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The Agora
Bible Articles and Lessons: A

AV difficult words

Words have their histories, like men. Like them they live and die. A word that meant one thing may mean another hundreds of years afterwards, and may at last cease to be used at all. In our English translation (the Authorized Version of King James in the year 1611) there are many words found that are now, after the lapse of almost 400 years, obsolete (that is, gone out of use) or obsolescent (that is, going out of use). Others have somewhat changed their meanings. The following are some hard, and old-fashioned words to be found in the King James Version, with their present-day meaning:

Abomination	An object that fills us with disgust, particularly an idol.
Acquit	To hold guiltless.
Ague	A fever.
Alleluia	Praise the LORD!
Ambassage	The same word is translated "message" in Luke 19:14.
Apothecary	One who makes perfumes or ointments.
Asswaged	Sank down, subsided.
Astonied	Astonished, or surprised.
Audience	The Hebrew word means the ear. Abraham spoke in the ear of the children of Heth; we might say "in the hearing of". To give audience means to listen.
Barbarian	An alien or foreigner.
Barbarous	Foreign.
Baser	"Certain lewd fellows of the baser sort"; that is, wicked men who hung about the market place; vile men of the rabble.
Bewrayeth	Betrayeth.
Bishoprick	Guardianship; office of overseeing.
Breeches	Pants, or trousers.
Brutish	Stupid.
Buffet	To strike with a clenched fist.
By and by	At once, immediately.
Carriage	That which is carried: baggage. We now say luggage.
Casement	Window.
Chapiter	The head or top of a column.
Charger	Dish in the OT (Num 7), where silver chargers are spoken of. But in the NT (Mat 14) the Greek word "pinax" means a wooden drinking cup.
To be at charges	To discharge the cost of, bear the expense.
Cleanness of teeth	Famine.
Cockle	A weed resembling wheat.
Contemn	To despise or mock.
Convert	To turn again.
Coulter	Iron agricultural tool.
Dam	A mother.
Divers	Diverse, different, varied.
Effectual	Effective.
Emerods	Tumors; hemorrhoids.
Ensample	Example.
Ensue	Pursue.
Eschew	Avoid; turn aside.
Espy	See, behold.
Exactor	Overseer.
Fain	Gladly.
Fen	Marsh or swamp.
Fetch a compass	To make a circuit.
Fillets	Curtain rods placed between columns (Exo 27:10).
Fitches	A species of grain.
Flagon	Bottle; vessel.
Fuller	Launderer; one who washes clothes.
Garner	Granary (barn).
Gin	Snare or noose.
Graven	Engraved.
Grisled	Spotted or speckled.
Hart	Deer.
Hireling	A day laborer.
Hoary	White.
Incontinent	Unbridled; uncontrollable.
Inditing	Overflowing; boiling over.
Inordinate	Without restraint; immoderate.
Instant	Insistent; steadfast; urgent.
Jot, Yod	The smallest Hebrew letter. Iota is the Greek. Both correspond to the English letter "I" but it is often transliterated "J" in our Bible. The names Jerusalem, Jesus, Isaac, Isaiah, Judah, Israel, John, James, Jacob, etc., all began with this letter.
Kine	Cows; cattle.
Knop	An old way of writing "knob". In connection with the tabernacle, the knops were carved imitations of the buds of flowers.
Lade	Burden; load.
Latchet	The thong by which the sandal was attached to the foot.
Laver	Wash basin.
Lees	Sediment.
Let	In a few passages only, 'let' means 'hindered' (Exo 5:4; Isa 43:13; Rom 1:13; 2Th 2:7).
Lewdness	Villainy; wickedness; crime.
