B 
 
 mtj^^f^wmrmw^i'^'mwm^ 
 
 $B 3ED 7b3 
 
•^ 
 
 
 _3 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^gf^i^*^*'-sy^^^^^^B 
 
 
 M 
 
 ^^^^HKgH^HB^^^^^^I 
 
 
 ^^^^i^^^^^^^^^^^^^i 
 
 H 
 
 
 WM 
 
 wB 
 
 ^^mMmrSil^ 
 

 A ^ ^ 
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 OF 
 
 i^ortl) Country tSSaortis^ 
 
 IN USE; 
 
 WITH 
 
 THEIR ETYMOLOGY, 
 
 AND 
 
 AFFINITY TO OTHER LANGUAGES; 
 
 AND OCCASIONAL 
 
 NOTICES OF LOCAL CUSTOMS 
 
 AND 
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKETT, F. S. A., 
 
 LONDON AND NEWCASTLE. 
 
 Betota^tle upon '^ptte t 
 
 EMERSON CHARNLEY, BIGG-MARKET; AND 
 BALDWIN AND CRADOCK, LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXIX. 
 
lOAN STACK 
 
 IN- 
 
 Les mots sont le lien des societ^s, le vehicule des luraieres, la basr 
 des sciences, les d^positaires des decouvertes d'une Nation, de son sa- 
 voir, de sa politesse, de ses idees : la connoissance des mots est done 
 un moycn indispensable pour acquerir celle des choses; de-la ces 
 Ouvrages appelles Dictionnaires, Vocabulaires ou Glossaires, qui of- 
 frent I'etendue des coqpoissances de chaque Peuple. — Gebelin. 
 
Pe/77/ 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 JOHN GEORGE, LORD DURHAM, 
 
 BAUON DURHAM OF THE CITY OF DURHAM, AND OF LAMBTOK 
 CASTLE IN THE COUNTY PALATINE OF DURHAM, 
 
 THIS NEW EDITION OF A WORK, 
 
 INTENDED TO PRESERVE AND ILLUSTRATE THE ANCIENT AND 
 
 ENERGETIC DIALECT OF THE NORTH, 
 
 IS, 
 
 WITH HIS lordship's PERMISSION, MOST 
 
 RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
,11: 
 
preface. 
 
 The Glossary before the Reader is the result of those 
 hours of literary amusement, when it was thought neces- 
 sary to unbend the mind from professional labour. The 
 Author has felt much satisfaction at the favourable recep- 
 tion which his former attempt to collect and preserve the 
 relics of our good old Northern dialect has received from 
 some of the first literary characters of the age. He has, 
 in particular, been gratified by the approbation of several 
 gentlemen of great philological learning, in both king- 
 doms ; among whom he is proud to rank the Rev. H. I. 
 Todd, the profound editor of two editions of Dr. Johnson's 
 national work, with the most valuable additions ; and the 
 Rev. Dr. John Jamieson, whose Etymological Dictionary 
 of the Scottish Language contains a labour of lexicogra- 
 phy, as elaborate and comprehensive as any that has yet 
 appeared. 
 
 The Author may be permitted to denominate this an 
 entire new work, rather than a second edition of his for- 
 mer publication. Independent of the numerous additions, 
 b 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 which further research and communication, both with the 
 Hving and the dead, have enabled him to give, all the old 
 articles have undergone a complete revision, and most of 
 them are re-written. A wider range has been taken, 
 and a variety of circumsta,nces relative to the usages of 
 the olden time, as well as to the local customs and popu- 
 lar superstitions of the present day, have been introduced. 
 The ancient traditions of the country are entitled to more 
 regard than is generally given to them by the fastidious. 
 However hyperbolically exaggerated, or concealed from 
 the perception of this enlightened age, few of them are 
 wholly false. 
 
 The Glossary has been made much more copious in 
 the etymological department — alike interesting to the an- 
 tiquary and the philologist. Every scholar is aware of 
 the extraordinary analogy of various languages. In many 
 of the articles will be frequently found noticed the words 
 of similar origin, appearance, and meaning, in the cognate 
 dialects, ancient and modern, of the North of Europe, 
 which may be truly said to form the warp and the woof 
 of English, and on which the flowers of Greece and Rome 
 have been embroidered. Notices are also given of striking 
 affinities, in sound and meaning, with different other lan- 
 guages ; though these are not always sufficient to consti- 
 tute an etymon. 
 
 It is unnecessary to adduce reasons for preserving our 
 old words. They are generally simple and expressive, 
 and often more emphatic than their modern synonymes. 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 By the revival of a more general relish for early English 
 writers, the Reader will imperceptibly acquire a habit of 
 regarding them in the light of their pristine dignity. He 
 will no longer hastily pronounce to be vulgarisms what 
 are in reality archaisms — the hard, but deep and manly, 
 tones and sentiments of our ancestors. The book will 
 prove how much is retained of the ancient Saxon speech — 
 in its pure unadulterated state — in the dialect of the 
 North of England, which also exhibits more of the lan- 
 guage of our Danish progenitors than is to be met with 
 in any other part of the kingdom. 
 
 Our Northern words and terms, though often disguised 
 in different spelling and structure, bear strong affinity to 
 the Scottish language. Indeed, the greater part of them 
 will be found to be in current use in each country. Even 
 laying out of view the opinion expressed by some writers, 
 that the Scottish language is merely a dialect of the 
 Anglo-Saxon, the similarity of words and phrases used 
 both in the North of England and the South of Scotland, 
 may be accounted for by the county of Northumberland, 
 and other parts of the English territory, having anciently 
 formed a portion of the sister kingdom. But it is to be ob- 
 served, that a number of the words in this Glossary, which 
 are unknown to the South, are in common use in the 
 North of Scotland. It is true that the greater part of 
 these may be traced to the French ; but hence the words 
 used in Scotland may often be explained and elucidated by 
 reference to those of the North of England, and vice vers<ii. 
 
fig PREFACE. 
 
 By a communication from George R. Kinloch, Esq., of 
 Edinburgh, the Author has been furnished with an exten- 
 sive list of our North Country words which are in use in 
 Scotland, some of which have escaped the vigilance of 
 Dr. Jamieson, though Mr. Kinloch says they are well 
 known as Scottish words. In some instances where they 
 differ in spelling, or have a wider signification, in Scotland, 
 the Author has either given the Scots orthoepy, or the ad- 
 ditional meaning. 
 
 To James Losh, Esq., Major Thain, George Taylor, 
 Esq., Anthony Easterby, Esq., Rev. William Turner, Rev. 
 James Raine, Rev. George Newby, Mr. Edward Hemsley, 
 Mr. Robert Thompson, and those other friends who have 
 contributed so much to the interest of the work, by allow- 
 ing the Author tlie unrestrained use of their interleaved 
 copies of the former edition, he returns his grateful thanks. 
 
 For the invaluable and kind assistance afforded him by 
 his antiquarian friends, Robert Surtees, Esq.of Mainsforth, 
 and Sir Cuthbert Sharp ; and by the Rev. W. N. Dar-f 
 nell, B. D., Prebendary of Durham, Matthew CuUey, 
 Esq., of Fowberry Tower, 1. 1. Wilkinson, Esq., Rev. H. 
 Cotes, R. R. Greenwell, Esq., and Thomas Fenwick, Esq., 
 in the unreserved communication of various manuscript 
 vocabularies of provincial terms, collected in different 
 parts of the Northern Counties, his warmest acknowledg- 
 ments are due, and he feels sincere pleasure in thus pub- 
 licly recording his sense of the obligation. 
 
 With these aids, and with the assistance and encourage- 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 ment he has received, during his undertaking, from 
 different eminent individuals, which it would have the 
 appearance of personal vanity in the Author to particula- 
 rize, he has endeavoured to the best of his ability, and 
 making the most of the time which he could allow him- 
 self from other avocations, to re-construct, and, as he 
 hopes, materially to improve, the Glossary of North Coun- 
 try Words. 
 
 Of the instances of misconception and inadvertence, 
 which may still remain, those, who are most conversant 
 with the subject, will, in its various and complicated na- 
 ture, discover the best extenuation. 
 
 Albion Place, I6th March, 1829. 
 
CONTRACTIONS 
 USED IN THIS GLOSSARY. 
 
 LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS. 
 
 Br Ancient British language. 
 
 Celt. Celtic language. 
 
 Cumb Cumberland dialect. 
 
 Dan Danish language. 
 
 Dur. Durham dialect. 
 
 Dut. Dutch language. 
 
 Fr French language. 
 
 Gael Gaelic language. 
 
 Germ German language. 
 
 Gr Greek language. 
 
 Ir Irish language. 
 
 Isl Islandic (or Icelandic) language. 
 
 Ital Italian language. 
 
 Lane Lancashire dialect. 
 
 Lat. Latin language. 
 
 Moe.-Got Moeso-Gothic language. 
 
 Newc Newcastle dialect. 
 
 North Northumberland dialect. 
 
 Sax Anglo-Saxon language. 
 
 Sc Scottish language. 
 
 Span Spanish language. 
 
 Su.-Got Suio-Gothic, or ancient language of Sweden. 
 
 Sw. — Swed Modern Swedish language. 
 
 Teut. Teutonic language. "^ 
 
 West. Westmorland dialect. 
 
 York. Yorkshire dialect. 
 
CONTRACTIONS. 
 
 AUTHORS AND WORKS. 
 
 Boucher Glossary of Obsolete and Provincial Words, 4to. 
 
 London, 1807. 
 
 Crav. Gloss Horae Momenta Cravenas, or the Craven Dia- 
 lect exemplified, 12mo. Lond. 1824. 
 
 2d. edit. Dialect of Craven, with a copious Glos- 
 sary, 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1828. 
 
 Du Cange Glossarium ad Scriptores Medias et Infimse La- 
 
 tinitatis, 6 torn. fol. Paris, 1733. 
 
 Gael. Diet Dictionarium Scoto-Celticum : a Dictionary of 
 
 the Gaelic Language, compiled and published 
 under the direction of the Highland Society of 
 Scotland, 2 vols. 4to. Edinb. 1828. 
 
 Grose. Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local 
 
 Proverbs, 8vo. Lond. 1787. 
 
 Grose Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, 8vo. 
 
 Lond. 1783. 
 
 Ihre Glossarium Suio-Gothicum, 2 torn. fol. Upsal. 
 
 1769. 
 
 Jam.— Jamieson. ... Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Lan- 
 guage, 2 vols. 4to. Edinb. 1808. 
 
 Jam. Supp Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of 
 
 the Scottish Language, 2 vols. 4<to. Edinb. 
 1825. 
 
 Jennings Observations on some of the Dialects in the 
 
 West of England, particularly Somersetshire : 
 with a Glossary, l2mo. Lond. 1823. 
 
 Jun.— Junius Etymologicum Anglicanum. Edid. Lye, fol. 
 
 Oxon. 1743. 
 
 Kilian Etymologicon Teutonicae Linguas, 2 tom. 4to. 
 
 Traj. Bat. 1777. 
 
 Le Roux Dictionnaire coraique, satyrique, critique, burles- 
 que, ]ibre,et proverbial, 2 tom. 8vo. Lion. 1732. 
 
 Lye Dictionarium Saxonico et Gothico-Latinum. 
 
 Edid. Manning, 2 tom. fol. Lond. 177^. 
 
XU CONTRACTIONS. 
 
 Moor. Suflfblk Words and Phrases, by Edward Moor, 
 
 F.R.S. F.A.S.,&c. 12mo. Woodbridge,1823. 
 Nare8.-Nare8' Gloss. A Glossary ; or Collection of Words, Phrases 
 
 Names, and Allusions to Customs, Proverbs, 
 
 &c. 4to. Lond. 1822. 
 Palsgrave L'Esclaircissement de la Langue Fran9oise, fol. 
 
 Black Letter. The two first books printed 
 
 by Pynson, and the third (the most copious 
 
 part) by lohan Hawkins— the only work he 
 
 ever executed. 
 Prompt Panr Promptorium Parvulorum sive Clericorum, fol. 
 
 Pynson, 1499. 
 Ray. Collection of English Words, I2mo. Lond. 
 
 1691. 
 Roquefort Glossaire de la Langue Romane, 2 torn. Svo. 
 
 Paris, 1808. Supplement, 8vo. 1820. 
 Skin.— Skinner Etymologicon Linguae Anglicanae, fol. Lond. 
 
 1671. 
 Somner Dictionarium Saxonico-Latino-Anglicum, fol. 
 
 Oxon. 1659. 
 
 Spelman Glossarium Archaiologicum, fol. Lond. 1687. 
 
 Thomson, Etymons of English Words, 4to. Edinb. 1826. 
 
 Todd's John.— Todd's Johnson. Dictionary of the English Language 
 
 by Samuel Johnson, L. L. D. Edited by the 
 
 Rev. H. L Todd, M. A., F.S. A., 4 vols. 4to. 
 
 Lond. 1818--2d. edit. 3 vols. 4to. Lond. 1827. 
 Tooke Diversions of Purley, 2 vols. 4to. Lond. 1798 
 
 and 1805. 
 Wachter Glossarium Germanicum, 2 tom. fol. Lips. 
 
 1737. 
 Watson Vocabulary of uncommon Words used in Hali- 
 fax Parish. 
 Wilb.— Wilbraham. An Attempt at a Glossary of some Words used 
 
 in Cheshire. From the Archasologia, Vol. 
 
 XIX. With considerable Additions, Svo. 
 
 Lond. 1820. 2d. edit. Lond. 1826. 
 Willan A List of Ancient Words at present used in the 
 
 Mountainous Districts of the West Riding of 
 
 Yorkshire. Archaeologia, Vol. XVII. 
 
(ilossarp 
 
 NORTH COUNTRY WORDS 
 
 IN USE. 
 
 A. 
 
 A. It is a striking provincial peculiarity, in many parts of the 
 North of England, tenaciously to retain this letter in most 
 of the words in which modern English substitutes o ; as awn, 
 own; hane, bone; hame, home; &c.; and to omit the two 
 last letters in those ending in // ; as a' (aw) for all ; ccH 
 (caw) for call ; &c. But at Hexham, and a district round 
 it, the fl, instead of usurping the place of o, as is common in 
 most other parts of Northumberland, is itself converted into 
 o, in the vulgar pronunciation; as o, for all; 5o, for ball; 
 fote^ for fault ; Ao/5?, for half, &c. " Hexham ho-penni/^ is a 
 bye-word of long standing ; and " Hexham, the heart of o 
 England " may be said to be proverbial. 
 
 A, always, ever. — Cumb. A, in the Saxon language, is the ad- 
 verb here given. Perhaps from the same root the Germans 
 have their ewtg, and its dependents. In the formation of 
 our border dialects it has been freely denizened. " For ever 
 and a," is an expression used by old rustics. Philologers and 
 grammarians will decide how far, in this sense, pleonasm of 
 continuous action, the a is an adverbial prefix to our participles 
 agoing, acoming, Sec. 
 
 A, interrogative — a ? what ? what do you say ? 
 
2 AAC 
 
 Aac, Aik, Yak, Yeck, or Yaik, the oak. Sax. ac, cbc, Su,- 
 Got. ek. Germ. e%che. Dut. and Isl. eik. Sc. mk. The 
 words aik and acorn, observes Mr. Boucher, fall under that 
 numerous list of northern terms which differ from the com- 
 mon speech of England, only by having retained that strong 
 characteristical mark of their Saxon origin, the a in the place 
 of the modern o, and would not have been adverted to here, 
 had there not been something peculiar in their pronunciation, 
 in which alone their provincialism consists. The former is 
 pronounced yeck or yaik, just as earth is pronounced yerth ; 
 whilst acorn is every where pronounced nearly as it is spelled. 
 By having thus retained the orthography as well as the or- 
 thoepy of aiky the people of the North have avoided that in- 
 consistency, which certainly is imputable to their Southern 
 neighbours, of rejecting the ancient and original spelling, in 
 the theme, whilst yet it is retained in the derivative : for, to be 
 consistent, acorn should be written ocom. Both these terms 
 are pure Saxon, ac and (Ecem ; the latter importing as lite- 
 rally in the Saxon, as it does in English, the fruit or corn of 
 the aik. 
 
 Aback, backwards. Isl. a-hak. Not obsolete, as stated in 
 Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Aback a behint, behind, or in the rear. " Ahack a behint, 
 where the grey mare foaled the fiddler;" that is, I am told, 
 threw hun off in the dirt. 
 
 Ablins, perhaps, possibly. Mr. Boucher justly considers this- 
 word a remarkable confirmation of an ingenious grammatical 
 position, first strenuously urged by Gebelin, and, since, well 
 supported and confirmed by Mr. Home Tooke, viz. that par- 
 ticles were originally verbs. He takes ablins to be the parti 
 ciple of the present tense of the irregular verb, " to be able ;** 
 and as such, easily resolvable into the being able. 
 
 Aboon, Abuin» above. Sax. abufan. Mr. Todd says, aboon is 
 " common in Westmoreland and part of Yorkshire." It is 
 also in constant use in the counties of Durham and Northum- 
 berland. V. jfunius and Boucher. 
 
ADDE 3 
 
 Abraid, to rise on the stomach with a degree of nausea ; applied 
 to articles of diet, which prove disagreeable to the taste, or dif- 
 ficult of digestion. See Braid. 
 
 Abrede, in breadth, spread out. Sax. abred-an, to lengthen. 
 
 Abstract, to take away by stealth. — Borders of North. In the 
 dissertation on Fairies, in the Border Minstrelsy, a curious 
 instance of superstition is related, where the corpse of a de- 
 ceased person, dug up from the grave, is said to be abstracted. 
 So in Law, abstraction of tithe is the unjustifiable removal of 
 it. 
 
 Accidavy, an inveterate corruption of affidavit. Sometimes 
 simply davy. 
 
 We think nowse on't, aw'U myek accydavy. 
 
 Canny Ncwcassel. 
 
 Accident, a soft term used to denote the situation of a confid- 
 ing girl, when an undue advantage has been taken of her by a 
 faithless swain, without affording her a legitimate right to his 
 protection,— 
 • When lovely woman stoops to folly. 
 
 And finds too late that men betray. 
 
 AcKERSPRiT, the premature sprouting of a potatoe, the germi- 
 nation of grain, V. Skin. Jam. and Wilb. 
 
 AcKNOw, to acknowledge, to confess. The old form of the 
 word - still in use as a northern provincialism. 
 
 Acow, crooked, obliquely, awry. Sax. ascunian, devitai-e. 
 
 Acre-dale Lands, common fields in which different proprietors 
 hold portions of greater or less quantities ; from acre, a word 
 common to almost every language, and Sax. dcslan, to divide. 
 In ancient times an acre did not signify any determinate 
 quantity of land; and the Normans had an acre confessedly 
 differing from that of the Saxons. When at length it came to 
 mean a specific part, the measure still varied, until it was 
 fixed by statute, in the reign of King Edward I. 
 
 Adder-stone, a perforated stone, imagined by the vulgar to be 
 made by the sting of an adder. Stones of this kind are sus- 
 pended in stables as a charm to secure the horses from being 
 
4 ADDI 
 
 hag-ridden ; and are also hung up at the bed*8 head, to pre- 
 vent the night-mare. See Holy-stones. 
 
 Addiwissen, had I known it. An expression nearly obsolete, 
 though still retained by some old persons. It appears, says 
 Mr. Boucher, to have been formed on that poor excuse, to 
 which silly people are apt to have recourse, when, for want of 
 consideration and caution, they have fallen into some difficul- 
 ty : had I wist, or had I tuissen (and in the pronunciation it is 
 as one word, addiwissen), I would not have done so and so. 
 The phrase is of great antiquity, occurring in Gascoigne's Her- 
 mit's Tale, in Gower, and in Holinshed. 
 
 Addle, Aidle, Eddle, v. to earn by labour. — Addlings, Aid- 
 lings, s. labourer's wages, earnings. Sax. edlean, recompense, 
 or requital. Different both in import and source from — 
 
 Addled, a. decayed, impaired, rotten ; as, " addle headed," 
 " addled eggs ;" from Sax. adlian, aegrotare — adlig, aegrotus, 
 morbo laborans. 
 
 Ae, Ea, one, one of several, each. Aewaas, E aw ays, alwai/s. 
 
 Ae lad frae out below the ha' 
 
 Ees Meggie wi' a glance.— j.?(KwiI Fair. 
 
 Afear'd, afraid. Pure Saxon. This word is repeatedly used 
 by Shakspeare, in several of his plays, but I do not remem- 
 ber that afraid occurs more than once. 
 
 Aforn, before, on hand. Sax. at-foran. Afore, the ancient 
 word for before, is also in use. 
 
 Aft, behind. Pure Saxon The dictionaries call this a sea 
 term, but it is in common use on the banks of the Tyne, and 
 occasionally in other places, in the sense here given, without 
 any relation to nautical subjects. 
 
 Ag, to hack or cut with a stroke ; hence an axe. 
 
 Agate, on the way, agoing — on foot again; as a person recovered 
 from a sick bed. " The fire burns agate^' that is, is beginning 
 to burn briskly. — York, where it always denotes incipient 
 rapidity. 
 
 Agean, Agen, again, against. Sax. agen ; and so used in old 
 English. 
 
AIRD 5 
 
 Agee, Ajee, Agye, awry, uneven, aside. " Let ne'er a new 
 whim ding thy fancy ajee.*^ — A. Ramsay. Across ; as " it 
 went all ageeT 
 
 Aglee, or Agley, wrong, awry. As poor Burns truly said. 
 
 The best laid schemes o'mice and men 
 Gang aft a-gley. 
 
 Agog, eager, desirous. " He's quite agog for it." Great re- 
 search has been expended, and much has been written on the 
 etymology of this word. It is strange that all our philologists 
 have marked it as uncertain ; as it may, I think, be satisfac- 
 torily derived from Ital. ogognare, to wish, to long for. Since 
 this was written, I have been informed by a valued corres- 
 pondent in Edinburgh, who has most kindly and liberally 
 aided me in my etymological enquiries, that there is a Rox- 
 burghshire saying "on the gogs for it," synonymous with 
 " quite agog for it" — meaning " he is in the humour for it," 
 or, " is eager for it." This expression, he is of opinion, is 
 derived from, and, indeed, is a pure translation of the French 
 phrase " etre dans ses gogues*^ which Boyer gives as synony- 
 mous with " dans sa bonne humeur," to be in a merry mood, 
 pin, cue, or humour. V. Boyer, vo. gogues ; which is derived 
 from the reciprocal verb " se goguer (se rejouir) to be or make 
 merry." It is scarcely necessary to remark, that both the 
 French verb and phrase are only used in a comical or burlesque 
 style ; which is the very character of agog. 
 
 Ahint, behind. " To ride ahint.** Sax. a-hindan, post. 
 
 AiG, sourness. " The milk has got an aig.'" 
 
 Aigre, sour. Fr. aigre. Hence Ale-aigre, which see. 
 
 AiN, pron. the northern pronunciation of own ; being, as it were, 
 a compound of a'une, i. e. all belonging to one, in contradis- 
 tinction to that which is the property of many. V. Boucher. 
 
 AiRD. This word, as applied to the name of a place, means 
 high ; as Airdley in Hexhamshire. Br. aird, height. Gael, 
 and Ir. ard, mighty, great, and noble. It is also used to de- 
 scribe the quality of a place or field ; in which sense it means 
 dry, paiched; from Lat. aridus— hence arid. 
 
6 AIRL 
 
 Airly, the northern form of early ; confoiinable to Dan. aarU\ 
 
 AiRT, or Art, a point or part of the horizon or compass ; a dis- 
 trict, or portion of the country. Germ, or/, a phice — die vicr 
 ortcy the four quarters. Gael, aird^ a cardinal point. In 
 Yorkshire the pronunciation is airth. 
 
 AiRTH, afraid, fearful. " He was airth to do it" — he was afraid. 
 •* An airthfid night"— a fearful night. Sax. yrhth^ fear. 
 
 AiTH, an oath. The same in Moes-Got. and Sc. 
 
 AiTHER, order, or course of husbandry in tillage land. Mr. 
 Boucher, whose learning and memory I much respect, is un* 
 fortunate in his conjecture on this word. See Arder. 
 
 Aits, Yaits, Yetts, oats. Sax. ata^ ate. The sound expressed 
 by yaitiy as has been justly observed to me by a literary friend, 
 is in fact the proper diphthongal sound of oats — the a being 
 long : — and a hroad Yorkshireman talks of the beasts getting 
 oorang [wrang — for z/; is a vowel in effect) amang the wheate. 
 
 AiXES, Axes, a fit or paroxysm of an ague — an access. Used 
 by several of our old writers. The word appears to be deriv- 
 ed from Sax. ace, the origin of ache^ a pain ; which, in the 
 plural, Shakspeare has evidently pronounced, like John 
 Kemble, aitches. Our auld trots, or old wives, have innu- 
 merable prescriptions for the ague ; all of them, more or less, 
 depending on something which is to operate as a charm. The 
 opinion of the efficacy of charms in the cure of this disease is 
 at least as old as the time of Pliny. 
 
 Alane, alone. Dut. aUeen. Dan. allene. 
 
 Alantem, Alantum, at a distance. Ital. da lontano. Fr. loin- 
 tain. 
 
 Ald, old. Sax. eald. This syllable, in the beginning of the 
 names of places, denotes antiquity. 
 
 Ale, a merry meeting, a rural feast. Bride-a/<?, and church-a/^, 
 are of frequent occurrences in old legal documents. 
 
 Ale-aigre, alegar, sour ale used as vinegar. Allekar. — West. 
 
 Ale-taster, an officer still retained in some of the northern 
 boroughs. His duty is to look diligently after the " brewers 
 and tiplers,'* and to taste the ale within his jurisdiction. A 
 
ALL-H 7 
 
 person of this description was formerly appointed and sworn 
 in every court leet. 
 
 Algates, an old word synonymous with always, or all manner 
 of ways ; and compounded of all and gates (which in the 
 North denotes ways). Not obsolete, as stated in Todd's 
 Johnson. It is used for, however, or at all events, sometimes — 
 as Trxyrag. V. quotations in Tooke (Vol. I., p. 179,) who 
 strangely mistakes the derivation. In the Glossary to Way's 
 Fabliaux, it is attempted to be traced thus : — Algates ; 
 Alguise ,• Alwise, always : that is, let the guise or manner be 
 what it may. Algatis occurs in WicliPs venerable Transla- 
 tion of the New Testament, Rom. xi. 1 0. 
 
 All-a-Bits, broken, all in pieces, in rags and tatters. 
 
 All-along-of, All-along-on (sometimes, by quick articulation, 
 pronounced Aw-lung) entirely owing to. This term would 
 almost seem to be a corrupt pronunciation of all owing. It 
 is, however, of considerable antiquity in our language ; being 
 used by Skelton, Ben Jonson, and others ; and may be re- 
 ferred to Sax. ge-lang, opera, causa, impulsu, culpa, cujus- 
 vis. V. Lye. An ingenious friend suggests, all ^longing of; 
 to *longy he says, being used for, to belong, in some of our old 
 poets. V. Tooke Vol. I. p. 424-431. 
 
 Aller, the alder-tree. Alnus glutinosa. Smith. Sax. celer. 
 See Eller, 
 
 Aller-float, or Aller-trout, a species of trout — usually large 
 and well grown — frequenting the deep holes of our retired 
 and shady brooks, under the roots of the aller^ or alder-tree j 
 from which it has its name. 
 
 Alley, the conclusion of a game at foot-ball, when the ball has 
 passed the boundary. — Dur. Fr. a Pais — to the plank which 
 bounded the course, as at tennis, 
 
 Ali^hallows, All Saint's day (1st. Nov.). "It is remarkable, 
 that, whilst the old Popish names, for the other fasts and fes- 
 tivals, such as Christmas, Candlemas, Lammas, &c. are gene- 
 rally retained throughout England, the northern counties 
 alone continue the use of the ancient term for the festival of 
 
8 • ALL-I 
 
 AU-Sahits." Boucher. In the name of churches, there is 
 however an exception. See Halle E'en. 
 
 All-ln-the-Well, a juvenile game in Newcastle and the neigh- 
 bourhood ; and perhaps in other places. 
 
 Always, however, nevertheless. Its use in this sense is com- 
 mon in the North ; and also in Scotland. See. Algates. 
 
 Amang, among. Sax. mengan^ to mix. But see Jamieson. 
 
 A-MANY, a great number, a mixed multitude. According to the 
 author of The Diversions of Purley^ many is the past partici- 
 ple of Sax. viengariy miscere, to mix, to mingle ; and many a is 
 a corruption for many of, and therefore improperly used with 
 a singular. 
 
 Ambry, or Aumry, a cupboard, pantry, or place where victuals 
 are kept. Sax. tslmerige, repositorium, scrinium, abucus. 
 Norman Fr. ambrey, a cupboard. 
 
 Amell, between or among, amidst. Ray says, " contracted 
 from a middle; or perchance from the French word mesler, 
 signifying to mingle ;" but there seems little doubt of its being 
 directly from the Swed. emeUan, or Dan. imellemy the prepo- 
 sition for between. 
 
 Anan, what ? what do you say ? Commonly used as an answer 
 to questions not understood, or distinctly heard. Perhaps 
 from a repetition of Fr. ain, noticed by Le Roux as, " Sorte 
 d'interjection interrogative, commune aux petites gens, et fort 
 incivile parmi des personnes polies;" or it may be, as Mr. 
 Boucher suggests, merely a reduplicative of the Saxon or 
 Gothic particle an, which is defined to be " graticula interro- 
 gationibus praeraissa." 
 
 Anchor, the chape of a buckle, i. e. the part by which it is fas- 
 tened. Fr. ancre. Lat. anchora. 
 
 Anclet, Ancleth, Ancliff, the ancle, a gaiter. Sax. ancleow. 
 
 An^enst, over-against, towards, opposite to. A very old word 
 in our language ; supported by the authority of Chaucer, Ho- 
 linshed, and others ; and still in common use in the northern 
 counties. 
 
 Anent, concerning, respecting ; also over-against, opposite. V. 
 Jam. anens ; and Watson, anent. 
 
ARGY g 
 
 Ang, or Awn, the beard growing out of barley, rye, or wheat. 
 This term seems to have been adopted from the Danes ro 
 Swedes, who got it from the Goths. V. Boucher, awnd. 
 
 Ang-nails, corns on the toes. — Cumb. Nang-nails, York. 
 
 Anters, in case, lest, it may be. Dut. anders. V. Ray, auji" 
 tres, and Boucher, anantres. 
 
 Anters, needless scruples, mischances or misadventures. 
 
 Antrims, affected airs or whims, freaks, fancies, maggots. 
 
 Apiece, with the subject in the plural — pennies apiece; ones 
 apiece. 
 
 Appern, Appren, a common mode of pronouncing apron^ in 
 many of the northern counties. See Nappern. 
 
 Appetize, v. to provoke an appetite for food. Juliana Barnes, 
 who, Warton says, wrote about 1480, uses appetydely, as an 
 adverb, in the sense of with a good appetite. The passage 
 wherein it occurs is sufficiently curious, in more respects than 
 one, to be laid before the reader. 
 
 Aryse erly : serve God devowtly : and the world besily. Do 
 thl werke wisely : yeve thyn almesse secretly : goo by the 
 waye sadly. Ansuere the peple demurely : goo to thy 
 meete appetydely. Sy tte therat dyscretly : of thy tonge be 
 not to lyberall : aryse therfrom temperately. Goo to thy 
 souper soberly : and to thy bed merely : be in thyne inne 
 jocondly. Please thy love duely ; and slepe surely. 
 
 April-gowk, an April fool. See Gowk. 
 
 Aran, or Arain, a spider. — York. Lat. aranea. Fr. araignee. 
 Span, arana. Ital. aragno. 
 
 Aran-web, or Arain-web, gossamer, a cobweb. 
 
 Arder, order, or course. In husbandry the arders are the divi- 
 sions of tillage land set apart for regular courses of crops in 
 successive years ; or for courses of cropping in rotation. 
 
 Arf, Arfish, timid, fearful, apprehensive. " 'Am rather arfish 
 about that." See Airth. 
 
 Argy, assertion in dispute. The term is generally applied to a 
 person who is not only contentious, but pertinacious in ma- 
 naging an argument. Isl. iargr^ keen contention. 
 c 
 
10 ARK 
 
 Ark, a large chest for keeping corn or meal. The original and 
 etymological sense of the word. In the will of Bernard Gil- 
 pin, 1582, the testator leaves to the " poore of Houghton 
 pishe. the greate new ark for come, standinge in the hall, to 
 provide them grotes in winter." 
 
 Arles, Arns, Alls, Earles, or Yearles (these variations being 
 undoubtedly in their origin one and the same word), money 
 given in confirmation of a bargain, or by way of earnest for 
 service to be performed. Gael, iarlus. Welsh, ernes. Mr. 
 Boucher seems to consider Aries to be the last and almost 
 expiring remains, in our language, of a word of very remote 
 antiquity, that was once in general use, which the Romans 
 abbreviated into arra, and which the Latins in the middle ages 
 changed into arrha. It denoted an earnest or pledge in gene- 
 ral, and was often used to signify an espousal present or gift 
 from the man to the woman on their entering into an engage- 
 ment to marry. This, as we learn from Pliny, was a ring of 
 iron, the ancient Romans being long prohibited from wearing 
 rings of any other metal. The giving of arles for confirming a 
 bargain is still very common in all the northern counties. It 
 is also an old custom, seldom departed from, for the buyer 
 and seller to drink together on these occasions. Without it 
 the engagement would hardly be considered as valid. 
 
 Arnut, Awnut, a pig-nut, an earth-nut. Bunium Balbocasta- 
 num. Sax. eard-nut. Dut. aarde-noot. 
 
 Arr, a mark or scar made by a wound, a cicatrice. Hence, 
 PocK-ARRS, a common phrase in the North for the marks left 
 on the face by the small-pox. The word may be satisfactorily 
 derived from Dan. ar, a seam, scar, or mark of a wound j or 
 from Su.-Got. terr^ cicatrix. The term is also found in the 
 Islandic language — cer or or. 
 
 Arseward, perverse, obstinate. Sax. cewerdy perversus, aversus. 
 
 Arsey-warsey, Arsie-varsie, tops)f-turvy — vice versa. 
 All things run arsie-varsie. — Ben Jonson. 
 
 Arvel, a funeral. — Arvel-supper, a funeral feast given to the 
 the friends of the deceased, at which a particular kind of loaf, 
 
ASSI 11 
 
 • called arvel-breadf is sometimes distributed among the poor. 
 The practice of serving up collations at funerals appears to 
 have been borrowed from the coena feralis of the Romans, al- 
 luded to in Juvenal (Sat. V.), and in the laws of the twelve 
 tables. It consisted of an offering of milk, honey, wine, &c. 
 to the ghost of the departed. In the case of heroes, and 
 other illustrious men, the same custom seems to have prevail- 
 ed among the Greeks. With us, it was anciently a solemn 
 festival made at the time of publicly exposing the corpse, to 
 exculpate the heir, and those entitled to the effects, from fines 
 and mulcts, and from all accusations of having used violence. 
 In conjecturing an etymology, the late Dr. Whitaker, after 
 stating that he had vainly sought in every etymologicon to 
 which he had access, refers (though he admits with very little 
 confidence) to the word arferialy in Kirchman de Funeribus 
 Romanorum, p. 554. V. Hist. Richmond. II. 298. Surely 
 we ought to be satisfied, either with Welsh, arwyl, funeral 
 obsequies ; or Dan. arveol, a funeral feast ; from arve, to heir 
 or inherit. 
 
 Ask, Asker, Esk, a water newt, believed by many, but without 
 any foundation, to be venemous. Lacerta palustris. Gael. 
 asc. 
 
 Ass, ashes. This manner of pronouncing and using the word is 
 general in all the northern counties. . It has evidently been 
 adopted from some of the northern languages: — Sax. asce. 
 Germ, asche. Isl. aska, Dan. aske. Dr. Johnson says, the 
 word wants the singular ; but, as remarked by Mr. Todd, it is 
 common in the singular, in the north of England. 
 
 Ass-HOLE, a place for receiving ashes — an ash-hole. 
 
 Ass-MiDDEN, a heap of ashes, collected for manure. 
 
 Ass-RiDDLiN, the riddling or sifting of the ashes on the hearth, 
 on the eve of St. Mark. The superstitious notion is, that, 
 should any of the family die within the year, the mark of the 
 shoe will be impressed on the ashes. 
 
 AssiL-TREE, an axle-tree. So invariably pronounced in the 
 North. Fr. asseul. Gael, aisil, Ital. assile. 
 
1^ ASSI 
 
 AssiL Tooth, or Axle Tooth, a grinder— a tooth situated under 
 the (uis of the jaw. Isl. jaxle, dens molaris. Su.-Got. oxel- 
 tand, a grinder. V. Ihre. 
 
 AsTiTE, AsTY, rather, as soon as, sooner; literally as tide. Sax. 
 and Isl. tid. 
 
 AsTONiED, astonished, in a consternation. An old word, not 
 yet obsolete. V. Todd's John, astone. 
 
 Attercop, Attercob, a spider's web. Sax. attery poison, and 
 coppcy a cup; receiving its denomination, according to Dr. 
 Jamieson, partly from its form and partly from its character — 
 a cup of venom. Attercop is also occasionally used to denote 
 the spider itself; which is curious, as being still unaltered 
 SiLXon—atter-coppa. Hence a female of a virulent or malig- 
 nant disposition is sometimes degraded with the appellation 
 of an attercop. 
 
 A-TWEE, in two; as broken in two. Chaucer uses atow; a 
 word still retained in the north. 
 
 Atween, between, betwixt. Ancient, but not obsolete. 
 
 AuD, AuLD. the vulgar pronunciation of old. Sax. eald. The 
 latter form of the word is used in the beautiful old song of 
 " Tak your atdd cloak about ye," recovered by Bishop Percy, 
 and given in his Reliques of Ancient Poetry. 
 
 AuDFARANT, AuLD-FARANT, gravc, sagacious, ingenious. Child- 
 ren are said to be so when they are wiser or more witty than 
 those of their age usually are ; that is, fashioned^ or formed 
 like an older^ or more experienced person. Dut. ervaren, 
 Dan, erfareny experienced. 
 
 AuD-LANG-sYNE, AuLD-LANG-SYNE, a favouritc phrasc in the 
 North, by which old persons express their recollections of 
 former kindnesses and juvenile enjoyments in times long since 
 past — immortalized by the muse of Burns. 
 
 Aud-Peg, Auld-Peg, old milk cheese. See' Old-Peg. 
 
 Aud-thrift, Auld-thrift, wealth accumulated by the succes- 
 sive frugality of a long race of ancestors. 
 
 Auk, a stupid or clumsy person. From old Got. auk^ a beast ; 
 
AWMU 18 
 
 or it may be from the northern sea bird, called the auk, of 
 proverbial stupidity. 
 
 Au3i, the elm tree. Old Fr. oulme. Alum is also, in some 
 places, pronounced aum. Br. aim. In northern pronuncia- 
 tion, the letter / is frequently dispensed with, or discarded. 
 
 Aun'd, ordained, fated, destined. " I'm aurCd to this luck." 
 
 Aunts. " One of my aunts" is, in Newcastle, a common desig- 
 nation for a lady of more complaisance than virtue. Shak- 
 speare and other play writers use the term. 
 
 Aup, a wayward child — an ape ; from Sax. apa. 
 
 AuTER, altar. Many of our old authors write this word autery 
 or aivter; which is still the pronunciation in the North. Old 
 Fr. auter. The high altar — a term retained in Cumberland, 
 where it is pronounced as one word heeautre — was probably 
 so called to distinguish it from the Saint's altars, of which 
 kind there were several in most churches. 
 
 AuwARDs, awkward, athwart. A beast is said to be auwards, 
 when it lies backward or downhill, so as to be unable to rise. 
 Sheep, heavy in the wool, are often found so ; in which case, 
 if not extricated, they soon swell and die. Sax. cewerd, per- 
 versus, aversus. 
 
 Aver, a work-horse— a beast of burden. V. Spelman, affri, 
 affra ; and Du Cange and Kennett, averia. 
 
 AvERisH, or Average, the stubble and grass left in com fields 
 after harvest — the winter, or after-eatage. 
 
 Aw, the common pronunciation of I. Aw's, I am. 
 
 Aw was up and down, seekin for maw hinny. 
 Aw was thro' the town, seekin far maw bairn. 
 
 Song, Maw Canny Hinny. 
 
 Aw-MACKS, all makes, all sorts or kinds. V. Boucher. 
 
 AwMUS, the pronunciation of alms in the North. Sax. celmesse. 
 Dan. almisse. Indeed, in most of the cognate languages the 
 word is a dissyllable. Chaucer accordingly spells it almesse : 
 other old writers have it almous. 
 
14 AWN 
 
 Awn, v. to acknowledge, to own. Sax. agan, possidere. " You 
 
 never awn us now-a-days.'* 
 Awn, Awne, a. own, proper. Sax. agen, proprius. 
 
 This house ! these grounds ! this stock is all mine awne. 
 
 Ben Jon. Sad Sfiepherd. 
 
 Awn-sell, own-self. — Awn-sells, own-selves. 
 
 AwsoME, appalling, awful. " The lightning was awsome^^ 
 
 Axe, to ask. This, now vulgar, word is the original Saxon 
 form, and is used by Chaucer, Bale, Heywood, and many 
 other ancient writers. It does not, however, appear to have 
 obtained a footing in any of the cognate languages of the 
 North, which seems to show that whilst we formed our voca- 
 bulary from the Saxons, other northern nations drew from 
 Gothic sources. 
 
 Aye, always, continually, for ever. An old word; said in 
 Todd's Johnson to be now rarely used, and only in poetry. 
 For colloquial purposes, however, it is frequently made use of 
 in Northumberland ; and, so far as my recollection serves me, 
 in other parts of the North. My friend. Archdeacon Wrang- 
 ham, an elegant classical scholar, refers me to Greek mii or atn 
 for a derivation. There is certainly a striking analogy. See 
 
 ElGH. 
 
 Ayont, beyond. " Far ayont the hill." Sax. a-geont. 
 
 A YOU A, HiNNY, A YOU A, HiNNY BuRD, a northcm nurse's 
 lullaby. Brand has observed that an etymologist, with a to- 
 lerably inventive fancy, might easily persuade himself that the 
 the song usually sung in dandling children in Sandgate, in the 
 suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Wapping or Billings- 
 gate of that place, " A you a, hinny," is nearly of a similar 
 signification with the ancient Eastern mode of saluting kings, 
 " Live for ever." V. Pop. Antiq. Vol. I. p. 377- The song 
 here referred to will be found in Bell's Rhymes of Northern 
 Bards, p. 296. 
 
BACK 15 
 
 B. 
 
 Babblement, silly discourse. Probably from Fr. babiller. In the 
 first edition of this work I admitted the derivation given in the 
 Craven Glossary, and supported by other authority — " Heb. 
 Babely confusion of tongues" — which a correspondent (with 
 whose criticisms in general I am not disposed to quarrel) 
 deems worthy of Parkhurst. To be free from misconception 
 and error is not the attribute of infallible men. 
 
 Babby-Boodies, broken pieces of earthen ware or glass, used by 
 female children for decorating a play-house, called a hoody- 
 house^ made in imitation of an ornamented cabinet. 
 
 Then on he went, as nice as owse, 
 
 Till nenst au'd Lizzy Moody's ; 
 A whirlwind cam an' myed a' souse 
 
 Ijike heaps o' lobby -loodies. 
 
 Song, Jemmy Joneson's Wlmrry. 
 
 Bachelor's Button, a well-known flower, resembling a buttoil 
 — supposed to possess a magical effect on the fortunes of rus- 
 tic lovers. See Grey's Shak. V. I., p. 107. 
 
 Back-by, behind, a little way distant. Bey (Germ.) is near: — 
 hence in-by, out-by, back-by. 
 
 Backerly, late ; as a hackerly spring ; a backerly harvest. 
 
 Back-cast, the failure in an effort, a relapse into trouble. 
 
 Back-end, the autumnal part of the year, — the latter end of any 
 given time. 
 
 Backhouse, (pronounced exactly Bacchus,) a bakehouse. Sax. 
 bcschus. 
 
 Backside, any ground on the back part of a house — not confined 
 to the court or area behind. It has the same signification in 
 Scotland. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Nicholas Ward, unfortunately smoor'd to death, in sinking for 
 a draw well in his father's backside, 10 Feb. 1716. 
 
 Sharp, Chronicon MiraUle. 
 
16 BACK 
 
 Backstonb, a heated stone for baking upon — a bakestone. Stones 
 were first used for the purpose, and are still in use for oat- 
 cakes. 
 
 As nimble as a cat on a hot backstone.-— Yorkshire Proverb. 
 
 Badger, a cadger or pedlar ; but originally a person who pur- 
 chased grain at one market, and took it on horseback to sell 
 at another. Lat. bajulusy a carrier. Before the roads in the 
 North were passable for waggons and carts, this trade of bad- 
 gering was very extensive. Badger, I understand, is a com- 
 mon name in Lancashire for an ordinary shop-flour and butter 
 dealer. 
 
 Badly, sick, ill. — Sadly badly, very much indisposed.— Bad- 
 ling, a worthless person — a bad one. Sax. bcsdling, homo 
 delicatus. 
 
 Bag, the udder of a cow. Isl. baggi, onus, sarcina. 
 
 Bail, bale, a signal of alarm, a bon-fire. — Bail-hills, or Bale- 
 hills, hillocks on the moors where fires have formerly been. 
 Isl. baly pyra. See Crav. Gloss. Baal-kills. 
 
 Bain, near, ready, easy. Isl. beinn, rectus. Germ, bahn, a path, 
 a beatfen way. — Bainer way, a nearer way. 
 
 Bairn, a child. Sax. beam. Moe.-Got. barn. It is the same 
 in the Islandic and Danish languages. The word is written 
 by old English writers beam, beame. In All's Well, in the 
 dialogue between the Countess and the Clown, it is observed, 
 that " beams are blessings ;" and in the Winter's Tale, when 
 the shepherd finds Perdita, he exclaims, " mercy on's, a 
 beame/ a very pretty beamed Among the vulgar — espe- 
 cially the pitmen — ^bairn is applied to a female child only. 
 By the favour of a friend I am enabled to present the reader 
 with the following illustration of this confined meaning of the 
 word, from their own phraseology. " Assa ! wor wife's getten 
 her bed, mun." — " No !— ist a lad or a bab-n, then ?" " Wey 
 guess."— " Mebbies a iairw P"— " No." " Mebbies a lad, 
 then ?" " Odd smash thou's a witch, or somebody's telt th'." 
 In Shakspeare's time, it would seem that a child signified a 
 
BANG 17 
 
 VLfemale^ in contradistinction to a male infant; though it ap- 
 pears from Warton that it was once just the reverse. 
 
 A boy, or child, I wonder. — Winter'' s Tale. 
 
 Bairnish, silly, childish, having the manners of a child. 
 
 Bairnless, childless, without progeny. Sax. bearnleas. 
 
 Bairns'-play, the sport of children, any sort of trifling. 
 
 Bairn-team, a large family, a brood of children, or lots of 
 bairns. Sax. bearn-team, liberorum sobolis procreatio. 
 
 Baist, to beat severely. Isl. bej/sta, to strike. Swed. basa, to 
 beat. In Scotland they use this word in the sense of to over- 
 come ; particularly at cards, where one has lost considerably. 
 It is also used as a substantive — one who is overcome. 
 
 Baith, Beath, B'yeth, both. V. Jam. bathe. 
 
 Ballant, a ballad. This is the general pronunciation among 
 the vulgar, in the North of England, as well as throughout 
 Scotland. 
 
 Ball-money, money demanded of a marriage company, and 
 given to prevent their being maltreated. In the North it is 
 customary for a party to attend at the church gates, after a 
 wedding, to enforce this claim. The gift has received this 
 denomination, as being originally designed for the purchase of 
 a foot-ball. 
 
 Ba ! LOU ! a nurse's lullaby. Thought by some to be a cor- 
 ruption of the French nurse's threat in the fable : He bas I Id 
 le loup I hush ! there's the wolf; an etymology not less fan- 
 ciful than ingenious. In Scotland it is balow ; as in Lady 
 Bothwell's Lament. 
 
 Bane, (North. J — B'yan (Newc.Jy a bone. Sax. ban. Teut. 
 bein. 
 
 Ban-fire, Bon-fire, a fire kindled on the heights at appointed 
 places in times of rejoicing. Notwithstanding what Mr. Todd 
 has alleged as to the primitive meaning of the word, I remain 
 of opinion that 6on<?-fire is a corruption. See Bail. 
 
 Bang, v. to thump, to handle roughly. Su.-Got. and Isl. 
 banga. Teut. bangelen. A friend considers this word not 
 
18 BANG 
 
 local ; but surely " Bang her amang her een"--hit her 
 between the eyes, is a Ae|<5 not to be understood by uniniti- 
 ated South country ears. 
 Bang, v. to beat, to exceed, to surpass, to excel. 
 Hamham was headless, Bradford breadless, 
 
 Shaftoe picked at the craw ; 
 Capheaton was a wee bonny place, 
 
 But Wallington hangs them a*. — Northumb. Ballad. 
 
 Bang, *. a leap, a severe blow. In a bang, suddenly, violently. 
 
 Banger, any thing larger in proportion to the rest of its species. 
 V. Todd's John, banging. 
 
 Bankrout, a vulgar name for a bankrupt ; and, judging by the 
 etymology, the right word. Fr. banquerout. Ital. bancorotto. 
 Teut. banchrote. According to the compilers of the Diction- 
 naire de Trevoux, the term originally came from the Italians, 
 who formerly transacted their business in a public place, and 
 had coffers in which they counted their money. When a mer- 
 chant found his affairs in disorder, and returned not to this 
 place of business, it was said that his banco, or coffer, was 
 rotto, broken. 
 
 Bannock, a thick cake of oaten or barley meal, kneaded with 
 water ; originally baked in the embers, and toasted over again 
 on a girdle when used. Gael, bonnack, a cake. Irish, boin- 
 neog. Some, however, think that it may be from Isl. baun, 
 a bean ; such cakes having formerly been made of bean meal. 
 
 Bany, B'yany, bony, having large bones. Sc. bainie. 
 
 Bar, v. to shut, to close. " Bar the door" — shut the door. 
 ** Bar the yet" — close the gate. — Bar, s. the gate of a town. 
 
 Bargh, Berg, a hill, or steep way. Su.-Got. berg, mons. V, 
 Ihre. 
 
 Bar-guest, a local spirit or demon ; represented as haunting 
 populous places, and accustomed to howl dreadfully at mid- 
 night, before any dire calamity. Perhaps from Dut. berg, a 
 hill, and geest, a ghost. Grose, however, describes it as " a 
 ghost all in white, with large saucer eyes, commonly appear- 
 ing near gates or stiles, there called bars. — Yorksh. Derived 
 
BAST 10 
 
 from bar and gheist." But see Drake's Eboracum, p. 7, Ap- 
 pendix ; where it is supposed to come from Sax. burhy a town, 
 and gasty a ghost — signifying a town sprite. 
 
 Bark, a box for holding candles ; formerly made of barh^ and 
 sometimes so still. 
 
 Bark, v. to cough. — Bark, s. a cough. " What a bark he's 
 got. 
 
 Barge-day, Ascension day ; when the Mayor of Newcastle and 
 the River Jury make an aquatic perambulation in barges, ac- 
 cording to ancient custom. 
 
 Barked, Barkened, Barcled, covered with dirt, clotted, hard- 
 ened. Isl. barktty cutem induere. 
 
 Barker, a tanner — so denominated from barJcy the great article 
 used in Uis trade. The word is pure Danish. " The com- 
 pany of Barkers" — Newc. 
 
 Barkhaam, a draught-horse's collar; formerly made of bark. 
 
 Barney-Castle, the old, and still the vulgar, name of Barnard- 
 Castle.— i>Mr. ^^Barney-Castle gingerbread i" the best in 
 world. 
 
 The rebells have gevyn over the sege of Barney-Castle. 
 
 Sadler's State Papers, 1569. 
 
 Barley, to bespeak or claim. " Barley me that" — I bespeak 
 that — let me have that. Quasi, in corrupt contraction, " by 
 your leave me that." But see Wilb. vo. balloiv. 
 
 Barrel-fever, an illness occasioned by intemperate drinking — 
 the frequent effect of a too copious sacrifice to the jolly god. 
 
 Baseler, a person who takes care of neat cattle. — North. 
 
 Bass, Bast, matting. Isl. bast, philyra. Bass, is also the name 
 of a hassock to kneel upon at church. Likewise, in York- 
 shire, the slaty part of coal after it is burnt white. 
 
 Baste, to put a tar mark upon sheep. It is done with a tarred 
 stick; and may therefore be derived from old Fr. basten, a 
 stick. It is a variation of Buist, Beust, or Bust ; which see. 
 
 Bastile, a fortified building; similar to a Peel; which see. 
 Bastillus, in the sense of a tower or bulwark, occurs in 
 
20 BAT 
 
 Hcarne*s edition of Elmham in Vit. Hen. V. ; and bastelle, 
 with the same meaning, is to be found in old French writers, 
 as is also bastUlery to besiege. Hence the name of the noto- 
 rious Bastile of Paris — that tremendous fortress — 
 
 Full of such dark, deep, damp, chill dungeons of horror and 
 silence, 
 of which no reader requires to be reminded. The ruins of 
 many of these strong-holds are to be found in that extensive 
 tract of country in Northumberland, upon which once stood 
 the famed Forest of Rothbury ; and in most Border villages 
 of antiquity. 
 
 Bat, a blow or stroke. Old Gothic, bata, to beat. — Last-bat, a 
 play among children. See Tig. 
 
 Bat, state or condition. " At the same ia^," signifying in the 
 same manner ; " at the atcd bat,* as formerly. Bat also sig- 
 nifies speed ; as, " to go at a great baty'' to go at great speed. 
 
 Batten, v, to feed, to bring up, to thrive. Sax. batan, to fatten. 
 Swed. betUy to feed. " The wife a good church going and a 
 battening to the bairUy^ is a common toast at the gossip's feast 
 on the birth of a child. 
 
 Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, and hatten on 
 this moor — Sltak. Hamkt. 
 
 Batten, or Battin, s. the straw of two sheaves folded together. 
 I have been referred to Germ, beyihun^ to join ; formed from 
 bcy^ double or both, and thun, to do or make. Sax. ba tiva, 
 both twoy i. e. two together, seems analogous. 
 
 Batts, low flat grounds adjoining rivers, and sometimes islands 
 in rivers. V. Jam. Supp. ana. 
 
 Bauk, Balk, a cross beam or dormant. Germ. balk. Dut. 
 balcky a beam. " To be thrown ourC balk^^ is, in the West 
 Riding of Yorkshire, to be published in the church. ** To 
 hing ourt' balk," is marriage deferred after publication. V. 
 Crav. Gloss, balk. Before the Reformation, as observed by 
 the author of that amusing little work, the laity sat exclusive- 
 ly in the nave of the church. The balk here appears to be the 
 
BEAS 21 
 
 rood beam, which separated the nave from the chancel. The 
 expression, therefore, would seem to mean, to be helped into 
 the choir, where the marriage ceremony was performed. 
 
 Bauks, or Balks, the grass ridges dividing ploughed lands; 
 properly those in common fields. Also lengths of solid un- 
 broken land left by a bad ploughman. Isl. baulk-ur^ lira in 
 agro, vel alia soli eminentia minor. Bauks are not so common 
 as they used to be when land was ploughed by oxen. 
 
 Bauks, or Balks, a place above a cow-house, where the beams 
 are covered with wattles and turf, and not boarded — a hen- 
 roost, or hay-loft. Mr. Wilbraham supposes the hay-loft is so 
 called, from its being divided into different compartments by 
 balks or beams. Balk in the old northern languages is a sepa- 
 ration or division j and the word is used for capita, or chap 
 ters, in the titles of the ancient Swedish laws. V. Ihre, in 
 voce, balk. 
 
 Bawm, to dress, to adorn. — West. Mr. Wilbraham calls this a 
 good old word, quoting Nychodemus' Gospell, 4to. 1532; 
 and derives it from Su.-Got. bo^ boa, to prepare. Isl. bua, is 
 the same. 
 
 Baxter, an implement used for baking cakes upon ; common in 
 old houses. 
 
 Bay, to bend. Sax. bygan. Whence a bay window (Shak. 
 Twelfth Night) — also bay-ice, fresh ice, which is thin enough 
 to bend. Capt. Ross explains bay-ice, " newly formed ice, of 
 the same colour as the water;" but the above is probably the 
 true origin. 
 
 Beaker, a large drinking vessel, usually of glass, a rummer or 
 tumbler-glass. In Scotland it is called a bicker, and made of 
 wood. Germ, becher, Dan, bceger, a cup. The word is also 
 used figuratively to express any other large thing. 
 
 Beal, to roar. Sax. bellan. Tent, bellen, to bellow. Beal, 
 bellow, and bawl, all seem cognate. 
 
 Beastlings, the milk of the cow for a short time after calving. 
 Sax. bysting. The pronunciation in Cumberland is beastings; 
 and in Scotland beistins. 
 
n BEAS 
 
 Beastling-pudding, a pudding made of the first milk of a 
 cow — a favourite dish with many people. In Scotland they 
 boil this milk into a thick consistence, which is called beisten 
 cheese. 
 
 Beatment (vulgarly pronounced Beakment), a measure of about 
 a quarter of a peck; much used in Newcastle. Mention 
 occurs of a beatment, and also of a milner*s beatment, in an old 
 book of the Society of Coopers, 1670. It has been suggested 
 to me that beatment may be an abatement, a small quantity 
 given in to abate the price ; but I should rather incline to 
 think it more nearly allied to beetment, a supply, a ration. 
 See Beet. 
 
 Bear, four-rowed barley. Sax. bere. This used to be the only 
 species cultivated in Northumberland, though it is now rarely 
 sown, except on crude soil. 
 
 Bear-stone, a large stone mortar, or trough, made use of by our 
 ancestors in the North, to unhusk their bear or barley, as a 
 preparation for the pot, long before barley-mills were invented. 
 
 Beas, Beess, cows, cattle ; but never, I think, applied to sheep. 
 Sc. baiss. Obviously a corruption of beasts. In some parts 
 of Scotland, the horse, by way of eminence, is denominated the 
 beast ; no other animal receiving that designation. 
 
 Beck, v, to nod the head ; properly to courtesy by a female, as 
 contradistinguished from bowing in the other sex. Isl. b^ga. 
 Germ, beigen, to bow. Beck, s. a com"tesy. 
 
 So sone as she knew who was her hostesse, after she had made 
 a beck to the rest of the women standing next to the doore, 
 she went to her and kissed her. 
 
 Sadler's State Papers, Vol. II. p. 505. 
 
 Beck. A horse is said to beck when its legs are weak. 
 
 Beck, s. a mountain stream or small rivulet, a brook. Common 
 to all the northern dialects. Hickes (Gram. Franc. Theotis- 
 ca, p. 92,) says, the word came from the Normans to the 
 French, and from the Danes to the Northern inhabitants of 
 England. See Burn. 
 
BELL 23 
 
 Becrike, a sort of half oath — b^ Christ ? See under Labber- 
 
 ING. 
 
 Beds, called also Scotch-hop, a game of children; in which 
 they hop on one foot through different spaces chalked out, 
 called beds. V. Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 286. 
 
 Bee-Bike, a bee's nest, or hive, in a wild state. Teut. bie-bock, 
 bie-buyek, apiarium. 
 
 Beeld, shelter, warmth ; hence Beelding, a place of shelter for 
 cattle, or any covered habitation. Isl. boele^ domicilium. 
 
 Beeldy, warm, affording shelter from cold. " Beeldy flannel." 
 
 Beerness, the cellar or other place where the beer is kept ; and 
 so milkness for a dairy, or milk-house. 
 
 Beet, to help or assist, to supply the gradual waste of any thing. 
 Isl. betray emendare. Dut. boeten, to mend. Sax. betan^ res- 
 taurare. To beet the fire y is to feed it with fuel. The word, 
 in this latter sense, is most applicable to straw, heath, fern, 
 furze, and especially to the husk of oats, when used for heat- 
 ing girdles on which oaten cakes are baked. Teut. boeten het 
 vier, struere ignem. 
 
 Beet-need, resource, assistance in case of need. Applied, also, 
 to the person affording it ; as a helper or assistant on particu- 
 lar occasions. See the preceding article. 
 
 BeEZen, or Beesen, blind. Sax. bisen, csecus. 
 
 Belikely, probably. An old word, used by Bishop Hall. 
 
 Belive, anon, by and by, quickly, briskly, or immediately. It is 
 a word of great antiquity; as it occurs in a passage in the 
 Anglo-Normannic poem, printed in Hickes' Thesaurus, Vol. I. 
 p. 224. It is also found in our elder poetry. 
 
 Belk, to belch. The old mode of writing the word. The 
 Saxon J'C was either hard or soft. V. H. Tooke, Vol. II. 
 p. 138. Hence sh or ch, and sk or kj are frequently converti- 
 ble. 
 
 Seller, to cry aloud, to bellow. Sax. bellan. See Beal. 
 
 Bellicon, one addicted to the pleasures of the table— a belly' 
 god. 
 
 Belly-go-lake-thee, take your fill, satisfy your appetite. — York. 
 
f4 BELL 
 
 Bklly-wark, the gripes or colick. Wark (which see) is inva- 
 riably used for ache. 
 
 Bene, a benison, or blessing. Sax. bene, prayers. See Clap- 
 benny. 
 
 Bensel, to beat or bang. Teut. benghelen, caedere fustibus. 
 
 Bent, a long kind of grass, which grows in Northumberland, 
 near the sea, and is used for thatch. Dr. Willan has Bents, 
 high pastures or shelving commons ; hence, he says, bent- 
 grass, which, from the soil, is necessarily harsh and coarse. 
 
 Berry, to thrash corn. Isl. beria, pulsare. Su.-Got. baeria, 
 has the same signification. " WuU is berrying in the bam.'* 
 Berrier, a thrasher of corn. 
 
 Berry-pie, a gooseberry-pie. A rank provinciality. 
 
 Beseek, the present provincial pronunciation oi beseech. It is the 
 old and genuine form of the word, and so used by our early 
 poets. 
 
 Betterness, a. superior, eminent. " A betternessVmdi of body." 
 
 Be-twattled, confounded, overpowered, stupified, infatuated. 
 
 Beuk, Buke, the common pronunciation of book. Mae.-Got. 
 Su.-Got. Isl. and Sax. boc. The Northern nations, no 
 doubt, gave this name to a book, from the beech-tree, of which 
 it was first made, in the same manner as the Latins adopted 
 the designation liber, and the Greeks that of /3<€ao?, from the 
 materials on which it was customary for them respectively to 
 write. 
 
 Bevel, a violent push or stroke. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Bever, to tremble, to quake with fear. Sax. befian, trepidare. 
 
 Bibber, to tremble, to shake. There is a great similarity be- 
 tween this word and Alem. Franc, bibun, tremere. 
 
 Bicker, s. a small wooden dish, or vessel, made of staves and 
 hoops like a tub. Germ, becher, a cup. Ital. bicchiere. 
 
 Bid, to invite to a wedding, feast, or funeral ; especially to the 
 latter ; in which case the invitation is called a bidding — pro- 
 bably from Sax. biddan, to pray — originally meaning, as Mr. 
 Wilbraham suggests, the offering of prayers for the soul of the 
 deceased. Two or four people, called bidders, are sent about 
 
BISH , 25 
 
 to invite the friends to the funeral, and to distribute the 
 mourning. 
 
 Biddable, obedient, of a compliant temper ; as a biddable child. 
 
 Bide, to stay or remain. Sax. bidan, manere. " Bide off, you 
 stob !'* said a chaise-driver to a boy attempting to get on be- 
 hind; i. e. " remain where you are." 
 
 Big, to build. Sax. byggan^ aedificare. Isl. byggi. Dan. bygge, 
 Swed. bygga. See Biggin. 
 
 Bigg, a coarse kind of barley ; properly that variety which has six 
 rows of grain on each ear, though often confounded with what 
 is called bear^ or four-rowed barley. Isl. bygg, barley. Su.- 
 Got. bing. Dan. byg. There is a street in Newcastle called 
 the Bigg-market. 
 
 BiGGEN, to recover after lying-in. The gossips regularly wish 
 the lady a good biggening. Is it to be again f 
 
 Biggin, a building ; properly a house larger than a cottage, but 
 now generally used for a hut covered with mud or turf. Isl. 
 bigging, structura. Swed. byggning^ an edifice. The word 
 enters largely into the composition of local names in the 
 North. 
 
 Bilder, a wooden mallet, with a long handle, used in husbandry 
 for breaking clods. Hence, observes the author of the Cra- 
 ven Glossary, balderdash, may with propriety be called dirt 
 spread by the bilder, alias bilderdasher. This etymon is cer- 
 tainly as happy as that of Mr. Malone— the froth or foam 
 made by the barbers in dashing their balls backwards and for- 
 wards in hot water. See, however, Blather. 
 
 Bing, a provincialism for binj as w'me-bing ; corn-bing. 
 
 BiNK, a seat of stones, wood, or sods; especially one made 
 against the front of a house. Sax. bene. Dan. btenlc, a bench, 
 or seat. 
 
 BiRK, the birch tree. JSehila alba. Sax. birc. Teut. berck. 
 
 BisHOPBRiG, or BisHOPRiG, Bishopricj by which name the coun- 
 ty of Durham is always called by way of eminence. It was 
 made a Palatinate soon after, if not anterior to, the Norman 
 Conquest — the Bishop exercising within the county jura 
 
26 BISH 
 
 regalia as fully as the king had in his palace : regalenipotestateni 
 in oinnibus, as Bracton (who wrote in the reign of Henry III.) 
 expresses it. Hence the maxim, Quicquid Rex habet extra 
 Episcopus habet intra. But most of these princely honours 
 and privileges were divested ** at one fell swoop" by the act 
 of a monarch, to whom one is prevented, by respect for roy- 
 alty, from giving the epithet he deserves. 
 
 BisHOP's-FOOT. When any thing has been burnt to the pan in 
 boiling, or is spoiled in cooking, it is common to say, " the 
 Bishop has set his foot in it." The author of the Craven 
 Glossary, under bishoppedy says, " pottage burnt. at the bottom 
 of the pan. * Bishop's i' th' pot,' may it not be derived from 
 Bishop Burnet?" That is impossible; the saying having 
 been in use long before the Bishop was born ! It occurs in 
 Tusser's " Points of Husbandry," a well known book ; and 
 also in Tyn dale's " Obedyence of a Chrysten Man," printed in 
 1528. The last writer, p. 109, says, " when a thynge spead- 
 eth not well we borowe speach and say the byshope hath 
 blessed it, because that nothynge speadeth well that they 
 medyll withall. If the podech be burned to, or the meate 
 over rosted, we say the byshope has put hisfote in the potte, 
 or the byshope hath played the coke, because the byshopes 
 BURN who they lust and whosoever displeaseth them." This 
 allusion to the episcopal disposition to burn heretics, in a cer- 
 tain reign, presents a satisfactory explanation of the origin of 
 the phrase. 
 
 Bit, without the preposition after it ; as, a " bit bread," a " bit 
 bairn." 
 
 Bite, or Bight, a bend or curve in a river — like an elbow. 
 Probably from Sax. bygan, flectere. 
 
 Bittle, v. to beat, especially hemp, or grain out of gleanings.— 
 Bittle, s. the mallet, or beetle^ used for the purpose. 
 
 Bizon, a show or spectacle of disgrace. Sax. bysen^ bysn^ ex- 
 emplum, exemplar. In unguarded moments, when the good 
 women in certain districts of Newcastle, glad of any opportu- 
 nity of giving free license to their privileged member, indulge 
 
BLAC 27 
 
 in acts of termagancy rivalling any Billingsgate vocabulary, it 
 is common to fulminate the object of their resentment with a 
 " Holy Bizon j'* obviously in allusion to the penitential act of 
 standing in a white sheet, which scandalous delinquents are 
 sometimes enjoined to perform in the church before the whole 
 congregation. 
 
 A fixed figure for the hand of scorn 
 To point his jslow unmoving finger at. 
 
 In this sense the word seems connected with Teut. bcesinne, 
 arnica. 
 BizoN, a shame or scandal, any thing monstrous or excessive. 
 
 Wiv a' the st^avaigin aw wanted a munch, 
 
 An' maw thropple was ready to gizen ; 
 So aw went tiv a yell-house, and there teuk a lunch. 
 
 But the reck'ning, me saul ! was a bizon. 
 
 Song, Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Bizz, to buz? ; conformable to its Teutonic origin, bizzen. 
 
 Black-a-vi/d, dark in complexion — black visaged. 
 
 Black-bowwowers, bramble-berries— the fruit of the Rvhiis 
 fructigosus. — North. See Bummel-kite. 
 
 Black-Monday, the first day of going to scoool after the vaca- 
 tion ; so denominated, no doubt, from the Black-Monday re- 
 corded in our history; for which see Stowe. The day follow- 
 ing is called Bloody Tuesday. 
 
 Black-neb, a provincial name for the carrion crow, which is 
 thought to be more numerous in- the north of England, than 
 in any country in the world. 
 
 Black-puddeNj^Black-pudding, a pudding made of blood, suet, 
 &c. stuffed into the intestines of a pig or sheep. I take notice 
 of the word because this savoury and piquant delicacy is a 
 standing dish among the common people in the North ; and it 
 affords me an opportunity of rescuing from oblivion, the pecu- 
 liar cries of the present Newcastle venders of this boudin or- 
 dinaire. — " A nice black-pudden, man ! " "A nice hct pudderiy 
 hinnie I" "A nice/a^ pudden, maw jewel t" 
 
28 BLAK 
 
 Blake, yellow, or of a golden colour; spoken of butter, cheese, 
 &c. Sax. blccc. Dut. bleeky pale. Hence, the yellow bunt- 
 ing (emheriza citrineUaJ is, in some places, called a blakeling. 
 
 Blake autumn— CAaW^rfon. 
 
 Blake, cold, exposed, bleak. " Blakelaw." — North. 
 
 Blaring, crying vehemently, roaring loud; applied to peevish 
 children and vulgar drunken noise ; as well as to the " music 
 of calves." Dut. blaaren. 
 
 Blash, to throw dirt ; also to scatter, to plash ; as the " water 
 blashed all over." Germ, platzen. 
 
 Blashcanter, Blashment, any weak and diluting liquor. 
 
 Blashy, thin, poor ; as blashy beer, &c. It also means wet and 
 dirty. Dr. Jamieson has i/flwA,a heavy fall of rain. 
 
 Blast, an explosion of foul air in a coal mine. In less philoso- 
 phic times, the fatal effects of fire-damp were attributed to the 
 agency of subterraneous demons, the viruncxdi montani of the 
 Swedes and Germans; one of whom, according to George 
 Agricola, the great metallurgist, — who seems to have been as 
 remarkable for his credulity as his erudition — destroyed an 
 hundred men by the blast of his poisonous breath/ 
 
 Blate, v. to bleat or bellow. Sax. blcetan, balare. Dryden 
 uses blatant, in the sense of, bellowing as a calf. So Spenser 
 calls detraction, the blatant beast. The puritanical Prj'nne, in 
 his Histrio'Mastix, very unceremoniously stigmatizes the 
 Church music of the day — the " bleating of brute beasts." 
 
 Blate, a. shy, bashful, timid. Su.-Got. blode. " A toom 
 (empty) purse makes a blate merchant." — Scotch Proverb. 
 
 Blather, to talk a great deal of nonsense. " He blathers and 
 talks," is a common phrase where much is said to little pur- 
 pose. A person of this kind is, by way of pre-eminence, styl- 
 ed a blathering hash. One of my correspondents derives the 
 word from blatant, used by Spenser and others ; another in- 
 geniously suggests that it may be " from the noise of an empty 
 bladder ;" but it manifestly appears to me to be from Teut. 
 blceteren, to talk foolishly ; an etymology supported by 
 
BLEB 29 
 
 Su.-Got. bladdra, garrire, and Swed. hladra, to babble. Hence, 
 Blatherdash, Balderdash^ idle discourse, silly talk. See 
 
 BiLDER. 
 
 Blaw, to blow, to sound a horn. Sax. blawan. Ritson has 
 published the following Lamentation on the death of Sir 
 Robert de Nevill, Lord of Raby, in 1282; alluding to an 
 ancient custom, of offering a stag at the high altar of Durham 
 Abbey on Holy-rood-day, accompanied with the winding of 
 horns. 
 
 Wel-i-wa, sal ys homes llawy 
 
 Holy -rode this day ; 
 Nou es he dede, and lies law. 
 
 Was wont to llaw tham ay. 
 
 Blaw, to breathe thick and quick after violent exertion ; applied 
 to man or beast. Mrs. Page, on an accidental occasion, was 
 " sweating and blowing, and looking wildly." 
 
 Blaze, to take salmon by striking them with a three pronged 
 and barbed dart, called a Leister; which see. I have often 
 seen it practised in an evening, in the River Tees. In Cra- 
 ven, a torch was made of the dry bark of holly, besmeared 
 with pitch. The water was so transparent that the smallest 
 pebbles were visible at the bottom of the river. One man 
 carried the torch (when dark) either on foot or on horseback, 
 while another, advancing with him, struck the salmon on the 
 red, or roed part, with the leister. V. Crav. Gloss, bloazing. 
 
 Blea, Blee, bluish, pale, or lead colourc Germ, blej/, lead. 
 The word is sometimes used to denote a bad colour in linen, 
 indicating the necessity of bleaching. It is also applied to the 
 discolouration of the skin by a blow or contusion. In this 
 latter sense it seems allied to Fr. bleu. 
 
 Blea-berry, Blay-berry, the bilberry, or black whortle berry. 
 Isl. blaber, vaccinium vulgare myrtillus. 
 
 Bleb, Blob, a drop of water or bubble. Dut bobbel. Swed. 
 bubla. Also a blister, or rising of the skin. Germ, blaeny to 
 swell. 
 
30 BLEE 
 
 Bleb, or Blea, colour, complexion. An old word; from Sax. 
 
 bleOf color — not yet obsolete. 
 
 Bleed, to yield; applied to corn ; which is said to " bleed welly* 
 when on thrashing it happens to be very productive. Fr. 
 bled, 
 
 Blendings, or Blendlings, a mixture of peas and beans. Swed. 
 blandningy a medley ; from blanda, to mix. 
 
 Bun, to stop, to cease, to desist. Sax. blinnan, cessare, desi- 
 nere. The word, indeed, occurs in almost, all the ancient 
 northern languages, although variously formed. V. Jam. 
 
 Blink, v. to smile, to look kindly, but with a modest eye ; the 
 word being generally applied to females. Dan. blink, a glimpse. 
 — Blink, s. a smile, as well as a glance. 
 
 Blinkard, Blenkard, a person near sighted or almost blind. 
 
 Blirt, Blurt, to cry, to make a sudden indistinct or unpleasant 
 noise. " What's thou blirtin* at, lad." — Blirt, is also used, 
 both in the north of England and' in Scotland, when a candle 
 burns in the socket, and gives an imsteady light — a blirting 
 light. 
 
 Bloacher, any large animal. I know not its etymology ; unless 
 it can be connected with bloat, in a sense used by Addison, — 
 " I cannot but be troubled to see so many well-shaped inno- 
 cent virgins bloated up, and waddling up and down like big- 
 bellied women." 
 
 Blob, a peculiar mode of fishing for eels. 
 
 Blonk, a blank.— Blonked, disappointed, defeated of expecta- 
 tion. From the verb blank, to damp ; used by Shakspeare. 
 
 But aw fend maw sel blanked when to Lunnen aw gat. 
 
 The folks they a' luck'd wishy washy ; 
 For gowld ye may bowk 'till ye're blind as a bat. 
 
 For their streets are like wors — brave and blashy ! 
 
 Song, Canny Neiecassel. 
 
 Blousy, or Blowsy, wild, disordered, confused. Dr. Johnson 
 
 has blowzy, sun burnt, high coloured. 
 Blower, a fissure in the broken strata of coal, from which a 
 
 feeder or current of inflammable air discharges, and owing to 
 
BOBB 31 
 
 the explosion of which such heart-rending misfortunes have 
 occurred in so many of our collieries. 
 
 To give detailed accounts of the tremendous accidents, owing 
 to this cause, would be merely to multiply pictures of death 
 and human misery. The phenomena are always of the 
 same kind. The miners are either immediately destroyed 
 by the explosion, and thrown, with the horses and machi- 
 nery, through the shaft into the air, the mine becoming, as 
 it were, an enormous piece of artillery, from which they are 
 projected ; or they are gradually suffocated, and undergo a 
 more painful death, from the carbonic acid and azote remain- 
 ing in the mine after the inflammation of the fire damp ; or 
 what, though it appears the mildest, is perhaps the most 
 severe fate, they are burnt or maimed, and often rendered 
 incapable of labour and of healthy enjoyment for life. 
 
 Sir H. Davy on the Safety Lamp, p. 3, 4. 
 
 Blown-milk, skimmed milk. I suppose from the custom of 
 blowing the cream off by the breath. It is also called blue 
 milk. Blawn-milk, my friend Mr. Kinloch informs me, is 
 used in Scotland to milk that is slightly soured by the air — 
 vnnded. 
 
 Blubber, " the part of a whale that contains the oil." Todd*s 
 Johnson. But it is, in fact, the fat of whales. 
 
 Blue-snaw, the supposed result of some unexpected domestic 
 occurrence. 
 
 Blush, resemblance. He has a blush of his brother; that is, he 
 bears a resemblance to him. 
 
 Blusteration, the noise or blustering of a braggart. 
 
 Bob, to disappoint. A dri/ bob is an old term for a sneering 
 joke, or any secret stroke or sarcasm. 
 
 What, bobb'd of all sides? 
 
 Beaum. ^ Flet. Monsieur Thomas. 
 
 Bob, a bunch. Isl. bobbiy nodus. Fr. bube. " Bob 6* ribbons." 
 BoBBEROus, BoBBERsoME, hearty, elated, in high spirits. 
 Bobbery, or Bubbery, a quarrel, noise, uproar, or disturbance. 
 
3» BOBB 
 
 Bobby, smart, neat, tidy. " The varry hobby-o.** 
 
 Bode, a price, or sum bid— an offer at a sale. Germ, boty lici- 
 tatio et pretium oblatum ; which Wachter derives from bieteuy 
 ofFerre. 
 
 BoDwoRD, an ill-natured errand. An old word for an ominous 
 message. Su.-Got and Isl. bodword^ edictum, mandatum. 
 
 Boggle, Boggle-bo, a spectre or ghost, a nursery bug-bear. — 
 North, and Dur. Celtic, bwgy a goblin. Welsh, bogcluy to 
 affright — bugul, fear. In West, and York, the word is bog- 
 gard, or BOGGART. 
 
 Boggle about the stacks, a favourite pastime among young peo- 
 ple in the country villages, in which one hunts several others 
 between the stacks in a corn yard. The diversion was former- 
 ly called barley break^ or barley brake^ and was once an at- 
 tractive amusement for persons of both sexes " in life's rosy 
 prime." 
 
 At e'en, in the gloaming, nae younkers are roaming, 
 ^Bout ftacluy with the lasses at bogle to play. 
 
 Flowers of the Forest. 
 
 Boiling, the entire quantity, the whole party. A metaphor 
 from brewing ; as batch is from baking. 
 
 Boke, to belch. Sax. bealcan. Dut. boken. See Bowk. 
 
 BoLDON Buke, Boldon Book, an ancient survey of all the lands 
 within the County Palatine of Durham, held in demesne, or 
 by tenants in villenagej taken in the year 1183 by order of 
 Bishop Hugh Pudsey. This ambitious prelate, styled by 
 Lambarde, " the joly Byshop of Durham," exercised all the 
 state of a sovereign in his own Palatinate, in which there were 
 many royal rights ; and probably it was in some degree in con- 
 sequence of these exclusive privileges, that, when the Con- 
 queror's General Census, or Domesday Book, was made, the 
 bishopric of Durham was not included ; though the bishop's 
 property, as a tenant in capite, in other counties, is specifically 
 mentioned in that great national record. The Boldon Book, 
 therefore, forms a valuable Supplement to Domesday ; and is 
 
BOND 33 
 
 of great importance to the See of Durham, having been fre- 
 quently appealed to and admitted as evidence, on the part of 
 succeeding Bishops, to ascertain their property and seigneurial 
 rights. Besides its value to the topographer, it is highly in- 
 teresting to the antiquary and historian. It tends greatly to 
 elucidate the English tenures, manners, and customs of the 
 twelfth century ; and contains many words which are not to 
 be found in Du Cange, or any of his continuators. This ve- 
 nerable record probably derived its name from Boldon, a vil- 
 lage and parish near Sunderland, in the diocese of Durham, 
 where either it was compiled, or according to the census of 
 whose inhabitants other property within the Bishopric was 
 regulated. 
 
 BoLE-HiLLs, a provincial term for heaps of metallic scoria, 
 which ai'e often met with in the lead mine districts. They 
 are the remains of a very ancient mode of smelting lead. It 
 seems clear that the Saxons, as well as the Romans, worked 
 mines in different parts of our island, and frequently made use 
 of lead in works of ecclesiastical magnificence. 
 
 Boll, Bole, the usual corn measure in the north — in some 
 places, two bushels ; in others, six. It is common in Scot- 
 land, where it varies in quantity, in different sorts of grain ; 
 but, I believe, utterly unknown in the south of England. 
 
 Boll, Bole, the body or trunk of a tree. Su.-Got. bol. 
 
 Bo-MAN, a hobgoblin or kidnapper. V. Todd's John. bo. 
 
 BoNDAGER, a cottager, or servant in husbandry, who has a house 
 for the year, at an under rent, and is entitled to the produce 
 of a certain quantity of potatoes. For these advantages he is 
 bound to work, or to find a substitute, when called on, at a fixed 
 rate of wages, lower than is usual in the country. In Nor- 
 thumberland much of this work is performed by the female 
 part of the family, or by children. Swed. bonddrdng, a farm- 
 er's man, a young peasant. This bondage service, the expe- 
 diency of which economists have doubted, may be referred to 
 the villenage tenure of a more barbarous period. In the an- 
 
 - cient feudal ages, the land was generally cultivated by three sorts 
 
34 BONN 
 
 of persons — the smaU allodial tenants, who, though originally 
 freemen, and capable of disposing of their estates, sometimes 
 elected, for the sake of protection, to become the vassals of 
 . their more powerful neighbours — the villeins^ who held on 
 condition of performing such servile works as the lord requir- 
 ed, or their tenure was burthened with — and the serfs^ or 
 villeins regardant, who were literally slaves attached to the 
 soil, and, together with their wives and children, transferred 
 with it by purchase. In cases of great povery and distress, it 
 seems that it was not uncommon for freemen in this country 
 to sell themselves as slaves. Thus, in 1069, Simeon of Dur- 
 ham relates that there was a dreadful famine in England, par- 
 ticularly in Northumberland and the adjacent provinces, and 
 that some sold themselves into perpetual slavery, that they 
 might in some way sustain a miserable life. Many modes by 
 which a man, in a state of villenage, might acquire his freedom, 
 are enumerated by Glanville, and in TTie Mirror. Before 
 writing was much known, the enfranchisement was accom- 
 panied by great publicity and ceremony ; but when it became 
 common, the act was done by deed. The form for the eman- 
 cipation of serfs is minutely described in the laws of the Con- 
 queror ; and various later grants and manumissions may be seen 
 in Madox's Formulare Anglicanum, p. 416, et seq. One of 
 these is remarkable — being an enfranchisement of two villeins 
 for the soul of the Abbot of Bath. To use a quotation that 
 has been applied elsewhere with greater elBTect — 
 
 *• I would not have a slave to till my 'ground. 
 To fan me when I sleep, and tremble when 
 I wake, for all that human sinews, bought 
 And sold, have ever eam'd." 
 
 Bonny, beautiful, pretty, handsome, cheerful. Dr. Johnson 
 derives this northern word from Fr. ban, bonne, good. If 
 this be the etymon, it may have passed to the Scotch from 
 the French ; with whom, before the Union, the inhabitants of 
 Scotland were closely connected. Through this channel our 
 
BOOR 35 
 
 border country has derived much of its language. Bonny, 
 however, has been viewed by some as allied to Gael, boigheachy 
 boidheachy pretty. The word is of frequent occurrence in the 
 plays of Shakspeare, who appears to have understood it in all 
 its diiFerent meanings. 
 
 We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot, 
 
 A cherry lip, a lonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue. 
 
 Richard III. 
 JNIatch to match I have encountered him. 
 And made a prey for carrion kites and crows, 
 
 Ev'n of the bonny beast he lov'd so well. 
 
 2 Henry VI. 
 
 Then sigh not so but let them go, 
 And be you blithe and bonny. 
 
 Much Ado about Nothing. 
 
 BooDiES, the same as Babby Boodies ; which see. 
 
 Boomer, smuggled gin. So called from a place in Northumber- 
 land, where that staggering test of loyalty — the payment of 
 imposts — is impenetrable. 
 
 Boon, a service or bonus, done by a tenant to his landlord, or a 
 sum of money paid as an equivalent. The remains of the 
 ancient bondagium, or villenage servitude; from Sax. bond, 
 bonds or fetters. 
 
 Boon-days, days works, which the tenants of some manors are 
 obliged or bound to perform for the benefit of their lord gratis. 
 Vast quantities of land in the northern counties, particularly 
 in Cumberland, are held under lords of manors by customary 
 tenure, subject to the payment of fines and heriots, and the 
 performance of various duties and services on the boon days, 
 Spelman, vo. precaricB, refers to " biden days, quod Sax. 
 Dies prccarias sonat, nam bidden est orare et precari ;" and 
 gives a curious extract from the Great Book of the Monastery 
 of Battel, where the custom is plainly set forth. 
 
 Boor, Bour, the parlour, or inner room through the kitchen, in 
 country houses, in which the head person of the family gene- 
 rally sleeps. It is undoubtedly to be referred immediately to 
 
3« BOOR 
 
 Sax. bury which bears exactly the same sense. The analogy 
 between this term, and Isl. bur, a little dwelling, from bouan, 
 to dwell, is striking. Spenser uses bower, for a lady's apart- 
 ment. Fair Rosamond's bower, at Woodstock, is familiar to 
 every reader. 
 
 BooRDLY, BuiRDLY, stout, strong, robust J also stately, noble 
 looking. 
 
 BooRLY, rough, unpolished — boorish. Teut. boer. Sax. bure, a 
 boor. 
 
 BooR-TREE, or BouR-TREE, the elder tree. I have heard this 
 explained as the boor's /ree— growing in cottage-garths, hedges, 
 &c. But see Bur-tree. 
 
 Boot, Bote, or Bute, something given to equalize an exchange, 
 or in addition. In the former edition of this work, I gave old 
 Fr. bote, help, advantage, as a probable derivation. Booty, to 
 play booty, i. e. partially, unfair, (with a reference to H. Tooke, 
 But or Bot,) has been since suggested to me ; as has also Sax. 
 butan, to add — that which is added. But I think, on further 
 consideration, that the word has been adopted from the Saxon 
 expression to bote, compensationis gratia, insuper, ex abun- 
 danti. 
 
 Booted Bread, bolted bread, brown bread made of bolted or 
 sifted meal, and better than the common household bread — 
 sometimes with a mixture of rye. Boot may be derived from 
 Germ, beuteln, to sift. 
 
 Boother, Booder, or Bowder, a hard flinty stone, rounded like 
 a bowl. Sc. boulder-stane. V. Todd's John, boulder, and 
 bowlder-stones. 
 
 Borrowed-days, Borrowing-days, the three last days of March. 
 
 March borrowed of April 
 
 Three days, and they were ill : 
 
 The one was sleet, the other was snow, 
 
 The third was the worst that e'er did blow. 
 
 Northern Popular Rhynie. 
 
 These days being generally stormy, our forefathers, as my 
 
BOUN 37 
 
 friend Dr. Jamieson remarks, have endeavoured to account 
 for this circumstance by pretending that March borrowed 
 them from April, that he might extend his power so much 
 longer. The superstitious will neither borrow nor lend any 
 thing on any of these days, lest the article should be employ- 
 ed for evil purposes. 
 
 Boss, empty, hollow, exhausted. Teut. basse, umbo. Jam. 
 
 Botheration, plague, trouble, difficulty. From bothered, per- 
 plexed or puzzled; or, as Grose has it, " talked to at both 
 ears." 
 
 BoTTOM-ROOM, a vulgar term for a single seat in a pew. In Dr. 
 Jamieson's Supplement to his Scottish Dictionary, vo. 
 bottom, " the breech, the seat in the human body," the author 
 states that he has not observed that the word is used in this 
 sense in England. It is, however, very common in all our 
 Northern counties. 
 
 Bought, a fold where ewes are milked. Teut. bocht. 
 
 Bought Bread, bread of a finer quality purchased of the baker, 
 in opposition to a coarser kind made at home. 
 
 BouK, V. to wash linen ; or rather to steep or soak it in lye of a 
 particular description, with a view of whitening and sweetening 
 it. — BouK, s. the lye used on the occasion. Ital. bucato, lye 
 to wash with. But see Jam. Supp. boukin-washing. Buck is 
 used by Shakspeare, as well for the liquor in which clothes are 
 washed as for the clothes themselves. Every one remembers 
 the ludicrous adventure of our fat friend, FalstafF, in the great 
 buck-basket. The process of bouking linen, adopted by the 
 older Northumbrian house-wives, would, I fear, be considered 
 too coarse and homely for their more southern neighbours to 
 imitate, and therefore I refrain from particularizing it. 
 
 BouK, Bowk, bulk, quantity, or size j the body of a tree. Su.- 
 Got. bolk, Chaucer uses bouke, for the trunk of the human 
 body, which Mr. Tyrwhitt says, is probably from Sax. buce, 
 venter. The correspondent term in Swed. is buk. 
 
 BouN, BowNE, bound, destined, engaged, about to go to some 
 place, or to do something. According to Dr. Jamieson, from 
 
38 BOUR 
 
 Su.-Got. boOf to prepare, to make ready, of which boen, or 
 
 boirty is the participle. The word is used in Sir Walter Scott's 
 
 Poems, passim, 
 BouRD, V. to jest. — BoURD, s. a jest. Old Fr. bourd. This is 
 
 one of our oldest words, as Mr. Todd remarks, and is still 
 
 used in the north of England. 
 Bout, a contest or struggle ; esjjecially when applied to a jovial 
 
 meeting of the legitimate sons of Bacchus, where 
 
 The dry divan 
 , Close in firm circle ; and set, ardent, in 
 
 For serious drinking. — TJiomson, 
 
 Bout, a northern pronunciation ofbut. V. Todd's John. but. 
 
 BowDiKiTE, a corpulent man, induced by eating plentifully ; from 
 boiu'df curved, and kite, the belly. The term also betokens 
 contempt, and is often applied to a mischievous child, or an 
 insignificant person. 
 
 BowELL-HOLE, a Small aperture in a barn, a perforation through 
 a wall for giving light or air. V. Jam. Supp. boal. 
 
 Bowery, plump, buxom ; generally applied to a young female in 
 great health. Bowery and buxom are, in reality, the same 
 word; both referrable to Sax. bocsum, obediens, morigerus, 
 flexibilis; in old English boughsome, i. e (according to H. 
 Tooke) easily bended or botved to one's will, or obedient. In 
 an old form of the marriage ceremony in a MS. Rituale in 
 usum Sarum, circa 1450, the bride promised " to be boner & 
 buxny V. Astle on Writing, tab. xxvii. p. 150, specimen 15. 
 
 Bo>vK, Bouk, to nauseate so as to be ready to vomit, to belch, 
 " Bowking full ;" a state of repletion. An old English word. 
 *' He bocketh lyke a churle." — Palsgrave. 
 
 Bowling-match, a game with bowls made of stone — not on 
 bowling-greens y but, to the great annoyance of travellers, on 
 the highways from village to village. 
 
 Box, a club or society instituted for benevolent or charitable pur- 
 poses, and possessing a common chest, or box : — partners in 
 the money deposited in this box; and derived from that 
 
BRAD 39 
 
 circumstance, as lanh is from the bench on which money was 
 placed, weighed, &c. in the good old times of gold and silver. 
 The oldest institution of the kind, which I have been able to 
 trace, is that of the keelmen of Newcastle and the neighbour- 
 hood ; who, on the " head meeting day," after assembling at 
 their hospital, walk in procession through the principal streets 
 of the town, attended by a band of music. Much greater in- 
 terest was formerly manifested in this business by the parties 
 concerned, who made it a point of honourable emulation to 
 rival each other in the grandeur of their apparel ; especially in 
 the pea-jacket^ the sky-blue stockings, the long-quartered 
 shoes, and large silver buckles. Cold was the heart of that 
 female, old or young, connected with the " Keel lads o' coaly 
 Tyne," who could look unmoved on such a spectacle j and if 
 the fair ones did sometimes indulge in scenes which I neither 
 wish to describe nor see repeated, their rencounters, generally 
 commencing without any previous malice, were rarely again 
 remembered. 
 
