死し語ご

し

ご

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

dead language; extinct language

Refers to a language that no longer has any native speakers, such as Latin or Ancient Greek. Antonym: 活語 (living language).

Antonyms: 活語

ラテン語ごは死し語ごだが、学がく術じゅつ用よう語ごとして今いまも使つかわれている。
Latin is a dead language, but it is still used in academic terminology.

noun

obsolete word; dated word

Describes a word that has fallen out of use and is no longer part of the active vocabulary. Often used in discussions about language change. Related term: 廃語 (obsolete word).

Usage patterns

〈物もの〉が死し語ごになるfor a word to fall out of use and become obsolete
「イケてる」という言こと葉ばは今いまではほとんど死し語ごになった。
The word "ikeru" has now become almost obsolete.
〈物もの〉は死し語ご扱あつかいされるfor a word to be treated as outdated slang
その表ひょう現げんは若わか者ものの間あいだで死し語ご扱あつかいされている。
That expression is regarded as outdated slang among young people.

Kanji

死death, die
語word, speech, language

Related words

廃はい語ご sense 2
廃語 and 死語 both mean an obsolete word, but 死語 is the more common, everyday term while 廃語 sounds more formal or technical.
古こ語ご sense 2
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.

Opposites

活かつ語ご sense 1
living language · inflecting word
新しん語ご
死語 is a word that has fallen out of use, the opposite of 新語, a word that has just come into use.

Don't confuse with

死し後ご
死語 (dead/obsolete language or word) and 死後 (after death) are pronounced identically but have completely unrelated meanings.
古こ語ご
死語 is a word that has simply fallen out of use, even recently, while 古語 specifically means a word from classical or historical Japanese.

Built from

死し+語ご

Etymology

Compound of 死 (death) and 語 (language/word). The meaning 'dead language' is a direct calque from Western linguistics; the extended sense 'obsolete word' developed naturally in Japanese.