^^ .(^ 
 
 Mm
 
 A 
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 OK 
 
 jEoitl) Countrj? ^^ortis. 
 
 WITH 
 
 THEIR ETYMOLOGY, 
 
 AND 
 
 AFFINITY TO OTHEE LANGUAGES; 
 
 AND OCCASIONAL 
 
 NOTICES OF LOCAL CUSTOMS 
 
 AND 
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 JOHN TROTTER jBEOCKETT, F. S.A., 
 
 LONDON AND NEWCASTLE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED BY 
 W. E. BROCKETT. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. L 
 
 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: 
 
 EMERSON CHARNLEY, BIGG MARKET; AND 
 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXLVI.
 
 Les mots sont le lien des societes, le vehicule des lumieres, la base des 
 sciences, les depositaires des decouvertes d'une Nation, de son savoir, de 
 sa politesse, de ses idees : la connoissance des mots est done un moyen 
 indispensable pour acquerir celle des choses ; de-la ces Ouvrages appelles 
 Dictionnaires, Vocabulaires ou Glossaires, qui offrent I'etendue des con- 
 noisances de chaque Peuple.— Gc&eim. 
 
 NEWCASTLE ; PRINTED BY T. AND J. HODGSON, UKION STKEET.
 
 
 TO 
 
 THE RIGHT REVEREND 
 
 EDWARD MALTBY, D. D., 
 
 LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM, 
 
 THIS THIRD EDITION 
 OF 
 
 A GLOSSARY OF NORTH COUNTRY WORDS, 
 
 IS, 
 
 WITH HIS lordship's KIND FERMISSIOK, 
 
 MOST IlESPKCTFULLY DEDICATED, BY 
 
 THE EDITOR.
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 iSANTA BAiiBARA 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The Compiler of the Glossary of North Country 
 Words, after the publication of the second edition, 
 omitted no opportunity of adding to the work, and 
 correcting what he considered capable of amendment. 
 He had also received from several of his friends sug- 
 gestions and additions of considerable value ; these he 
 unfortunately did not live to digest in such a manner 
 as to fit them for the press ; and, as a third edition 
 was called for, the task devolved upon one who felt 
 his inability to fulfil it as he could wish, but which 
 respect for the memory of his departed father 
 prompted him to undertake. In addition to several 
 of those friends of his late father, whose assistance 
 was acknowledged in the preface to the second edi- 
 tion, the editor has to express his obligation for the 
 valuable communications made to him by his late 
 lamented friend, the Rev. John Hodgson, of Hart- 
 burn, by the late Mr. Brumell, of Moi^peth, and by 
 Mr. Wm. Armstrong, of Castle Eden, whose voca- 
 bulary of terms used in the collieries on the Tyne
 
 vi ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 and Wear is a curious and necessary addition to the 
 work. For the valuable and laborious services of 
 Mr. Turner, of Newcastle, in preparing this edition 
 for the press, he has also to render his warmest 
 acknowledgments. 
 
 The examples given from our early writers, both 
 English and Scotch, will prove, what many lexico- 
 graphers have maintained, that the language of Eng- 
 land and Scotland, previous to, and up to, the union 
 of the two crowns, was nearly identical ; and they 
 will also prove, that much of the dialect of the North 
 is not a patois, as many have supposed, but was the 
 language of composition from the dawn of English 
 poetry, in the reign of Edward the Third, to the ac- 
 cession of James the First, when the simplicity of 
 the Saxon tongue yielded to a more ornate style.
 
 PREFACE 
 
 TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 1 HE Glossary before the Reader is the result of those hours 
 of literary amusement, when it was thought necessary to 
 unbend the mind from professional labour. The Author has 
 felt much satisfaction at the favourable reception which his 
 former attempt to collect and preserve the relics of our good 
 old Northern dialect has received from some of the first liter- 
 ary characters of the age. He has, in particular, been gra- 
 tified by the approbation of several gentlemen of great 
 philological learning, in both kingdoms ; 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 lexicography, 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 former 
 publication. Independent of the numei'ous additions, which
 
 via PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 further research aud communication, both with the living 
 unci 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 
 circumstances relative to the usages of the olden time, as 
 well as to the local customs and popular 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 en- 
 lightened age, few of them are wholly false. 
 
 The Glossary has been made much more copious in the 
 etymological department — alike interesting to the antiquary 
 and the philologist. Every scholar is aware of the extraor- 
 dinary analogy of various languages. In many of the ar- 
 ticles 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 em- 
 broidered. Notices are also given of striking affinities, in 
 sound and meaning, with different other languages ; though 
 these are not always sufficient to constitute 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. By the
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. IX 
 
 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 archa- 
 isms — 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 language 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 observed, 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 versa. 
 
 VOL. I. b
 
 T PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 By a communication from George R. Kinloch, Esq., of 
 Edinburgh, the Author has been furnished with an extensive 
 list of our North Country words which are in use in Scot- 
 land, some of which have escaped the vigilance of Dr. Jamie- 
 son, though Mr. Kinloch says they are well known as Scot- 
 tish 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 additional 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 con- 
 tributed so much to the interest of the work, by allowing the 
 Author the 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. Darnell, B. D., 
 Prebendary of Durham, Matthew Culley, Esq., of Fowberry 
 Tower, I. I. Wilkinson, Esq., Rev. H. Cotes, R. R. Green- 
 well, Esq., and Thomas Fenwick, Esq., in the unreserved 
 communication of various manuscript vocabularies of provin- 
 cial terms, collected in different parts of the Northern Coun- 
 ties, his warmest acknowledgments are due, and he feels sin- 
 cere pleasure in thus publicly recording his sense of the 
 obligation.
 
 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XI 
 
 With these aids, and with the assistance and encourage- 
 ment he has received, during his undertaking, from different 
 eminent individuals, which it would have the appearance of 
 personal vanity in the Author to particularize, he has endea- 
 voured to the best of his ability, and making the most of the 
 time which he could allow himself from other avocations, to 
 re-construct, and, as he hopes, materially to improve, the 
 Glossary of North Country 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 nature, discover 
 the best extenuation. 
 
 Albion Place, IQth 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 Lancasliirc 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.
 
 AUTHORS AND WORKS REFERRED TO. 
 
 Boucher Glossary of Obsolete and Provincial Words, 4to. 
 
 London, 1807. 
 
 Crav. Gloss Horse Momenta Cravense. or the Craven Dia- 
 lect exemplified, 12mo. Lond. 1824. 
 
 2d. edit. Dialectof Craven, with a copious Glos- 
 sary, 2 vols. 8vo. Lond. 1828. 
 
 Du Cange Glossarium ad Scriptores Medise et Infimse La- 
 
 tinitatis, 6 torn. fol. Paris, 1733. 
 
 Gael. Diet Dictionarium Scoto-Celticum : a Dictionary of 
 
 the Gaelic Language, comijiled 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, Svo. 
 
 Lond. 1785. 
 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 EtjTiiological Dictionary of 
 
 the Scottish Language, 2 vols. 4to. Edinb. 
 1825. 
 
 Jennings Observations on some of the Dialects in the 
 
 West of England, particularly Somersetshire : 
 with a Glossary, 12mo. Lond. 1825. 
 
 Jun. — Junius Etymologicum Anglicanum. Edid. Lye, fol. 
 
 Oxon. 1743. 
 
 Kilian Etymologicon TeutonicEe LingusD, 2 torn. 4to' 
 
 Traj. Bat. 1777. 
 
 Le Roux Dictionaire comique, satyrique, critique, burles- 
 que, libre, et proverbial, 2 tom. 8vo. Lion. 1752. 
 
 Lye Dictionarium Saxonico et Gothico-Latinum. 
 
 Edid. Manning, 2 tom. fol. Lond. 1772.
 
 XIV AUTHORS AND WORKS REFERRED TO. 
 
 Moor. Suffolk Words and Phrases, by Edward Moor, 
 
 F.R.S. F.A.S., &c. 12mo. Woodbridgc, 1823. 
 
 Nares. — Nares' Gloss. A Glossary ; or Collection of Words, Phrases, 
 Names, and Allusions to Customs, Proverbs, 
 &c. 4to. Lond. 1822. 
 
 Palsgrave L'Esclaircisscment de la Langue Fran9oise, fol. 
 
 Black Lettek. The two first books printed 
 
 by Pynson, and the third (the most copious 
 
 part) by lohan Hawkins— the only work he 
 
 ever executed. 
 Prompt, Parv. Promptorium Parvulorum sive Clericorum, fol. 
 
 Pynson, 1499. 
 Ray Collection of English Words, 12mo. Lond. 
 
 1691. 
 Roquefort Glossaire de la Langue Romane, 2 tom. 8vo. 
 
 Paris, 1808. Supplement, 8vo. 1820. 
 Skin. — Skinner Etymologicon Lingua; Anglicanaj, 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, LL.D. Edited by the 
 
 Rev. H. I. 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 torn. fol. Lips. 
 
 1737. 
 Watson Vocabulary of uncommon Words used in Hali- 
 fax Parish. 
 Wilb. — Wilbraham. An Attempt at a Glossary of some W^ords used 
 
 in Cheshire. From the ArchiEologia, Vol. 
 
 XIX, With considerable Additions, 8vo. 
 
 Lond. 1820. 2d. edit. Lond. 1826. 
 Willan A List of Ancient Words at present used in the 
 
 Mountainous Districts of the West Riding of 
 
 Yorkshue. Archppologia, Vol. XVIL
 
 MEMOIR 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 JOHN TEOTTER BEOCKETT, ESQ, F.S.A. 
 
 Manibus date lilia plenis : 
 
 Purpureos spargam flores, 
 
 His saltern accumulem donis, et fungar inani 
 Munere. 
 
 The Life of a Country Solicitor, engaged from "morn to 
 dewy eve " in the round of professional duties, does not or- 
 dinarily afford those incidents which render Biography enter- 
 taining and instructive. And yet, we not unfrequently see, 
 in the faculty of the Law, men with minds so constituted 
 that, in the midst of the most pressing engagements, they 
 can find ease and relaxation in the simple change of study, 
 and grasp intelligence on subjects which, to an ordinary ob- 
 server, seem alien to what has not inaptly been termed " a 
 legal mind." Mr. Brockett, the compiler of this Glossary, 
 was emphatically a Lawyer — a diligent and painful Student 
 of the Law — of great and extensive practice in it — and yet, 
 as matters of amusement and relaxation, he grappled, but al- 
 ways with the hand of a master, with general Literature, An- 
 tiquities, and Lexicography — he brought Numismatics under
 
 XVI MEMOIR OF 
 
 Bearcliing criticism — he sounded the depths of constitutional 
 learning, and disphiyed an acquaintance with political sci- 
 ence, which, in another walk of life, would have led to dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 Mr. Brockett was the eldest son of the late Mr. John 
 Brockett, formerly of Witton Gilbert, and, afterwards, for a 
 long series of years, the Deputy Prothonotary of the local 
 Courts of Record of Newcastle upon Tyne. On the family 
 removing to Gateshead, which town was conveniently situ- 
 ated for the elder Mr. Brockett's residence, young Brockett 
 was placed under the care of the Rev. William Turner, then 
 the preceptor of a limited number of young gentlemen. His 
 proficiency under this admirable teacher was most gratifying, 
 and laid the foundation of a warm friendship between the 
 master and the pupil, which closed only at death. The 
 elder Mr. Brockett was a profound mathematician, and when 
 his son was not engaged with Mr. Turner, he had him under 
 his own care in the Prothonotary's Office, studying with 
 closeness and intense application, the most exact of human 
 sciences. 
 
 When the younger Mr. Brockett reached the proper age, 
 he selected the Law as the object of his pursuit, and was 
 placed in the office of the late Mr. Carr, where he remained 
 for a year or two, and then removed to the chambers of 
 Messrs. Clayton & Brumell, at that time the principal soli- 
 citors in the North of England. I had been acquainted with 
 Mr. Brockett since March, 1802, but it was not until he be- 
 came a clerk to Mr. Can*, that a close intimacy was formed 
 between us. The Law, till then, had been a dry and barren 
 field to me, and I had determined on forsaking it the mo- 
 ment I could have my articles cancelled. My friend sug- 
 gested the propriety of our meeting on an evening in every 
 week, after the labours of the day, and discoursing on law
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKETT, ESQ. XVli 
 
 subjects only. We did so ; we read — we disputed — we pre- 
 pared pleadings, briefs, and assurances in supposed cases, 
 the consequence of which was, the imparting of a taste for 
 forensic subjects, and an impulse in the acquisition of legal 
 knowledge, of which I yet feel the force, and experience the 
 advantage. I have often seen Mr. B. at those meetings, 
 wield the golden metwand of the law with admirable pre- 
 cision, and anticipate the status he was afterwards to take. 
 
 After Mr. Brockett had served his articles, he became ma- 
 naging clerk to Mr. Donkin, who was then rising into great 
 eminence as a solicitor. Having spent a short time with 
 Mr. Donkin, he was admitted an attorney, and prac- 
 tised as such for many years in Newcastle, with distinguished 
 ability and success. In the early part of his professional career, 
 he was extensively employed as an advocate in the Mayor's 
 and Sheriff's Courts of Newcastle, then under the able presi- 
 dency of the greatest of provincial lawyers, the late Mr. 
 Hopper Williamson, and dealing with pleas, generally cog- 
 nizable only in Westminster Hall. In the management of his 
 causes, Mr. B. displayed that tact and discriminating judg 
 ment, aided by a manly and impressive eloquence, which, had 
 he been called to the bar, would have secured to him the ho- 
 nours of the noble profession to which he belonged ; but the 
 turn of his mind was to tenures and conveyancing, and 
 in both of those branches of recondite learning he excelled. 
 No man could read an abstract with a clearer head, or with 
 a sounder judgment than Mr. Brockett ; and the conveyances 
 which flowed from his pen, display a beauty, a compactness, and 
 a harmony of parts, most delightful to the student of the For- 
 mulare Anfflicanum. But his highest praise as a professional 
 man is, that his practice was marked by the strictest integrity 
 and liberality, and that his numerousfriends with implicit confi- 
 dence, committed their concerns to his guidance and direction. 
 
 c
 
 XVlll MEMOIR OF 
 
 When a very young man, Mr. Brockotttook an active part 
 in the affairs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New- 
 castle, and in the various discussions that took place at the 
 meetings of that body. The Society soon appreciated his at- 
 tainments, and placed him, first on its Committee of Manage- 
 ment, and then in the office of Secretary, which situation he 
 held until his death. 
 
 Mr. Brockett's passion for antiquities, was excited by a 
 friend presenting him with some duplicate Coins, and he be- 
 came, in consequence, a member of the local Society of Anti- 
 quaries, almost, if not quite, from its very commencement, 
 and for many years previously to his death, a member of the 
 Council of that body, and one of the most intelligent and best 
 informed of the gentlemen, who assembled at the meetings 
 of the society. 
 
 Dr. Dibdin, in his " Northern Tour," very justly states 
 that Mr. Brockett " may be considered the Father of the 
 Typographical Society established at Newcastle : His Hints 
 on the propriety of establishing such a Society having appeared 
 in 1818 : — a short Tract of six pages." But he was not only 
 the Father of that Society, but one of the principal contri- 
 butors to the splendid series of Tracts issued from its press — 
 a series which has raised the typographical character of the 
 town, to a first-rate eminence in the Republic of Letters. 
 
 He translated and published, in connection with this So- 
 ciety, Beauvais' celebrated " Essay on the Means of distin- 
 guishing Antique from Counterfeit Coins and Medals," to 
 which he added many important notes and illustrations. 
 Mr. Martin, in his Bibliographical Catalogue of privately- 
 printed Books, has enumerated this and several others of 
 Mr. B.'s beautiful productions. But the works by which he 
 was most distinguished, are his " Enquiry into the Question, 
 whether the Freeholders of Newcastle upon Tyue, are enti-
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKETT, ESQ. XIX 
 
 tied to vote for Members of Parliament for the County of 
 Northumberlantl," and his " Glossary of North Country 
 Words." The first of those publications, replete with con- 
 stitutional and antiquarian lore, received the high commen- 
 dations of Mr. Hopper Williamson and other lawyers, and 
 the latter is appreciated wherever the English Language is 
 known. Mr. B. had, at the time of his death, made consi- 
 derable preparations for a third edition of the Glossary, 
 and his only surviving son, Mr. William Edward Brock- 
 ett, with filial piety for the memory of his lamented 
 Father, (and to satisfy the demand of the public for a new 
 edition of the work,) has brought the present edition through 
 the press, availing himself of the kindly literary aid of Sir 
 Cuthbert Sharpe, George Taylor, Esq., of Witton-le-Wear j 
 Francis Mewburn, Esq., of Darlington ; the Rev. Dr. Dar- 
 nell, of Stanhope ; Mr. John Turner, of Newcastle, and other 
 respected friends of his late Father, who have taken a lively 
 interest in making the work as perfect as possible. But the 
 general diffusion of education tends to make the English Na- 
 tion " of one language and of one speech ;" and the time 
 seems not to be far distant when the North Country words, 
 which Mr. Brockett has collected ^vith so much care, will, in 
 the strictest sense of the term, be Archaisms even in Nor- 
 thumberland. 
 
 The health of Mr. Brockett, for the last twenty-five years 
 of his life, was such as to preclude his going much into com- 
 pany, but he spent such portions of his time as he could spare 
 from the laborious duties of his profession, in those literary 
 and scientific pursuits, for which he had so very refined a 
 taste and ability. He formed a splendid Cabinet of Coins 
 and Medals, which, after a sale in June, 1823, often days' 
 continuance, by Mr. Sotheby, of London, realized 1,700/. 13^. 
 Gd, His Library of scarce and curious Books in the Decem-
 
 XZ MEMOIR OF 
 
 ber following, was sold by the same gentleman. The sale 
 continued fourteen days and realized 4,2G0^. Mr. Brockctt 
 had a small collection of Prints and Portraits, which was, with 
 that of the late Dr. Whittakcr, the Historian, sold by Mr. 
 Sotheby in January, 1 824, and realized 601. 3s. 6d. A cata- 
 logue of the books, with the jjrices realized, was published, 
 and is still referred to, as an authority for the value of the 
 works comprised in it.* At those sales Mr. Brockett had the 
 gratification of seeing the most gifted men of the day in com- 
 petition for the beautiful works which he had displayed so 
 much judgment in collecting. But he was not a bare collec- 
 tor. He knew the value of his books, in the intelligence and 
 wisdom treasured in their pages, and the uses of his Coins 
 and Medals, for the illustration and confirmation of history. 
 Immediately after those sales, Mr. Brockett sarted de novo 
 
 * The late Earl of Durham, then John George Lambton, Esq., pur- 
 chased some of tlie briglitest gems in the eoUection : — The following is 
 a list of them, with the prices at which they were sold. They now 
 constitute part of the library of Lambton Castle : — 
 
 Allan Tracts, Darlington (Collection of), 52?. 10«. 
 
 Edmonston's Baronagium Genealogicum, 6 vols., 17?. lis. 
 
 Gardner's England's Grievance, 1655, 20?. Is. Qd. 
 
 Garlands (Right Choice and Merrie Collection of), made by William 
 Garret, 6 vols., 10?. IQs. 
 
 Glossary of North Country Words, an Original Manuscript, compiled 
 by Mr. Brockett, 8?. 8s. 
 
 Hogarth's Genuine Works, published by Boydell, 13?. 5s. 
 
 Holbein's Heads of the Court of Henry VIII., 25?. 5s. 
 
 Holme's Academy of Armoury. Chester, 1579, 13?. IDs. 
 
 Magna Charta, printed in gold, 54?. 12s. 
 
 Northumberland Household Book, 1770, 10?. 10s. 
 
 PrjTine's Works and Parliamentary Writs, 183?. 15s. 
 
 Mr. Lambton was much disappointed at this sale, in not buying the 
 splendid copy of Bourne's History of Newcastle, on large paper, and 
 illustrated with numerous drawings and prints, which was purchased by 
 Mr. Jupp for 54?. 12s
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKET!, ESQ. XXI 
 
 in his favorite pursuit of collecting. And he made such 
 rapid progress in this delightful work, that when Dr. Dibdin 
 visited him in 1837, the learned author of the Bibliographical 
 Decamaron, seems to have been astonished at what he saw 
 and heard at Mr. Brockett's house. The greatest of Biblio- 
 manists thus expresses himself, " In fact, the zeal, ac- 
 tivity, and anxiety of my friend, in all matters relating to the 
 literary, scientific, and antiquarian welfare of his native 
 [adopted] town, have no limits and know no diminution. 
 They rise up and lie down with him. One thing particularly 
 struck me, in his closely-wedged miscellaneous collection — 
 the choice and nicety of each article : — A golden Nero, or a 
 first Walton's Angler, was as well nigh perfect as it might 
 be ; and his Horsley was only equalled by his Hock." In 
 another part of his book. Dr. Dibdin gives the reader the 
 following graphic sketch of his visits to Mr. Brockett : — 
 " More than once or twice was the hospitable table of my 
 friend, John Trotter Brockett, Esq., spread to receive me. 
 He lives comparatively in a nut-shell — but what a kernel ! 
 Pictures, books, curiosities, medals, coins — of precious value 
 — bespeak his discriminating eye and liis liberal heart. You 
 may revel here from sunrise to sunset, and fancy the domains 
 interminable. Do not suppose that a stated room or rooms 
 are only appropriated to his Ijofecg; they are "up-stairs, 
 do^vn-stairs, and in my lad/s chamber.'' They spread all 
 over the house — tendrils of pliant curve and perennial ver- 
 dure. For its size, if I except those of one or two Banna- 
 tyners, I am not sure whether this be not about the choicest 
 collection of books which I saw on my tour. Mr. Brockett 
 is justly proud of his Horsley; — he opened it with evident 
 satisfaction. They are all at Newcastle necessarily Horsley- 
 mad. I suffered him to enjoy his short-lived triumph. His 
 copy was upon small paper : of most enviable size and con-
 
 XU MEMOIR OF 
 
 dition. " Were you ever at Belvoir Castle ?" observed I. — 
 " Never," replied he. " Then take care never to visit it ; 
 for there is a copy, upon large paper such as eyes never be- 
 held. Having seen and caressed it, you will throw this into 
 the Tyne." I shall take care to avoid Belvoir Castle," was 
 my friend's reply. 
 
 "Mr. Brockett may justly boast of a superb series oi Ro- 
 man gold coins, from Julius Caesar to Michael VIII. Paleolo- 
 gus ; and although his collection does not comprise every 
 kno^vn variety, it contains all the specimens of any rarity 
 and interest. What renders it more peculiarly valuable is 
 the exquisite state of preservation of the whole. But here 
 are also British gold and silver coins, of our Henrys and Ed- 
 wards, and medals which illustrate in particular the local 
 history of Newcastle. Nor is my friend a mere collector of 
 these things. The numismatic blood tingles in his veins : he 
 is deeply read in numismatic lore ; at times evincing the taste 
 of Eckhel, and the learning of Rasch." 
 
 It only remains for me to state, that in domestic life, Mr. 
 Brockett was a pattern of all that was amiable. His family 
 participated with him in his favorite studies and pursuits, 
 and his home was the abode of peace and happiness. Some 
 years previously to his death, he lost his eldest son, when 
 that sou's genius was streaming forth in every direction, and 
 indicating a career of no ordinary character. He sustained 
 the shock with surprising fortitude, but it may have been the 
 remote cause of his death,^ which occurred on the 12th of 
 October, 1842, when our lamented Glossographer was 
 only in the 54th year of his age. At the time of his death, 
 Mr. B. was F. S. A., London, and, as I have already stated, 
 of the Council of the Society of Antiquaries, and Secretary 
 of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon 
 Tyne. The Council of the Society of Antiquaries, and the
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKETT, ESQ. Xxiii 
 
 Committee of the Literary and Philosophical Society, follow- 
 ed the remains of their old friend and associate to their rest- 
 ing place, whilst his pall was borne by Dr Headlam, Mr. 
 Adamson, and other Friends, who had enjoyed a closer in- 
 timacy with the eminently-talented and honoured individual, 
 whose loss was so generally deplored. 
 
 JOHN FENWICK. 
 
 11, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyue, 
 June, 1846. 
 
 LIST OF WORKS BY MR. BROCKETT. 
 
 An Enquiry into the Question whether the Freeholders of the Town 
 and County of Newcastle upon Tyne are entitled to vote for Mem- 
 bers of Parliament for the County of Northumberland. 8vo., pp. 
 51. 1818 
 
 Hints on the Propriety of Establishing a Typograghical Society in New- 
 castle upon Tyne. (200 copies printed.) 1818 
 
 A Catalogue of Books and Tracts printed at the private Press of George 
 Allan, Esq., F. S. A., at Darlington. (100 copies printed). 1818 
 
 A Letter to the Rev. Henry Phillpotts, M. A., Prebendary of Durham. 
 
 1819 
 
 Memoirs of Thomas and John Bewick prefixed to the Edition of 
 Bewick's Select Fables. 1820 
 
 Selecta Numismata Aurea Imperatorum Romanorum Ex Museo loan- 
 nis Trotter Brockett, Partes Prima & Altera. (32 copies printed.) 
 
 1822 
 
 A Glossary of North Country Words, in Use, from an Original Manu- 
 script in the Library of John George Lambton, Esq., M. P., with
 
 XXIV MEMOIR OF 
 
 considerable additions, 1>y Joliii Trotter Broekett, V. S. A. Lon- 
 don and Newcastle. 
 
 " It were pity that such particulars should be lost."— Mirror for Magia- 
 trates. 
 
 Newcastle upon Tyne : Printed by T. and J. Hodgson, for E. Cham- 
 ley, MDCCCXXv. pp. 243. tiOO copies printed in crown octavo, and 
 32 copies in royal octavo. 
 
 A Glossary of North Country Words, iu Use ; witli their Etymology, 
 
 and Affinity to other Languages ; and occasional Notices of Local 
 
 Customs and popular Superstitions. By John Trotter Broekett, 
 
 P. S. A., London and Newcastle. 
 
 Newcastle upon Tyne : Emerson Charnley, Bigg Market, and Baldwin 
 and Cradock, London, mdcccxxix., p)>. 343. Reprinted, 300 copies 
 printed in crown octavo, 60 copies in royal octavo, and 2 in quarto. 
 Printed by T. tSi J. Hodgson. 
 
 A Postscript to an Enquiry into the Question whether the Freeholders 
 of Newcastle upon Tyne are entitled to vote for Members of Par- 
 liament for the County of Northumberland. 8vo., pp. 50. 1831 
 
 Several Papers in the Archaeologia .^liana. 
 
 LIST OF WORKS EDITED BY MR. BROCKETT. 
 
 An Essay on the Means of distinguishing Antique from Counterfeit 
 Coins and Medals, translated from the French of M. Beauvais, with 
 Notes and Illustrations by John Trotter Broekett, F. S. A. (209 
 copies printed.) 1819 
 
 The Episcopal Coins of Durham, and the Monastic Coins of Reading, 
 minted during the Reigns of Edward I., II., and III., appropriated 
 to their respective Owners ; by the late Benjamin Bartlet, F. S. A. 
 A new Edition, with Notes and Illustrations, by John Trotter 
 Broekett. (105 copies printed.) 1817 
 
 A Short View of the Long Life and Raigne of Henry the Third, King of 
 England; presented to King James, 1627. (100 copies printed.) 
 
 1817 
 
 An Exact Narration of the Life and Death of the Reverend and Learned 
 Prelate, and Painful Divine, Lanncelot Andrewes, late Bishop of 
 Winchester, 1650. (80 copies printed.) 1817 
 
 A Memoir on the Origin of Printing; addressed to John Topham, Esq., 
 F, R. & A. SS. By Ralph Willett, Esq., F. R. & A. SS. (32 copies 
 printed.) 1818 
 
 A Remembrance of the Honoui-s duo to the Life and death of Robert 
 Earl of Salisbury, Lord Treasurer of England, &c., 1612. (136 
 copies printed.) 1818 
 
 His Majestic's passing through the .Scots armie ; as also his Entertain-
 
 JOHN TKOTTER BROCKETT, ESQ. XXV 
 
 ment by Generall Lesly. Together with the Manner of the Scots 
 marching out of New-castle; related by the best Intelligence. 
 Printed in the year 1641. (101 copies printed.) 1820 
 
 An Experimental and Exact Relation upon that famous and renowned 
 Siege of Newcastle, the Divers Conflicts, and Occurrences that fell 
 out there during the time of Ten Weeks and odd Days, and of that 
 Mightie and Marvellous Storming thereof, with power, policie, and 
 prudent Plots of Warre ; together with a succinct Commentarie 
 upon the Battell of Bowden Hill, and that Victorious Battell of 
 York or Marston Moore, never to be forgotten, by him who was an 
 eye-witness of the Siege of Newcastle, William Lithgow, 1645. 
 (201 copies printed.) 1820 
 
 A Particular Relation of the Taking of Newcastle, expressing the faire 
 meanes which were used to gaine the Towne ; the Summons sent 
 unto them, and the many Letters past betwixt His Excellency the 
 Earl of Leven, Lord Generall of the Scottish Armie and them, with 
 the Manner of Storming the Towne ; the Rendering of the Castle, 
 and their Condition since ; together with a Letter from the Com- 
 mittee with the Scottish Army to the Committee of both King- 
 doms here ; all sent by an Expresse to the Commissioners of Scot- 
 land, Oct. 29, 1644. (200 copies printed.) 1825 
 
 A Full Relation of the Scots Martch from Barwicke to Newcastle, with 
 Eighteen Thousand Foot, Three Thousand Horse, Five Hundred 
 Dragoons, and a Hundred and Twenty Pieces of Ordnance. Also, 
 their Message to the Govcrnour of Newcastle, and their Proposition 
 to the Cavaliers, and their several Answers about the Surrendering 
 of Newcastle. Together with a Relation of xi. of the Erie of War- 
 wick's ships appointed to fall upon vii. ships which lay at Newcas- 
 tle laden with malignants' goods, intended for Holland ; as it was 
 delivered to the Parliament, by a Messenger from the Scot A mie 
 1644. (202 copies printed.) 1827 
 
 YOL. I.
 
 OF 
 
 NORTH COUNTRY WORDS. 
 
 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 modem English substitutes o ; 
 as awn, for own ; hane, for bone ; hame, for home ; &c. ; and 
 to omit the last two letters in those ending in II ; as a' 
 (aw), for all ; c«' (caw), for call ; &c. But at Hexham, 
 and a district round it, the «, instead of usurping the 
 place of 0, as is common in most other parts of Northumber- 
 land, is itself converted into o, in the vulgar pronunciation ; 
 as 0, for all ; bo, for ball ; fote, for fault ; hofe, for half, &c. 
 " Hexham Jio-penni/" is a bye-word of long standing ; and 
 " Hexham the heart of o England," may be said to be pro- 
 verbial. 
 
 A, always, ever. — Cumb. A, in the Saxon language, is the 
 adverb here given. Perhaps from the same root the Ger- 
 mans have their ewig, and its dependents. In the forma- 
 tion of our border dialects it has been freely denizened. 
 Vide Aye. " 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 ad- 
 verbial prefix to our participles agoing, «coming, &c. 
 
 A, interrogative — a ? what ? what do you say ? Qj/. Eh ?
 
 2 A AC 
 
 Aac, Aik, Yak, Yeck, or Yaik, the oak tree. Sax. ac, wc. 
 Su.-Got, ek. Germ, eiche. Dut. and Isl. eik. So. aik. The 
 words aik and acorn, oljserves Mr. Boucher, fall under that 
 numerous list of northern terms which differ from the com- 
 mon speech of England, only hy ha\ang retained that strong 
 characteristical mark of their Saxon origin, the a in the 
 place of the modem o, and would not have been adverted 
 to here, had there not been something peculiar in their 
 pronunciation, in which alone their pro^ancialism consists. 
 The former is jironounced yeck or yaik, just as earth is 
 pronounced yerth ; whilst acorii is every where pronounced 
 nearly as it is sjielled. By having thus retained the ortho- 
 graphy as well as the orthoejiy of aik, the people of the 
 North have avoided that inconsistency, which certainly is 
 imjjutable 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 ocorn. Both these terms are j^ure Sax- 
 on, ac and (ecern ; the latter importing as literally in the 
 Saxon, as it does in English, the fruit or com of the aik ; 
 and hence the proper names of Aikin, Akenside, &c. 
 
 Aback, backwards ; en back. Isl. a-hak. Not obsolete, as 
 stated in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Aback-a-behint, behind or in the rear. '■'■ Ahack-a-heliint 
 where the grey mare foaled the fiddler ;" that is, I am 
 told, threw him off in the dirt. 
 
 Abawe, to daunt, astonish, lower — aliash. Fr. a has. 
 
 Abie, to suffer ; to pay dear for. " Ye shall dearly abie it." 
 
 " Forsothely, a prentis, a revelour 
 That liandeth dis, riot and paramour. 
 His maister shall it in his shoppe ahie." — Chaucer. 
 
 Able, wealthy ; as " an able man," 
 
 Ablins, perhaps, possibly. ]Mr. Boucher justly considers this 
 word a remarkable confirmation of an ingenious gramma- 
 tical position, first strenuously ui'ged by Gebelin, and, 
 since, well sujiported and confirmed by Mr. Home Tooke,
 
 ACKE 3 
 
 viz. that i^articles were originally verbs. He takes ablins 
 to be the participle of the present tense of the irregular verb, 
 " to be able;^' and as such, easily resolvable into the bmig 
 able. Qy. haplings, quasi haply. 
 
 Aboon, Abuix, above, overhead. Sax. ahufan. Mr. Todd 
 says, aboon is " common in Westmorland and part of 
 Yorkshire." It is also in constant use in the counties of 
 Durham and Northumberland. V. Junius and Boucher. 
 
 Abraid, to rise on the stomach, to feel an inclination to vomit, 
 with a degree of nausea ; applied to articles of diet, which 
 prove disagreeable to the taste, or difficult of digestion. 
 See Braid. Both from upbraid : reprove is often used in 
 the same sense. 
 
 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 sui^erstition is related, where the corpse 
 of a deceased person, dug up from the grave, is said to be 
 abstracted. So in Law, abstraction of tithe is the unjusti- 
 fiable removal of it. 
 
 Ac, mind, heed, care ; as, ne'er ac, don't mind — ^take it not 
 to heart. It is a jilirase used to any one who has suffered 
 injury or aflOiction. " Come, my friend, never cr^," do not 
 lay it to heart. Probably from Sax. ace, pain. 
 
 Acker, to curl, as the curl of water from the wind. Acker, 
 s. a ripple on the surface of the water. 
 
 AcKERSPRiT, the premature sprouting of a i)otato, the germi- 
 nation of grain. Gr. «»^oj, the end, and g-^h^cc a curling 
 shoot. V. Skin., Jam., and Wilb. In a Scotch Act of 
 Parliament " Anent Malt -makers," it is said that they 
 " let their malt akerspire and shute out all the thrift and sub- 
 stance at baith the ends, quhare it should come at ane end 
 only." 
 
 " For want of turning, when the malt is spread on the floor, it 
 comes and sprouts at both ends, which is called to acrospyre.- 
 and then it is fit only for swine." — Mortimer's Husbandry.
 
 4 ACKE 
 
 AcKERN, an acorn. 
 
 AcKNow, to acknowledge, to confess. Lat. agnosco. The old 
 form of the word — still in use as a northern provincialism. 
 
 Acow, or AcAW, crooked, obliquely, a^vTy. Sax. ascunian, 
 devitare. 
 
 Acre-dale Lands, common fields in which different proprie- 
 tors hold portions of greater or less extent ; from acre, 
 a word common to almost every language, ager (Lat.), 
 and acker (Germ.), and Sax. dcelan, 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 — the perforation imagined 
 by the vulgar to be made by the sting of an adder. Stones 
 of this kind are suspended in stables as a charm to secure 
 the horses from being hag-ridden ; and are also hung up at 
 the bed's head, to prevent the night-mare. They are also 
 called self-bored stones. Boucher says they were used by 
 the Druids as amulets. In Welsh they are called by 
 what is supposed to be their Druidical name, Glain-naidrs, 
 or Glain-y-nadrocdd, i. e. snake stones. See Holy-stones. 
 
 Addiwissen, had I kno^vn 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 
 difiiculty : had I wist, or had I icisscn (and in the pronun- 
 ciation it is as one word, addiwissen), I would not have 
 done so and so. The phrase is of great antiquity, occur- 
 ring in Gascoigne's Hermit's Tale, in Gower, and in Ho- 
 linshed. 
 
 Addle, Aidle, Eddle, v. to cam by labour, Addlings, Aid- 
 lings, s. labourer's wages, earnings. Sax. edlean, recom- 
 pense, or requital.
 
 AGEE 5 
 
 Addled, «. decayed, impaired, rotten; as *■' addle-headed," 
 " addled eggs ;" from Sax. adl., or adel, a disease, or its 
 verb, adlian, to be sick or languid. 
 
 Addlings, earnings ; wages received for work. 
 
 Adit, the approach, or entrance to any phice, as the adit of 
 a house, &c. ; but more particularly applied to the hori- 
 zontal shaft, or sough of a mine. Lat. aditus. 
 
 Ae, Ea, one, one of several, each. — Aewaas, Eaways, always. 
 
 " Ae lad frae out below the ha' 
 Ees Meggie wi' a glance." — 'Rood Fair. 
 
 Afear'd, afraid. Pure Saxon. This word is repeatedly used 
 by Shakspeare. 
 
 Aforn, before, on hand. Sax. at-/bran, Afore, the old Eng- 
 lish 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. 
 
 After-damp, the residuary gases after an explosion in a coal 
 pit — carbonic acid, nitrogen, and carbonic oxid — causing 
 great loss of life. 
 
 Ag, to hack or cut with a stroke. Sax. kaccati. Tliis is no 
 vulgarism, but the pure and genuine pronunciation of the 
 Saxons. Their letter c (between two vowels) answered to, 
 and had the power of, the Greek 7. V. Hickes' Grammatica 
 Anglo-Saxonica et Moesa-Gothica, p. 1. 
 
 Agate, on the way, agoing — on foot again ; as a person re- 
 covered from a sick bed. " The fire burns agate," that is, 
 is beginning to bum briskly. — York., where it always de- 
 notes incipient rapidity. 
 
 Agean, Agen, again, against. Sax. agen ; and so used in old 
 English. Ageanth, against. 
 
 Agee, Ajee, Agye, awry, uneven, aside. Across ; as, " it 
 went all agee" 
 
 " Rouse up thy reason, my beautiful Annie ; 
 Let ne'er a new whim ding thy fancy ajee."— Allan liamsav-
 
 6 AGGE 
 
 AoGEK, cartlicn banks, or mounds, thrown up either for de- 
 fence, as in encauqjments, or as l)Oundaries, by the British, 
 Roman, and Saxon inhabitants of Britain. Lat. aggero, to 
 heaji. 
 Aggnailes, or Hag-nails, see Wurtsprings. 
 Aglee, or Agley, wrong, awry. As poor Bums truly said, 
 " The best laid schemes o'mice .and men 
 Gang aft a-gUy." 
 
 Agog, eager, desirous, on the start. " He's quite agog for it." 
 Great research has been expended, and much has been 
 A\Titten on the etymology of this word. It is strange that 
 all our philologists have marked it as uncertain ; as it may, 
 I think, be satisfactorily derived from Ital. agognare, to 
 wish, to long for. Since this was WTitten, I have been in- 
 formed l)y a valued correspondent in Edinburgh, who has 
 most kindly and liberally aided me in my etymological en- 
 quiries, that there is a Roxburgshire 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 
 gogiies" which Boyer gives as synonymous with " dans sa 
 bonne humeur," to be in a merry mood, pin, cue, or hu- 
 mour. V. Boyer, vo. gogues ; which is derived from the 
 reciprocal verb " segogucr (se rejouir) to be or make merry." 
 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that both the French 
 verl) and phrase are only used in a comical or burlesque 
 style, which is the very character of agog. A writer in the 
 Quarterly Re\aew (Vol. LIV,, p. 321) in noticing this article, 
 refers to Icelandic, d gcegium — on the watch, or look out — 
 from the neuter passive verb gcegiaz, to peep or pry. 
 
 Agrote, to surfeit, cloy, or saturate. An old word used by 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Ahixt, behind, " To ride aJiint." Sax. a hindan, post. 
 
 AiG, sourness, in a slight degree. " The milk has got an fl?^." 
 
 AiGRE, sour. Fr. aigve. Hence Ale-aigre, which see.
 
 AIXE 7 
 
 AiN, Ane, ji»"o«. the northern 2>i'ouunciation of own ; being, 
 as it were, a compound of a^une, i. e. all belonging to one, 
 in contradistinction to that which is the property of mcmi/. 
 V. Boucher. 
 
 AiNCE, or Anes, i^ronounced Yence. Adv. once. 
 
 AiRD. This word, as applied to the name of a place, means 
 high ; as Airdl&/, in Hexhamshire. Br. aird, height. 
 Gael, and Ir. ard, mighty, great, and noble. Qi/. from 
 arduus, lofty ? It is also used to describe the quality of a 
 place or field ; in which sense it means dry, parched ; from 
 Lat. aridus — hence arid. 
 
 Airly, the northern form of early ; conformable to Dan. 
 aarle. 
 
 AiRT, or Art, a point or part of the horizon or comjiass ; a 
 
 district, or portion of the country. Germ, ort, a place — 
 
 die vier orte, the four quarters. Gael, aird, a cardinal 
 
 point. In Yorkshire the prounciation is airth. 
 
 " It is concludit in this parliament 
 That into Elgin, or into Invernesse 
 Sail be ane sute of Clarkis sapient 
 Togidder with ane prudent precedent 
 To do justice in all the northern airtis." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 AiRTH, afraid ; " He was airth to do it." Sax. yrlitTi, fear. 
 
 AiRTHFUL, fearful — ^producing superstitious dread. " An 
 airthful night." 
 
 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 
 unfortunate in his conjecture on this word. See Arder. 
 
 Aits, Yaits, Yetts, oats. Sax. ata, ate. The sound expres- 
 sed by yaits, 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 broad Yorkshireman talks of the 
 beasts getting oorang {wrang — for lo is a vowel in effect) 
 amang the wheate. 
 
 Aixes, Axes, a fit or paroxysm of an ague — an access. Used
 
 AKEL 
 
 by several of our old writers. The word api^ears to be de- 
 rived from Sax. ace, the origin of ache, a pain ; wliich, in 
 the plural, Shakespeare has evidently pronounced aitchcs — 
 a pronunciation which, in our own time, brought upon John 
 Kemble much ignorant criticism. Our old women have 
 innumerable 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. 
 " Thou shalt uprise and se 
 
 A charme that was ysent right now to the 
 
 The which can helin the of thine axesse." — Chancer. 
 
 Akeld, aye-keld. Sax. Perennial Well — always running. 
 The name of a fine well, village, and towTiship, in the pa- 
 rish of Kirknewton, Northumberland. 
 
 Alane, Alean, alone. Dut. all en. Dan. aliens. 
 
 Alang, tedious, weary, irksome. 
 
 Alantem, Alantum, at a distance, a long time. Ital. da lon- 
 tano. Fr. lointain. 
 
 Ald, old. Sax. aid, eald. This syllable, in the beginning of 
 the names of places, denotes antiquity. 
 
 Ale, a merry meeting of country people, a rural feast. Bride- 
 ale, and church-ff7f', denoting the time for such hilarious 
 meetings, are of frequent occurrence 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 " brew- 
 ers and tipplers, and to taste the ale within his jurisdiction." 
 A person of this description was formerly appointed and 
 sworn in every court leet. 
 
 Algates, an old word synonymous M-ith always, or all man- 
 ner of ways ; and compounded of all and gates (which in 
 the North denotes icaj/s). Not obsolete, as stated in Todd's 
 Johnson. It is used for, however, or at aU events, some- 
 times — as 9r«)'sr?. r. quotations in Tooke (Vol. I., p. 179,
 
 ALL-H 9 
 
 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 ; at any rate ; by all means ; in 
 any way. Algatis occurs in Wiclif's Translation of the New 
 Testament, Rom. xi,, 10. 
 
 All-along-of, All-along-on (sometimes by quick articula- 
 tion, 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 referred to Sax. ge-lang, opera, causa, 
 impulsu, culpa, cujusvis. V. Lye. An ingenious friend 
 suggests, air longing of; to Hong, he says, being used for, to 
 belong, in some of our old poets. V. Tooke, Vol. I., pp. 
 424 — 431. Baxter always writes ^'■long of" and "a long 
 of." V. Call to the Unconverted. It is very common in the 
 North, but not peculiar to it. 
 
 Aller, the alder-tree. Alnus glutinosa. — Smith. Sax. wleVy 
 alor, air. 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 ; 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 Vais — to the plank 
 which bounded the course, as at tennis. A marble made of 
 alabaster is also called an Alley. 
 
 All-hallows, All Saints' Day (1st Nov.). " It is remark- 
 able, that, whilst the old Popish names, for the other fasts 
 and festivals, such as Christmas, Candlemas, Lammas, &c., 
 are generally retained throughout England, the northern 
 counties alone continue the use of the ancient term for 
 the festival of All Saints." — Boucher. In the name of 
 churches, there is, however, an exception. See Halle 
 E'en, and Nut Crack Night. 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 10 ALL-I 
 
 All-in-tiie-Well, a juvenile game in Newcastle and the 
 neiglibourliood ; and perhaps in other places. 
 
 Aln, water, a river in Northumberland. The alnus is the 
 water tree ; and al-dur pleonastically signifies the same. 
 Al would seem to be an older term than dur. Alnus is 
 the name of a river in Scythia. Mart, vii., 29. 
 
 Always, however, nevertheless. Its use in this sense is com- 
 mon in the North ; and also in Scotland. See Algates. 
 
 Amackally, in a manner, as well as one can. Sax. maccalecy 
 opportunely. 
 
 Amang, among. Sax. mengan, to mix. See Jamieson. 
 
 A-MANY, a great number, a mixed multitude. According to 
 the author of The Diversions of Purley, many is the past 
 particijile of Sax. mengan, miscere, to mix, to mingle ; and 
 many a is a corruption for many of, and therefore improper- 
 ly used with a singular. 
 
 Ambry', or Aumbry, a safe or cupboard, where cold and brok- 
 en victuals are kej^t. Sax. celmerige, repositorium, scri- 
 nium, abacus, Norman Fr. amhrey, a cupboard. 
 
 " If thou wilt anatomize and open thy selfe, thou shalt find with- 
 in, a save, an ambry, nay a store-house and treasurie (as Demo- 
 critus saith) of many evils and maladies, and those of divers 
 and sundry sorts." — Holland's Plutarch's Morals. 
 
 " Ne seuner up, than her heid's in the anibry." — N. C. Prov. 
 
 Ameast, Amayst, almost. 
 
 Amell, between or among, amidst. Ray says, " contracted 
 from a middle ; or perchance from the French word mes- 
 ler, signifying to mingle ;" but there seems little doubt of 
 its being directly from the Swed. emellan, or Dan. imellen, 
 the preposition for between. 
 
 An, or In, if, should ; as, in anters, should it happen, if it 
 come to pass, in case, &c. In anter, in case I get well 
 home. 
 
 Anan, what ? what do you say ? Commonly used as an an- 
 swer to questions not understood, or indistinctly heard. 
 Perhaps from a repetition of Fr. ain, noticed by La Roux
 
 ANUN 11 
 
 as " sorte d'interjection interrogative, commune aux pe- 
 tites gens, et fort incivile parmi cles personnes polies ;" 
 or it may be, as Mr. Boucher suggests, merely a redupli- 
 cative of the Saxon or Gothic particle an, which is defined 
 to be " graticula interrogationibus praemissa." 
 
 Anchor, the chape of a buckle, i. e., the part by which it is 
 fastened. Fr. ancre. Lat. anchora. 
 
 Anclet, Ancleth, Anclief, the ancle, a gaiter. Sax. ancleow. 
 
 And-Irons, the same as End-Irons ; which see. 
 
 Anenst, over-against, towards, opposite to. A very old word 
 in our language ; supported by the authority of Chaucer, 
 Holinshed, and others, and still in common use in the north- 
 ern counties. 
 
 " Four times the brazen horse entering, stuck fast 
 Anenst the ruin'd guirdle of the towne." 
 
 Heywood. 
 
 Anent, concerning, respecting ; also over against, opposite. 
 V. Jam. anens ; and Watson, anent. Saxon, anan, to give ; 
 anend, giving. 
 
 " And Jhesus biheld hem and seyde anentis men it is impossible, 
 but not anentis God, for all thingis ben possible anentis God." 
 
 Wiclif's Bible. 
 
 Angleberry ; amongst old people in Northumberland this is 
 the name of a vetch, probably so called because it angles, 
 or catches and clings to plants or shrubs, stronger and 
 taller than itself. 
 
 Ang, or Awn, the beard growing out of barley, rye, or wheat. 
 This term seems to have been adopted from the Danes or 
 Swedes, who got it from the Goths. V. Boucher, awnd. 
 
 Ang-nails, corns on the toes. — Cumb. See Wurt-springs. 
 
 Anters, in case, lest, it may be. Dut. anders. V. Ray, au7i- 
 ters, and Boucher, anantres. 
 
 Anters, needless scrujiles, mischances or misadventures. 
 
 Antrims, affected airs or whims, freaks, fancies, maggots. 
 Tantrims, angry. 
 
 Anudder, another. 
 
 Anunder, beneath.
 
 12 APIE 
 
 Apiece, with the subject in the plural — pennies apiece ; ones 
 apiece ; to everj- one one. 
 
 Api'ern, Ai'PREn, a common mode of pronouncing aj/ron, in 
 many of the northern counties, /See Nappren. 
 
 Appetize, v. to provoke an appetite for food. Juliana Barnes, 
 or Bemers, who, Warton says, wrote about 1480, uses appe- 
 tt/delj/, as an adverb, in the sense of with a good appetite. 
 The i^assage wherein it occurs is sufficiently curious, in 
 more respects than one, to be laid before the reader. 
 
 " Aryseerly: serve God devowtly: and the world besily. Do thi 
 werke wisely : yeve thyn almesse secretly : goo by the waye 
 sadly. Ansuere the peple demurely : goo to thy meete appetyddy. 
 Sytte 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." 
 
 Apricock, an apricot. Used by Shakspeare ; and perhaps 
 the more genuine form of the word. 
 
 April-gowk, an April fool. See Gowk. 
 
 Aran, or Arain, a spider. — York. Lat. aranea. Fr. araignee. 
 Span, arana. Ital. aragno. 
 
 Arax-web, or Arain-web, gossamer, a cobweb. 
 
 Arder, order, or course. In husbandry the arders are the 
 divisions 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, afraid. " I'm ra- 
 ther arfish about that." See Airth. 
 
 Argy, the vulgar jironunciation of argue. 
 
 Ark, a large chest or coffer in farm houses, used for keeping 
 corn or meal. The original and etymological sense of the 
 word. Lat. area. It is usually made of strong oaken 
 planks, which are sometimes elaborately carved. Many of 
 these arks are of high antiquity. In the will of Bernard 
 Gilpin, 1582, the testator leaves to the " poore of Houghton 
 pishe. the greater new ark for corue, standinge in the hall, 
 to provide them grotes in winter."
 
 ARR 13 
 
 " Thay leif not spendil, spone nor speit, 
 Bed, bolster, blanket, sark, nor sclieit : 
 Johne of the parke 
 Ryps kist and ark , 
 For all sic warke 
 He is richt meit." 
 
 Maitland's Complaint. 
 
 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 earn- 
 est or pledge in general, and was often used to signify an 
 espousal present or gift from the man to the woman on their 
 entering into an engagement 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, as earnest money, 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 sel- 
 ler to drink together on these occasions. Without it the 
 engagement would hardly be considered as valid. 
 
 " or quhen the arlis, or God's pennie, are given and taken 
 
 by the buyer and seller, and is accepted be him." 
 
 Segiam Magistatem, b. iu.,p. 93. 
 
 Arnut, Awnut, the pig-nut, or earth-nut, Bunium bulbocas- 
 tanum. Sax. eard-nut. Dut. aarde-noot. The roots are 
 gathered by chUtlren, who eat them. 
 
 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 satis- 
 factorily derived from Dan. ar, a seam, scar, or mark of a 
 wound ; or from Su.-Got. cerr, cicatrix. The term is also
 
 14 ARRA 
 
 found in the Islandic language — <jer. or r3r. The custom- 
 house mark, in some places, is called the broad arrow (arr.). 
 Qy., has hroad, in this sense, the same meaning as in old 
 Scotch, open, or official, in contradistinction to private ? A 
 hroad letter means an official letter. 
 
 " 01(1 Thomas had also issue Thomas Rokeby, his third son, whom 
 I mention with reverence, for that he beareth about continually 
 with him an (tor, or mark, in his face, an ensign of valour and 
 honourable service done to his country ; for, being at Norham 
 chief lieutenant to his brother Christopher Rokeby, he had a 
 spear broken on his face." 
 (Economia Rokebeiomm, in lietros. Rev. 2d Series, Vol. II., p. 488. 
 
 Arrant, an errand ; used also for a disorderly person. 
 Arseward, perverse, obstinate. Sax. (ewerd, perversus, aversus. 
 Arsey-warsey, Arsie-varsie, topsy-turvy — vice-versa. 
 " All things ran arsie-varsie." — Ben Johnson. 
 
 Arvel, a funeral. — Arvel-supper, a funeral feast given to the 
 friends of the deceased, at which a jiarticular kind of loaf, 
 called arvel-hread, 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, 
 alluded 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 he- 
 roes, and other illustrious men, the same custom seems to 
 have prevailed among the Greeks. With us, it was anciently 
 a solemn festival made at the time of 2)ublicly 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 ad- 
 mits with verj' little confidence) to the word arferial, in 
 Kirchman de Funeribus Romanorum, p. .5.54. V. Hist. 
 Richmond., Vol. II., p. 298. Surely we ought to be satisfied, 
 either with Welsh, arwyl, funeral obsequies ; or Dan. aroedl,
 
 ATHE 15 
 
 a funeral feast ; from aree, to heir or inherit. But see 
 Thoresby's Diary, Vol. I., p, 362. 
 
 Ask, Asker, Esk, a water newt, believed by many, but with- 
 out any foundation, to be venomous. Lacerta palustris. 
 Gael. CSC. 
 
 Asp, the aspen tree. Apparently the proper form of the 
 substantive. 
 
 AspER, sharp. 
 
 " In a«pre specli the Persye than can speyr." 
 
 Wallace, Book v., I. 492. 
 
 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, aschc. Isl. aska. Dan. aske. Dr. Johnson 
 says, the word wants the singular ; but, as remarked by 
 Mr. Todd, it is conamon in the singular, in the North of 
 England. 
 
 Ass-HoLE, a place for receiving ashes — an ash-hole. 
 
 Ass-MiDDEx, a heap of ashes collected for manure. 
 
 Ass-RiDDLix, the riddling or sifting of the ashes on the hearth, 
 on the eve of St. Mark. The suj^erstitious 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, 
 
 AssiL Tooth, or Axle Tooth, a grinder — a tooth situated un- 
 der the axis of the jaw. Isl. jaxle, dens molaris. Su.-Got. 
 oxeltand, 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 Johnson, astone. 
 
 " Adam soon as he heard 
 
 The fatal trespass done by Eve, amaz'd, 
 
 Astonied stood and blank." — Milton's Paradise Lost. 
 
 Ather, Saxon, aether, a field. In the county of Northumber-
 
 16 ATTE 
 
 land, speaking of their system of husbandry, they say they 
 have their tillage-land in three or four others — oats, fallow, 
 wheat, or oats. 
 Attercop, Attercoij, a spider's web. Sax. atter, poison, and 
 coppe, a cup ; receiving its denomination, according to Dr. 
 Jamieson, partly from its form and partly from its charac- 
 ter — a cup of venom. Attercop is also occasionally used to 
 denote the spider itself ; which is curious, as being still 
 unaltered Saxon — atter-coppa. Hence a female of a viru- 
 lent or malignant disposition is sometimes degraded with 
 the appellation of an attercap. This is the name of a toAvn- 
 ship in Redesdale, and is called Attercops, perhaps, be- 
 cause in warm, hazy weather, in September, the grass and 
 sparty ground is silvered over with gossamer, or cobwebs, 
 which spiders weave with threads so fine, as to be almost 
 invisible to the human eye in dry summer weather. 
 
 " Inthetowneof Shrowysbury,setanthre men togedur, and as they 
 seton talking, an atturcopxie comow te of the wows, and bote hem 
 by the neckkus alle thre." — Pref. to Rob. de Bninne. 
 
 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 northern pronunciation of old. Sax. eald. 
 
 " Herin is ane unsely law 
 That has been used of aid daw. 
 And bus be done for frend or fa." — Twaine and Gawin. 
 
 AuDFARANT, AuLD-FARRAN, grave, sagacious, ingenious. Chil- 
 dren 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. erfaren, experienced. 
 
 " Evening with brother, &c., at Garra way's Coftee-house, was sur- 
 prised to see his sickly child of three years old till its pipe of 
 tobacco and smoke it as aud/arantli/ na a man of threescore." 
 Diary of Ralph Tliore^by, Vol. I., p. 352. 
 
 Ai^D-LANG-SYNE, AvLD-LANG-SYNE, a favouritc phrase in the
 
 AVER 17 
 
 North, by which old jJei'sons exjjress their recollections of 
 former kindness and juvenile enjoyments in times long 
 since past — immortalized by the muse of Bums. 
 
 Aud-Peg, Auld-Peg, old milk cheese. See Old-Peg. 
 
 AuD-THRiFT, Auld-thrift, Wealth accumulated by the sus- 
 cessive frugality of a long race of ancestors. 
 
 Auk, a stupid or clumsy person. From old Got. auik, a 
 beast ; or it may be from the northern sea bird, called the 
 auk, of proverbial stupidity. 
 
