archaic word; obsolete word; archaism
A term for words or expressions from older Japanese that are no longer current, or are used only in classical or historical contexts.
He deliberately used an archaic word in his speech.
Ito okashi is a famous archaic word.
I looked up the meaning of the archaic word in a dictionary.
old saying; old adage
Used for an old saying or maxim. This sense is more literary or set-phrase-like than the common word ことわざ.
As the old saying goes, "More haste, less speed."
old language; ancient language
Refers to an older stage of a language, especially in study of classical Japanese or historical linguistics.
In class, we compared the old language with the modern language.
To read an old language, you need knowledge of grammar different from that of the modern language.
She is researching old Japanese at graduate school.
There is an old saying, "Three years even on a rock," meaning patience pays off.
格言 is a maxim often attributed to a specific person or text, whereas 古語 as 'old saying' is a more general, anonymous old expression.
古語 refers to a classical word still studied in old texts, whereas 死語 emphasizes that a word has completely dropped out of active use.
A Sino-Japanese compound written with 古, associated with oldness, and 語, associated with words or language. This is a transparent component explanation, not a detailed historical derivation.