The Fossil Words That Exist Only in Idioms

Much like a paleontologist combs an archaeological site for fossils, linguists may carefully leaf through texts for fossil words. This term refers to words that were once common but are now largely obsolete if used on their own. Fossil words still have a specific use today, however — not on their own but as part of a larger familiar idiom or phrase.

Essentially, fossil words are preserved inside idioms or colloquial phrases. Similar to how scientists use fossils to learn more about ancient history, etymologists turn to fossil words to better understand how people used to communicate. Chances are that you may already be using some fossil words yourself, so let’s look at a few examples.

Though many people mistakenly say “chomping at the bit,” the idiom uses the word “champing.” While it has a legitimate meaning of “to crush or grind with the teeth,” the word is rarely used in modern speech outside of the popular idiom. The noun “bit” (meaning “something bitten or held with the teeth”) is not considered a fossil word since it’s still used in certain contexts such as horseracing.

The fossil word “kith” (meaning “familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives”) was used on its own in Old English. But today, you’ll probably hear it only in the context of the idiom “kith and kin.” This popular phrase means “friends and relatives,” just like the original meaning of “kith.” “Kin” is still widely used to mean “one’s relatives.”

Outside of the nostalgic 1990s-era plastic jewelry and makeup cases sold under the brand name Caboodles, we’d venture to guess that you’ve never used the fossil word “caboodle” on its own. It’s always a part of the idiom “the whole kit and caboodle,” meaning “a number of things considered as a unit.” Both “kit” and “caboodle” have similar definitions referring to a set or collection of things. But “kit” is still widely used today — as in a tool kit or beginner’s kit — while “caboodle” has become a linguistic fossil.

The word “lam” is defined as “sudden or hurried flight especially from the law.” But it’s never really used on its own anymore; instead, it’s fossilized as part of the phrase “on the lam.” The word “lam” also was used in the slangy phrase “do a lam” (meaning “run”) around the turn of the 19th century, but that phrase has come and gone while “on the lam” remains in the modern lexicon.

The term “bate” — as in “to reduce the force or intensity of” — is etymologically related to “abate,” which means something virtually identical. But while “abate” is still widely used, “bate,” and more specifically “bated,” has been fossilized in the idiom “with bated breath,” which means “to be in a nervous or excited state of anticipation.”

“Ne’er” is a contraction of “never,” but it has its very own entry in Merriam-Webster. “Ne’er” was first used during the 13th century, so you might come across it when reading Middle English or Shakespearean-era texts. Today, however, “ne’er” is fossilized as part of the phrase “ne’er-do-well,” meaning “an idle worthless person.”

“Turpitude” is a synonym for “depravity,” coming from the Latin turpis, meaning “vile.” While you can use “turpitude” on its own, modern English speakers tend not to — its primary use is in the phrase “moral turpitude.” In this context, the fossil word refers to conduct that violates society’s accepted standards.

The phrase “to-and-fro” is widely understood to mean alternating movement in opposite directions. But while “to” has remained one of the most common words in English, you rarely hear someone saying they’re coming “fro the grocery store” or heading back home “fro their office.” “Fro” is both a preposition meaning “from” and an adverb meaning “back,” but in our modern lexicon, it’s no more than a fossil word.

“Spick-and-span” is one of the rare phrases where multiple components are fossil words. The phrase as a whole means “spotlessly clean,” but “spick” and “span” each have their own etymological history. “Spick” is believed to be a variation of “spike,” while “span” comes from the archaic phrase “span-new,” meaning “very new.” Together, they were used in reference to something fresh that was just cut or created by a worker’s hands. Today, those individual meanings are relics of the past, and both of these fossil words are now commonly paired together and rarely, if ever, used on their own. The usage of “span” to mean “an extent, stretch, reach, or spread between two limits” has a different etymological history from the phrase “span-new.”