An archaism is an archaic word or spelling. In other words, archaisms are words that have gone out of use in modern language. ... Archaisms are also seen in idioms and proverbs, which can "preserve" them. For example: She doth protest too much.

What do you mean by archaism?

1 : the use of archaic diction or style. 2 : an instance of archaic usage. 3 : something archaic especially : something (such as a practice or custom) that is outmoded or old-fashioned.

What is the meaning of archaism in literature?

Lexical archaisms are single archaic words or expressions used regularly in an affair (e.g. religion or law) or freely; literary archaism is the survival of archaic language in a traditional literary text such as a nursery rhyme or the deliberate use of a style characteristic of an earlier age—for example, in his 1960 ...