paleologism means A word or phrase that was coined in the distant past, often now obscured or offensive, or if recently used: possibly having a definition or implication different from that of any earlier usage. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
Why “paleologism” is a great word
PALEOLOGISM — [Noun] A word or phrase coined in the distant past, now often obsolete or obscure, or whose modern use may depart from its original sense. From paleo- (from Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, "old")) + -logism (from Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos, "word, speech")). Unlike a neologism, a brash newcomer minted for the moment, or an archaism, a preserved relic used for its antique flavor, a paleologism is a fossilized act of linguistic invention, a deliberate term whose context has eroded. It is the rusted tool in a forgotten shed, the grandiose title for a defunct office, or the precise name for a shade of blue that vanished with the dynasty that cherished it—a ghost of someone else's precision, haunting the language with the weight of its own antiquity.
noun
- A word or phrase that was coined in the distant past, often now obscured or offensive, or if recently used: possibly having a definition or implication different from that of any earlier usage.“Another is the paleologism of pars pro toto in which a part of an organ or function can symbolize the whole organ or concept; eg, the stomach may be the locus of difficulty with a patient with a history of frustrated dependency needs because of its association with the process of being fed and loved by the mother.”
- An obsolete term.