 Aum, the elm tree. Old Fr. oulme. Alum is also, in some 
 places, pronounced mim. Br. aim. In northern pronuncia- 
 tion, the letter I is frequently dispensed ^vith, or discarded. 
 
 Aun'd, ordained, fated, destined. " I'm aun\l to this luck." 
 Qi/. owned ? Mr. Stephenson considers it " probable that 
 this is a secondary meaning of the Islandic andas, to die, 
 which is formed from ande, the spirit, or breath. See Ihre, 
 Vol. I,, p. 90. 
 
 Aup, a wayward child — an aj^e ; from Sax. apa. See Yepp. 
 
 AuTER, altar. Many of our old authors -svrite tliis word 
 auter, or avoter ; which is still the pronunciation in the 
 North. Old Fr. auter. The high altar — a term for the 
 communion table, retained in Cumberland, where it is pro- 
 nounced as one word heeautre — was probably so called to 
 distinguish it from the Saints' altars, of which 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. 
 ceward, perversus, aversus. 
 
 Aver, a work-horse — a beast of burden. V. Spelman, affri, 
 affra ; and Du Cange and Kennett, uveria. Blackstone, 
 Vol. Ill,, p. 149. 
 AvERisH, or Average, the stubble and grass left in corn 
 fields after harvest — the portion of the avers. Isl. afret or 
 afrettr. Dan. afred, aevret, pasturage, after-grass 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 18 AW 
 
 Aw, the common pronunciation of I. Aw's, I am, 
 
 " Aw was up and down, seekin for 'nuiw hinny, 
 Aiv was thro' the town, seekin for niaw bairn." 
 
 Song, Maw Canny Ilinny. 
 
 Aw-MACKs all makes, all sorts or kinds. V. Boucher. 
 
 AwMUS, the pronunciation of alms in the North. Sax. celmesse. 
 Dan. almisse. Indeed, in almost all the early wTiters, both 
 English and Scotch, the word is a dissyllable. Chaucer ac- 
 cordingly spells it almesse : other old writers have it almous. 
 
 " He was a man of almous grete 
 Bath of mone and of mete." 
 
 Wyntoion's CronyJcil, b. vi., p. 151. 
 
 Awn, v. to acknowledge, to ovni. 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 Jonson's Sad Shepherd. 
 " Quhen misdoers are with your swerd overthrawin, 
 Then may liel merehandis live upon their aicin." 
 
 Lindsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 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, Gower, 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 vocabulary from the Saxons, other northern nations 
 drew from Gothic sources. 
 
 " You lovers axe I now this question. 
 Who hath the werse, Arcite or Palemon ?" 
 
 Chaucer,— TJie Knight's Tale. 
 
 Ave, 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
 
 BACK 19 
 
 Wrangham, an elegant classical scholar, refers me to Greek 
 xiii or xu for a derivation. There is certainly a striking 
 analogy. See Eigh. Pronounced in a long drawling man- 
 ner, it betokens surprise. 
 
 Ayont, beyond. " Far at/ont the hill." Sax. a-geont. 
 
 A YOU A, HiNNY, A YOU A, HiNNY BuRD, a northern nurse's 
 lullaby. Brand has observed that an etymologist, with a 
 tolerable inventive fancy, might easily persuade himself 
 that the song usually sung in dandling children in Sandgate, 
 in the suburbs of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Wapping or 
 Billingsgate 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 refen'ed to will be found in Bell's 
 Rhymes of Northern Bards, p. 296. 
 
 B. 
 
 Babblement, silly discourse. Probably from Fr. hahiller. 
 In the first etlition of this work I admitted the derivation 
 given in the Craven Glossary, and supported by other 
 authority — " Heb. Babel, confusion of tongues" — which a 
 correspondent (with whose criticism in general I am not 
 disposed to quarrel) deems worthy of Parkhurst. To be 
 free from misconception and error is not the attribute of 
 fallible man. 
 
 Babby-Boodies, broken jjieces of earthen ware or glass, 
 used by female children for decorating a play-house, call- 
 ed a boody-honse, made in imitation of an ornamental 
 cabinet. 
 
 " Then on we went, as nice as owse, 
 Till nenst au'd Lizzy Moody's : 
 A wblrlwind cam an' myed a' souse 
 Like heaps o' babby-booclies." 
 
 Song, Jemmy Jotieson's Wherry. 
 
 Back, in miner's language a fissure in the coal, having an 
 angle with the position of the seam.
 
 20 BACK 
 
 Back-by, buliiud, a little way distant. Bey (Germ.) is near : 
 — hence in-by, out-by, back-by. 
 
 Back-cast, the failure in an effort, a relapse into trouble. In 
 coal mines an impediment in the working. 
 
 Back-end, the autumnal part of the year, — the latter end of 
 any given time. 
 
 Backhouse, (pronounced exactly Bacchus^ a bakehouse. Sax. 
 haeclius. 
 
 Backside, any ground at the back part of a house — not con- 
 fined to the court or area behind. It has the same signi- 
 fication in Scotland. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 *' Nicholas Ward, unfortunately smoor'd to death, in sinking for a 
 draw well in his father's lacksidc, 10 Feb. 1716." 
 
 Sharp, CTironicmi Mirabile. 
 
 Back-skin, a covering of leather, used by miners principally 
 when sinking, as a protection against water. 
 
 Backster, a baker. — See Baxter. 
 
 Backstone, a heated stone for baking unleavened cakes upon, 
 before iron plates were used — a bakestone. Stones are still 
 in use for oat-cakes. 
 
 " As nimble as a cat on a hot backstone." — Yorkshire Proverb. 
 
 Bad, bid, entreated, invited, asked. See Bid. 
 
 Badger, a cadger or pedlar ; but originally a person who 
 purchased grain at one market, and took it on horseback 
 to sell at another. Perhaps from Lat. bajulus, a carrier ; 
 though a writer in the Gent. Mag. for August, 1829, (in 
 reviewing the 2ud. edition of this work,) rather thinks that 
 the French hagagicr is the nearest root, badger, as he im- 
 agines, being only an abbreviation. Sherwood does not 
 refer us to any single French word for badger, but calls 
 it celiii qui porte, S;c. Before the roads in the North were 
 passable for waggons and carts, this trade of badgering 
 was very extensive. Badger, I understand, is a common 
 name in Lancashire for the keeper of an ordinary flour and 
 butter shop.
 
 BAIR 21 
 
 Badly, sick, ill. — Sadly badly, very much indisposed. — 
 Badlixg, a worthless person — a bad one. Sax. hcedling, 
 homo delicatus. 
 
 Baff, blank. The week in which the pitmen receive no 
 pay is called the baff-week, denoting a blank or vacant week. 
 A card, not a trump, is a baff one, 
 
 Baff-exded, blunted. Picks are said to be so when the 
 points are off. 
 
 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 former- 
 ly been. Sax. boel. Isl. bal, pyra. See Crav. Gloss. Baal- 
 hills. 
 
 " Item it is seene speedful that there be coist maid at the east 
 passage betwixt Roxburgh and Berwick ; and that it be walked 
 at certaine fuirds the quihilkis gif mister be sail make taiken- 
 ings by hailes burning, &c." — Act \2th Par. James II., 1455. 
 
 Bain, ready, easy, near, api^lied to roads, Isl. beinn rectus. 
 Germ, bahn, a path, a beaten way. — Bainer way, a nearer 
 way. 
 
 Bairn, a child. Sax. beam. Ma?.-Got. barn. It is the same 
 in the Islandic and Danish languages. The word is written 
 by old English ^mters, beam, beame. In " All's Well that 
 ends 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 beame." 
 Among the vulgar — especially 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 illustra- 
 tion 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 baim, then ?" " Wey, guess." — 
 "Mebbies a iam^?"— "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
 
 22 BAIR 
 
 female, in contra-distinction to a male infant ; though it 
 appears from Warton that it was once just the reverse. 
 " A boy, or child, I wonder."— irinter's Tale. 
 
 Tyrwhitt, in his Glossary to Chaucer, has " Girles, n. pi. 
 Sax. young persons, either male or female." But this de- 
 rivation of girls from the Saxon is very questionaljle ; no 
 such word being to be found in Somner or Lye. See fur- 
 ther on this subject in Gent. Mag., August, 1829, p. 143. 
 
 " Of your almis gude folka, for Godis lufe of hevin, 
 For I haif motherless bairns, either sax or seven." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tliree Estaitis. 
 " You are an honest goodraan, and have care of your beams." 
 
 Ben Jommi. 
 " For Marie love of hevene 
 That bar that blisful bam." 
 
 Piers Ploughman. 
 
 Bairnish, silly, childish, having the manners of a child. 
 
 Bairnless, childless, without progeny. Sax. bearnleas. 
 
 Bairns'-play, the sjjort of children, any sort of trifling. 
 
 Bairn-team, a large family, a brood of children, or lots of 
 hairtis. Sax. beam-team, liberorum sobolis procreatio. 
 
 Baist, to beat severely, Isl. hcysta, to strike. Swed. hasa, 
 to beat. In Scotland they use this word in the sense of to 
 overcome; particularly at cards, where one has lost consi- 
 derably. It is also used as a substantive — one who is 
 overcome. 
 
 Baith, Beath, B'yeth, both. F. Jam. bathe. 
 
 Bakin, s. the quantity of bread baked at one time ; " a 
 
 bakin." 
 
 " Wayes me, husband ! our awd bread 's a' gane, 
 We mun mak bannocks till the bakin come hame." 
 
 Yorkshire Dialogue. 
 
 Balk, a strong piece of timber for suj^porting the roof in a 
 coal pit ; also an undulation in the cover of a coal seam, 
 reducing the thickness of its section, principally occurring 
 in sandstone roofs. 
 
 Balk, a rafter in a kitchen, or outhouse. A rack fixed to the
 
 BANE 23 
 
 rafter, common in old farm houses, to hold the flitches of 
 bacon used by the family. Sax. hale. Germ. balk. See 
 Bauk, 
 
 " Many a peece of bacon have I had out of thir balkes. 
 In ronnyng over the country with long and were walkes." 
 
 Gamnier Gurton's Needle, Act I., Sc. 1. 
 " His owen hand than made he ladders three 
 To climben by the renges and the stalkes, 
 Unto the tubes honging in the balkes." 
 
 Cliaiicer, — The Miller's Tale. 
 
 Ballant, a ballad. This is the general pronunciation among 
 the vulgar, in the North of England, as well as throughout 
 Scotland. 
 
 Ballup, the front flap of the breeches. 
 
 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 pur- 
 chase 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 has ! 
 la le loup ! hush ! there's the wolf ; an etymology not less 
 fanciful than ingenious. In Scotland it is halovo ; as in 
 Lady Anne Bothwell's pathetic lament — 
 
 " BaloxB, my boy ; lie still and sleip ! 
 It grieves me sair to see thee weip." 
 
 Band, a layer of stone, or clay, in a coal seam ; also an iron 
 joint, or hinge, used in connecting a flat rope that has 
 been broken. 
 Band-stone, the stone immediately overlaying the coal at 
 
 the shaft, and projecting into it. 
 Bane, Bain, or B'tan, a bone. Sax. ban. Teut. bein. " A 
 sark full of sair banes" a shirt full of sore bones. 
 " The lyon hungered for the nanes, 
 Ful fast he ete raw flesh and banes." 
 
 Yewain and Gaivin, I. 2052.
 
 24 BAN-F 
 
 Ban-fire, Box-fire, a fire kindled on the heights at appoint- 
 ed places in times of rejoicing. Notwithstanding what ^Ir. 
 Todd has alleged as to the primitive meaning of the word, I 
 remain of opinion that bone-^rc is a corruption. See Bail. 
 
 Bang, v. to thump, to handle roughly. Su.-Got. and Isl. 
 banga. Teut. bangclen. A friend considers this word not 
 local ; but surely " Bang her amang her een" — hit her 
 between the eyes, is a >ie|<« not to be understood by uniniti- 
 ated South country ears. 
 
 Bang, v. to beat, to exceed, to surpass, to excel, to shut the 
 door with violence. 
 
 " Harnham was headless, Bradford breadless, 
 Shaftoe picked at the craw ; 
 Capheaton was a wee bonny place, 
 But Wallington bangs them a' ". — Northumb. Ballad. 
 
 Bang, 5. a leaj), a severe blow. In a bang, suddenly, vio- 
 lently. 
 
 Bang, a strong, heavy lever for raising stones out of the 
 ground, and such like work. 
 
 Banger, any thing larger in proportion to the rest of its spe- 
 cies. V. Todd's John, banging. See Beaxger. 
 
 Bankrout, a vulgar name for a bankrupt ; and, judging by 
 the etjnnology, the right word. Fr. banquerout. Ital. ban- 
 corotto. Teut. banckrote. According to the compilers of 
 the Dictionnaire de Trevoux, the term originally came from 
 the Italians, who formerly transacted their business in a 
 IJublic place, and had benches on which they coimted their 
 money. When a merchant found his affairs in disorder, and 
 returned not to this place of business, it was said that his 
 banco, or bench, was rotto, broken uji, as a mark of disgrace. 
 See Box. 
 
 Banksman, a man employed in taking the coals from the 
 mouth of the shaft of a coal-pit to the skreen. 
 
 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 wanted to be used. Gael, bonnack. 
 
 I
 
 BARN 25 
 
 a cake. Irish, boin-neog. Others think that it may be 
 from Isl. baun, a bean ; such cakes having formerly been 
 made of bean meal. Jamieson however, says, the word is 
 Gaelic, and implies roundness. 
 
 Bany, B'tany, bony, having large bones. Sc. bainie. 
 
 Bar, v. to shut, to close, to prohibit, to exclude. " Bar the 
 door" — shut the door. " Bar the yet" — close the gate. 
 
 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. The name may have 
 come from Dut. berg, a hill, and geest, a ghost ; or from 
 Germ. Bahr-Geist, or Spirit of the Bier. Grose, however, 
 who appropriates the word to Yorkshire, derives it from 
 bar and gheist, owing to the ghost commonly appearing 
 near gates or stiles, there called bars. In Drake's Ebo- 
 racum, p. 7, Appendix, it is supposed to come from 
 Sax. burh, a town, and gast, a ghost — signifying a town 
 sprite. 
 
 Barge-day, Ascension Day ; when the Mayor and Corpo- 
 ration of Newcastle make an aquatic perambulation in 
 barges, according to ancient custom. 
 
 Bark, a box for receiving the ends of candles ; formerly made 
 of bark, and sometimes so stiU. 
 
 Barked, Barkened, Barcled, covered \\ath dirt, as though 
 with bark ; clotted, hardened. Isl. barka, cutem induere. 
 " Quhill bludie harkit was their berd, 
 As thay had worreit lambis." 
 
 Christ Kirk on the Green. 
 
 Barker, a tanner — so denominated from bark, the great ar- 
 ticle used in his trade. The word is pure Danish. " The 
 company of Barkers." — Newc. 
 
 Barkhaam, a draught-horse's collar ; formerly made of bark ; 
 generally pronounced Braffam, which see. 
 
 Barney-Castle, the old, and still the vulgar, name of Bar-
 
 2<; BARL 
 
 iiftrd-Ca.stlc. — Dur. " Barney-Castle gingerbread," the 
 best in the worhl. 
 
 *' Tho rebellshavo gevyn over the sege of Barney-Castle." 
 
 Sadler's State Papers, 1569. 
 
 Barlkv, to speak or claim. " Barley me that" — I bespeak 
 that — let me have that. Quasi, in corrupt contraction, 
 " l)y your leave me that." 8ee Wilb. vo. hallow. 
 
 Bakh.vs. The Barras-l)ri(lge is the name of a place in New- 
 castle, a few hundred yards north of the site of the ancient 
 gate called Newgate. The Rev. Wni. Turner thought it 
 was so called from bar-house, or toll-house, but unques- 
 tionably it is from its having been the barras, where tour- 
 naments were held without the walls. 
 
 " In Sanct Androis on Whitsiin-monunday 
 Twa champions their manhied did assay 
 Past to the bar res enarmit held and handes." 
 
 Sir David Lyndsay. 
 
 Baruiee, a strip of coal left around the boundary of a roy- 
 alty, to guard against eruptions of water from other col- 
 lieries. 
 
 Barrow-coat, the first under-dress of an infant. 
 
 Barrow- pio, a gelt pig. Sax. berg, a hog. 
 
 Baseler, a person who takes care of neat cattle. 
 
 Bass, Bast, matting, dried rushes or sedges. Isl. hast, phi- 
 lyra. Bass, is also the name of a hassock, to kneel upon, 
 so called from its being covered with bass. In Yorkshire, 
 the slaty part of coal after it is burnt white is called bass. 
 
 Baste, to put a tar mark upon sheep. It is done with a tar- 
 red stick ; and may, therefore, be derived from old Fr. has- 
 ten, a stick. It is a variation of Buist, Beust, or Bust ; 
 which see. 
 
 Bastile, a castle, tower, or any other fortified building ; si- 
 milar to a Peel; which see. Fr. bastille. Bastillus, in 
 the sense of a tower or bulwark, occurs in Heanie's edition 
 of Elmham in Vit. Hen. V. ; and hastcllc, with the same 
 meaning, is to be found in old French writers, as is also
 
 9 
 
 BATT 27 
 
 bastillcr, to besiege. Hence the name of the notorious 
 Bastile of Paris. These strongholds were more numerous 
 on the Borders of England and Scotland than elsewhere, 
 and the ruins of many of them are to be found on the , ^ 
 entire line of the Marches ; and in most Border villages of 1 ""^ 
 antiquity. In Lord Euer's register of his devastations on 'j 
 the borders in 1544, as given in Murdin's State Papers, -S 
 we find " Towns, towers, barnekynes, i^aryshe churches, -4 ' 
 bastill houses, burned and destroyed, 192." 
 
 " John Ourde with other xl. with him, went to Buschill and won 
 the bastelle howse and toke iij. prisoners and browght away the ,_% 
 goods."— ii/;S. Cott. Calig., b. v.,/. 316, quoted by Boucher. J^ 
 
 Bat, a blow or stroke. Old Gothic, bata, to beat. — Last- 
 bat, a play among children. See Tig. "^ 
 
 " But suddenly begued a feast £^ 
 
 And after that begued a fray, >^ 
 
 The tykes that were baith weak and least 
 They carried a' the bats away. I3 
 
 Ballad of Ecky's Meat. 
 
 Bat, state or condition, " At the same 5a«," signifying in -"^"«■ 
 the same manner ; " at the aud bat,'' as formerly. Bat, "i 
 also signifies speed ; as, " to go at a great bat,^' to go at £ 
 great speed. "X 
 
 Batten, v. to feed, to bring up, to thrive. Sax. batan, to 7 
 fatten. Swed. beta, to feed. Mr. Stephenson (in Boucher) J 
 derives it from the Isl. mier batnar, revaleo. Shakspeare, 
 however, uses the word in a sense opposed to thriving — 
 
 " Could you on this fair mountain leave to feed, ~^^ 
 
 Aud batten on this moor ?" — Skakspeare's Hamlet. 
 
 " The wife a good church going and a battening to the bairn," 
 is a common toast at the gossip's feast on the birth of a 
 child. An accomplished scholar, whose suggestions are al- 
 ways valuable, thinks the " toast" is from bate (Germ.) a 
 sponsor at a christening, and batlein, or batelein, a god-child. 
 As valuable presents were always made by the sponsors, 
 the wish was a natural one.
 
 28 BATT 
 
 Batten, or Battin, s. the straw of two sheaves folded toge- 
 ther. I have been referred to Germ, beythun, to join ; 
 formed from bey, double or both, and thun, to do or make. 
 Sax. ba twa, both two, i. e. two together, seems analogous. 
 It is, however, probably the past participle of ge-boeten, 
 from betan, to improve by adding to. See Beet. 
 
 Batts, low flat grounds adjoining rivers, and sometimes 
 islands in rivers. 
 
 Bauk, Balk, a cross beam or dormant. Germ. balk. Dut. 
 balck, a beam. " To be thrown ourf balk," is, in the West 
 Riding of Yorkshire, to be published in the church. " To 
 hing ourt' balk," is marriage deferred after publication. 
 y. Crav. Gloss, balk. Before the Reformation, as observ- 
 ed by the author of that amusing little work, the laity sat 
 exclusively in the nave of the church. The balk here ap- 
 pears to be the 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 ce- 
 remony was performed. See Balk. 
 
 Bauks, or Balks, the grass ridges dividing ploughed lands ; 
 properly those in common fields. Also lengths of soHd 
 unbroken 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 diiFerent 
 compartments by balks or beams. Balk in the old nor- 
 thern languages is a separation or division ; and the word 
 is used for capita, or chapters, 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. bna, 
 is the same.
 
 BEAK 29 
 
 Baxter, a baker, Scots and old English, as Webster is a 
 weaver, and Brewster, a brewer. 
 
 " I see in this assemble, as ye shal hereafter 
 Bakesters, and brousters, and bouchers many." 
 
 Piers Plowman. 
 " Then all the baxters will I ban 
 That mixes bread with dust and bran, 
 And fine flour with beir maill." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Bay, to bend. Sax. hygan. Whence a hay window. (Shak. 
 Twelfth Night) — also hay-ice, fresh ice, which is thin 
 enough to bend. Capt. Ross explains hay-ice, " newly 
 formed ice, of the same colour as the water ;" but the above 
 is probably the true origin. 
 
 Baze, to alarm, to puzzle. To be bazed is to be at a loss to 
 know what course to take. 
 
 " And quhen thai that in the His war, 
 Hard how the gude king had thar 
 Gert hys schippis with saillis ga 
 Owt our betwixt the Tarbark in twa 
 Thai war abasit sa wtrely."— 37i€ Brwx. 
 " Then up rouse doughty TallentLre 
 At that teyme parish clerk 
 And said ' guod neebors ne'er be hazeA 
 I'll undertake the wark.' " 
 
 Stagg's Cumberland Poems. 
 
 Beak, to warm one's self; to soften sticks in the fire for use 
 
 without burning them. Goth, haeka. 
 
 " Recreate well, and by the chymnay bekU, 
 At euin be time doun in ane bed me strekit." 
 
 Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 " I made the fire and bekid me aboute." 
 
 CJiaiuxr,—Creseide's Testam&tU,. 
 
 Beaker, a large drinking vessel, usually of glass, a rummer 
 or tumbler glass. In Scotland it is called a hicker, and 
 made of wood. Germ, hecher, Dan. bceger, a cup. The 
 word is also used figuratively to express any other large 
 thing. 
 
 Beaking-full, full to repletion.
 
 00 DEAL 
 
 Beal, to roar, to bellow. Sax. bellan. Teut. bcllcn, to bel- 
 low. Beal, bellow, and liawl, all seem cognate. 
 
 Beanger, anything larger than ordinary of its kind. 
 
 Beans, small coals of the size of beans. " Beany coals." 
 
 Beastlings, or Beastings, the thick milk given by the cow 
 for a short time after calving. Sax. hysting. 
 
 " So may the first of all our fells be thine, 
 Aud both the heostings of our goats and kine." 
 
 Ben Jonson, — Hymn to Pan. 
 
 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 thin consistence, which is called 
 bcistcn 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 beat- 
 ment, in an old book of the Society of Coopers, 1070. It 
 has been suggested to me that beatment may be an abate- 
 ment, a small quantity given in to abate the price ; but I 
 should rather incline to think it more nearly allied to beat- 
 ment, a supply, a ration. See Beet. 
 
 Bear, four-rowed barley. Sax. bere. Got. bcr. This used 
 to be the only species cultivated in Northumberland, though 
 it is now rarely sown, except on crude soil. The drink 
 called beer is thence derived. See Beir. 
 
 BEAR-Mouxn, a subterraneous passage by which men and 
 horses descend to a coal mine. Cumb. and ]Vcst. 
 
 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 jjreparation 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 de- 
 signation.
 
 BEEL 31 
 
 Beaufet, or Beaufat, s. a cupboard, Fr. Buffet. Hicks 
 deduces it from the Sax. bead, a table, and feet, or fat, 
 a cup. Hence is derived Beaufeteer, corrupted into Beef- 
 eater. 
 
 Beck, v. to nod the head ; properly to coxirtesy by a female, 
 as contra-distinguished from bowing in the other sex. Isl. 
 beiga. Germ, beigen, to bow. Beck, s. a courtesy ; a nod 
 of the head, whether an intimation of acquiescence, recog- 
 nition, or salutation. 
 
 " 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 ajid 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. Com- 
 mon to all the northern dialects. Hickes (Gram. Franc. 
 Theotisca, p. 92,) says, the word came from the Normans 
 to the French, and from the Danes to the Northern inha- 
 bitants of England. See Burn. 
 
 Beckett, a little brook. 
 
 Beclarted, be-clotted, be-daubed, be-smeared. 
 
 Be-dritten, to be defiled Avith ordure, 
 
 " Thocht I wald nocht that it war written, 
 Schir, in gude faith, I am be-dritten." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Beds, called also Scotch-hop (and Hop Scotch in the South), 
 a game of children ; in which they hop on one foot through 
 different spaces chalked out, called beds. V. Strutt's 
 Sports and Pastimes, j). 286 ; and Hunter's Glossary of 
 Hallamshire, art. Hopscore. 
 
 Bee-Bike, a bee's nest, or hive, in a Avild state. Teut. hie- 
 bock, bic-buyek, apiarium. 
 
 Beeld, shelter, warmth ; Sc. Beild, Beeldixg, a wall of 
 stone or earth erected as a place of shelter for cattle. Isl. 
 boele, domicilium. 
 
 " Better a wee house than nae heild."—Sc. Prov.
 
 02 BEEL 
 
 Beeldy, warm, affording shelter from cold. " Beeldy flan- 
 nel." 
 
 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. betra, emendare. Dut. boeten, to amend. Sax. 
 betan, restaurare. To beet the fire, is to feed it with fuel. 
 The word, in this latter sense, is most applicable to straw, 
 heath, fern, furze, and especially to the husks of oats, when 
 used for heating girdles on which oaten cakes are baked. 
 Teut. boeten het vier., struere ignem. 
 
 " And therefore he shall begge and bidde, 
 And no man bete his hunger." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Beet-need, resource, assistance in case of need. Applied, 
 also, to the person affording it ; as a helper or assistant on 
 particular occasions. See the preceding article. 
 Beezen, or Beesex, blind. Sax. bisen, caecns. 
 Beir, four-rowed barley. See Bear. 
 
 " For I tak in my count twyse in the yeir 
 Wanting nocht of my teind, ane boll of beir." 
 
 Lindsay's Three EstaitU, 
 
 Belch, a rapid discharge of gas in a coal mine. 
 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 — The Life of St. Margaret^ 
 printed in Hickes' Thesaurus, Vol. I., p. 224. 
 " From Asie to Antioge, bet miles tene ant five, 
 For to slen Christene men, he hiede him biliue." 
 
 It also frequently occurs in early poetry, both English and 
 Scotch. 
 
 " He sent them word by letteris 
 That they should hye blyve." 
 
 Chaucer, — Tlie Coke's Tale of Gamdyn. 
 " And as he thoucht, he did belyff." — The Bruce. 
 Belk, to belch. The old, and, apparently the proper, mode 
 of writing the word. The Saxon J'C was either hard or
 
 BENT 33 
 
 soft. V. Tooke, Vol. II., p. 138. Hence sh or ch, and sk 
 or k, are frequently convertible. 
 
 Beller, to cry aloud, to bellow. Sax. bellan. See Beal. 
 Bell is tlie cry of the stag. An inscription on a rock at 
 Whamcliffe states that the lodge there was erected by Sir 
 Thomas Wortley " for his plesur to her the herts bell.''' — 
 Hallamshire Glossary. 
 
 Bellicon, one addicted to the pleasures of the table — a belli/- 
 god. 
 
 Belly-flought, belly-flat. See Jamieson. 
 
 Belly- WARK, the gripes or colic. Wark (which see) is in- 
 variably used for ache. 
 
 Bex, be in, by in, within, inwards, the inner apartment. 
 " Ben the house," the inner part of the house. See But. 
 
 Bexd-leather, s. the thick leather of which shoe soles are 
 made. 
 
 Bend-up, a signal to draw away in a coal mine. " Bend up 
 the crab." 
 
 Bene, a benison, or blessing. It is, I think, from Sax. benCf 
 prayers ; though Ir. bendhecht, a blessing, has been stated 
 to me as the etymon. See Clapbexny. 
 
 Bexse, a cow's stall. 
 
 Bexsel, to beat or bang. Teut. benghelen, csedere fustibus. 
 
 Bent, a long coarse kind of grass, which grows in the coun- 
 ties of Northumberland and Durham, near the sea, and is 
 sometimes used for thatch. Agrostis vulgaris, Linn. Dr. 
 Willan has Bents, high pastures, or shelving commons ; 
 hence, he says, BEXT-^ra^s, which, from the soil, is neces- 
 sarily harsh and coarse. Our old wi'iters use the word to 
 imply grass-ground generally. Ritson properly observes 
 that " it is used for field, in a general sense, as we say ' the 
 field of battle.' " 
 
 " The dry vers tliorovre the woodes went 
 For to reas the dear ; 
 Bomen bycharte uppone the hent 
 With ther browd aras cleare." 
 
 Old Ballad of Chwy Chace. 
 VOL. I. F
 
 34 BERR 
 
 Berry, to thrash out corn. Isl. beria, pulsare. Su.-Got. 
 haria, has tliu same signification. " Wull is berrying in the 
 harn." JiERuiEu, a thrasher of com. Boucher refers it to 
 Swedish ho'rjo., to thrash. Ihre says that, in an oM version 
 of the Bil)le, Judges vi., 11, it is thus rendered, '■'■bmrj 
 hweite of halme ;" i. e., berried or thrashed the wheat out 
 of the hauhn. Tlie iirimary sense of hoerja is to strike, or 
 beat. 
 
 Beseek, the iiresent provincial pronunciation of beseech. It 
 is the okl and genuine form of the word, and so used by 
 our early poets. 
 
 " Nought greveth ns your glorie and honour ; 
 But we he-selcc you of niercie and socour." 
 
 Cftaiicer, — Hie Knight's Tale. 
 
 Betterness, rt. superior, eminent. " A betterncss kind of 
 body." 
 
 Be-twattled, confounded, overpowered, stupified, infatuated. 
 
 Beuk, Bcke, the common pronunciation of book. Moe.-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 /SioAoj, 
 from the materials on which it was customary for them re- 
 spectively to write. 
 
 Bevel, a violent push or stroke. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Beyer, or Bivver, to tremble, to vibrate, to quake with fear. 
 Sax. bcfian, trepidare. Bever, or Bivver, a vibration. 
 " Its a' iv a bivver. 
 
 Bibber, to tremble, to shake. There is a great similarity 
 between this word and Alem. Franc, bihun, tremere. 
 
 Bicker, s. a small wooden dish, or vessel, made of staves and 
 hoops like a tub. Germ, bechcr, a cup. Ital. bicchcrre. 
 " I'll take a staji out o' your bicker,^'' is a common exjjres- 
 sion in the North ; that is, I'll repress your impertinence, 
 or saucy behaviour. 
 
 Bid, to inWte to a wedding, feast, or funeral ; especially to
 
 BIGG 35 
 
 the latter ; in which case the invitation is called a bidding 
 — probably from Sax. hiddan, to pray — originally meaning, 
 as Mr. Wilbraham suggests, the offering of prayers for the 
 soul of the deceased. Two or four peoijle, called bidders, 
 are sent about to invite the friends to the funeral, and to 
 distribute the mourning. The word was formerly in gene- 
 ral use in the sense of to invite. It occurs frequently in the 
 New Testament, and Shaksjseare makes Shylock say, " I 
 am bid forth to supper." 
 
 Biddable, obedient, of a compliant temper ; as a biddable 
 child. 
 
 Bidding, or Bidden-wedding, an invitation to a wedding. 
 Some of the Cumbrians, particularly those who are in 
 needy circumstances, have, on the entrance into the mar- 
 ried state, this ceremony, at which a pecuniary collection 
 is made among the comj^any for the i:»urpose of setting the 
 wedding pair forward in the world. It is always attended 
 with music and dancing. The jji-actice formerly prevailed 
 in Northumberland also, but is now disused. 
 
 Bide, to bear, to endure. " The pain's so great, I can't bide 
 it." 
 
 Big, to build. Sax. bi/ggan, sedificare. Isl. hyggi. Dan. 
 bi/gge. Swed. bygga. See Biggix. 
 
 " Ther servauntes be to them unholde 
 But they can doublin ther rentall ; 
 To higrje hem castles, higge hem holde. 
 And al such false foul hem befall." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Ploimnan's Tale. 
 
 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. biug. Dan. bi/g. A street in Newcas- 
 tle is called the Bigg-market. 
 
 " And so we entered and wan Logh-wood, where we found the 
 house truly well purveyed for salted beef, malt, big, heaver meal, 
 butter and cheese." — Account of a Raid in the Borders, in Burn and 
 Nicholson's Cumberland, Vol. II., p. 177.
 
 35 BIGG 
 
 BiGGEN, to recover after lying-in. The gossips regularly wish 
 the lady a good higgenning. Is it to he again ? 
 
 BiGGEN, BiGGiNO, a building ; properly a house of a larger 
 size, as opjiosed to a cottage ; but now generally used for 
 a hut covered ^\-ith mud or turf. Isl. bigging, structura. — 
 Swed. hyggning, an edifice. The word enters largely into 
 the composition of local names in the North. 
 
 BiLDER, a large wooden mallet, with a long handle, used in 
 husbandry for breaking clods. Hence, oljserves the author 
 of the Craven Glossary, halderdash, may ^\-ith propriety be 
 called dirt spread by the bilder, alias hilderdasher . This 
 etymon is certainly as happy as that of Mr. Malone — the 
 froth or foam made by the barbers in dashing their halls 
 backwards and forwards in hot water. See Blather. 
 
 BiLDERT, a term of contempt. " Ye little hildert." 
 
 BiLLiE, Billy, a companion or comrade, a l)rother. Germ. 
 hillig. 
 
 Bin, be on. " Shem hin ye !" " Shame be on you." 
 
 Binding, or Bindin, the contract or hiring for the year ; 
 the colliery bond. 
 
 Binding, or Bindin-money, earnest money given to a collier 
 on being bound, formerly a considerable bonus, but now 
 reduced to 2s. Qd. or 3^. 
 
 Bing, a bin ; as, a wine-&^w^ ; a com-hing. A bing of lead 
 
 is 8 cwt. 
 
 " You might have sene them throng out of the town, 
 Like ants when they do spoile a bing of come." 
 
 Surrey's ^eneeis, b. iv. 
 
 BiNK, or Benk, a seat of stones, wood, or sods ; especially 
 one made against the front of a house. Sax. henc. Dan. 
 bcenl; a bench, or seat. 
 
 BiRK, the birch tree. Betula alha. Sax. hire. Teut. herck. 
 
 " Then byrkis on athyr sid the way, 
 That young and thik war growand ner, 
 He knyt to gidder on sic maner 
 That men moucht nocht weell throu thaim rid. 
 
 The Bruce, b. ii., I. 394.
 
 BISH 37 ^ 
 
 BiRL, i\ to make a noise, like the rapid turning of a wheel. 
 Probably from the sound. 
 
 BiRLER, or BuRLER, the master of the revels, or person pre- 
 siding over and directing the feast at a Cumberland bidden- 4 
 wedding, whose office it is to take care that the drink be 
 duly and plentifully supplied. — Gloss, of the Westm. and 
 Cmnb. Dialect. 
 
 Birr, or Burr, any rapid, whirling motion, as that of a spin- 
 ning wheel. 
 
 BiRSE, a triangular chisel to make the comer of mortise holes ^. 
 
 with, A bristle. ** 
 
 BiRST, an attack, also a difficulty. As, " I'll bide the birst." ^ ^ 
 
 " Doughty Dan o' the Houlet Hirst, 
 Thou was aye glide at a hirst ,- 
 Gude wi' a bow and better wi' a speir." 
 
 Fray of Support. 
 
 BiSHOPBRiG, or BiSHOPRiG, Bishopric ; by which name the 
 county of Durham is still 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 regalia as fully as the king did in his palace ; regalem 
 potestatem in omnibus, as Bracton (who wrote in the reign 
 of Henry III.) expresses it. Hence the maxim, Quicquid 
 Rex Jiabet 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 prevent- 
 ed, by respect for royalty, from giving the epithet he de- 
 serves. 
 
 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, or, it is bishopped 
 The author of the Craven Glossary, under bishopped, says, 
 " pottage burnt at the bottom of a 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 Five Hundred 
 
 in -v
 
 38 Bisr 
 
 Points of good Husbandry, a well known book ; and 
 also in Tyndale's Obedyence of a Chrysten Man, printed 
 in 1528. The last \\Titer, p. 109, says, 
 
 " When a thynge speadeth not well, we borrow speach and say the 
 
 hyshope hath blessed it, because that nothynge speadeth well that 
 they nieilyll witball. If the podecli be burned to, or the meate 
 over rosted, we say tlie byshope luis 2'ut his fote 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 episcojial disposition to burn heretics, 
 
 in a certain reign, presents a satisfactory explanation of the 
 
 origin of the phrase. 
 
 BisPEL, a term of reproach, but not severe ; apj^lied in gene- 
 ral to young persons, and charging them with being mis- 
 chievous rather than vicious. — Gloss, of the Westm. and 
 Cwnh. Dialect. 
 
 Bit, adj. little, without the preposition after it ; as, a " bit 
 bread," a " bit bairn." 
 
 Bitch, an instrument for extracting bore-rods when they 
 break. 
 
 Bite, or Bight, a bend or curve in a river — like an elbow (a 
 sea phrase, as the bight of a warj), &c.) Probably from 
 Sax. bi/gan, 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. bi/sen, bi/sn, ex- 
 emplum, exemplar. In unguarded moments, when the 
 good women in certain districts of Newcastle, glad of any 
 opportunity of giving free license to their privileged mem- 
 ber, indulge in acts of termagancy rivalling the elegancies 
 of the best Billingsgate oratory, it is common to fulminate 
 the object of their resentment with a " Holy Bizon ;" ob- 
 viously in allusion to the 2Jenitential act of standing in a 
 white sheet, which scandalous delinquents are sometimes 
 enjoined to perform in the church before the whole congre- 
 gation. In this sense the word seems connected with Teut. 
 bossinne, arnica.
 
 BLAC 39 
 
 BizoN, a shame or scandal, any thing monstrous or excessive. 
 
 " Wiv a' the stravaigin 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 hizon." 
 
 Song, Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Bizz, to buzz ; conformable to its Teutonic origin, bizsen. 
 Black-a-viz'd, dark in complexion — black-visaged. 
 Black-bowwowers, bramble-berries — the fruit of the Riibus 
 
 fructicosiis. — North. See Bummel-kite. 
 Black-fasting, s. rigid, severe fasting. 
 
 " But black fasting, as they were bom, 
 From flesh or flsh or other food. 
 Drink had they none two days before 
 But water won in running flood." 
 
 Battle o/Floddon, St. 457. 
 
 Black-mail, protection and forbearance money, which people 
 on the Borders formerly j^aid to the most notorious ma- 
 rauders — sometimes men of name and power — to be freed 
 from the outrage and plunder that was continued to be 
 perpetrated on the Borders. Though lawless, and gener- 
 ally oppressive, the usage of many ages had sanctioned the 
 practice, so that it was considered neither unjust nor dis- 
 honourable ; and from its beneficial effects in securing the 
 forbearance and protection of those to whom it was paid, 
 it was usually submitted to as an indispensal)le measure. 
 Black-mail, it is said, was levied in Rothbury and Redes- 
 dale, in Northumberland, as late as 1720. 
 
 Black-Monday, the first day of going to school after the va- 
 cation ; so denominated, no doubt, from the Black Monday 
 recorded in our history ; for which see Stowe. The day 
 following 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-pudden, Black-pudding, a pudding made of blood, 
 suet, &c., stuffed into the intestines of a pig or sheep. I
 
 40 BLAK 
 
 take notice of the word because tliis .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 peculiar cries of the present Newcastle ven- 
 dors of this houdiii ordinaire. — " A nice hlack-pudden, man !" 
 " A nice het pudden, hinnie !" "A nice fat puddcn, smo- 
 ken het, maw jewel !" 
 Blake, yellow, or of a golden colour ; spoken of butter, 
 cheese, &c. Sax. bkec. Dut. bleek, pale. Hence, the 
 yellow bunting (emberiza citrinella) is, in some places, 
 called a blaheling. 
 
 " Blake autumn."— Chatterton. 
 
 A wound is said to be blaJcening when it puts on an ap- 
 pearance of healing. 
 
 Blake, cold, exposed, bleak. '' Blakelaw." — North. 
 
 Blaring, crying vehemently, roaring loud ; applied to pee- 
 vish children and vulgar drunken noise ; as well as the 
 " music of calves." Dut. blaaren. 
 
 Blash, to throw dirt ; also to scatter, to plash ; as the " wa- 
 ter Mashed all overT Germ, platscn. 
 
 Blashcanter, Blashment, any weak and diluting liquor. 
 
 Blashy, thin, i^oor ; as blashy beer, &c. It also means wet 
 and dirty ; in the sense of plashy. Dr. Jamieson has blash, 
 a heavy fall of rain. 
 
 " But aw fancl maw sel blonk'd when to Lunuen aw gat. 
 The folks they a' luik'd wishy washy ; 
 For gowld ye may howk 'till ye're blind as a hat. 
 For their streets are like wors— brave and blashy !" 
 
 Song, Canny A'eivcassel. 
 
 Blast, an explosion of foul air in a coal mine. In less philo- 
 sophic times, the fatal effects of fire-damp were attributed 
 to the agency of subterraneous demons, the mrunculi mon- 
 tani of the Swedes and Germans ; one of whom, according 
 to George Agricola, the great metallurgist, — who seems to 
 have been as rcmarkul)le for his credulity as his erudition 
 — destroyed an hundred men by the blast of his poisonoiis
 
 BLAW 
 
 41 
 
 breath ! — The sage demonologist quoted by Reginald Scott 
 also speaks of the malignity and violence of the goblings 
 who haunted mines. 
 
 " They do often slay whole companies of labourers, they do some- 
 times send inundations that destroy both the mines and miners, 
 they bring noxious and malignant vapours to stifle the laborious 
 workmen: briefly their whole delight and faculty consists in kill- 
 ing, tormenting, and crushing." 
 
 Blate, v. to bleat or bellow. Siix. blcetan, balare. Dryden 
 uses blatant, in the sense of, bellowing as a calf. So 
 Spenser calls detraction, the blatant beast. The puritanical 
 Prynne, in his Histrio-Mastix, very unceremoniously stig- 
 matises the Church music of the day — the " bleating of 
 brute beasts." 
 
 Blate, a. shy, bashful, timid. Su.-Got. Mode. 
 
 " A toom (empty) purse makes a blate merchant." — Sc. Proverb. 
 " A blate cat makes a proud mouse." — N. C. Proverb. 
 
 Blather, to talk a great deal of nonsense. " He blathers 
 and talks," is a common phrase where much is said to lit- 
 tle purpose. A person of this kind is, bj/ way of pre-emi- 
 nence, styled a blathering hash. One of my correspondents 
 derives the word from blatant, used by Spenser and others ; 
 another ingeniously 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 Su.-Got. bladdra, garrire, and Swed. bladra, 
 to babble. Hence, Blatherdash, Balderdash, idle dis- 
 course, silly talk. See Bilder. 
 
 Blatter, to clatter, to make a noise as with the feet. 
 
 Blaw, to breathe thick and quick after violent exertion ; ap- 
 plied to man or beast, to blow. A friend once told me of a 
 Scotch preacher, who having tired himself, and probably 
 his audience, called on the clerk to set a psalm, and give 
 him time to blaw a piece. Shakspeare describes Mrs. 
 Page as " sweating and blowing, and looking wildly." 
 
 Blaw, to blow, to sound a horn. Sax. blawan. Ritson has 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
 i 
 
 "A
 
 42 BLAZ 
 
 published the following Lament 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 
 Abl)ey on Iloly-rood-day, accompanied with the winding of 
 horns. It is, perhajis, the very oldest rhjone of the North. 
 
 " Wel-i-\va, sal ys homes Maw, 
 Haly-nule this clay ; 
 Nou es he dede, and lies law, 
 Was wont to Uaw them ay." 
 
 Blaze, to take salmon by striking them at night, by torch- 
 light, \\'ith a three-pronged and barbed dart, called a Leis- 
 ter. I have often seen this dexterous and beautiful mode 
 of taking fish jjractised in the river Tees. The effect of a 
 torch held over a stream, during a dark night, without 
 being magical, is really astonishing : every fish is rendered 
 visible in places even where the water is some fathoms 
 deep. An animated description of the same custom in 
 Lajiland, has been given by Von Buck in his Travels (p. 
 351), to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Blea, Blee, bluish, pale, or lead colour. Sax. bleo. Germ. 
 bley, lead. The word is used to denote a bluish colour 
 like the lijis in a frosty morning. 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. Country house- 
 wives speak of " blee lint." 
 
 Blea-beery, Blay-berry, the bilberry, or black whortle 
 berry, Vaccinium Myrtillus. Isl. blaber. Swed. blab'dr. 
 These berries are sometimes eaten with cream, in the 
 manner of strawberries. They are also made into tarts 
 and jellies. 
 
 Bleb, Blob, a drop of water or bubble, Dut. bobhcl. Swed. 
 buhla. Also a blister, or rising of the skin. Germ, blaen, 
 to swell. 
 
 Bledder, the bladder. 
 
 " A great chorl and a srym, growen as a tonne 
 With a face 80 fat as a fill bleddere." 
 
 Piers Plnu-man'f Crede.
 
 BLOB 43 
 
 Blee, or Blea, colour, complexion. An old word ; from 
 Sax. bleoh, colour — not yet obsolete. 
 
 " Hyr bleo biynketh so bright." 
 
 Love Song in Har. MSS about the year 1200. 
 " Myne lierte oppressed is so wonderfully 
 Ouely for him which is so bright of Me 
 Alas ! I trowe I shall him never see !" 
 
 Chaucer's Lament, of Mary Mag. 
 
 Bleed, to yield ; ajjplied to corn, which is said to " bleed 
 well" when on thrashing it hapjiens to be very jiroductive. 
 Fr. bled. 
 
 Blendings, or Blendlings, a mixture of peas and beans. 
 Swed. blandning, a medley ; from blanda, to mix. 
 
 Blin, to stop, or cause to stop, to cease, to desist. Sax. 
 blinnan, cessare, desinere. The word, indeed, occurs in 
 almost all the ancient northern languages, although vari- 
 ously 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, a glance. " The blithe blinks 
 in her eye" — joy sparkles in her eye. 
 
 " They persit myne hart, his blenkis amourous." 
 
 Lyndsay's Dreme. 
 
 Blinkard, Blenkaed, a person near sighted or almost blind. 
 
 Blirt, Blurt, to cry, to make a sudden indistinct or un- 
 pleasant 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 unsteady 
 light — a blirting light. 
 
 Bloacher, any large animal. I know not its etymology ; 
 unless it can be connected \A\\\ bloat, in the sense used by 
 Addison, — 
 
 " I cannot but be troubled to see so many well-shaped innocent 
 virgins bloated up, and waddling up and down like big-bellied 
 women." 
 
 Blob, a drop " blob ripe," very ripe, ready to burst like a 
 drop of water.
 
 44 BLON 
 
 Blonk, a blank. — Blonked, disappointed, defeated of expei.ta- 
 tion. From the verl) blank, to damp, to obsmre, used by 
 Shakspeare — 
 
 " Each opposite that blanks the face of joy." 
 
 HaniM, Act III,, Scene 2. 
 
 Blousy, or Bi,(»\vsy, red and coarse, wild, disordered, con- 
 fused. 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 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 machinery, 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 gra- 
 dually sufibcated, and undergo a more painful death, from the 
 carbonic acid and azote remaining in the mine after the in- 
 flammation 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. Vary on the Safety Lamp, p. 3, 4. 
 
 Blowx-milk, skimmed milk. I suppose from the custom of 
 blo'vv'ing the cream oif by the breath. It is also called blue 
 milk, from its colour. Blawn-milk, my friend ^Ir. Kinloch 
 informs me, is used in Scotland to milk that is slightly 
 soured by the air — winded. 
 
 Blush, s. a slight resemblance. He has a bhish of his bro- 
 ther ; that is, he bears a resemblance to him. — It is also 
 used to describe that state of the hands or feet when nearly 
 blistered by hard work or over exercise. " He walked till 
 his feet were bliis/it.'^ 
 
 Boards, the jjrincipal excavations in a coal mine, made at 
 right-angles to the winning head-Mays. 
 
 Bob, a bunch. Isl. bobbi, nodus. Fr. bube. " Bob o' rib- 
 bons."
 
 BOKE 45 
 
 BoBBEROUs, BoBBERSOME, hearty, elated, iu high spirits. 
 Bobbery, or Bubbery, a quarrel, noise, or disturbance. 
 Bobby, smart, neat, tidy. " The varry hobhy-o" 
 Bode, a price or sum bid — an offer at a sale. Germ, hot, 
 licitatio et pretium oblatum ; which Wachter derives from 
 bieten, offerre. 
 BoDEN, to be in difficulty. " He's hard boden" i. e. He is in 
 
 straightened circumstances. 
 BoDwoRD, an ill-natured errand. An old word for an omi- 
 nous message. Su.-Got. and Isl. bodword, edictum, man- 
 datum. 
 Boggle, or Bogle, Boggle-bo, a spectre or ghost, a nursery 
 bug-bear. — NoHk. and Dur. Celtic, bwg, a goblin. Welsh, 
 bogelu, to affright — bugul, fear. In West, and York, the 
 word is boggard, or boggart. 
 
 " My mammy bid me gan to bed, 
 My daddy he said, ' No," 
 My mammy said, if I wad na gan, 
 She would fetch the Bogglc-Bo " — N. C. Song. 
 " Swyth beggar bogill haist the away." 
 
 Lyndsay's three Estaitis. 
 
 Boggle about the stacks, a favourite pastime among young 
 people in the country villages, in which one hunts several 
 others between the stacks in a farm yard. The diversion 
 was formerly called barley break, or barley brake, and was 
 once an attractive amusement for persons of both sexes 
 " in life's rosy prime." 
 
 " At e'en, at the gloaming, nae swankies are roaming, 
 'Bout stacks, wi' the lasses at bogle to play." 
 
 Flowers oS the Forest. 
 
 Bogie, the tram, or truck, used by the Newcastle Quayside 
 
 cartmeu. 
 Boke, to belch, to vomit. Sax. bealcan. Dut. boken. See 
 
 Bowk. 
 
 " He bigan Benedicite with a hoik 
 And his brest knakked 
 And raxed and rored 
 And rutte to the laste." — Piers Plowman.
 
 4C liOLD 
 
 BoLDON I3uKE, BoLDON BooK, ail aiiciciit survey of all the 
 lands within the County Palatine of Durham, held in de- 
 mesne, or l)y tenants in villenage ; taken in the year 1183 
 by order of Bishoj) Hugh I'udsey. This ambitious prelate, 
 styled by Lambarde, " the joly Byshop of Durham," exer- 
 cised 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 consequence of these exclusive privileges, 
 that, when the Conqueror's General Census, or Domesday 
 Book, was made, the bishopric of Durham was not in- 
 cluded ; 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 of great im- 
 portance to the See of Durham, having been frequently 
 appealed to and admitted as e"\-idence, on the jiart of suc- 
 ceeding Bishops, to ascertain their j^roperty and seigncurial 
 rights. Besides its value to the toiiographer, it is highly 
 interesting 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 venerable record derived its name from the services of 
 the manor of Boldon being the first which occur in this 
 compilation of the great rental of Hugh Pudsey. 
 
 BoLE-HiLLs, a jirovincial term for heaps of metallic scoria, 
 which are often met with in the lead mine districts. They 
 are the remains of an ancient and very simple mode of 
 smelting lead by wood fires, on hills, in the open air. Al- 
 though the nature of mining, till vei-y recent times, was 
 but imiierfectly understood, it is clear that the Saxons, as 
 well as the Romans, worked mines in tliffereut jjarts of our 
 island, and frequently made use of lead in works of eccle- 
 siastical magnificence. Roman pigs, or masses, of lead are 
 exhibited in the Gallery of Antiquities in the British Mu- 
 seum.
 
 BOND 47 
 
 Boll, Bole, the usual corn measure in the North — iu 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, it is utterly unknown in the south of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Boll, Bole, the body or trunk of a tree. Su.-Got. bol. 
 
 Bo-MAN, a hobgoblin or kidnapper. V. Todd's John. ho. 
 
 BoNDAGER, a cottager, or servant in husbandly, who has a 
 house for the year, at an under rent, and is entitled to the 
 produce of a certain quantity of potatos. For these advan- 
 tages 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 Northumberland much of this work is 
 performed by the female part of the family, or by children. 
 Swed. bonddrang, a farmer's man, a young jieasant. This 
 bondage service, the exj^ediency of which economists have 
 doubted, may be referred to the villenage tenure of a more 
 barbarous jjeriod. In the ancient feudal ages, the land 
 was generally cultivated by three sorts of persons — the 
 small allodial tenants, who, though originally freemen, and 
 capable of disposing of their estates, sometimes elected, for 
 the sake of i^rotection, to become the vassals of their more 
 powerful neighljours — the villeins, who held on condition of 
 performing such servile works as the lord required, or their 
 tenure was burdened with — and the serfs, or villeins regard- 
 ant, who were literally slaves attached to the soil, and, 
 together with their wives and children, transferred with it 
 by purchase. In cases of great poverty and distress, it 
 seems that it was not uncommon for freemen in this coun- 
 try to sell themselves as slaves. Thus, in 1069, Simeon of 
 Durham relates that there was a dreadful famine in Eng- 
 land, particularly in Northumberland and the adjacent 
 provinces, and that some sold themselves into jjerpetual 
 slavery, that they might in some way sustain a miserable 
 life. Many modes l)y which a man, in a state of villenage, 
 might acquire his freedom, are enumerated by Glanville,
 
 48 BONN 
 
 and in The Mirror. Before writing was much known, the 
 enfranchisement was accompanied hy great publicity and 
 ceremony ; but when it became common, the act was done 
 by deed. The form for the emancipation of serfs is minutely 
 described in the laws of the Conqueror ; and various later 
 grants and manumissions may be seen in Madox's Formu- 
 lare Anglicanum, p. 416 et seq. One of these is remark- 
 able — being an enfranchisement of two villeins for the soul 
 of the Abbot of Bath. 
 Bonny, beautiful, pretty, handsome, cheerful. Dr. Johnson 
 derives this northern word from Fr. bo7i, honne, good. If 
 this be the etjonon, 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 border country has derived much of its language. 
 Bonny, however, has been viewed by some as allied to Gael. 
 boigheach, hoidheach, j^retty. The word is of frequent oc- 
 currence in the plays of Shakspeare, who apjjears to have 
 understood it in all its different meanings. 
 
 " We say that Shore's wife hath a pretty foot, 
 A cherry lip, a bonny eye, a passing pleasing tongue." 
 
 Richard ITT. 
 " Match 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." 
 
 ITenry VI. 
 " Then sigh not so but let them go. 
 And be you blithe and bonny." 
 
 Much Ado about Nothing. 
 
 BooDiES, the same as Babbt Boodies ; which see. 
 
 Boon, a service or bonus, done by a tenant to liis landlord, 
 or a sum of money paid as an equivalent. The remains of 
 the ancient hondagium, or villenage servitude ; from Sax. 
 bond, l)onds or fetters, Love-boon, voluntary labour. 
 
 Boon-days, days works, which the tenants of some manors 
 are obliged, or bound, to jierform for the benefit of their lord 
 gratis. Vast quantities of land in the northern counties,
 
 BOOT 49 
 
 particularly in Cumberland, are held under lords of manors 
 by customary tenure, subject to the jjayment of fines and 
 lieriots, and the performance of various duties and services 
 on the boon days. Spelman, vo. precarice, refers to " biden 
 DAYS, quod Sax, Dies precarias sonat, nam hidden 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, or Bower, the parlour, or inner chamber through 
 the kitchen, in country houses, in which the head person 
 of the family generally sleeps, It is undoubtedly to be 
 referred immediately to Sax. bur, which bears exactly the 
 same sense. The analogy between this term, and Isl. bur, 
 a little dwelling, from bouan, to dwell, is striking. Spen- 
 ser uses bower, for a lady's apartment, such as we now call 
 a closet or cabinet. Fair Rosamond's bower, at Wood- 
 stock, is familiar to every reader. 
 
 " What Alison, heres thou not Absolon 
 That chanteth thus under our houres wal ?" 
 
 Chaucer,— The Miller's Tale. 
 
 BooRDLY, BuiRDL?, stout, stroug, robust ; 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 tree — growing in cottage-garths, 
 hedges, &c. But see Bur-tree. 
 
 BoosE, an ox or cow's stall, where the cattle stand all night 
 in winter. It is now more generally used for the upper 
 part of the stall, where the fodder lies. Sax. bosg. Isl. 
 bas. Swe. has. 
 
 Boot, Bote, or Bute, s. something given to equalize an ex- 
 change, or in addition. In a former edition of this work, 
 I gave old Fr. bote, help, advantage, as a probable deriva- 
 tion ; but I think, on further consideration, that the word 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 60 BOOT 
 
 has been adopted from the Saxon expression, to bote, com- 
 pensationis gratia, insujier, ex abundanti. 
 Booted Bread, bolted bread, 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, bcutehi, to sift. 
 BooT-HALER, a freebooter, robber, or marauder. 
 BooTHER, BooDER, or BowDER, a hard flinty stone, rounded 
 like a bowl. A boulderstone. V. Todd's John, boulder, 
 and bowlder-stones. 
 BooTHMAN, the ancient name for a com merchant. 
 BoRROWED-DAYS, BoRRowiNG-DAYS, the three last days of 
 March. 
 