 Box-dinner, a customary dinner among the members of a society, 
 or box. 
 
 Box AND Dies, Box and Dice. A game of hazard, formerly 
 much practised among the pitmen and keelmen at races, fairs, 
 and hoppings, but now very properly prohibited. 
 
 Brabblement, a noisy quarrel, or indecent wrangling. Dut. 
 brabbelen, to mingle confusedly. Brabble occurs in Shaks- 
 peare, in more instances than one. 
 
 Brack, to break. Sax. brecan, frangere. Sc. brak. 
 
 Bracken, or Brecken, fern. In Smoland, in Sweden, the fe- 
 male fern is called bracken. Sw. Stotbi-aaJcin. In is a termi- 
 nation in Gothic, denoting the female gender. V. Jam. 
 
 Brade, to resemble. Mr. Hunter says, to breed. She breeds 
 of him, she resembles him, or she favours of him, another col- 
 loquialism, and sometimes she favours him. Ray was of the 
 same opinion. But the sense, as Dr. Jamieson has observed, 
 is precisely the same with that of Isl. bregd-a^ bregth-a^ Su.- 
 Got. braay verbs denoting the resemblance of children, in 
 
40 BRAF 
 
 dispositions, to their progenitors. Bregdur harni til aeiiar, 
 progenitoribus suis quisque fere similis est, G. Andr. p. 38. V. 
 Ihre, V. Braa, The latter writer views Isl. brag-ury mos, af- 
 fectio, modus agendi, as the radical term. 
 
 Since Frenchmen are so hraidy 
 Marry that will, I'll live and die a maid. 
 
 Sliak. AlVt Well, ^c. 
 
 The Commentators have mistaken the meaning of this pas- 
 
 : sage. Mr. Steevens refers to bred^ an Anglo-Saxon word, 
 signifying /raM5, astus; but it has no relation. The error also 
 occurs in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Braffasi, Braugham, a collar for a draught horse ; sometimes 
 made of old stockings stuffed with straw. Gael, braighaidain, 
 a collar; from braigh, the neck. Sc. brecham. 
 
 Braid, broad. Sax. brady latus. This is the old English, and 
 still the Northern and Scotch pronunciation. 
 
 Braid, to nauseate, to desire to vomit ; hence upbraid. Braid 
 is an old word for reproach j stated in the first edition of this 
 work to be obsolete, but which, I have since found, is still in 
 use. In Wiclif, Luk. ix. 42, brayde is to tear. 
 
 Braid-Band, corn laid out in the sheaf on the band, and spread 
 out to dry after rain. The phrase occurs in Scotland ; and 
 Mr. Kinloch informs me that it is also used there in a figura- 
 tive sense ; as it\ in the braid-band; i. e. the thing is ready for 
 being finally worked off. 
 
 Braids, scales. In general use among the lower class of farm- 
 ers in Northumberland. 
 
 Braird, or Breard, the first appearance of a plant above ground ; 
 more especially the tender blades of springing corn. Sax. 
 brordy frumenti spicae. 
 
 Brake, a heavy harrow used for breaking large clods of earth on 
 rough fallow land. V. Nares' Gloss, for other significations. 
 
 Branded, having a mixture of red and black. Dut. branden. 
 
 Brander, v. to broil, to grill. Teut. branden, to burn. — Bran- 
 DER, or Brander-iron, the instrument on which the meat is 
 branderedf or grilled — a gridiron. 
 
BRAN 41 
 
 Brand-irons, the same as End-irons; which see. V. Skin. 
 
 and-irons. 
 
 Brandling, a name given to a species of trout caught in the 
 rivers in Northumberland, where salmon is found, particularly 
 in the Tyne. Early in the year they are seen about three 
 inches long, but in the course of a few months increase to six 
 or seven inches ; after which, they are rarely found any larger. 
 Like the salmon-smelt and whitling, they have no spawn. 
 Some authors suppose them to be only the fry of the common 
 salmon ; but Pennant gives several good reasons for consider- 
 ing them a distinct species. They are faintly barred or brand- 
 ed on the sides ; hence, perhaps, the name. Dr. Jamieson 
 traces it to Isl. hranduy trutta minima, whence brand-Jcoedy 
 foetura truttarum. V. Supplement, vo. bravlle. 
 
 Brandling, a small worm found in beds of tan ; a good bait for 
 trout ; probably so called from being used in fishing for the 
 brandling species. 
 
 Brandreth, or Brandrith, an iron tripod fixed over the fire, 
 on which a pot or kettle is placed. Sax. brandred^ a brand 
 iron. Dan. brandrith, 
 
 Brank, v. to hold up the head affectedly, to put a bridle or re- 
 straint on any thing. Ital. branca, a claw or fang, — or by me- 
 tonymy, a gripe : brancare, to seize. This word gives me an 
 opportunity of introducing another of kindred import — the 
 Branks, an instrument kept in the Mayor's Chamber, New- 
 castle, for the punishment of " chiding and scolding women." 
 It is made of iron, fastens round the head like a muzzle, and has 
 a spike to insert in the mouth so as effectually to silence the 
 offensive organ within. Ungallant, and unmercifully severe, as 
 this species of torture seems to be, Dr. Plot, in his History of 
 Stafford shu-e, much prefers it to the cucking stool, which, he 
 says, " not only endangers the health of the party, but also 
 gives the tongue liberty 'twixt every dip." See an engraving 
 of Robert Sharp, an officer of the Corporation of Newcastle, 
 leading Ann Bidlestone through the town, with a pair oi branks 
 . on her head, in Gardiner's England's Grievance discovered. 
 
42 BRAN 
 
 orig. edit. p. 110; copied by Brand, in plate " Miscellaneou 
 Antiquities," Vol. II. p. 47. On reference to Wachter, I find 
 prangen, cogere, premere, coarctare. Hence, he says, the 
 pillory is vulgarly called pranger, from the yoke or collar 
 in which the neck of the culprit, thus exposed to public shame, 
 is held. " Muzzle *er, muzzle *er, put 'er on the branks** is 
 yet, I regret to state, to be heard in the good town where I 
 reside. 
 
 Branks, a sort of bridle used by country people on the Borders. 
 — North. Mr. Culley, of Fowberry Tower, who kindly fur- 
 nished me with an extensive MS. List of Local Words, thus 
 describes it : "a halter for leading or riding a horse, when the 
 head stool is made of hemp or birch twigs, and the piece that 
 goes over the nose of two pieces of wood united by hemp or 
 leather-thongs, and a hempen or birch-shank." According to 
 Shaw's Galic Dictionary, brancas is a bridle. See Kilian, 
 under pranghe^ muyl-pranghe. 
 
 Bran-new, Brand-new, Brand-spander-nevv, quite new ; any 
 thing fresh from the maker's hand ; bearing, as it were, his 
 brand, or mark upon it. Often applied to clothes to denote 
 the shining glossy appearance given by passing a hot iron over 
 them. Teut. brand-new. Dut. brand nieuw. Shakspeare 
 uses "fire new arms," and "fire new fortune." In like man- 
 ner, a country blacksmith, on seeing an Honourable Baronet's 
 
 bride for the first time, exclaimed, " its Sir John L , with 
 
 Yiisfire new wife !" 
 
 Brant, steep, difficult of ascent ; as a brant brow, a steep hill. It 
 also means consequential, pompous in one's walk ; as " you 
 seem very brant, this morning," i. e. you put on all your con- 
 sequence. A game cock is said to be brant. Loftiness ap- 
 pears to enter into all the meanings of the word. Isl, brattr, 
 acclivis, arduus. Swed. brant, steep. 
 
 Brash, or Water-brash, s. a sudden sickness, with acid rising 
 in the mouth ; as in the heart-bum. V. Wachter, brassen. — 
 My worthy friend, Mr. Turner, suggests a bursting forth of 
 water; from burst, often pronounced brast; at least in 
 
BRAW ^ 
 
 Cheshire ; where, he says, he has heard this rustic invitation : 
 " Come, surs, eight (i. e. eat) — I can eight no more, I'm welly 
 (well nigh, almost) brosten. Eh, surs, I wud I had aught to 
 hrast ye wi'." 
 
 Brash, a. hasty, impetuous, rash. 
 
 Brashy, delicate in constitution, subject to frequent bodily indis- 
 position, or weakness. V. Jam. hrasli. 
 
 Brass, money, riches. The word of course for wealth when 
 brass was the standard; as cbs was in Rome; <sfgyv^;ov in the 
 cotemporary, but more advanced, states of Greece ; de V argent 
 now in France ; and gold in England. Hence, in the North, 
 a wealthy person is said to have plenty of brass, without being 
 charged with impudence. 
 
 Brat, the film on the surface of some liquids ; as, for instance, 
 that which appears on boiled milk when cooled. 
 
 Brat, a rag, a child's bib, a coarse apron. Sax. hratt^ pannicu- 
 lus. In Scotland it would seem to mean clothing in general ; 
 as in the well-known phrase, " a bit and a hratP 
 
 Brat, a turbot. In the Newcastle fish market the hollibut is 
 called a turbot. 
 
 Bratchet, a contemptuous epithet ; generally applied to an ill- 
 behaved child; and similar in that sense to whelp. Fr. 
 Bratchet^ a slow hound. 
 
 Brattish, a shelf. Also a seat with a high back ; as a screen 
 near the kitchen fire. The word may be derived from Germ. 
 hraten, to roast — the screen within which the roasting is car- 
 ried on ; though I am rather inclined to view it as a corrup- 
 tion ol 'partition^ for which it is used in the pit language of the 
 North. 
 
 Brattle, v. to make a clattering noise, to sound like thunder. — 
 Brattle, s. a clattering noise, a clap of thunder. 
 
 Bravely, in excellent health — however deficient in courage. 
 
 Braw, finely clothed, handsome, Teut. brauwe, ornatus. The 
 word is also used in the sense of, clever, worthy, excellent, 
 strong. Swed. hrafj good — en braf karlj a good man. 
 
44 BRAW 
 
 Waes ! Archy lang was liale an' rank, the king o' laddies Rraw— 
 His wrist was like an anchor shank, his fist was like the claw. 
 
 Song, Bold Archy Drowndcd. 
 
 Brawly, very well, in good health, finely. Swed. braf, well— 
 
 han mdr braf, he is well. 
 Brawn, a common northern name for a boar. V, Tooke, brawn, 
 
 Vol. II. p. 79. 
 
 And there her grace sits mumping, 
 Like an old ape eating a brartm. 
 
 Bcaum. ^ Fid. Mad Lover. 
 
 Mr. Ellis, of Otterboume, to whom I am indebted for seve- 
 ral additional articles to this edition of the Glossary, is of 
 opinion that we should here read prawn ; it being, as he justly 
 remarks, much more natural for the ape to eat a small shell- 
 fish than a boar. I have referred to the original folio of 1647, 
 where it is brawn; but the mistakes in that book are so num- 
 berless that I am not inclined, on its authority, to question the 
 propriety of this, at least very plausible, amendment. One 
 modern edition reads eating brawn. 
 
 " The Brawn of Brancepath," to borrow the description 
 and remarks of my friend, Mr. Surtees, " was a formidable 
 animal, which made his lair on Brandon- hill, and walked the 
 forest in ancient undisputed sovereignty from the Wear to the 
 Gaunless. The marshy, and then woody, vale, extending from 
 Croxdale to Ferry-wood, was one of the brawn's favourite 
 haunts, affording roots and mast, and the luxurious pleasure of 
 volutation. Near Cleves-cross, Hodge of Ferry, after care- 
 fully marking the boar's track, dug a pitfall, slightly covered 
 with boughs and turf, and then toling on his victim by some 
 bait to the treacherous spot, stood armed with his good sword 
 across the pitfall — 
 
 At once with hope and fear his heart rebounds I 
 " At length the gallant brute came trotting on his onward 
 
BREM 45 
 
 path, and seeing the passage barred, rushed headlong on the 
 vile pitfall. The story has nothing very improbable, and 
 something like real evidence still exists. According to all 
 tradition the rustic champion of Cleves sleeps beneath a coffin- 
 shaped stone in Merrington church-yard, rudely sculptured 
 with the instruments of his victory, a sword and spade on each 
 side of a cross." 
 
 Brea, Bree, or Broo, the brink or bank of a river, the steep 
 face of a hill. Gael, and Welsh, bre, a hill. Brae is used in 
 Scotland in a similar sense — " Ye banks and braes of bonny 
 Down." 
 
 Brede, bread — employment. " He*s out o' brede, poor man." 
 
 Brede, breadth or extent. An old English word from the 
 Saxon. See Abrede. Bracton uses brede for broad ; and 
 in that sense I found it in an English indenture, temp. 
 Richard III. 
 
 Breeks, the old, and still vulgar name, for the lower habiliments. 
 Sax. bi'tscy bracccBi breeches. V. Thomson, breeches. 
 
 The bridegroom gaed thro' the reel. 
 
 And his Ireeks cam trodling doun. 
 
 And his hreeks cam trodling doun ; 
 And aye the bride she cried— 
 
 Tie up your leathern whang. 
 
 Tie up your leathern whang. OH Scots Ballad. 
 
 It is proper to mention, that, before the invention of braces, 
 the gentlemen's " smalls" were usually supported by a lea- 
 thern whang, or belt, round the waist. 
 Breme, Brim, v, to desire the male; applied to a sow when 
 maris appetens. Teut. bremen, ardere desiderio. — Breme, 
 Brim, Brimming, s. ardens in venerem. Sax. fervor, ardor, 
 ssstus. 
 
 She was as Iryme as any boare. 
 
 Felon Solve of Rokeby, 
 
 BREaiE, cold, bleak, severe. Sax. bremmarii to rage. Not used. 
 
46 BREN 
 
 Dr. Johnson says ; but I have often heard it In the North ; 
 especially in Yorkshire. 
 
 Brent, steep. Synonymous with Brant; which see. The 
 word occurs in the well-iiiiown Scotch song, John Anderson, 
 my Jo. 
 
 Brere, Brear, to sprout, to prick up as grain does when it first 
 germinates. Bishop Kennett, in his MS. Glossary, among 
 the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum (No. 1098), has 
 to brercy or to be brered, as corn just coming up. See Braird, 
 or Breard. 
 
 Brewis, a large thick crust of bread put into the pot where salt 
 beef is boiling and nearly ready : it attracts a portion of the 
 fat, and when swelled out is no unpalatable dish to those who 
 (like some of our Northern swains) rarely taste animal food. 
 So says Mrs. Bundle, who, I believe, was long a resident in 
 Northumberland. Brewis is also common in Hallamshire, 
 
 . where, Mr. Hunter informs me, the bread used in the prepa- 
 ration of the dish is commonly of oats. After this, I need 
 hardly remark that my venerable friend, Mr. Wilbraham, is 
 mistaken in thinking that it is used only in Cheshire and Lan- 
 cashire. The probable etymon of the word is briwasy the 
 Saxon plural of briwy sorbitio ; though a learned correspon- 
 dent of mine derives it from the Greek (i^aa-i^ ; which he also 
 considers, I think justly, as the original of the Scotch brose, 
 
 Brewster, a brewer. Hence, I conceive, the Brewster Ses- 
 sions, when publicans receive their licenses. 
 
 Brian. To brian an ovetiy is to keep fire at the mouth of it ; 
 either to give light or to preserve the heat. — North. 
 
 Bride-ale, the marriage feast at a rustic wedding. The day of 
 marriage has always been, and it is to be hoped — in spite of 
 disconsolate old maids, and love-crossed bachelors — will ever 
 continue to be, a time of festivity. Among the plebeians in 
 Cumberland it glides away amidst music, dancing, and revelry. 
 Early in the morning, the bridegroom, attended by his friends 
 on horseback, proceeds in a gallop to the house of the bride's 
 
BRID 47 
 
 father. Having alighted, he salutes her, and then the company 
 breakfast together. This repast concluded, the whole nuptial 
 party depart in cavalcade order towards the church, accompa- 
 nied by a fiddler, who plays a succession of tunes appropriate 
 to the occasion. Immediately after the performance of the 
 ceremony the company retire to some neighbouring ale-house, 
 and many a flowing bumper of home-brewed, is quaffed to the 
 health of the happy pair. Animated with this earthly nectar, 
 they set off full speed towards the future residence of the 
 bride, where a handkerchief is presented to the first who ar- 
 rives. In some of the country villages in the county of Dur- 
 ham, after the connubial knot is tied, a ribbon is proposed as 
 the subject of contention either for a foot or a horse race, — 
 supposed to be a delicate substitution for the bride's garter, 
 which used to be taken off while she knelt at the altar ; and 
 the practice being anticipated, the garter was generally found 
 to do credit to her taste and skill in needle work. In Craven, 
 where this singular sport also prevails, whoever first reaches 
 the bride's habitation, is ushered into the bridal chamber; 
 and after having performed the ceremony of turning down the 
 bed clothes, returns, carrying in his hand a tankard of warm 
 alcy previously prepared, to meet the bride ; to whom he tri- 
 umphantly offers his humble beverage, and by whom, in re- 
 turn, he is presented with the ribbon, as the honourable reward 
 of his victory. Another ancient marriage ceremony of the 
 same sort, still observed in remote parts of Northumberland, 
 is that of riding for the kail, where the party, after kissing the 
 bride, set off at full speed on horseback to the bridegroom's 
 house J the winner of the race receiving the kail, or dish of 
 spice broth, as the chief prize. 
 
 Four rustic fellows wait the while 
 To kiss the bride at the church stile : 
 Then vig'rous mount their felter'd steeds— 
 —To scourge them going, head and tail. 
 To win what country call " the IcaiV* 
 
 Chkken^s Collier* s Wedding, 
 
4t BRID 
 
 BRroE-CAKE, the cake provided on occasion of the wedding— a 
 remnant of the ancient mode of solemnizing a marriage by 
 confarreation. In some places in the North, it is customary 
 after the bridal party leave the church, to have a thin currant- 
 cake, marked in squares, though not entirely cut through. A 
 clean cloth being spread over the head of the bride, the bride- 
 groom stands behind her, and breaks the cake. Thus hallow- 
 ed, it is thrown up and scrambled for by the attendants, to 
 excite prophetic dreams of love and marriage, and is said by 
 those who pretend to understand such things, to have much 
 more vurtue than when it is merely put nine times through the 
 ring. This custom is generally prevalent in Scotland. V. 
 Jam. Supp. breaking bread on the bride's head. 
 
 Bride-spurs, spurs allotted to the best runner after the marriage 
 ceremony. — North. 
 
 Bride-wain, a custom in Cumberland where the friends of a new 
 married couple assemble together in consequence of a previous 
 invitation (sometimes actually by public advertisement in the 
 newspapers), and are treated with cold pies, frumenty, and ale. 
 The company afterwards join in all the various pastimes of 
 the country, and at the conclusion, the bride and bridegroom 
 are placed in two chairs, the former holding a pewter dish on 
 her knee, half covered with a napkin. Into this dish every 
 one present, high and low, makes it a point to put something; 
 and these offerings occasionally amount to a considerable sum. 
 I suppose it has obtained the name of wain^ from a very ancient 
 custom, now obsolete in the North, of presenting a bride, who 
 had no great stock of her own, with a wain or waggon load of 
 articles of use and luxury. On this occasion the wain was 
 crowned with boughs and flowers, and the horses or oxen 
 which drew it decorated M'ith bride-favours. 
 
 Brig, Brigg, a bridge. Sax. bricg, brigg. 
 
 Beside yon hrigg out ower yon bum. 
 Where the water bickereth bright and sheen. 
 
 Shall many a falling courser spurn. 
 And knights shall die in battle keen. 
 
 Prophecy of Thomas the Rymer. 
 
BROU 49 
 
 Brissle, or BiRSEL, to scorch, to parch by means of fire, to 
 
 crackle. Sax. brastliarif to burn, to make a crackling noise. 
 Broach, a spire-steeple; as Chester broach Darlington 
 
 broach — the broaches of Durham Cathedral. The Fr. brochcy 
 
 a spit, is the probable etymon j the structure being pointed 
 
 like a spit or broach. In Yorkshire the pronunciation is 
 
 broitch ; the fine spire at Wakefield being always called " the 
 
 broitchr 
 Broach, an instrument on which yarn is wound. 
 Brock, a badger. Pure Saxon. Dan. brook. V. Thomson. 
 Brock, a name sometimes given to a cow, or husbandry horse. 
 Brock, the little insect in the gowk, or cuckoo-spit. Hence, I 
 
 am informed, the common vulgar expression, " to sweat like a 
 
 brochr 
 Brock-faced, a white longitudinal mark down the face like a 
 
 badger. Su.-Got. brohug^ of more than one colour. 
 Brockle, Bruckle, inconstant, uncertain, variable; applied to 
 
 the weather. It also means brittle, ^nd to break ; in a general 
 
 sense. Teut. brohel, fragilis. Chaucer writes it brotel. 
 Brod, Broddle, to make holes. See Prog, Proggle. 
 Brossen, Brosten, Brussen, Brusten, part. a. burst. Also 
 
 broken ; as " brossen hearted." 
 Brotchet, Brotchert, or Bragwort, a thin liquor made from 
 
 the last squeezings of honey-comb. 
 Broth, plural. " Will you have some broth .^" " I will take a 
 
 feWy if they are good." 
 Brott, shaken corn. Sax. gebrode, fragments. Swed. brotfy 
 
 fracture, breach. Isl. brot. 
 Brough, or Bruff, a singular appearance in the moon — a sort 
 
 of halo or cu-cle, in misty weather, prognosticating a storm. 
 
 It is a popular saying, 
 
 A far off brough is a storm near enough, 
 
 A Greek origin has been assigned to this word — /i^oj^ogy a 
 chain about the neck ; but Moe.-Got. bairgs, mons, seems a 
 more probable etymon. 
 
 H 
 
50 BROU 
 
 Broughton, an old Northumbrian dish ; composed of two cakes, 
 Mith thin slices of cheese in the middle. When sufficiently 
 baked, it is cut into squares, and eaten with melted butter and 
 sugar. It is a repast on Midsummer eve, and also on Saint 
 Thomas' night. — Ex relatione mulieris aetatis suae 99. Grose 
 has braughwhamy a Lancashire dish made of cheese, eggs, 
 bread, and butter, boiled together. 
 
 Browden, to be anxious for, or warmly attached to any object, 
 to be enamoured of it — to brood on, that is to cherish by care. 
 Dut. broeden, to brood. 
 
 Browdin, or Browdant, vain, conceited, bold, forward. 
 
 Brownie, a domestic spirit ; described, in the Border Minstrelsy, 
 as meagre, shaggy, and wild, in his appearance — lurking in the 
 day-time in remote recesses of old houses, which he delighted to 
 haunt— and in the night sedulously employing himself in dis- 
 charging any laborious task which he thought might be accept- 
 able to the family. The history of " The Cauld Lad of 
 Hilton," an elf of this sort, may be seen in Surtees' History of 
 Durham, Vol. II. p. 24. The reader, curious in these mat- 
 ters, is referred to the amusing stories of the Scandinavian 
 Nisses, in the 1st. Vol. of the Fairy Mythology; and of the 
 German Kobolds, in the 2d. Vol. of the same entertaining 
 work. 
 
 Brown-leajmer, or Leemer, a ripe brown hazel-nut that easily 
 separates from its husk. I once thought of deducing this 
 word from brown, and Fr. le mur, the ripe one; but Mr. 
 Surtees, with much more probability, refers to learn, which in 
 Saxon means easy ; a derivation supported by Swed. lemna, 
 to leave. 
 
 Brulliment, a broil, or quarrel. Fr. brouiller, to quarrel. 
 
 Brunt, burnt. " A brunt child dreads the fire." 
 
 Brussle, the same as Brissle ; which see. " Brussled peas" — 
 peas scorched in the straw. V. Ray, brusle ; and Jam. birsle. 
 
 Bubbly, snott3^ " The bairn has a bubbley nose." — Grose. 
 For a further illustration, see The Sandgate Lassie's Lamen- 
 tation. 
 
BULL 51 
 
 , Bubbly-jock, a turkey cock. V. Jamieson. 
 Buckle, Buckle to, to join in marriage. Significant enough 
 surely. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Buckle-mouthed, a term applied to a person with large strag- 
 gling teeth. Buck-toothed has the same meaning. 
 
 Buck-stick. See Spell and Ore, and Trippit and Coit. 
 
 Bud, a common pronunciation of but, among the vulgar ; and 
 also among some who consider themselves far removed from 
 that circle. 
 
 Buddy-bud, Buddy-buss, the flower of the burr, or burdock. 
 Arctium lappa. It is well known how tenaciously it adheres to 
 that against which it is thrown. To stick like a burr, is indeed 
 proverbial. 
 
 Budge, to bulge, to give way, to desist, to abridge or lessen. 
 " I wont budge a penny." 
 
 Buer, a common name given to the gnat. 
 
 Buess, Buse, a stall, station, or post of office or business ; a 
 beast-stall, or boose. Sax. bosig, praesepe. Swed. bas. Isl. 
 bas. 
 
 BuisT, Beust, or Bust, v. to put a mark or brand upon sheep 
 or cattle by their owners. The word is also used as a sub- 
 stantive, for the mark or brand itself. My friend, Mr. Raine, 
 derives it from buro, to burn. But see Baste. 
 
 Bule, or Bool, the bow of a pan or kettle. Sax. bugan, flectere. 
 Hmx.boeyel, a bending or curvature; Teut. iewg/ie/, hemicy- 
 clus ; and Germ, bugel, a bow ; are cognate. 
 
 BuLLER, V. to bellow — to roar as a bull does. 
 
 BuLLER, BuLDER, s. noisc, uproar, disturbance. Swed. buller, 
 Dan. bulder, noise, bustle, tumult. 
 
 Bull-fronts, tufts of coarse grass. Aira ccespitosa. 
 
 BuLLiRAG, to banter, to rally in a contemptuous way, to insult 
 in a bullying manner — the northern pronunciation olballarag. 
 In a Review of the first edition of this Work, in the Gent. 
 Mag. for May 1825, the writer asks, if it be not a verb formed 
 from bidly-rook, a word which is used by Otway in his Epi- 
 logue to Alcibiades, and which Steevens calls a compound 
 
BCU 
 
 CaiRS^ che fbsmmt ^ 1^ Jknmm 
 
 peculiar to ^TordumibafiBBd^ 
 nL The. laraEr kind of iaimcDa-crout taken 
 ;Biit&s: 3«wc28£ie ffiftr^ti»t Called 6tUl bratds; 
 
 aifiimed iexc ita snaUxuBHL 
 
 bzae» &r bicio azid laea^ 
 And Cant hau^&rawine, 
 ■d Tatsaa tfar tite sood iaft-^raoi^ 
 ir&erberfiareiSBiittniBCi. Od Mf/me, 
 
 of a parly, t&c eltfest male parson in a &. 
 
 [y^ m. oae among the keelmen and pitmen 
 r, companion, or comrade, iti 
 hmif ami da9 it Sci^daad, /it% ia oaed to express t&e 
 ilm as Bufly. Thore a probably aome a£n^ betwesoi 
 trams and the G»rm. /ie2%, equals ; as denotmg those t&atave 
 on so. eqpoL hotsn^ GXha va reapect of rriaffnoHhip or cm^ 
 pioymGit. 
 Btn^ tt. ta bnazy M mafee a hmmriiig noa^ Me a t»e cr a tafu 
 DUL lof?0iBf»i,, t&» ntasondl 
 
 iHTf But the north country «$«my » a ^^£u:t peraooagi^ iol- 
 Ippmg and aseutiog the bailliC It may be, as has been eo»> 
 l&ough more likely, I think, from buTn, 
 t; a wwwiw&ieh '^ the poet o£ ail nature^' diadain^ 
 » aK^ w&en fee thought it most expreaaive to deag- 
 vcTfiEdkacepart oi the hamaa bo(^ b; oae of its 
 
 Iktrkam Shngf Umtn^ 
 
TLoise. Jn Scotland called lmm-be&, Tsa£^( 
 drone. 3fp inesui, H 
 
 &ig dong of bells, mm Ae i«rIi«ilStradunore raised 
 Ae SkswHut LcDoObiB HHLfiaiB tkwmma^ ai ecoaomy, he 
 
 I faiack breeches and 
 
 npf fUBMnr cf fifcflvi 
 
 BbsLESi-scui^ or ! 
 &> hold bee 
 seogosy (frawn. by anehcuse. 
 
 ■wbsKy m. tbe wanb of Gcay, 
 
 Ones m^ CSCSxBS <^TrTiimiMrt ^jJUSSk^fi^ 
 
 I faEne ^bod beei at&noni^fied^ \tf 
 to eat these harries xojsc 
 
 da- 
 
 ■iold&llcs^" 
 
 ; becaose the aFch.- 
 
i(4 BUNC 
 
 Too many boys have reason to remember the school discipline 
 of bumping, admirably described by Major Moor, in his Suffblk 
 Words and Phrases, p. 53. 
 
 Bunch, to strike with the foot, to kick. To punch, I believe, 
 means to kick,— in Lancashire ;— to strike straight forward in 
 the body,— elsewhere. 
 
 Bunch-berry, the fruit of the ruhus saxatilis ; of which the 
 country people often make tarts. 
 
 BuNTiNS, Buntings, balks of foreign timber, secured in rafts on 
 the shores of the river Tyne ; afloat at high water. " Let's 
 go hikey on the buntins." — Newc. Dan. bundty and Swed. 
 bunty a bundle or bale, seem cognate. 
 
 Burn, a brook, or rivulet. Pure Saxon. Although this word, 
 on both sides of the Tweed, is used to denote any runner of 
 water which is less than a river, yet, properly speaking, a burn 
 winds slowly along meadows, and originates from small 
 springs; while a beck is formed by water collected on the 
 sides of mountains, and proceeds with a rapid stream j though 
 never, I think, applied to rivers that become aestuaries. 
 
 BuRNsiDE, the ground situated on the side of a burn, or brook. 
 
 BuRN-THE-BiscuiT. A youthful game in Newcastle. 
 
 BuRNT-His-FiNGERS. When a person has failed in any object or 
 speculation, or has been over-reached in any endeavour or 
 undertaking, he is said to have burnt his fingers. 
 
 Burr, a peculiar whirring sound, made by the natives of New- 
 castle, in pronouncing, or rather, in endeavouring to pro- 
 nounce, the letter R, — derived from their Northumbrian 
 ancestors. " He has the Newcastle burr in his throat," is a 
 well-known proverb, in allusion to this peculiarity. Mr. 
 Springmann, the ingenious master of the Royal Jubilee 
 School, has published " Six Lessons," to obviate the difficul- 
 ty of articulating this unfortunate letter. If his scholars can 
 be made to modulate anew, 
 
 ' iJound the nigged rocks the ragged rascals run their rural 
 race. 
 
BURT 55 
 
 the obstacle may be considered as no longer insurmountable. 
 A literary friend, however, refers me to Persius, 
 
 Sonat hie de nare canina, 
 
 Ijitera. Sat. I. 
 
 and suspects our Newcastle to be the true classical pro- 
 nunciation. The Sandhillers and Sandgaters certainly give 
 fine specimens of what Quintilian calls the " canina elo- 
 quentia." 
 
 BuRK, something put under a wheel to stop its progress — any 
 force or impetus. " To go with a burr" — pleno impetu. V. 
 Wilb. Mr. 
 
 Burr-castle, a contemptuous name for Newcastle. See Bell's 
 Rhymes, p. 56. 
 
 Bur-tree, the common elder. Samhucus nigra. Perhaps bore- 
 tree, from the quantity or size of the pith, which renders it 
 capable of being easily bored; though Dr. Willan says, it is so 
 called because the flowers grow in a cyme, close together, like 
 those of the bur. An intelligent relation of mine, on the con- 
 trary, thinks that it may have obtained the name from its being 
 seldom without remarkable bursy or knobs, on its surface, 
 especially on the older trees. A branch of this tree is sup- 
 posed to possess great virtue in guarding the wearer against 
 the charm of witchcraft, and other familiar agency. I remem- 
 ber, when a boy, during a school vacation in the country, at 
 the suggestion of my young companions, carrying it in my but- 
 ton-hole, with doubled thumb, when under the necessity of 
 passing the residence of a poor decrepit old woman; who, 
 though the most harmless creature alive, was strongly sus- 
 pected of holding occasional converse with an evil spirit. 
 Under this impression, the country people were always re- 
 luctant to meet her. It is most extraordinary that Dr. 
 Whitaker should have been ignorant of what is meant by bur- 
 tree. See his History of Loidis and Elmete, p. 156. 
 
 Burtree-gun, Burtree-pluffer, a small tube formed by taking 
 out the soft pith of an elder-branch — employed by boys as an 
 offensive weapon. 
 
56 BUSH 
 
 Bush of a Wheex, cast metal employed to fill up the too great 
 vacancy either in the apertm'e of the nave, or between the nave 
 and the hurtcrs ; that is, the knocking shoulder of the axle ; 
 from Fr. heurter, to knock. 
 
 Busk, a bush. Pure Danish. Su.-Got. and Isl. buske, frutex. 
 Chaucer repeatedly uses the word. Buss is also a common 
 vulgar pronunciation of bush. 
 
 Busk, a piece of wood worn by females to strengthen their stays ; 
 still in use in the country j though generally superseded by 
 steel or whalebone. V. Kennett's Glossary, vo. busche. 
 
 BusKY, bushy, woody. The word occurs in Shakspeare, 1st. 
 Henry IV. Milton uses boski/, in a passage which Dr. 
 Johnson has misunderstood. V. Todd's John, bourn. 
 
 Buss, to dress, to get ready. Germ, putzen, to deck or adorn. 
 Sick aufs beste putzen^ to dress to the best advantage. The 
 Scotch use busky in the first sense ; as in their beautiful pro- 
 verb, " a bonny bride is soon busked** 
 
 But and Ben, the outer and inner apartment, where there are 
 only two rooms. Many houses on the borders, where the 
 expression is common, are so constructed. The phrase is 
 undoubtedly without and within. Sax. butan and binnan; 
 originally, it is supposed, bi utan and bi innan. By and with 
 are often synonymous. 
 
 Butler, a term on the Tweed, applied to a female who keeps a 
 bachelor's house — a farmer's housekeeper. 
 
 Butt, a piece of ground, which, in ploughing, becomes disjointed 
 from the adjacent land — a ridge shorter than the rest. Celt. 
 butf terminus, limes. Schilter. 
 
 Butter and Brede, While Southerns say, bread and butter, 
 bread and cheese, bread and milk, the Northumbrians place in 
 the rear that great article — the staff of life. Probably arising 
 from the greater facility, which, without reflection on their 
 part, is felt, of elevating the voice on a long syllable, as brede, 
 than on butter and milk ; and the habit established in these 
 two instances draws cheese after it, though as long as brede. 
 The elevating of the tone, several notes, at the close of a sen- 
 tence, is the characteristic of the Northumberland dialect. 
 
CACK 57 
 
 Butter-fingered, said of persons who are apt to let any thing 
 fall, or slip through their fingers. Mr. Losh thinks it is con- 
 fined to persons who cannot hold any thing hot. It is used 
 in this latter sense in Craven. 
 
 Butter-wife, a woman that sells butter — a butter woman. An 
 old expression yet in use. 
 
 BuzzoM, a besom, or broom. — Buzzom-shank, a broomstick. 
 
 Byar, Byer, Byre, a house in which cows are bound up — a 
 cow-house. The origin. Dr. Jamieson says, is uncertain. But 
 it is, perhaps, to be sought in Lat. boariusy of, or appertaining, 
 to, oxen ; or in our ancient law-term for a cow-house — bovc" 
 ria ; if not in the Irish buar, which is said to mean oxen or 
 kine, as well as what relates to cattle. 
 
 Bye-bootings, or Sharps, the finest kind of bran ; the second 
 in quality being called Treet, and the worst Chizzel. 
 
 Byerley's Bull-dogs, a name for Colonel Byerley's troopers — 
 still remembered in popular tradition. — Durham. 
 
 Byspelt, a strange, awkward figure, or a mischievous person ; 
 acting contrary to reason, or propriety ; as if labouring under 
 the influence of a spell. Or is it an ironical use of Germ, bey- 
 spiel, a pattern ? as, " thou's a picture," addressed to a na- 
 turally plain, or accidentally disfigured, person. 
 
 Caa deed, dead — cold dead, A very common redundant ex- 
 pression in Northumberland. 
 
 Cab. Go cab my lug ! a vulgar expression of surprise. " Ye 
 dinna say se," or, " whe wad ha' thought it," is likely enough 
 to follow. 
 
 Ca' back. Call back, a wear or dam placed across a river or 
 stream for the piu-pose of turning water to a mill — a dam- 
 back. 
 
 Cack, V, alvum exonerare. Dan. hahJce, Teut. kachen, — Cack, 
 I 
 
58 tlACK 
 
 Cackv, s. stercus. Sax. cac. — Cackhouse, a domestic terw- 
 pie. Sax. cac-huSf latrina. For cognate terms in other lan- 
 guages, V. Jam. Supp. cacks. 
 
 Cackle, to make a noise like a hen, to giggle. 
 
 Cadge, to carry; hence Cadger; which see. Teut. ketzen, 
 discurrere. — Cadge also means to stuff or fill the belly. 
 
 Cadger, a packman or itinerant huckster; one who travel* 
 through the country selling wares. Before the formation of 
 regular turnpike roads from Scotland to Northumberland, the 
 chief part of the commercial intercourse between the two 
 kingdoms was carried on through the medium of cadgers. 
 Persons who bring fish from the sea to the Newcastle market 
 are still called cadgers. 
 
 Cadgv, hearty, cheerful, merry; especially after good eating 
 and drinking. I once thought that this word was derived 
 from the second meaning of cadge; but an intelligent friend 
 in Edinburgh refers me to Sc. caigie, cheerful, merry — ap- 
 proaching to wantonness. In the Graberlunzie Man, cadgily 
 certainly implies this idea — 
 
 My dochter's shouthers he *gan to clap, 
 And cadgihj ranted and sang. 
 
 Mr. Callender, the editor of this ancient poem, whose notes 
 in general contain much valuable etymological learning, is, 
 my friend remarks, greatly mistaken in the derivation of this 
 word, and gives a very silly reason for it. Dr. Jamieson 
 seems more correct when he derives it from Su.-Got. kaett- 
 jas, lascivire. 
 
 Caff, chaff. Sax. ceaf. Germ, and Dut. kaf, 
 
 Cagbiag, an old goose, which, from its toughness, is utterly un- 
 fit for the table. 
 
 Caingy, peevish, ill-tempered, whining. Q. from Cain ? 
 
 Cairn, a rude heap of stones often found on the summit of hills 
 and in other remarkable situations ; generally supposed to 
 have been thrown together in memory of some distinguished 
 person whose body or urn was buried under it — the simple. 
 
CALL 59 
 
 but impressive, funeral monument of our earliest inhabitants. 
 All mankind, from the most remote antiquity, have agreed in 
 erecting sepulchral monuments of some sort, to mark their 
 admiration of the illustrious dead ; and " I will add a stone to 
 your cairw," is still a significant expression of gratitude. Gael. 
 came. Welsh, kaern. 
 
 Caitiff, a cripple. Old Fr. chetiff^ chaitiff, wretched. This 
 (and not Ital. caftivo, a slave,) is the origin of the word in its 
 classical sense. 
 
 Cake, v. to cackle ; spoken of a goose. Perhaps only a corrup- 
 tion. 
 
 Cake, s. a contemptuous term for an insignificant person. 
 
 Calf-lick, a tuft on the human forehead which cannot be made 
 to lie in the sa^jne direction with the rest of the hair. This' 
 term may have been adopted from a comparison with that part 
 of a calPs hide, where the hairs, having different directions, meet 
 and form a projecting ridge, supposed to be occasioned by the 
 animals licking themselves. But the act of licking, probably, 
 has had no part in the original meaning. Lick is the assimi- 
 lating German termination— /icA, like. The hair, therefore, is 
 calf-like. 
 
 Calf-yard, the dwelHng place of our infancy ; for which it is 
 natural to feel so many endearing recollections, even in their 
 minutest traces. 
 
 If I could bid thee, pleasant shade, farewell 
 
 Without a sigh, amidst whose circling bowers 
 
 My stripling prime was pass'd, and happiest hours ; 
 
 Dead were I to the sympathies that swell 
 
 The human breast. Bowks. 
 
 * 
 Call, s. occasion, necessity, obligation. " There's no call for 
 
 it." It is also used as a verb. " Please, Sir, may I go out?" 
 " Well, child, if nature calls you." " She does not call. Sir, 
 but she shouts."— School Dialogue, hetiveen B. A. and Mr. F. 
 Call, v. to proclaim, to give notice by the public crier. To be 
 called at chit7-ch, is to have the banns of marriage published. 
 
60 CALL 
 
 The ceremony of proclmming every fair in Newcastle, which is 
 
 attended by the officers of the corporation, in state, is deno- 
 minated calling the fair. 
 Gallant, a stripling; a man clever or much esteemed. The 
 
 etymology is doubtful. V. Jam. callan, calland. 
 Calleevering, Kaleevering, wandering abroad, gossipping, 
 
 running about heedlessly — to use a modern cant phrase, 
 
 larking. 
 Caller, a. cool, fresh ; as the caller air. " Caller herrings"— 
 
 ** caller cocks," or " caller cockles" — " caller ripe grosers." — 
 
 Newc. cries. The word in form resembles Isl. halldur^ frigi- 
 
 dus ; though its meaning does not denote the same degree of 
 
 frigidity as cold. 
 Callet, to scold. Our old poet, Skelton, who was a native of 
 
 Cumberland, uses the substantive ; and so does Shakspeare, 
 
 in the Winter's Tale. The only word which seems to have 
 
 any affinity is Germ, kahlheity nonsense. 
 Calleting Housewife, a regular, confirmed scold. 
 Cabi, a hill, the remains of an earthen mound. Sax. comby which 
 
 Somner renders " a valley enclosed on either side with hilles." 
 
 Sc. kaim. The great ridge in Yorkshire between Penygent 
 
 and Whernside is called Cam-Fell, 
 Cammerel, s. a large stretcher used by butchers. Bullet, in his 
 
 Celtic Dictionary, has camhacay in the sense of a crooked 
 
 stick. 
 Cammerel, a. crooked. See Jamieson in voce, camt/y camok. 
 Cample, to argue, to answer pertly and frowardly when rebuked 
 
 by a superior. Germ, kampfeny to contend. 
 Canary, a term on the borders for a femme galante. Lord 
 
 Hailes, in his notes to the Bannatyne Poems, says, that birde 
 
 is used in Chaucer for a mistress. 
 Candle-cap, an old hat without a brim, with a candle in front ; 
 
 chiefly used by butchers. 
 Cange, or Calnge, to whine. See Calxgy. 
 Canker, rust. — Cankered, cross, ill-conditioned, rusty. V. 
 
 Jam. Supp. carOcert, 
 
CANT 61 
 
 Canniness, caution, good conduct, carefulness. See Canny. 
 
 Canny, a genuine Newcastle word, applied to any thing superior, 
 or of the best kind; hence, " Canny Newcassel," par excel- 
 lence, has become proverbial. It refers as well to the beauty 
 of form as of manners and morals ; but most particularly is 
 used to describe those mild and affectionate dispositions 
 which render persons agreeable in the domestic state. It 
 has also reference to mechanical genius and ingenuity. " A 
 canny man was never rich." The word, I find, extends to 
 Yorkshire ; and I cannot do better than refer the reader, for 
 an illustration, to the " Canny Yatton" of poor Margery 
 Moorpout, in Reed's Farce of The Register Office ; a produc- 
 tion marked by an accurate exhibition of provincial manners 
 and dialect. Dr. Jamieson suspects that the word has been 
 imported from Scotland into the North of England. Being 
 used in so many different senses, it is difficult to assign a satis- 
 factory etymon. 
 
 Canny hinny, metaphorically a sly person, a smooth sinner j — 
 especially in affairs of gallantry. See note in Sharp's Life of 
 Ambrose Barnes, p. 21, where it is stated that Anne, one of 
 the rich daughters and co-heiresses of Alderman Ralph Cock, 
 was familiarly called one of " Cock's canny Innnies? 
 
 Cant, s. a corner. Germ, kante, an edge, or extremity. 
 
 Cant, to sell by auction. See Canting. 
 
 Cant, v, to upset, to overturn. Germ. Jcanten, to set a thing on 
 end. 
 
 Cant-dog, a handspike with a hook; used for turning over 
 large pieces of timber. 
 
 Canting, a sale by auction, proclaimed publicly on the spot 
 where it is to take place. Mr. Culley says, after a seizure 
 only; but it is, I think, also used in a general sense. The 
 derivation is evidently Ital. incanto, a public sale. 
 
 Canting-caller, an auctioneer. From the nature of his occupa- 
 tion. In sales among the Romans, a crier proclaimed the arti- 
 cles to be disposed of; and in the middle ages they added a 
 trumpet, with a very loud noise. 
 
62 CANT 
 
 Canty, merry, lively, cheerful. Su.-Got. gania, ludificare. 
 
 Cap, to complete, to finish, to overcome in argument, to excel 
 in any feat of agility, to crown all. Allied probably to Teut. 
 kajype, the summit. — Capper, one who excels. 
 
 Capsize, to overturn. A nautical word, though we have a nor- 
 
 ■ them senator's authority for its use in matters not maritime. 
 
 Care-Cake, a cake made by country people of thick batter like 
 a pancake, with a mixture of hog's blood. In the Glossary to 
 the Antiquary, it is stated that care cakes are pancakes ; lite- 
 rally redemption cakes, or ransom cakes, such as were eaten 
 on Easter Sunday. 
 
 Car-handed, left-handed. One of the ancient Kings of Scot- 
 land was called " Kinath-Kerr," or Kinath the left-handed. 
 
 Carl, Karl, a country fellow, a gruff old man. Sax. ceorl, a 
 countryman. Isl. karl, an old man. Germ, kerl, rusticus. 
 The words carl, chorl, or churl, and villainy were among our 
 ancestors the usual appellations for countrymen ; though very 
 often used in a bad sense, and to denote a compound of igno- 
 rance and idleness. In the Northuvibrensium Treshyterorum 
 Leges, the possessors of land were divided into three classes — 
 the king's thanes and lords of land — the proprietors of land — 
 and the ceorls, or husbandmen, who cultivated the soil. 
 
 Carling-groat, a sum spent in drink at a public-house; the 
 landlord providing his guests with the carlings gratis. 
 
 Carlings, grey peas steeped all night in water, and fried the next 
 day with butter. In the North they are served at table, on 
 the second Sunday before Easter, called Carling Sunday j 
 formerly denominated Care Sunday, as Care Friday and Care 
 Week, were Good Friday and Holy Week — supposed to be 
 so called from being a season of great religious care and anx- 
 iety. The peas appear to be a substitute for the beans of the 
 heathens. 
 
 Carr, flat marshy land j a small lake. Su.-Got. kaer. 
 
 Carrock, or CuRROCK, a heap of stones, used as a bounder 
 mark, or as a guide for travellers. See Genesis, chap, xxxi., 
 V. 46 & seq. The word is also used for a mountain at a 
 
CAT.M 03 
 
 distance, by which, M'hen the sun appears over it, the country 
 people compute the time of the day. 
 Carry-on-the-War, to keep up or continue fun or mischief after 
 it has commenced — to revel in bacchanalian orgies. 
 
 With a friend and a pipe puffing sorrow away. 
 
 Casings, Cassons, Cow-blades, cow dung dried for fuel. 
 
 Casket, a stalk or stem ; as a cabbage-casket. Probably deri- 
 ved from Su.-Got. quist, a branch. 
 
 Cassen, cast off; as " cassen clothes." — Cassen-top, a top 
 thrown off with a string. The word is, probably, a corruption 
 of easterly the Sax. part, of cast. 
 
 •Cast, a twist or contortion, a warp. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Cast, opportunity, chance; as a cast on the outside of a coach. 
 
 Cast, a swarm of bees. — Dur. Span, casta, a race or breed. 
 
 Caster, or Castor, a little box; as pepper caster. Inserted 
 by Mr. Todd in his 2d. edit, of Johnson. 
 
 Cast-out, to quarrel or fall out. A Reverend Friend informs 
 me, that he heard a methodist preacher quote Joseph's advice 
 to his brethren — " See that you cast not out by the way." 
 
 Cast-up, to upbraid, to reproach. ^n.-Got. foercasta. 
 
 Cast-up, to appear, or be found again, after having been lost. A 
 metaphor probably taken from the sea casting up things that 
 have been lost in it. 
 
 Catchy, disposed to take an undue advantage, inclined to cir- 
 cumvent. 
 
 Caterwauling, rambling or intriguing in the night. Adopted 
 from the well known practice of cats. 
 
 Cat-haws, the fruit of the white thorn. Perhaps so named 
 from cateSy food, because they may be eaten as such by human 
 beings. When large they are called bull-haws. 
 
 Cat-g ALLOWS, a game played by children. It consists of two 
 sticks placed upright, with one across, over which they leap 
 in turns. 
 
 Cat-mint, nep. Nepeta cataria. Cats are said to have a re- 
 markable antipathy to this plant, tearing it up wherever they 
 meet with it. 
 
64 CATR 
 
 Catrail, or PiCTwoRK-DiTCH, a vast fosse extending from the 
 Peel Fell in Northumberland, to Galashiels, a distance of 45 
 miles— supposed to have been raised by the fugitive Britons, 
 as a line of defence against the invading Saxons. Catrail, in 
 the British language, is said to mean, the partition of defence. 
 
 Cat's-foot, a common name for ground-ivy. 
 
 Cat-with-two-tails, a term for an earwig. 
 
 Caud, cold. Teut. kaud. Moe.-Got. kald. Sax. ceald. Dan. 
 Jcaald. " A caud hand and a warm heart." " Caud and com- 
 fortless, like kissing a ploughman wi' his mouth full of snaw." 
 
 Caud Comfort, an unpleasant communication — unwelcome ti- 
 dings. 
 
 Caud Pie, a cart or waggon overthrown — a disappointment or 
 loss of any sort. 
 
 When the axle tree of a loaden waggon breaks, and stops a 
 whole train of waggons on a railway, the workmen call it a 
 caud pie. Brand. 
 
 Cave, or Kave, to separate j as com from the short straw or 
 chaff. Teut. kaven, eventilare paleas. This word, with the a 
 long, is used, I am told, in Northamptonshire, for the crack- 
 ing of the clods, or separation of the earth, in droughty wea- 
 ther; which is worth notice, as removing the objection to 
 Milton's " Grassy clods now calv'd. — P. L. Book VII. 
 
 Cave, to toss, to paw j as a horse that beats the ground with its 
 fore-foot. In this sense the word seems allied to Isl. akafr, 
 cum impetu, vehementer, 
 
 Cavel, or Kavel, a lot, a share. Teut. kavel. To Cast Ca- 
 VELS, to cast lots, to change situations. Teut. kavelen, 
 
 Cawker, the hind part of a horse's shoe sharpened, and pointed 
 downwards, to prevent the animal from slipping. Also an 
 iron plate put upon a Clog j which see. The etymology is 
 uncertain. V. Jam. cawker ; and Todd's John, calkin. 
 
 Chaffs, Chafts, the jaws, chops. Su.-Got. kiaeft, kaeft, the 
 jaw-bone, seems the root. Dan. kieft, the chops, and Swed. 
 kafter, jaws, are cognate. 
 
 Chalder, a chaldron — a measure of coals containing 36 bushels; 
 
CHAR 65 
 
 being nearly equal to two London chaldrons. Eight Newcastle 
 chaldrons make a keel. Bishop Kennett derives the word 
 from old Latin celdra, a certain measure. 
 
 Chamberlye, frequently pronounced Chemmerley, urine. 
 Omitted by both Johnson and Todd, though found in a pas- 
 sage cited from Shakspeare under the word J orden. 
 
 Chance-bairn, a spurious child. There is a legal maxim — bas- 
 tardus nullius est filius, aut filius populi. 
 
 Changeling, a term applied to a child of a peevish or malicious 
 temper, or differing in looks from the rest of the family — from 
 a supposition of its having been changed, when an infant, by 
 the gipsies. The fairies of old have been represented to us as 
 famous for stealing the most beautiful and witty children, and 
 leaving in their places such as were either prodigiously ugly 
 and stupid, or mighty mischievously inclined. 
 
 Changer-wife, an itinerant apple-woman, or dealer in earthen- 
 ware, who takes old clothes or rags in exchange for what she 
 sells. " Cheap apples, wives ! Cheap apples, wives ! Seek 
 out a' your aud rags, or aud shoes, or aud claise, to-day." — 
 Newc. Cry. 
 
 Channer, to scold, not loudly but constantly ; to be incessantly 
 complaining. " She keeps channer^ channering, all day long." 
 Sax. ceonian, obmurmurare. The word bears a remarkable 
 affinity to Ir. and Gael, cannran, to mutter or grumble. 
 
 Chap, to knock, or rap; as at the door. A Scotch term. 
 Probably the same as chop, which is sometimes used for, to 
 strike, or knock simply, though more generally for, to strike 
 with a cutting instrument. 
 
 Chap, Chep, a customer. From Sax. ceap, ceap-man. Hence, 
 our word chapman, of which chap is an abbreviation. — Chap, 
 or Chep, is also a general term for a man ; used either re- 
 spectfully or contemptuously. In this sense it may be from 
 Ital. capo — quasi caput. 
 
 Chap-bread, cakes made of oatmeal and baked on a girdle. See 
 Agricultural Survey of Westmorland, p. 337. 
 
 Chare, v. to stop, or turn. Sax. cyrran. Also to counterfeit. 
 
 K 
 
66 CHAR 
 
 Chare, *. a narrow street, lane, or alley. Peculiar to Newcas- 
 tle, where there are several; particularly on the Quayside. 
 Sax. cerrcy viae flexio, diverticulum ; from cyrran^ to turn ; a 
 chare being a turning from some superior street. 
 
 A laughable misunderstanding happened at our assizes 
 some years ago, when one of the witnesses in a criminal trial 
 swore that '♦ he saw three men come out of tJiefoot of a cliare.^* — 
 »' Gentlemen of the jury," exclaimed the learned judge, 
 " you must pay no regard to that man's evidence ; he must 
 be insane." But the foreman, smiling, assured the judge, 
 that they understood him very well ; and that he spoke the 
 words of truth and soberness.— Fiw^ and Anderson's History of 
 Newcastle^ p. 30. 
 
 The late Lord Chancellor was born in a chare-foot; and in a 
 
 facetious moment admitted it in court. 
 Chattered, bruised. I once thought it a corruption of shatter- ' 
 
 ed; but am now disposed to view it as allied to the Scots verb 
 
 to chaty to bruise, to macerate. 
 Chatter-water, a term for tea. I suppose from old ladies 
 
 chattering or gossiping over it. 
 
 Whyles, o'er the wee bit cup an* platie, 
 They sip the scandal potion pretty. 
 
 Burnsy Twa Dogs. 
 
 Chebrer, a glass of spirit and warm water. Not a bad meta- 
 phor. It is also in use in the South of Scotland. In Nor- 
 thumberland, as a poetical friend of mine observes, 
 
 No bargain's made, or money paid. 
 But over a canny cheerer. 
 
 Cheg, or Cheggle, to gnaw or champ a resisting substance. j 
 Chepster, a common name for a starling. Sturnus vulgaris. 
 Chewed- brede, a decorous term for a nameless composition ; 
 
 to describe which, many periphrastic phrases have been 
 
 adopted. 
 Chiel, a young fellow. — Korth. Sc, chiel, chield. 
 
CHOP 67 
 
 Chieve, to succeed, to accomplish any business — to achieve. 
 Used by Chaucer in this form. Fr. ckevir, to master. 
 
 Childer, children. The Saxon plural termination. In Pals- 
 grave it is spelled chyldre. 
 
 Childermass-day, the feast of the Holy Innocents. Pure 
 Saxon. This is a festival of great antiquity . An apprehen- 
 sion is entertained by the superstitious that no undertaking 
 can prosper which is begun on that day of the week on which 
 it last fell. 
 
 Child' s-FiRST-visiT. The first time an infant visits a neighbour 
 or relation, it is presented with three things — salt, bread, and 
 an egg. This practice, which I do not find noticed either by 
 Bourne or by Brand, though not overlooked by my vigilant 
 friend, Sir Cuthbert Sharp, is widely extended over the North 
 of England. 
 
 Chimlay, a chimney. Cornish, tschimbla. Pryce. 
 
 Chimlay-piece, a mantle-piece. — Chimlay-neuk, the chimney- 
 corner in a cottage — the fire-side. 
 
 Chip, to break or crack ; said of an egg when the young bird 
 cracks the shell. Dut. kippen, to hatch or disclose. 
 
 Chip, or Brother-chip, a person of the same trade ; especially 
 a carpenter and such like. Probably not local. 
 
 Chirm, to chirp ; applied especially to the melancholy under-tone 
 of a bird previous to a storm. It would seem to be derived from 
 the Sax. ct/rme, a clamour or noise. But Dr. Jamieson says, 
 the true origin is Belg. kermeuy to lament ; lamentari, quiritari. 
 Kilian. The term is known among the fancy tribe of cock- 
 fighters, in the sense of muttering an unpleasant noise. 
 " These cocks chirm good-by." 
 
 Chizzel, a term for bran. See Bye-bootings. 
 
 Choak-damp, or Choke-daivip, foul air in a colliery — carbonic 
 acid gas. 
 
 Choller, a double chin. Also the loose flesh under a turkey- 
 cock's neck — a cock's wattles. Sax. ceolr, guttur. 
 
 Chopping-boy, a stout boy. Dr. Johnson, dissatisfied with 
 Skinner's definition of lusty y says, " perhaps a greedy, hungry 
 
68 €HOU 
 
 child, likely to live," which is certainly erroneous. It seems 
 to be a boy well fed ; and may be traced to Germ, schoppertf 
 to feed, to fatten. 
 
 Chouls, or JoAVLs, the jaws. Sax. ceolas, fauces. 
 
 Choup, Cat-choup, a hip ; the fruit of the hedge brier, or wild 
 rose. Rubus major. 
 
 Chow, v. to chew, to masticate. Sax. ceowan. — Chew, *. a 
 quid of tobacco. 
 
 Christian-horses, a nickname for sedan-chairmen.— A^ett^c. 
 
 Christmas Eve. The country people have a notion that on this 
 evening oxen kneel in their stalls and moan. In boyhood I 
 was induced more than once to attend on the occasion ; but, 
 whether for want of faith, or neglect of the instructions given 
 me, I know not, — they would not do their duty. 
 
 Chuck, a sea shell. — Chucks, a game among girls; played with 
 five of these shells, and sometimes with pebbles, called chuckie- 
 stanes. 
 
 Chuckers, Double Chuckers, potions of ardent spirits. 
 Terms well known among Northern topers. 
 
 Chuckle-headed, stupid, thick-headed. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Churn, or Kern-supper, harvest home. See Mell-supper. 
 
 Churnel, an enlargement of the glands of the neck. 
 
 Clag, to stick or adhere. Dan. kl(JBg, viscous, glutinous. In 
 Scotland it is used as a substantive, and in a metaphorical 
 sense. " He has na clag to his tail ;" i. e. no incumbrance. 
 
 Claggv, sticky, unctuous, clogging by adhesion. 
 
 Clagha»i, Claggum, treacle made hard by boiling. — Newc. 
 Called in other places in the North, clag-candy, lady's-taste, 
 slittery, tom-trot, treacle-ball, and toughy. 
 
 Claise, Cl'yaise, the northern pronunciation of clothes. 
 
 Claith, Cl*yaith, cloth. Sax. clath. — Claithing, Cl'yaith- 
 ING, clothing. 
 
 Clam, v. to castrate a bull or ram ; when the operation is per- 
 formed, not by excision, but by compression ; as is still prac- 
 tised in the emasculation of the human race in Italy ; a savage 
 mutilation fit only for Mahometans. The word may be 
 
CLAR 69 
 
 referred to Germ, hlemmen, to pinch, to squeeze. Swed. 
 Mamma seems cognate. — Clam, s. an instrument used for the 
 purpose of castration. 
 Clam, to starve, to be parched with thirst. Dut. Tdemmen^ to 
 shrink up. Teut. klemmeny stringere, coarctare. 
 
 When my entrails 
 
 Were clamm'd with keeping a perpetual fast. 
 
 Massinger, Rom. Actor. 
 
 In Lancashire it is clem. See Nixon's Prophesy, where that 
 mysterious half-ideot, is made to say, that if he went up to 
 (Henry Vllth's) Court, he should be clemmed; which proved 
 the case by an accident. 
 
 Clammersome, Clamoursome, greedy, rapacious, contentious, 
 clamorous. Dan. klammer-vorn. 
 
 Cla>ip, s. a large fire made of underwood. 
 
 Clamp, v. to make a noise, to tread heavily in walking. Dut. 
 klompen. Swed. hlampig. 
 
 Clamps, pieces of iron placed at the ends of a fire-place. 
 
 Clank, a blow or stroke that makes a noise. " The door went 
 to with a clanks Teut. klanck, clangor. 
 
 Clanker, a sound beating, a severe chastisement. 
 
 Clap, to touch gently, to fondle, to pat. " Clap his head." 
 
 Clap-bennv, Clap-bene, a request made to infants in the 
 nurse's arms, to clap their hands, as the only means they have 
 of expressing their prayers, or of signifying their desire of a 
 blessing. Isl. klappa, to clap, and bcBUy prayer. 
 
 Clapper, the tongue — a female weapon of great power and elo- 
 quence, especially in that part of rhetoric " stirring the pas- 
 sions." In the quaint title of an old and rare English Poem, 
 in the Author's library,—-" The Anatomie of a Woman's 
 Tongue," — it is divided into five parts — " a medicine, a poi- 
 son, a serpent, fire, and thunder." 
 Clart, to daub, to bemire, to foul. — Clarts, dirt or mire— in 
 short, any thing that defiles. — Clarty, miry, dirty, wet, slip- 
 pery. V. Jam. clarty and clattie. 
 
70 CLAS 
 
 Clash, v. to gossip, to tell tales. Germ. klaUchen, to prattle. 
 
 Clash, *. an idle story, tittle tattle, vulgar talk. 
 
 Clash, v. to throw any thing carelessly or violently, to bang a 
 
 door. Germ, ktatscheuy to make a noise. 
 Clatter, to tell idle stories, to prattle. Teut. klettem, concre- 
 
 pare. 
 Claut, to scratch or claw, to scrape together. V. Jam. clat, 
 Claver, Clawer, to climb up ; mostly applied to children. It 
 would seem to be a corruption of cleaving or adhering, mixed 
 with the idea of climbing ; though it may be satisfactorily de- 
 duced from Teut. klaveren, scandere in subrectum. 
 
 Claver, to talk fast, or to little purpose. Germ, khjhr, gami- 
 lus. 
 
 Claver, clover. Sax. claefer, Dut. klaver. The late Mr. 
 Pegge pronounces claver to be a corruption of pronunciation, 
 for clover ; but it is more analogous to the etymology, and 
 Mr. Todd has shown that it is used by an author of good note 
 — Sandys. 
 
 Clavers, din, noisy talking, garrulities. Identical with Clish- 
 clash. 
 
 Clay-daubin, a custom in Cumberland, where the neighbours 
 and friends of a new married couple assemble and don't sepa- 
 rate until they have erected them a cottage j something in the 
 style of the old British wattled dwellings, and not unlike the 
 plastered houses in Norfolk, erected by the workmen called 
 daubers. From the number of hands employed, the building 
 is generally completed in a day. The company then rejoice 
 and make merry. 
 
 Clean, entirely, completely. This sense is yet in use in the 
 North. 
 
 Cleck, Clock, to hatch. Isl. klekia. Su.-Got. klaeckd. A 
 hen sitting, or desirous of sitting on her eggs, is called a 
 Clecker, or Clocker. 
 
 Cleck, Cleckin, the entire brood of chickens. Dan. klukken. 
 
 Clecking, or Clocking, the noise made by a brooding hen, 
 or when she is provoked. Isl. klaky clangor avium. In 
 
CLIN 71 
 
 Scotland " decking time is ae a canty time," as applied to 
 child-birth. 
 
 Cleed, to clothe. — North. Probably from Sax. clathian ; 
 though the pronunciation is more consonant to Su.-Got. 
 klaeday Germ, kleiden, and Dan. klaeder^ the other cognate 
 terms. — Cleeding, clothing, apparel. 
 
 Cleet, a stay or support ; a term among carpenters. 
 
 Cleet, Cloot, Clute, the hoof of oxen or sheep. Grose has 
 cluves, a Curab. term for the hoofs of horses or cows. It 
 seems to have affinity to Su.-Got. U^wa, to divide, and Sax. 
 cleofian^ to cleave. 
 
 Gleets, pieces of iron worn by countrymen on their shoes. 
 
 Cleg, the gad-fly ; very troublesome in hot weather, particularly 
 to horses. Oestrus ovis, Linn. Dan. klaeg. 
 
 Cleg, a clever person, an adept. Probably identical with Gleg ; 
 which see. Also a person difficult to get rid of — one who 
 sticks like a cleg. 
 
 Clegning, Cleaning, Cleansing, the after-birth of a cow. 
 
 Cleugh, Clough, a ravine, a valley between two precipitous 
 banks, generally having a runner of water at the bottom — a 
 narrow glen. Sax. doughy fissura ad montis clivum. Dan. 
 klofy incisura, is radically the same. The old Norm, or Fr. 
 doughy is a valley j whence, perhaps, as^ conjectured by Mr. 
 Todd, the introduction of the word into Domesday Book. 
 The admirers of old ballads are familiar with the valiant ex- 
 ploits of our celebrated Northern outlaws, Adam Bell, Clym of 
 the Cloughy and William of Cloudeslee, whose skill in archery 
 rendered them formerly as famous in the North of England, 
 as Robin Hood and his companions were in the midland 
 counties. 
 
 Clever-clumsy, a term of reproach; used ironically. 
 
 Click, to snatch hastily, to seize. Germ, klickeriy to throw; 
 or perhaps a contraction of Sax. gekeccauy apprehendere. 
 " Clickem-in" the name of a place in Northumberland. 
 
 Clifty, well managing, actively industrious, thrifty. 
 
 Cling, to dry up, to consume, to waste. See Clung. 
 
72 CLIP 
 
 Cup, to shear sheep. Dut. klippen.—CuppiSQ, a sheep-shear- 
 ing. 
 
 Clish-clash, Clish-ma-claver, idle discourse bandied about, 
 uninterrupted loquacity. — Click-clack, and Cutter-clat- 
 ter, are also used in the same sense. 
 
 Clock, the downy head of the dandelion in seed. They think 
 to count the hour by observing how many puffs it takes to dis- 
 sipate the seed. It is, of course, a mere childish amusement. 
 
 Cloffey, a slattern, a female dressed in a tawdry manner. The 
 nearest affinity I can trace is Isl. klofa, femora distendere. 
 
 Clog, a sort of shoe, the upper part of strong hide leather, and 
 the sole of wood, plated with iron, often termed a cawker. 
 The sceo of our Saxon ancestors. 
 
 Clointer, to make a noise with the feet. A person treading 
 heavily with shoes, shod with iron, is said to clointer. 
 
 Cloit, a clown or stupid fellow. Teut. kloete, homo obtusus. 
 The original idea is a mere log— ^/o<?^e, a pole or log. 
 
 Close, a confined street or entry — something in the nature of a 
 chare. A narrow dirty street in Newcastle, wherein the prin- 
 cipal inhabitants formerly lived, and in which the Mayor for 
 the time being still resides during his Mayoralty, is called the 
 Close. The word seems originally to have signified a blind 
 alley. Dut. kluyse, clausura. 
 
 Cloud-berry, the ground mulberry, or ruhus charrunmorus. It 
 grows on high uncultivated hills and moors — on Cheviot, 
 plentifully — and probably received this name from its lofty 
 situation. The fruit is red, of an insipid taste. According 
 to Pennant, it is served as a dessert in the Highlands of Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Clouter, or Clowter, to work in a dirty manner, to perform 
 dirty work. Probably allied to Cloit ; which see. 
 
 Clour, a small lump or swelling, caused by a blow or fall. Su.- 
 Got. kvla^ a bump, is apparently allied. 
 
 Clubby, a youthful game, something like Doddart ; which see. 
 
 Clud-nut, — quasi clubbed or clustered nut, — two nuts united 
 to each other. 
 
COAL 73 
 
 Cluff, v. to strike, to cufF. — Cluff, s. a blow, a cufF. Dr. 
 
 Jamieson conceives the word may have been retained from the 
 
 Northumbrian Danes. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Clump, a mass of any thing. Gem. klump, a clod. 
 Clumpy, Clumpish, awkward, unwieldy, misshapen. 
 Clung, ("p. p. of cUngJ closed up or stopped ; shrivelled or 
 
 shrunk. Sax. geclungne. Cling, in the latter sense, is used 
 
 by Shakspeare, in Macbeth, 
 
 If thou speak'st false, 
 Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive, 
 'Till famine ding thee. 
 
 Cluthers, in heaps, clusters. Welsh, cluder, a pile. 
 
 Coals. To call over the coals, to scrutinize a person's conduct, 
 to reprimand severely. An old expression, not yet disused. 
 It is generally supposed to refer to purgation by the ancient 
 ordeal of the burning ploughshare ; though I think its probable 
 origin is to be found in the rural sacrifice of Bel-tein, or 
 passing through Bail^s fire, a superstition, which, till of late 
 years, appears to have been kept up in the Fells and remote 
 parts of the North. 
 
 CoAL-sAY, a fish. It is, I am informed, peculiar to the coast of 
 Northumberland and Durham. 
 
 Coaly, Coley, a particular species of cur-dog — famous for saga- 
 city. Sc. collie, the shepherd's dog. The word might, at 
 first view, seem formed from the prevailing colour of these 
 animals, a great proportion of them being as hlach as a coal; 
 though I am inclined to consider it as radically the same with 
 Gael, cxdean, a grown whelp ; and Welsh, colwyn, a little dog. 
 
 Coaly, Coley, a contemptuous designation among the boys in 
 Newcastle for the lamp-lighter. Can it, in this sense, be allied 
 to Su.-Got. Jcol, ignis ? 
 
 CoALY-sHANGiE, or CuLLY-SHANGEY, a vulgar cxprcssiou for a 
 riot or uproar. V. Jam. collie-shangie. 
 
 Coaly Tyne, a well-known and appropriate designation of the 
 river Tyne ; evidently in reference to the coal, 
 
74 COB 
 
 For which, both for and near, that place no less is fam*d 
 Than India for her mines. Drayton's Poly-olbUm. 
 
 Cob, to pull the hair or ear, to strike, to thump. — Cobbino, strik- 
 ing, thumping — a punishment among children and workmen. 
 
 Cobbler's-Mondav, every Monday throughout the year — a re- 
 gular holiday among the scientific sons of St. Crispin. I am 
 told that it originated from the masters requiring the greater 
 part of this day to cut out the week's work for the " gentle 
 craft." 
 
 Cobby, or Coppy, stout, hearty, lively ; also tyrannical, head- 
 strong, or in too high spirits. The latter form, Mr. Todd 
 remarks, reminds one of cop, the head, as a probable etymon. 
 
 Coble, a peculiar kind of boat, very sharp in the bow, and flat 
 bottomed and square at the stern ; navigated with a lug sail. 
 Cobles are used on the North-east coast of England, by the 
 pilots and fishermen, who are extremely expert in their manage- 
 ment. A learned friend hints that the origin of this word is 
 to be found in the ancient Welsh cwrwgle^ or coracle — a boat 
 made of wicker-work and covered with leather. — Fr. corbeille, 
 a basket. But we have the very term in Sax. cuople, navi- 
 cula; and, I may add, that Welsh ceubal denotes a ferry- 
 boat. 
 
 Coble, or Cobble, a pebble or small stone — in some places a 
 large round one. 
 
 Cobloaf, a crusty uneven loaf. Shakspeare applies the word 
 contemptuously to personal appearance, where Ajax calls 
 Thersites " a cobloaf." — Troilus and Cressida. A corruption, 
 Mr. Todd says, of cop ; a loaf with a large head. 
 
 CoB-START, the commencement of the process of cobbing. 
 
 Cockers, or Coggers, properly half-boots made of untanned 
 leather, or other stiff materials, and strapped under the shoe; 
 but old stockings without feet, used as gaiters by hedgers and 
 ploughmen, are often so called. Cockers occurs in Bishop 
 Hall's Satires. In Lancashire the word is often used for 
 stockings. There is a small place not far from Bolton, called 
 Doif-Cocker, where, my friend, Mr. Turner, informs me, it 
 
COD 75 
 
 used to be the fashion for the country people who came from 
 church or market to pull off their stockings and walk barefoot 
 home. 
 
 CocKET, or CoppET, pert, apish. Sc. cocky, vain, affecting airs 
 of importance. I find in Sherwood, " to wax cocJcel.^* 
 
 Cockle, or Cokle, to cry like a cock. — Cumberland. 
 
 CocKLER, one whose trade it is to take and sell cockles. 
 
 Cockling, cheerful. " A codding person." There is a kindred 
 expression, " to delight the cockles of the heart." 
 
 CocKMEDAiNTY, oue who is finical in dress or carriage. 
 
 CocK-PENNY, a customary present made to the schoolmaster at 
 Shrovetide by the boys, in some of the schools in the North, 
 as an increase of salary. This used to be the season for 
 throwing at cocks, when that barbarous pastime was part of 
 the amusement of the scholars. The play-ground belonging 
 to the school was the place of diversion, and the master some- 
 times presided over the sport. Well might our inimitable ar- 
 tist, Hogarth, direct his satirical pencil to this " Stage of 
 Cruelty." 
 
 CocKs, a puerile game with the tough tufted stems of the rib- 
 wort plantain. V. Moor. It is hard heads in Lane. 
 
 Cod, Codd, a pillow or cushion. Sax. codde, a bag. Isl. kodde, 
 a pillow. Swed. kudde^ a cushion. Dr. Meyrick, Antient 
 Armour, Vol. 11. p. 239, states that, about the close of Henry 
 the Seventh's time, was introduced an exceedingly gross and 
 indecent appendage to the taces, called a cod-piece ; being an 
 artificial protuberance, placed just over the os pubis. It was 
 copied in armour, after having been first adopted in ordinary 
 dress, and, indeed, in this manner formed part of the costume 
 of every class, from the sovereign to the lowest mechanic ; 
 and what is astonishing, instead of shocking the delicacy of 
 society, spread over all the civilized part of Europe. The 
 same author, in a subsequent page, remarks that Gayton 
 alludes to the custom of fools being provided with this 
 unseemly part of dress in a more rem.ai'kable manner than 
 other person.", when speaking of the decline of the stage in hivS 
 
76 CODD 
 
 Festivous notes upon Don Quixote, p. 270. He says : " No 
 fooles with Harry cod-jneces appeare ;" an epithet which al- 
 ludes to the time of its introduction into England. So 
 Shakspeare, in King Lear, Act HI. Sc. 2, makes the fool say : 
 " Marry, here's grace and a cod-piece, that's a wise man and a 
 fool." 
 
 Coddle, to indulge with warmth, to make much of. Old Fr, 
 cadeler, to bring up tenderly. 
 
 Coffin, a cinder bounding from the fire, shaped like a coffin, 
 and looked upon as an omen of death. There is another 
 sort of a different form, called a purse, which is thought to be 
 the presage of wealth. 
 
 Cog, a wooden dish, a milk pail. Welsh, cawg, a bowl. V. 
 Tooke ; according to whom, cogy cag, and keg, are identical. 
 
 She set the cog upon her head, 
 An' she's gane singing hame ! 
 
 Ballad of Cowdenknows. 
 
 CoGGLE, to move from side to side so as to seem ready to be 
 overturned. Germ, kugelny to roll or tumble. 
 
 CoGGLY, unsteady, moving from side to side, easily overturned. 
 
 Coke, to cry peccavi. Ruddiman says, it is the sound which 
 cocks utter, especially when they are beaten, from which 
 Skinner is of opinion they have the name of coc/c. Dr. Jamieson 
 has to cr^ cok, to acknowledge that one is vanquished, which 
 he derives from O. Celt, coc, mechant, vile. 
 
 Coil, a lump on the head from a blow. It is also used to ex- 
 press a great stir, or tumult. In the Tempest, Shakspeare 
 uses the word in this latter sense; but "mortal coil" in 
 Hamlet's Soliloquy, though quoted in Todd's Johnson as an 
 example, seems rather to mean the human body with the 
 muscles, tendons, blood-vessels, nerves, &c. coiled around it. 
 
 CoiT, to throw. Hence, the rural game of coits, or quoits. The 
 word may be referred to Isl. kueita, violenter jactare. 
 
 CoLD-FiRE, a fire, or rather fuel, made ready for lighting. 
 
 Cole, to put into shape, to hollow out. Sc. co//, to cut, to clip. 
 
coo 77 
 
 to cut any thing obliquely ; which Dr. Jamieson derives from 
 Su.-Got. hulla^ verticis capillos abradere. 
 
 CoLLEY, butchers' meat. A term chiefly among children. 
 
 Colloguing, conversing secretly, plotting. Lat. colloquu 
 
 CoLLOP Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, on which it is 
 usual to have collops and eggs for dinner. The primitive cus- 
 tom was to regale with eggs on slices or collops of fried bread, 
 which is now exchanged for bacon. 
 
 CoLT-ALE, an allowance of ale claimed as a perquisite by the 
 blacksmith on the first shoeing of a horse. Hence, a customary 
 entertainment given by a person on entering into a new office, 
 is called " shoeing the colt" The first time a gentleman serves 
 on the Grand Jury he is called a colt. Shakspeare used this 
 word in the sense of what is now understood by the terra 
 green-horn. 
 
 Ay, that's a coU^ indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his 
 horse. MercJmnt of Venice. 
 
 Comb, or Coum, a confined valley, a sharp ridge. Sax. comby 
 vallis montibus utrinque obsita; and that probably from 
 British Jmm, or cwm, any deep or hollow place. 
 
 CoME-ovER, to wheedle, to circumvent — to overcome. 
 
 CoME-THY-WAYS, CoME-THY-WAYS-HiNNiE, common cxprcssions 
 for come forward j generally spoken to persons in great kind- 
 ness. In Drayton's Poly-olbion is a beautifid line : — 
 
 While Aire to Calder calls, and bids her cojne her -ways. 
 
 Comfortable, a covered passage-boat on the river Tyne, so 
 called from its containing superior accommodations to "Jemmy 
 Joneson's Whurry ;" but little patronized since the introduc- 
 tion of steam-packets. 
 
 CoMMOTHER, a godmothcr. Fr. commere. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Con, Conn, a squirrel. — Cumb. and West. Swed. korn. 
 
 Con, to fillip. Also to calculate, to consider. 
 
 Coo, Cow, V. to intimidate, to keep in subjection. Isl. kuga, 
 adigere. Swed. hifiva, to suppress, to keep under, — Cooed, 
 
78 COO 
 
 - Cowed, daunted, dastardly, timid. 
 
 England was coved^—^O^DriscoTs Hist. Ireland. 
 
 Coo, Cow, s. fear, intimidation. "He's tuin the coo" — he^B 
 
 afraid, he has acted cowardly. — Dur, 
 Cook, to disappoint, to punish, to manage so as to obtain one's 
 ■ end, to circumvent. Ital. cuocere, to grieve, to vex. 
 CooM, the dust and scrapings of wood, produced in sawing. Sc. 
 
 cooniy the dust of coal. Germ, kummer^ rubbish, seems the 
 
 origin. 
 Coop-cart, a cart enclosed with boards. Dr. Jamieson refers 
 
 to Teut. kuypcy a large vessel for containing liquids. But see 
 
 Coup- CART. 
 CoppiE, a dram. Sax. cop. Ital. coppOy a cup or drinking 
 
 vessel. 
 Cop-web, a cobweb. The pure Saxon root is here preserved. 
 
 See Attercop. 
 CoPY-CHRiSTY, a corruption of Corpus-Christi. " Copy-christy 
 
 day" — " Copy-christy fair.'* Brand gives some curious parti- 
 culars concerning the Corpus-Christi Plays, or Miracle Plays, 
 
 anciently performed by the trading companies of Newcastle. 
 
 V. Hist, of Newc. Vol. H. p. 369 & seq. 
 Corby, the raven. Le corbeau. BufFon. Corvus corax. Linn. 
 
 The carrion crow (corvus corone) is also, I find, called a cor- 
 
 by, or corby^crow. 
 Corf, a large wicker-work basket, used for drawing coals out of 
 
 the pits; made of strong hazel rods from one-half to one inch 
 
 in diameter, called corf-rods. Dut. horfy a basket. Isl. koerf» 
 
 Dan. kurv, 
 CoRNEY, half tipsey. The allusion is obvious enough. 
 Corn-crake, the landrail, or daker hen, which visits us in the 
 
 spring, and leaves us the latter end of October. Rallus crex. 
 
 It derives the name of crake, from its loud and incessant, 
 
 creaking harsh note, resembling that word. 
 Corn-laiters, newly-married peasants who beg corn to sow their 
 
 first crop with. — Cumh. In some parts of Wales, it is customary 
 
COUR 79 
 
 for poor women newly married to ask for cheese. V. Owen's 
 Welsh Diet. vo. cawsa. 
 
 Corpse-candle, a thick candle, placed in a candlestick of a pecu- 
 liar form — used formerly at lake-wahes. The Rev. W. N. 
 Darnell has one of these candlesticks. 
 
 CosEY, CoziE, snug, warm, sheltered ; implying a feeling of com- 
 fort, attended with satisfaction and delight. Fr. cozzi. V. Le 
 Roux. 
 
 Cot, a small bed or cradle. Gr. Ko/td, a bed. Old Frc coite. 
 
 CoTTED, CoLTERED, Clotted, entangled, matted together. The 
 word is usually applied to hair or wool, as hankled is to silk, 
 thread, worsted, &c. 
 
 CoTTERELS, cash. " The loss o' the cotterels aw dinna regaird." 
 
 CoTTERii<, a small iron wedge for securing a bolt, 
 
 CouL, Cowl, to scrape together dung, mud, dirt. &c. Fr. 
 cueiller. Ital. cogliere, to gather or bring together. — Coul- 
 RAKE, CowL-RAKE, the instrument by which this is performed. 
 In the Promptorium Parvulorum sive Clericorum, it is written 
 colrake. This term is also used for a fire-iron, in which sense 
 it is more properly a coa/-rake. 
 
 CouNGE, a large lump ; as of bread or cheese. 
 
 GouNTRY-siDE, the common term for a district, or tract of 
 country. 
 
 Coup, to empty by overturning, to overset, to tumble over. 
 Swed. guppa^ to tilt up. 
 
 Coup, Cowp, or Cope, to barter or exchange. Su.-Got. Jcoepa, 
 To chop in the South. " Always chopping and changing.'* 
 So in nautical language, " the wind chopped round." 
 
 Coup-cart, a short team — a cart that is capable of being couped, 
 or turned up to be emptied; the " long cart" not being so. 
 
 Couper-fair, a market held at Kirby- Stephen, the day before 
 Brough-hill ; where the phrase, " belter for belter," implies a 
 proposal to barter or exchange horse for horse. 
 
 CouR, Cower, to stoop low, to crouch down by bending the 
 hams. Su.-Got. Jcure. " Couring o'er the hearth stone.'* 
 
 Court aine, or Curtaine, a small court attached to a house. In 
 the South, a curtilage. 
 
80 COUT 
 
 CouTHER, to comfort. Allied perhaps to Cutter ; which see. 
 
 Cove, a cavern, a cave. Isl. kofe. Sax. cofe. Sc. cove. 
 
 CowEY, or CowED-cow, a cow without horns. Such an animal 
 is also said to be cowit. V. Jam. colly and cow. 
 
 CowEY, Cow-FOOTED, club-footed. — Dur. See Acow. 
 
 CowK, or Gowk, to reach ineffectually, to threaten to vomit. 
 Germ, kochen. 
 
 Cow-lick, the same as Calf-lick j which see. 
 
 Cow-paw'd, left handed, awkward, clumsy. 
 
 Cow-plat, the dung of a cow, as it drops in a small heap. Dr. 
 Jamieson says, perhaps from Teut. plat, planus, because of its 
 flat form. In Cheshire it is called cow shot or cow plague. 
 
 Cow-SHAREN, the leavings of the cow. Sax. scearn. Dung in 
 Teutonic, is sharUy and in Suio-Gothic, skarn. We have also 
 Shar-budf an old word for a beetle j supposed to be so called 
 from its being continually found under horse or cow dung. It 
 will probably astonish some of my South country readers 
 when I inform them that fresh cow-sharen is occasionally ap- 
 plied, as a cooling poultice, to the faces of young damsels in 
 Northumberland, if over flushed with any cutaneous eruption. 
 
 JMoreover, they say that bull's slicrne is an excellent com- 
 plexion forsooth, to set a fresh rosat or vermilion colour in 
 the ball of the cheeke. — Holland's Plinie, Vol. II. p. 327. 
 
 CowsTROPPLE, a cowslip ; i. e. cow*s thropplcy or throat — look- 
 ing deeper than the cow's lip. Hurdis looks deeper still. 
 The cowslip, he says, "hangs its head to hide a bleeding 
 heart." 
 
 Cow-WA, often pronounced like Q'uay, come away ! 
 
 CoYSTRiL, a raw inexperienced lad; a contemptible fellow. 
 From kestrel, or coystrely a bastard hawk. 
 
 He's a coward and a coystrU that will not drink to my niece. 
 
 Shak. Twelfth Night. 
 
 Crack, v. to brag or boast of any thing. Dut. kraaken. 
 
 Ethiops of their sweet complexion crack. 
 
 Shak, Love's Lah, Lost. 
 
CRAM 81 
 
 Crack, s. chat, conversation, news. "What's your crack** 
 Probably, Dr. Jaraieson says, from crack as denoting a quick 
 and sharp sound. A correspondent refers me to Germ. 
 krachen, to crackle, as green wood in the fire, from the confus- 
 ed noise of chatterers. 
 
 Crack, s. most excellent of its kind — that of which one may brag 
 or boast. " The crack of fancy breedin." 
 
 Cracker, a small baking dish. Also a small water biscuit of 
 fine flour. 
 
 Cracker, a piece of glass shaped like a pear, and which, when 
 the small end is broken off, flies into a thousand pieces; 
 called by the glassmen, garnets. 
 
 Honour's like that glassy bubble 
 
 That gives philosophers such trouble, 
 
 Whose least part crackt the whole does fly. 
 
 And wits are crackt to find out why. Hudibras. 
 
 Cracket, a low stool. V. Todd's John, cricket, 3d sense. 
 
 Cracks, an act of superiority. " I'll set your cracks" Also 
 news. " What cracks to day ?" 
 
 Cradden, or CrawdExX, to betray cowardice, to show the white 
 feather. V. Todd's John, craven. 
 
 Craddenly, or Crawdenly, recreant-like, faint-hearted, pusilla- 
 nimous. 
 
 Crag, a rough steep rock. A pure British word. The Celtic 
 craig is also a rock. 
 
 Craig, the old, and still the vulgar word for the throat^ — some- 
 times the neck. Su.-Got. krage, the neck. 
 
 They are obliged to obey the law, and keepe the peace all 
 the dayes of their life, upon the perill of their craigges. 
 
 King James^ Dutie of a King. 
 
 Cram, to stuff with falsehood ; in other language, to " pull a long 
 bow." — Crajvimer, a story without the slightest foundation. 
 
 Cramble, to walk feebly and slowly; or, as a valuable correspond- 
 ent explains it, with a stiff, short, and confined motion. 
 
82 CRAM 
 
 Crambly, Crammelly, weak, lame, or tender in the legs. " The 
 horse goes rather crammeUy this morning.*' 
 
 Crasiq, to mend by uniting ; as joining broken china, or wooden 
 bowls. — Cramer, the operator; generally B.fawy or travelling 
 tinker. A learned friend derives the word from Fr. cran, a notch. 
 The Academie define it " entaillure en corps durs, pour ac- 
 crocher quelque chose." It is always to be remarked that the 
 nas^l sound of the French confounds n and ?», so that in oral 
 language (where the nasal is dropped as English mouths soon 
 do) the n or vi is assumed indifferently. 
 
 Cramp, to contract, to crumple, to pucker. Teut. krompen. 
 
 Cranch, to crush a hard substance between the teeth. Coarse 
 — or as it is more generally called — round sand, thrown upon 
 the floor, is said to cranch under the feet. Perhaps there is 
 something of imitative sound in the term. Some of our poets 
 speak of dry snow " crunching'' under the feet. The French 
 have a phrase, grincer les dents. 
 
 Crank, to make a harsh noise, to creek. " The door cranks.^* 
 
 Cr ANKLE, weak, shattered. Teut. krank. Dut. kranck, sick. 
 
 Cranks, two or more rows of iron crooks in a frame, used as a 
 toaster. 
 
 Cranky, *. a cant name for a pitman. That man in the village, 
 who is most conspicuous for dress, or who excels the rest of 
 the villagers in the sports and pastimes held in estimation 
 amongst them, is also, by way of pre-eminence, called the 
 Cranky. — Dur. and North, 
 
 Cranky, a. sprightly, exulting, jocose. Serenius refers it to the 
 W. Goth, kranger, bold, daring. Cranky is also used in the 
 opposite sense of, ailing, sickly; from Dut. krancky sick. 
 There is a common expression, " crazy and cranky.^* 
 
 Cranky, checked ; as a cranky neckcloth, a cranky apron. 
 
 Crate, a sort of basket made rectangularly of strong, upright 
 rods inserted into cross pieces, and forming an open-work side, 
 for packing glass and pottery ware. Lat. crates. 
 
 Craw, a crow. Sax. craw, Dan. crage. 
 
 Cree, to bruise wheat or barley with a wooden pestle in a stone 
 
 I 
 
CRIS 83 
 
 trough until the husks fall off, and it becomes in a fit state for 
 frumenty. 
 
 Creepers, an uneasy sensation, to which, I am told, the lower 
 class of people are subject. It seems to be what, among the 
 gentry, is called the fidgets. 
 
 Creil, or Creel, a kind of semi-circular basket of wicker work, 
 in which provender is carried to sheep in remote pastures, or 
 on the mountains, during the distress of a snow storm. Its 
 sides are stiff, and its bottom supple, serving for hinges. This 
 is called a sheep creil, and is strapped over a man's shoulders. 
 Baskets for fish and eggs, pens for poultry, and wicker utensils 
 for various other purposes, are also called creils, in Newcastle 
 and the neighbourhood. Gael, criol, a chest, a coffer. Su.- 
 Got. kaerl, a vessel, is apparently allied. 
 
 Creiled, placed or packed in a creil ; as poultry or eggs. 
 
 Crib, a child's bed. Now in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Crimble-i*-th'-poke, to fly from an agreement, to act cowardly. 
 I am unable further to explain it. 
 
 Crine, to pine, to shrink, to shrivel. The word is of Celtic 
 origin. Welsh krino, Irish krionam, to wither. Gael, crionam, 
 to grow less. 
 
 Crinkle, to wrinkle, to bend under a load. Swed. shrynUa. 
 
 Cris-cross, the mark or signature of those who cannot write. 
 It was the method of our Saxon ancestors, whether they 
 could write or not, to affix the sign of the cross. An inability 
 to write, a cross being made in. its stead, is honestly avowed 
 by Caedwalla, a Saxon king, at the end of one of his charters. 
 V. Seldeni Jani Anglorum Fac. alt. 1. i. $. 42. This is not 
 a solitary instance of a potentate's ignorance of one of the 
 most useful acquisitions of mankind ; for, according to Pro- 
 copius, the Emperor Justin in the Epst, and Theodoric king 
 of the Goths in Italy, were both so illiterate as to be unable 
 to write. Since these dark and babarous ages, there has in- 
 deed been a rapid march ! 
 
 Cris-cross-row, Christ-cross-row, a provincial term for the 
 alphabet; so called because a cross was placed at its begin- 
 ning HA, B, C, &c. 
 
84 CROA 
 
 Croakum-shire, a cant name for Northumberland, in which 
 Newcastle may be included,— from a peculiar croaking in the 
 pronunciation of the inhabitants. 
 
 Crock, to grow little in bulk, to suffer decay from age. Hence, 
 on old ewe is in some places called a crock. So is under hair 
 in the neck. Su.-Got. kraehy animal quodvis exiguum, pre- 
 sents a satisfactory etymology. 
 
