OBSOLETE, adj. No longer used by the timid. Said chiefly of words. A word which some lexicographer has marked obsolete is ever thereafter an object of dread and loathing to the fool writer, but if it is a good word and has no exact modern equivalent equally good, it is good enough for the good writer. Indeed, a writer's attitude toward "obsolete" words is as true a measure of his literary ability as anything except the character of his work. A dictionary of obsolete and obsolescent words would not only be singularly rich in strong and sweet parts of speech; it would add large possessions to the vocabulary of every competent writer who might not happen to be a competent reader.Ambrose Bierce
About This Quote
In 1883, a lexicographer named Noah Porter published a dictionary called "American Dictionary of the English Language," which people used until some time after 1900. In that dictionary, he created a new term called "obsolete," which, in addition to being useful for describing words that had fallen out of common use, also described words that were no longer used by the timid. It's a great little word that's an example of how good writing is often born from bad grammar and spelling.
Source: The Unabridged Devils Dictionary
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