Every person who wants to learn and develop, always seeks to learn something new and useful for himself. Especially important is the vocabulary, which not only has long been an indicator of erudition, but can also help in the most unexpected life situation. In this article you can find out what archaisms and historicisms are. Examples of words and context may also be particularly useful for familiarization.
History
Archaisms and historicisms - this is a certain category of vocabulary. It includes long obsolete words. Examples: historicisms - an ax; archaisms - zely, this.
Historicisms include the names of objects that were used by our ancestors, but today they are found only in museums. For example, the word "peep", which denotes an ancient type of weapon that was used in Russia several centuries ago. The word “ax”, referring to one of the types of military equipment, also belongs to historicism. It was something that looked like a modern ax, but with two blades.
How did historicisms appear?
The main reason that historicisms appeared in the language over time was a change in the familiar life of our ancestors, customs, and the development of science and culture. So, for example, the disappeared types of clothing - Armenian, caftan, camisole - ceased to be used, and this led to the disappearance of their names from the language. Now, such concepts can be found only in historical descriptions. There are many words that have ceased to be used, and now they are referred to the category of “historicism”. An example of this is the concept that somehow related to serfdom in Russia. Among them - quitrent, corvee, file.
Archaisms
This category includes words that denote things and concepts that exist until now, but with changed names. For example, our ancestors instead of the modern "this" said "this", and "very" sounded like "zelo". Istorisms and archaisms, examples of which are found in many literary works, are not always completely replaced by other words, they can only partially change. For example, phonetically or morphologically.
How did archaisms appear
This kind of obsolete words appeared due to the fact that over time, any vocabulary undergoes change, evolves and assimilates with other languages. Thus, some words are replaced by others, but with the same meaning. This is the part of the vocabulary that has outlived its own, but does not completely disappear from the language. These words are stored in literature, documents, and so on. To create historical novels, they are absolutely necessary so that you can recreate the flavor of the era described.
Phonetic archaisms
This type includes modern words and concepts that differ from obsolete just a few sounds, sometimes just one. For example, a phonetic archaism can be attributed to such a word as “piit”, which over time evolved into a “poet”, and “fire” turned into “fire”.
Morphological archaisms
Words that are outdated in structure belong to this category. These include the noun “ferocity,” which has turned into “ferocity,” the adjective “nervous,” which has evolved into “nervous,” the verb “collapse,” which now sounds like “collapse,” and many others.
Semantic Archaisms
Archaisms and historicisms, examples of words that are found everywhere, often lose their true meaning over time. For example, the modern “shame” used to mean nothing more than a “sight”, and the old “ordinary” implied something that was done in one day (for example, the “ordinary way”), and not at all “ordinary”.
Modern use
Sometimes these obsolete words change so much that they begin to be used in a new meaning. This can be said both about archaisms and about historicism. An example of this is the word "dynasty." Some time ago it was no longer used, but now it is back in use. If earlier it could be combined only with such words as “royal” and “monarchist”, now the scope of its use has expanded significantly. Now you can hear about the dynasty of lumberjacks or miners, which imply that this profession is inherited from father to son. Sometimes obsolete words can be found in an ironic context.
Persistent expressions
Obsolete words continue to function fully in the language as part of stable expressions. Thus, some historicisms have been preserved. Example: the word "baclos" is still used in the language as part of the phrase "beat baclos", which means "lounging." The same can be said about the stable expression “sharpen the baldness”, that is, “chat without ceasing”.
Degeneration VS Revival
It also happens that the words that linguists have boldly attributed to historicism have again been used due to the fact that the concepts that they denoted began to be used again. Similar can also happen if something new has been created that is somehow similar to or related to an obsolete concept. Now such words hardly resemble historicisms. Example: charity evening, midshipman.
Conclusion
It should be noted that although all the aforementioned obsolete words are, rather, a passive layer of vocabulary, they do not cease to play an important role in it. Reading the works of such eminent writers as Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or Mayakovsky, one can often meet historicisms and archaisms, and in order to accurately understand the idea that the author wanted to convey, one must be aware of their significance. Therefore, if you come across an unfamiliar word, it is best to turn to an authoritative dictionary.