Archaisms in English : complete course

Have you ever read a Shakespeare play and come across words that seemed completely foreign? Or maybe you spotted an old phrase in a religious text that left you puzzled? You were most likely encountering archaisms. An archaism is a word, expression, or grammatical form that is no longer used in everyday modern language, but that still appears in certain contexts. These old forms were perfectly normal in earlier periods of English, but today they sound old-fashioned or poetic to native speakers.

Simple Examples to Get Started

Before diving deeper, let us look at a few quick examples to make things clear.

• Thou — This was the old singular form of ‘you’. Today, English only uses ‘you’ for both singular and plural.
• Dost — This was an old way of saying ‘do’ or ‘does’, as in ‘Dost thou know him?’ meaning ‘Do you know him?’
• Hath — This meant ‘has’, as in ‘He hath spoken’ instead of ‘He has spoken’.
• Methinks — A way of saying ‘I think’ or ‘it seems to me’, still found in playful or literary language today.

These examples show that archaisms are not random mistakes. They follow their own rules and logic from older stages of the English language.

The Key Elements of Archaisms in English

To understand archaisms well, it helps to break them down into a few main categories. Let us explore the most common ones.

Archaic Pronouns

One of the most visible groups of archaisms involves old pronouns. English used to have a distinction between singular and plural second-person pronouns, just like French still has today with ‘tu’ and ‘vous’.

Archaic Verb Forms

Old English verbs also had different endings depending on the subject. These forms disappeared from spoken English by the 18th century, but they still appear in old literature, the Bible, and sometimes in poetry.

• Thou speakest = ‘You speak’
• He goeth = ‘He goes’
• She hath = ‘She has’
• Dost thou = ‘Do you’

Archaic Vocabulary

Some old words simply fell out of use and were replaced by simpler or different terms. Here are a few common examples you might encounter in classic texts.

• Wherefore = ‘Why’ (not ‘where’, as many people mistakenly think!)
• Henceforth = ‘From this point on’
• Betwixt = ‘Between’
• Ere = ‘Before’
• Naught = ‘Nothing’

Why Archaisms in English Matter

You might wonder: why bother learning old words that nobody uses anymore? Here are some very good reasons.

• Reading classic literature: If you want to enjoy Shakespeare, the King James Bible, or works by authors like Milton or Chaucer, you need to understand archaic forms. These texts are some of the most celebrated in the English language.
• Understanding modern references: Many songs, films, games, and even advertisements play with archaic language for a dramatic or humorous effect. Knowing archaisms helps you understand those references.
• Building vocabulary depth: Recognising archaic roots helps you understand the history and evolution of modern English words, making your vocabulary richer and more flexible.
• Improving your overall comprehension: Advanced English learners who understand archaisms can read virtually any English text from any period with confidence.

Comparison with Other Languages

It is helpful to see how archaisms in English compare to similar phenomena in French and Spanish, as many learners know these languages.

Interestingly, French and Spanish have kept some distinctions, like singular versus plural ‘you’, that English lost completely. This is why English archaisms often look familiar to French or Spanish speakers.

A Complete Example

Let us look at a famous line from Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and translate it into modern English step by step.

‘But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.’

• But soft! = ‘Wait a moment!’ or ‘Quiet!’ (an archaic exclamation asking for silence)
• Yonder = ‘That’ or ‘over there’ (an archaic way to point at something distant)
• Breaks here means ‘shines through’ or ‘appears’

Modern version: ‘Wait! What light is shining through that window over there? It is the East, and Juliet is the sun.’

As you can see, once you know the archaic words, the meaning becomes perfectly clear and even beautiful.

Key Points to Remember

• Archaisms are old words or grammatical forms no longer used in everyday modern English.
• They appear frequently in classic literature, religious texts, poetry, and sometimes in modern media for stylistic effect.
• The most common archaic forms involve old pronouns like ‘thou’ and ‘thee’, old verb endings like ‘-eth’ and ‘-est’, and old vocabulary like ‘ere’, ‘betwixt’, and ‘naught’.
• Understanding archaisms helps you read classic texts, appreciate cultural references, and deepen your knowledge of the English language.
• French and Spanish speakers may find some archaic English forms familiar, since those languages kept certain distinctions that English lost.

Sources

• Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press.
• Baugh, A. C., & Cable, T. (2012). A History of the English Language. Routledge.
• McArthur, T. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the English Language. Oxford University Press.