An extensive list of antique words and their updated meanings and usages. Antique words, or words of changed usage Consult the right hand for words to watch out for: words that are too modern, slang, or out of place in any attempt to render an old style. or antique flavor in dialogue or text Sometimes the meanings are vastly changed; Consult the left hand, for the older expression. Sometimes it's useful to look up the other word, too: sometimes both are acceptable, but at least the left hand column will give you a sense of what to look for and what should trigger alarm bells in a writer attempting the older style. Remember that the circulation of the blood and the function of the brain were late scientific discoveries, and while explosions can happen in the ancient world, explosive agents were a little rarer...as a rough example of knowledge we tend to take for granted.. At a certain point in the list (which is not scholarly, but rather composed as my own checklist) you will find I reverse the procedure and list modern things and their equivalents in the pre-1900's world.

Languages
English (Monolingual)
All of ProZ.com
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search