 " March said to Aperil, 
 There lie three hogs (sheep) upon yon hill 
 If ye will lend rae days three 
 I'll find a way to gar them dee. 
 The first day shall be wund and weet, 
 The second day shall be snaw and sleet, 
 And or the third day shall be past and gane 
 The silly poor hogs will come drooping hame." 
 
 Northern Popular Rhyme. 
 These days being generally stormy, our forefathers, as my 
 friend Dr. Jamieson remarks, have endeavoured to account 
 for this circumstance by pretending that March borrowed 
 them from April, that he might extend his jjower so much 
 longer. The superstitious will neither borrow nor lend 
 any thing on any of these days, lest the article should be 
 employed for evil purposes. 
 Boss, empty, hollow, exhausted. Teut. io55f, umbo. Jamie- 
 son. 
 Bottom-board, the trap in the bottom of a coal-waggon. 
 Bottom-room, a vulgar term for a single seat in a pew. In 
 Dr. Jamieson's SuiJi^lement to his Scottish Dictionary, vo. 
 bottom, " the breech, the seat in the human body," the au- 
 thor 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. 
 
 J
 
 BOUN 51 
 
 Bought, a fold where ewes are milked or put. Tuut. locJit. 
 
 Sc. hught, 
 
 " Will ye gae to the ewe huchts, Marion, 
 And wear in the sheep wi" me ? 
 The sun shines sweet, my Marion, 
 But not half sae sweet as thee." — Se. Song. 
 
 BouGHT-BREAD, bread of a finer quality bolted by the baker, 
 in opposition to a coarser kind made at home. 
 
 BouGHT-CLOTH, tho cloth used in sifting or temsing meal ; a 
 bolting cloth. 
 
 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, bouMn- 
 ivashing. Buck is used by Shakspeare, as well for the li- 
 quor in which clothes are washed as for the clothes them- 
 selves. Every one remembers the ludicrous adventure of 
 Falstaff, in the great buck-basket. The process of bouk- 
 ing 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 ; the body of a tree. 
 Su.-Got. bolk. Chaucer uses bouke, for the trunk of the 
 human body, and in this sense it is yet used in some of the 
 more remote parts of Northumberland — 
 
 " The clotted blood, for any leche-craft 
 Corrumpeth, and is in his hotike ylaft. 
 That neyther veine-blood, ne ventousing, 
 Ne drinke of herbes ben his helping." 
 
 diaucer, — nie KnigM's Tale. 
 
 Mr. Tyrwhitt says, it 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 Su.-Got. boa, to prepare, to make ready, of which boen,
 
 62 BOUR 
 
 or loin, is the participle. The word is used in Sir Walter 
 Scott's Poems, jMssim. 
 
 " Off' (ill his bruderys men in wer, 
 He gert upon their best maner 
 With many men boione thaim to ga 
 In Inglaud for to bryn and sla." 
 
 Tlie Bruce, b. xiv., I. 21. ' 
 
 " And bad hem alle bo howne 
 Beggers and othere 
 To wenden with hem to Westmynstere." 
 
 Piers I'loimnan, I. 1202. 
 
 BouRD, V. to jest. — BouRD, s. a jest. Old Fr. hoiird. This is 
 one of our oldest words, as Mr. Todd remarks, and is still 
 used in the north of England. 
 
 " That that I spake, I .sayd it in my hourd." 
 
 Cfiaucer, — Jlie Manciple's Prologue. 
 
 " Na schir I dar nocht speik ane word 
 To plaine on preistis is na bourd." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Bout, a contest or struggle ; especially when applied to a 
 jovial meeting of the legitimate sons of Bacchus. 
 
 Bout, a northern pronunciation of but. V. Todd's John. but. 
 
 BowDiKiTE, or BowLEY-KiTE, a corpulcut i^erson, probably 
 from a bowl, round. The term most frequently betokens 
 contempt, and is often applied to a mischievous child, or 
 an insignificant jjerson. 
 
 BowELL-HOLE, a suiall aperture in a bam, a perforation 
 through a wall for giving light or air. V. Jam. Supp. boal. 
 
 Bower. See Boor. 
 
 BowERT, plump, buxom ; generally applied to a young fe- 
 male in great health. Bowery and buxom are, in reality, the 
 same word ; both referable to Sax. bocsiim, obediens, mori- 
 gerus, flexibilis ; in old English bonghsome, i. c. (according 
 to H. Tooke) easily bended or bowed to one's will, or obe- 
 dient. In an old form of the marriage ceremony in a MS. 
 Rituale in Usum Sarum, circa 1450, the bride promised 
 " to be boner & buxu" V, Astle on Writing, tab. xxvii., 
 p. 150, specimen 15.
 
 BRAC 53 
 
 Bowk, Bouk, to eructate, to belch. " BowkinghxW ;" a state 
 of repletion. An old English word. " He hocketh lyke a 
 churle." — Palsgrave. See Boke, 
 
 Bowling-match, a game with bowls made of stone — not on 
 bowling-greens, but, to the great annoyance of travellers, on 
 the highways from village to village. 
 
 Box, a club or society instituted for benevolent or charitable 
 purposes, and possessing a common chest, or box : — part- 
 ners in the money deposited in this box ; and derived from 
 that circumstance, as bank is from bench, on which money 
 was placed, weighed, &c. The oldest institution of the 
 kind, which I have been able to trace, is that of the keelmen 
 of Newcastle and the neighbourhood ; who, on the " head 
 meeting day," after assembling at their hospital, walk in 
 procession through the principal streets of the town, attend- 
 ed by a band of music. Much greater interest 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 spec- 
 tacle. 
 
 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, Brack, 
 broke. 
 
 Bracken, or Brecken, fern. In Smoland, in Sweden, the 
 female fern is called bracken. Sw. stotbraakin. In is a 
 termination in Gothic, denoting the female gender. V. 
 Jamieson. It was formerly sujiposed that " fern seed" 
 was only obtainable at the exact hour of the night on 
 which Saint John the Baptist was born ; and the supersti- 
 tious believed that if they gathered it at that particular
 
 64 BRAD 
 
 time, it would endow them with the power of walking in- 
 visible. 
 
 " Nay, by my faith, I tlilnk you are more indebted to the night 
 than to fern seed, for your walking invisible."— S/tat. lien. IV. 
 
 BiJADE, to resemble. Mr. Hunter says to breed. She breeds 
 of him, she resembles him, or she favours of him, another 
 colloquialism, and sometimes she favours him. Ray was 
 of the same opinion. But the sense, as Dr. Jamieson 
 has o])served, is precisely the same with that of Isl. bregd-a, 
 bregth-a, Su.-Got. braa, verbs denoting the resemblance 
 of children, in disposition, to their progenitors. Bregdur 
 barni til aettar, progenitoribus suis qiiisque fere similis est 
 G. Andr. p. 38. V. Ihre, vo. Braa. The latter writer 
 views Isl. brag-ur, mos, afifectio, modus agendi, as the radi- 
 dical term. 
 
 " Since Frenchmen are so traui. 
 
 Marry that will, I'll live and die a maid." 
 
 Shak.,— All's Well that Ends Well. 
 
 The Commentators have mistaken the meaning of this 
 passage. Mr. Steevens refers to bred, an Anglo-Saxon 
 word, signifying f rails, astus j but it has no relation. The 
 error also occurs in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Brae, a bank or declivity ; any sloping, broken ground. 
 Welch, bre. 
 
 Braffam, Braugham, a collar for a draught horse ; some- 
 times made of old stockings stuffed with straw. Gael. 
 braighaidain, a collar ; from braigh, the neck. Sc. brecham. 
 
 Bragget, a drink made of the wort of ale and mead, mixed 
 together and sjjiced. 
 
 Braid, broad. Sax. brad, latus. This is the old English, 
 and still the Northern and Scotch pronunciation. 
 
 " Sync in the more thai entryt thar. 
 It was bathe hey and laug and braid."— T?ie Bruce. 
 
 " Bessie with the braid apron," was a familiar epithet ap- 
 plied to Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Dacre, the wife of
 
 BRAN 55 
 
 Lord William Howard (Belted Will), whose broad lands 
 swelled the fortunes of this younger brother, the progenitor 
 of the families of Carlisle and Corby. 
 
 Braid, to nauseate, to belch ; hence uphraid ; also a sudden 
 burst of impetuosity, wonder, or surprise. Probably from 
 Islandic, hragd, a sudden motion. The word is used by 
 Wiclif, in Luke ix. 42, where our version uses tare ; but 
 he probably used hrayed in the sense of heat^ which the 
 Greek word (ruvs«cr«g«|sv, would equally allow. 
 
 Braid-Band, com laid out in the sheaf on the band, and 
 spread out to dry after rain, i. e. abroad on the band. The 
 phrase occurs in Scotland ; and Mr. Kinloch informs me 
 that it is also used there in a figurative sense ; as, it's in 
 the braid-band ; i. e. the thing is ready for being finally 
 worked oiF. 
 
 Braids, Breds, scales. In general use among the lower 
 class of farmers in Northumberland. 
 
 Braird, or Breard, the first appearance of a plant above 
 ground ; more especially the tender blades of springing 
 corn. Sax. brord, frumenti spicse. 
 
 Brake, a heavy harrow used for breaking large clods of earth 
 on rough fallow land. V. Nares' Gloss, for other signifi- 
 cations. 
 
 Branded, having a mixture of red and black. Dut. branden. 
 
 Brander, v. to broil, to grill. Teut. branden, to bum. — 
 Brander, or Brander-iron, the instrument on which the 
 meat is brandercd, or grilled — a gridiron. 
 
 Brand-irons, irons used for supporting the wood in a wood 
 fire. See End-irons ; and Skin, andirons. 
 
 Brandling, a name given to a species of trout caught in the 
 rivers in Northumberland, where salmon is found, j)articu- 
 larly in the Tyne. Early in the year they are seen about 
 three inches long, but in the course of a few months in- 
 crease 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
 
 56 BRAN 
 
 only the fry of the common salmon ; but Pennant gives 
 several good reasons for considering them a distint species, 
 They are faintly barred or branded on the sides ; hence, 
 perhaps, the name. Dr. Jamieson traces it to Isl. branda, 
 trutta minima, whence brand-hoed, foetura truttarum. V. 
 Supplement, vo. hranlie. 
 
 Brandling, a small worm found in beds of dung and tan ; a 
 good bait, after being cleansed in moss, for trout ; probably 
 60 called from being used in fishing for the brandling species. 
 
 Brandreth, or Braxdrith, an iron tripod fixed over the fire 
 to support a pot or kettle. A gridiron, Brand-isen, and 
 brandred, are Saxon names of the sustentaculum ferreum, 
 fulcrum focarium, or trivet, used for supporting wood and 
 fire-vessels on a hearth. Dan. brandrilh, is cognate. 
 
 Brandy-snaps, a small cake of ginger-bread. Probably 
 iran(?-schnap, from being burnt, not from the real or sup- 
 posed presence of brandy. 
 
 Brank, v. to hold up the head affectedly, to put a bridle or 
 restraint on any thing. Ital. branca, a claw or fang, — or 
 by metonymy, a gripe : brancare, to seize. This word 
 gives me an opportunity of introducing another of kindred 
 import — ^the Branks, an instrument formerly kept in the 
 Mayor's Chamber, Newcastle, for the punishment of. 
 " chiding and scolding women," and still jireserved in the 
 Justice Room in the Manors. 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 spe- 
 cies of torture seems to be. Dr. Plot, in his History of Staf- 
 fordshire, 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 dijj." Sec an en- 
 graving of Robert Sharp, an officer of the Corporation of 
 Newcastle, leading Ann Bidlestone through the town, with 
 a pair of branks on her head, in Gardiner's England's 
 Grievance Discovered, orig. edit. p. 110 ; copied by Brand,
 
 BRAN 57 
 
 iu plate of Miscellaneous Antiquities, Vol. II., p. 4". Ou 
 referring 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 bmnks," is yet, I regret to say, 
 occasionally to be heard in the good town where I reside. 
 The following is found in the records of the Kirk Session 
 of Stirling for 1600 :— 
 
 " Compeared Margaret Wilsone.spous to Duncan Bennet, qiiha be 
 sufficient tryel is fund ane abusar and blasphemar of hir husband, 
 of the elderis of the kirk and her nychburis, raony and diviris 
 tymes, nocht onlie in the day lycht, bot in the nycht, nochwith- 
 standing of mony admonitionis, she has recavit of the elderis of 
 the kirk to abstein thirfra, and therefer the bretherein of the 
 kirk thinkis meit that the bailleis put her in the branJcis, in the 
 nather end of the toun, in the scyht of her nychbouris, quherby 
 she may be movit to abstain fra the 1 vk offences in tymes coming, 
 with certiflcatione gyf the lyk be fund in hir hereafter, that the 
 bailleis will be desyrit to put hir in the govts" 
 
 Branks, a sort of bridle used by country people on the Bor- 
 ders. — North. Mr. Culley, of Fowberry Tower, who 
 kindly furnished 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 
 t'svigs, 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 Gaelic Dictionary, 
 brancas is a bridle. See Kilian, under pranghe, muyl- 
 pranghe. 
 
 Bran-xew, Brand-new, Braxd-spaxder-new, quite new ; 
 any thing fresh from the maker's hand ; bearing, as it 
 were, his hrand, or mark, uj^on 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 manner, a country blacksmith, on 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 68 BRAN 
 
 seeing an honourable Baronet's bride for the first time, 
 exclaimeil, " it's Sir John L , with his jfire new wife !" 
 
 BuANT, steep. iS'ee Brknt. 
 
 Brash, or Wateh-i5ua.sii, s. a sudden sickness, with acid 
 rising in the mouth ; as in the heart -bum. V. Wachter, 
 brasscn. My worthy friend, Mr. Turner, suggests a burst- 
 ing forth of water ; from l)urst, often pronounced brast ; at 
 least in 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 brast ye wi'." 
 
 Brash, a. hasty, impetuous ; a corrujitiou, i>robably, of raah. 
 
 Brashy, small, delicate in constitution, subject to frequent 
 bodily indisposition, or weakness. V. Jam. brash. Soft 
 stone is also said to be brashy. 
 
 Brass, money, riches. The word, of course, for wealth when 
 brass was the standard ; as ces was in Rome ; a^yugiox 
 in the cotemporary, but more advanced, states of Greece ; 
 dc V argent now in France ; and gold in England. In the 
 North, a wealthy person is said to have plenty of brass. 
 
 Brasses, Pyrites, which are often found mixed up with the 
 coal in such abundance, as to render it almost unsaleable 
 for fuel. 
 
 Brast, burst, broken. Sax. burstan. Not obsolete, as stated 
 in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Brat, a rag, a child's bib, a coarse apron. Sax. bratt, pan- 
 niculus. It is also often used to express clothing in ge- 
 neral ; as in the well-known phrase, " a bit and a brat.^^ 
 Brat, in Irish, signifies a cloak, mantle, or covering. Chau- 
 cer uses the word to signify a mean or coarse covering — 
 
 -" for ue had they but a shete 
 
 y: 
 
 Which that they might wrappen hem in a-night, 
 And a brati to walken in by day-light." 
 
 The Chanone's Tcnmnne's Tale. 
 
 Brat, the film on the surface of some liquids ; as, for instance 
 that which appears on boiled milk when cooled, or beer
 
 BRAW 69 
 
 when sour. It is also applied to the crust formed after 
 rain on the surface of the land. 
 
 Brat, a turbot. In the Newcastle fish market, the hallibut 
 is called a turbot. 
 
 Bratchet, a contemptuous epithet ; generally api>lied to an 
 ill-behaved child ; and similar in that sense to whelp. Fr. 
 Bratchet, a slow hound. 
 
 Brattish, a wooden partition (a brattice), used for the pur- 
 pose of ventilation in coal mines. It is also applied to any 
 slight partition dividing rooms ; and sometimes to the high 
 back of the seat placed near the kitchen fire, formerly 
 common in farm and ale houses, and more frequently call- 
 ed the lang settle. 
 
 Brattle, v. to make a clattering noise, to sound like thunder. 
 — Brattle, s. a clattering noise, a clap of thunder. 
 
 Brautings, s. a dish formerly prepared for mowers in the 
 hay-harvest, and carried to them in the field ; it consisted 
 of wheaten cakes baked on the girdle, with slices of new 
 cheese between them. When sufficiently baked, they were 
 cut into squares, and eaten with melted butter and sugar. 
 It is a repast on Midsummer eve, and also on St. Thomas' 
 night. — Ex relatione mulieris cetatis sum 99. Grose has 
 braughwJiam, a Lancashire dish made of cheese, eggs, bread, 
 and butter, boiled together. 
 
 Brave, very, as " brave and blashy ;" very dirty. 
 
 Bravely, in excellent health — however deficient in courage. 
 
 Braw, finely clothed, handsome. Teut. brauwe, ornatus. 
 The word is also used in the sense of brave, clever, worthy, 
 excellent, strong. Swed. hraf, good — en brof karl, a good 
 man. 
 
 " Waes ! Archy lang was hale an' rank, the king o' laddies hraw— 
 His wrist was like an anchor shank, his fist was like the claw." 
 
 Song, — Bold Archy Drownded. 
 
 Brawly, very well, in good health, finely. Swed. hraf, well 
 — han mar hraf, he is well.
 
 60 BRAW 
 
 Brawn, a boar killed and prepared for the table by salt aud 
 
 other condiments ; also a common northern name for the 
 
 live animal. F. Tooke, bravm, Vol. II. p. 79. 
 
 " And there her grace sits mumping, 
 Like an old ape eating a brawn." 
 
 Beaum. d> Flet. — Mad Lover. 
 
 The late Mr. Ellis, of Otterboume, to whom I was indebted 
 for several additional articles to this Glossary, was of opi- 
 nion that we should here read prawn ; it being, as he justly 
 remarked, 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 numerous that I am not inclined, on its 
 authority, to question the propriety of this, at least very 
 plausible, amendment. One modem edition reads eating 
 brawn. 
 
 " The Bravm of Brancepath," to borrow the description 
 and remarks of my friend, the late 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 carefully 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 !" 
 
 " At length the gallant brute came trotting on his onward 
 path, and seeing the passage ban-ed, rushed headlong on 
 the 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
 
 BREE 61 
 
 coffin-shaped stone in Merrington church-yard, rudely 
 sculptured with the instruments of his victory, a sword and 
 sjiade on each side of a cross." 
 
 Bray, to beat, to pound, to reduce to powder* Sax. bracan. 
 This word, although found in all our dictionaries, is pecu- 
 liar to the North in the sense in which it is used there. 
 
 Bkea, 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. 
 
 " We looked down the other side 
 
 And saw come branking ower the brae, 
 Wi' Sir John Forster for their guide. 
 Full fifteen hundred men and mae." 
 
 Raid of the Reidsmyre. 
 
 Breaker, Brikker, a fissure produced in the roof of the 
 mine, from the pressure on removing the pillar. 
 
 Brecken, Bricken, to bridle up, or to hold up the head. 
 
 Brecken, Brackex, fern, 
 
 Brede, s. breadth or extent. An old English word from the 
 Saxon, breed, broad. See Abrede. Bracton uses brede for 
 broad ; and in that sense I found it in an English inden- 
 ture, temp. Richard III. 
 
 Brede, the northern pronunciation of bread, at the present 
 day— 
 
 " Up wi' leede, and down wi' hrede. 
 Is what we drink at Wardale hede." 
 
 And evidently the original sound of the word. 
 
 " Schir, be Godis breid that tale is verie trew." 
 
 Lyndsay'8 Three Estaitis. 
 " We have not half our fil of brede." 
 
 Yewain and Gawin. 
 " And if I telle any tales, 
 Thei taken hem togideres 
 And doon me fastes frydayes 
 To breed and to watre." 
 
 Piers Plowman, I. 2818. 
 
 It also means employment, as, " He's out o' brede, poor 
 man." 
 
 tv-
 
 62 BREM 
 
 Breeks, the old, and still vulgar name, for the lower habi- 
 liments. Sax. bnec, braccce, breeches. V. Thomson, 
 
 breeches. 
 
 " The bridegroom gaed thro" the reel. 
 And his breeks cam trodling doun, 
 And his breeks cam trodling doun ; 
 And aye the bride she cried— 
 Tie up your leathern whang, 
 Tie up your leathern whang."— OW-Sco^* Ballad. 
 
 It is proper to mention, that, before the invention of braces, 
 
 the gentlemen's " smaUs" were usually supported by a 
 
 leathern 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. 
 Breme, cold, bleak, severe, fierce. Sax. bremman, to rage. 
 
 Not used, Dr. Johnson says ; but I have often heard it in 
 
 the North ; especially in Yorkshire. 
 
 " Besyde him come than syr Gawayne, 
 Breme as eny wilde bore." — La Morte Arthtire. 
 
 " He was ware of Arcite and Palemon, 
 That foughten breme, as it were holies two." 
 
 Chaucer,— Tli£ Knight's Tale. 
 
 Brent, Brant, steep, difficult of ascent ; as a brent brow, a 
 steep hill. It also means consequential, pompous in one's 
 walk ; as "you seem very brent this morning," i. c. you 
 put on all your consequence. A game cock is said to be 
 brent. Loftiness appears to enter into all the meanings of 
 the word. — Isl. brattr, acclivis, arduus. Swed. braiit, 
 steep. A brent brow is used to describe a high smooth 
 forehead. In this sense we find it in the well-kno%vn 
 Scotch song, John Anderson, my Jo — 
 
 " John Anderson, my jo, John, 
 When we were first acquent 
 Your locks were like the raven ; 
 Your bounie brow was brent." 
 
 Brere, Brear, to sj^rout, to prick up as grain does when it 
 
 first germinates. Bishop Kcunett, in his MS. Glossary, 
 
 I
 
 BRID 63 
 
 among the Lansdowne MSS. in the British Museum (No. 
 1098), has to brere, 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 imbibes a portion 
 of the fat, and when swelled out is no unj^alatable dish. 
 Brewis is also common in Hallamshire, where, Mr. Hun- 
 ter informs me, the bread used in the prejiaration of the 
 dish is commonly of oats. After this, I need hardly re- 
 mark that my late venerable friend, Mr. Wilbraham, was 
 mistaken in thinking that it is used only in Cheshire and 
 Lancashire. The probable etymon of the word is briwas, 
 the Saxon plural of briw, sorbitio ; though a learned cor. 
 respondent of mine derives it from the Greek (igaa-n ; 
 which he also considers, I think justly, as the original of 
 the Scotch hrose. 
 
 Brewster, a brewer. Hence the Brewster Sessions, when 
 
 publicans receive their licenses. 
 
 " Breivsters and backsters, 
 Bochiers and cokes."— Piers Plovrman, 1. 1514. 
 
 Brian. To brian an oven, is to keep fire at the mouth of it ; 
 either to give light or to preserve the heat. Teut. brennan, 
 to bum. 
 Bride-ale, the marriage feast at a rustic wedding. Sax. 
 btyd eald. 
 
 " At every bride-ale would be sing and hoppe." 
 
 Cliaucer, — The Coke's Tale. 
 
 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 rustics in Cumberland it glides away amidst 
 music, dancing, and revelry. Early in the morning, the 
 bridegroom, attended by his friends on horseback, pro- 
 ceeds in a gallop to the house of the bride's father. Hav- 
 ing alighted, he salutes her, and then the company break- 
 fast together. This repast concluded, the whole nuptial
 
 G4 BRID 
 
 party depart in cavalcade order towards the church, accom- 
 panied by a fiddler, who plays a succession of tunes appro- 
 priate to the occasion. Immediately after the performance 
 of the ceremony the company retire to some neighbouring 
 ale-house, and many a floAving l)umper of home-l)rewed is 
 quafled 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 pre- 
 sented to the first who arrives. In some of the country 
 villages in the county of Durham, after the connuljial 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 sjjort 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 ale, previously prepared, to meet the bride ; to whom 
 he triumphantly offers his humble beverage, and by whom, 
 in return, he is j^resented with the ribbon, as the honour- 
 able reward of his victory. Another ancient marriage 
 ceremony of the same sort, still observed in the 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 ; 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 kail.' " 
 
 Chicken's Collier's Wedding. 
 
 Bride-cake, the cake provided on the occasion of a wedding 
 
 1
 
 BRID 66 
 
 — 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 bridegroom stands behind her, and breaks 
 the cake. Thus hallowed, 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 under- 
 stand such things, to have much more virtue than when it 
 is merely put nine times through the ring. This custom 
 is generally prevalent in Scotland. V, Jam. Supp. break- 
 ing bread on the bride's head. 
 
 Bride-spurs, spurs allotted to the best runner after the mar,- 
 riage ceremony. — North. 
 
 Bride-wain, a custom in Cumberland and Northumberland 
 where the friends of a new married couple assemble to- 
 gether in consequence of a previous invitation (sometimes 
 actually by public advertisement in the newspapers), and 
 are treated with cold pies, frumenty, and ale. The com- 
 pany 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 jJewter 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 waifi 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 vnih bride-favours. — In some parts of the North 
 Riding of Yorkshire, bride-wain was the train of carts that 
 conveyed the goods of the bride, whether presented or not, 
 to her future home. A farmer's daughter was married 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 6G BRIG 
 
 from Thornton, into the neighl)Ourhoo(l of Malton, aLout 
 forty-five years ago, whose bride- wai?i consisted of twenty 
 carts. 
 Brig, Brigo, a bridge. Sax. bricff, bryc, hrygc. 
 " To that hng held thai straucht thair way 
 And to brek it fast gan assay."— r/j« Bruce. 
 
 Brissle, or BiRSEL, to scorch, to parch by means of fire, to 
 crackle. Sax. brastlian, to bum, to make a crackling 
 noise. 
 
 Broach, a spire or steeple ; as Chester broach — Darlington 
 broach — the broaches of Durham Cathedral. The Fr. 
 brocJie, a spit, is the probable etymon ; the structure being 
 pointed like a spit or broach. In Yorkshire the pronuncia- 
 tion is broitcJi ; the fine spire at Wakefield being always 
 called " the broitch.'''' 
 
 Broach, an instrument on which yam is wound. 
 
 Brock, a badger. Saxon, broc. Dan. brok. V. Thompson. 
 
 " ThJr Stewarts (stinliards> stinkis as thay warbrokis." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaiti». 
 " And go hunte hardiliche 
 To hares and to foxes 
 To bores and to brokkes 
 That breken doun myne hegges." 
 
 Piers Plomnan, I. 3853. 
 
 Brock, a name sometimes given to a cow, or husbandry 
 
 horse. Sax. broc, an inferior horse, a jade. 
 Brock, the little insect in the gowk, or cuckoo-spit. Hence, 
 probably, the common vulgar expression, " to sweat like 
 a brock." 
 Brock-faced, a white longitudinal mark down the face like a 
 
 badger. Su.-Got. brokitg, of more than one colour. 
 Brockle, Bruckle, inconstant, uncertain, variable ; applied 
 to the weather. It also means brittle, and to break ; in a 
 general sense. Teut. brokcl, fragilis. Chaucer writes it 
 brotel, 
 
 " On brotel ground they bilde, and brotelnessc 
 They fiuden when they wenen sickemess." 
 
 Oiaiicer.—The Merchante's Tale.
 
 BROW 67 
 
 Brod, a short nail, an awl. 
 
 Brod, Broddle, to make holes. See Prog, Proggle. 
 
 Brossen, Brosten, Brussen, Brusten, part. a. burst. Also 
 
 broken ; as "brossen hearted." 
 Broggling-road, a rough broken road. 
 Brotchet, Brotchert, or Bratchet, a thin liquor made from 
 
 the last squeezings of honey-comb. " As sweet as bratchet.''^ 
 Broth, always plural in the North. " Will you have some 
 
 broth 1''^ " I will take a few, if they are good." 
 Brott, shaken corn. Sax. gebrode, fragments. Swed. brott, 
 
 fracture, breach, Isl. brot. 
 Brough, or Bruff, a singular appearance round the moon — 
 
 a sort of halo or circle, 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^qo^ot, 
 a chain about the neck ; but Mce.-Got. bairgs, mons, seems 
 a more probable etymon. 
 
 Brow, the face or escarpment of a " trouble" or dyke in a 
 a coal mine. 
 
 Browden, to be anxious for, or warmly attached to any ob- 
 ject, to be enamoured of it — to brood on, that is to cherish 
 by care. Dut. broeden, to brood. " / hae ne broo orUt" no 
 great hopes of, or liking to, it. 
 
 Browdin, or Browdant, vain, conceited, bold, forward. 
 
 Brownie, a domestic spirit ; described. In the Border Min- 
 strelsy, 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 discharging any laborious task which 
 he thought might be acceptable 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 matters, is referred to the amusing 
 stories of the Scandinavian Nisses, in the 1st Vol. of the
 
 68 BROW 
 
 Fairy Mythology ; and of the German Kobolds, in the 2d. 
 Vol. of the same entertaining work. 
 
 Brown-leamer, 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 see an ingenious 
 speculation on the word, by the Rev. John Hodgson, in the 
 Archaelogia ^liana. Vol. II. p. 132. 
 
 Browst, a brewing, the quantity brewed at any one time. — 
 The same peculiarity is found in haking, which see. " Stay 
 and drink of your own hrowstT — Prov. The meaning of 
 which is, that a person should take the consequences of his 
 own act. 
 
 Browster, a brewer. 
 
 " To the browsters of Cowper toun 
 
 1 leife my braid black malisoun 
 
 Als hartlie as I may." 
 
 Lindsay's Tfiree EstaUis. 
 
 Bruckle, to make dirty. 
 
 Bruckled, dirty, wet, and stormy ; applied to the weather. 
 
 Brulliment, a broil, or quarrel. Fr. brotiiller, to quarrel. 
 
 Brunt, burnt. " A brunt child dreads the fire." 
 
 Brussle, the same as Brissle ; which see. " Brusslcd peas" 
 — ^peas scorched in the straw. V. Ray, briisle ; and Jam. 
 birsle 
 
 Bubbly, snotty. " The bairn has a bubblcy nose." — Grose. 
 For a further illustration, if necessary, see The Sandgate 
 Lassie's Lamentation. 
 
 Bubbly-jock, a turkey cock. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Bucker, an iron instrument with a wooden handle, used in 
 the country to " bray" (beat) sand with. 
 
 Buckle, Buckle to, to join in marriage. Significant enough 
 surely. V. Jam. Sujjp. 
 
 Buckle-horns, short crooked horns turning horizontally in- 
 wards, as though inclined to buckle together. 
 
 Buckle-mouthed, a term applied to a person with large strag- 
 gling teeth. Bxick-toothcd has the same meaning. 
 
 /<
 
 BULL 69 
 
 Buck-stick. See Spell and Ore, and Trippet and Coit. 
 
 Bud, a common pronunciation of hut, among the vulgar ; and 
 also among some far removed from that circle. 
 
 Buddy-bud, Buddy-buss, the flower of the burr, or burbock. 
 Arctmm lappa. It is well known how tenaciously it ad- 
 heres to that against which it is thrown. To stick like a 
 burr is indeed proverbial. 
 
 BuFAT, buffet. Fr. a cuj^board, a sideboard. * . 
 
 BuER, a common name given to the gnat. "S3 
 
 BuEss, BusE, a stall, station, or post of office or business ; a 
 beast-stall, or boose. See Boose. '*Y. 
 
 Build, to swell, as with an abscess. £ 
 
 Buist, Buest, or Bust, v. to jjut 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. ^ v 
 Raiue, derives it from buro, to burn. But see Baste. %.. 
 
 Bule, or Bool, the bow of a pan or kettle. Sax. bugan, cX 
 flectere. Dan. boeyel, a bending or curvature ; Teut. 
 beughel, hemicyclus ; and Germ, bugel, a bow ; are cognate. 
 
 Buller, Bulder, s. noise, uproar, disturbance. Swed. buller. -> 
 Dan. bulder, noise, bustle, tumult. 
 
 Buller, v. to bellow, to bawl, to boil violently. 
 
 " Great rivers of water running through the town, and ships fight- 
 ing thereupon, as it had been in hullering streams of the sea." 
 Pitscottie's Account of the Marriage of James V. 
 
 BuFF-FRONTS, tufts of coarse grass. Aira ccespitosa. 
 
 Bull-head, the Miller's Thumb ; a fish. 
 
 Bullirao, to banter, to rally in a contemptuous way, to in- 
 sult in a bullying manner. In a Review of the first edi- 
 tion of this Work, in the Gent. Mag. for May, 1825, the 
 writer asks, if it be not a verb formed from bully-rook, a 
 word which is used by Otway in his Epilogue to Alci- 
 biades, and which Steevens calls a compound title, taken 
 from the rooks at chess ? " Mine host" in the Merry 
 Wives of Windsor uses this word repeatedly — " How now, 
 hully-rook ! thou'rt a gentleman : cavalero-justice, I say."
 
 70 BULL 
 
 Lye imagines it to be derived from Isl. haul, a curse, and 
 raegia, to reproach. 
 
 Bulls and Cows, the flower of the Arum maculatimi. Some- 
 times called lords and ladies, and also lam-lakens. 
 
 BuLL-SEGG, a gelded bull. 
 
 BuLL-STANG, thc dragou fly. Cumb. A common name for 
 the gad fly. 
 
 Bull-trout, a large fine species of fish peculiar to Northum- 
 berland, and much esteemed. The larger kind of salmon- 
 trouts taken in the Coquet, are in the Newcastle market 
 called bull tro2tts ; but these fish are larger than salmon- 
 trouts in the head, which is a part generally admired for 
 its smallness. 
 
 " Bilhope braes for bucks and raes, 
 And Carit haugh for swine, 
 And Tarras for the good hull-trout. 
 If he be ta'en in time." — Old Ryme. 
 
 Bully, the champion of a party, the eldest male person in a 
 family. Now generally in use among the keelmen and 
 pitmen to designate a brother, companion, or comrade. In 
 Cumberland, and also in Scotland, billj/ is used to express 
 the same idea as bully. There is probably some affinity 
 between these terms and the Germ, billig, equalis ; as de- 
 noting those that are on an equal footing, either in respect 
 of relationship or employment. See Kennett, sworn- 
 brothers. 
 
 Bum, v. to buzz, to make a bumming noise, like a bee or a 
 top. Dut. bommen, to resound. 
 
 BuMBAZED, confounded, astonished, stupified. 
 
 BuMLER, Bumbler, Bumble-bee, a large wild bee which 
 makes a great noise. In Scotland called bum-bee. Teut. 
 bommele, a drone. My friend, ]\Ir. Taylor, prefers Germ. 
 bommeln, or bammeln, a reciprocating noise ; as bammehi der 
 glocken, the ding dong of bells. When the late Lord 
 Strathmore raised the Derwent Legion, in 1808, from a 
 principle of economy, he clothed the infantry in scarlet
 
 BUNC 71 
 
 jackets, with black breeches and accoutrements. From 
 this singularity of dress, the corps obtained the contemptu- 
 ous designation of the Bumlers. 
 
 BuMLER-Box, or BuMBLER-Box, a Small wooden toy used by 
 boys to hold bees. Also the Sunderland name for a van 
 for passengers drawn by one horse. 
 
 BuMMEL, or Bumble, to blunder, to bungle. 
 
 BuMMELER, or BuMBLER, a blundering fellow, a bungler. 
 
 BuMMEL-KiTE, or BuMBLE-KiTE, a bramble or black berry. 
 Rubus fruticosus. In traversing the recesses of those woods 
 and groves, where, in the words of Gray, " Once my care- 
 less childhood stray'd," I have often been admonished, by 
 the "good old folks," never to eat these berries after 
 Michaelmas day ; because the arch-fiend was sure to pass 
 his " cloven foot" over them at that time. In the northern 
 parts of the county he is said to throw his club over them. 
 
 BuMMEL-KiTE WITH A SPIDER in't, a bad bargain, a disap- 
 pointment. A high-flown metaphor. 
 
 Bummer, a carriage that sounds from a distance on the road. 
 " A road for foot, a road for horse, and yen for a' the bvm- 
 niers." 
 
 Bump, a stroke or blow. Isl. bomps. " Bump against Jar- 
 row," is a common expression among the keelmen, when 
 they run suddenly foul of any tiling. See the song, Little 
 Pee Dee. 
 
 Bumping, a peculiar sort of punishment amongst youngsters. 
 Too many boys have reason to remember the school discip- 
 line of bumping, admirably described by Major Moore, in 
 his Suffolk Words and Phrases, p. 53. 
 
 Bun, bound, tied. 
 
 " Thai said he sal be bun or slaure." — Yewain and Gawin. 
 
 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. 
 
 BuNcn-BERRY, the fruit of the rubus saxatilis ; of which the 
 country people often make tarts.
 
 72 BUNT 
 
 BuNTiNs, Buntings, balks of foreign timber, secured in rafts 
 on the shores of the river Tyne ; afloat at high water. 
 " Let's go hikcy on the biiutins." — Newc. Dan. bundt, 
 and Swed. bunt, a bundle or bale, seem cognate. 
 
 Burden-band, a hay band, being made to bind a burden, or 
 truss, about as much as a man can carry. 
 
 BuRLEY. Sc. Beirly, Buirdly, stout, large, strong. From 
 " board-like." " Like one that is weU fed." — Jamieson. 
 
 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 origin- 
 ates from small springs ; while a beck is formed by water 
 collected on the sides of moimtains, and proceeds with a 
 rapid stream ; though never, I think, applied to rivers that 
 become sestuaries, 
 
 " The Otterboume's a bonnie lurn, 
 'Tis pleasant there to be, 
 But there is nought at Otterbourne 
 To feed my men and me." 
 
 Battle <if Otterbourne— Scotch Version. 
 
 Burnside, the ground situated on the side of a burn, or brook. 
 
 Burn-the-biscuit. a youthful game in Newcastle. 
 
 Burr, a jjeculiar whirring sound made by the natives of 
 Newcastle, in pronouncing, or rather in endeavouring to 
 pronounce, the letter R. " He has the NeiocaMle burr in his 
 throat," is a well-known saying, in allusion to this pecu- 
 liarity. Mr. Springmann, the ingenious master of the Royal 
 Jubilee School, has i5ublislied " Six Lessons" to obviate the 
 difficulty of articulating this unfortunate letter. If his 
 scholars can be made to modulate anew, 
 " Tlound the rugged rocks the ragged rascals run their rural race," 
 
 the obstacle may be considered as no longer insumiount- 
 able. A literarj- friend, however, refers me to Persius, 
 
 " Sonat hie de nare canina, 
 
 Litera." — Sat. I. 
 
 1
 
 Pu 
 
 BUR-T 73 
 
 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 
 eloquentia." 
 Burr, something put under a wheel to stop its progress — 
 any force or impetus. " To go with a hurr^^ — pleno im- 
 petu. V. Wilb. hir. Hunter hirre. 
 " And lo in a great hire all the droves (of swine) went heed-lyng 
 into the sea." — Wiclifs New Testmnent. 
 Burr, s. the capsule of the burr-dock. The teasle used to 
 dress woollen cloth. 
 
 " And nothing teems. 
 
 But hateful docks, rough thistles, kecksies, burs." 
 
 Shak. Hen. V., Act 5, &me 2. 
 
 BuRR-CASTLE, a contemptuous name for Newcastle. See 
 Bell's Rhymes, p. .56. 
 
 BuR-TREE, the common elder. Sambucus nigra. Perhaps 
 bore-tTGe, from the quantity or size of the pith, which ren- 
 ders 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 burr. An intelligent rela- > 
 
 tion of mine, on the contrary, thinks that they may have 
 obtained the name from its being seldom ^Nathout remark- 
 able burrs, or knobs, on its surface, especially on the older 
 trees. A branch of this tree is supposed to possess great 
 virtue in guarding the wearer against the malevolence of 
 witches and other malignant agents. I remember, when a 
 boy, during a school vacation in the country, at the sug- 
 gestion of my young companions, carrying it in my button- 
 hole, with doubled thumb, when under the necessity of pass- 
 ing the residence of a jjoor decrepit old woman, who, 
 though the most harmless creature alive, was strongly sus- 
 pected of holding occasional converse Avith an evil spirit. 
 Under this imjiression, the country people were always 
 reluctant 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. 
 
 VOL. I. I, 
 
 4
 
 74 BURT 
 
 BuRTUEE-GUN, BuRTREE-PLUFFER, a Small tube formed by ta- 
 king out the soft pith of an elder-branch — employed by 
 boys as an offensive weapon. 
 
 Bus, or Busk, a bush. Pure Danish. Su.-Got. and Isl. 
 busie, frutex. Chaucer repeatedly uses the word. 
 
 " The soune of briddis for to hire. 
 That on the buskis singin clere." 
 
 Oiaucer, — Rom. of the Rose, 1. 102. 
 " The snaw and sleit perterbit all the air, 
 And flemet Flora from every bank and bus." 
 
 Lijndmy's Dreme. 
 
 Bush of a Wheel. Fr. houchon, a cast metal box, em- 
 ployed to fill up the too great vacancy either in the aper- 
 ture of the nave, or between the nave aixdi. \\ie Jiurters ; 
 that is, the knocking shoulder of the axle ; from Fr. heurtery 
 to knock. 
 
 Busk, a piece of icood worn by females to strengthen their 
 stays ; still in use in the country ; though generally super- 
 seded by steel or whalebone. Fr. busque. V. Kennett's 
 Glossary, vo. biisclie. 
 
 " Off with that happy husk which I envy. 
 That still can be and still can stand so nigh." — Donne. 
 
 BusKT, bushy, woody. 
 
 " How bloodily the sun begins to peer 
 Above yon busky hill." 
 
 Sliak. First Part of King Hen. IV. 
 
 Shakspeare elsewhere uses huskt/ in the same sense, as also 
 
 does Milton in the following beautiful passage : — 
 
 " I know each land and every valley green. 
 Dingle or bushy dell, of this wild wood. 
 And every bosky bourn from side to side." — Comu-s. 
 
 Buss, to dress, to get ready. Germ, putzen, to deck or 
 adorn. Sich aiifs heste putzen, to tlress to the best advan- 
 tage. Fr. busqucr, to dress. The Scotch use busk, in the 
 first sense ; as in their beautiful proverb, " a bonny bride 
 is soon busked." 
 
 But and Bex, by-out and by-in, or, as is very common.
 
 BYAR 76 
 
 " in-by," the outer and inner apartment, where there 
 are only two rooms. Many houses on the borders, where 
 the expression is common, were so constructed ; by placing 
 two " close beds" foot to foot, lea\ang a passage between 
 them, the space behind them became " ben," or " ben the 
 house." The phrase is undoubtedly without and within. 
 Sax. butan and binnan ; originally, it is supposed, H utan 
 and bi innan. By and with are often synonymous. 
 " It's ill to bring hut what's no han." — Sc. Prov. 
 
 Butch, to practice the trade of a butcher, to kill. 
 
 Butler, a term applied in the North to a female who keeps 
 a bachelor's house — a farmer's housekeeper. Fr. botitillier, 
 a bottle keeper. 
 
 Butt, a small i:)ortion of ground, which, in ploughing, be- 
 comes disjointed from the adjacent land — a ridge shorter 
 than the rest, or running in a contrary direction. Celt. 
 but, terminus, limes. Schilter. 
 
 Butter and Brede. While Southerns say, bread and butter, 
 bread and cheese, bread and milk, the Northumbrians Y>^a,CQ 
 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 sylla- 
 ble, 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, seve- 
 ral notes, at the close of a sentence, is the characteristic of 
 the Northumberland dialect. 
 
 Butter-fixgered, said of persons who are aj^t to let any 
 thing fall, or slip through their fingers. In Craven it is 
 confined to j^ersons who cannot hold any thing hot. 
 
 Butter-wife, a woman that sells butter — a butter woman. 
 An old expression yet in use, 
 
 Buzzoji, 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. boarius, of, or ap-
 
 76 BYE-B 
 
 pertaining to, oxen ; or in our ancient law-term for a cow- 
 house — boveria ; if not in the Irish huar, which is said to 
 mean oxen or kine, as well as what relates to cattle. Span. 
 hoyera, an ox-stall is cognate. 
 Bye-bootings, or Sharps, the finest kind of bran ; the second 
 
 in quality being called Treet, and the worst Chizzel. 
 BvKE (Bee Wick), s. a bee's nest. 
 
 By-name, a nick-name, but originally applied to patronymic 
 names which every man on both sides of the border bore. 
 What Maitland in his " Complaynt" said of the Liddes- 
 dale thieves applied equally to the inhabitants of Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 " Thay theifs that steillis and tursis hame, 
 Ilk ane of them has ane to-name. 
 Will of the Lawis 
 Hab of the Schawls 
 To make bair wawis 
 Thay think na schame." 
 
 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, beyspiel, a pattern ? as, " thou's a picture," ad- 
 dressed to a naturally plain, or accidentally disfigured, 
 person. 
 
 Caa, to drive, to caa the cart, to drive the cart. 
 
 Ca', to call, also to abuse, to apply reproachful names. 
 
 Caas, the plural of calves. 
 
 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 jjlaced across a river or 
 stream for the purpose of turning water to a mill — a dam- 
 back.
 
 CADG 77 
 
 Cack, v. alvum exonerare. Dan. kakke. Teut. kacke — n. 
 Cack, Cacky, s. stercus. Sax. cac, — Cackhouse, a domes- 
 tic temple. Sax. cac-hus, latrina. For cognate terms in 
 otlier languages, v. Jam. Sup. cacks. Johnson and Todd 
 were too delicate to admit such a word, but comjiilers of 
 provincial glossaries must not be so nice. The Latin 
 cacare is probably from the same source, for there seems 
 no doubt that Italy, before the time of Romulus, had been 
 over-run by some of the Northern tribes, to whose language 
 much of the Latin may be traced. Pope has made the 
 word classical. 
 
 Cadge, to carry ; hence Cadger ; which see. Teut. ketzen, 
 discurrere. — Cadge also means to stuff or fill the belly. 
 
 Cade, the sheep louse. Cadus, a barrel, has been suggested 
 as its etymology, on account of its shape. 
 
 Cadger, a packman or itinerant huckster ; one who travels 
 through the country selling wares. Before the formation 
 of regular turnpike roads from Scotland to Northumber- 
 land, 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 New- 
 castle market are still called cadgers. 
 
 Cadgy, 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 Gaberlunzie Man, cadgily 
 certainly implies this idea — 
 
 "My dochter's shouthers he "gan to clap, 
 And cadgily ranted and sang." 
 
 Mr. Callender, the editor of this ancient poem, whose notes 
 in general contain much valuable etymological learning, is 
 greatly mistaken in the derivation of this word, and gives 
 a very silly reason for it. Dr. Jamieson seems more cor- 
 rect when he derives it from Su.-Got. kaett-jas, lascivire.
 
 78 CAFF 
 
 Caff, or Kaff, chaff. Sax. ceaf. Germ, and Dut. kaf. 
 
 " Cum doun dastart and gang sell draff, 
 I understand nocht quhat thow said ; 
 Thy words war nouther come uor caff ; 
 I wald thy toung agane war laide." 
 
 Lyndsay's JTiree Estaitlt. 
 
 Caff-bed, a bed-tick filled with chaff. 
 
 Cagmag, an old goose, which, from its toughness, is utterly 
 unfit for the table. Cagmag is applied, in the south of 
 England, to describe any sort of meat that is of an inferior 
 quality. 
 
 Caingel, a crabbed fellow. 
 
 Caingt, peevish, ill-tempered, whining. Q. from Cam ? 
 
 Cairn, an ancient funeral monument, consisting of 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, 
 but impressive, funeral monument of our earliest inhabi- 
 tants. 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 cairn," is still a significant expression 
 of gratitude. Gael. came. Welsh, kaern. 
 
 Caitiff, a cripple. Old Fr. clietiff, cliatiff, wretched. This 
 (and not Ital. cattivo, a slave,) is the origin of the word in 
 its classical sense. 
 
 Cake, i\ to cackle ; spoken of a goose. Dut. kaeclelcn. 
 
 Cake-creel, a rack at the top of a kitchen, to dry oat-cakes. 
 
 Calf-lick, a tuft on the human forehead which cannot be 
 made to lie in the same direction with the rest of the hair. 
 This term may have been adopted from a comparison with 
 that part of a calf's hide, where the hairs, having different 
 directions, meet and form a projecting ridge, suj^posed to 
 be occasioned by the animals licking themselves. But the 
 act of licking, probably, has had no part in the original
 
 CAM ' 79 
 
 meaning. Lick is the assimilating German termination — 
 lich, like. The hair, therefore, is calf-like. 
 
 Calf- YARD, the dwelling place of our infancy ; for which it is 
 natural to feel so many endearing recollections, even in 
 their minutest traces. 
 
 Call, s. occasion, necessity, obligation. " There's no call for 
 it." It is also used as a verb. " Please, Sir, may I go 
 out 1" " Well, child, if nature calls you." " She does not 
 ball. Sir, but she shouts." — School Dialogue, between B. A. 
 and Mr, F. 
 
 Call, ??. to i^roclaim, to give notice by the public crier. To 
 be called at cJi urcli, is to have the banns of marriage pub- 
 lished. The ceremony of proclaiming every fair in New- 
 castle, which is attended by the officers of the corporation, 
 in state, is denominated calling the fair. 
 
 Callant, a lad or strijjling ; a man clever or much esteemed. 
 The etymology is doubtful. V. Jam. callan, calland. 
 
 Calleeverixg, Kaleeverixg, wandering abroad gossipping, 
 running about heedlessly. 
 
 Caller, a. cool, refreshing ; as the caller air. " Caller her- 
 rings" — " caller cocks" or " caller cockles" — " caller ripe 
 grosers." — Newc. cries. The word in form resembles Isl. 
 kalldur, frigidus ; 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 Cumbei-land, uses the substantive ; and so does Shaks- 
 peare in the Winter's Tale. The only Avord which seema 
 to have any affinity is Germ, kahlheit, nonsense. 
 
 Calletixg Housewife, a jiert, saucy, confirmed scold. 
 
 Calling, giving notice by the public crier. 
 
 Cam, or Kame, a hill, a ridge, an earth dyke or mound. 
 Sax. camb. Fr. kaem. Dut. kam, a crest. The comb of a 
 coek is cognate. The great ridge in Yorkshire between 
 Penygent and Whernside, is called Cam-Fell. 
 
 Cam, or Camb, clay slate, of which slate pencils are made ; it 
 is found in various parts of Northumberland, and abundantly
 
 80 CAMM 
 
 at Great Swinburne, In some places it is found par- 
 tially baked by whin dykes. 
 
 Cammerel, s. a large stretcher used by butchers to distend 
 the legs of a killed animal when suspended to cool. Bul- 
 let, in his Celtic Dictionary, has cambaca, in the sense of a 
 crooked stick. 
 
 Cammerel, a. crooked. See Jamieson vo. camy, camok. 
 
 Camp-kettles, reliques of bronze of various sizes, frequently 
 found in the West, in the line of the Roman roads. 
 
 Cample, to argue, to answer pertly and frowardly when re- 
 buked by a superior. Germ, kamiyfen, to contend. 
 
 Canch, a perpendicular declivity, like a step. 
 
 Cange, or Cainge, to whine. See Caingy. 
 
 Canker, rust. — Cankered, cross, ill-conditioned, peevish, 
 rusty. V. Jam. Supp. cankert, A wound is said to be 
 cankered when it festers. 
 
 Cannel-coal, a hard, opaque, inflammable fossil coal, suflS- 
 ciently solid to be cut and polished. The origin of the 
 term is uncertain, some considering it to have been derived 
 from Kendal ; others from Canal. The more probable 
 opinion is, that having been used to light the men at their 
 work, and serving as a candle, it became, by corruption, 
 Cannel-Coal. 
 
 Canniness, caution, good conduct, carefulness. 
 
 Canny. This useful and comprehensive word has a great 
 variety of meanings, all readily understood from the way 
 in which it happens to be applied ; it is characteristic, not 
 only of persons and things, but of manners and modes of 
 action, though not in the highest degrees ; for we should 
 not say that a very beautiful woman was a canny one, or 
 that a fine picture, or a valuable horse, was either of them 
 canny — the word, in those cases, would be wholly mis- 
 applied. It is confined rather to the kind, agreeable, and 
 useful qualities of persons and things, and to the manner of 
 doing a thing. A well-looking, clean, kind-hearted old 
 woman, we should call a canni/ old wife — an agreeable,
 
 CANT 81 
 
 good-humoured married woman, would be called a canny 
 wife — a young woman, Avith the like qualities, we should 
 call a canny lass — an orderly, clean, well-kept house, is a 
 canny house. We speak of a canny cow, a canny horse, a 
 canny man ; anything neat and convenient is canny. To 
 he canny, is to be discreet, careful, gentle. If a man was 
 dealing Avith an unruly horse, we should desire him to be 
 canny with it. The word is much used among the lower 
 classes, and with great effect, but not among the higher 
 classes, who have no word equal to it. 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 diflQ.cult to assign a satisfactory ety- 
 mon. 
 
 Canny hinny, an endearing exj)ression ; metaphorically, a 
 sly person, a smooth sinner ; especially in affairs of gal- 
 lantry. In the first sense it occurs in the Life of Ambrose 
 Barnes, edited by Sir C. Sharp, where the rich daughters 
 and co-heiresses of Alderman Ralph Cock, are called 
 " Cock's canny hinnies." Dorothy married Mark Mil- 
 banke, ancestor of the baronets of that name, Jane mar- 
 ried William Carr, Ann married Thomas Da\'ison, ancestor 
 of the Beamish family, and Barbara married Henry Mar- 
 ley, son of Sir John, the gallant defender of Newcastle. 
 
 Cant, s. a comer. Germ, kante, an edge, or extremity. 
 
 Cant, to sell by auction. See Canting. 
 
 Cant, v. to upset, to overturn. Germ, kanten, 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. The derivation is evidently Ital. 
 incanto, a public sale. 
 
 Canting-caller, an auctioneer ; from the nature of his oc- 
 cupation. In sales among the Romans, a crier proclaimed 
 the articles to be disposed of ; and iu the middle ages they 
 added a trumpet, with a very loud noise. 
 
 VOL. I. JI
 
 82 CANT 
 
 Cantle, a head. Coopers call a i)art of the head of a cask, 
 the cantlo. 
 
 Cantrip, a magic spell, but applied iii the North to describe 
 any eccentric or absurd gambol. 
 
 Canty, merry, lively, cheerful. Su.-Got. ganta, ludificare. 
 
 Cap, to complete, to finish, to overcome in argument, to ex- 
 cel iu any feat of agility, to crown all. Allied probably to 
 Teut. kappe, the summit. — Capper, one who excels. 
 
 Capes, ears of corn broke off in thrashing. Teut. cappe. 
 
 Care-Cake, a cake made by country people of thick batter, 
 like a jiancake, with a mixture of hog's blood. In the 
 Glossary to the Antiquary, it is stated that care cakes are 
 pancakes ; literally redemption cakes, or ransom cakes, such 
 as were eaten on Easter Sunday. 
 
 Car-handed, left-handed. One of the ancient Kings of 
 Scotland was called " Kinath-Kerr," or Kinath the left- 
 handed. 
 
 Cark, sorrow. Sax. cark, care. 
 
 " For hire love y carke and care 
 For hire love y droupe and dare 
 For hire love my blisse is bare 
 Ant al ich waxe won. 
 
 Ritson's Ancient Bal., Vol. I. p. 61. 
 
 " Wail ye the wight whose absence is our cark." 
 
 Spenser, — Sfiep. Cal. 
 
 Carl, Karl, a country fellow, a gruff old man, a churl. 
 Sax. ceorl, a countryman. Isl. karl, an old man. Germ. 
 kerl, rusticus. The words carl, chorl, or churl, and vilkin, 
 were, among our ancestors, the usual appellations for coun- 
 trymen ; though very often used in a bad sense, and to 
 denote a comijound of ignorance and idleness. In the 
 Northumhrensium Preshytcrorum Leges, the possessors of 
 land were divided into three classes — the king's thanes 
 and lords of land — the jiroprietors of land — and the ceorl-Sy 
 or husbandmen, who cultivated the soil. 
 
 " The lowest order among the Saxons, I mean of free men, was 
 that of ceorks, that is, merchants, artificers, countrj-men, and
 
 CASI 83 
 
 others. Hence, no doubt, is derived the vrord churl, or caiic, a 
 name given by way of contempt to people of mean condition." 
 
 Rapin. 
 
 " The miller was a stout carl for the noucs, 
 Fill bigge he was of braun, and eke of bones." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Prologiie. 
 
 " He was a stout carle and a sture 
 And off him selft'dour and hardy."— 37ie Bruce. 
 
 Carlings, grey peas steeped some hours in water, and then 
 fried in butter, and seasoned with pepper and salt. In the 
 North they are served at table, on the second Sunday be- 
 fore Easter, called Carling Sunday ; 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 anxiety. The 
 peas appear to be a substitute for the beans of the heathens. 
 
 " There'll be all the lads and the lasses 
 Set down in the midst of the ha' 
 "With sybows, and ryfarts, and carlings 
 That are both sodden and ra'." — Rltson's Songs. 
 
 Carols, small pews, or inclosed seats. See a description of 
 those in the cloister of Durham Cathedral, in P. Sanderson, 
 p. 75. 
 
 Carr, a piece of flat marshy ground ; a small lake. Su.- 
 Got. kaer, a bog. 
 
 Corrock, Currack, or Kirock, a large heap of stones for- 
 merly used as a boundary mark, burial jilace, or guide for 
 travellers. See Genesis, chap, xxxi., v. 46 et seq. The 
 word is also used for a mountain at a distance, by which, 
 when the sun appears over it, the country jjcojile compute 
 the time of the day. 
 
