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 ACCURACY IN THE CHOICE OF WORDS OR IN THE MEANING ATTACHED TO THEM

Barbarisms include archaic obsolete words.

ARCHAIC OR OBSOLETE WORDS

“As a rule, avoid the following and similar words and phrases: albeit, aught, behest, ere, erst, every whit, here-to-fore, hither, hight, howbeit, marry (indeed why), methinks, perchance, peradventure, prithee, right (very), sarcease, save (except), it were (would be), had as lief, it irks me, his speech bewrayeth him, to wit “ (vide Murision’s English Composition, pp 31 and 32).

ARCHAISMS

“Occasional: We have implied in former sections, and shall here take it for granted that occasional archaism is always a fault, conscious or unconscious. There are, indeed, a few writers-Lamb is one of them, whose uncompromising terms ‘Love me, love my archaisms’ are generally accepted; but they are taking risks that a novice will do well not to take.

“As to unconscious archaism, it might be thought that such a thing could scarcely exist; to employ unconsciously a word that has been familiar, and is so no longer can happen to a few. Yet charitable readers will believe that in the following sentence ‘demiss’ has slipped unconsciously from a learned pen:

“He percieved that the liberal ministry has offended certain influential sections by appearing too demiss or too unenterprising in forgotten affairs. - Bryce.

“The guilt of such peccadilloes as this may be said to vary inversely as the writer’s erudition; for in this matter the learned may plead ignorance, where the novice knows too well what he is doing. It is conscious archaism that offends, above all the conscious

1366 Minute of Dissent