Archaism

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Archaism \Ar"cha*ism\, n. [Gr. 'archai:smo`s, fr. 'archai^os
     ancient, fr. 'archh` beginning: cf. F. archa["i]sme. See
     {Arch}, a.]
     1. An ancient, antiquated, or old-fashioned, word,
        expression, or idiom; a word or form of speech no longer
        in common use.


        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Antiquity of style or use; obsoleteness.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A select vocabulary corresponding (in point of
              archaism and remoteness from ordinary use) to our
              Scriptural vocabulary.                --De Quincey.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  archaism
       n : the use of an archaic expression [syn: {archaicism}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  31 Moby Thesaurus words for "archaism":
     Pre-Raphaelitism, ancient manuscript, antiquarianism, antique,
     antiquity, archaeology, archaicism, artifact, cave painting,
     classicism, eolith, fossil, medievalism, mezzolith, microlith,
     neolith, obsolete, obsoletism, paleolith, petrification,
     petrified forest, petrified wood, petroglyph, plateaulith, relic,
     reliquiae, remains, ruin, ruins, survival, vestige