 Crook, a disease in sheep ; causing the neck to be crooked, 
 
 Croopy, Croupy, hoarse. Isl. hropa, clamare. McB.-Got. 
 hropjan. 
 
 Croppen, past pa. crept. — Croppen together, bent with age. 
 
 Cross-grained, testy, ill-tempered. Significant enough. 
 
 Cross-the-buckle, Cross-ower-the-buckle, a peculiar and 
 difficult step in dancing, practised in humble life. — Kewc. To 
 do it well is considered a great accomplishment. Since the 
 publication of my first edition, I find from the Irish Fairy 
 Legends, that there is an Hibernian step called cover the 
 buckle. 
 
 Crouse, or Crowse, merry, brisk, lively. " As crowse as a new 
 washen louse." — Old Proverb, 
 
 Crowdy, a mess of oatmeal — a genuine Northumbrian dish; 
 especially when prepared and eaterij according to the approv- 
 ed receipt of my Reverend Friend, the Author of " Metres, 
 addressed to the Lovers of Truth," &c. See his admirable 
 directions p. 213, 2d. edit. The word, as Dr. Jamieson has 
 shown, is very ancient, and claims affinity with a variety of 
 similar terms in other languages. It may have been adopted 
 by us from corrody (Lat. corrodium) an allowance of meat — a 
 sort of whittle gait in a Monastery. 
 
 Crowdie! ance; crowdk! twice; 
 Crowdie ! three times in a day : 
 An* ye crowdie ! ony mair, 
 Ye'll crowdie ! a* my meal away. 
 
 Old Scottish Ballad, 
 
 Crowdy-biain, a riotous assembly — a cock-fight— a crowded 
 mixture. For main, see Tooke, Vol. U. p. 387. 
 
 I 
 
CRUL 8^ 
 
 Crowley's-crew, sons of Vulcan attached to the extensive 
 iron-works, at Winlaton and Swalwell, jn the vicinity of New- 
 castle, established about the year 1690, by Sir Ambrose 
 Crowley, who is ridiculed in No. 299 of The Spectator (under 
 the name of Sir John Anvil,) as " a person of no extraction, 
 having begun the world with a small parcel of rusty iron.'* 
 The Knight, however, appears to have been a very worthy 
 character j and instituted an excellent, though peculiar, code 
 of laws for the government of his workmen. 
 
 Crown, to hold an inquest on a dead body. — Crowner, the 
 vulgar, though ancient, word for coroner. This office is of 
 great antiquity, mention being made of it in King Athelstan's 
 charter to Beverley, anno 905. It was once filled by persons 
 of high station ; and seems peculiar to the English. 
 
 Crud, v. to curdle. — Crud, s. a curd. " Cruds and cream." 
 
 Cruddle, to coagulate, to congeal; for which curdle is now 
 used; though we have the authority of Spenser and other 
 ancient writers in favour of the vernacular pronunciation. 
 
 Cruddle, to crowd together, to keep close. Mr. Wilbrahara 
 has Crewdle, or Croodle, to crouch together like frightened 
 chickens on the sight of a bird of prey. 
 
 Cruick-yor-elbow, crook your elbow, attest it, affirm it to be 
 true. Perhaps from the Scotch mode of holding up the hand 
 when taking an oath. 
 
 Cruick-yor-hough, crook your hough, sit down — a friendly in- 
 vitation — a right hearty welcome. 
 
 Wiv huz i' the North, when aw'ra wairsh i' my way, 
 (But t' knaw wor warm hearts ye yor-sell come,) 
 
 Aw lift the first latch, and baith man and dame say, 
 Cruick yor hough, canny man, for ye're welcome. 
 
 Song, Canny Ncwcasscl. 
 
 Cruick-yor-thumb, crook your thumb, a charm against witches. 
 
 Crull, Crule, v. to work with worsted. See Crulls, Crules. 
 
 Crulls, Crules, worsted of various colours— crewel. The 
 
 term is now chiefly confined to what is used by females in 
 
86 CRUM 
 
 learning embroidery by the working of their samplers at 
 school. Lexicographers seem not to have understood the 
 meaning of the word. One of the commentators on Shak- 
 speare, quite ignorant of its sense, might have spared his remarks. 
 
 Crummel, a crumb ; conformable to Germ, krummel. 
 
 Crumjiy, a. crooked. Isl. krumme. Su.-Got. and Dan. krum. 
 
 Crummy, s. a favourite name for a cow with crooked horns. 
 
 Crummy, in good case, getting fat — quasi crumby^ one who 
 " picks up his crumbs." 
 
 Crump, hard, brittle, crumbling ; as bread or cake of that qua- 
 lity. Sax. acruman, in micas frangere. Hence crumpets. 
 
 Crune, to bellow like a disquiet ox. — Cruning, the cry of the 
 beast ; being the genuine Saxon word to denote that vocife- 
 ration, and which is still preserved in Dut. kreunen^ to groan. 
 The terra cruning is also frequently applied to the cowardly 
 and petted roaring of a disappointed child. In The Gentle 
 Shepherdy crune is used in the sense of a lowly muttered in- 
 cantation. 
 
 She can o'ercast the night and cloud the moon, 
 And mak the deils obedient to her crune. 
 
 Crut, a dwarf, the smallest of a brood or litter — any thing 
 curbed in its growth. Fr. court , short ; interchanging the r and 
 «, as is so frequent. The Armorican name conveys a similar 
 idea; crot^ according to Bullet, being a little child. Isl. 
 hrotUy effoetum animal decrepitae aetatis, is nearly allied. 
 
 Cruttle, a crumb, a broken piece or small fragment. 
 
 Cuckoo' s-MAiDEN, a northern name for the wryneck {Yunx 
 Torquilla) which usually arrives here a few days before the 
 appearance of the cuckoo. The two birds are often found 
 together; probably as agreeing in the same taste of food. 
 Though called the cuckoo's attendant and provider, it is far 
 from following it with a friendly intent : it only pursues as an 
 insulter, or to warn its little companions of the cuckoo's de- 
 predations. See Mr. Fox's Synopsis of the Newcastle Mu- 
 seum, p. 59. 
 
CULL 87 
 
 Cuddle, v. to embrace, to squeeze, to hug. Teut. hidden. — 
 Cuddle, s. an embrace, a squeeze, a hug. See the songs of 
 The Pitman's Courtship, and The Lea Rig. 
 
 Cuddy, an abbreviation of Cuthbert ; a very common Christian 
 name in the North ; in honour, perhaps, of our Patron Saint. 
 
 Cuddy, or Cuddy-ass, a common name for that very useful and 
 much enduring quadruped — the ass. It might seem to have 
 received this designation from Teut. kudde, grex ; though it is 
 probably only the familiar appellation of Cuthbert. In Nor- 
 folk and Suffolk the term is Diclcy ; in Cheshire Neddt/ ; and 
 in other places Jachy, or Jack-ass. But Dr. Jamieson says, 
 " this word is most probably of oriental origin, and may have 
 been imported by the Gypsies, this being their favourite qua- 
 druped. Pers. gudda signifies an ass; and I am informed 
 that Ghudda has the same signification in Hindostanee." 
 
 CuDDYs'^LEGs, a barbarous unmeaning term for large herrings ; 
 peculiar to the Newcastle fish market. 
 
 CuiFF, to walk in an awkward manner; especially with large 
 broad feet. 
 
 Cull, s. a fool, a stupid person, a cully. Ital. coglione, a fool. 
 " Thou'rt a cm//," is often used by a Northumbrian to cheat 
 the devil of his due, by avoiding a denunciation of a more un- 
 seemly character. 
 
 Cull, a. silly, simple, foolish. " A cull person" — " a cull let- 
 ter." Mr. Surtees has published the following fragment of a 
 genuine Sandhill ballad, relating to the troublesome times of 
 Charles I. — 
 Ride through Sandgate both up and down, 
 There you'll see the gallants fighting for the crown, 
 All the cull cuckolds in Sunderiand town. 
 With all the bonny blewcaps, cannot pull them down. 
 
 The blewcaps did, however, at last succeed in pulling them 
 down; for, after a most gallant defence, Newcastle was 
 stormed on the 19th of October, 1644, and entered by the 
 White Fryer Tower and Sandgate. V. Hist. Dur. Vol. I. p. 
 257. 
 
88 CUMM 
 
 CuBTMED, past pa. of come. This provincialism is of long stand- 
 ing. V. Jam. cuvid, 
 
 CuN, to learn, to know. Sax. cunnan. Teut. kunnen. Germ. 
 konnen. Cunnings knowing, skilful, may evidently b6 traced 
 to this origin. 
 
 CuN, to express a sense of obligation, to feel grateful. " I cun 
 you nae thanks," I do not acknowledge myself obliged to you. 
 Similar to the French phrase sf avoir gre. 
 
 CuNDY, a small sewer or shore, a conduit. 
 
 Cur, a disrespectful term for a man. " A ketty cur" a very vile 
 person. 
 
 What would ye have, ye curs.^-Shak. Coriolanus. 
 
 Curfew, the evening bell. Old Fr. carre-feu^ or cerre-feu; 
 now changed into couvrefeu. It has been generally supposed 
 by historians and law writers, that the regulation of the cur- 
 few-bell, by which every inhabitant of England was obliged to 
 extinguish his fire at 8 o'clock in the evening, originated with 
 William the Conqueror, and that the measure was imposed 
 upon his new subjects as a badge of servitude. There is, 
 however, no foundation for this opinion. On the contrary, 
 sufficient evidence exists that the same custom prevailed in 
 most of the monasteries and towns in the North of Europe, 
 before the arrival of our Norman visitor. The law was in- 
 tended as a precaution against conflagrations, which, when so 
 many houses were built of wood, were very frequent and fatal. 
 See Lord Lyttelton's Hist. Henry II. 8vo. Vol. I. p. 433; 
 Warton's Essay on Pope, Vol. I. p. 22 ; and Henry's Hist. 
 Brit. 4to. Vol. III. p. 567. See also Lacombe Diet, du vieux 
 Lang. Fran^. vo. couvrefeu. The purpose, as well as the 
 name of the curfew-bell, is still retained in Newcastle; where 
 it is rung at the original time — eight o'clock at night. 
 
 CuRN-BERRiEs, currants. Churry-ripe-curn-berries, the New- 
 castle cry for currants ; i, e. currants as big as cherries. 
 
 Cushat, the ring dove, or wild pigeon. Colurnha Palumhus. 
 Major Moor is disposed to derive this pretty word from 
 
t>AT> 89 
 
 Coochat ; that is, cooing and chattering ; but I have little doubt 
 the true etymology is Sax. cusceate, from cusc, chaste — in al- 
 lusion to the conjugal fidelity of the bird. Among the Greeks 
 and Latins the dove — dedicated to Venus Urania — was the 
 emblem of pure love : the chaste Daphne was purity personi- 
 fied. CusHY-DOW, is another of the popular names of this 
 bird. See Pee-w^it. 
 
 CusHY-cow, a cow. Perhaps from the word cushj/ being used to 
 sooth that animal. But what is cushy ? Has it any connec- 
 tion with Su.-Got. kusJca, to sooth by fair speeches ? 
 
 Cushy-cow- LADY, a beautiful little scarlet beetle, with black 
 spots ; sometimes called Lady-Bird. Coccinella. 
 
 CusT, CussEN, preterite of cast. Very common. 
 
 Cut, a quantity of yarn, twelve of which make what is called a 
 hanky the same as skein in the South. 
 
 Cute, quick, intelligent, sly, cunning, clever. Generally thought 
 to be an abbreviation of acute ; but, in all probabiUty, du'ect 
 from Sax. cuth^ expertus. 
 
 CuTEs, KuTES, the feet. Sc. cute^ cuitty the ankle. 
 
 Cutter, to fondle, to make much of. Sc. couthy couthyy loving, 
 affectionate. 
 
 Guttering, the cooing of a pigeon. Also applied to private or 
 secret conversation. Dut. kouten. 
 
 Cutty, s. a knife. Obviously from Fr. couteau. 
 
 Cutty, a. small, diminutive. Perhaps from the verb to cut; 
 though I feel much inclined to trace it to Gael, cutachy short. 
 
 Cutty-gun, a familiar term for a short tobacco pipe. 
 
 D. 
 
 'D, an abbreviation for ity after a verb ; thus — *' mind ye dinna 
 
 spill'd." 
 Dad, v. to shake, to strike. — Dad, 5. a blow, a thump. Teut. 
 
 dodde, fustis. 
 
 N . . 
 
90 DAD 
 
 Dad, s. a large piece, a thick slice ; as of bread or cheese. 
 
 Daddle, or Dawdle, to walk unsteadily, to be slow in motion 
 or action, to saunter, or trifle. Mr. Todd refers to Isl. dudda, 
 to be slow footed. I may add Germ. tandelUf to totter, to 
 loiter. 
 
 Daddy, a childish name for father. The wprd is said to have 
 been found in use among the South Americans, and the Afri- 
 cans of Angola. See Thomson, dady dadda. 
 
 Daddy's-bairn, a child resembling its father, not only in features 
 but in conduct. 
 
 Dadge, or Dodge, to walk in a slow clumsy manner. 
 
 Dadge, a large slice, a lump. The same as Dad. 
 
 Daff, to daunt, to stun. Su.-Got. do/way to stupify. 
 
 Daffle, to betray loss of memory and mental faculty. Persons 
 growing old and in their dotage, are said to dajicy and to be 
 dafflers. In some parts of the North they have the verb 
 deafflcy to become deaf j which seems allied. But see Daff, 
 and Daft. 
 
 Daft, simple, foolish, stupid, insane. Su.-Got. doefy stupidus. 
 I>affie occurs in Peirs Ploughman, Chaucer, &c. 
 
 The ae half of the warld thinks the other dafl — Redgauntkt. 
 
 Daftlike, having the appearance of folly, approaching to in- 
 sanity. 
 
 Dag, v. to drizzle. — Dag, s. a drizzling rain, dew upon the grass. 
 Isl. dauggy pluvia. Swed. daggy dew. — Daggy, a. damp, wet. 
 " A daggy day." Swed. daggigy dewy. 
 
 Dag, an old North country word for a pistol — not a poniard, as 
 generally supposed. Old Fr. daggCy a small gun. The term 
 dagger^ appears to have sprung out of this word ; because a 
 poniard was often attached to a dag, or pistol, as a bayonet now 
 is to a musket. I have the authority of Sir Walter Scott for 
 stating that, in Scotland that part of the cock of a gun which 
 holds the flint is still called the dag-head. 
 
 The Maior of New-Castle with the Aldermen his Brethren 
 rid to visit on hors-backe the colepits, as their office is to do 
 
DARN 91 
 
 every quatrer of yeer, where by the way he was shot with a 
 dag into the arme, which caused him to fall off his horse.— 
 Dol^ul Newcs from Edinburgh^ Ato. 1641. 
 
 Dagger-money, a sum of money formerly paid to his Majesty's 
 Justices of Assize on the Northern Circuit, to provide arms, 
 and other security against marauders. The Mayor of New- 
 castle still presents each judge with a piece of gold on his de- 
 parture for Carlisle. 
 
 The Northumberland Sheriff gave us all arms ; that is, a 
 dagger^ knife, penknife, and fork, all together. — Nortli's Life 
 of Lord Keeper Guilford. 
 
 Daggle, to trail in the dirt —to draggle. — Daggled, dirtied by 
 
 walking — draggled. See Dag; from which, perhaps, daggle 
 
 is originally derived. 
 Daiker, to wander, to saunter. " I was just daikering up 
 
 street." 
 Dainty, pleasant, worthy, excellent. Isl. daindiSf excellenter, 
 
 optimus. It also means, finically nice. " The dainty Mr. 
 
 Gray." — Johnson^ s Lives. 
 Dairns, a term for small, unmarketable fish. 
 Damage, cost, expense. " Noo, Sir, ye've kirsenM mi bairn, 
 
 whats*t damaged 
 Dang, Dang it, a foolish evasion of an oath. V. Jennings. 
 Dark, v, to listen with an insidious attention, to hearken ob- 
 scurely or unseen. Allied to the old verb, darky used by 
 
 Chaucer, Spenser, and other early writers. 
 Dark, a. blind. — Almost dark, nearly blind. — Quite dark, 
 
 stone blind. " Pity a quite dark man." 
 Darkening, the close of the day, evening twilight. Sax. deor- 
 
 cung, crepusculum. 
 Darn, to mend holes by chequering the threads in imitation of 
 
 the stuff. Welsh, dai'n, to patch. But see Todd's John. 
 Darnton, the old, and still the vulgar, name of Darlington. 
 
 He was in great danger to be robbed about Darnton and 
 Neesum by thieves and highwaymen — Letter of Bishop Cosin, 
 
92 DARN 
 
 Darnton Trod, or Darnton Road. To take Damton Trod, 
 or Damton Road, (that is, I suppose, the London road,) is to 
 adopt desperate measures, in order to avoid immediate conse- 
 quences — to fly the country for debt or crime. 
 
 Dash-my-buttons, an imprecation. V. Jam. Supp. dash you. 
 
 Dauber, a plasterer. The ancient style of a branch of the fra- 
 ternity of bricklayers in Newcastle was Cotters and Daubers. 
 The cat was a piece of soft clay thrust in between the laths, 
 which were afterwards daubed or plastered. 
 
 Daurg, Darg, or Daeg, a day's work, either of men or husban- 
 dry cattle; as four daurg of mowing — four daurg of ploughing. 
 A daywere of land was anciently as much arable ground as 
 could be ploughed up in one day's work. Sax. dcBg, dies. 
 
 Daver, to stun, to stupify. Teut. daveren, tremere. — Davered, 
 benumbed, stupified. Isl. daufr, fatuus, surdus. 
 
 Daw, to thrive, to mend, to recover from an illness. An old 
 English word. " Dawyng, gettynge of lyfe." Palsgrave. 
 
 Daw, to dawn. Sax. dcBgian, to grow light. Teut. daghen. 
 
 The other side from whence the morning daws. 
 
 Drayton, Poly-oMon. 
 
 Dawing, break of day — dawning. Sax. dagung, aurora. 
 
 Dawdy, a slattern. Isl. dauda doppa, homuncio ignavus. 
 
 Days-man, an arbitrator, or elected judge. An old word still in 
 use among the farmers. Dr. Hammond says, that the word 
 day, in all idioms, signifies judgment. 
 
 Daytaleman, a day labourer, chiefly in husbandry — one who 
 works by day-tale ; i. e. a man whose labour is told or reckon- 
 ed by the day, not by the week or year. — Daytalework, the 
 work so performed. 
 
 Daze, to dazzle, to stupify, to fi-ighten. Teut, daesen, delirare, 
 insanire. Sc. daese, or daise. 
 
 Dazed, blinded with splendour, astounded, benumbed by frost, 
 stupified with liquor. 
 
 Dazed-meat, meat ill roasted. — Dazed-bread, bread not well 
 baked. See Deazed ; which seems allied. 
 
DEAN 93 
 
 Dead-house, a place for the reception of drowned persons. 
 
 Dead-knock, a supposed warning of death. The superstitious 
 imagine they hear a mysterious noise upon the door or bed ; 
 and, not knowing the cause, view it as a notification of the 
 decease of some relation. 
 
 Deadly Feud, a ferocious contest among the wild Northum- 
 brians on the Borders, where Saxon barbarism held its latest 
 possession. In those days, it is almost superfluous to remark, 
 there was no law in this part of the kingdom ; but the stronger 
 oppressed the weaker, and the whole country was little better 
 than a den of thieves. 
 
 If any two be displeased, they expect no lawe, but bang it 
 out bravely, one and his kindred against the other, and his ; 
 they will subject themselves to no justice, but, in an inhumane 
 and barbarous manner, fight and kill one another ; they run 
 together in clangs (as they terme it) or names. This fighting 
 they call their ^i^^s, or deadly feides. 
 
 Grey's Chorographia^ 1649. 
 
 The most celebrated of our Border chiefs. 
 
 Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, 
 
 occasionally indulged in these sanguinary frays j with all the 
 " pride, pomp, and circumstance of glorious war j" and after- 
 wards made truce, or final peace, with each other, with as 
 much formality — and as little sincerity — as actual monarchs. 
 
 Dead-nip, a blue mark on the body ; ascribed by the vulgar to 
 necromancy. V. Kilian, dood-nepe ; and Jam. dede-nip. 
 
 Deaf. In the North, this adjective has a much more extensive 
 signification than, wanting the sense of hearing. It means, 
 decayed generally, or deprived of the ordinary properties j as 
 a *' deaf nut" a nut of which the kernel is rotten ; " deaf 
 corn,'^ barren or blasted corn. The latter term — deaf corn, is 
 a pure Saxon expression. 
 
 Deame, D'yame, or Dame, the matron or mistress of the house. 
 V. Note in Cumb. Ball. p. 65. See also Jennings. 
 
 Dean, Deane, or Dene, properly a dell, or deep wooded valley 
 
94 DEAR 
 
 between two steep hills, with running water at the bottom ; 
 but applied to any hollow place where the ground slopes on 
 both sides. Castle-Eden Dean, in the County of Durham, is 
 a ravine of great extent, with the wildest and most luxuriant 
 scenery, requiring " a poet's lip, or a painter's eye," adequate- 
 ly to depict its beauties. Sax. den, a cave or lurking place, a 
 valley. 
 
 Dear-knows, a sort of half appeal to Grod of the speaker's igno- 
 rance. Q. Dieu ? 
 
 Dearn, or Dern, solitary, lonely, melancholy. Pure Saxon. 
 
 Deave, to deafen, to stupify with noise, to din. See Daver ; 
 which seems cognate. 
 
 Deazed, withered, sapless, wanting moisture. As applied to the 
 weather, cold, raw, parching. 
 
 Debateable-lands, large tracts of wild country, on the confines 
 of Northumberland, which so often caused the English bows 
 and the Scottish broad swords to be drawn, and, in more 
 modern times, were a continued source of feud and contention 
 among a variety of claimants. These territories in ancient 
 records were called terra contentiosa. After the Union, they 
 received the name of disputed ground, and were so inserted in 
 all but the last Map of Northumberland, long after they had 
 
 . ceased to be so. All disputes respecting them, so far as con- 
 cerned the houses of Percy and Douglas, were compromised, 
 under an arbitration, many years ago. Those on the marches 
 of Sir John Swinburne's estates, after a long and expensive 
 litigation, both in the English and Scotch courts, were settled 
 in his grandfather's time. 
 
 Deed, our Northern word for dead. — A deed pig, all over with 
 any thing; as the squeaking when a pig is dead? There is a 
 story of a late Alderman of Newcastle (whose discourse would 
 have added much to this collection) that, when Mayor, playing 
 at whist with Judge Buller, and having nine, and six tricks, he 
 called out in transport, " Noo, noo, canny Judge, play the 
 reet caird, and it's a deed pig J" 
 
 Deeds, the rubbish of quarries or drains. Probably the dead or 
 unprofitable parts — mere dead stuff. 
 
DERW 95 
 
 Deel, a familiar name in Northumberland for the prince of 
 darkness. Sc. deil. See Old-bendy. 
 
 Deet, or DiGHT, to dress, to wipe or make clean, to sift or win- 
 now corn. Sax. dihtan, parare, disponere. Sc. dicht. See 
 Keel-deeters. 
 
 Deft, pretty, neat, clever, handy. Sax. dcsft, idoneus. Stat- 
 ed in Todd's John, to be obsolete; but it is not so in the 
 North. 
 
 Deg, to moisten with water, to sprinkle. Sax. deagan, tingere. 
 Isl. deigVy madidus, humidus. This word is used by Shak- 
 speare in the Tempest. It is not in Nares' Glossary. 
 
 Delfs, pits out of which iron stone has been dug. Large quan- 
 tities of scoria or slag lie scattered on the Fells in the North 
 — supposed to be the remains of ore wrought by the Romans. 
 The smelting of metal, as practised by them in Britain, pre- 
 sents a subject of curious investigation. Though iron has 
 been refined and manufactured uninterruptedly from this early 
 sera, it does not appear, so far as the author has been able to 
 discover, that the melting or casting of steelhas been introduc- 
 ed above a century ago. 
 
 Dell, a little dale, or narrow valley. Got. dal, a cavern or deep 
 place. 
 
 Derwentwater's (Lord) Lights, a popular name for that 
 wonderful phenomenon — the Aurora Borealis; which ap- 
 peared remarkably vivid on the night of the unfortunate Earl's 
 execution ; so much so, indeed, that some of his more zealous 
 partisans imagined they saw in this novel appearance, men 
 without their heads. Many of the peasantry in Northumber- 
 land still believe, that, on that fatal day, Dilston Brook, a 
 rivulet near his residence, ran with blood. Certain it is, that 
 of all the victims who perished in the rash enterprise of 1715, 
 none fell more lamented than the young and generous Der- 
 wentwater, whose memory is cherished and respected, with all 
 the fondness of traditionary attachment, by the descendants of 
 those who experienced the bounty, and had the best means 
 of appreciating the character, of their last unhappy lord. In 
 
96 DESS 
 
 the year 1807, his body was discovered in the family chapel 
 at Dilston, in a state of perfect preservation. The suture 
 round the neck, and the appearance of the corpse, agreeing 
 exactly vi^ith the age of the deceased, removed every doubt of 
 its identity. 
 
 Dess, v. to lay close together, to pile up in order. Chaucer uses 
 dels, for a seat, or rather the raised step for the high table of 
 the lord and his companions ; and Spenser has desse, a desk 
 or table ; from old Fr. dais. 
 
 Dess, v, to cut a section of hay from the stack. Dut. tassen, to 
 gather. 
 
 Dess, *. the portion of a hay stack usually cut at one time. 
 
 Deuse, the Devil, or any evil spirit. Dusius was the ancient 
 popular name among the Gauls for a kind of demon or spirit. 
 St. Austin makes mention of some of these dusii, which, for 
 impudicity, he compares to the Silvans, the Pans, and the 
 Fauns of old. They were properly incubi. V. Aug. de Civit. 
 Dei, Lib. xv, c. 23. There is a German ballad by Goethe, on 
 the subject of the Deuses, who were in the Northern Mytho- 
 logy supposed to be demons of two classes, presiding over fire 
 and frost respectively. See a translation in the Monthly Mag. 
 Vol. VI. p. 197. 
 
 Devald, to cease. " The pain devalded.'" Su.-Got. dwala, to 
 delay. 
 
 DiCKY-wiTH-HiM, all ovcr with him. Said of a person who is 
 ruined or thwarted. So of states — actum est de republica. 
 
 Didder, to shiver with cold, to quiver. Teut. diddern. 
 
 DiFFicuLTER, more difficult. A common comparative. 
 
 Dike, a hedge, or fence — that which is digged, — whether a ditch, 
 or an embankment. Sax. die. Teut. dijek, agger. 
 
 Dike, in a coal mine, means a large crack or breach of the solid 
 strata. A depot for coals at the staith is also called a dyke. 
 
 DiKER, a hedger, or ditcher. Conformable to our old lexico- 
 graphy. 
 
 Dill, to soothe pain, to still, to calm. Isl. diUa, lallare. 
 
 Ding, to push or drive, as well as, to dash with violence. Sax. 
 
DIV 97 
 
 denegaiiy to beat. Su.-Got. daenga, tundere. Swed. d'dnga 
 to bang. 
 
 Ding, a moderated imprecation. " Ding it, but thou's an ass." 
 
 Ding-down, to overthrow. "Ding down the nests, and the 
 rooks will fly away," is a maxim that has been attributed to 
 the rough reformer, Knox. The saying gave an edge to the 
 fanatical rage of the Covenanters and Cameronians, in the 
 destruction of the architectural grandeur of the Romish church 
 in Scotland. 
 
 DiNMAN, or DiNMONT, a male sheep from the first to the second 
 shearing, when it becomes a wedder. 
 
 DiNNA, for do not. " Dinna ye speak on't." 
 
 DiNNEL, or DiNDLE, to be affected with a prickling or shooting 
 pain, as if of a tremulous short motion in the particles of one's 
 flesh ; such as arises from a blow, or is felt in the fingers when 
 exposed to the fire after frost. Dut. tintelen, to tingle. V. 
 Sewel's Eng. and Dut. Diet. 
 
 DiPNESs, depth. Sax. deopni/sse, profunditas. 
 
 DiRDOM, DuRDUM, a great noise, or uproar. Gael, diardan, an- 
 ger. Welsh, diurddy a sound, a noise, a stir. 
 
 DiRL, V. to move round quickly. Sax. thirUan, perforare. Swed. 
 dallra^ to vibrate, seems allied. 
 
 DiRL, V. to give a slight tremulous pain or stroke. — Dirl, s. the 
 sensation occasioned by a stroke of this description. Bums 
 uses the word, with considerable effect, in his Poem of Death 
 and Doctor HornhooJc. 
 
 Disannul, to injure. " I never disannulled thy cow." 
 
 DisGEST, digest. Common among the vulgar. It is used by 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, and several other old writers. 
 
 DiSHER, a person who makes wooden bowls or dishes. 
 
 DiSH-FACED, hollow-faced — probably as resembling a dish. 
 
 Dirt, rain. " We'll have more dirt'' — Dirty, wet ; as dirty 
 weather. 
 
 Dirt-bird, a bird that sings on the approach of wet weather. 
 See Rain-Birds. 
 
 Div, for do. Very common among the vulgar. 
 ' o 
 
98 DIVE 
 
 DivET, or Divot, a turf, or sod. — North. Lat. defodercy to dig 
 in the earth. V. Jamieson. 
 
 DoBBY, a fool, a silly old man. Sc. dob'Wy a dolt. 
 
 DoBBY, or DoBBiE, a spirit or demon. Dobbies appear to be of 
 different kinds. Some — attached to particular houses or 
 farms — are represented as good humoured in disposition, and 
 (though naturally lazy) in cases of trouble and difficulty, are 
 said to make incredible exertions for the advantage of the fa- 
 mily; such as stacking all the hay, or housing the whole crop 
 of corn in one night. Others — residing in low granges or 
 bams, or near antiquated towers or bridges — have a very dif- 
 ferent character imputed to them. Among other pranks, they 
 will sometimes jump behind a horseman, and compress him so 
 tightly, that he either perishes before he can reach his home, 
 or falls into some lingering and direful malady. See Willan. 
 
 DocKON, the dock. Rumcx obtusifolius. A charm is connected 
 with the medicinal application of this plant. If a person be 
 severely stung with a nettle, it is customary to collect a few 
 dock leaves, to spit on them, and then to rub the part affect- 
 ed, repeating the incantation, " In dockon,OM/ nettle," till the 
 violent smarting and inflammation subside. These words are 
 said to have a similar effect with those expressed in the old 
 Monkish adage, " Exeat ortica, tibi sit periscelis amica ;" the 
 female garter bound about the part which has suffered, being 
 held a remedy equally efficacious. Mr. Wilbraham remarks 
 that, " In dock, out nettle" is a kind of proverbial saying, ex- 
 pressive of inconstancy. This observation will contribute to 
 explain an obscure passage in Chaucer's Troilus and Creseide, 
 B. IV. St. 66. 
 
 Thou biddest me I should love another 
 
 All freshly new, and let Creseide go. 
 
 It lithe nat in my power, leve brother. 
 
 And though I might, yet would I nat do so. 
 
 But canst thou plaien raket to and fro, 
 
 Nettle in, dock out^ now this, now that, Pandare ? 
 
 Now foule fall her for thy wo that care. 
 
DOGf 99 
 
 DoDD, to cut wool from and near the tails of sheep, to trim their 
 hind parts. — Doddings, the cuttings, or trimmings. Dod^ to 
 lop, as a tree, is an old word. See Dodded. 
 
 DoDDART, a bent stick used in the game called doddart; which 
 is played in a large level field, by two parties of nearly balanced 
 powers, either as to number or dexterity, headed by two cap- 
 tains who are entitled to choose their followers by alternate 
 votes. A piece of globular wood, called an orr or coit^ is 
 thrown down in the middle of the field, and the object of each 
 side is to drive it to one of two opposite hedges assigned re- 
 spectively t>efore the game begins, as the alleys hail, goal, or 
 boundary. 
 
 DoDDED, without horns ; as dodded sheep. Said in the Craven 
 Gloss, to be an abbreviation of doe-headed. Our old lexico- 
 graphy, however, militates against this opinion. Dodded, ac- 
 cording to Phillips, (New World of Words, fol. 1678,) is an 
 old word for " unhorned ; also lopped as a tree, having the 
 branches cut off." 
 
 Dodder, or Dother, to shake, to tremble ; to nod, as in the 
 palsy of decrepitude. — Doddered, or Dothered, decaying 
 and shattered; as a doddered oak — stupid with age or infir- 
 mity. " An aud dothered karl." 
 
 Doddering-dickies, the quivering heads of the briza, or quaking 
 grass. 
 
 Doddle, to walk infirmly, to totter. See Todle, or Toddle. 
 
 Dodge, in the sense of, to jog, to incite. 
 
 DoDY, a corruption or diminutive of George ; originating in a 
 childish pronunciation of Georgee, by the common infantile 
 substitution of d for g, and the not uncommon omission of r, 
 especially in Newcastle, when a broad vowel precedes. 
 
 Doff, to undress, to put off. From to do off. Not obsolete, as 
 Dr. Johnson thought. See Don. 
 
 Dog, a wooden utensil in the rude form of a dog, with iron 
 teeth for toasting bread. Also a piece of iron placed at each 
 end of the fire-place to keep up the fire ; chiefly used where 
 wood is burnt, and called in French chenct, from chien. 
 
100 DOG-L 
 
 Dog-lope, or Dog-loup, a narrow slip of ground between two 
 houses, the right to which is questionable — the place through 
 which a dog leaps. 
 
 Doited, stupid, superannuated. Dr. Johnson has doted, stupid ; 
 which he says is not used ; but which is evidently the same as 
 this Northern word. 
 
 Dole, v. to set out or allot ; applied to land. Sax. dalan to 
 divide. Sc, deal. In Cumb. a narrow plot of ground in a 
 common field, set out by land -marks, is called a Deail. 
 
 Dole, s. a charitable gift or donation, a benefaction left to the 
 poor — any thing distributed or dealt out. Sax. dcel, pars, 
 portio. In former times it was applied to the relief given to 
 the poor at the gates of great men, and to the benefactions 
 delivered out by the almoner of religious houses. In the 
 county of Durham we have still FranklirCs Dole^ Cocken Dole, 
 and Brabant* s Dole. There is also the Widow'' s Dolcy distri- 
 buted once a month by the Hospital in Greatham, to twenty- 
 six poor persons or families residing in the place. 
 
 Dole, grief, sorrow, lamentation. Old Fr. dol. Mod. Fr. deuU. 
 By no means obsolete, as stated in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Dox, to dress, to put on. An old word from to do on — the con- 
 trary to doff. Stated in Todd's Johnson to be obsolete; but 
 it is in common use in the North. 
 
 DoNCY, affectedly neat, accompanied with the idea of self-im- 
 portance. Perhaps from don ; as like a donno, or donna. 
 
 DoNCH, or DoNSH, nice, dainty, particular ; as an appetite pam- 
 pered by indulgence. I am unable to offer any satisfactory 
 etymology. 
 
 DoNK, damp, moist, humid. Su.-Got. dunken, mucidus. 
 
 DoNNAT, or DoNNART, an idle, good for nothing person — a do- 
 naught. In Cumberland it is viewed as equivalent to the 
 Devil. The term has great verisimilitude to Dan. doegenight, 
 rendered by Wolff, an idle rascal or rogue. 
 
 DoosE, a blow. *' Z)oo«e-i'-the-chops," a blow on the face. — 
 DoosEY, or DoosEY-CAP, a punishment among boys. 
 
 DosENED, cold, shrivelled, benumbed. Cognate with Dozened. 
 
DOWP 101 
 
 Douce, snug, comfortable, neat, sweet-looking — applied to a 
 beautiful and attractive woman. Lat. dulcis. Fr. doux, douce. 
 
 DouGHTER, DouTER, the vulgar and ancient pronunciation of 
 daughter. Sax. and Germ, dohter. 
 
 DouK, or Duck, to bathe. Sax. doucan. Dut. ducken, 
 
 DouKY, damp, humid, wet. " A douk^ morning." 
 
 Doup, Dowp, clunes. Isl. dof. Ital. dopo. " As fine as F**ty- 
 Poke's Wife, who dressed her doup with primroses," is a 
 Newcastle comparison of long standing, though of little deli- 
 cacy. 
 
 Dour, sour looking, sullen. " A dour countenance." 
 
 Douse, respectable, prudent. See Douce j which appears iden- 
 tical. 
 
 DouTsoME, hesitating, uncertain as to the event — doubtful, 
 
 Dow, Doo, or Dough, a little cake. See Yule-dough. 
 
 DowLY, lonely, dismal, melancholy, sorrowful, doleful. " A 
 dowli/ place" — " a dowli/ lot." My friend, Mr. Raine, refers 
 me to Gr. '^ovXtov ^ux^. We have also the form of the word 
 in Fr. deuily douleur ; and Lat. dolor. 
 
 DowN-coME, a fall in the market — degradation in rank, or injury 
 in worldly circumstances— any other depression or downfal. 
 
 Down-dinner, tea, or any afternoon's repast — quasi done-dinner ^ 
 the meal or refreshment which succeeds after dinner is done, 
 or over. It is a very common term among the lower classes 
 in the counties of Durham and Northumberland, and also in 
 the North Riding of Yorkshire. 
 
 Down-house, a country term for the back-kitchen. 
 
 Down-lying, the lady's confinement in her travail. 
 
 Down-pour, an excessively heavy fall of rain. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Down-sitting, a comfortable settlement ; especially in marriage, 
 " A hinnies, she wed him just for a down-sitting." Newc.— 
 Said of a handsome young girl, who marries a rich old man j 
 where Plutus, not Hymen, is the presiding deity ; where it is 
 obvious that the lady loves the house and furniture as dearly 
 as she does her husband. 
 
 Dowp, a vulgar name for the carrion crow. 
 
10« DOWP 
 
 DowPY, the smallest and last-hatched of a breed of birds. Froni 
 Ital. dopo ; or, as an ingenious friend will have it, from its 
 being always least feathered par arriere. See Ritung, and 
 Wreckling. 
 
 Doxv, a sweetheart; but not in the equivocal sense used by 
 Shakspeare, and other play writers. Fr. doiix-oeil. 
 
 Dozened, spiritless, impotent, withered — in a doze. 
 
 Drab and Norr, a game. York. The drab is what is elsewhere 
 called a trippit ; and the drab-sticky a buck-stick. See Spell 
 AND Ore, and Trippit and Coit. 
 
 Drabbl'd, Drabble-tailed, du-tied. See Daggle, Daggled. 
 
 Draff, brewers' grains, with which cows and swine are fed. — 
 Teut. and Swed. draf. Both Hanmer and Johnson have mis- 
 interpreted this Shakspearian word, and Archdeacon Nares 
 hath perpetuated the error. In Dunbar's singular perform- 
 ance, " The Testament of Mr. Andro Kennedy" — representing 
 the character of a drunken, graceless scholar — the facetious 
 testator, after having consigned his soul to the wine-cellar, 
 orders his body to be laid 
 
 In ane draf-midding for ever and ay. 
 
 Drape, a cow whose milk is dried up. Sax. drepen^ to fail — ' 
 having failed to give milk. Drape sheep, oves rejiculae, credo 
 ab. A. S. drcepe^ expulsio, drceped, abactus. Skinner. 
 
 Draup, Dreap, to drawl, to speak slowly and monotonously. 
 
 Draw, for drawer ; and Draws, for drawers ; by the usual New- 
 castle mode of slurring the r, 
 
 Drawk, Drack, to saturate with water. Su.-Got. draenka, aqua 
 submergere. 
 
 Preap, to drench, to drop with wet. Sax. drypan^ to drip. — 
 Swed. drypa. Sc. dreip. 
 
 Dree, v. to suffer, to endure. Sax. dreogan, to undergo. 
 
 He did great pyne and raeikle sorrow dree. — Boss, Heknore. 
 
 Dree, a. weary, long, tediously tiresome. " A dree road." The 
 word is apparently a rapid pronunciation of Germ, durre^ dry, 
 
DRUV 103 
 
 both in a physical and metaphorical sense ; but see Jamieson, 
 yo.dreick, where several corresponding terms in other languages 
 are enumerated. See also Wilbraham. 
 
 Dree, s. a sort of cart without wheels, drawn by one horse, used 
 by the farmers in Northumberland, within the memory of old 
 people. This carriage is probably the same as the traga, traha, 
 or sledge of Du Cange. The sledge peculiar to Bristol is 
 called a draw. 
 
 Driblet, " a small sum ; odd money in a sum." — Br. Johnson, 
 It, however, means a small inconsiderable thing of any sort. 
 
 Drip, a north country term for stalactites, or petrefactions. 
 
 Drite, to speak indistinctly ; as it were through the nose, like 
 country children when they are learning to read. 
 
 Droning, a lazy indolent mode of doing a thing. — Dronish is a 
 very old word. Swed. droenig, dull, sluggish. 
 
 Drop-dry, water-tight ; said of a building well secured in the roof. 
 
 Drought, a team or draught of horses in a cart or waggon, both 
 collectively taken. 
 
 Drouk, to drench, to soak, to besmear. Fr. druger, to wet 
 thoroughly. 
 
 Drouth, thirst, dryness. The old form oi drought; which was 
 also written dryth and drith. V. Tooke, Vol. II. p. 413, 414. 
 Drouthy, thirsty. " To moisten his drouthy clay." 
 
 Drucken, possessed of a " full measure of the best" — drunken. 
 Su.-Got. and Dan. drukken. Isl. druckin. Sc. drucken. 
 
 Drumly, Drumaiely, muddy, thick; as applied to the mind, 
 confused. Misled by Hanmer and Pegge, to drumhle is in 
 Todd's Johnson misinterpreted, to drone, to be sluggish. The 
 example from Shakspeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, " Look 
 how you drumble,'' unquestionably means how confused you are. 
 
 Drummock, meal and water mixed. V. Jam. Supp. dramock. 
 
 Drunkard's-cloak, a great tub or barrel of a peculiar con- 
 struction, for the punishment of drunkards in Newcastle. V. 
 Gardiner's England's Grievance discovered, p. 3, and Brand's 
 History of Newcastle, Vol. II. p. 192. 
 
 Druve, Druvy, dirty, muddy. Sax. ge-drefan, turbare. 
 
104 DUB 
 
 Dub, a small pool of water ; a piece of deep and smooth water 
 in a rapid river. Celt, diibh, a canal or gutter. 
 
 DuBLER, or DouBLER, a large dish of earthenware. Divbler, Mr. 
 Watson says, is a British word for a dish. OldTr. doublier , 
 plat, assiette. Dobeler occurs in Peirs Ploughman. 
 
 Dub-Skelper, a bog-trotter j a term applied to the Borderers. 
 
 Ducket, a dove-cot. Sc. doucat. Ducket-close , and ducket-garth, 
 are common names of fields in the North. 
 
 Ducks and Drakes, a pastime. Flat stones or slates are 
 thrown upon the surface of a piece of water, so that they may 
 dip and emerge several times, without sinking. " Neither 
 cross and pile, nor ducks and drakes, are quite so ancient as 
 handy-dandy.'*— -^r^Mf/mo^ and Pope, quoted in Todd's John- 
 son. I do not pretend to know the exact age of handy-dandy, 
 but the sport of ducks and drakes is of high antiquity, and 
 elegantly described by Minutius Felix. V. Min. Fel. Octav. 
 notis Ouzeli, 8vo. Lug. Bat. 1672, p. 24. 
 
 Ducky, a drink. " Give the bairn a duckyV 
 
 Dud, a rag. Gael. dud. — Duds, clothes of a dirty or inferior 
 kind. V. Jam. — Duddy, ragged. — Dudman, a scare-crow. 
 
 DuFFiT, a sod. Identical with Divet, or Divot. " Dufflt^ 
 theek'd," thatched with sods. 
 
 Dug, the female breast; a word now only among the vulgar j 
 though it was formerly otherwise. 
 
 Lord Chancellor Hatton sent to Queen Elizabeth, a ring 
 against infectious air, " to be worn betwixt the sweet dugs'''' of 
 her bosom. Foshrdke's Encyclop. Antiq. Vol. I. p. 213. 
 
 Dull, hard of hearing. It is the same in Scotland. 
 
 DuLLBiRT, DuLBARD, a stupid pcrson, a blockhead — one of 
 dull birth ; or it may be a provincial corruption of dullard, a 
 word used by Shakspeare. But see Jam. Supp. dulbart ; 
 which the learned author derives from Isl. did, stultitia, and 
 hirt-a, manifestare ; q. one who shews his foolishness. 
 
 Dumb-cake, a species of dreaming-bread, prepared by unmarried 
 females with ingredients traditionally suggested in witching 
 
DWIN 105 
 
 doggrel. When baked, it is cut into three divisions ; a part 
 of each to be eaten, and the remainder to be put under the 
 pillow. When the clock strikes twelve, each votary must go 
 to bed backwards, and keep a profound silence, whatever may 
 appear. Indeed, should a word be uttered, either during the 
 process, or before falling asleep, the charm is broken, and 
 some direful calamity may be dreaded. Those, who are to be 
 married, or are full of hope, fancy they see visions of their 
 future partners hurrying after them ; while they, who are to 
 live and die old maids, or are not very sanguine of obtaining 
 their errand, see nothing at all. 
 
 Dumpy, sullfen, discontented. — Dumps, ill-humour, sullen taci- 
 turnity. Dut. dom, dull, stupid. Dump is an old word for 
 melancholy, sadness. 
 
 DuN-covv, a celebrated legend relating to the Cathedral of Dur- 
 ham. V. Surtees, Gen. EGst. p. x. 
 
 DuNELM OF Crab, a dish of a gouty complexion. Dr. Hunter 
 says, it takes its name from an ancient city in the North of 
 England, where * good eating' and * good living' are clerically 
 considered as synonymous terms. 
 
 DuNGEONABLE, shrcwd ; or, as the vulgar express it, devilish.--' 
 As Tartarus signifies hell and a dungeon ; so dungeon is ap- 
 plied to both. — Ray. See also Jam. dungeon, 
 
 DuNSH, or DuNCH, to push or jog with the elbow. Teut. donsen, 
 
 DuNTER, a common name for a porpoise. Sold for food in 
 Newcastlemarket, in 1575. 
 
 DusH, to push violently, to move with velocity. Teut. doesen, 
 pulsare cum impetu et fragore. 
 
 Dust, tumult, uproar. " To kick up a dust." Su.-Got. dyst, 
 dust, tumultus, fragor. Also money. " Down with your 
 dust." The association is obvious in both these vulgarisms. 
 
 DwAiN, DwARM, or DwALM, a fainting fit or swoon. See Dwine. 
 
 DwiNE, to pine, to be in a decline or consumption. Sax. dwi- 
 nan, tabescere. Swed. tvj/na, to languish, to dwindle. Teut. 
 dwj/nen.—DwimfiG, a lingering illness, a consumption. — - 
 DwiNY, ill thriven. 
 
106 EALD 
 
 E. 
 
 Eald, old age. Pure Saxon. Chaucer uses eldCf and Shak- 
 
 speare, in Measure for Measure, palsied eld. 
 Ealdren, Eldren, advanced in life— elderly. Dan. aldrende, 
 
 old. 
 Eam, Eame, uncle. Sax. eamey avunculus. Germ. ohm. 
 
 Henry Hotspur, and his eame. 
 The Earl of Wor'ster. — Drayton, Pohjolbion. 
 
 The nephues straight depos'd were by the came. 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates. 
 
 Ear, a kidney ; as the ear of veal. It is supposed to be so called 
 from its resemblance to an ear, and being a name more deli- 
 cate than kidney; but it is probably a corruption of Germ. 
 niercy a kidney — a pronunciation partially retained in the 
 county of Durham, and also in Yorkshire. Swed. njure. — 
 The old name, presenting a less familiar idea, might be retained 
 from delicacy, as the old French words mutton, veal, beef, and 
 pork, are considered less offensive than sheep, calf, ox, and 
 pig, when these animals are brought to table. It is, however, 
 curious, that the meat which would have been, one might have 
 imagined, most annoying to the feelings by its real name, yet 
 retains it — lamb. 
 
 Earles-penny, or Arles-penn y, an earnest-penny. See Arles. 
 
 Earn, Yearn, to coagulate milk. Germ, gerirnieriy to curdle. 
 
 Earning, Yearning, cheese-rennet. Sax. gerunning. V. Lye. 
 
 Easings, the eaves of a house. Sax. efese. Somner. Peirs 
 Ploughman has cvesynges. — Easing-drop, an eaves-drop. 
 
 Eath, Eith, easy. Sax. eath. Sc. eith, eyth. 
 
 "Where ease abounds yt's eath to do oxa^&s.— -Spenser , F. Q. 
 
 Eaver, Eever, a comer or quarter of the heavens. Common 
 in Cumberland, and also in Cheshire. V. Wilbraham. 
 
EIGH 107 
 
 Edder, the long part of brush wood put upon the top of fences. 
 Not in use, Dr. Johnson says. But I have heard the word in 
 most of the Northern counties. Old Tusser recommends the 
 farmer to 
 
 Save edder and stake 
 Strong hedge to make. 
 
 Edder, a viper. Sax. artier. Still so called in Lancashire.— 
 Todd*s John. It may be added, in Northumberland and 
 Diu-ham also. Edder-cap, when applied to a female of a 
 violent temper, has the same signification as alter cap. See 
 Attercop. 
 
 Edge, a ridge — the side of a hill ; such as many places in Nor- 
 thumberland — Biddlestone JEdge, Sharperton Edge, &c. 
 
 Ee, the Northern singular of eye. Sax. eag. — Een, plural. — 
 Sax. eagan. Chaucer uses eyen, for the eyes. 
 
 Ee, a spout ; as the mill-ee. Probably eye (the aperture of the 
 spout) by association. 
 
 Eeleator, a term among children for a young eel. 
 
 Eem, leisure. Sax. cemtan^ rest, leisure, spare time. The word, 
 I think, is seldom used, except in Cumberland. Mr. Wilbra- 
 ham has earn, or eem, v. to spare time, to have leisure. 
 
 Efter, the Northern form of a/?er. Sax. e/X^r, post. Su.-Got. 
 efter. 
 
 Egg, E<3g-on, to instigate, to incite. An old word, from Sax. 
 eg^an. Dan. egger; Isl. eggia ; and Swed. agga, are cognate. 
 
 Eggler, one who goes about the country collecting eggs for 
 sale — hinc forte higgler. 
 
 Eigh, or Aye, yes ; one of the strongest characteristics of our 
 Northern dialect. Much has been written respecting this 
 contested particle of affirmation. See Tooke, and Boucher, 
 under aye. In Newcastle, and the surrounding districts, its 
 orthoepy answers to the Greek g;, which many South country 
 Grecians find it difficult to pronounce properly. 
 
 Eigh, pronoun interrogative, what ? what do you say ? 
 
 EiGH-WYE, a careless mode of expressing assent — yes, yes. 
 
108 EKE-0 
 
 Eke-out, to use sparingly. Chaucer has eehey to add to; in 
 which sense, I find, it is still in use in several of the Northern 
 counties. This, or rather to continue, seems to be the proper 
 meaning of the word ; which may be derived from Swed. bka, 
 to increase, to augment. 
 Eijjow-GREASE, hard rubbing, or any persevering exercise with 
 
 the arms. '* Lucernum olere." Old Proverb. 
 Eldin, Elding, fuel j such as turf, peat, or wood. Sax. celed, 
 ignis. Isl. elldr. Dan. ild. Swed. eldy fire. The word is 
 also used for, brushwood for fences. 
 Elf-Locks, entangled or clotted hair. In elfin days it was sup- 
 posed to be a spiteful amusement of Queen Mab, and her fan- 
 tastic subjects, to twist the hair of human beings, or the manes 
 and tails of horses, into hard knots, which it was not fortunate 
 to loose. 
 
 This is that very Mab, 
 That plats the manes of horses in the night ; 
 And bakes the elf-locks in foul sluttish hairs, 
 Which, once untangled, much misfortune bodes. 
 
 ShaJc. Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 Elf-shots, the name vulgarly given to the flint arrow heads, 
 made use of in war by the ancient Britons; of which quanti- 
 ties have been found in the Northern counties. The common 
 people imagine them to have been shot by elves, or fairies. 
 
 There every herd, by sad experience knows 
 How wing'd with fate, their elf-shot arrows fly. 
 
 When the sick ewe her summer food foregoes, 
 Or stretch'd on earth the heart-smit heifers lie. 
 
 Ode, Pop. Super stit. Highltinds, p. 10. 
 
 Ell-dockens, butter bur, or colt's foot. Tussilago petasites. 
 
 Eller, the alder tree. Germ, eller. Sax. celer. This tree 
 abounds in the North of England more than in any other part 
 of the kingdom, and seems always to have been there held in 
 great respect and veneration. It was the same among other 
 northern nations. V, Keysler Antiq. selec. Septent. et Celt, 
 p. 76. A contrary notion, however, has elsewhere prevailed; 
 
EVIL 109 
 
 in consequence of Judas (as it is pretended) having been 
 hanged on a tree of this kind j but for which I have in vain 
 searched for a more ancient authority than the Visions of 
 Peirs Ploughman, where it is said, 
 
 Judas he by japede thorgh Jewene selver 
 An afterward he heng hym hye on an eUerne. 
 
 Ell-mother, a step mother. Originally, perhaps, a grand- 
 mother ; from Sax. ealde-moder, avia. 
 
 Else, already. Sax. elles. In frequent use. 
 
 Elsin, Elson, a shoemaker's awl. Teut. aelseney subula. 
 
 Elspith, Elizabeth. Sc. Elspeth, Elspet. 
 
 Enanters, lest, in case. V. Jam. Supp. enaunter. 
 
 End-irons, two moveable iron plates used to contract the fire- 
 place — irons placed at each end (or side) of the fire. See 
 Strutt's Horda, Vol. III. p. 68, where a highly ornamented 
 pair of these utensils is described. 
 
 Enew, plural oi enough. Old writers used enow. 
 
 Enoo, by and by, presently— eVw now, even now. 
 
 Erne, the cinereous eagle. Falco alUcilla. Linn. The term is 
 general in the Northern languages. This powerful bird, com- 
 mon in the wild maritime districts of Scotland, has frequently 
 been seen in Northumberland, during the winter months. 
 
 EsH, the ash tree. Teut. esch, fraxinus. Germ, esche. 
 
 Ettle, to intend, to attempt, to contrive. V. Ihre, cetla. 
 
 Ettle, to earn. Synonymous with Addle, Aidle, Eddle. 
 
 Ettlings, earnings, wages. The same as Addlings, Aidlings. 
 
 Evendoon, even down, plain, honest, downright ; having Even- 
 doon-thump, for the comparative degree. 
 
 Evil-eyed, envious, maliciously inclined. Superstitious people 
 supposed that the first morning glance of him with an evil-eye 
 was certain destruction to man or beast. Though the eiFect 
 were not instantaneous, it was thought to be eventually sure. 
 But if he, who had this unfortunate influence were well dis- 
 posed, he cautiously glanced his eye on some inanimate object, 
 to prevent the direful consequenceSi See Crav. Gloss. 2d. 
 
no EWE-G 
 
 edit. vo. evil-eye. In remote ages, talismanic rings were made 
 use of as a charm against the fascination of an evil-eye. 
 Connected with this subject, is a common expression in the 
 North, " no one shall say black is your eye ;" i. e, no body 
 can justly speak ill of you. 
 
 Doll, in disdaine, doth from her heeles defie ; 
 The best that breathes shall tell her hlack''8 her eye : 
 And that it's true she speaks, who can say nay ? 
 When none that lookes on't but will sweare 'tis gray. 
 
 Old Epigram. 
 
 EwE-GOWAN, a term for the common daisy. North Tindale. 
 
 Ewer, Ure, Yure, an udder. Swed.jMr. Germ, enter. 
 
 Excise, to impose upon, to overcharge — without relation to 
 government exaction. The word is now well known in this 
 enlarged sense, and ought to be in our dictionaries. 
 
 Expect, to suppose, to believe. A common northern expression. 
 
 F. 
 
 Fad, Pawd, fashioned. « El-/a<f"— « aud-/flrf." The Scotch 
 have Ul-faur'd, ill favoured or plain; and weel-faur'dy well 
 favoured or handsome ; terms which are now generally receiv- 
 ed in Northumberland, Indeed, the word under consideration 
 is only the r sunk or slurred offaur'd. Italf atto—mal-fatto. 
 In the Promptorium Parvulorum sive Clericorum, a very rare 
 old English and Latin Dictionary, printed in 1499, but com- 
 piled about 1440, we find, " comly or well farynge in shape; 
 elegans;" and in Herman's Vulgaria, published in 1519, we 
 have, "he looked 7mfaringly, aspectu fuit incomposito." 
 Well faring looks is still a common expression. See Farand. 
 
 Fad, or Faud, a bundle of straw. Sax. feald, plica. Fr. far- 
 deau. 
 
 Fadge, a bundle of sticks, a fagot. Swed./tfg^g«, onerare. 
 
FAIR 111 
 
 Fadge, a small flat loaf, or thick cake. Fr.fouacej a bun. 
 
 Fadgy, corpulent, unwieldy, having a shuffling gmt. 
 
 Faffle, to saunter, to trifle — to f addle. 
 
 Faikes ! By my faikes ! a kind of minced oath ; equivalent to 
 
 faith f upon my faith — verily, ^c.fegs. 
 Fain, glad, earnestly desirous. " Fair words make fools/«in." 
 
 Proverb. Sax. fcegen, laetus, hilaris. 
 
 Ah York, no man alive so fain as I — Shak. 2. Hen. VI. 
 
 Fair, a present at or from a fair — a fairing. 
 
 Fair, Fairly, evidently, manifestly. " It's fair swindling." 
 
 " He fairly cheated me." 
 Fair-fall- YOU, a common benediction — a blessing attend you. 
 Fairy-butter, a fungous excrescence, sometimes found about the 
 roots of old trees. After great rains, and in a certain degree 
 of putrefaction, it is reduced to a consistency, which, together 
 with its colour, makes it not unhke butter. When met with 
 in houses it is reckoned lucky. 
 Fairy-money, found treasure. The discovery, if revealed, was 
 supposed to bring on the blabber's ruin. 
 
 A prince's secrets are like fairy favours. 
 Wholesome if kept, but poison if discovered. 
 
 Honest Man's Fortune. 
 
 Fairy-palaces. The belief in fairies is by no means extinct 
 among the vulgar in the remote parts of the North ; and vil- 
 lage superstition can still point out the green hillocks " beau- 
 tiful as fairy land" under which the mysterious sovereign is 
 supposed to have dwelt in all her pomp and splendour. An 
 excellent institute of " Fairy Mythology" has just been pub- 
 lished, which, no doubt, will soon become as familiar to the 
 reader as Sir Walter Scott's Essay on the Fairy Superstition 
 in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border. 
 
 Fairy- pipes, small tobacco pipes, of an ancient and clumsy form, 
 frequently found in ploughed fields in the North of England. 
 They are also, it seems, met with in Ireland, particularly in 
 the vicinity of those singular circular entrenchments, called 
 
lit FAIR 
 
 Daniiih fortf, but which, more probobly, were tho vi 
 nettiemcntit of the native Irinh. 8eo a iiiictcli of one of theie 
 pipcfi. with a curiouM pa|)er on the subject, in the Anthologia 
 Hibernica, for May, 1703. 
 Fairy-mi N(i)4, green and highly verdant circles, frequently visible 
 in meadowM and pastureii; around which, according to our 
 traditionary accounts of Fairy Mythology, the popular elves or 
 " pretty creaturet,** all of the softer sex, were accustomed to 
 dance by moonlight, in tlidr nocturnal scenes of revelry and 
 merriment. In the dramas of Shakspeare, it was not to be 
 expected that the luxuriant imagination of the immortal poet 
 •hould overlook so characteristic a trait of the Fairies. Ac- 
 cordingly, we find Prospero, in the Tempest, thus invoking 
 them :•» 
 
 You deniy«puppets, that 
 By moon<4liine do the green^ut Hnglett make. 
 Whereof the ewe not bites i and you whose pastime 
 Is to make midnight mushrooms. 
 
 Dr. Withering, in his Botanical Arrangement, Vol. IV. p. 
 277* states, that these circles are caused by the growth of an 
 agaric, which he Ailly describes. They have also, with less 
 probability, been attributed to the circumgyratory burrowings 
 of the mole. 
 
 Falls, the divisions of a large arable field attached to a vilinge— 
 annually cultivated in a fixed rotation of crops. 
 
 Familous, relating to a fiunily. ** 'Tis a famiiout complaint.'* 
 
 Fakd, for found. Retained in Scotland, Dr. Johnson says. It 
 if proper to state, in the North of Eng^nd also. 
 
 Fiiiirroii«KJORK, lank, or light com.— Fantomb-uay, light, well 
 gotten hay. V. Bay. 
 
 Farand, «. state of preparation for a journey— fashion, manner, 
 custom.^FARANl>-iiAN, a traveller or itinerant merchant.— 
 Farant, a. equipped for a journey— fashioned, shaped) as 
 JIghting.farant, in the fighting way or fashion; weU or ill- 
 farant, well or ill looking. See Aud-farant. All these 
 
FARL nn 
 
 cxproHHions tnny l»o traced to the old vcrh /nre^ to go, to trnvcl. 
 SiiK.fnmn. Dan. fare. Swcd./«m. Wo may, ns romnrkod 
 hy Dr. Willmi, wonder at the idenn of foresight, propnration, 
 and formal ntyle, connected with n journey in our island; but 
 on reverting to the time of the Heptarchy, when no collateral 
 fnciliticH aided the trarcUer, we shall be convinced that a jour- 
 ney of any considerable extent, nuist have been an undertaking 
 that would rc(piiro uiiuli |)reviouH calculation, and nice ar- 
 rangement. Indeed, within the last century, a journey from 
 Newcastle to London, was considered so perilotis an enter- 
 prise, that the traveller, as a necessary precaution, rcgidarly 
 mode his will, and arranged his most important afliiirs, l)eforo 
 his departure. Such, however, iti the j)resent days of scien- 
 tific improvement, is the rapidity of vehicular conveyance, 
 that, while I urn writing this, the ((rescribed time for the direct 
 mail from London to Edinburgh is 40 hours;— in 1712, the 
 Journey was advertised to be performed in thirteen daj^ty with- 
 out stoppages, J)co vnlcntc. 
 Fabanti.v, adv. orderly, in regidar or established modes. The 
 Rev. Joseph Hunter, the learned historian of llallamshirc, 
 who is peculiarly conversant with the dialectical varieti(;s and ar- 
 chaical words of that part of Yorkshire, and to whose frienilly 
 Ottention I am indebted for a valuable M.S. communication, 
 informs me, that the llallamshire sense of farantly is not ex- 
 actly that which I and others have given to it. It includes, 
 says he, more of good humour— social qualities. His conjec- 
 ture upon it is, that it is in {mW, far ant-man-lVte, and that it 
 expresses those qualities by which the itinerant merchant was 
 accustomed to recommend himself to the simple inhabitants of 
 the wilder parts of the country, whose periodical arrival was 
 probably conMi<lercd (as indeed it Is by some now) as an itilt 
 portant tera in an unvaried life. 
 Fark, to near or approach. *• Tlic cow/arw a«calving." 
 Farues, or Fbri.ikh, trifles, unusual or unexpected things. 
 " Spying farlics," making a wonder of every day, or trifling 
 matters. Sax. fcrlii; subitus. 8u.-Got. J'arlig. Isl. fvrlig. 
 
114 FARN 
 
 The word occurs in Peirs Ploughman's Vision, and in the 
 writings of Chaucer, and other ohl English poets. 
 
 Farn, or Faren-ticki.ed, freckled, sun burnt. — Farn-tickl^, 
 freckles on the skin, occasioned by the influence of the sun ; 
 said to be so called from resembling the seeds of the fern — 
 freckled with fern ; but perhaps, fair and tickled, fair and 
 freckled. Major Thain refers me to Svfed. frajcna, plur.frak- 
 novy freckles. 
 
 Fash, v. to trouble, to tease. " I cannot be fasKd^ Fr. 
 f acker, to vex. — Fash, s. trouble, care, anxiety. Vr. facherie. 
 — Fashous, a. troublesome. Vr. facheux,facheme. 
 
 Fassens-een, or Fastern's-even, Shrove Tuesday evening. 
 The eve of the great fast as preceding Ash Wednesday, the 
 first day of Lent. 
 
 Fat-hen, goose foot, or muck weed — ^growing rank in manured 
 land. Chenopodimn album. V. Moor. 
 
 Faud, Fad, a fold yard. — Pin-faud, a pinfold. Sax. fold, sta- 
 bulum. 
 
 Faugh, fallow. My friend, Mr. Wilbraham, says, " an abbrevi- 
 ation of the word;" but it seems allied, I think, to Is], faaga, 
 polire, or Su.-Got.f eia xelfceia, purgare, 
 
 Faur'd, favoured. — Ill-faur'd, ill favoured. See Fad, Fawd. 
 
 Fause, cunning. This word is used as an adjective, but is evi- 
 dently the Saxon fox ; and it describes those qualities in man 
 which are popularly attributed to that animal. Sometimes it 
 is used in a good sense ; as sharp, clever. 
 
 Faut, or Faute, a fault. The old form of the word. 
 
 Favour, to resemble, to have a similar countenance or appear- 
 ance. " He favours his father." The use of this word is not 
 confined to Cheshire, as Mr. Wilbraham supposes. 
 
 Faw, an intinerant tinker, tinner, or brazier — a travelling besom- 
 maker, potter, dogger, &c. 
 
 Faw-gang, a general name in Northumberland for all sorts of 
 wandering people, who go about in companies, encamp by the 
 highway sides in summer, and are employed in making and 
 selling besoms, and vending crockery ware. Most of them. 
 
FEG 115 
 
 as remarked by my friend, Mr. Hodgson, from whose recent 
 History I have adopted the above description, are desperate 
 poachers both in the field and fold yards. Like their ances- 
 tors, the gipsies, the female branches still practise palmistry 
 and fortune telling, and deal in various departments of the 
 black art. In Lodge's Illustrations of Brit. Hist. Vol. I. p. 
 135, is a curious letter from the Justices of Durham to the 
 Earl of Shrewsbury, Lord President of the Council in the 
 North, dated 19th Jan. 1549, concerning the gipsies and faws. 
 There was a Johnnie Faw, who styled himself Lord and Earl of 
 Little Egypt, with whom that gallant monarch, James IV. of 
 Scotland, found it necessary, or thought it prudent, to enter 
 into a treaty. Queen Mary, also, granted a writ in his favour. 
 From him and his tribe arose the appellation offaivs, and faw- 
 
 ' S^^Sy ^^ applied to this singular race of Border gipsies. In 
 
 ' more recent times, old Will Faw was king or leader of one of 
 
 ^ these gangs. 
 
 Feacig ATE, impudent, brazen-faced. *' A feacigafe ]ade.^* 
 
 Feal, to hide; especially any thing surreptitiously obtained. 
 " He that feeds can find." Prov. Isl. fel, occultare. The 
 French have a term, Jile}' sa corde^ to go the way to the gal- 
 lows. 
 
 Fearful, very, exceeding. " Fearful sorry" — very sorry. The 
 word is common, also, in the sense of, awful, frightful. A 
 /<?«r/«/ sight ; a fearful man ; i. e. a sight, or a 7nan to cause fear 
 in the beholders. 
 
 Feat, neat, dextrous, Su.-Got. fatt, apt, ready. Swed. fatt, 
 disposed, inclined— /rtiffo, to comprehend. 
 
 Featly, dextrously. " She dances /<?«%." — Winter's Tale. 
 
 Feck, might, activity, abundance. Perhaps, Sax. faeck, space. 
 In Scotland, /cT^ means the greater portion, either of time, or 
 of number. Germ, fach, a portion or compartment ; einfach, 
 single; twei/ fach, double; 7nehr fach, many fold. 
 
 Feckful, strong, powerful, active, zealous, brawny. 
 
 Feckless, weak, feeble, helpless, ineflicient, ineffectual. 
 
 Feg, the name invariably given by the vulgar to fg. Germ, 
 
116 FELL 
 
 feige. The word is also used for, what is of no value. *^ A 
 feg for you." 
 
 Fell, s. a rocky hill, a mountain or common scarcely admitting 
 of cultivation, — ^frequently used for any moor or open waste, 
 though properly a high or alpine tract only. Isl. felly one 
 mountain resting on another. Su.-Got. fiaelly a ridge of 
 mountains. Germ, felsy a rock. 
 
 Fell, a. sharp, keen. Hence /e//, savage, cruel, &c. 
 ELLON, a disease in cows, occasioned by cold. Skinner derives 
 it from Sax. felle, cruel, on account of the anguish the com- 
 plaint occasions ; and the author of the Crav. Gloss, from Dut. 
 felen orfeyleUy to fail ; because milch cows, which are subject 
 to it, fail of giving their milk j or from hellen, to bow or hang 
 down, as the udders of cows are frequently enlarged in this 
 disease, I may add Ital. /<?//o, whence the augmentative feU 
 lone^ the obvious primitive o{ felon, — about whose derivation 
 much nonsense has been written. See Black. Comm. Vol. 
 IV. p. 95. Spenser uses felon exactly as Ariosto or Tasso 
 fellone. 
 
 Fellon, a name given to a cutaneous eruption in children. 
 
 Felter, or Feltre, to entangle, to clot together. In Todd*s 
 John, it is derived from Ital./4?/^mrc; to which may be added 
 Germ, fatten, to plait, to fold. 
 
 His fcltred locks that on his bosom fell. — Fairfax. 
 
 Femmer, Fremmer, weak, slender, feeble. Isl. framur, mollis. 
 
 Fen, to appear to do any thing neatly or adroitly — not to be de- 
 terred by shame. " I cannot /ew," signifies I am restrained by 
 a sort of awe arising from the presence of some person for 
 whom I have a respect or dread. — Fensome, neat, becoming, 
 adroit. Swed. fintligy inventive, quick at contrivance, ready 
 at expedients. 
 
 Fend, to endeavour, to make shift, to be industrious, to struggle 
 with difficulties, to ward off. " He fends hard for a living.'* 
 It is also used in allusion to the state of a person's health ; as 
 " hoy/ fends it ;" i. e. how are you in health,— -Fend y, good at 
 
FEU 117 
 
 making a shift, warding off want, careful, provident. Fend is 
 an old word for support. 
 
 Fend and prove, to argue and defend. — Fend (defend) is here 
 used in the French sense — to 'fend and prove, to de7i^ and 
 prove. So still in pleading. 
 
 Fere, Fiere, a brother, friend, or companion. Sax. /era, socius. 
 " Plai/-fere" — a play-fellow. See Auld Lang Si/ne. The 
 word is used for a husband, by Spenser, in the Faerie Queene. 
 So for a wife, in the epitaph quoted in The Spectator. 
 
 Ferly, v. to wonder. — Ferly, 5. a wonder. See Farlies. 
 
 Fest, v. to bind or place out an apprentice under an indenture. 
 Sax. festnian. Su.-Got. faesta, to fasten or confirm. 
 
 Fest, or The Fest, s. a place on the Quay, Newcastle, where 
 keelmen receive their orders — the fastening. Germ, fest, the 
 place for making fast. 
 
 Festing-penny, money given by way of earnest, to a servant, 
 when hired or retained in service. Among the Saxons afes- 
 tinnian signified a surety or pledge. 
 
 Fettle, v. to put in order, to repair or mend any thing that is 
 broken or defective. Dr. Johnson explains this word, " to do 
 trifling business, to ply the hands without labour," and calls it 
 a cant word ivom feel. Mr. Todd corrects this mistake; and, 
 quoting Grose's definition, which is different from that here 
 assigned to it, thinks it probably comes from Su.-Got.^^^, 
 studium. The word in Cheshire, has the same meaning as 
 that which I have given, and Mr. Wilbraham says, it appears 
 to him to be derived with some deflection of the word /air^-, to 
 do, which itself comes from the Latin facere. The nearest 
 which occurs to him is the old French word failure, which has 
 exactly the same meaning as our substantive /e-Z/Ze, and is ex- 
 plained by Roquefort, in his Glossaire de la Langue Romaine, 
 by/apon, mode, forme, &c. I am, however, inclined to consi- 
 der it as from the same root as Feat; which see. 
 
 Fettle, s. order, good condition, proper repair. Used by Roger 
 Ascham, in his Toxophilus. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Feud, a family war on the Borders in days past ; tlnGfehde of the 
 German chivalry. See Deadly Feud. 
 
118 FEU 
 
 Feuth, Foutii, fill, indulgence, plenty. " Let them have their 
 
 feutK'' — give them enough to eat or drink. 
 Few, number, a large quantity. " A good /cw" — " a gay/ew;" 
 
 — what our Southern neighbours call " a good many." 
 Few, is also used for a small quantity ; as a " little/«?jy broth ;'* 
 
 originally, perhaps, a few hroesy the Scotch for broth, and taken 
 
 in England for the plural. 
 Fiddlesticks-end, an inteijectional expression of disbelief or 
 
 doubt, bestowed on any absurd, nonsensical conversation. 
 FiDGiNG, uneasy, impatient, restless. " Fidging fain." 
 Fig, to supply ginger to a horse, under pretence of wiping or 
 
 cleaning him, but really to excite him to carry a fine tail. A 
 
 common practice at fairs. A correspondent says, it is from 
 
 Germ, fegen, to wipe. But see Craven Glossary, 2d, 
 
 edit. 
 FiKE, V. to fidget, to be restless, or busied about trifles. Su.- 
 
 Got. ^ka, cursitare. Swed.^ka, to be eagerly in search of. — 
 
 FiKE, FiKES, s. restlessness, trifling cares. " To have the 
 fkesr — FiKY, a. fidgetty, itchy, minutely troublesome. 
 File, to soil, to foul — to defile. Sax. afylan^ contaminare. 
 FiNKLE, the plant fennel. — Dur. ^ax.fyncl. Germ, fenchel. 
 FiNNiKY, trifling, scrupulously particular— ^nica/. 
 FiPPLE, a name for the under lip. V. Jam. faiple. 
 Fire-damp, the inflammable air, or carburetted hydrogen gas of 
 
 coal mines. 
 
 The accidents arising from the explosion o£ the ^rc-damp or 
 inflammable gas of coal mines, mixed with atmospherical air, 
 are annually becoming more frequent and more destructive in 
 the collieries in the North of England — Sir H. Davrj. 
 
 FiRE-FANGED, fire bitten. V. Jam. \o. fyrefangit. 
 
 FiREFLAUGHT, lightning, a flash of fire, ^c.fireflaucht. 
 
 FiRST-FooT, the name given to the person who first enters a 
 dwelling-house on New Year's Day — regarded by the super- 
 stitious and the credulous as influencing the fiite of the family, 
 especially the fair part of it, for the remainder of the year. In 
 order to exclude all suspected or unlucky persons, I find, it is 
 
FLAP 11^ 
 
 customary for one of the damsels to engage, before hand, some 
 favoured youth, who — elated with so signal a mark of female 
 distinction — gladly comes early in the morning — and never 
 empty handed— to offer the gratulations of the season. Should 
 a woman enter first, she is considered unpropitious, be she 
 lovely as an angel. 
 
 FissLE, or FiSTLE, to make a rustling noise, to fidget. Teut. 
 futseleriy agitare. 
 
 FiTT, to vend and load coals. An application of the usual verb 
 to fit, to a particular purpose. V. Brand's Hist. Newc. Vol. 
 II. p. 272. — Fitters, persons who vend and load coals— ^^- 
 ting ships with cargoes. — Running-fitters, their deputies. 
 
 Fix-fax, gristle, the tendon of the neck. Germ, fiachse. 
 
 Fiz, to scorch, to fly off, to make a hissing noise. Isi. fysa. 
 
 Fizzle, or Fissle, a jocular name for a mistake of the most 
 offensive kind. Teut. vijstj flatus ventris, sine strepitu aut 
 sonitu. 
 
 Flacker, Flecker, to flutter, to vibrate like the wings of a bird 
 under alarm, to quiver. Su.-Got. fieckra. Germ. Jlackern. — 
 Flicker is used by Chaucer and Shakspeare. 
 
 Flaffer, the same as Flacker, Flecker ; which see. 
 
 Flah, Flaw, a square piece of turf, dried and used as fuel. Sax. 
 flean, to flay off. Dan.^aae, to flay. 
 
 Flaik, or Fleck, a portion or space of stall ; so denominated to 
 this day by the fish women in Newcastle. Germ. flecJc, a spot 
 of ground, a place. " Aw've had a flaik in this market thur 
 sixty year." Old Dolly Simpson. 
 
 Flaik, Flake, a wooden frame at the top of a kitchen for keep- 
 ing oat cakes upon. 
 
 Flam, a violent fall, a heavy stroke. Tewt.flabbe. 
 
 Flang, the old preterite o^ fling ; still in common use. 
 
 Flannen, the vulgar pronunciation of flannel. Welsh, gwlanen ; 
 which Davies derives from givlan, wool. 
 
 Flapper-ghasted, frightened, as if by a ghost. Major Moor 
 h^sfiabber-gastcd, in the sense of astonished, confused. 
 
1«0 FLAP 
 
 Flappy, wild, irregular, unsteady. " An oXAjlappy body." 
 
 Flatlins, plainly, peremptory. I should have thought it an in- 
 veterate vulgarism, had not Dr. Jamieson quoted ^atlpij/s from 
 Barbour. 
 
 Flaugiiter, the thin turf turned up when ground is pared, Isl. 
 flag-torf, caespites graminei. 
 
 Flaut, Flought, a roll of wool carded ready for spinning. Germ. 
 Jlauschy a tuft of wool, a handful. 
 
 Flay, to frighten. — Flay'd, affrighted, terrified, timorous. 
 " Avf^s flay edy^ Via. afraid. — Flaying, an apparition or hob- 
 goblin. — Flay-some, frightful. — Flay-craw, a scare crow. 
 Probably connected with Germ, fliehen, to fly away. 
 
 Flea-bite, Flee-bite, a ludicrous designation for any trivial 
 pain or danger, or for any slight injury or damage. 
 
 Flecked, spotted, streaked. Isl. flccka, discolor. Dan, flek, 
 and Swed.fldcky a stain, spot, blot. 
 
 Flee, v. to fly. Sax.fleogan, — Flee, s. a fly. Sax. fleoge. 
 
 Flee-by-the-sky, a silly, flirting, absurdly dressed, giggling girl — i 
 —a wanton hussy — any silly body. 
 
 Fleecii, to supplicate in a flattering m.anner, to wheedle. Teut. 
 flctsen. — Fleeching, flattering, supplicating ; or, according to 
 " Tlie jffee," earnestly intreating, vrith a desire to gain any one 
 over to the purpose wanted, by artfully drawing them to form 
 a good opinion oithefleccher. 
 
 Fleeing-eathee, the large dragon fly ; chiefly seen about ponds 
 and marshes. (Eshna grandis. The vulgar are afraid of being 
 stung by it ; from which circumstance it is, in some places, 
 called a mngmg-eather, and, in others, a tanging nadder ; both 
 meaning a stinging adder. I shall only add, that in Aelfric*s 
 Glossary we findfleo7ide naeddre. 
 
 Fleet, shallow ; as a fleet pan or vessel ; fleet water. Sax. 
 fledingy fluxus, inundatio ; hence fleets a creek where the tide 
 flows. 
 
 Fleet-milk, milk without cream ; from old \cvb fleet, to skim. 
 
 Fleer, to mock at, to grin with scorn. Sec Flike; which 
 
FLIT 121 
 
 seems cognate. Stubbes, in his violent philippic, the Anato- 
 mic of Abuses, uses the word in describing the church-ales of 
 his day. 
 
 Then the foolish people they looke, they stare, they laugh, 
 they Jleere, and mount upon forms and pewes, to see these 
 goodly pageants solemnized in this sort. 
 
 Flick, a side or flitch of bacon. Sax.j'^icce, succidia. 
 
 Another broughte a spycke 
 Of bacon Jlicke. — Skelton. 
 
 Fligged, fledged. " Fligg'd ower the doup." IsLfleygr^ volu- 
 cris. Hence jiggers, young birds that can fly. 
 
 Flinders, shreds, broken pieces, splinters. I formerly referred 
 to Dut.Jlenters; but according to Ihre, the true origin of the 
 word is the Gothic Jlinga, frustum, utpote quod percutiendo 
 rumpitur. 
 
 The bow in flinders flew. — Chrisfs Kirk on the Green. 
 
 Fling, to dance in a peculiar manner, as in the HigJdand Jling, 
 Perhaps from Swed.^awga, to romp. 
 
 Flire, to laugh, or rather to have a countenance expressive of 
 laughter, without laughing out. Isl.^j/ra, subridere. There 
 is a Scotch expression, to flyre the face^ to be in a fierce 
 passion. 
 
 Flirtigig, a wanton giggling lass — an unsteady gurl. 
 
 Flisk, to skip or bounce. Swed. flissaj to laugh immoderately. 
 — Flisky, frolicksome. " She's a rare fiisky jade." 
 
 Flit, to remove from one habitation to another. Su.-Got. 
 fiytta. Dan. flytte. Swed. fiytta. — Flitting, the act of re- 
 moving the furniture. — Moonlight-flitting, carrying away at 
 night the household goods without paying the rent to the land- 
 lord-r-flying the country for debt. Flitwite is an old term for 
 an amercement where a person, having been a fugitive, return- 
 ed of his own accord, or without a license. 
 
 Flite, to scold, to make a great noise. Sax. fiitan^ to brawl. 
 Sc.^3^<e.— Fliting, the act of scolding, or brawling. 
 
122 FLIT 
 
 Flitv, giddy, light headed, non compos. Sc./yfj/.—Mr. Taylor 
 
 su^ests, that it should be written ^ighti/y 2^ fly-away. 
 Plough, Flow, cold, windy, boisterous, bleak. " Its flough 
 
 weather." " Here's a flow day." The word seems allied to 
 
 Swed.^f <2*ning, violent respiration. 
 Floughter, or Flowter, a fright. — Floughtered, affrighted. 
 Fluck, Flucker, Jenny-flucker, a flounder. Sax.^oc. 
 Flum, Flummery, using an illusory pretext — misleading j'ou to 
 
 expect something — deceitfulness. 
 Flung, deceived, beaten. " He was sadly flungy poor man." 
 
 Probably a metaphor from being thrown off horseback ; as also 
 
 he was thrown, he was cast— both which phrases are in use. 
 Flusteration, hurry, confusion, sudden impulse. 
 Fly-by-nigiit, a term for a worthless person, who gets into debt, 
 
 and runs off, leaving the house empty. 
 Fog, Fogg, the grass grown in autumn after the hay is mown-r- 
 
 the second crop, or aftermath. Law Lat./ogagiMTw. 
 
 One with another they would lie and play. 
 
 And in the deep/og- batten all the day — Drayton. 
 
 Fog, a term in North, for moss j of Danish origin— ;/MMg. 
 
 Foggy, a. fat, bloated. Sc. foggie, dull, lumpish. 
 
 Pogie, a person advanced in life, an infirm man. " An old 
 fogie:' 
 
 Foist, to smell musty. Shakspeare, in Hamlet, uses to fust; 
 which is probably the same word. 
 
 Folly, an appropriate designation given to a building, not meant 
 for use, but for ornament ,• or to one, which has not answered 
 the purpose for which it was originally intended. 
 
 FooL-PLouGH, a Christmas Pageant ; consisting of a number of 
 rustics, dressed in white, and bedizened with various coloured 
 ribbons — who drag a plough in procession up and down the 
 country villages, begging money to drink, in allusion to their 
 labours having ceased in that severe season. In these peram- 
 bulations, to say nothing of the music, they are accompanied 
 by a tawdry and grotesque figure in the habit of an old woman, 
 
FORE 123 
 
 denominated the Bessy^ as well as by a humorous country- 
 man, called the Fool^ distinguished by a still more antic dress j 
 and whose office it is — in which he is very assiduous — to rat- 
 tle a box amongst the spectators, and to receive their dona- 
 tions. When any thing is given, the gratitude of the party is 
 expressed by the exclamation, Largess ! but if not requited at 
 any house, they draw the plough through the ground in front. 
 The money thus collected, as such contributions usually are, 
 is afterwards spent in feasting and conviviality. This custom 
 is of very ancient origin, derived from the Feast of Fools. In 
 like manner, the keelmen in Newcastle, when the navigation 
 of the river Tyne is blocked up with ice, sometimes haul a 
 boat about the streets, to show that they are deprived of their 
 ordinary means of earning a livelihood. 
 
 FooT-ALE, or Footing, an entertainment given on taking posses- 
 sion of any new place or office — a fine imposed on a beginner. 
 
 Fond, silly, foolish. An old Northern word. Su.-Got. fdnigy 
 delirus, stultus. Swed. fdnig, foolish, silly. — Fond-as-a-buz- 
 ZOM, remarkably silly, ridiculously good natured. — Fondy, or 
 Fondling, a fool. Old Burton uses fondling. 
 
 Force, or Forse, a cascade or waterfall. Su.-Got. /or.?, a cata- 
 ract. The High Force, or great fall of the river Tees, is a 
 scene of great sublimity, and perhaps the finest cataract in the 
 island. 
 
 FoRDER, to promote, to advance — to forward. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 FoREBV, besides, over and above. Dan. forbi, by, past, over. 
 
 Fore-elder, an ancestor. Sax. forealdiany senescere. Swed. 
 fordldrar, parents. Dan. forceldre. Mr. Hunter informs me, 
 that he never heard this word south of York ; and there only 
 once. But ancestors, which has supplanted a M'ord better 
 than itself, is hardly quite naturalized, being sometimes pro- 
 nounced auncetresy showing through what channel it has come 
 to us. 
 
 Fore-end, the spring, or early part of the year. 
 
 FoRE-HEET, forethought; from Fore-heed, to pre-consider.— 
 Having-to-the-fore, having any thing forthcoming. 
 
U4 FORE 
 
 FoRENENST, Opposite to, over against, towards — as in part pay- 
 ment of a debt. Sc. fereanent. 
 
 FoRKiN-ROBBiN, an ear wig ; so called from its forked tail. Ray. 
 
 FoRTHERLY, forward, early. " kforiherly harvest" — **fortherlt/ 
 potatoes." 
 
 Fou, tipsy, Bacchi plenus— /«^ of his orgies. The situation of 
 the " wee bit wifeikie," who, forgetting both the temperance 
 and gentleness of her sex, happened to get "/om," is felici- 
 tously ridiculed in a Scottish song attributed to Geddes. 
 
 Foumart, a polecat ; probably foulmart^ from its intolerable 
 scent. There is fulmart in Sherwood's dictionary, and some 
 of our old writers use fulimart. Mr. Cotes derives the word 
 from Fr. feuUlemort (dead leaf), a species of weazel, so called 
 from its colour. 
 
 Four-o'clock, refreshment in the harvest field at that hour. — 
 Dur. Our ancestors in the 13th and 14th centuries (as may 
 be collected from the Northumberland Household Book), 
 appear to have breakfasted at 7, dined at 10, and supped at 4; 
 after which, they had livery at 8 or 9, and then retired to 
 rest. 
 
 FouT, FowT, an indulged or spoiled child ; any foolish person. 
 A fiiend says, /ow'rf, stultified. Fr.foljfou. Ital.folle. 
 
 FouTER, a term of contempt. Vr.f outre. — Fouty, base, mean, 
 despicable. In Scotland, it is sometimes used in the sense in 
 which the low people in Spain and Italy apply the term or 
 sign/co. 
 
 FozY, Fuzzy, light and spungy. Sax. wosig, humidus. Teut. 
 vooSf spongiosus. 
 
 Fra, from. A pure Saxon word ; in constant use. 
 
 Frame, to attempt. " He frames well" — he appears to do it well. 
 " How does he frame^^ — how does he set about it. Sax. 
 fremmariy efficere et formare. See Judges xii. 6. 
 
 Fratch, to scold, to quarrel. Germ, fratzen, fooleries? 
 
 Fratcher, a scold, or quarrelsome person. See Fratch. 
 
 Fratished, or Frettished, perished, half frozen, benumbed 
 with cold. We also hear of afratishment, or fretlishment. 
 
FROW 125 
 
 Freelage, the freedom or privilege of a burgess, in a' Coipora- 
 tion. Germ. /n/a^z, free. 
 
 Freet, to lament, to grieve. From/re;f, to vex. Swed /rata. 
 " She freets dreadfully after the bairns." 
 
 Freet, or Freit, a spectre or frightful object, a superstitious 
 observance or charm. Is\. fret i, an oracle. 
 
 Frem, Frem'd, strange, foreign, unknown. Sax. and Germ. 
 frerdd, Dan. fremmet. Frem^d is also used to denote any 
 thing uncommon. " It's rather frem^d to be ploughing with 
 snow on the ground." Likewise, in the sense of cold ; as a 
 frenCd day. 
 
 Frem'd-person, a stranger. "DdXi. fremmet. Swed. frainmande. 
 
 Fresh, the swelling or overflowing of a river, a flood, a thaw. 
 
 Fretten, spotted, marked. Sax. frothian, fricare. 
 
 Friday. In the calendar of superstition, not only in the North 
 of England but in Scotland, this day is viewed as one of ill 
 omen, on which no new work or enterprise must be begun. 
 Marriages, I believe, seldom happen on it, from this cause. 
 Dr. Buchanan, in his interesting paper on the religion and 
 literature of the Burmas (Asiatic Researches, Vol. VI. p. 172), 
 informs us, that with them " Friday is a most unlucky day ©n 
 which no business must be commenced." 
 
 Friday's noon. 
 Come when it will, it comes too soon — Prov. 
 
 Hopton, in his Concordancie of Yeares, is profuse on the 
 
 subject of unlucky days and hours. 
 Frim, handsome, thriving, in good case. Sax./reawi, fortis, 
 Froating, anxious, unremitting industry. 
 Frosk, a frog. — Dur. Sax. frox, rana. Germ, frosch. 
 Frough, loose, spungy, easily broken ; often applied to wood, as 
 
 brittle is to mineral substances. 'Fr.froisse, bruised. 
 Frow, Frowe, a slattern— also a lusty female. Dut. vrow. 
 
 Germ, frau, a woman. Beaumont and Fletcher, in Wit at 
 
 several Weapons, use froe. 
 
 Buxom as Bacchus V^oe*, revelling ; dancing. 
 Telling the musick's numbers with their feet. 
 
186 FROW 
 
 Frowsey, a. slovenly, coarse-looking, bloated. Sc. fruesome, 
 
 Fruggan, the pole with which the ashes in an oven are stirred, 
 Tr.fourgon, an oven-fork. 
 
 Frumpish, scornful, contemptuous. Bailey, has frump, v. to 
 flout, &c. derived from Teut. frumpelen, to frizzle up the nose, 
 as in derision. 
 
 FuDDER, as much as a two-horse cart will contain. Sax. /other, 
 a wain-load. Germ, fuder, a cart load ; from fuhreny to 
 carry. 
 
 Fuddle, /oorf ale, drinking to excess, so as to make ale the chief 
 food. This is the derivation (fanciful and unsatisfactory, I 
 confess) inserted in the first edition of this work, but which I 
 omitted to state had been previously given in the Craven 
 Glossary — a publication to which I have been indebted for 
 many words, depending on oral usage alone, which are alike 
 peculiar to the counties of Northumberland and Durham, and 
 the Deanery of Craven. 
 
 Fuddle, to intoxicate fish. A poaching mode of destroying 
 them — unacknowledged by Waltonians. 
 
 FuFF, to blow or puff. Germ, pfuffen. — Fuffy, light and soft. 
 
 Fun, Fund, {p, p. oifind) found. Used by old people. 
 
 Funk, to smoke, or rather to cause an offensive smell. Isl. 
 funa, putrescere — Funking the Cobbler, filling an old per- 
 son's room with brimstone and assafoetida — a mischievous 
 pastime among boys. 
 
 Funny, comical. V. Todd's John. See also, Jam. Supp. 
 funnie. 
 
 Fur, a furrow. Sax. fur, fnrh, sulcus. — Rig-and-fur, ridge and 
 furrow. " Rig and furred stockings." 
 
 "FusBX* ffuzzball, a fungus found in fields, which, when pressed, 
 emits quantities of dust — a puff-ball. Lycoperdon proteus. 
 
 FusiN, Fuzzen, nourishment, abundance. V. Todd's John. 
 foisin. 
 
 FusoME, handy, handsome, neat. Probably viewsome, as viewly, 
 which is common in the sense oi pleasant to look upon. In 
 Scotland, Mr. Kinloch informs me, it is the reverse — it means 
 disgusting. 
 
