Antediluvian isn’t a Very Old Word
Hello,
This week’s word is antediluvian and it neatly ties together the research I’ve been doing this month. In either an ambitious or foolhardy (and hey, the name is Wordfoolery) move I’ve been working on two books at the same time this month. The first, “Modern Words with Old Roots”, is planned to be a short ebook and the second, “Words the Weather Gave Us”, will be book number five in my main Words Series. I was hoping to get the first finished before drafting the second during NaNoWriMo 2022 (starting in a mere eight days, yikes!) but I have a sneaking suspicion I shall have to work on both next month.
Antediluvian links both as it’s a word the weather gave us but also has old roots, at least in one sense.
What does it mean? It’s a way to describe a person or behaviour as being antiquated and old-fashioned. Literally it translates as “before Noah’s flood” and is formed by joining two Latin terms ante and diluvium. Ante which you may recall from ante-natal care (before birth medical care) comes from a root word relating to a forehead. Diluvium is related to deluge, a flood, and in particular the great world flood described in the Bible and avoided by Noah in his ark.
Did Noah wear wellies on the ark?If somebody calls you antediluvian they’re saying you’re older than Noah, definitely ageist!
The word wasn’t a direct import from the Romans. It was coined by Sir Thomas Browne, an English physician, during the 1680s (when he was in his 70s) and has been used ever since to disparage in a witty way. So while this word is old, it’s not as old as Noah but it does relate to floods, and hence to weather. I don’t hear it being used very much anymore so I think it may be passing from mainstream use. Literature of the 1800s and 1900s was littered with biblical references but with an increasingly secular society I can’t help wondering if those references are missed by more modern readers? Antediluvian may suffer the same fate.
As for Sir Thomas Browne – he is described as a polymath (great word!) and his writings on various topics, including debunking commonly held myths of his time, are described as witty. Might be worth a browse if you’re at a loose end today, but I’m heading back to pre-NaNoWriMo work mode.
Until next time, happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,
Grace (@Wordfoolery)