 Casings, Cassons, Cow-blades, cow dung dried in the sun for 
 fuel. Though now rarely used, it was formerly generally 
 resorted to by the lower order of country people, in 
 districts where ordinary fuel was scarce, or unattain- 
 able. A similar practice prevailed in some of our mid- 
 land counties. The droppings of the cows were collected
 
 84 CASK 
 
 into hea2)s, and beaten into a mass with water : then pres- 
 sed by the feet into moulds like )>ricks, by regular profes- 
 sional persons, called clatters (dodders) ; then dried in the 
 sun, and stacked like peat, and a dry March for the clat- 
 harvest was considered as very desirable. — Journal of a 
 Naturalist. The Calmucks distil their brandy over a fire 
 made with the dung of their cattle, particularly of the 
 dromedary, which makes a steady and clear fire like peat. 
 —Clarke's Travels, Vol. I., p. 239. 
 Casket, a stalk or stem ; as a cabbage-casket. Probably 
 
 derived 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 cor- 
 ruption otcastin, the Sax. paH. of cast. 
 Cast, to twist, or warp — apjilied to wood. 
 Cast, a twist or contortion, a warji. V. Jamieson. 
 Cast, opportunity, chance ; as " a cast" on the outside of a 
 coach. 
 
 "And shortly for to tellen as it was, 
 Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas, 
 The sothe is this, the cutte felle on the knight. 
 Of which ful blith and glad was every wight." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Prologue. 
 
 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 in- 
 forms me, that he heard a methodist preacher quote Jo- 
 seph's advice to his brethren — " See that you cast not out 
 by the way." 
 
 Cast-up, to upbraid, to reproach. Sw.-^oX,. focrcasta. 
 
 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. 
 
 Cat-haws, the fruit of the white thorn. Perhaps so named 
 from cotes, food, because they may be eaten as such by 
 humau beings. When large they are called luU-haws.
 
 CAVE 85 
 
 Cat-gallows, a game jjlayed 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 
 remarkaljle antipathy to this plant, tearing it up wherever 
 they meet with it. 
 
 Catrail, or PicTwoRK-DiTCH, a vast fosse extending from the 
 Peel Fell in Northumberland, to Galashiels, in Scotland, 
 a distance of 45 miles — sujjposed to have been raised by 
 the fugitive Britons, as a line of defence against the inva- 
 ding Saxons. This ramjiart is the most curious remnant 
 of antiquity that can be distinctly traced. Catrail, in the 
 British language, is said to mean, the partition of defence* 
 
 Cats, a mixture of croio coal with clay, formed into round 
 balls ; a useful, though homely, fuel, which is used by the 
 poorer classes. — Alston Moor. 
 
 Cat's- FOOT, a common name for ground-ivy. 
 
 Cat-whin, Burnet rose. Rosa s^nnosmima. 
 
 Cat-with-two-tails, a term for an earwig. 
 
 Caud, cold. Teut. kaud. Mce.-Got. kald. Sax. ceald. Dan. 
 kaald. " A caud hand and a warm heart." 
 
 Caud Comfort, an ineffective consolation. 
 
 Caud Deed, dead — cold dead. A very common redundant ex- 
 pression in Northumberland. 
 
 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. 
 
 Causey, a foot road ; a causeway, the modern word, is a cor- 
 ruption. Fr. chausee. 
 
 Cave, or Kave, to separate ; as corn from the short straw or 
 chaff. Teut. kaven, eventilare jsaleas. This word, vnth 
 the a long, is used, I am told, in Northamptonshire, for 
 the cracking of the clods, or separation of the earth, in 
 droughty weather ; which is worth notice, as removing
 
 80 CAVE 
 
 the objection to Milton's " Grassy clods now calo'd." — P. 
 L. Book VII. 
 
 Cave, to toss, to paw ; as a horse that beats the ground with 
 its fore-foot. In this sense the word seems allied to Isl. 
 aJcafr, cum impetu, vehementer. 
 
 Cavel, or Kavel, a lot, a share. Tent, kavel. To Cast 
 Cavels, to cast lots, to change situations. Teut. kavelen. 
 Cavil is the place allotted to a hewer in a coal mine, by 
 ballot. " I've getten a canny cavil for this quarter, how- 
 ever." It means also an allotment of ground in a common 
 field. 
 
 Cawker, the hind part of a horse's shoe sharpened, and 
 turned downwards, to prevent the animal from slipping. 
 Also an iron jilate put upon a Clog ; which see. The ety- 
 mology is uncertain. V. Java, cawker ; and Todd's John. 
 calkin. 
 
 Celt, an ancient axe, of polished stone, shaped something 
 like a wedge. Celts are found of all sizes, some seeming 
 intended for felling trees, and others designed for war-like 
 purposes. — Brass Celts, or battle-axes, were afterwards, 
 of various forms, more or less rude, as the knowledge of 
 the working in metals began to advance. 
 
 Chaffs, Chafts, the jaws, chops. Su.-Got. Maeft. kaeft, the 
 jaw-bone, seems the root. Dan. kieft, the chops, and Swed. 
 kiifter, jaws, are cognate. 
 
 Chaft-blade, the jaw bone. 
 
 " Heir is ane relict lang and braid 
 Of Fyn Macoull the richt chaft-blade." 
 
 Lyndsai/s Tliree Estaitls. 
 
 Chair Day, the evening of life ; that period which, from its 
 advanced season and infirmity, is chiefly passed in ease and 
 indulgence. 
 
 Chalder, a chaldron. A Newcastle chaldron of coals weighs 
 fifty-three hundred weight. Eight of these chaldrons make 
 one keel. Bishop Kennett derive^the word from old Latin 
 celdra, a certain measure.
 
 CHAP 87 
 
 Cham, awry, 
 
 Chamberlye, frequently pronounced Chemmerly, urine. 
 
 Omitted by both Johnson and Todd, though we have the 
 
 authority of Shakspeare for it. 
 
 " Your chamberlie breeds fleas like a loach." 
 
 First Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 Chance-bairn, an illegitimate child. There is a legal maxim 
 — bastardus nullius est filius, aut filius populi. Lane, a 
 chonce chyldt. 
 Changeling, a term applied to a child of a peevish or mali- 
 cious temper, or diiFering 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 mischievously 
 inclined. 
 Change, or Changer-wife, an itinerant apple woman, or 
 dealer in earthenware, who takes old clothes or rags in ex- 
 change for what she sells. " Cheap aj^ples, wives ! Cheap 
 apples, wives ! Seek out a' your aud rags, or aud shoes, 
 or aud claise, to-day." — Newc. Cry. 
 Channel, gravel. 
 
 Channer, to scold, not loudly but constantly ; to be inces- 
 santly 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 cJiop, which is sometimes used for, 
 to strike, or knock simply, though more generally for, to 
 strike with a cutting instrument. 
 Chap, Ciiep, a customer. From Sax. ccap ceajj-man. Hence, 
 our word chapman, of which chap is an abbreviation. — 
 Chap, or Chep, is also a general term for a man ; used
 
 88 CHAP 
 
 ' either respectfully or contemptuously. In this sense it 
 may be from Ital. capo, — quasi caput. 
 
 " Quia desiderio sit pudor, aut modus 
 Tarn cari capitis :" 
 
 Horat. Carm. Lib. I. Ode xxiv. 
 
 Chap-bread, cakes made of oatmeal and baked on a girdle. 
 See Agricultural Survey of Westmorland, p. 337. 
 
 Char, a species of the genus Salmo, Liti., almost peculiar to 
 the lakes in the North of England. 
 
 Chare, v. to stop, or turn. Sax. cyrran. Also to counter- 
 feit. 
 
 Chare, s. a narrow lane, or alley, less than a street. Of 
 these there are several in Newcastle ; particularly on the 
 Quayside. Sax. cerra, vice flexio, diverticulum ; from cj/r- 
 ran, to turn ; a chare being a turning from some superior 
 street. So, a narrow street, in reference to its opening into 
 a wide one, is called a turning in London, and a un/nd in 
 Edinburgh. Hence, too, a cliar-woman is a woman for a 
 turn, and a door a-jar is a door on the turn. Chare, a lane, 
 is not quite peculiar to Newcastle, though nearly so. They 
 have the "Gaunless Chare,^' and the "Wear Chare^'' at 
 Bishop Auckland, lanes leading respectively to the stream, 
 " at the very confluence of which," says Camden, " stands 
 Auckland." 
 
 " 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 a chare foot.' ' 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." 
 Vint and Anderson's History of Newcastle, p. 30. 
 
 The late Lord Chancellor Eldon was bom in a chare-foot ; 
 and in a facetious moment admitted it in court. 
 Chat, Chack, refreshment, a short repast, a lunch. Dr. Ja- 
 mieson suggests Teut. schopt, a meal taken four times a 
 day, as the etymon.
 
 CHIL 89 
 
 Chattered, bruised. I once thought it a corrui^tion of shat- 
 tered ; but am now disposed to view it as allied to the 
 Scots verb to chat, to bruise, to mascerate. 
 
 Chats, spraj-wood, small twigs. V. Jam. Cliat the. 
 
 Chavtl, a cleaver, as, a butcher's cleaver. 
 
 Cheerer, a glass of spirit and water. Not a bad metaphor. 
 It is also in use in the South of Scotland. In Northum- 
 berland, 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. 
 
 Cheip, to chirp like young birds, denoting feebleness of note. 
 
 " It is better to hear the lark sing than the mouse cheip." — Sc. Prov. 
 
 Cheiper, a half- fledged bird. 
 
 Chepster, a common name for the starling. Sturnus vulgaris. 
 
 Chessell, or Chesswell, s. a cheese press. 
 
 Chiel, Chield, a young fellow, and sometimes applied more 
 
 generally, as, " He's a queer chield." " He's a clever 
 
 chield." Gael, chil. Sax. cild, probably only a corruption 
 
 of child. V. Jam. 
 Chieve, to succeed, to thrive, to accomplish any business — to 
 
 achieve. Used by Chaucer in this form. Fr. ackevir, to 
 
 master ; attaining d chef, to the top of it. 
 
 " I say, he toke out of his owen sieve, 
 A teine of silver (yvel mote he cheve)." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Chanone's Temanne's Tale. 
 
 Childer, children. The Saxon plural termination. In Pals- 
 grave it is spelled chj/ldre. In the 17th century, as ajipears 
 by the parish books of Bishopwearmouth, John Knaggs had 
 a salary of four shillings for whipping the dogs, sweeping 
 the church, and keeping the childer in order. 
 
 " The thrid is, that we for our lyvis 
 And for our child/re, and for our wywis. 
 And for our freedome and for our land 
 Ar strenyeit into bataill for to stand." — Tlie Bruce. 
 " I wot it was no chyUler game when they togedyr met." 
 
 Tournanient of Tottetifiam. 
 
 VOL. I. N 
 
 O
 
 90 CHIL 
 
 Childermass-day, the feast of the Holy Innocents. Sax. 
 cildama'sse dceg. This is a festival of great antiquity. An 
 apprehension is entertained by the superstitious that no 
 undertaking can prosper which is begun on that day of 
 the week on which it falls. 
 
 Child's-first-visit. The first time an infant visits a neigh- 
 bour or relation, it is presented with three things — a small 
 quantity of 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 C. Sharp, is 
 widely extended over the North of England. Also, when 
 the child is ba^jtised, the offering of bread and cheese 
 accompanies it, and these are presented to the first person 
 whose chance it may be to meet the party. 
 
 Chimlay, a chimney. Cornish, tschiinbla. Pryce. 
 
 Chijilay-piece, a mantel-jjiece. — Chimlay-xeuk, the chim- 
 ney-corner in a cottage — ^the fire-side. 
 
 " Where s&w ye her ?" 
 
 " I' th' chtmley-niiikviM'hm." 
 
 Ben Jonson, — Sad Shepherd. 
 
 Chimlay-crook, a bar of iron with a hook at its lower extre- 
 mity, on which to hang a pot. 
 
 Chingley, Chixley, the largest portion of the small coals, 
 after separation from the dead small. In Scotland, gravel, 
 when free from dirt, is called cJniiglc. 
 
 Chip, to break or crack ; said of an egg when the young bird 
 
 cracks the shell. Dut. kippen, to hatch or disclose. 
 
 " The rois knoppis, tetand furth thare hede, 
 Gan chy2^, and kyth thare vernal lippis red." 
 
 Douglas' ^neid. 
 
 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. a/rme, a clamour or noise. But 
 Dr. Jamieson says, the true origin is Belg. kermen, to 
 lament ; lamentari, queritari. Kilian. The term is known 
 among the tribe of fancy cock-fighters, in the sense of 
 
 I
 
 CHUR 91 
 
 muttering an unpleasant noise. " These cocks chirm good- 
 bye." 
 
 " Small birdis flockand throw thik ronnys thrang 
 In chinnynge, and with cheping changit thare sang." 
 
 Doxtglas' ^Mid. 
 
 Chirt, to squirt with the teeth. 
 
 Chizzel, a term for bran. See Bye-bootings. 
 
 Choak-damp, or Choke-damp, 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. 
 
 Chowls, or Jowls, the jaws. Sax. ceolas, fauces. 
 
 Chouks, the glands of the throat, immediately under the 
 jaw-bones. 
 
 Choup, Cat-choup, a hij) ; the fruit of the hedge briar, or wild 
 rose. Rubiis major. 
 
 Chow, v. to chew, to masticate. Sax. ceowan. — Chow, s. a 
 quid of tobacco. 
 
 Christmas Eve. The country jieople have a notion that on 
 this evening oxen kneel in their stalls and moan. In boy- 
 hood I was induced more than once to attend on the occa- 
 sion ; but, whether from 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 
 chiickie-stanes. 
 
 Chuckers, Double Cuuckers, potions of ardent spirits. 
 Terms well known among Northern topers. Double Chuck- 
 ers, a bumper which requires two chucks, or gulps ? 
 
 Chuckle-headed, stupid, thick-headed. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Churn, or Kerx-supper, harvest home. See Mell-supper. 
 Churly, cheerless, as applied to prospect — rough, as applied 
 
 to weather. 
 Churnel, or Chirnel, Sc. Kernellis, small hard swellings 
 in the glands of the neck in young persons, called " waxing
 
 92 CLAF 
 
 (growing) chimels" It is also the name of a place near 
 Rothbury, where there is a vast heap of stones, probably 
 an ancient cairn. 
 
 Claffer, CiAVVER, to climb uf ; mostly apjjlied to children. 
 It would seem to be a corruption of cleaving or adhering, 
 mixed with the idea of climbing ; though it may be satis- 
 factorily deduced from Teut. klaveren, scandere in subrec- 
 tum. 
 
 Clag, to stick or adhere. Dan. klceg, viscous, glutinous. In 
 Scotland, and in some parts of the north of England, it is 
 used as a substantive, and in a metaphorical sense. " He 
 has iia clag to his tail ;" i. e. no incumbrance. 
 
 " He was a man without a dag. 
 His heart was frank without a flaw." 
 
 Ritson's Sc. Songs. 
 
 Claggy, sticky, unctuous, clogging by adhesion. In mining 
 it is applied to the imperfect separation of the coal from 
 the superincumbent bed. 
 
 Clagham, 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. 
 
 " The mother wi' her needle and her shears 
 Gars auld claes look amaist as weel's the new." 
 
 Burns, — The Cottar's Saturday Night. 
 
 Claith, Cl'yaith, cloth. Sax. clath. — Claithixg, Cl'yaith- 
 iNG, clothing. 
 
 " Bot nocht for thi. 
 
 Or thai cum all to thair entent 
 
 Howis in haile claith sail be rent." — The Bruce. 
 
 Clam, v. to press, to hold an article tightly ; to castrate, 
 when the operation is performed, not by excision, but by 
 compression, as is still practised in the emasculation of 
 the human race in Italy. The word may be referred to 
 Germ, hlcmmaiy to pinch, to squeeze. Swed. kldmma seems 
 cognate. — Clam, s, an instrument used for the purpose of 
 castration.
 
 CLAP 93 
 
 Clam, Clem, y. to starve for want of food, to be parched with 
 thirst. Dut. klemmen, to shrink up. Teut. klemmen, striu- 
 gere, coarctare. 
 
 " When my entrails 
 
 Were clamm'd with keeping a perpetual fast." 
 
 Massinger, — Roman Actor. 
 
 See Nixon's Prophecy, where that mysterious half-idiot, is 
 made to say, that if he went up to Henry Vllth's. Court, 
 he should be clemtn'd ; which j)roved the case by an acci- 
 dent. 
 
 Clam, s. a kind of small vice or press, in which meaning it 
 may be thought to present a more clear and simple, and 
 probably a more correct idea of the verb " to clam" than 
 in the sense of " to starve," the cause for the consequence ; 
 the effect of short rations being a rigid contraction of the 
 abdominal viscera, as if pressed in a " clam." 
 
 Clam-shell, a scalloiJ shell. Pecten maximus. 
 
 Clamb, pret. of the verb to climb. 
 
 " And with thaim syne Schyr Andrew Gray 
 Thir with thir mengne held thair way. 
 And cla'mh the hill deliuerly."— T7ie Bruc&. 
 
 Clammersome, Clamersoume, contentious, clamorous, Dan. 
 
 klammer-vorn, 
 Clammis, iron clamps or cramps to bind together horizontally 
 
 the stone work of a piece of masonry, a mode of building 
 
 formerly much used. 
 Clamp, s. a large fire made of underwood. 
 Clamp, v. to make a noise, to tread heavily in walking. Dut. 
 
 klompen. Swed. klampig. 
 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 clank.'" Teut. klanck. clangor. 
 Clanker, a sound beating, a severe chastisement. 
 Clap, to touch gently, to fondle, to pat. " Clap his head." 
 Clap-benny, Clap-bene, a request made to infants in the 
 
 nurse's arms, to clap their hands, as the only means
 
 94 CLAP 
 
 they have of expressing their prayers, or of signifying 
 their desire of a blessing. Isl. klappa^ to clap, and been, 
 prayer. 
 
 Clap-bread, thin, hard, oaten cakes. In Cumberland they 
 are frequently made of the meal of barley, and differ from 
 other barley bread, only by their being unleavened, made 
 in the form of cakes, and not baked in an oven. It has its 
 name of clap-bread from its being clapped, or beaten out, 
 with the hand, while it is dough, into the form of large 
 round cakes. There is a particular board for this purpose, 
 which is called a clap-board. This kind of bread appears 
 to be also in general use in Norway. Vide Boucher, and 
 West, and Cumb. Glossary. 
 
 Clapper, the tongue — a female weapon of great power and 
 eloquence, especially in that part of rhetoric " stirring the 
 passions." In the quaint title of an old and rare English 
 Poem, in the Author's library, — " The Anatomic of a 
 Woman's Tongue," — it is diidded into five parts — " a me- 
 dicine, a poison, a serpent, fire, and thunder." 
 
 Clapperclaw, to beat or paw with the open hand ; to scold 
 or abuse any one. 
 
 Clart, to daub with mud, to bemire, to foul. — Claris, dirt 
 or mire — in short, any thing that defiles. — Cl.\rty, miry, 
 dirty, wet, slippery. V. Jam. clarty and clattie. 
 
 Clash, v. to gossip, to tell tales. Germ. Hatschen, to prattle. 
 
 Clash, s. an idle story, tittle tattle, vulgar talk. 
 
 Clash, v. to throw any thing carelessly or violently, to bang 
 a door, strike more particularly with the oj^en hand, as 
 "I'll clash your jaws." Germ. Matchen, to make a noise. 
 
 Clatter, to tell idle stories, to prattle. Teut. klettern, con- 
 crepare. 
 
 Claut, to scratch or claw, to scrape together. V. Jam. clot. 
 
 Claver, to talk fast, or to little purpose. Germ, klaffcr, gar- 
 rulus. 
 
 Claver, clover. Sax. claefer. Dut. klaccr. The late Mr. 
 Pegge pronounces claver to be a corrupt pronunciation of
 
 CLEC 95 
 
 clover ; but it is more analogous to the etymology, and Mr. 
 
 Todd has shown that it is used by an author of good note. 
 
 " The desert with sweet eJaver fills, 
 And richly shades the joyful hxVis."— Sandys' Psalms. 
 
 Claver. See Claffer. 
 
 Cla^t:rs, din, noisy talking, garrulities. Identical with 
 Clishclash. 
 
 Claters, goosegrass,' Galium aparine. 
 
 Clay-daubin, a custom in Cumberland, where the neigh- 
 bours and friends of a new married couple assemble and do 
 not separate until they have erected them a cottage ; some- 
 thing 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 em- 
 ployed, the building is generally completed in a day. The 
 company then rejoice and make merry. 
 
 Cleax, entirely, completely. This sense is yet in use in the 
 North. V. Psalms, " They are clean gone for ever and 
 ever." 
 
 Cleap, to name or caU. Sax, clt/pian. 
 
 Cleat, Cleet, the face of the coal, being the sides of the 
 figure assumed in crystallisation. " She elects bonny." 
 The crystals of coal being imperfectly cubical, there are two 
 cleats generally, the boardways cleat, and the headways 
 cleat, at right angles. In some coal there is no cleat dis- 
 tinguishable. 
 
 Cleaving, the division of the human body, from the os pubes 
 downwards. Isl. klof. 
 
 Cleck, Clock, to hatch. Isl. Hekia. Su.-Got. klaecka. A 
 hen sitting, or desirous of sitting on her eggs, is called a 
 Clecker, or Clocker. 
 
 Cleck, Cleckix, the entire brood of chickens. Dan. Muhken. 
 
 Clecking, or Clocking, the noise made by a brooding hen, 
 or when she is provoked. Sax. cloccan, to cluck. Isl. klak, 
 clangor avium. In Scotland " decking time is ae canty 
 time," as applied to child-birth.
 
 96 CLED 
 
 Clep, clad. 
 
 " Ayenst his will, sith it mote nedes be, 
 This Troilus up rose, and fast him cled. 
 And in his armis toke his lady fre 
 An hundred times, and on his waie him sped." 
 
 Cfimicer,— Trail, and Cres., 1527. 
 " Into a chambre heo -was led. 
 With riche clothes heo was cled" 
 
 Romance of the Kyng of Tars. 
 
 Cleed, to clothe. — NoHh. Probably from Sax. clathian : 
 though the pronunciation is more consonant to Su.-Got. 
 klaeda, Germ, kleiden, and Dan, klaeder, the other cognate 
 terms. — Cleeding, clothing, apparel. 
 
 " An' O ! quo' she, were I as white 
 As e'er the snaw lay on the dyke, 
 I'd dead me braw and lady like 
 An' awa wi' ye I wad gang." — Tlie Gaberlumie Man. 
 
 Cleek, to catch at a thing hastily — to click. 
 
 Cleet, a stay or siajjport ; a term among carpenters. 
 
 Cleet, Cloot, Clute, the hoof of oxen or sheep. Grose has 
 cluves, a Cumb. term for the hoofs of horses or cows. It 
 seems to have affinity to Su.-Got. kli/fwa, to divide, and 
 Sax. cJeafian, to cleave. 
 
 Gleets, pieces of iron worn by countrymen on their shoes. 
 
 Cleg, the gad-fly ; very troublesome in hot weather, particu- 
 larly to horses. Oestrus ovis, Lin. Dan. klaeg. 
 
 Cleg, a clever person, an adejit. Probably identical with 
 Gleg ; which see. Also a person difficult to get rid of — 
 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. clough, fissura ad mentis clivum. Sc. 
 cleucli. Dan. klof, incisura, is radically the same. The 
 old Norm, or Fr. clough, is a valley ; 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 exploits of our celebrated Northern out-
 
 CLOF 97 
 
 laws, Adam Bell, Clpn of the Clough, 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. 
 Clepps, a wooden instrument for jDulling weeds from amongst 
 
 com. — Cumb, 
 Clew, Clews, or Cloose, the flood-gate of a mill dam. 
 Click, to snatch hastily, to seize. Germ, klicken, to throw ; 
 
 or perhaps a contraction of Sax. gelceccan, apprehendere. 
 
 *' Click'' em-in" the name of a place in Northumberland. 
 
 " And quhen the vickar hard tell my wife was deid 
 The thrid cow he cleikit be the held." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitlt. 
 " They lower'd the sail, but it a' waddent dee, 
 Sae they click'd up a coal and maist fell'd the Pee Dee." 
 
 Newc. Song — The Jenny Howlet. 
 
 Clifty, well managing, actively industrious, thrifty. 
 Cling, to dry up, to consume, to waste. See Clung. 
 
 ■ If thou speak 'st false 
 
 Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive 
 'Till famine cling thee." — Sliak., — Macbeth. 
 
 Clints, crevices among bare lime-stone rocks. 
 
 Clip, to shear sheep. Dut. Mippen. — Clipping, a sheep- 
 shearing. 
 
 Clips, the pot-hooks, or bow, by which a pot or pan is sus- 
 pended over the fire. They are called Pot-kilps in the 
 North Riding of Yorkshire. V. Jam. clip. 
 
 Clish-clash, Clish-ma-clater, idle discourse bandied about, 
 uninterrupted loquacity. — Click-clack, and Clitter-clat- 
 TER, are also used in the same sense. 
 
 Clock, the downy head of the dandelion in seed. Child- 
 ren think to count the hour by observing how many puifs 
 it takes to dissipate the seed. 
 
 Clock, the great dorr beetle. ScaralxBUS stercorarius. 
 
 Clocking-hen, a hen desirous of sitting to hatch chickens ; so 
 called from the noise which she makes. 
 
 Cloffey, a slattern, a female dressed in a tawdry manner. 
 
 VOL. I. o
 
 98 CLOG 
 
 The nearest affinity I can trace is Isl. hlofa, femora disten- 
 dere. 
 
 Clog, a sort of shoe, the upper part of strong hide leather, 
 and the sole of wood, plated with iron. It is the sceo of 
 our Saxon ancestors, and is well adapted to country wear. 
 
 Clogger, a maker of clogs. 
 
 Clointer, Clunter, to make a noise Avith the feet. A person 
 treading heavily with shoes, shod with iron, is said to cloin- 
 ter. Clointer, s. disorder. Dut. klonter. 
 
 Cloit, a clown or stupid fellow. Tout, kloete, homo ohtusus. 
 The original idea is a mere log — kloete, a pole or log. 
 
 Close, a narrow street in Newcastle. Sax. clusa. Frs. Hues, 
 a narrow passage, also a jirison. The Close, in Newcastle, 
 is a confined street of considerable length, to the west of 
 Tyne Bridge, and running parallel with the river. It was 
 formerly fortified by the town wall and the castle. The 
 Earl of Northumberland, Sir John ]\Iarley, Sir William 
 Blackett, Sir Mark Milbauk, the Brandling family, and 
 various other j^ersons of distinction, had houses in this nar- 
 row street ; and until the passing of the Municipal Reform 
 Act, the Mayor, for the time being, resided there. The 
 Close, at Litchfield, was also a fortified street, and was the 
 most distinguished part of that city. It was an exempt 
 jurisdiction, and the dean and canons were sole justices 
 within the precincts. 
 
 Close-bed, s. a paneled bedstead with sliding doors, for- 
 merly common in farm houses, and still to be found in cot- 
 tages. By being placed foot to foot, with an opening be- 
 tween them, they formed the but and ben of the house. 
 
 Cloud-berry, the ground mulberry, or rubus chamcemorus. 
 It grows on high uncultivated hills and moors — on Cheviot, 
 in Northumberland, plentifully — and probably received 
 this name from its lofty situation. The fruit is a favourite 
 dish among the Lajjlanders, who give it the name of latsch. 
 With us, however, it has an insipid taste, the sun, jier- 
 haps, not acting upon it with sufficient power to bring it
 
 COAL 99 
 
 to a state of maturity and perfection. An accurate engra- 
 ving of the jjlant is given in Dr. Clarke's Travels, Vol. V., 
 vignette to Chapter XI. The author speaks highly of its 
 medicinal virtues. See p. 876. According to Pennant, it 
 is served as a dessert in the Highlands of Scotland. 
 
 CiouTER, or Clowter, to work in a dirty manner, to perform 
 dirty work. Probably allied to Cloit ; which see. 
 
 Clouterly, clumsily, awkwardly. Dut. klcete. 
 
 Clour, a small lump or swelling, caused by a blow or fall. 
 Su.-Got. lula, a bump, is apparently allied. 
 
 Clubby, a youthful game, something like Doddart ; which 
 see. 
 
 Clud-nut, — quasi clubbed or clustered nut, — two or more 
 nuts united to each other. Probably from the Fr. cl(mey 
 fastened together with nails. The Highlanders believe in 
 the efficacy of two nuts naturally conjoined, as a charm 
 against witchcraft. The word is applied to other things as 
 well as to nuts, as a cludden tree. 
 
 Clubster, a stoat. 
 
 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. Germ. Mump, a clod. 
 
 Clumpy, Clumpish, awkward, unwieldy, mis-shapen, be- 
 numbed. 
 
 Clung, (p. p. of cling) closed up or stopped ; shrivelled or 
 shrunk. Sax. geclungne. An apple, when shrivelled, is 
 said to be clung. 
 
 Clungy, adhesive. 
 
 Clunter. See Clointer. 
 
 Clut, to strike a blow. Tent, klotsen, to strike. 
 
 Cluttered, stirred. V. Lowes's Family Nomenclature, p. 
 100. 
 
 Clutters, Clutiiers, in heaps, clusters, Welsh, cluder, a 
 pile. Sax. clud, a. lump. 
 
 Coals, To c<dl over the coals, to scrutinize a person's con-
 
 100 COAL 
 
 duct, to reprimand severely. An old exjjression, 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 sacri- 
 fice of Bcl-tein, or lyassing through BaiVsfire, a superstition, 
 which, till of late years, appears to have been kept up in 
 the Fells and remote parts of the North. 
 
 Coal Measures, the stratification of any particular coal dis- 
 trict, comprising what belongs to the dip, thickness, and 
 depth, and to the composition of the several solid matters 
 exposed and raised in the progress of mining. 
 
 CoAL-SAY, the Coal-fish, a species of cod. Gadus carbonarius. 
 " It abounds in all the Northern seas, and in the Baltic, 
 and may be said to swarm in the Orkneys, where the fry 
 all the months of summer and autumn are the great sup- 
 port of the poor." — Yarrell. 
 
 Coaly, Coley, a particular species of cur-dog — famous for 
 sagacity. 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 black as 
 a coal; though I am inclined to consider it as radically the 
 same •with Gael, culean, a grown whelp ; and Welsh, col- 
 wyn, 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. kol, ignis ? 
 
 CoALY-SHANGiE, or Cully-shaxgey, a vulgar expression for a 
 riot or uproar. V. Jam. collie-shangie. 
 
 Cob, v. to pull the hair or ear, to strike, to thump. — Cobbing, 
 striking, thumping — a punishment among children and 
 workmen. 
 
 Cob, s. head, chief, master. Sax. cop, top. 
 
 Cobble-trees, double swingle-trees, whippens, or splinter- 
 bars. 
 
 Cobby, or Coppy, stout, hearty, lively ; also tyrannical, head- 
 strong, or in too high spirits. The latter form, Mr. Todd
 
 COCK 101 
 
 remarks, reminds one of cop, the head, as a probable ety- 
 mon. 
 
 Coble, a peculiar kind of boat, very sharp and wedge-shaped 
 in the bow, and flat bottomed and square at the stem. It 
 has only one mast, stepped close forward, on which a lug- 
 sail is set. Cobles are used on the North-east coast of 
 England, from the Tweed to the Humber, by the pilots 
 and fishermen, who are extremely expert in their manage- 
 ment. They are excellent sea-boats, and, for their size, 
 carry a large sail. 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, navicula ; and, I may add, that Welsh 
 ceuhal denotes a ferry-boat. 
 
 Coble, or Cobble, a round hard stone found in the beds of 
 streams, brought down from the mountains and rounded 
 by the floods. " As hard as a coble,'''' is a common expres- 
 sion. 
 
 " My Gammer sure intends to be uppon her bones 
 With staves or with clubs, or else with coble- stones." 
 
 Gamnier Gurton's Needle, Act ii. So. 5. 
 
 CoBLOAF, a crusty uneven loaf. Shakspeare applies the word 
 contemptuously to personal appearance, where Ajax caUs 
 Thersites " a cobloaf." — Troilus and Cressida. A corrup- 
 tion, Mr. Todd says, of cop ; a loaf with a large head. 
 
 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. V. Minsheu, 
 cohers. Cockers occm*s in Bishop Hall's Satires. In Lan- 
 cashire the word is often used for stockings. There is a 
 small place not far from Bolton, called DofF-Cocker, where, 
 my friend, Mr. Turner, informs me, it used to be the fashion 
 for the country people who came from church or mai'ket to 
 pull oif their stockings and walk barefoot home.
 
 102 COCK 
 
 CocKET, or CoppET, 2^ert, apisL, brisk. Sc. cochif^ vain, affecting 
 airs of importance. I find in Sherwood, " to wax cochetr 
 
 Cockle, or Cokle, to cry like a cock. 
 
 Cockling, cheerful. " A cockling person." There is a kind- 
 red expression, "to delight the cockles of the heart." 
 
 CocKMEUAiNxy, onc who is finical in dress or carriage. 
 
 Cock-penny, a perquisite of the schoolmaster at Shrovetide. 
 This used to be the season for throwing at cocks, when a 
 yearly cock fight was a part of the annual routine of seve- 
 ral of our northern free-schools. The play -ground of the 
 scholars was the place of diversion, and, however incompa- 
 tible with the severity of the scholastic character, the mas- 
 ter occasionally presided over the sport. The amiable and 
 learned Roger Ascham, himself, loved a main of cocks, and 
 even projected a treatise on cock-fighting. 
 
 Cocks, a puerile game with the tough tufted stems of the rib- 
 wort plantain. V. Moor. It is called 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. II., p. 289, states that, about the 
 close of Henry the Seventh's time, was introduced an ex- 
 ceedingly 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 jjart 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 sub- 
 sequent page, remarks that Gayton alludes to the custom 
 of fools being provided with this unseemly part of dress in 
 a more remarkable manner than other persons, when 
 speaking of the decline of the stage in his Festivious Notes 
 «pon Don Quixote, p. 270. He says : " No fooles with 
 Harry cod-pieces, aj^peare ;" an epithet which alludes to 
 the time of its introduction into England. So Shakspeare,
 
 COIT 103 
 
 in King Lear, Act III., Sc. 2, makes the fool say : "Marry, 
 
 here's grace and a cod-piece, that's a wise man and a fool." 
 
 Chaucer applies the word to the body, in the sense of a bag. 
 
 " O Wombe, o belly, stinking in thy cod. 
 Fulfilled of dong and of corruption." 
 
 The Pardoner's Tale. 
 
 Cope, a deep pit, cavern, or care. Pure Saxon. Hence, no 
 
 doubt, ffoaf, which see. 
 Coffin, a cinder bouncing fi'om 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, cawff, a bowl. V. 
 
 Tooke ; according to whom, coy, caff, and leff, are identical. 
 
 " She set the cog upon her head, 
 And she's gane singing hame ! 
 
 Ballad of Coiodenktiows. 
 
 CoGGLE, to move from side to side so as to seem ready to be 
 overturned. Germ, kugeln, to roll or tumble. 
 
 CoGGLEs, round, smooth worn stones ; probably so named 
 from their being coggly. 
 
 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 cock. Dr. 
 Jamieson has to cri/ cok, to acknowledge that one is van- 
 quished, which he derives from 0. Celt, coc, mechant, vile. 
 
 Coil, a lump on the head from a blow. It is also used to 
 express a great stir, or tumvdt. In the Tempest, Shak- 
 speare 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.
 
 104 COLD 
 
 Cold-fire, a fire, or rather fuel, made ready for lighting. 
 
 Cole, to jjut into shape, to hollow out. Sc. coll, to cut, to 
 clip, to cut any thing obliquely ; which Dr. Jamieson de- 
 rives from Su.-Got. kulla, verticis capillos abradere. 
 
 CoLLEY, butchers' meat. A term chiefly among children. 
 
 Colloguing, conversing secretly, plotting. Lat. colloqui. 
 
 CoLLOP Monday, the day before Shrove Tuesday, on which it 
 is usual to have coUops and eggs for dinner. The primi- 
 tive custom was to regale with eggs on slices or coUops of 
 ^^•4^ 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 cus- 
 tomary 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 un- 
 derstood by the term green-horn. 
 
 " Ay, that's a coU, indeed, for he doth nothing but talk of his horse." 
 
 Sliak., — Merchant of Venice. 
 
 Comb, or Coum, a confined valley, a sharp ridge. Sax. comb, 
 vallis montibus utrinque obsita ; and that probably from 
 British kum, or cwtn, any deep or hollow place. Somner 
 renders it " a valley enclosed on either side -wdth hills." 
 
 CoMLiE, CuMBLY, an endearing expression, and said of per- 
 sons rather agreeable than absolutely handsome. 
 
 " And sa many a cwnMy knycht 
 That it semyt that in the fycht 
 That suld wencuss the world all haile."— 274« Bruce. 
 
 " Then 'till't they gaid we' heart and hand. 
 The blows fell thick as bickering hail. 
 And many a horse ran masterless, 
 And mony a comely cheek was pale." 
 
 Ballad qf Jamie Telfer. 
 " For frendschipe and for yiftes goode. 
 For mete and drinke so gret plente ; 
 That lord that raught was on the roode. 
 He kepe thi cc/ineU compane." 
 
 salon's Antknt BaUadt. 
 
 I
 
 COOT 105 
 
 CoME-BY-NO\v ! get out of the way. An exclamation. 
 
 CoME-THY-WAYS, CoME-THY-WAYs-HiNNiE, common exisrcssions 
 for come forward ; generally spoken to persons in great 
 kindness. In Drayton's Poly-olbion is a beautiful line : — 
 
 " While Aire to Calder calls, and bids her coiiie her ivays." 
 
 Comfortable, a covered passage-boat formerly used on the 
 river Tyne, so called from its having superior accommoda- 
 tions to " Jemmy Joneson's Whurry ;" but little patro- 
 nized since the introduction of steam-boats. Y , 
 
 CoMMOTUER, a godmother. Fr. commere. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Con, Conn, a squirrel. — Cumb. and West. Swed. korn. 
 
 Con, to fillip. Also to calculate, to consider, to know. Sax. 
 connan, to inquire. 
 
 Con, to express thanks. See Cun, which is the true pronun- 
 ciation in Northumberland. 
 
 Conceet (pronounced consate), to suppose. " What do you 
 understand by being confirmed?" "Why, I consate I'll 
 have to fight the devil by mysel." — Durh. 
 
 Coo, Cow, V. to intimidate, to keep in subjection. Isl. kuffa, 
 adigere. Swed. hifwa, to suppress, to keep under. — 
 Cooed, Cowed, daunted, dastardly, timid. 
 
 " England was coivecV—O'Driscol's Hist. Ireland. 
 
 Coo, or Cow, s. fear, intimidation. " To tack the coo" — to be 
 
 afraid, to turn cowardly. Dut. kouden. 
 Cook, to disappoint, to jjunish, to manage so as to obtain 
 
 one's end, to circumvent. Ital. cuoccrc, to grieve, to vex. 
 CooM, the dust and scrapings of wood, produced in sawing ; 
 
 the scales of iron found lying near a smith's anvil. Sc. 
 
 coom, the dust of coal. Germ, kummer, rubbish, seems the 
 
 origin. 
 Coop-CART, a cart enclosed with boards. Dr. Jamieson re- 
 fers to Teut. kui/pe, a large vessel containing liquids. But 
 
 see Coup-CART. 
 CooTH, or CouxH, cold. 
 
 VOL, I, P
 
 lOG COP 
 
 Cop, tho top of anythiug, York. In Northumberland it 
 means a high hill. 
 
 CopPiE, a dram. Sax. cop. Ital. co^ypo, a cup or drinking 
 vessel. 
 
 Cop-web, a cobweb. The pure Saxon root is here preserved. 
 See Attercop. 
 
 Copv-CHRisTY, a corruption of Corpus-Cliristi. " Copy-christy 
 day" — " Copy-christy fair." Brand gives some curious 
 particulars concerning the Corpus-Christi Plays, or Mira- 
 cle Plays, anciently performed by the trading companies of 
 Newcastle. V. Hist, of Newc, Vol. II., p. 369 & seq. 
 
 Corby, the raven. Le corbeau. Buffon. Cormis corax. Linn. 
 The carrion crow (cormis cor one) is also called a corby, or 
 corby-crow. 
 
 Corf, a large wicker-work basket, used for drawing coals out 
 of the pits ; made of strong hazel rods from half an inch to 
 an inch in diameter, called corf-rods. Dut. korf, a basket. 
 Isl. koerf. Dan. kurv. They are going fast out of use, 
 being replaced by square boxes made of wood or iron. 
 CoRNAGE, cattle guard rent in the North of England, origin- 
 ally a payment in lieu of cattle. " To this day in the 
 bottom of Westmoreland the comage rent is paid under 
 the name of neat geld." V. Nicholson and Burn's West- 
 moreland. 
 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 crake, from its loud and inces- 
 sant, creaking harsh note, resembling the word. 
 CoRNEY, half tipsy. The allusion is obvious enough. — 
 Chaucer sj)eaks of corny ale — ale strong of the malt. 
 
 " By Corpus Domini but I have triacle 
 Or elles a draught of moist and corny ale." 
 
 Tlie Pardoner's Prologue. 
 
 CoRN-LAiTERS, newly-married peasants who beg com to sow 
 their first crop with,^ — Cxunb. In some parts of Wales, it
 
 COUP lor 
 
 is customary 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 
 
 peculiar form — used formerly at lahe-icakes. The Rev. W. 
 
 N. Darnell has one of these candlesticks. 
 CosEY, CoziE, snug, warm, sheltered ; implying a feeling of 
 
 comfort, attended with satisfaction and delight. Fr. cozzi. 
 V. Le Roux. 
 CosTREL, a small portable cask, used for carrying beer into 
 
 the fields. 
 Cote, or Coate, a house or cottage. It enters largely into 
 
 the names of places in Northumberland. 
 
 -" It ne semeth not by likelinesse 
 
 That she was borne and fed in rudenesse. 
 As in a cote, or in an oxes stall." 
 
 Chaucer,— Hie Clerk's Tale. 
 
 CoTTED, CoLTERED, Clotted, entangled, matted together. 
 The word is usually applied to hair or wool, as hankled is 
 to silk, thread, worsted, &c. A cotted temper is one that 
 is difficult to please. 
 
 CoTTERiL, a small iron wedge or pin for securing a bolt. 
 
 CouL, Cowl, to scrape together dung, mud, dirt, &c. To 
 smooth the surface of what is gathered. 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. 
 
 Country-side, the common term for a district, or tract of 
 country. 
 
 Coup, to empty by overturning, to overset, to tumble over. 
 Swed. giippa, to tilt up. 
 
 Coup, Cowp, or Cope, to barter or exchange. Su.-Got. koepa. 
 To chop in the South. " Always chopping and changing." 
 So in nautical language, " the wind chopped round."
 
 108 COUP 
 
 Coup-CABT, a short cart — one 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-Stephcn, the day be- 
 fore Brough-hill ; where the phrase, " belter for belter," 
 im2:»lies a proposal to coup, to barter or exchange horse for 
 horse. 
 
 CouR, Cower, to stoop low, to crouch down by bending the 
 hams. Su.-Got. kiire. " Couring o'er the hearth stane." 
 
 " Tush man, tli' art deceyved, 'tys theyr dayly looke 
 They coure so over the collis theyr eyes be blear'd with smooke." 
 Gammer GuHon's Needle, Act J., Sc. 2. 
 
 Course, in coal mining, is the direction in which the mine is 
 wrought. The broadways course is the direction in which 
 the boards are wrought — the headways course is the direc- 
 tion at right angles. 
 
 Courtaine or Curtaixe, a small court attached to a house. 
 In the South a curtilage. 
 
 CouT, or CowT, a colt. The " Cout of Keilder" was a power- 
 ful chief of the district wherein Keilder Castle, in North- 
 umbei'land, is situated. — See Ballad by Leyden in Border 
 Minstrelsy. 
 
 CouTHER, to comfort. Allied perhaps to Cutter ; which see, 
 
 CouTHiE, comfortable, agreeable. 
 
 " His pantry was never ill-boden, 
 The spence was ay couthie and clean." 
 
 Jamieson's Popular Ballads. 
 
 CouvRE, Cover, a turret on the roof of a hall, or kitchen, 
 
 with openings for the escape of smoke. 
 Cove, a cavern, a cave. Isl. kofe. Sax. cofe. 
 Cover, the roof of a coal seam. 
 Cow, r. to poll, to crop. Isl. koU-r. 
 
 ' These I shall 
 
 Call acts that's preter- scriptural ;— 
 
 Imposing uook'd caps, and cow'd heads 
 
 The wearing relicts, cross, and beads."— Cif«ian<?'fi Poems.
 
 COW-S 109 
 
 CowEY, or Cowed- cow, a cow without horns. Such an ani- 
 mal is also said to be cowit. V. Jam. coll^ and coio. 
 
 CowEY, Cow-FooTED, club-footed. — Dur. See Acow. 
 
 Cow-GRASS, a name among farmers for common purple clo- 
 ver, very good for cattle, but very noisome to witches. 
 In the days when there were witches in the land, the leaf 
 was worn by knight and by peasant, as a potent charm 
 against their wiles ; and we can even yet trace this belief 
 of its magic virtue in some not unobserved customs. — V. 
 Johnson's Flora of Berwick upon Tweed, p. 1C3. 
 
 Cow-JocKEY, a beast jobber. 
 
 CowK, or Gowk, to reach ineffectually, to threaten to vomit. 
 Germ. hocJien, 
 
 Cow-LicK, the same as Calf-lick ; 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, jjlanus, be- 
 cause of its flat form. In Cheshire it is called cow shot or 
 cow plague. 
 
 Cow-sharen, the dung of the cow. Sax. scearn. Dung in 
 Teutonic, is sham, and in Su.-Got. sham. We have 
 also Shar-biicl, an ancient word for a beetle ; 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 applied, as a cooling poultice, to the faces 
 of young damsels in Northumberland, if over flushed with 
 any cutaneous eruption. In their justification, however, 
 it may be stated that Pliny, in the quaint language of his 
 translator, old Philemon Holland, tells us, — 
 
 " That bull's sheme is an excellent complexion forsooth, to set a 
 fresh rosat or vermilion colour in the ball of the cheeke." 
 
 See Holland's Plinie, Vol. II., p. 327. 
 
 Cow-STROPPLE, a cowslip ; i. e. cow's thropph, or throat — 
 looking deeper than the cow's-lip. Hurdis looks deeper 
 still. The cowslip, he says, " hangs its head to hide a
 
 110 COW-T 
 
 bleeding heart." In Weardale it is ajiplied to the ox-h'p 
 
 only. 
 Cow-tie, a short, thick, hair rope, with a wooden nut at one 
 
 end, and an eye formed in the other, used for hoppling the 
 
 hind legs of a cow while milking her. 
 Cow-WA, often pronounced like Q'uay, come away. 
 CoYSTRiL, a raw inexperienced lad ; a contemptible fellow. 
 
 From kestrel, or coystrel, a bastard hawk. 
 
 " He's a coward and a coystril that will not drink to my niece." 
 
 Shak.,— Twelfth Night. 
 
 Crab, a windlass for lifting heavy weights. 
 
 Crack, v. to brag or boast of any thing. Dut. hraaken. 
 
 " Ethiops of their sweet complexion crack." 
 
 SItak., — Love's Labour Lost. 
 
 " Buccleughe and the rest of the Scottes having made some bragges 
 and crackes." — Letter from Sir John Carey to Lord Burgldey, 1595. 
 " Ye sell the heir's skin on his back, — 
 Quhen ye have done its time to crack."— Cherrie and Sloe. 
 
 Crack, s. chat, conversation, news. " What's your cracks 1" 
 Probably, Dr. Jamieson says, from crack as denoting a 
 quick and sharp sound. A correspondent refers me to 
 Germ, kracken, to crackle, as green wood in the fire, from 
 the confused 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. 
 
 Cracket, a low stool. V. Todd's John, cricket, 3rd. sense. 
 
 Cracking croose, bold, confident. 
 
 Cracks, an act of superiority. " I'll set your cracks." Also 
 news. " What cracks to-day 1" 
 
 Cradden, or Crawden, to betray cowardice, to show the 
 white feather. V. Todd's John, craven. 
 
 Craddenly, or Crawdenly, recreant-like, faint-hearted, 
 pusillanimous, cowardly. 
 
 Craddins, or Craddens, mischievous tricks.
 
 CRAN 111 
 
 Crag, Craig, 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 — 
 
 sometimes the ueck. Su.-Got. krage, the neck. 
 
 " They are obliged to obey the law, and keepe the peace all the 
 dayes of their life, upon the peril] of their craigges." 
 
 King James' Dutie of a King. 
 
 Craik, to call with a harsh sound, as the corn-crake. 
 
 Cramble, to walk feebly and slowly ; or, as a valuable cor- 
 respondent explains it, with a stiff, short, and confined 
 motion. 
 
 Crambly, Crammelly, weak, lame, or tender in the legs. — 
 " The horse goes rather crammelly this morning :" that is, 
 moves with a stiff, short, and confined motion, a modifica- 
 tion of cramped. 
 
 Crame, to mend by uniting ; as joining broken china, or 
 wooden bowls. — Cramer, the operator ; generally a faw, 
 or travelling tinker. A learned friend derives the word 
 from Fr. cran, a notch. The Academic defines it " entail- 
 lure en corjis durs, pour accrocher quelque chose." It is 
 always to be remarked that the nasal sound of the French 
 confounds n and m, so that in oral language (where the 
 nasal is dropped as English mouths soon do) the n or m is 
 assumed indifferently. 
 
 Cramp, to contract, to crumple, to pucker. Teut. krompen. 
 
 Cramp-ring, a ring made out of the handles of decayed 
 coffins, and supposed to be a charm against the cramp. 
 Hence the name. Formerly these rings were consecrated 
 by the I^ngs of England, who affected to cure the cramp 
 as well as the king's evil. 
 
 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 " cnmching" under the feet. 
 The French have a phrase, grincer ks dents.
 
 112 CRAN 
 
 Crank, to make a harsh noise, to creak. " The door cranks^ 
 
 Crankle, 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 sjiorts and pastimes held in estima- 
 tion amongst them, is also, by way of pre-eminence, called 
 the Cranki/. — Dur. and North. 
 
 Cranky, a. sprightly, exulting, jocose. Serenius refers it to 
 the W. Goth, krmiger, bold, daring. Cranky is also used 
 in the opposite sense of, ailing, sickly ; from Dut. kranck, 
 sick. There is a common expression, '• crazy and cranki/" 
 
 Cranky, checked ; as, a cranky neckcloth, a cranky apron. 
 
 Cratch, a rack for hay in a stable. 
 
 Craw, a crow. Sax. craw. Dan. crage. 
 
 Craw-crooks, the crow-berry. Empetrum nigrum. 
 
 Cree, to bruise wheat or barley in a large stone mortar until 
 the husks fall off, and it becomes in a fit state for being 
 made into frumenty. Sometimes a wooden jiestle was 
 used, and sometimes a round ball of stone. In former 
 times mortars were articles of great utility in the kitchen, 
 and are still found in almost every old house. See Fru- 
 menty. 
 
 Creeing-trough, called also a knocking trough. A large 
 stone mortar used for creeing or taking off the husks of 
 barley or wheat, prejjaratory to boiling them for broth or 
 frumenty. These creeing troughs are still to be seen at 
 the doors of farm houses, square on the outside, and some- 
 times rudely ornamented, but their original use is gene- 
 rally neglected. They are sometimes met AWth turned 
 upside down as seats at the kitchen fireside. 
 
 Creep, a heaving, or bursting upwards of the floor of a coal 
 mine, owing to the small extent, and consequent liability 
 to sink, of the bases of those pillars of coal wliich are left 
 to support the roof diiriug the excavation of so much of the
 
 CRIS 113 
 
 seam as appears compatible with the safety of the work- 
 men. 
 
 Creepers, an uneasy sensation of rigour which extends itself 
 over the surface of the body, in consequence of exposure to 
 cold, or some sudden alarm. 
 
 Creevel, a kind of fine worsted, chiefly used for working 
 and embroidering. 
 
 Creii, or Creel, a kind of semi-circular basket of wicker 
 work, in which provender is carried to sheep in remote pas- 
 tures, 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, pan- 
 niers, pens for poultry, and wicker utensils for various other 
 purposes, are also called creils, in the North. 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. 
 
 Crib, a strong ring of wood for supporting the sides of the 
 shaft of a coal pit. 
 
 Crile, v. to pass the leg over the head of a child, vulgarly 
 sujjposed to crile or stoj) its growth. 
 
 Crile, s. a dwarf. 
 
 Crimble-i'-th'-poke, to fly from an agreement, to act cow- 
 ardly. Probably, Sax. cri/mbig, winding, tortuous. 
 
 Crine, to pine, to shrink, to shrivel. The word is of Celtic 
 origin. Welsh, krifio, Irish krionam, to wither. Gael. 
 crionam, to grow less. 
 
 Cringle, a withe or rojje for fastening a gate with. Dan. 
 Kronkelin, to wind. 
 
 Cringle-crangle, zigzag, wrinkled. 
 
 Crinkle, to wrinkle, to bend under a load. Swed. skrynhla. 
 
 Cris-cross, the mark of a cross ; a convenient substitute for 
 the signature of those who cannot write. It was the 
 method of our Saxon ancestors, whether they could write 
 
 VOL. I. Q
 
 114 CRIS 
 
 or not, to affix the sign of the cross. V. Kennett, signwn. 
 An inability to wTite, 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 Anglornm 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 Procopius, the Emperor Justin in the 
 East, and Theodoric King of the Goths in Italy, were 
 both so illiterate as to be unable to write. How different 
 the " march of intellect," in the world of our days ! 
 Cris-cross-row, Christ-cross-row, Cross-row, a provincial 
 term for the alphabet ; so called because a cross was placed 
 at its beginning — l-A, B, C, »&c. 
 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, an old ewe is in some places called a crock. So is 
 imder hair in the neck. Su.-Got. kraek, animal quodvis 
 exiguum, presents a satisfactory etymology. 
 Crockey, a little Scotch cow. 
 
 Croft, a small inclosure attached to a dwelling house, and 
 used for pasture, tillage, or other jiurposes. Pure Saxon. 
 Crook, a disease in sheep ; causing the neck to be crooked. 
 Croon, to roar like a bull. Dut. kreunen. See Crune. 
 Croopy, Croupy, hoarse. Isl. hropa, clamare. Moe.-Got. 
 
 hropjan. 
 CROPPE.y, past pa. crept. — Croppex together, bent with age. 
 " Though we killed the cat, 
 Yet sholde ther come another 
 To cacchen us and al our kynde, 
 Though Vie cropea under benches." 
 
 Piers Plowman. 
 " And the rest was, that ther was certaine counsellors cropen in 
 about the Prince." — Letter from Sir George Bowes to the Earl uf 
 Sussex, i\'oi'.17, 1569— in S/iarp's Memorials of the Rebellion, 15G9, 
 
 Cropping, s. the crop of a bird.
 
 CROW 115 
 
 Cross-grained, testy, ill-tempered. Significant enough, but, 
 perhaps, not local. 
 
 Cross-the-buckle, Cross-ower-the-buckle, a peculiar and 
 difficult step in dancing, practised in humble life. — Newc, 
 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. 
 
 Crossing, in coal mining, an arch for bringing one current of 
 air over another. 
 
 Crouse, or Crowse, merry, brisk, lively. Cracking-crouse, 
 confident, talking big. — " A cock's ay crouse on his awn 
 midden." — Newc. Prov. 
 
 Crow-coal, a seam of coal so called. It is of inferior 
 quality, 
 
 Crowdle, to crouch. — Crowdling, slow, dull, sickly. 
 
 Crowdt, oatmeal and water stirred together — a genuine 
 Northumbrian dish ; especially when prepared and eaten, 
 according to the approved receipt of my late 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 an- 
 cient, and claims affinity with a variety of similar terms 
 in other languages. It may have been adopted by us from 
 corrody (Lat. corrodiuin) an allowance of meat — a sort of 
 whittle gait in a Monastery. 
 
 "Crowdie! ance ; erou'die.' twice; 
 CrowdieJ three times in a day : 
 An' ye crowdie.' ony mair, 
 Ye'll crowdie.' a' my meal aw.ay." 
 
 Old Scottish Ballad. 
 
 Crowdy-main, a riotous assembly — a fray in which numbers 
 fight promiscuously — a crowded mixture. 
 
 Crowley's-crew, sons of Vulcan, who were smiths, originally 
 established at Sunderland from Liege, but having l)een ill- 
 treated on account of their religion in 1688, they removed
 
 110 CROW 
 
 and established themselves at Winlaton and Swalwell, iti 
 the vicinity of Newcastle, under the guidance of Sir Am- 
 brose 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 o' 
 rusty iron." The Knight, however, appears to have been 
 a very worthy character ; and instituted an excellent, 
 though peculiar, code of laws for the government of his 
 workmen, which are still preserved in his very original let- 
 ters, although not acted upon. One of the most important 
 of his regulations was, that a farthing in the shilling was 
 deducted from all wages, and formed a fund which, for a 
 hundred years, was sufficient to keep all from the parish ; 
 but there were no savings' banks then : and the parties, in 
 whose hands the fund was, failing, all was lost. 
 
 Crown, to hold an inquest on a dead body. — Crowxer, the 
 vulgar, though ancient, word for coroner. This office is of 
 great antiquity, mention being made of it in King Athel- 
 stan's charter to Beverley, anno 905. It was originally a 
 station of high dignity. Formerly no person could be 
 elected who had not the degree of knighthood. It seems 
 peculiar to the English ; though the Scotch had an officer 
 bearing the same name, whose duty it was to attach all 
 persons against whom there was any accusation pertaining 
 to the Crowai. 
 
 Crown, the top or highest level in a pit. 
 
 Crud, v. to curdle. — Crud, s. a curd. " Cnids 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. Wilbraham 
 has Crewdle, or Croodle, to crouch together like frighten- 
 ed chickens on the sight of a bird of prey. 
 
 Cruick-tur-elbow, crooh your elbow, attest it, affirm it to be 
 true. Perhai>s from the Scotch mode of holding up the 
 hand when taking an oath.
 
 CRUS 117 
 
 Cruick-yur- HOUGH, crooh youT hough, sit down — a friendly in- 
 vitation — a right hearty welcome. 
 
