WordPlay: Archaic, Obsolete, & Old-Fashioned Bee Words
This WordPlay report compiles and defines words in the Spelling Bee lexicon that standard dictionaries label as archaic, obsolete, or old-fashioned. Bee solvers may find this compilation of interest because of the Spelling Bee rule that “obscure” words are not used in the Bee.
Of usage labels used in its dictionary (the primary source of information for this series), Merriam-Webster says: “Three types of status labels are used in [the Merriam-Webster] dictionary—temporal, regional, and stylistic—to signal that a word or a sense of a word is not part of the standard vocabulary of English. … The temporal label obsolete means that there is no evidence of use [of the word] since 1755… The temporal label archaic means that a word or sense once in common use is found today only sporadically or in special contexts.”
The Spelling Bee includes a handful of words for which Merriam-Webster labels its primary definition as achaic, obsolete, or old-fashioned.
The identified words are listed at right (on laptop or desktop) or at the end of the page (on mobile); the same list with definitions is given below. Bee words marked with an asterisk have been used in at least one Spelling Bee puzzle, then subsequently disallowed; they are retained here for historical interest.
Of usage labels used in its dictionary (the primary source of information for this series), Merriam-Webster says: “Three types of status labels are used in [the Merriam-Webster] dictionary—temporal, regional, and stylistic—to signal that a word or a sense of a word is not part of the standard vocabulary of English. … The temporal label obsolete means that there is no evidence of use [of the word] since 1755… The temporal label archaic means that a word or sense once in common use is found today only sporadically or in special contexts.”
The Spelling Bee includes a handful of words for which Merriam-Webster labels its primary definition as achaic, obsolete, or old-fashioned.
The identified words are listed at right (on laptop or desktop) or at the end of the page (on mobile); the same list with definitions is given below. Bee words marked with an asterisk have been used in at least one Spelling Bee puzzle, then subsequently disallowed; they are retained here for historical interest.
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ARCHAIC, OBSOLETE, OR OLD-FASHIONED WORDS in the Spelling Bee lexicon
AFFRAY: M-W’s 1st of 2 defs. for the noun: archaic: fray, brawl; M-W’s 2nd of 2 defs. For the noun: chiefly British: a fight in a public place that disturbs the peace; M-W’s only def. for the verb: archaic to startle or frightenALARUM*: M-W’s 1st def.: alarm, usually alarum archaic: a call to armsANNAL: M-W’s only def.: archaic for “annals,” especially: annals of a single year, locale, or people; back-formation from annalsBATING: M-W’s only definition: preposition, “archaic: with the exception of”BELATE*: M-W’s only definition archaic: to retard or make lateCHIT: M-W’s primary definition: archaic: a child; also, a pert young womanCOED: M-W’s primary definition: short for coeducational student: somewhat old-fashioned: a female student in a coeducational institutionDAME: 3 of M-W’s 6 entries are labeled: archaic, the mistress of a household; informal: an elderly woman: matron; US slang, old-fashioned: womanDOETH: M-W’s only definition: archaic present tense third-person singular of DODOTH: M-W’s only info: archaic present tense third-person singular of DOENJOINMENT: M-W labels as archaic: prohibition, injunctionENOW*: M-W’s only definition: archaic, enoughFOBBED: M-W archaic: to deceive or cheat; Collins British English, archaicFOBS: M-W archaic: to deceive or cheat; Collins British English, archaicHATH: M-W’s only definition: archaic present tense third-person singular of haveHEATHEN: All of M-W’s definitions are labeled as old-fashioned + often disparaging: : of or relating to people or nations that do not practice Christianity, Judaism, or Islam: of or relating to heathens, or noun old-fashioned + often disparaging: a person who is not religious or whose religion is not Judaism, Islam, or especially Christianity; or noun old-fashioned + disapproving: a nonreligious or uncultured person; also, adj. old-fashioned + disapproving: strange, uncivilizedHOODLUM: both of M-W’s definitions are labeled as somewhat old-fashioned: a usually violent criminal; also, somewhat old-fashioned: a young person who behaves in a rowdy or intimidating way: a ruffianLIEU: M-W’s only definition: archaic: place, steadTALKIE: M-W’s only definition: old-fashioned: a movie with a synchronized soundtrack —usually used in pluralTRULL*: M-W’s only definition: old-fashioned + usually disparaging: a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay: a woman who is a sex workerUNHAND: M-W’s only definition: old-fashioned + literary: to remove the hand from: let go (Unhand me, sir!)UNHANDED: M-W’s only definition: old-fashioned + literary: to remove the hand from: let go (Unhand me, sir!)UNWEDDED: not in M-W (M-W has only “unwed”); Collins has “unwedded: in British English, adjective, another name for unwed; unwed: in British English, adjective, old-fashioned, another word for unmarried”UPPITY: M-W’s first definition is labeled as somewhat old-fashioned: putting on or marked by airs of superiority: arrogant, presumptuous; also, M-W’s second definition is labeled as somewhat old-fashioned, disparaging + sometimes offensive: aspiring to a rank or position higher than one deserves or is entitled to [see M-W’s usage paragraph]WENCH: All of M-W’s definitions are labeled as old-fashioned or archaic: old-fashioned : a young woman or girl; old-fashioned : a female servant; archaic : a girl or woman of a socially low class; archaic: a lewd or sexually promiscuous woman or a woman who engages in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay : a woman who is a sex worker; also, verb, archaic: to associate with and especially to have sexual relations with lewd or sexually promiscuous women
ARCHAIC, OBSOLETE, OR OLD-FASHIONED WORDS in the Spelling Bee Lexicon
AFFRAYALARUM*ANNALBATINGBELATE*CHITCOEDDAMEDOETHDOTHENJOINMENTENOW*FOBBEDFOBS
HATHHEATHENHOODLUMLIEUTALKIETRIPTRULL*UNHANDUNHANDEDUNWEDDEDUPPITYWENCH