A Wave-Skelped Skerry and a Weltering Moil:

Archaic Words Revived by Samantha Shannon, A Day of Fallen Night.

So many words have fallen through the cracks of our collective consciousness. If you could retrieve some, which would you bring back? I enjoy the way Samantha Shannon uses archaic words to give a flavour to her novels.

A Day of Fallen Night is set five hundred years before The Priory of the Orange Tree, and Shannon did a lot of research on the medieval era during her writing process. Many of these words I'd never encountered before, but only added to the richness of the writing, propelling me on a quest to seek meanings once I read to the riveting climax.

The English language is rich with treasures, many lying tarnished and forgotten. So polish up some old words and put them to use!

Here are quotes from the book, followed by definitions:

“The fog had cleared enough for moonlight to cut through, and there, in the middle distance, were cliffs, skelped by the black and monstrous waves. Inys.”

Skelp - to slap. (Metallurgy) sheet or plate metal that has been curved and welded to form a tube. Perhaps from Scottish Gaelic sgealb thin strip of wood] A heavy fall of rain. —The Free Dictionary

“Soon they were lowping into the shallows to haul the ship ashore.”

Lowping, a variant of loup, a Scot word for leap. - The Free Dictionary

Southern Scots, to jump —Wictionary

As part of the background of the story, we hear about the Malkin Queen. Her name comes from grimalkin, a cat or a spiteful old woman, a suitable fit for her temperament.

“At last, Marian Berethnet, third of that name, appeared with her small and wayworn household, all of them in grey.”

Wayworn - wearied by travelling, first recorded in 1758. —Merriam-Webster

“That wee skerry. Yelden Head.”

Skerry - A rocky isle, reef. Scots (Shetland and Orkney islands), ultimately from Old Norse skerj-, sker rocky islet. —Merriam-Webster

“He looked into her eyes, green as withy leaves.”