GAIN 127 
 
 Fuss, V. to attempt to do any thing in a hurried or confused 
 manner. Sax. ^saw, to hasten. Su.-Got.^^a. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gab, v. to prate, to prattle. An old word. — Gab, s. idle talk, 
 prating — the mouth. V. Tales of the Crusaders, Vol. III., 
 p. 25. 
 
 Gad, Gaed, a fishing rod — a wand. Sax. gad, stimulus. 
 
 Gad, Gaed, or Ged, a long stick with a pike at the end, former- 
 ly used to drive oxen when they were employed as beasts of 
 draught. It is a term still used for a riding stick. The scrip- 
 tural expression of kicking against the pricks is founded on 
 the same custom. Sax. gad, a goad. 
 
 Gadger, or Gauger, a name for that recording angel of the 
 law, ycleped an exciseman — to gauge being a part of his em- 
 ployment. Of the gauger of wines and his office, we have 
 many ancient statutes. The true English gauge is mentioned 
 in Rot. Pari. 32 Edw. I. 
 
 Gae, Gie, or Gee, to go. V. Todd's Johnson, gee. 
 
 Gaed, for went ; common in North, and Dur. The Scots and 
 Danes, also, still use it. 
 
 Gaily, tolerable, pretty well — in good health and spirits; a 
 common answer to the salutation, " How are you ?" Dr. 
 Jam. says, " it has been supposed that there is some similarity 
 in the use oi gay in O. Fr. But I have met with no example 
 of this kind." It is, however, in modern French. The Aca- 
 demic say, " aller gaiement, pour dire aller bon train ;" i. e. 
 just pretty well. 
 
 Gain, a curious Northumbrian expression, of various significa- 
 tion, generally attached to other words to express a degree of 
 comparison ; as gain quiet — pretty quiet ; gain brave — toler- 
 ably courageous; gain near — conveniently near or at hand. 
 The etymology is doubtful, though it is probably an abbrevia- 
 
128 GALE 
 
 tion oi gay and. — Gain is also used simply for, near; with the 
 superlative Gainest, the nearest; as the " gaincst way" — the 
 nearest road. V. Ihre, gagn. 
 Gale, or Geal, to ache with cold ; as the fingers do when frost 
 
 bitten ; or when very cold water is taken in the mouth. Per- 
 haps from Lat. geluy frost, cold ; or Germ, gelleriy to tingle. 
 
 But see Cotgrave, geler, to congeal with cold. 
 Gali.ey-bauk, a balk in a chimney, with a crook, on which to 
 
 hang pots. Gelte, in Germ, is a vessel with ears. 
 Galloor, Galore, plenty, abundance. V. Jam. gelore. 
 Gallowses, braces for keeping up pantaloons and similar articles 
 
 of dress. 
 Gam, to mock. It is gamey shortening the vowel. The cant 
 
 word to gammon, and the corresponding substantive gainmon, 
 
 derivatives. A gammon of bacon, however, is a gambone, 
 
 Jambon. 
 Gamashers, Gammashes, gaiters. Sc. gramashes. V. Jam. 
 Game-leg, a lame leg. Malone says, a corruption of the British 
 
 gam, or cam, crooked, and leg. 
 Gan, Gang, to go. Sax. gan, gangan. Several other languages 
 
 agree with this; as the Islandic ganga, Alemannic gangan, 
 
 Dutch ganghen, &c. 
 Ganger, having a good action— a good goer. Dan. ganger. 
 
 " He's a ganger, like Willy Pigg's dick-ass." 
 Gangeral, a vagrant, or tramper — one who gangs about the 
 
 country. 
 Gang-way, a thoroughfare, entry, or passage. Sax. gangweg, 
 
 Swed. gSngvag, a pathway. 
 Gang WEEK, Rogation week— time of perambulating a boundary. 
 
 An old word, still in use, from Sax. gang-wuca. Swed. 
 
 gange-vecka is cognate. 
 Gant, or Gaunt, to yawn. Sax. ganian, to gape, to gasp. 
 Gantree, Gantry, a stand for ale or beer barrels. V. Jam. 
 Gar, to make, to force, to compel. Dan. giore. Swed. g8ra. 
 
 Not obsolete, as Dr. Johnson states ; but in common use in 
 
 all the Northern counties. 
 
GATE 129 
 
 Garcil, small branches cut for the purpose of mending hedges 
 — underwood. Lat, gracilis, slender. — Garcil-heuck, a bill- 
 knife for cutting the garcil. 
 
 Garland, a wreath or crown of glory — formerly canied before 
 the corpse of a young unmarried female, and afterwards sus- 
 pended in the church. When I was a boy, there were seve- 
 ral of these funeral garlands in Witton Gilbert Church. No 
 white-washing, or beautifying, I hope, has since disturbed 
 them. See Virgin's Garland. 
 
 Garn, the ancient pronunciation of yarn ; still retained by old 
 people. Sax. gearn. Dan. and Germ. garn. 
 
 Gars, Gurse, grass. Sax. gcers. Sc. gerss. — Garsing, Gur- 
 sing, a grazing, a pasture — an ing, or inclosure in grass. 
 
 Garten, a garter. Gael, gairtein. Sc. gartane. Welsh, gardys. 
 In Durham the word is used for corn in the sheaf. 
 
 Garth, a small inclosure adjoining to a house. Br. garddy a 
 garden. Sax. geard, a yard. Swed. gdi-d. A country 
 church-yard is called the garth, or kirk-garth. The north 
 side is supposed to be not quite so holy as the more sunny 
 sides, and for that reason is usually reserved for the place of 
 interment of such as come to some untimely end. 
 
 Gate, or Gait, a right of pasturage for cattle through the sum- 
 mer — their stray or grazing for any specified time. It is deriv- 
 ed from go, and means generally agoing, and in this instance a 
 right of going. V. Tooke. 
 
 Gate, a way, path, or street — a road. An ancient Saxon ex- 
 pression which has been peculiarly preserved in the names 
 of streets or lanes in almost every considerable Northern 
 town : — those ending in gate, as BailifFgate, Gilligate, Narrow- 
 gate, Newgate, &c. having no allusion to gates having ever 
 been there ; nor does the frequent use of the word afford any 
 proof of a walled town, although such a conclusion has been 
 erroneously drawn. Vide Gate, or Gait, supra. Su.-Got. 
 Isl. and Swed. gata, semita, via. In many villages, the public 
 road passing through is still called the towngate. Gate is, 
 also, well understood in the North in a more general way j as, 
 s 
 
130 GATE 
 
 ** What gate are ye ganging ?'* " How many gates liae ye 
 been?" 
 
 Gate, or Gait, to set up sheaves of corn singly to dry. — Ga- 
 ting, or Gaiting, a single sheaf of corn, especially of oats and 
 barley, set up on end to dry. 
 
 Gaucy, fat and comely. — North. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Gaum, to comprehend, to understand, to distinguish, to consi- 
 der. Moe..Got. gaumgariy percipere; or Teut. gauw, acutus. 
 — Gaumless, silly, ignorant, vacant, stupid. 
 
 Gaup, to stare vacantly. " What are ye gauping at, ye gowk?" 
 Dut. gaapen, to gape. 
 
 Gauve, to stare about in a clownish manner, to look round with a 
 strange, inquiring gaze. Germ, gqfen, adspectare. V. Wach- 
 ter ; and see Gavyson, or Gawvison. 
 
 Gavelock (often pronounced Geavlick), a strong iron bar, used 
 as a lever. Sax. gaveloc, catapulta. Su.-Got. gafflaJcy jaculi 
 genus apud veteres Suiogothos. — Ihre. 
 
 Gavy, an ungainly female, " of a strange gaitj and of unco^ man- 
 ners." Germ, gaffen, to gape and stare. 
 
 Gavyson, or Gawvison, a simpleton, a gaping silly fellow — the 
 son of a gavy. 
 
 Gawky, a. awkward, stupid, foolish. See the substantive. 
 
 Gawky, s. a vacant, staring, idiotical person. Swed. gackj a 
 fool, buffoon. Dan. gieJc. Germ. geek. 
 
 Gay, tolerable. " He's a gay decent man." " Gay luck." 
 Also considerable. " A gay while" — a considerable time. 
 " A gay bit off"— a good distance. — Gay, preceding some 
 other word, is very common in Northumberland; as gay and 
 fat, gay and strong, gay and late. See Gain. 
 
 Last morning I was gay and early out. 
 
 Ramsay y Gentle Shepherd. 
 
 Gean, Geen, the wild cherry. Prunus avium. Fr. guigne. 
 Gear, stock, property, or wealth of any kind. " A vast o' 
 
 gear." Sax. gcara, provision, furniture. — Gears, or Geers, 
 
 draught or cart horse trappings. 
 
GESL 131 
 
 Geck, v. to toss the head scornfully. Teut. ghecJceriy deridere. 
 
 Geck, s. scorn, derision, contempt. " Dinna ye mak yor geck 
 o* me." — Dur. 
 
 Ged, a name for the pike in the Northerp parts of Northumber- 
 land. Isl. gaedda. Dan. gedde. Swed. gadda. 
 
 Gee, an aifront, stubbornness. " She took the gee," — she be- 
 came pettish and unmanageable. A friend, conversant with 
 the language, thinks it probable that this word is the prefix ge^ 
 of some Saxon descendant of opiniatrete, thus used in abbre- 
 viation. Dr. Jamieson, however, refers to Isl. geigr, geig^ 
 oifensa, pernicies. 
 
 Geeavle, or Gavel, the gable end of a house or building. Su.- 
 Got. gafivel. Isl. gafl. 
 
 Geld, to deprive any thing female of the power of generation. 
 This is its old meaning, and is so used by Shakspeare in the 
 Winter's Tale, when Antigonus threatens his three daughters. 
 But there is another sense of the word ; as a geld cow, a geld 
 ewe ; by no means implying that the animals have been spayed, 
 but simply that they are not with young. Germ, gelte, barren 
 — gelte kuh, a cow not with cal£, 
 
 Geld, to crack ; as green wood is apt to do. See Gell. 
 
 Geld, a tax or imposition ; a pure Saxon word, still retained in 
 nout-geld, or neat-geld, the rate paid for the agistment of cattle. 
 
 Gell, to crack or split ; to fly open with heat or dryness, as is 
 often the case with particular kinds of wood, such as holly, 
 box, &c. So the earth, in very dry weather, is said to gell. 
 Isl. geil, fissura, ruptura. 
 
 Gentles, maggots or grubs, used by anglers as bait for fishing. 
 
 Geordie, George — a very common name among the pitmen. 
 " How ! Geordie man ! how is't ?" 
 
 Geslin, or Gesling, a gosling. Su.-Got. gaasling. Sc. gaislin. 
 To make the gosling leave the shell, at hatching time, the far- 
 mer's wife burns an old shoe, by way of a charm. 
 
 Geslin, the beautiful early blossom of the willow — appearing 
 about the same time as the geslin, or young goose. It is 
 fabled that these blossoms, falling into a river, become goslings. 
 
132 GEW-G 
 
 Gew-gaw, a Jew's harp, the Scotch tnimp. Swed. giga. Tay- 
 lor, the Water Poet, says, that he knew a great man expert 
 upon this instrument. 
 
 GiBB, a hook. — GiBBttN, Gibby, Gibby-stick, a walking stick 
 with a hook, or the top bent down for a handle ; a nut hook. 
 Lat. gibbiisy convexly crooked. 
 
 Gib-fish, the milter of the salmon. See some curious informa- 
 tion concerning it, in the North Country Angler, p. 39 & seq. 
 
 Giblets, " the parts of a goose which are cut oiF before it is 
 roasted," Todd's John. Experienced restaurateurs, however, 
 inform me that it is the inside as well. Old Fr. gibelez. But 
 see Thomson. In Newcastle they call what is taken from one 
 goose, a pair of giblets. At Christmas, hardly any person, 
 however poor, is without a giblet pie. 
 
 Gibraltar-rock, veined sweetmeat — sold in lumps resembling 
 a rock. It is also known in Scotland; and had its origin 
 from the Rock of Gibraltar, immediately after that place was 
 so successfully defended by General Eliot, against the com- 
 bined forces of France and Spain. Both English and Scots 
 have a singular predilection for naming things after great 
 events or great men. 
 
 GiE, the Northern form of give. V. Jamieson, vo. gif. 
 
 GiF, if. A pure Saxon word; still retained in our Northern 
 language. H. Tooke says, it is the imperative of the Gothic 
 and Anglo-Saxon verb gif an. 
 
 GiFF-GAFF, interchange of discourse— mutual donation and re- 
 ception. Hence, the proverb, " Giff-gaff makes good fellow- 
 ship." 
 
 Gifts, white specks on the finger nsdls — ^presages of felicity, not 
 always realized. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II. p. 639. 
 
 Gig, a long, slender, light pleasure boat on the Tyne. 
 
 GiGLOT, a giddy, laughing girl. Shakspeare, after Chaucer, has 
 it in a worse sense — a wanton wench. This latter meaning is 
 supported by Sax. geagle, lascivus. 
 
 GiGOT, or JiGOT, a joint of mutton — part of the leg. Fr. gigot. 
 
 Gilder, Gildert, a snare, made of horse hair or small wire, for 
 
 i 
 
GIN 133 
 
 catching birds. Swed. giller, gin, snare. See Bewick's cut 
 of the Tawny Bunting. Gilevy for deceiver, occurs in 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Gill, a small valley or dell ; properly a narrow glen with steep 
 and rocky banks on each side, and v/ith a runner of water at 
 the bottom. Isl. gz7, fissura montium. The term is often 
 found as a local designation in the North of England, where, 
 as Dr. Jamieson conjectures, it may have been left by the 
 Danes, who occupied Northumberland. 
 
 GiLLABER, to chatter nonsense. " "What are you gillabering 
 about ?'* a true old Northumbrian expression. Germ, gel'dchtevy 
 laughter, has been given to me as a probable etymon. 
 
 GiLSE, a species of salmon. Said to be one not fully grown. 
 
 Gilt, a spayed pig. See Geld : also. Jam. Supp. gait. 
 
 GiMELL, or GiMMAL, a double tree j so called by woodmen. The 
 gimmal-nng will occur to most readers. 
 
 GiMLiCK, a gimlet — said to be the invention of Daedalus. — Gim- 
 lick-eve, a squint, vulgo, cock-eye — probably from being a- 
 twist. 
 
 Gimmer, a female sheep from the first to the second shearing. 
 Su.-Got. gimmer y ovicula, quae primum enititur. Ihre. — 
 Gelt-gimmer, a barren ewe. — Gimmer- lamb, a ewe lamb. 
 
 Gimmer, a contemptuous term for a woman among the lower 
 orders in Newcastle. Q. Dut. gemalen, a wife ? 
 
 Gimp, or Jimp, neat, handsome, slim in person, elegant of shape. 
 Welch, gwymj), pretty. 
 
 Gin, if. V. Ray, and Tooke. gin, is an expression of great 
 admiration in Scotland. 
 
 Gin a body meet a body. 
 Ganging to the well ; 
 Gin a body kiss a body. 
 Should a body tell ? 
 
 North, version of. Coming throtigh the Rye. 
 O gin my love were yon red rose. 
 That grows upon the castle wa'. 
 And I myseP a drap o' dew, 
 
 Into her bonnie breast to fa' [--^Scottish Ballad. 
 
134 GINN 
 
 GiNNEY-Tiv-A-sHiLUNO,gMin<?fl to a shUling'-the confident wager 
 of the ^orthGmKnights of the Cleaver — 
 
 That noble trade 
 That demi-gods and heroes made. 
 
 Gird, Gurd, a hoop. Sax. gi/rdel, cingulum. 
 
 Girdle, a circular iron plate, with a bow handle, on which thin 
 and broad cakes of bread are baked. Sax. gyrdel. Su.-Got. 
 grissel. V. Ihre. In more simple times a slate, called a back- 
 stone, was used for the purpose ; and in Yorkshire they still 
 have a girdle stone for baking their oat cakes upon. 
 
 Girdle-cake, thin household bread baked on a girdle. The 
 lagana of the ancient Welsh. V. Itinerary of Archbishop 
 Baldwin, by Sir R. C. Hoare, Vol. II. p. 293, and note. 
 
 GiRN, the Northern word for grin ; and so given in our old dic- 
 tionaries. 
 
 The deil sat ^ming i' the neuk.— 5oflai ofCrooTcie Den, 
 
 GiRNiGAW, the cavity of the mouth. Gaumen is German for the 
 palate or roof of the mouth — probably, therefore, girn and 
 gaum — girning so as to show it. A lady has favoured me 
 with the following Northumbrian riddle — solution, eating a 
 doe. 
 
 Black'm, saut'm, rough'm, glower'm, saw. 
 Click 'm, gatt'm, flang'm into gimigaic. 
 
 Girt, the vulgar orthography oi great. " Girt and small." 
 
 GisTiNG, the feeding of cattle, which, in some places, are called 
 gisements ; the tythe due for the profit made by such gisting, 
 where neither the land nor the cattle otherwise pay any thing 
 — agistment. The word may be referred to old Fr. giste^ 
 demeure, habitation, endroit ou Ton couche. V. Roquefort. 
 
 Give, to beat, to punish. " My sangs, I'll give it you." 
 
 Give, to yield ; as the frost does when it thaws. 
 
 Give ower. Give ower now, the ha^ dene of the North. 
 
 GizEN, to open, to crack, to pine. An empty cask exposed to 
 the sun is liable to gizen. Isl. gisinny hiulcus. 
 
 GizzERN, the gizzard. The old mode of spelling. Fr. gesicr. 
 
GLIF 135 
 
 Glaid, or Gled, smooth, easy in motion. V. Jamieson, glad. 
 
 Glaky, giddy, unsteady, frolicsome. Sc. glai/cit. 
 
 Glare, Glair, Glaur, Glore, dirt, filth, puddle. 
 
 Glave, smooth. Lat. glaber. Hence, glavering, an old word 
 for flattering. 
 
 Glaver, or Glaiver, to talk foolishly or heedlessly. Germ. 
 Maffen, to chatter, to prate, to babble. 
 
 Glazener, a glazier. Very common among the vulgar. The 
 Dutch say glaazemaker. 
 
 Glead, a kite — the fork-tailed falcon. Falco mUvus. Linn. 
 Sax. glida. Su.-Got. glada, milvus. Sc. gled. 
 
 Glee, Gley, Glead, to squint. V. Ray. The soubriquet of 
 " Glei/d Argyll" was given to a celebrated Scottish Marquess 
 — from his having a squint or cast in his eyes. 
 
 Gleek, to deceive or beguile. In this sense is to be read the 
 expression from Shakspeare, " I can gleek upon occasion," 
 misinterpreted by Hanmer and Pope, to joke, or scoff; and 
 given as an example, in Todd's Johnson, under " to sneer,'* 
 to gibe, to droll upon. Mr. Lambe, on this passage, sensibly 
 remarks, that, " a fool may utter rustic jokes or scoffs ; but it 
 requires some small share of art or wisdom, to beguile or de- 
 ceive," The word seems analogous to Germ, gleichen^ to 
 counterfeit. 
 
 Gleg, v. to glance, or rather to look sharp. — Gleg, a. quick, 
 clever, adroit. Isl. gloggr, acutus, perspectus. 
 
 For gleg's the glance which lovers steal. — Old Song. 
 
 Gleg, slippery; smooth, so as to be easily moved. It is also 
 
 used in the sense of voluble — glib. 
 Glen, a narrow valley, a depression between hills. Sax. gleUy 
 
 glene. Welsh, gli/n; and so written in Domesday. Gael. 
 
 gleann. 
 Glent, v. to look aside, to glance, to peep. Isl. glenna, pan- 
 
 dere. 
 Glent, s. an indistinct or oblique view, a glance. 
 Gliff, a slight or transient view, a glimpse, a fright. Isl. glia, 
 
m GLIM 
 
 to shine. " Eh ! what a glifVd getten ih the kirk garth, the 
 
 neet now !" 
 Glime, to glance slyly, to look out at the corner of an eye. 
 Glint, v. to glance, to shine. — Glint, s. a glance. 
 Glisk, a faint view, a transient light, a glimpse. 
 Gloaming, twilight at morning or evening. Sax. glomung, glom- 
 
 viung, crepusculum. V. Lye. 
 Gloar, Glore, to gaze, or stare. See Glower. 
 Gloppen, to startle, to surprise, to astonish. Isl. glopr, stultus, 
 
 is supposed by Mr. Todd, and others, to be the origin ; but is 
 
 not Germ, glupen, to behold or regard one with a malicious 
 
 mien, more nearly allied ? — Gloppened, astonished, frightened. 
 Glottening, a temporary melting of snow or ice, not succeeded 
 
 by a thaw. 
 Glower, v. to gaze or stare with dilated eyes. Teut. gluyeren, 
 
 to look asquint. — Glower, s. a broad impudent stare. 
 Glumps, sulkiness. Chaucer has glombe, and Skelton glum. — 
 
 Glumpy, sullen or sour looking. Allied to this is glouping, 
 
 remaining silent or stupid. 
 Gob, the mouth — a quantity, a lump, a mouthful. 
 GoB-STicK, a spoon. This word would seem to imply a vulgar 
 
 origin; but I suspect it is legitimately to be derived from 
 
 Gothic gaepstock. V. Kennett*s Gloss, vo. gappe. 
 GoB-AND-GUTS LIKE A YOUNG CRAW, a low burlcsque expression, 
 
 dealt out to ignorant people, too fond of talking. Of the same 
 
 kind is, no guts in your brains — ^gross stupidity— -unable to 
 
 digest an idea. The Germans have a similar colloquial phrase, 
 
 er hat keine grutze im kopfe. 
 Gobbet, a lump of meat — that which may be put into the gob or 
 
 mouth. — Raw-gobbet, an unfledged bird. Figuratively, an 
 
 uncultivated, or uneducated person. 
 GoFF, a foolish clown. Skinner gives gofyshe as an old word 
 
 equivalent to stultus, fatuus. I may add, from Cotgrave, old 
 
 Fr. goffe, dull, doltish, blockish. 
 GoKE, Gowk, the core of an apple, the yolk of an egg — the inner 
 
 part of any thing. 
 
GOTH 137 
 
 GoLDSPiNK, the goldfinch. Fringilla carduelis. Teut. gond- 
 vincke. 
 
 GoLL, to strike, to blow with violence. " How the wind golls 
 against the windows." V. Jam. gowl. 
 
 GoLLAN, GowLAN, GowEN, a ycllow flower, common in moist 
 meadows — a golden one. 
 
 GoLLAR, GoLLER, V. to shout, to speak in a boisterous or mena- 
 cing manner, to storm. Germ. groUeriy to murmur. Ital. gola 
 — ^in the phrase, gridare quanto se riha nella gola^ to cry out 
 very loud. 
 
 GoLLAR, GoLLER, s. the blustcr of an enraged or dissatisfied per- 
 son — the snarl or growl of a dog. 
 
 GoNEiLL, or GoNNERiL, a half-wit, a dunce. V. Jam. gomrelL 
 
 GoNNERHEAD, a stupid pcrsou, a dunce. See Goneill. 
 
 Goodlike, well favoured. My friend, Mr. Taylor, suspects it is 
 classical, though not in Todd's Johnson. It is common in the 
 North, and is certainly a good word. 
 
 Goodlike-nought, good in appearance only. " There's many 
 a goodlike nought in the world." 
 
 Goodman, the husband or master of the house. Sc. gudeman. — 
 GooDWOMAN, the wife or mistress. 
 
 GoR, Gore, dirt — any thing rotten or decayed. Pure Saxon. 
 
 GoRBiT, GoRBiN, an unfledged bird. — Raw Gorbit, or Gorbin, 
 applied, as a term of contempt, to a forward pert young lad. 
 
 GoRCOCK, the red grouse, or moor cock. Tetrao Scoticus. . La- 
 tham. This kind of game is plentiful in the elevated heathy 
 parts of the northern counties of England, as well as in the 
 Highlands of Scotland. 
 
 Gossamer, " down of plants, cobwebs, or rather vapour arising 
 from boggy or marshy ground, in warm weather." — Craven 
 Glossary j where there is an excellent article on the etymon of 
 this word. 
 
 Gotham, a cant name for the " famous old town" of Newcastle. 
 Barb. Lat. gotticus, with the Romans, was a Goth and a sim- 
 pleton. V. Thomson. 
 
 GoTHERLY, kind, sociable. " The ewe is gotherly with its lamb." 
 
138 GO-TO 
 
 Go-TO-BED-AT-HooN, goat's beard. Tragopogon pratense. This 
 is one of those plants Which, by an invariable law of nature, 
 performs its constant vigilue, by closing its leaves about noon. 
 Hence its popular name. 
 
 GowD, GowDY, a toy or play-thing. V. Todd's John. gaud. 
 
 GowDER, an obscene term j borrowed, I imagine, from the inter- 
 course of foxes. Hence the name of Gowdy-chare, in New- 
 castle ; once the receptacle of a class of " very dangerous, 
 though not very tempting, females." 
 
 GovvK, the cuckoo. Sax. g<ECy cuculus. Su.-Got. goek. Me- 
 taphoricalli/, a fool or simpleton. Swed. gdck. Teut. gheck, 
 stultus. Goki/f in both senses, occurs in Peirs Ploughman. 
 In some parts of Yorkshire, it is cowk, in the same accepta- 
 tion. A grindle cowk, is a worn down grindstone, sometimes 
 used as a stool in the cottages of the poor. 
 
 Gowk's-errand, a fool's errand. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. 
 I. p. 123. 
 
 GowK-spiT, or CucKOO-sPiT, white frothy matter, seen on certain 
 plants in the spring — coincident with the appearance of the 
 cuckoo — containing the froth worm. Tettigonia spumaria. 
 So called from an ancient belief that it is the spittle of the 
 gowkf or cuckoo, 
 
 GowL, to threaten in a kind of howl. Isl. go/a, ululare. 
 
 GovvpEN, the hollow of the hand, contracted in a semicircular 
 form to receive any thing— a handful. — Gowpen-full, is also 
 used in the latter sense. Isl. gaupn. Su.-Got. goepn, manus 
 concava. 
 
 GowPENS, both hands held together in form of a round vessel. 
 ** Gold in gowpens'* — as much gold as both hands united can 
 hold. 
 
 GowsTY, dreary, frightful, ghastly, ghostly. It is frequently used 
 as signifying, dismal or uncomfortable, and so applied to a 
 dwelling-house without ceiling, &c. " What a gowsty hole he 
 lives in." Sc. gousty. 
 
 GowsTY, windy, stormy. In this sense we may refer to Isl. 
 giosti-f ventus frigidus. 
 
GRAW 139 
 
 Grab, to seize. " I grabbed him," I got hold of him. " I 
 made a grab at him," I attempted to seize him. Swed. grabba, 
 to grasp. 
 
 Gracewife, an old provincial name for a midwife ; still retained 
 by the vulgar. Allied to French, grosse femme. 
 
 Gradely, decently, orderly. Sax. grad^ grade, ordo. Rather, 
 my friend, Mr. Turner, says, from Sax. geradlic, upright, 
 Gradely, in Lane, he observes, is an adjective signifying every 
 thing respectable. The Lancashire people say, our canny is 
 nothing to it. 
 
 Grailing, a alight fall of hail just to cover the ground. 
 
 Grain, a branch ; properly that which is grown. Hence, corn 
 (generally) — hence, also, a branch (locally) — whence, by asso- 
 ciation, the grains or branches of a fork. The grain of the 
 wood, the growing — the direction in which it grows. Su.- 
 Got. greny ramus. 
 
 Grain, Grane, to groan. Sax. granian, gemere, lamentari. 
 
 Graith, v. to clothe, or furnish with any thing suitable. Sax. 
 gercsdian. — Graith, s. the trapping of a horse. 
 
 Graithing, clothing — any furnishing or equipment. Sax. 
 gercede. 
 
 Grandy, Granny, grandmother. Old Eng. grannam. Sc. 
 grannie. 
 
 Grange, a barn, or granary. Originally the store-house for corn 
 belonging to the lord of a manor, or to a monastery, Fr. 
 grange. Law Lat, grangia, from granum. 
 
 Granky, complaining — neither well nor ill. See Cranky. 
 
 Grape, v. to feel. Sax. grapian. See an amusing article in 
 Moor, vo. grope. — York, gripe. Sc. graip. 
 
 Grape, Gripe, s. a fork with three prongs for filling rough dung. 
 Su.-Got. grepe, tridens. Sc. graip. It is the Saxon myx- 
 forc, and classical trident. 
 
 Grave, to dig, to break up ground with a spade. V. Watson. 
 
 Grawsome, Growsome, ugly, frightful. Derived by Dr. Willan 
 from groivse, to be chill ; to shiver, or to tremble with horror. 
 But Swed. grnfvelig, ch'eadful, dismal, would have been a 
 
140 GREA 
 
 preferable etymon. The correspondent term in Danish is gru' 
 som, cruel, inhuman. 
 
 CrREAT, (often pronounccd Greet), intimate, familiar. Sc. grit. 
 This word, which now appears very vulgar, was used by the 
 most polite in the time of Elizabeth. See Fuller's Worthies, 
 Derbyshire, Edit. Nichols, p. 259. 
 
 Gree, v. to agree, to live in amity. Old Fr. greer. *' Law's 
 costly ; tak a pint and gree.** 
 
 Gree, s. pre-eminence, superiority. " To bear the gree" to be 
 victorious, to gain the prize. 
 
 Greedy-gut, a voracious eater. Dan. graadig, greedy, glutton- 
 ous, voracious. The double aa, in Danish, sounds like o. 
 
 Greedy-hounds, hungry persons— having, as it were, the canine 
 appetite. 
 
 Green-bone, the gar-fish, or needle-fish ; taken on the coast of 
 Northumberland. The bones are green j hence the name. 
 
 Green-table, the large table in the Guildhall, of Newcastle; so 
 called from its being covered with green cloth. 
 
 Greene Y, the green grosbeak. Le Verdier. Buffon. 
 
 Grees, stairs or steps. V. Ray; and Todd's John, gree^ 3d 
 sense. 
 
 Greet, to cry, to weep aloud.i— Grat, wept. Sax. grcedan, 
 clamare, flere. Dan. grcede, to weep, to cry. Swed. grdta, to 
 weep : gret, wept. 
 
 Grey-beard, a stone jar, or earthen jug. The same as Grey- 
 hen. V. Thomson, gray-beard. 
 
 Grey-hen, a large stone bottle. Often used on the borders for 
 holding such " flattering unction" as is never meant to see the 
 face of the exciseman. Fr. bouteille de gres, a stone bottle. 
 In Scotland it is iappit hen. 
 
 Grey-hen, the female of the black-cock. Also the name of a 
 certain description of pear. 
 
 Grey-linnet, the common linnet. Fringilla canabina. 
 
 Grey-stones, coarse mill stones, for common meal — from the 
 colour of the free stone ; in opposition to the Blue-stones, for 
 finer meal, made of the whinstone. The one kind bruises the 
 
GROA 141 
 
 grain more into flakes ; the other grinds it more into small 
 powder. 
 
 Griivie, to mark or daub with soot. This is the only prop^^ 
 meaning of this Shakspearian word. — Griming, is, however, 
 sometimes used, per antithesis, for a slight cover of snow. — - 
 Grimy, sooty. 
 
 Grip, to grasp fast by the hand. Sax. gripariy to gripe. Swed. 
 gripa, to catch, to seize, to lay hold of. 
 
 Grip, or Groop, the space where the dung lies in a cow-h6use, 
 having double rows of stalls ; that is, the opening or hollow 
 between them. Also a small ditch, or open drain in a field. 
 Sax. gresp, a trench or sink. Teut. grippe, groepe^ sulcus. 
 
 Grippy, mean, avaricious, hardly honest. Sax. gripendf rapiens, 
 catching, griping. 
 
 Groaning, a mother's pangs in the " trying hour*' — the crying out. 
 
 Groaning-cake, the cake provided in expectation of an increase 
 in a family. It seems from time immemorial to have been 
 viewed as an object of superstition, and persons have been 
 known to keep a piece for many years. 
 
 Groaning-chair, the chair in which the matron sits to receive 
 visits of congratulation. This is, as a writer in the Gent. 
 Mag. observes, " a kind o{ female ovation due to every good 
 woman who goes through such eminent perils in the service of 
 her country." Formerly the lady was placed in a groaning 
 chair to assist parturition. It is still, I am told, so used on 
 the continent ; and is called in Danish forlosning stoel, deli- 
 very chair. 
 
 Groaning-cheese, or the Sick Wife's Cheese, a large Cheshire 
 cheese provided on the same occasion as the cake. I under- 
 stand a slice of the first cut laid under the pillow, enables 
 young damsels to dream of their lovers, particularly if pre- 
 viously tossed in a certain nameless part of the midwife's appa- 
 rel. In all cases it must be pierced with three pins, taken 
 from the child's pincushion. There was a time, my old nurse 
 informed me, when children were drawn through a hole cut in 
 the groaning-cheese, on the day they were christened. 
 
m GROA 
 
 Groats, oats with the hulls taken off, but unground. Sax. 
 grutf grout. Groats were formerly much used in the North of 
 England; especially in the composition of black puddings. 
 Hence the proverb, " blood without groats is nothing;" mean- 
 ing that family without fortune is of no consequence. A 
 street in Newcastle — the ancient and accustomed place for the 
 sale of meal and groats — is still called the Groa/-market. 
 Grobble, to make holes. Germ, griiblein, a little hole. 
 Groin, Gruin, the snout of a pig. Groine, used by Chaucer in 
 The Persones Tale, has the same signification. Fr. groin. 
 Among the vulgar the word is applied to the nose. 
 Groser, Grozer, a gooseberry. Fr. groseille. Lat. grossula. 
 Groves, the refuse of tallow, made into thick cakes and used as 
 
 food for dogs. It is graves in the South. 
 Grow, to be troubled. — Growze, to be chill before an ague fit, 
 to shudder. Su.-Got. grufwa, horrere. Dan. grue^ fright, 
 trembling. 
 Grumphey, Grumpy, sour, ill-natured, out of humour. — Grum- 
 
 phey, is also a name for a pig — adopted from grunting. 
 Grumphey, a species of jostling among school-boys, in endea- 
 vouring to hide any thing which one takes from another. 
 Grund, the Northern form of grou7id. It is the same in the 
 ancient Gothic, Danish, and Swedish languages. The word 
 is often applied to a place of retirement. Countrymen have a 
 sad custom of ganging to the grund, instead of a cabinet d* 
 aisance. Church-yards, even, are not free from this pollution. 
 Guest, a ghost, or spectre. Sax. gast, gaast. Sc. gaist. The 
 streets of Newcastle, according to an old tradition, were 
 haunted by a nightly guest, assuming the shape of a dog, calf, 
 or pig, to the no small terror of those who were afraid of such 
 apparitions. The most laughable and mischievous gambols 
 are represented to have been performed in the neighbourhood 
 of the old " Dog-loup-stairs ;" but probably only, at times. 
 
 When church-yards yawn, and hell itself breathes out 
 Contagion to this world. — Shak. Hamlet. 
 
HACK 143 
 
 GuESTNiNG, an hospitable welcome — a warm reception. IsU 
 gistmg, hospitum. Sc. gesning^ gestning. 
 
 GuiL-FAT, or Guile-vat, a wort-tub. Dut. gt/l-kuip, 
 
 GuisERS, persons who dance in masks, or with their faces black- 
 ened, or discoloured, and in rustic disguises; a custom of 
 great antiquity. Teut. gui/se-setter, sannio. Sc. gysards. 
 These guisers are still to be seen, especially at the mell-sup- 
 perSi given at harvest home, though their numbers have con- 
 siderably diminished of late years. 
 
 GuLLEY, Gully, a large knife used in farm-houses, principally to 
 cut bread, cheese, &c. for the family. Perhaps, originally a 
 butcher's, for the gullet. Another meaning of gully — a 
 ditch, or hollow — has been pointed out to me by several lite- 
 rary friends ; but in this sense the word is not unknown in our 
 lexicography, and is well authorized. 
 
 GuLLioN, a mean wretch. V. Jam. Supp. It is also a term for 
 a drunkard. The fable of the thirsty ghost of Gullion drink- 
 ing the river Acheron dry, is told with considerable humour in 
 one of Bishop Hall's Satires. 
 
 GuMSHON, Gumption,' common sense, combined with energy; 
 shrewd intelligence; a superior understanding. A writer in 
 the Gent. Mag. in reviewing Mr. Wilbraham's Cheshire Glos- 
 sary, calls this a slang word. On the contrary, it is an excel- 
 lent word, of high antiquity — referred by Dr. Jamieson to 
 Moe.-Got. gaum-jauy percipere. 
 
 G'yet, a common pronunciation of Gate; which see. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hack, a strong pick-axe, or hoe used in agriculture. Dan. 
 hakJcCy a mattock. Hachia occurs in old Latin instruments, in 
 the sense of an axe. The ancient Saxon weapon — with 
 which the British chiefs were murdered by the command of 
 Hengist— was called handeax. 
 
144 HACK 
 
 Hacked, chapped, or chopped ; said of frost-bitten hands. 
 
 Had, Haud, hold. Sc. hold. " Had your tongue" — be silent. 
 
 Had away ! Haud away ! go away — hold on your way — a 
 term of encouragement, peculiar, I believe, to the North. 
 
 Hadfash, Haudfash, plague, trouble. " Sic a hadfash.** 
 
 Haffle, to waver, to speak unintelligibly, to prevaricate. Dut. 
 kakkclen, to falter. — Haffling, confused talk. 
 
 Hag, v. to cut or hack.— Cumb. and part of York. — Hag, *. a 
 cutting of copse wood. Swed. hygge^ felling of trees. 
 
 Hag, a wood — generally one into which cattle are admitted. 
 
 Hag, a sink or mire in mosses — any broken ground in a bog. 
 Dr. Jamieson properly refers to the act of cutting. 
 
 Hag, a white mist ; something similar to dag j which see. 
 
 Hagberry, Heckberry, the beautiful flowering shrub — the bu'd- 
 cherry. Prunus padus. Swed. haggebdr. 
 
 Haggar-maker's Shop, a cant name for a public-house. 
 
 Haggis, or (as generally pronounced) Haggish, a North country 
 dish — the national olio of Scotland ; for a commendation and 
 history of which see Dr. Hunter's Culina Famulatrix Medi- 
 cinae. See, also, Burns' address To a Haggis; and Jam. 
 Supp. vo. haggles. It was, till lately, a common custom among 
 the peasantry in the North of England, to have this fare to 
 breakfast every Christmas-day ; and some part of the family 
 sat up all night to have it ready at an early hour. It is now 
 used at dinner on the same day. Sold, savoury and hoty in the 
 Newcastle market. 
 
 Haggish, an opprobrious epithet for a female — partaking, as it 
 were, of the nature of a hag; or, perhaps, a corruption of 
 baggage. The term is sometimes applied to the male sex. 
 
 Haghes, the fruit of the hawthorn — haws. Teut. haeghe. 
 
 Hagmena, the same as Hogmena ; which see. 
 
 Hag-worm, the common snake — ^from the place in which it is 
 found. Coluber natrix, 
 
 Hain, to save, to preserve; as, haining wood; haining land; 
 haining a new suit of clothes. See an ingenious, and yet sa- 
 tisfactory, etymon in Jamieson, 
 
HALM 145 
 
 Hake, to loiter, to lounge, to sneak. Germ, hnken^ a hook — 
 clinging to present objects ? Thus we say of a loiterer, that 
 he ^fitng^ about. 
 
 Halfers ! an exclamation among children, viewed as entitling 
 the person making it to half, or half the value, of any thing 
 found by his companion. If, however, the finder be quick, he 
 exclaims " no halfers — findee keepee, lossee seekee," which 
 destroys the claim, and gives him the sole right to the pro- 
 perty. 
 
 And he who sees you stoop to th' ground. 
 Cries Imlves ! to ev'ry thing you've found. 
 
 Savage, Horace to Scceva imitated. 
 
 Half-rocked-innocent, a fool — supposed to arise from having 
 been only half roclced in the cradle when an infant. 
 
 Hallabaloo, Hillebaloo, a noise, an uproar, a clamour. A 
 friend suggests a curious derivation — liilloa-haivl-you ! 
 
 Halle e'en, or Halloween, All Hallow Even, the vigil of All 
 Saints' Day, on which it is customary with young people in 
 the North of England to dive for apples, or catch at them 
 when stuck upon one end of a kind of hanging beam, at the 
 other extremity of which is fixed a lighted candle, and that 
 with their mouths only, their hands being tied behind their 
 backs. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. I. p. 300. 
 
 Hallen, Hollin, the corner at the entry into the house by 
 means of the heck-door— the partition or screen between the 
 door and the fire-place. Germ, hehlen, to conceal, 
 
 Hallion, a common term of reproach — a reprobate. 
 
 Halmot-court, the court of a copyhold manor. It was that 
 court among the Saxons, which we now call a court baron ; 
 and the etymology is from the meeting of the tenants in one 
 hall or manor — Sax. heall, aula, and gemote, conventus. The 
 name is still kept up in the county of Durham, in the Bishop's 
 manors. Writers have sometimes mistaken this court for the 
 Halymotey or holy or ecclesiastical court; nor ought the 
 reader to confound these copyholders with the Halywercfolkj 
 u 
 
140 HALO 
 
 or holy work people, who enjoyed lands by the tenure of re- 
 pairing or defending a church or sepulchre. Such, in particu- 
 lar, were those within the bishopric of Durham, who were 
 under an obligation to defend the corpse of St. Cuthbert, and 
 who claimed for such pious labour the privilege of not being 
 forced to go out of the diocese, either by the King or by the 
 Bishop. 
 
 Halow, shy, bashful, scri^ulous. — Lane. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Hame, home. A pure old word, from Sax. ham, used for a place 
 of dwelling, or a village, or town. 
 
 Hamshacle, to fasten the head of an animal to one of its hams, 
 or forelegs. Vicious cows and oxen are often so tied, especially 
 when driven to slaughter. 
 
 Han, for have, in the plural. This old contraction of haven is 
 not obsolete, as stated by Dr. Johnson. 
 
 Hancle, a great many. Thought to be a corruption of handful. 
 But see Hantle. 
 
 Handy, a small Wooden vessel of a cylindrical form, made of 
 staves hooped together, one of them being of greater length 
 than the others, and serving for a handle. Called elsewhere 
 a piggin. 
 
 Hangerel, a stick in a butcher's shop on which to hang an ox 
 by the hind legs. 
 
 Hangment. To play the hangment, to be much enraged — to play 
 the very deuce. A cant term. 
 
 Hank, v. to fasten, to form into hanks or skeins. — Hank, s. a 
 skein of thread, a rope or latch for fastening a gate. Isl. hank, 
 a collar or chain. To keep a good hank upon your horse, is to 
 have a good hold of the reins. To make a ravelled hank, to 
 put any thing into confusion. 
 
 Hank, a habit. Prim.arily a chain or band. 
 
 Hankle, to twist — to entangle thread, silk, or worsted. 
 
 Hanniel, a loose, disorderly fellow — one not to be trusted: 
 
 Hansel, or Handsel, the first money received for the sale of 
 goods, an earnest given on hiring a servant. The fish women 
 and hucksters in Newcastle regularly spit upon what they first 
 
HARN 147 
 
 receive in a morning to render it propitious and lucky — that it 
 may draw more money to it. Su.-Got. handsoel, mercimonii 
 divenditi primitiae. V. Ihre. The Germans employ their 
 twin-expression handkauf^ in identically a correspondent mean- 
 ing. Hansel is also the^r^^ use of any thing. *' HanseP d the 
 new font." Forcett Register, 1646. 
 
 Hansel-Monday, the first Monday in the New Year ; when it is 
 customary to make children and servants a present. Huloet 
 defines handsell, " a new year's gift." 
 
 Hantle, much, many, a great deal. Swed. antal. Germ, anzakl, 
 a great number. 
 
 Hanty, wanton, unruly, restive. Grose. See, also, Ray. 
 
 Hap, to cover warmly, as in bed. Sax. heapean, to heap upon. 
 
 Happen, Happens, perhaps, possibly, it may be. 
 
 Happing, a coarse covering, a rough rug for a bed. Hap-harloty 
 a coverlet for a servant, is a very old word. There is an 
 ancient popular distich in Newcastle, in allusion to the cele- 
 brated Roger Thc^ton — one of its most wealthy merchants 
 and greatest benefactors — who, it is said, arrived there literally 
 in the situation described — 
 
 At the Westgate came Thornton in, 
 
 With a happing, a halfpenny, and a lambskin. 
 
 In Stowe's transcript of Leland's Itinerary, there is a different 
 version of the couplet — 
 
 In at the West-Gate came Thornton in, 
 With a happen hapt in a ram's skynn. 
 
 Hard-corn, wheat or maslin in the grass state. Probably from 
 
 being sown before winter. 
 Harden, to grow dear. " The market hardens^ 
 Hardleys, scarcely, hardly. Universal among the vulgar. 
 Hare, or Harr, a mist or thick fog. Probably from Sax. hai\ 
 
 hare, hoar. Ray has harl, a mist. V. Skinner, a sea harr. 
 Harn, or Harden, a term for coarse linen cloth. Perhaps, 
 
 originally, a literary friend conjectures, from Germ, h'darcn, 
 
 made of hair ; as brewers' aprons sometimes arc. 
 
148 HARN 
 
 Harns, brains. Used only in the plural. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 Harp, to be constantly dwelling on one topic, to repeat a thing 
 
 incessantly, to grumble. 
 Harry, to rob, to plunder, to oppress. Sax. hergian^ to harrow, 
 
 to pillage. Swed. harja, to ravage, to lay waste. The word, 
 
 in this sense, is by no means confined to Scotland, as Dr. 
 
 Johnson supposed. It is common in Northumberland and 
 
 Durham ; particularly as applied to the taking of a bird's nest ; 
 
 and being used by Milton, ought to be considered as classical 
 
 English, 
 
 The Saxons with perpetual landings and invasions Iiarried 
 the Soiith coast o£ Bntsdn.--Hist. of Eng. B. II. p. 108. 
 
 Harrygaud, a blackguard sort of person. Ray says, a wild 
 girl J but, I think, I never heard it applied to a female. 
 
 Hars. The two ends of a gate in Northumberland are called the 
 harsy and the bars the selms. Hodgson's History, Part II., 
 Vol. I., p. 86. 
 
 Harstane, Harstone, the hearth-stone of a cottage. 
 
 Harumstarum, Harumscarum, wild, unsettled — running after, 
 you know not what. Germ, herum-schar, a wandering troop ; 
 plural, 5cAare», vagabonds. 
 
 Hash, a sloven, one who does not know how to act or behave 
 with propriety — a silly talkative person. In 1655, Henry 
 Hedlc}* was fined 3s. 4d. for calling William Johnson, one of 
 the stewards of the incorporated compan}^ of Bricklayers and 
 Plasterers, a slavering hash. V. M'Kenzie's Hist, of Nevvc, 
 p.700. ' 
 
 Hask, coarse, harsh, rough, parched. Germ, harsch, rough — 
 with the common suppression of the r. A hask luind is keen 
 and parching. Hash-lips are parched lips. The \/ord is also 
 applied to the sense of feeling, when any thing from its touch 
 appears unpleasantly dry or hard. Coarse worsted is hask to 
 the feeling. Huslcy is cognate — the husk of a nut — the rough 
 envelopement. 
 
 Hassock, a reed, or rush ; hence, a stool or cushion to kneel 
 
HAY-M 149 
 
 upon at church, is called a hassock. Sw. vassy a rush, and 
 sacJcy a sack. There is a tract of land adjoining the Tyne, 
 near Dunston, called the Hassocks, which, it is probable, was 
 
 • once covered with hassocks. '- Sir John Swinburne informs me, 
 that hassock is used on the moors for a tuft of rushes, or 
 coarse grass, in very soft boggy ground. 
 
 Hatheu, Hetheu, heath. " ^rt/^er-buzzoras" — besoms made of 
 heath. ^ " ^e/^<?r-bell" — the heath-blossom. - 
 
 Haugh, low, fiat, or marshy ground by the side of a river, liable 
 to be overflowed. Isl. hagi, ager pascuus. 
 
 Haunch, Haincii, to throw ; as a stone from the hand, by jerk- 
 ing it against the haunch. 
 
 Hause, the neck, the throat. A very old word. Sax. Dan. and 
 Gevm^hals. *" It's down the wrang hatrse." 
 
 Haver, v, to talk foolishly, to speak without thouglit. Isl. 
 gifra, blaterare. — Havers, s. silly discourse, idle bantering 
 nonsense. . 
 
 Dinna deave the gentleman wi' your havers — Redgauntlet. 
 
 Haver, s, oats. Dan. havre. Swed. hafre. Dut. haver. 
 
 Haver-bread, large, round, thin oaten cakes, baked on a girdle. 
 Swed. Iiafrekakay oat cake. 
 
 Haver-meal, oatmeal. Swed. hafremjbl. Teut. haveren meeL 
 
 Haver-sack, a bag in which oatmea' is carried. This is the 
 origin of the haversacks of soldiers — used formerly for carrying 
 their haver-meal. 
 
 Haveril, a sort of fool, a half-wit. From haver; which see. 
 
 Hawk, to expectorate. Welsh, hochiy to throw up phlegm. 
 Shakspeare uses " hawlcivg or spitting." 
 
 Hay-making. When hay is first cut, it is called a swede, of 
 swathe ; which is in fact the grass swayed to one side by the 
 scythe. Germ, schwaden, a row of new mowed hay. Dut. 
 zwade. When it is spread out it is named a teed (properly a 
 ted] ; and when dried ready for gathering, a whin-roWyW%nd- 
 rowy or won-row. It is next put into cocks, several of which 
 are eoUected into what is called a kyle. Vv.ctmlli, gathered. 
 
150 HAZE 
 
 When these again are heaped so high as to require a pike to 
 lift the hay to the top of the heap, it is called a pike. 
 
 Haze, to drizzle, to be foggy. V. Ray's North C. Words. 
 
 Haze-gaze, wonder, astonishment — a state in which one sees 
 dimly and confusedly, as through a haze. 
 
 Heald, or Heal, to lean or incline to one side, to bend laterally. 
 Sax. hyldauy inclinare, declinare. 
 
 Heam, H'yem, home. Dan. Mem. Swed. hem. See Hame. 
 
 Heams, or Heamsticks, two pieces of crooked wood encom- 
 passing a horse's collar to which the traces are fastened. Isl. 
 hcUSf collum. Teut, hamme^ numella. Lat. hamus. This 
 word is often pronounced Yawmes, with the aspirate H before 
 
 it H' YAWMES. 
 
 Heap, a wicker basket, a dry measure somewhat correspondent 
 to the beatment. Sax. Mp^ species. 
 
 Heap, a good many. " A heap of folks." — ^'^ A heap of bairns." 
 
 Heart-scad, any thing disagreeable or contrary to your expec- 
 tation or wishes ; grief, vexation. Heart-scaldy for a heart- 
 burning pain. 
 
 Heartsome, merry, cheerful, lively — full oi heart, 
 
 Heavisome, dark, dull, drowsy. Crav. Gloss, 
 
 Heck, a rack for cattle to feed in. Su.-Got. hcBch. V. Ihre. 
 
 Heck, an inclosure of open work — of slender bars of wood. 
 Germ, heche, a hedge, a partition. — Heck-door, the inner 
 door not closely pannelled but only partly so, and the rest 
 latticed. — Half-heck, a half, or lower part of a door. 
 
 Heck, or Hike, a term of cartmen to then- horses ; whence, he'll 
 neither heck nor re, hike nor re; i. e. he is unmanageable — he 
 will not hear reason. 
 
 Heck-board, a loose board at the back part of a cart. 
 
 Heckle, to dress tow or flax. Swed. hackla. Teut. hekelen. — 
 Heckler, a tow or flax-dresser. Teut. hekeler^ carminator. 
 
 Heckle, Heckle-flee, an artificial fly for fishing — made of the 
 hackle feather so called, which grows on the neck of a cock. 
 
 Heerin, Harrin, herring. " Fresh- heerin—fresh-heerin : — four 
 . twopence caller harrin — four twopence caller harrin : — here's 
 
KELT 151 
 
 yor cuddy 's-legs — here's yor Dumbar-wethers — here's yor 
 January harrin." — Cry in Newc. Fish-market. 
 
 Heft, a haunt. Su.-Got. hcefd^ usus, consuetude. 
 
 Heigh -HOAV, an occasional assistant in the kitchen — a sort of 
 char-woman. So called, in all probability, from a notorious 
 propensity which a character of this kind has to all sorts of low 
 gossip and marvellous stories. 
 
 Hell, Helle, to pour out. — Dur. and North. Sax. hcegelan, 
 to hail. 
 
 Helm-wind, a singular phenomenon so called — generated in that 
 enormous cloud which gathers round the summit of Cross- 
 Fell — a mountain encompassed with the most desolate and 
 barren heights— covering it like a helmet^ to an extent of se- 
 veral miles. On its first appearance, there issues from it a 
 prodigious noise, which in grandeur and awfulness has been 
 thought to exceed the roaring of the ocean. Sometimes there 
 is a less cloud, in an opposite direction, called a helm-bar ; 
 probably from its resisting the progress of the wind. The 
 violence is greatest, when the helm is highest above the moun- 
 tain. 
 
 Helter, the northern word for halter. Sax. hcelster. See 
 Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II. p. 583. 
 
 Helter-skelter, in great haste, disorderly — unbridled, as it 
 were. Skinner's derivation from Sax. heolster sceado (unless 
 we reject Dr. Johnson's translation and adopt that of Dr. 
 Jamieson), seems to me far fetched ; and that given by Grose, 
 is, in my mind, equally fanciful. A friend suggests that it may 
 be from hie et aliter ; while the author of the Craven Glossary 
 refers to the Dutch. But I am satisfied that helter-skelter is 
 halter loose, halter broken, effraenate. Thus Shakspeare ex- 
 presses the exact meaning when he makes Rstol say. 
 Sir John, I am thy Pistol, and thy friend. 
 And lielter-skelter have I rode to thee ; 
 And tidings do I bring. 
 
 2d. Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 This is quoted, but its peculiar significance entirely overlook- 
 ed, in Todd's Johnson. 
 
15« HEMM 
 
 Hemriel, a shed or covering for cattle, a fold. Sax. hcelmey t€t- 
 tum. Germ, heiniy a tent, a house. 
 
 Hempy, mischievous. Although it is generally applied jocularly, 
 and innocently, to giddy young people of both sexes, yet it 
 seems to have a prophetic allusion to an ignominious end — 
 having the qualities likely to suffer by the halter. 
 
 Hen-pen, the dung of fowls — manure from the pen where hetu 
 are kept. The country people sometimes use it in bouking 
 linen. See Bouk. 
 
 Hen-scrattings, small circular white clouds — said to indicate 
 rain or wind. V. Crav. Gloss. 2d. edit. 
 
 Herd, a keeper of cattle ; answering to Sax. hyrd, Dan. hyrie, 
 and Germ. Mrty one who attends cattle. From hirt^ the Swiss 
 have made a verb hirteuy to tend cattle. In Newcastle, and 
 other [)arts of the North, there is the verb to herd, signifying 
 the same thing. 
 
 Here's t*ye, the rustic form of drinking healths in the North. 
 Prynne, the oppugner of what he calls " pocular and pot- 
 emptying health," in the same year that he wrote a laborious 
 pamphlet on the " Unlovelinesse of Love-Lockes," produced 
 his " Healthes Sicknesse," wherein he labours, with his ac- 
 customed enthusiasm, to prove " the drinking and pledging of 
 healthes, to be sinfull, and utterly unlawfull unto Christians." 
 
 Heronsew, Heronseugh, a heron. Not merely a young one, as 
 stated by Mr. Tyrwhitt. V. Skinner, hernsues. 
 
 I wol not tellen of hir strange sewes, 
 Ne of hir swannes, ne hir heronsewes. 
 
 Chaucer^ Squiere's Tale. 
 
 The proverbial expression of a man's not being able to distin- 
 guish " a hawk from a handsaw" is obviously a corruption for 
 heronskaw (as it is written and pronounced in some places). 
 There is a possibility of mistake in one case, but not in the 
 other. 
 
 Hesp, the latch or fastening of a door or gate. Sax. hceps. 
 
 Het, hot, warmed. Sax.^^, heated. Swed. hety hot. Used 
 by Chaucer. 
 
HIKE 153 
 
 Hetter, eager, earnest, keen. Perhaps from hety hot. 
 Heuck, hooh, a crook or sickle. Dut. hoek. Also the hip bone 
 
 of a cow. 
 Heuck-fingered, thievish — digitis hamatis. Perhaps only cant. 
 Heudin, a piece of leather connecting the handstafF of a flail with 
 
 the swingle — the hooding of the handstaff. 
 Heugh, a ragged, steep hill side — a ravine. Sax. hou^ mons. 
 
 Lye. 
 
 Heup, or Hoop, a measure, something less than a peck. 
 
 Hexhamshire, a large portion of the county of Northumberland ; 
 once a distinct Bishopric, with the privileges of a separate 
 Palatine jurisdiction, but now an isolated part of the Archie- 
 piscopal See of York. The name, though improperly, is still 
 retained; and the manor, comprising this extensive district, 
 has, for ages, been styled the Regality of Hexham. 
 
 Hickup-snickup, the hiccough. Shakspeare, in the Twelfth 
 Night, uses the interjection snecJc up J which— coming from 
 such a drunken character as Sir Toby Belch — may fairly 
 enough be supposed to designate a hiccough ; though some of 
 the commentators seem to think otherwise. The following 
 incantation, thrice repeated, may be mentioned as a cure for 
 this disagreeable convulsion. 
 
 Hickup-snickup, stand up, stick up ; 
 
 One drop, two drops — good for the hiccup. 
 
 Major Moor gives a different version of the lines — 
 Hiccup-sniccup — look up — right up— 
 Three drops in a cup — is good for the hiccup. 
 
 HiDLiNS, adv. secretly, clandestinely — applied to any thing done 
 
 by stealth. 
 Higgler, a tramping dealer in small agricultural produce. Hinc 
 
 forte to higgle, to drive a bargain like a higgler. 
 HiGHT, called. An old word, used by Chaucer. See Ray. 
 Hike, to swing, to put in motion. Germ, hoch, high. A nurse 
 
 hikes her child when she tosses it up and down in her arms. 
 
 There is also the hiking of a boat. 
 
154 HIKE 
 
 HiKEY, HiKEY-BOARD, a swing. It is much better represented, 
 than I can pretend to describe it, in Bewick's tail-piece of two 
 monkeys engaged in the sport, Quadrupeds, p. 484, ed. 1820. 
 
 HiLUNG, fi covering. — Bed-hilling, a quilt or coverlet. Sax. 
 hilan, tegere. ** Hylling of a house." Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Hind, a servant or bailiff in husbandry. Sax. hineman. 
 
 Hind-berry, a raspberry. Rubus IcUsus. Sax. hindberian, 
 which Lye mis-translates into fragum. The corresponding 
 term in Danish is hindbcBr. 
 
 Hinder-ends, the refuse of any thing ; especially of such corn 
 as remains after it is winnowed. 
 
 HiNG, to hang. To hinge, in the same sense, is ancient. 
 
 HiNNEY, or HiNNY, a favourite term of endearment, expressive 
 of great regard. A mispronunciation of honey — used with 
 such effect by the Irish. Sometimes the term is applied 
 ironically to a female of no good fame ; as " she's a canny 
 hinnr/* — implying that she is the reverse of a chaste woman. 
 The French have a similar idiom, in the phrases " jolie fiUe," 
 and " jeune cousine." Hinney is also used in a contemptuous 
 light towards a man ; meaning a poor creature, a Boeotian. 
 
 Hinney how ! an inteijectional exclamation of surprise, accom- 
 panied vdth gladness. 
 
 Hip, to hop on one foot. See Hitch. — Hip-step-and-jump, a 
 youthful gambol. — Hinchy-pinchy, something similar. 
 
 Hipe, to push, to rip or gore ; as with the horns of cattle. 
 
 HiPPEN, or Hipping, a cloth for an infant — to put the hip in ? 
 
 HippEN-STONES, HipPiNG-STONES, stcppiugs — large stones set in 
 a shallow river, at a step's distance from each other, to pass 
 over by. 
 
 Hiring, a fair or market at which country servants are hired. 
 Those, who offer themselves, stand in a body in the market- 
 place, with a piece of straw or a green branch in their mouths 
 to distinguish them ; or with wool, meal, &c. in or on their 
 hats, as a badge of their trade. The engagement concluded, 
 the lasses begin to file off, and pace the streets in search of ad- 
 mirers, while the lads, with equally innocent designs, follow 
 
HOB- A 155 
 
 their example. Having each picked up a sweetheart, they 
 retire to different ale-houses, where they spend the remainder 
 of the day in a manner that appears highly indelicate to a spec- 
 tator unaccustomed to these rural amusements. 
 
 HiRPLE, or HippLE, to halt, to walk lame, to creep. V. Jam. 
 hirple ; and Crav. Gloss, herple. 
 
 HiRsEL, or Herdsel, the number of sheep which one person can 
 attend. 
 
 Hirst, Hurst, a woody bank, a place with trees. Sax. hyrst, 
 hurst, V. Spelman, hursta ; arid Kilian, horscht, horst. Ac- 
 cording to Lord Coke, it is a wood generally. We have HirsU 
 and Long-hirsty in Northumberland. 
 
 Hitch, to hop on one foot. Identical with hip. — Hitch-step- 
 AND-JUMP, a favourite amusement among boys. 
 
 Hither- AND-YON, here and there. Sax. hider and geond, 
 
 Hity-tity, Hoity-toity, haughty, flighty. Fr. haute tete. 
 
 Hives, water-blebs, an eruption of the skin. Su.-Got. haefwa^ 
 to rise up. Sax. heajian. Teut. heffen. 
 
 Hizey-prizey, a frequent corruption of Nisi Prius. 
 
 Hoast, a bad hoarseness, a cough. Sax. hwosta, tussis. Swed. 
 hosta. Dan. hoste. 
 
 Hoastmen, Hostmen, or (as it was formerly written) Ostmen, 
 an ancient fraternity or society in Newcastle, dealing in sea- 
 coal. They were incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, but ap- 
 pear to have existed as a guild from time immemorial. A 
 stranger arriving at the port of Tyne, to buy coals, was called 
 an oastcy or oste. V. Brand's Hist, of Newc, PI. I., Seals, 
 No. 11. 
 
 Hob, the side of a fire place. Rather, as a literary friend has 
 remarked, the head of the side. Germ, hawpt. " Set the 
 kettle on the Ao6;" i. e. the flat place on the head. 
 
 Hob, a clown ; contracted from Rohiriy a common rustic name. 
 
 Hob Collingwood, a name given to the four of hearts at whist ; 
 considered by old ladies an unlucky card. 
 
 Hob-and-nob, Hob-or-nob, the act of touching glasses in pledg- 
 ing a health. Much has been written concerning this Northern 
 
15a HOBB 
 
 expression. See Grose's Class. Diet, and Brand's Pop. Ant. 
 hob ov nob ; Todd's John, hobnob; and Nares' Gloss, habbe 
 or nahbe. Sax. habban^ to have, and nccbbany to want, are 
 much relied on for a derivation; but is the terra any thing 
 more than a burlesque translation of tcte a tete ? Haupt is the 
 German word for the head, and knob the ludicrous English 
 word — from knob^ a protuberance. 
 
 HoBBLETY-HOY, an Uncultivated stripling, "ndther man nor 
 boy." V. Roquefort, hobereau. Hoyden, with which this 
 term seems connected, was formerly applied to any rude, ill- 
 behaved person of either sex. Children call a large unmanage- 
 able top, a hobblety-hoy. 
 
 HoBBLY, rough, uneven. " A hobbly road, as the man said when 
 he fell over the cow.'* 
 
 HoBTHRUST, a local spirit, famous for whimsical pranks. In 
 some farm-houses a cock and bacon are boiled on FasserCs-eve 
 (Shrove Tueeday); and if any person neglect to eat heartily 
 of this food, Hobthrust is sure to amuse himself at night with 
 cramming him up to the mouth with bigg-chaff. According 
 to Gi-ose, he is supposed to haunt woods only — Hob o f hurst. 
 
 Hockey, another name for the game of Doddart — hooky y from 
 the bent stick used. So the synonyme bandy, bendy. The 
 verb bandy appears borrowed from the game, and directly allu- 
 sive to it. " I will not bandy with thee word for word."— 3rf. 
 Tart Henry VI. 
 
 HoFEY ! HoFEY ! a term in calling to cows. A gentleman in- 
 forms me, that he heard this word used, with the exact tone 
 of a Newcastle cowherd, by a German on the Rhine, driving 
 cattle. It was explained to mean, aUez doucement, 
 
 HoFEY, or HovEY, a cow. See the preceding article. 
 
 HoFF, hough, to throw any thing under the thigh. 
 
 Hog, a sheep in its state from a lamb to its first shearing. Nor- 
 man Fr. hogetz. In an account relating to the Monastery of 
 Wearmouth, A. D. 1337, the Monks, in describing sheep of 
 this sort, use the barbarous Latin word hoggastri. There are 
 wedder-hogSy and ewe-hogs. 
 
HOLY 167 
 
 HoGMiERS, upper stockings without feet, used as gaiters — riding 
 stockings. Perhaps only a variation of Cockers ; which see. 
 
 HoGH, HoE, How,, both a hill and a hollow. Sax. hoh, altus — 
 hoccy uncus. 
 
 HoGMENA, a name appropriated to December, and to any gift 
 during that month, especially on the last day— a new year's 
 day offering. Sc. hogmanay. The poor children in Newcas- 
 tle, in expectation of this present, go about from house to 
 house, knocking at the doors, chaunting their carols, wishing a 
 merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and begging their 
 hogmena. The origin of the custom is uncertain. Some pre- 
 tend to derive the term from the two Greek words, ccyix |tt)j»*j, 
 holt/ moon ; while others maintain that it is only a corruption 
 from the French, homme est we, in allusion to the nativity. 
 
 HoGMENA-NiGHT, a Northern term for new year's eve. 
 
 HoLE-iN-THE-coAT, a blemish in character or conduct. 
 
 If I find a hole in his coat, I will tell him my mind. 
 
 Sfiak. Hen. V, 
 
 HoLLiN, the holly tree. Sax. holen. " Nothing but an hollin 
 bush hero." 
 
 Holm, flat land caused by alluvion— a small island. Dry grounds 
 nearly surrounded by the course of rivers, or situated in low 
 places by their edge, are often called Holms : — The Holms on 
 Ullswater and Windermere. — Dunholm, the ancient name of 
 Durham. Holm, in the Saxon language, generally signifies 
 the sea or a deep water, but it is frequently used with an ad- 
 jective to designate an insular situation. 
 
 Holt, a peaked hill covered with wood. Sax. holt, lucus. 
 
 HoLY-STONES, holed-stones, are hung over the heads of horses as 
 a charm against diseases, and to scare the witches from riding 
 the cattle : such as sweat in their stalls are supposed to be 
 cured by the application. I have also seen them suspended 
 from the tester of a bed as well as placed behind the door of a 
 dwelling-house, attached to a key — to prevent injury from the 
 midnight hags of " air and broom." The stone, in all cases. 
 
158 HONO 
 
 must be found naturally holed — if it be made it is thought to 
 have no efficacy. See Adder- Stone. 
 
 Honour-bright ! Bet Watt ! a protestation of honour among 
 the vulgar ; originating with, and still retained in commemo- 
 ration of, a late well-known Newcastle worthy. 
 
 HooR, a whore. Sax. hure ; from hyrauy to hire. Welsh, 
 huren, a prostitute — huriaw, to take hire or wages. This idea 
 runs through other languages. Gr Trogvjj, a harlot ; from 9rig»«6f, 
 to sell. Lat. meretrix ; from mereor^ to earn or get money. 
 
 Nan Bullen, that Hoore, shall not be Queen. 
 
 ElUs, Letters illustrative ofEng. Hist, 
 
 So much for the " Old Light." According to the reformed 
 taste, she was the very perfection of loveliness and virtue — 
 
 When love could teach a monarch to be wise, 
 And Gospel-light first dawnM firom Boleyn's eyes. 
 
 Gray, 
 
 Hop, v. to dance. Sax. hoppan. Teut. hoppen. This is the 
 original sense of the word. Though unnoticed by the great 
 Lexicographer, it has not escaped his able editor, Mr. Todd. 
 
 Hop, s. a rustic dance. See Hoppen, Hopping. 
 
 Hope, a narrow valley, a sloping hollow between hills; often 
 confined to a vale without a thoroughfare. Sometimes it 
 means a hill. The word enters into the composition of seve- 
 ral local appellatives in the Northern counties. 
 
 Hoppen, Hopping, a country wake or rural fair; several of which 
 are held in the immediate neighbourhood of Newcastle. 
 Hopping, or dancing, was always the favourite amusement at 
 these meetings; hence the name. In former days, neither 
 wake nor feast could be properly celebrated without the lads 
 and lasses footing it on the green. A very humorous descrip- 
 tion of a hopping, and particularly curious as it enumerates the 
 names of the dances in vogue among these rustic performers 
 at the commencement of the seventeenth century, may be 
 in Heywood's Woman kilPd with Kindness, Dodsley's 
 
I 
 
 HOT 159 
 
 Old Plays, by Reed, Vol. VII. Allusion is also made to these 
 sports in a Joco-serious Discourse between a Northumberland 
 Gentleman and his Tenant^ a Scotchman^ a rare poem, printed 
 in 1686, 4to. 
 
 To horse-race, fair, or hop'pm go. 
 
 There play our casts among the whipsters, 
 
 Throw for the hammer, lowp for slippers. 
 
 And see the maids dance for the ring, 
 
 Or any other pleasant thing ; 
 
 F*** for the pigg, lye for the whetstone. 
 
 Or chuse what side to lay our betts on. 
 
 Of the sports at a hopping near Newcastle, the following notice 
 was circulated, in 1758: — ^*' On this day (May 22) the annual 
 diversions at Swalwell will take place, which will consist of 
 dancing for ribbons, grinning for tobacco, women running for 
 smocks, ass races, foot courses by men, with an odd whim of 
 a man eating a cock alive, feathers, entrails," &c. &c. 
 
 Hopple, to tie the legs or hoofs of an animal, so as to prevent it 
 from straying. Teut. hoppelen. 
 
 HoRNEY, or HoRNEY-TOP, the end of a cow's horn made like a 
 top for boys to play with. 
 
 HoRNEY, or HoRNEY-WAY, au uutruth, a hoax. Hornie is a 
 common name in Scotland, for, to adopt the expression of 
 Reginald Scot, " an ouglie divell having homes on his head." 
 I have seen a very old wood-cut of the Devil, dressed in hairy 
 pantaloons and a jacket, with his horns appearing through his 
 rough hat. 
 
 HoRSE-couPER, a horse dealer of an inferior order. 
 
 As honest as any Jwrse-couper of them a]l.-->RedgauntIef. 
 
 HoRSEGODMOTHER, a large masculine wench j one whom it is dif- 
 ficult to rank among the purest and gentlest portion of the 
 community. 
 
 HoRSE-SHOES, the game of coits, or quoits — because sometimes 
 actually played with horse-shoes. 
 
 Hot, a sort of square basket formerly used for taking manure 
 
160 HOT-P 
 
 into fields of steep ascent. The bottom opened by two 
 wooden pins to let out the contents. I have heard old peo- 
 . pie say, that between the confines of Yorkshire and Westmor- 
 land, it was common for the men to occupy themselves in 
 knitting, while the women were engaged in the servile employ- 
 ment of carrying these hots on their backs. It has been re- 
 marked to me, by more than one literary friend, that hot is 
 hod; as mortar. But I would prefer deducing it from Fr. 
 hotte, which Cotgrave defines "a scuttle, dosser, basket to 
 carry on the bacJc^* 
 
 HoT-poT, or Het-pint, warmed ale with spirit in it. 
 
 Hotter, to shake, to harass, to weary. " Fm all hottered to 
 pieces," smd of a jumbling ride in an uneasy vehicle. 
 
 HouGHER, the public whipper of criminals, the executioner of 
 felons, in Newcastle — still a regular officer of the town, with 
 a yeaily salary of j£4. 6s. 8d. He is said to have obtained 
 this name from a power which he had formerly of cutting the 
 houghs, or rather the sinews of the houghs, of swine that were 
 found infesting the streets. In Ruddiman's excellent Glos- 
 sary to Gawin Douglas's Translation of Virgil's ^neis, to 
 hoch^ from Sax. hohy is rendered " sufFragines succidere," to 
 hamstring. 
 
 HousEN, a property in houses. This is merely the Saxon plu- 
 ral; some instances of which, notwithstanding its having in 
 general given way to s, are still to be found in our language. 
 
 HouT ! an exclamation of disapprobation, or disbelief. This 
 interjection, though now used only by the vulgar, may, I 
 think, be traced to Su.-Got. hut, apagej Welsh, hwt, off! 
 away! 
 
 HouTOPONNER ! Of HouT-upoN-HER 1 an intcijectional term of 
 reproach, or abhorrence. 
 
 HouTs ! an expression of dissatisfaction, implying a degree of 
 irritation, and sometimes of contempt — equivalent to pshaw, 
 in more polished language. 
 
 Hove, to swell. Dan. hovne. Swed hafva. 
 
 How, hollow, empty. Su.-Got. and Sax. hoi, cavus,^How-i'- 
 the-wabie, hungry. 
 
HOWL 161 
 
 How ! How-marrow ! a favourite salutation among the pitmen, 
 
 HowDON-PAN-CANT, an awkward fall, an overturn, a summerset, 
 
 Howdon-pan-canter, a slow, ungraceful mode of riding. 
 
 Howdy, Howdy-wife, a midwife. Brand sneers at the deriva- 
 tion from " How (T ye — midwives being great gossipers," but 
 I think that which he supplies is far more ridiculous. I have 
 not been fortunate enough to meet with any original to my 
 own satisfaction, but I may perhaps be permitted to observe, 
 in defence of what has been so much ridiculed, that " How d' 
 ye^'' is a natural enough salutation to a sick woman from the 
 midwife; who, by the way, is generally a great prattler. It 
 may also be remarked, that in Scotland the " Clachan How- 
 die" is a common term for the village midwife. As it is with 
 antiquaries, so I fear with etymologists — ancient women, 
 "whether in or out of breeches," will occasionally betray 
 themselves. 
 
 HowK, to dig, to scoop — to make a hole, or cut earth with a 
 spade. Su.-Got. holka^ cavare. 
 
 Howl, s. a hollow or low place. Sax. hoi, latibulum. " Where- 
 ever there's a hill there's sure to be a howl ;^'' or, as Barthe- 
 lemi (apologizing for the huge faults of Homer's heroes) 
 expresses it, " la nature a place I'abyme a cot^ de P eleva- 
 tion." 
 
 Howl, Howle, a. empty, hollow. " The howl quarter of the 
 year" — the winter quarter, when times are flat and wages low- 
 ered. See How, 
 
 HowLET, the barn or white owl, which, in its flight, occasionally 
 utters loud screams or howls. Fr. hulotte. Shakspeare intro- 
 duces the word into his incantations in Macbeth. 
 
 Adder's fork, and blind worm's sting, 
 Lizard's leg, and JiowleVs wing. 
 
 HowLET, a term of reproach ; probably from the owl being con- 
 . sidered a bird of ill omen. Indeed, it has the reputation of 
 
 being the herald of horror and disaster. 
 HowL-KiTE, a vulgar name for the belly. . 
 
162 HOW'W 
 
 How'wAY, come away; a term of solicitation very common in 
 Newcastle and the vicinity. It is hie, or hoT/ away. 
 
 Hov, V. to heave or throw ; as a stone. 
 
 Hoy, Hov-cart, s. a cart drawn by one horse only. 
 
 HoYT, an awkward ill-bred youth, a lazy idle fellow. 
 
 HuTJBY-sHEw, Hubby-shoo, Hubbledeshew, a disturbance, a 
 noise, a state of confusion. Teut. hobbelen, inglomerare ; and 
 tchowcy spectaculum. 
 
 Hud, the side, or rather the covering of the top of the side, of a 
 fire-place within the chimney of a country cottage — the hood. 
 Pans not in use are placed on the " hud slane.'* 
 
 Huddick, or Huddock, the cabin of a keel or coal barge. Duto 
 hut, steerage. 
 
 Huel, a vulgar term of vituperation. " A huel of a fellow." 
 
 Huff, v. to offend. Isl. yfa, irritare. " She's easily huffed."^- 
 Huff, s. offence, displeasure, anger. " He's in a huf.** 
 
 Hug, to carr}' ; requiring the grasp of the arms. 
 
 HuGGERMUGGERiNG, doing any thing in a confused, clandestine, 
 or unfair manner. V. Todd's John, and Nares' Gloss. 
 
 Huilly, delicate in health, often complaining, weak, feeble, ten- 
 der, timid, petted, peevish. It does not correspond to Sc. 
 hooly, which implies slow and softly. 
 
 Hulk, a lazy, clumsy, bulky fellow. Shakspeare has " the hulk 
 Sir John ;" and in Newcastle they talk of an " idle lazy pay- 
 wife hulk." 
 
 Hull, a place in which animals are confined for the purpose of 
 fattening; as a stvine-hull ; a duck-hull. Germ, hohle, a den. 
 
 HuaiBLE. To humble bai'ley, is to break off the beard or awns, 
 with a flail or other instrument. It is a sort of second thrash- 
 ing. Su.-Got. hamla, to mutilate. Allied to this, is a hum' 
 melled-cow, a cow without horns. 
 
 Hummer, to make a low rumbling noise. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 HuMOURsoME, full of whims — humourous in Shakspeare's sense. 
 
 Hunkered, elbowed, bowed, crooked. Lat. uncus. " This 
 wheat is sadly hunkered." 
 
 Hunkers, haunches. This word seems used by the Northum- 
 
H'YEL 163 
 
 brian vulgar only in the sense of sitting on the hunkers ; that 
 is, with the hams resting on the back part of the ankles, the 
 heels generally being raised from the ground. Such is the 
 position of a woman milking a cow, which in Durham is called 
 hencowr fashion, probably from hen and couver, to sit on eggs 
 — ^from the position of a brooding hen. A friend of mine 
 connected with a colliery, where a child had been injured, 
 enquiring of the father how the accident happened, received 
 the following answer, which I am induced to give as a speci- 
 men of Pit language : — " It was sittcn on its hunkers howking 
 glinters fra mang the het ass, when the lowe teuck its claes, 
 and brant it to the varry a*se j" implying that it was sitting on 
 its haunches digging vitrified shining scoria among the hot 
 ashes, when the flame caught its clothes, and burnt it to the 
 very buttocks. 
 
 Hunt. THE-H ARE, a common game among children — played on 
 the ice as well as in the fields. 
 
 HuRTER, the shoulder of the axle against which the nave of the 
 wheel knocks. Fr. heurtevy to knock. 
 
 Hurtle, to contract the body into a round form, as through pain, 
 severe cold, &c. Hurtle^ to crowd confusedly together, is 
 classical. 
 
 HusE, a short cough, a hoarseness. Germ, husten, a cough. 
 See Ho AST. — Huseky, ill of a cold, hoarse. 
 
 Hutch, a chest. The Hutch, in the Guildhall of Newcastle, is 
 a fine old chest, on which the Chamberlains of the Corporation 
 transact their business. It is, in fact, the town's treasury. 
 Lat. huchia. Fr. huche. 
 
 Why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours, that 
 hoWXng'hutch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, 
 that huge bombard of sack — Shak. \st. Hen. IV. 
 
 HuTiiERiKiN-LAD, a ragged youth — an uncultivated boy. Germ. 
 
 hutte-kindy a cottage child. 
 Huz, Uz, we, as well as, iis. In very general use. 
 H'vEL, the whole, all. Isl, heill, Su.-Got. hel, totus. 
 
164 ICE-S 
 
 I. 
 
 IcE-SHOGGLE, an icicle. Sax. ice-icel. Dut. j/skegel. Mr. Todd, 
 on the authority of Grose, has admitted icklcy which I should 
 have thought the proper name for these stalactites (and not 
 icicle) had not Shakspeare left us, " When icicles hang by the 
 wall." The ice has certainly very much the appearance of a 
 corrupt addition. I have been informed, since writing this ar- 
 ticle, that icle is a general name for stalactite. 
 
 I'fakins, in faith — a frequent asseveration among the common 
 people. Shakspeare uses t'/aith, on several occasions. 
 
 Ilk, each, every — the same, the like. Sax. celc — i/c, 
 
 III, v. to reproach, to speak ill. — Ill-vs^illed, a. malevolent, ill- 
 natured. Isl. illvilie, malevolentia. 
 
 L«p, an addition to a bee-hive. Also, one length of hair twisted, 
 as forming part of a fishing line. 
 
 Incung, a desire, an imperfect hint or intimation. Etymologists 
 have differed as to the derivation. I was once inclined to view 
 it as from Fr. un din (d'ceil) a wink, if not from Su.-Got. 
 wincka, connivere. But Mrs. Hutchinson (Memoirs, 4to. p. 
 357) writes the word inclin, quasi penchant — a leaning, an in- 
 clination. 
 
 Income, any swelling or other bodily infirmity, not apparently 
 proceeding from any external cause — or which has formed un- 
 expectedly. Ancome, in the same sense, is an old word. 
 
 Indifferent, tolerable, in pretty good health. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Ing, a meadow — a pasture. The word often occurs in the names 
 of places ; and is common to the Saxon, Danish, and other 
 Northern languages. It seems originally to have meant an in 
 or inclosure, as distinguished from the common field ; though 
 it is now chiefly applied to low moist ground, or such as is 
 subject to occasional overflowings. Ihre says, ccng is a flat 
 meadow between a town and a river on which the market or 
 fair is held; which is an exact description of the Ings on 
 which the great fortnight fair for cattle is held at Wakefield. 
 
IZZA 165 
 
 Ingle, a fire, or flame. Gael, aingeal. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 Inkle, an inferior kind of tape. " Beggars inkle.^' See Thick. 
 Insense, to comprehend, to make to understand, to inform — to 
 
 haire sense infused intp the mind. V. Nares' Gloss, incense. 
 Intack, an inclosure. A part talcen in from a common. Inhoke 
 
 is an old law term for any corner or part of a common field 
 
 fenced in from the rest. V. Kennett's Paroch. Antiq. p. 297, 
 
 and Gloss, vo. inhoc. 
 Irons, a term for spurs ; probably as being made of iron. 
 Is, the third person singular of to be, is almost constantly used 
 
 among the common people for the first and second persons. 
 
 " Is sure, thou w" — am sure, thou art. In the Canterbury 
 
 Tales, is the following line — 
 
 I is as ill a miller as is ye. 
 
 Mr. Tyrwhitt, whose high authority it is a sort of heresy to 
 question, seems to think that Chaucer has designedly given his 
 Northern Clerks a vulgar, ungrammatical phraseology. But I 
 must confess, I have some doubt on the subject. 
 IscA ! IscA ! or Iska ! Iska ! a Northumbrian shepherd's call 
 to his dog. Sc. isk, iskie. Mr. Lambe, in his Notes on the 
 old poem of The Battle of Floddon, p. 66, fancifully observes, 
 that this term is evidently an abbreviation of Lysisca, the 
 name of the Roman shepherd's dog. 
 
 . multum latrante Lysisca. — Virg. Eel. 3. 
 
 With greater verisimilitude it has been said, that it is from Fr. 
 
 icy, hither; the word used in France for the same purpose. 
 
 Dr. Jamieson, however, remarks that Teut. aeSy aesken, and 
 
 Germ, ess, signify a dog. 
 Iv, in. — Intiv, into. So pronounced by country people. 
 Izzard (often pronounced like the Germ, z), Izzet, the letter 
 
 Z. Derived by Johnson from s hard, and by Walker, who 
 
 contends it is s soft, from s surd. 
 
166 JABB 
 
 Jabber, ». garrulity. The verb is old. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Jackalegs, a large knife with a joint, so as to be carried in the 
 pocket. Generally considered to have obtained this name 
 from Jacques de Liege, a famous Flemish cutler — before Eng- 
 land had learnt to excel all the world in hardware. 
 
 Jag, a cart load. — Yor/c. Moor has jag, a waggon load. 
 
 Jagger-galloway, a pony with a peculiar saddle for carrying 
 lead, &c, Jagger, in the Scottish language, means a pedlar — 
 jagger-gallowai/f a pedlar's pony. Some of these itinerant mer- 
 chants, as they are called, are yet in the practice of conveying 
 their wares on galloways, a small, but spirited, breed of horses, 
 from Galloway, a district of country in Scotland, famed for 
 rearing them. 
 
 Jaistering, swaggering, gesturing — gesticulating. It is common 
 to call a person of an airy manner, if a male, " a jaistering 
 fellow ;*' — and if a female, " 2i jaistering jade." 
 
 Jam, Juam, s. jamb. Formerly written jawmA. 
 
 Jannock, oat'bread made into a loaf. See Bannock. 
 
 Janty, cheerful. Su.-Got. gantas, to sport like children. 
 
 Jarble, to wet, to bedew ; as by walking in long grass after dew 
 or rain. V. Todd's io\m.javel. 
 
 Jar-woman, an occasional assistant in the kitchen— a sort of 
 char-woman ; which Tooke derives from Sax. cyrran, to turn 
 —she not being regularly hired, but only for a turn. Mr. 
 Jennings, however, thinks it ought to be choor-woman ; from 
 choor, a West of England word for a job, or any dirty house- 
 hold work. 
 
 Jasey, or Jazey, yarn for stockings, worsted. Ajazey-wig is an 
 old-fashioned article, still worn by some octogenarians. 
 
 Jaunis, Jaunus, the jaundice. Tv.jaunisse ; from jaune. 
 
 Jaup, v. to move liquid irregularly — to splash. " The water 
 went jauping in the skeel." A rotten egg, also, is said to 
 jaup, when, upon being shaken, a noise is heard like that pro- 
 ceeding from a bottle not full. 
 
JINN 167 
 
 Jaup, s. the sound of water agitated in a narrow or irregular ves- 
 sel. Isl. gialfuvy a hissing or roaring wave ? 
 
 Jaup, to strike, to chip or break by a gentle, though sudden blow. 
 Jauping paste-eggs at Easter, is a youthful amusement in 
 Newcastle and the neighbourhood. One boy, holding an egg 
 in his hand, challenges another to give blow for blow. One 
 of the eggs is sure to be fractured in the conflict, and its shat- 
 tered remains become the spoil of the conqueror. 
 
 Jee, v. to move to one side. Swed. ga«, to turn round. — Jee, a. 
 crooked, awry. 
 
 Jeeps, a severe beating — a sound thrashing. 
 
 Jenk, to jaunt, to ramble. Vrova junket, to feast secretly. 
 
 Jenny-howlet, the tawny owlj very clamorous at night, and 
 easily known by its hooting. 
 
 When the gray hoielet has three times hooM, 
 When the grimy cat has three times mewed. 
 
 Witches'' Gathering Hymn. 
 
 Jesp, a hole or rent in cloth. Isl. geispi, oscitatio. 
 Jewel, an expression of affection — familiar regard. Fr. monjoicy 
 provincially maw jewel! It is also Irish. 
 
 Ye jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes 
 Cordelia leaves you — Shak. King Lear. 
 
 Jigger, an airy swaggering person. " A comical jigger.''^ Per- 
 haps, originally, one disposed or suitable to a. jig. 
 
 Jim, a. slender, neat, elegant. See Gimp, or Jimp. 
 
 JiMJiER, a small hinge for a closet door or desk. See an expla- 
 nation o^jimmers, with which the gimmal ring is thought to be 
 connected, hi Brand's Pop. Ant. Vol. II., p. 27. Also Nares' 
 Gloss, gimmal; and Moor, jimmers. 
 
 Jingle-cap, shake cap. A game much practised among the 
 young pitmen and keelmen. Sc. jingle-the-bonnet. 
 
 Jink, v. to jingle. — Jink, s. a clink, or sharp rattle. 
 
 JiNKERS, By Jinkers, a sort of demi-oath. ¥rom jingo. 
 
 Jinny-spinner, a very long slender-legged fly. 
 
m JOCK 
 
 JocKALEGS, the same as Jackalegs; which see. In Meyrick's 
 Glossary of military terms of the middle ages, I find " Jock- 
 elys, a strong knife with two blades." Our modern jockalegs, 
 however, has only one blade. 
 
 Jock and Jock's-man, a juvenile sport, in which the bon cama- 
 rada is to repeat all the pranks which the leader can perform. 
 See the Tale of " Master and Man," in the Irish Fairy 
 Legends. See, also, a long list of youthful games — many of 
 them common in the North of England — in Moor's Suffolk 
 words, move all. 
 
 Joggle, to cause to totter. Teut. schockelen, vacillare. 
 
 Jolly, fat, stout, large in person. " ^ jolly landlady." 
 
 Jock, to crouch or stoop suddenly, as if to avoid a blow. 
 
 JooKiNGS, corn beat out of the sheaf in throwing off the stack ; 
 often a perquisite to those who assist in carrying the sheaves 
 into the barn. 
 
 Jorum, a pot or jug full of something to drink. Chaucer has 
 jordancy and Shakspearejor£?ew; both in the sense of a cham- 
 ber substitute pour lejardin. 
 
 The horrible crew, 
 
 That Hercules slew. 
 Were Poverty — Calumny — Trouble — and Fear : 
 
 Such a club would you borrow, 
 
 To drive away sorrow. 
 Apply for a jorum of Newcastle beer. — Cunningham. 
 
 Joskin, a mason's labourer. V. Jam. Sw^^. jashin. 
 
 Joukerev-paukerey, any sort of underhand trick or dexterous 
 roguery, artifice, legerdemain. A friend in Edinburgh says, 
 this phrase is derived from the two Scots words yow^, to elude, 
 and paukie, cunning, sly — the essential requisites of a juggler. 
 
 Jowl, v. to knock, or rather to give a signal by knocking. 
 
 Jubation, a severe lecture, or reprimand, liat.juheo. 
 
 Jug, to go to rest ; as partridges when they roost on the ground. 
 Su.-Got. hiika, avium more reclinare. Serenius. 
 
 JuMP-wiTH, JuMP-iN-wiTH, to meet with accidentally, to coin- 
 cide. Jump occurs several times in Shakspeare ; meaning ia 
 
KECK 169 
 
 some places to agree with, in others to venture at, or hazard. 
 
 In one place it appears to be intended for just. 
 JuRNUT, an earth-nut. The same as Arnut ; which see. 
 Just-now, adv. presently. In the South, hi/ and by. 
 Jye, to stir, to turn round. " I cannot ^^e my neck, its so stiff." 
 
 —J YE, a. awry, crooked. See Jee. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kae ! an interjectional expression of disbelief, contempt, or ab- 
 horrence ; very common in Newcastle. 
 
 Kail, cabbage, greens. — North. Isl. Jial, Dan. kaal. Swed. 
 kcil. Welsh, eawl. See Appendix to Johnstone's Antiqui- 
 tates Celto-Scandicae, p. 276. 
 
 Kail, broth or pottage. V. Jam. Supp. kaily 2d. sense. There 
 is a place in Newcastle called the Kail-cross ; where broth was 
 sold in former times. 
 
 Kail, a turn ; so used among school-boys in their games. " It's 
 my haiV* 
 
 Kail-garth, a kitchen-garden — a cabbage-garth— though often 
 adorned with a profusion of flowers. Swed. kalgdrd. 
 
 Kail-pot, a large metal pot for culinary purposes ; originally, as 
 Grose explains it, a pottage pot. 
 
 Kairn, the same as Cairn j which see. 
 
 Kame, K'yame, a comb. Sax. camb. Dan, kam. Sc. kaim. 
 
 Kamstary, mad. Perhaps the same as Sc. camsterie, camstairie^ 
 froward, perverse, unmanageable ; which Dr. Jamieson derives 
 from Germ, kamp, and starrig stiff; or it may be a sort of 
 pleonasm, from cam^ which in Gael, is applied to any thing 
 crooked or awry, and stary, stari7ig, wild-looking. 
 
 Karl-cat, or Carl-cat, a male cat. Sax. carl, masculus. 
 
 Karl-hemp, or Carl-hemp, the largest stalk of hemp — that 
 which bears the seed. 
 
 Keciille, to cackle, to laugh aloud. V. Jam. kckkil, 
 z 
 
170 KEDG 
 
 Kedge, to fill, to stuff. Hence, Kedge-belly, a large protube- 
 rant body, a glutton. 
 
 Kee, Kee-side, emphatically the Newcastle Quay, extending 
 from Tyne Bridge to the end of Sandgate. 
 
 Fareweel Tyne Brig and cannie kee. 
 
 Gilchrist, Voyage to Lunnin. 
 
