Lamb's peculiar diction

 Among the peculiarities of Charles Lamb’s writing is his diction.

When I looked up “decussated,” which means to intersect or cross, Merriam-Webster said the verb was coined in 1658 by Sir Thomas Browne, a neglected writer Lamb championed. The adjective arrived around 1823, when Lamb was at his peak. The adjective has got to be Lamb’s work.

If you’re a Lamb reader, you might know:

• tumid — convoluted language, the opposite of “simplicity” in writing, as Eric G. Wilson observes.

• pleonasm — redundancy, wordiness.

• atrabiliousness — melancholy. (“Melancholy” is based on the Greek for black bile, which allegedly caused the mood. “Atrabiliousness” is based on the Latin.) 

Lamb’s writing is also a museum of artifacts that mostly have gone the way of 19^th century life. Such as:

• saloop — sassafras tea served with milk and sugar.

• rappee — dark snuff.

• besom — a broom, especially one made of twigs.

• griskin — pork loin, especially the lean end.

I could go on, but I’d guess that for most folks a little Lamb goes a long way.