Wycliffe's Bible. John Wycliffe
words", now chiefly used poetically); and, the vast majority, "precursors", which are strangely-spelled forerunners of words that we use today. To understand the text, each group of words must be dealt with in a particular way.
Obsolete Words
Perhaps 2% of the words in the "Later Version" of the Wycliffe Old Testament (WOT) are "dead" words that are not presently used, or found in current dictionaries. This percentage is significantly lower than the estimated 5% of obsolete words found in the "Later Version" of the Wycliffe New Testament (WNT). It is amazing how in little more than a decade, the time taken to revise the "Early Version" of the "Wycliffe Bible", the language so quickly evolved, and how much more modern the lexicon of the "Wycliffe Bible" became, particularly its Old Testament. But to understand the text, these obsolete words must be replaced.
Fortunately for our purposes, the "Later Version" of the "Wycliffe Bible" was created at an exciting time of transition, just as the nascent language was beginning to blossom into the English that we know today. Many modern equivalents for words that we consider "dead" are found in the text itself, already in use alongside their soon-to-be-discarded doublets. Examples of "in-house" replacement words include: again, alley, ascend, ashamed, basket, besides, call, choir, desire, diminish, disturb, follow, hair shirt, harm, hinge, knew, know, mad, pasture, path, praise, reckon, repent, restore, rider, shame/d, snare, strong hold, strong vengeance, stumble, trap, trouble, uncle, weigh (both as a balance or scales and as the verb), weight, with, and still other words (including "that" and "those", which are replacements for "thilke"). So more than half of the obsolete or "dead" words in the "Later Version" of the WB were replaced with words already there in the text. Somewhat surprisingly, a number of the equivalent modern words were found only in the "Early Version" of the "Wycliffe Bible". In these instances, which are not infrequent, it is the "Later Version" that utilizes only the older, soon-to-be defunct, term.
For the relatively few remaining obsolete words, reference works were consulted, and appropriate replacement words were chosen and utilized. Older words, in use as close as possible to the time of the "Wycliffe Bible", were favored over more recent words. When selecting replacements not already found in the text, words were chosen, as often as possible, that were different from those used in the KJV, so as not to artificially produce similar phraseology. But sometimes the only appropriate replacement word was that which the KJV also used.
When an obsolete word was replaced, the effort was made to use the same replacement word as often as possible to reflect word usage found in the original text. However many words have more than one meaning, and different contexts at times required multiple renderings for an individual "dead" word. So "bire", usually rendered "rush", also became "force"; "covenable", usually rendered "suitable", also became "opportune"; "departe", usually rendered "part" ("to divide"), also became "separate"; "grutche", usually rendered "grumble", also became "grudge"; "kyndli", usually rendered "of kind", or "by kind", also became "naturally"; "meyne", usually rendered "family", also became "household"; "out-takun", usually rendered "except", also became "besides"; "sclaundre", usually rendered "cause to stumble", also became "offend"; and "wilne", usually rendered "desire", also became "to delight in", or "to take pleasure in". Of these particular replacement words, only "except", "family", "naturally", and "separate" are not found in the original text.
In all, approximately 100 individual replacement words (and their various forms and tenses) were utilized for the Old Testament, and for the New Testament, those replacement words and 140 others. Some replacement words ("benumbed", "creaketh", "creditor", "mocked", "parched", "physician", "satisfy", and "wrenched") were used rarely; other replacement words ("ascend", "call", "except", "pour", and "promise") were used repeatedly.
Archaic Words
About 4% of the words used in the "Later Version" of the WOT and 10% of the words used in the "Later Version" of the WNT, are today considered "archaic", that is, not widely used, but still found in good, current dictionaries. Words in this category include: "anon" (at once), "comeling" (stranger or newcomer), "culver" (dove), "forsooth" ("for truth" and "but"), "knitches" (bundles), "livelode"/"lifelode" (livelihood), "quern" (hand-mill), "principat" (principality), "repromission" (promise), "soothly" (truly), "strand" (stream), "sweven" (dream), "trow" (to trust or to believe), "ween" (to suppose), and "youngling" (young person). Once understood, these words are valid and vital, and evoke the atmosphere and colour of the original text. Most archaic words have been retained. Sometimes the KJV follows the "Later Version" in the use of an archaic word - such as "anon" (at once), "baken" (baked), "holden" (held), "holpen" (helped), "leasing" (lying), "letting" (hindering!), "washen" (washed), "wist" (knew), and "wot" (know) - and Wycliffe's Bible also follows the WB.
