KJV word of the day

[Solly]

If a thing's worth doing, it's worth plagiarising!! (With thanks to Lawrence Vance, "Archaic words and the Authorised Version", Vance Publications, 1996

Abase

Ref: Dan 4:37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works [are] truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.

Usage: Abase 4 times; abasing 1; abased 4 times.

Etymology: Fr. abaisser, "to bring low"

Definition: To reduce, lower in rank or estimation; to humble, humiliate.

Modern versions: NRSV preserves reading Job 40.11; Ezek 21.26; uses the word 2 Sam 6.22; Ps 44.9; Mal 2.9; Col 2.18
NASB preserves reading Ezek 21.26; uses forms of abase 2 Sam 22.28, Ps 18.27; Isa 2.9,11,12,17,5.15, 10.33, 13.11; Mal; 2.9; Col 2.18,23
NKJV uses Php 4.18
NIV, substitutes disturbed, humble, in need, bring low, lower; but uses self-abasement in Ezra 9.5

Modern usage: "The mud that fills them is seen as something that abases us and holds us down" Peter Steinhart, Sierra magazine, Jan/Feb 1993, p54.

Web usage: WHY DO WE KOWTOW?: [Rod Dreher] The Dallas Morning News reports that Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah requested that no female air traffic controllers handle his flights in Texas this past week -- a request that ATC personnel say was honored on parts of the prince's trip. The Saudis and the US Government deny it, but angry ATCs are saying it's true. Whom do you believe? Why do we abase ourselves before the Saudis like this? National Review Online (http://www.nationalreview.com/thecorner/2002_04_21_corner-archive.asp)

[Solly]

Abjects

Reference: But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not. Psa 35.15

Usage: Once.

Etym: L.: abjectus from abjicere, "to cast away."

Def: A castaway, an outcast, a degraded person.

Modern Versions: NRSV substitutes "ruffians" (an equally archaic word); NASB "smiters" (Gahh!); NIV/NKJV "attackers".

Modern Usage: As an adjective, ie "abject poverty". "The only international accord governing land mines - Protocol II of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons - has by general agreement been an abject failure." Washington Times, 28 Aug 1994.

Web usage:
His acceptance of the 1794 Jay's Treaty, which settled outstanding differences between the United States and Britain but which Democratic-Republicans viewed as an abject surrender to British demands, revived vituperation against the president, as did his vigorous upholding of the excise law during the WHISKEY REBELLION in western Pennsylvania.
Ameslab.gov, Spuercomputing '94 - Bio of Washington (http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/gwash.html)

[dizzle]

This is great Solly!!

[Sher]

:cool: :thumb:! :joy:

[Pereynol of Sheer Dread]

My car has an abjector seat....

[Solly]

Adjure

Ref: But Jesus held his peace. And the High Priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Matt 26.63

Usage: Adjure 5 times; adjured 2.

Et: L. adjurare "to swear to"
Def: To charge or command earnestly or solemnly; often under oath or threat.

Modern Versions: NRSV retains twice Mk 5.7; Ac 19.13; uses adjure 6 other times: 1 Kg 2.42; Song 2.7, 3.5, 5.8,9, 8.4.
NASB preserves 4 uses: 1 Kg 22.16; 2 Ch 18.15; Matt 26.63; Ac 19.13; uses 5 other times: Song 2.7, 3.5, 5.8,9; 1 Ths 5.27.
NRSV/NASB also add the word "adjuration" at Lev 5.1
NIV no uses, substituting: "pronounced this solemn oath" "bound under an oath" "make swear" "charge under oath" "command" Jos 6.26; 1 Sam 14.24; 1 Kg 22.16; 2 Chr 18.15; Matt 26.63; Ac 19.13
NKJV no uses, substituting "charged" "placed under oath" "make swear" "implore" "exorcise" - same verses as NIV.

Modern usage: ""stop begging for more aid" adjured an editorial in the Oct 15th 1992 issue of the magazine Down to Earth" Swiss Review of World Affairs Aug 1993 pp6-9

Web usage:
3. I would actually go so far as to hypothesize that hackers (remembering their experiences in Lisp class in college) are *sensitive* to this kind of syntax. I think that many of them, upon realizing that they are expressing a "normal, straightforward" meaning, such as a method declaration, or a class declaration, or a for loop, in terms of a deeper meaning which is not understood by them, immediately think that this language "smells of Lisp", and, in a sort of immune reaction, adjure it.
[E-Lang] three philosophies of syntax (http://www.eros-os.org/pipermail/e-lang/2001-June/005337.html)

Moved to the library so I don't lose my Anti-spam points.