Liketh	Pleases.
Listeth	Chooses.
Lively	Living.
Lucre	Gain.
Mansion	Abiding place.
Mattock	Hoe; spade.
Maul	A heavy hammer.
Meat	Food of any kind. In the RV the words "meal offering" have been substituted for meat offering. This expresses the sense better.
Meet	Agreeable; fit; proper.
Mess	Portion.
Mete	To measure.
Meteyard	The English means to measure by the yard, or a yard measure. The Hebrew (Lev 19:35) seems to be best translated by the word "measure" only.
Minish	Diminish.
Minister	a servant.
Mite	A very small coin.
Mote	A minute particle of dust; a speck (Mat 7:3).
Muffler	An ornament worn by women.
Murrain	Pestilence; plague.
Necromancer	One who inquires of the dead.
Neesing	Sneezing.
Nether	Lower.
Nethermost	Lowest.
Not a whit	Not the least bit.
Occupy	To do business; trade.
Occupier	Trader.
Offence	In many places, a stumbling block, "skandalon", the original of our word "scandal".
Offscouring	Scum; filth.
Ouches	Sockets; settings for gems.
Overlived	Outlived.
Paps	Breasts.
Paramour	Lover.
Peradventure	Perhaps; it may be.
Pilled	Peeled; stripped of skin or bark.
Poll	To cut hair.
Potsherd	A piece of broken pottery.
Pottage	That which is prepared in a pot.
Prating	Babbling, chattering.
Presbytery	An assembly of elders.
Presently	In the present moment; now.
Printed	Engraved; "inscribed" (RV).
Privy	Aware of.
Proper	Goodly, comely.
Proselyte	"One who has come to", therefore a convert to Judaism.
Provender	Food for livestock or cattle.
Provoked	Stirred up, stimulated.
Quick	Living.
Quicken	To make alive.
Quit	Behave, or, as we now say, acquit.
Ranges	Ranks in 2Ki 11:8.
Rank	Fat in Gen 41:5-7.
Ravin	Plunder.
Reins	The kidneys, regarded as the seat of joy, pain, etc.
Reprobate	Refuse.
Rereward	Towards the rear; rear guard.
Ringstraked	Streaked with rings.
Riotous	Gluttonous.
Satyr	Male goat.
Scall	An eruption on the head or face.
Scrabbled	Scrawled, or scratched.
Scrip	A small bag or wallet.
Seethe	To boil.
Sherd	A shred, potsherd, a broken piece of pottery.
Silverlings	Peces of silver.
Sith	Since.
Sleight	Trickery; deceit.
Slow bellies	Idle gluttons.
Sod, Sodden	Boil, Boiled.
Sottish	Foolish.
Staggered	"Wavered" (RV).
Stomacher	Robe.
Strawed	Strewed, scattered.
Surfeiting	Intoxication; overindulgence.
Taches	Hooks; fasteners.
Tables	Writing tablets covered with wax.
Tabret	A kind of small tambourine.
Tell	To number, count.
Temperance	Self-control.
Tempt	To test, try, put to the proof.
Tetrarch	Ruler over a fourth part.
Thought	"Anxiety" in Mat 6:25.
Tire	turban; head ornament.
Tired	Adorned with a tire or head dress; attired.
Tittle	The minute point added to one Hebrew letter to distinguish it from another.
Tormentors	Torturers.
Trow	To think, imagine.
Trump	Trumpet.
Twain	An old form from the Anglo-Saxon "twegen" - two; hence the Scotch "twa", and the English "twainty" or twenty.
Unction	Anointing.
Unperfect	Imperfect.
Untoward	Not toward; inclined in the opposite direction.
Utter	Sometimes means outer.
Vagabond	A wanderer.
Vile	Worthless.
Ward	Prison; custody.
Ware	Aware.
Wax	Grow, increase.
Wen	A running sore.
Whet	Sharpen.
Whit	A bit, atom; every whit, wholly; not a whit, not at all.
Wilily	Craftily.
Wimple	Shawl.
Wise	Way. On this wise, in this way.
Wist	Knew.
Wit	To wit, to know.
Withs	Cords, ropes.
Withe	Young twig of willow or osier.
Wot	Knew.
Wroth	Anger; wrath.
Yokefellow	Fellow-laborer.