Significantly, and of great benefit for our purposes, many archaic words in the "Wycliffe Bible" have their own modern equivalents right there in the original text. So in Wycliffe's Bible, following the original text, you will find both "again-rising" and "resurrection"; "again-buying" and "redemption"; "alarge" and "enlarge"; "alure" and "lattice" (and "alley"); "anon" and "at once"; "araneid" and "spider"; "barnacle" and "bit" (part of a "bridle", which is also found); "cheer" and "face"; "close" and "enclose"; "comprehend" and "apprehend" (i.e., to physically catch, lay hold of, or to grasp); "darked" and "darkened"; "dure" and "endure"; "err" and "wander"; "flower" and "flourish"; "forgat" and "forgot"; "gat" and "begat"; "gender" and "engender"; "get" and "beget"; "gobbets" and "pieces"; "gotten" and "begotten"; "grave" and "engrave"; "gree" and "degree"; "grene" and "snare" (and "trap"); "half" and "hand" (and "side"); "harded" and "hardened"; "leasing" and "lying"; "leaveful" and "lawful"; "lessed" and "lessened"; "liquor" and "liquid"; "manyfold" and "manifold"; "marishes" and "marshes"; "maumet" and "idol"; "meed" and "reward"; "nurse" and "nourish"; "owe" and "ought"; "paddocks" and "frogs"; "painture" and "painting"; "plage" and "region"; "says" (and "serges") and "curtains"; "simulacra" and "idols"; "sop up" and "swallow"; "spelunk" and "cave" (and "den"); "strain" and "constrain"; "sweven" and "dream"; "thank" (past tense of "think") and "thought"; "tree" and "beam" (and "stick", and "timber", and "wood" as well); "venge" and "avenge"; "vinery" and "vineyard"; "virtue" and "strength" or "power" (and "host" as well); "volatiles" and "birds"; "waiter" (and "waker") and "watcher" (and "watchman"); "waking" and "watching"; "wem" and "spot"; and still more doublets of archaic and modern words. For definitions, see the Glossary at the back of the book.
Precursors
But the vast majority of words in the "Later Version" of the WOT, about 94%, and in the "Later Version" of the WNT, about 85%, are the direct precursors of words that we use today. Although these words are spelled differently from words that we know, once their spelling has been modernized, they can be understood - with the following caveats.
In Wycliffe's Bible, you will encounter familiar words in unfamiliar settings: "and" in place of "also"; "charity" in place of "love"; "clarity" and "clearness" in place of "glory"; "deem" in place of "judge"; "defoul" in place of "defile"; "doom" in place of "judgement"; "dread" in place of "fear"; "either" in place of "or"; "enhance" in place of "exalt"; "health" in place of "salvation" or "deliverance" (and also "victory"); "take" in place of "receive"; "wed" in place of "pledge"; and so forth. Consult a good dictionary. Even as currently defined, these words remain relevant in their particular context. Their use here breathes new life into familiar passages and brings fresh insight and illumination.
However, some words that we recognize have significantly changed definition in the intervening six centuries (in most cases, their meanings have become more specialized, less inclusive, than they were before). Reading the original text, these words sound jarring to our ears and appear out of place. Confusion would result if they were retained in Wycliffe's Bible. So different words were substituted, words whose definitions have remained constant over the centuries, are conducive to the context, and aid, rather than hinder, passage flow. Of vital importance, almost all of the substitution words used in Wycliffe's Bible were already present in the original text (some were previously noted above in the list of doublets of archaic and modern words); many are given as alternate renderings by the Wycliffe and Purvey themselves (either in italics or in another verse dealing with the same subject matter).
The "in-house" substitution words used include: arms (for "armours"); at once (for "anon", not the more modern "by and by"); basin (for "cup", and for "vial", as corrected in glosses citing the Hebrew