[Patroclus]

Good job Solly!

[Solly]

Affinity

Ref: Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. 2 Chr 18.1

Usage: 3 times

Etym: Fr. affinite, L. affinis, "bordering on".

Def: A connection, similarity, mutual attraction, relationship, often by marriage.

Modern Versions: Replaced by variation of "marriage alliance", except NKJV 1 Kg 3.1 "treaty".

Modern Usage: "She had a rich, full bodied contralto, m usical imagination, impeccable taste in music and an affinity for fresh treatments of her material." Washington Post Nov 12 1994, p D7.

Web usage:
Uncounted websites using AFFINITY as their name and trademark. I gave up after the first 30 pages of an AltaVista search.

[Solly]

Ague

Ref: I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague... lev 26.16

Usage: Once

Etym: Fr. fievre ague an acute fever.

Modern versions: all substitute "fever"

Modern usage: "ague" is probably on the same idea as "bug" or "virus" today. Plus we now use "high fever", rather than "acute"

Web usage:
Fever and Ague
The term fever and ague was used in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to describe a variety of diseases ranging from malaria through to leptospirosis.
Points out that the word is not that archaic.

[Solly]

Ambassage

Ref: Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth cnditions of peace. Lk 14.32

Usage: once

Etym: Fr. ambasse, L. ambassare. Sometimes spelt embassage, hence Ambassador and Embassy.

Def: A group of men sent out on a mission [modern equiv. Away Team?]

Modern Versions: Replaced with "deputation"

Other usage:
Shakespeare, Sonnet 26
Lord of my loue,to whome in vaſſalage
Thy merrit hath my dutie ſtrongly knit;
To thee I ſend this written ambaſſage
To witneſſe duty, not to ſhew my wit.

WebUsage:
3:20am
Paul Vnuk Jr - Incantation.Ambassage - Soul Surface Glass (demo)
Ma Ja Le/Vir Unis - Star Sailing - (unreleased)
James Johnson - Rememberence - Surrender (zero)
Steve Roach - excerpt - The Dream Circle (timeroom)

Star's End (http://www.nothinbut.net/~starsnd/playlists/08.01.99.html)

"For Victory let all the allies unite consolidatedly and every American citizen buy bonds unlimitedly for Victory and a Just and Lasting Peace; and for reconstruction, mass production, rescuing the perishing and to care for the dying. The axis will unconditionally surrender by sending an ambassage desiring conditions of Peace." (See St. Luke 14: 31, 32)
REV. M. J. DIVINE
Father Divine of World peace (http://www.libertynet.org/fdipmm/word3/500910.html)
This last one is a bit of a laff!!

Ambassage is therefore truly archaic, but less difficult to understand in context than many a geek word I have come across in computer manuals.

[Solly]

Amerce

Ref: And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver... Dt 22.19

Usage: once

Etym: Fr. amercier to fine.

Def: To be amerced was to be estre a merci at someone's mercy. To punish by imposing a fine.

Modern versions: Substitute "fine".

Web usage:
amerce
SYLLABICATION: a·merce
PRONUNCIATION: AUDIO: -mûrs KEY
TRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: a·merced, a·merc·ing, a·merc·es
1. Law To punish by a fine imposed arbitrarily at the discretion of the court.
2. To punish by imposing an arbitrary penalty.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English amercen, from Anglo-Norman amercier, from à merci, at the mercy of : à, to (from Latin ad; see ad–) + merci, mercy (from Latin mercs, wages).
OTHER FORMS: a·mercea·ble —ADJECTIVE
a·mercement —NOUN
Yahooligans/American heritage dictionary (http://www.yahooligans.com/reference/dictionary/entries/96/a0249600.html)

Sonnets from the Portuguese
II
But only three in all God's universe
Have heard this word thou hast said,--Himself, beside
Thee speaking, and me listening! and replied
One of us . . . that was God, . . and laid the curse
So darkly on my eyelids, as to amerce
My sight from seeing thee,--that if I had died,
The deathweights, placed there, would have signified
Less absolute exclusion. "Nay" is worse
From God than from all others, O my friend!
Men could not part us with their worldly jars,
Nor the seas change us, nor the tempests bend;
Our hands would touch for all the mountain-bars:
And, heaven being rolled between us at the end,
We should but vow the faster for the stars.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning (http://www.sonnets.org/brownine.htm)

Aussies amerce Kenya

BBC/AFP, Nairobi

Australia's all-round excellence proved too much as Kenya were comprehensively beaten in the fourth match of a triangular one-day tournament at the Gymkhana Club ground on Monday.
The Daily Star, Bangladesh (http://www.dailystarnews.com/200209/03/n2090304.htm#BODY5)

[Solly]

Apparel

Ref: I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Acts 20.33

Usage: 28 times; apparelled twice.

