Buzz
Whether you’re engrossed in a film or keeping up with current events, encountering villainous, wicked, or malevolent behavior is unavoidable. To better articulate such actions, why not revive some forgotten vocabulary? The next time you discuss the nefarious exploits of Dr. Doom, Dr. Evil, or even the inconsiderate neighbor who refuses to leash his dog, consider incorporating these antiquated yet fitting terms.
Facinorous
The Oxford English Dictionary provides a vivid definition: “Extremely wicked or immoral; grossly criminal; vile, atrocious, heinous; infamous.” This Latin-derived term gained popularity in the 1700s but has since fallen out of favor. However, it has inspired some intriguing variations. In his 1841 work The Zincali, George Borrow wrote that Constantine the Great “condemned to death those who should practise such facinorousness.”
Mixship
Mixship is an archaic term for a despicable act. If mixship seems unclear, it’s because it originates from an Old English meaning of mix that has long since vanished: Mix once referred to dung or filth. Thus, labeling something as “mixship” was akin to exclaiming, “That’s utter nonsense!” or “What a load of rubbish!” in modern terms.
Repudious
Repudious emerged in the mid-1500s as a descriptor for anything deserving rejection, especially actions that were vile or villainous.
Skelm
As early as the 1600s, a skelm referred to a villain or rogue. The term originates from a German word that described various dreadful entities, including the devil and plagues. By the 17th century, skelm also functioned as an adjective, as seen in a 1673 reference by English poet John Dryden to the “Skellum English.”
Derf
Derf initially emerged as an adjective and adverb in the late 1100s, signifying boldness. By the 1400s, it had evolved to describe a malevolent kind of boldness. Although rarely used in recent centuries, its revival seems improbable, as anything rhyming with Nerf hardly conveys menace or audacity.
Gallows
While gallows is commonly known as a noun, it began appearing as an adjective in the 1400s to describe individuals deemed deserving of such a fate.
Nineted
This term, first documented in the late 1700s, combines wickedness with mischief. In his 1798 novel Like Master Like Man, John Palmer used it to describe someone utterly unmanageable: “So prone to mischief, that his supposed aunt declared, ‘it was beyond her to manage him—he was a nineted one’.” Its origins are unclear, but it may derive from benighted, which the OED defines as “Overtaken by the darkness of the night; affected by the night.” This definition could equally describe Batman.
Flagitious
The OED traces this word back to biblical times, fitting for a term tied to sin—it describes those guilty of heinous acts. A 1796 work titled An Apology for the Bible includes this striking line: “You will have annihilated in the minds of the flagitious all their fears of future punishment.”
Nitheful
Since the Old English era, the term nitheful has been used to describe someone who is inherently wicked.
Mislived and Unperfect
The somewhat euphemistic term mislived offers a nuanced way to express disapproval of someone’s vile, offensive, or morally corrupt behavior. It has been associated with wickedness since the 1400s and even appears in the works of Chaucer. Similarly, unperfect, a word with multiple meanings, has been used to denote sinful or immoral actions since the late 1300s.
