Boston Globe art critic Sebastian Smee recently described a school of courtly Japanese art as having the ability “to stay limber and spruce” as fashion and patron tastes evolved. It was a use of the word we haven’t seen for a while. “Spruced-up,” yes. But “spruce” as an adjective? What Merriam Webster defines as a “somewhat old-fashioned” usage, an adjective meaning “neat, clear or stylish in appearance.”