Etym: L. parare, to prepare; compounded to apparare to prepare for; thence apparatus preparation. Fr. apareillier to prepare; apareil a thing prepared.

Def: By the 16th cent, the meaning of "clothing" had become established.

Mod Versions: NKJV follows KJV. NIV omits entirely.
NRSV retains 2 Sam 1.24, but adds at Dt 22.5, Zec 3.4,5.
NASB retains at 2 Sam 1.24, Ezra 3.10, Isa 63.1,2, Acts 12.21; and changes "garments" to apparel at Luke 24.4
NASB/NRSV retain apparel at 2 Sam 1.24, but translate the same word as "robe" at Esth 6.8. NASB translates the same word as "robes" in Esth 5.1, and changes the KJV "apparel" to "clothing" at Acts 1.10.

Modern usage: "The dilemma for organised labour is that trade creates losers as well as winners, especially in industries such as apparel and consumer electronics." US News & World Report Jan 24, 1994 p57

Web usage:

[Solly]

Assayed

Ref: And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. Acts 9.26

Usage: four times - Dt 4.34; 1 Sam 17.39; Acts 9.26, 16.7, assay once - Job 4.2, assaying once - Heb 11.29.

Etym: Fr. assaier from assai, a var. of essai, "trial"; deriv: "essay" a literary composition.

Def: to examine, analyze, test, prove, attempt.

Mod versions: altered to "attempt" or "try"
NRSV uses "venture" once.
NASB uses assay also in Jer 6.27
NKJV/NASB alter "tower" to "assayer" Jer 6.27

Mod usage: a medical, mineral or metallurgic test.
Ie: THE CYPRUS ORGANISATION FOR THE HALLMARKING OF PRECIOUS METALS
CYPRUS ASSAY OFFICE (CAO) (http://www.assay.org.cy/)

"David Luban, a schjolar of philosophy, who divides his time between the University of Maryland School of Law and its Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, briefly assayed teaching professional responsibility as a course in applied philosophy." Student Lawyer, Oct 1991 pp19-23

Web usage:
Summary of data indicating that CCDRT improves clinical outcomes in ovarian cancer

In the case of ovarian cancer, there have been over 400 published correlations between assay results and clinical response. Overall, patients treated with drugs having good activity in the assays had a 77% response rate, while those treated with drugs having poor activity in the assays had a response rate of 11%, in a population of patients who overall had a 51% response rate. Also reported were highly positive associations between assay results and patient survival (click here for summarized data correlating CCDRT results with patient survival in ovarian cancer ).
Human Tumour Assay Journal (http://www.weisenthal.org/)

[Socrates]

:huh: I must admit, I prefer a Bible in English :shrug:

[Solly]

Attent

Ref: Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 2 Chr 6.40

Usage: twice - 2 Chr 6.40, 7.15

Etym: L. attentus, from attendare "to attend".

Def: To be intent, observant, attentive.

Modern versions: altered to "attentive".
Attentive is found in the KJV, and in one place is altered in modern versions to NASB "hanging upon His words", NRSV "spellbound by what they heard", HIV "hung upon his words" Luke 19.48.

Web usage (I found one!!)
Yale University
The renovation of Yale's Sterling Memorial Library is onlyone of a number of extensive and important projects directed at imporving Yale's building enviornment. The first library renovations focused on the integrity of Sterling as a building; future renovation planning will closely attent to the role of the library as a central factor in the social and learning lives of Yale students.
Library Buildings: Renovation and Reconfiguration (http://www.arl.org/transform/buildings/index.html)

Trouble is, it is probably a typo :frown:

An archaic spelling, then, but not an archaic word.

[Solly]

Avouched

Ref: Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice. Dt 26.17

Usage: twice - Dt 26.17,18

Etym: Fr. avouchier to call upon as an authority or defender.

Def: [note: a-vouched] Guaranteed, defended, admitted, affirmed, vouched for.

Modern Versions: NRSV substitutes "obtained", NASB/NIV "declared", NKJV "proclaimed".
This word is one of many that use the a- prefix. Most of these words have had the prefix removed in the modern versions; however, the modern versions have added a- prefix words where they were not used in the KJV, ie, NRSV/NIV "ablaze" for KJVs "on fire" Ps 83.14. NRSV "aflame" for KJV "burn" 1 Cor 7.9; NKJV/NRSV "alighting" for "lighting" Matt 3.16
Also, modern versions use "atop", "abutted" and "adjoin".

