January 2009

Notable and Quotable: Lord Byron

The biography of George Gordon Byron, the sixth Baron Byron, is familiar. The "mad, bad, and dangerous to know" poet was renowned for his beauty, celebrity, and voluntary exile from his home. He was born January 22, 1788 and died at 36 while fighting for the Greek independence movement. Of the more than six dozen quotations of Lord Byron included in the Unabridged, 18 of them define senses now archaic. See a sampling of the words, currently in use and archaic.

Interested in seeing usage examples from a notable writer? Select the Unabridged and click on Advanced Search. Type the author's last name in the Author field, and click Search.

beauteous adjective
"beauteous even where beauties most abound"

bethink verb
"bethink ere thou dismiss us"

champ the bit verb
"Gaul may champ the bit and foam in fetters"

chivalry noun
"Belgium's capital had gathered then her beauty and her chivalry"

count verb
"they counted 30"

fame noun
"fame is the thirst of youth"

lapidary adjective
"the ring is of no lapidary value"

self-inflicted adjective
"self-inflicted penance"

the function word
"a foolish quest, the which to gain and keep he sacrificed all rest"

voluptuous adjective
"music arose with its voluptuous swell"

address verb
(archaic) "he did address himself to quit . . . this mountain land"

apparel noun
(archaic) "so correct that she had puzzled the acutest hinters without the apparel of being circumspect"

deem verb
(archaic) "a creature . . . whom she deemed to render happy"

peril noun
(archaic) "that I speak the truth, my peril be my proof"


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