An etymologist's look at everyday 20th century words no longer used

Note it is often said the OED not only adds words each year but removes others. This is not the case, the OED merely marks some as 'obsolete' or 'no longer in use'. Here are some which you may or may not remember.

Regulo was a number used to give a setting on a temperature scale in gas ovens in Britain. It would often be heard or seen on television and in recipes: "Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, regulo 6" or "220 degrees, regulo 7". Today we hear the phrase "gas mark" but the scale is the same. The term 'regulo', while not specifically a trade name, was used by manufacturers for many years. It is clearly derived from 'regulate', itself from Latin regula 'a straight piece of wood' and Proto-Indo-European reg 'move in a straight line'.

Fuzzle is a word meaning 'to make drunk, the confuse' and likely a mispronunciation of fuddle also meaning 'to get drunk' and today still seen in 'befuddle'.

Resistentialism was a theory that inanimate objects showed spiteful behaviour. Confused? (Or even fuzzled?) The idea being that such things as a ball refused to bounce correctly and would have to be chased - when really the ball had been bounced incorrectly; or keys would deliberately hide - and not that the owner had forgotten where they had put them. No wonder the word fell out of use.Clearly derived from 'resist', as in not doing what is expected, this verb came to English through Old French and Latin from Proto-Indo-European sta 'to stand, make firm'.

Lumming spoke of how gentlemen would go for a walk after a meal and smoke (usually a pipe). This has its origins in the slang term 'lum', a reference to the flue drawing smoke from an open fire into the chimney and away from the house.

Aerodrome began to give way to 'airport' from 1909 and has now disappeared entirely. It comes from the Greek aerodromos 'running through the air', and first used as a name for an early flying machine.

Overmorrow is not tomorrow but the day after tomorrow. Clearly from 'morrow', a word sharing an origin with 'morning' in coming to English through the Germanic languages and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European mer 'to blink, twinkle', and a reference to the breaking of the new day.

Groak is to 'stare at someone eating', presumably in the hope of being offered a share. Origins are obscure, although it is tempting to suggest it is related to 'gaek' and 'gawp'.

Thrape is to punish, beat, to thrash. Latterly rarely used in the physical sense, but more likely used to describe a verbal tirade, and also a heavy defeat in a sporting contest.

That was not what I meant. (C)

Having started looking at words which have changed meaning - using 'it sucks' and 'it blows' in modern vernacular means the same thing - we shall continue with the next letter:

Career is not only used to mean one's chosen employment, but also used to mean 'rushing'. Although 'careering about' is now a rather dated phrase, it does show how it came from horsemanship. In the sixteenth century both 'horseracing' and 'galloping at top speed' were both likely to be described as 'careering'.

Chimneys may be a thing of yesteryear, albeit all gas appliances need a flue, but the original use referred to the fireplace, and not that above it. It came to English from the French in the fourteenth century.

Chuckle today means a quiet laugh, most often chuckling to oneself. Historically, it was still laughing, but what we would term a 'guffaw'. The change, and we have no real explanation as to how it changed, came about around 1800, about fifty years after Dr Johnson's dictionary defined it as 'laugh vehemently'.

Climax speaks of the high point, the best or most important moment. It came to English as a Greek word meaning 'ladder'. Another Greek word 'clue', originally meant 'ball of string'. The 'clue' in the ball of string was how Theseus found his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur.

Coast, as in shoreline, originally meant 'flank, side'. It is easy to see how one sense became the other.

Coax may mean 'to encourage' today, but when it first appeared in the sixteenth century it was used to mean 'fool, deceive'.

Cockney, to be a true cockney one must have been born within the sound of Bow Bells, once had a very different meaning. In the fourteenth century it referred to a small and misshapen hen's egg. It was also used to mean 'spoilt child' or 'milksop'.

Comedy is used to refer to an amusing performance, but in the fourteenth century it referred to any poem which didn't have a dismal ending.

Complexion refers to the colouring and texture of the facial skin. Originating in the Latin complex or 'combination', it has given us meanings such as 'weave' and also, for those who recall such things, the four humours of blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile, on which medicine was based.

Cope, meaning to manage today, once had a very different meaning and spoke of those 'coming to blows'.

Croon may be a somewhat dated expression today, the crooners were the music sensations of their day in the thirties and forties, but earlier still 'to croon' was to 'murmur, hum' in the eighteenth century, and four hundred years earlier spoke of one who would 'bellow, roar'.

Crowd used to mean 'press on, push' in the fourteenth century.