 " Wiv huz i' the North, when aw'm wairsh i' my way, 
 (But f knaw wor -warm hearts ye yur-sell come,) 
 Aw lift the first latch, and baith man and dame say, 
 Cruick yur hough, canny man, for ye're welcome." 
 
 Song, — Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Cruick-tur-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 
 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 of Shak- 
 speare, quite ignorant of its sense, might have spared his 
 remarks. 
 
 Crummel, a crumb ; conformable to Germ, kriimmel. 
 
 Crummy, 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, fleshy — quasi crumby, one 
 who " picks up his crumbs." 
 
 Crump, hard, brittle, crumbling ; as bread or cake of that 
 quality. Sax, acruman, in micas frangere. V. Jam. 
 
 Crump, the cramj), out of temper. Sax. crump, crooked. 
 
 Cru>'e, to bellow like a disquiet ox. — Cruning, the cry of 
 the beast ; being the genuine Saxon word to denote that 
 vociferation, and which is still preserved in Dut. kreunen, 
 to groan. The term cruning is also frequently applied to 
 the cowardly and petted roaring of a disappointed child. 
 In TJie Gentle Shepherd, crune is used in the sense of a 
 lowly muttered incantation. 
 
 " She can o'ercast the night and cloud the moon, 
 And mak the deils obedient to her crune" 
 " A cruning cow and a whistling maiden are twee unsonsy things." 
 
 N. C. Proverb. 
 
 Crunkle, to rumple, to ruffle. Tout, krunchelen, to wrinkle. 
 Crush, a great quantity ; as a crush of wet ; a crush of com.
 
 118 CRUT 
 
 Crut, a dwarf — any thing curbed in its growth. Ft. court, 
 
 short ; interchanging the r and u, as is so frequent. The 
 
 Armorican name conveys a similar idea ; crot, according to 
 
 ~) Bullet, Jjeing a litle child. Isl. hrota, effa-tum animal de- 
 
 crepitae setatis, is nearly allied. 
 
 Cruttle, a crumb, a broken piece of small fragment. 
 
 Crutley, brittle, crumbling. 
 
 Crutly-iioofed, brittle hoofed. 
 
 Crutly-tempered, short tempered. 
 
 Cruve, s, a small low hovel. A stoine cruve, a hog's stye. 
 Probably from Sax. cruft. Tuet. krofte, krufte, a vault or 
 hollow jilace, underground. In Cornish krou, and in Irish 
 cro, signify a hut, a sty. 
 
 CucKoo's-MAiDEN, a northern name for the wryneck ( Yunx 
 Torquilla) which usually arrives here a few days before 
 the appearance of the cuckoo, and migrates in September. 
 The two birds are often found together ; probably as 
 agreeing in the same taste of food. Though called the 
 cuckoo's attendant and provider, this curious bird is far 
 far from following it with a friendly intent : it only pur- 
 sues as an insulter, or to warn its little companions of the 
 cuckoo's depredations. See Mr. Fox's Synopsis of the 
 Newcastle Museum, p. 59. 
 
 CucKoo's-spiT, a white fermented froth, in which the eggs of 
 the grasshopper are deposited. It is found in the joints of 
 thistles, and almost all the larger weeds. 
 
 Cuckoo-spit, white frothy matter, seen on certain plants in 
 the Spring. The froth is that with which a green insect 
 surrounds itself. It derives its name probably from its 
 time of appearance coinciding with that of the cuckoo. 
 
 Cuddle, v. to embrace, to squeeze, to hug. Teut. kudden. 
 
 Cuddle, s. an embrace, a squeeze, a hug. 
 
 " Now aw think its high time to be steppin, 
 We've sitten tiv aw's about lyem ; 
 So then wiv a kiss and a cuddle. 
 These lovers they bent their way hyem." 
 
 Song,— The Pitman's Courtship.
 
 CULL 119 
 
 Cuddy, an abbreviation of Cuthbert ; a very common Christ- 
 ian name in the North ; in honour, perhaps, of our Patron 
 Saint. Near Howburn, in Northumberland, there is a na- 
 tural cave, wliich, according to uniform tradition, was at 
 one time inhabited by Saint Cuthbert, and which is called 
 by the villagers Cudd/s Cave, 
 
 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 Cuth- 
 bert. In Norfolk and SufiPolk the term is Dicky ; in Ches- 
 hire Neddy ; and in other places Jacky, or Jack-ass. But 
 Dr. Jamieson says, " this word is most probably of oriental 
 origin, and may have been imported by the Gipsies, this 
 being their favourite quadruped. Pers. gudda signifies an 
 ass ; and I am informed that Ghudda has the same signifi- 
 cation in Hindostanee." 
 
 Cuddy's-legs, a barbarous term, peculiar to the Newcastle 
 fish market, for herrings, — as large as cuddy's legs. 
 
 Cuff, a simpleton. 
 
 Cuff, to strike. As a substantive there is the cuff of the 
 neck, as well as the cuffoi the coat. 
 
 CuiFF, to walk in an awkward manner ; especially with large 
 broad feet. 
 
 Cull, s. a fooJ, a stupid person, a cully. Ital. coglione, a 
 fool ; or perhaps a variety of the word gull. 
 
 Cull, a, silly, simple, foolish. " A cm^? person" — " a ctill 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 Sunderland 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
 
 120 CUM 
 
 stormed on tlie 19th of October, 1644, and entered by the 
 
 White Fryer Tower and Sandgate. V. Ilist. Dur, Vol. I. 
 
 p. 257. 
 Cum, used in the definition of the future, as, " This time cum 
 
 a year :" i. e., a year hence. 
 Cumber, trouble, oppression. Dut. kombean, to disturb. 
 
 " Domestic fury, and fierce civil strife 
 Shall cumber all the parts of Italy." 
 
 Stiak.,— Julius Ccesar. 
 
 CuMMED, past pa. of come. This provincialism is of long 
 standing. V. Jam. cumd. 
 
 " Here are we cumde, as your obedientis, 
 For to fulfill your just commendentis." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 CuN, or Con, to learn, to know. Sax. cunnan. Teut. kunnen. 
 Germ, konnen. Cunning, knowing, skilful, may evidently 
 be traced to this origin. 
 
 " Alas ! I took great pains to con it, and it is poetical." 
 
 S)iak.,— Twelfth Night. 
 
 CuN, or Con, to express a sense of obligation, to feel grateful. 
 " I cwi you nae thanks," I do not acknowledge myself obliged 
 to you — I cmmt you no thanks. Similar to the French 
 phrase sf avoir gre. 
 
 " Con hem therefore as mochel thank as me." 
 
 Chaucer, — Ttte Knight's Tale. 
 " To fly I con thee thanke."— Ga?». Gurton's Needle. 
 " But I con him no thanks for "t." 
 
 Shak., — All's well ihat Ends Well. 
 
 CuNDY, CuNDiTH, a Small sewer or shore, a drain or conduit. 
 
 Cur, a disrespectful term for a man. " A kett^ cur," a very 
 vile person. 
 
 " What would ye have, ye curs." — Sliak., — Coriolanus. 
 
 Curfew, the evening bell. Old Fr. carre-feu, or cerre-fue ; 
 now changed into couvre feu. It has been generally sup- 
 posed by historians and law wi-iters, that the regulation of 
 the curfew-bell, by which every inhabitant of England was
 
 CURS 121 
 
 obliged to extinguish his fire at 8 o'clock in the evening, 
 originated with William the Conqueror, and that the mea- 
 sure was imposed upon his new subjects as a badge of ser- 
 vitude. 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 intended as a precaution against 
 conflagrations, which, when so many houses were built of 
 wood, were very frequent and fatal. See Lord Lyttleton'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. Ill, 
 p. 567. See also Lacombe, Diet, du vieux Lang. Fran9. vo. 
 couvrefew. The purpose, as well as the name, of the cur- 
 few-bell, is still retained in Newcastle ; where it is rung at 
 the original time — eight o'clock at night. 
 
 CuRLYCUE, a twisted flourish, generally on the end of a letter, 
 word, or page. Fr. curl a cu, that is, a tail piece. 
 
 CuRN-BERRTES, currauts ; " Cliurry'ripe-curn-herries" the New- 
 castle cry for currants ; i. e., currants as ripe as cherries. 
 
 CuRRiCK, a heap of stones. 
 
 Curse of Scotland, the Nine of Diamonds, in the game of 
 whist, a name first given to it in Scotland, but long com- 
 mon in Northumberland. It has been said to have origin- 
 ated from William Duke of Cumberland having written his 
 order for the Battle of Culloden on the back of this card. 
 Grose, however, in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar 
 Tongue, gives a very different account of the origin of the 
 term. " The Nine of Diamonds, it is said, implied royalty, 
 being ornaments to the imperial crown ; and every ninth 
 King of Scotland has been obsei-ved, for many ages, to be 
 a tyrant and a curse to that country. Others say that it 
 is from its similarity to the arms of Argyle ; the Duke of 
 Argyle having been very instrumental in bringing about 
 the Union, which by some Scotch patriots has been consi- 
 dered as detrimental to their country." 
 
 VOL. I. R
 
 122 cusn 
 
 Cushat, or Cowshut, the ring dove, or wood pigeon. Colum- 
 ba Paluinbits. Major Moor is disposed to derive iliia pretty 
 word from Coochat ; that is cooing and chattering ; but I 
 have little doubt the true etymology is Sax. cusceate, from 
 cusc, chaste — in allusion 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 personified. Cushy-dow, is another of 
 the popular names of this bird. See Pee- wit. 
 
 " The cushat crouds, the corby crys."— T7ie Cherry and Slae. 
 
 CusHY-cow, a cow. Perhaps from the word cushy being used 
 to sooth that animal. But what is cushy ? Has it any con- 
 nection with Su.-Got. hisha, to sooth by fair speeches ? 
 
 Cushy-cows, the stalks of the common dock when covered 
 with ripe capsules : — it is an amusement with children 
 (females especially) to strip off the capsules, and this they 
 call " milking the cows." 
 
 CusHY-cow-LADY, a bcautiful little scarlet beetle, with black 
 spots ; sometimes called Lady-bird. Coccinella. 
 
 CcsT, CussEN, preterite of cast. Very common. 
 
 Cut, a quantity of yarn, twelve of which make what is called 
 &hank, the same as skein in the South. 
 
 Cute, quick, intelligent, sly, cunning, clever, sharp, active. 
 Generally thought to be an abbreviation oi acute; but, in 
 all probability, direct from Sax. cuth, expertus. 
 
 CuTE-KiNS, s. additional coverings for the legs during snowy 
 weather ; generally worsted stockings with the feet cut off; 
 a sort of long gaiters. 
 
 CuTEs, KuTES, the feet. Sc. cute, cuitt, lute, the ankle. 
 
 Cutter, to fondle, to make much of, to whisper. Sc. cmUh, 
 couthy, loving, affectionate. Su.-Got. kotte, a friend. 
 
 CuTTERixG, the cooing of a pigeon. Also apjilied to private 
 or secret conversation. Dut. kouten. Germ, kuttern. 
 
 Cutty, s. a knife. Obviously from Fr. couteau. Dr. Jamie- 
 son observes, that it is singular that in Islandic, kirii,
 
 DAFT 123 
 
 signifies cultellus, explained in Danish " a little knife." — 
 
 Haldorswi, 
 Cutty, a. short. I feel much inclined to trace it to Gael. 
 
 cutach, short. 
 Cutty-gun, a familiar term for a short small tobacco pipe. 
 Cutty-stool, a low stool ; the stool of repentance on which 
 
 offenders were seated in church. 
 
 D. 
 
 'D, an abbreviation for it, after a verb ; thus — " mind ye 
 dinna spill'd." 
 
 Dacker, uncertain, unsettled, as applied to the weather. 
 Sax. ducken, to dip. 
 
 Dad, v. to shake, to strike. 
 
 Dad, s. a blow, a thump, Teut. dadde, fustis ; also, a lump, 
 a large piece, a thick slice, as of bread or cheese. 
 
 Daddle, or Dawdle, to walk unsteadily, like a child ; to be 
 slow in motion or action, to saunter, or trifle, to waddle. 
 Mr. Todd refers to Isl. dvdda, to be slow footed. I may 
 add Germ, tandeln, to totter, to loiter. 
 
 Daddy, a childish name for father. The word is said to have 
 been found in use among the South Americans, and the 
 Africans of Angola. See Thomson, dad, daddoj. 
 
 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. dofwa, to stupify. 
 
 Daffle, to betray loss of memory and mental faculty. Per- 
 sons growing old and in their dotage, are said to daffle, and 
 to be dafflers. In some parts of the North they have the 
 verb deaffle, to become deaf ; which seems allied. But see 
 Daff, and Daft. 
 
 Daft, simple, foolish, stupid, insane. Su.-Got. doef, stupidus. 
 
 " Thou dotest daffe, quod she, dull are thy wittes." 
 
 Piers Plowman. 
 
 "Thou art the daflcit fuill that ever I saw." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitit.
 
 124 DAFT 
 
 Daftlike, eiiibHrra.ssed, Laving the appearance of folly, ap- 
 proaching to insanity. 
 Dag, v. to drizzle. — Dag, s. a drizzling rain, dew upon the 
 grass. Isl. dauffff, pluvia. Swed. daffff, dew. — Daggy, a. 
 damp, wet. " A dag^j/ day.". Swed. daggig, dewy. 
 Dag, an old North conntiy word for a pistol — not a poniard, 
 as generally suj^posed. Old Fr. dagge, 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 is to a musket. I have the authority of the 
 late 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. Minsheu says the Dacians were the first 
 that used daggea. 
 " The Maior of New-Castle with the Aldermen his Brethren rid to 
 visit on hors-backe the colepits, as their office is to do 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." 
 
 Doleful Newsfrcrm Edinburgh, 4to., 1641. 
 
 Dagger-money, a sum of money formerly paid to his Majes- 
 ty's Justices of Assize on the Northern Circuit, to provide 
 arms, and other security against marauders. The Mayor 
 of Newcastle still presents each Judge with a piece of gold, 
 generally a Jacobus, on his departure for Carlisle, for de- 
 fence during his journey. 
 
 " The Northumberland Sheriff gave us all arms; that is, a dagger, 
 knife, penknife, and fork, all together." 
 
 North'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. daindis, excellen- 
 
 ter, optimus, It also means, finically nice. " The dainty 
 
 Mr. Gray." — Johnsoii's Lives. 
 Dairns, a term for small, unmarketable fish.
 
 DARK 125 
 
 Damage, cost, expense. " Noo, Sir, ye've kirsen'd mi bairn, 
 what's t' damage" 
 
 Damsels, Damascine Plums, Damsons. Old Douglas, the 
 bellman, at Durham, used to cry " To be sold, in the 
 Market Place, fine fresh Damsels, at Qd. a peck." They 
 were celebrated, it seems, in Pliny's time. " Dicta sunt 
 Damascena [pruna] a Syrise Damasco cognominato." — 
 Nat. Hist. Lih. 15, c. 12 13. 
 
 Dandering, twaddling, sauntering, going about from plaee to 
 place idly. See Wibraham, v. dander. 
 
 Danders, the scorea from a forge, the refuse of a smith's 
 forge. Isl. tendra, accendere. 
 
 Dang, Dang it, a foolish evasion of an oath. V. Jennings. 
 
 Dang, pret. of to ding, to push. 
 
 " ScMr, quhen I was the nunnis amang. 
 Out of their dortour they me dang." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three EitaitU. 
 " Thai dang on othyr at thair mycht 
 Quhill swerdis that war fayr and brycht." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 " Then from the heuyn down quhirland with ane quhew 
 Cam queue Juno and with her awin handis dang up the yettis." 
 
 Douglas' ^neid. 
 
 Danton, to daunt, to intimidate. Daunton is used by James 
 I. in the Basilicon Doron. 
 
 " Samuel shal sleen hym, 
 And Saul shal be blamed. 
 And David shal be diademed 
 And daunten hem alle." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Dap, fledged ; as young birds in the nest. 
 
 Dark, v. to listen with an insidious attention, to hearken ob- 
 scurely or unseen. Allied to the old verb, dark, 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. 
 deorcung, crepusculum.
 
 126 DARN 
 
 Darn-Crook, the name of a crooked street in Newcastle, th« 
 original meaning being, the secret or obscure crooked street, 
 from Sax. dearnan, dyrnati, occultare. 
 
 Darntox, the old, and still the vulgar name, of Darlington. 
 
 " He was in great danger to be robbed about Damton and Neesum 
 by thieves and highwaymen." — Letter qf Bishop Cosin. 
 
 Darnton Trod, or Darnton Road. To take Darnton Trod, 
 or Darnton Road (that is, I suppose, the London road), is 
 to adopt desperate measures, in order to avoid immediate 
 consequences — to fly the country for debt or crime. — York. 
 
 Darroc, a day's work. " He has not had a darroc this three 
 months." — Durh. 
 
 Dashed, abashed. V. Todd's Johnson, to dash. 
 
 Dash-my-buttoxs, an imprecation. V. Jam. Supp. dashymt. 
 
 Dauber, a plasterer. In the Prompt. Parv. a dawber, or 
 dayman, is explained by Argillarius bituminarus, lutor. 
 The ancient style of a branch of the fraternity of bricklay- 
 ers in Newcastle was Catters and Daubers. The cat was a 
 piece of soft clay thrust in between the laths, which were 
 afterwards daubed or plastered. See this word in Ezekiel, 
 xiii. 10, &c. 
 
 Daurg, Darg, or Daeg, a day's work, either of men or hus- 
 bandry 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. d<xg, dies. 
 
 Dave, to assuage, to mitigate, to relieve. 
 
 Daver, to stun, to stupify. Teut. daveeen, tremere. — Da^tir- 
 ED, benumbed, stupified. Isl. daufr, fatuus, surdus. Da- 
 ver is, perhaj)s, more directly derivable from the Parisian 
 word desver. See Menage, under the obsolete word decoer. 
 
 Daw, to thrive, to mend, to recover from an illness. An old 
 English word. " Dawyng, gettynge of lyfe." Palsgrave. 
 
 Daw, to dawn. Sax. d(egiau, to grow light. Teut. daghen. 
 
 " The other side from whence the morning dates." 
 
 Drayton ,—Poly-olhion.
 
 DEAD 127 
 
 Dawing, break of day — dawning. Sax. dagimg, aurora. 
 
 Dawdy, a slattern. Isl. dauda doppa, homuncio ignavus. 
 
 Day, The Day, a Noi*thumberlancl and Scottish idiom for to- 
 day ; as, " How are ye the day?" V. Jam, Sup. 
 
 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. 
 
 Day-nettle, the common hemp-nettle. GaUopsis tetrahit. 
 Labourers in harvest are sometimes affected with a severe 
 inflammation of the hand, or of a finger, which they uni- 
 formly attribute to the sting of this plant. V. Johnston's 
 Flora of Berwick upon Tweed, p. 132. 
 
 Daytaleman, a day labourer, chiefly in husbandry — one who 
 works by day-tale; i. e. a man whose labour is told or 
 reckoned by the day, not by the week or year. From Sax. 
 tellan, to tell ; or from Fr. tailler, to cut, work reckoned 
 by daily cutting a notch on the tally-stick of his accounts ; 
 the mode of keeping accounts even until lately in the Ex- 
 chequer. Daytalemen, about coal pits, are those who are 
 not employed in working the coal. — Daytalework, the 
 work so performed. 
 
 Daze, to dazzle, to stupify, to frighten, Teut. daesen, deli- 
 rare, insanire. Sc. daese, or daise. 
 
 Dazed, blinded with splendour, astounded ; also, benumbed 
 by frost, stupified with liquor. 
 
 " The callour are penetratiue and pure, 
 Dasing the blude in every creature." — Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 Ruddiman, who explains it dozing, stupifying, congealing, 
 
 derives it from Belgic duyselin^ vertigine laborare, obstu- 
 
 pere, attonitum fieri. 
 Dazed-meat, meat ill-roasted. — Dazed-bread, bread not well 
 
 baked. Dazed-egg, one in which the chick is dead. See 
 
 Deazed ; which seems allied. 
 Dead-house, a place for the reception of drowned persons,— 
 
 Newc.
 
 128 DEAD 
 
 Dead-knock, a supernatural sound, supposed to be a warning 
 of death. The superstitious imagine they hear a myste- 
 rious noise upon the door or bed ; and, not knowing the 
 cause, view it as a notification of the decease of some friend 
 or relative. 
 
 Deadly Feud, a fostered animosity between contending tribes 
 among the Avild Northumbrians on the Borders, where 
 Saxon barbarism held its latest possession. These inve- 
 terate hostilities, inherited from restless and vindictive an- 
 cestors, were long and fiercely prosecuted, even at a com- 
 paratively recent period. The details would afford a 
 lamentable picture of the state of society and the habits 
 and manners of the people in this part of the kingdom. 
 When such reckless contests prevailed, it is almost super- 
 fluous to remark, that the authority of the crown was dis- 
 regarded ; a kind of club-law prevailed, not unlike the 
 fmist recht once exercised by the robber counts of Germany. 
 
 " If any two be displeased, they expect no lawe, but bang it out 
 bravely, one and Lis 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 
 thevtfeides, or deadly feides." — Grey's Chorographia, 1649. 
 
 Dead-nip, a blue mark on the body ; ascribed by the vulgar 
 to necromancy. V. KWiSin^ dood-7icpe ; and Jam. dede-m'p. 
 
 Deaf, Defe. 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 ; as, a " deaf nut" a nut of which the kernel is 
 rotten ; '■^ deaf earth" soil which will not produce a crop. 
 Su.-Got. dauf jord, barren earth ; ^^ deaf corn" barren or 
 blasted com. The latter term — deaf corn, is a pure Saxon 
 expression. The pronunciation is defe, which is precisely 
 that of Chaucer. 
 
 " A good wif was ther of beside Bathe 
 But she was sora del d^e, and that was scathe."
 
 DEAT 129 
 
 Deame, D'yame, or Dame, the matron or mistress of the 
 house. V. Note in Cumb. Ball, jp, 65. See also Jennings. 
 
 Dean, Deane, or Dene, jiroperly a dell, or deep valley, be- 
 tween two steep hills, with running water at the bottom ; 
 but applied to any hollow place where the ground slopes 
 on both sides. Castle-Eden Dene, in the County of Dur- 
 ham, is a ravine of great extent, with the wildest and most 
 luxuriant scenery, requiring " a poet's lip, or a painter's 
 eye," adequately to depict its beauties. Sax. deii, or 
 dene, a valley. 
 
 " The Nunne Dem, having two bridges, resorthyth towards Pilgrim 
 Gate, and so downewarde to Tine." — Lelatid. 
 
 Dearn, or Dern, solitary, lonely, melancholy. Sax. dear- 
 nenga. Chaucer and other of our early poets constantly 
 use the word to express secrecy, 
 
 " This clerk was cliped hendy Nicholas ; 
 Of cLerne love he coude and of solas." 
 
 Cliaucer ,—Tlie Miller's Tale. 
 
 Deas, Deis, Deys, or Dess, a seat or bench, a throne. In 
 Northumberland it is now only applied to a seat made of 
 stones and covered with green turf, at cottage doors. 
 " Wei semed eche of hem a fayre burgeis 
 To sitten in a gild halle on the dels." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Tlie Prologue. 
 " This pardon Piers sheweth 
 And at the day of dome 
 At the heighe deijs sitte." — Piers Ploimian, 
 
 On the etymon of the French dais see a curious dissertation 
 in Menage ; but the most satisfactory exjjlanation is in 
 Raine's Hist. North Durham, p. 124, where, in an inventory 
 of goods belonging to the Priory of Holy Island, in 1493 or 
 1494, there is an entry of " 6 painted cloths embroidered 
 with divers armorial bearings for the deas (j^ro les de se), 
 the gift of William Lawe." " Thus the origin of the word 
 is at length ascertained — De se, that part of the hall kept 
 to itself." 
 Death-hearse, an imaginary hearse drawn by headless horses, 
 
 VOL. I. s
 
 130 DEAV 
 
 and driven by a headless driver ; if seen about midnight, 
 proceeding rapidly, but without noise, towards the church- 
 yard, the death of some considerable person in the parish 
 is sure to happen at no distant period. 
 Deave, to deafen, to stupify with noise, to din. See Daver ; 
 which seems cognate. 
 
 " The devil sa devit was with thair yell 
 That in the deepest pot of hell 
 He smorit them with smoke." — Dunbar's Daunce. 
 
 Deazed, withered, sapless, wanting moisture. See Dazed. 
 
 Debatable-lands, large tracts of wild country, on the con- 
 fines 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 territo- 
 ries 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 Northum- 
 berland, long after they had ceased to be so. All disputes 
 respecting them, so far as concerned 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. 
 
 Dee, to die. Sax. deadian. 
 
 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 former 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 /" 
 
 Deeds, the rubbish of quarries or drains. Probably the dead 
 or unprofitable parts — mere d^ad stuff.
 
 DERW 131 
 
 Deed-sweers, very lazy, very unwilling. 
 
 Deed-thraw, the agonies of death. Sax. thrawan, agonizare. 
 
 Deel, a familiar name in Northumberland for the prince of 
 
 darkness. Sc. deil. See Old-bexdy. 
 Deet, or DiGHT, to dress, to wipe or make clean, to sift or 
 
 winnow com. Sax. dihtan, parare, disponare. Sc. dicht. 
 
 See Keel-deeters. 
 
 " Be than auld Menet ouer schipburd elyde— 
 Syne swymmand held vnto the craggis hicht, 
 Sat on the rock and himself gan dycht." 
 
 Douglas' JEneid. 
 
 Deft, pretty, neat, clever, handy. Sax. dceft, idoneus. 
 Stated in Todd's John, to be obsolete ; but it is not so in 
 the North. 
 
 Deftly, lightly, softly. " Step deftly." 
 
 Deg, to moisten with water, to sjirinkle. Sax. deagan^ tin- 
 gere. Isl. deigr, madidus, humidus. See Dag. 
 
 Delf, crockery ware ; so called from having formerly been 
 imported from Delf, in Holland. 
 
 Delfs, pits out of which iron stone has been dug. Large 
 quantities 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, presents 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 au- 
 thor has been able to discover, that the melting or cast- 
 ing of steel has been introduced much above a century. 
 Ruddiman observes that delf is still used in Scotland to 
 denote a i)lace out of which green turves are delved or dig- 
 ged. The word is from Sax. delfan, to dig. 
 
 Dell, a little dale, or narrow valley. Got. dal, a cavern or 
 deep place. Dut. dale, dal. 
 
 Demented, insane, foolish. 
 
 Denck, dainty. Germ, denclen, to fancy. 
 
 Derwentwater's (Lord) Lights, a popular name for that 
 singular phcenomenon — the Aurora Borealis ; which ap-
 
 132 DESS 
 
 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 
 api^earance, 7ncn without heads. Many of the peasantry in 
 Northumberland still believe, that, on that fatal day, the 
 Divel's Water (Dilston Brook), a rivulet near his residence, 
 ran blood. Certain it is, that of all the victims who pe- 
 rished in the rash enterprise of 1715, none fell more lament- 
 ed than the young and generous Derwentwater, whose 
 memory, from the hospitality in which he dispensed his 
 large revenues, 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 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 with the age of the deceased, removed 
 every doubt of its identity. 
 
 Dess, v. to lay close together, to pile up in order. 
 
 Dess, v. to cut a section of hay from the stack. Dut. tassen, 
 to gather. 
 
 Dess, s. the portion of a hay stack usually cut at one time ; 
 the graft, or part in use. 
 
 Deuke, a duck. A confirmed pronunciation in the North, 
 and precisely the same with duke. 
 
 Deull, 5. grief, sorrow, lamentation. Old Fr. dol. Mod. Fr. 
 deuil, which is as near the Northumbrian pronunciation as 
 possible. 
 
 " Qiihen thai long quhill thair dule had maid 
 The corss to Paslay haift'thai haid."— Tfte Bruce. 
 
 " AUe that beoth of huert trewe, 
 
 A stondde herkneth to my songe 
 Of duel that dothe has dihte us newe 
 That niaketh me sehe and sorowe anionge." 
 
 Eteffi/ on the Death of King Edward I., 
 quoted hy Warton.
 
 DIKE 133 
 
 Dkuse, 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 dtisii, 
 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 Mythology 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-niM, all over with him. Said of a person who is 
 ruined or thwarted. So of states — actum est de republica. 
 
 Didder, to shiver with cold, to shake or quiver, to dodder. 
 Teut. diddern. 
 
 Didder, a confused noise or bother. 
 
 DiFFicuLTER, more difficult. A common, vulgar compara- 
 tive. 
 
 Dike, a hedge, or fence — that which is digged, — whether a 
 ditch, or an embankment. Sax. die. Teut. dijck, agger. 
 
 Dike, in a coal mine, means a large crack or breach of the 
 solid strata. These dikes sometimes raise or depress the 
 opposite portion of the stratum several fathoms, and cause 
 so great an obstruction that the working of the coal is 
 abandoned in that direction, and a new shaft sunk on the 
 other side of the dike. There are also other interruptions, 
 such as stone, clay, rubbish, and slip dikes, the name of the 
 latter being derived from a slip or depression of the seam, 
 the fissure, in such cases, being mostly filled with frag- 
 ments of the adjacent strata. The less important breaks 
 and obstructions are called trouhles. A depot for coals at 
 the staith is also called a dike, because it is a place diked, 
 or fenced, from the river, 
 
 Diker, a hedger or ditcher. Conformable to our old lexico- 
 graphy.
 
 134 DIKE 
 
 DiKE-LOLPERs, transgrcssors. 
 
 DiLCE, or DuLCE, a kind of sea- weed. Fucus palmattu. 
 
 DiLDRAMs, strange tales, unfounded stories. 
 
 Dill, to soothe pain, to still or calm, to dull. Isl. dilla, lal- 
 
 lare. 
 Ding (pret. Dung, or Dang), to push or drive, as well as, to 
 
 dash with violence. Sax. denegan, to beat. Su.-Got. 
 
 daenga, tundere. Swed. ddnga, to bang. It is also used 
 
 to express superiority, as " He dings them a'." Pret. 
 
 DONGTN. 
 
 " To dede with stanys thai shuld thaim ding 
 That thai mycht help thaim selwyn nathing." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 
 " The kinge's brodyr, quhen the toun 
 Was takyn thus, and dongyn doun."— TAe Bruce. 
 
 Ding, a moderated imprecation. " Diiig 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. 
 
 DiNMONT, a male sheep from the first to the second shearing, 
 when it becomes a wedder, " A lamb is called a hog in the 
 autumn, and after the new year a dinmont" 
 
 DiNNA, for do not, " Dinna ye speak on't." 
 
 DiNNEL, or DiNDLE, to be affected with a prickling or shoot- 
 ing pain, as if of a tremulous short motion in the jjarticles 
 of one's flesh ; such as arises from a blow, or is felt in the 
 fingers when exposed to the fire after frost. Dut. tintelcn, 
 to tingle. V. Sewel's Eng. and Dut. Diet. 
 
 Dip, the declivity of a coal seam from a level hne. 
 
 Dipper, or Downcast, a dyke, or dislocation of the strata, 
 throwing down the coal, called " dippers east, west, north, 
 or south," according to the direction.
 
 DITI 135 
 
 Dipping. " About a mile to the west of Jarrow there is a well 
 called Bede'g Well, to which, as late as the year 1740, it 
 was a prevailing custom to bring children troubled Avith 
 any disease, or infirmity ; a crooked pin was put in, and 
 the well laved dry between each dipping." — Brand's Pop. 
 Antiq. 
 
 DiPNESs, depth. Sax. deopnysse, profunditas. 
 
 DiRDOM, DuRDUM, a great noise, or uproar. Gael, diardan, 
 anger. Welsh, dwrdd, a sound, a noise, or stir. 
 
 " Then rais the meikle dirdum and deray." — King Hart. 
 
 DiRL, V. to move round quickly. Sax. t?iirlimi, 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, a 
 thrilling pain. Burns uses the word, with considerable 
 effect, in his Poem of Death and Doctor Hornbook. 
 
 " 'Twas but yestreen, nae farther gane, 
 I threw a noble throw at ane ; 
 Wi'less, I'm sure, I've hundreds slain; 
 
 But deil-ma-care, 
 It just play'd dirl on the bane, 
 
 Bat did nae mair." 
 
 DiRL, a trembling or shaking of a building, &c., by any sud- 
 den noise or concussion. Also used to express the sensa- 
 tion felt on striking the bone of the elbow. 
 
 Dirt, rain, snow, or sleet. " 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. 
 
 Disannul, to injure. " I never disanmdied thy cow." 
 
 DisGEST, digest. Common among the vulgar. But 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. 
 
 Disna, does not. 
 
 DiTiNG, s. a very small quantity of meal or flour.
 
 136 DITT 
 
 DiTTEN, Dittany, Dittani, or Dittander, broad-leaved pep- 
 perwort. Lipidium latifoliuin. — Lin. 
 
 " There is an herbe whiche hath leaves like ashe leaves, called Dtt- 
 ten, which Matthiolus maketh mencion in his Comment upon 
 Dioscorides, whiche herbe is good for man against poison, wormes, 
 and swellings, but no best dare eate thereof. And I suppose 
 Plini ment this Dittany, which I have proved to be good against 
 the Tyrapanie of water. I have found it at Tinmouth Castle, 
 where plentie doe growe upon the rockes." 
 
 Bullein's Book of Simples, 1564. 
 
 Ditten, mortar used to stop up the oven. 
 
 Div, for do. Very common among the vulgar. 
 
 DiVET, or Divot, a turf, or sod. Lat. defodere, to dig in the 
 earth. Divot-hill, in the parish of Kirkwhelpington, the 
 place where turf is cut. 
 
 Doage, wettish. Isl. daeff, a shower. 
 
 Dobby, a fool, a silly old man. Sc. dohie, a dolt. 
 
 DoBBY, or DoBBiE, a spirit or demon. Dobbies apjJear to be 
 of dififereut kinds. Some — attached to i)articular houses 
 or farms — are represented as good humoured in disposition, 
 and (though naturally lazy) in cases of trouble and difl&- 
 culty, are said to make incredible exertions for the advan- 
 tage of the family ; such as stacking all the hay, or housing 
 the whole crop of corn in one night. Others — residing in 
 low granges or barns, or near antiquated towers or bridges 
 — have a very different character imputed to them. Among 
 other i^ranks, they will sometimes jump behind a horse- 
 man, and compress him so tightly, that he either perishes 
 before he can reach his home, or falls into some lingering 
 and direful calamity. See Willan. 
 
 DocKON, the dock. Sax. docca. Rumex obtusifolius. A 
 charm is connected with the medicinal apjilication of this 
 plant. If a person be severely stung -nith a nettle, it is 
 customary to collect a few dock leaves, to spit on them, 
 and then to rub the part affected, repeating the incanta- 
 tion, " In dockon, otit nettle," till the violent smarting and 
 inflammatiou subside. These words are said to have a
 
 DODD 137 
 
 similar effect with those expressed in the old Monkish 
 adage, " Exeat ortica, tibi sit ijeriscelis arnica ;" the fe- 
 male 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, 
 expressive of inconstancy. This observation will contri- 
 bute to explain an obscure passage in Chaucer's Troilus 
 and Creseide, B. IV. st. G6. 
 
 " Thou biddist me I should love another 
 All freshly newe, and let Creseide go, 
 It lithe nat in my powir, leve brother. 
 And though I might, yet would I nat doe so. 
 But canst thou playin raket to and fro, 
 NeUle in, docke oiit, now this, now that Pandare ? 
 Now foule fall her for thy wo that care," 
 
 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 captains 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 respectively before the game 
 begins, as the alley, hail, goal, or boundary. 
 
 Dodded, without horns ; as dodded sheep. Said in the Cra- 
 ven Gloss, to be an abbreviation oi doe-headed. Our old 
 lexicography, however, militates against this opinion. 
 Dodded, according to Phillips (New World of Worlds, fol. 
 1678,), is an old word for " unhorned ; also lopped as a 
 tree, having branches cut off." 
 
 Dodder, or Dotuer, to shake, to totter, to tremble ; to nod, 
 as in the palsy of decrepitude. — Doddered, or Dotherd, 
 decaying and shattered ; as a doddered oak — stupid with 
 age or infirmity. " An aud dothered karl." 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 138 DODD 
 
 Doddering- dickies, the quivering heads of the hrka, or qua- 
 king grass. 
 
 Doddle, to walk infirmly, to totter. See Todle, or Toddle, 
 
 DoD-LiP, a hanging or jiouting lij). When a person is in a 
 petted or ill humour, he is said to hang a dod-lip. 
 
 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 oif. From to do off. Not obsolete, 
 as Dr. Johnson thought. See Don. 
 
 " Fye ! doffWAs, habit, shame to your estate, 
 An eye-sore to our solemn festival." 
 
 Sliak., — Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 Dog, a wooden utensil in the rude form of a dog, with iron 
 teeth for toasting bread. Also, two pieces of iron placed 
 at each end of a fire-place to keep up the fire ; chiefly 
 where wood is burnt, and called, in French, chenet, from 
 chien, probably, because a dog's head was the usual orna- 
 ment at the top of the handle. They were formerly the 
 only grate we had in kitchen or parlour. It has been sug- 
 gested that the word may be from the Germ, tougen, to fit, 
 or be fit for this or that purpose ; for the word is applied 
 to various implements. 
 
 DoG-Loup, a narrow slip of ground between two houses, the 
 right to which is questionable — the place through which a 
 dog leaps. " Dog-loup Stairs." — Neicc. 
 
 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, 5. a gift or donation, a benefaction left to the poor — 
 any thing distributed or dealt out. Sax. dcel, pars, portio. 
 
 "And for thou true to Love shalt be 
 I will, and eke commaund the 
 That in one place thou set all whole 
 Thine herte, withouten halfin dole." 
 
 navcer,—Rom. ofJiose, 2364.
 
 DOOR 1,39 
 
 In former times it was applied to the relief given to 
 the poor at the gates of great men, and to the benefac- 
 tions delivered out by the almoner of religious houses. — 
 In the county of Durham we have still FranhlirCs Dole, 
 Cocken Dole, and Brabant's Dole. There is also the Wi- 
 dow's Dole, distributed once a month by the Hospital in 
 Greatham, to twenty-six poor persons or families residing 
 in the place. The funeral dole has only very lately fallen 
 into disuse in the north of England. 
 Dole, v. to set out or allot ; applied to land. Sax. dcelan to 
 divide. Sc. deal. In Cumb. a narrow plot of ground in a 
 common field, set out by land-marks, is called a Deail. — 
 Under the name of deal, pronounced dj/ale, it is common 
 in Northumberland. 
 Dole, grief, sorrow, lamentation. See Deull. 
 Don, to dress, to put on. An old word from to do on — the 
 contrary to doff. Stated in Todd's Johnson to be obso- 
 lete ; but it is in common use in the North. 
 
 " Then up he rose aud don'd his clothes." — Shak., — Hamlet. 
 DoNCH, or DoNSH, nice, dainty, particular ; as an appetite 
 pampered by indulgence. I am unable to offer any satis- 
 factory etymology, unless the next article may be admitted 
 as an illustration. 
 DoNCY, affectedly neat, accompanied with the idea of self- 
 importance. Perhaps from don ; as like a donno, or donna, 
 DoNK, damp, moist, humid. Su.-Got. dunken. mucidus. 
 
 " The dolly dikis war al donk and \;a.ie."— Douglas' ^ncid. 
 DoxNAT, or DoNXART, an idle good for nothing person — a do- 
 naught. Ital. donnetta, a woman of mean condition, a 
 wench. In Cumberland the term is viewed as equivalent 
 to the Devil. It has great verisimilitude to Dan. doege- 
 night, rendered by Wolff, an idle rascal or rogue. 
 DooR-CHEEKs, the jambs or sides of the door. 
 
 " Yet came my foote never within those doorc cheekes. 
 To seek flesh or fysh, garlyke, onyons, or leeks." 
 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle.
 
 140 DOOR 
 
 DooR-STANEs, the threshold of the door. 
 
 Door-stead, door-way, the open space between the cheeks 
 or jambs of the door which the door closes. Sax. du- 
 rustod. 
 
 DoRMANTS, the sleepers or joists of a house on which the 
 boards are laid. Fr. dormer, 
 
 DoRTY, pettish, saucy, malapert. Teut. trotsigh, tortigh, inso- 
 lent, arrogant. Douglas uses dortt/ness precisely in this 
 sense. 
 
 " The dortytiese of Achilles ofspring 
 In bondage vnder the proude Pirrus ying, 
 By force sustenyt thraldome mony ane day." 
 
 Douglas' ^neid. 
 
 DosENED. See Dozened. 
 
 DossY, dull, not bright ; applied to seeds. Dossey, soft, not 
 crisp. Fr. doiice. 
 
 Dotterel, a dull fellow ; probably adopted from the dotterel, 
 said to be a very foolish bird, and easily enticed into a net. 
 
 DoTHER. See Dodder. 
 
 Dottle, the remains of a pipe of tobacco put upon the top of 
 a fresh pipe for the purpose of lighting it. 
 
 Douce, snug, comfortable, neat, as applied to place ; sober, 
 sedate, as applied to persons. Lat. dulcis. Fr. doux, 
 douce. 
 
 Doughter, Dochtour, the now vulgar, but ancient pronun- 
 ciation of daughter. Sax. and Germ, dohter. 
 
 " And to my sones I half given rich rewardis, 
 And all my dochteris maryit upon lairdis." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 " The Lady Margarete Scroope, dougMer of Westmerland." 
 Collectanea Typographica et Genealogica, p. 20. 
 
 DouK, or Duck, to duck, to plunge under water. Sax. doman. 
 
 Dut. ducken. 
 
 " ' Gar douk, gar douJc,' the king he cried, 
 ' Gar douk for gold and fee, 
 O wha will douk for Earl Richard's sake, 
 Or wha will dotik for me." "—Ballad of Earl Richard.
 
 DOWN 141 
 
 DouKY, damp, humid, wet. " A doiihy morning." 
 
 Doup, Dowp, clunes. Isl. d'of. Ital. dopo. " As fine as 
 
 F**ty-Poke's Wife, who dressed her doup with primroses," 
 
 is a Newcastle comijarison of long standing, though of little 
 
 delicacy. 
 Dour, sour looking, sullen. " A dour countenance." Fr. 
 
 dur, rude, austere. 
 
 " To Wallace thar come ane that hecM Fawdoun 
 Malancholy he was of complexion, 
 Hewy in statur, dour in his countenance." — Wallace. 
 
 DouTsoME, hesitating, uncertain as to the event — doubtful. 
 
 Dover, to slumber, to be in a state between sleeping and 
 waking. Isl. dur, somnus levis. Ihre considers it the root 
 of the Lat. dormio. Isl. dur-a, is rendered by Haldorson, 
 per intervalla dormire, which exactly expresses the sense 
 of our word. Jam. 
 
 Dow, Doo, or Dough, a little cake. See Yule-dough. 
 
 DowLED, dead, flat, vapid ; spoken of liquor. 
 
 DowLY, lonely, dismal, melancholy, sorrowful, doleful. " A 
 dowli/ place" — "a dowlt/ lot." My friend, Mr. Raine, re- 
 fers me to Gr. 'tavXiav -/iicctg- We have also the form of the 
 word in Fr. deuil, douleur j and Lat. dolor. 
 
 " Eftir this at last Latyne thy fader in law — 
 Doun to the goistis in campe Elysee 
 Sail wend, and end his doUy dayis, and dee." 
 
 Douglas' ^)teid. 
 
 DowNCAST-SHAFT. The shaft by which the air enters a coal 
 pit, by which the men descend to their work, and by 
 which the coals are drawn up. At the bottom of the 
 other, called the " up-cast shaft," a large fire is sometimes 
 kept burning, though more frequently there is a furnace at 
 its mouth, with a high chimney to promote a current of 
 air. 
 
 Dowx-coME, a fall in the market — degradation in rank, or 
 injury in worldly circumstances— any other depression or 
 downfal.
 
 142 DOWN 
 
 Down-dinner, tea, or an afternoon's repast — quasi done- 
 dinner, the meal or refreshment which succeeds after din- 
 ner is done, or over. It is a very common term among the 
 lower classes in the counties of Durham and Northumber- 
 land, 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-PouK, an excessively heavy fall of rain. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Down-sitting, a comfortable settlement ; especially in mar- 
 riage. " A hinnies, she wed him just for a down-sitting." 
 Newc. — Said of a handsome young girl, who marries a rich 
 old man ; where it is obvious that the lady loves the house 
 and furniture as dearly as she does her husband. 
 
 Dowp, the jDosteriors ; also a vulgar name for the carrion crow, 
 
 DowPT, the smallest and last-hatched of a breed of birds. 
 From Ital. dopo ; or, as an ingenious friend will have it, 
 from its being always least feathered par arriere. See Ru- 
 ling, and Wreckling. 
 
 Dowse, a blow. " Z>ow5e-i'-the-chops," a blow on the face. — 
 DowsEY, or DowsEY-CAP, a punishment among boys. 
 
 Dowsing, a good beating. Dowsing was a great destroyer of 
 Catholic images in the times of the Puritans. See D'ls- 
 raeli's Curiosities of Literature. 
 
 DowY, sorrowful, melancholy. See Dowly. 
 
 Doxy, a sweetheart ; but not in the equivocal sense used by 
 Shakspeare and other play writers. Fr. don.v-ml. 
 
 Dozened, spiritless, impotent, withered, benumbed — in a dose. 
 Nearly the same as Dazed, which see. 
 
 DozzEL, or DozzLE, a paste flower on the top of a pie cover. 
 Perhaps from Fr. dosil, a stopple. 
 
 Dkab and Orr, a game. Yorl: The drab is what is else- 
 where called a trippit ; and the drab-stick, a buck-stick. 
 See Spell and Ore, and Trippit and Coit. 
 
 Drabbl'd, Drabble-tailed, dirtied. See Daggle, Daggled, 
 
 Draff, brewers' grains, the malt, after it has been used in 
 brewing. Teut. and Swed. draf. Both Hanmer and
 
 DREE 143 
 
 Johnson have misinterpreted this Shaksijerian word, and 
 Archdeacon Nares hath peri^etuated the error. In Dun- 
 bar's singular performance, " The Testament of Mr. Andro 
 Kennedy," — representing the character of a drunken, grace- 
 less scholar — the facetious testator, after having consigned 
 his soul to the ^vine-cellar, orders his body to be laid 
 " In ane draf-midding for ever and ay." 
 
 " ' Ye baw !' quod a brewere, 
 ' I wol noght be ruled, 
 By Jhesn ! for al your janglynge 
 With S2Hritiis justitice, 
 Ne after conscience by Crist ! 
 While I can selle 
 Bathe dregges and draf. 
 And drawe it out at oon hole.' " — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Draker-hen, the land rail, or daker hen. Dur. — See Corn 
 Crake. 
 
 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, drosped, abactus. Skinner. 
 
 Draup, Dreap, to drawl, to speak slowly and monotonously. 
 
 Draw, for drawer ; and Draws, for drawers ; by the usual 
 Newcastle mode of slurring the r. 
 
 Drack, to saturate with water. Su.-Got. draenka, aqua 
 submergere. To drack meal or flour is to make it into 
 dough preparatory to baking. 
 
 Draw-to, s. a home in need. " My father, poor man, has 
 little of this world's gear, but his house is a kind draw-to 
 for his bairns when they stand in need of a home." 
 
 Dreap, to drop with wet, to drip. Sax. drj/pan,. Swed. 
 drypa. Sc. dreip. 
 
 Dreap, a term in sj>el.l and ore. " The spell has a good 
 dreap," when it discharges the ore steadily, and to a pro- 
 per height. 
 
 Dree, s. a hard bargainer ; one who is a long time before he 
 concludes a bargain. 
 
 Dree, a. weaiy, long, tediously tii'esome. " A dree road."
 
 144 DREE 
 
 The word is apparently a rapid pronunciation of Germ. 
 durre, dry, both in a physical and metaphorical sense ; but 
 see Jamieson, vo. dreich, where several corresponding 
 terms in other languages are enumerated. See also Wil- 
 braham. 
 Dree, v. to suffer, to endure. Sax. dreogan, to undergo. 
 
 " Than wes he wondir will on wane ; 
 And sodanly in hart has tane 
 That he wuld travaile our the se, 
 And a quhile in Paryss be, 
 And dre myscheift' quhan nane hym kend." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 " He did great pyne and meikle sorrow dree," 
 
 Ross, — HeUnore. 
 
 Dree, s. a sort of cart without wheels, drawn by one horse, 
 used by the farmers in Northumberland, within the me- 
 mory of old peoj)le. V. Kennett's Gloss, vo. tracfus-7ium. 
 The carriage is probably the same as the traga, traha, or 
 sledge of Du Cange. The sledge peculiar to Bristol is 
 called a draw. 
 
 Dreigh, deceiving. A piece of ground is said to be dreigh 
 when there is more of it than there appears to be. 
 
 Drengage, a species of servile tenure, by which, in former 
 times, much land was held in the North. Spelman says, 
 the Drenches or Dregi were tenants i7i capite, and were 
 such, as at the Conquest, being put out of their estates, were 
 afterwards restored. Mr. Surtees informs us that Dren- 
 gage, in the County Palatine of Durham, was a servile 
 tenure which obliged the landholder to Cultivate the lord's 
 land, reap his harvest, feed his dog and horse, attend him in 
 the great (or annual) chase with a leash of greyhounds and 
 five cords of provender, cart one ton of wine and one mill- 
 stone, attend the lord's court, and go on embassies — but that 
 theDrenge tenure might be commuted for a money payment. 
 Surtees Vol. I., pp. 54, 58 ; also Vol. III., pp. 60, 366. 
 We find the etymology of the word in Sax. dreogan, to do, 
 to work, bear, suffer. In Swed. we have drdiig, a man
 
 DRIV 145 
 
 servant, and drang-arbete, servile work ; also bend drdng, a 
 country fellow, a clown. 
 
 "The Drengage tenure which prevailed about Brougham and Clif- 
 ton, in this county, and in a few parts of Northumberland, was, 
 in Dr. Burn's opinion, extremely servile. They seem to have 
 been drudges to perform the most laborious and servile offices. 
 He quotes authority to shew that Sir Hugh de Morville, in West- 
 morland, changed drengage into free service, and tells us that 
 one half of the village of Brougham was given to make the other 
 free of drengage." 
 
 Westmorland, In Beauties of England and Wales. 
 
 This article should, perhaps, not be found in a Glossary of 
 Words " in use," but it seems to deserve a place here from 
 the fact of its probably being the remote origin of that 
 system which still prevails in the North, called bondage. 
 
 Driblet, " a small sum ; odd money in a sum," according 
 to Dr. Johnson ; it, however, means a small inconsiderable 
 thing of any sort. 
 
 Drift, an inlet for the emission of water in a mine. — Drift- 
 way. In Scotch, drift is a drove, as, a drove of cattle ; 
 consequently, the drift-Vfaj is the way on which cattle are 
 driven. 
 
 Drip, a north country term for stalactites, or petrefactions. 
 
 Drite, to si^eak indistinctly — to drawl out one's word — as it 
 were through the nose, like country children when they are 
 learning to read. 
 
 Drite, to void excrement. Isl. dryta, egerere, cacare. 
 
 " The Erie of Moray asked the Kyng where his menyon Sir James 
 was, that he cam not with hym : the Kyng said he had fawttid 
 sore to him, and shuld never have hys favor agayuc : No, sayd 
 
 the Erie, by he cannot fawt to you, though he shuld dryte. 
 
 in your hands." — Pentnan's Intercepted Letters to Sir George Doug- 
 las, in Pinkerton's Hist. Scot., Vol. II. p. 490. 
 
 Drite-ups, a boy's first clothes, after leaving off petticoats. 
 
 See Hone's Table Book,—" My son, John." 
 Drive. In the North we still speak of driving the pleugh, 
 
 and not the horses. 
 Drive, to let drive — full drive. 
 
 VOL. I. u
 
 146 DRON 
 
 Droning, a lazy iudolent 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. 
 Drouk, to drench, to soak, to besmear. Fr. druger, to wet 
 
 thoroughly. 
 Drouth, thirst, dryness. The old form of drought ; which 
 
 was also written dri^th and drith. V. Tooke, Vol. II. p. 
 
 413, 414. Droutuy, thirsty. "To moisten his drotUhy 
 
 clay." 
 Drucken, possessed of a *' full measure of the best*' — drunken. 
 
 Su.-Got. and Dan. drukken. Isl. druchin. Sc. drucken. 
 
 " And up wi' Geordie, kim-milk Geordie, 
 He has drucken the maltman's ale, 
 But he'll be nicket ahint the wicket, 
 And tugget ahint his gray mare's tail." 
 
 Jacobite Song. 
 
 Drumlee, to make muddy — Drumly, Drummely, muddy, 
 thick ; as applied to the mind, confused. Misled by Han- 
 mer and Pegge, to druwble is in Todd's Johnson misinter- 
 preted, to drone, to be sluggish. The example from 
 Shakspeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, " Look how you 
 drumble" unquestionably means how confihsed you are. 
 
 " I've seen the morning 
 With gold the hills adorning, 
 And loud tempest storming before the mid-day. 
 I 've seen the Tweed's silver streams 
 Shining in the sunny beams, 
 Grow dntmly and dark as he row'd on his way." 
 
 Mrs. Cockbuni's Imitation oftJie Flowers of the Forest. 
 
 Drummock, meal and water mixed raw. V. Jam. Supp. 
 dratnock, 
 
 Drunkard's-cloak, a great tub or barrel of a peculiar con- 
 struction, formerly used for the punishment of drunkards 
 in Newcastle. V. Gardiner's England's Grievance disco- 
 vered, p. 3, and Brand's History of Newcastle, Vol. II. p. 
 192.
 
 DUCK 147 
 
 Druve, Druvy, dirty, muddy. Sax. ge-drefan, turbare. 
 
 Germ. trUbe. 
 
 " He is like to an hors that seljeth rather to drink drovy or troubled 
 water, than for to drink water of the clear well." 
 
 Chancer,— The Persone't Tale. 
 
 " A cockney chep show'd me the Tyems' druvy fyace." 
 
 Song, — Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Dry, not diluted, as, drj/ spirits. 
 
 Dry-dyke, a stone wall built without mortar, a very com- 
 mon inclosure of fields in the North. 
 
 Dub, a small pool of water ; a piece of deep and smooth 
 water in a rapid river. Celt, dubh, a canal or gutter. 
 
 DuBERous, doubtful. Used also in some of our Southern 
 counties. 
 
 DuBLER, or DouBLER, a large dish of earthenware. Dwbler, 
 Mr. Watson says, is a British word for a dish. Old Fr. 
 doublier, plat, assiette. 
 
 Dub-Skelper, a bog-trotter ; a term applied to the Borderers. 
 
 " Tarn skelpit on thro' duh and mire." 
 
 Bums,—Tam O'Shanter. 
 
 Ducket, a dove-cot. Sc. doucat. Ducket-close, and Ducket- 
 garth, are common names of fields in the North. 
 
 Ducks and Drakes, a rustic 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." — Arhuthnot and Pope, quoted in 
 Todd's Johnson. I do not pretend to know the exact age 
 of handy-dandy, but the sjiort 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. 
 
 Ducking-stool, an instrument for the terror of scolds, that 
 used to be put in practice in Newcastle, for the purpose of 
 quelling their unruly member. The ducking-stool was, 
 till lately, the established appendage of every town.
 
 148 DUCK 
 
 Ducky, a drink. " Give the bairii a ducky ^ 
 
 Dud, a rag. Gael. dud. — Duds, clothes of a dirty or inferior 
 kind. F Jam, — Duddy, ragged. — Dudman, a scarecrow. 
 
 Duff, the smallest coal, after separating the nuts^ beans, and 
 peas, 
 
 DuFFiT, a sod. Identical -with Divet, or Divot. ^' Duffit- 
 theck'd" thatched with sods. 
 
 Dugs, the teats or nipples of the female sex ; a word now 
 only used among the vulgar ; though it was formerly other- 
 wise. 
 
 " Lord Chancellor Hatton sent to Queen Elizabeth a ring, against 
 infectious air, 'to be worn betwixt the sweet (?i(jr« of her bosom.'" 
 Fosbroke's E>icyclop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 213. 
 
 Dull, hard of hearing. It is the same in Scotland. 
 
 DuLLBiRT, DuLBARD, a stupid persou, a blockhead — one of 
 dull birth j or it may be a provincial corruption of dullard, 
 a word used by Shakspeare. But see Jam. Supj). dulbaH ; 
 which the learned author derives from Isl. dul, stultitia, 
 and birt-a, manifestare ; qy. one who shews his foolishness. 
 
 Dumb-cake, a species of dreaming-bread, jjrepared by un- 
 married females with ingredients traditionally suggested in 
 witching doggrel. When baked, it is cut into three divi- 
 sions ; 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 pro- 
 found silence, whatever may appear. Indeed, should a 
 word be uttered, either during the process, or before falling 
 asleej), 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 er- 
 rand, seeing nothing at all. 
 Dumpy, sullen, discontented. — Dumps, ill-humour, sullen taci- 
 turnity. Dut. dom, dull, stupid. Dump is an old word 
 for melancholy, sadness, sorrow.
 
 DUSH 149 
 
 Drx, a liill, an eminence. Celt. dun. Dunholm was the 
 Anglo-Saxon name of Durham, from dun, mens, and holm, 
 insula amnica. 
 
 DuNELM OF Crab, a dish of 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. 
 
 Dung, beaten, overcome. 
 
 " It's a sair dung bairn that may not greet."— &. Pr. 
 
 DuNGEONABLE, shrewd ; or, as the vulgar express it, devilish. 
 — As Tartarus signifies hell and a dungeon ; so dungeon is 
 apjjlied to both. — Ray. See also Jam. dungeon. 
 