 ELeek, to peep, to look with a prying eye, to view slyly. Su.- 
 Got. kika, intentis oculis videre. Dan. kige. Dut. hijken. 
 
 Keel, v. to cool, to render cool. Sax. ccelan, algere. Sir Thos. 
 Hanmer — at best but a sorry expounder of our immortal bard 
 — in attemptmg an explanation of 
 
 Wliile greasy Joan doth keel the pot. 
 
 Shak. Lovers Labour's Lost. 
 
 strangely says, " to drink so deep, as to turn up the bottom 
 of the pot, like turning up the keel of a shipT* Major Moor 
 is equally in error : — he thinks " scouring the pot with its 
 bottom inclined conveniently for that operation ; or keeling it 
 in the position of a ship rolling so as to almost show her keel 
 out of the water'* V, Suffolk Words, killer or keeler. The 
 expression " keel the pot," really means neither more nor less 
 than to render it cool ; that is, to take out a small quantity of 
 the broth, &c., and then to fill up the pot with cold water j 
 a common practice in Northumberland. Another mode of 
 keeling the j9o^— and my friend, Mr. Raine, says, by far the 
 most frequent one — is by raising a ladle full of the boiling 
 liquid, which, after being exposed to the air for a few moments, 
 is returned to its place. When this is done five or six times, 
 in rapid succession, the boiling over is for a while effectually 
 put a stop to. The word, however, as shown by the examples 
 from Cower and Chaucer, quoted by Mr. Todd, is not confi- 
 ned to the kitchen. 
 
 Keel, s. ruddle, decomposed iron used for marking sheep, &c. 
 Gael. cU. Fr. chaille. Jamieson. 
 
 Keel, a low, flat vessel or barge, in which coals are carried from 
 the colliery- staiths to the ships, in the Tyne and Wear. Keel 
 
KELD 171 
 
 is a very ancient name, of Saxon origin, for a ship or vessel — 
 ceol, navis — though now restricted to mean the bottom only. 
 On the first arrival of the Saxons they came over in three 
 large ships, styled by themselves, as Verstegan informs us, 
 Jceeles. In the Chartulary of Tynemouth Monastery, the ser- 
 vants of the Prior who wrought in the barges (1378), are called 
 kelersy an appellation plainly synonymous with the present 
 heelmeriy or persons who navigate the keels. 
 
 Keel-of-coals, 8 Newcastle chaldrons — 21 tons, 4 cwt. 
 
 Keel-bullies, the heelmeuy or crew of the keel — the partners, or 
 comrades in the vessel. See Bully. 
 
 Keel-deeters, the wives and daughters of the keelmen, who 
 sweep the keels, having the sweepings of the small coals for 
 their pains. To deet, or dighty in Northern language, means 
 to wipe or make clean. See Deet. 
 
 Keelage, keel dues in port— payment of custom for every heel 
 or bottom that enters a harbour. This word is in Todd's 
 Johnson, but in too limited a sense. 
 
 Keely-vine, a black-lead pencil. See Monthly Mag. Vol. VI., 
 p. 434. See, also. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Keen, a chap. The hands are said to be keened^ when the skin 
 is broken or cracked by the frost, and a sore induced. Keen, 
 is also used by the lower classes for caustic applied to wens or 
 ulcers ; probably from the pain it occasions. 
 
 Keep-the-pot-boiling, a common metaphorical expression 
 among young people, when they are anxious to carry on their 
 gambols with more than ordinary spirit. 
 
 Keld, the still part of a river, which has an oily smoothness 
 while the rest of the water is ruffled. I have only heard this 
 word on the Tyne, and confined to the*meaning here given ; 
 but a friend, who lately visited UUswater, informs me, that 
 when the day is uniformly overcast, and the air perfectly still, 
 that lake has its surface dappled with a smooth, oily appear- 
 ance, which is called a keld. The word is also, I find, a com- 
 mon term in Yorkshire, Westmorland, and Ciunberland, for a 
 well or spring. Isl. kelduy palus. 
 
172 KELK 
 
 Kelk, v. to beat heartily.— Kelk, Kelker, s. a severe blow, 
 
 Kei.k, the roe or milt of fish. ** Haddock kelks.''^ — Newc. 
 
 Kelps, Pot-kelps, iron hooks from which boilers are hung. 
 
 Kelter, frame, order, arrangement, condition. V. Todd*8 
 Johnson. It also means money, cash. Germ. geld. 
 
 Kebib, a strong«hold — a term used by the Borderers. — North. 
 Sc. kainiy a camp, or fortress. 
 
 Kemp, to strive against each other in reaping corn — rarely for 
 any other superiority. Sax. campiariy militare. Teut. kam- 
 pen, dimicare. Swed. kampa, to contend, to struggle. — Ke»i« 
 PERs, the competitors. According to Verstegan, the word is 
 of noble descent. V. Rest. Decayed Intell. 8vo. p. 233. 
 
 Kemps, hairs among wool, coarse fibres. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Ken, v. to know, to be acquainted with. Su.-Got. kaenna. 
 Sax. cennan. Dut. kennen. " Aw kent him weeP^ — I knew 
 him well. 
 
 Says t' auld man tit oak tree, 
 
 Young and lusty was I when I kenn'd thee— 
 
 But sair fail'd am I, sair fail'd now, 
 
 Sair fail'd am I, sen I kenri'd thou. 
 
 North Country Song. 
 
 Ken, v. to see. — Ken, s. a sight. Archdeacon Nares says, " In 
 
 Scotland these words are still in full currency." He might 
 
 have added, in the North of England also. 
 Kennen, Kenning, a measure of two pecks, half a bushel. 
 Kenspecked, Kenspeckled, conspicuous — specked, so as to be 
 
 easily kenned. V. Skinner. 
 Kep, to catch, to receive any thing in the act of falling. Sax. 
 
 cepan. Teut. keppen, captare. 
 
 Mourn, Spring, thou darling of the year! 
 Ilk cowslip cup shall kep a tear. — Burns. 
 
 Keppy-ball, hand-ball. In former times it was customary, 
 every year at Easter and Whitsuntide, for the mayor, alder- 
 men, ahd sheriff of Newcastle, attended by the burgesses, to 
 go in state to a place called the Forth — a sort of mall — to 
 
KETT 173 
 
 countenance, if not to join in the play of keppy-ball^ and 
 other sports. The esprit de corps is gone, though the 
 diversion is still in part kept up by the young people of the 
 town ; but it would of course, in these altered times, be consi- 
 dered highly indecorous to " unbend the brow of authority'* 
 on such an occasion. Puerile, however, as it may seem, there 
 was a time — if we may credit Belithus, an ancient ritualist — 
 when the bishops, and even archbishops, of some churches, 
 used to play at hand-ball with the inferior clergy. — Tempora 
 mutantur, et nos mutamur in ilUs. 
 
 Kern, v, to churn. Goth. Jcerna. Sax. cernan. Teut. kernen. 
 
 Kern, s. a churn. Sax. cerene. Teut. kerne. Also (by a dia- 
 lectical variation of quern), a hand-mill for grinding corn. See 
 Quern. 
 
 Kern-baby, an image dressed up with corn at a harvest home — 
 corn-baby. The same as maiden, or carline, in Scotland. — 
 Kern-supper, the feast of harvest home. See Mell-supper. 
 — Win-the-kern, to finish the reaping of corn. See Mell- 
 
 DOLL. 
 
 Kern-milk, butter-milk, churn-mAk. Teut. kern-melck. An 
 Anglo-Saxon supper ; and still a favourite beverage among the 
 rustics of the North. 
 
 Kersen, Kirsen, Kursen, to christen. Dut. kersten. Kersen 
 is an old way of writing the word. 
 
 Kersmas, Kirsmas, Kursmas, Christmas. 
 
 Kesh, the kex, or hollow stem of an umbelliferous plant. Kyx, 
 a hemlock, occurs in Peirs Ploughman. Welsh, cecys. 
 
 Keslip, Keslop, a calf's stomach salted and dried for rennet — 
 that which toppers or curdles the milk in order to make cheese. 
 Sax. ceselib, coagulum. Germ, kaselab, rennet. 
 
 Keslop. Kittle yor keslop, a Newcastle trope for a chastise- 
 ment. Warm yor keslop, a metaphor for a hot-pot, 
 
 Ket, carrion, filth, useless lumber. Su.-Got. koett. 
 
 Ketment, a dirty mixture, any sort of filth. 
 
 Ketty, bad, filthy, dirty, worthless. " A ketty fellow." 
 
174 KEVE 
 
 Kevel, a large hammer for quarrying stones. 
 
 Ki, quoth. — Kiv-AW, Kiv-i, quoth I. See under Labbering. 
 
 Kick, the top of the fashion— in other language, quite the go — 
 
 just the thing. Q. Isl. hcBhr^ gestus indecorus? 
 KiLX., the Northern word for a kiln. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Kill-cow, a matter of moment, or of consequence. " It's no 
 
 great kill-cow" — it is only a trifling loss, an inconsiderable 
 
 sacrifice. 
 KiLLicoup, a summerset. Probably from Fr. cul-a-cap, tail to 
 
 head — head over heels. " Eh ! what a kUlicoup the preest has 
 
 getten out o'is wee bit gig-thing there !" 
 KiLL-PRiEST, a jocular name for port wine — from which a very 
 
 irreverent inference is drawn. But as Shakspeare says. 
 
 Come, come, good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be 
 well used; exclaim no more against it Othello. 
 
 Kilt, to truss up the clothes — to make them like the Scotch 
 kilt. Dan. kilte-op, to tuck up. 
 
 Kind, intimate. — Not kind, unfriendly, at enmity. See Thick. 
 
 King's-cushion, a sort of seat made by two persons crossing 
 their hands, on which to place a third. The thrones on the 
 reverses of the early Royal Seals of England and Scotland, 
 consist of swords, spears, snakes, &c. placed in the manner of 
 a king's cushion. 
 
 Kink, v. to laugh immoderately, to labour for breath as in the 
 hooping cough. Teut. kincken, difficulter spirare. — Kink, s. a 
 violent or convulsive fit of laughter or coughing, especially 
 when the breath is stopped. 
 
 KiNK-couGH, Kink-haust, the hooping-cough — chin-cough. Sax. 
 cincungf cachinnatio. Teut. kinck-hoesf, asthma. The igno- 
 rant and the superstitious have various fooleries, for curing or 
 alleviating this epidemic disorder — such as eating a mouse-pie, 
 or hanging a roasted mouse round the neck — dipping the per- 
 sons affected nine times ii^n open grave, or putting them nine 
 times under a pie-bald horse — passing them nine times through 
 
KITC 175 
 
 the mill-hopper — making them ride on a bear — any thing, in 
 short, to disgust or frighten them : — which, so far as it is a 
 nervous disease, may possibly have a temporary effect. 
 Kirk, a church. A very old English word, still retained in 
 Northumberland. Sax. cyrc. Su.-Got. hyrka. Germ, kirche, 
 — Kirk-garth, the church-yard. 
 The Friars followed folke that were rich, 
 And folke that were poor at little price they set ; 
 And no cors in the Mrke yard ne Kirke was buried, 
 But quick he bequeath'd them ought, or quit part of his debt. 
 
 Peirs Ploughman's Visions. 
 
 KiRK-MAisTER, or KiRK-MASTER, a church warden. Teut. kerk- 
 maester. — Kirk-folk, the congregation at a church. — Kirk- 
 hole, a grave. 
 
 Kiss, Kiss*her, a peculiar squeak with the fiddle, at country 
 dancing parties, especially at a mell supper^ calling on the beau 
 to salute his partner — to take the long established fee. 
 
 KisT, a chest. Common to all the Northern, and also to the 
 Welsh and Cornish languages. 
 
 KisTiNG, a funeral. Borders of North. V. Tomlin's Law 
 Diet, kyste ; and Jamieson, kisting. 
 
 Kit, properly a covered milking pail with two handles, but often 
 applied to a small pail of any sort. Adopted, probably, from 
 Sax. kitte, a bottle, or leathern bag for holding liquors. 
 
 Kit, a small barrel for pickled salmon — for which Newcastle, in 
 days gone by, was much celebrated. 
 
 Kit, the stool on which a cobbler works, including all his tools. 
 
 Kit, a set or company. A general provincialism. 
 
 Kitchen, v. to use thriftily, to be sparing of. — Kitchen, s. all 
 kinds of provisions, except bread. Also, a tea-urn. 
 
 Kitchen-physic, substantial fare — good living — opprobrium me- 
 dicorum. 
 
 There was of old no use of physicke amongst us, and but 
 little at this day, except it be for a few nice idle citizens, 
 surfetting courtiers, and staulfed gentlemen lubbers. The 
 country people use kitchen physicke. 
 
 Burton^ Anatomy of Melancholy. 
 
176 KITE 
 
 Kite, the belly. Allied to Moe.-Got. quid, and Su.-Got. qwed, 
 venter. Bag-kite and pod-kite, are ludicrously applied to 
 persons with larger capacities than common. " Running to 
 kite** — becoming corpulent. 
 
 Kith, acquaintance. Sax. cj/the,' ki/tk. Not obsolete, as stated 
 by Dr. Johnson. — Kith-and-kin, friends and relations. 
 
 Kittle, v. to tickle, to enliven. Sax. citelan, titillare. Dut. 
 kittelen. Teut. kitzelen. Swed. kittla. The word in this 
 form is in Sherwood's old Dictionary. 
 
 Kittle, v. to litter, to kindle — to bring forth kittens. A very 
 old word, written in Palsgrave, kyttell. This recalls to our 
 memory the prophecy, which Thomas the Rhymer is said to 
 have uttered concerning the desolation of his own house. 
 
 The hare sail kittle on my hearth stane, 
 
 And there will never be laird Learmont again. 
 
 Kittle, a. ticklish, hard, difficult. " Kittle wark^^ — " as kittle 
 as a match.'* 
 
 *♦ O mony a time, my lord," he said, 
 I've stown a kiss frae a sleeping wench ; 
 
 But for you I'll do as kittk a deed, 
 
 For I'll steal an auld lurdane aff the bench. 
 
 Christie's Will. 
 
 This word has other meanings ; as kittle weather — changeable 
 or uncertain weather ; a kittle question — such as it is inconve- 
 nient or impolitic to answer; a kittle horse — one unsafe to 
 ride, or not easily managed — skittish. 
 
 Kittle-busy, officious, interested about trifles. 
 
 Kittle- THE-CHUMPs, to stir the lire. — Durham. 
 
 Kittling, a kitten. A very ancient word. In Palsgrave, it is 
 kytlynge ; in Prompt. Parv. kytlinge ; and in the Ortus Voca- 
 bulorum, kyttelynge. Juliana Barnes writes kendel of cats, for 
 a litter of cats. 
 
 Kitty, the house of correction. — Newcastle. Su.-Got. kcetta, 
 includere. Germ, ketten, to fetter. 
 
 Kitty-cat, a puerile game, described by Moor, in his Suffolk 
 Words, under kit-cat. Strutt mentions a game, which used to 
 
KNAW 177 
 
 be played in the North, called tip cat^ or more properly cat 
 V. Sports and Pastimes, p. 86. 
 Kitty, Kitty-wren, the common wren — a bird regarded with 
 reverential affection — the reputed consort of the red breast. 
 
 The robin and the wren 
 Are God's cock and hen. 
 
 KizoNED, or KizzENED, parched or dried. Children are said to 
 be so, when, from a weakened or pampered appetite, they 
 loathe their food. " KizzerHd meat" — meat too much roasted. 
 See GizEN ; to which it seems allied. 
 
 Klick, a peg or knob for hanging any thing upon. 
 
 Klick-hooks, large hooks for catching salmon in the day-time. 
 V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Knack, to speak aifectedly, to ape a style beyond the speaker's 
 education. Germ, hnacken^ to crack, to " clip the king's 
 English." — Knackit, one quick at repartee, a clever child. 
 
 Knack-and-rattle, a quick and noisy mode of dancing with the 
 heels, among the lower orders of society. 
 
 He jumps, and his heels knack and rattle. 
 
 TJie Colliers' Pay Week. 
 
 Knack-knee'd, in-kneed—having the knees so that they knacky 
 
 or strike, against each other in walking. 
 Knaggy, testy, ill-humoured, waspish. Derived, perhaps, from 
 
 Swed. gnaga, to tease, to torment. 
 Knags, Knaggs, pointed rocks, the rugged tops of a hill. V. 
 
 Ihre, knagglig. See, also. Knap. 
 Knap, the brow or projection of a hill. Sax. crusp, vortex 
 
 montis. Isl. gnop, prominentia. Su.-Got. knap, summitas 
 
 montis. In the Gospel of Saint Luke (ch. iv., v. 29,) where 
 * the Jews led our Saviom-— ww^o the brow of the hill, the Saxon 
 
 expression is, w(ss muntes cncep. 
 Knarl, a hunch-backed or dwarfish man. Old Eng. knurle, a 
 
 knot. Hence, a knarled or knurled tree, for a stunted or 
 
 knotty tree. 
 Knaw, v. to know. Sax. cnawan. " Aw knaw it weel." 
 A a 
 
178 KNIF 
 
 Kniflb, to steal, to pilfer. Q. Celt, cnefioy to shear ? 
 
 Knocking-melx,, a large wooden mallet which our ancestors used 
 to bruise and take the outer husk from the barley, to fit it for 
 the pot, before barley-mills were known. 
 
 Knocking- TROUGH, a stone-trough, or mortar, in which the ope- 
 ration alluded to in the last article was performed. Many 
 hollow stones, originally applied to this purpose, are still to be 
 seen about farm-houses. 
 
 Knotty-tommy, milk boiled and poured upon oatmeal. 
 
 Knoutberry, a dwarf mulberry. Rubus chamcemorus. The 
 common people give it this name from a tradition that king 
 Knutt or Canute, once relieved his hunger by it. 
 
 Knowe, the top of a hill — a bare rounded hillock or eminence. 
 Sax. cnoUe. Teut. knolle, a hill or knoll. 
 
 Kuss, V. to kiss. Welsh, cusan. — Kuss, *. a kiss, Welsh, cus. 
 
 Kye, or KiE, the plural of cows — kine. Sax. cj/, vaccae. 
 
 Kyle, a cock of hay. Fr. cueUlir, to gather. 
 
 Kyloes, a small sort of cattle, bred in the Highlands of Scot- 
 land — said to be from ki/le, a Gaelic word for a ferry — over 
 which they are transported. But may it not be from Germ. 
 kuh-kleiut a small cow ? 
 
 L. 
 
 Labbering, floundering, struggling, or lahouring in water. 
 
 Aw was Ktten the keel, wi' Dick Stavers an' Mat, 
 
 An' the Mansion-house Stairs we were just alangside, 
 When we aw three see'd sumthing, but didn't ken what. 
 
 That was splashing and Idblerlng aboot i' the tide. 
 « It's a flucker !" ki Dick ; « No," ki Mat, »* its owre big. 
 
 It luick'd mair like a skyat when aw first see'd it rise ;" 
 *♦ Kiv aw"— for awd getten o.gliffd' tJie wig^ 
 
 " Odds mercy ! Wye, marrows, becrike it's Lord 'Size.'* 
 Nexocastle Song, * My Lord 'Size* 
 
LAIR 179 
 
 These lines allude to an accident that befell a great legal lumi- 
 nari/y who unfortunately slipped into the watery element a few 
 years ago. 
 
 Laboursome, made with much labour. " Not now in use." 
 Todd's John. It is still in use among the Northern peasantry. 
 
 Laced-tea, tea having spirits in it; as some of our old women 
 drink their hyson. 
 
 Lacing, a good beating. V. Todd's John, laccy 5th. sense. 
 
 Lackits, small sums of money — odd things, generally. 
 
 Lad, a boy; originally a man; from Sax. leodey the people. 
 Langland-r-the reputed author of the Visions of Peirs Plough- 
 man — one of our earliest writers, uses ladde^ in its primitive 
 sense; from which, no doubt, proceeded lasse, lass. In Scot- 
 land, the men are all lads, however old, so long as they remain 
 ^ii a state of " single blessedness." Sometimes applied to 
 all manner of men. The grandfather of a friend of mine, at 
 the age of 88, used to ask for his servant, aged about 55 or 60 
 — where is my lad ? 
 
 Laddie, a lover, a sweetheart — diminutive from lad. 
 
 May aw the press-gang perish, 
 Each lass her laddie cherish, 
 Lang may the coal trade flourish, 
 
 Upon the dingy Tyne. 
 
 Nexocastk Songj ' Tfie Keel Row.* 
 
 Lafter, Lawter, as many eggs as a hen will lay before she 
 
 incubates. Teut. legh-tydy tempus quo gallinae ova pariunt. 
 Laggin, the stave of a cask, tub, &c. V. Ihre, lagg. 
 Laidly, ugly, foul, loathsome. Sax. lathlic. Fr. laid. 
 Lainch, a long stride. " What a lainch he has got" — how he 
 
 launches out his legs. 
 Lair, mire, dirt. Isl. leir. Su.-Got. ler. To be lairedj to stick 
 
 in the mire. Swed. ler, lera, clay, seems cognate. 
 Laird, " the lord of a manor in the Scottish dialect," says Dr. 
 
 Johnson. This is its old meaning; but it is now a common 
 
180 LAKE 
 
 name in Northumberland and Cumberland for a proprietor of 
 land, without any relation to manorial rights. 
 
 What's the Laird doing, Jock ? 
 
 Doing? What should he be doing! but sitting on his ane 
 louping-on-stane, glowring frae him. 
 
 Sage Sayings of Jock the Laird's Man, 
 
 Lake, v. to play. Sax. lacany ludere. Moe.-Got. latkan^ exul- 
 tare. Swed. lekoy to play. In Peirs Ploughman, layke. 
 
 Lake-wake, or Lyke-wake, the watching of a corpse previous 
 to interment. Sax. lie, a body, and weccce, a watching or 
 wake. Swed. vakt — vakstuga. It originally consisted of a 
 meeting of the friends and relations of the deceased, for the 
 purpose of watching by the body from the moment it ceased 
 to breathe, to its exportation to the grave ; but the ceremony 
 was afterwards converted into a scene of feasting, dancing, and 
 revelry, extremely indecent on such a melancholy occasion. 
 Instances are related to have occurred, where the corpse was 
 forcibly kept unburied by the waking friends, until they had 
 consumed, in this incongruous festivity, all that the deceased 
 had left behind him. The lake-wake is not yet entirely laid 
 aside in country villages, though somewhat fallen into disuse. 
 The funeral procession is opened by singers chaunting appro- 
 priate psalms, followed by two young girls dressed in white, 
 called servers ; it being their business to attend to the wants 
 and wishes of the mourners. It was a custom with the An- 
 glo-Norman race to celebrate a solemn dirge during the cere- 
 mony of sepulture. 
 
 Laking, Baby-Lakin, a child's toy, a plaything. 
 
 Lam, Lamb, to beat soundly, to chastise severely. 
 
 " Lavrib them, lads ; lamb them !" — a cant phrase of the 
 time, derived from the fate of Dr. Lambe, an astrologer and 
 quack, who was knocked on the head by the rabble in Charles 
 the First's time Peveril of tlie Peak, Vol. IV. jp. 152. 
 
 This is an error of our great Novellist. The word is used in 
 
LAP-B 181 
 
 two or three of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, written 
 before the conjuring Doctor's catastrophe, which did not hap- 
 pen until the year 1628. Besides, the derivation seems obvi- 
 ously from Isl. lertiy verberare, or Teut. lompen, infligere. See 
 Thomson, who gives a Gothic root. 
 
 Lam, or Lamb, and its diminutive Lammie, favourite terms of 
 endearment. " Maw bonny larn^^ — " maw canny lammie^ 
 
 Lameter, Lajviiter, a cripple. " He'll be a lameter for life." 
 
 Lam-pay, to correct; principally applied to children — to beat 
 with a ferula. Fr. lame^ a flat piece of wood or metal. See 
 Pay. 
 
 Land-louper, a person who flees the country for crime or debt. 
 
 ' See Loup. 
 
 Lang, long. Common to the Saxon, Danish, and Dutch Lan- 
 guages. To THINK LANG, to long, to weary. 
 
 Lang-length, the whole length. " He fell aw his lang length^ 
 
 Lang-loaning-cake, a cake made for school-boys on their return 
 home at the vacation. 
 
 Lang-saddle, or Lang-settle, a long wooden seat, or couch, 
 with a back and arms ; usually of carved oak. These settles, 
 though still occasionally to be seen in the chimney-corner of 
 country houses — and some there are that have descended 
 through a number of generations — are going fast out of use ; 
 — both the thing and the name. See Settle. 
 
 Langsome, tedious, tiresome. Sax. langsum. Swed. Idngsaniy 
 slow, tardy, dilatory. — Langsomeness, tediousness, wearisome- 
 ness. 
 
 Langsyne, long since. Sax. longe sithtJian. Sw. Idng sedan. 
 
 Lant, the old name for the game of loo at cards ; still retained 
 among the vulgar. — Lantered, looed. — Lanters, the players. 
 
 Lant, urine. V. Todd's John, land; 7th. sense. 
 
 Lap, preterite of leap. " The horse lap the wall." 
 
 Lap-bander, that which binds closely one thing to another — lap, 
 v^rap— band, bind. A tremendous oath is frequently called a 
 lap-bander. 
 
1«2 LAP-U 
 
 Lap-up, to give up, to relinquish, to discontinue — to wrap up 
 
 tools, &c. when the work is finished. 
 Lapstone, a cobbler's stone, on which he hammers his leather. 
 
 The stone is held in the lap — whence the name. 
 Lake, learning, scholarship. Pure Saxon. — Lare-father, in- 
 structor. Both Chaucer and Spenser use lere. 
 Lasche, cold and moist — not actually rain. Fr. lache. Lat. 
 
 laxits. V. Moor, lash or lashy. 
 Lashigillavery, Lusheygilavey, plenty of meat and drink ; a 
 
 superfluity. Probably from lavish. Mere cant. 
 Last, a measure of corn — 80 bushels. Sax. hUest. Su.-Got. 
 
 laest. V. Tomlins* Law Dictionary. 
 Lasty, serviceable, durable, continuing — lasting. 
 Lat, a lath. Sax. latta. Dut. lat. Fr. latte. — Lat-and-plas- 
 
 ter, an ironical phrase for a tall and slender person — one as 
 
 thin as a lath. — Lat-river, a maker of laths. 
 Latch, v. to catch, to lay hold of. Sax. laccan, prehendere. A 
 
 very old word, still in use in the North. 
 
 When that he Galathe besought 
 Of love, which he might not lache. 
 
 Gowevy Confessio Amantis. 
 
 Late, or Leat, to search, to seek, to summon, to invite. Goth. 
 and Isl. leyta, quaerere. Hence Court Leet^ a comt to which 
 all freeholders within the district are invited. V. Black. 
 Coram. Vol. IV., p. 273. — Lating, or Leating, a summons 
 or invitation. Dr. Willan mentions Leating^ or Lating-roWf a 
 district from which matrons are invited by special summons to 
 be present at a child-birth, or at the death of any of the inha- 
 bitants. Should a matron within the limits have been, through 
 inadvertence or mistake, omitted on such an occasion, it is an 
 affront not to be for^ven. 
 
 Lather, to beat or chastise. See Leather. 
 
 Latten, plate-tin. Pistol's sarcastic 
 
 Challenge of this latten bilbo, — Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
LAVE 183 
 
 Has been " a stumbling block," not so much " to the gene- 
 rality of readers," as Sir Thomas Hanmer would express it, 
 but to the commentators themselves. See the learned re- 
 marks of the " collective wisdom," in the last Varior. Edit, 
 of Shakspeare, Vol, VIII., p. 22-3; to which should be ad- 
 ded Sir Thomas's idea — ^" a factitious metal." The meaning of 
 the word latten has puzzled our best antiquaries. In Todd's 
 Johnson it is defined to be, " a mixed kind of metal, made of 
 copper and calamine : said by some to be the old orichalc ;" 
 in another word, brass; though the authority quoted from 
 Gower proves that " laton" and " bras" are two distinct 
 things. In the Dictionaries of Kersey, Bailey, Dyche, and 
 Ash, latten is explained to be iron tinned over, which is in fact 
 what is called tin. Pegge, also, states latten to be tin. But 
 on turning to Nares' Glossary, I find the worthy Archdeacon 
 labouring hard at its transnmtation into brass. The days of 
 alchymy, however, are past. In addition, it may be observed, 
 that Ruddiman — the learned Glossarist to Douglas' Virgil — 
 interprets lated, iron covered with tin. This was also the 
 opinion of Ritson, a writer of elaborate research, and deep 
 penetration — minutely accurate in his elucidations of our an- 
 cient dialect, with which he was well acquainted. Pettus, too, 
 in his Essays on Words Metallick, says, that " thin plates of 
 iron tinned over are vulgarly called lattonP He, also, con- 
 ceives that the white brass, mentioned by Pliny (1. 34, c. 11) 
 was no other than brass tinned over, and called laten, or auri- 
 calcum. 
 
 Latter, v. to run in a vagrant or hasty manner. Hence, Lat- 
 TERIN, or Latherin, a drab, a trollop. " A lazy lathering 
 In Swed. I'dtja, is idleness, laziness. 
 
 Lave, v. to empty, to draw or take out water or other liquid — to 
 lade. Fr. lever. An old word used by Chaucer. 
 
 Lave, s. the residue — those who are omitted. A pure Saxon 
 word, occurring in Peirs Ploughman. It also means a crowd. 
 Of prelates proud, a populous Uvcy 
 And abbots boldly there were known ; 
 
184 LAVR 
 
 With bishop of St. Andrew's brave, 
 Who was King James's bastard son. 
 
 Battle of Floddoru 
 
 In ancient times the dignitaries of the church, holding the 
 temporalities of their benefices of the King, as barons by the 
 tenure of military service, were bound by the feudal law, to 
 attend him in his wars with their dependents. At the battle 
 of Neville's Cross, where the Scottish king became a captive, 
 the English army was in part commanded by two Archbishops 
 and three suffragans. 
 Lavrock, Laverock, the sky-lark. Sax. laferc, lawerc. 
 
 Here hear my Kenna sing a song. 
 
 There see a blackbird feed her young. 
 
 Or a Icverock build her nest. 
 
 Here give my weary spirits rest. 
 
 Walton, Angler^ s WUlu 
 
 Law, *. a hill or eminence, whether natural or artificial. Sax. 
 hlcBw, JdaiVy agger, acervus. Moe.-Got. hlaiWy monumentum. 
 The term is frequently applied to a high ground of some little 
 extent, though flat and level at the top. It enters largely into 
 the composition of the names of vills and hamlets in the North. 
 
 Law, a. low. Dan. lau. — Lawly, lowly, humble. 
 
 Law me ! Lawful rie ! frequent colloquial exclamations, imply- 
 ing either wonder or fear— iorrf bless me. 
 
 Lays, Laggs, dregs, sediment — lees. Span. lias. 
 
 Lea, a rich meadow or pasture — any kind of grass land. Sax. 
 leag, campus, pascuum. The word is used by Spenser, and 
 several times by Shakspeare. 
 
 Lead, to carry. In the North they lead coals and almost every 
 thing, which, elsewhere, they carry, or cart. 
 
 Lead-eater, elastic gum, or Indian rubber. A name by no 
 means inappropriate. 
 
 Leagh, or Leigh, a scythe. It may be from lea, meadow, and 
 ag, to cut ; or Swed. lie, a scythe. 
 
 Leam, a flame. Sax. leoma. Chaucer uses leme in a sense 
 nearly similar. 
 
LEAT 185 
 
 Leamer, or Leemer, a ripe nut. See Brown-leamer. 
 
 Lean, in the sense of, to conceal. V. Todd*s John. 
 
 Leaping- the-well, going through a deep and noisome pool on 
 Alnwick Moor, called the Freemen's Well — -a sine qua non to 
 the freedom of the borough. On Saint Mark's day, the aspi- 
 rants proceed in great state, and in equal spirits, from the 
 town to the moor, where they draw up in a body, at some dis- 
 tance from the water, and on a signal being given, they scram- 
 ble through the mud with great labour and difficulty. They 
 may be said to come out in a condition not much better than 
 " the heroes of the Dunciad after diving in Fleet Ditch." 
 There is a current tradition, that this strange and ridiculous 
 custom — rendered more ludicrous by being performed in white 
 clothing — was imposed by that capricious tyrant. King John, 
 who, it is said, was bogged in this very pool. I witnessed the 
 ceremony a few years ago, and I can assure ray friend, Mr. 
 Surtees, that there is no foundation for his supposition, that 
 they contrive to keep the pond dry. 
 
 Learn, to teach — conformable to Sax. IcBran. This sense is not 
 yet obsolete. 
 
 Leash, to ply the whip. See Nares' Glossary. 
 
 Leathe, a place for storing hay and corn in winter — a barn. 
 Lathe is used by Chaucer. V. Skinner, lath. 
 
 Leather, v. to beat soundly. Perhaps from the instrument 
 originally employed — a strap. Leathering is a very, ancient 
 vulgar term for a beating. 
 
 Leather, the vulgar pronunciation of ladder. 
 
 Charitie is the highest step in all the leather to heaven, and 
 will reach nearest heaven. — Whittingham^s Will, J681. 
 
 Leather-head, Leather-heed, a block-head, a thick-skull* 
 Lanthorn Leatherhead, one of the characters in Ben Jonson's 
 Bartholomew Fair, has been thought to have been meant for 
 Inigo Jones ; but Mr. GifFord doubts it. 
 
 Leather-hungry, tough cheese. See old Tusser's Lesson for 
 Dairy Maid Cisley. 
 
 Bb 
 
18G LEAV 
 
 Leave, Lieve, or Lief, willingly, rather, as soon. Sax. leof. 
 
 Lief is common in Shakspeare, and his contemporaries. — 
 
 Leaver, or Liefer, more willingly, sooner. Sax. leofre. 
 
 Both Gower and Chaucer often use the comparative lever. 
 LeaZes, leasows. — Ncwc Sax. keswet a pasture, a common. 
 
 Norm. Fr. leswes, lesues, pasture-ground. 
 Leck, to leak. Isl. lek, stillare. Swed. Id/ca, to leak. — Leck- 
 
 ON. AND- OFF, to pour ou, and drain off, gradually. 
 Lee, V, to lie, to tell a falsehood. Sax. leogan. " Thou lees** 
 
 — Lee, s. a lie. This word, vulgar as it is, occcurs in Chaucer. 
 
 — Lee-witii-a-latchet, a monstrous falsehood. V. Nares. — 
 
 Leear, a liar. " The king of leears** 
 Leet, v. to meet with, to fall out, to alight. — Leet, s. light. — 
 
 Leet, a. light, " When than heart's sad, can mine be leet ?** 
 Lefts, the lungs or lights. Used, also, for windows — lights, 
 Lketso»ie, light, comfortable, cheerful — lightsome. 
 Leil, honest, faithful, constant. Old, Fr. leal^ leaul, 
 Leish, Lish, nimble, strong, active, stout, alert. 
 Leister, a prong or trident, used to strike fish. See Blaze. 
 
 Su.-Got. liiistra, percutere. Burns, humorously enough, 
 
 makes this instrument a part of the paraphernalia of Death, in 
 
 his celebrated satire on Dr. Hornbook, 
 
 An awfu' scythe, out owre ae shouther. 
 
 Clear dangling hang ; 
 A three-tae'd leister on the ither 
 Lay, large and lang. 
 LeiV, v. to lend. Sax. Icenan. — Len, s. a loan. Sax. ken. 
 Length, s. applied to stature, instead of height. — Lengthy, tall, 
 
 as well as, long. 
 Lennert, our Northern word for a linnet. 
 Letch, a long narrow swamp in which water moves slowly 
 
 among rushes and grass — a wet ditch. 
 Let-leet, to inform., to disclose. To let in light. 
 Let-on, to alight upon, to meet with or encounter. " He never 
 
 let orH'' — he never got or found what he wanted. Isl. laetay 
 
 ostendere. 
 
LIKI 1^7 
 
 Let-wit, to make known. Dut. laaten wecten. Sw. lat veta. 
 
 Leuf, Lufe, Luif, the palm of the hand. A very ancient word. 
 V. Jamieson. Outside the leuf^ back of the hand — equivalent 
 to rejection and repulse. 
 
 Leuk, v. to look. — Leuk, s. a look. — Leuks, the countenance — 
 looks. " His leuks wad spaen a calf." 
 
 Lew, mild, calm. — Lew-warm, tepid — luke-warm, Teut. lauwen, 
 tepefacere. 
 
 Lewd, wild, ungovernable ; as a lewd pointer. 
 
 Lib, to emasculate. Dut. lubben. Used by Bishop Hall, Mas- 
 singer, and others. ^ — Libber, qui castrat. Lib, appears the 
 same as glib, in The Winter* s Tale, Act 11. Sc. 1. 
 
 LiCKLY, likely, probable.-^— Lickliest, the superlative degree. 
 
 Licks, a sound beating, a severe chastisement. The verb lick, I 
 believe, is a general provincialism. 
 
 Lift, assistance. To give a lift, to lend a helping hand. 
 
 Lift, the sky. The same idea as heaven — heaved or lifted up. 
 
 Lig, to lie down, to rest the limbs. Common to the Saxon and 
 most of the Northern languages. Both Chaucer and Spenser 
 use it. — LiG-MA-LAST, a loiterer, the last. — Lig-o-bed, one who 
 lies long in bed — the " slug-a-bed" of Shakspeare. 
 
 Liggee, or LiGNiE, a carved lignum vitce coit for playing at dod- 
 dart, or the game of trippit and coit. 
 
 Lightening, break of day. Sax. lihtan, to illuminate. 
 
 Like, to please, to be agreeable to. Dr. Johnson is mistaken in 
 thinking it disused. 
 
 Like, obliged, under a necessity. " I'm like to go." " She's 
 like to do it." Q. from ligo, to tie ? as our common people 
 say, such a thing is " tied to be so ;" i. e. it must be so. 
 
 Liken'd. " I had likened^ — I was in danger of. Pegge^ 
 
 Liking, delight, pleasure. Sax. ticung. An old Scotch word, 
 occurring in that fine and animating passage from Barbour's 
 Bruce, quoted by Dr. Jamieson. 
 
 A ! freedome is a noble thing ! 
 Fredome ma^'ss man to haiffliklnff! 
 
188 LILE 
 
 Fredome all solace to man giffis ; 
 He levys at ess, that frely levys. 
 
 LiLE, little. Swed. Me, adj. def. liten. Widegren. 
 
 LiLL, to assuage pain. Lat. lallare, to lull. 
 
 LiLLY-wuNS ! LiLLY-wuNTERs ! cxclamations of amazement. 
 Lily wounds — from the crucifixion ? 
 
 Lilt, to sing, by not using words of meaning, but tuneful sylla- 
 bles only. — North. Su.-Got. lidla, canere. 
 
 I've heard a lilting^ at the ewes milking. 
 
 Flowers of tlie Forest. 
 
 Limbo, in gaol — the ablative of Limbics, the place of the departed 
 Saints and Holy Men who died before the crucifixion. V. 
 Du Cange. " He's getten into limbo, up the nineteen steps** 
 — he is under confinement in Newcastle (old) gaol. Bastwick, 
 the friend and associate of Prynne and Burton, designates his 
 imprisonment in the Gatehouse (to which he was committed 
 for writing Flagellum Pontificis et Episcoporum LatialiumJ in 
 Limbo Patriim. V. Letany of John Bastwick, Doctor of 
 Phisicke, 4to. 1637, jocw^m. 
 
 LiMMER, a female of loose manners, or easy virtue. — Limmer- 
 LOON, a mischievous young man — a rogue, a scoundrel. 
 
 LiMMERS, shafts for a cart or carriage. Isl. limar, rami arborum. 
 
 Lin, v. to cease, to stop. Isl. Una, enervare, frangere. 
 
 Yet our northern prikkers, the borderers, notwithstanding, 
 with great enormitie (as thought me), and not unlyke (to be 
 playn) unto a masterless hounde hougling in a hie wey, when 
 he hath lost him he wayted upon, sum hoopyng, sum whistel- 
 yng, and moste with crying a Berwyke ! a Berivyke ! a Fen- 
 •wyke ! a Fcntcyke ! a BiUm^r ! a Bulnier ! or so ootherwise as 
 theyr capteins names wear, never Unnde those troublous and 
 daungerous noyses all the night long. 
 
 Patten's Expedition oftlie Duke of Somerset, 
 Set a beggar on horseback, he'll never lin till he be a-gallop. 
 
 Ben Jonson, Staple of News. 
 
 Lin, s. linen. Swed. lin, flax ; linne, linen. 
 
LITH 189 
 
 Lin, s. the lime tree. Swed. lind, lime tree. 
 
 Lin, Linn, a cascade, a precipice. — Dur. and North. Sax. 
 hlynna^ a torrent. Isl. lind^ a cascade. In Northumberland 
 the word is sometimes used to denote a pool formed below a 
 waterfall ; agreeing in this sense with Welsh %w, a lake. 
 
 The near'st to her of kin 
 Is Toothy, tripping down from Verwin's rushy lin. 
 
 Drayton's Poly-olhiotu 
 
 Ling, provincially, heath. Erica vulgaris. Isl. ling. 
 
 LiNGY, active, strong, able to bear fatigue — also in the sense of 
 
 tall, athletic, vigorous. 
 LiNiEL, shoe-maker's thread. Fr. ligneul. The same as lingel, 
 
 which is described in Nares' Glossary as " a sort of thong used 
 
 by shoe-makers and cobblers ; from lingula.''* 
 Links, sandy barren ground — sand-hills on the sea shore. V. 
 
 Jamieson. 
 Lin-pin, a linch pin — the pin which goes through the axle tree 
 
 to keep on the wheels. Su.-Got. luntat paxillus axis. Jam. 
 LiPPEN, to expect, to depend upon. " I lippened on you to join 
 
 me." Sax. leafen^ credere. 
 LipPER, spray from small waves ; either at sea, or in a river. 
 LiRK, V. to crease, to rumple. Isl. lerha^ contrahere. — Lirk, s. 
 
 a crease, a wrinkle. 
 LisK, the groin. " A pain in the lisle.^^ Dan. and Swed. liuske. 
 Listen, the selvage of woollen cloth. Sax. /wif. 'Do.n.liste. 
 Lite, to rely on, to trust to, to depend upon. Swed. lita, 
 Lite, little. An old word from Sax. lyt; used by Chaucer, both 
 
 as a substantive and an adjective; and still retained in the 
 
 North. Lall, and Lile, also mean little. I cannot pretend 
 
 to reconcile these dialectical variations. 
 Lithe, to listen. " Lithe ye" — hark you. Li^the, Peirs Plough- 
 man. Su.-Got. lydtty audire, lyda till, aures advertere. 
 Lithe, Lithen, to mix, to thicken ; as to lithe the pot. — Lith- 
 
 ING, Lithening, a mixture, or thickening for the potj such as 
 
 oatmeal, flour, &c. V, Wilbraham, and Jamieson. 
 
190 LITT 
 
 Littlest, least, the regular Northern superlative of little. 
 
 Where love is great the littlest doubts are fear. 
 
 Sfiak. Ilamlct. 
 
 Lizzie, an abbreviation of Elizabeth. " Lizzie Moody." 
 
 LoAK, or LoKE, a small quantity ; as a loke of hay, a loke of 
 meal, a loke of sand. V. Jam. lock^ hake. 
 
 LoAK ! LoAK-A-DAZiE ! LoAK-A-DAZiE-ME ! exclamations of sur- 
 prise or pleasure, modulated to suit the occasion. 
 
 LoAL, or Loll, to make a strange noise, to mew like a c"t. V. 
 Jam. Supp. loalling. 
 
 Loaning, Lonnin, a lane or bye-road. Swed. ISungdng. 
 
 Loaning, a place near country villages for milking cows. V. 
 Jamieson, loan. 
 
 But now I hear moaning on ilka green loaning. 
 
 Flowers of the Forest. 
 
 LoB-cocK, a contemptuous epithet for a sluggish person. 
 
 I now must leave you all alas. 
 And live with some old lobcock ass ! 
 
 Breton^ Works of a Young Wit. 
 
 Loch, a lake. A pure Gaelic word. There is Black Lochy in 
 the county of Northumberland. 
 
 LoE, Lowe, synonymous with Law j which see. 
 
 LooF, rather, as soon. Sax. leof. See Leave. 
 
 Look, to weed corn — to look for, or clear it of, weeds. V. 
 Ray. 
 
 LoLLOCK, or Lollop, a lump ; as, a lollock of fat. 
 
 Lollop, to walk in an undulating manner — to move heavily. 
 
 Lone, single. " A lone woman'* — a female unmarried, or a widow 
 without children. This word appears in Todd's Johnson as if 
 it were obsolete, which is not the case in the North. 
 
 Loon, Loun, Lowne, an idle vagabond, a worthless fellow, a 
 rascal. The word is old ; but etymologists are not agreed in 
 the derivation. A learned friend derives it from Germ, lugen^ 
 to lie J adding, that lugen-maul, literally lying chops, is a huge 
 
LOUG 191 
 
 liar. Shakspeare has evidently taken the stanzas in the drink- 
 ing scene in Othello, from the ancient version of. Take thy old 
 Cloak about thecy recovered by Bishop Percy, and published 
 by him in the 1st. Vol. of his Reliques of Ancient English 
 Poetry. 
 
 King Stephen was a worthy peere, 
 His breeches cost him but a crowne, 
 
 He held them sixpence all too deere ; 
 Therefore he call'd the taylor Lowne. 
 
 LooR, Lour, to stoop in walking — to lower. — North. 
 
 LoosE-i'-THE-HEFT, a disorderly person, a vagabond — uncertain 
 in his haunts. See Heft. 
 
 Lop, Loppe, a flea. Pure Saxon. Swed. loppa. In the Mid- 
 dle Ages, when this enemy to mankind infested a bed, it was 
 attributed to the envy of the Devil. 
 
 LoppEN, LuppEN, pret. leaped. Sax. hleop. Swed. lupen. 
 LuppeUy also means, Mr. Culley says, burst from swelling. 
 
 LopPER, to coagulate. Loppered milk — milk that sours and 
 curdles without the application of an acid. Swed. lopa, to 
 run together. Sc. lapper, to curdle. Isl. hlaup, coagulum. 
 
 LopsTROPOLOUS, mischievous, clamorous — obstreperous. 
 
 Lobstrop'lous fellows, we kick'd them O. 
 
 Song, Swalwell Hopping. 
 
 LosiNG-LEATHER, an injury in a tender part, to which inexpe- 
 rienced riders are subject ; and which makes them, what is 
 elsewhere called, saddle sick. It is a rustic idea — counte- 
 nanced by some old authors — that a sprig of elder, in which 
 there is a joint, worn in one of the lower pockets, will operate 
 as a charm against this galling inconvenience ; but whether 
 
 To harden breech, or soften horse, 
 I leave't to th' learned to discourse. 
 
 Flccknoe, Diarium. 
 
 LouGH, a lake. " Keemer Lough:* -^ North. V. Thomson. 
 
i92 LOUK 
 
 LouK, to weed a field of quicken grass. — York. See Look. 
 
 LouN, Lown'd, calm, sheltered from the wind. Isl. logn, aeris 
 tranquillitas. Swed. lugn, calm, serene. 
 
 LouNDER, to beat with severe strokes. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Lounge, a large lump ; as of bread or cheese. Span, loncha, a 
 lunch. 
 
 Loup, v. to leap. Su.-Got. loepa^ currere. Sw. Ibpa, to run. — 
 Loup, s. a leap or spring. — Louping, the act of leaping. 
 ** Loupinge, or skyppinge. Saltus." Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Loup, v. to cover. Teut. loopen^ catulire. 
 
 Loup-THE-LANG-LONNiN, a name for the game of leap frog. 
 
 Loupy-dyke, a term of contempt ; conjoining the ideas of im- 
 prudence and waywardness. Sometimes applied to one of 
 those expeditions that maidens sigh for, but which prudent 
 matrons deprecate as shameless and untoward. It has no 
 doubt been adopted from its primary application to cattle 
 leaping a dike. 
 
 Louse, to unbind, to release, to leave ofFwork— to loose. 
 
 Lout, v. to bow in the rustic fashion. Sax. hlutan, to bend. 
 Swed. luta^ to stoop. This word is used by Gower, Chaucer, 
 Spenser, and other ancient English writers. 
 
 Lout, s. a stupid awkward person. Teut. loetey homo insulsus. 
 Shakspeare writes it lowU 
 
 Loyesome, lovely. Sax. lossum^ delectabilis. In Peirs Plough- 
 man, Chaucer, &c. Indeed, in old English, &ome and ly are 
 used indifferently as terminations of adjectives. 
 
 LowANCE, an allowance of drink to work-people ; especially that 
 which is given in the harvest field. The largess of a stranger 
 is received with a loud huzza, intermingled with the screams and 
 shrieks of the women. V. Moor, lowans. 
 
 Lowe, «, to make a bright flame. — Lowe, s. a flame, a blaze, a 
 light. Su.-Got. loga. Isl. logi^ flamma. — Lilly-lowe, a 
 comfortable blaze. LUly^ which is probably from Sax. lig, 
 flamma, seems redundant. 
 
 LowRY, Lowery, overcast, threatening to be wet, or stormy — 
 lowering. Spoken only, I think, of the weather. 
 
LURD 193 
 
 LucK-PENNV, a small sum of money returned to the purchaser, 
 on selling horses or cattle, by way of ensuring good luck. 
 
 Lucky, large, wide, easy. Country tailors generally receive di- 
 rections to make their customers' clothes " brave and lucky. ^"^ 
 
 Lug, the ear. An old word, both in England and in Scotland. 
 Su.-Got. lugga. Sax. ge-luggian, to pull— the ear being a 
 part easily pulled or lugged. 
 
 LuGGiE, a wooden dish. Burns, in the poem of Halloween^ 
 alludes to a singular species of divination with " luggies three," 
 which is minutely described in a note. 
 
 LuGGisH, a. dull, heavy, stupid. Probably loggish. 
 
 LuGGisH, s. an indolent, or idle fellow. " Loup, ye luggishy ye 
 ha' nae spunk in ye." 
 
 LuM, a deep pool of water, the still part of a river. — Lane. 
 
 LuM, the chimney of a cottage. Welsh, llumon. Lover ^ in Lan- 
 cashire, and also in some parts of Yorkshire, is a term for a 
 chimney ; or rather for an aperture in the roof of old houses, 
 where the fire was in the centre of the room, through which 
 the smoke was emitted, there being nothing analogous to our 
 chimney. In those days, halls smoky, but filled with good 
 cheer, were thought no inconvenience. Indeed, the smoke 
 was supposed to harden the timber, and to be good physic for 
 the family. I find lover in Peirs Ploughman, and also in the 
 
 , Faerie Queene; probably from Fr. Vouverte. Sibbald con- 
 jectures that lum may be from Sax. leom^ light — scarcely any 
 other light being admitted, except through this hole. Brand, 
 on the other hand, asks if it may not be derived from the loine 
 or clay wherewith the wattle work is daubed over inside and 
 out ? Thus we find 
 
 No end, in wandering mazes lost. — MUtm. 
 
 LuM-sooPER, a chimney, or lum-sweeper. — North, and Newc. 
 
 luRDANE, a drone or sluggard. Teut. loerd, homo ignavus. 
 
 Old Ital. lordone, a foul, filthy, sloven. Fr. lourdaud, a dunce, 
 
 a blockhead. Some old writers, however, pretend to derive 
 
 this word from Lord Dane — a name given (more from dread 
 
 c c 
 
194 LURD 
 
 than dignity) to those Danes, who, when they were masters 
 of the island, were distributed in private houses ; where they 
 are said to have conducted themselves, or, if the expression be 
 permitted — lorded over the inhabitants, with outrageous inso- 
 lence and pride. 
 
 In every house Lord Dane did then rule all ; 
 Whence laysie lozels lurdanet now we call. 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates. 
 
 LuRDY, lazy, sluggish. Fr. lourdy dull, stupid. Ital. lordoy foul, 
 du-ty, filthy. 
 
 Lyery, the lean or muscular flesh of an animal ; especially that 
 on the buttocks. Sax. lira, viscum. 
 
 Lyka ! listen — an exclamation of astonishment. An abbrevia- 
 tion of look ye J " Lyka man / what do I hear you say ?'* 
 
 M. 
 
 Mab, v. to dress carelessly. Hence, Mab-cap, generally called 
 
 mob-capy a cap which ties under the chin — worn by elderly 
 
 women. 
 Mab, s. a slattern. It is, I am told, a diminutive of Abigail, a 
 
 cant name for a lady's waiting-maid — ^whence the verb. 
 Mack, v. to make. Preterite, m^yed. Germ. macheUy to make. 
 Mack, s. kind, sort, fashion — a match or equal. Swed. make. 
 Mack-bould, to venture, or take the liberty — to make bold. 
 Mackless, matchless, unequalled. Swed. makalbs, incomparable. 
 Macks, sorts, fashions — makes. " A little o' a' viacksJ" 
 Mackshift, a substitute or expedient in a case of necessity or 
 
 difficulty — a makeshift. 
 Maddle, to wander, to talk inconsistently, to forget or confound 
 
 objects, as if in a state bordering on delirium. 
 Madpash, a person disordered in the mind — a madbrain. From 
 
 mady and pash, a ludicrous term for the head. 
 
MAIS 195 
 
 Maffle, to stammer, to be puzzled — to act by means inadequate 
 to the attainment of the object or end proposed — like one in 
 dotage. Teut. maffelen, balbutire. — Maffling, a state of per- 
 plexity. 
 
 Maggy, a provincial name for a magpie. See Pianet. 
 
 Mail, a rent — money exacted by Freebooters on the Borders. 
 Sax. mal^ stipendium, pretium. 
 
 Mail, a travelling trunk. F. malle, a trunk, or box. 
 
 Mailin, or Maeylin, a sort of mop made of old rags, with a long 
 pole, for cleaning out an oven — metaphorically ^ a dirty careless 
 wench. V. Todd's Johnson, malkin^ and vmuMn. 
 
 Maillen, Meallin, the quantity of milk which a cow gives at 
 once; as well as the appointed time of milking her. Sax. 
 meel^ portio, spatium temporis — a meal. 
 
 Main, s. might, strength, exertion. Sax. m/Bgn. Isl. magn, 
 Shakspeare endeavours to be superlatively witty, in his pun on 
 the word, in 2d. Part King Henry VI. 
 
 Sal Then let's make haste away, and look 
 
 Unto the main. 
 
 War Unto the main ! O father, Maine is lost ; 
 
 That Maine which by m^iin force Warwick did win, 
 And would have kept so long as breath did last : 
 iVfain-chance, father, you meant ; but I meant Maine; 
 Which I will win from France, or else be slain. 
 
 Main, used adverbially for very ; as main dark. 
 
 Mains, a farm, or fields, attached to a mansion house, in the 
 
 occupation of the owner — lands in dominico, demesne lands. 
 
 See Du Cange, mansus dominicatus ; and Skene de Verb. Sig- 
 
 nificat. vo. vianerium. 
 Mainswear, or Manswear, to take a false oath. Sax. manswc-' 
 
 rian, pejerare. Dan. meensvoren^ perjured.— Mainswearing, 
 
 or Mans wearing, perjury. 
 Maist, most. Sax. wae^^.— Maistly, mostly. — Maistlings, for 
 
 the most part. 
 Maister, master, mister. Sax. mcester. Old Eng. mayster. 
 
196 MAIS 
 
 O maytter dere and fadir reverent, 
 
 My maystcr Chaucer, floure of eloquence. 
 
 Occlcve de Rrgimhi£ Principi$, 
 Gower, that first garnished our English rude ; 
 And maister Chaucer, that nobly enteii)rised 
 How that English myght freshely be ennewed. 
 
 SkclUni^s Crovme of Laurdl. 
 
 Maisterman, a common term for a husband. 
 
 Maistry, skill, power, superiority — mastery. Fr. maistrie. 
 
 Make, a companion or equal. An old word. Sax. viaca, socius, 
 consors, conjux. Swed. viake, spouse, mate. 
 
 Make-count, v. to calculate on, to mean or intend to do any 
 thing. Vr.faire compte, to be assured. 
 
 Make-count, s. a makeweight — something over. Germ, zu-ge- 
 wicht. 
 
 Makeless, matchless, without an equal. Su.-Got. makcdoes. 
 Swed. viakalds, excellent, above compare. This latter word in 
 the Grecian garb of MAKE A £2 2— adopted by the learned 
 Queen Christina, on one of her numerous medals (Brenner 
 Num. Sueo.-Goth. Chr. Tab. IV.) — sadly perplexed the anti- 
 quaries at Rome. 
 
 Mally, a girl's name— Mary. V. Thomson, Molly. 
 
 Mally, a name for the hare. — Dur. Sc, maukin, viawkin. 
 
 Maaimer, to be in doubt, to hesitate, to mutter, to murmur. 
 
 I wonder in my soul. 
 What you could ask me, that I should deny, 
 Or stand so mammering on. — Sliak. Otficllo. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer most unfortunately refers to Fr. 7n*amour, 
 which, he says, " men were apt often to repeat when they were 
 not prepared to give a direct answer!" This is Hanmering 
 our illustrious bard, with a vengeance. 
 
 Ma3Imy, a childish name for mother. Teut. mammey mater. 
 
 Manadge, a box or club instituted by inferior shop-keepers — 
 generally linen-drapers — for supplying goods to poor or im- 
 provident people, who agree to pay for them by instalments — 
 
MARK 197 
 
 a mode of dealing extremely lucrative to the one party, but 
 sadly the contrary to the other. Of late, much of this deser- 
 vedly disreputable trade has been in the hands of manadge' 
 women, who become responsible to the drapers for what they 
 too often impose on their deluded customers. The word is 
 obviously derived from Fr. menage, way of saving, parsimony. 
 
 Mang, s. barley or oats ground with the husks j given to dogs 
 and swine. Perhaps from Sax. mengean, to mingle. Mung- 
 coruy mixed corn, occurs in ancient records. Mongcorn is also 
 an old English word. 
 
 Manner, dung, or compost — manure, 
 
 Mannie, a diminutive of man. " A tight little mannie?^ 
 
 Happen, perhaps — it may happen. — Cumb. and West. 
 
 March, a land-mark, a boundary-line or division. Sax. mearc. 
 Fr. marche. Our modern word demarcation is cognate. — 
 Marches, the borders of a kingdom ; as the marches, or limits 
 between England and Scotland, when these were considered as 
 enemies* countries. There were march laws, and march courts 
 of judicature, of which the Wardens were supreme judges. 
 
 They of those marches, gracious sovereign, 
 Shall be a wall sufficient to defend 
 Our inland from the pilfering borderers. 
 
 Slmk. Hen. V. 
 
 Mare, more. Pure Saxon. Germ. mehr. Sc. mair. 
 Margit, the usual pronunciation of Margaret. 
 Marrow, or (as sometimes written) Marra, v. to match, to 
 equal. 
 
 'Bout Lunnun then divent ye myek sic a rout. 
 There's nowse there maw winkers to dazzle ; 
 
 For aw the fine things ye are gobbin about. 
 We can marra iv Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Song, Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Marrow, s. a mess-mate, companion, or associate — an equal. 
 See Ruddiman's Glossary to Douglas. 
 
198 MARK 
 
 Marrows^ fellows ; two alike, or corresponding to each other ; 
 as a pair of gloves, a pair of stockings, a pair of shoes. 
 
 Marrowless, without a match, incomparable. See Makeless. 
 
 Marry ! Marry-on-us ! Marry-come-out ! Marry-come-up ! 
 common interjections— purposed disguises in favour of pious 
 ears. Marry, according to Brand, was originally, in Popish 
 times, a mode of swearing by the Virgin Mary. 
 
 Marry-and-shall, that I will. Often used by old people. It 
 occurs in 3d. Part of Shak. King Henry VI. Probably the 
 remnant of a papistical invocation — hy the Virgin will I. 
 
 Marry-on, to tie the conjugal knot. " What d'ye think ! Miss 
 A is married on Mr. B ." A pure Northumbrianism. 
 
 Mart, a cow or ox slaughtered at Martinmas, and hung up to 
 dry for winter provision. The custom of salting meat to last 
 throughout the inclement months was universal among our 
 ancestors. Though less frequent, since the extensive cultiva- 
 tion of turnips, it still partially prevails in Newcastle and the 
 neighbourhood, where it is not unusual for a few families to 
 join in the purchase of a Mart, at the fair held on old Mar- 
 tinmas Day, and to divide it among them. 
 
 Mask, to infuse. "Mask the tea." Identical with mask, as 
 applied to brewing. Swed. maska, to mash. The original 
 idea is viix. 
 
 Mason-due, the vulgar name for an ancient hospital, on the 
 Sandhill, Newcastle, lately taken down. Evidently a corrup- 
 tion of Fr. Maison de Dieu, a house of God, or religious hospi- 
 tal. Meason-diie occurs in a stat. of Queen Eliz. Chaucer 
 writes it maisondewe. 
 
 Masselgem, a mixture of wheat and rye for household bread — 
 maslin. Teut. mastehiyn, farrago. Dut. masteleyn. Old Tus- 
 ser, in homely phrase, describes the advantage of using a loaf 
 of this kind ; and, with a true agricultural appetite, talks of a 
 round, a foot broad. 
 
 Maud, Mawd, a plaid worn by the Cheviot shepherds. Su.- 
 Got. mtiddj a garment made of rein-deer skins. V. Ihre. 
 
MAY 199 
 
 Good antiquaries are of opinion, that the Highland plaid is 
 the actual successor and representative of the Roman toga. 
 Its ancient uses are still preserved. The Romans, as well as 
 the Scots, slept on it, and it was extended over the nuptial 
 bed. 
 
 Mauf, Maugh, Meaugh, a brother-in-law. V. Lye, mcBg ; Sib- 
 bald (Glossary of ancient Scottish Words), maigh; and Jam. 
 maich. 
 
 Mauk, Mawk, a maggot, a gentle. Su.-Got. viatk, ant ; madky 
 vermis. Swed. masky a worm. 
 
 Mauky, Mawky, maggotty, whimsical, proud, capricious. 
 
 Maum, Maumy, mellow, soft. Su.-Got. mogna, to become mel- 
 low. To maum a crust of bread, is to soften it in water. 
 
 Maunder, to wander about in a thoughtful manner; to be tedi- 
 ous in talking ; to say a great deal, but irregularly and confu- 
 sedly ; to lose the thread of a discourse. Sc. maunder^ to talk 
 nonsense. In Norfolk, and some of the South Eastern coun- 
 ties, it means to grumble, or murmur. 
 
 Maunderer, a tedious and weary speaker, a confused, or inco- 
 herent talker. Gael, mandagh^ a stutterer, seems allied. 
 
 Maunt, Muncle, familiar and easy transmutations of, my aunt, 
 my uncle. Borders of North. Nuncle and Naunt, for an 
 uncle and an aunt, occur in Beaumont and Fletcher. 
 
 Maut, malt. " Willie brew'd a peck o' viaut^ Burns. 
 
 Mauten-corn, corn damped and beginning to germinate— wa//- 
 ing-corn. — Noi^th. V. Ihre, malt. 
 
 Maw, v. to mow, or cut with a scythe. Preterite, mew. Sax. 
 mawan. Germ, mahen. — Mawer, a mower. 
 
 Mpcw, pronoun, my, mine, belonging to me. " Maw hinny." 
 
 Mawks, an ill behaved girl, a slattern. 
 
 Mawment, a puppet. Old English, maumet^ an idol ; corrupted 
 from Mahomet, in derision. 
 
 May, the sweet-scented flower of the white thorn. See May- 
 Day Customs, Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. I., p. 179 & seq. 
 Rise up, maidens, fie for shame. 
 For I've been four lang miles from hame ; 
 
mo MEDD 
 
 I've been gathering my garlands gay ; 
 Rise up, &ir maids, and take in your May. 
 
 Old Naecatile Song. 
 
 Major Moor gives an inaccurate version of this homely canti- 
 cle, in his Suffolk Words, p. 225. May games, as well as 
 many other harmless country amusements, have been too 
 hastily extinguished. The human mind — whether educated 
 or not — requires employment ; and the interdiction of rural 
 recreations, under the pretence of the improvement of the 
 people, will not eradicate licentiousness j nor can the multi- 
 tude be made good by compulsion alone. All such meddling 
 with the natural arrangement of society is mischievous, and 
 has a tendency to drive the lower orders to the public-house. 
 
 Mazed, astonished, amazed. Also stupified — rendered insensi- 
 ble by a blow. " Aw stood quite mazed'* 
 
 Me, for.L A common grammatical error. Not, however, with- 
 out examples in our old language. 
 
 Meal-kail, hasty-pudding for breakfast or supper, among the 
 labouring people in the Northern parts of Northumberland. 
 
 Mealy-mouthed, " using soft words, concealing the real inten- 
 tion; speaking hypocritically." Todd's Johnson. It also 
 means, not telling a tale at fall length from motives of delicacy. 
 I should prefer Skinner's construction — mild-mouthed or mel- 
 low-mouthed — ^but derive the word from Fr. miele, honied j as 
 we say honied words. 
 
 Clayton was false, mecUie-mouth^d^ and poore spirited. 
 
 Life of Ant. a Wood, p. 165. 
 
 Mean, to complain, to lament — to moan. Sax. maenan^ dolere. 
 And thus she mmns — ShaJc. Midsum. NtgfWs Dream. 
 
 Mean, s. heavy complaint, lamentation — moan. 
 
 Meaning, shrinking ; as, indicative of pain or lameness. Teut. 
 
 mincken, mencken, to go lame, to limp. 
 Mebby, Mabees, Mavies, perhaps, probably — it may he. 
 Meddle- NOR-aiAKE. " He'll neither meddle nor make** — he'll 
 
 not interfere. Sc. meddle nor mak. 
 
MELL 201 
 
 Meeb, the vulgar word for a mare. Also an abusive term among 
 the lower order of ladies in Newcastle. 
 
 Meet, fit, proper. Swed. matilig, moderate, temperate. 
 
 Meggy-monny-legs, a lively insect often seen on garden walks — 
 millepes. — Dur. In North, it is called Meg-monny-feet. 
 
 Melder, a making of meal — a parcel of corn ground at one time. 
 In some places the farmers hire the miller, and in turns have 
 a winter stock of meal made. The meldering day used to be, 
 and perhaps still is, a kind of feast among the yeomanry. Fr. 
 moudre, to grind ; or, according to Dr. Jamieson, Isl. malldr, 
 molitura, from mala, to grind. 
 
 Mell, v. to intermeddle, to engage in, to interfere with. Fr. 
 meler. " I shall not mell with your affairs.** The commenta- 
 tors are not agreed on the expression. 
 
 Men are to mell with. — Shak. AlVs WeU that Ends Well. 
 
 It means men are to meddle with ; without the least allusion 
 to the indecent idea surmised by Theobald. 
 
 Mell, v, to pound, to bruise — from the instrument used. 
 
 Mell, s. a wooden mallet, or hammer; generally with a long 
 handle. Lat. malleus^ the ancient mallet, or maule. This 
 weapon, under the name of miolner^ was assigned by the Goths, 
 to their God Thor. 
 
 Mell-doll, an image of corn, dressed like a doll, carried in 
 triumph — amidst the most frantic screaming of the women — 
 on the last day of reaping. In some places they call it a Kern 
 {corn) Baby. There is also, occasionally, a Harvest Queen — 
 thought to be a representation of the Roman Ceres — apparel- 
 led in great finery, and crowned with flowers ; with a scythe in 
 one hand, and a portion of corn in the other. This old cus- 
 tom is noticed by Hentzner, in his Journey into England, du- 
 ring the reign of Queen Elizabeth, Strawberry Hill Edition, 
 p. 79. 
 
 Mell-supper, a supper and merry-making on the evening of the 
 conclusive reaping day— the feast of harvest home. Besides 
 a grand display of excellent old English cheer, with a mixture 
 
 Dd 
 
2Q2 MELL 
 
 of modern gout, to enlarge the sphere of epicurean enjoyment, 
 there is dancing, masking and disguising, and every other sort 
 of mirth to expand a rustic heart to gaiety. According to 
 Hutchinson, the Historian of Northumberland, the name of 
 this supper is derived from the rites of Ceres, when an offering 
 of the first fruits was made j the word melle being a provincial 
 word, equivalent to mingle : implying that the cakes used at 
 this festival are mingled or made of new corn, and that it is the 
 feast of the first mingling of flour of the new reaped wheat. I 
 am, however, strongly inclined to think, that we may safely 
 refer to Teut. mael, convivium refectio, pastus. Various other 
 etymologies have been conjectured, which are noticed in 
 Brand's Pop. Ant. Vol. I., Chap. Harvest-Home ; where the 
 reader will find much interesting matter on this subject. 
 
 Mell-doors, the space between the heck and outward door, the 
 entry or passage — middle [of] doors. Fr. milieu. Mell is an 
 old word for between, not yet altogether disused. 
 
 Mell-drop, the least offensive species of mucus from the nose. 
 ** Mell-drop Tommy" — a familiar cognomen. 
 
 Mends, recompense, atonement, satisfaction — amends. 
 
 If she be fair, 'tis the better for her ; an she be not, she 
 has the mends in her own hand.— 5%aAr. Troilus and Cressida. 
 
 Mennam, the minnow. Nearly resembling Gael, meanan, 
 Mense, v. to grace, to ornament, to decorate. " The pictures 
 
 viense the room," a compliment paid by a Northern artist to 
 
 my unpretending collection. 
 Mense, s. decency, propriety of conduct, good manners, kindness, 
 
 hospitality. It also means an ornament, or credit; as he is 
 
 ** a mense to his family." Sax. mennesc, humanus. Su.-Got. 
 
 mdnnisklig. Swed. mensklig. See Tailor's-mense. 
 Menseful, decent, graceful, mannerly, hospitable, creditable. 
 Menseless, indecorous, graceless, inhospitable, unmannerly. 
 Mense, or Menseful-penny, liberality conducted by prudence. 
 
 Would have their mcnscfuUpenny spent 
 
 With gossips at a merriment. — The Collkr^s Wedding. 
 
METE 203 
 
 Mere, a lake, a marsh, a large pool. Pure Saxon. 
 Merry-begotten, illegitimate — in law, filius nuUius — rather 
 waggishly alluded to by old Bninne. 
 
 Knoute of his body gate sonnes thre. 
 Tug bi tuo wifes, the thrid injolifie. 
 
 Langtoffs Chronicle. 
 
 The historical reader is aware that bastardism, especially if the 
 father were royal or noble, was in the middle ages no disgrace ; 
 and that very latitudinarian principles were disseminated con- 
 cerning a species of gallantry, which, as we learn from Evelyn, 
 an indulgent churchman — the Cardinal de Richelieu — was in 
 the habit of calling " the honest man's recreation." 
 
 Merry-dancers, the glancings of the Aurora Borealis. These 
 Northern lights, when first seen, were called burning spears, 
 and which to persons of a vivid imagination still seem to repre- 
 sent the clashing of arms in a military engagement. The first 
 instance of their appearance mentioned by Dr. Halley, is that 
 which occurred in the year 1560. 
 
 Merry-night, a rustic ball — a night (generally about Christmas) 
 appropriated to mirth and festivity. These homely pastimes, 
 besides the eating and drinking, consist of dancing, in all the 
 lower modes of the art; of masked interludes; and occasion- 
 ally of the ancient sword dance ; with an indispensable ad- 
 mixture of kissing and romping, and other " gallantry robust." 
 V. Willan. 
 
 Messit, a little dog, a sort of cur. V. Jamieson, messan. 
 
 Met, v. to measure. Teut. meteuy metiri. Swed. wza/«.~MET, 
 *. a measure, either of length or capacity. Sax. mitta, 
 
 Meterly, tolerably well— moderately — within bounds; i.e. in 
 mete, or measure. In the older Northern glossaries, as Mr. 
 Todd remarks, the word is defined indifferent. 
 
 Metter, a person legally authorised to measure. — Neivc. 
 
 Meuthy, " a difficult respiration, by the lightness of the air." 
 Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland. 
 
 Mickle, much, great. Dur. and North. Sax. mcel, micle. Isl. 
 
204 METT 
 
 viikUl, Teut. viikel. The word is used by Shakspeare, in 
 Romeo and Juliet ; and by Drayton, in his exqiusitely beau- 
 tiful poem of the Nymphidia. 
 
 Homely hearts do harbour quiet ; 
 
 Little fear, and mickle solace ; 
 States suspect their bed and diet ; 
 
 Fear and craft do haunt the palace. 
 
 Old Damon's Pastoral. 
 
 Midden, Muck-midden, a dunghill. Sax. midding, sterquili- 
 
 nium. — Midden-stead, a place for laying dung. 
 Midden, a contemptuous term for a female— conjoining the ideas 
 
 of insipidity, inactivity, and dirt. 
 MiDDEN-CROW, the carrion crow. Corvtis corone, Linn. 
 Middens, or Black-middens, dangerous rocks on the north side 
 
 of the entrance into Shields harbour. 
 Midge, a small gnat. Sax. micge. It is also a contumelious 
 
 term towards a mischievous boy, apparently expressive of 
 
 smallness of size. — Midge's-ee, any thing diminutive ; a very 
 
 common comparison. 
 MiDLiN, MiDDUNG, tolerably well, indifferent, passable. 
 Milker, a cow that gives milk ; not the person who milks the 
 
 cow. " She's a top milker" 
 MiLKUs, MiLKNESS, a dairy, or milk-house. Sax. melce-hus. 
 MiNCH, to mince. Isl. minka, diminuere. — Minch-pie, a mince 
 
 pie. 
 Mind, to remember, to be steady and attentive. Dan. minde, to 
 
 mind, to recollect. 
 MiNGE, to mention, to remind. Sax. myngian. 
 
 Could never man work thee a worser shame 
 Than once to minge thy father's odious name. 
 
 HaJVs Satires. 
 
 MiNNY, a fondling term for mother. Teut. minne, nutrix. 
 Mint, to aim at, to show a mind to do something, to endeavour, 
 
 to make a feigned attempt. Sax. ge-myndian, intendere. Swed. 
 
 mena, to mean. 
 
MITT 205 
 
 Mire-drum, the Bittern or Bog-bumper ; frequent in our alpine 
 mosses. Ardea Stellaris. Linnaeus. There is a beautiful 
 figure of this stately bird in Bewick. 
 
 It is called the Mire-Drum^ from its singular loud note, 
 especially in the spring, which is then its congratulatory 
 ovation to its mate on the arrival of it, when there is a kind 
 of resuscitation of beauty throughout all nature, and uni- 
 versal gladness Wains' Hist, of North. Vol. I. p. 324. 
 
 Mirk, Mirky, dark, obscure. Sax. mirce. Isl. myrkr, tene- 
 brosus. Swed. mbrky dark. Old Eng. viirke, 
 
 Gane is the day, and mirk^s the night. 
 
 But we'll ne'er stay for faute o' light. — Burns. 
 
 Miscall, to abuse, to call names to. Sc, misca\ 
 Misfortune, a palliative term for an act of indiscretion j especi- 
 ally a breach of chastity. V. Jam. Supp. 
 MisHANTER, disaster, misfortune, mischance — misadventure* Old 
 
 Fr. mesaventure. V. Roquefort. 
 Mis-KEN, to be ignorant of, not to know, to misunderstand. 
 MisLiPPEN, to suspect, to neglect, to disappoint. 
 MissKNS, s. any thing missing — such as a Paul Pry would easily 
 
 discover. " Here's a missens here" — said of a room from 
 
 which furniture has been removed. 
 MiSTETCH, an ill habit, property or custom j perhaps from 
 
 misteach. Chaucer uses tetchy for a spot or blemish. Fr. 
 
 tache. 
 MisTETCHED, spoiled — said of a horse that has learnt vicious 
 
 tricks. 
 MiTTAN, a glove without divisions for the fingers ; generally made 
 
 of thick leather, or coarse yarn. Fr. mitaine. V. Du Cange, 
 
 viitena. 
 
 He that his hand wol put in his mitaine 
 He shal have multiplying of his graine. 
 
 Chaucer, Pardoneres Tale. 
 
 MiTTS, worsted gloves with a thumb and no fingers. V. Moor. 
 MixTY-MAXTY, MixY-MAXY, any thing confusedly mixed, an 
 
20G MITT 
 
 irregular medley— a mish-mash, or hotch-potch. Su.-Oot. 
 
 viisk'mask. 
 
 Mizzle, v. to rain in very small drops. Teut. mieselen.-^MizzLE, 
 8. small rain. 
 
 MoiDER, to puzzle, to perplex. It is, I suppose, an old word ; 
 but if one was to imitate some of our etymologists, it might 
 be brought from the Spanish name of the seven-and-twenty 
 shilling pieces, which would, I dare say, very much vioider poor 
 John Bull in his reckonings. 
 
 MoiDERED, puzzled, bewildered, confused, distracted. 
 
 MoLTER, Mooter, Mouter, a portion of meal abstracted by the 
 miller as a compensation for grinding ; the toll, as it were, of 
 the mill. Law Lat. moUturaj mtUiura. Fr. viouture. It is 
 also used as a verb. 
 
 It is good to be merry and wise. 
 
 Quoth the miller, when he jnouter^d twice.— -Sc. Probverh. 
 
 MoME, soft, smooth, conjoining the idea of sweetness. Hence, 
 the liquor mum — ale brewed with wheat. Mumme is a Ger- 
 man name for beer. " Brunswick mum" 
 
 MoNNY, many. Sax. monig. Swed. mange. Sc. mony^ monnie. 
 — MoNNY-A-TiME-AND-OFT, a colloquial expression for fre- 
 quently. 
 
 Moo, V. to low as a cow. — Moo, s. the act of lowing. Germ. 
 muy vox vaccae naturalis. Wachter. 
 
 Moon-light, Mooi*-shine, Mountain-dew, smuggled whiskey. 
 Thanks to the excise — a refinement unknown in the financial 
 system of our ancient government — for the introduction of 
 these neologisms. 
 
 Moor, a heath — a common, or waste land. Sax. mory ericetum. 
 Isl. wor, terra arida, inculta, et inutilis. Sc. mure, muir. Dr. 
 Jamieson erroneously supposes that our word always implies 
 the idea of water or marshiness, as denoting a fen. V. Co. 
 Litt. 5 a. 
 
 Moorland, common or waste ground — a hilly, barren district. 
 
 Moot-hall, the ancient hall of the castle of Newcastle— the 
 
MOSS 207 
 
 place of holding the assizes for the county of Northumberland, 
 Brand has a needless difiiculty about the etymology, which is 
 indubitably Sax. moth-heal^ conventus aula, the hall of deli- 
 beration or judgment. V. Dugdale, Origines Juridiciales, 
 Edit. 1680, p. 212. The folk-mote was originally a conven- 
 tion of all the inhabitants ; which, if within a town, was called 
 a Burgh-mote^ but if of all the free tenants within % county— 
 the Shire-mote, In the latter assembly the sheriff was annu- 
 ally chosen, until the election of that officer devolved to the 
 king's nomination ; after which the town folk-mote was swal- 
 lowed up in the common council, as that of the county was in 
 the SherifT's Turn and Assizes. 
 
 Mop, " to make wry mouths or grin in contempt." Todd's 
 Johnson. In the North it means to prim or look affectedly. 
 Hence, Moppet, a child so acting. The latter is also a term 
 of endearment ; from moppe, an old word in that sense. 
 
 Moral, model. " The moral of a man." An archaism. 
 
 More, a hill — a mountainous or waste country ; whence West- 
 morland. Sax. mor, mons. See Moor. 
 
 Morn, morrow. — The morn, to-morrow. Sax. morghen, morgen. 
 The original meaning of morrow, as stated in Todd's Johnson, 
 seems to have been morning, which being often referred to on 
 the preceding day, was understood in time to signify the whole 
 day next following. 
 
 Mortal, very, exceeding, excessive, abounding. Perhaps from 
 Isl. morgt, a great quantity. — Mortal-while, a long time. 
 
 So is all nature in love, mortal in folly. 
 
 Shak. As You Like It. 
 
 Mortar, soil beaten up with water, used in building ordinary 
 
 walls, in contradistinction to the mortar mentioned in Todd's 
 
 Johnson, 
 Moss, a boggy place — a morass. Su.-Got. mossa. 
 Moss-TROoPERs, banditti, who inhabited the marshy borders of 
 
 the two kingdoms, and subsisted chiefly by theft and rapine. 
 
 So called from living in mosses, or morasses, and riding in 
 
208 MOST 
 
 troops together. The Merchant Adventurers of Newcastle, by 
 an ancient order of their society, were prohibited from taking 
 apprentices " proceeding from such lewde and wicked proge- 
 nitors." Indeed, the restriction extended to any person born 
 in " Tyndale, Tiddesdale, or such like place ;" the parties 
 there brought up, as the regulation expresses it, " being 
 known either by education or nature not to be of honest con- 
 versation.'* In a list of Border thieves in 1552, the priest 
 and curate of Bewcastle are both included ! Well might 
 Bishop Fox, to whom was committed the whole management 
 of the Scottish Border, fulminate his resentment against those 
 vagrant and dissolute churchmen, who wandered with these 
 lawless hordes from place to place, amidst the wilds of Nor- 
 thumberland—partaking in their plunder, and mingling reliques 
 of barbarism with the rites and sacraments of the Christian 
 Church. See the singularly characteristic portrait which the 
 prelate has drawn of a border priest, in Surtees* History of 
 Dur. Vol. I. p. 166. 
 
 Most. It is not unusual to prefix this superlative degree to the 
 regular superlative form of another word — as, most highest^ 
 most wickedest^ most wisest, most pleasantest, &c. There are 
 examples for it in Shakspeare and his cotemporaries. It was 
 not then esteemed bad grammar. 
 
 MouDY-EAT, MouDY-WARP, MouLEY-RAT, provincial names for a 
 mole. Sax. moldf mould, and weorpan, to cast up. Dan. 
 mulvarp, a mole. Spenser and other old writers use mould- 
 warp. Shakspeare — in allusion to the prophecy which is said 
 to have induced Owen Glendower to rebel against King 
 Henry — causes Hotspur, when taxed by Mortimer with cross- 
 ing his father, thus to exclaim — 
 
 I cannot choose : sometimes he angers me 
 With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant, &c. 
 
 First Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 MouDY-HiLL, MouLEY-RAT-HiLL, the mould throwu up by the 
 mole. The nest of the " little gentleman in velvet" is of a 
 
 i 
 
MUCK 209 
 
 curious construction, and is fully and accurately described by 
 Buffon. 
 
 MouNGE, to grumble lowly, to whine. " What are ye mounging 
 about?'* 
 
 Mount, a large stone hewn into the shape of steps — ^placed at the 
 door of a public-house, to assist persons in mounting their 
 horses. Fr. montoir. In Scotland it is called a louping-on- 
 stane. The Romans had stones for this purpose on the sides 
 of their roads. 
 
 MouT, to moult. Teut. muyten. Mowten is found in Prompt. 
 Parv. with the definition oiplumeo. 
 
 Mow, to converse unlawfully. I believe an old word. See the 
 ancient ballad of " Bonny Dundee, or Jockey's Deliverance." 
 
 Mow, a distorted mouth. Fr. moue, a mouth, a wry face. 
 
 Mow, a stack. " The barley mowP Sax. mowe, acervus. 
 
 Mown, moon. There are many alternations of pronunciation of 
 this sort, in the neighbourhood of Newcastle ; as toon mowr, 
 for town-moor; shout a fool, for shoot a fowl, &c. 
 
 Muck, v. to clear of dung. Swed. mocka, to dung — mocka stal- 
 kty to throw the dung out of a stable. Widegren. — Mucking, 
 s. the clearing away of dung — the cleansing. Swed. mockning, 
 " The mucking of Geordie's byre," the name of a Jacobite 
 song. 
 
 Muck, s. dirt, dung for manure. Sax. meox, fimus. — Muck- 
 midden, a heap of manure, a dunghill. — Mucky, dirty, filthy. 
 Muck, however offensive to those whose affected gentility re- 
 coils at every vulgar phrase, is supported by the authority of 
 several of our best and most accomplished writers. 
 
 MucK-woRM, " a miser, a curmudgeon.'* Todd's Johnson. In 
 the North it also means, an upstart. 
 
 MucKiNGER, a pocket-handkerchief; seemingly mentioned by 
 Arnobius, under the word niuccinium, Fr. mouchoir. Ben 
 Jonson uses muckinder. 
 
 MucKLE, MucKEL, much, large, great. — North, 
 
 He had in arms abroad won muckcl fame. 
 
 S]je7iscr, Faerie Queene. 
 E e 
 
210 MUD 
 
 Mud, a small spike or nail used by cobblers. 
 
 Muddle, to mix confusedly. — Muddled, inebriated — not abso- 
 lutely drunk, nor entirely sober. 
 
 MuFFETTEE, a worstcd covering, or small muff for the wrut. 
 The Scotch have a kind of glove worn by old men, called a 
 viuffitie, from which the term may have been borrowed. 
 
 Mug, a low word for the mouth. A general vulgarism. 
 
 Mug, a pot, an earthen bowl. — Mug-wife, a female dealer in 
 earthen ware. " Mugs and doublers, wives !" — Newc. Cry. 
 
 Mugger, a hawker of pots, an itinerant vender of earthen ware. 
 This trade is carried on to a great extent among the gipsy 
 tribes in the Northern counties. 
 
 Muggy, the white-throat. MotacUla Sylva. Linnaeus. 
 
 Mull, dirt, rubbish, crumbs. Su.-Got. and Swed. viull^ mould, 
 earth. Chaucer uses mullok. The fragments and dust of a 
 stack of peats, are called peat-mt^//; and oaten bread broken 
 into crubs, is called mulled bread. 
 
 Mulligrubs, bad temper, ill hmnour, fancied ailment — any inde- 
 scribable complaint. 
 
 Whither go all these men-menders, these physicians ? 
 Whose dog lies sick o' th' mulligrubs ? 
 
 Beaum. and Flet. Monsieur Thomas. 
 
 Mummer, a person disguised under a mask, a sort of morris 
 dancer; so called from Dan. mumme, or Dut. viomme, mum. 
 The grand scene of the antic diversion of mumming was the 
 Christmas holidays, when the masqueraders vied with each 
 other in the magnificence, or rather the oddity of their dresses. 
 See more on this subject in Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. I., p. 
 354. 
 
 Who lists may in their mumming see 
 
 Traces of ancient mystery; 
 
 White shirts supplied the masquerade. 
 
 And smutted cheeks the visors made ; 
 
 But, O ! what masquers, richly dight. 
 
 Can boast of bosoms half so light. 
 
 ScotVs Mannion. 
 
MUZZ 211 
 
 Mump, to slap — to beat about the mouth. A very low word. 
 The disease called the viumpsj cognate. 
 
 MuN, man — an expletive much used by the vulgar. 
 
 MuN, MuNS, the mouth. Swed. mun. Germ. mund. 
 
 MuN, must. " I mun gan." Isl. mun. Moun occurs in Wic- 
 lifs New Testament, and also in Chaucer. — Munnot, must 
 not. " Thou munnot come." 
 
 Munch, something to eat — a lunch. V. Todd's John, mounch. 
 
 MuRDERiNG-PiE, the great ash-coloured shrike, or butcher-bird. 
 Lanius excuhitor. Linnaeus. This bird has a murdering pro- 
 pensity ; seizing upon other birds, as well as the smaller class 
 of animals, and (as I am informed) strangling many of its little 
 victims before it tastes one of them. We learn from Mr. 
 Selby, an ornithologist of great experience, that after having 
 killed its prey, it transfixes it upon a thorn, and then tears it 
 in pieces with its bill. That attentive observer of the habits 
 and economy of the feathered race, says he had the gratifica- 
 tion of witnessing this operation of the shrike upon a hedge 
 accentor, which it had just killed. V. Illustrations of British 
 Ornithology, p. 141. 
 
 MuRL, to fall in pieces, to waste, to crumble. Welsh, mwrly 
 crumbling. Dut. midlen^ to crumble. — Murlings, crumbs. 
 
 MuRTH, abundance ; as a murth of corn ; a murth of cold. It 
 seems identical with mart, a great quantity ; which Dr. John- 
 son derives from Isl. morgf. 
 
 Mush, the dust, or dusty refuse of any dry substance, any thing 
 decayed or soft. Germ, musy a hashed mixture. 
 
 Mutton, an old term for a courtezan ; still in use. In the Two 
 Gentlemen of Verona (Act I. Sc. 1.), there is some low quib- 
 bling between the meaning of laced mutton and lost mutton. 
 The expression " eat mutton on Friday," in Measure for Mea- 
 sure (Act III. Sc. 2.), has obviously a double allusion — both 
 
 • to breaking the fast and to incontinence. V. Nares' Gloss. 
 
 Muzzy, half stupified, bewildered by a fatal attachment to the 
 hoti\Q— fatigued with liquor^ as a " wet friend** once expressed 
 it. 
 
212 MY-EY 
 
 My-eye, a vulgar interjectional expression of exultation or 
 amazement; commonly associated with Betty Martin — my 
 eye and Betty Martin; which Bowles, in one of his late 
 pamphlets on the Pope controversy, says is from the beginning 
 of an old popular hymn, " Mihi Beate Martine." 
 
 Mysell, myself. An universal corruption among the vulgar. 
 
 N. 
 
 Na, no. — Nat, not. Both pure Saxon. Chaucer has given his 
 Northern Clerks a northern dialect. V. Tyrwhitt's note on 
 verse 4021. 
 
 Nab, Nabb, a protuberance, an elevated point, the rocky sum- 
 mit and outermost verge of a hill. Identical with Knapp; 
 which see. A steep and high precipice at the confluence of 
 the Baulder and the Tees, in the county of Durham, is called 
 the Nabb, There is also Nab-hill, in the same county. 
 
 Nag, to gnaw at any thing hard. Dan. nage. 
 
 Naggy, irritable, contentious, disposed to quarrel. V. Todd's 
 John. 
 
 Naig, a little hack-horse — a nag. Dut. negge. 
 
 Naky-bed, Naked-bed, in puris naticralibus — stark-naked. 
 Nares observes, that down to a certain period, those who 
 were in bed were literally naked, no night linen being worn ; 
 and the curious in old Fabliaux and Romances are aware that 
 in the miniatures which adorn many of the MS. copies, the 
 persons who are represented as in bed, are always naked. 
 Many of the Scotch — thrifty souls — and some of the border- 
 ing English, still continue the custom. 
 
 Nan, what ? what do you say ? — Dur. See Anan. 
 
 Nanny, a designation commonly given to a female of free life 
 and conversation. — Nanny-house, a house of ill-fame. 
 
 Nanterscasb, the same as Anters ; which see. 
 
 Napkin, a pocket handkerchief. Borders of North. This word 
 
NAY-S 213 
 
 is often used by Shakspeare, and by other old writers. Bar- 
 ret, in his Alvearie, has naplchii or handkerchief, wherewith to 
 wipe away the sweat, sudarium; distinguished from a table 
 napkin, mantUe. Dr. Johnson makes the derivation from 
 nap ; oddly favoured, as he says, by Virgil, " Tonsisque ferunt 
 vmntilia villis;'* adding Ital. naperia ; but I have not met 
 with such a word in any dictionary. Nappe^ in French, is a 
 table cloth, and naiprie is, in Scotland, linen for the table. 
 Napkin, therefore, is the same word, with the usual Northern 
 diminutive kin; originally, perhaps, from Germ, kind, a child. 
 The transitions of meaning cannot be better shown than in 
 this word pocket handkerchief, originally coarse cheif head 
 cover. Chaucer uses it coverchief. The same kind of nap- 
 kin, being borne in the hand, became handkerchief; that ap- 
 plied to the neck, neckhandkerchief ; and when worn in the 
 pocket, pocket handkerchief — losing all reference to the head 
 and to the act of covering. 
 
 Nappern, an apron. This pronunciation is conformable to the 
 old orthography. Fr. naperon, a large cloth. 
 
 Narrate, to relate, to tell. Lat. narrare. Not confined to 
 Scotland, as stated by Dr. Johnson. 
 
 Nash, or Naish, tender, weak, fragile, soft. Sax. nesc. 
 
 Nasty, ill-natured, impatient, saucy ; as well as filthy. 
 
 Nation, very, exceedingly. Equivalent to the Scotch prodigious, 
 and to our own bon ton word monstrous. It is an abbreviation 
 of nation. 
 
 Natter, to scold, to speak in a querulous or peevish manner. 
 
 Nattle, or Knattle, to hit one hard substance against another 
 gently and quick, to make a noise like that of a mouse gnaw- 
 ing a board. — Nattling-stones, poUshing stones. 
 
 Nattry, ill-natured, petulant. " A nattry face." Germ, natter^ 
 an adder; as we say waspish. 
 
