Fun New (Old) Words
My wonderful husband bought me a great gift for Christmas -- the Forgotten English page-a-day calendar.
It's filled with old words which have fallen out of usage. And, in honor of my love of both language and the past, I'm going to share some of them with you, off and on.
My current favorite, which I must use in a novel -- chamberer. This would denote pretty much what you'd probably guess: "a frequenter of ladies' chambers; a gallant; one who indulges in wantonness; a concubine". And also some you might not: "a woman who attends a bedchamber; a chambermaid; an effeminate man; a carpet-knight".
Personally, I can't wait to find out what "carpet-knight" means, aside from chamberer. It sounds more exotic than a mere chamberer, as if a carpet-knight were a brave man who protected all floor coverings from shoes and pets. I'm tempted to make a "cut a rug" joke here, but will refrain, in case carpet-knight turns out to mean merely someone who sleeps on the floor.
J.M. Grant
It's filled with old words which have fallen out of usage. And, in honor of my love of both language and the past, I'm going to share some of them with you, off and on.
My current favorite, which I must use in a novel -- chamberer. This would denote pretty much what you'd probably guess: "a frequenter of ladies' chambers; a gallant; one who indulges in wantonness; a concubine". And also some you might not: "a woman who attends a bedchamber; a chambermaid; an effeminate man; a carpet-knight".
Personally, I can't wait to find out what "carpet-knight" means, aside from chamberer. It sounds more exotic than a mere chamberer, as if a carpet-knight were a brave man who protected all floor coverings from shoes and pets. I'm tempted to make a "cut a rug" joke here, but will refrain, in case carpet-knight turns out to mean merely someone who sleeps on the floor.
J.M. Grant
Labels: calendar, carpet-knight, chamberer, Christmas, Forgotten English, gift, historical fiction, J.M. Grant, language, novels, page-a-day calendar, writer, writing
posted by J.M. Grant at
4:18 PM
2 Comments:
A carpet knight. Very cool. How much do you think he'd charge to clean three rooms?:D
I was just thinking. (I know. It's awfully hard on me.) Wouldn't The Carpet Knight be a wonderful name for a cleaning business?:D
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