The history of the English language is long and convoluted, incorporating words from many languages, adding words as technology and society changes, and dropping words for the same reason. While today we can still read the works of Shakespeare and understand most of the vocabulary he used, some of the words are now archaic (old-fashioned, not commonly used) and modern writers rarely include them in their prose. However, that’s not to say that all older words are ready for the linguistic trash heap. In fact, many of them express concepts or provide descriptions that are delightfully specific – you just need to find the right occasion to use them. You can do your part to put these five words back in circulation and keep the past alive (the dates the words were first recorded under that definition are given):

widdershins (WIH-dur-shins) adverb, c. 1510
Definition: Moving counterclockwise.
Example: Irish legend says that walking widdershins around a small hill is dangerous, because that may open the door to the fairy lands inside.

wuthering (WUH-thur-ing) verb, c. 1470
Definition: (Wind that is) roaring or blowing noisly.
Example: At the top of the moors in Devon, England, the wind was wuthering and the rain driving down in sheets, and we decided to cut our hike short.

wiseacre (WYZE-ay-kur) noun, c. 1600
Definition: A know-it-all, or someone who pretends to always be informed.
Example: Thomas is a very capable employee, but he’s such a wiseacre that he’s unpopular with the other workers, and so Human Resources recommends that he be transferred to another office.

wherewithal (WEAR-wih-thall) noun, c. 1580
Definition: What is needed (money or other resources) to accomplish a task or goal.
Example: She has many good ideas for time-saving inventions but doesn’t have the wherewithal to create prototypes or go through the patent process.

wallflower (WALL-flow-er) noun, c. 1820
Definition: Someone who is shy and stays at the edges of the crowd (idiomatic expression).
Example: Many teenage girls are afraid to go to their school dances alone because they don’t want to be seen as wallflowers and not asked to dance.

wainscoting (WAYNS-coh-ting) noun, c. 1540
Definition: Decorative wooden paneling along the lower half of a wall.
Example: The dining room was a bright and cheerful place, with yellow-painted walls above green-and-yellow bamboo wainscoting.