olde worlde
- adjective
- /ˈəʊld ˈwɜːld/
- Archaic
:
de estilo antiguo
- The restaurant exudes an olde worlde charm, with its wooden beams and candlelit tables.
Examples
-
Tourists are drawn to the olde worlde streets lined with cobblestones and gas lamps.
-
She loves shopping for olde worlde furniture at flea markets.
-
What an olde worlde place to host a wedding!
-
The restaurant has an olde worlde charm that draws in many customers.
-
The restaurant exudes an olde worlde charm, with its wooden beams and candlelit tables.
-
Tourists are drawn to the olde worlde streets lined with cobblestones and gas lamps.
-
She loves shopping for olde worlde furniture at flea markets.
Synonyms
149
4.7
Not in style, like clothes or ideas from an earlier time
76
5.8
Something pleasant and old-fashioned that seems a little unusual
18
6.7
Like music or clothes from a past time that feel warm and familiar
9
7.5
Old-fashioned and not modern
5
5.3
Old and from a past time that people value, like clothes or furniture
3
7.3
From earlier times in Europe with traditional style
3
6.2
Not modern and looking old-fashioned
Antonyms
How Old-Fashioned
Surface Forms
Morphology
olde + worlde
The constituents ('olde' as an archaic form of 'old' and 'worlde' as an archaic spelling of 'world') let a learner infer a relation to the 'old world' and thus a sense of being old-fashioned or traditional. However, the specific evaluative nuance — that it means attractively quaint rather than genuinely authentic — and the effect of the deliberately archaic spelling are not fully predictable from the parts, so a learner would likely infer a general 'old-fashioned' sense but miss the precise pragmatic flavour.
Etymology
Olde worlde may come from an old spelling of 'old world', with olde and worlde used to make things look like they come from old Europe. Shops and restaurants used that spelling to give a romantic, cozy feel, so today it means 'attractively old-fashioned' rather than truly old.