An inkhorn term is a

loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...

, or a word coined from existing roots, which is deemed to be unnecessary or over-pretentious.

Etymology

An inkhorn is an

inkwell An inkwell is a small jar or container, often made of glass, porcelain, silver, brass, or pewter, used for holding ink in a place convenient for the person who is writing. The artist or writer dips the brush, quill, or dip pen into the inkwell ...

made of

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

. It was an important item for many scholars, which soon became symbolic of writers in general. Later, it became a byword for fussy or pedantic writers. The phrase "inkhorn term" is found as early as 1553.

Adoption

Controversy over inkhorn terms was rife from the mid-16th to the mid-17th century when English competed with Latin as the main language of science and learning in England, having just displaced French. Many words, often self-consciously borrowed from

classical literature Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

, were deemed useless by critics who argued that the understanding of these redundant borrowings depends on knowledge of classical languages. Some borrowings filled a technical or scientific

semantic gap The semantic gap characterizes the difference between two descriptions of an object by different linguistic representations, for instance languages or symbols. According to Andreas M. Hein, the semantic gap can be defined as "the difference in me ...

, but others coexisted with Germanic words, often overtaking them. Writers such as

Thomas Elyot Sir Thomas Elyot (c. 149626 March 1546) was an English diplomat and scholar. He is best known as one of the first proponents of the use of the English language for literary purposes. Early life Thomas was the child of Sir Richard Elyot's fi ...

and

George Pettie George Pettie (1548–1589) was an English writer of romances. His style influenced Robert Greene, and paved the way to euphuism. Life He was younger son of John Le Petite or Pettie of Tetsworth and Stoke Talmage, Oxfordshire, by his wife Mar ...

were enthusiastic borrowers whereas Thomas Wilson and

John Cheke Sir John Cheke (or Cheek; 16 June 1514 – 13 September 1557) was an English classical scholar and statesman. One of the foremost teachers of his age, and the first Regius Professor of Greek at the University of Cambridge, he played a great pa ...

opposed borrowing. Cheke wrote: Many of these so-called inkhorn terms, such as ''dismiss'', ''celebrate'', ''encyclopedia'', ''commit'', ''capacity'' and ''ingenious'', stayed in the language. Many other

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

s faded soon after they were first used; for example, ''expede'' is now obsolete, although the synonym ''expedite'' and the similar word ''impede'' survive. Faced with the influx of loanwords, writers as well known as

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

tried to either resurrect English words, e.g. ''gleeman'' for ''musician'' (see

glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

), ''sicker'' for ''certainly'', ''inwit'' for ''conscience'', ''yblent'' for ''confused''; or coin brand-new words from English's Germanic roots (''endsay'' for ''conclusion'', ''yeartide'' for ''anniversary'', ''foresayer'' for ''prophet'').

Legacy

Few of these words coined in opposition to inkhorn terms remained in common usage, and the writers who disdained the use of

Latinate Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area around Rome, Italy. Through the expansion o ...

words often could not avoid using other loanwords. Although the inkhorn controversy was over by the end of the 17th century, many writers sought to return to what they saw as the purer roots of the language.

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

coined words, such as ''starlore'' for ''astronomy'' and ''speechcraft'' for ''grammar'', but they were not widely accepted.

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950) was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to a ...

famously analysed and criticised the socio-political effects of the use of such words:

References

{{reflist

Etymology

Adoption

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading