Let us consider a few words we think they used, but they didn’t!

Many of the terms we see in historical romances, from "tricorn hats" to "fainting couches," didn’t exist in the Regency at all. They’re Victorian inventions, modern misunderstandings, or Americanisms that slipped into the genre.

The name of the game here is to add to the list in the comments so we can keep the list going (and help authors start a master list for their writing!). I’ll start us off with a few examples:

1. “Tricorn” Hat

❌ Victorian.

✔️ Correct: “Cocked hat” “Tricorn” is a Victorian antiquarian word.

Someone of the Regency would have said, “cocked hat.”

2. “Bustle”

❌ Victorian. Bustles did not exist in the Regency.

✔️ In the Regency, the silhouette was slim, columnar, Grecian, no bum rolls or padding.

3. “Reticule bag”

❌ It is repetitive to use both.

✔️ Correct: “Reticule” alone.

Everyone knew it was a bag. They didn’t double-name it.

4. “Fainting couch”

❌ Victorian.

✔️ Correct: Chaise longue or recamier.

Regency ladies did recline, just not on “fainting couches.”

5. “Drawing Room” vs. “Parlor/Parlour”

❌ Both existed, of course, but they weren’t interchangeable.

✔️ They should be referred correctly by their purpose and location

• Drawing room = formal entertaining space (from “withdrawing room”).

• Parlour = more intimate daytime sitting room.

Many novels flip them around without meaning to.

6. “Living Room”

❌ Not used until the 20th century.

✔️ Correct: Drawing room, morning room, or parlour, depending on context.

7. “Fiancé / Fiancée”

❌ Victorian. Not used until the 1840s, but even then, used rarely as was seen as too French for polite English conversation.

✔️ Correct: “Betrothed” or “intended”

8. “Gown” vs. “Dress”

❌ Not interchangeable

✔️ Correct: Both words existed, but with nuance:

• Gown was used to refer to a specific garment worn by a woman (e.g., “the lady’s muslin gown”).

• Dress meant the style or type of attire, not the garment itself (e.g., “the fashion of her dress” “her morning gown was half-dress”).

9. “Coach House” vs “Carriage House”

❌ Carriage house is American and post-Regency.

✔️ Correct: “Coach house,” “stable block,” or “coach yard.”

10. “Servant’s Quarters”

❌ Victorian.

✔️ Correct: “Servants’ hall,” or refer to specific servant areas, “Back stair,” “Housekeeper’s room,” “Attics” (for maids), “Belowstairs” (kitchens, scullery, etc.).

11. “Tea Bag” or “Tea Sachet”

❌ 1908 invention.

✔️ Correct: Loose tea, stored in a locked tea caddy.

12. “Tuxedo”

❌ Modern American.

✔️ Correct: “Evening coat,” “dress coat,” or “tailcoat.”