This post will probably sound like something that comes out of a Jane Austen novel and I may lose the few remaining male readers I have left, but I heard a word the other day while watching The English Patient that I haven't heard in years and it made me wonder why we stopped using such language.
The word was "swoon." It's a fun-sounding word that simply means to faint, but it's more than that. I've never heard the word used in the context of a man fainting. Instead, there's something feminine about the word and I love the distinction it makes.
Another word that I wished we used more often is "courtship." Now it's called "dating." Courtship sounds so much more formal and serious and commitment-oriented. Dating just sounds so casual and so "whatever"--which is fitting I guess for the type of culture in which we live.
I also like the old usage of the word "plain" when it comes to physical appearance rather than some of the more crude ways of saying "ugly" today. To be sure, if someone is "plain," he or she is probably unattractive, but why insult someone over such a thing?
And how about the word "bewitched?" In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy is said to "have never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her (Elizabeth)." Isn't that beautiful? Today I fear that most people hear the word and think of the television show instead.
"Hither" is another cool world. Other than a few sleazy (and/or cheesy) modern day novels that use the phrase "come-hither look," it's a word that seems to have died. I can just imagine the response I'd get if I was having a phone conversation with a guy friend to discuss where we are going to watch the big game if I said, "Come hither."
When is the last time you heard the word "vexed" used in a sentence? It's probably been a while, but doesn't it just perfectly capture the way a person feels when she says, "I'm vexed in my spirit"? Can't you just feel the anguish and struggle?
Can you think of more words that we've stop using that you'd like to see make a comeback? If so, comment away.
