twas
Old-timey "it" reduction
Twas is a contraction of "it was," now used almost exclusively in literary or archaic contexts: 'Twas the night before Christmas.
The word sounds old-fashioned or poetic, appearing in folk songs, historical fiction, and deliberate archaism.
In modern speech, it's typically playful or ironic.
Neuter third-person pronoun
- hathArchaic possessive verb
- dothArchaic third-person singular
- ereArchaic word for before
- whilstDuring the time that
whence · thence · hither · thither · wherefore · forsooth · prithee · methinks
Dark hours daily
- beforePrior in time
- ChristmasWinter nativity celebration
- MooreAnglo-Irish family name
- stockingsFitted leg coverings
chimney · visions · sugarplums · St. Nicholas · reindeer · sleigh · recitation · holiday
Metered poetic passage
- rhymeMatching terminal sounds
- balladNarrative poem or song
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
- odeLaudatory verse form
stanza · meter · iambic · cadence · lyric · refrain · couplet · quatrain
Recalling past experiences
- yesteryearTime not long past
- memoriesStored past experiences
- bygoneOf earlier times
- wistfulSadly longing for something
longing · sentimental · halcyon · olden · golden · retrospective · recollect · melancholy
it
Neuter third-person pronoun
whilst · whence · thence · hither · thither · wherefore · forsooth · prithee · methinks · perchance
night
Dark hours daily
stockings · chimney · visions · sugarplums · St. Nicholas · reindeer · sleigh · recitation · holiday · tradition
verse
Metered poetic passage
ode · stanza · meter · iambic · cadence · lyric · refrain · couplet · quatrain · alliteration
reminiscence
Recalling past experiences
- yesteryearTime not long past
- memoriesStored past experiences
- bygoneOf earlier times
wistful · longing · sentimental · halcyon · olden · golden · retrospective · recollect · melancholy · sepia-toned
night
Dark hours daily
gloaming · moonrise · starlight · eventide · crepuscular · shadows · stillness · darkness · midnight · eve
- old-fashioned wordsforsooth, hark, betwixt, hither, prithee
- archaic Englishthou, thee, thy, thine, ye
- Old English Wordsthee, thou, thy, thine, hitherto
- Shakespearean wordsforsooth, hither, thither, wherefore, prithee
- West Country dialectproper job, girt, scrumpy, tis, thee
- Informal Spellingsgonna, wanna, gotta, oughta, shoulda