 Natty, neat, tidy, particular, accurate. Gothic, natid. 
 
 Naup, to beat, to strike. Isl. knefa. See Nevel. 
 
 Nay-say, a refusal, a denial, Holinshed uses nay, v. to refuse. 
 
214 NAY.T 
 
 Nay-then ! an exclamation implying great doubt, or wonder. 
 
 Ne, no, not. Goth, and Sax. ne. Nebody, nobody. 
 
 Neager, Neagre, a term of reproach, equivalent to a base 
 
 wretch ; though often confined to a mean, niggardly person. 
 
 Probably from Fr. negrcy a n^o. 
 Neb, a point, a beak — also the nose, the mouth. Sax. nebbcy 
 
 rostrum, nasus. Isl. -nebbiy nef. Dan. rusb. 
 
 How she holds up the neby the bill to him ! 
 
 Shdk. Winter's Tale. 
 
 Give her a buss — see how she cocks her neb. — Netuc. 
 
 Neck-about, a woman's neck-handkerchief — a neckatee. 
 
 Neck-verse, a cant term formerly used by marauders on the 
 borders — adopted from the verse read by a criminal claiming 
 the benefit of clergy, so as to save his neck. 
 
 Ned-cake, or Kneed-cake, a rich cake baked on a girdle. 
 
 Neddy, Netty, a certain place that will not bear a written ex- 
 planation ; but which is depicted to the very life in a tail-piece 
 in the first edition of Bewick's Land Birds, p. 285. In the 
 second edition a bar is placed against the offending part of 
 this broad display of native humour. Etymon needy y a place 
 of need or necessity. 
 
 Need-fire, an ignition produced by the friction of two pieces of 
 dried wood. The vulgar opinion is that an Angel strikes a 
 tree, and that the fire is thereby obtained. Need-fire, I am 
 told, is still employed in the case of cattle infected with the 
 murrain. They were formerly driven through the smoke of a 
 fire made of straw, &c. It was then thought wicked to neg- 
 lect smoking them. Sax. nydy force, and fyry fire ; that is, 
 forcedfire. 
 
 Needler, a keen, active, thrifty person— a niggard. 
 
 Neer-dee-weel, Ne'er do-weel, a graceless person — one who 
 seems v^ver to do well. 
 
 That poor silly Jeezabel, our Queen Mary, married that 
 
NEXT 215 
 
 lang-legged ne^er-do-weel, Darnley, in the month of May, and 
 ever sin syne the Scots folks have regarded it as no canny. 
 
 Reginald Dalton. 
 
 The superstition against marrying in May is, however, of far 
 
 greater antiquity than the time here assigned to it. V. Jam. 
 
 Supp. buckle. 
 Neese, Neeze, to sneese. Sax. neisan. Germ, niesen. 
 Neest, Niest, Nest, next. Sax. nehst. 
 Neet, the Northern word for night. " Good neet^ hmny^"* 
 Neif, the fist. Isl. hnefi. Su.-Got. kncefve, Dan. ruBve. Swed. 
 
 nafve. A good old Shakspearian word. Archdeacon Nares' 
 
 display of authorities was unnecessary ; the word being still in 
 
 general use in all the Northern counties. — Double-neif, the 
 
 clenched fist. 
 Neif-full, a handful. Swed. en nafve full. 
 Nelson's-bullets, small confections in the shape of balls. In 
 
 commemoration of our naval hero. See Gibraltar-rock. 
 Nenst, Nents, towards, against. " The cash was paid nenst his 
 
 year's rent."^ 
 Nerled, ill-treated, pinched : often applied to a person under the 
 
 unnatural conduct of a step-mother. Germ, hnurreuy to snarl ; 
 
 or knorren, a knot in wood — cross-grained. 
 Nestling, the smallest bird in the nest, the weakest of the brood. 
 
 Sax. nestling. Something like the Dowpy. 
 Nether, lower. Sax. neother. — Nether-lip, the under lip. 
 
 That thou art my son, I have partly thy mother's word, 
 partly my own opinion ; but chiefly a villainous trick of thine 
 eye, and a foolish hanging of the nether lip, that doth warrant 
 me. — Shak. First Part of Henry IV. 
 
 Nether-stocks, stockings, or under stocks. The term is used 
 by Shakspeare in King Lear, and also in Henry IV. 
 
 Nettled, provoked, irritated — as if stung by a nettle. To water 
 a nettle, in a peculiar way, has been said proverbially to cause 
 peevish and fretful humour. See the proverb, in homely 
 English, in Howell. 
 
216 NEUC 
 
 Neuck, Nuik, a corner, or nook. Gael. niuc. Sc. neuk. 
 Nevel, to beat violently with the fists, or neives. See Neip. 
 
 She'l nawpe and nei'el them without a cause, 
 
 She'l macke thera late their teeth naunt in their hawse. 
 
 Yorlcshire Dialogue^ p. C8. 
 
 Kewcal-cow, Newcald-cow, a cow newly calved. 
 
 Newcastle Hospitality, roasting your friend to death. 
 
 Ni ! Ni ! a common exclamation in Newcastle. It seems a di- 
 minutive of nice J nice; as spoken by cliildren. " A^.' Ni! 
 what bonny buttons !" 
 
 Nice, good, pleasant, agreeable, handsome. " A nice man" — " a 
 very nice woman." — Nicely, very well, in good health. 
 
 Nick, v. to delude by stratagem, to deceive. — Nick, 5. a wink. 
 Germ, nicken, to wink — to tip the wink. 
 
 NiCK-STicK, a tally, or notched stick, by which accounts are kept 
 after the ancient method. This simple mode of reckoning 
 seems to have been the only one known to the Northern 
 nations. Olaus Wormius gives us a representation of the tal- 
 lies used by the ancient Danes, of which each party kept one. 
 School-boys keep a nick-stick, with notches correspondent to 
 the number of days preceding the vacation, from which with 
 delight they cut daily one nick, up to the " very nick of time" 
 for dulce domum. When a married female, in a certain inte- 
 resting situation, exceeds her calculation, she is said, among the 
 vulgar, to have lost her nick-stick. 
 
 Nicker, to neigh, to laugh in a loud ridiculous manner. Sax. 
 gncBgan, Sc. neicher, " What are you nickering at ?" 
 
 Nicker and Sneer, a loud vulgar laugh — apparently borrowed 
 from the neighing and snorting of a horse. 
 
 NiDDERED, starved with cold, hungered. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Niff-naffs, trifles, things of little value. Germ, nichts, nothing, 
 and nachsty next — next to nothing. Hence nick-nacks, trifles. 
 
 NiFFY-NAFFY, a term for an insignificant or conceited person — 
 one whose attention is chiefly devoted to trifles. 
 
 NiFFLB, to steal, to plunder. Perhaps by a metathesis from rijie. 
 
NODG m7 
 
 More probably, a late ingenious friend thought, from neif, to 
 lay hands on. Shakspeare makes a verb of^*^, to seize. 
 
 Nigh, to approach, to touch. Sax. nehwan, appropinquare. — 
 Nigh-hand, hard by. — Nighest-about, the nearest way. 
 
 Night-courtship, a rustic mode of wooing ; fully described in 
 Anderson's Remarks on the Manners and Customs of the 
 Cumberland Peasantry. It is common, also, among the lower 
 classes in Northumberland. 
 
 NiM, to walk with short quick steps. Also to take up hastily, 
 to steal privately. In the latter sense the word may be deriv- 
 ed from Sax. nivian, to take. Germ, nehmen. 
 
 Nine-trades, nine trading companies in Newcastle — three of 
 wood — three of thread — and three of leather. " The meeting 
 of the nine trades'' V. Letters of Tim. Tunbelly, p. 67. 
 
 Nip-cheese, a contemptuous designation for a parsimonious, 
 covetous person. — Nip-screed is identical. 
 
 Nip-up, to wipe up, to move quickly, to pilfer. Swed. Icnipay to 
 pinch, to squeeze. 
 
 Nipping, pinching; such as is produced by frost or cold. 
 
 It is a nvpping and an eager air.— 5%flfc. HamJet, 
 
 Nithing, much valuing, sparing of; as, nitking of his pains. 
 Ray. Probably from Germ, neiden, to grudge. 
 
 NiTLE, Nittle, handy, neat, handsome. Sax. nytlic^ utilis. 
 
 NivvER, the common pronunciation of never. " To-morrow 
 come nivver — when two Sundays meet together." 
 
 Nob, the head. Used ludicrously. It is the same word as 
 knoby any round protuberance. An officer, whose duty it is to 
 coerce unruly children in church during the time of divine 
 service, is, in some places, called the knochnobber ; that is, the 
 man who strikes the head. 
 
 NoBBUT, only — a compound o£but and the negation not. " Nob- 
 but let me go." See Tooke's definition of buty Vol. I., p. 202 
 & seq. 
 
 Noddle, a burlesque name for the nose — also the head. 
 
 Nodge, or NuDGE, to push, to jog. Teut. knudsen, to knock. 
 
 Ff 
 
218 NO-FA 
 
 No-far, near — not far, A common North country phrase. 
 
 Noodle, a fool. Sax. nih dot, nearly stupid. The term is often 
 used in Newcastle — sometimes ungallantly. V. Mackenzie's 
 Hist, of Newc. p. 84. 
 
 NooLED, checked, curbed, broken spirited. Properly nulled, for 
 annulled or nullified. Lat. mdlus. 
 
 Nor, for than. This transposition — so common among the vul- 
 gar — is occasionally used by people in Newcastle, in a sphere 
 beyond the " mere ignoble." Gael. na. 
 
 NoRATioN, narrative, speech — oration, " But aw whupt maw 
 foot on his noration.''* — Song, Canny Newcassel. 
 
 NoRRiD, northward. " Several Greenlandmen passed norrid.** 
 
 NosE-ON-THE-GRiNDSTONE, a simile for the fate of an improvident 
 person. See an illustration in Bewick's iEsop, p. 128. Mr. 
 Hunter informs me, that in Hallamshire nose to the grindstone 
 is differently used ; being said of those who are deeply hum- 
 bled by an adversary. 
 
 NosE-wisE, pryingly acute. Germ, nase-weis, self-witted, pre- 
 sumptuous, inquisitive. Dan. ncesviis, impertinent, insolent. 
 Swed. nasvisy saucy, pert. 
 
 Note, to push or strike — to gore with the horns, as a bull or 
 ram. Isl. hniota, ferire. Sax. hnitan. V. Somner. 
 
 NoTTAftiY, a meagre person — a skeleton. Shakspeare's hostess, 
 among many other strange words, uses atomy, in the former 
 sense. 
 
 Nous, Nouse, judgment, understanding, sense. Gr. yovg. 
 
 NouT, or NoLT, neaty or horned cattle of the ox species. Isl. 
 nauty bos. Old Eng. nowt. The nolt market, the ancient 
 name of a street in Newcastle — the cattle market. — Nout-feet, 
 cow heel. — Noutherd, a neatherd. 
 
 NouT-GELD, Neat-geld, cornage rent, originally paid in cattle — 
 a horn tax. Cornage seems to have been peculiar to the bor- 
 der service against the Scots. The tenants holding under it 
 were bound to be ready to serve their prince and the lord of the 
 manor, on horseback or on foot, at their own costs and 
 charges; and, being best acquainted with the passes and 
 
I 
 
 N'YEM 219 
 
 defiles of the country, had the honour of marching in the van- 
 guard, when the king's army passed into Scotland. This 
 species of corn age is different from that mentioned in Little- 
 ton's Tenures, chap. Grand Serjeantry. Sir Edward Coke, 
 it would seem, too, misunderstood its nature. V. Nicolson 
 and Burn's Hist, of West, and Cumb. Vol, I., p. 16 & seq. 
 
 NouTH, the north. — Noutherly, northerly. " Past two o'clock, 
 and a frosty mornin — wind's noutherly. ^^ 
 
 NouTHER, NowTHER, neither. Sax. nouther^ nowther, neque. 
 
 NowsE, nothing. Sax. naht, nihil. Germ, nichts. 
 
 As to that pedant, Mr. Hall, 
 
 By Jove — I'll give him nowse at all. 
 
 The Vicar's Will. 
 
 Nov, to vex, to trouble — to annoy. Not now in use, Dr. John- 
 son says. As a Northern word it is quite common. 
 
 NuENTY, NuNTY, mean, shabby, scrimp, scant}'. 
 
 NuT-CRACK-NiGHT, All Hallows Evc. This was formerly a 
 night of much rejoicing, and of the most mysterious rites and 
 ceremonies. It is still customary to crack nuts in large quan- 
 tities. They are also thrown in pairs into the fire, as a love 
 divination, by young people in Northumberland, anxious to 
 obtain an insight into their future lot in the connubial state. 
 
 • If the nuts lie still and burn together, it is said to prognosti- 
 cate a happy marriage, or at least a hopeful love j if, on the 
 contrary, they bounce and fly asunder, the sign is considered 
 unpropitious to matrimony. Burning the nuts is also a 
 famous charm in Scotland. See Burns' poem of Halloween^ 
 and the curious notes explanatory of the charms and spells of 
 this evening, which were in a great degree common to both 
 countries, and yet form a portion of the popular creed in the 
 North of England. 
 
 NuTMUG, a nutmeg. Our old word was notemuge. 
 
 N'yem, name. " Aw divvent ken his n'yetn.'"— Broad Neivc. 
 
220 
 
 O. This letter is often used for a, in our Northern pronuncia- 
 tion ; as moTiy for man ; hondj for hand ; low, for law, &c. 
 
 Oaf, a fool, a blockhead, an idiot. V. Todd's John, and Wilb. 
 
 Obstropolous, vociferous, turbulent — obstreperous. This word 
 occurs in Benwell Village, a local burlesque poem, of some 
 rarity. 
 
 Cease such obstrop'lous roar. 
 
 Oddments, scraps, things of little value, odd trifles. 
 
 Odds-bobs, a vulgar exclamation of surprise, originating in the 
 avoiding of an oath. 
 
 Odds-fish ! an interjection — a moderated diminutive of a worse 
 term. Our renowned Maiden Queen, whose oaths were 
 neither diminutive nor rare, used plainer language. 
 
 She grew ynto a grate rage, begynnynge with Gods Wonda^ 
 that she wolde set you by the feete, and send another yn your 
 place, if you dalyed with her thus. 
 
 Letter from Sir Robert Carey to Lord Hunsdotu 
 
 Odds-heft, a common palliative adjuration. 
 
 Odd-white-te, an equivocal malediction very frequent in the 
 North. It may be remarked, as a trait of manners, that the 
 common people are much in the habit of using tempered oaths 
 or asseverations as substitutes for others of a more gross sort. 
 
 Offens, Oftens, the plural of often — a very common provmcial 
 peculiarity. There is, throughout the North, a similar pecu- 
 liarity in the use of the word objection, which, for all ordinary 
 purposes, good usage confines to the singular, while the com- 
 mon people on every occasion say, they have " no objections** 
 — Oftish, Oftenish, very often. 
 
 Oii^of-hazel, a sound drubbing. A piece of waggery is some- 
 times practised by mischievous urchins in Newcastle, on raw 
 inexperienced lads from the country— in sending them to a 
 
ONNY 2^1 
 
 chemist's shop for a " pen^orth of oU-of-hazeW An earnest 
 application of a good thick hazel stick is often the result. 
 Sending for pigeorCs milk is a similar joke of old standing. 
 
 Old, great, pre-eminent — such as was practised in the " olden 
 time." — OLD-DOiiNGs, great sport, extra feasting — an uncom- 
 mon display of hospitality, as in days of yore. 
 
 Old-bendy, one of the many ludicrous names given to the Devil 
 — possibly from his supposed circuitous mode of proceeding. 
 Another of his popular names is Au'd-hooky — of apphcation 
 equally obvious. Old-harry, and Old-scratch, are also 
 designations appropriated to the arch-fiend by the vulgar in 
 the North. But the most common of all the synonymes that 
 
 • have been coined for this great adversary of mankind is Auld- 
 NiCK. The Danes and Germans, according to the Northern 
 mythology of elder times, worshipped Nocka or NickeUy a 
 deity of the waters, represented as of a hideous shape, and of 
 diabolical principles; from which, no doubt, the term auld- 
 nick has been derived. 
 
 Old-peg, or more frequently, Au'dtPEG, or Auld-peg, an infe- 
 rior sort of cheese, made of skimmed milk. It is also called, 
 not inaptly, leather hungry. In Suffolk it is bang ; which poor 
 Bloomfield described as 
 
 Too large to swallow and too hard to bite. 
 
 Farmer'' s Boy. 
 
 Old-shoe. The ancient custom of throwing an old shoe after a 
 person for luck, is not yet disused in the North. In the case 
 of marriages, it is often practised ; even among some of the 
 great. See on this subject. Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II. p. 
 490 ; and Nares' Gloss. " As easy as an old shoe." Nor- 
 thern Aphorism. 
 
 Omy, mellow; generally spoken of land. V. Jam. oam. 
 
 Ongoings, conduct, doings, merriment — goings on. 
 
 Onny, any. — Onny-bit-like, tolerable, decent, likely. — Onny- 
 way-for-a-little-apple, easily persuaded — probably fi-om the 
 credulity of mother Eve. 
 
222 ONSE 
 
 Onset, a dwelling-house and out-buildings. Sax. on-sittungy ha- 
 bitatio : unde onset apud Northymbros, teste Nicholsono, man- 
 sum, toftum, tuguriuni, significans. Lye. 
 
 Onsetten, dwarfish, curbed in growth— applied as a term of de- 
 rision. Teut. ont-setten, male disponere. 
 
 Onstead, the buildings on a farm — a station or stai/ near the 
 house for cattle or stacks. Sax. on, and sted, locus. 
 
 Oo, often pronounced ui; as book — buik; look — luifc; &c. 
 Dur. and North. In York, it is made into a sort of dissylla- 
 ble by adding i; thus, fool— /oo-i/; school — schoo-il; &c. 
 
 OoL, Oavl, wool. Had the learned author of the Commenta- 
 ries on the Laws of England been acquainted with this pro- 
 nunciation, he need not have gone so far to seek the meaning 
 of what he calls owling. V. Blackstone, Vol. IV., p. 154. 
 
 Orndorns, " afternoon's drinkings, corrupted from onederins.** 
 Ray; who gives it as a Cumb. word. Ownder is used in 
 some parts of the North, for the afternoon ; and may be the 
 same word as Chaucer's undern. In a list of words commu- 
 nicated to me by a friend, a native of Cumberland, I find orn- 
 dinner, for afternoon's luncheon. 
 
 Osken, an oxgang of land — ^varying in quantity in different town- 
 ships, according to the extent of ground, and the number of 
 oxgangs contained in the respective aggregates. In our old 
 laws it meant as much as an ox-team could plough in a year. 
 
 Osthouse, or Hosthouse, a public house or place to which 
 farmers or strangers resort on a market day. Sax. gest-hus. 
 V. Somner. 
 
 Othergaits, Othergates» otherwise, different. Goth, odru- 
 gatas. 
 
 If Sir Toby had not been in drink, he would have tickled 
 you othergates than he did. — Sfiak. Twelfth Night. 
 
 OuMER, the shade. Fr. ombre. Lat. umhra. 
 
 .Ousen, or OwsEN, oxen. Moe.-Got. avJisne. Sc. ousen. 
 
 He has gowd in his coffers, he has ousen and kine. 
 And ae bonie lassie, his darling and mine — Burns* 
 
OWSE 223 
 
 OuT-BY, a short way from home, not far distant. 
 
 Out-fall, a quarrel, a misunderstanding — a falling-out. Swed. 
 utfally a hostile excursion. 
 
 Outing, an airing, going from home. Swed. uttaeg, an expedi- 
 tion abroad. The word is also used for an entertainment or 
 
 . supper given by an apprentice to his shopmates, on the expi- 
 ration of his servitude j called likewise a yoy. 
 
 Outlay, expenditure. Dr. Jamieson refers to Swed. utlagga, to 
 expend; whence utlaga, tax; utlagor, expenditure. This 
 word surely ought to be in our National Dictionary. 
 
 OuTLER, an animal not housed — an outlier. As applied to per- 
 sons, outlier is classical. 
 
 OuTRAKE, a free passage for sheep from inclosed pastures into 
 open grounds or common lands. Sax. ut-rcecan, extendere. 
 Dr. Willan, however, thinks that, in writing the word out-track, 
 we should perhaps exhibit the right mode of speUing, as well 
 as the derivation of it. 
 
 OuTSHOT, a projection of the upper stories of an old house. 
 There used to be several of these outshots in Newcastle, though 
 few now remain. Swed. utskiutande. 
 
 OuTWALE, refuse — that which is waled out, or rejected. See 
 "Wale. Isl. utvel, eligere, seems cognate. 
 
 Owe, to belong to— to own. An old sense of the word. 
 " Whose owe that?" — to whom does it belong? Who does 
 own it ? 
 
 Ower, over. " Ower little." — Ovver, too. " Ower large." 
 Also, as applied to situation, upper, higher. — Out-ower, 
 across, beyond. — Ower-by, over the way. — Owerfornenst, 
 opposite to. — Dur. and North. 
 
 OwER-iT, Over-it, v. to recover from an illness. " Poor thing, 
 I'm sadly afraid she'll never ower it.^* 
 
 Owermickle, Overmickle, over much. Sax. ofer-micel. 
 
 Owerwelt, applied to a sheep incapable of rising from its supine 
 state. — York. It seems synonymous with Auvvards ; which 
 see. 
 
 OwsE, any thing; the contrary to Nowse. " Owse or nowse." 
 
224 OWT 
 
 * 
 
 OwT, Ought, any thing. Sax. owh'Ut aliquid, quicquid. 
 
 OwTHER, either. An old word, " Owther of us." 
 
 Ox-eve, the greater titmouse. Parus major. — Linnaeus. 
 
 OxLiP, the greater cowslip. Primula elatior. Sax. oxan-slippa. 
 In the Midsummer Night's Dream, the place of Titania's re- 
 pose is 
 
 A bank where the wild thyme blows. 
 Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows. 
 
 OxTAR, Oxter, the arm pit. Sax. oxtan. Pegge, however, 
 thinks it should perhaps be written Hockster, quasi the hock 
 of the arm, or the lesser hock. 
 
 Oye, a grandchild. V. Jamieson, oe ; Gael. Diet, oige ; and 
 Brand's Pop. Ant. Vol. II., p. 230. 
 
 Oysters. Ee-shee-ke-le-kaul-er-oysteers, the famous cry of 
 the elder oyster-wenches, in Newcastle ; but now rarely carried 
 to this musical extent. Bewick has figured two of these 
 dames in a tail-piece to his Land Birds, edit. 1821, p. 20. 
 
 P. 
 
 Pack, the warehouse of a pedlar. " Perish the Pack" was a 
 well-known character in Newcastle, a few years ago. 
 
 Packing-penny-day, the last day of the fair; when all the cheep 
 bargains are to be had. — Newc, 
 
 Packman, a pedlar — a man who carries a pack on his back. 
 Many persons in Newcastle, now enjoying otium cum dignitate, 
 are lineally descended from packmen — of whose country we 
 know nothing — through no very remote genealogy. Many of 
 the Scots pedlars, too, have arrived at the highest civic ho- 
 nours. 
 
 Paddick, or Paddock, a frog. Never applied to a toad; 
 though the etymology favours that meaning. Sax. padj Swed. 
 pada, Dut. padde, a toad. 
 
PANG 225 
 
 PaddockeSf todes, and water-snakes. 
 
 Chapman^ Caesar and Pompey. 
 
 As ask, or eddyre, tade, or pade. 
 
 IVyntownis Cronyldl. 
 
 Paddock, a small field or park adjoining to, or surrounding a 
 house. Sax. pearrocy pearruc. In Westmorland, parrucky 
 evidently the proper word, is a common name for an inclosure 
 near a farm house. So in Northumberland, parrick is still 
 used for a place made with rails and straw, to shelter lands in 
 bad weather. 
 
 Paddock-stool, or Paddock-stuil, a fungus often mistaken for 
 a mushroom. Teut. padden-stoel, boletus. 
 
 Pad-the-hoof, to walk — to pad, or travel on foot. 
 
 Paffling, silly, trifling, loitering. " A paffling fellow." 
 
 Paik, to beat, to chastise. Germ, pauken. — Pairs, a beating, a 
 drubbing, a chastisement. V. Jam. and Peg infra. 
 
 Painches, the common name for tripe. From paunch. — Painch- 
 wiFE, a tripe woman. — Newc. 
 
 Palms, the flowers or buds of the sallow tree. See Saugh. 
 
 Palterley, Palterey, common pronunciations of paltry. 
 
 Pan, to match, to agree, to assimilate. Dr. Willan seems to 
 think that this word must be borrowed from cookery: — the 
 author of the Crav. Gloss, from Sax. pan^ a piece of cloth 
 inserted or agreeing with another. But see Todd's John. 
 pan; and Kennett's Gloss, impanalare. In Hallarnshire, to 
 pan to, is to apply closely. 
 
 Pancake-Tuesday ; Shrove Tuesday ; on which day it is a ge- 
 neral custom in the North to have pancakes served up. The 
 turning of them in the pan is observed as a feat of dexterity 
 and skill. Formerly, in Newcastle, the great bell of St. 
 Nicholas' church was tolled at twelve o'clock at noon ; when 
 the shops and offices were immediately closed, and a little 
 carnival ensued for the remainder of the day, which is still a 
 sort of holiday for children, apprentices, and servants. 
 
 Pang, to fill, to stuff. Teut. hanghen, preraere. — Pang-full, or 
 
«^6 PANT 
 
 Bang-full {p and b being often interchanged), crammed with 
 food. 
 
 Pant, a public fountain. In Newcastle it is of a particular con- 
 struction, having a reservoir before it for retaining the water. 
 According to Skinner, pond was anciently pronounced pand, 
 which may be derived from Sax. pi/ndan, to inclose or shut up, 
 and which might easily get changed to pant. See a represen- 
 tation of a North country pant, in Bewick's ^sop. p. 334. 
 
 Parcy-and, or And-parcy, the sign or contraction 4". It is and 
 per se ; that is, expressed by itself in one character. In the 
 old dames' schools the children used to make it a twenty- 
 seventh letter — " x, y, z, and parcy^* 
 
 Parfit, perfect, entire. Fr. parfait. Used by Chaucer. 
 
 Parget, to plaster chimnies with a mixture of cow-dung, &c. ; 
 formerly the common term for plastering the roofs of rooms. 
 V. Nares. Pargiter still remains as a surname in the midland 
 counties. 
 
 Parlish, perilous, dangerous, wonderful — also acute, clever, 
 shrewd. Parlous is an old word ; still in use. 
 
 A parlous boy ! — go to, you are too shrewd. 
 
 Sliak. King Richard III. 
 
 Parrished, perishedy starved, much affected by cold. — Parrish- 
 MENT, a state of starvation. " A parrishmcnt o' caud^ 
 
 Pase, or Paze, v. to raise, to lift up, to break or open with vio- 
 lence. Fr. pesery to weigh. — Pase, or Paze, s. a lever. 
 
 Pash, v. to bruise, to crush, to dash in pieces. Su.-Got. basa. 
 This old word occurs in a sublime passage in the first of our 
 English satirists — 
 
 Deth cam drevend after, and al to dust paViste 
 Kynges and knyghtes, caysers and popes : 
 leered ne lewide, he lefte no man stand 
 That he hitte evene stered nevere after. 
 
 Peirs Ploughman's Visions^ edit, WhitdkeVf p. 397. 
 
 Pash, *. any thing decayed. " As rotten as pasV^ 
 Pash, a heavy fall of rain or snow. Dut. plas^ puddle ? 
 
PEA-S 227 
 
 Pastbeggs, eggs boiled hard, and dyed or stained various co- 
 lours — given to children about the time of Easter ; anciently 
 called paschj from Sax. pasche. The custom of presenting 
 eggs at this season of the year is of great antiquity, and per- 
 vaded various nations. Su.-Got. p&slc-egg. V. Ihre, vo. egg. 
 Dan. paashe-cegi coloured Easter eggs. Much curious matter 
 relative to this subject is collected in Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. 
 I., Easter-eggs. 
 
 Paste-egg-day, the common appellation of Easter Sunday, 
 
 Pate, a Northern name for a brock or badger. V. Ray. 
 
 Pauky, saucy, squeamish, scrupulously nice — also proud, inso- 
 lent, cunning, artful. Q. ^ax, paean, mentiri? 
 
 Paul, to puzzle, to'put to a stand. Perhaps from appal. 
 
 Paut, v. to paw, to walk heavily, to kick. — Paut, s. a stroke 
 on the ground with the foot. Tent, pad, planta pedis. 
 
 Paw, the hand. Adopted from t\ie paw of an animal. 
 
 Pawp, v. to walk in an awkward, clumsy manner. — Pawp, s. the 
 foot — particularly a clumsy one. 
 
 Pay, to beat, to drub. " The rascal pays his wife." Welsh, 
 pwyaw, to beat, to batter. — Pays, a beating, a drubbing. 
 
 Two, I am sure, I have paid. 
 
 Shdk. First Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 Pea-jacket, a loose rough jacket, or short covering, with conical 
 buttons of a small size, termed ^ea-buttons ; much used in 
 severe weather by mariners, and by watermen on the Tyne. 
 It was formerly the holiday outer-dress of the keelmen. 
 
 Peas-straw, a rustic love charm. A Cumbrian girl, when her 
 lover proves unfaithful to her, is, by way of consolation, rub- 
 bed with peas-straw by the neighbouring lads; and when a 
 Cumbrian youth loses his sweetheart, by her marriage with a 
 rival, the same sort of comfort is administered to him by the 
 lasses of the village. — Note, in Anderson^ s Ballads. 
 
 Peas-straw, the final dance at a rustic party ; something similar 
 to the ancient cushion dance at weddings, 
 
 Pea-swad, a peascod. Sc. pea-swab, or swaup. See Swad. 
 
2«8 PEDD 
 
 Gay describes a rustic method of love divination with peas- 
 cods. 
 
 Pedder, Pether, or Pethur, a pedlar — a travelling merchant 
 on foot — he that paddeth. See Tooke on path. Fr. pied 
 allery to go on foot. 
 
 Pee, to squint, to spy with one eye — to look through contracted 
 eye-lids. — Peed, blind of an eye. There is a ludicrous anec- 
 dote of " Peed Dalton of Shap," in Nicolson and Burn's 
 Hist, of West, and Cumb. Vol. I., p. 537. 
 
 Pee-dee, a young lad in a keel, who has charge of the rudder. 
 In other respects, something similar to the cabin-boy of a ship. 
 Gr. TTxi^i, has been communicated to the author as the deriva- 
 tion ; and Fr. petity has been suggested as allied. But there 
 is an old French word pedisseque, defined by Boquefort, 
 " valet, laquais qui va k pied," which seems to be the most 
 probable etymon. 
 
 Peel, a place of strength — a fortress or castlelet; contrived 
 equally for the protection of cattle beneath as of a family 
 above, and calculated to prevent a sudden surprise. Sax. pil, 
 moles. Lat. pela, pelum, a pile or fortress. The word occurs 
 in several ancient charters in Rymer's Fcedera. Peels were 
 numerous in the Border districts of the North, in times when 
 family feuds and Scotch maraudings rendered ordinary dwell- 
 ings insecure against predatory attacks. After the union of 
 the Crowns, many of these Peels had modern mansions added 
 to them, and the old towers were gradually suffered to fall 
 into decay. 
 
 Invidious rust corrodes the bloody steel ; 
 
 Dark and dismantled lies each ancient peel ; 
 
 Afar, at twilight gray, the peasants shun, 
 
 Th(e dome accurst, where deeds of blood were done. 
 
 Leyden. 
 
 Peels, properly signify Gothic strong-holds, the defences of 
 which are of earth mixed with timber, strengthened with piles 
 or palisades, such as were common on the Continelit at a very 
 
PEN Z29 
 
 early period. They are described by Caesar as the fortresses 
 of the Britons. 
 Peeling, a paring. " An apple peeling" — " A potatoe peeling" 
 Peenging, uttering feeble, frequent, and somewhat peevish com- 
 plaints. " A peenging bairn" — a whining, fretful child. Teut. 
 pynighen, affligere. 
 Pee-wit, Peez-weep, the lapwing, or bastard plover ; so called 
 from its note. Tringa vanellus. Lin. Teut. piewit. The 
 common people in the North Riding of Yorkshire believe that 
 at one period the cushat, or ringdove, laid its eggs upon the 
 ground, and that the peewit e contra made its nest on high. 
 They further believe that an amicable exchange took place be- 
 tween the two birds, and that at the present day they respect- 
 ively sing out their feelings upon the subject. The peewit 
 sings, 
 
 Pee-wit, pee-wit, 
 
 I coup'd my nest and I rue it 
 
 The cushat's note implies. 
 
 Coo, coo, come now. 
 
 Little lad with thy gad, * 
 
 Come not thou. 
 
 Pee-wit-land, poor land which the pee-wit haunts. 
 
 Peff, to cough short and faintly; as sheep. Grose. See 
 
 Peigh. 
 Peg, v. to beat with sharp knuckles. Isl. piaka, tundere. — Peg, 
 
 s. a blow or thump. Peg is also used for a tooth ; particularly 
 
 applied to those of little children. There is 2i peg-top (a toy 
 
 used by boys) that spins on a foot resembling a tooth. 
 Peg, a diminutive of Margaret ; properly a little girl. Sax. piga. 
 
 Dan. pige. Swed. piga. 
 Peigh, to pant, to draw the breath short as in an asthma. Isl. 
 
 pua, aspirare. Swed. picka, to pant. 
 Pelch, weak, faint, indisposed, exhausted. 
 Pen, the old, though now vulgar, name for a feather. Old Fr. 
 
 penne. 
 
f3a PENN 
 
 Penny-stane, a stone quoit with which children play. 
 
 Perry, a heavy shower of rain — a pour or stream. 
 
 Pet, a domesticated lamb — a spoiled, pampered child — a fond* 
 ling designation for a female favourite. Several of our old 
 play writers use peat, in the latter sense. 
 
 Peter-waggy, the Northern name for a Harlequin toy. 
 
 Peth, a road up a steep hill. Sax. pcBth, semita, callis. Seve- 
 ral places in Northumberland and Durham have this appellation. 
 
 Petted, fondled, indulged. " What a petted child it is." 
 
 Peust, snug, comfortable, in easy circumstances. Sc. puist. 
 
 PiANET, Pyanot, Py'net, a magpie. Welsh, pioden. In the 
 rustic creed the magpie is considered a bird of bad or good 
 omen; and various events are predicted from the numbers 
 seen together. Two, say the common people in Durham, 
 foretell good luck ; three marriage ; and four death ! In 
 Northumberland the following popular rhyme is repeated con- 
 cerning the character of the omen : 
 
 One is sorrow, two mirth, 
 Three a wedding, four a birth. 
 
 Pick, v. to pitch; to throw. Su.-Got. picka, minutis ictibus 
 tundere. 
 
 I'd make a quarry 
 With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high 
 As I could j)ick my lance. — S/iak. Coriolamis. 
 
 Pick, s. pitch. Sax. pic, Dut. pik. " Pyhhe, pix." Prompt. 
 Parv. From an old entry in Darlington parish books, it ap- 
 pears that " Bess Johnson used a pound ol pick in effecting a 
 cure of Ann Spence's scald head." 
 
 PiCKATREE, the woodpecker. This sprightly bird is remarkable 
 for its curious dwelling, picked in the solid tree, with the most 
 consummate art. 
 
 PiCK-FORK, a hay-fork with two prongs — a pitch-fork, 
 
 PiCKLE, a small quantity, a little. Ital. piccolo. 
 
 PiCK-NiGHT, dismal — as dark as pick, or pitch. Shnkspeare and 
 later writers use pitchy, in the same sense. 
 
 i 
 
PINK 231 
 
 Then aw met yor Ben, an' we were like to fight ; 
 An' when we cam to Sandgate it was pick-night. 
 
 Song, Maw Canny Hinny. 
 
 Picks, the suit of diamonds at cards. Grose erroneously says 
 spades; which is a Scotch term, adopted from the French 
 pique, as marked on foreign cards. Brand pretends to seek a 
 derivation in the resemblance which the diamond bears to a 
 mill-pick, as fusils are sometimes called in Heraldry. Mr. 
 Hunter informs me, that when people have burnt their shins 
 by sitting before a hot fire, they will say " my legs are all over 
 
 . picks and hearts ; that is, in red blotches. 
 
 Piece, a little while. " Stay apiece.^* Ita\. pezzo. 
 
 PiFLE, to filch, to steal — to pilfer ; from which it is derived. 
 
 PiGGiN, a small wooden cylindrical vessel, made with staves and 
 bound with hoops like a pail. In common use on the borders 
 of Northumberland j especially for hasty-pudding. 
 
 PiGTREE, PiGCREE, Or PiGERY, a pig-Sty. 
 
 Pike, v. to select, to chuse, to pick. From Dut. picJcen. 
 
 Pike, s. the top or apex of a hill or eminence ; such as Pontop- 
 pike, in the county of Durham ; Glanton-pike, Northumber- 
 land. Sax. peac. Fr. pic. Sp. pico. 
 
 Pike, s. a large cock or pile of hay. See Hay-making. 
 
 Pikelet, a small round light cake — a sort of muffin. 
 
 PiN-coDD, or Prin-codd, a pin-cushion. Sc. preen-cod. 
 
 PiNCH-GUT, a penurious person — a covetous, miserable wretch — 
 quasi pinched. 
 
 Pinging, making one feel ; as from cold — pinching. . " A ping- 
 ing day" — an extremely cold day. 
 
 PiNGLE, to work assiduously but inefficiently — to labour until 
 you are almost blind. Germ, peinigen, to pain, to harass. 
 
 Pink, v. to look slyly at — to look with the eye half open. 
 
 Pink, a. small. — Pinky, very small. Dut. pinkje.. — Pinky- 
 wiNKY, the smallest imaginable. " You're all pinky-winky, 
 and ready for nebby'^ — said to children who sit up until they 
 are half asleep. Neb is a pure word for bill, and the figure is 
 a bird putting its head under its wing. 
 
S»' PIN.P 
 
 PiN-PANNiKRLY-FELLOw, a miserable, covetous, suspicious fellow, 
 one who pins up or fastens his paniers and baskets. Grose. 
 
 Piper, a minstrel. North. Sax. pipere. The noble house of 
 Percy still retain pipers in their service. They wear, on the 
 right arm, a silver crescent, granted as a badge to the family, 
 for having taken the Turkish standard, in an expedition 
 against the Saracens, in the Holy Land : attend the courts- 
 leet and fairs held for the Lord : — and pay suit and service at 
 Alnwick Castle. Their instrument is the ancient Northum- 
 brian bag-pipe, different in form and execution from the 
 Scotch; it being much smaller, and blown, not with the 
 breath, but by a pair of bellows fixed under the left arm. The 
 music po*ssesses all the wild, and spirited characteristics of the 
 Highland pibroch. 
 
 In Northumberland, we still occasionally meet with an 
 itinerant Highland piper, striking into one of those wild Nor- 
 thern airs, which often have stirred " even old age to the frot- 
 lies and pranks of youth." 
 
 PiPESTOPPEL, a fragment of the shank of a tobacco-pipe, used for 
 compressing the ashes of tobacco in a pipe. Germ, stopsel, a 
 bung or stopper. Sc. pipe-stapple. . 
 
 P*****G ON A Grave. Women transported with rage and 
 wickedness sometimes threaten their deadly enemies in this 
 manner. A clergyman, in Northumberland, informed me that 
 he had heard of a person who was actually guilty of such a 
 revenge. Many old customs are harmless ; but this is coo- 
 posed of nothing but horrible materials. The learned author 
 of the History of Hallamshire has pointed out to me a re- 
 markable illustration of this article in The Legend of Sir 
 Nicholas Throckmorton, published in Peck's Memoirs of Mil* 
 ton, p. 57. Though somewhat more circumstantially describ- 
 ed than our modern taste approves, yet it would be an excess 
 of fastidiousness to withhold it from the reader, were it not 
 much too long for insertion here ; and any attempt to abridge 
 it, would, I fear, do it great injustice. 
 
 Pitman, a collier — a nian who works in a coal pit. The pitmen 
 
PLOO 283 
 
 are a distinct class in society, almost entirely separated from 
 the agricultural part of the community. They principally 
 reside within a few miles of the rivers Tyne and Wear, chiefly 
 in long rows of one-storied houses, called pit-rows, in the vici- 
 nity of the mines. They have been accustomed for genera- 
 tions to marry with their own race ; the sons regularly follow- 
 ing the occupations of their sires. They were formerly much 
 addicted to the degrading vice of cock-fighting ; and some of 
 them, I understand, may still be seen in those diabolical 
 assemblies, where amusement is sought in the vilest of all 
 diversions. 
 
 Pitman's-pink, a name given to the single pink, which is a great 
 favourite among the pitmen, who, in general, pay much atten- 
 tion to the cultivation of flowers. 
 
 Pitter-patter, to beat incessantly, like a heavy fall of rain. 
 
 PiTTY-PATTY, palpitation, a quick movement of the heart. 
 
 Planet, pro climate — also, in the sense of partially ; as " the 
 rain falls in planets'* 
 
 Plash, v. to splash. Su.-Got. plaska. — Plash, s. a heavy fall 
 or severe shower of rain. Germ, platzregen. Dut. plasregen. 
 
 Pleach, to bind a hedge. Fr. plesser. V. Cotgrave. 
 
 Plean, to complain. An old word ; from Fr. plaigner. 
 
 Plean, or Pleany-pye, a tell-tale, or prating gossip. Pleignen 
 occurs in Cower. 
 
 Plenish, to furnish a house, to stock a farm. Old Fr. plenir, to 
 replenish. — Plenishing, household furniture. — Plenishing- 
 wain, articles of furniture belonging to a bride. 
 
 Plett, to fold, to twist or plait. Su.-Got. pldta, nectere, con- 
 nectere. 
 
 Pletts, folds, plaits. " I must put my mouth into small pletts 
 when I go there ;" meaning, I must be circumspect in my be- 
 haviour. 
 
 Plodge, to wade through water, to plunge. Dut. ploegen. 
 
 Plooky, Plooky-faced, pimpled. Gael, pltican, a pimple. 
 Plookyyplooky, are your cheeks. 
 And plooky is your chin.— fioZtoi, Sir Hugh k Blond. 
 Hh 
 
234 PLOT 
 
 Plote, to pluck feathers; metaphorically to chide vehemently 
 " How she 2ilotes hiin." Teut. ploten. 
 
 Plote, to scald. To plote a pig, is to pour scalding water upon 
 it, which causes the hair to come off, and makes it easier to 
 scrape. — Ploting-hot, scalding hot. — North, 
 
 Ploute, a long walking stick, generally used (with the thick end 
 downward) by foot-hunters. — Dur. and North. 
 
 Plouter, to wade through water or mire — to be engaged in any 
 dirty work. Teut. plotsen. Germ, pladern. — Plowding, is 
 also used in the same sense j though probably only a variation 
 o^plodging. 
 
 Ploy, a harmless frolic in which a party is engaged ; a merry 
 meeting. Dr. Jamieson is inclined to view the word as form- 
 ed from Sax. plegan^ to play. 
 
 Pluff, to blow in the face, to explode gunpowder — to puff. 
 
 Pluff, Pleugh, a plough. Su.-Got. plog. Germ, pjiug. Sc. 
 pleuch. This gives me an opportunity of presenting to the 
 reader a genuine Northumbrian specimen of an agricultural 
 reproof; communicated to me by a friend, who heard it. 
 
 ** Ye ill farM body ye ! ye pretend to guide the phiff! to 
 leeve a saet a baaks in aa the faugh quarter. I'll ha ne mair 
 o' thee ! Se ye may gang at the Fair, honest man ! Thou 
 mun de't better nor that, else thou may gang beam." 
 
 Pock-arred, pitted with the small pox. See Arr. 
 Pock-fretten, marked with the small-pox. See Fretten. 
 PoE, a turkey. Fr. paon. Lat. pavo. Sax. pawa. — Poe ! 
 
 PoE ! a call to turkies. 
 Poke, to stoop. " To poke the head." Germ, pochcriy to 
 
 knock, as if the head were projected for the purpose. 
 Poke, a bag, a sack. The parent of pocket. Sax. poccal a 
 
 pouch. Isl. poh'iy saccus. Teut. poke. " A pig in a poke^* 
 
 is an old, well-known, Northern proverb. 
 Poked, offended, piqued. " He was sare poked." 
 Pokemantle, a name for a portmanteau. See Portmantle. 
 Poker and Tongs, when a horse strikes the hind against the 
 
 fore shoe. Also called Hammer and Pincers. 
 
POUT S35 
 
 PoOMER, any thing very large. " Ee / what a poomer it w." 
 
 Poor body ! poor creature. A very common colloquial expres- 
 sion of sympathy. Sc. puir body. 
 
 Poorly, indifFerent in health.— Very poorly, very unwell. 
 
 PoR, Pore, an iron bar, or poker, for stirring the fire. Teut. 
 porreny urgere, compellere. 
 
 Porky, plump in the person. " What ? the porky gentleman." 
 
 PoRTMANTLE, a vulgar, though old, name for a portmanteau; 
 which was originally a hag for a cloak or mantle. 
 
 PosiE, a nosegay. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II., p. 48. 
 
 Poss, to dash violently in the water, to beat; as to " poss 
 clothes" in what is called a Poss-tub. 
 
 Possy, short and fat, thick-set, protuberant; applied to the per- 
 son. Apparently the same as Povvsey. 
 
 PoT-CLEPs, pot-hooks. Ray says, from clip or clap, because they 
 clap or catch hold of the pot. 
 
 PoT-LucK, an invitation to a family dinner, or friendly repast, 
 excluding the idea of any previous or ceremonious prepara- 
 tion — the chance of the table. The Roman condicere ad 
 coenam. Fr. la fortune du pot. A Northern squire invited 
 his present Majesty, when Prince Regent, to take pot-luck. 
 
 Potter, to stir, to poke ; as to potter the fire. Dut. peute- 
 ren. 
 
 PoTTiCAR, an apothecary. Potycary is the genuine old word, 
 and not a contraction of apothecary, as Dr. Johnson and others 
 have pretended. See a strange conclave in Bewick's iEsop, 
 p. 36. 
 
 PoTTiNGER, a coarse earthen-ware pot, with a handle. Germ. 
 pott enge, a narrow pot. Porringer, therefore, would seem to 
 be a corruption. 
 
 Pou, Poo, or PooGH, to pull. " Poo away my lads.^^ 
 
 PoucE, nastiness. — Poucy, untidy, all in a litter. 
 
 PouK, to strike; or rather to push, or poke. In Scotland, it 
 means to pull with nimbleness or force, like English pluck. 
 
 Pout, to kick or strike with the feet. V. Ray, ^^ote. 
 
 Pout, a chicken. Vr.poulet. Poidt is classical. 
 
236 POW 
 
 Pow, a term for the head ; obviously from poU. 
 
 Albeit my p<no was bald and bare. — Ramsay. 
 
 Pow-HEAD, a tad-pole before it has legs. 
 
 PowsEY, fat, decent looking, respectable in appearance. See 
 
 POSSY. 
 
 PowsoDDY, or Pansoddy, a pudding placed under the roast. 
 Also called Yorkshire-pudding, Aud-wife's-sod, and Cin- 
 der-catcher. In Scotland there is a dish — sheep's head broth, 
 pow-sodden. 
 
 Prickle, a basket or measure of wicker work among fruiterers. 
 Formerly made of briers ; hence, perhaps, the name. 
 
 Prig, to plead hard in a bargain, to higgle in price. Dut. pror 
 cheUy to beg. 
 
 Priggish, vain, conceited, affected, coxcoraical. From prig. 
 
 Prin, a pin. Isl. prion, acus capitata. Dan. preen, a bodkin, 
 or punch. Dr. Jamieson has satisfactorily proved that this is 
 no corruption of the word. 
 
 Prin-cod, a pincushion. In the reign of Henry VIIL, the men 
 stuck pins in a disgusting part of their dress j before alluded 
 to under the article Cod, Codd. Strutt's idea that this 
 fashion of wearing a cod-piece came from the French guadipise, 
 seems without foundation. That word, so far as the researches 
 of the present writer extend, is used only by the satirical 
 Rabelais, and in all probability proceeded from the mint of 
 his own fertile imagination, in the triumph of his wit and 
 drollery. 
 
 Princox, a pert, forward fellow. V. Todd's ZoYm, princock. 
 
 Prod, Proddy, a prick, a skewer. Su.-Got. brodd, aculeus. 
 Dan. brod, a sting, a prick. B and p are often used indiscri- 
 minately in the Gothic languages. 
 
 Prog, Proggle, v. to prick, to pierce. Isl. brydda, pungere. 
 
 Prog, s. a prick. — Progly, a. prickly. See Prod. 
 
 Pross, v. to chat, to talk familiarly. Fr. prosner, or proner, to 
 gossip. 
 
 pRoss, *. talk, conversation — rather of the gossiping kind. " Let 
 
PUOY 237 
 
 us have a bit of pross'* The prose of modern times, as Mr. 
 
 Todd justly remarks, is akin to this Northern word. 
 Proud, luxuriant ; as proud corn. Sax. prut. Ital, prode. 
 P's AND Q's, a nicety of behaviour; an observance of all due 
 
 formalities. Perhaps from a French injunction to make pro- 
 per obeisances, " Soyez attentifs a vos pics et a vos queues ;'* 
 
 in other words, " mind your P*s and Q'5." 
 PuBBLE, full, plump ; usually spoken of corn or fruit, in opposi- 
 
 sition to fantome — any thing fat, or distended. 
 Pucker, flutter, agitation, confusion. " What a pucJcer he's in !" 
 
 A figurative application of the word. 
 PuGGY, damp, moist j arising from gentle perspiration. " A 
 
 puggy hand." " A puggy face.'* 
 Pule, or Fuel, a hole of standing water — a pool. Sax. pul. 
 
 Welsh, pwl. Ray and Grose have pulk. 
 Pule, to eat without appetite. — Puling, sick, without appetite. 
 PuLLEN, poultry. An old word. V. Todd's John. The Pul- 
 
 len market in Newcastle. Pullen is also a term for the small 
 
 crab used for baiting sea-fishing-hooks. 
 Pummel, to beat severely, to chastise with Xk^Jist. Ijat. pugno. 
 
 For your pate I would pummel. 
 
 Beaum. ^ Flet. Four Plays in One. 
 
 Punch, to strike with the feet — to thrust as with a point. Germ. 
 puncty a point. 
 
 PuND, a pound. Sax. pund. The Gothic, Islandic, and Swe- 
 dish are the same. Welsh, jomw^. 
 
 PuN-FAUD, or PiN-FAUD, a pin-fold. Sax. pyndan, to inclose. — 
 PuNDER, the pindar or pounder, who has the charge of the 
 pinfold — a pound keeper. 
 
 PuoY, PuY, or PouiE, a long pole, with an iron spike or spikes, 
 at the end ; used in propelling keels in shallow water, or when 
 it is inconvenient to use sails or oars. Span, apoyo^ a prop, 
 stay, or support. Fr. appui ; and so a pouie, by erroneously 
 supposing a to be an article, instead of a part of the word. 
 Poles, for pushing on boats, occur in all ages. 
 
838 PURD 
 
 PuRDY, a little thick-set fellow. I owe this word to the commu. 
 nication of a clerical friend in the County of Durham, who 
 first heard it at Barnard Castle. On ascertaining the mean- 
 ing, the following dialogue took place. 
 
 Q. What does purdy mean ? 
 
 A. A little throstan up thing like a Jack at Wart$. 
 
 Q. What's that ? 
 
 A. Something like a lime burner. 
 
 Q. What is a lime burner ? 
 
 A. Oh nobbit a Kendal stockener, 
 
 Q. What is that ? 
 
 A. A little thickset fellow. 
 
 Moor has purdt/y in the sense of proud, ostentatious. 
 
 Purely, quite well in health — pure well. 
 
 PuRLicuE, or Curlicue, a flourish in writing — a dash at the end 
 of a word. Fr. pour la queue. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Pursy, fat, bloated, swoln out ; implying also the difficulty of 
 breathing arising from such a state. V. Jam. and Jam. Supp, 
 
 Put, to push, to propel ; as, putting a keel. Welsh, pwtiaw. 
 
 Put- ABOUT, perplexed, at a difficulty. Shakspeare repeatedly 
 uses put to ity in the same sense. 
 
 Pyrrhy-dancers, a name given to the glancings of the Aurora 
 Borealis. The same as Merry-dancers ; which see. This 
 term may have been adopted from the Pyrrhica saltatioy or 
 military dance of the ancients; from which, no doubt, the 
 sword-dance of the Northern youths, at Christmas, has had its 
 origin. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quail, to fail, to fall sick, to faint. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 Quandary, a dilemma, an unpleasant predicament, a state of 
 perplexity. Skinner's derivation from Fr. qu\en dirai jc? 
 
QUOR 239 
 
 what shall I say about it? is adopted in Todd's Johnson. 
 But the pronoun (nominative) was often left out by old French 
 writers, which would here make the derivation more accurate — 
 qu^en dirai? 
 Quean, a term of abuse to a female-— sometimes implying the 
 most disgraceful name that can be applied to the sex. Moe.- 
 Got. queins, quens. Sax. cwen, a wench — though not prima- 
 rily used in a reproachful sense. 
 
 A witch, a queans an old cozening quean. 
 
 Shak. Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 
 Queer, the choir, or quire of a church. Old Eng. quier. 
 Queer, a quire ; as of paper. Old Eng. quaire. Old Fr. quayer. 
 Quern, a hand mill for grinding corn, made of two corresponding 
 stones. It is one of our oldest words ; and, with slight varia- 
 tions, is found in all the Northern languages. — Moe.-Got. 
 quairn^ mola manualis. Su.-Got. quern. Sax. cweorn, Dan. 
 quern. Swed. quarn. Teut. querne. 
 
 Are you not he, 
 That fright the maidens of the villagery ; 
 Skim milk ; and sometimes labour in the quern^ 
 And bootless make the breathless housewife churn. 
 
 Slmlc. Mid. Nighfs Dream. 
 
 Capell ridiculously supposed that quern here meant churn. 
 
 QuEY, generally pronounced Why, or Whye, a heifer, or young 
 cow until it has had a calf. Dan. quie. Swed. quiga. — Quey- 
 CALF, a female calf. Dan. quiekalv. Swed. quigkalf. 
 
 Quisey, confounded, dejected. V. Todd's John, queasy. 
 
 Quite, got quit of. — Quite-better, (not certainly, or undoubt- 
 edly better, but) quite well, completely recovered. It is the 
 comparative joined with the superlative — an inveterate Nor- 
 thumbrianism. 
 
 Quorn, or Quoarn, a Northern pronunciation of corn. 
 
 [ 
 
340 RABB 
 
 R. 
 
 Rabble, to speak in a confused manner. Teut, rabbelen, blate- 
 
 . rare. Apparently identical with Ravel ; which see. 
 
 Rabblement, a tumultuous crowd, a mob. A very old word, 
 still in use, though Dr. Johnson has stated it to be obsolete. 
 
 Rack, s. a track, a trace. Dut. racke. This is the meaning of 
 the word used by our great dramatic poet, in the following 
 exquisite and well-known passage in the Tempest, whatever 
 the commentators may be pleased to say to the contrary. 
 
 The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, 
 The solemn temples, the great globe itself. 
 Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve ; 
 And, like this insubstantial pageant faded. 
 Leave not a rack behind. 
 
 Rack, *. the clouds ; or rather the track in which they move by 
 the action of the wind. Sax. rec, vapour. Swed. reka. 
 Archdeacon Nares is mistaken in thinking that the word is 
 not now in use. 
 
 But, as we often see, against some storm, 
 A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still. 
 The bold winds speechless, and the orb below 
 As hush as death Shak. Hamlet. 
 
 Rack, s. wreck. Sw. rak, bona naufragorum in littus ejecta. 
 Rack, v. to care, to heed. Sax. recan, to reck. V. Ray. 
 Rackless, thoughtless, careless, heedless, improvident. Old 
 
 Eng. retchlesSf reckeless ; from Sax. recceleas. 
 Rack-rider, a small trout, 6 or 8 inches long, caught in the 
 
 alpine rivulets of Northumberland. 
 Raff, a raft. Hence, Raff-merchant, for a timber-merchant j 
 
 and Raff-vard, for a timber-yard. 
 Raffling, idle, worthlsss, dissolute. " A raffling chap.*' 
 Rag, to rate, to scold. Isl. raega^ to accuse, to reproach. 
 
RAME fUi 
 
 Ragabash, low, idle people — such as are generally in rags. — 
 Rubbish is used in the same sense. Both terras may be said 
 to be synonymous with ragamuffin. 
 
 Rageous, in a rage, in excessive pain, violent — rageful. 
 
 Raid, an incursion, or plundering inroad of the Scottish Border- 
 ers into the English frontier. — North, Sax. rady rade, invasio, 
 incursus, irruptio. V. Soraner. 
 
 Rain-birds, Rain-fowl, popular names for woodpeckers. These 
 birds are well known by their loud and peculiar cries, which, 
 frequently repeated, are thought to prognosticate ram. The 
 Romans called them pluvics aves, for the same reason. 
 
 Raise, a cairn, tumulus, or heap of stones. In the parishes of 
 Edenhall and Lazonby, in Cumberland, there are yet some 
 considerable remains of stones, which still go by the name of 
 raises, though many of them have been carried away and all of 
 them are thrown out of their ancient form and order. V. 
 
 ' Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumb., Vol. I., p. 252. There is also 
 Woundale Raise, in the parish of Windermere, in Westmor- 
 land. Nicolson and Burn, Vol. I., p. 188. 
 
 Rake, v. to walk, to range or rove about. Su.-Got. reka, to 
 roam. — Rake, s. the extent of a walk or course. Hence, a 
 sheep-rake. 
 
 Rake, to cover, to gather together. To rake the fire, is to sup- 
 ply it with coals, or to put it in such a condition that it may 
 continue burning all night, so as to be ready in the morning— 
 a common practice in many kitchens in the North, where coals 
 are plentiful. Shakspeare uses the word in this sense, when, 
 in King Lear, he makes Edgar say. 
 
 Here in the sands 
 Thee I'll rake up.— Act IV. Sc. 6. 
 
 Ram, foetid, acrid, pungent. Isl. rammr, amarus. Dan. ram, 
 rank, rancid. " A ram smell" — " a ram taste.'* 
 
 Rame, Ream, to cry aloud, to ask over and over again in a teas- 
 ing manner. Sax. hreavian, clamare. Su.-Got. raama. — 
 li 
 
m RAME 
 
 Ramino, HeaminOj crying ; especially as denoting reiteration 
 
 of the same sound. 
 Kame, Raim, Rawm, to reach anything awkwardly or greedily, to 
 
 stretch after. Teut. raemen, extendere, distendere. 
 Ramlin-lad, a tall, fast growing, rambling youth — a sort of 
 
 hobblety-hoy, 
 Rammely, tall, and rank. V. Jam. rammel; 2d. sense. 
 Rampadge, to prance about furiously, to make a great noise or 
 
 disturbance. Sax. remjjetid, rampant. 
 Ramshackle, or Ramsheckle, to search narrowly, to ransack. 
 
 Ranshackle, for plunder, is old in our language. 
 Randy, *. a vulgar, brawling woman — a coarse fiery virago. 
 Randy, a, boisterous, obstreperous, disorderly in behaviour. 
 Range, to cleanse by washing, to rinse. See Rench. 
 Rannel-bauk, Rannel-tree, a beam or bar across a chimney on 
 
 which boilers are hung. V. Jam. rantle-tree. 
 Ranty, riotous, in high spirits, disorderly. — North. Wild, mad. 
 
 — Cumb. — Ranty-tanty, in great wrath, in a violent passion. 
 
 There is a troublesome weed in corn fields of this name. 
 Rape, a rope. Moe.-Got. raip. Sax. rape, funis. 
 Rapier-dance, nearly the same as the sword-dance of the an- 
 cient Scandinavians, or as that described by Tacitus among 
 
 the Germans. See a full account of it, in the Archaeologia, 
 
 Vol. XVII., p. 155. 
 Rapscallion, a low, worthless fellow j apparently the same with 
 
 rascallion used in Hudibras. 
 Rash, dry ; as rash-com — corn so dry in the straw that it falls 
 
 out with handling. 
 Rasher, a rush. Sax. resce. Rasher-cap^ rasher^duckety rasher- 
 
 whipy articles made of rushes by children. 
 Rasp, raspberry — ^both the bush and its fruit. Ital. raspo. 
 Ratch, v. to stretch, to pull asunder. See Rax. 
 Ratch, «. to mark with lines. — Ratch, *. a straight line, a stripe. 
 
 Germ, rechty straight. 
 Ratch, s, the straight course of a navigable river. The word is 
 
RAX 243 
 
 used on the Tyne, in the same sense as Reach on the Thames. 
 The Newcastle keelmen generally call it Rack. 
 
 Rather. To have rather is a common North country expres- 
 sion, when a preference is desired. See Dr. Johnson's 6th 
 sense of rather. The corruption may be thus traced. It is 
 customary to contract both / ivotdd^ and / had^ into Fd. I 
 had rather was probably first used as a false translation for Fd 
 rather f written for I would rather; and when I had rather was 
 once received, to have rather followed of course. 
 
 Ratherlings, for the most part. Dur. and North. 
 
 Ratler, a great lie, an abominable falsehood. Also, a very 
 concave razw, so thin as, when used, to rattle on the face. 
 
 Ratten, our Northern provincial name for the mus rattusy the 
 well-known and plundering animal, which, as Gesner observes, 
 is called rat^ not only in Germany, but in Spain, France, Italy, 
 and England. 
 
 Rattle, to strike, or chastise. Mere cant. 
 
 Rattlepate, a giddy, thoughtless, volatile person. 
 
 Rauk, to mark with lines, to scratch. See Ratch. 
 
 Ravel, to speak in an unconnected manner, to wander. Dut. 
 reveleriy to rave, to talk idly. 
 
 Raw, a row of buildings, the side of a street. Sax. rcewa. 
 " Row and Raw^'* Mr. Hodgson observes, " are akin to the 
 French rue ; but in the upland part of the Northern counties 
 were formerly chiefly confined to those lines of dwelling-houses 
 which lay along the fell sides, and had between them and the beck, 
 or river of the dale, the inclosed ground, of which the houses 
 were the several messuages. In later times, coal and manu- 
 facturing districts abound in Rows of vast variety of descrip- 
 tion and designation." V. Hist, of North. Part II., Vol. I., 
 p. 86, n. 
 
 Rax, to stretch, to enlarge, to reach. Sax. roeceauy porrigere. 
 To rax oneself, is to extend the limbs, after sleep or long 
 sitting. As applied to the weather, to rax out, means to clear 
 up, when the clouds begin to open, and expand themselves, so 
 that the sky is seen. 
 
244 READ 
 
 Read, Rede, v. to counsel, to advise. Sax. rcsdan. Teut 
 raeden. 
 
 Read, Rede, *. counsel, advice. Sax. reed. Teut. raed. There 
 has been handed down to us the barbarous cry of " Good 
 redcy short rede, slea ye the Bishop ;" raised during a general 
 council or assembly at Gateshead, by the murderers of Bishop 
 Walcher, the first Norman prelate who filled the see of Dur- 
 ham. V. Surtees' Hist, of Dur., Vol. I., p. 17. 
 
 Reade, a calfs stomach, used for rennet. Teut. roode. 
 
 Reap, a bundle of corn, parcels of which are laid by the reapers 
 to be gathered into sheaves by the binders in harvest time. 
 Sax. ripUf ripe. Sc. rip. 
 
 Reast, restiveness. — Reastv, restive, stubborn. Ital. restio. 
 Old Eng. restie. " A reasti/ horse." Sometimes applied to 
 a man. " He's reasti/ now." 
 
 Reasty, rancid; particularly applied to bacon. Skelton uses 
 the word. In the Prompt. Parv. it is resti/. See Reest. 
 
 Reave, to take away violently, to bereave, to rob. Sax. reafian. 
 Sw. rhfva. 
 
 Reavel, or Raffle, to entangle, to knot confusedly together — 
 to ravel. Dut. ravelen. " A reavelled hank" — a twisted skein. 
 
 Reaver, a plunderer, or freebooter ; one who, in the days of 
 good Queen Bess — when, in the Border districts, every man's 
 hand seems to have been set against his neighbour — was alter- 
 nately the robber and the defender of his country — who alike 
 pillaged friend and foe. Sax. reafere. Not far from Debdon, 
 in the parish of Rothbury, is the famous Reaver's Well, where 
 the noted thieves of old refreshed themselves, when " labour- 
 ing in the vocation of their fathers." These Illustrious Per- 
 sonages, hesides their own names, generally assumed a sort of 
 nom de guerre, from their residence, or their exploits j or had 
 a soubriquet, to distinguish them from others of the same clan. 
 See Thief and Reaver Bell. 
 
 Reckon, to suppose, to conjecture. Local in this sense. 
 
 Red, to put in order, to clezir, to disentangle. " To red up the 
 house," Su,-Got. reda. Dan. rj/dde. 
 
EESP 245 
 
 Redding- COMB, a comb for the hair — a righting comb. 
 
 Reed, red. Sax. read. Old English, rede. 
 
 Reef, a cutaneous eruption. Sax. hreof, scabies.— Reefy, 
 scabby. 
 
 Reek, v. to smoke. Sax. recan. Swed. roka. — Reek, s. smoke. 
 Sax. rec. Swed. rok. — Reek-penny, money paid to be per- 
 mitted to have fire, hearth-money — a modus paid to the clergy 
 in many parts of Northum.berland and Durham, See Tom- 
 lins' Law Diet., smoke-silver. 
 
 Reek, a term for money — that which makes the pot to boil and 
 the chimney to smoke ; but probably that which is the princi- 
 pal subject of reckoning. 
 
 Reeking-crook, a sort of crane or crook over the fire to support 
 boilers exposed to the reek or smoke. 
 
 Reest, rust. Teut. roest. — Reesty, rusty. Teut. roestigh. 
 
 Reet, v. to make right, to do justice to. — Reet is also used, 
 both as a substantive and an adjective, for right. 
 
 Reet, right, sane in mind. — Not-reet, not righty not in the ex- 
 ercise of sound reason. Germ, nicht recht. 
 
 Reet, a wright, or carpenter. Sax. wryhta, opifex. 
 
 Reins, Reinds, balks or portions of grass land in arable fields — 
 the furrows of a field. Germ, reihen, rows. 
 
 Rench, to rinse. Isl. hreinsa, to make clean. Dan, rense^ to 
 clean. Swed. rensa, to cleanse. 
 
 Render, to separate, to melt down, to dissolve any thing fat by 
 the heat of the fire. V. Wilbraham, 
 
 Renegate, a reprobate. Span, renegadoy an apostate, qui fidem 
 renegat. It is a genuine old word. 
 
 A false knight, and a renegate. 
 
 Gorver, Confcssio Amantis. 
 
 Renty, well shapen ; spoken of horses or horned cattle. 
 
 Respectively, for respectfully. I had a correspondent — by no 
 means deficient in learning — who invariably subscribed himself 
 — " yours respectively.^'' He, perhaps, relied on the authority 
 of Shakspeai-e, and Beaumont and Fletcher, 
 
246 RHEU 
 
 Rheuhatiz, the vulgar word for the rheumatism. 
 
 Rice, brushwood for the purpose of hedging. Isl. hrys. Su.- 
 Got. and Swed. m. Dan. riis. Germ, reis. 
 
 Riddle, a coarse sieve with large interstices ; much used about 
 farm-houses. Sax. hriddel. Welsh, rhxdyU. The vulgar, in 
 many parts, have an abominable practice of using a riddle and 
 a pair of shears in divination. If they have had any thing 
 stolen from them, the riddle and shears are sure to be resorted 
 to. A similar mode of discovering thieves, or others suspect- 
 ed of any crime, prevailed among the Greeks. V. Potter's 
 Gr. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 352. In Northumberland young peo- 
 ple turn the riddle for the purpose of amusing themselves with 
 the foolish idea of raising their lovers. It is done between 
 two open doors at midnight and in the dark. 
 
 Ride, to rob ; or rather to go out on horseback for such a pur- 
 pose. A Border word. " A saying is recorded of a mother 
 to her son (which is now become proverbial) Ride, Rowlie, 
 hough* s i the pot ; that is, the last piece of beef was in the 
 pot, and therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch 
 more." Nicolson and Burn's Hist, of West, and Cumb. Vol. 
 II., p. 466. 
 
 Rider, a moss-trooper, or robber on the Borders* 
 
 Riding, a term among the Borderers for making incursions on 
 the opposite country. See Introduction to the Border Anti- 
 quities of England and Scotland, p. cxxi. 
 
 Riding, a division or third part of a county; peculiar to York- 
 shire. Sax. ihrihinge, tertia pars provinciae alicujus. Express 
 mention is made of this ancient partition in the laws of 
 Edward the Confessor, cap. 34. In those early days, appeals 
 were made to the Riding in such causes as could not be de- 
 termined in the Wapentake court. 
 
 RiDiNG-FOR-T he-kail, a marriage ceremony. See Bride^ale. 
 
 Riding-tiie-stang, a burlesque punishment. See Stang. 
 
 Rife, abounding, common, prevalent. Sax. rj^. Teut. riif. 
 Swed. rif. Dr. Johnson is mistaken in confining the use of 
 this word to epidemical distempers; and Archdeacon Nares 
 
RIM 247 
 
 (who points out Mr. Dibdin's very erroneous explanation) is 
 equally in error in thinking it obsolete. 
 
 There is a brief, how many sports are rife. 
 
 ShaJc. Midsmn. NighVs Dream. 
 
 This reading occurs in most of the old editions — I believe 
 in all but one. The modern editors, however, without any 
 sufficient reason, read ripe. 
 
 Rife, also means apt, ready, quick to learn. 
 
 Riff-raff, a common alliterative term of reproach — the rabble, 
 or mere canaille. Dan, ripsraps, the dregs of the people. 
 
 Rift, v. to belch. From Dan. rcehe ; and not raever^ as given 
 by Dr. Jamieson, who appears to have been misled by Skin- 
 ner. — Rift, s. an eructation. Dan. raebeUy belching. 
 
 Rift, v. to plough out grass land. Su.-Got. rifwa. Sw. rifva. 
 
 Rig, a female light in her carriage, a wanton. 
 
 Rig, a ridge, an eminence. Sax. hricg. Isl. hriggr. Su.-Got. 
 ryggy dorsum. " Rigge of land, agger," occurs in Prompt. 
 Parv. 
 
 Rig-and-fur, ridge and furrow. Also ribbed ; as a pair of rig- 
 and-fur stockings. 
 
 Rig, among quadrupeds, to perform the act of supersaliency onli/y 
 to back. Sax. hricg^ dorsum. Hence, Riggot, or Riggelt, 
 a male animal imperfectly emasculated — very troublesome to 
 the female. 
 
 RiGGiN, the ridge of a house. Sax. hricg^ fastigium. To ride 
 the riggin is a Northern phrase denoting excessive intimacy. 
 
 RiGGiN-TREE, the beam along the roof of a building. 
 
 Rile, to render turbid, to vex, to disturb. V. Moor. 
 
 Rim, Belly-rim, the peritoneum, or membrane inclosing the in- 
 testines. " Mind dinna brust your belly-rini^^ — a caution 
 among the vulgar in Northumberland. 
 
 For I will fetch thy rim out at thy throat. 
 In drops of crimson blood. — Shak. Hen. V. 
 
 The original reading, says Nares, is rymmct which Capell, 
 
248 RIND 
 
 ' judging from the main object of the speaker, boldly pronoun- 
 ced to signify money ; others have wished to read rynoy but 
 that terra is probably not of such antiquity : and the conjec- 
 ture supposes the original word to be printed ryvi^ which it is 
 not. Pistol, with a very vague notion of the anatomical 
 meaning of rymme^ seems to use it in a general way for any 
 part of the intestines ; his object being to terrify his prisoner. 
 It may be further stated, that rimbursin is a common term on 
 the Borders of North, for a rupture of the abdominal muscles, 
 to which horses and cows are subject. 
 
 Rind, to melt or dissolve tallow or fat. V. Jamieson. 
 
 RiNE, Rind, frozen dew, hoar frost. A corruption of rime ; from 
 Sax. and Isl. hrim. 
 
 Rip, a profligate. Half of Germ, ripps-rapps. In fashionable 
 cant — for all ranks have their cant — demirep is one of dubious, 
 or half reputation. 
 
 Ripe, to search, to steal privately, to plunder. Sax. hrypan, 
 dissuere. " To ripe for stones in the foundation of an old 
 wall." — " She riped my pockets." — " He riped the nest." 
 
 Ripple, to clean ; applied to flax. Su.-Got. repa lin, linum vel- 
 lere. Teut. repen, stringere semen lini. 
 
 RiTLiNG, the smallest and last hatched youngling. — Lane. See 
 
 DOWPY. 
 
 Rive, v. to tear membrane from membrane, to eat voraciously 
 without knife or fork. " See how he's riving and eating." 
 
 Rive, to separate into parts by applying force to each sid3, 
 Dan. rive, to tear or rend in pieces. Swed. rifva. There is 
 a difference between riving and splitting — the hands rive, a 
 wedge splits. 
 
 Rive, s. a rent or tear. The very term occurs in Isl. ryf. 
 
 RoAN-TREE, Royne-tree, the mountain ash. See Roun-tree. 
 
 Robin, the popular name of the ruddock or red-breast. The 
 innocence, tameness, and its approach in a season when its 
 sustenance is precarious, may be the reason that this bird is 
 usually so much pitied and respected. The author of the old 
 ballad of The Children in the Wood — a story with which our 
 
ROSS 249 
 
 earliest literary recollections are associated — selected the red- 
 breast as an object of sympathy, no doubt for the causes here 
 cited ; but I am informed that about Heworth, near Newcastle, 
 it is looked upon as a bird of bad omen. I am also told that 
 among the lower classes in Northumberland and Scotland, it 
 is considered the harbinger of death. This is the more re- 
 markable, because its general familiarity and confiding man- 
 ners, as observed by Mr. Selby, have procured for it an 
 appellation of endearment in most of the countries that it 
 inhabits. 
 
 RoGGLE, to shake, to jumble. A variation of wriggle. 
 
 Roister, to behave turbulently, to make a great noise, to indulge 
 in rough mirth and jollity. 
 
 Roisterer, a turbulent, swaggering, and uncontroulable person. 
 Junius refers to Isl. hrister, a violent man ; but I am inclined, 
 with Dr. Jamieson, to look to Barb. Lat. Rustarii, the same 
 with Rutarii (old Fr. Routiers) — free-booters who committed 
 great devastation in France, in the eleventh century. RUptarii 
 and Rutarii were names given to the stipendiary troops (per- 
 haps some of the same sort of brigands) employed by King 
 John in his exterminating expedition into the Northern parts 
 of the kingdom — where the castles, towns, and villages were 
 given to the flames by that wicked and pusillanimous monarch, 
 and the miserable inhabitants abandoned to the murderous 
 cruelty of his rapacious followers, without respect of age or 
 sex, rank or profession. The epithet Royterer^ or Roysterer, 
 was bestowed on the cavaliers by the puritanical party in the 
 accounts of the civil wars of a subsequent period. 
 
 Rook, Rouk, a mist, or fog. Teut. roocky vapor. — Rooky, 
 RouKY, misty, damp, foggy. Old Eng. roJcy. 
 
 Roop, or Roup, a hoarseness. Isl. hroop^ vociferatio. Roopy, 
 or RouPY, hoarse ; as with a cold. 
 
 Rooty, coarse, or over rank; said of grass or corn when in that 
 state. Old Eng. roytisJi^ wild, irregular. See Routh. 
 
 RossEL, to heat, to roast, to bask over a fire until what is below 
 
 Kk 
 
250 ROSS 
 
 the skin is ready to exude — the same idea as ro^in.— Rossrl- 
 LED, decayed ; as a rossellcd apple. 
 RossEL, rosin. " Rossel and pick*'— roain and pitch. 
 Rou, cold, bleak and damp ; especially as applied to a place, or 
 
 to the weather — raw. Sax. hreaw. Germ, rohy rauh. 
 RouN-TREE, or Rowan-tree, the mountain ash, or witch-wood — 
 a tree of high consideration in the North, and considered by 
 the superstitious peasantry of wonderful efficacy in depriving 
 witches of their infernal power. This notion has been handed 
 down to us from early antiquity— perhaps from the Druids. 
 Skinner is uncertain whether the tree may not have receiv- 
 ed its name from the colour called roan; but, as observ- 
 ed by Dr. Jamieson, the term is Gothic — Su.-Got. ronn^ runn^ 
 sorbus aucuparia. Dan. ronne. Ihre conjectures, with great 
 probability, that the etymon may be from runa, incantation ; 
 because of the use made of it in magical arts. Mr. Thomson 
 adds Welsh, rhin^ mystery, sorcery, religion, and apparently 
 used in the Runic ceremonies. 
 
 In my plume is seen the holly green. 
 
 With the leaves of ro-wan tree^ 
 And my casque of sand, by a mermaid's hand. 
 
 Was formed beneath the sea — The Court ofKeeldar. 
 
 Rout, Rought, or Rowt, to make a bellowing noise, to roar. 
 Also to grunt, to snore. Sax. hrutan. 
 
 The wench routeth eke par compagnie — Chaucer. 
 
 Routh, plenty, abundance ; especially applied to rank grass or 
 corn. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Routing, or Roughting, the lowing or bellowing of an ox. In 
 Ingram parish, a wild part of Northumberland, there is a place 
 called the Roughting Linn — deriving its name, no doubt, from 
 the great noise made by the fall of the water after heavy rains. 
 
 Rowley-powley, a sort of childish game at fairs and races. 
 
 Royal- OAK-DAY (the 29th of May), the restoration of King 
 Charles II. ; in commemoration of which it is customary for 
 
RUM 251 
 
 the common people, in many parts of the North, to wear oak 
 leaves in their hats, and also to place them on their horses' 
 heads. Formerly, in Newcastle, 
 
 When civil dudgeon first grew high. 
 
 And men fell out they knew not why, — Hudibras. 
 
 the boys had a taunting rhyme, with which they used to insult 
 such persons as were not decorated with this remembrance of 
 the facetious monarch ; 
 
 " Royal oak 
 
 •♦ The whigs to provoke." 
 
 It was not, however, to be expected that this sarcastic ebul- 
 lition of party-spirit should escape the retort courteous. The 
 contemptuous reply was, 
 
 " Plane-tree leaves ; 
 
 " The church-folk are thieves." 
 
 Ruck, a rick of corn or hay. — North. A heap, or large quan- 
 tity.— York, and Lane. Su.-Got. rbk. V. Ihre. 
 
 RuD, ruddle for marking sheep. Sax. rudu, rubor. See Keel. 
 
 RuDDiLY, the vulgar pronunciation of readily. 
 
 Ruddy, the Northern word for ready. " Ruddy money." 
 
 Rue-bargain, something given to be oiFan agreement — a bargain 
 repented of. 
 
 Rug, to pull hastily or roughly. Teut. ruckeuy detrahere. — 
 RuGGiNG-AND-RiviNG, pulling and tearing with force. 
 
 Ruinated, reduced to ruin, ruinous. Pegge erroneously consi- 
 dered this word, which is in common use in the North, as pe- 
 culiar to Londoners. 
 
 RuLE-o'-TiiuMB, guess work. Primarily the measuring of inches 
 by the thumb; but as this is at best an inaccurate mode, it 
 comes to mean — no rule at all. 
 
 Rum, a very common North country word for any thing odd or 
 queer — a comical person, for instance, being called a rum stick. 
 May not Dr. Johnson's rum parson be what is called a hackney 
 parson, and come from Germ, rmi, which is from herum, 
 
2MI RUMB 
 
 about, as herum laufer is a vagabond ? Heruvi parson, or ruin 
 parson, may, therefore, be a vagabond parson. 
 
 RuMBUSTiCAL, Hide, noisy, overbearing, turbulent. 
 
 RuM-GUMPTious, pompous, forward, violent, bold, rash. 
 
 RuMMEL-GUMSHON, the Same as Gumshon. Sc. rumgumption. 
 
 Rumpus, a great noise, a disturbance, an uproar. V. Jennings. 
 
 Run away Dr. Bocanki, a proverbial expression, familiar in the 
 county of Durham, near the river Tees — said to have origi- 
 nated in the trepidation and sudden flight of Dr. Balcanquall, 
 Dean of Durham, a Scotchman, who was peculiarly obnoxious 
 to his countrymen, on account of having penned the King's 
 declaration against the Covenanters. V. Surtees' Hist, of 
 Dur., Vol. I., p. xcvi. 
 
 Rung, a spoke, the step or round of a ladder. Moe.-Got. hrung, 
 virga. It is also a name for a cudgel, or walking-staff. 
 
 Be sure ye dinna quit the grip 
 
 O' ilka joy while ye are young, 
 Before auld age your vitals nip. 
 
 And lay ye twafald owre a rung. — Old Scots Song, 
 
 RuNKLE, to crease, to crumple, to wrinkle. Sax. wrindian. 
 
 Runnel, pollard wood. Perfiaps from running up apace. 
 
 Runt, an opprobrious designation for an old woman. Isl, hrund, 
 mulier. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Runt, the hardened stalk or stem of a plant. " A kail-runt^ 
 
 Runt, a Scotch ox — also a jocular designation for a person of a 
 strong though low stature. " A runt of a fellow." Germ. 
 rindj an ox or cow ; hut jjlgurativelj/i a dull-pated, stupid fel- 
 low. Teut. rund. 
 
 Rush-bearing, collecting rushes to strew in the parish church — 
 a rural feast or wake, now become nearly obsolete. See Crav. 
 Gloss, and Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 436. 
 
 Rut, for root. So pronounced in the North. 
 
 RuTTLiNG, a noise occasioned by difficulty in breathing. Teut. 
 rotelen, murmurare. The dead ruttle, a particular kind of 
 noise made in respiring by a person in the extremity of sick- 
 
 I 
 
SAIN 263 
 
 ness, is still considered in the North as an omen of death. 
 Levinus Lemnius (Occult Miracles of Nature, Lib. I J., Ch. 15,) 
 is very learned on this subject. 
 RuzE, to extol, to boast, to magnify in narration — to rouse, or 
 raise. Isl. rausa, multa effutire. Dan. rose, to praise. Cor- 
 nish, ros, bragging. Hence, perhaps, rooze}-, or rouser, a great 
 untruth. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sack-and-seam-road, a horse road — properly a pack-horse road 
 over moors. V. Lye, vo. seam. 
 
 Sackless, simple, weak, helpless, innocent. Dr. Willan consi- 
 ders that this epithet must have originated after the introduc- 
 tion of the favourite beverage, sack and sugar; but the word 
 (which is old in our language, and often occm-s in the Border 
 Laws) may evidently be traced to Sax. sacleas, quietus. Isl. 
 saklaus, innocens. Swed. saklds, exempt from punishment. 
 
 Sad, heavy, as contrary to light — stiff; applied to a pudding, or 
 to bread when the yeast has had no effect. 
 
 Sae, See, Seea, so. — Saebetide, Seeabetide, if so be. 
 
 Safe, a. sure, certain. " He's safe to be hanged." 
 
 Saim, hog*s-fat, goose-grease. Welsh, saim. Sax. seme, Shak- 
 speare, and writers of his day, use seam, which is still the 
 Scottish word. 
 
 Saint Cuthbert's Duck, the eider duck ; or great black and 
 white duck. Anas mollissima. — Linnaeus. These interesting 
 sea-birds are found on most of the Fame Islands on the coast 
 of Northumberland, the only places in England where they 
 are known to incubate. They are now, however, almost ex- 
 tinct, in consequence of the wanton cruelty of those who visit 
 the islands during the breeding season. Their feathers are 
 remarkably soft, and of great value. The popular name is 
 obviously connected with the celebrated Saint and Patron of 
 
264 SAIN 
 
 Durham; who, regardless of all earthly pomp and vanity, 
 resigned the splendour and magnificence of an episcopal sta- 
 tion, for the purity of an hermetical life. Retiring to a hum- 
 ble cell in one of these desolate spots — as yet unmarked by 
 the habitation of man,— or, as a well known legend expresses 
 it, " as voide of men, as full of devills" — he commenced a 
 mode of living extremely austere, forcing the barren soil to 
 yield him sustenance by the labour of his own hands. 
 Saint Cuthbert's Beads, a name given to the Encrinites which 
 are found in great abundance among the rocks at Holy Island, 
 and sold to strangers as the attributed workmanship of the 
 Saint. According to the popular tradition, this holy man 
 often visits the shore of Lindisfarne in the night; and sitting 
 on one rock, uses another as his anvil, on which he forges 
 and fashions these beads. 
 
 Saint CutKbert sits, and toils to frame 
 The sea-born heads that bear his name. 
 
 ScotVs MarmioH. 
 
 Saint Cuthbert's Patrimony, an appellation for all the land 
 between the waters of Tyne and Tees, which it is recorded was 
 conferred upon the church, for the sake of her tutelary Saint 
 — eminently distinguished certainly for his exalted piety ; but 
 above all for the miraculous powers with which he was be- 
 lieved to be invested, and of which the wily monks never 
 failed to avail themselves as the best means of enriching their 
 coffers. 
 
 Saint John's Nut, a double nut. — Saint Mary's Nut, a triple 
 nut. I know not why so called. 
 
 Saint Swithin's Day, the 15th of July. I introduce this term 
 for the purpose of remarking, that almost all the vulgar, but 
 more especially elderly females, place great confidence in the 
 prediction that if it rain on this critical day, not one of the 
 next forty will be wholly free from the Saint's influence over 
 the humid department of the firmament. The lower orders 
 cling to their ancient notions aud legends with much more 
 
SAKE 255 
 
 tenacity than their betters ; superstition being always powerful 
 in proportion to the ignorance of its professors. The origin 
 of this particular prognostication is variously deduced. See 
 Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 271 ; and Nares' Glossary. 
 
 Saik. See Sare. See, also, the example under Ken. 
 
 Sairy, poor, pitiable, helpless. Sax. scsri, sarig, sorry, sad. 
 
 Sall, a common vulgarism for shall. V. Crav. Gloss, sal. 
 
 Sally, to move or run from side to side ; as is customary with 
 the persons on board of a ship after she is launched. I am 
 unable to offer any etymology, unless it be Fr. saillir, to leap. 
 
 Salt, for saltcellar. Our old word was saler. Fr. saliere. 
 
 Samcast, same cast^ two ridges ploughed together. Referrible 
 to Germ, sammeln, to gather; zusammen, together. 
 
 Sampleth, a sampler. That which gives a sample — sampleth. 
 V. Suffolk words. The ingenious author is mistaken in think- 
 ing that samplers are not still worked. 
 
 Sanded, short-sighted — as if the eyes were full of sand. Sand- 
 blind is an old term for imperfect sight. 
 
 Sandgate-city, a burlesque name for Sandgate, Newcastle; a 
 place of great antiquity, but described by a local poet as 
 
 The devil's besom sure, 
 
 With which oft times he sweeps the floor. 
 
 Sandgate-rattle, a peculiar step in vulgar dancing, consisting 
 of a quick and violent beating of the toes on the floor. 
 
 Sandgate-ring, a particular mode of lighting a tobacco pipe, 
 which I am unable to describe. 
 
 Sang, a song. Pure Saxon. It is the same in Teut. and 
 Germ. 
 
 Sang ! My Sangs ! By my Sang ! frequent exclamations, ge- 
 nerally implying a threat — equivalent to ^sblood, or by my 
 blood. Fr. sang. 
 
 Sanging-eather, the large dragon fly. See Fleeing-eather. 
 
 Sapscull, a simple, foolish fellow — a blockhead.^ 
 
 Sare, sore, painful. Sax. sar. Su.-Got. saar. Sc. sair. — 
 Sare-heed, sore head, the head ache. 
 
9B6 SAHE 
 
 Sare, very much, greatly, intensely. Teut. seer. Germ, sehr, 
 " Sare hadden" — (sore holden)— very much distressed by pain 
 or sickness, 
 
 Sark, a shirt — sometimes a shift. Sax. sj/rc. Su.-Got. scerk. 
 See a curious quotation from Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence 
 Displayed, in Boucher, vo. agee ; and Kelly's Scottish Pro- 
 verbs, p. 139, 140. 
 
 Sarties, certainly, in good truth. Spenser and other early poets 
 use certes. 
 
 Sartin, sure, positive, certain. — Sartinly, certainly. 
 
 Sattle, to settle. This pronunciation is conformable to the 
 Saxon origin of the word. In Peirs Ploughman it is sahtle. 
 
 Sauce, insolence of speech, impertinence— saMciwe^s. 
 
 Sauce, vegetables. An ancient use of the word. 
 
 Saugh, the sallow j a species of willow. Sax. salh. Ir. saleog. 
 Many of the common people imagine this to be the real Palm- 
 tree, branches of which were strewed by the multitude in com- 
 memoration of our Saviour's triumphal entry into Jerusalem ; 
 and seldom omit to gather its flowers or buds, early in the 
 morning of Palm-Sunday. With these flowers they decorate 
 small pieces of wood formed into crosses, called Palm-crosses, 
 which are stuck up or suspended in their houses. 
 
 Saul, the soul. Pure Saxon ; and the ancient mode of writing 
 the word. " By Christe's sauleP Chaucer. 
 
 Saul, the solid substance in the inside of a covered button. Fr. 
 saoxd, sovly a filling, 
 
 Saut, Sote, salt. Sax. sealt. Teut. saut, sout. In the pro- 
 nunciation of many of the provincial dialects of the North, the 
 sound of the / is omitted.— Saut-kit, a salt-box of a peculiar 
 formation ; often found in the houses of old farmers. 
 
 Savelicks, an excrescence from the brier, placed by boys in their 
 coat cuffs, as a charm, to prevent a flogging. In Durham it is 
 
 called TOMJIY-SAVELICKS. 
 
 Saw, to sow. Moe.-Got. saian. Sax. sawan, Su.-Got. sS. 
 Germ. sden. 
 
 Sawney, a silly, stupid fellow — a sarca&tic designation for a na- 
 tive of Scotland. 
 
 i 
 
SCAL 237 
 
 Say, authority, influence, sway. " She has all the say.^^ 
 
 ScABY, ScABiE, mean, paltry, shabby. Lat. scabies. 
 
 Scad, to scald. — Scadding of Peas, a custom in the North of 
 boiling the common grey peas in the pods, in a green state, 
 and eating them with butter and salt. The company often 
 pelt each' other with the ewads, or husks ; and the entertain- 
 ment is sometimes in consequence called peas and sport. 
 Grose mentions that a bean, shell and all, is put into one of 
 the pea-pods ; and that whoever gets this bean is to be first 
 married. Dr. Jamieson views this custom as having the same 
 origin as the King of Bane, in Scotland. 
 
 Scale, to spread abroad, to separate, to divide. Sax. scylan. 
 
 I shall tell you 
 A pretty tale; it may be, you have heard it; 
 But, since it serves my purpose, I will venture 
 To scaWt a little more. — Shdk. Coriolanus. 
 
 Nearly all the commentators have mistaken the meaning of to 
 scale' t. I am quite satisfied that it was the author's intention 
 to have the tale spread a little more minutely; or, as Home 
 Tooke better expresses it, to have it divided into more parti- 
 culars and degrees ; told more circumstantially and at length. 
 If Archdeacon Nares, to borrow his own language, will 
 " weigh as in scales, to estimate aright," Mr. Lambe's obser- 
 vations on this passage, and on the means of acquiring a com- 
 petent knowledge of the old English tongue (Notes on the 
 Battle of Floddon), I entertain a hope that the learned author 
 of the elaborate and valuable Glossary may not be indisposed 
 to alter, in more respects than one, the article. To Scale, 
 in a future edition. 
 
 Scale, to disperse. The church is scaled; so is a school. It 
 is a very common expression, in this sense, in the neighbour- 
 hood of Alnwick. Hence, to Scale Land, to break up clots 
 of manure, mole hills, &c., and to spread them about the field. 
 Scale, also means, to shed, to spill, to scatter. 
 
 Scale-dish, a thin dish used in the dairy for skimming milk. 
 
 Ll 
 
2d8 SCAL 
 
 ScALLioNs, a punishment among boys — a good drubbing. 
 
 Scam, Scaum, to bespatter, to stain, to discolour. 
 
 Scamp, a mean rascal, a fellow devoid of honour and principle. 
 Properly a runaway ; from Ital. scampare. 
 
 ScANTisH, Scarce. — Scantly, scarcely. 
 
 Scar, Skar, a bare and broken rock on the side of a mountain, 
 or in the high bank of a river. Su.-Got. sktxr^ rupes. 
 
