LANGUAGE experts at the University of York have come up with a list of 30 words that have fallen out of the English language, but could come back into modern day use.

From "merry-go-sorry" - meaning a mixture of joy and sorrow - to "betrump" - a verb meaning to deceive or cheat - Dr Dominic Watt and his research team say the old words are relevant to life today.

Dr Watt said: "As professional linguists and historians of English we were intrigued by the challenge of developing a list of lost words that are still relevant to modern life, and that we could potentially campaign to bring back into modern day language.

"To allow people to really imagine introducing these words back into their everyday lives, we’ve chosen words that fit within themes still relevant to the average person. Within these themes, we’ve identified lost words that are both interesting and thought-provoking, in the hope of helping people re-engage with language of old."

The list of 30 "Lost Words" was formed by grouping the words within themes that Dr Watt believes to be highly relevant to modern life: post-truth, appearance, personality and behaviour, and emotions.

On a Friday morning the word "slug-a-bed" – a person who lies in late - might be particularly useful; but as the weekend goes on "rouzy-bouzy" - an adjective to describe someone boisterously drunk - might come in handy.

The research was commissioned by insurance company Privilege who are now running a public vote to see which of the words should come back into everyday use.

The researchers at York's Department of Language and Linguistic Science spent three months scouring historic texts and etymological dictionaries to create the curated list of words.

The full list is:

Ambodexter, n: One who takes bribes from both sides

Betrump, v: To deceive, cheat; to elude, slip from

Coney-catch b, v: To swindle, cheat; to trick, dupe, deceive

Hugger-mugger, n., adj., and adv: Concealment, secrecy; esp. in phr. in hugger-mugger: in secret, secretly, clandestinely. Formerly in ordinary literary use, now archaic or vulgar

Nickum, n.: A cheating or dishonest person

Quacksalver, n: A person who dishonestly claims knowledge of or skill in medicine; a pedlar of false cures

Rouker, n.: A person who whispers or murmurs; one who spreads tales or rumours

Man-millinery, adj: Suggestive of male vanity or pomposity

Parget, v: To daub or plaster (the face or body) with powder or paint; to cover with cosmetic

Snout-fair, adj.: Having a fair countenance; fair-faced, comely, handsome

Slug-a-bed, n: One who lies long in bed through laziness

Losenger, n.: A false flatterer, a lying rascal, a deceiver

Momist, n: A person who habitually finds fault; a harsh critic

Peacockize, v.: To behave like a peacock; esp. to pose or strut ostentatiously

Percher, n.: A person who aspires to a higher rank or status; an ambitious or self-assertive person

Rouzy-bouzy, adj.: Boisterously drunk

Ruff, v: To swagger, bluster, domineer. To ruff it out / to brag or boast of a thing

Sillytonian, n.: A silly or gullible person, esp. one considered as belonging to a notional sect of such people

Wlonk, adj + n (also ‘wlonkness’) Proud, haughty / Rich, splendid, fine, magnificent: in later use esp. as a conventional epithet in alliterative verse (N. A fair or beautiful one)

Fumish, adj: Inclined to fume, hot-tempered, irascible, passionate; also, characterized by or exhibiting anger or irascibility

Awhape, v. To amaze, stupefy with fear, confound utterly

Hugge, v. To shudder, shrink, shiver, or shake with fear or with cold

Merry-go-sorry, n. A mixture of joy and sorrow

Stomaching, adj.: Full of malignity; given to cherish anger or resentment

Swerk, v. To be or become dark; in Old English often, to become gloomy, troubled, or sad

Teen, v To vex, irritate, annoy, anger, enrage / To inflict suffering upon; to afflict, harass; to injure, harm

Tremblable, adj. Causing dread or horror; dreadful

Wasteheart, int. Used to express grief, pity, regret, disappointment, or concern: ‘alas!’ ‘woe is me!’ Also wasteheart-a-day, wasteheart of me

Dowsabel, n. Applied generically to a sweetheart, ‘lady-love’

Ear-rent, n. The figurative cost to a person of listening to trivial or incessant talk