractive. |
| Conflate | To blend together. |
| Cynosure | A focal point of admiration. |
| Dalliance | A brief love affair. |
| Demesne | Dominion, territory. |
| Demure | Shy and reserved. |
| Denouement | The resolution of a mystery. |
| Desuetude | Disuse. |
| Desultory | Slow, sluggish. |
| Diaphanous | Filmy. |
| Dissemble | Deceive. |
| Dulcet | Sweet, sugary. |
| Ebullience | Bubbling enthusiasm. |
| Effervescent | Bubbly. |
| Efflorescence | Flowering, blooming. |
| Elision | Dropping a sound or syllable in a word. |
| Elixir | A good potion. |
| Eloquence | Beauty and persuasion in speech. |
| Embrocation | Rubbing on a lotion. |
| Emollient | A softener. |
| Ephemeral | Short-lived. |
| Epiphany | A sudden revelation. |
| Erstwhile | At one time, for a time. |
| Ethereal | Gaseous, invisible but detectable. |
| Evanescent | Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time. |
| Evocative | Suggestive. |
| Fetching | Pretty. |
| Felicity | Pleasantness. |
| Forbearance | Withholding response to provocation. |
| Fugacious | Fleeting. |
| Furtive | Shifty, sneaky. |
| Gambol | To skip or leap about joyfully. |
| Glamour | Beauty. |
| Gossamer | The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk |
| Halcyon | Happy, sunny, care-free. |
| Harbinger | Messenger with news of the future. |
| Imbrication | Overlapping and forming a regular pattern. |
| Imbroglio | An altercation or complicated situation. |
| Imbue | To infuse, instill. |
| Incipient | Beginning, in an early stage. |
| Ineffable | Unutterable, inexpressible. |
| Ingénue | A naïve young woman. |
| Inglenook | A cozy nook by the hearth. |
| Insouciance | Blithe nonchalance. |
| Inure | To become jaded. |
| Labyrinthine | Twisting and turning. |
| Lagniappe | A special kind of gift. |
| Lagoon | A small gulf or inlet. |
| Languor | Listlessness, inactivity. |
| Lassitude | Weariness, listlessness. |
| Leisure | Free time. |
| Lilt | To move musically or lively. |
| Lissome | Slender and graceful. |
| Lithe | Slender and flexible. |
| Love | Deep affection. |
| Mellifluous | Sweet sounding. |
| Moiety | One of two equal parts. |
| Mondegreen | A slip of the ear. |
| Murmurous | Murmuring. |
| Nemesis | An unconquerable archenemy. |
| Offing | The sea between the horizon and the offshore. |
| Onomatopoeia | A word that sounds like its meaning. |
| Opulent | Lush, luxuriant. |
| Palimpsest | A manuscript written over earlier ones. |
| Panacea | A solution for all problems |
| Panoply | A complete set. |
| Pastiche | An art work combining materials from various sources. |
| Penumbra | A half-shadow. |
| Petrichor | The smell of earth after rain. |
| Plethora | A large quantity. |
| Propinquity | An inclination. |
| Pyrrhic | Successful with heavy losses. |
| Quintessential | Most essential. |
| Ratatouille | A spicy French stew. |
| Ravel | To knit or unknit. |
| Redolent | Fragrant. |
| Riparian | By the bank of a stream. |
| Ripple | A very small wave. |
| Scintilla | A spark or very small thing. |
| Sempiternal | Eternal. |
| Seraglio | Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem. |
| Serendipity | Finding something nice while looking for something else. |
| Summery | Light, delicate or warm and sunny. |
| Sumptuous | Lush, luxurious. |
| Surreptitious | Secretive, sneaky. |
| Susquehanna | A river in Pennsylvania. |
| Susurrous | Whispering, hissing. |
| Talisman | A good luck charm. |
| Tintinnabulation | Tinkling. |
| Umbrella | Protection from sun or rain. |
| Untoward | Unseemly, inappropriate. |
| Vestigial | In trace amounts. |
| Wafture | Waving. |
| Wherewithal | The means. |
| Woebegone | Sorrowful, downcast. |
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