 DuNMAiL-RAisE, a hugc caim near Ambleside, on the lake of 
 Windermere, where the last King of the Cumbrian Britons, 
 / called Dunmail, was slain in battle. 
 
 '^ DuNSH, or DuNCH, to push or jog with the elbow. Teut. 
 do^isen. 
 
 DuNT, a blow. 
 
 " With a dunt of much micht 
 Adoun he gon him here." 
 
 Romaiicc of the " Kyng of Tars," quoted in 
 Warton, Vol. I. p. 194. 
 
 DuNT, bad coal, mineral charcoal ; any imperfection in the 
 
 quality of a seam of coal. 
 DcNTER, a common name for a porpoise. Sold for food in 
 
 Newcastle market, in 1575. 
 DuRR, numb. 
 DuRDOM, DuRDUM, a loud, confused, riotous noise. Welsh. 
 
 durdh, 
 DuRTY, dirty. 
 
 " And as she laynpon the durtie gi'ound 
 Her huge long taile her den all over-sprede." 
 
 Spcmer, — Fairy Queen. 
 
 DusH, to push violently, to move with velocity. Tuet. doesen, 
 pulsare cum impetu et fragore. 
 
 " And he that in his sterapys stud 
 With the ax that was hard and gud, 
 /y / r /> /■
 
 160 DUST 
 
 With sa gret niayne raucht him a dynt 
 
 That iiothyr hat na hehn mycht stynt 
 
 The heavy dmche that he him gave."— r/ie Brucf. 
 
 Dust, tumult, uproar. " To kick up a dust." Su.-Got. dj/st, 
 
 dtist, tumultus, fragor. Also money. " Down with your 
 
 dust" The association is obvious in both these vulgarisms ; 
 
 for in many parts wealth is reckoned by the ounce of gold 
 
 dust. 
 DuNSTANBROUGH DIAMONDS, a name given to the crystals 
 
 sometimes found at Dunstanbrough Castle, on the coast 
 
 Northumberland. 
 DwAiN, DwARM, or DwALM, a faint fit or swoon. See Dwine. 
 DwALM, or DwAUM, a swoon. Wachter derives it from 
 
 Germ, dolen, dwalen, stupere. 
 
 " The day it was set, and the bridal to be ; 
 The wife took a dwam and lay down to dee." 
 
 RUson's Sc. Songs. 
 
 DwiNE, to pine, to be in a decline, or consumption, to waste 
 away. Sax. dwinan, tabescere. Swed. tvyna, to languish, 
 to dwindle. Teut. dwynen. — Dwineng, a lingering illness, 
 a consumption. — Dwiny, ill thriven, dwindled. 
 
 " Nor yet had neid of ony fruit 
 To quench his deidlie drouth ; 
 Quhilk pyns him and dwyns him 
 To deid I wote not how."— 27te Cherry and Sloe. 
 
 E. 
 
 Eald, old age. Pure Saxon. Chaucer uses elde, and Shak- 
 speare, in Measure for Measure, "palsied eld." 
 
 Ealdren, Eldren, advanced in life — elderly. Dan. ad- 
 drende, old. 
 
 Eale, low, flat, marshy ground, by the side of a river, liable 
 to be overflown — synonymous to Haugh. Perhaps a cor- 
 ruption oilsle. 
 
 Eam, Eame, Eme, uncle. Sax. came, avunculus. Germ. ohm. 
 
 -" Henry Hotspur and his eame, 
 
 The Earl of Wor'ster.—i>rfl!j/f on,- Poly-olhion.
 
 EATH 151 
 
 " The nephues straight deposd were by the earne." 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates. 
 
 " For his dear erne, young Auchiutosh, dwelt there." 
 
 Wallace. 
 
 Eamont, the name of a river rising from Ullswater, and fall- 
 ing into tlie Eden, near Brougham Hall. It is called by 
 the country people near it, the " Yemmont," and accord- 
 ing to Baxter (Vol. II. sub Patriange) is derived from 
 Ui-mant, " quod os est lacus." Celtic words, signifying 
 the mouth of the lake. 
 
 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 delicate than kidney ; but it is probably a corruption 
 of Germ, niere, a kidney — a pronunciation partially retain- 
 ed 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-penny, an earnest-penny, paid 
 down to bind a bargain ; money given to servants when 
 they are hired. See Arles. 
 
 Earn, to coagulate milk. — See Yearn. 
 
 Earning, cheese-rennet. — See Yearning. 
 
 Easings, the eaves of a house. Sax. efese. Somner. Peirs 
 Plowman has evesed, for furnished with eaves — Easing- 
 DROP, an eaves-drop. 
 
 Eath, Eith, easy. Sax. eath. Sc. eith, eyth. 
 
 " Where ease abounds yt'a eath to do amiss." 
 
 Spenser,— Faery Queen. 
 
 " That baron he to his castle fled, 
 To Barnard Castle then fled he,
 
 162 EATI 
 
 The uttermost walls were eathe to win 
 The erlea have won them presentlie." 
 
 Risimj ill the North. 
 
 " The folk with owt, that were wery, 
 And sum wouudyt full cruelly 
 Saw thaim within'defend them awa : 
 And saw it was nocht eyth to ta 
 The toun." — The Bnicc. 
 
 Ea^tish, eatage ; corrupted in Lancashire into eddish ; the 
 after-grass, or fog. 
 
 Eaver, Eever, a corner or quarter of the heavens. Common 
 in Cumberland, and also in Cheshire. V. Wilbraham. 
 
 EcKY, Hector. 
 
 EcKY, sorry. " Aw wad be ech/." 
 
 Edder, the long jmrt of brushwood put upon the top of 
 fences. Not in use, Dr. Johnson says. But I have heard 
 the word in use in most of the Northern counties. Sax. 
 edor, a hedge or fence. — Seo Yedder. Old Tusser recom- 
 mends the farmer to 
 
 " Save edder and stake 
 Strong hedge to make." 
 
 Eden, the river Eden, Castle Eden, &c., from Sax. ea, a run- 
 ning stream, and dun, a hill ; the water from the hills. 
 
 Edder, Eddre, the common viper. Sax. (etter. Still so 
 called in Lancashire. — Todd's John. It may be added, in 
 Northumberland and Durham also. Edder-cap, when ap- 
 plied to a female of a violent temper, has the same signifi- 
 cation as attercop. See Attercop. See also Nedder. 
 
 Edge, a ridge — the side of a hill ; such as many places in 
 Northumberland. — BiddleMone Edge, Sharperton Edge, &c. 
 
 Ee, the Northern singular of eye. Sax. eag. 
 
 " About his hals ane quhissil hung had he 
 Was all his solace for tinsall of his E." 
 
 Douglas' ^mid. 
 
 Ee, a spout ; as the mill-ce. Probably eye (the aperture of 
 
 the spout) by association. 
 Eeleatok, a term among children for a young eol.
 
 EIGH 153 
 
 Eel-pout, the burbat. The Saxou fisherman, in Elfric's 
 Dialogues, names amongst his fishes, eels and eel-pouts ; 
 selas and celeputoa. — Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons, 
 Vol. III. p. 26. The name, like many others once in ge- 
 neral use, is now, I believe, confined to the North. 
 
 Eem, leisure. Sax. cemtan, rest, leisure, spare time. The 
 word, I think, is seldom used, except in Cumberlftnd, 
 Mr. Wilbraham has eam^ or eem, v. to spare time, to have 
 leisure. 
 
 Een, the eyes. Sax. eagan. 
 
 " Ful semely hire wimple ypinched was; 
 Hire nose tretis ; hire eyen grey as glas." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Prologue. 
 
 Efter, prep, the Northern form of after. Sax. eftj/r, post. 
 Su.-Got. cefter. — Efternuin, the afternoon. 
 
 " I do my office efter auld use and wount. 
 To your parliament I will mak na mair count." y_ 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaim. 
 
 Ego, Egg-on, to instigate, to incite. An old word, from Sax. 
 eggian. Dan. egger ; Isl. eggia ; and Swed. agga, are cog- 
 nate. 
 
 "Simons, and one Matthew Hazard; whom, though I name last, 
 yet deserves to have precedency of all the rest, as being a main 
 incendiary iu the rebellion, violently egged on by his wife, whose 
 disciple the silly man was." — Anthony a Wood. 
 
 " Adam and Eve he egged to ill." — Piers Plomnan. 
 
 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 aj/e. In Newcastle and the surrounding districts, 
 its orthoepy answers to the Greek n, which many South 
 country Grecians find it difficult to i^ronounce properly. 
 
 Eigh, pronoun interrogative, what ? what do you say ? 
 
 Eigh-w'ye, a careless mode of expressing assent — yes, yes. 
 
 VOL. I. X
 
 164 EILD 
 
 EiLD, not giving milk. See Yeld. 
 
 EiTH, easy. See Eatb. 
 
 Eke, s. a piece added to a bee-hive, or skep. 
 
 Eke-out, to use sparingly. Chaucer has ecke^ to add to, 
 
 Swed. hha, to increase, to augment. 
 Eldin, Elding, fuel ; such as turf, peat, or wood. Sax. (sled^ 
 
 ignis. I'&i.clldr. Ban. ild. Swed. e^c?, fire. The word is 
 
 also used for brushwood for fences. 
 
 *" Mony thanks to you," said he, scoffingly, 'for collecting sae 
 muckle winter eikling for us, hut if ye step a foot nearer it wi" 
 that lunt, its the dearest step ye ever made in your days." ' 
 
 Scott,— TJie Black Dwarf. 
 
 Elf-locks, entangled or clotted hair. In elfin days it was 
 supposed to be a spiteful amusement of Queen Mab, and 
 her fantastic subjects, to twist the hair of human beings, 
 or the manes and tails of horses, into hard knots, which it 
 was not fortunate to unloose. 
 
 " 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." 
 
 Sfiak., — Eo'inco and Juliet. 
 
 Elf-shots, the name vulgarly given to the flint arrow heads, 
 made use of in war by the ancient Britons ; of which 
 quantities have been found in the Northern counties. The 
 common peoi^le here, as well as in Scotland, imagine them 
 to have been maliciously shot at cattle by elces, or fairies. 
 
 " Cattle which are suddenly seized with the cramp, or some simi- 
 lar disorders, are said to be elf- shot ; and the approved cure is 
 to chafe the parts affected with a blue bonnet, which, it may be 
 readily believed, often restores the circulation." 
 
 Minstrelsy of the Borders, Vol. II. p. 225. 
 " 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." 
 
 Collins,— Ode on the Superstition of the Highlands. 
 
 Ell-dockens, butter bur, or colt's foot. Tnssilago petasites.
 
 ERNE 165 
 
 Eller, the alder tree, Alnus glutinosa, Liun. Anglo-Sax. 
 celer. Lower Saxon cller. Germ, eller. Dan. elle. 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 ; in consequence of Judas (as it is pre- 
 tended) having been hanged on a tree of this kind ; but 
 for which I have in vain searched for a more ancient au- 
 thority than the Visions of Piers Plowman, where it is 
 said — 
 
 " Judas he japed 
 With Jewen silver. 
 And sithen on an eller 
 Hanged hymselve." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Shakspeare makes him hanged on an elder. — Lovers Labour 
 Lost, Act V. Se. 2. 
 
 Ellerish, dismal, frightful. "An ellerish cry" — a fearful 
 dismal cry. 
 
 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. aelsene, subula. 
 
 Elspith, Elizabeth. Sc. Elspeth, Elspet. 
 
 Enanters, lest, in case. V, Jam. Supp. enaunter, 
 
 Endlang, lengthways. 
 
 Endways, forward. " Gan cndwa^s'^ — go forward. 
 
 Enew, plural of enough. Old writers used enow. 
 
 Enoo, by and by, presently — e'en now, even now. 
 
 Erne, the cinereous eagle. Falco albicilla. Linn. The 
 term is general in the Northern languages. This powerful 
 bird, common in the wild maritime districts of Scotland, 
 has frequently been seen in Northumberland, during the 
 winter months. 
 
 "In eche rocke ther ys 
 In tymo of yore an crne'i neat, that hie bredeth in ywys." 
 
 Robert Qlouceeter.
 
 156 ESII 
 
 EsH, the ash tree. Teut. esch, fraxinus. Germ. escJie. 
 " The hie eschis soundiij thare and here." — Douglas' JBneid. 
 
 Ethe, easy. See Eath. 
 
 EsK. See Ask. 
 
 Ettle, to intend, to attempt, to contrive. V. Ihre, cetla. 
 
 " But oft Tailzies the fuli's thocht 
 And wyss mennys etling 
 Cummys noch by to that ending 
 That thai thinlt it sail cum to."— 37ie Bruce. 
 
 Ettle, to earn. Synonymous with Addle, Aidle, Eddle. 
 
 Ettlings, earnings, wages. The same as Addlings, Aid- 
 lings. 
 
 Evendoon, even down, plain, honest, downright; having 
 Evendoon-thump, for the comparative degree. Even- 
 DooN-pouR, a heavy fall of rain. 
 
 Evil-eyed, envious, maliciously inclined. Superstitious peo- 
 ple supposed that the first morning glance of him with an 
 evil-eye was certain destruction to man or beast. Though 
 the effect were not instantaneous, it was thought to be 
 eventually sure. But if he, who had this unfortunate 
 influence, were well disposed, he cautiously glanced his eye 
 on some inanimate object, to prevent the direful conse- 
 quences. See Crav. Gloss. 2nd. edit. vo. evil-eye. In re- 
 mote ages, talismanic rings were made use of as a charm 
 against the fascination of an evil-eye. 
 
 Ewe-dyke, a sod dyke on which hazle or willow rods are 
 interlaced, to keep sheep from leaping over them. They 
 are sometimes made by placing a row of short stakes on the 
 top of the dyke, and drawing a rope through a hole in the 
 top of each. 
 
 EwE-GOWAN, a term for the common daisy. North Tindale. 
 
 Ewer, Ure, Yure, an udder. Sax. iider. Swed. jur. Germ. 
 enter. 
 
 Excise, to impose upon, to overcharge — without relation to 
 government exaction. The word is now well known iu 
 this enlarged sense, and ought to be in our dictionaries. 

 
 FAIN 157 
 
 Expect, to suppose, to believe. A common northern expres- 
 sion. 
 
 F. 
 
 Faa. See Faw, 
 Face, Feace, the coal wall. 
 
 Facing, Feaccen, nearly the same as Cleat, which see. 
 Fad, or Faud, a bundle or truss of straw. Sax.feald, plica. 
 Fr. fardeau. It also means fold; as, twee-faud, three- 
 faud, &c., i. e. two-fold, three-fold, &c. 
 Fadge, a bundle of sticks, a fagot. Swed. faffga, onerare. 
 Fadge, a small flat loaf, or thick cake. Fr. fotiace, a bun. 
 It is also applied to a fat, clumsy person, " a great fadge." 
 " Her owsin may die i' the field, 
 Her calves and kye i' the byre. 
 And I'll hae nought to mysell 
 But a fa,t fadge by the tire." — Old Ballad. 
 Fadgy, corpulent, unwieldy, having a shufiiing gait. 
 Faffle, to saunter, to trifle, to fumble — to f addle. 
 Faikes ! By my Faikes ! a kind of minced oath ; equivalent 
 
 to faith, upon my faith — verily. Sc.feffs. 
 Fail, adj. means soil or turf as used in the North in a fail 
 dyke. Perhaps it may originally have had the same origin 
 as vail, a sod wall ; and it is remarkable that the great 
 German wall, from the Danube to the Rhine, was called 
 the Pfahl or the Stakes, from the materials that composed 
 it.— >S'ee Arch. ^1., Vol. I., p. 221. 
 Fain, glad, earnestly desirous. 
 
 " Fair words make iool3fain."—Prov. 
 Sax. fcegen, leetus, hilaris. 
 
 " Ah York, no man alive so fain as I." — Sttak., — 2 Henry VI. 
 ' ' Thai fand oflf all thair company 
 That thar wes but a yuman slayno 
 And lowyt God, and wes tnUfei/ne 
 And blyth that thai eschapyt sua."— T7ie Bruce. 
 " In all the hous ther n" as so litel a knave, 
 Ne no wight elles, that he n'as full fain 
 For that my lord Dan John was come again." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Shiimiannc's Tale.
 
 158 FAIR 
 
 Fair, a present at or from a fair — a fairing. 
 
 Fair, Fairly, evidently, manifestly. " Ifa fair swindling." 
 " Hefairlj/ cheated me." 
 
 Fair-fall-you, Fair-befall- you, a common benediction — a 
 blessing attend you. 
 
 Fairy-butter, a fungous excrescence, sometimes found about 
 roots of old trees. After great rains, and in a certain de- 
 gree of putrefaction, it is reduced to a consistency, which, 
 together with its colour, makes it not unlike 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-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 entrench- 
 ments, popularly called Danish forts, but which, more 
 probably, were the villages or settlements of the native 
 Irish. See a sketch of one of these pipes, with a curious 
 paper on the subject, in the Anthologia Hibemica, for 
 May, 1793. 
 Fairy-rings, green and highly verdant circles, frequently 
 visible in meadows and pastures ; around which, accord- 
 ding to our traditionary accounts of Fairy Mythology, the 
 popular elves or ^'■pretty creatures," were accustomed to 
 dance by moonlight, in their nocturnal scenes of revelry 
 and merriment. In the dramas of Shakspeare, it was not 
 to be expected that the luxuriant imagination of the im- 
 mortal poet should overlook so characteristic a trait of the 
 Fairies. Accordingly, we find Prosper©, in the Tempest, 
 thus invoking them : — 
 
 " You demy-puppets, that 
 
 By moonshine do the green-soMt ringlets make, 
 Whereof the ewe not bites ; and you whose pastime 
 Is to make midnight mushrooms."
 
 FARA 159 
 
 Dr. Withering, in his Botanical Arrangement, Vol. IV., p. 
 277, states, that these circles are caused by the growth of 
 an agaric, which he fully describes. They have also, with 
 less probability, been attributed to the circumgyratory 
 burrowings of the mole. 
 
 Fall, to fall with child, to become pregnant. 
 
 Falls, the divisions of a large arable field attached to a vil- 
 lage — annually cultivated in a fixed rotation of crops. 
 
 Familous, relating to a family. " 'Tis Sifamiloiis complaint." 
 
 Fand, for found. Retained in Scotland, Dr. Johnson says. 
 It is proper to state, in the North of England also. 
 
 " Thai fand meit till his company 
 And serwyt him full hamely." — The Bruce. 
 " Alas for wae ! quo William's Wat, 
 Alack for thee my heart is sair ! 
 I never cam bye the fair Dodhead 
 That ever I fand thy basket bare."— ./aiwie Telfer. 
 Fansome, faintish, i. e. faintsome. 
 Fantome-corn, lank, or light com. — Fantome-hay, light, 
 
 well-gotten hay. V. Ray. 
 Farand, s. state of preparation for a journey — ^fashion, man- 
 ner, custom. — Farand-man, a traveller or itinerant mer- 
 chant. — Farant, a. equipped for a journey — fashioned, 
 shaped ; as fighting-farant, in the fighting way or fashion ; 
 well, or ill-farant, well or ill-looking. — See Aud-farant^ 
 " He had wychtmen and -sseiW farand 
 
 Armyt clenly, bath fute and hand."— 27ie Bruce. 
 " She knew non suche in her lande. 
 So goodlie a man and -wel farrand." 
 
 Romance of Ipomcdon, in Warton, Vol.1, p. 198. 
 
 All these expressions may be traced to the old verb/«re, 
 to go, to travel. Sax. faran. Dan. fare. Swed. fara. 
 We may, as remarked by Dr. Willan, wonder at the ideas 
 of foresight, preparation, and formal style, connected with 
 a journey in our island ; but on reverting to the time of 
 the Heptarchy, when no collateral facilities aided the tra- 
 veller, we shall be convinced that a journey of any consi- 
 derable extent, must have been an undertaking that would
 
 100 FA 11 A 
 
 require much j^revious calculation, an<l nice arrangement. 
 Indeed, within the last century, a journey from Newcastle 
 to London, was considered so perilous an enterprise, that 
 the traveller, as a necessary precaution, regularly made 
 his will, and arranged his most important affairs, before 
 his departure. Such, however, in the present days of 
 scientific improvement, is the rapidity of vehicular con- 
 veyance, that, the journey between London and Newcastle 
 is now performed, by railway, in ten hours and a half, and 
 from the latter jilace to Edinburgh in twelve hours : — in 
 1712, the journey between the two capitals was advertised 
 to be performed in thirteen days, without stoppages, Deo 
 volente. 
 Farantly, adv. orderly, in regular or established modes. 
 The Rev. Joseph Hunter, the learned historian of Hallam- 
 shire, who is peculiarly conversant with the dialectical 
 varieties and archaical words of that part of Yorkshire, 
 and to whose friendly attention I am indebted for a valu- 
 able MS. communication, informs me, that the Hallamshire 
 sense of farantly is not exactly that which I and others 
 have given to it. It includes, says he, more of good hu- 
 mour — social qualities. His conjecture upon it is, that it 
 is in full, farant-man-like, and that it expresses those qua- 
 lities by which the itinerant merchant was accustomed to 
 recommend himself to the simi^le inhabitants of the wilder 
 parts of the country, whose periodical arrival was probably 
 considered (as indeed it is by some now) as an important 
 pera in an unvaried life. 
 Fare, to near or approach. " The cow fares a-calving." 
 Farlies, or Ferlies, trifles, unusual or unexpected things. 
 *' Spying farlies," making a wonder of every day, or trifling 
 matters. Sax./e^Vzc, subitus. Su.-Got./ar/e^. Isl.ferlig. 
 
 " Wha herkned ever slyke aferly thing." 
 
 Chaucer, — 27ie Reve's Tale. 
 " On JIalvcrne hilles 
 Me befel a,fcr!cp." — Piers Ploicman. 
 
 J
 
 FAUR 161 
 
 Farn, or Faren-tickled, freckled, sun burnt. — Farx-tickles, 
 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 Swed./raXfjfif, 
 plur. frciknor, freckles. 
 
 Fash, v. to trouble, to tease, " I cannot be fasli'd." Fr. 
 facher, to vex. — Fash, s. trouble, care, anxiety. Fr. 
 facherie. — Fashous, a. troublesome. Fr. facheux, fachmse. 
 
 " She never entered where he was, but incontynent she had the 
 sickness of her sore side, she was so ficsdied with him." — The Spe- 
 cial Words of the Queen of Scots' Letters. See Sadler's State Papers, 
 V. II. p. 389. 
 
 Fashious, troublesome. 
 
 " The way of proceeding was fashious, both to us and the English 
 Commissioner." — Baillie's Letters. 
 
 Fastern's-even, Shrove Tuesday evening. The eve of the 
 great fast as preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of 
 Lent. 
 
 " And on the fasteryngis ewyn rycht 
 In the begynning off the nycht, 
 To the castell thai tuk thair way." — TJie Bruce. 
 
 Fast-shot, in coal-mining, when a shot has discharged with- 
 out disturbing the coal, escaping by the facings, it is said 
 to be & fast-shot. 
 
 Fat, a vat, or large tub. See Gyle-fat. 
 
 Fat-hen, goose foot, or miick weed — growing rank in manured 
 land. Chenopodium album. V. Moor. 
 
 Fau. See Faw. 
 
 Faud, Fad, a fold yard. — Pin-faud, a pinfold. Sax. fald, 
 stabulum. 
 
 Faugh, fallow. My friend, Mr. Wilbraham, says, " an ab- 
 breviation of the word j" but it seems allied, I think, to 
 Isl.faaga, polire, or Sn.-Got.feia relfceia, purgare. 
 
 Fault, a check, dislocation, or disturbance, of the coal field. 
 
 Faurd, fashioned. " Ill-faurcF' — ill favoured or plain ; and 
 weel-faur^d, well favoured or handsome. Ital. fatto — mal- 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 1C2 FAUS 
 
 fatto. In the Promptorium Parvulorum sive Clericorum, 
 a very rare old English and Latin Dictionary, printed in 
 1499, but compiled about 1440, we find, " comly or weU 
 farynge in shape ; elegans ;" and in Herman's Vulgaria, 
 published in 1519, we have, " he looked unfaringly, aspectu 
 fuit incomposito." Well faring looks is still a common 
 expression. See Farand. 
 
 Fause, cunning. This word is used as an adjective, but is 
 evidently 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 ap- 
 pearance. " He favours his father." The use of this 
 word is not confined to Cheshire, as Mr. Wilbraham sup- 
 poses. 
 
 Faw, Faw-gang, a general name in Northumberland for all 
 sorts of wandering peojjle, who go about in companies, 
 encamp by the highway sides in summer, and are employ- 
 ed in making and selling besoms and vending crockery 
 ware. Most of them, 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 the gipsies, the female branches 
 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 Pre- 
 sident of the Council in the North, dated the 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 en- 
 ter into a treaty. Queen Mary, also, granted a writ in 
 his favour. From him and his tribe arose the appellation 
 of faws, and faw-gang, as applied to this singular race of
 
 FEG 163 
 
 Border gipsies. In more recent times, old Will Faw was 
 king or leader of one of these gangs. Since this was wTit- 
 ten, it has been suggested that it was probable Johmiie de- 
 rived his name from his tribe, and from the etymon of 
 the word we must refer to the Sax. fah, a foe, for they were 
 foes to all around them. 
 " Francis Heron, King of ye Faws, bur. [at Jarrow] 13 Jan. 1756." 
 
 Sharpe's Chronicon Mirabile. 
 
 Fay, or Fey, a word used by ship carpenters before a piece 
 of timber is placed. " lifays fair." It is likely to fit. 
 
 Feacigate, impudent, brazen-faced. " A/eac/gra^e jade." 
 
 Feal, to hide ; especially any thing surreptitiously obtained. 
 " He that /e«^s can find." Prov. Isl./<??, occultare. The 
 French have a term, filer sa corde, to go the way to the 
 gallows. 
 
 Feaeful, very, exceeding. " Fearful sorry" — very sorry. 
 The word is common, also, in the sense of, awful, frightful. 
 A fearful sight ; a fearful man ; i. e. a sight, or a man, to 
 cause fear in the beholders. 
 
 Feat, neat, dexterous. Su.-Got. fatt, apt, ready. Swed. 
 fatt, disposed, inclined — fatta, to comprehend. 
 
 Featly, dextrously. " She dances /ea^/^." Winter'' s Tale. 
 
 Feck, might, activity, abundance. Perhaps, Sax. faeck, 
 space. In Scotland, fcch means the greater portion, either 
 of time, or of number. Germ. facTi, a portion or compart- 
 ment ; ein fach, single ; tioet/ fach, double ; mehr fach, many 
 fold. 
 
 Feckful, strong, powerful, active, zealous, brawny. 
 
 Feckle, to entangle. 
 
 Feckless, weak, feeble, helpless, inefficient, ineffectual. 
 
 Feeding-storm, a storm slowly on the increase ; applied 
 
 particularly to a snow storm. 
 Feeder, s. in a coal mine is a discharge of water. 
 Feel, to smell, a very common peculiarity in the North. 
 Feg, the name invariably given by the vulgar to fg. Germ. 
 feige. The word is also used for what is of no value. " A 
 feg for you."
 
 1G4 FEIN 
 
 Feind, devil — used thus — "fcind a bit." Devil a bit. 
 
 " Yovfcltid a cruin of the scho fawis." 
 
 Alex. Scott to hU heart. 
 
 Fell, s. a rocky hill, a mountain or common scarcely admit- 
 ting of cultivation, — frequently used for any moor or open 
 waste, though properly a high or aljnne tract only. I si. 
 fell, one mountain resting on another. Su.-Got. Jiaell, a 
 ridge of mountains. Gevxn, fels, a rock. 
 
 " Betwene the/eMi« and the se 
 Thare thai fand a hale countre, 
 And in all gudis abowndaud." — Wyntown. 
 
 Fell, a. sharp, keen. YLqugq fell, savage, cruel, &c. 
 
 " Ther n'is ywis no serpent so cruel 
 Whan man tredeth on his tail, ne haif sofel 
 As woman is when she hath caught an ire, 
 Veray vengeance is than all hire desire." 
 
 CJiav.cer — Tfic Sompnoure's Tale. 
 
 Fellon, a disease in cows, occasioned by cold. Skinner de- 
 rives it from Sax. felle, cruel, on account of the anguish 
 the complaint occasions ; and the author of the Crav. 
 Gloss, from Dut. feleu or feylen, to fail ; because milch 
 cows, which are subject to it, fail of giving their milk ; or 
 from hellen, to bow or hang down, as the udders of cows 
 are frequently enlarged in this disease. I may add Ital. 
 fello, whence the augmentative /e/?o«e, the obvious primitive 
 oi felon, — about the derivation of which much nonsense has 
 been written. See Black. Comm. Vol. IV. p. 95. Spenser 
 uses felon exactly as Ariosto or Tasso fellone. After aU, 
 the most probable etymon is Germ, fell, a hide, because 
 the disease, if not primarily there, is always accompanied 
 by a remarkable hardness, even to cracking, in the skin, 
 which seems clinging to the parts below. Hence, too, the 
 cutaneous disease mentioned in the next article. 
 V 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. feltrarc ; to which may be 
 added Germ, falten, to plait, to fold. 
 
 " T3.\sfeltied locks that on liis bosom fell."— J='ai'»/ax.
 
 FERE 105 
 
 Femmer, Fremmer, weak, slender, feeble. Isl. framur, mol- 
 lis. 
 
 Fen, to appear to do auy thing neatly or adroitly — not to be 
 deterred by sliame. " I cannot fen," signifies I am re- 
 strained by a sort of awe arising from the presence of some 
 person for whom I have a respect or di'ead. — Fensome, 
 neat, becoming, adroit. Swed. fintlig, inventive, quick at 
 contrivance, ready at expedients. 
 
 Fend, to endeavour, to make shift, to be industrious, to 
 struggle with difficulties, to ward off. " Wg fends hard for 
 a living." It is also used in allusion to the state of a per- 
 son's health ; as " how fends it ;" i. e. how are you in 
 health. — Fendy, good at making a shift, warding off want, 
 careful, provident. Fend is an old word for sujjport. It 
 is used in the last sense in the " Battle of Otterbourne," 
 Scotch Ed. 
 
 " The deer rius wild on hill and dale, 
 The birds fly wild from tree to tree ; 
 But there is neither bread nor kale 
 To fend my men and me." 
 
 Fend and prove, to argue and defend. — Fend (defend) is 
 here used in the French sense — to 'fend and prove, to den^ 
 and prove. So still in pleading. In a letter from Robert 
 Constable, the spy, to Sir Ralph Sadler (see State Papers, 
 V. 2, p. 137) he says, " but I trust you will not constrayn 
 me to prove and fend." 
 
 Fendy, clever at providing for oneself ; a "fendj/ body" is 
 one that can shift for him or herself. 
 
 Fere, Fiere, a brother, friend, or companion. Sax. fem, 
 socius. " Play-fere" — a play-fellow. See the ballad of 
 " Aidd Lang Syne." The word is used for a husband, by 
 Spenser, in the Faerie Queene. So for a wife, in the epi- 
 taph quoted in The Spectator. 
 
 " How now, who lieth here ? 
 I, Robin of Doncastere 
 And Margaret, myfcrc."
 
 166 FERL 
 
 Ferly, v. to wonder. — Ferly, s. a wonder. See Farlies. 
 
 " That nycht thai spak commonly 
 Off'thaim within, and had/eW// 
 That thai swa stout defens had maid."— 37ie Bruce. 
 
 Fest, v. to bind or place out an apprentice under an inden- 
 ture. ^SiH. festnian. Su.-Got./ae5«a, 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. 
 
 Festin, or Fessen, to fasten. 
 
 " Here sail they festin the cord to his neck." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaltis. 
 
 Festing-penny, money given by way of earnest, to a servant, 
 when hired or retained in service. Among the Saxons a 
 festinman signified a surety or pledge. 
 
 Fettle, v. to put in order, to repair or mend anything 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 from 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. fyJct, studium. The word in Cheshire, has the 
 same meaning as that which I have given, and Mr. Wil- 
 braham says, it appears to him to be derived with some 
 deflection of the word faire, 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 mean- 
 ing as our substantive fettle, and is explained by Roquefort, 
 in his Glossaire de la Langue Romaine, by fa(;on, mode, 
 forme, &c. I am, however, inclined to consider it as from 
 the same root as Feat ; which see. 
 
 Fettle, s. order, good condition, jiroper repair. Used by 
 Roger Ascham, in his Toxophilus. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Feud, a family war on the Borders in days past ; the/eMe 
 of the German chivalry. See Deadly Feud. 
 
 Feuth, Fouth, fill, indulgence, plenty. " Let them have 
 their /(?M^A"^ — ^give them enough to eat or drink.
 
 FIRS 167 
 
 Few, number, a large quantity. " A good few^* — " a gay 
 few^^ — what our Southern neighbours call " a gootl many." 
 
 Few, is also used for a small quantity ; as a " little few 
 broth ;" originally, perhaps, a few hroes^ the Scotch for 
 broth, and taken in England for the plural. 
 
 FiDGiNG, uneasy, impatient, restless. " Fidging fain." 
 
 FiKE, V. to fidget, to be restless, or busied about trifles. Su.- 
 Got. fiha, cursitare. Swed. fika, to be eagerly in search 
 of. — FiKE, FiKEs, s. restlessness, trifling cares. " To have 
 the j^te." — FiKY, a. fidgetty, itchy, minutely troublesome. 
 
 File, to soil, to foul — to defile. Sax. afylan, contaminare. 
 
 ■ If it be so 
 
 For Banquo's issue have 1 filed mymind." 
 
 Shahs.,— Macbeth, Act III. Sc. 1. 
 
 Find, to feel. Fand, felt. Very common in the North. 
 
 FiNKLE, the plant fennel. — Dur. Sax.ft/ncl. Ger. fenchel. 
 
 FiNNiKT, trifling, scrupulously -pavticular— finical. 
 
 FipPLE, a name for the under lip. V. Jam. faiple. A per- 
 son is said to " hang his fipple," when he looks sulky or 
 discontented. In " Peblis to the Play" it is used as a 
 
 verb — 
 
 " He fippilit lyk ane faderles fole." 
 
 Fire-damp, the inflammable air, or carburetted hydrogen gas 
 
 of coal mines. 
 
 " The accidents arising from the explosion of the fire-damp or in- 
 flammable 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. Davy. 
 
 PiRE-FANGED, fire bitten. V. Jam. vo. fyrefangit. 
 FiREFLAUGHT, lightning, a flash of fire, ^c.firefiaucht. 
 
 " The wyffis cast up ane hiddwous zell 
 Quhen all the zounkeris zokkit 
 Alls fers as onyfyr flaucMis fell 
 Freikis on the feild yn flokit." 
 
 Christ Kirk on the Green. 
 
 FiRLOT, or FuRLOT, a measure. 
 
 First, next ensuing. Quite peculiar to the North. A friend
 
 1C8 FIRS 
 
 well acquainted with our northern <Halect, in a communi- 
 cation to me, after my former edition, says, " I remember 
 Dr. Cooks on, late Canon of Windsor, telling me that, when 
 he went to his rectory in Norfolk, he invited the neighbour- 
 ing gentry who had called on him, to dinner, on Thursday 
 first. Nobody came, but on the following Thursday, which 
 unluckily happened to be the 1st of July, they all came 
 and found Mrs. Cookson unprovided." 
 
 First-foot, the name given to the person who first enters a 
 dwelling-house on New Year''s Day — regarded by the su- 
 perstitious and the credulous as influencing the fate of the 
 family, esjjecially the fair part of it, for the remainder of 
 the year. In order to exclude all suspected or unlucky 
 persons, I find, it is customary for one of the damsels to 
 engage, beforehand, 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, it is considered unpropitious, be she lovely as an 
 angel. 
 
 Fish, an instrument used by miners for recovering lost buck- 
 ets or clacks. 
 
 Fissle, or Fistle, to make a rustling noise, to fidget. Teut. 
 fiUselen, agitare. 
 
 Fitt, to vend and load coals. An application of the usual 
 verb to fit, to a j)articular purpose. V. Brand's Hist. 
 Newc. Vol. II. p. 272. — Fitters, persons who vend and 
 load coals— fitting ships with cargoes. — Runxixg-fitters, 
 their deputies. 
 
 Fix-fax, gristle, the great white tendon of the necks of ani- 
 mals. Germ, fiachse. 
 
 Fiz, to scorch, to fly off, to make a hissing noise. Isl. fysa. 
 
 FizzER, a singing hinny witliout spice. Sec Sixgixg Hixxie. 
 
 Flacker, Flecker, to flutter, to vibrate like the wings of a 
 bird under alarm, to quiver. Su.-Got. ficclra. Germ. 
 flaclern. — Flicker is used by Chaucer and Shakspeare.
 
 FLAU 169 
 
 Flaff, to flap. 
 
 "Then doubt ye not a thousand /aj^nflr flags, 
 Nor horrible cries of hideous heathen hags." 
 
 Hudson's Judith. 
 
 Flaffer, the same as Flacker, Flecker ; which see. 
 
 Flag, a piece of green sward, cast with a spade ; formerly 
 used instead of thatch, for cottages and out-buildings, &c. 
 
 Flah, Flaw, a square piece of turf, dried and used as fuel. 
 Sax.flean, to flay oif. Dan. J!aae, to flay. 
 
 Flaik, or Fleck, a portion or space of stall ; so denominated 
 to this day by the fish women in Newcastle. Germ, ^ecky 
 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 
 keeping oat cakes upon. 
 
 Flam, a violent fall, a heavy stroke. f&xX. flahhe. 
 
 Flang, the old preterite of fling ; still in common use. 
 
 " Sa ■Weill has thaim defendit thar, 
 That ledders to the ground thai Jtanfl-."— 27ie Bruce. 
 
 Flannen, the vulgar pronunciation of flannel. Welsh, gwla- 
 nen ; which Davies derives from gwlan, wool. 
 
 Flapper-ghasted, frightened, as if by a ghost. Major Moor 
 has flabber-gasted, in the sense of astonished, confused. 
 
 Flappy, wild, irregular, unsteady. "An old flappy body." 
 
 Flatlixs, plainly, peremptory. 
 
 " But thai sa gret defend that maid, 
 That war abowyne apon the wall 
 That oft leddris, and men with all, 
 Thai gert taX\ flatlingis on the ground." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 
 Flatt, in a coal mine, the situation where the horses take the 
 
 coal tubs from the putters. 
 Flaughter, the thin turf turned up when ground is pared. 
 
 Isl. flag-torf, csespites graminei. 
 Flaut, Flought, a roll of wool carded ready for spinning. 
 
 Germ, flausch, a tuft of wool, a handful. 
 
 VOL. I. z 
 
 J^^>
 
 y^ 
 
 170 FLAY 
 
 Flay, to frighten. — Flay'd, affrighted, terrified, timorous. 
 " Aw's Jlayed^^ I'm afraid. — Flaying, an apparition or 
 hobgoblin. — Flay-some, frightful. — Flay-craw, a scare 
 crow. Probably connected with Germ. ^iehen, to fly away. 
 
 " Cum on, schir freir, and be noeht fleyit. 
 The king our maister man be obeyit." 
 
 Lyndmy's Three EstaUls. 
 
 "01 sleep saft, and I wake aft, 
 Its lang since sleeping wa,a fleyed from me." 
 
 Kinmont WiUie. 
 " A wee thing /ays cowards."— Sc. Prov. 
 
 Fleched, spotted, streaked. Is\. Jlecla, discolor. Ban.^ek, 
 
 and S'wed.j^dck, a stain, spot, blot. 
 Flee, v. to fly. Sax. jffeoffan. — Flee, s, a fly. S&x.Jicoge. 
 
 " Waite, what thing we may not lightly have, 
 Therafter wol we cry all day and crave. 
 Forbede us thing, and that desien we ; 
 Prese on us fast, and thanne wol we fiee." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Wife of Bathe's Prologue. 
 
 Flee-by-the-sky, a silly, flirting, absurdly dressed, giggling 
 girl — a wanton hussy — any silly body. 
 
 Fleech, to supplicate in a flattering manner, to wheedle. 
 Tent. ^etsen. — Fleeching, flattering, supplicating, or, ac- 
 cording to " The Bee," earnestly entreating, with a desire 
 to gain any one over to the jjurpose wanted, by artfully 
 drawing them to form a good opinion of the Jleecher. 
 
 " Schirs, freiris wold never I yow assure, 
 That ony prelatis usit preiching 
 And prelatis tuke on them that cure 
 Freiris wold get nathing for their fleichiiiff." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Fleeing-eather, the large dragon fly ; chiefly seen about 
 ponds and marshes. CEslina grandis. The vulgar are 
 afraid of being stung by it ; from which circumstance it is, 
 in some places, called a stanging catJicr, and, in others, a 
 tangivg ncdder ; both meaning a stinging adder. I shall 
 only add, that in Aelfric's Glossary we ^ni\.Jieonde naeddre.
 
 FLIR 171 
 
 Fleet, shallow ; as a fleet pan or vessel ; fleet water. Sax. 
 fleding fluxus, inimdatio ; hence fleet, a creek where the 
 tide flows. 
 Fleet-milk, milk without cream ; from old verb fleet, to 
 
 skim. 
 Fleer, to mock at, to grin with scorn. See Flire ; which 
 seems cognate. Stubbes, in his violent philippic, the Ana- 
 tomic of Abuses, uses the word in describing the church- 
 ales of his day. 
 " Then the foolish people they looke, they stare, they laugh, they 
 fleere, and mount upon formes and pewes, to see these goodly 
 pageants solemnised in this sort." 
 
 Flenders, shreds, broken pieces, splinters. I formerly re- 
 ferred to Dut. flenters ; but, according to Ihre, the true 
 origin of the word is the Gothic flinga, frustrum, utpote 
 quod percutiendo rumpitur. 
 
 " The moon was clear, the day drew near, 
 The spears in flenders flew, 
 But mony a gallant gentleman 
 Ere day the Scotsmen slew."— Battle ofOtterburne. 
 " The bow ia flenders &evr."— Christ Kirk on the Green. 
 
 Flesher, a butcher. Nearly obsolete in the North of Eng- 
 land, though in Scotland it is still common. In Newcastle 
 there was formerly a place called Flesher Raw, where the 
 fleshers or butchers resided. 
 
 Flick, a side or flitch of bacon. Snx.flicce, succidia. 
 
 " Another broughte a spycke 
 Of bacon flicke." — SIcelton. 
 
 Fligged, fledged. " Fligg'd ower the doup" Isl. fl^gr^ 
 
 volucris. YLexLcefliggers, young birds that can fly. 
 Fling, to dance in a peculiar manner, as in the Highland 
 
 Fling. Perhaps from Swed. fldnga, to romp. 
 Flint, the core of an animal's corn. 
 Flire, to laugh, or rather to have a countenance expressive 
 
 of laughter, without laughing out. Isl. fl^i/ra, subridere. 
 
 There is a Scotch expression, to flyre the face, to be in a 
 
 fierce passion.
 
 172 FLIR 
 
 FtiRTiaio, a wanton giggling lass — an unsteady girl. 
 
 Flisk, to skip or bounce. Swed. flissa, to laugh immode- 
 rately. — Flisky, frolicksome. " She's a rsixefliski/ jado." 
 
 Flit, to remove from one habitation to another. Su.-Got. 
 flytta. Ban. fj/tte. Swed.fj/tta. — Flitting, the act of re- 
 moving the furniture. — Moonligut-flitting, carrying away 
 at night the household goods without paying the rent to 
 the landlord — flying the country for debt. Flitioite is an 
 old term for an amercement where a person, having been 
 a fugitive, returned of his own accord, or without a license. 
 
 FuTE, to scold, to make a great noise. S&x.Jlitan, to brawl. 
 Sc. Jiytc. — Fliting, the act of scolding or brawling. 
 
 Flity, giddy, light headed, non compos. Sc. flj^j/. — Mr. 
 Taylor suggests that it should be written, fiigMy^ & fly- 
 away. 
 
 Flote, to flatten, in plastering. 
 
 Flough, Flow, cold, windy, boisterous, bleak. " Its flough 
 weather." " Here's Skflow day." Cumb. The word seems 
 alllied to S'WQii.flasning, violent respiration. 
 
 Floughter, or Flowter, a fright. — Floughtered, affrighted. 
 
 Fluck, Flucker, or Jenny-flucker, a flounder. Sax. floe. 
 
 Flum, Flummery, using an illusory pretext — misleading you 
 to expect something — deceitfulness. 
 
 Flung, deceived, beaten. " He was sadlj flung, poor man." 
 Probably a metai>hor from being thrown off" horseback ; as 
 also he was thrown, he was cast — both which phrases are 
 in use. 
 
 Fly-by-night, a term for a worthless person, who gets into 
 debt, and runs off", leaving the house empty. 
 
 Foal, the youngest in the rank of putters in a coal pit. 
 
 Fog, Fogg, the grass grown in autumn after the hay is mown 
 — the second crop, or aftermath. Law Lat. fogagium. 
 
 " One with another they would lie and play, 
 And in the deep/ojr batten all the da.y."— Drayton. 
 
 Fog, a term in the North for moss ; of Danish origia—fuug. 
 Foggy, a, fat, bloated. Sc.foggie, dull, lumpish. 
 
 J
 
 FOND 178 
 
 Foist, to smell musty. Shakspeare, in Hamlet, uses to fust ; 
 which is probably the same word. 
 
 Following-stone, the loose stone lying above the coal, which 
 comes down on its removal. 
 
 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 in- 
 tended. 
 
 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 al- 
 lusion to their labours having ceased in that severe season. 
 In these perambulations, to say nothing of the music, they 
 are accompanied by a tawdry and grotesque figure in the 
 habit of a woman, denominated the Bessy, as well as by 
 a humourous countryman, called the Fool, distinguish- 
 ed by a still more antic dress ; and whose office it is — in 
 which he is very assiduous — to rattle a box amongst the 
 spectators, and to receive their donations. 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 liveli- 
 hood. 
 
 FooT-ALE, or Footing, an entertainment given on taking pos- 
 session of any new place or office — a fine imposed on a be- 
 ginner. 
 
 Fond, silly, foolish. An old Northern word. Su.-Got. 
 fdnigy delirus, stultus. Swed. fdnig, foolish, silly. — Fond-
 
 174 FOR 
 
 AS-A-BUZZOM, remarkably silly, ridiculously good-natured. 
 — FoNDY, or Fondling, a fool. Old Burton uses fond- 
 ling. 
 
 " The direction of your paquet was methought fondely wrytten by 
 the clcrke that wrote it, wherin ho maketh me the queue's am- 
 bassadour resydent uppon the frontiers of Scotland." — " I trust 
 you will conceyve that 1 write nothing herein either of any 
 malice or fond ignorance." — Letters from Sir Ralph Saddler to Se- 
 cretary Cecil, 1559." 
 
 " To starve in full bams were/owcZ modesty." 
 
 Dekkar's Holiest Whore, Part II. 
 
 For, lest. This word is still used in Northumberland, as it 
 is frequently found in our early writers, in the sense of 
 preventio)i or 2»'ecaution j as, " Cover him up for catching 
 cold." Joined to what, it is expostulative ; as, " What 
 for hev ye getten sic a wee bit ?" 
 
 Force, or Forse, a cascade or waterfall. Su.-Got. fors, a 
 cataract. The High Force, or great fall of the river Tees, 
 is a scene of great sublimity, and perhaps the finest cata- 
 ract in the island. 
 
 FoRDER, to promote, to advance — to forward. V. Jam. 
 Supp. 
 
 Fore, the present. — To the Fore, still remaining, surviving. 
 " Is he still to the /ore?" that is—" Is he still alive." 
 
 " If Christ had not been to the fore in our days, the waters had 
 gone over our soul." — Rutherford's Letters. 
 
 But in the proverb *' If you can spend much, put the more 
 to the fore,^' it seems to imply the future. 
 
 Fore-door, the door in front of the house, the principal en- 
 trance. 
 
 FoREBY, besides, over and above. D&n. forhi. by, past, over. 
 
 Fore-elder, an ancestor. Sax./oreaW/cw, senescere. Swed. 
 fbrdldrar, parents. Dan. foraldre. Mr. Hunter informs 
 me, that he never heard this word south of York ; and 
 there only once. But ancestors, which has supplanted a 
 w^ord better than itself, is hardly quite naturalized, being
 
 FOU 175 
 
 sometimes pronounced mmcctres, 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. 
 FoREXENST, FoRNENT, FoRANENT, opposite to, over against, 
 
 towards — as in part payment of a debt. Sc. foreanent. 
 
 " A great number of wicked thieves oppressoures, and peace break- 
 ers, and receiptors of thieft, of the surnames of Armstrangis, 
 Ellotes, and otheris, inhabiting the boundouris foreanent Eng- 
 land"— Act James VI. 
 
 For EVER AND AY, a common expression in the North, but 
 not a pleonasm as some have supposed, for it implies the 
 future and the present. The Northumbrians use ay, for 
 always, constantly; as, "He's ay bragging;" "for ever 
 and ay" therefore, would mean, for all future as well as 
 present time. 
 
 FoRKiN-ROBBiN, au ear wig ; so called from its forked tail. 
 Ray. 
 
 FoRPiT, a measure of a quarter of a peck, i. e. the fourth part, 
 as a farthing is the fourth jjart of a penny. 
 
 Forth, a jjlace in Newcastle, i. e. the Fort. 
 
 FoRTHERLY, forward, early. " A fortherly harvest" — "/o;-- 
 therly potatos." 
 
 FoTHER, or FuTHER, in Newcastle, as many coals as a two- 
 horse cart can carry. Sax. father. A fother of lead 
 weighs 21cwt. 
 
 " With him ther was a Plowman, was his brother 
 That hadde ylaid of dong ful many afoth«r." 
 
 Oiaucer, — The Prologue. 
 " For Katie Unsell was my mother 
 And common Theif my father-brother; 
 Of sic friendship I had anefuther." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Foil, tipsy, Bacchi plenus— /«^/ of his orgies. The situation 
 of the " wee bit ^vifeikie," who, forgetting both the tem- 
 perance and gentleness of her sex, happened to get "/o?<,"
 
 17C FOUL 
 
 is felicitously ridiculed in a Scottish song attributed to 
 Geddes. 
 
 Foulness, in a coal pit, is the presence of carburetted hydro- 
 gen in large quantities. 
 
 Foumart, a polecat. Mustela putorius. Vvohahly fouhnarty 
 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. feuillemort (dead leaf), a 
 species of weazel, so called from its colour. 
 
 " The hart, the hynd, the doe, the roe, 
 'Shefidmart and false fox."— 27ie Cherry and Sloe. 
 
 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. 
 Four, FowT, an indulged or spoiled child ; any foolish person. 
 
 A friend says, fou'd, stultified. Fr. fol, fou. Ital. folle. 
 FoUTER, a term of contempt. Fr. foutre. — Foutt, 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 sigafico. 
 FouTH, abundance, plenty ; generally appHed to provisions. 
 
 Perhaps from Teut. vulte, plenitude, 
 FoY, an entertainment given by a person about to leave home. 
 
 Belg. defoi geeven, coenam profectitiam dare. Skinner. 
 FozY, Fuzzy, light and spungy. Sax. wosig, humidus. Teut. 
 
 voos, spongiosus. 
 Fra, from. A pure Saxon word ; in constant use. 
 Frame, to attempt. " He frames well" — he appears to do 
 
 it well, " How does 'heframe'^ — how does he set about it ? 
 
 Sax. fi'cmman, efficere et formare. 
 
 " Then said they unto him, say now Shibboleth ; and he said Sib- 
 boleth ; for he could not frame to pronounce it right." 
 
 Judges, xii., 6.
 
 FREM 177 
 
 Fratch, to scold, to quarrel. Germ, fratzen, fooleries? 
 Fratcher, a scold, or quarrelsome jierson. See Fratch. 
 Fratished, or Frettished, perished, half frozen, benumbed 
 
 with cold. We also hear of a fratishment, or frettishment. 
 Freed-stool, or Frid-stool, an ancient stone chair or seat, 
 in one of the pews near the altar, in the fine old church of 
 Hexham ; which, until the reign of James I., possessed 
 the privilege of sanctuary, within the four crosses on the 
 outside of the town. The term is obviously composed of 
 Sax. frith, pax, and stol, sedes, cathedra ; that is, the chair 
 or seat of peace — affording to the fugitive perfect security. 
 This stone chair is still carefully preserved in the church 
 of Hexham. The ornaments upon it assign it to the Nor- 
 man period. See an engraving of it in Sanct. Dunelm. et 
 Sanct. Bev., one of the Surtees Society's publications. 
 There is an interesting sketch of the History of Sanctuary, 
 by Mr. Pegge, in the Archaeologia, Vol. VIII. p. 1 and 
 seq. See also Dugdale's Monast. II. 128 note. 
 " TTie Fnd^tool [of Beverley Minster] is placed on the left of the 
 entrance to the vestry ; it is hewn out of a solid stone, with a 
 hollow back ; it has been broken, but repaired with iron cramps. 
 When Leiand saw this chair, he states it to have borne the fol- 
 lowing inscription : — 
 Hac Sedes lapidea Freedstool dicitur, i. e. Pacis Cathedra, 
 ad quem reus fugiendo perveniens omnimodam habit 
 securitatem. 
 No such inscription, however, is now visible." 
 
 Poulson's History of Beverley, p. 687. 
 Freelage, the freedom or privilege of a burgess, in a Corpo- 
 ration. Germ, frilatz, free. 
 Freet, to lament, to grieve. From fret, to vex. Swed. 
 
 frata. " ^hefreets dreadfully after the bairns." 
 Freet, or Freit, a spectre or frightful object, a superstitious 
 
 observance or charm. Isl. frett, an oracle. 
 Frem, Frem'd, strange, foreign, unknown, not of kindred. 
 Sax. and Germ. /rem'J. Dan.freminet. 
 
 " O fader maist dere 
 
 Anchises, desolate — why left me thou here 
 
 Wery and irkit in s.-ae.fremmyt la.nd."— Douglas' JEneid.
 
 178 FREM 
 
 Freni'diBiilao 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 &frem\l day. 
 
 Frem'd-folk, strangers. Swed. frummande. 
 
 Fresh, the swelling or overflowing of a river, a flood, a thaw. 
 This word is classical in this sense, and hence Fresh, a. not 
 frosty, applied to weather in a season when frost has been 
 lately, or may be soon expected (for we do not sjieak of 
 fresh weather in summer), so that fresh weather is that in 
 which floods ai'e frequent. So, Sj)ring for the season of 
 reviving vegetation, and Fall for the autumn, when it de- 
 clines. 
 
 Fretten, spotted, marked. Pock Fretten, marked with 
 the small pox. S&s.. 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 Re- 
 searches, Vol, I., p. 172), inform us, that with them " Fri- 
 day is a most unlucky day on which no business must be 
 commenced." 
 
 " Friday's noon, 
 Come when it will, it comes too soon." — Prov. 
 
 Hopton, in his Concordancic of Yeares, is profuse on the 
 subject of unlucky days and hours. 
 
 Frim, handsome, thriving, in good case. Sax. freom, fortis. 
 
 Froating, anxious, unremitting industry. 
 
 Frosk, a frog. — Diir. Sax. frox, rana. Germ, frosch. 
 
 Frow, Frowe, a slattern — also a lusty female. Dut. rrow. 
 Germ. f)^au, a woman. Su.-Got, fru, signifies a woman of 
 rank, Beaumont and Fletcher, in Wit at several Wea- 
 pons, use /roe, 
 
 " Buxom as Bacchus' /roe», revelling; dancing, 
 Telling the musick's numbers with their feet."
 
 FULL 179 
 
 Frowsy, a. slovenly, coarse-looking, bloated. Sc. fruesome. 
 Fruch, brittle, as wood, straw, &c. Fr. froisse, bruised. 
 
 " Ane other he straik on a basnat of steille, 
 The tre to raiff and /nwc/tif euiredeille." — fVallace. 
 
 Fruggax, the pole with which the ashes in an oven are stir- 
 red. Fr. fourgon, an oven-fork, and that, no doubt, from 
 Germ, verriichen, to stir ; the v in German being sounded 
 like/. 
 
 Frumenty, or Frumity, a dish made of bruised wheat or 
 barley, boiled with milk, and seasoned with sugar and 
 spices, liat.ffumentum. 
 
 Frumpish, scornful, contemptuous. Bailey, has frtttnj), v. to 
 flout, &c., derived from Tuet. frumpelen, to frizzle up the 
 nose, as in derision. 
 
 FuDDER. See Fother. 
 
 Fuddle, food ale, drinking to excess, so as to make ale the 
 chief food. This is the derivation (fanciful and unsatis- 
 factory, 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 Northumber- 
 land 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, lyfuffen. — Fuffy, light and 
 soft. 
 
 " The irne lumpis, into the cauis blak, 
 Can hysse and quhissil ; and the hate fire 
 Doith/«/and blaw in bleisses birnand schyre." 
 
 Douglas' ^neid. 
 " The fijst /((/ of a fat haggis is aye the feirsest." — Pr. 
 
 Full-drive, at a furious rate, as fast as you can go. 
 
 Full, or Fullen, house-leek, or sen-green, sennyervivum tec- 
 torum. Culpepper, in his Herbal, says it is an herb reput- 
 ed by Megaldus, to preserve what it grows upon from
 
 180 FUN 
 
 fire and lightning. Country people plant it on the roof of 
 their cottages, as well with this view as for its many sup- 
 posed valuable qualities, which all the old herbalists enu- 
 merate. 
 
 Fun, Fund (/>. p. oifind) found. Used by old people. 
 
 Funk, to smoke, or rather to cause an offensive smell. IsL 
 /una, putrescere. — Funking the Cobbler, filling an old 
 person's room with the fumes of brimstone and assafcetida 
 — a mischievous pastime among boys. 
 
 Funny, comical. V. Todd's John. See also. Jam. Supp., 
 funnie. 
 
 Fur, a furrow. Sax./w, furh, sulcus. — Rig-and-fur, ridge 
 and furrow. " Big andfurr'd stockings." 
 
