Inkhorn term

An inkhorn term is a loanword, or a word coined from existing roots, which is deemed to be unnecessary or over-pretentious.

Many of these so-called inkhorn terms, such as dismiss, celebrate, encyclopedia, commit, capacity and ingenious, stayed in the language.

Faced with the influx of loanwords, writers as well known as Charles Dickens tried to either resurrect English words, e.g. gleeman for musician (see glee), sicker for certainly, inwit for conscience, yblent for confused; or coin brand-new words from English's Germanic roots (endsay for conclusion, yeartide for anniversary, foresayer for prophet).

Although the inkhorn controversy was over by the end of the 17th century, many writers sought to return to what they saw as the purer roots of the language.

William Barnes coined words, such as starlore for astronomy and speechcraft for grammar, but they were not widely accepted.