Historical Fictionistas discussion

I recently read a book set in 1814 which used the term Smart Aleck. I thought it sounded wrong and it was, but not by as much as you'd guess.

Smart Aleck; Wiktionary says it is possibly derived from the name of Aleck Hoag, a 19th-century con man and was probably first used in the mid-1860s.
nb, not mentioned book where it was wrong, as the topic about interesting words/phrases themselves.

"Wow" has been used since the 1500s.

The feminine name Tiffany!

According to BehindTheName.com: Medieval form of Theophania. This name was traditionally given to girls born on the Epiphany (January 6), the festival commemorating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. The name died out after the Middle Ages, but it was revived by the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), the title of which refers to the Tiffany's jewelry store in New York.

Franklin was a medieval (14-15C.) word for a peasant who was wealthy (freeholder who was not born a noble) Ironically now pop culture in the 20th.C it’s all about the Benjamins not the Franklins.

etymonline.com is a useful etymological dictionary and it confirms that Smart Aleck dates from 1865.

Yes, S.E. surprising! Thank you.

The origin of words and their history is a great topic and one which certainly interests me. There is an excellent podcast called "The "History of the English" by Kevin Stroud, which covers this topic. This thread reminded me to go back and pick it up again. Thanks.

It begs the question. When you are writing an historical novel, should you use words that are jarring to the reader because they sound contemporary. Even though they were used at the time. Or should the author avoid them?

Nicola wrote: "It begs the question. When you are writing an historical novel, should you use words that are jarring to the reader because they sound contemporary. Even though they were used at the time. Or shoul..."

I like when the author puts historically accurate words, broadens my knowledge as a reader. On the other side of the coin is when it the book becomes nothing but those words or dialect. That can be jarring as a reader. For example Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile was great but it took time for me as a reader to acclimate.

Actually, it is true that ones knowledge is expanded by reading archaic language. One of my favourite books is Godric by Fredrick Buechner. It is set in the medieval era and one of the things I love about it is the language. It took a few reads of the first few pages to become acclimatised, but I am so glad I did.