 ¥vsQ\% fiizzball, a fungus found in fields, which, when press- 
 ed, emits quantities of dust — a puff-ball. Lycoperdon pro- 
 teins. 
 
 FusiN, Fuzzen, nourishment, abundance. V. Todd's John. 
 foisin. — FuzzENLESs, insipid, dry, tasteless. 
 
 " And thai fand sic foysann tharin 
 Off corne, and flour, and wax, and wyn." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 
 FusoME, handy, handsome, neat. Probably viewsome, as 
 viewly, which is common in the sense of pleasant to look 
 upon. In Scotland, Mr. Kinloch informs me, it is the re- 
 verse — it means disgusting. 
 
 Fuss, v. to attempt to do any thing in a hurried or confused 
 manner. Sax. j'^'saw, to hasten. Sn.-Got.fj/sa. 
 
 Fy-yaud. An expression used by shepherds in sending out 
 their dogs. 
 
 G. 
 
 Gab, v. to prate, to prattle. Ir. gob, a beak, or bill. — Gab, 
 s. idle talk, prating — the mouth ; saucy talk. 
 
 Gad, Gaed, or Ged, a fishing rod, a wand, a long stick with 
 a pike at the end, formerly used to drive oxen when they 
 were employed as beasts of draught. It is a term still
 
 GAIT 181 
 
 used for a cartman's whip. The scriptural expression of 
 kicking against the pricks is founded on the same custom. 
 Sax. gad, a goad. 
 
 " He criyt ' Theyff ! call all ! call all !' 
 And he then lete the gad wand iaXV'—Tlie Bruce. 
 
 Gadger, or Gauger, a name for that recording angel of the 
 law, ycleped an exciseman — to gauge being a part of his 
 employment. Of the gauger of wines and his office, we 
 have many ancient statutes. The true English gaiige 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 1" Dr. 
 Jam. says, " it has been supposed that there is some simi- 
 larity in the use of. gay in O. Fr. But I have met not with 
 an example of this kind." It is, however, in modern French. 
 The Academic say, " aller gaiement, pour dire aller bon 
 train ;" i. e. just/»re«^ well. 
 
 Gain, a curious Northumbrian expression, of various signifi- 
 cation, generally attached to other words to express a de- 
 gree of comparison ; as gaiii quiet — pretty quiet ; gain brave 
 — tolerably courageous ; gain near — conveniently near or 
 at hand. The etymology is doubtful, though it is probably 
 an abbreviation of gay and. — Gain is also used simply for, 
 near ; with the superlative Gainest, the nearest ; as the 
 " gainest way" — the nearest road. V. Ihre, gagn. 
 
 " Quhen thai had slayne and woundyt mony man, 
 Till Wallace In, the gaynest way thai can, 
 Thai passyt sone, defendand thaim rycht weiW."— Wallace. 
 
 Gait, a goat. Su.-Got. get. Sax. gat. 
 
 Gait, to set up sheaves of com to dry. — Gaiting, a single 
 sheaf of com, especially of oats and barley, set up on end 
 to dry. It has been suggested that it may be from Genn. 
 gate, hasty, done in a hurry, and to be after set up into
 
 182 GALA 
 
 Btooks. To gait, ill Lancashire, is to prepare a loom for 
 
 weaving. 
 Galasii, to mend shoes or boots by putting additional leather 
 
 round them. Probably from the Fr. galache. 
 Gale, or Geal, to ache vnth. cold ; as the fingers do when 
 
 frost bitten ; or when very cold water is taken in the 
 
 mouth. Perhaps from Lat. gelu,i.Tos,t, cold ; or Germ, gd- 
 
 len, to tingle. See Cotgrave, geler, to congeal with cold. 
 Galley-bauk, a balk in the chimney, ^dth a crook, on which 
 
 to hang pots. Gelte, in Germ, is a vessel with ears. 
 Gallook, Galore, plenty, abundance. Gael. go-leoir, enough. 
 
 " To feasting they went and to merriment, 
 And tippled strong liquor gillore." 
 
 Ritson's Robin Hood. 
 
 Gam, to mock. It is game, shortening the vowel. The cant 
 word to gammon, and the corresponding substantive gam- 
 mon, derivatives. A gammon of bacon, however, is a gam- 
 bone, jambon. 
 
 Gamashers, Gammashes, gaiters. Sc. gramashes. V. Jam. 
 
 Gan, Gang, to go. Sax. gan, gangan. Several other lan- 
 guages agree with this ; as the Islandic ganga, Alemannic 
 gangan Dutch ganghen, &c. 
 
 " Quhen thow was young, I bure the in my arme, 
 Ful tenderlie till thow begouth to gang. 
 And in thy bed oft happit the full warme."— Xyntfoaj/. 
 
 Ganger, having a good action — a good goer. Dan. ganger. 
 " He's a ganger, like Willy Pigg's dick-ass." 
 
 Gangeral, or Ganner, a vagrant, or tramper — one who gangs 
 about the country. " The country swarms with gatmers." 
 
 Gang- way, a thoroughfare, entry, or passage. Sax. gangweg. 
 Swed. gangtag, a pathway. 
 
 Gangweek, Rogation week — time of perambulating a bound- 
 ary. An old word, still in use, from Sax. gang-wuca. 
 Swed. ghige-vecka is cognate. 
 
 Gant, or Gaunt, to ya'wn. Sax. ganian, to gape, to gasp.
 
 GART 183 
 
 Gantree, Gantry, a stand for ale or beer barrels. V. Jam. 
 
 Gar, to make, to force, to compel, Dan. giore. Swed. 
 ffSra, Not obsolete, as Dr. Jobnson states ; but in com- 
 mon use in all the Northern counties. 
 
 " Was I not yesterdaye at the Newe-castell 
 That standes so fayre on Tyne ? 
 For all the men the Perssy had 
 He cowde not garre me ones to dyne." 
 
 Battle ofOtterhurn, Hit. A. B., I. 98. 
 
 " Bot my gudeman, the treuth I sail thee tell, 
 Gars me kelp Chastitie sair againes my will." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 " But specially I pray thee hoste dere 
 Gar us have mete and drinke, and make us chere." 
 
 Chaucer, — Tfie Reve's Tale. 
 
 " And the King a parlyament 
 Gert set thairefter hastily." — The Bruce. 
 
 " His gret manheid, and his bounte 
 Gerris him yeit renowynt be." — Ihid. 
 
 " Gregorie the grete clerk gaiie write in bokes 
 The rewle of alle religioun rigtiful and obedient." 
 
 Cliaucer. 
 
 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 carried be- 
 fore the corpse of a young unmarried female, and after- 
 wards suspended in the church. When I was a boy, there 
 were several of these funeral garlands at the church of 
 Witton Gilbert, in the County of Durham, No white- 
 washing, or beautifying, I hope, has since disturbed them. 
 See Virgin' Garland. 
 
 Garn, the ancient j^ronunciation of yarn ; still retained by 
 old people. Sax. gearn. Dan. and Germ, garri. 
 
 Gars, Gurse, grass. Sax. goers. Sc, gerss. — Garsing, Gur- 
 siNG, a grazing, a pasture — an ing, or inclosure in grass. 
 
 Garten, a garter. Gael, gairtein. Sc. gartene. Welsh, 
 gardys.
 
 184 UART 
 
 Garth, a small inclosurc adjoining to a house. Br. gardd, a 
 garden. Sax. geard, a yard. Swed. gdrd. 
 
 " And so befell in till ano mirthfull morrow 
 Into my garth I past me to repose." 
 
 Coniplaynt of the Papingo. 
 
 " Throw a dark garth scho gydyt liim furth fast." 
 
 Wallace. 
 
 A country church-yard is called the garth, or Virk-ganh. 
 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 un- 
 ^ timely end. 
 
 Gate, or Gait, a right of pasturage for cattle through the 
 summer — their stray or grazing for any specified time. It 
 is derived 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 
 expression which has been peculiarly preserved in the 
 names of streets or lanes in almost every considerable 
 Northern town : — those ending in gate, as Bailiffgate, Gil- 
 ligate, Narrowgate, 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. Su.-Got., 
 Isl. and Swed. gata, semita. Sax., Dut. gat. In many 
 villages, the public road passing through is still called the 
 towngate. Gate is, also, understood in the North in a 
 more general sense; as, " gang your _^«^e," go your way. 
 " What gate are ye ganging ?" what road are you going ? 
 " How many gates hae ye been 1" how often have you 
 gone, or how many journies have you taken ? " To go 
 agatewards," to accompany a short way. 
 
 " Schyr Edunard, that was sa worthy 
 Tuk with him a gret cumpany 
 And tuk his gayt till Galloway." — The Bruce. 
 
 " And thaune Reson rood faste 
 The right heighe gate.
 
 GEAL 185 
 
 As Couscience Iijtu keuned 
 Til thei come to the kjTige." — Piers Plowman. 
 " T. & Z. Lee, to sel 16 gate of lime."— Cliurchwardetis' Accounts, St, 
 Nicholas', Newcastle, 1710. 
 
 Gauct, fat and comely, — North. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Gaum, to comprehend, to understand, to distinguish, to con- 
 sider. Mce.-Got. gaumgan, percipere ; or Teut. gauw, 
 acutus. — Gaujiless, silly, ignorant, vacant, stupid. 
 
 Gaup, to stare vacantly. " What are ye gaiqnng at, ye 
 gowk ?" Dut. gaapen, to gape. 
 
 Gaute, to stare about in a clownish manner, to look round 
 with a strange, inquiring gaze, said of a young horse not 
 used to the road. Germ, gaffen, adspectare. V. Wach- 
 ter ; and see Gavyson, or Gawvison. 
 
 Gavelock (often pronounced Geavlick) a strong iron crow, 
 or bar, used as a lever, chiefly by masons and quarrymen. 
 Sax. ga/oeloc, catapulta. Su.-Got. gqfflak, jaculi genus apud 
 veteres Suiogothos. Ihre. 
 
 Gavy, probably from Guave, an ungainly female, " of a 
 strange gait and unco' manners." 
 
 Gavysox, or Gaw\t:son, 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. gack, a 
 fool, buifoon. Dan. giek. Germ. geek. 
 
 Gay, tolerable. " He's a gai/ 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 soon. See Gain. 
 
 " Last morning I was gay and early out." 
 
 Ramsay, Gentle Shepherd. 
 " Swa that I kan that raid ga rycht."—Tlie Bruce. 
 
 Geal, Geyal, or Gell, to ache with cold, as the fingers do in 
 frost ; to crack with heat or frost. Green wood geals in 
 the sun, and the earth, when it is rent or cracked with 
 
 VOL. I. B b
 
 18G GEAN 
 
 heat, in very dry weather, is said to l)e gelled or gealed. 
 
 Isl. geil, fissura, raptura. The first sense may probably 
 
 be from gelus, cold. 
 Gean, Geen, the wild black cherry. Prunus avium. Fr. 
 
 guigne. 
 Gear, v. to dress. " He's snugly geared," he is neatly 
 
 dressed. 
 Gear, s. stock, property, or wealth of any kind. " A vast o' 
 
 gear" Sax. geara, provision, furniture. 
 
 " And for that nothing of hire olde gere 
 She shulde bring into his hous, he bad 
 That women shuld despoilen hire right there." 
 
 Cliaiicer — Tlie Clerke's Tale. 
 
 " Thai delt amang theim that war ther 
 The King of Inglandis ger." — 77ic Bruce. 
 
 Gears, or Geers, draught or cart horse trappings. In p. 
 340 of Lege's Mar., Lord Wharton applies it to war-horse 
 trapping. Chaucer also uses it in the sense of armour 
 generally. 
 
 ' ' An hundred lordes had he with him there 
 All armed save hir hedes in all her gere." 
 
 Cliaucer,—The Knight's Tak. 
 
 Geck, v. to toss the head scornfully. Teut. ghecken, deridere. 
 •' Dear Roger, if your Jenne geek. 
 And answer kindness wi' a slight, 
 Seem unconcerned at her neglect, 
 For women in a man delight." 
 
 Song in the Gentle SJieplierd. 
 
 Geck, s. scorn, derision, contempt. " Dinna ye mak yor 
 
 gecJt o' me." — Dur. 
 
 " Quha cum uncalit, unserved suld sit. 
 Perhaps, Sir, sae may ye, 
 Gudeman, Gramercy for your geck. 
 Quod Hope, and lowly louts." 
 
 TJie Cherrie and Slae. 
 
 Ged, a name for the pike in the Northern parts of Northum- 
 berland. Isl. gaedda. Dan. gedde. Swed. gadda. 
 Gee (pronounced hard), an affront, stubbornness. *' She
 
 GESL 187 
 
 teuk the ^ee," — she became pettish and unmanageable — 
 she went off at a tangent. A friend, conversant with the 
 language, thinks it probable that this word is the prefix 
 ge, of some Saxon descendant of opiniutrete, thus used in 
 abbreviation. Dr. Jamieson, however, refers to Isl. geigr, 
 geig, offensa, pernicies. 
 
 Geeavle, or Gavel, the gable end of a house or building. 
 Su.-Got. gafwel, Isl. gafl. 
 
 Geers, an erection of upright proj^s and cross jjlanks for the 
 support of the roof of a coal mine. 
 
 Geld, to deprive any thing male or female of the power of 
 procreation by the operation of the knife. 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. 
 A gelt pair of partridges or grouse, are birds which have 
 no brood. Germ, gelte, sterile, barren — gelto kuh, a cow 
 not with calf. 
 
 Geld, to crack ; as green wood is apt to do. See Geal. 
 
 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. 
 
 Geordie, George — a very common name among the pitmen. 
 " How ! Geordie man ! how is't ? " The pitmen have given 
 the name of Geordie to Mr. George Stephenson's lamp in 
 contra-distinction to the Davy, or Sir Humphrey Davy's 
 Lamp. 
 
 Geslin, or Gesling, a gosling. Su.-Got. gaasling. Sc. 
 gaislin. To make the gosling leave the shell, at hatching- 
 time, the farmer's wife burns an old shoe, by way of a 
 charm. 
 
 Geslin, the beautiful early blossom of the willow — appear- 
 ing about the same time as the geslin, or young goose. It 
 is fabled that these blossoms, falling into a river, become 
 goslings.
 
 188 GETT 
 
 Getten, forgot; Letten, for lot ; Struck en, for struck ; — 
 are still common in NortluimberIan<l, according to the old 
 form. 
 
 Gew-gaw, a Jew's harp, the Scotch trump. Swed. giga. 
 Taylor, the Water Poet, says, that he knew a great man 
 export upon this instrument. 
 
 GiBB, a hook. — GiBJJON, Gibby, Gibby-stick, a walking stick 
 with a hook, or the top bent down for a handle ; a nut 
 hook. Lat. gibhus, convexly crooked. 
 
 Gib-fish, the milter of the salmon. See some carious infor- 
 mation concerning it in the North Country Angler, p. 39 
 & seq. 
 
 Giblets, " the parts of a goose which are cut off before it is 
 roasted," Todd's John. Experienced restaurateurs, how- 
 ever, inform me that it is the inside as well. Old Fr. 
 gibelez. But see Thompson. In Newcastle they call what 
 is taken from one goose a pair of gihlets. At Christmas, 
 hardly any person, however poor, is without a giblct pie. 
 
 Gibraltar-rock, veined sweetmeat — sold in lumps resem- 
 bling a rock. It is also known in Scotland ; and had its 
 origin from the RocJc of Gibraltar, immediately after that 
 place was so successfully defended by General Eliot, 
 against the combined 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 Go- 
 thic and Anglo-Saxon verb gif an ; but sec Jamieson's 
 Scottish Dictionary, art. Gif. 
 
 GiFF-GAFF, interchange of discourse — mutual donation and 
 reception. Hence, the proverb, " Giff-gaff makes good 
 fellowship." 
 
 Gifts, white specks on the finger nails — ^presages of felicity, 
 not always realized. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq., vol. II., p. 639. 
 
 Gig, a long, slender, light pleasure boat used on the Tyne.
 
 GIMM 189 
 
 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, Gilbert, a snare, made of horse hair or small wire, 
 for catching birds. Swed. giller, gin, snare. See Bewick's 
 cut of the Tawny Bunting. Gilour, for deceiver, occurs in 
 Chaucer. 
 
 " A gilour shal himself begiled be."— 27te Reve's Tale. 
 
 Gill (pronounced hard), a small glen, or dell, properly a 
 narrow valley with steep and rocky banks on each side, 
 and with a stream of water running through it. IsL gily 
 hiatus montium, fissura mentis. The term is often found 
 as a local designation in the North of England. 
 
 GiLLABER, to chatter nonsense. " What are you gillahering 
 about ?" a true old Northumbrian exj^ression. Pronounc- 
 ed in Durham, gelawvcr. Germ, geldchter, laughter, has 
 been suggested to me as a probable etymon. 
 
 GiLSE, Grilse, a species of salmon. Said to be one not fully 
 grown. In the history of the salmon, we have yet much to 
 learn. 
 
 GiLSE, a spring, occasionally appearing in fields, but after- 
 wards closing up. 
 
 Gilt, a spayed pig. See Geld ; also. Jam. S\y^^.,gaU. 
 
 GiMELL, or GiMMAL, a double tree ; so called by woodmen. 
 Lat. gemellus, double, twins. The gimmal-nng will occur 
 to the antiquarian reader. 
 
 GiMLicK, a gimlet — said to be the invention of Dtedalus. — 
 Gimlick-eye, a squint, vulgo, coch-cye — probably from 
 being a-twist. 
 
 Gimmer, a female sheep from the first to the second shearing. 
 Su.-Got. gimmer, 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 ?
 
 190 GIMP 
 
 Gimp, or Jimp, neat, liarulsome, slim in jjerson, elegant of 
 shape. Welch, gwymp, pretty. 
 
 " then bespack his dochter deir, 
 She was baith y/»y; and sma : 
 O row nie in a pair o' sheets, 
 And tou me o'er the wa. "—BaMatZ of Adam O'Gordon. 
 
 Gin (pronounced hard), if. V. Ray, and Tooke. O 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 through the Rye. 
 
 " gin my love were yon red rose. 
 That grows upon the castle wa". 
 And I mysel' a drap o' dew. 
 Into her bonnie breast to fa' '.—Scottish Ballad. 
 
 Gird, a fit ; as, " a gird of laughter," 
 
 Gird, Gurd, a hoop. Sax. gj/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-stane, was used for the purpose ; and in 
 Yorkshire they still have a girdle stone for baking their 
 oaten cakes upon. 
 
 Girdle-cake, thin household bread baked on a girdle. The 
 lagana of the ancient Welsh. V. Itinerary of Archbishop 
 Bakhvin, by Sir R. C. Hoare, vol. II., p. 293, and note. 
 
 GiRN, the Northern word for grin ; and so given in our old 
 dictionaries. 
 
 " Sic gyming, grayning ; and sa gret 
 A noyis, as thai gan othyr belt."— 77ie Bruce. 
 
 " The deil sat girning i' the ueuk."'— B«//a(? of Crookie Den. 
 
 GiRNiCrAw, the cavity of the mouth. Gaumeii is German for 
 the palate or roof of the mouth — probably, therefore, gini 
 and gaum — girning so as to show it. A lady has favoured
 
 GLEA 191 
 
 me with the follo%ving Northumbrian riddle — solution, 
 eating a sloe. 
 
 " Black 'm, saut'm, rough 'm, glower'm, saw, 
 Click'm, gatt'm, flang'm into girnigaw." 
 
 Girt, the vulgar orthography oi great. " Girt and small." 
 GissY, the call of pigs to their meat. 
 GisE, manner, fashion, practice. 
 
 " And to the ladies he restored again 
 The bodies of their housbondes that were slain, 
 To don the obsequies, as was tho the gise." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Knight's Tale. 
 " Therefore my dier brother devyse 
 
 To find sum toy of the new gyse." — Lyndsay. 
 
 GisTiNG, the pasturage of cattle, which, in some places, is 
 called gisement ; the tythe due for the jjrofit 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 /<«' done of the North. 
 
 GiZEN, to open, to crack, to f)ine. An empty cask exposed 
 to the sun is liable to gizen. Isl. gisinn, hiulcus. 
 
 GizzERN, the gizzard. The old mode of spelling. Fr. ge^ier. 
 
 Glaid, or Gled, smooth, easy in motion. V. Jamieson, glad, 
 
 Glaky, giddy, unsteady, frolicsome. Sc. glaikit. 
 
 Glave, smooth. 'La.t. glaber . Hence, glaveritig, an old word 
 for flattering. 
 
 Glaver, or Glaiver, to talk foolishly or heedlessly. Germ. 
 hlaffen, to chatter, to prate, to babble. 
 
 Glazener, a glazier. Very common among the vulgar. The 
 Dutch say glaazcmaler. 
 
 Glead, a kite — the fork-tailed falcon ; one of the finest na- 
 tive birds we possess. Falco milmis. Linn. Sax. glida. 
 Su.-Got. glada, milvus. Sc. gled. 
 " Kites and buzzards sail round in circles with wings expanded
 
 192 GLED 
 
 anil actionlcss ; and it is from their ytiilhn/ manner that the for- 
 mer are still called in the North of England gleads, from the 
 Saxon verb 'jUdan, to glide." 
 
 iniite'g Natural HMory of Sdborne. 
 
 " The sary gled quhissllis with mony ane pew, 
 Quarby the day was dawing wele I knew." 
 
 Gawin Douglas. 
 
 Glede, Gleed, a coal in a state of strong heat. Sax. gled. 
 
 " Ther saw I first the dirke imagining 
 Of felonie, and all the compassing ; 
 The cruel ire, red as any glede." 
 
 Cliaucer, — The Knight's Tale. 
 
 Glee, Gley, Glead, to squint. V. Ray. The sobriquet of 
 ** Gley'd Argyll" was given to a celebrated Scottish Mar- 
 quess — from his having a squint or cast in his eyes. Our 
 good friends in the North are remarkable for describing 
 persons from their infirmities or failings. 
 
 " Ther's a time to glee and a time to leuk even." — Vrov. 
 
 Gleek, to deceive or beguile. In this sense is to be read the 
 expression from Shakspeare, " I can gheh 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 pas- 
 sage, sensibly remarks, that " a fool may utter rustic jokes 
 or scoffs ; but it requires some small share of art or wis- 
 dom, to beguile or deceive." The word seems analogous 
 to Germ, gleichen, to counterfeit. 
 
 Gleg, v. to glance, or rather to look sharp. — Gleg, a. quick, 
 clever, adroit, knowing, skilful, by means of any of the 
 senses. Isl. gl'oggr, acutus, perspectus. Germ. klUg, sage. 
 " For gUg's the glance which lovers steal."— 0?d Song. 
 
 Gleg, slijipery ; 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. 
 
 glen, glene. Welsh, glt/n ; and so written in Domesday. 
 
 Gael, gleann.
 
 GOAF 19S 
 
 Glent, V, to look aside, to glance, to peep, to sparkle. Isl. 
 
 glenna, pandere. 
 Glext, s. an indistinct or oblique view, a glance, a glimpse. 
 Glexters, stones placed near gate posts to keep cart •wheels 
 
 off. 
 Gliff, a slight or transient view, a glimpse, a fright. Isl. 
 
 glitty to shine. " Eh ! what a gliff I'd gotten in 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 a little. — Glint, s. a glance. 
 
 " On Mlnto-crags the moonbeams glint 
 Where Burnhill hew'd Lis bed of flint." 
 
 Lay of Last Minstrel, Canto I. xxvii. 
 
 Glisk, a faint view, a transient light, a glimpse, Isl. gli^Sy 
 nitor. 
 
 Gloaming, twilight at morning or evening. Sax. glotnung, 
 glommung, crepusculum. V. Lye. 
 
 Gloppen, to startle, to sui'prise, to astonish. Isl. glopr, stul- 
 tus, 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, astonish- 
 ed, frightened. 
 
 Gloee, mire, filth of any kind in a wet state. A woman 
 once giving evidence at the Newcastle Assizes, told the 
 counsel that she saw the prisoner throw a handful of glora 
 at another person. She explained the expression by say- 
 ing, it was a handful of darts. 
 
 Glout, to look sullen, to pout. Still in use in the North. 
 
 Glowek, 1). to gaze or stare with dilated eyes. Teut. gluj/- 
 eren, to look asquint. — Glower, s. a broad impudent stare. 
 
 Glumps, sulkiness. Chaucer has glombe, and Skelton ^^?«w.— . 
 Glumpy, sullen or sour looking. Allied to this is gloup- 
 ING, remaining silent or stupid. 
 
 Goaf, the space remaining in a coal mine after the removal 
 of the coal. Probably from Sax. cofe, a cave, an inner 
 room.
 
 194 GOB 
 
 Gob, the mouth — a quantity, a lump, a mouthful. 
 
 God-stick, a spoon. This word wouM seem to imply a vul- 
 gar 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 burlesque expres- 
 sion, dealt out to ignorant people, too fond of talking ; and 
 apjilied to children who arc always eating. 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 griitze im kopfe. 
 
 Gobbet, a lump of meat — that which may be put into the_^o6 
 or mouth. 
 
 God's Penny, an old, and still current expression for an earn- 
 est penny. The silver penny, or fine, paid by the tenant 
 to the lord, on admittance, as well as upon descent or 
 alienation. 
 
 God's- wuNs. A profane oath much in use amongst the 
 peasantry. In an earlier age, such oaths were used by the 
 most polite without a consciousness of impropriety. 
 
 " She grew ynto a grate rage, begynnynge with God's IVunds, that 
 she wolde set you by the feete, and send another yn your place, 
 if you delyed with her thus." 
 
 Letter from Sir Robt. Carey to Lord Hunsdon. 
 
 GoFF, a foolish clo^vn. Skinner gives gofyshe as an old word 
 equivalent to stultus, fatuus. I may add, from Cotgrave, 
 old Fr. goffe, dull, doltish, blockish. 
 
 Goggles, a disease in sheep. When affected, the animal 
 shows signs of giddiness, swelling of the eyes, and hanging 
 of the head. From the time of being first seized it grows 
 weaker and weaker, and generally dies in a week or ten 
 days. 
 
 GoKE, or Gowk, the core of an apple, the yolk of an egg — the 
 inner part of any thing. 
 
 GoLDSPiNK, the goldfinch. Fringilla carduelis. Teut. gowd- 
 vincke, 
 
 " With gallant goldspinkx gay." — The Cherry and S/rtr.
 
 GOSS 195 
 
 GoLE OF Wind, a strong current of wind. 
 
 GoLL, to blow with violence, to threaten in a kind of howl. 
 " How the wind golls against the windows." Isl. gola, ulu- 
 lare. See Gowl. 
 
 GoLLAN, GowLAN, GowAN, a jellow flower, the daisy, com- 
 mon in moist meadows — a golden one. 
 
 GoLLAR, GoLLER, V. to shout, to speak in a boisterous or 
 menacing manner, to storm. Germ, grollen, to murmur. 
 Ital. gola — in the phrase, gridare qtianto se rCha nella gola, 
 to cry out very loud. 
 
 GoLLAR, GoLLER, s. the blustcr of an enraged or dissatisfied 
 person — the snarl or growl of a dog. 
 
 GoxEiLL, or GoxNERiL, a half-wit, a dun<3e. V. Jam. gomrell. 
 
 GoNNERHEAD, a stupid pcrsoH, a dunce. See Goneill. 
 
 Goodlike, well favoured. My friend, Mr. Taylor, suspects 
 it is classical, though not in Todd's Johnson. It is com- 
 mon in the North, and is certainly a good word. 
 
 Goodlike-nought, good in appearance only. " There's many 
 a goodlike nought in the world." 
 
 GooD-DEN, the wish of good-evening, a salutation. 
 
 GooDjiAN, the husband or master of the house. So. gudeman. 
 — GooDwosiAN, the wife or mistress. 
 
 GooDMOTHER, a mother-in-law. 
 
 GooDsoN, a son-in-law. Goodsister, Goodfather, are all used 
 in the same way. 
 
 GoR, red grouse. 
 
 GoR, Gore, dirt — any thing rotten or decayed. Pure Saxon. 
 
 GoRBiT, GoRBiN, an unfledged bird. — Raw Gorbit, or Gor- 
 BiN, applied, as a term of contempt, to a forward pert 
 young lad. 
 
 GoRcocK, the red grouse, or moor cock. Tetrao Scoticiis. 
 Latham. 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 aris- 
 ing from boggy or marshy ground, in warm weather." —
 
 196 GOTH 
 
 Craven Glossary ; where there is an excellent, though not 
 altogether satisfactory, article on the etymon of a word 
 that has been so very puzzling to lexicographers. 
 Gotham, a cant name for the " famous old town" of New- 
 castle, and other places, containing a considerable propor- 
 tion of inhabitants not endowed with " absolute wisdom." 
 Barb. Lat. gotticus, with the Romans, was a Goth and a 
 simpleton. V. Thomson. 
 " Had we the Gotham policy and luck to hedge in the water as they 
 did the cuckoo."— Cleveland revived, 3d Edit. 1663. 
 
 GoTHERLY, kind, sociable. " The ewe is gotherley with its 
 lamb." 
 
 Go-TO-BED-AT-\ooN, goat's beard. Tragopogon pratense. 
 This is one of those plants which, by an invariable law of 
 nature, performs its constant vigilice, by closing its leaves 
 about noon. Hence its popular name. 
 
 GowD, GowDY, wanton ; also, a toy or play-thing. V. Todd's 
 Johnson, gaud. 
 
 GowDER, the name of a rock in Swindale and another in Bor- 
 rowdale. The term is obscene, and places bearing it have 
 it from foxes copulating there. Hence the name of Gowdy- 
 chare, in Newcastle ; once the abode of prostitutes. 
 
 Gowk, the cuckoo. Sax. ^oec, cuculus. ^n.-Goi. goek. Me- 
 taphoricall)/, a fool or simpleton. Swed. gack. Teut. ghecky 
 stultus. Goly, in both senses, occurs in Piers Plowman. 
 In some parts of Yorkshire, it is cowl; in the same accepta- 
 tion. A grindle cowl; is a worn down grindstone, some- 
 times used as a stool in the cottages of the poor. 
 
 " Ye're a goiok if ye don't knaw that the lads o" Tyneside 
 Are the Jacks that myek famish wor Navy." 
 
 Song, — Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Gowk's-erraxd, a fool's errand. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq. 
 Vol. I., p. 123. 
 
 Gowk-spit, or Cuckoo-spit, white frothy matter, seen on cer- 
 tain plants in the spring — coincident with the appearance 
 of the cuckoo — containing the froth worm. Tettigo)iia
 
 GRAI 197 
 
 spumaria. So called from an ancient belief that it is th« 
 spittle of the gowk, or cuckoo. V. Moor, p. 369-70. 
 
 GowL, to cry sulkily. Gowling, sobbing, crying. To threat- 
 en, to storm and scold. To sound fitfully and hollow, like 
 north wind. See Goll. 
 
 GowpEN, the hollow of a hand formed 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. 
 
 GowsTT, dreary, frightful, ghastly, ghostly. It is frequently 
 used as signifying dismal or uncomfortable, and so applied 
 to a dwelling-house without ceiling, &c. " What ^.gowsty 
 hole he lives in." Sc. goiisty, gusty. 
 
 " Cald, mirk and gousty is the nicht." 
 
 Jamiesoji's Popular Ballads. 
 
 GowsTY, windy, stormy. In this sense we may refer to Isl. 
 giostr, ventus frigidus. 
 
 Gracewife, an old provincial name for a midwife ; still re- 
 tained by the vulgar. Allied to French, grosse femme. 
 
 Gradely, decently, orderly. Sax. grad, grade, ordo. Ra- 
 ther, my friend, Mr. Turner, says, from Sax. geradlic, up- 
 right. Gradely, in Lancashire, he observes, is an adjective 
 signifying every thing respectable. The Lancashire peo- 
 ple say, our canny is nothing to it. 
 
 Graff, a grave. Sax. grcef. Low Dut. graf. In many 
 parts of Northumberland they call a grave a graff. To 
 break a graff, is to dig a grave ; thus, — ^they are " break- 
 ing the ground." 
 
 Grailing, a slight fall of hail which barely covers the ground. 
 
 Grain, a branch ; properly that which is grown. Hence, 
 com (generally) — hence, also, a branch (locally) — whence, 
 by association, the grains or branches of a fork. The grain 
 of the wood, the growing — the direction in which it grows. 
 Su.-Got. gren, remus.
 
 198 GRAI 
 
 Grain, Grane, to groan. Sax. granian, gemere, lamentari. 
 Graith, 0. to clotlie, or furnish with any thing suitable. Sax. 
 gercEdian. — Graith, s. the trapping of a horse. 
 
 " His modyr graithlt hir in pilgrame weed." 
 
 Graithixg, clotliing — any furnishing or equipment. Sax. 
 ger<zde. 
 
 Grandy, Granny, grandmother. Old Eng. grannam. Sc. 
 grannie. 
 
 Grange, a barn, or granary. Originally, and strictly, the 
 store-house for corn belonging to the lord of the manor, or 
 to a monastery. Fr. grange. Law Lat. grangia, from 
 granum. It enters largely into the names of places in 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " For lie is wont for timber for to go, 
 And dwellen at the Grange a day or two." 
 
 C?iaucer,—The Miller's Tale. 
 
 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. 
 
 " Sirs, I sail schaw you, for my wage 
 My pardons, and my pilgramage, 
 
 Quhilk ye sail see and grape." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Grape, s. a fork with three or more prongs in the shape of a 
 spade or shovel, for filling rough dung. Su.-Got. grepe, 
 tridens. Sc. graip. It is the Saxon myxforc, and classical 
 trident. 
 
 Grassmen, officers of great antiquity in the borough of Gates- 
 head, whose duty was to look after the herbage or grass. 
 Since 1814, when the fields were inclosed, they have been 
 discontinued. 
 
 Grave, to dig, to dig up ground with a spade. V. "Watson. 
 
 Great (often pronounced Greet), intimate, familiar. Sc. 
 grit. This word, which now appears very vulgar, was used 
 by the most polite in the time of Elizabeth. Sec Fuller's
 
 GREY 199 
 
 Wortliies, Derbyshire, Edit. Nichols, p. 259. Blount's 
 Letters to Pope. 
 
 Geee, ■v. to agree, to live in amity. Old. Fr. greer. " Law's 
 costly ; tak a pint and gree.^'' 
 
 Gree, s. pre-eminence, superiority. Old Fr. gre. " To bear 
 the gree," to be victorious, to gain the prize. 
 
 Greedy-gut, a voracious eater. Dan. graadig, greedy, glut- 
 tonous, 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 colour is of a greenish yellow, 
 mottled and variegated in a peculiar manner. It is com- 
 monly regarded ^vith aversion, and is seldom, if ever, used 
 as food. The bones are green ; hence, no doubt, the name. 
 
 Greeney, the green grosbeak. Le Verdier. Buifon. 
 
 Grees, stairs or steps. V. Ray ; and Todd's John, gree, 
 third sense. 
 
 Greet, to cry, to weej) aloud. — Greeting, weeping,.— Grat, 
 wept. Sax. grcedan, clamare, flere. Dan. grcede, to weep, 
 to cry. Swed. grata, to weep ; grct, wept. 
 
 " Tell me, good Hobbinol, what gars thee greet ?" 
 
 Spenser's Shepherd's Calendar. 
 
 " And then gan Gloton greete. 
 And gret doel to make." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 " At leve takyng the ladyis gret. 
 And mak thar face with teris wet." — The Bruce. 
 
 " The kinge's hart haiff thai fundyn thar 
 And ar towart thair innys gane 
 And that halm with thaim haf thai tane 
 With gretyng, and with iwill cher." — lb. 
 
 Grey-beard, a stone jar, or earthen jug. Thomson derives 
 it from Ital. ghiara brocca j but it is a fact not undeserv- 
 ing of notice, that the jugs in common use, two centuries 
 ago, were distinguished by a face with a very long depen- 
 dent beard.
 
 200 GREY 
 
 Grey-gate, strange, in a bad sense, as, " he haa gane a gi'ey- 
 gateP Is it from Fr. gn'-, wlful ? 
 
 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. hoiiteille de grcs, a stone 
 bottle. In Scotland it is called a tappit 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 grain more into flakes ; the other grinds it more 
 into small powder. 
 
 Grime, to mark or daub with soot. This is the only proper 
 meaning of this Shakspearian word. — Grimy, sooty. — 
 Griming, is, however, sometimes used, by antithesis, for a 
 slight cover of snow. In the latter sense it has been hint- 
 ed to me, since the publication of the last edition, that the 
 word is a corruption of creaming, as a slight cover of snow 
 is sometimes called. In pit language it is a small and thin 
 layer of bad coal. 
 
 Grip, to grasp fast by the hand. Sax. grijyan, to gripe. 
 Swed. gripa, to catch, to seize, to lay hold of. 
 
 Grip, or Groop, the space where the dung lies in a cow- 
 house, having double rows of stalls ; that is, the opening 
 or hollow between them. Also a small ditch, or open 
 drain in a field. The Javel Group, the name of a lane in 
 the Close, Newcastle, was so called from Sax. gavel, a toll 
 or tribute, and Sax. grcepe, a trench or sink ; in Tuet. 
 grippe, groepe, sulcus. Toll, up to a late period, was taken 
 on the Javel Group. 
 
 Grippy, mean, avaricious, hardly honest. Sax. gripend, ra- 
 piens, catching, griping. 
 
 Grit, great, ancient, but very common. 
 
 Groaning, a mother's pangs iu the " trying hour" — the cry-
 
 GROI 201 
 
 Groaning-cake, the cake provided in expectation of an in- 
 crease in a family. It seems from time immemorial to 
 have been viewed as an object of suijerstition, and persons 
 have been known to keej) 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 of female ovation due to every 
 good woman who goes through such imminent perils in the 
 service of her country." Formerly the lady was placed in 
 a groaniiiff chair to assist j^firturition. It is still, I am 
 told, so used on the continent ; and is called in Danish 
 forlosning stoel, delivery chair. It is figured in Cowenius' 
 " Orbis sensualium pictus." 
 
 Groaning-cheese, or the Sick Wife's Cheese, a large 
 cheese provided on the same occasion as the cake. I 
 understand a slice of the first cut laid under the pillow, 
 enables young damsels to dream of their lovers, particu- 
 larly if previously tossed in a certain nameless part of the 
 midwife's apparel. 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. 
 
 Gr oats, the kernels of oats, divested of the inner and outer 
 husk, but unground ; also oatmeal. Sax. grut, 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 ;" meaning 
 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 Groat-vusixket. 
 
 Grobble, to make holes. Germ, grilhlcin, a little hole. 
 
 Groin, Gruin, the snout of a \)ig. Fr. groin. Among the 
 vulgar the word is applied to the nose. 
 
 " O good God ! ye women that ben of gret beau tee, remember you 
 on the proverb of Solomon, that likeneth a faire woman, that is 
 VOIi, I. D d
 
 202 GROO 
 
 a fool of hire body, to a ring of gold that is wome in the groin* 
 of a 60we." — Chaucer, — The Persone'a Tale. 
 
 Groove, a lead mine. Lead mines are generally worked by 
 a groove or level. 
 
 Groser, Grozer, a gooseberry. Fr. groseille. Lat. grossula. 
 
 Grounge, to growl, as a dog. 
 
 Groves, the refuse of tallow, made into thick cakes and used 
 as food for dogs. It is graves in the South. 
 
 Grow, or Grue, 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. — 
 Grumphey, is also a name for a pig — adopted from grunt- 
 ing. 
 
 Grumphey, a species of jostling among school-boys, in en- 
 deavouring to hide any thing which one takes from ano- 
 ther. 
 
 Grund, the Northern form of ground. It is the same in the 
 ancient Gothic, Danish, and Swedish languages. 
 
 Guest, a ghost, or spectre. Sax. gast, gaast. 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 gam- 
 bols are represented to have been performed in the neigh- 
 bourhood of the old " Dog-Ioup-stairs." 
 
 Guesting, an hospitable welcome — a warm reception. Isl. 
 gisting, hospitum. Sc. gesning, gestning. 
 
 Guisers, persons who dance in masks, or with their faces 
 blackened, or discoloured, and in rustic disguises ; a cus- 
 tom of great antiquity. Teut. gime-setter, sannio. Sc. 
 gysards. These guisers are still to be seen, especially at 
 the mell-suppers, given at harvest home, though their num- 
 bers have considerably diminished of late years. 
 
 Gully, a large sharp knife used in farm-houses, principally 
 to cut bread, cheese, &c., for the fiimily ; also l)y butchers 
 
 -^
 
 HACK 203 
 
 in killing sheep. Perhaps, originally a butcher's knife, for 
 the gullet. Another meaning of Gully — a ditch, or hollow 
 — has been pointed out to me by several literary friends ; 
 but in this sense the word is not unknown in our lexico- 
 graphy, and is well authorised. 
 
 GuLLioN, a mean wretch. V. Jam. Supp. It is also a term 
 for a drunkard. The fable of the thirsty ghost of GuUion 
 drinking 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 IMr. Wilbraham's Cheshire 
 Glossary, calls this a slang word. On the contrary, it is 
 an excellent word, of high antiquity — referred by Dr. Ja- 
 mieson to Mce.-Got. gaum-jan, percipere. 
 
 Gy-carling, a sort of mischievous elf. It was formerly a 
 common instruction, on the Borders, that on Carling Sun- 
 day a person must eat carlings till he was so full that the 
 gy-carling could not get a " grip of his waim." See a cu- 
 rious article on the word in Jamieson, vo, Gyre-Carling. 
 
 G'yet, a common pronunciation of Gate ; which see. 
 
 Gyle-fat, a wort tub in which liquor ferments. Dut. gyl- 
 kuip. 
 
 " Ane curtill quene, ane laidlie lurdane 
 Of Strang wesche sho will tak ane Jurdane 
 And settis in the gyle fat." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hack, a strong two-toothed pick-axe, or hoe, much used in 
 agriculture. Dan. TiaTche, a mattock. Hachia occurs in 
 old Latin instruments, in the sense of an axe. The ancient 
 Saxon weapon — with which the British chiefs were mur- 
 dered by the command of Hengist — was called handeax. 
 
 Hackstead, the row or line of bricks by which a brick garth 
 is divided into flats. 
 
 Hacked, chapped, or chopped ; said of frost-bitten hands.
 
 204 HAD 
 
 Had, Haud, hold. Sc. ?iald. " Had your tongae" — be 
 Bilent. " Tack haiuT' — take hold. 
 
 Had away ! Haud away ? go away — hold on your way — a 
 term of encouragement, peculiar, I believe, to the North. 
 
 Hade, or Hague, the inclination of a dike with the seam in 
 a coal pit ; by it the character of a " trouble" is deter- 
 mined, whether a dipper or riser. " She hagties sare to the 
 south." 
 
 Hadfash, Haudfasii, plague, trouble. " Sic a hadfask." 
 
 Haffits, the temples, Ruddiman considers it merely as 
 half head. 
 
 " Euer in ane his bos helme rang and soundit 
 
 Clynkand about his halfettis with ane din." 
 
 Douglas' ^neid. 
 
 Haffle, to waver, to speak unintelligibly, to prevaricate. 
 Dut. hakhclen, to falter. — Haffling, confused talk. 
 
 Hag, v. to cut or hacTc, — Cumb. and part of Yorh. — Hag, s. a 
 cutting of copse wood. Swed. hyggc, 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 ; which see. 
 
 Hagberry, Heckbery, the beautiful flowering shrub — the 
 bird-cherry. Prunus padus. Swed. huggcbar. 
 
 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 com- 
 mendation and history of which see Dr. Hunter's Culina 
 Famulatrix Mediciufe. See, also, Bums' address To a 
 Haggis ; and Jam. Supp. vo. haggies. 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 to dinner on 
 the same day. Directions for the preparation of this 
 "great chieftain of the pudding race," are given in Meg 
 
 J
 
 HALF 205 
 
 Dods' amusing institute of the culinary art, 4th edition, 
 p. 360. 
 
 " They (the northern free booters) sent me word that I was like 
 the first puff of a haijiiia, hottest at the first." — Carey's Memoirs. 
 
 Haggish, an opprobrious epithet, applied to a lumpish, un- 
 wieldy person. 
 
 Hagmena, the same as Hogmena ; which see. 
 
 Hag-worji, the common snake — from the place in which it is 
 generally found. Coluber natrix. 
 
 Hain, to save, to preserve ; as, haining wood ; haining land ; 
 haining a new suit of clothes. See an ingenious, and yet 
 satisactory, etymon in Jamieson. 
 
 Hainch, v. to throw a stone underhanded, or by striking the 
 arm against the haunch. 
 
 Haixch, the haunch ; and we still have henchman, an atten- 
 dant, whom the Scotch call a flonkie, that is, a person at- 
 tending a flanc. 
 
 Hair, a small quantity of anything, as " a hair of salt," " a 
 hair of meal." 
 
 Hake, to loiter, to lounge, to sneak. Germ, haken, a hook — 
 clinging to present objects? Thus we say of a loiterer, 
 that he hangs about. 
 
 Halfers ! an exclamation among children, viewed as entit- 
 ling 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, lessee 
 seekee," which destroys the claim, and gives him the sole 
 right to the property. 
 
 " And he who sees you stoop to th' ground, 
 Cries halves.' to ev'ry thing you've found." 
 
 Savage,— Horace to Scceva imitated. 
 
 Half-marrow, a middle-sized lad ; two such being required 
 in a coal pit, to put a corf of coals equal to a man. 
 
 Half-rocked-innocent, a fool — sujiposed to arise from hav- 
 ing been only half-rocked in the cradle when an infant.
 
 206 HALL 
 
 Hallabaloo, IIillebaloo, a noise, an uproar, a clamour. A 
 friend suggests a curious derivation — hilloa-hawl-t/ou ! 
 
 Hallan, a name given to the fry of the coal fish, or coalsay, 
 when about five inches in length. 
 
 Hallk 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 dip for apples floating in water, 
 or to catch at them when stuck upon one end of a 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. This sport produces much un- 
 successful and ludicrous stretching of the jaws. V. Brand's 
 Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 800. 
 
 Hallen, Hallan, or Hollin, a partition or screen between 
 the door and the fire place, frequently made of wicker work 
 and plastered with clay, extending from the front door of a 
 cottage to within the width of a door of the back wall. 
 Against this hallen it was common for the cow to stand. 
 Germ, hehlen, to conceal. 
 
 Hallen-drop, a black sooty lye, arising in moist weather 
 from joints of meat hung up to dry in the chimney, for 
 winter's use. — West. 
 
 Hallen-shaker, a sturdy beggar, one who stands ahinl the 
 
 hallen to excite charity. 
 
 " Right scornfully she answer'd him, 
 Begone you hallan-shaker." 
 
 Song, — Maggie Lauder. 
 
 Hallion, a common term of reproach — a reprobate. 
 
 Halmot-coxtrt, 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 Halymote, or holy or ecclesiastical court ; nor 
 ought the reader to confound these copyholders with the
 
 HAND 207 
 
 Halyvoercfolk or holy worh people, \i\io enjoyed their lands 
 by the tenure of repairing or defending a church or sepul- 
 chre. Such, in particular, were those within the bishopric 
 of Durham, who were under an obligation to protect and 
 defend the corpse of St. Cuthbert, and who claimed for such 
 pious labour the privilege of not being obliged to go out of 
 the diocese, either by the King or by the Bishop, in de- 
 fence of the kingdom at large against their will. See Sur- 
 tees' Hist. Dur., Vol. I., pp. ix., xv., xvi., where there are 
 some interesting documents on the subject. 
 
 Halow, shy, bashful, scrupulous. — Lane. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Hame, home. A pure old word, from Sax. ham, used for a 
 place of dwelling, or a village, or town. 
 
 " Hanu, hame, hame! O haine wad I be ! 
 O ham^, hame, hame, to my aln countrie."— Scottish Song. 
 
 Hammer, v. n. to stammer, to hesitate in speaking. 
 Hammer-axe, an implement having a hammer on one side 
 
 of the handle and an axe on the other. 
 Hammie, a simpleton, a coward. A cock that will not fight 
 
 is called a hammie, 
 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. 
 
 " And certes, lord, to abiden your presence 
 Here in this temple of the goddesse Clemence 
 We han been waiting all this fourtenight ; 
 Now helpe us, lord, sin it lieth in thy might." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Hancle, a great many. 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. Callefl else- 
 where apipffin.
 
 208 HANG 
 
 IlANGEnKi-, a stick in a hutcher' shop on which to hang ajn. ox 
 
 by the hind legs. 
 IIangment. To play the hangment, to be much enraged — to 
 
 play the very deuce. 
 Hank v. to fasten, to form into hanks or skeins. — HLank, s. a 
 skein of thread, a rope or latch for fastening a gate. Isl. 
 hank, a collar or chain. To keeji a good hank ujion 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. The same as Hant. Primarily 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 receive in a morning to render it propitious 
 and lucky — that it may draw more money to it. Su.-Got. 
 handsoel, mercimonii divenditi primitire. V. Ihre. The 
 Germans employ their tMan-exjiression handkauf, in iden- 
 tically a corres2)ondent meaning. Hansel is also the first 
 use of any thing. 
 
 " Some parled as perte, 
 As provyd well after, 
 And clappid more for the cojTie, 
 * That the kyug owed hem 
 
 Thanne ftbr comftbrte of the comyne 
 That her cost paled 
 And were behote hansell 
 If they helpe wolde." 
 
 Tlie AlUterativc Poem on the Deposition of 
 liichard II., p. 30. 
 " And npholderes an heap 
 Erly by the morne 
 Geve Gloton with glad chere 
 Good ale to Jwnsclle." — Piers Ploicvian. 
 
 Hansel-Monday, the first Monday in the New Year ; when 
 it is customary to make children and servants a present. 
 Huloet defines handscU, "a new year's gift."
 
 HARD 209 
 
 Hant, custom, practice. " At your aud kants.'' At your 
 
 old habits. Chaucer uses it in this sense. 
 
 " A good wif was ther of beside Bathe 
 But she was som dele defe, and that was scathe, 
 Of cloth making she hadde swiche a hmmt 
 She passed hem of Ipres and of Gaunt." 
 
 Prologue to the Wife of Bathe. 
 
 Hantle, much, many, a great deal, a handful. Swed. antaL 
 Germ, anzahl, a great number, a large quantity. 
 
 Hanty, wanton, unruly, restive. Grose. See, also, Ray. 
 
 Hap, to cover warmly, as in bed. Sax. heapean, to heap 
 upon. 
 
 Hap, s. a cover of any kind of stuff, but generally applied to 
 one of coarse material. There is an ancient popular dis- 
 tich in Newcastle, in allusion to the celebrated Roger 
 Thornton — 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 Imp, a halfpenny, and a lambskin." 
 
 In Stowe's transcript of Leland's Itinerary, there is a dif- 
 ferent but evidently a very corrupt version of the couplet — 
 
 " At the West-Gate came Thornton in, 
 With aluippen hapt in a ram's skyne." 
 
 Happen, Happens, perhaps, possibly, it may be. 
 
 Happing, a coarse covering, a rough rug for a bed. Hap- 
 
 harlot, a coverlet for a servant, is a very old word. 
 Hak, the upright timbers of a gate, to which the ellems 
 
 (bars) are fixed. 
 Har, or Harr, a mist or thick fog. Probably from Sax. har, 
 
 hare, hoar, Ray has harl, a mist. V. Skinner, a sea harr. 
 
 " A northern har 
 Brings drought from far." — Prov. 
 
 Hard-corn, wheat or maslin in the grass state. Probably 
 from being sown before winter. The compiler of the 
 Glossary to the Charters of Endowments, Inventories, and 
 
 VOL. I. EC
 
 210 HARD 
 
 Account Rolls, of the Priory of Finchale (the late Mr. Gor- 
 tlon), describes hard corii to be wheat as opposed to bariey 
 aud oats, perhaps from its hardihood in braving the winter, 
 and states that it is a mistake to suppose that the term 
 hard corn^ which is still in use, refers merely to wheat or 
 maslin in the blade or on the ground. 
 Harden, to grow dear. " The market hardens." 
 Hardleys, scarcely, hardly. Universal among the vulgar. 
 Harn, or Harrex, a term for coarse linen cloth. Perhaps, 
 originally, a literary friend conjectures, from Germ, h'daren, 
 made of hair ; as brewers' aprons sometimes are, 
 
 *' Alas ! when shul my bones ben at reste ? 
 Mother, with you wold I changen my cheste, 
 That in my chambre longe time hath be, 
 Ye, for an heren clout to wrap in me." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Tite Pardonere's Tale. 
 
 Harns, brains. Used only in the plural. V. Todd's John- 
 son. 
 
 " Bonnok with that deliuerly 
 Roucht till the porter sic a rout 
 That blud and harnys both came out — The Bruce. 
 
 ^ Harp, to be constantly dwelling on one topic, to repeat a 
 thing incessantly, to grumble. " Harping on one string." 
 Harrv, to haiTow, to pillage, to make a predatory incursion. 
 Sax. hergian, to harrow, to piUage. Swed. harja, to ra- 
 vage, 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 harried the 
 South coast of Britain. — Hist, of England, Book II., p. 108. 
 
 " Say what thou wolt, I shall it never telle 
 To child ne wif, by him that hartced hell." 
 
 aiauccr,—TIie MUler's Tale. 
 " And boldly brent Northumberland 
 And harryed many a towyn." — Battle of Otterbum. 
 
 i- ^ tO/yv. r»v>-y 

 
 HAUG 211 
 
 Harry. To "/»/«/ harty" over a j^erson is, to beat, or punish 
 severely. 
 
 Harrygaud, a blackguard sort of j^erson. Ray says, a wild 
 girl ; but, I think, I never heard it applied to a female. 
 My friend Mr. Ward, however, informs me that it often 
 is ; and then signifies, unsteady, a gad-about. The word 
 is sometimes pronounced haddygaud. 
 
 Harumstarum, Harumscarum, wild, unsettled — running af- 
 ter you know not what. Germ, herum-schar, a wandering 
 troop ; plural, scharcn, vagabonds. 
 
 Hash, a sloven, one who does not know how to act or behave 
 with propriety — a silly talkative person. In 1655, Henry 
 Hedley was fined 35. 4f?. for calling William Johnson, one 
 of the stewards of the incorporated company of Bricklayers 
 and Plasterers, a slavering hash. V. M'Kenzie's Hist, of 
 Newc, p. 700. 
 
 Hask, coarse, harsh, rough, parched. Germ, harsch, rough 
 — with the common suppression of the r. A hask wind is 
 keen and parching. Hask-Iips are parched lips. The 
 word is also ajiplied to the sense of feeling, when any thing 
 from its touch appears unpleasantly dry or hard. Coarse 
 worted is hask to the feeling, Husky is cognate — the husk 
 of a nut — the rough envelopement. Coal is said to be hash 
 when it is brittle, and hard to work. 
 
 Hassock, a reed, or rush ; hence, a stool or cushion to kneel 
 upon at church, is called a hassock. Sw. vass, a rush, and 
 Sack, a sack. There is a tract of land adjoining the Tyne, 
 near Dunston, called the Hassocks, which, it is j^robable, 
 was once covered with hassocks. Sir John Swinburne in- 
 forms me, that hassock is used on the moors for a tuft of 
 rushes, or coarse grass, in very soft boggy ground. 
 
 Hather, Hether, heath. " /Ta/Aer-buzzoms" — besoms made 
 of heath. " ZTe^Aer-bell" — the heath-blossom. 
 
 Hatter, to shake. " I'm all hattered to pieces." Probably 
 from the Fr. heurter, to knock or shake. 
 
 Haugh, a low, flat, or marshy portion of land beneath higher
 
 212 IIAUS 
 
 ground, by the side of a river, liable to be overflowed. Isl. 
 hagiy ager pascuus. In Cumb. they are called Holms, 
 which see. 
 Hause, the neck, the throat. A very old word. Sax. Dan. 
 and Germ. hals. " It's down the wrang hause" Our early 
 writers spell it ?ialse. 
 
 " ' Lene me a marke,' quod he, ' bat dayes three 
 And at my day I vvol it quiten thee 
 Ami if it so be that thou finde me false, 
 Another day hang me up by the halse."- Oiaucer. 
 " Many a truer man than he base hanged up by the halse." 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle, Act V., Se. 2. 
 " Ther ne was raton in al the route. 
 For al the reaume of Fraunce, 
 That dorste have bounden the belle 
 Aboute the cattes nekke, 
 Ne hangen it aboute the cattes hals." 
 
 Piers Ploviman. 
 
 Hause-band, a collar, or necklace. 
 
 " There's goud i' your garters, my Marian, 
 And silk in your white hause-band." — Old Song. 
 
 Haver, v. to talk foolishly, to speak without thought. Isl. 
 gifra, blaterare. — Havers, s. silly discourse, idle bantering 
 nonsense. 
 
 " Dinna deave the gentleman wi' your havers."— RedgauntUt. 
 
 Haver, s. oats. Dan. Jiavre. Swed. Jiafre. Dut. haver. 
 Haver-bread, Haver-cake, large, round, thin oaten cakes, 
 baked on a girdle. Swed. hafreJcaka, oat cake. 
 
 " 'I have no peny," quod Piers, 
 ' Pulettes to bugge, 
 Ne neither gees ne grya. 
 But two grene cheses, 
 A few cruddes and creme. 
 And an haver cake." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Haver-meax, oatmeal. Swed. hafrenjol. Teut. haveren meel. 
 
 " O where hae ye getten that haver-vieal bannock ? 
 Silly, blind body, why, dinna ye see V'—Sc. Song. 
 
 Haver-sack, a bag in which oatmeal is carried. This is the
 
 HEAM 213 
 
 origin of the haversacks of soldiers — used formerly for car- 
 rying their haver-meal. 
 Haveril, a sort of fool, a half-wit. From Haver, which see. 
 Hawk, to expectorate. Welsh, hochi, to throw up phlegm. 
 