Web usage:
In 1904, a reporter for the El Paso Herald wrote an exaggerated description of a swarm of earthquakes near Socorro. In reality, no significant damage occurred and the article sparked this reply in the Socorro Chieftain:

"The El Paso Herald of March 16 contains a column article on the recent earthquakes in the vicinity of Socorro. The article is remarkable. In fact, it is a masterpiece; for without the sensible and true avouch of one's own eyes it would be beyond belief that there could be crowded into so small a space so much airy and fantastic nonsense resulting apprently from a too liberal indulgence in the fluid extract of either Texas corn or Arizona cactus. "
New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources (http://tremor.nmt.edu/socorro.html)

99 years ago doesn't make it archaic; it merely points out that we are uneducated. :rofl:

[The Curtmudgeon]

Today @ 05:26 AM Solly:
99 years ago doesn't make it archaic; it merely points out that we are uneducated. :rofl:

:thumb: :teeth:

The (I tell everyone I'm not archaic) Curtmudgeon

[Solly]

Bestead & Hardly

Ref: And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry; and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. Isa 8.12

Usage: Bestead once.
1. Hard; 2. hardly 1. six times in the sense defined here - Lev 3.9; Jdg 9.52; 1 Kg 21.1; 1 Chr 19.4; Ps 63.8; Ac 18.7.
2. eg Gen 16.6; Ac 27.8

Etym: Bestead ME bestad from be and stad, placed. Derived from Old Norse.
Hard, hardly 1. OE adverb hearde extremely.
2. OE heardlice

Def: Bestead placed, beset, situated unfavourably.
Hard, hardly 1. close, near.
2. difficult, harsh.

Modern versions: Bestead, MRSC/NIV render it "distressed", NASB/NKJV "pressed"
Hard, hardly 1. close, near, next (hard by).
2. hard, harshly, with difficulty.

Web usage:

V. WORDS RELATING TO THE VOLUNTARY POWERS; INDIVIDUAL VOLITION

II. Prospective Volition
2. Subservience to ends; degree of subservience
Utility.

[Antonyms: inutility.]

[Nouns] utility; usefulness; efficacy, efficiency, adequacy; service, use, stead, avail; help (aid); applicability; subservience (instrumentality); function (business); value; worth (goodness); money's worth; productiveness; cui bono (intention); utilization (use) step in the right direction.
common weal; commonwealth, public good, public interest; utilitarianism (philanthropy).

[Verbs] be useful; avail, serve; subserve (be instrumental to) [more]; conduce (tend); answer, serve one's turn, answer a purpose, serve a purpose.
act a part (action); perform a function, discharge a function; render a service, render good service, render yeoman's service; bestead, stand one in good stead be the making of; help.
bear fruit (produce); bring grist to the mill; profit, remunerate; benefit (do good).
find one's account in, find one's advantage in; reap the benefit of (be better for). render useful (use).

[Adjectives] useful; of use; serviceable, proficuous, good for; subservient (instrumental); conducive (tending); subsidiary (helping) .
advantageous (beneficial); profitable, gainful, remunerative, worth one's salt; valuable; prolific (productive).
adequate; efficient, efficacious; effective, effectual; expedient.
applicable, available, ready, handy, at hand, tangible; commodious, adaptable; of all work.
[Adverbs] usefully; pro bono publico.
Thesaurus.com (http://thesaurus.reference.com/thesaurus/roget/V/644.html) Archaic, but still recommended.

Hardly
This, of course, has shifted it's meaning, but there are still overtones of it in our use today.

[Solly]

Bewray

Ref: Take counsel, execute judgment; make thy shadow as the night in the midst of the noonday; hide outcasts; bewray not him that wondereth. Isa 16.3

Usage: Once; bewrayeth three times Prov 27.16; 29.24; Matt 26.73

Etym: ME bewreyen to reveal, from OE wregan to accuse.

Def: To reveal, expose, disclose, betray (to expose someone).

Modern versions: NRSV alter two to "betray" Isa 16.3, Matt 26.73. NIV alters only Matt 26.73

The be- is an old english prefix, lie a- already mentioned. But it is not uniformly avoided in the MVs, ie NASB uses "benumbed" for AVs "feeble" Psa 38.8. NIV also uses "befuddled" Isa 28.7, and NASB "bestowed" for AV "gave" Dan 5.19.

As far as be- words are concerned, we still use them, as the MVs and modern usage show, ie "bedeviled"

Web usage is, of course, restricted mostly to the Bible, Shakespeare and Spenser.

[David O]

This stuff is great, thanks for it.