 ScARN, dung of cattle. Su.-Got. skarn, stercus. Sax. scearn. 
 Dan. sham. 
 
 ScART, V. to scratch. — Scart, s. a scratch. See Scrat. 
 
 Scathe, loss, spoil, damage. Pure Saxon. Dan. shade. 
 
 Scatter-brained, weak, giddy, thoughtless, light-headed. 
 
 Sconce, a seat at one side of the fire-place in the old large open 
 chimney — a short partition near the fire upon which all the 
 bright utensils in a cottage are suspended. An amateur of 
 the Italian language derives the word from sconnessa [seggia], 
 an insulated or separate seat. I should prefer Germ, schanze, 
 a defence, a screen. 
 
 Sconce, a beating about the head — sometimes the head itself. . 
 
 Scooter, a syringe. Shooter^ perhaps, would be more correct. 
 Sc. skyter, from skyte, to eject forcibly. 
 
 Scotch and English, an amusement similar to Stealy- 
 clothes; which see. The game seems evidently to have 
 had its origin and name from the inroads of the Scotch and 
 English in " times of old" — the language used on the occa- 
 sion, consisting, in a great measure, of the terms of reproach 
 common among the Borderers during their pilfering warfare. 
 
 Sgotch-fiddle, a musical instrument of a peculiar nature ; for 
 an amusing description of which I refer the reader to the new 
 edit, of the Crav. Gloss, vo. Fiddle. 
 
 Scotch-mist, a small soaking rain— such as will wet an English- 
 man to the skin. Scotch mists, like Scotchmen, are prover- 
 bial for their penetration. 
 
 Scout, a high rock, or large projecting ridge. Sax. sceotan, to 
 shoot out. 
 
 Scowder, to mismanage any thing in cooking, to scorch it. 
 
SCRU 250 
 
 Grose has scourder*d, overheated with working; perhaps only 
 
 a figurative sense of the word. V. Jamieson. 
 ScRAB, a wild apple — the crab. — Scrab-tree, a crab-tree. 
 ScRAFFLE, V. to scramble, to climb up by the help of the hands. 
 
 Wey hinny, says aw, we've a Shot-Tower see hee. 
 
 That biv it ye might scraffle to Heaven ; 
 And if on Saint Nicholas' ye once cus an ee, 
 
 Ye'd crack on't as lang as ye're livin. 
 
 Song, Canny NewQassel. 
 
 Scraffle, s. a scramble, or eager contest for any thing. 
 Scraffle, to be assiduously industrious, to struggle. — Scraff- 
 
 LiNG, working hard to obtain a livelihood. 
 ScRANCH, to grind any hard or crackling substance between the 
 
 teeth. Dut. schrantsen. Dr. Johnson says, the Scots retain 
 
 it. So do the people in the North of England. 
 ScRANCHUM, thin wafery gingerbread; so called from the sound 
 
 when eaten — scranched. 
 ScRANNY, thin, meagre. Su.-Got. skrinn, macer, gracilis. Dan. 
 
 skranteriy weak, sickly, infirm. 
 ScRAT, ScRAUT, V. to scratch. Anglo-Norman, escraU Swed. 
 
 kratsa. — Scrat, s. a scratch — the itch. Welsh, cracky scabies ; 
 
 and Ir. scraw^ scurf, seem allied. 
 ScRAT, an hermaphrodite. Sax. scritta. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 Screed, a rent or tear — a shred or fragment. Sax. screade. 
 
 Teut. schroode. — Screed, is also used for a border; as, a cap- 
 screed. 
 Scribe, to write. Lat. scribere. — Scribe of a pen, a letter. 
 Scrimmage, a battle, an argument, an overthrow — a skirmish. 
 
 The word was formerly written skaramouche. 
 Scrimp, v. to spare, to scant. Teut. krmpeuy contrahere. — 
 
 Scrimp, a. short, scanty, little. 
 Scrog, a stunted bush or shrub. Sax. scrob, frutex. — Scroggy, 
 
 full of old stunted trees or bushes. 
 Scrounge, or Scrunge, to crowd, to squeeze. See Skreenge. 
 ScRUDGE, V. to crowd thickly together, to squeeze. — Scrudge, *. 
 
m scRu 
 
 a crowd, a squeeze. On the laying of the foundation-stone of 
 the New Library of the Literary and Philosophical Society, 
 by the Duke of Sussex, in 1822, there was the greatest scrudge 
 ever remembered in Newcastle. 
 
 Scruff, scurf. A transposition of letters very common. 
 
 ScRUNTy, short, meagre, stunted. See Scranny. 
 
 ScuDDiCK, the lowest measure of value. Perhaps from sceat, 
 sceatOy a small coin among the Saxons j or from some other 
 denomination of money. 
 
 Scuff, the hinder part of the neck. V. Wilb. skuff, 
 
 ScuG, to hide, to shade. See Skug. 
 
 Scum, to strike a person on the mouth. A low word. 
 
 ScuMFisH, to smother, to suffocate with smoke. Wood embers, 
 the snuffing of a candle, sulphur, &c. have scumjishing effluvia 
 in close rooms. Ital. sconfiggercy to discomfit. 
 
 Scunner, to feel disgust, to loathe — to shy, as a horse in har- 
 ness. It is also, figuratively, applied to a man whose courage 
 is not at " the sticking place." Sax. scuniariy to fear, to abhor, 
 to shun. 
 
 Sear, *. autumn— the time of the drying and withering of leaves. 
 Sax. searian, to nip, or dry. — Sear, a. dry, of a yellow hue; 
 opposed to green. 
 
 I have liv'd long enough ; my way of life 
 
 Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leafl — Macbeth. 
 
 Dr. Johnson and some other of the commentators object to 
 wai/ of life, and wish to substitute Mat/ ; but I must confess 
 that I am not convinced by their arguments. 
 
 Seave, a rush. Seavy, overgrown with rushes. " Seavy 
 
 ground." 
 Seck, the Northern word for a sack. " A seek of flour." 
 Seck, Seek, provincial pronunciations of such. See Sick. 
 Secket, a term of contempt to a child. See Segkite, or Sag- 
 kite. 
 Seed, saw. Universal among the vulgar. " Aw seed it.'* 
 Seeing-glass, a mirror, or looking-glass. Isl. sionarglery specu- 
 
SET mi 
 
 lum. The term often occurs in old inventories of household 
 furniture. 
 
 Seek, sick. Sax. seoc. Old Eng. seke, as used by Chaucer. 
 
 Seekening, sickeningy the period of confinement at child-birth. 
 
 Seer, several, divers. Su.-Got. saer, an adverb denoting sepa- 
 ration. Ihre. '* They are gone seer ways." 
 
 Seer, for sure. This is also the pronunciation of Aberdeenshire. 
 
 See-saw, a sort of swing — from its reciprocating motion. Fr. 
 ci-fa. V. Brand s Pop. Antiq., Vol. II., p. 304. 
 
 Seestah, seest thou. Also so pronounced in Aberdeenshire. 
 
 Seg, a sedge ; according to the Saxon form — secg. " Segge or 
 star. Carix." Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Seg, Segg, a bull castrated when full grown. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Seg, V, to hang heavily down. Sax. sigan, to sag, or swag. 
 
 Segging, the heavy laborious walking of a person of unwieldy 
 corpulence. " What a segging gait he has." 
 
 Segkite, or Sagkite, a term applied to a young person who is 
 overgrown and not easily satisfied with food. From seg and 
 kite. 
 
 Sell, pronoun^ self— -used in compounds of viysell, hissell, hersell, 
 yoursell. Plural sells, for selves. 
 
 Semmant, slender, weak, thin, supple, active. 
 
 Semple, ordinary, vulgar — simple ; applied to a person of igno- 
 ble birth. " Gentle and semple^'* — high and low. 
 
 Sen, Sin, Syne, since. V. Jam. sen. — Sen-syne, Sin-syne, 
 since then. " Its lang syne, sen he left us." 
 
 Seng, shelter; as the seng of a hedge. Dan. seng, a bed. 
 
 Sess-pool, an excavation in the ground for receiving foul water. 
 I do not find the word in any Dictionary, though it is in use 
 by architects. V. Laing's Custom House Plans. Sus-pool 
 occurs in Forster on Atmospheric Phoenomena. Perhaps it 
 is sous-pool — ^pool below the surface; or it may have been 
 adopted from Lat. cedo, cessi, &c. to settle down. 
 
 Set, disposal. " She has made a pretty set of herself." 
 
 Set, a permanent deflection, or settling of a railway or machinery. 
 
 Set, to propel, to push forward ; as setting a keel. Also, to 
 
262 ' SET-D 
 
 accompany ; as in a common expression — " Set me a bit on 
 the road," Bit, however, is not more misapplied in the North 
 than it is in some parts of the South. 
 
 Set-down, a powerful rebuke or reprehension. V. Todd's 
 Johnson. 
 
 Setten, the old participle of set, is still used colloquially by the 
 common people ; and so are kitten, letten, putten, and many 
 others. 
 
 Setten-on, short in growth, ill thriven; said of feeble, diminu- 
 tive children. The term is also applied to what is slightly burnt 
 in a pan. 
 
 Settle, a seat. Sax. setel^ setl, sedes, sella. Our Saxon ances- 
 tors had their high settle, or king's settle ; the bishop^ s settle, 
 or see; and the dom settle, or court of justice. In their 
 Psalter, published by Spelman, in 1640, thrymsetle is used for 
 our *^ seat^^ of the scornful. 
 
 Set-to, an argument, a strong contest, a warm debate. 
 
 Set-up, a verb expressive of contempt for a person, assuming a 
 rank, or receiving a distinction, which is viewed as unsuitable 
 to his or her station or merit. " She rides in a coach — set 
 her up, indeed !" V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Seugh, a wet ditch; such as that cut of which the contents of a 
 sod dike have been cut — any watery or boggy place — a sough. 
 V. Jamieson, seuch. 
 
 Shab-off, Shab-away, to sneak away. Germ, schaben, to scrape 
 off; and by some gradations of meaning used with the prepo- 
 sition and in the imperative mood, schab ab, sneak away. 
 
 Shab-rag, a mean person. — Shag-rag, is identical. 
 
 Shack, Shak, to shed, or shake; as corn in harvest time. 
 
 Shack-fork, Shak-fork, a pitch-fork— a shake-fork. 
 
 Shackle, an iron loop moving on a bolt. Teut. schaeckel. 
 
 Shackle, the wrist. Sc. shackle-bane, the wrist-bone. 
 
 Shaffle, to move with an awkward or irregular gait; to hobble. 
 A corruption of shuffle. 
 
 Shag-hat, a hat made very long in the down ; much worn by 
 pitmen and keelmen in the environs of Newcastle. , 
 
SHAR 263 
 
 Shakes, not much worth. " They are no great shakes"— little 
 can be said in commendation of them. 
 
 Shale, v. to peel, to shell. Sax. ascealian, ascilian. See Shill. 
 
 Shale, s, alum ore, — any other loose substance from a mine or 
 quarry. The characteristic is the slaty, or laminated appear- 
 ance. V. Tooke, Vol. II., p. 233. 
 
 Shally-wally, a sign of contempt — shallow brained. 
 
 Sham, shame. Sax. sceam, — Shamfaced, bashful — shamefaced. 
 Sax. scamfcBst. 
 
 Sham-a-stkrne, a vulgar phrase, equivalent to not one. This 
 may possibly serve to explain an obscure and difficult passage 
 in the fine old heroic ballad of Chevi/ Chase, Fit. 2. 
 
 Thorowe ryche male and myne-ye-ple 
 Many steme the stroke downe streght. 
 
 Which may be read, — Mr. Lambe says — they struck down 
 
 straight manj/ a one, through rich coat of mail and many folds. 
 Shandy, wild, frolicksome. V. Suffolk Words, shanny. 
 Shangy, Coally-shangy, Culley-shangy, a row, a tumult, a 
 
 riot, V. Jam. Supp. shangie. 
 Shank, the projecting point of a hill — joining it with the plain. 
 Shanks, the legs. — Shank's-nagy, or Shanky's-nagy, the feet 
 
 — " Adam's ten-toed machine" — if I may quote the term. 
 
 And ay until the day he died. 
 
 He rade on good shanks nagy.-^Ritson, Scotch Songs. 
 
 Shanty, gay, showy, flaunting. Perhaps, as suggested by Mr. 
 
 Todd, a corruption oijanty. 
 Shap, Shape, to begin, to set about any thing, to have a pro- . 
 
 mising appearance. Teut. schaffen, agere, negotiari. V. 
 
 Wilb. shape. 
 Shard, a broken piece of any brittle or fragile substance. Sax. 
 
 sceard, fragmen — that which is shared, separated, or divided. 
 
 Within my recollection, many of the common people, in the 
 
 lower parts of Newcastle, used to resort to the Quayside and 
 
 other places, where they gathered up coals with the half of a 
 
264 SHAR 
 
 wooden dish, called a shard. I have been told that it was not 
 unusual for two of them to purchase a new dish, and split it 
 for the purpose of making these shards. Shard is also a North 
 country word for the shelly or hard outward covering of the 
 tribe of insects denominated Coleoptera. The derivation of 
 shell itself, indeed, is analogous. V. Tooke. 
 
 Often, to our comfort, shall we find 
 The sharded beetle in a safer hold 
 Than is the full-wing'd eagle — Shak. Cymbeline. 
 
 Ere, to black Hecate's summons, 
 The shard-borve beetle, with his drowsy hums. 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 
 A deed of dreadful note. — Slidk. Macbeth. 
 
 These expressions of our dramatist— sAarcferf beetley and shard- 
 borne beetle — are as correct as they are poetical. Dr. John- 
 son's ignorance of the latter meaning of the word completely 
 misled him in his interpretation. His error, however, is not 
 overlooked by the learned and indefatigable Mr. Todd. 
 
 Shaken, dung of cattle. See Scarn j and Cow-sharen. 
 
 Shaken, half of a broken wooden dish. A corruption of Shard. 
 " Aw-you, Mall, ye meer, where is maw sharen?*^ " Aback 
 o* my back, ye gimmer." — Newcastle Dialogue. 
 
 Sharps, coarse ground flour with a portion of bran. 
 
 Shaw, a small shady wood, a wooded bank. Sax. sciia. Teut. 
 schawe^ umbra. The word was used by Gower and Chaucer j 
 and is still current in many parts of England. 
 
 Shear, to reap, or cut corn with the sickle. Su.-Got. shaera. 
 Shear is not, provincially, applied to sheep. A sheep-shearing 
 is a clipping. — Shearer, a harvest reaper. In most parts of 
 the North the corn is almost entirely cut by women, a man 
 being rarely seen in the harvest field with a sickle in his hand. 
 
 Shed, to put aside, to disperse, to divide. " Shedding the hair 
 on the forehead." " Shedding sheep." Sax. sceadauy divi- 
 dere. Teut. scheeden, separare. Germ, scheiden, to part. A 
 learned and distinguished historian, Dr. Lingard, informs me. 
 
SHIL 265 
 
 . that in Lancashire the word shed is used for, to surpass; 
 " that sheds all," being a common expression of surprise, equi- 
 valent to " that surpasses all that I ever heard of." He fur- 
 ther states, that he discovered in the church-yard at Cocker- 
 ham the following inscription : 
 
 Here lies John Richmond, honest man, 
 Shed that who can ! 
 
 Sheei.y, or Sheeley, Sheel-apple, the chaffinch. Ftingilla 
 ccBlebs, Linnaeus, Also called the Spink. 
 
 Sheeting, applied to a slope or waterfall of a mill-dam. Sheets 
 
 : : Tooke says, is the participle sceat of set/tan, to cast forth, to 
 
 . throw out. 
 
 Sheld, party-coloured, flecked or speckled. Shelled, or scaled, 
 divided. V. Tooke. 
 
 Shelty, a small, sprightly pony from Shetland. Sc. sheltie. 
 
 Shem, ^home.—Newc. Sax. sceam. — Shem-fu, shameful. " It's 
 a shem, and a holy bizon^ See Bizon. 
 
 Sheth, a portion of a field, which is divided so as to drain off 
 the water by the direction of the ploughings, called sheths ; 
 i. e. a separated part. Sax. sceadan, to divide. 
 
 Shiel, Shieling, originally a temporary hut or cabin for those 
 who had the care of sheep on the moors, in which they resided 
 during the summer months ; but afterwards applied to fixed 
 habitations. Su.-Got. shale, tuguriolum, domus. Isl. skali. 
 Hence, North and South Shields. In the Endowment of the 
 Cathedral Church of Durham by Henry VIIL, 1541, we find 
 " Ecclesia Sanctae Hildae juxta Shelles." The word exactly 
 expresses the sennhutten of the Swiss peasantry. 
 
 Shift, to remove from one dwelling-house to another. 
 
 Shifting, the removal of the furniture, on changing an habita- 
 tion. 
 
 Shifty, changeable, deceitful, not to be depended on. " A shifty 
 
 fellow" — a person of dubitable character. 
 Shill, to separate, to shell. Sax. ascilian, enucleare. " Shilling 
 M m 
 
266 SHIL 
 
 oats or barley" — taking off the hulls. " Shilling peas** — 
 cleaning them of their swads, or husks. 
 Shilly-shally, hesitating, iiTesolute. Generally thought to be 
 a corrupt reduplication of shall I? But see Thomson, who 
 assigns a Gothic origin — skialgj skcelgy corresponding with 
 
 Shin, to trump at cards. — Bur. In North, ruff^ ai^ old word, is 
 more generally used. 
 
 Shine, a row, disturbance, mischief. " To kick up a shine'* 
 
 Shinney, a stick crooked or round at the end, with which to 
 strike a small wooden ball or coit, in the game called Shin- 
 ney, or Shinney-haw, and sometimes Shinham — played in 
 the Northern counties. The same as Doddart ; which see. 
 
 Shin-splints, pieces of wood placed on the legs of persons who 
 break stones for Macadamization. 
 
 Shippen, a cow-house. Sax. scypene^ bovile. 
 
 Shire, to separate or divide ; as cleansing liquor from the resi- 
 duum ; or parting the thick from the thin. A good old word 
 of pure Saxon origin. 
 
 Shirl, Shurl, to slide ; as on the ice. Fr. slcouler^ to slide. 
 
 Shittletidee, a vulgar expression of disbelief or disapprobation. 
 V. Crav. Gloss, shittle-cum-shaw. 
 
 Shive, a slice ; as of bread or cheese. Sax. sceavan, to shave. 
 Dut. schijf. It occurs in Titus Andronicus. 
 
 Shoe-the-cobbler, a quick and peculiar movement with the 
 fore foot, when sliding on the ice. The " cobbler's knock,' in 
 the South, is given with the hind foot. 
 
 Shoggle, to shake, to joggle. Germ, shavkeln. Corporal Nym 
 says, " will you shog off?'* Shak. Hen. V. 
 
 Shoo, Shue, to scare birds. Germ, scheuchen, to frighten. 
 
 Shoon, Shun, the plural of shoe. Sax. sceon. Teut. schoen. 
 
 Spare none but such as go in clouted shoouy 
 
 For they are thrifty honest men. — Shak. Hen. VI > 
 
 Shore, to threaten. " It shores rain." V. Jam. schor. 
 
SHUL 267 
 
 Shot, each man's share or just proportion of the score or reckon- 
 ing at a public-house. Sax. scot, tributura exactio. Swed. 
 skbtttty to join, to join together; past participle, skbtt. But 
 see Tooke, Vol. II., p. 130. 
 
 Shouther, the shoulder. Dut. schouder. — Shout her-fellow, 
 a partner or marrow in any work that requires the joint exer- 
 tions of more than one man. 
 
 Shrew, a field mouse. A vulgar superstition once prevailed 
 that this poor creature was of so baneful and venomous a 
 nature that whenever it crept over a horse, cow, or sheep, the 
 animal so touched became afflicted with cruel anguish, and 
 threatened with the loss of the use of its limbs. To repel 
 this imaginary evil, it was customary to close up the shrew 
 alive in a hole bored in an ash, elm, or willow-tree j and after- 
 wards to whip the cattle, thus tormented, with one of the 
 boughs, which was considered an efficacious cure. An intel- 
 ligent friend has reminded me of an old notion, that the sup- 
 posed malignity of this mouse is the origin of shrew, a vixen ; 
 in regard to which much difference of opinion exists among 
 etymologists. But Tooke (Vol. II., p. 207,) seems to decide 
 it to come from Sax. syrwan, to vex, to molest, to cause mis- 
 chief to. See also Todd's Johnson. The matter, however, 
 is daily becoming less important ; as, to the honour of the 
 females of the present age, we seldom encounter " a peevish, 
 malignant, clamorous, spiteful, vexatious, turbulent woman," 
 the dictionary characteristics of a shrew. 
 
 Shuffle-and-cut, a superior step in vulgar dancing. 
 
 Shuggy-shew, a swing — a long rope fastened at each end, and 
 thrown over a beam ; on which young persons seat themselves, 
 and are swung backwards and forwards in the manner of a 
 pendulum. See Bewick's iEsop, p. 4, where his Satanic 
 Majesty is amusing himself in this manner. The origin is 
 probably Gevm. schaukel, a swing-rope, ^LnAscheu, starting. 
 
 Shull, or Shuil, a spade or shovel. Dut. school. Sc. shool, or 
 shule. V. Moor's Suffolk Words, showl. 
 
 Shull-bane, the shoulder bone. Germ, schulterbein. 
 
268 SICK 
 
 Sick, Sik, Sike, such. Spenser uses sike. Wiclif, swilke. 
 
 Sicker, sure. Dan. sikkcr. Swed. saker. Germ, sichcr. 
 
 SiCKERLY, surely. Dan. sikkert. Sw. sakerligen. Germ, rich- 
 er Itch. 
 
 Sick-like, Sik-likE) Sike-like, such like. Goth stualeik. Sax. 
 swilc. 
 
 Side, to decide, to settle ; as well as to coincide, to agree. In 
 Lancashire, to set things aside, or out of the way. 
 
 Side, a. long, wide, large ; particularly as applied to articles of 
 dress. The word occurs both in the Saxon and Danish lan- 
 
 ■ guages. Shakspeare aud Ben Jonson use side sleeves, for long 
 loose hanging sleeves. 
 
 Side-up, to put things in order; as to side up the house. 
 
 Sidle, to saunter, to take an oblique direction. To side long. 
 
 Sigh, to become larger. " The shoon are ower little, but they'll 
 sigh out. 
 
 Sike, Syke, v. to ooze or run slowly ; as water in a ditch— or 
 through a dam. 
 
 Sike, Syke, s. a streamlet of water, the smallest kind of natural 
 runner. Sax. sic, sich, lacuna. Isl. sijke. In title deeds re- 
 lating to property in the North, the word often occurs, in the 
 dog-latin of our old records — so archaeologically musical to an 
 antiquary. It is used especially as descriptive of a boundary on 
 something less than a beck or stream. 
 
 Sile, V, to percolate, to flow. — North. 
 
 When he read the three first lines, 
 
 He then began to smile ; 
 And when he read the three next lines. 
 
 The tears began to sik. " • 
 
 Lord Derwentivater's Goodnight. 
 
 Sile, v. to strain, to purify milk through a straining dish. Su.- 
 Got. sila, colare. — Sile, s. a fine sieve or milk strainer. Su.- 
 Got. sil, colum. Swed. sil, a strainer. 
 
 Sill, stratum of minerals. Sax. si/lla, the sell or seat. 
 
 Siller, for silver. Still current in our Northern dialect. V. 
 Wachter, silber. 
 
SKEE 26^ 
 
 Sills, the shafts of a waggon. A corruption of thills. 
 
 Silly, disordered, wretched — used to express bodily weakness. 
 A person not in health is said to be silli/, Su.-Got. salig, 
 poor, miserable. 
 
 SiND, to wash out, to rinse — also to dilute ; to sind it dowriy being 
 to take a drink after meat. Sc. synde. 
 
 Sine, to percolate. — Dur. Fr. saigner, to bleed, to drain or let 
 out water. 
 
 Sine, afterwards. " As tite sune as sine.'^ V. Jam. syjie. 
 
 SiNGiN-HiNNiE, or SiNGiNG-HiNNY, a rich kneaded cake ; indis- 
 pensable in a pitman's family. So called from the singing 
 noise emitted while baking it on the girdle. 
 
 SiNGLiN, a handful of gleaned corn — a single gleaning. This 
 word is doubtless the same as the Cheshire songowy songal, so 
 ably illustrated by Mr. Wilbraham in his Glossary. In a MS. 
 addition to a copy of that interesting and privately printed 
 work, presented to me by the author, reference is made to 
 Hyde, de Religione Persarum, for the ancient use of songall. 
 
 Sink, a frequent asseveration among the pitmen. See Smash. 
 
 SiNNON, for sinew. Sc. senon. Dr. Jamieson, among other 
 etymons, refers to Old Fris. sijnnen. 
 
 SiPE, to leak, to ooze or drain out slowly through a small cre- 
 vice. Sax. sipatiy macerare. Teut. sijpen, stillare, fluere. — 
 SiPiNGS, the oozings or drainings of a vessel after any fluid has 
 been poured out of it. 
 
 SiRPLE, to sip often ; nearly allied to tippling. Swed. sorpla, to 
 drink by little at a time. A horse is said to sirpky when he 
 drinks fastidiously and sparingly. 
 
 Site, or Sight, vulgarly pronounced sdet, a great number. 
 
 Skare, or Skaire, wild, timid, shy. Grose. V. Jam. Supp. 
 skar. 
 
 Skeel, a cylindrical wooden vessel for carrying milk or water, 
 with an upright handle made of one of the staves in place of a 
 bow. Isl. sMola, a milk-pail. Sw. skdl, a bowl. 
 
 Skeel V, Skilly, knowing, intelligent, skilful. Often used to 
 
270 SKEL 
 
 denote real or supposed skill in the cure of diseases. The 
 
 doctress of a country village is skeely, 
 Skeijly, v. to squint. Isl. skaela. Germ, schielen. — Skelly, *, 
 
 a squinting look. Sax. sceoleage. 
 Skelp, v. to slap or strike with the open hand ; particularly on 
 
 the breech or the cheek. Isl. shelf a^ to strike. — Skelp, also 
 
 means to move rapidly — the effect for the cause. 
 Skelp, Skelper, s. a smart blow, or stroke. — Skelping, a hearty 
 
 beating, a sound drvbhing. 
 Skelper, a vulgar term for any thing very large. 
 Skep, a basket made of rushes, or straw. It is an ancient name, 
 
 not yet obsolete, for a measure of uncertain quantity. Sax. 
 
 seep. A bee-hive of straw is called a bee-skcp. Gael, sgeip. 
 Sker, to slide swiftly, to skate. Su.-Got. skiuta, trudere, im- 
 
 pellere. Swed. skdra, to cut. 
 Skew, to go aside, to walk obliquely. Germ, scheuerit to go 
 
 aside, to avoid, to shun. 
 Skew, to look obliquely, to squint. Used in Cheshire. V. 
 
 Wilb. 
 Skew, to throw violently — properly in an oblique direction. 
 Skew-the-dew, a term for a splay-footed person. 
 Skey, to start, to fly off; as a horse that takes fright — to shy. 
 Skill, to know, to understand. Isl. skilia, intelligere. Sc. 
 
 skeel; which is also the vulgar pronunciation in North. The 
 
 word is not obsolete as stated by Dr. Johnson. 
 Skime, to look asquint. — Sken has the same meaning in the 
 
 Westmorland and Craven Dialects. See Skelly. 
 Skimmer, to glitter, to gleam. Sax. sciman, sciviian, splendere, 
 
 fulgere. Germ, schimmern^ to shine. 
 Skip-jack, the merry-thought bone of a goose. See Moor's 
 
 Suff. Words. See, also. Jam. ^n^^^. jumpin-jock. 
 Skip-jack, " an upstart." Todd's Johnson. In the North it 
 
 means an antic fellow. 
 Skipper, the captain of a keel, or coal barge. Sax. sciper, nau- 
 
 ta. Dut. schipper, a shipmaster. Old Swed. skipare. 
 
SLAG 271 
 
 Skirl, v. to cry excessively, to pierce the air with a shrill 
 
 voice. 
 Skirl, s. a loud and incessant scream or shriek — a continuation 
 
 of childish rage and grief. Dan. skraal, an outcry. Swed. 
 
 skrally sound, noise. Isl. skrall. 
 Skit, to throw reflections on. Sax. scitan, to cast forth. 
 Skitter, liquidum excrementum jaculare. Hence this vulgar 
 
 name for a diarrhoea. It is a hard pronunciation of Sax. scitan, 
 
 to cast forth ; for which we have another word used with the 
 
 soft pronunciation. Isl. skvetta, and Swed. skijla, exonerare 
 
 ventrem, are cognate. 
 Skogger, the leg of an old stocking ; used by countrymen to 
 
 keep the snow out of their shoes. See Hoggers. 
 Skreenge, or Skringe, to squeeze violently. The etymology is 
 
 probably to be found in Gr. c-yp<y|, a syringe. Fr. seringiie. 
 Skrike, to shriek. Dan. skrige. Su.-Got. skrika, vociferari. 
 Skrive, to mark or scratch wood or metal. Sw. skrifva, to 
 
 write. 
 Skug, v. to hide, to screen. Su.-Got. skygga, obumbrare. — 
 
 Skug, s, a sheltered place. Isl. skuggi, umbra. Sw. skugga. 
 Skurry, haste, impetuosity. " What a hurry-skurryT Fr. 
 
 escurer, to scour. Ital. scorrere. 
 Slab-dash, or Slap-dash, a cheap mode of colouring rooms, by 
 
 dashing them with a brush in uuitation of paper. 
 Slabby, dirty and damp — sloppy. Teut. slabber en, to slabber. 
 
 Hence, Slab-basin, for slop-basin. 
 Slack, an opening between two hills, a valley or small shallow 
 
 dell. Su.-Got. slak. Isl. slakur. 
 Slack, a long pool in a streamy river. Germ. schUcht, smooth. 
 Slade, a breadth of green sward in ploughed land, or in planta- 
 tions. 
 Sladdery, wet and dirty. " Sladdery walking." Isl. sladda, 
 
 squalide grassari. See Slatter. 
 Slag, refuse of metals. We, probably, adopted the term from 
 
 Sax. slagan, percutere, as what was struck off' from the metal. 
 
 Ihre derives Su.-Got, slagg, scoria, from sidy the chips of iron 
 
272 SLAI 
 
 that fly from the aovil ; and Wachter deduces Germ, schlack, 
 scoria, foex metalli, from schlagen, ejicere, excernere. 
 
 Slain, a. blighted ; as slain corn, when the grain is reduced to a 
 dry sooty powder. Swed. slagen, struck ; e. g, struck with 
 blindness — slagen med blindhet, — Slain, s. the smut. 
 
 Slaistkr, to beat, to thrash, to drub, to thump. 
 
 Slaistering, doing any thing in an awkward, untidy manner. 
 V. Ihre, slask. 
 
 Slake, v, to smear, to wet, to bedaub. Isl. sloka, delutare. 
 
 Slake, *. an accumulation of mud or slime, especially in a river. 
 Su.-Got. slak, laxus j as being soft and flaccid ; or Teut. slijck, 
 coenum, lutum. There is Jarrow Slake, on the river Tyne, 
 wherein, according to Hoveden, the royal navy of the Nor- 
 thumbrian sovereign Ecgfrid rode at anchor. 
 
 Slam, to beat, to cufi*— -also to push or shut violently — to bang. 
 " She slammed the door to." 
 
 Slant, v. to utter sly jokes, or petty lies. ** He slants a good 
 deal" — he is given to lying. — Slant, s. a joke, a sneer. Ful- 
 ler uses slent. 
 
 Slap-bang, violently, headlong — slap-dask. 
 
 Slape, sUppery, smooth. V. Skinner, Ray, and Grose. 
 
 Slapping, tall, strong, strapping. — Slapper, any large object. 
 
 Slashy, wet and dirty. Sw. slask, wet. " A slasht/ day." 
 
 Slate, to set a dog loose at any thing ; as sheep, swine, &c. V. 
 Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Slatter, to pour awkwardly, to slop, to spill. Hence, slat- 
 tern. 
 
 Slaver, to talk fast, or unintelligibly. Swed. slarfva, to blun- 
 der in speaking. See Hash. 
 
 Slaw, the Northern word for slow. Pure Saxon. . 
 
 Sleck, v. to cool in water. Hence, Sleck-trough, the trough 
 containing the water in which smiths cool their irpn and tem- 
 per steel. Identical with Slake, v. which see. ... 
 
 Sleck, to quench ; as to sleck your thirst. Isl. slaecka. 
 
 Slee, cunning, sly. Chaucer uses slie, sligh, for sly. 
 
 Sleeveless, unsuccessful, unprofitable, pj-etended, causeless, 
 
SLEU 273 
 
 feigned. V, Tooke. It is often pronounced in Northumber- 
 land Threeveless, probably from tkrieveless, or thriftless. 
 
 Sleuth, the slot or tract of man or beast as known by the scent. 
 The word is evidently allied to Isl. slod, semita, vestigia ; and 
 originally the same with Ir. sliocht, a track, trace, or impression. 
 See Sleuth-hound. According to Cunningham's Neiv South 
 Walesy the aboriginal natives possess amazing quickness of eye 
 and ear, and can trace a man's footsteps with perfect ease 
 through every description of country, provided it is sufficiently 
 recent, and that no rain has fallen in the interim ; and the 
 same authority states, that they can guess very correctly how 
 long it is since the individual has passed, and even ascertain 
 whether it is the bare footsteps of a white, or a black man, by 
 the character of the impression ! 
 
 Sleuth-hound, the Northern name for the bloodhound; so 
 called from its quaUty of tracing the sleuth. These dogs were 
 held in great estimation by our ancestors ; particularly on the 
 Borders, where a tax was levied for maintaining them. Their 
 scent was so remarkably quick, that they could follow, with 
 great certainty, the human footsteps to a considerable distance. 
 Many of them were, in consequence, kept in certain districts 
 for the purpose of tracing thieves and marauders through their 
 secret recesses. 
 
 Upon the banks 
 
 Of Tweed, slow winding through the vale, the seat 
 Of war and rapine once, ere Britons knew 
 The sweets of peace 
 
 There dwelt a pilfering race; well train'd and skill'd 
 
 In all the mysteries of theft, the spoil 
 
 Their only substance, feuds and war their sport. 
 
 Somervile, Cluisey Book I. 
 
 The poet afterwards beautifully describes the mode of pursu- 
 ing these arch felons by this sagacious animal ; but the passage 
 is too long for quotation here. Those, who would wish to 
 have further information relative to the blood- hound, may 
 
tJA SLID 
 
 consult Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note 16, Canto L; 
 and Dr. Jamieson's Edition of Wallace, Notes on Book V., 
 p. 370. 
 
 Sliddery, slippery. Sax. sliddor, lubricitas. See Slither. 
 
 Sum, wicked, mischievous, perverse. V. Jam. 2d. sense. 
 
 Slinge, to go creepingly away as if ashamed, to sneak. Sax* 
 slincan, to creep. Swed. slinka^ to dangle, to hang upon any 
 one. Hence, Slink, a sneaking fellow. Swed. slinker, a 
 dangler, a timeserver. 
 
 Slinky, Slonky, lank, lean. Sax. slincan, to slink. See 
 Slunken. 
 
 Slip, a child's pinafore — from the rapidity with which it is slip- 
 ped on or off. In the Acta Sanctorum, mention is made of a 
 linen cloth drawn from the ear to the chin, to receive the bava 
 of infants, and to cover the bosoms of young girls. V. Du 
 Cange, bavara. 
 
 Slipe-off, to strip off the skin or bark of any thing. Grose. 
 V. Jam. Supp. slype. 
 
 Slippy, slippery. Not an abbreviation, as Mr. Wilbraham sup- 
 poses, but a pure Saxon word ; and, as shown by Mr. Todd, 
 of old English usage ; notwithstanding which the great lexi- 
 cographer characterized it as a barbarous provincial term, 
 from slip ! 
 
 Slir, to slip, to slide. See Slither. 
 
 Slither, to slide, to slip. Sax. sliderian. Teut. slidderen. — 
 Slithery, slippery. Chaucer uses slider, which I am inform- 
 ed is still in vulgar use in Gloucestershire and Somersetshire. 
 
 Sliver, v. to cut off a slice, to tear away a part. Sax. slifan. 
 
 She that herself will sliver and disbranch. 
 
 Shak. King Lear. 
 
 Pope altered this to shiver, for which the Monthly Reviewers 
 
 wished to substitute sever. 
 Sliver, s. a slice. The word, in the sense of a branch torn off, 
 
 occurs in Hamlet. Chaucer writes it slivere. 
 Slocken, to slake, to quench. Su.-Got. slockna, extinguere. 
 
 lil. sloka. Old Eng. slokkj/n. " To slocken your thirst." 
 
SLUS «75 
 
 Slogan, or Slughorn, the war cry or gathering word of a Border 
 clan — the watch-word by which individuals of the same party 
 recognized each other, either amidst the darkness of night, or 
 in the confusion of battle. Grael. sluagh-ghairm, the signal for 
 battle among the Highland clans. Sax. sla, slag, bellicum, an 
 alarm to war, a warning or signal to battle. The ancient Bri- 
 tons had their war-song, intituled Arymes Prydain, or the 
 armed confederacy of Britain, which may be seen in the Cam- 
 brian Register. Tacitus mentions the chaunters in the army 
 who excited the soldiers to exert themselves, setting forth as 
 examples the glorious deeds of renowned heroes. The Uboo- 
 hoo Ceannan, or yell of the Irish, became proverbial. Several 
 families in Northumberland, after the change of manners, con- 
 verted their slogans into mottoes to their arms. 
 
 Sloggering, loose, untidy, slovenly; especially in the under 
 garments. Swed. slusJcig, slovenly. 
 
 Sloom, Sloum, a gentle sleep, or slumber. Teut. sluymen, levi- 
 ter dormire. Sax. slumerian, to slumber. 
 
 Sloppy, loose, wide. Sax. slopen, laxus ; from to-slupan. 
 
 Slore, dirt, sump. Sax. slog, a slough. Teut. slorig, nasty. 
 
 Slorp, to make a noise when supping with a spoon, to swallow 
 ungracefully. Teut. slorpen, sorbere. Isl. slurka, deglutire. 
 Dan. slurker, to swallow. 
 
 Slot, v. to fasten by a bolt. " Slot the door." Teut. sluyten. 
 Swed. sluta, to shut, to close. Dan. slutte. 
 
 Slot, s. a small bolt or sliding bar. Teut. slot, sera. 
 
 Sludder, Sluther, to eat in a slovenly or sluttish manner. 
 
 Sludderment, Slutherment, dirt, filth, nastiness. 
 
 Slump, to slip or fall into a wet or miry place. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Slunken, having a lank and scraggy appearance. This is the 
 Danish word retained — slunken, thin, lean, slender. 
 
 Slush, any thing plashy ; but most commonly applied to snow 
 in a state of liquefaction. Su.-Got. slask, humor quicunque 
 
 - sordidus, seems the root. Dan. slud, sleet, is allied. 
 
 Slush, a reproachful term for a dirty person— a greedy eater. 
 In the latter sense it seems allied to Dan. slughals, a glutton. 
 
276 SMAC 
 
 Smack, v. to kiss with a noise. — Smack, s. a loud kiss; such as 
 was given at the ludicrous wedding of Catherine and Petni- 
 chio. 
 
 He took the bride about the neck ; 
 And kiss'd her lips with such a clamorous smacks 
 That, at the parting, all the church did echo. 
 
 Sliak. Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 The ceremony of saluting a bride at the altar, immediately 
 after the performance of the marriage service — a very ancient 
 custom — has not yet fallen into disuse. There are two sources 
 whence to derive the word smack. Dr. Johnson says. Sax. 
 smcBccan ; which no doubt is the origin of Germ, schmeickeln, 
 to coax ; but this seems too gentle a procedure. It is rather, 
 a friend remarks, the German mode of doing the thing with a 
 schmack — gout, relish, gusto; and hence their schmatzen^ which 
 is to make a noise with the mouth in eatmg or kissing, when 
 doing either with a relish. 
 
 Sma'-co'-fizzer, a fizzing singing-hinny full of currants— figu- 
 ratively, small coals. See Singin-hinnie. 
 
 Small, not grown up. In our Northern phraseology, a small 
 family means a family of young children, however numerous. 
 
 Smally, little, puny. " A smally bairn." Isl. smalig. 
 
 Smartle, to waste, or melt away. Su.-Got. smaelta, to melt. 
 
 Smash, v. to crush, to break in pieces, to shiver.— Smash, s. a 
 crush, the state of being shivered, atoms. Gael, smuaisy bro- 
 ken in shivers. 
 
 Smash, a kind of oath among the pitmen. Nothing energetic 
 can- be said without it. Indeed, it is the most striking cha- 
 racteristic of their uncouth phraseology — and natural enough 
 considering their liableness to be smashed. 
 
 Smasher, a small standing pie, or raised tartlet; generally made 
 of gooseberries. — Newcastle. This word also means any thing 
 larger than another of the same sort. It is likewise a cant 
 name for a pitman ; in which I am told by an ingenious friend, 
 we are to seek for the etymology of the word; a smasher 
 being originally such a tart as a pitman could smash or cat up 
 
SMOC 277 
 
 at a mouthful ! But it is, I think, more likely from Germ. 
 schmauseUy to feast — schmauser^ a feaster. As great quantity 
 and feasting are in a pitman's glossary of taste quite synony- 
 mous, a smasher signifies necessarily something h'lg^ just as in 
 the English idea of prettiness always including plumpness, the 
 French jo/i becomes in English ^'o//^. 
 
 Smeeth, to smooth. It is the ancient Saxon form of the word. 
 
 Smelt, the fry of the salmon. Sax. &melty a smelt. Sardina 
 piscis. Lye. See Sparling. 
 
 Smiddy, a blacksmith's shop — a smithy. Sax. smiththa, fabri 
 officina. Sw. smedia. Germ, schimdte. 
 
 Smiddy-gum, the refuse of the smith's shop. 
 
 Smirk, Smirkle, to smile pleasantly, to laugh in the sleeve or 
 secretly, but not satirically. Sax. smercian, subridere. 
 
 Smit, Smittle, v. to infect. Sax. smittam. Dan. sviitte. — 
 Smit, Smittle, s. infection. — Saiittle, Smittlish, a. infec- 
 tious, contagious. Dan. smitsom. Teut. smettelick. 
 
 Smock, the under linen of a female. Sax.smoc. A good old word, 
 though in the index expurgatorius of fashionable delicacy. In 
 former days, gifts of land for the singular purpose of purchas- 
 ing smocks for Nuns were not uncommon. The Nuns of the 
 Priory of Saint Bartholomew in Newcastle, about the time of 
 King John, obtained a grant of this sort from Marmaduke de 
 Tweng and Margaret his wife. Among the presents to Queen 
 , Elizabeth, we find " a smocJc of fine holland, and the bodies 
 and sleeves wrought all over with black silk." As remarked 
 by Fosbroke, this may appear to modern ideas an odd kind 
 of present j but a shirt, partly gilt, is mentioned by Bede as a 
 present sent by the Pope to Edwin, an Anglo-Saxon king; 
 and Joinville observes, that shirts were presented to kings, as 
 the first token of affection, because worn nearest to the body. 
 
 Smock-race, a race run by females for a smock. These races 
 were frequent in my recollection among the young country 
 wenches in the North. The prize, a fine Holland chemise, 
 was usually decorated with ribbons. The sport is still conti- 
 nued at Newburn, near Newcastle, on Ascension-day. 
 
278 SMOO 
 
 Smoor, to smother, to suffocate. Sax. smoran. Teut. smooren. 
 Common in Lancashire and Westmorland Mr. Todd says. 
 It may be added, in Northumberland and Durham also. 
 
 Smouch, to salute. An old word. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Smudge, v. to laugh in a clandestine or concealed manner. 
 Germ, schmunzelnj to laugh in one's sleeve. 
 
 Smudge, v. to burn without a flame, or any appearance of fire, 
 except smoke. — Smudge, or SmuSh, s, a sulphureous smell 
 occasioned by smoke and dust — close, suffocating air. Germ. 
 schmutz, smut, dirt. 
 
 Snaffle, to pilfer. " Ye snaffled that fra Meg." 
 
 Snag, v. to hew or cut roughly with an axe. For etymology, 
 see Todd's Johnson. I am informed that the trees drifted 
 down by the Mississippi are classified as snagSy mags, planters, 
 and sawyers. 
 
 Snag, s. the part left on the tree after a branch is cut off. 
 
 Snail' s-GALLOP, a slow pace ; resembling the motion of a snail. 
 
 Snake-stones, petrified shell fish or ammonites^ resembling 
 snakes coiled up, without heads, for which Whitby has long 
 been celebrated. They were supposed to have been real 
 snakes ; and the want of heads was no valid objection to the 
 hypothesis, since monkish tradition alleged, that the whole 
 race of serpents, by which the territory of Lady Hilda had 
 been infested, were at once decapitated and petrified, through 
 that good saint's prayers. V. Young's Geology of the York- 
 shire Coast, p. 245 & seq. and the plates there referred to. 
 
 They told how, in their convent cell, 
 A Saxon princess once did dwell, 
 
 The lovely Edelfled; 
 And how, of thousand snakes, each one 
 Was changed into a coil of stone. 
 
 When holy Hilda prayed ScoWs Martnion. 
 
 Snap, a small round cake of brittle gingerbread — liable to be 
 
 snapped. It is also a Scottish word. 
 Snap-apple, or Snack-apple, a kind of play. See Halle-e'en. 
 
SNOD 279 
 
 Snape, to chide, to reprimand. Isl. sneipa, contumelid afficere. 
 
 V. Todd's John, sneap. 
 Snarl, v. to insnarej as to snarl hares. — Snarl, s. the snare 
 
 itself, made of wire. " Snaryn or snarli/n, illaqueo." Prompt. 
 
 Parv. 
 Snathe, to prune, to lop. Sax. snithan, to cut. Swed. sniday to 
 
 cut or carve in wood. See Sned. 
 Snaw, snow. Pure Saxon. — Snaw-broth, melted snow, 
 Sneck, s. the latch or fastening of a door or gate. It is also 
 
 used as a verb — to sneck the door, being to fit it by a latch. 
 
 Teut. snaclcen, captare. V. Ray. 
 Sneck-drawn, narrow-minded, covetous. V. Jam. snecJe-drawer. 
 Sned, v. to lop, to cut. " To sned sticks." Apparently the 
 
 same as Snathe. Dut. sneeden, Teut. sniideny and Germ. 
 
 schneiden, cognate. 
 Sned^ s. the long shank or handle of a scythe. Sax. sTusd. 
 Snell, sharp, keen, piercing,* as a snell air. Teut. snel, acer. 
 
 Ital. snello, brisk. " December fell, baith sharp and snelV* 
 Snew, snowed. " It snew all day." It is the old preterite, as 
 
 used b}^ Chaucer and other ancient writers. 
 Sneeze-horn, or Sneesh-horn, a common sort of snufF-box, 
 
 made of the tip of a cow's horn. 
 Snifter, to snufFup the nose, to sniff. Su.-Got. snyfsta. 
 Snig, an eel. Hence, to sniggle^ to fish for eels. 
 Snippy, parsimonious, niggardly. Teut. snippen, resecare. 
 Snirt, v. to laugh suddenly and involuntarily. — Snirt, s. a sup- 
 pressed laugh. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Snithe, sharp, piercing, cutting; applied to the wind. Sax. 
 
 snithan, secare. See Snell. 
 Snivel, Sneavel, to speak through the nose, to sniff— to snuffle. 
 
 Su.-Got. snyfsta. V. Ihre. 
 Snivv, mean, covetous. Identical with Snippy. 
 Snock-snurled, entangled, much twisted, curled up like hard 
 
 twined worsted. Germ, hnupfen^ a fastening, and knorry a 
 
 knot — the fastening knotted. 
 Snod, smooth, neat, even, trimmed. Sax. snidan, to cut. 
 
280 SNOK 
 
 Applied to persons, it means sly, cunning, demure. " The 
 snod fellow would kiss the lass if he could." 
 
 Snoke, to smell,to pry about curiously, to look closely at any thing, 
 to ferret. Swed. snoka, insidios^ scrutari. Serenius. — Snoka 
 i hvar vrdy to thrust one's nose into every corner. Widegren. 
 
 Snood, or Snude, a fillet, a ribbon. Sax. snody vitta. Welsh, 
 ysnoden. Cornish, snod. 
 
 Snort, to laugh outright.— Snorting, laughing out. 
 
 Snot, Snotty, a contemptuous epithet for an insignificant fel- 
 low — ^ snoty mucus nasi. 
 
 Snot, used by the common people to designate the burnt wick 
 of a candle— the snufF. 
 
 Snotter, v. to snivel, to sob or cry. Sax. snytan. — Snotter, *. 
 mucus nasi. Sax. snote. Teut. snot. 
 
 Soak, or Soke, the same privilege as Sucken. Sax. soc. V. 
 Grose, soke, 
 
 SoBBLE, to thrash, to beat. Probably from disable. It is a 
 very common word among the pitmen. " Aw'll sobhle thy 
 body." 
 
 Sock, a plough-share. Fr. soc. In Palsgrave, ** socke of a 
 plough" is defined " soc de la cherue." See, also, Cotgrave, 
 soc d'une charrud. 
 
 SoDDY, SoDDENT, hcavy, sad. Perhaps from sodden^ the part, 
 oi seethe, boiled down, all the goodness taken out. — Sodden- 
 WHEAT, furmety, or, as it ought to be spelt, frumenty ; a pre- 
 paration of newly reaped com, which, reboiled with milk, and 
 a little sweetened, makes a pleasant and nutritive meal. 
 
 Sods, a primitive saddle, used among countrymen — made of 
 coarse cloth, or skin, stuffed with straw. Sax. seod (pi. 
 seodas) sacculus. Sc. soddis, sodds. 
 
 Soft, moist, mild, open j as applied to the weather. " A soft 
 day" — a mild damp day, threatening rain. 
 
 Some,, a collective termination. " The twosome** — the three- 
 some." 
 
 SoNCY, or SoNSY, pleasant, agreeable, engaging ; as applied to a 
 person's looks. It may, as a literary friend supposes, be 
 
sous 281 
 
 referred to ItsA.concio; though it is, perhaps, merely a cor- 
 ruption of Fr. sans souci. 
 SoNCV, Sonsy, plump, fat, thriving — also lucky. " A sonsy 
 
 lass." Probably from Teut. sanse, increase, prosperity. 
 
 Todd. . 
 SooM, the Northunibrian pronunciation of swim. — Soomer, a 
 
 swimmer. " A top soomer" 
 Soop, our Northern word for sweep. Su.-Got. sopa. 
 SooTY-DOG, an opprobrious epithet for a dirty fellow. 
 Sort, a lot, a parcel, a number. " A sort of old wives." V. 
 
 Jam. Supp. Archdeacon Nares is mistaken in thinking that 
 
 the word is out of use. 
 
 But like a sort of sheep dispersed farre. 
 
 Spenser, Fairie Queene, 
 
 They can see a sort of traitors here. 
 
 SJmk. King Richard II. 
 
 Soss, V. to lap like a dog. — Soss, s. a call of dogs to their meat. 
 
 " Soss, houndis mete." Prompt. Parv. 
 Soss, «. a heavy, clumsy fall ; the sound caused by the act of 
 
 falling. See Souse. Dr. Jaraieson refers to Ir. and Gael. 
 
 sios, down, downwards. V. Supp. Ital, scossa, seems allied. 
 Soss, s. puddle, any thing foul or muddy. " The beer's as thick 
 
 as soss. V. Gael. Diet, sos ; and Jam. soss. 
 SoTTER, to boil slowly, to simmer. Sax. seothan, to seeth. 
 Souk, the Northern form of suck. — Souring, sucking. V. 
 
 Crav. Gloss. 
 SouPLE, elastical — supple. Fr. souple. " He's as souple as an 
 
 eel." — SouPLEJACK, a cane. 
 SouR-DOCKEN, commou sorrel. Rumex acetosa. Welsh, suran. 
 Sour-milk, butter milk. Swed. sur mioelk. Widegren. 
 SousE, V. to fall upon, to fall with violence. This common 
 
 North country word is in Todd's Johnson, derived from Fr. 
 
 sous, or dessous, down. With deference, I submit that it 
 
 comes from sus, the old French word for, above or upon, for 
 
 which they now use sur, though still retained in some phrases ; 
 o o 
 
28« SOUS 
 
 as courir sits a quel qiCuriy to fall upon one. The modem 
 preposition desstis, upon or above, is only a compound of de 
 and the old sus. Mr. Todd, I observe, in his 2d. edition, 
 prefers this etymology. 
 
 Souse, s. a great thump, a severe fall, a blow. 
 
 Souse, s. the ear ; properly that of a pig. Hence, Souse, a dish 
 composed of pig's ears, &c. fried. 
 
 Sow, by metonymy, an inelegant female, a dirty wench. The 
 word in this reproachful and detestable sense, is much too 
 common. The Danes have a corresponding term — en skiden 
 toe, a nasty, greasy, stinking jade. WoUf. 
 
 SowTHER, V. to solder. Fr. souder. — Sowther, s. solder. 
 
 Spack, or Spak, the ancient preterite of speak ; still in use. 
 
 Spait, Spate, Speat, or Spyet, a great fall of rain, a torrent, a 
 spout. Sax. speyte, sipho, siphon. Teut. spuyte, Gael. 
 sped, a great river flood, seems allied. 
 
 Spale, Spail, Spyel, Spell, a chipping of wood, or splinter. 
 Su.-Got. spiaelly segmentum. Swed. spjale, a pale, a splint. 
 Old Eng. spcdl, a chip. 
 
 Spancel, a fetter, especially a rope to tie a cow*s hinder legs. 
 
 Spang, a measure by the hand expanded — manus expansa. 
 
 Spang, v. to leap with elastic force, to spring. Germ, spannen, 
 to extend. — Spang, s. a leap, a bound, a jump. 
 
 Spang-and-purley-q, a mode resorted to by boys, of measuring 
 distances ; particularly at the game of marbles. 
 
 Spanghew, to throw with violence. The word is sometimes 
 used to express a barbarous operation on the toad, to which 
 rustics have a great antipathy. In performing it they rest 
 one-half of a long wooden bar on a large stepping stone or 
 over a cart, placing the toad at its extremity. An athletic 
 youth, with a strong club, then strikes the unsupported end 
 with all his force. The poor animal, in consequence, is driven 
 into the air to an immense height; and, falling to the ground 
 with accumulated velocity, is bruised to a jelly. Toads, as 
 observed by Dr. Willan, may perhaps do some slight injury in 
 fields or gardens, but the above cruel practice is directed not 
 
SPAR 283 
 
 so much against the animal as against its supposed inmate i 
 for the clowns imagine, that by the process the)^ shall give a 
 coup de grace to a witch. A similar diversion, called ^/ipjoiwg 
 the toad, appears to be common with boys in Warwickshire 
 and the adjoining counties. V. Boswell's Shak. Vol. XVII. 
 p. 38. The same cruel sport prevails in Scotland. See Jam. 
 Supp. spang-tade. 
 
 Spanker, a tall and active young person, one who walks with 
 quickness and elasticity. Dan. spanke, a dignified gait; or, 
 as it is defined in Bay's Lexicon, " to walk an Alderman's 
 pace." 
 
 Spar, to dispute angrily. Germ, sperrerit to resist, to oppose. 
 
 Spar, Spare, to shut, to close. A very common word in North. 
 Sax. sparran, to bar. Dan. sperre. Germ, sperren. 
 
 Whan the stede is stolen, sparre the stable dur. — Skelton. 
 
 Spar, A-spar, in a state of opposition. To set the legs aspar, 
 to place them like the spars in a roof A . "I thought you 
 were going to America, Thomas ?" " Aye, Sir, but our wife 
 set her legs a-spar, and nebody could mack her budge." 
 
 Spark, to splash, to make foul with mud. " I've spared my 
 boots." Elsewhere to sparkle. 
 
 Sparling, the smelt of the Thames, but not so of the Tyne; 
 occasionally caught in the latter river. Salmo eperlanus. 
 Pennant derives it from French eperlan; but which is not 
 satisfactory to Dr. Jamieson. Its Southern name is said to 
 have been adopted from the peculiar scent of the fish, not un- 
 like cucumber — smell it. Its German name is stinckfisch. 
 But see Smelt. 
 
 Spart, a dwarf rush; common on the Northern moors and 
 wastes. Stipa tenacissima. Linnaeus. The Spaniards, who 
 make it into ropes, call it esparto. Perhaps it is derived from 
 Gr. a-ircc^ro';. Eurip. Phoen. 
 
 Sparty-ground, ground wet, and with rushes here and there — 
 such as are seen in sour pastures. ' 
 
884 SPAV 
 
 Spave, Speave, to castrate, to spay ; properly confined to the 
 taking out of the ovaria from female animals. Lat. spadare. 
 Germ, spadden. Welsh, dhpaddu. V. Gael. Diet, spoth. 
 
 Spean, Spaen, or Spane, to wean a child, to deprive a creature 
 of its mother's milk. Germ, spenen. Young corn is said to 
 be speaned, when the milky (saccharine) juice of its grain is 
 exhausted, and it is obliged to depend on the nutriment col- 
 lected by its own roots. 
 
 Speel, Speil, to climb, to clamber. Sc. spele, speil. 
 
 Spelder, to spell. Very common in Yorkshire. 
 
 Spelk, a small splinter, a thatching stick. Sax. spelc. Teut. 
 spalcke. Swed. spjalka, 
 
 Spelk, a little, slender creature; used as a term of reproach. 
 The word is often applied contemptuously to a puny, active 
 child — a mere splinter. 
 
 Spell-and-ore, a game. — Durham* In Yorkshire it is Spell- 
 AND-NURR, or Knur; the ore^ or wooden ball, having been, 
 perhaps, originally the knurl, or knot of a tree. The spell is 
 the instrument in which the ore is placed. See Trippit- 
 
 AND-COIT. 
 
 Spence, an inner apartment, a country parlour. Meaning a 
 larder y or store-room, — this is a very old word ; from Fr. des- 
 pence, V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Spere, or Speer, to ask, to enquire, to search. Sax. spyrian^ 
 investigare. Swed. sp8rja, to ask, to question. " This terme 
 [spere] is far Northerne, and nat usyd in commyn speche.' 
 Palsgrave. 
 
 Spice, gingerbread. Germ, speise, a mixture of different ingre- 
 dients. 
 
 SprcE, dried fruit. Hence, Spice-cake, a cake full of currants ; 
 and Spice-pudding, a plum-pudding. 
 
 Spiddick-and-fawcet, a wooden instrument used as a substitute 
 for a cock to let out liquors. Spigot-and-faucet. 
 
 Spile, a peg in a cask of liquor. Germ, speiler^ a skewer. — 
 Spile-hole, the receptacle for the same. 
 
SPKA 285 
 
 Spile, to make a foundation in soft or boggy ground ; as, for 
 instance, for a bridge, by driving in spiles ; i. e. piles or pieces 
 of timber; probably from Su.-Got. spiale^ lamina lignea. 
 
 Spilling-the-salt, an ominous accident ; said to presage some 
 future calamity ; particularly, I believe, a domestic feud — if it 
 fall towards a person — but which may be averted by throwing 
 a little of the fallen article over the left shoulder, into the fire. 
 Major Moor asks, if the Latin or Greek classical authors make 
 any mention of it ? Unquestionably. From Festus, we learn 
 that to spill the salt at table was esteemed ominous ; and for 
 the great care with which, on that account, a family salt-cellar 
 ^yas always kept, we have the authority of Horace. Accord- 
 ing to the well-known custom of our hospitable ancestors, they 
 formerly dined at long tables; in the centre of which was 
 placed a large, and often very magnificent, salt-cellar. It 
 being a mark of distinction, whether persons sate above or be- 
 low the salt, particular care was taken to place the guests in a 
 situation suitable to their rank. It would seem that persons 
 of superior station were sometimes placed below the barrier, 
 in order to mortify them . 
 
 My proud lady 
 Admits him to her table, marry, ever 
 Beneath the salt, and there he sits the subject 
 Of her contempt and scorn — Massinger, City Madam. 
 
 Spink, a spark of fire or light. Identical with Spunk. 
 
 Spinny-wye, or Spinny-why, a game among young persons in 
 Newcastle. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. II., p. 305. 
 
 Spit AL, an hospital. ^n.-Got. spetaL Sc. spittle. The Spital 
 in Newcastle. The late Mr. GifFord endeavoured to distin- 
 guish between Spital and Spittle. V. Todd's John. Spittle. 
 
 Splirt, Splurt, to spit out, to eject from the mouth. 
 
 Sponsible, worthy of credit in the world — responsible. 
 
 Sprackle, to climb, to clamber. Isl. sprikla, membra concutere. 
 
 Sprag, lively, active. Grose. V. Jam. Supp. sjrmck. 
 
286 SPRE 
 
 Spreckled, streaked, speckled. Su.-Got. spreckloL 
 
 Spree, sport, merriment, a frolic. Fr. esprit^ spirit, vivacity. 
 
 Sprent, bespattered, splashed with dirt. Sax. sprengan, spar- 
 gere. Chaucer uses spreint. 
 
 Spunk, a spark, a small fire. Also a piece of wood dipped in 
 brimstone — used as a match. 
 
 Spunk, mettle, spirit, vivacity ; used figuratively for life. In 
 the North, this is considered a good and very expressive word, 
 though stated in Todd's Johnson to be a low and contempti- 
 ble expression. But see Dr. Jamieson's Supplement. 
 
 Spunky, sparkling, fresh, spirited. Sc. spunkie. 
 
 Spurling, the deep track of a coach or cart wheel. Germ. 
 spuTy a rut J plural, spuren. Sw. spdr, track, trace. 
 
 Squab, a rustic seat, a long settle. See Lang-saddle. 
 
 In the Task of Cowper, there is a history of the progress of 
 invention, to rest our weary or idle limbs : but his ignorance 
 of one stage in the progress, makes it seriously defective, for in 
 his account he has made no mention of the /orag- settle, not un- 
 usually called a squab, with which every cottage in this neigh- 
 bourhood has from time immemorial been furnished — Pi^er 
 on the Dialect of Slteffield. 
 
 Stacker, to reel, to totter, to stagger. The old form of the 
 
 word. Swed. stagra. — Stackers, a disease in horses — the 
 
 staggers. 
 St ADDLE, the bottom of a corn or hay stack, a mark left in the 
 
 grass by the long continuance of the hay in bad weather. Sax. 
 
 stadel, a foundation, or ground work. Isl. studuJl, pes. Welsh, 
 
 ystadUeddy a continuous state. 
 Stag, a colt, or young horse. V. Jam. staig, stag. 
 Stagnate, to astonish. " I'll stagnate her wi' my story." 
 Staid, advanced in years. Local in this sense. 
 Staidlin, a part of a corn stack left standing. See Staddle. 
 Staith, often pronounced Steeth, or Steith, a place to lay up 
 
 and to load coals at— -either a storehouse or wharf, as occasion 
 
STAN ^7 
 
 may require. Sax. stathy stathe, ripa, littus, statio navium. 
 The word occurs in a demise from the Prior of Tynemouth, 
 A. D. 1338. 
 
 Stake- AND-RiCE, a sort of wattled fence. See Rice. 
 
 Stalwart, stout, strong, hale, valiant. Sax. stcel-weorth. 
 
 Stammer, to stagger, to stumble. Isl. stumra, collabi. 
 
 Stanchil, or Stannel-hawk, the Kestril or Windhover ; inha- 
 biting rocks and old buildings. Falco Tinnunculus. Lin. 
 Shakspeare, in the Twelfth Night, calls it stanyel, 
 
 Stanchil, Staneshel, the iron-bar of a window — a stanchion. 
 
 Standstill, a stoppage, a cessation. An inversion of the clas- 
 sical stillstand — Dan. and Dut. stilstand. Swed. stillestdnd. 
 
 Stane, Stahan, St'yan, a stone. Sax. stan. Sc. stane. 
 
 Stang, v. to shoot with pain ; as in the tooth-ache — to sting. 
 Isl. stangUy pungere. — Stang, s. an acute pain, a sting. 
 
 Stang, s. a long bar, a wooden pole — a piece of timber adapted 
 for the shaft of a cart or carriage ; or for railing or putting 
 across a river; or, indeed, for any other purpose requiring 
 strength. Dan. stang^ a bar, a pole. Su.-Got. and Swed. 
 stangy a pole. Isl. staung, pertica. Sax. steng, vectis. Dut. 
 itangy a pole. — Riding-the-stang, a punishment among the 
 vulgar ; inflicted upon fornicators, adulterers, severe husbands, 
 and such persons as follow their occupations during particular 
 festivals or holidays, or at prohibited times, when there is a 
 stand or combination among workmen. Offenders of this de- 
 scription are mounted astraddle on a long pole, or stang, sup- 
 ported upon the shoulders of their Companions. On this 
 painful and fickle seat, they are borne about the neighbour- 
 hood backwards, attended by a swarm of children, huzzaing 
 and throwing all manner of filth. It is considered as a mark 
 of the highest reproach ; and the person who has been thus 
 treated, seldom recovers his character in the opinion of his 
 neighbours. When they cannot lay hold of the culprit him- 
 self, a boy mounts the stang; but he is unmolested, though 
 attended with the same tumultuous cries, if not with increased 
 shouts of acclamation. The proxy vociferously proclaims. 
 
288 STAN 
 
 that it is not on his own account that he is thus treated, but on 
 that of another person whose crime he names. I have been 
 witness to processions of this kind myself. School-boys are 
 slanged by the other scholars, for breaking, what they call, the 
 rules or orders of the school. The ceremony is also resorted 
 to, when a woman has gained an improper ascendancy over 
 her husband, so as to make him bear every species of indig- 
 nity. In this case, it is called " Riding the stang for a neigh- 
 bour's wife ;" and a man is placed in the same uneasy situation 
 as before described, so that he may be supposed to represent, 
 or to sympathize with his henpecked friend, whose misery he 
 sometimes laments in doggrel rhyme, applicable to the occa- 
 sion. He is carried through the whole hamlet, with a view of 
 exposing or shaming the viraginous lady, and of thus prevent- 
 ing further outrages on the person of her pitiable partner. 
 This mark of disgrace may be traced to very remote times. 
 The Goths were wont to erect, what they called Nidstaeng, or 
 the pole of infamy, with the most dire imprecations against 
 the person who was thought to deserve the punishment. He, 
 who was subjected to this dishonour, was called Nidingy or 
 the infamous ; being disqualified from ever giving evidence in 
 any juridical matter. Eric, King of Norway, was compelled 
 to fly from his dominions, so great was the hatred against him, 
 for having been the means of inflicting this tremendous stigma 
 on Egill Skallagrim, a celebrated Islandic bard. 
 
 Stangey, a common North country name for a tailor. Obvi- 
 ously from the power of the needle. 
 
 Stank, to sigh, to moan, to gasp for breath. Isl. and Su.-Got. 
 stankttf to pant for breath. Swed. stdnka. 
 
 Stank, a wet ditch. It is an old English word, in the sense of 
 a pond, or dam of water. 
 
 Stap, the stave of a tub. Su.-Got. staafy a stave. 
 
 Starn, a star in the heavens. Mce.-Got. stairno. Su.-Got. 
 stierna. Sax., Teut., and Germ, stern. 
 
 Starrish, powerful; as medicine that is too much for the 
 strength of the patient. 
 
STEE 289 
 
 Start, the tail, or handle of any thing. Sax. steort, cauda. 
 
 Statesman, a person possessing a landed estate — whether versed 
 in the arts of government or not. Cumb. and West. See 
 Laird ; with which it is synonymous. 
 
 Staud, cloyed, saturated, overloaded, fatigued. Properly stalled^ 
 surfeited. Some think it is the past participle of stoWy to 
 cram — stowed. 
 
 Staul, Stall, to fill to loathing, to surfeit. V. Jam. staw. 
 
 Staup, to lift the feet high, and tread heavily in walking. Grose. 
 V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Stavelling, or Stavering, wandering about in an unsteady or 
 uncertain manner j as in the dark — stumbling. Swed. stappla^ 
 to stumble, to trip, to falter. 
 
 Stead, Sted, Stid, a place, a farm house and offices. Sax. sted^ 
 stede. Su.-Got. stad, locus, situs. Swed. stdlle. 
 
 Stealy-clothes, an ancient game, still played at by boys. The 
 little party divide themselves into two bands, drawing a line as 
 the boundary of their respective territories ; and at equal dis- 
 tances from this line, deposit the hats, coats, or handkerchiefs 
 of each in a heap. The game commences with a defiance, and 
 then they make mutual incursions, each trying to seize and 
 carry away some article from the other's store ; but if they are 
 unfortunately caught in the attempt, they must not only re- 
 store the plunder, but remain prisoners until one of their own 
 party can make his way to them, and touch them. When all 
 the things of the one party are transferred to the other's head- 
 quarters the game is won. A well contested match will some- 
 times last nearly a whole day. See Scotch-and-english. 
 
 Steck, a stop, a sticking place. " To take the steck^^ — to be- 
 come restive. 
 
 Stee, or Stey, s. a ladder. Sax. stceger^ gradus. Su.-Got. 
 stege^ scalae. Dan. stige^ a ladder. The word is also used 
 adjectively for, very steep. Chaucer has steye, to ascend, and 
 stye^ with the same meaning, occurs in Palsgrave. 
 
 Steek, to shut, to close. Teut. 5^ec/ce?z, claudere. Sax. 5%eaw, 
 to inclose. " Steele the heck" — shut the door. — North. 
 pp 
 
2J)0 STEE 
 
 Kittle t'coal, and mak t'ingle ahine ; 
 Steek t'dere, and keep out t'swine — Cumh. 
 
 Steeping, very wet; applied to a rain which steeps every 
 tiling. 
 
 Steer, a three years old ox. Sax. styre^ steor. Germ, stier. 
 
 Steg, a gander. Isl. steggr, the male of birds, as well as of 
 most quadrupeds. The word is applied ironically to a clown- 
 ish fellow. *' A stupid steg." 
 
 Stell, a large open drain in a marsh. Dan. steil, steep ? 
 
 Stell, a fold, or small inclosure for cattle. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Steng, a bar, a pole, a post. The pole of the old Northumbrian 
 drees was called a steng. The post, on which the notorious 
 William Winter was gibbeted, on Whiskershields common, 
 obtained the name of Winter's Steng. Before his execution 
 the place was called Steng Cross, from a cross with a tall 
 shaft. Steng is a pure Saxon word. See Stang. 
 
 Stent, grass for a season, a right of pasturage — a stint. 
 
 Stew, confusion. V. Grose ; and Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Stick, a stand or combination among workmen ; generally in re- 
 gard to wages — what is elsewhere called a strike. 
 
 Stickle, a bustle. — Stickle-busy, remarkably officious. 
 
 Sticky-stack, a game among young people in running up the 
 face, or cut part of a hay-stack. 
 
 Stiddy, Stithy, an anvil — used sometimes, but I think impro- 
 perly, for the smith's shop. Isl. stedi, incus. Stithe, is old 
 English. Shakspeare employs the word stithi/, in both senses ; 
 and he also uses the verb to stithi/, to employ an anvil. Ray 
 has, among his Northern words, stitk, strong, hard, which is 
 pure Saxon ; but it is not now in use, that I am aware of, ex- 
 cept in Scotland. 
 
 Stiff, wealthy. " He's a rare stiff one" — he is immensely rich. 
 
 Stilt, the handle of a plough. Sax. stele. V. Somner. 
 
 Stime, Styme, the most indistinct, or the faintest form of any 
 object — a glimpse, a whit. " I cannot see a stime." Sax. 
 scinitty fulgor. Welsh, ystum, figure, shape. 
 
 Stint, v. to stop, to cease, to desist. Sax. stintan. 
 
STOO 291 
 
 The pretty wench left crying, and said, Ay ; — 
 And pretty fool, it stinted and said. Ay. 
 
 Shak. Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 Stirk, Sturk, a yearling ox, or heifer. Sax. styrc, juvencus. 
 
 Stirrup-glass, parting drink taken with a friend. This may be 
 referred to an old Northern custom of the landlord presenting 
 a stirrup-cup to his guests for which no charge was made. 
 
 Stive, strong, muscular. Sax. stife, durus. 
 
 Stob, a stump, a stake, a post. Teut. stobbe^ truncus. Swed. 
 stvhbe^ the stump of a tree. The gibbet near Ferryhill, a por- 
 tion of which was standing within my recollection, was con- 
 stantly called Andrew Mills' Stob. Mr. Surtees, who gives a 
 d0;ailed account of the prevailing traditions respecting the 
 tragical catastrophe which led to the execution of Mills, re- 
 marks, that the Stob was in a fair way of being pulled down 
 piecemeal, under the effects of a belief in its efficacy as a 
 charm against ague or tooth-ache. The value attached to any 
 portion of a murderer's gibbet, in incantations, is well known. 
 V. Surtees* Hist, of Durham, Vol. III., p. 281. 
 
 Stob, metaphorically y an ignorant, stupid fellow. 
 
 Stob-feathers, the short unfledged feathers that remain on a 
 fowl after it has been plucked. The synonymous terms in 
 Teut. are stoppel-veder, and stock-veder. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Stomachy, easily offended, resentful — stomachful. 
 
 Stook, a shock of corn, consisting of twelve sheaves. Some- 
 times ten of them are set up to dry, and the other two, which 
 are called hoodsy or hood-sheaves, are placed on the top. Teut. 
 stocJcy meta, a heap. V. Jam. and Todd's John. 
 
 Stoop, Stowp, a post fastened in the earth. Su.-Got. stohpe, 
 fulcrum. Lat. stupa. Sc. stoup. 
 
 Stoor, dust in motion. — Stoory, dusty. Sax. styran, turbare 
 movere. Dut. stooren, to disturb. — Stoor also means a bustle » 
 as all in a stoor, all in a hurry. 
 
 Stoorey, a mixture of warm beer and oatmeal with sugar — that 
 which is stirred up. V. Jam. Supp. stourum. 
 
292 STOP 
 
 Stop, to thrust ; e. g. to stop the poker into the fire. 
 
 Store, estimation, regard, esteem. Dan. stor, great. 
 
 Storken, to cool, to stiffen. Grerm. starken, to strengthen. 
 
 Storm, a fall of snow — a long continuance of frost and snow. — 
 Feeding-storm, such a fall of snow as indicates an approach- 
 ing storm of long continuance. The Lambing-storm, and the 
 Pee-wit, or TuiFFiT-sTORM, are also spoken of; a cover of 
 snow frequently falling at the time. 
 
 Storm. STAID, delayed on a journey by reason of a storm. 
 
 Stot, to rebound from the ground, to strike any elastic body so 
 as to cause it to rebound. Dut. stuiten, to bounce, to rebound. 
 Stotting-ball, a rebounding ball. 
 
 Stot, a young ox — I believe, two years old. Su.-Got. stut/^u- 
 vencus. Dan. sttid, on ox. 
 
 Stound, a small portion of time, a moment. Sax. stund. There 
 are many cognates in the other Northern languages. 
 
 Stound, v. to ache, to smart, to be in pain. Isl. stt/n, ingemes- 
 cere. — Stound, s. the sensation or first impression of sudden 
 pain, arising from a knock or blow. 
 
 Stow, to crop, to lop, to cut off. Su.-Got. stt^fwa, amputare. 
 
 Stowen, the participle passive of steal — stolen. Sc. stown. 
 
 Stower, Dyke-stower, a hedge stake. Su.-Got. stoevy palus. 
 In old Lat. charters, estuarium, estouarium. 
 
 Strain, to link together ; expressive of the union of the sexes 
 in the canine race. Sax. strynan, gignere, generare, procreare. 
 V. Tooke, Vol. II., p. 289. 
 
 Stramash, v. to beat, to bang, to break irreparably, to destroy. 
 Ital. strammazzare^ to fling down with force. 
 
 Stramash, *. a complete overthrow, with great breakage and 
 confusion. " He made a sad stramash among the pots and 
 pans." Applied, metaphorically , to a violent party contest, or 
 to the disorder arising in a popular tumult or commotion. 
 Dr. Jamieson refers to Fr. estramagon^ a blow. 
 
 Stra»ip, to tread upon, to trample. Germ, strampfen. Su.- 
 Got. trampa. V. Wachter; and Ihre. 
 
STRU 293 
 
 Strandy, restive, passionate, contradictious. Germ, stranden, 
 
 to run aground — to set the legs a-spar ; if I may so translate 
 
 it. See Spar. 
 Strang, strong. Pure Saxon. Isl. strangr. Sw. streng. 
 Strapping, tall. — Strapper, a large man or woman. 
 Stravaiging, Stray aging, strolling about ; generally in a bad 
 
 sense. Isl. stravagare, to wander abroad. 
 Streamers, the Northern lights. See Merry-dancers. 
 Stree, Strea, Strew, provincial pronunciations of straw. Sax. 
 
 strea, stre^ streow. Sc. strae. Chaucer writes it strcy in 
 
 Knight's Tale. 
 Streek, to stretch or expand, to lay out a corpse. Sax. strec- 
 
 can, extendere. Swed. strdcka, to stretch, to extend. — 
 
 Streeking-board, a board on which the limbs of a deceased 
 
 person are stretched out and composed. 
 Streek, to measure corn exactly, by passing a very straight 
 
 piece of wood, called a streek or strike, over the top of the 
 
 measure. Su.-Grot. stryha. Sax. stracan. Germ, streichen. 
 Streeked-measure, exact measure — in opposition to heaped 
 
 measure. 
 Stretcher, an untruth ; a softer term for a falsehood. 
 Strickle, an instrument used in whetting a scythe — that with 
 
 which it is streeJced, or stroked. Sax. stracan, stracian, to 
 
 stroke. 
 Striddle, to straddle. — Striddle-legs, astride, cross-legged. 
 Strinkle, to spread by scattering, to besprinkle. 
 Strip, to draw the after milking of a cow. — Strippings, the last 
 
 part of the milking ; said to be richer than the rest — the strok- 
 
 ings or afterings. 
 Stroke, quantity ; as a great stroke of business. Meaning swai/ 
 
 or influence, it is an old word. 
 Strounge, harsh, surly, morose. V. Jamieson. 
 Strunt, a sullen fit. To take the strunts, to be under the influ- 
 ence of a pettish humour. — Strunty, petted, out of humour, 
 f V. Jamieson. 
 
294 STUB 
 
 Strunt, the tail, or rump. — Strunty, any thing short or con- 
 tracted. Fr. estreint, shrunk up. V. Skinner ; and Ray. 
 
 Stubbed, grubbed up; metaphorically y ruined. Swed. stubbigy 
 cut off, curtailed. 
 
 Studdy, a smith's anvil. See Stiddy, Stithy. 
 
 Fling off their black daddies, 
 Leave hammers and studdies. 
 
 Song, Borniy Geatsiders. 
 
 Study, to astonish, to amaze. — Study, astonishment, amaze- 
 ment. V. Crav. Gloss., 2d. edit. 
 
 Stummer, to stumble, to stagger. Isl. stumra, collabi. 
 
 Stump, a heavy, thick-headed fellow. Germ, stumpf. 
 
 Stump, to put down, to pay ready money ; stump your cash, 
 being synonymous with down with your dust. It has obviously 
 the same origin as on the nail — solvere super unguem. 
 
 Stumps, a term for the legs. " Stir your stumps^ V. Jam. 
 Supp. 
 
 Stupid, obstinate ; though possessing good talents. A person 
 really stupid, is generally called soft. 
 
 Sturdy, a disease in the head of cattle, especially sheep, by 
 which the animal becomes stupiiied — a vertigo. Old Fr. 
 estourdi, dizzy-headed. Teut. stooren, vertere. Gael, stuird, 
 a vertigo. 
 
 Sturt, disturbance, vexation, complaint. Dan. styrte. 
 
 Stut, to stammer, to stutter. An old word, still in general use. 
 Stoty to rebound or reduplicate sounds, seems cognate. 
 
 She spake somewhat thicke. 
 
 Her fellowe did stummer and stuty 
 
 But she was a foule slut ! — Skelton. 
 
 Sty, a troublesome and painful swelling on the eye-lid. Sax. 
 stigend. Great relief, if not a perfect cure, is supposed to be 
 effected by the application of a wedding ring, nine times re- 
 peated. The use of talismanic rings, as a charm against 
 
SUMP ^95 
 
 diseases, appears to have been general, and in great estimation, 
 in remote ages, and among many different nations. These 
 rings were considered equally potent against the influence of 
 demons ; and indeed against danger of every sort, but more 
 especially the plague. 
 Styth, foul air ; a black suffocating damp in a colliery. 
 
 And oft a chilling damp or unctuous mist, 
 Loos'd from the crumbling caverns, issues forth ; 
 Stopping the springs of life. — Jagd's Edgehill. 
 
 Subterraneous-passages. Near every ancient castle, cathe- 
 dral, ^bbey, or hall, the common people have tales of under- 
 ground (vaulted) roads, sometimes to great distances ; such as 
 — from Newcastle to Tynemouth — from Tynemouth to Car- 
 lisle — from Hexham to Alnwick Castle — from Durham to 
 Finchale Abbey, and other places. The interminable cavern, 
 ending in hidden treasure, guarded by spell or wakeful demon, 
 is another common topic of popular superstition, concerning 
 which a variety of incredible stories have been fabricated. 
 
 SucKEN, an exclusive privilege of grinding, or other jurisdiction 
 attached to a mill ; the dues paid to the miller. Sax. socne^ a 
 liberty, privilege, or franchise. Su.-Got. soTcriy exactio rei 
 judicatae vel mulctae. Dan. sogn, a parish or district; and 
 Swed. socken, a parish, are allied. In England, all mills an- 
 ciently belonged to lords of manors ; nor were the tenants, 
 who owed service, permitted to grind except at the lord*s 
 mill. Mills also seem to form one of the principal heads of 
 the la:w of Scotland ; where that extent of ground, the tenants 
 of which are bound to bring their grain to a particular mill, is 
 called the sucken. The word is still retained in leases from 
 the Bishop of Durham. See more on this subject in Tomlins' 
 Law Diet. vo. thirlage. 
 
 SuDDLE, or SuTTLE, to soil, to tamish— to sully. Germ, sudeln. 
 Swed. sudda. 
 
 SuMF, a term of reproach — a fool. V. Jamieson, sumph. 
 
 SuMMER-GOOsE, the vulgar name for Gossamer ; which see. 
 
296 SUN-D 
 
 Sump, Sumph, a bog, a swamp, a miry pool. Su.-Got. and Dan. 
 stimp. — SuMPY, miry, dirty. Dan. sumpig. — Sumph, an epi- 
 thet for a dirty person. 
 
 Sun-dance. It was formerly a custom, scrupulously observed, 
 to rise early on Easter Sunday, and to go into the fields to see 
 the sun dance, which, according to ancient tradition, it always 
 does on this day. The practice, I have some reason to be- 
 lieve, is not yet entirely laid aside among those that have 
 eyes for such things. Our ancestors decorated the churches 
 with flowers, as emblems of resuscitation. 
 
 SuNDERLAND-FiTTER, a jocular term at cards for the knave of 
 clubs. 
 
 SuNKs, a rustic substitute for a saddle ; not unlike Sods ; which 
 see. Dan. seng, a pad. 
 
 SuRE-AS-A-GUN, absolutely certain — a common colloquial com- 
 parison ,' first adopted, perhaps, when the gun was found to 
 be so much surer as an instrument of destruction than the 
 arrow. 
 
 SwAD, a peascod, the husk of any kind of pulse. Skinner de- 
 duces the word from Sax. swethan, fasciare. 
 
 SwAMisH, S\VEAMisH, shy, awkwardly bashful. Perhaps, from 
 squeamish^ to which it certainly bears an affinity. 
 
 Swanky, a strapping young country-man — an athletic, efficient 
 labourer. Sax. swan, swang, a country swain ; from swincan, 
 to work, to labour. 
 
 Swap, to exchange, to barter. Isl. skipta, mutare. V. Jam. 
 
 SwAPE, V. to sweep. Sax. swapauy verrere. Isl. sweipa, per- 
 cutere. 
 
 SwAPE, *. a long oar or sweep, used in working a coal keel on 
 the Tyne ; that at the stern acting as a rudder. Swappe, to 
 strike or throw down with violence, similar to the action of 
 using the swape, occurs in Chaucer. See the verb. 
 
 SwAPE, an instrument used in spreading, or, as it is commonly 
 called, scaling, manure. 
 
 SwARBLE, to climb up the bole of a tree by the muscular action 
 of the arms, thighs, and legs— to sivarm. 
 
SWID 297 
 
 SvvARTH, Swath, the apparition of a person, about to die. Ray 
 says from Sax. sweart, black, dark, pale, wan. See Waff. 
 
 Swatch, v. to swathe, to swaddle. Sax. swedan, to bind. 
 
 Swatch, s. a pattern, a sample, a tally. V. Ray, siuache. 
 
 SwATTLE, to consume, to waste ; generally applied to fluids. 
 
 Svveal, v. to melt, to waste or blaze, to burn away rapidly ; as a 
 candle when exposed to the wind. Sax. swelan, to burn. An 
 old English word. — Sweal, s. a blaze, an enlarged flame. 
 
 SwEARLE, or SwEEVEL-EVE, an cyc with a particular cast. 
 
 Sweat-cloth, a very vulgar name for a handkerchief; but obvi- 
 ously the stvat-clath, or sudary of the Saxons. 
 
 SwEDDLE,to swell. — SwEDDLED, swcllcd or puffed out. 
 
 Swede, or Swathe, a row of mown grass. See Hay-making. 
 
 SwEEL, a sudden burst or swell of laughter. 
 
 Sweer, unwilling, backward. Sax. sweer, deses. V. Somner. 
 
 Sweetheart, v. to court, to woo. — Sweethearting, s. court- 
 ship. 
 
 Sweeties, confections, or sweetmeats, for children. 
 
 Sweigh, or SwEY, to poise, to swing, to lean or incline to one 
 side. Isl. siveigia, inclinare. Germ, schweben, to move. It 
 appears to be the origin of the legitimate sway. 
 
 SwELT, to broil, to swoon, to faint — sometimes to expire. — 
 SwELTED, overcome with heat and perspiration. Sax. swel' 
 tan, to die, seems the probable origin. Kilian gives a corres- 
 pondent term in vet. Fland. — swelten, deficere, languescere^ 
 I may add Swed. svdlta, to starve with hunger, as allied. 
 
 SwERLE, to roll from side to side in walking. Teut. swieren, 
 circumvolvere. It is also applied to express the meandering 
 of a stream of water. A small runner in Sandgate, Newcastle, 
 was anciently called the Swerle ; now corrupted into the 
 Squirrel. 
 
 SwERLE, or SwiRLE^ a twist in the hair ; same as Calf-lick. 
 
 SwiDDEN, to scorch, to singe, to burn off" the wool or nap. Ray 
 writes it swizzen. 
 
 SwiDDER, to doubt, to hesitate. Su.-Got. swaefwa, fluctuare. 
 Tent, swieren, vagari. — Swidders, doubt, hesitation. 
 
298 SWIL 
 
 Swill, a round basket of wicker work ; generally carried on the 
 head. Hence its Newcastle name, Keyside umbreUoy when re- 
 versed in wet weather. 
 
 SwiLLiNGS, the washings of vessels ^ven to swine — swill. Sax. 
 swilgan, to drink largely— to swill. 
 
 Swinge, to chastise, to beat soundly. Sax. swingarty flagellare, 
 castigare. It occurs in Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 
 SwiNGLE-TREE, a moveable piece of wood to which the traces of 
 husbandry horses are fastened — the splinter bar. Teut. swing- 
 heleny vibrare. 
 
 SwiNKED, oppressed, vexed, fatigued — literally worked. Sax. 
 swincany laborare, fatigari. Used in Peirs Ploughman; and 
 several times by Chaucer. 
 
 Swipe, to drink off to the very bottom. — Swipes, dregs. 
 
 SwipPER, nimble, quick. Sax. swipan, cito agere. V. Lye. 
 
 Swire, Swyre, the hollow or defile near the summit of a hill. — 
 North. V. Jam. swarey swire^ swyre ; 2d. sense. 
 
 SwiRT, a syringe. Su.-Got. sqwEttUy liquida effundere. 
 
 Swirtle, to proceed with a moving motion like an eel. Su.- 
 Got. swarfwtty circumagere. 
 
 Switch, to walk with a light quick step, to go with a sort of jerk. 
 Su.-Got. swiga, loco cedere. 
 
 Swither, to fear, to tremble. Apparently identical with Swid- 
 der. 
 
 Sword-dance, an ancient Christmas custom ; still continued in 
 many parts of the North. It is fully described in Brand's 
 Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 400, & seq. There is also an interest- 
 ing dissertation on the ancient English Morris Dance, in the 
 2d. vol. of Mr. Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare. 
 
 Swupple, or SouPLE, the upper joint of a flail. Fr. soupley 
 supple ; or Isl. sweipuy to strike. In Cheshire, swippo. 
 
 Syles, the principal rafters of a house, or building. Isl. sillury 
 tigni proceres, latus jugentes. 
 
TAKE «9» 
 
 Tack, v. to take.— Tack, s. a lease or farm — a taking. V. Co. 
 Litt. 5 a. 
 
 Tacket, a small nail. " Used in Scotland." Todd's Johnson. 
 It is also in common use in the North of England. 
 
 Tae, the toe j according to the Scottish form. Sax. ta. Dan. 
 taa. 
 
 Taed, T'yed, a toad. Sax. tade. Sc. laid. — Taed-red, T'yed- 
 RED, the seed, or spawn of toads ; generally seen in a mass like 
 a bunch of grapes. V. Bewick's -/Esop, p. 290. 
 
 Taffy, a sort of candy made of treacle thickened by boiling. A 
 company of young people often make it in a winter evening 
 by way of amusement — called joining for taj/i/. Mr. Wilbra- 
 ham derives the word from Fr. tafia, or taffiat, sugar and 
 brandy made into cakes. Others think the proper spelling 
 and pronunciation is toughy, which explains itself. See 
 Clagham. 
 
 Tailor's-mense, a small portion left by way of good manners. 
 In some parts of the North it is the custom for the village 
 tailor to work at his customer's house, and to partake of the 
 hospitality of the family board. On these occasions the best 
 fare is invariably provided ; and the tailor, to show that he has 
 had enough, generally leaves a little on his plate ; which is 
 railed tailor's viense ; perhaps pro mensa. This term is also 
 given to the cuttings sent home by such of the fraternity 
 as do not labour under the old imputation of loving too much 
 cabbage. 
 
 Taistrel, Testril, a mischievous, ill-behaved boy. When ap- 
 plied to an adult, it is an expression of great contempt, equiva- 
 lent to scoundrel. Perhaps only a variety of kaistrely or kes- 
 trelf a bastard kind of hawk. 
 
 Take-off, to ridicule, to jeer — by means of mimicking. Dan. 
 tage-een-afy a twin expression, to talie one off. 
 
300 TALE t 
 
 Tale-pve, Tell-piet, a malicious informer — a tell-tale. 
 
 Tang, Teng, v. to sting. — Tang, Teng, s, a sting, an acute pain. 
 
 Tang, the pointed part of an instrument that is inserted in the 
 haft, the tongue. Sax. tang. Swed. tdng. 
 
 Tang, sea-weed. Su.-Got. and Swed. tang^ alga marina. 
 
 Tan ging-n ADDER, the large dragon-fly. See Fleeing-eather. 
 
 Tang-o'-the-tru3IP, identically ^ tongue of the gewgaw, or Scotch 
 trump; hut, figuratively y the active partner in a commercial 
 firm — the principal person, or chief spokesman, in any out- 
 breaking of popular violence. Borders of North. 
 
 Tank, a piece of deep water, natural or artificial. Willan. 
 
 Tantarara, a confused noise. V. Todd's John, tintamar. 
 
 Taplash, poor beer, dregs. An old word, still in use. 
 
 Tappy-lappy, as hard as you can ; applied to running. 
 
 Tarn, a large pool, or small lake ; a very old Northern word. 
 Isl. tiorn, stagnum. Swed. tidrrit a pool, standing water. 
 
 Tat, to mat, to entangle. Su.-Got. tudda, intricare. 
 
 Tate, a small lock ; as of hair, wool, &c. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Tatee, a potatoe. — Tatee-bogle, a scarecrow in a potatoe field. 
 
 Tatee-and- POINT, a repast; consisting of a plentiful enough dish 
 of potatoes ; but where the meat is merely jwinted at — by way 
 of indulging the fancy. They seem to improve upon this in 
 the romantic regions of the Emerald Isle, vulgarly called the 
 land of potatoes. V. Memoirs of Captain Rock, p. 243. 
 
