May is the birth month and the death month for Alexander Pope. The English poet lived only 56 years (1688-1744), but his prolific output and artful use of language earned him more than 100 quotations in Merriam-Webster's Unabridged. We've gathered some of the more unusual quotations used to illustrate words or senses that are either archaic or obsolete.
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(Archaic describes a word common in the past that survives in the present chiefly in legal language, in biblical or ecclesiastical language, or in the language of poetry, imaginative prose, and especially historical fiction. A word is considered obsolete when there's been no evidence of its use since 1755.)
act verb, obsolete : to move to action : actuate, animate
"self-love, the spring of motion, acts the soul"
boisterous adjective, obsolete : savagely fierce: truculent
"your indecent and boisterous treatment of this man"
chagrins noun plural, archaic : circumstances causing chagrin : troubles, vexations
"so many additional inconveniences and chagrins"
commutual adjective, archaic : mutual, reciprocal
"long commutual friendship"
decent adjective, archaic : having tasteful appearance or proportions : well-formed, shapely
"her decent hand"
dejected adjective, obsolete, of the eyes : downcast
"her eyes dejected and her hair unbound"
fusil adjective, archaic : liquefied by heat : melting and flowing
"o'er the silver pours the fusil gold"
guise noun, archaic : manner, style, fashion, way
"it never was our guise to slight the poor"
in few noun, archaic : in short, briefly
"the firm resolve I here in few disclose"
intercept verb, obsolete : to interrupt communication or connection with
"while storms vindictive intercept the shore"
lave verb, archaic : to wash oneself : bathe
"in her chaste current oft the goddess laves"
redound verb, archaic : to become swollen : surge up, billow
"waves redounding roar"
require verb, archaic : to search for as needed or wanted: seek after
"the brave chiefs . . . wandering o'er the camp, required their lord"
scan verb, archaic : to test the correctness, importance, or value of: judge critically
"know then thyself; presume not God to scan"
spirit noun, archaic : a movement of the air : a breath of wind: breeze; wind
"the balmy spirit of the western gale"
surgy adjective, archaic
: rising in or like surges or billows : abounding in surges
"over the surgy main"
temper verb, archaic : to exercise control over : govern, restrain
"Jove tempers the fates of human race above"
treat noun, archaic : an entertainment of food and drink freely provided: feast
"when the tired glutton labors through a treat"
wait verb, archaic : to accompany with ceremony or respect: attend on : escort
"bids him wait her to her sacred dome"
win verb, archaic : persuade, entice
"the man whom music wins to stay nigh"
witness verb, obsolete : to show or evidence by one's behavior
"he roll'd his eyes that witnessed huge dismay"
