Six years running, the logophiles at Wayne State University, a.k.a. the Wayne State Word Warriors, have curated a crowd-sourced list of rare words that "deserve a bit more love." These are words that used to be commonly known and are still useful, but have started to drop out of the English lexicon.
Wayne State Warriors' mission? To bring great words like rapscallion, caterwaul, and melange back to life.
They set out to make this happen by publishing a top ten version of the previous year's list every January, targeting the words most in need of rescue. Think of it like as a catalog of puppies up for adoption. Minus the need for housebreaking and obedience school.
At the release of the words for 2015, the Warriors wrote:
In May, the words "hashtag," "selfie" and "tweep" were among 150 new words and definitions added to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, proof of how our culture continues to expand our communication.…Still, we think some old words deserve a bit more love.…
"The English language has more words in its lexicon than any other," says Jerry Herron, dean of WSU's Irvin D. Reid Honors College and a member of the website’s editorial board. "By making use of the repertoire available to us, we expand our ability to communicate clearly and help make our world a more interesting place. Bringing these words back into everyday conversation is just another way of broadening our horizons."
Want to be part of the effort to keep these words alive and well in our lexicon? Check out:
"Word Warriors: Four Years of Words Worth Reviving, 2009-2013" or
"Wayne State Word Warriors Words to Rescue, 2014-2015 Edition"
…and adopt one or two of these highly deserving words by learning them on Vocabulary.com.