 Tath, Tath-grass, profuse coarse grass that grows about the 
 dung of animals ; on which a correspondent remarks, " it is 
 singular that every animal is fond of such grass, but the kind 
 of animals by which the dung was dropped — a beautiful provi- 
 sion of Providence." An examination of the works of infinite 
 power always reminds us of the benevolence with which it is 
 combined. 
 
 Tathy-grass, short grass without seed, refuse grass. See Tath. 
 
 Tatter-wallops, ragged clothes fluttering in the wind. See 
 Wallop. 
 
 Taving, *. irregular motion ; picking the bed clothes in febrile 
 delirium. Willan. W. Jamieson, taiver ; and Ray, tave. 
 
TEEN 301 
 
 Tawm, Tome, Tam, a fishing line. " A long twine tarn.'" Ap- 
 parently corrupted from team. But see Jam. Supp. tome. 
 
 Tawm, to fall gently asleep. " He'll soon taivm over." Gael. 
 tanih, rest, sleep. V Gael. Diet. 
 
 Taws, a pair of taws, a leather strap used by schoolmasters for 
 chastising children. Isl. taug, lorum. V. Jam. tawis. 
 
 Taylior, or Teaylear, a tailor. Old Eng. talyowre. " What 
 mon aivjlee ie next, as the teaylear's lad said, when he had 
 been all day stitching a botton hole." North. Prov. 
 
 Tea, the one; as " tea hand" — the one hand. Sc. tae. 
 
 Teady, Teedy, weary, peevish, fretful. See Teethy. 
 
 Teangs, T'yengs, a pair of tongs. Sax. tangan, forcipes. 
 
 Tearan, tearing. A tearan fellow is a rough, hot-headed person, 
 who drives every thing before him, regardless of danger or of 
 consequences. 
 
 Teave, to paw and sprawl about with the arms and legs. Grose. 
 
 Ted, to dress hair and flax, as well as to spread abroad new- 
 mown hay. V. Todd's John, and Jam. Supp. 
 
 Tee, adv. too. A general Northern pronunciation. 
 
 Tee, or Tie, a hair-rope with which to shackle cows in milking. 
 
 Tee-fall, a mode of building in the penthouse form, to which the 
 Northumbrians are wonderfully attached. For the benefit of 
 the South-country reader, as well as to improve orthography, 
 I shall adopt my friend Mr. Cotes' suggestion, that this pro- 
 vincial word should be written I'-fall, or T}-fall, with the cross 
 bar of the letter T reclining to denote the peculiar form of the 
 building. 
 
 Teem, to pour out of one vessel into another. Isl. taemay to 
 empty. Swed. toma. " Teem out the tea, hinnyl'' 
 
 Teem, a brood of young ducks. Sax. team^ offspring. 
 
 Teeming-woman, a dame who is more prolific than every loving 
 husband considers indispensably necessary to his happiness. 
 Sax. team-full, prole plenus, foecundus. 
 Teen, v. to kindle, to light. " Teen the candle." West. V. 
 Jamieson, teind; and Wilbraham, tin. 
 
302 TEEN 
 
 Teen, s. sorrow, injury. An old word ; used by many of our 
 early writers. — Teen, a. angry. V. Lye, teon. 
 
 Teethy, cross, fretful, peevish; generally spoken of children. 
 The term has been viewed as having some connection with the 
 teeth. V. Grose. See also Todd's John, tech^ ; and Jam. 
 teth. 
 
 Tell, a tale. To hear tell, to learn by report. 
 
 Tell'd, for told. A corruption authorized by Spenser. 
 
 Temse, v. to sift. — Temse, s. a sieve. See Timse. 
 
 Tent, to observe — to tend or look to, to watch over. V. Ray. 
 
 Teugh, Tough, tedious, difficult. " A teugh journey." — " Teugh 
 wark." Apparently, the original sense of the word. 
 
 Th, frequently changed into D ; as father, to fader ; mother, to 
 moder; Rothbury, to Rodbuty, &c. Although the powers of 
 th are generally given to the Saxon t' and ^, yet there is 
 little doubt that these letters were often used indiscriminately 
 for D only. 
 
 Thack, thatch ; both as verb and substantive. Sax. thaccaiiy to 
 cover; thac, a roof or covering for a house. The original 
 meaning is straw or rushes; our Saxon ancestors using no 
 other covering for their houses. The word is still retained in 
 Yorkshire for a roof, of whatever kind. — Thacker, a thatcher. 
 
 That, as an adverb of comparison. '* He's not that old." 
 
 Thatadonnet, a good for nought, the devil. Is it, that " adonne** 
 (Fr.) abandoned one ? " Better be in with that adonnet than 
 out." — Yorkshire sai/ing. 
 
 Thauf-cake, or TnARF-CAKE,a cake made of unfermented dough 
 — chiefly of rye and barley — rolled very thin, and baked hard. 
 In some country kitchens these cakes are hung up in large 
 quantities, with a pole run through the centre. An ingenious 
 friend conjectures that we have the term from Sax. thearfan, 
 opus habere, necesse habere — necessity cake, or cake made in 
 urgent haste, as what used to be called soldier'' s bread at the 
 time when soldiers were quartered, during marches, on private 
 families. But, according to Lye, derf'brode, is an old North 
 
t 
 
 THRA 303 
 
 of England expression, for unleavened bread. Sax. thcErf^ vel 
 theorf, panis azymus. Wiclif uses therf-loaves. 
 
 Tharf, cold, forbidding, shy. — Thabfly, denoting a cold recep- 
 tion — unfriendly. V. Somner, thrafian. 
 
 Theak, Theek, thatch ; both as v. and s. Sax. thecan, tegere — 
 thcec, tectum. See Thack. — Theaker, Theeker, a thatcher. 
 
 The-day, for do-day. A Scotticism. V. Jam. Supp. the. 
 
 Thee, the thigh. Sax. theoh. Old writers use thie. 
 
 Thew'd, towardly. Grose. V. Lye, theaw ; and Jam. thew. 
 
 Thick, intimate, familiar, on friendly terms. " As thick as inkle 
 weavers," said of great intimates — from the narrowness of the 
 woof the weavers may sit close — close intimates. 
 
 Thief-and-reaver-bell, the name given to the tolling of the 
 great bell of St. ^Nicholas', Newcastle, which is rung at 8 o'clock 
 of the evening preceding every fair — as a sort of invitation to 
 all rogues and thieves to enter that good town. See Reaver. 
 
 Think-on, a very common expression to signify, recollect or re- 
 member. — Think.me-on, remind me. 
 
 Thirl, to pierce, to perforate, to bore. Sax. thirlian. A word 
 used by Chaucer in the Knight's Tale. 
 
 Thivel, a smooth stick, used for various purposes of domestic 
 economy. Sax. thyfel, a stem or stalk. " He's a queer stick 
 to make a thivel of" — said of an unsteady, wayward person. 
 
 Thole, to wait awhile. Su.-Got. tola^ expectare. Also, to 
 bear, to endure ; in which sense it may be derived from Swed. 
 tala, to suffer. 
 
 Thonder, there, yonder. Sax. geond, geonda. 
 
 Thorolgh-go-nimble, an old term for a diarrhoea. This loose 
 sort of jargon abounds in the North. 
 
 Thout, Thought, a small portion, a little more or less. — North. 
 
 Thrang, v. to press, to thrust, to squeeze. See Thring. 
 
 Thrang, s. a crowd, a throng — pressure of business. Pure 
 Saxon. 
 
 Thrang, a. crowded, much engaged, busily employed. 
 
 Thrave, a certain number of sheaves of corn; generally, I 
 believe, twenty four — a quantity of straw, consisting of twelve 
 
:}04 THRA 
 
 fads, ovfauds. Sax. threaf. This word, as remarked by Mr. 
 
 Singer in one of his notes to Hall's Satires, was often used 
 
 metaphorically for a great number or huge collection of other 
 
 objects. In this sense we may safely refer to Su.-Got. trafwe, 
 
 a heap of any kind. V. Ihre. 
 Thraw, a pang, an agony. Sax. threuy afflictio, inflictio. 
 Thraw, v. to writhe, to twist — to turn. Sax. thrawan, tor- 
 
 quere. — Thraw, s. a turner's lathe. 
 Thrawcrook, an instrument acting on a swivel for twisting 
 
 ropes. 
 Threap, v. to persist vehemently in assertion or argument, be it 
 
 right or wrong — to aver pertinaciously in reply to denial. 
 
 ** Threap him down." Sax. threapiany redarguere. 
 
 Itt's not for a man with a woman to threape. 
 Unless he first give o'er the plea. 
 
 Ancient version of. Take thy old Cloak about thee. 
 
 Threap, a. disputed. — Threap-ground, property that is, or has 
 been, in dispute — contentionis terra. In 1771, an agreement 
 was entered into for dividing land of this kind near Bambo- 
 rough, in Northumberland, between Sir Henry Grey and the 
 Trustees of Lord Crewe and others ; which was confirmed by 
 an Act of Parliament passed in 1774. Pennant, in his Tours 
 in Wales, gives a curious picture of a noted common, called 
 Threap-woody from time immemorial a place of refuge for the 
 fi"ail fair, who make it a transient abode, clandestinely to be 
 fi-eed from the consequences of illicit love. V. Vol. I., p. 
 2S9. 
 
 Thrif-box, or Thrift-box, an earthen pot or vessel in which 
 money is kept by young persons, a saving-box — so made that 
 money can be put in, but cannot be taken out, without break- 
 ing it. The same kind of box is used in Scotland, called a 
 pirlie-pig. 
 
 Thring, to thrust, to press, to squeeze. Sax. thringan. 
 
 Throdden, v. to make grow, to thrive. Hence, Throdden, and 
 Throddy, plump, fat, well thriven. 
 
THRU 805 
 
 Throme, or Thrum, any collection of short threads j generally 
 the end of the warp in weaving. Norm. Fr. thrommes. 
 The reader needs hardly be reminded of Bottom's passionate 
 exclamation — 
 
 O fates, come, come. 
 Cut thread and thrum. 
 
 Throng, a press of business. It is the polite pronunciation of 
 Thrang; which see. 
 
 Thropple, the windpipe, the throat. Sc. thrapple, V. Jam. 
 
 Throstle-cock, the song-thrush. Turdus musicus. Linn. 
 
 Throw. To throw on thefirCy to make, or heap it up. 
 
 Throwing-the-stocking, an odd sort of love divination, on the 
 first evening of a wedding. After the bride has retired, and 
 while she is undressing, she delivers one of her stockings to a 
 female attendant, who throws it at random among the com- 
 pany assembled on this festive occasion. The person, on whom 
 it happens to alight, will, it is supposed, be the next to enter 
 into the blessed state of matrimony. Another, and more cu- 
 rious, though perhaps now obsolete mode, was for the guests 
 invited to repair to the bridal chamber, where it was customary 
 for the happy pair to sit up in bed, in full dress, exclusive of 
 their shoes and stockings. One of the bride's maids then took 
 the bridegroom's stocking ; and, standing at the bottom of the 
 bed with her back towards it, threw the stocking with the left 
 hand over the right shoulder, aiming at the face of the bride- 
 groom. This was done by all the females in rotation. When 
 any of them were so fortunate as to hit the object, it was a 
 sign that they were soon to be married. The bride's stocking 
 was thrown by the young men at the bride in like manner ; 
 from which a similar prognostic was taken. 
 
 Thruff-stone, properly Through-stone, a stone which passes 
 through the entire breadth of a dry, or irregularly built, stone 
 wall, in order to bind and make it more firm — a band stone. 
 A much regretted gentleman of Newcastle was accustomed, 
 when claret and port wine were in circulation together, to take 
 every third glass, of port which he facetiously called a thruff. 
 
30C THRU 
 
 Thruff-stone, a flat tomb stone. Sax. thruh, loculus, sarco- 
 phagus. Lye. Sc. thruch-stane. 
 
 Thrumble, or Thumble, to handle awkwardly — to thumb. 
 
 Thrunty, stout, robust, strong-built. " A thrunty fellow." 
 
 Thrusty, thirsty. A word used by Chaucer. Sax. thurstxg. 
 
 Thud, the noise of a fall, a heavy stroke — causing a blunt and 
 hollow sound. Sax. thoderiy turbo, noise, din. Somner. 
 
 Thumping, great, huge, large ; as a thumping iairw— also obvious, 
 notorious ', as a thumping lie. 
 
 Thunderbolt, a name given to the Belemnite. So called from 
 its shape — resembling a dart. This singular fossil shell is 
 very comnion in the rocks about Whitby ; but is rarely found 
 entire. See Young's Hist, of Whitby, Vol. II., p. 782; and 
 Geology of the Yorkshire Coast, by the same author, p. 256 
 & seq. 
 
 Thunner, thunder. Sax. thuner. Dan. thordeuy as Mr. Thom- 
 son remarks, signified the voice or din of Thor, and Goth. 
 thordumir was Jupiter Tonans. Mr. Wilbraham has ihunna^ 
 i, and V. 
 
 Thur, Thor, these, those. Isl. theyr, illi; thaer, illae. Sc. 
 thir. 
 
 Thvvaite, land grubbed up and cleared of wood for cultivation — 
 an assart. Norm. Fr. twaite. The word, in the composi- 
 tion of local names, is very frequent in Cumberland and 
 Westmorland, and also in some parts of Lancashire. 
 
 Thwite, to cut, chip, or hack with a knife. See Whet. 
 
 Thwittle, a kind of knife. Sax. hivitel. Our venerable poet, 
 Chaucer, writes it thwytel. See Whittle. 
 
 TiBBY, Isabella. We have all read of " Tihhie Fowler o' the 
 glen," who had so many followers, that " a' the lads were 
 wooing at her." 
 
 TiCE, to entice. Old English, tyce^ in the same sense. 
 
 TiD, Mid, Miser ay, Carling, Palm, Paste-egg-day, popular 
 names for Sundays in Lent. Three of them are obviously 
 from the old Latin service, Te Deum, Mi Deus, Misere mei. 
 The rest elucidate themselves. 
 
TIMS 307 
 
 Tied, obliged, compelled, sure, certain. ** It's tied to be so" — 
 " I'm tied to go" — " He's tied to make money — " He's tied to 
 lose his way." 
 
 Tie-pot, or Tye-top, a garland. 
 
 TiFFY-TAFFY, a difficult piccc of work. In Craven, an insignifi- 
 cant trifler. V. Crav. Gloss. 2d. edit. 
 
 TiFLE, Tyfell, to entangle, to mix and knot threads together, 
 to ruffle. Sax. twy-fyldan^ duplicar^. V. Jam. Supp. tuffle. 
 
 Tift, a fit of anger, or rather the act of quarrelling, ill humour. 
 — TiFTY, ill-natured, petulant, quarrelsome. 
 
 Tig, a slight touch; as a mode of salutation — a play among 
 children, on separating for the night, in which every one en- 
 deavours to get the last touch ; called also. Last Bat. 
 
 TiGGY- TOUCH-WOOD, a play where children pursue each other, 
 but are exempt (by the law of the game) from capture while 
 touching wood. Like Tig, it probably means a slight connec- 
 tion from Sax. tiariy ligare. 
 
 Tike, or Tyke, a blunt or vulgar fellow — affording grounds of an 
 unfavourable impression. Also a name for a dog. Tijky ac- 
 cording to Mr. Steevens, is the Runick word for a little or 
 worthless dog. 
 
 If you can like, 
 A Yorkshire tike. 
 
 Carey J The Wonder y an honest Yorkshireman. 
 
 Till, to. Dan. Sw. and Isl. til. Mr. Todd has shown it to be 
 
 old. 
 Tiller, to send out shoots ; as wheat. Dur. Germ, theilen, to 
 
 separate into parts. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Timersome, Timmersome, fearful — timorous. Sc. timersome. 
 TiMMER, timber. So spelled in Skene's Lawes and Actes of 
 
 Parliament. Swed. timmer. 
 TiMSE, V. to sift. — TiMSE, s. a sieve. Dut. teems. Fr. tamis. 
 
 Ital. tamiso. All perhaps from Lat. tympanum, stretched like 
 
 a drum, and that from Gr. twtttw, to beat. 
 
308 TINB 
 
 Tine, to shut, to inclose. Sax. tynan^ claudere. Also, to lose. 
 
 V. Jam. tincy tyne ; and Supp. tine. 
 TiNG-TONG, the little bell of a church. Fr. tintouin, a tingling ; 
 or Teut. tinghe-tanghen, tintinare. " The primary signification 
 of ting-tongy* an ingenious literary correspondent remarks, 
 " was only expressive of the sound of a little bell — the sound 
 of a large one being termed ding-dong, from its being more 
 hollow. Ting-tong has, therefore, by transference, come to 
 signify the bell itself." 
 Tinkler, a tinker. Various extraordinary feats have been as- 
 cribed to our ancient tinkers. The celebrated Widl Allan 
 was for many years king of this honourable profession in the 
 North. He had a son, not less celebrated — Jamie Allan, the 
 Northumberland piper. Will Faa^ the late king, was a fine 
 old roan. 
 
 Nae mair he'll scan wi' anxious eye 
 
 The sandy shores of winding Reed, 
 Nae mair he'll tempt the finny fry. 
 The King o' Tinklers, Allen's dead ! 
 
 Roxhy, Reedivater Minstrel. 
 
 Tinted, lost, neglected. See Tine. 
 
 Tippy, smart, fine, modish — tip top. " Tippy Boh." 
 
 TiRL, to make a slight scratching noise — to turn over the leaves 
 of a book quickly — to strip off a roof. 
 
 TiTE, soon, easily, well. — Titter, sooner, rather, earlier. Se3 
 AsTiTE, Asty; and Jam. tyte. 
 
 Titivate, to restore, to renovate — to make " old things look as 
 good as new," like the " renovators of old clothes," as they 
 now style themselves. 
 
 Titling, a small bird attendant on the cuckoo. Also, one who 
 obsequiously follows another. Hence, the gowk and the tit- 
 ling, a ludicrous designation given to such duumviri. 
 
 Titty, a diminutive of sister. " Black Titty Bet." 
 
 Trv, to. — Tiv-A-TEE, just the thing, exactly — to a T. 
 
 Toad-bit, a disease among cattle, absurdly imputed to the poison 
 
TOMM 309 
 
 of toads ; and against which lustration by need-fire is employ- 
 ed. Dr. Willan mentions a recent instance of the practice, as 
 occurring near Sedbergh, in Yorkshire. 
 
 ToAD-UNDER-A-HARROW, a proverbial saying of considerable an- 
 tiquity ; meant to express the comparative situation of a poor 
 fellow, whose wife, not satisfied with the mere hen-pecking of 
 her helpmate, takes care that all the world shall witness the 
 indignities she puts upon him ; or any other similar state of 
 misery. " Ower mony maisters, ower mony maisters ! as the 
 toad said when under the harrow." 
 
 ToD, a name for that well-known and crafty animal, the fox. 
 In consequence of what is stated in Dr. Jamieson's Supple- 
 ment, it is proper to mention that this word is now in com- 
 mon use in Northumberland; and that it was inadvertently 
 omitted in transcribing the former edition of this Glossary for 
 the press. 
 
 Toddy, a mixture of whisky and warm water. — North. There is 
 a tree in the East Indies from which a liquor called toddi/ is 
 extracted. V. Herbert's Travels, p. 29. 
 
 ToDLE, or Toddle, to totter, to walk unsteadily like a child. 
 Germ, trotteln, to totter. Swed. tultUy to waddle. 
 
 Todlen hame, todlen hame, 
 
 Coudna my love come todlen hame ? — Old Scottish Song. 
 
 Tod-lowrey, an expression used to frighten children. "My 
 word, here's Tod-lowrey coming." Sibbald, I observe, views 
 it as the dreary or doleful fox, as he is still commonly called, 
 from Teut. treurigh, maestus, dolens, dolendus. 
 
 To-fall, Twofall, or Teefall, a small building adjoining to, and 
 with the roof resting on, the wall of a larger one— a shed at the 
 end of a farm house, in which are usually placed implements of 
 agriculture. In the latter sense, however, it is often pronoun- 
 ced Touffa. Teut. toe-vallen, adjungere se. See Tee-fall. 
 
 ToLL-LOLL, so SO, in good health. A gentleman residing near 
 me — though no singer — constantly uses this expression. 
 
 Tommy, a little loaf, " A soldier's tommy. ^^ 
 
310 TOMM 
 
 Tommy-loach, a name given to the loach by boys. 
 
 Tommy-noddy, the coulter-neb, or puffin. Alca arctica. This 
 remarkable bird is a visitant of the Fame Islands, where it 
 breeds. 
 
 Tom-trot, candy made of treacle. Same as Taffy. 
 
 Too, to, shut, close. " Put the door too P"— « It is too" Dut. 
 toe. Is de deur toe ? V. Tooke on preposition To, Vol. I., 
 p. 350. 
 
 TooM, or TuAM, empty. Dan. tovime, to empty. " A loom 
 purse." — " A tuam cart." An old word, still in general use. 
 
 TooRCAN, to wonder, or muse on what one means to do. Grose, 
 from Ray. Dr. Jamieson refers to Isl. torkendr, notu difficiiis, 
 item deformatus. Haldorson. 
 
 ToozLE, or TouzLE, to pull about; especially applied to any 
 rough dalliance with a female. Touse is an old word for, to 
 tear, to drag, to haul. 
 
 Top, good, excellent. — Topper, any thing superior — a clever, or 
 extraordinary person ; but generally in an ironical sense. 
 
 ToppENLY, in good health. " He's toppenly to day." 
 
 TopsMAN, the head man or manager, the chief hind or bailiff. 
 
 ToRFEL, or ToRFLE, to foundcr, to fall, to die. V. Jam. 
 
 ToRious, notorious. " A 'f^orious liar that." 
 
 ToRMiT, or TuRMiT, a common pronunciation of turnip. 
 
 Tosh, a projecting or unseemly tooth — a tusk. 
 
 TossiCATED, TosTiCATED, perplexed ; as if intoxicated. 
 
 Tote, the whole. The whole tote, a common pleonasm. Lat. 
 toitis. Sc. tot. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Totey, irritable, bad tempered. Sc. toutie. " A totie body.** 
 
 To-the-fore, alive, in being, forthcoming, in store. 
 
 Touch, a feat or trick. — North. " That is a clever touch.** 
 
 Towgher, a portion or dowry, dower. — Cumb. — Toker, in other 
 places, means the same. V. Jam. tocher. 
 
 TowLiNG, a mischievous amusement among the boys in Newcas- 
 tle, during the evenings of the horse-fairs. It consists of whip- 
 ping up and down the different " choice tit bits** shown on 
 those occasions. It has been practised from time immemorial^ 
 
TRIG 311 
 
 and is, no doubt, the remains of some ancient custom con- 
 nected with a toll exacted on horses so kept in the fair. 
 
 To- YEAR, a provincialism for this year ; as we say to day. 
 
 Traike, v. to drop the wings as do poultry out of health. 
 
 Traike, s. a sheep found dead, and salted for food — a dish in 
 Northumberland. 
 
 Traiky, Traiking, in a decUning state of health. " He*s been 
 traiking lang, poor man." V. Jam. traik. 
 
 Tram, a small carriage on wheels — so distinguished from a sledge. 
 The word is Gothic, and is fully explained in Callander's 
 notes on the old poem of Christ's Kirk on the Green, p. 174. 
 
 Tramp, a mechanic travelling in search of employment. 
 
 Trampers, mendicants who traverse extensive tracts of country 
 — soliciting from door to door, and finding subsistence as they 
 can, and lodgings where they may. 
 
 Translators, cobblers who buy old boots and shoes and make 
 them up aneiu for sale. The Castle Garth, in Newcastle, is 
 the Grand Emporium of this learned and gentle craft. 
 
 Transmogrified, transformed, metamorphosed. A vulgar cor- 
 ruption from transmute. 
 
 Trash, to tramp about with fatigue. Swed. traska, to jog, to 
 trudge. Sometimes, as a verb active, to harass. — Trashed, 
 adjectively, is almost daily applied to a man, or even any beast, 
 weary with travelling — worn out. 
 
 Treeksin, or Trewksin, three weeks since. — La7ic. Mr. 
 Brougham, who communicated this word to me, says, it is not 
 used in West, or Cumb. In the Cheshire dialect, they have 
 threeweek for three weeks, making a singular substantive of it, 
 as is customary in the w or dfoj-tiiight. V. Wilbrahara. 
 
 Treet, a species of bran. See Bye-bootings. 
 Trew, a truce. Sax, treowa, treowe. Hence, Trews, Trewes, 
 the justiciary meetings before the Wardens of the Northern 
 marches, to hear complaints and administer justice; during 
 which time there was a truce, or cessation of hostilities. V. 
 Nicolson, Leges Marchiarum, passim. 
 Tricky, arful, cunning. Full of tricks—trickish. 
 
3H TRIG 
 
 Trig, true, faithful. 
 
 For Geordy aw'd dee— for my loyalty's trig. 
 And aw own he's a good leuken mannie ; 
 
 But if wor Sir Matthew ye buss iv his wig, 
 By gocks ! he wad leuk just as canny. 
 
 Song, Canny Newcastel. 
 
 Trig, v. to fill, to stufE— Trig, a. full. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Trig, neat, trim ; or rather tricked out, or what is called ^n<?. 
 
 Trim, to chastise, to beat soundly. " Fll trim your jacket." 
 
 Trip, a small flock; as of sheep. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Trippit-and-coit, a game similar to spell and ore.— Newe. 
 Called Trippit-and-rack in parts of North. The trippit is a 
 small piece of wood obtusely pointed — something like a shoe 
 — hollow at one end, and having a tail a little elevated at the 
 other, which is struck with the buchtick. The recreation is 
 also called Buckstick-spell-and-ore. I was once inclined 
 to think that the buckstick, being broad at an end like the but 
 of a gun, might be derived from Germ, buckse, a firelock; but 
 the name is probably antecedent to firelocks ; and may, per- 
 haps, be considered as the boiigh stick ; i. e. flexible stick. V. 
 Tooke, ad v. buxom. 
 
 Trist, Tryst, a fair or market for black cattle, horses, sheep, 
 &c. — the appointed place of meeting for those who design to 
 sell or buy. We have Long Framlington Trist, and Felton 
 Tryst, in Northumberland. Sc. tryst, an appointed meeting. 
 V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Trod, a beaten foot path through a field, a road. Sax. trod, 
 a path. Teut. trede, vestigium. Isl. trod. 
 
 Troke, to barter — to truck. Fr. troquer, to exchange. 
 
 Trollibags, a vulgar term for tripe. The roll or complication of 
 the intestines. Germ, trollen, to roll. 
 
 Trones, a steel-yard. Isl. trana, grus. Lat. trona. V. Fleta, 
 Lib. II., c. 12. Since the publication of the first edition of 
 this work, it has been remarked to me, I think justly, that 
 trones is properly an instrument for weighing goods, usually 
 
i 
 
 TCSS 313 
 
 applied. In contradistinction to steel-yard, to a little cylindri- 
 cal machine, in which the compression of a spiral spring indi- 
 cates the quantum of appended weight. 
 Trumph, a trump at cards. Swed. trunif, the winning card. 
 Trump is but a corruption of triumph. 
 
 Trunk, a vulgar term for a trump at cards. See Trumph. 
 
 TuBBER, a cooper. A maker oHubs. 
 
 TuE, to labour long, to work hard, to be fatigued by repeated or 
 continued exertion. Fr. tuer^ se tuer, originally to kill ; but 
 used also for, to fatigue or weary, // se tue, he wearies him- 
 self; or, in North country language, he iues himself. " Tuing 
 on^* — toiling away. " A tuing life'* — a laborious life. " A 
 tuing soiiP — a hard working person. *' Sare tues" — great 
 difficulty in accomplishing any thing. " We have got here at 
 last; but we had a great tueJ' A London lady, once so ad- 
 dressed by a female from the county of Durham, mistook the 
 great tue for some carriage peculiar to the North of England. 
 
 TuE, to tumble about, to ruffle, to rumple. Sax. teogan, to tug. 
 « Ye'll tue all my cap." 
 
 TuEL, a species of bantering; or rather a tendency to squabble 
 accompanied with it — any troublesome intermeddling. " Din- 
 na haud me sic a tueW — dont trouble me so. 
 
 Tug, to rob, to destroy. Sax. teogan. " To tug a nest.** 
 
 TuiFFiT, the lapwing, or plover. See Pee-wit, Peez-weep. 
 
 TuiFFiT-LAND, bad land, only fit for the tuiffit. 
 
 TuM, to separate or card wool for the first time. Grose, from 
 Ray, says, to mix wool of different colours. 
 
 Tunder, tinder. Su.-Got. tunder^ fomes. V. Ihre. 
 
 Tup, s. a ram. Swed. tupp, a male, a cock. — Tup, v. to give the 
 ram. Our great dramatic poet, who sometimes rather chose 
 to be exact than delicate in his allusions, uses the verb, in a 
 more extended sense, in the play of Othello ; but the passage 
 is too strongly marked with the taste of the time to warrant 
 quotation here. 
 
 TuRBOT, a common, though improper, name for the halibut. 
 
 Tussle, or Tustle, a confused struggle. See Toozle. 
 
314 TWA 
 
 TwA, the vulgar pronunciation, in some places, of two ; accord- 
 ing to the ancient Saxon form. 
 
 Twang, a quick pull, a sudden seizure — a tweak, or twitch. 
 
 Twang, a sudden paroxysm of pain — a pang. 
 
 TwATTLE, to pat, to make much of, to fondle. V. Grose. 
 
 TwEA, two. Sax. twa. — Tweasome, two in company. 
 
 TwEA-FACED, two-faccdy deceitful. Sax. twea-fealdy duplex. 
 " A twea-faced yap.'* " A twea-faced Mally Jackson." 
 
 Twill, a quill — also a spool to wind yarn upon. V. Ray. 
 
 TwiLT, a quilt or bed cover. V. Todd's Johnson, to tuMl. 
 
 Twine, to cry. Probably a variation of whine ; which may be 
 traced to Su.-Got. hwinUy to mourn. — Twiny, fretful, un- 
 easy. 
 
 T WINTER, a female sheep of two winters old. Sax. twy-winter, 
 duos annos natus. The ancient Norwegians computed by 
 winters ; and so did the Scotch in former times. 
 
 Twist, a voracious appetite. " What a twist the bairn has !" 
 
 Twitch, to tie closely, to fasten so as to cause pain. Sax. 
 twiccian. 
 
 Twitch-bell, the earwig. From the forceps. 
 
 Twitter, to tremble, to be in a state of uneasiness. V. Ray. 
 Germ, zittern, to shiver or quake. 
 
 T'yak, to take. — T'yak-efter, to imitate or resemble. ** The 
 bairns t!'i/ak efter their dad." — T'yak-up, to reform. " He'll 
 iyak up^* — said of an extravagant, thoughtless person, likely 
 to reform. 
 
 U. 
 
 Ug, to feel abhorrence at. — Ugsome, disgusting, exciting abhor- 
 rence. — North. The word is from Sax. ogUy fright ; whence 
 ugly ; i e. uglike, or fright-like. 
 
 U'm, H'm, or Umhim, an indifferent careless manner of assenting 
 to what is said; pronounced with the mouth shut, the last 
 
UNRI 315 
 
 syllable short : very common in Newcastle. A literary friend 
 suggests a derivation from umph^ ascribed satirically to the re- 
 spectable Society of Friends. 
 
 Un, one — referring to an individual. " He's a real bad un^'* 
 
 Unbethink, to reflect; often implying a change of opinion. V. 
 Wilbraham. 
 
 Unbiddable, unadvisable, uncounsellable. A Scottish term. 
 
 Uncanny, giddy, careless, imprudent. It is also applied by the 
 superstitious to one supposed to possess supernatural influence. 
 Sc. no canny, — Uncannily, unthinkingly, thoughtlessly, 
 
 Undercumstand, to understand. A mere vulgar change. 
 
 Undight, undressed, undecked. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Unforbidden, disobedient j said of a child who is so. 
 
 Unfrem'd, unkind. See Frem, Frem'd. 
 
 Ungear, to unharness. ** Ungear the j/oAre"— loose the horses. 
 
 Unhonest, dishonourable, dishonest. Fr. inhoneste. Lat. inho- 
 nestm. This is an old word, still in use in the North. 
 
 Unket, Unkid, strange, unusual. Sax. uncuthy incognitus, alie- 
 nus. Swed. okdnd. Sc. unco. — Unkets, Unkids, news, 
 strange things. Sc. uncos. 
 
 Unletes, displacers or destroyers of the farmer's produce. V. 
 Grose, unleed, or unlead. 
 
 Unlicked-cub, an ignorant, unpolished youth. From the old 
 story of the bear's cub being born a shapeless mass, which is 
 licked into form by the dam, according to those, who. Sir 
 Thomas Browne says, give more credit unto Aristotle and 
 Pliny than experience and their proper senses. V. Vulgar 
 Errors, fol. 1650, p. 95. 
 
 Unmackly, ill-shapen, clumsy in appearance — unmakelike. 
 
 Unpossible, for impossible. In frequent use among the vulgar 
 in the North. Not in Johnson j but Mr. Todd has given it a 
 place in his valuable insertions. It is the genuine word, and 
 well authorised, 
 
 Unrid, to rid. Here the particle is of no force. — Unrip, a com- 
 mon word in the North — authorised by some of our best 
 writers — is similarly circumstanced. See the very amusing 
 
31() UNSN 
 
 discourse on the difference between rip and unrip in that most 
 
 delightful book — Walton's Angler. 
 Unsneck, to open a door by lifting up the sneck, or latch. 
 Unsoncy, Unsonsy, careless, luckless, unpleasant, disagreeable. 
 
 Sc. unsonsie. See Soncy, or Sonsy. 
 Upbraid, to rise on the stomach, as well as to reproach. A 
 
 gentleman has reminded me that reprove is the genteel word, 
 
 if genteel can be about such a matter. 
 Upcast, v, to upbraid. — Upcast, s. a taunt, reproach. 
 Upcasting, a rising of the clouds above the horizon j especially 
 
 as threatening rain. 
 Uphad, Uphaud, Uphowd, to warrant, or uphold against defects. 
 Uppish, lofty, aspiring, consequential, jealously proud, captious. 
 
 Su.-Got. 1/ppig, superbus, vanus. Ihre. 
 Upsides, even with, quits. To be upsides with any one, is to 
 
 threaten vengeance for a real or supposed injury or affront. 
 Uptack, v. to comprehend, to understand. Swed. upiaga, to 
 
 take up, to adopt. — Uptack, s. comprehension, understanding. 
 Upwith, on an equal or superior footing — quit with. 
 Urchin, a hedge-hog. Chaucer uses urchon. V. Nares. 
 Ure, the udder of a cow or sheep. See Yure. 
 Urled, stinted in growth. — Urling, a dwarf V. Ray^ Sc. 
 
 urlueh^ having a feeble and emaciated appearance, seems allied. 
 
 But see Jam. Supp. worlin. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vage, a journey, a voyage. Sc. vage, viage, veyage. Fr. voyage, 
 denotes either a voyage or a journey. 
 
 Vaig, to wander, to roam. Old Fr. vaguer, — Vaiger, a wan- 
 derer, a vagrant, a stroller. 
 
 Vamper, to vapour or swagger, to make an ostentatious appear- 
 ance. The neai-est affinity I can trace is Welsh gwemp. 
 
VOKY 317 
 
 splendid. But a friend prefers Ital. avvampare^ to blaze, to 
 burn. 
 
 Vardie, opinion, judgment. A corruption of verdict. 
 
 Varment, vermin — a term of reproach, particularly to a child. 
 It is also a sort of cant word for knowing j as a varment chap, 
 a knowing one. 
 
 Varra, Varry, Vurry, provincial pronunciations of very. 
 
 Vast, elliptically for, vast deal — a great quantity or number. 
 " A vast of news." " A vast of money." " A vast of sheep." 
 
 Vennel, a sewer, sink, or drain. Probably from kennely an open 
 water course ; or Fr. venelle, petite rue. 
 
 ViEWLY, sightly, good-looking, striking to the view. 
 
 ViEwsoME, striking, pleasant to the sight, handsome to behold. 
 
 Vine-pencil, a black lead pencil. Perhaps from the metal being 
 first embedded in vine as it is now in cedar-wood. 
 
 Virgin's-garland. Many country churches in the North of 
 England are adorned with these garlands; in token, says 
 Bourne, of esteem and love, and as an emblem of reward in 
 the heavenly Church, They are made of variegated coloured 
 paper, representing flowers, fastened to small sticks crossing 
 each other at the top, and fixed at the bottom by a circular 
 hoop. From the centre is suspended the form of a woman's 
 glove cut in white paper, on which the name and age of the 
 party commemorated by these frail memorials are sometimes 
 written. The custom, once probably very general, of placing 
 flowers in the coffin with the deceased, is still preserved 
 among our villagers. Gay, whose Pastorals represent the real 
 rustic manners of his time, describes most exactly both the 
 virgin's garland and the flower-strewing. There is, as re- 
 marked by Dr. Drake, something so strikingly emblematic, so 
 delightfully soothing in these old rites, that though the proto- 
 type be probably heathen, their disuse is to be regretted. 
 
 VoKY, damp, moist, juicy. Wokie occurs in Peirs Ploughman. 
 — VoKY, is also used in the sense of gay, cheerful. 
 
318 YfABB 
 
 W. 
 
 Wabble, v. to vacillate, to reel, to wave. Teut. wabelen. A 
 large unwieldy fish is said to wabble in the watery and growing 
 corn on a windy day likewise wabbles, — Wabble, s. an un- 
 steady rotatory motion. 
 
 Wabster, a Northern term for a weaver. See Webster. 
 
 Wad, black lead. — Cumb. Nigrica fabrilis. Pure Saxon. This 
 ore has been erroneously supposed to be the pnigitis or me- 
 lanteria of Dioscorides. 
 
 Wad, woad used by dyers. Isatis tinctoria. Sax. wad. The 
 ancient Britons stained their bodies with the juice of this 
 plant, to make them appear more terrible in war. But wad 
 and woad, I am informed, are in Yorkshire different things ; 
 woad being the blue substitute for indigo j and wad^ the reseda 
 tinctoria, a yellow die. 
 
 Wad, the vulgar word for would. " He wad come." 
 
 Wadd, a forfeit ; especially in the game called wadds, or forfeits. 
 — North. Sax. wad, pignus. 
 
 Waden, Wauden, young and active — vigorous in limb. " A 
 waden lad," " Wauden of her age." Isl. vaUdr, validus, po- 
 tens. 
 
 Wadler-wife, the keeper of a register office for servants — a 
 term, I believe, peculiar to Newcastle. 
 
 Wae-me ! or Wae's-me 1 a frequent interjection of lamentation, 
 equivalent to woe is me — a pure Saxon expression — wa is me. 
 In Scotland they have dowie ar^ wae, solitary and melancholy. 
 
 Waff, an apparition in the exact resemblance of a person, sup- 
 posed to be seen just before or soon after death. It may be 
 from the airy form of the object; a waft or transient view 
 being called a waff; but see Jamieson, wraith, I have con- 
 versed with well-educated people, who have gravely and 
 unequivocally asserted that they have seen these spectral 
 appearances of their deceased friends and relations. 
 
WAIT 319 
 
 Waffle, to wave, to fluctuate. Identical with Wabble. Sax. 
 wafian, vacillare. Teut. weyfeleuy fluctuare. Swed. weftUy 
 vibrare. 
 
 Waffler, the green sand-piper ; so called from its undulating 
 odd flight. 
 
 Wag, to beckon with the hand — to shake. Sax. wagian. — 
 Wag-hands, to shake hands among Southrons. 
 
 Wag-at-the-waw, Wagger, a cheap wooden clock of German 
 manufacture. Perhaps from the pendulum being seen wagging 
 against the wall. 
 
 Wage, pay for service. Literally gage, bargain, engagement. 
 Both Johnson and Nares say, that it is used only in the plu- 
 ral. In many parts of the North, however, the singular is in 
 common use. 
 
 Waifinger, an estray, a waif. Law Lat. waivium. 
 
 Wairsh, Wearch, Werch, thin, watery, weak, insipid. It is 
 also used to express a griping in the bowels. — ^Wairsh-bread, 
 bread not sufficiently salted. Weerisk is old in our language. 
 V. Todd*s Johnson. 
 
 Wait, wot. Sax. wat ; from witan, to know. 
 
 Waiter, or Waeter, the Newcastle pronunciation of water. 
 Sax. wcEter. The a and cb were interchangeably used. V. 
 Bos worth's Saxon Grammar, p. 51. 
 
 Waith, or Wraith, the spectral appearance of a person about to 
 die, or recently dead. V. Minstrelsy of Scottish Border, p. 
 cxxxvi. 
 
 Waits, musicians who parade and play by night in the streets 
 about the time of Christmas and the new year. One of the 
 old towers, in Newcastle, was formerly called the Waits' 
 Tower, and was the place of meeting of these itinerant musi- 
 cians. They used to be the privileged minstrels at weddings 
 and feasts. Their playing to Oliver Cromwell, while that 
 extraordinary character was entertained at dinner, on his route 
 to or from Scotland, is still traditionally remembered. The 
 term would seem to be derived from Mce.-Got. wahts^ vigilia, 
 excubise; these wMts being anciently viewed as a sort of 
 
320 WAKE 
 
 watchmen. Wait is explained in Prompt. Parv., speculator, 
 vigil. So, in old French, waite is garde, sentinelle. 
 Wake, v. to watch by a corpse, to sit up with a person all night. 
 
 See Lake-wake, or Lyke-wake. 
 Wake, s. a country feast, a rural fair. See Hutchinson's His- 
 tory of North., Vol. II., p. 26; Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., 
 p. 422 J and Herrick's Hesperides, p. 300, 301. 
 Wake, a. weak. Sax. w(Bc. " As wake as water." 
 Wale, Wail, Weal, v. to select, to choose, to sort. Su.-Got. 
 wdlja, eligere. Swed. vdlja, to choose. Germ, wahlen^ to pick 
 out. — Wale, s. choice, best part. Su.-Got. wal, electio. 
 Dan, valg. choice. 
 Walk-mill, a fulling-mill. Germ, walkmuhle. Before the in- 
 troduction of machinery it was customary to use the feet in 
 fulling cloth. The Fullers and Dyers of Newcastle were 
 anciently called Walkers, " Wend to the walk mylrteP 
 Ordinary, 1477. 
 Wall, Walle, to boil. Teut. wallen. Su.-Got. waella. 
 Wall-eyed. In those parts of the North, with which I am best 
 acquainted, persons are said to be wall-eyed^ when the white 
 of the eye is very large, and to one side. On the borders, 
 ** sic folks" are considered unlucky. The term is also occa- 
 sionally applied to horses with similar eyes, though its more 
 general acceptation seems to be when the iris of the eye is 
 . white, or of a very pale colour. A wall-eyed horse sees per- 
 fectly well. The author of the Crav. Gloss, explains wall-een, 
 to mean white or green eyes ; and does not consider the ety- 
 mology very satisfactory, either in Nares or Todd. Their 
 ideas certainly are at variance with the Northern signification 
 of the word. Grose defines it, " an eye with little or no sight, 
 all white like a plaistered wall." 
 Wallop, to move quickly and with much agitation of the body 
 or clothes. Teut. wal-oppcy cursus gradarius. The word is 
 also applied to any thing moving quickly in boiling water — to 
 bubble up ; in which sense it may be referred to Sax. wealan, 
 to boil. Germ. walleUy to move up and down as in ebullition. 
 
WANG 321 
 
 Isl. wella, to bubble up. Whence the potwallopers of the 
 Cornish boroughs— those seductions of power too tempting 
 for patriotism to resist — take their title. 
 Walloping, a slatternly, slovenly manner. 
 Wallow, insipid. See Welsh. Also Wairsh. 
 Wallup, v. to beat. — Wallup, s. a blow. Rather, perhaps, 
 
 Whallup; from wheals the mark of a blow. 
 Walluping, strong, athletic. " A great walluping chap." 
 Walm, v. to seethe or boil. V. Wilbraham. — Walm, s. a shght 
 
 boiling. Willan. 
 Walt, to totter, to lean one way» to overthrow. V. Jam. welf, 
 Wajie, the stomach, the belly. Mce.-Got. wambayUtems. Sax. 
 wamb, venter ; whence, womb. — Wame-ill, an ache or pain in 
 the intestines. Sax. wamb-adly dolor ventris. 
 Wan, a corruption of wand. *' A yard-wan^'' — " A mUl-wanP 
 Wanchancy, unlucky — applied in Northumberland to a mis- 
 chievous boy or girl. In a somewhat different sense Burns 
 has 
 
 Wae worth the man wha first did shape 
 That vile wanchancie thing a rape ! 
 
 Wandle, supple, pliant — when spoken of a person, agile, nimble. 
 — Wandy, long and flexible j like a wand, 
 
 Wang-tooth, dens molaris. Pure Saxon. It is the catch, or 
 fang-tooih. j wang, or vang, being to catch, or fang. Infang- 
 thefy and outfangthef—dmcient privileges of trying thieves, 
 caught in or out of the jm-isdiction — may be referred to the 
 same source. So, perhaps, may the name of Mrs. Quickly's 
 bailiff " Good Master Fangy hold him sure." 2d. Part 
 King Henry IV.— Before the use of seals, according to Vers- 
 tegan, persons passing deeds bit the wax with the wang-tooth. 
 He quotes part of a supposed grant, in verse, from William I., 
 the whole of which is given by Lewis, in his Dissertation on 
 the Antiquity and Use of Seals in England, p. 19. 
 
 In witnes of the sothe, 
 Ich han biten this wax with my tvang-tothe. 
 T t 
 
322 WANK 
 
 But there can be no doubt that this pretended metrical char- 
 ter is a gross and impudent forgery, since it represents the 
 Norman Conqueror as making a grant in English before the 
 language existed. 
 
 Wankle, Wan KELLY, uncertain, variable ; as wanJcle^ or wankel- 
 ly weather. Sax. wanel^ instabilis, vacillans. Germ, wanken, 
 to change. It also means weak, loose, unsteady. 
 
 Want, v. to do without, to spare. " Lend me your spectacles ?" 
 "I cannot want them." Sometimes, not to have had; as a 
 mother will say, her " child tOants the small pox." 
 
 Want, s. There* s a want ; implying a mental imbecility. 
 
 Wanweard, a profligate — a graceless, or unworthy person. 
 
 Wapper, or Whapper, any thing large; both in a literal and 
 metaphorical sense. See Whacking j and Whacker. 
 
 War, worse. Su.-Got. warre. Dan. vcerre. Sax, wcsrra. 
 Sc. waur. " War and war** — worse and worse. 
 
 War, take care, beware. " War helow^ Sax. warian^ cavere. 
 
 Warble, a sort of worm that breeds in cattle — a swelling on the 
 back of an animal. Insects are in the habit of depositing 
 their eggs upon cattle. Wherever they puncture the skin for 
 this purpose, a small knot or warble arises, which serves for 
 the nidus of the young insect so long as it continues in its 
 
 • worm state, and gives great pmn to the animal. Dr. Jamieson 
 derives the term from Sax. wear^ Teut. weer^ a knot or bunch. 
 
 War-day, every day in the week except Sunday — working-day, 
 Swed. hvardagf working-day, every day. 
 
 Ware, v. to expend or lay out money. V. Jam, Supp. war. 
 
 Ware, s. sea-weed. Sax. war, alga marina. V. Grose, weir. 
 
 Ware, *. delf j or rather, delft. " White ware.'*-—" Brown 
 ware J* 
 
 Wark, v. to ache. — Wark, 5. a pain or ache. Sax. wcerCf dolor. 
 Swed. wark, pain, smart. 
 
 Wark, v. to work. " He can neither wark nor want." — W ark- 
 folks, labourers, work-people. 
 
 Warld, the world. — Warldly, worldly — like other people. 
 
 Warm, to beat. A cant term — not quite local. 
 
WATH 3^ 
 
 Warn, Warnd, Warnt, to warrant. " Aw's warn him." 
 
 Warn, to give notice. I am induced to insert this word on 
 account of its peculiar local application in the lower vales of 
 the Tees, a river, which, from the rapidity of its upper course, 
 and from the numerous streams it receives from hill and moor- 
 land, often rises suddenly. In this district to warn the watery 
 is to give the inhabitants timely notice of a flood. 
 
 Warp, to open. Sax. awarpan, ejicere. A hen is said to warp 
 when she lays. 
 
 Warse, worse. " Warse and warse" Moe.-Got. wairs. Chau- 
 cer uses iverse. — Warst, the worst. 
 
 Warsen, to grow worse, ** He's warsen^d sadly." See Worsen. 
 
 Warsle, to strive, to wrestle. Teut. werselen. V. Kilian. 
 
 Wasting, or Waisting, a consumption, a decline. 
 
 Wa't, indeed, certainly. " WaH is^t." — indeed it is. It is the 
 Saxon watf from ivitan ; whence our old verb wot^ to know. 
 
 Watching on St. Mark's Eve. Young rustics will sometimes 
 watch, or at least pretend to watch, through the night in the 
 church porch, with a view of seeing the ghosts of those, who are 
 to die in the parish during the next year, pass by them ; which 
 they are said to do in their usual dress, and precisely in the 
 order of time in which they are doomed to depart. A person, 
 supposed to have made this vigil, is. Dr. Willan states, a ter- 
 ror to his neighbours ; for, on the least offence received, he is 
 apt, by significant hints and grimaces, to insinuate the speedy 
 death of some cherished friend or relative. Persons are said 
 to have actually died from their imaginary fears on the occa- 
 sion. Some of the young girls, too, follow the ancient method 
 of sowing hemp-seed; while others prepare the duvib cake, or 
 dreaming bread. 
 
 Watch-webs, identical with Stealy-clothes, and Scotch-and- 
 English. 
 
 Water-brash, a disease in the stomach. Perhaps from the 
 bursting or discharge of aqueous humour. 
 
 Wath, Warth, a ford over a river. Sax. wad; from wada7i, to 
 wade or pass through water. 
 
324 WATT 
 
 Wattles, teat-like excrescences that hang from the cheeks of 
 
 swine; as well as the meanings assigned in Todd's Johnson. 
 Waw, to caterwaul, to cry as a cat. V. Jamieson. 
 Waw, Wo, a wall.— North. Sax. wah. In Lancashire and 
 
 Yorkshire it is tvogh. 
 Waxen-churnel, or Waxing-kernel, a swelling in the glands 
 
 of the neck in young growing persons. Woj^y to grow — from 
 
 Sax. weaxan, Swed. v'dxa — is in general use. 
 Wax-end, a term for the waxed thread used by cordwainers. 
 Wea, Weha, sad, oppressed with woe, sorrowful. Sax. wa, af- 
 
 flictus. Sc. wae. " I am wea for you" — I pity you. " She's 
 
 weha for him, poor man" — she is very sorry for him. 
 Wead, very angry — mad, in a figurative sense. Grose derives it 
 
 from wode ; but Dr. Jamieson, with greater probability, from 
 
 the old V. weidy to become furious. 
 Weaky, juicy, moist, watery. — Dur. V. Jamieson, wak. 
 Wealthy, well fed ; spoken of cattle in that state. 
 Weam, Weime, dialectical variations of Wame ; which see. 
 Weary, vexatious, troublesome. So used in Hamlet's weU- 
 
 known soliloquy. Sax. weerig, malignus, infestus. 
 Wearying, a slow consumption, or long decline. 
 Weasan, Weazen, the wind-pipe, the larynx. Sax. wasen. 
 
 Spenser writes it weasand. 
 
 Without rhyme or reason, 
 
 With an auld saw he wuddled his •weasan. 
 
 Old Song on a FelO'dc-se. 
 
 Weather-gall, a phenomenon something like a second rainbow 
 — said to indicate bad weather. Germ, wassergalle. V. 
 Nares' Gloss, water-gall; and Jam. weddir-gaw. 
 
 Weather-glea»i, clear sky near the horizon — spoken of objects 
 seen on the ridge of a lofty hill, so as to appear as if in the 
 sky. In this situation, as Dr. Willan observes, a man looks 
 gigantic ; he seems to tread on air, and to be clad with radi- 
 ance, like one of Ossian's departed heroes. The term seems 
 derived from Sax. weedcr, coelum, and gleam, splendor. 
 
WEIG 326 
 
 Webster, a weaver. Sax. webbestre, textrix, a female weaver. 
 The use of this term, as remarked by Dr. Jamieson, indicates 
 that, among our forefathers, the work of weaving was appro- 
 priated to women. This, it is well known, was the case 
 among the Greeks and other ancient nations, who considered 
 it an employment unworthy of the dignity of man. My learn- 
 ed correspondent, Mr. Hunter, however, does not assent to 
 Dr. Jamieson' s inference. The word, he says, classes with 
 back-ster, malt-ster, huck-ster, all of which can hardly be con- 
 sidered as feminine occupations. 
 
 Wed, for weeded J a common abbreviation. — Dur, 
 
 Wedder, a male sheep after the second shearing. Sax. weder. 
 See DiNMAN, or Dinmont. 
 
 Wee, little, small. " A wee bit" — " A wee thing," V, Jam. 
 " Thy wee bit housie too, in ruin !" Burns. 
 
 Wee, a short while. " Wait a wee" — have patience. 
 
 Weeans, Weeanes, children — wee-ones^ little ones, small ones. 
 Sc. weans. 
 
 Weel, well. — Weel-to-dee, well-to-do^ living comfortably, in 
 good circumstances — doing well. 
 
 Weel-smon-thee ! well come on thee. A pure Saxon interjec- 
 tion — weeles mothe ; literally " well is me of thee." This be- 
 nediction, fervently pronounced by an affectionate mother 
 when caressing a favourite child, has an endearing and familiar 
 sweetness, inexpressibly gratifying. It is the voice of Nature 
 herself, speaking her own language. 
 
 Weer, or Wear, to stop or oppose, to keep off, to guard. Sax. 
 weriaUf prohibere, defendere. Dut. weeren. 
 
 Weet, V, to rain, to wet. — Weet, s, slight rain, wet weather. 
 Sax. wceta, humiditas. Chaucer uses wete, v. and a. 
 
 Weeze, a circular roll of straw, wool, or other soft substance, for 
 protecting the head under the pressure of a load or burthen. 
 Probably from Teut. wase, caespesj or it may be from ease. 
 Brand thinks it a corruption of wisp. Sc. waese. 
 
 Weight, an utensil used in barns for winnowing corn, and about 
 
326 WELK 
 
 farm-houses for lifting grmn and such things with — in form 
 like a sieve, but without holes. It consists of a wooden rim, 
 with a sheep's pelt stretched over it. Sc. wechty weicht. 
 Wehit is a term which occurs in the Boldon Book of the 
 county of Durham, and is still understood by the country peo- 
 ple to signify a measure of corn. It seems from this ancient 
 record, that the bishop, amongst other branches of the regalia, 
 had his own standard measure, which it was in his power to 
 increase or diminish. V. Surtees' History of Durham, Vol. 
 I., p. 27. 
 
 Welk, v. to dry, to wither. An old word. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Welk, s. a voluted shell — a wilJc. Sax. wealc, a periwinkle. 
 
 Well, to weld. Swed. wella. Sax. wellen, to be very hot. 
 
 Well, is used in some of the Northern counties as a kind of ex- 
 pletive, introductory to any sort of observation, connected or 
 unconnected, or even contrary to being well. Thus, a person 
 will ask after a sick friend: " Well, how's John to-day?" and 
 will be answered, " ivell, he's far worse !" So a late worthy 
 Baronet, when passing sentence, as chairman of the Durham 
 Quarter Sessions, used to begin, " well, my honest friend, 
 you've been convicted of felony,'' &c. 
 
 Welly, very near — well nigh. Sax. wel neah. Somner. 
 
 Welsh, insipid. Teut. gaelsch. Welsh and wallow are synony- 
 ma. Broth and water, and pottage without salt, are wallow 
 or welsh. A person whose face has a raw, pale, and un- 
 healthy look — whom a keen frosty morning pinches, and to 
 whom it gives an appeaiance of misery and poverty — has a 
 welsh and wallow face. A welsh day, is the same as a sleeti/ 
 day, when it is neither thaw nor frost : but a wallow day is 
 when a cold, strong, and hollow wind prevails. Wallow, ap- 
 plied to the state of the weather, is perhaps only applicable in 
 a rugged and mountainous country. 
 
 Welter, to reel or stagger. Teut. welteren, volutare. 
 
 Wend, to go. The old present tense of went. Sax. wendan. 
 Not obsolete, as stated by Dr. Johnson. 
 
WHAC 327 
 
 Wend, or Wiend, a narrow street, or small court. Sc. wyndy 
 an alley, a lane. Obviously from Sax. windan, to turn. The 
 word is still in use at Darlington and Stockton upon Tees. 
 
 Wensday, the present vulgar word for Wednesday. Wensdaye 
 is found in our old lexicographer, Huloet. The term is deriv- 
 ed from Woden, the gi-eat deity of the Northern nations. 
 
 Went, for gone. Frequent in the North, as well as among the 
 Cockneys. V. Pegge's Anecd. Eng. Lang. p. 233. 
 
 Went, Wented, applied to milk when it has been kept till it be 
 approaching to sourness. Perhaps an euphonism for spoiled ; 
 as we say of spoiled meat — it is gone. But see Tooke's curi- 
 ous article on vinny, decayed. Vol. II., p. 61. 
 
 Werrit, to tease. Not so violent a metaphor as Tue. If a 
 person, extremely ill, were importuned to any measure to 
 which he felt reluctant, or which was contrary to his inclina- 
 tion, he would request not to be werrited so much about it. 
 It has been suggested to me, that the word is used rather 
 more generally for any thing which gives that kind of pain 
 which an animal, beset at once by a pack of dogs, may be 
 supposed to feel. Whence, perhaps, it is worry. I may add 
 that worry, in our old language, was written werre. 
 
 To werre each other and to slay. — Gower, Conf. Amant. 
 
 Wesh, v. to wash. — Wesh, s. stale urine, sometimes used in 
 washing. Teut. wasch, lotura. V. Jamieson, wash. 
 
 Wet-hand, a drunken person; termed by Bewick (Fables of 
 -ffilsop, p. 13S), "an old filtering stone." Seneca humor- 
 ously said of Tiberius — that he was never drunk but once ; 
 and that once was all his life. In Kelly's Reminiscences, the 
 eccentric author gives us an epitaph, extracted from a tomb in 
 the Cathedral at Sienna, characteristic enough of the present 
 subject ; " Wine gives life ! it was death to me. I never 
 beheld the morning sun with sober eyes ; even my bones are 
 thirsty. — Stranger! sprinkle my grave with wine; empty the 
 cup and depart." 
 
 Whack, a vulgar term for appetite. " What a whack he's got." 
 
328 WHAC 
 
 Whack, v, to strike or beat with violence. A variation of 
 thwack. — Whack, s. a loud blow. Not confined to the North. 
 
 Whacker, v. to tremble, to quake. — Whackering, trembling. 
 
 Whacker, s. a great lie. In a metaphorical sense. 
 
 Whacking, large, strong, bouncing. " A whacking fellow.'* 
 
 Whang, v. to flog — properly, to chastise with a thong. — Whang, 
 *. a leather-thong. Sax. thwang. 
 
 Whang, a thick or large piece of any thing eatable — especially of 
 bread or cheese. — Whanging, large, great. 
 
 Whap, v. to beat soundly. — Whap, s. a knock-down blow. 
 
 Whapper, or Wapper, any thing uncommonly large. In many 
 instances, as remarked by Dr. Willan, our forefathers seem to 
 have estimated weights and magnitudes by the force of their 
 blows. Thus, they employed in gradation the terms slapper, 
 smacker f banger y thumper y thwacker^ swinger y and rattler. 
 The word bumper, concerning which so much has been said 
 and surmised, the Doctor thinks, is not of a more exalted 
 origin than what is here stated. 
 
 Whart, or Wheart, a Northern pronunciation of quart. 
 
 Each pay-day fairly. 
 
 He takes his wheart right dearly, 
 
 'Bout Latin, Greek — o rarely — 
 
 May bee he'll jaw away Keel Roie^ T. T. 
 
 Whatten, what kind of, what. " Whatten o' clock is't?" 
 
 Whaup, the larger curlew. Scolopax arquata. Linnaeus. In 
 the Statistical Account of Scotland, an amusing ^rfli^ of nation- 
 ality is recorded, where a Scotsman's taste led him to prefer 
 " the wheeple (whistle) of a whaup"" to " a' the nightingales 
 that ever sang." V. Vol. VII., p. 600. 
 
 Whaup-i'-the-rape, knot or twist in the rope — any thing going 
 wrong. 
 
 Whazle, or Wheezle, v. to draw the breath with difficulty. 
 Su.-Got. hwaesa. — Whazle, or Wheezle, s. an indication of 
 asthma. Applied also to the throat. 
 
 Whe, Whee, who. Sc. wha. « Whe*s there?'' «' Whee's wi' 
 ye?'» 
 
WHIG 329 
 
 Wheal, v. to gather, to suppurate. Sax. huylca, a pustule. 
 
 This verb is not in Todd's Johnson. 
 Wheam, smooth, sheltered, impervious to the wind. Perhaps, 
 as suggested to me by a skilful etymologist, a corruption of 
 Holm. In Knarsdale, my correspondent remarks, there is a 
 place called Whit-Wham^ which he always believed to be 
 White-Holm ; and in West Allen, there is another place called 
 Wham-Landsy evidently from the situation, the Holm-Lands. 
 But see Kennett. 
 
 Whean, to coax, to flatter. " What a wheaning way she has." 
 
 Whean, a few, a small quantity. " A tuhean nout," said of cat- 
 tle. " A whean bairns." Mr. Lambe writes it wheen. V. 
 Notes on the Battle of Floddon, p. 72. 
 
 'Whelk, a thump or blow, the noise made by the falling of any 
 thing heavy. 
 
 Whemmel, Whommel, or Whummel, v. to turn upside down, 
 to tumble over. Teut. wemelen, frequenter et leviter movere. 
 
 Whemmel, s. an overthrow ; figuratively, a down-pour, or conti- 
 nuous fall of rain. 
 
 Wherewith, used substantively for, money, or property. 
 
 Whet, Whit, White, to cut with a knife. Sax. hwitan. — 
 Whittle-te-whet, to sharpen, to set an edge on. 
 
 Whetstone. To give the whetstone as a prize for lying, was a 
 standing jest among our ancestors, as a satirical premium to 
 him who had the most creative imagination, and is not yet out 
 of use in the North. Brand, on the authority of the late Mr. 
 Punshon, (Pop. Ant., Vol. I., p. 431,) mentions a custom 
 among the colliers at Newcastle, of giving a pin to a person 
 in company by way of hinting to him that he is Jibbing; but 
 which, I think, is now obsolete. It is, however, still usual in 
 Northumberland to give a person a cork when he is thought 
 to exaggerate in his narration. 
 
 Whetstone. To look as blue as a whetstone, to look blue with 
 cold. 
 
 Whew, or Whue, v. to whistle. — Whew, or Whue, s. a whistle. 
 
 Whick, quick, alive. " Which and alive,* a common laudatory 
 u u 
 
330 WHIC 
 
 expression in Newcastle, among certain ladies, who neither 
 sell the best fish, nor speak the plainest English. W7i, and 
 qvJiy seem convertible modes of spelling, especially among the 
 old Scots. 
 
 Whickens, a general name for all creeping or stoloniferous 
 grasses or plants, which give the farmer so much trouble to 
 eradicate. Quick-ones — for there is no killing them. 
 
 Whicks, plants or slips of the white thorn. " A whick-hedge?* 
 
 Whidder, or Whither, to shake, to quake, to shiver j hence a 
 whither of coldy a shivering cold. " All in a whither*^ — all in a 
 tremble. Probably from quiver. 
 
 Whiew, to fly hastily, to make great speed. 
 
 Whiff, a transient view, a glance. In a whiffy in a short time. 
 
 Whig, sour whey. Sax. hwcBg, cerum. — Whiggenn'd-whey, a 
 pleasant liquor made by infusing various aromatic herbs in 
 whey, and suffering it to undergo a fermentation — used by the 
 labouring people as a cooling beverage. 
 
 While, until. " Stay while I come back." While is here for 
 till, and till for " to the time" — for while is time, and till is to 
 while. V. Tooke, Vol. I., p. 363. 
 
 Whiles, sometimes. " It rains whiles.^'' — Whiloms, is also in 
 use in the same sense. 
 
 Whilk, Whulk, which. Sax. hwilc. Dan. hvilke. Chaucer 
 uses whilke ; and the same form of the word occurs in a very 
 curious old English instrument (temp. Henry V.) in the pos- 
 session of Sir Henry Lawson, Bart. 
 
 Whilt, a term for an indolent person. " An idle whilt.^^ 
 
 Whinge, to whine, to sob or cry peevishly. Su.-Got. wenga, 
 plorare. V. Jamieson, quhynge. 
 
 Whinnerneb, a meagre, thin-faced person, with a sharp nose. 
 Grose, following Ray, says, perhaps from some bird that feeds, 
 or is bred, among whins ; but I think it is more likely from 
 Welsh, wynehy a face, a visage. 
 
 Whins, gorse or furze. Ulex Europcsu^. Welsh, chwyn. 
 
 Whipper-and-hougher, an officer of the Corporation, Newcas- 
 tle. See Hougher. 
 
WHIS 331 
 
 Whipper-snapper, a diminutive, insignificant person. Mr. 
 
 Todd says, it is a common expression, usually in ridicule or 
 
 contempt. 
 Whir, v. to fly off with a noise like game when sprung. Su.- 
 
 Got. hurra, cum impetu circumagi. — Whir, s. the sound 
 
 made by the wings of game — often startling the nerves of a 
 
 young sportsman. 
 
 Full ninety winters hae I seen 
 
 And piped where gorcocks whirring flew. 
 
 Pickerings Donochi Head. 
 
 Whisht ! be silent, hush ! liist / " Whisht, woman, whisht /'* 
 This vulgarism, if such it be, is not without ancient authority, 
 being used by honest old Latimer. 
 
 Whisk, v. to go out, or to pull any thing out, hastily. 
 
 Whisk, s. a vulgar pronunciation of whist. This game is more 
 ancient than is supposed. Strutt is mistaken in saying, that 
 it first occurs in the Beaux Stratagem ; for it is mentioned, 
 under the old name of whisk, in the works of Taylor, the 
 Water Poet, a noted character in the reign of Charles I. 
 
 Whisket, or WisKiT, a sort of basket. V. Nares's Glossary. 
 
 Whisky, the modern and well-known -term for usquebaugh, a 
 Gaelic word signifying the water of life. 
 
 Whissontide, Whitsuntide. Whisson-sunday, Whitsunday. 
 
 Whitsun-sunday is also used : and if whitsun-tide be correct, 
 this will be so too. 
 
 Whistle, " the mouth; the organ of whistling,'* says Dr. John- 
 son J quoting Walton's Angler. 
 
 Let's drink the other cup to wet our whistles, and so sing away 
 all sad thoughts. 
 
 Here whistle surely means the throat. In the North, to wet 
 one's whistle is a common phrase for, to take a good drink ; 
 and — without charging the amiable old Izaac with tippling — 
 that, in all probability, was his meaning. Indeed, the usq of 
 the expression in this sense is" very ancient. 
 
 I wetc my whystell as good drinkers do. — Pulsj^^rave. 
 
332 WHIT 
 
 White, to requite. " God white you !" V. Ray. 
 
 Whiteheft, flattery, cunning. " Whiteheft o' Lunnun." 
 
 White-plough, another name for Fool-plough ; so denominated 
 from the young men composing the Pageant being dressed in 
 white. See Fool-plough. 
 
 White-herring, a pickled^ and not afresh herring — with all due 
 deference to Mr. Archdeacon Nares. See his Glossary, where 
 it is stated, in regard to Steevens's explanation (similar to 
 my own) and his reference to the Northumberland Household 
 Book, that " there three are ordered for a young lord or lady's 
 breakfast, and four for my lord's, which no lord or lady coiUd 
 possible/ eat.'* This may be quite true; but what does it 
 prove ? From Bishop Percy's preface to the book, it appears 
 that the Earl was a nobleman of great magnificence and taste ; 
 and considering the splendid establishment detailed in that 
 curious memorial of the olden tiine, more white herrings might 
 be provided " for a young lord or lady's breakfast," as well as 
 " for my lord's," than they actually did, or " could possibly 
 eatr 
 
 White-neb'd-craw, a provincial designation for the rook. 
 
 Whitling, a much admired species of trout, the history of which 
 is very little known. They are frequently taken in the river 
 Tyne; but like the brandling and the, salmon-smelt, always 
 without spawn. In some parts they are called whitings^ and 
 are generally supposed at last to become salmon. Sw. hwit' 
 ling, a whiting. 
 
 Whittee-whatteeing, speaking low and privately — whispering 
 between two persons, to the exclusion of a third — also inde- 
 cision, or procrastination, on frivolous pretences. The ety- 
 mology of words of this peculiar form is extremely uncertain. 
 
 Whittle, v. to haggle in cutting. Cumb. and West. 
 
 Whittle, s. a knife; generally a clasp-knife. Sax. whytel ; and 
 that, probably, from Goth, huet tol, a sharp instrument. A 
 whittle was a knife, such as was formerly carried about the 
 person by those whose quahty did not entitle them to the 
 distinction of a sword. Long knives were forbidden to be 
 
WHYL 333 
 
 worn in the City of London or Westminster in 1351, during 
 the sitting of Parliament. " An harden sark, a guse grassing^ 
 and a whittle gait/* were all the salary of a clergyman, not 
 many years ago, in Cumberland; in other words, his entire 
 stipend consisted of a shirt of coarse linen, the right of com- 
 moning geese, and the more valuable privilege of using a knife 
 and fork at the table of his parishioners. 
 
 Much is the duty — small the legal due. 
 
 Crabbe's Borough. 
 
 Whizzer, a falsehood. More windthaxi truth. See Fizzle. 
 
 Who, Sho, Shoe, for she. I am indebted to Mr. Justice Bay- 
 ley for reminding me of this strange mutation in our Northern 
 usage — occasionally to be met with. Heo is the ancient 
 Saxon form, still retained in some places. V. Verstegan. 
 
 Whopt, Whupt, put, placed — embracing the idea of whipped, 
 " He luhopt his foot on't." 
 
 Whripe, to complain peevishly, to whimper, to whine. 
 
 Whurry, wherry^ a large boat — a sort of barge or lighter. — 
 Newc. Bryant says, the name wherry is very ancient, and, by 
 the Romans, was expressed horia. Thomson derives it from 
 Goth, veerje, a ferry-boat. 
 
 Aw thowt aw'd myek a voyage to Shields 
 Iv Jemmy Joneson's whurry Local Song. 
 
 Whussel, a corruption of whistle. — Whussel-wood, the alder 
 and plane-tree ; used by boys in making whistles. 
 
 Whuther, to beat, to flutter. Cognate to Whidder, or 
 Whither. — Whuthering, a throbbing or palpitation at the 
 heart. 
 
 Why, or Whye, a young cow. See Quey. 
 
 Whyllymer, a species of cheese remarkable for its poverty ; of 
 which it might be safely asked (saving both meat and mense) 
 " whe'll ha* mare ?" In a note to Anderson's Ballads, its sur- 
 face is said to be so hard, that it frequently bids defiance to the 
 
334 WIDD 
 
 f 
 keenest edge of a Cumbrian gully y and its interior substance so 
 very tough, tliat it affords rather occupation to the teeth of a 
 rustic than nourishment to his body, making his hour of repast 
 the severest part of his day's labour. 
 
 WiDDERSFUL, laboriously endeavouring, actively striving. 
 
 WiDDEY, a tough band made of oziers, partially dried in the fire ; 
 used for many agricultural purposes. The iron ring, uniting 
 the band of a cow and the post to which she is tied, is, in some 
 places, still called a widdeyy from its having been made of 
 oziers before the common use of iron. " As tough as a wid- 
 dey^ Old Eng. wyihe ; from Sax. withig ; and that from 
 withan, to join ; whence, says Tooke, the preposition with. 
 
 WiDDLE, to fret. Germ, wedeln, to wag, to move? V. Jam. 
 widdUl, 
 
 WiDE-coAT, an upper or great coat. Perhaps not peculiar. 
 
 Widow-bewitched, a married woman separated from her hus- 
 band. 
 
 Wife, a woman, whether married or not. " An apple tvife" — 
 " A fish wife.^^ — " A tripe wife** Sax. wify mulier, foemina. 
 Chaucer uses wife simply for woman. 
 
 Wig, a kind of small cake, or bun. " A plain tvig.**—" A spice 
 wig.** Teut. wegghe, panis triticeus. Kjlian. 
 
 Wiggle-waggle, tremulous undulating motion, a wriggle. 
 
 WiGHTY, strong and active. V. Todd's Johnson, wight. 
 
 WiK, Wick, a corner; as the wik of the mouth. Su.-Got. wik, 
 angulus. Sc. weik, week. 
 
 WiKE, Wick, Wicker, a mark used in setting out tithes ; gene- 
 rally a small branch of a tree. 
 
 WiLLy for shall ; and, Wovu), for should ; are misapplied j^o^^im 
 " The North Countreye." The Northumbrian gentry, 
 though much addicted to the use of this peculiar idiom, disre- 
 lish any admonition of their mistakes. Such errors, however, 
 are incorrigible, both in them and in their neighbours, the Scots. 
 Even such writers as Blair and Robertson arc not always ex- 
 empt from this inveterate disfigurement. 
 
WISE 335 
 
 Willey-Wand, a stem of the willow. Sax. welig, and wand. 
 " A mere w'llley-wand^'' — applied to a tall, thin person. 
 
 Win, to dry hay by exposing it to the air, to get in harvest gene- 
 rally. Sax. windwiarif ventilare. Teut. winnen, colligere 
 fructus terrae. Our farmers speak of " Well won hay.^^ 
 
 Yt felle abowght the Lamasse tyde. 
 
 Whan husbonds wynn ther haye, 
 The dowghtye Dowglasse bowynd hym to ryde. 
 
 In Ynglond to take a praye. — Battle of Otterloume. 
 
 Win, to raise, to get ; as coals from a mine, or stones from a 
 
 quarry. Su.-Got. winna^ laborare, labore acquirere. Sax. 
 
 winnan. 
 Winder, v. to separate grain from the chaff — to winnow. 
 Winder, a window. V. Craven Glossary, winder ; and Nares, 
 
 windore. 
 WiNDLE-STREA, or WiNNEL-sTREE, a dry stalk or stem of grass 
 
 in old poor pastures. Sax. windel-streowe. 
 Windy, noisy, loquacious, marvellous in narration. 
 
 Though he is a ivindy body, when he gets in his auld warld 
 stories, he has mair gumption in him than most people. 
 
 Redgauntlet. 
 
 WiNDY-wALLETS, a noisy, gasconading fellow — one who is ac- 
 customed to magnify in conversation. 
 
 Winkers, the eyes — the eyelashes. " Maw winkers to dazzle.^* 
 
 WiNNA, WiNNOT, provincialisms for, will not. 
 
 WiNSOM'?, WuNSOME, Hvcly, cheerful, gay. Sax. winsum. 
 
 Winter, an instrument of iron hung against the bars of a fire- 
 place, used to heat smoothing irons upon. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 WiRDLE, to perform any thing laboriously and slowly. A re- 
 spected friend, now no more, suggested work and dele — to 
 work gradually. 
 
 Wise, to show or direct, to lead or turn out. Sax. wisian, 
 monstrare. Swed. visa^ to show, to exhibit. " Wise him 
 in."~" Wise out the horse."—" Wise the door open.'* It 
 
336 WISE 
 
 also means, to insinuate, to work intoj as to wise into company 
 or into favour; that is, to do it cunningly. 
 
 Wise, to let go. " Wise off that rope." — " Wise off your gun." 
 
 Wise-like, possessing the appearance of wisdom or propriety. 
 Sax. tvis-lic, sapiens, prudens. 
 
 Wise-man, a periphrasis for a conjuror, or wizard. In the dark 
 ages, when astrology was in vogue, thieves were kept in sur- 
 prising awe by the cunning men with long beards and white 
 wands. If the same effect could now be produced, it might be 
 well to revive the Black Art. Certain it is, that wretches, 
 pretenders to occult science, are still occasionally consulted 
 by the lower and more ignorant classes. 
 
 Wit, Wite, v. to know. Moe.-Got. and Sax. witan. Su.-Got. 
 weta, scire. " To let wit" — to inform. 
 
 WiTCH-wooD, the mountain ash. See Roun-tree. 
 
 Wite, v. to blame, to reproach. Sax. witan, imputare. — Wite, 
 *. blame, imputation. A Chaucerian word, retained by Spen- 
 ser. Su.-Got. wite, pcena. Swed. vite, pecuniary punish- 
 ment. Sc. wt/te. 
 
 WiTiNG, Witting, knowledge, judgment, wit. See Wit, Wite. 
 
 Wittering, a hint. Sc. zvittri/ng, information, knowledge. 
 
 WiTTE-wiTTE-WAY, a game among boys — which 1 do not remem- 
 ber in the South of England. 
 
 Wiv, mth.— North, and Bur.— Wi\— York. 
 
 Wizened, Wizzened, Wizzent, dried, parched, withered, wrin- 
 kled, shrivelled. Sax. wisnian, arescere. Sw. vistna, 
 
 WoAD, WuD, WuDE, mad, frantic, furious. Sax. wod, insa- 
 nus, furiosus. Sc. wod, wud. Wode occurs several times in 
 Chaucer. 
 
 WoMMEL, or WuMBLE, an auger. From wimble. 
 
 Won, Wun, to dwell, to haunt or frequent. A very old word, 
 but not obsolete, as stated by Ash ; being quite common in 
 Cunib. and La7ic. Sax. wonian, wunian. Teut. woonen, habi- 
 tare, frequentare. Cornish, wonnen, to stay, to tarry. 
 
 Woo, wool. A common pronunciation in many places. 
 
 WoR, our. — WoRSELLS, ourselves. 
 
WORM 337 
 
 Worm, a serpent of great magnitude, and of terrific description 
 — a hideous monster in the shape of a worm or dragon. The 
 application of this title to the serpent tribe is very general, 
 and has been used with great latitude. Indeed, the similarit}' 
 of form naturally led to it. The Italian poets call the infernal 
 serpent of old " II gran Verme ;" and Milton's Adam is made 
 to reproach Eve with having lent an ear " to that false worm.'* 
 Shakspeare, too, speaks of slander's tongue as outvenoming 
 " all the worms of Nile." Worm is a Teutonic word for ser- 
 pent; and Germ, wurmj is used for a dragon, as well as a 
 worm. Moe.-Got. waurm, signifies a serpent; and orm has 
 the same meaning in the Su.-Got. and Dan. languages. Sax. 
 ivurmy also, sometimes occurs in this sense. Popular tradi- 
 tion has handed down to us, through successive generations, 
 with very little variation, the most romantic details of the ra- 
 vages committed by these all-devouring worms, and of the 
 valour and chivalry displayed by their destroyers. Without 
 attempting to account for the origin of such tales, or pretend- 
 ing in any manner to vouch for the matters of fact contained 
 in them, it cannot be disguised, that many of the inhabitants 
 of the county of Durham in particular, still implicitly believe 
 in these ancient superstitions. The Worm of Lambton is a 
 family legend, the authenticity of which they will not allow to 
 be questioned. Various adventures and supernatural inci- 
 dents have been transmitted from father to son, illustrating the 
 devastation occasioned, and the miseries inflicted by the mon- 
 ster — and marking the self-devotion of the Knight of the 
 Lambton family, through whose intrepidity the worm was 
 eventually destroyed. But the lapse of centuries has so com- 
 pletely enveloped in obscurity the particular detmls, that it is 
 impossible to give a narration which could in any degree be 
 considered as complete. The story related in my friend Mr. 
 Surtees' splendid and elaborate History of Durham is incor- 
 rect in many particulars. Those parts, which allude to the 
 profane fishing on a Sunday, and the consequences resulting 
 from it, are mere modern disfigurements of the original tradition, 
 
333 WORM 
 
 utterly at variance with the state of the times — amuse- 
 ments on the Sabbath, in those days, when Catholicism pre- 
 vailed, not being regarded as an act of profaneness. A conical 
 hill is shown on the banks of the Wear, about two miles from 
 Lambton Castle, which from time immemorial has been called 
 the Worm Hilly and round which this great serpent is said to 
 have coiled itself.— Another old, and well-authenticated Diu:- 
 ham legend, is the Dragon^ Worm, or Flying Serpent of Sock- 
 burn; described as a monster that devoured men, women, 
 and children, and which was vanquished and slain by Sir John 
 Conyersj in memory whereof his sovereign gave him the 
 manor of Sockbum, to hold by the tenure of presenting to 
 every Bishop, On his first entrance into the county after his 
 election to the see, the falchion with which this gallant and 
 successful adventure was achieved — a ceremony still conti- 
 nued, honoris causa. 
 
 WoRMiT, worm-wood. The common people consider this herb a 
 prophylactic against fleas, and accordingly place it about their 
 beds. ^ 
 
 Worry, to eat voraciously, to choak, to suffocate. V. Ray. 
 
 Worsen, v. n. to become worse. Used as v. a. by Milton. 
 
 Wou, the worst kind of sivipes. " Farthing wou.^* The word 
 is also applied to weak tea, or any other worthless liquor. 
 
 WovvL, to cry, to howl. Shakspeare uses wawl. 
 
 Wrang, wrong. Pure Saxon. — Wrangsly, falsely. 
 
 Wrat, or Rat, a wart on the finger or face. Dut. and Sc. 
 wrat. 
 
 Wreck, sea-weed ; much used for manuring land. 
 
 Wreckling, an unhealthy feeble child — the youngest or weakest 
 of the breed among animals — the smallest bird in the nest — 
 any ill-grown creature. See Dowpy. 
 
 Wridden, or Wreeden, cross, ill-natured, perverse — writhen; 
 applied in particular to children. 
 
 Wrout, to bore, to dig up like a hog, to root. Sax. wrotan, 
 subigere. Chaucer has wj-ote. 
 
 WuD, with. — Cumb. " God be wud her^^ — God rest her soul. 
 
YAMM 339 
 
 WuDDLE, to sever by short and frequently-renewed efforts. For 
 
 authority see Weasan. 
 Wye, Wya, well, yes. — Wye — Wye, very well; yes, yes. A 
 
 common expression of assent. Fr. oui. 
 WYLEC0AT,a vest for a child; generally of flannel. V. Jamieson, 
 
 wi/lecot. 
 Wyllement, or Wullement, a pale, sickly looking person. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Y. The use of this letter, as a vowel, is very frequent in the 
 diphthongal language of the North ; as yaitSj oats ; i/ak, oak ; 
 yearihy earth, &c. &c. In the country dialect the Saxon ea is 
 almost uniformly pronounced ya. 
 
 Yables, Yeblins, Yeablesae, Yebblesee, perhaps. See Ab- 
 lins. 
 
 Yaiting, or Yeating, a single sheaf of corn. Identical with 
 Gating, or Gaiting. See Gate, or Gait. 
 
 Yal, Yall, ale. A^ in this, and many other provincial words, is 
 sounded like yaw. 
 
 Yammer, to fret, to whine, to complain — or rather to repeat the 
 s^me complaint. Also to cry like a dog in pain, or when it is 
 wanting to follow its master if shut up from him. Germ. 
 jammern^ to complain. Swed.^awra sig, to loment— -jammer, 
 lamentation. 
 
 Yamme^iing, making a loud and continual noise ; such as pro- 
 ceeds from contentious women, or from fretful and peevish 
 children. The word, indeed, stands for a tery complex idea, 
 into which enters a combination of habitual fretfulness, dis- 
 content, brawling, and anger. 
 
 Come, dinna, dinna whinge an' whipe, 
 like j/ammertng- Isbel Macky, 
 
 Song, Bob Cranky^s Adieu, 
 
340 YAN 
 
 Yan, Yen, one. — Yance, Yence, once. — Yansell, Yensell, 
 one's self. 
 
 Yap, apt, quick. Sax. gep, astutus. In Peirs Ploughman I find 
 1/epy which Dr. Whitaker considers of the same origin, and ex- 
 plains in the sense of alert and vigorous. 
 
 Yap, Yep, an opprobrious epithet to a youngster— an ape. 
 
 Yare, alert, nimble, fit, ticklish. The word occurs in Tha Mad 
 Lover of Beaumont and Fletcher, in a sense not very delicate 
 to modern ears. 
 
 Yark, or Yerk, to wrench or twist forcibly — to jerk. 
 
 Yark, to beat soundly, to correct severely. Isl. hreckia, pul- 
 sare. A favourite word among the vulgar. 
 
 Yarnut, an earth-nut. See Arnut, Awnut. 
 
 Yate, Yat, Yet, a gate. Both Chaucer and Spenser use yate. 
 " As old as Pandon-yatCy* is a local proverb of great antiquity ; 
 but Pandon Gate — the oldest of all the fine antique towers 
 that once adorned those venerable walls, which, in the days of 
 Leland, who visited them three hundred years ago, for 
 '* strength and magnificens far passeth al the cities of Eng- 
 land, and most of the townes of Europe" — to the regret of 
 every man of taste, was totally demolished in 1795; since 
 which, a spirit of modern, and, it is feared, mercenary innova- 
 tion, has attacked with unrelenting gripe, many other interest- 
 ing memorials of our former state. The antiquary, who 
 remembers, with kindred emotion, these ages that are gone by, 
 has the yearly mortification of seeing one vestige after another 
 give way to the most clumsy and tasteless substitute, Diversi 
 tempi, diversi costumi. 
 
 Yate-stoop, Yat-stoop, Yet-stoop, a gate post. 
 
 Yaud, or Yawd, a common name among country people for a 
 horse — a jade. A druidical temple, in Cumberland, goes by 
 the name of the " Grey Yauds," probably from the colour of 
 the stones. 
 
 Yaup, to cry loudly and incessantly, to lament. Teut. gaJpen, 
 gannire instar vulpis. Kilian. — Yauping, crying, shouting. 
 
YOUL 341 
 
 Yaup, v. to be hungry.— Yaup, a. having a keen appetite — ^hun- 
 gry- 
 
 Yeather, or Yedder, a flexible twig used for binding hedges. 
 
 Yebble, the Northern pronunciation of able. 
 
 Yek, the oak. See Aac. " He's as hard as ^eJc and iron" — a 
 common Northumbrianism. 
 
 Yeld, barren ; as a cow that does not give milk. 
 
 Yell, ale. Sax. eale. — Yell-house, an ale-house, — Yell-wife, 
 the lady of " mine host" — also a hostess in her own right. 
 See Yal, Yall. 
 
 Yellow-yowley, a Northern name for the yellow bunting, or 
 yellow hammer. Emberiza citrinella. Linnaeus. A vulgar 
 prejudice exists in Scotland against this bird. V. Jam. yeld- 
 ring. 
 
 Yelp, to shout, to cry out ; as it were like a dog* See Yaup. 
 
 Yelper, a popular name for the avoset, which frequents the sea 
 shores of this kingdom in winter, and makes a shrill noise. 
 
 Yerning, rennet. Germ, gerinnen, to coagulate. A plant used 
 in North Tindale, for the purpose of curdling milk for cheese, 
 is called yerning grass. See Keslip. 
 
 Yetling, a small pan or boiler. So called, I suppose, from being 
 made oicast metal. V. ZaxmesoWy yetland. 
 
 Yeuk, v. to itch. Teut. jeucken, prurire. Jint. jeuken. — Yeuk, 
 s. a cutaneous disease — ^jocosely denominated the plague of 
 Scotland ; from an idea of its being so prevalent in that coun- 
 try. See Scotch-fiddle. 
 
 Yeuky, prurient ,• especially in a sense inadmissible here. Yekin, 
 pruntus, occurs in Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Yisserday, yesterday. — Yisserneet, yesternight. 
 
 YoR, your. — Yor-sell, yourself. 
 
 York has the higher rocky but Durham the deeper manger^ a 
 homely Northern proverb, which the sagacious reader will have 
 no difficulty in applying. 
 YouL, Yowl, to cry, to howl. Isl. goltty ululare. The super- 
 stitious are much afraid when they hear a dog youl near their 
 
342 YOUT 
 
 dwelling) and consider it a prediction of an early death in some 
 of the family. This is a very old article of popular belief. 
 
 YouT, to cry, to roar. Teut. iuj/ten, vociferari. 
 
 Youth, is often used in the sense of vigorous age; as, " he is a 
 fine old youth. ^^ 
 
 Yow, Yowe, a ewe. Sax. eowat ovis foemina. 
 
 Yule, the time of Christmas — a festival observed long before 
 the introduction of Christianity. Among the Northern na- 
 tions, it appears to have been an annual feast in honour of 
 the sun, when that great luminary began to revert after the 
 winter solstice. The Romans at this period of the year also 
 celebrated the Saturnalia. The Greenlanders still keep a 
 feast to testify theu* joy at the return of the sun to the Nor- 
 thern hemisphere. V. Crantz, Vol. I., p. 176. Various 
 conjectures have been formed as to the origin of the name, but 
 it is difficult to determine which etymon ought to be preferred. 
 The chief cognate terms are Su.-Got. and Swed. jul. Dan. 
 juid. IsX.jol. Sax. geola. Teut. Joel. 
 
 In the good old days of English plenty and hospitality, the 
 festivities at Christmas were universally felt and enjoyed by all 
 ranks of society ; and this season, otherwise gloomy and deso- 
 late, was passed in the interchange of social visits. These 
 entertainments, it is pleasing to remark, are not altogether 
 driven from our yule fire-sides in the North j though the su- 
 perstitious observances, with which the day used to be cele- 
 brated, are now grown rare, if not entirely discontinued. 
 
 Yule-candle, a large mould-candle, lighted and set on the sup- 
 per-table on Christmas eve. It is considered unlucky to snuff 
 it until the conclusion of the repast. This custom, no doubt, 
 originated in times of heathenism. It bears great resemblance 
 to the Roman Saturnalia, in the celebration of which lights 
 were used. 
 
 YuLE-CT^(;, a large block or log of wood laid on the fire on 
 Christmas Eve, and kept burning all the following day, or 
 longer, if possible. A portion of the old clog of the preceding 
 
YURE 343 
 
 year is sometimes saved to light up the new block at the next 
 Christmas, and to preserve the family from harm in the mean 
 time. Herrick, a minute describer of the superstitions of his 
 times, in allusion to this custom, says. 
 
 Part must be kept wherewith to teend, 
 
 The Christmas Log next yeare ; 
 And where 'tis safely kept, the Fiend 
 
 Can do no mischiefe (there). 
 
 Ceremonies for Candlemasse Day. 
 
 As knowledge advances, superstition almost necessarily recedes. 
 Yet even now — extensively as rational education and intelli- 
 gence are diffusing among every rank of society, and rapid as 
 has been " the march of intellect" — ^many grave and sensible 
 persons, though ashamed to own a belief in supernatural 
 agency of any sort, are still so far influenced in their manner 
 of thinking, as to be uncomfortable in the idea of entii-ely 
 neglecting the superstitious notions imbibed in early life. 
 They affect to doubt what, in their hearts, they believe and 
 are afraid of. Such is ever the despotism of the imagination 
 over minds imperfectly cultivated. 
 
 YuLE-DOUGH, a Christmas cake, or rather a little image of paste, 
 studded with currants, and baked for children at this season of 
 the year; intended, originally, perhaps, for a figure of the child 
 Jesus, with the Virgin Mary. V. Ihre, julbrod — and Brand's 
 Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 410. 
 
 Yule-games, gambols customary during the hilarity of Christ- 
 mas. 
 
 YuLE-PLOUGH, a name for the Christmas Pageant described under 
 
 FoOL-PLOUGH. 
 
 YuRE, the udder of an animal. Dan. T/ver, a dug. Dut. uijer. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 a. 
 
 ■pe^. 
 
NEWCASTLE : PBIKTED BY 
 T. AND J. HODGSON, UNION-STREET. 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 kk^ on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 j^ 
 
 Rf^t^^ 
 
 N0V23'fiR-10 
 
 m 
 
 LOAN DEp f. 
 MAR 4 1970 4 9 
 
 RECTD LD m IS 70 -10 AM 
 
 JUN 51972 7 
 
 ^miO m <i2 u ^ l pu[3 2 
 
 DEC 2 7 1978 IIEC.171982 -• 
 
 REC. cm. NOV 17 '82 
 
 AUTO. DISC C)tC 1 6 '86 
 
 LD 21A-60m-7,'66 
 pj (G44278l0)476B 
 
 General Library 
 
 University of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
 .jt' 
 
GENERAL LIBRARY - U.C. BERKE 
 
 BODoaasbtD