New words, and when they were first used (part 3)

For every word ever used in the English language, there was a moment when someone used that word for the very first time. So on that theme, this week I take another look back through history to find out when a few words were originally used for the first time.

An elderly man teaching a youngerly child how to ride a bike.

1611: Elderly

The word 'elder' has been around since before the 12th century, and yet the word 'elderly' wasn't used until 1611. It seems like an obvious oversight to go over four centuries before someone had the idea to add 'ly' to the end of elder to refer to old people.

Having said that, the word 'younger' has also been around since before the 12th century, and we still haven't had the bright idea to refer to young people as 'youngerly'.* I suppose George Lucas came close when he used 'younglings', but as yet no-one has yet thought to use the word 'youngerly'.

* Except me. (c) Charles Fudgemuffin.

1500: Incredibly

Incredibly, the word 'incredibly' was first used in 1500. Actually, I suppose it's not that incredible.

1855: Croquet

Croquet.
First mentioned one year before it was invented.

According to wikipedia, croquet was invented in 1856, and yet according to Merriam-Webster, the word 'croquet' was first used in 1855. Hmm ... something doesn't add up. Why would you invent a word for a sport which wasn't itself invented until a year later?

Old person in 1855: "Do you fancy a game of croquet?"
Old person's mate: "What's croquet?"
Old person: "It's this game that will be invented in a year's time."
Old person's mate: "Then how come you know about it already?"
Old person: "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask wikipedia."
Old person's mate: "What's wikipedia?"
Old person: "It's a website that will be launced in 2001."
Old person's mate: "What's a website?"
Old person (losing his patience): "Look! Do you want a game of croquet or not!?"

This woman has a bibrow.

1988: Unibrow

Unibrows have been around forever, but apparently it wasn't until 1988 that someone first thought to give them a name.

Incidentally, if a unibrow is called a unibrow, then why aren't two eyebrows called a bibrow?

1656: Sesquipedalianism

Rather appropriately, sesquipedalianism is a word which refers to the tendency to use long words. When it was first used in 1656, it referred specifically to words with many syllables, but nowadays it can also refer to any long word irrespective of its number of syllables.

However, pretty much all long words have lots of syllables, so I'm not sure why modern day dictionary people felt the need to remove the necessity for the long word to have many syllables.

1900: Yummy

If you ate some food back in the 1800s and it was delicious, you'd have to think of a different word to describe it other than 'yummy', because 'yummy' wasn't invented until 1900.

Mmm, yummy delicious!

Similarly, if you eat something in the current day, and it's delicious, then unless you're aged 6 or under, I would also recommend you think of a different word than 'yummy', because if I heard an adult use the word 'yummy' I'd think they were being a bit childish. However, if a parent used this word to their child, then that's fair enough.

Editor's note: "Charles, who made you the word police!?"
Charles: "I'm just offering my opinion. People are free to ignore it if they so wish."

12th century: Smell

I was very surprised to discover that the word 'smell' wasn't invented until the 12th century. To me, it seems like an essential word.

However, I suppose centuries ago people weren't the most hygenic, so there was probably a constant smell everywhere you went. And if there was a constant ming, that would negate the need to mention the smell, which would therefore mean there was no need for the word 'smell'.

1991: 3D Printer

Someone has 3D printed the save icon.
(Youngerly people might not get this reference.)

3D printers seem like a very recent thing, but they've actually been around for over 30 years, apparently.

Here are a couple of cheesy 3D printer jokes, which are almost as old as 3D printers themselves...

How do you turn a 3D printer into a 4D printer?
Just give it time.

How do you turn a 3D printer into a 6D printer?
Just print another printer.

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The word 'fly-tipping' is a word used to refer to illegally dumping unwanted waste. However, it's an expression used in England, so it doesn't appear in many American dictionaries. It does appear in my latest book, though ... in fact it's the title! Fly-Tipping is available for kindle from Amazon.

You can find more new words in my previous blog posts below:
New words, and when they were first used (part 1)
New words, and when they were first used (part 2)