 Shakspeare uses " haivMng or spitting." 
 Hay-making. When hay is first cut, it is called a swede, or 
 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-row, wiiid-row, or ivon-row. It is next put into cocks, 
 several of which are collected into what is called a kyle. 
 Fr. cueilli, gathered. When these again are heaped as 
 high as a man can pitch 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 hase. 
 Headsman, Heedsmen, the next stage above a half-marrow, 
 amongst putters, requiring Skfoal with him to put a corf of 
 coals. 
 Headways, excavations in a coal pit at right angles to the 
 boardSf for the purposes of ventilating and exploring the 
 mine. 
 Head-sheets, a sloping platform, towards the stem of a keel. 
 Heald, or Heal, to lean or incline to one side, to bend later- 
 ally. Sax. hyldan, 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. hals, collum. Teut. hamme, numella. Lat. hamus. 
 This word is sometimes pronounced Yawmes, with the 
 aspirate H before it — H' yawmes. Heaume in old Fr. is 
 hahillement de tcte ; now as oxen were anciently used in 
 agriculture, and yoked by the head, may not the heams 
 have been thence derived I
 
 214 HEAP 
 
 Heap, Heuv, a wicker basket, a dry measure Boraewhat cor- 
 resijondeut to the Beatment. Sax. hip, species. 
 
 Heap, a good many. "A heap of folks." — "A heap of 
 bairns." 
 
 Heart-scad, any thing disagreeable or contrary to your ex- 
 perience or wishes ; grief, vexation. It is also a provincial 
 name for the heart-bum — heart-scald. 
 
 Heartsome, merry, cheerful, lively — full oi heart. 
 
 Heavisome, dark, dull, drowsy. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Heck, a rack for cattle to feed in. Su.-Got. hcBcJc. V. Ihre, 
 
 Heck, an inclosure of ojyen work — of slender bars of wood. 
 Germ. hecJce, a hedge or partition. — Heck-board, or Heck- 
 bred, the board at the tail of a cart. — Heck-door, the 
 inner door not closely panneled 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 their horses ; whence, 
 he'll neither heck nor re, hike nor re ; i. e. he is unmanage- 
 able — he will not hear reason. Heck, means " turn to 
 the left," and jce means " turn to the right ;" re seems 
 to mean the same as jee ; and, therefore, if he will neither 
 hech nor jee, he is intractable. 
 
 Heck-berry. See Hagberry. 
 
 Heckle, to dress tow or flax to hackle. Swed. hackla. 
 
 Teut. hekelen. — Heckler, a tow or flax-dresser. Teut. 
 hekeler, carminator. 
 
 Heckle, comj)lexion. " She's light heckVd," said of one of 
 light hair ; " Ginger heckle" is used to describe the colour of 
 a fighting cock. 
 
 Heckle, Heckle-flee, an artificial fly for fishing — made of 
 the heckle feather so called, which grows on the neck of a 
 cock. 
 
 Hede-and-hang, to punish severely, though not to the extent 
 expressed. 
 
 " Sum sayis ane king is cum amang us 
 That purposis to hede and hang us." 
 
 Lyiidsay's Tlirec EstaUis.
 
 HELM 216 
 
 Hee, liigb. 
 
 " To se the dere draw to the dale 
 And leva the hilles hee. 
 And shadow him in the leves grene 
 Under the grene-wode-tre." 
 
 Ancient Ballad, — Robin Hood. 
 
 Heerin, Harrin, herring. " Fresli-heerin — freslx-heerin ; — 
 four twopence caller harriu — four twopence caller harrin ; 
 — here's yor cuddy's legs — here's yor Dumbar-wethers — 
 here's yor January harrin." — Crjf in Newc. Fish-market. 
 
 Heeze, to lift up with violence. Belg. hysan. 
 
 " The samen wyse as thay commandit ware 
 They did anone.— 
 
 Towart the left wyth meny heis and hale 
 Socht al our flot fast bayth with rouch and sale." 
 
 Douglas' JEneid. 
 
 Heft, a haunt. Su.-Got. hcefd, usus, consuetudo. Also, a 
 haft, a handle. 
 
 Hefted, a cow is said to be hefted whose udders are distend- 
 ed for want of milking, in order to make a better shew. 
 
 Heigh-how, an occasional assistant in the kitchen — a sort of 
 char-woman. So called, in all probability, from a notori- 
 ous propensity which a character of this kind has to all 
 sorts of low gossip and marvellous stories. 
 
 Hell, Helle, to pour out in a rapid manner — Du)\ and 
 North. Sax. hcegelan, to hail. Isl. hella. 
 
 Helm-wind, a singular phenomenon so called — generated in 
 that vast column of clouds which frequently hangs over 
 the summit of Cross Fell — a mountain encompassed with 
 the most desolate and barren heights — covering it like a 
 helmet, to an extent of several miles. On its first appear- 
 ance, there issues from it a prodigious noise, which in 
 grandeur and awfuluess has been thought to exceed the 
 roaring of the ocean. It is not confined to any particular 
 season of the year, although it occurs more frequently in 
 the spring and autumn than at other times. Sometimes 
 there is a less cloud, in an opposite direction, called a
 
 210 iiiaT 
 
 helm-bar, from an idea of its resisting the progress of the 
 wind. The violence is greatest, when the helm is highest 
 above the mountain. Beyond the line of its fury the air 
 is frequently in a dead calm, and the sky serene. When 
 this phenomenon occurs, the wind rushes vrith tremendous 
 violence down the western slope of the mountain, extend- 
 ing two or three miles over the plain at the base, and fre- 
 quently overturning whatever lies in its track. Much da- 
 mage is often sustained in the Fell-side district by this hur- 
 ricane, but the greatest devastation prevails on its occur- 
 rence during the period when ripe corn is standing. See 
 further on this interesting subject, Hutchinson's Cumb., 
 Vol. I., p. 267 ; Hist, of Carlisle, p. 485 ; Jefferson's and 
 the Rev. John Watson's remarks in Jefferson's History 
 and Antiquities of Leath Ward, p. 818 & seq. 
 
 Helter, the northern word for halter. Sax. hcelster. See 
 Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II., p. .583. 
 
 Helter-skelter, in great haste, violently, disorderly — un- 
 bridled, as it were. Skinner's derivation from Sax. heolster 
 sceado (unless we reject Dr. Johnson's translation and 
 to 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 ct aliter; while 
 Coles, and the author of the Craven Glossary, refer to the 
 Dutch. But I am satisfied that helter-skelter is halter loose, 
 halter broken, effrsenate. Thus Shakspeare expresses the 
 exact meaning when he makes Pistol say, 
 
 " Sir John, I am thy Pistol, and thy friend. 
 And helter-skelter have I rode to thee ; 
 And tidings do I bring." 
 
 2d Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 This is quoted, but its peculiar significance has been en- 
 tirely overlooked, in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Hemmel, a shed or covering for cattle, a fold. Sax. hcelmc, 
 tectum. Germ, heim, a tent, a house. 
 
 Hempy, mischievous. Although it is generally applied jocu-
 
 HES 217 
 
 larly 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. 
 
 Henna, Hanna, have not. 
 
 Hen-pen, the dung of fowls — manure from the pen where hens 
 are kept. The country people sometimes use it in houking 
 linen. See Bouk. 
 
 Hen-scrattings, long pencilled clouds — said to indicate rain 
 or wind — significantly called by the common people, 
 " Mare's tails." 
 
 Herd, a keeper of cattle ; answering to Sax. hyrd, Dan. liyrde^ 
 and Germ, hirt, one who attends cattle. From hirt, the 
 Swiss have made a verb hirten, to tend cattle. In New- 
 castle, and other parts 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 labori- 
 ous pamphlet on the " Unlovelinesse of Love-Lockes," 
 produced his " Healthes Sicknesse," wherein he labours, 
 with his accustomed enthusiasm, to prove " the drinking 
 and pledging of healthes, to be siufuU, and utterly unlaw- 
 full unto Christians." 
 
 Heronsew, Heronseugh a heron. Not merely a young one, 
 as stated by Mr. Tyrwhitt. V. Skinner, hernsues. Chau- 
 cer, in the Squire's Tale, describing the feast of Cambus- 
 can, says, 
 
 " I wol not tellen of hir strange sewes, 
 Ne of hir swannes, ne hir heronsetves. 
 
 The word handsaw, in the proverbial expression of a man's 
 not being able to distinguish " a hawk from a handsaw, 
 which Shakspeare gives to Hamlet, is obviously a corrup- 
 tion for heronshaw (as it is written and pronounced in some 
 places). There is a possibility of mistake in one case, but 
 not in the other. 
 Hes, has. The old form of the word. 
 
 VOL. I. F f
 
 218 IIESP 
 
 Hesp, to liitcli ; as, " hesp the door." 
 
 Hesp, the fastening of a door or gate. It is properly the 
 looj) that slips over the staple, and is confined there by a 
 lock and key. 
 Het, hot, warmed. Sax. hcet, heated. Swed. het, hot. 
 " These vcrsis of gold and aaure writte were, 
 Of whiche I gan astonied to beholde 
 For with that one encresid all my fere. 
 And with that othir gan my herte to bolde, 
 That one me het, that othir did me colde." 
 
 Chaucer, — Tlie Assemble of Fovles. 
 
 Hether-faced, rough-faced. 
 
 Het-pint, warmed ale, with spirit in it. 
 
 Hetter, eager, earnest, keen. Perhaps from het, hot. 
 
 Heuck, Huke, hook, a crook or sickle without teeth. Dut. 
 hoek. 
 
 Heuk-bane, the huckle-bone. 
 
 Heuck-fingered, thievish — digitis hamatis. Perhaps, only 
 cant. 
 
 Heudin, a piece of leather connecting the handstaff of a flail 
 with the swingle — the liooding of the handstafiF. 
 
 Heugh, a rugged, steep hill side — a raAdne. Sax. hou, mons. 
 Lye. 
 
 " From that place syne unto ane caue we went 
 Under ane hyngand heuch. in ane darne went." 
 
 Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 Heup, or Hoop, a measure, something less than a peck. 
 
 Hewers, the men who work the coals in a coal pit. 
 
 Hexhamshire, a large portion of the county of Northumbei-- 
 land ; once a distinct Bishojiric, with the privileges of a 
 separate Palatine jurisdiction, but now an isolated part of 
 the Archiepiscopal See of York. The name, though im- 
 properly, is still retained ; and the manor, comprising this 
 extensive district, ever since the beginning of the reign of 
 James I., has been called the Regality or Manor of Hex- 
 ham, " Regalitas sive manerium de Hexham." In the 
 reign of Elizabeth it is styled merely, " Manerium de 
 Hexham."
 
 HILL 219 
 
 H'yel, whole, entire. IsL hiell. Su.-Got. hel. Belg. heel, 
 
 integer, totus. 
 H'yel-water, whole water ; said of a heavy fall of rain : a 
 
 shower so heavy that the water seems unbroken. 
 HicKUP-SNiCKUP, the hiccough. Shakspeare, in the Twelfth 
 Night, uses the interjection sneck up ! 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 couplet, thrice repeated, is a popular 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 — 
 
 " Hlckup-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 — quasi Mde-ling. 
 
 " Bot Scilla lurkand in deme hiddellis \yia."— Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 HiDGE, hip. " A pain in the hidge." 
 
 Higgler, a tramping dealer in small agricultural produce. 
 
 Hinc fort^ to higgle, to drive a bargain like a higgler. 
 HiGHT, called, named. 
 
 " Of which two, Arcita highte that on, 
 And he that other highte Palamon." 
 
 Chaucer,— Tfie Knighte's Tale. 
 
 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. 
 
 Hikey, Hikey-board, a swing. It is much better repre- 
 sented, than I can pretend to represent it, in Bewick's 
 tail-piece of two monkeys engaged in the sport. See 
 Quadrupeds, p. 484, ed. 1820, 
 
 Hilling, a covering. — Bed-hilling, a quilt or coverlet. Sax. 
 hilcm, tegere. " Hylling of a house." Prompt. Parv. ; 
 Wiclif, Matt, xxv., 36.
 
 220 HIND 
 
 Hind, a servant or bailiff in hu8l)an(lry. Sax. hineman. 
 Chaucer spells it kine. 
 
 " Ther n' as bailiff, ne herde, ne other hine 
 That ho ne knew his sleight and his covine." 
 
 77te Reve'8 Prologue. 
 
 Hind-berry, a raspberry. Rubies Icedus Sax. hindberian, 
 which Lye mis-translates into fragum. The corresponding 
 term in Danish is hindbcBr. 
 
 Hinder-ends, the refuse of any thing ; especially the offal of 
 such corn as remains after winnowing. 
 
 HiNDERSOME, retarding, hindering ; as, " the weather is 
 hindersome" Used in Herefordshire, and also in the Fo- 
 rest of Dean. 
 
 HiNG, to hang. Isl. hengia. Su.-Got. henga. Tuet. henjen. 
 
 " By that well hinges a basin 
 That is of gold fine." — Yewain and Gawin. 
 
 HiNMosT, the hindmost. 
 
 HiNNY, or HiNNEY, a favourite term of endearment, expres- 
 sive of great regard. A mispronunciation of honey — used 
 with much effect by the Irish. Sometimes the term is ap- 
 plied ironically to a female of no good fame ; as, " she's a 
 canny hinny — 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 interjectional exclamation of surprise, ac- 
 companied with gladness. 
 
 Hip, to hop on one foot. See Hitch. — Hip-step-and-jump, a 
 youthful gambol. — Hinchy-pinchy, something similar. 
 
 Hip, the fruit of the dog rose. 
 
 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, Stepping stoues — large stones 
 set in a shallow river, at a step's distance from each other, 
 to pass over by.
 
 HIRS 221 
 
 Hipping, hopping on one foot. 
 
 " Hope cam hiijpynge after 
 That had so y-bosted 
 How he with Moyses maundement 
 Hadde many men yoholpe." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Hiring, a fair or market at which country servants are hired. 
 Those, who ofiFer themselves, stand in a body in the mar- 
 ket-place, with a piece of straw or 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 engage- 
 ment concluded, the lasses begin to file of, and pace the 
 streets in search of admirers, while the lads, with equally 
 innocent designs, follow 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 spectator unaccustomed 
 to these rural habits. 
 
 HiRPLE, or HipPLE, to halt, to go lame, to creep, to limp in 
 walking. V. Crav. Gloss, herple. 
 
 " The hares were hirpUn down the furs." — Burns. 
 
 HiRSEL, or Herdsel, the number of sheep which one person 
 can attend. 
 
 Hersill, to slide down a bank on the posteriors. Jamieson 
 very properly derives it from Teut. aerselen, and Belg. 
 aarzeleiiy retrogede. 
 
 Hirst, Hurst, a woody bank, a place with trees. Sax. hr/rst, 
 hurst. V. Spelman, hursta ; and Kilian, horscht, horst. 
 According to Lord Coke, it is a wood generally. "We 
 have Hirst, and Long-hirst, places in Northumberland. In 
 the south of England it is hurst, and it forms the termina- 
 tion of many proper names. 
 
 ' The courteous forest show'd 
 
 So just-conceived joy, that from each rising hurst 
 Where many a goodly oak had carefully been nurst 
 The Sylvans in their songs their mirthful meeting tell." 
 
 I>rayton, — Poly-olbion.
 
 224 IHTC 
 
 Hitch, to hop on one foot. Identical with hip. — Hitch- 
 STEP-AND-JUMi', a favouritc amusement among boys. 
 
 Hitch, a small " trouble," or dyke, in coal-mines, generally 
 limited to a few inches' dislocation, so that it does not in- 
 terrujit the continuity of the coal ; mtdshroom hitches, the 
 inequalities in the floor of a mine, occasioned by the pro- 
 jection of basaltic or other stony substances. 
 
 HiTiiER-AND-YONT, here and there. Sax. hicler and geond. 
 
 HiTY-TiTY, Hoity-toity, haughty, flighty. Fr. haute U'te. 
 
 Hives, water-SM*, or blisters, an erui^tion of the skin. 
 Su.-Got. hacfwa, to rise up. Sax. heafian. Teut. heffen. 
 
 HoAST, a bad hoarseness, a cough. Sax. hwosta, tussis. 
 Swed. hosta. Dan. hoste, 
 
 " Stowin came steppand in with stendis 
 No renk mycht him arrest 
 Plat fut he bobbit up with bendis 
 For Maid he maid requeist ; 
 He lap qiihile he lay on his lendis 
 Bot rysind he was prest 
 Quhil he hostit at bayth endis 
 In honour of the feist." 
 
 Christ Kirk on the Oreen. 
 
 HoASTMAN, HosTMEN, or (as it was formerly written) Ostemn, 
 an ancient fraternity or society in Newcastle, dealing in 
 sea-coal. They were incorporated by Queen Elizabeth, 
 but appear to have existed as a guild from time imme- 
 morial. A stranger arriving at the port of Tyne, to buy 
 coals, was called an oaste, 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, haupt. " Set 
 the kettle on the hob ;" i. e., the flat place on the head. 
 
 Hob, a clown ; contracted from Robin, 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-xoB, the act of touching glasses in
 
 HOFE 223 
 
 pledging a health. Much has been written concerning this 
 Northern expression. See Grose's Class. Diet, and Brand's 
 Pop. Ant. hoh or nob; Todd's John, hob or nob; and 
 Nares' Gloss, habbe or nabbe. Sax. habban, to have, and 
 ncebban, to want, are much relied on for derivation ; but is 
 the term any thing more than a burlesque translation of 
 tete a tete ? Haupt is the German word for the head, and 
 knob the ludicrous English word — from knob, a protu- 
 berance. 
 
 HoBBLETY-HOY, an Uncultivated stripling " neither 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 un- 
 manageable top, a hobblety-hoy. 
 
 HoBBLY, rough, uneven. " A liobbly road, as the man said 
 when he fell over the cow." 
 
 HoBTHRtJST, a local spirit, famous for whimsical pranks. In 
 some farm-houses a cock and bacon are boiled on Fastern's- 
 eve (Shrove Tuesday) ; 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 Grose, he is supposed to haunt woods 
 only — Hob o f hurst. 
 
 Hockey, another name for the game of Doddart — hooky, from 
 the bent stick used. So the synonyme bandy, bendy. The 
 verb bandy appears borrowed from the game, and directly 
 allusive to it. 
 
 " I will not bandy with thee word for word." 
 
 3d. PaH Henry VI. 
 
 HoDDY, the call to a goose. 
 
 Hodge, or Hotch, to agitate the body ; " to hodge and laugh," 
 
 is to laugh so as to shake the whole body, Teut. hutscn. 
 
 Belg. hotsen, to jog, to jolt. 
 HoFEY ! Hofey ! a term in calling to cows. A gentleman 
 
 informs me that he heard this word used, with the exact 
 
 tone of a Newcastle cowherd, by a German on the Rhine,
 
 224 HOFF 
 
 driving cattle. It was explained to mean, alles: doucemetit. 
 In Sax. hof is a farm and farm-house ; the call, therefore, 
 to the cow, is probably to come home. 
 
 HoFF, hough, to throw any thing under the thigh. Hoff, or 
 Hock, is also used for the limb itself. 
 
 Hog, a sheep in its state from a lamb to its first shearing ; 
 after which it is a dinmont if a wedder, and a gimmer if a 
 ewe. Norman Fr. hogetz. In an account relating to the 
 Monastery of Wearmouth, A. D. 1837, the Monks, in 
 describing sheep of this sort, use the barbarous Latin word 
 hoggastri. 
 
 HoGGERS, old stockings with the feet cut off, used as gaiters 
 — riding stockings. Germ, hocher, higher ; or, perhaps, 
 only a variation of Cockers ; which see. An intelligent 
 friend, however, informs me that hoggers is more likely 
 from the hocks, which they chiefly cover. 
 
 HoGH, HoE, How, both a hill and a hollow. Sax. hoh, altus 
 hoce, uncus. Properly a hollow on a hill. Hope has the 
 same meaning. 
 
 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. hogmanaj/. The poor children in the 
 North, 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 uncer- 
 tain. Some pretend to derive the term from the two Greek 
 words, xyt» fAYi'in, holy moon ; while others maintain that it 
 is only a corruption from the French, homme est ne, in allu- 
 sion to the nativity. 
 
 " The cottar weanies glad an' gay, 
 
 Wi' pocks out owre their shouther, 
 Sing at the doors for hogmanay." —yieoVs Poems. 
 
 HoGMENA-NiGHT, a Northern term for new year's eve. 
 
 HoLLiN, the holly tree. Sax. holen. 
 
 HoLjf, low flat land caused by alluvion — a small island. Sax.
 
 HONG 225 
 
 holm. Dan. Jiolm. Germ. holm. Swed. holm. Dry grounds 
 nearly surrounded by the course of rivers, and low and 
 level pasture lands near water, are in Cumberland called 
 Holms : — The Holms on Ullswater and Windermere. — 
 DunJiolm, the ancient name of Durham. Holm, in the 
 Saxon language, generally signifies the sea or a deep wa- 
 ter, but it is frequently used with an adjective to designate 
 an insular situation. 
 Holt, a peaked hill covered ^vith wood. Sax. holt, lucus. 
 '^ Holies hare or hore," a common plirase of romance, may 
 either mean grey woods or bleak uplands V. Glossary to 
 Sir Tristram, v. Holtes. Chaucer, in Troilus and Cres- 
 eide, uses it to express simply woods. 
 
 " But right so as these holtes and these hayls 
 That han in Winter dedde yben and drie 
 Revestin hem in grene, when that Maie is. 
 Whan every lustie beste listith to pleie." — B. 3, 1. 352. 
 
 HoLY-STONES, holcd-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 jilaced be- 
 hind the door of a dwelling-house, attached to a key — to 
 i:)revent injury from the midnight hags of " air and broom." 
 The stone, in all cases, must be found naturally holed — if 
 it be made it is thought to have no efficacy. See Adder- 
 Stoxe. 
 
 Honest, decent, well-behaved. An old sense of the word. 
 It is also used as a term of kindness, without reference to 
 the individual being really honest. It is told of a late 
 baronet, who was chairman of quarter sessions in an ad- 
 joining county, that when a prisoner was to be sentenced, 
 the usual commencement of his address was — " Well, my 
 honest man, you have been convicted of a felony." 
 
 HoxEST-iiKE, respectable in appearance. 
 
 HONGERED, ill fed. 
 
 VOL. I. G g
 
 226 HOOR 
 
 IIooR, a wliore. Sax. hiire ; from hyran, to hire. Welsh, 
 huren, a i^rostitute — huriaw, to take hire or wages. This 
 itlea runs through other languages. Gr. -Trc^r/i, a harlot ; 
 from 7Fi^vxo>, to sell. Lat. mereti-ix ; from mereor, to earn 
 or get money. 
 
 " Nan Bullen, that Hoore, shall not he Queen." 
 
 Ellis' Letters illustrative of Eng. Hist. 
 
 This spelling expresses the classical pronunciation. See 
 Walker. 
 
 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 Hoppex, Hopping. 
 
 Hope, the head of a vale, frequently near the source of a 
 stream ; a narrow valley ; a sloping hollow between hills ; 
 often confined to a vale without a thoroughfare. Some- 
 times it means a hill, or rather a depression on the top of 
 a hill. The word enters into the composition of several 
 local appellatives in the Northern counties. 
 
 Hopple, to tie the fore legs of a horse or other animal to pre- 
 vent its straying. — Hopples, the ligatures with which 
 the animal is hoppled. 
 
 Hoppen, Hopping, a country wake or rural fair ; several of 
 which are held in Northumberland, and many in the imme- 
 diate neighbourhood of Newcastle. Hopping, or dancing, 
 displaying a scene of much old-fashioned sort of fun and 
 merriment, was always the favourite amusement at these 
 meetings ; hence the name. In former days, neither wake 
 nor feast could be ijrojierly celebrated without the lads 
 and lasses footing it on the green. A very humourous 
 description of a hopping, and particularly curious as it enu- 
 merates the names of the dances in vogue among these 
 rustic performers at the commencement of the seventeenth 
 century, may be seen in Heywood's Woman kiWd with 
 Kindness, Dodsley's Old Plays, by Reed, Vol. YII. Allu-
 
 HORS 227 
 
 sion is also made to these sports in a Joco-serious Discourse 
 betwee?i a Northumberland Gentleman and his Tenant, a 
 Scotchma?i, a rare poem, printed in 1G86, 4to. 
 
 " To horse-race, fair, or ho])pin 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 hetts on." 
 
 Of the sports at the 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 pre- 
 vent it from straying. Teut. hoppelen. 
 
 Hornet, or Horney-top, the end of a cow's horn made like a 
 a top for boys to play with. 
 
 HoRNEY, or HoRNEY-wAY, an untruth, a hoax. Virgil says, 
 true visions come by the homey way. Can the expression 
 have had its rise from his description 1 
 
 " Sunt geminfe somni portae : quarum altera fertur ^ 
 
 Cornea; qua veris facilis datur exitus umbris : 
 Altera candenti perfecta nitens elephanto : 
 Sed falsa ad ccelum mittunt insomnia manes." 
 
 ^neid, lib. vL, v. 893. 
 
 Hornie, it may be added, is a common name in Scotland, 
 
 for, to adopt the expression of Reginald Scot, " an ouglie 
 
 divell having homes on his head." 
 HoRSE-couPER, a horse dealer of an inferior order. 
 
 " As honest as any horse-couper of them all." — Redgauntlet. 
 HoRSEGODMOTHER, a large masculine wench ; one whom it is 
 
 difficult to rank among the purest and gentlest portion of 
 
 the community.
 
 228 HORS 
 
 HoRSE-KNOPS, knap-weed. Centaurea nigra, a coarse plant 
 in meadows and pastures. Centaurea Cyanus, (Blue-bot- 
 tle) in gardens (var. colore) and com fields. Blue-bottles 
 give a fine blue colour by infusion. 
 
 HoRSE-suoES, the game of coits, or quoits — because some- 
 times actually played with horse-shoes. 
 
 Hot, a sort of square basket, formerly used for taking manure 
 into fields of steep ascent ; the bottom opened by two 
 wooden pins to let out the contents. I have heard old 
 people say, that between the confines of Yorkshire and 
 Westmoreland, it was common for the men to occupy them- 
 selves in knitting, while the women were engaged in the 
 servile employment of carrying these hots on their backs. 
 It has been remarked to me, by more than one literary 
 fiiend, that hot is hod, the instrument used by bricklayers. 
 But I would prefer deducing it from Fr. hotte, which 
 Cotgrave defines " a scuttle, corbis dossuaria, a basket to 
 carry on the back.'" 
 
 HoTT, a clumjD of trees, plants, &c., as " Birk-hott." So, 
 when persons or things are huddled or clumj)ed together, 
 they are said to be " all in a hott." 
 
 Hot-pot, warmed ale with spirit in it. Called also Het- 
 
 PINT. 
 
 HoT-FOOT, HoT-TROD, a term now peculiar to the borders, 
 imjjlying that the delinquent was pursued and taken im- 
 mediately after the offence was committed. Barbour uses 
 it in this sense, in describing the Battle of Bannock Bum, 
 and we find fote hot in Chaucer and other early English 
 writers, used in the same sense. 
 
 " Ne tlier was Surrien nou that was converted. 
 That of the conseil of the Soudan wot, 
 That he n' as all tohewe, er he asterted : 
 And Custance han they taken anone fote-hot." 
 
 Chaucer, — TAe Man of Laice's Tale. 
 
 " The pursuit of Border marauders was followed by the injured 
 party and his friends with blood-hounds and bugle horn, and 
 was called the hot trod." 
 
 \
 
 HOWD 229 
 
 Hotter, to shake, to harass, to weary. " I'm all hottered to 
 pieces," said of a jumbling ride in an uneasy vehicle. See 
 Hatter. 
 HouGHER, the public whijiper of criminals, the executioner 
 of felons, in Newcastle — still a regular officer of the town, 
 with a yearly salary of J4. Qs. 8d. He is said to have ob- 
 tained this name from a jjower which he had formerly of 
 cutting the houghs, or rather the sinews of the houghs, of 
 swine that were found infesting the streets. In Ruddi- 
 man's excellent Glossary to Gawin Douglas's Translation 
 of Virgil's ^neis, to hoc//, from Sax. /tofi, is rendered 
 " suffragines succidere," to hamstring. 
 
 HousEx, a property in houses. This is merely the Saxon 
 plural ; some instances of which, notwithstanding its hav- 
 ing 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, apage ; Welsh, htct, off! 
 away! 
 
 HouTs ! an expression of dissatisfaction, implying a degree 
 of irritation, and sometimes of contempt — equivalent to 
 pshaw, in more j^olished language. 
 
 HouT-YE ! an expression of surprise. 
 
 Hove, to swell. Dan. hovne. Swed. hafva. Used by Tusser. 
 Cattle are said to be hoven, when swoUen by over-feeding 
 in rank clover. 
 
 How, hollow, empty. Su.-Got. and Sax. hoi, cavus. — How- 
 i'-the-wame, hungry. 
 
 How ! How-MARROw ! a favourite salutation among the pit- 
 men. 
 
 HowT)ox-PAN-CAXT, an awkward fall, an overturn. 
 
 HowDON-PAN-CANTER, a slow, ungi'acoful mode of riding. 
 
 Howdy, Howdy-wife, a widwife. Brand sneers at the deri- 
 vation from " How d' ye — midwives being great gossipers," 
 but I think that which he supplies is far more ridiculous.
 
 230 IIOWK 
 
 I have not been fortunate enough to meet with any origin 
 to my own satisfaction, but I may perhaps be permitted to 
 observe, in defence of what has been so much ridiculed, 
 that " How d' j/e," is a natural enough salutation to a sick 
 woman from the midwife ; who, by the way, is generally 
 a great prattler. It may be also remarked, that in Scot- 
 land, the " Clac/ian Hodie" is a common term for the vil- 
 lage midwife. As it is with the antiquaries, so I fear with 
 etymologists — ancient women, " whether in or out of 
 breeches," will occasionally betray themselves. See Ja- 
 mieson, for some judicious remarks on the word. 
 
 HowK, to dig imperfectly, to scoop — to make a hole in the 
 earth in a bungling manner. 
 
 Howl, s. a hollow or low place. Sax. hoi, latibulum. 
 " Wherever there's a hill ther's sure to be a howl;" or, as 
 Barthelemi (apologizing for the huge faults of Homer's 
 heroes) expresses it " la nature a place I'abyme k cote de 
 r elevation." 
 
 Howl, Howle, a. empty, hollow. " To be howl" — hungry. 
 " The howl quarter of the year" — the winter quarter, 
 when times are flat and wages lowered. 
 
 " And tharme cam Coveitiee, 
 Kan I hym naglit discryve 
 So hungrily and holwe 
 Sire Hervy hym loked." — Piers Plovyinan. 
 " And he was not right fat, I undertake, 
 But loked holwe." — Chaucer, — Clerk's Prologue. 
 
 Howlet, the barn or white owl, which, in its flight, occa- 
 sionally utters loud screams or howls. Fr. hulotte. Shak- 
 speare introduces the word in Macbeth. 
 
 " Adder's fork, and blind worm's sting, 
 Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing." 
 
 " Gode Ivy 
 
 What byrdys ast thu ? 
 Non but the hoiclat 
 
 That kreye how, how." 
 The Contest of the Ivy and Holly, temp. Tien. VI, 
 Ritson A. B. i., p. 133.
 
 HUIL 231 
 
 HowLET, a term of reproach ; probably from the owl being 
 considered a bird of ill omen. 
 
 HowL-KESLOP, an empty stomach. See How. 
 
 Howl-kite, a vulgar name for the belly. 
 
 How 'way, come away ; a term of solicitation very common 
 in Newcastle and the vicinity. It is also called out by 
 rustic auctioneers to gather an audience. If not hie, or 
 hoy away; it may, perhaps, claim descent from oyez. 
 Some of these personages use the word, or pronounce it, 
 Jioze — yaze. 
 
 How's a' wi' ye ? how are you ? a common mode of saluta- 
 tion. 
 
 Hoy, v. to heave or throw ; as a stone. 
 
 Hoy, Hoy-cart, s. a, cart drawn by one horse only. 
 
 Hoyt, an awkward ill-bred youth, a lazy idle fellow. 
 
 HoYTiNG, riotous and noisy mirth — an old sense of the word. 
 
 Hubby-shew, Hubby-shoo, Hubbledeshew, a disturbance, a 
 noise, a state of confusion. Teut. hohbelen, inglomerare ; 
 and schowe, 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 i)laced on the ^^hud stane" 
 See Hob. 
 
 Huddick, or Huddock, the cabin of a keel or coal barge. 
 Dut. hut, steerage. 
 
 HuEL, or Heul, the skin or shell, the husk of a nut, or of 
 grain. 
 
 Huel, a gluttonous, greedy fellow. " He's a huel for 
 fish." 
 
 Hug, to carry ; requiring the grasp of the arms. 
 
 Huggermuggerixg, doing any thing in a confused, clandes- 
 tine, or unfair manner. V, Todd's Johnson, and Nares* 
 Gloss. 
 
 HuiLLY, or Heully, delicate in health, often complaining, 
 weak, feeble, tender, timid, petted, peevish. It does not 
 correspond to Sc. hooly, which implies slow and softly ;
 
 232 HULK 
 
 but seems to be derived from heul ; being, as it were, thin 
 skinned — soon hurt. 
 
 Hulk, a lazy, clumsy, bulky fellow. Shakspeare has " the 
 hulk Sir John ;" and in Newcastle they talk of an " idle 
 \azj pay-tvife hulk." 
 
 Hull, a place in which animals are confined for the purpose 
 of fattening; as a svnne-hull ; a duck-hull. Germ, hohle, 
 a den. 
 
 Humble, or Hummel. To humble barley, is to break off 
 the beard or awns, with a flail or other instrument. It 
 is a sort of second thrashing. Su.-Got. hamla, to muti- 
 late. Allied to this, is a hummellcd-cow, a cow without 
 horns. 
 
 HuMLiCK, the Northern pronunciation of Hemlock. 
 
 HuMMA, as much as can be held between the finger ends and 
 the thumb. A housewife gi^^ng directions for the stuffing 
 of a duck, includes a " humma" of sage. 
 
 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- 
 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 hencoicr fashion, probably from hen and 
 couver, to sit on eggs — from the jiosition 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 in- 
 duced to give as a specimen of Pit language : — " It was 
 sittcn on its hunkers howkiug gliuters fra amang the het 
 ass, when the lowe teuck its claes, and brant it the varry 
 a*se ;" which may be translated, it was sitting on its 
 haunches digging vitrified shining scorise among the hot
 
 HUTH 233 
 
 ashes, when the flame caught its clothes, and burnt it to 
 
 the very buttocks. 
 HuNT-THE-HARE, a common game among children, played on 
 
 the ice as well as in the fields. 
 HuRCHix, or Urchix, a hedgehog. Armoric. hmrreachen. 
 
 See Urchin. 
 Htjrl-barrow, a wheel-barrow. 
 HuRTER, the shoulder of the axle against which the nave of 
 
 the wheel knocks. Fr. heurter, to knock. 
 Hurtle, to contract the body into a round form, as through 
 
 pain, severe cold, &c. Hurtle, to crowd confusedly toge- 
 ther, is classical. 
 
 " Iron sleet of arrowy shower, 
 Hurtles in the darkened air." — Gray. 
 
 HuRTSOME, hurtful. 
 
 Husbandman, an agricultural labourer, though its original 
 
 sense was much more extended, implying the head of a 
 
 family. Sax. husbanda, a husband. Chaucer uses it, for 
 
 the master of the house, 
 
 " So long he went fro hous to hous, til he 
 Came to an hous, ther he was wont to be 
 Refreshed more than in a hundred places, 
 Sike lay the hosboiid man whose that the place is." 
 
 TJie Sompnoure's Tale. 
 
 Huse, a short cough, a hoarseness. Germ, husterif a cough. 
 See HoAST. — 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 Cor- 
 poration transact their business. It is, in fact, the town's 
 treasury. Lat. huchia. Fr. kuchc. 
 
 " Why dost thou converse with that trunk of humours, that 
 ho\iing-h utch of beastliness, that swollen parcel of dropsies, 
 that huge bombard of sack.— S/iafr., — \st. Hen. IV. 
 " Till Pamelles purfill 
 Be put in hire hucche." — Piers Plow-man. 
 
 HuTHERiKiN-LAD, a ragged youth — an uncultivated boy. 
 Germ, hutte-kind, a cottage child. 
 
 VOL. I, H h
 
 234 HUTT 
 
 HuTTOCH, ten sheaves of corn, set two and two upright, and 
 two hoods, one at each end, to cover them. The huUoch is 
 used when corn is short in the straw, the stook, when of 
 moderate or ordinary length. 
 
 Huz, Uz, we, as well as, us. In very general use. 
 
 I 
 
 IcE-SHOGGLE, an icicle. Sax. ice-icel. Dut. ysTcegel. Mr. 
 Todd, on the authority of Grose, has admitted ickle, which 
 I should have thought the proper name for these stalac- 
 tites (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 in- 
 formed, since writing this article, that icle is a general 
 name for stalactite. 
 
 " Ouer craggis and the frontis of rockys sere 
 Hang grete yse schokkilis lang as ony spere." 
 
 Gawin Douglas. 
 
 I'fakins, in faith — a frequent asseveration among the com- 
 mon people. Shakspeare uses i'faith, on several occasions. 
 
 Ilk, each, every — the same, the like. Sax. celc — ilc. 
 
 Ill, v. to reproach, to speak ill. — Illwilled, a. malevolent, 
 ill-natured. Isl. illdlie, malevolentia. 
 
 Ill-faured, ill-favoured, ugly. 
 
 Ill-twined, peevish, ill-tempered. 
 
 Imp, an addition to a bee-hive. Also, one length of hair 
 twisted, as forming part of a fishing line. 
 
 Ix-BY, the inner chamber of a house. 
 
 Incling, a desire, an imperfect hint or intimation. Etymo- 
 logists have differed as to the derivation. I was once in- 
 clined to view it as from Fr. wi din (d'ceil) a wink, if not 
 from Su.-Got. wincla, connivere. But Mrs. Hutchinson 
 (Memoirs, 4to., p. 357) writes the word inclin, quasi pen- 
 chant — a leaning, an inclination. 
 
 " I had an inlUny of that yester night, 
 That Flowerdale and he should meet this morning." 
 
 London Prodigal, Act III-, Sc. 3.
 
 INME 235 
 
 Income, any swelling or other bodily infirmity, not appa- 
 rently proceeding from any external cause — or wbicli has 
 formed unexpectedly. Ancome, in the same sense, is an 
 old word. 
 
 Incoming, ensuing, as "the incoming week," the next week. 
 
 Indifferent, tolerable, in pretty good health. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 
 Infield-land, arable land which receives manure, and ac- 
 cording to the old mode of farming, is kept still under 
 crop. V. Jam. 
 
 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 com- 
 mon field ; though it is now chiefly applied to low moist 
 ground, or such as is subject to occasional overflowings. 
 Ihre says, (xng is a flat meadow between a town and a river 
 on which the market or fair is held ; which is an exact de- 
 scription of the Ings on which the great fortnight fair for 
 cattle is held at Wakefield. 
 
 Ingate, the entrance to a working place in a coal mine. 
 
 Ingate, the entrance or inlet for a current of air in the work- 
 ing of a pit. 
 
 Ingle, a fire, or flame. Gael, aingeal. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 " Sum vtlieris brocht the fontain wattir fare, 
 And sum tlie haly ingU with thame bare." 
 
 Douglas' JEiieid. 
 
 Inkle, an inferior kind of tape. " Beggars inlle." See Thick. 
 Inkle was a sort of coarse tape wove by beggars and other 
 itinerants. Cartwright, in "The Royal Slave," makes 
 one of the prisoners say to the gaoler — " I know the pro- 
 motion of your family ; she came from the web-errantry 
 of highway inkle, to the domestique turning and winding 
 of home-bred hemp." Cartwright s Royal Slave, Act I., Sc, 1. 
 
 Inmeats, those ijortions of the inside of an animal which are 
 used for food. Sw. inmaete, intestines. Inwards, the en- 
 trails of an animal.
 
 23G INNO 
 
 Innocent, 5. a silly person, an idiot. 
 
 " 1G22, John Stephenson, innocent, buried the 20th December." 
 
 Medo'tnaley Parish Kegiiitet. 
 
 Insense, to make to understand, to inform or impart know- 
 ledge — to have sense, as it were, infused into the mind. 
 V. Nares' Glos. incense. 
 
 " I have insens'd the lords 0' the Council that he is a most arch 
 heretic"— Shak.,— Henri/ VIII., Act V., Sc. 2. 
 
 Insight-gear, the furniture of a house. 
 
 " Henry Hume reft of two neiges and all his insight geare, to the 
 vale we of 5^" 
 
 Losses in the Middle Marches, Lansd. MS. m Brit. Mus. 
 
 Intack, an inclosure. A part taken in from a common. In- 
 hoke is an old law term for any comer or any j^art of a 
 common field fenced in from the rest. V. Kennett's Pa- 
 roch. 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 is" — am sure, thou art. In the 
 Canterbury Tales, is the following line — 
 
 " I fe 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 phrase- 
 ology. But, I must confess, I have some doubt on the 
 subject. 
 
 Isca! Isca! Iska! Iska! a Northumbrian shepherd's call to 
 his dog. Sc. isk, iske. Mr. Lambe, in his Notes on the 
 old poem of The Battle of Floddon, -p. GG, fancifully ob- 
 serves, that this term is evidently an abbreviation of Lj/- 
 sisca, the name of the Roman shepherd's dog. 
 
 " multrum latrante Li/sisca."—yirg. Ed. 3. 
 
 With greater probability it has been said, that it is from 
 Fr. icy, hither ; the word used in France for the same pur-
 
 JAIST 237 
 
 pose. Dr. Jamiesou, however, remarks that Tuet. acs, 
 
 aesken, and Germ, ess, signify a dog. 
 IsE, I shall, and sometimes / am. 
 
 Iv, in. — Intiv, into. So pronounced by country people. 
 Ivy-tod, an ivy bush. 
 IzLE-sToxE, a stone on the shore, near Bamburgh Castle ; the 
 
 Isle-stone. Probably the old pronunciation of Isle Fr. is 
 
 here preserved, as it is in Isleworth on the Thames, which, 
 
 by the Londoners, is always called Izleworth. — Izle, a hoar 
 
 frost. Gloss. West, and Cumb. 
 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. 
 
 Jabber, s. 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 supposed to have obtained this 
 name from Jacques a Liege, a famous Flemish cutler — be- 
 fore England had learnt to excel all the world in hardware. 
 
 J^ST, a joist, from giste, old Fr. (and not irom. joindre, as Dr. 
 Johnson says, Todd not contradicting) and now spelt gete, 
 a place of rest, and thence in Scotland and Northumber- 
 land joists are called dormants, in classical English, sleepers, 
 
 Jag, a cart load. — York. Moor bas jag, a waggon load. 
 
 Jagger-galloway, a pony with a peculiar saddle for carry- 
 ing lead, &c. In Teesdale, near Middleton, droves of these 
 animals are to be seen carrying lead to the smelting mill. 
 Jagger, in the Scottish language, means a pedlar — jagger- 
 galloway, a pedlar's pony. Some of these itinerant mer- 
 chants, as they are called, are yet in the practice of convey- 
 ing their wares on galloways, a small, but spirited, breed 
 of horses, from Galloway, a district of country in Scotland, 
 famed for rearing them. 
 
 Jaible, to shake water to and fro in a vessel. 
 
 Jaistering, swaggering, gesturing — gesticulating. It is
 
 238 JAM 
 
 common to call a person of iin airy manner, if a male, " a 
 jaistering fellow ;" — and if a female, " a jaistering jade." 
 
 Jam, Juam, s, jamb. Formerly written jaiimb. 
 
 Jannick, staunch, firm. Yorkshire. 
 
 Janxock, oat-bread made into a loaf. Lancashire. See Ban- 
 nock. 
 
 Janty, cheerful, smart. Su.-Got. gantus, to sj^ort like child- 
 ren. 
 
 Jarble, to wet, to bedew ; as by walking in long grass after 
 dew or rain. V. Todd's John, javel. 
 
 Jar-wojian, 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 cJioor, a West of England word for a job, or any dirty 
 household work. See Chare. 
 
 Jau, a wave. See Jock. 
 
 " Hie as ane hill the yaw of the watter brak, 
 And in ane hepe come on them with an swak." 
 
 Douglas ' ^neid. 
 
 Jaunis, Jaunus, the jaundice. Fr.jaunisse; from jaune, 
 
 Jaup, v. to move liquid irregularly — to splash. " The water 
 went jauping in the skeel." A rotten eg^, also, is said to 
 jauj), when, ujoon being shaken, a noise is heard like that 
 proceeding from a bottle not full. 
 
 Jaup, s. the sound of water agitated in a narrow or irregular 
 vessel. Isl. gialfur, 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 amuse- 
 ment in Newcastle and the neighbourhood. One boy, 
 holding an ^gg in his hand, challenges another to give 
 blow for blow. One of the eggs is sure to be fractured in 
 the conflict, and its shattered remains become the spoil of 
 the conqueror. 
 
 Jawdy, the stomach of a pig, 
 
 Jay-pyet, the Jay.
 
 JIMM 239 
 
 Jealous, v. to suspect. 
 
 Jeddart, the vulgar pronunciation of Jedburgh. The speedy- 
 execution which was sometimes done by the Scottish war- 
 dens, on notorious freebooters and border riders, at Jed- 
 burgh, gave rise to the proverb of " JeddaH justice,^^ 
 which means, to condemn first, and examine the evidence 
 afterwards. 
 
 Jee, v. to move on one side. Swed. gaa, to turn round. — 
 Jee, a. crooked, awry ; applied to a horse when driven in 
 a cart. It is an intimation to move to the right. 
 
 Jeeps, a severe beating — a sound thrashing. 
 
 Jexk, to jaunt, to ramble. From junket, to feast secretly. 
 
 Jexkix, a narrow place driven up the middle of a pillar of 
 coal when it is about to be excavated. 
 
 Jenmck, true, proper, right. To be " not jetmick ;" to act 
 improperly or shabbily. 
 
 Jennt-howlet, the tawny owl ; very clamorous at night, and 
 easily known by its hootitig. 
 
 " When the gray howlet has three times hoo'd, 
 When the grimy cat has three times mewed." 
 
 Witches' Gathering Hymn. 
 
 Jesp, a hole or rent in cloth. Isl. geisjn, oscitatio. 
 Jewel, an expression of affection — familiar regard. Fr. mon 
 joie, provincially maw jeivel! It is also Irish. 
 
 " Ye jewels of our father, with wash'd eyes 
 Cordelia leaves you." — Sliuk., — King Lear. 
 
 Jigger, an airy, swaggering person. " A comical jigger." 
 
 Perhaps, originally, one disposed or suitable to a jig. 
 Jimp, a. slender, neat, elegant, also scanty. See Gimp. 
 
 " And wha will lace my middle jimp 
 Wi' a lang linen band ?" 
 
 Ballad in Border Minstrelsy. 
 
 Jimmer, a small hinge for a closet door or desk. See an ex- 
 planation o{jimmers, with which the gimmal ring is thought 
 to be connected, in Brand's Pop. Ant. Vol. II., p. 27. Al- 
 so Nares' Gloss. ^m/««^y and 'Moor,jimmers. 
 
 X
 
 240 JING 
 
 Jingle-cap, ehake cap. A game much practised among the 
 yomig pitmen ami keelmen. Sc. jinffle-the-honnet. 
 
 Jink, v. to sound or ring, to jingle. — Jink, 5. a clink, or 
 sharp rattle. 
 
 JiNKERs, By JiNKERS, a sort of demi-oath. From jinffo. 
 
 Jinny-spinner, a very long slender-legged fly. Tipula rico- 
 sa. Father Long-legs. 
 
 JocKALEGs, the same as Jackalegs ■which see. In Meyrick's 
 Glossary of military terms of the middle ages, I find " Jock- 
 eli/s, a strong knife with two blades." Our modem jocka- 
 legs, however, has only one blade. 
 
 Jock and Jock's-man, a juvenile sport, in which the bon ca- 
 marada is to repeat all the pranks which Uie leader can 
 perform. See the Tale of " Master and ]\Ian," 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. schochelen, vacillare. 
 
 Jolly, fat, stout, large in person. " K jolly landlady." 
 
 JooK, to crouch or stoop suddenly, as if to avoid a blow. 
 Germ, suchen, to shrink, " Jooh and let the jau gan by ;" 
 that is, " stoop and let the wave go over you," i. e. yield 
 to a present difficulty. 
 
 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 jordane, and Shakspeare jordcn ; both in the sense of 
 a chamber substitute pour \ejardm. 
 " The horrible crew, 
 That Hercules slew, 
 Were Poverty — Calumny — Trouble — and Fear : 
 Such a club would you borrow. 
 To drive away sorrow, 
 Apply iovvi jorum of Newcastle beer." — Cunningham. 
 
 Joseph, a woman's great coat, the origin of the riding habit, 
 and with country people still a substitute for it.
 
 KAIL 241 
 
 Joskin, a mason's labourer. V. Jam. Supj). jaskin. 
 
 JouKEEEY-PAUKEREY, any sort of underhand trick or dexter- 
 ous roguery, artifice, or legerdemain. A friend in Edin- 
 burgh says, this phrase is derived from the two Scots 
 words ./omZ-, to elude, and paukie, cunning, sly — the essen- 
 tial requisites of a juggler. 
 
 Jowl, v. to knock, or rather to call attention by knocking. 
 Pitmen ascertain, \>j joivling against the coal, the probable 
 thickness and direction of two approaching workings. 
 " Gan an gie us a jowl to see if she's fair on." 
 
 JuD, the portion of coal about to be removed by blasting. 
 See Kerve. 
 
 JuDD, to butt as a sheep. 
 
 Jug, to go to rest ; as partridges when they roost on the 
 ground. Su.-Got. Jmka, avium more reclinare. Serenius. 
 
 JuMP-wiTH, JuMP-iN-wiTH, to meet with accidentally, to 
 coincide. Jump occurs several times in Shakspeare ; 
 meaning in 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, ado. presently. In the South, bi/ and hj/. 
 
 Jye, to stir, to turn round. " I cannot jt/e my neck, its so 
 stiff." — Jye, a. awry, crooked. See Jee. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kae! an interjectional expression of disbelief, contempt, or 
 
 abhorrence ; very common in Newcastle. 
 Kail, cabbage, greens. — North. Isl.kal. Dan. kaal. Swed. 
 
 kal. Welsh, cawl. See Appendix to Johnstone's Anti- 
 
 quitates Celto-Scandicse, p. 276. 
 Kail, broth or pottage. V. Jam, Supp. kail. 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 kail" 
 
 VOL. I. I i
 
 242 KAIL 
 
 KAiL-QAUxn, a kitchen-garden — a cabbage-garth — though 
 often adorned with a profusion of flowers. Swed. klilgard. 
 
 Kail-pot, a largo metal pot for culinary purposes ; origin- 
 ally, as Grose explains it, pottage pot. 
 
 Kaingy, cross, petted. See Caingy. 
 
 Kairn, the same as Cairn ; which see. 
 
 Kame, or Kaim. See Cam. 
 
 Kame, K'yame, a comb. Sax. canib. Dan. kam. Sc. kaim. 
 
 Kamstary, mad. Perhaj^s the same as Sc. camsterie, cam- 
 stairie, froward, perverse, unmanageable ; which Dr. Ja- 
 mieson derives from Germ, kamp, and starrig stiff; or it 
 may be a sort of pleonasm, from cam ; which in Gael, is ap- 
 plied to any thing crooked or awry, and stary, staring, 
 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. 
 
 Kaed, a sheep's louse. 
 
 Kebbuck, a cheese. Gael, cahag. 
 
 Keckle, to cackle, to laugh aloud. V. Jam. kekkil. 
 " And kayis keklys on the roof abone."— Gairi'n Douglas. 
 
 Kedge, to fill, to stuff. Hence Kedge-belly, a large pro- 
 tuberant body, a glutton. 
 
 Kee, Kee-side, emphaticalli/ the Newcastle Quay, extending 
 from Tyne Bridge eastward, 
 
 " Fareweel Tyne Brig and cannie kee." 
 
 Gilchrist, — Voyage to Lunnin. 
 
 Keek, to peep, to look with a prying eye, to view slyly. 
 Su.-Got. kika, intentis oculis videre. Dan. kige. Dut. 
 kijken. 
 
 " And at the last he had of him a sight 
 This Nicholas sat ever gaping upright 
 As he had kykecl on the new mone." 
 
 C}iaucer,—The Miller's Tale. 
 
 " TVe went big St. Paul's and Westminster to see, 
 And aw war'nt ye I thought they luick'd pretty ;
 
 KEEL 243 
 
 And then we'd a keek at the Monument te, 
 Which maw freind ca'd the Pearl o" the City." 
 
 Song, — Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Keeker, in coal mining, a person employed to see that the 
 coals are sent to bank in a jiroper state. 
 
 Keel, v. to cool, to render cool. Sax. ccelan, algere. Sir 
 Thomas Hanmer — at best but a sorry expounder of our 
 immortal bard — in attempting an explanation of 
 
 " While greasy Joan doth keel the pot." 
 
 Shak., — Love's Labour Lost. 
 
 strangely says, " to drink so deep, as to turn up the bottom 
 of the pot, like turning up the keel of a shij) .'" 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 ; a common practice in 
 Northumberland. Another mode of keeling the pot — 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, in the sense of cooling, however, as 
 used by Chaucer, is not confined to the kitchen — 
 
 " And then I drede to speke, till at the laste 
 I grete the ladie reverently and well, 
 When that my sigh was gon and overpaste, 
 And doune on knees fall gau I knele 
 Besechyng her, my fervent wo to kele." 
 
 Court of Love. 
 
 A friend informs me that he has seen a game played 
 amongst children in Northumberland, the subject of which 
 was keeling the pot. A girl comes in exclaiming " Mother,
 
 244 KEEL 
 
 mother, the pot's boiling ower," The answer is " Then 
 get the ladle and keel it." The difficulty is to get the 
 ladle, which is " up-a-height," and the " steul" wants a 
 leg, and the joiner is either sick or dead. 
 
 Keel, s. ruddle, or red ochre. Hydrated oxide of iron, used 
 for marking sheep, &c. Gael. cil. Fr. chaille. Jamieson. 
 
 Keel, a low, flat, clumsy-looking vessel or barge, evidently 
 built after an ancient model, in which coals are carried 
 from the colliery -staiths to the ships in the Tyne and Wear. 
 Keel is a very ancient name, of Saxon origin, for a ship or 
 vessel — ceol, uavis — 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 Verste- 
 gan informs us, keeles. In the Chartulary of Tynemouth 
 Monastery, the servants of the Prior who wrought in the 
 barges (1378), are called kelers, an appellation plainly sy- 
 nonymous with the present keelmen. In a writ of Bishop 
 Neville (1440) the craft in which coals were brought from 
 the upjier to the lower part of the Wear are denominated 
 " keeles." 
 
 Keeling, a cooling vessel. " Kynlyn or Kelen vessel, Cuvu- 
 la." Promp. Parv. 
 
 Keel-of-coals, eight Newcastle chaldrons — 21 tons, 4 cwt. 
 
 Keel-bullies, the keelmen, or crew of the keel — the partners, 
 or comrades in the vessel ; keel-brothers. See Bully. 
 
 Keel-deeters, the wives and daughters of the keelmen, who 
 sweep the keels, ha^dug the sweepings of the small coals 
 for their pains. To deet, or dight, in Northern language, 
 means to wipe or make clean. See Deet. 
 
 Keelage, keel dues in port — payment of custom for every 
 keel or bottom that enters a harbour. This word is in 
 Todd's Johnson, but in too limited a sense. 
 
 Keelmen, the watermen who navigate the keels ; an exceed- 
 ingly hardy and striking race of men. 
 
 Keely-vixe, a black-lead j^encil. See Monthly Mag. Vol. 
 VI., p. 434. Sec, also, Jam, Supp.
 
 KEMP 245 
 
 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 Ullswater, informs 
 me, that when the day is uniformly overcast, and the air 
 perfectly still, that lake has its surface dappled with a 
 smooth, oily appearance, which is called a keld. The word 
 is also, I find, a common term in Yorkshire, Westmorland, 
 and Cumberland, for a well or spring. Isl. kelda, palus. 
 Keld is the name of a remote Aallage at the head of Swale- 
 dale, which, I have no doubt, must have had its name from 
 a deep still pool in the river. See Akeld. 
 
 Kelk, v. to beat heartily. — Kelk, Kelker, s. a severe blow. 
 V. Gael. Diet, sgaile. 
 
 Kelk, the roe or milt of fish. " Haddock kelks." — Newc. 
 
 Kelk, a term commonly used for the ordinary field hemlock 
 — pronounced humlick. The Durham boys also call the 
 young birds, just emerging from the shell, a " new kelk" 
 
 Kelps, Pot-kelps, iron hooks from which boilers are hung. 
 
 Kelter, frame, order, arrangement, conditiou. V. Todd's 
 Johnson. It also means money, cash. Germ. geld. 
 
 Kemb, a stronghold — a term used by the Borderers. — North. 
 Sc. kaim, a camp, or fortress. 
 
 Kemp, to strive against each other in reaping com — rarely 
 for any other superiority. Sax. campian, militare. Teut. 
 kampen, dimicare. Swed. kampa, to contend, to struggle. 
 — Kempers, the competitors. Dut. kamp, a combat. Ac- 
 cording to Verstegan, the word is of noble descent. V, 
 Rest. Decayed Intell. 8vo. p. 233.
 
 246 KEMP 
 
 Kemps, hairs among wool, coarse fibres. V. Crav. Gloss. 
 Ken, -0. to know, to descry, to be acquainted with. Su.-Got. 
 
 kaeima. Dut. kennen. " Aw kent him weel" — 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 faird am I, sen I kenn'd thou." 
 
 Kortli, Country Song. 
 
 Ken, v. to see. — Ken, s, a sight. