archaism

[ ahr-kee-iz-uhm, -key- ]
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noun
  1. something archaic, as a word or expression.

  2. the use of what is archaic, as in literature or art: The archaism of the novelist's style provided a sense of the period.

  1. the survival or presence of something from the past: The art of letter writing is becoming an archaism.

Origin of archaism

1
1635–45; earlier archaismus<Latin <Greek archaïsmós.See archaize, -ism
  • Also ar·cha·i·cism [ahr-key-uh-siz-uhm]. /ɑrˈkeɪ əˌsɪz əm/.

Other words from archaism

  • ar·cha·ist, noun
  • ar·cha·is·tic, adjective

Words Nearby archaism

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How to use archaism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for archaism

archaism

/ (ˈɑːkɪˌɪzəm, -keɪ-) /


noun
  1. the adoption or imitation of something archaic, such as a word or an artistic or literary style

  2. an archaic word, expression, style, etc

Origin of archaism

1
C17: from New Latin archaismus, from Greek arkhaïsmos, from arkhaizein to model one's style upon that of ancient writers; see archaic

Derived forms of archaism

  • archaist, noun
  • archaistic, adjective

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