My father used to use the word "lanniap" occasionally. Other than him I have only heard this used one time (by Jack Anderson). I put this here as a trivia q for the meaning as well as asking about other lost words you think of.

Lagniappe: a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly: something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure

Some others I don't hear much anymore:

Cowcatcher: an inclined frame on the front of a railroad locomotive for throwing obstacles off the track

Gandy dancer: 1: a laborer in a railroad section gang
2: an itinerant or seasonal laborer

Pinafore: a sleeveless usually low-necked garment fastened in the back and worn as an apron or dress

Correct definition TIE. Your spelling must be the french version and mine the anglacized. My father was born in New Orleans. You got me on the gandy dancer. The others I knew.

Gatman: The steel rails, along with the ties, of a railroad will, over time scoot from side to side which results in the rails actually becoming wiggled, if you will. Kind of like a snakes back. The gandy dancers would walk the rails with these long poles that they placed under the lip of the steel and push the rails straight again. They would sing chants as they did this and all heave in a uniform direction on the beat. The point of all this is: See if you can find some recordings of these chants. I have heard them before and some are really neat to listen to.

The one word that meant being happy or merry is gay. Used once as in "She was a very gay person!" In other words, "She was a very happy person!"

Look at the word now! Does it still hold that meaning? No! It means being happy and also declaring ones sex perferance. When did this happen?

It's a bit sad.

Kdp, The earliest-recorded use of ‘gay' to mean ‘homosexual' appeared in a dictionary of prison/underworld slang in 1935 in the USA. However, as far back as the 16th century, it meant living a dissipated lifestyle. A man might then, for example, have been described as ‘a gay dog'...suggesting an inordinate interest in "ladies". In the 19th century, if a woman was described as ‘gay', it meant she was a prostitute. It is relatively easy, therefore, to see how it came to take on the dubious sexual meaning of today.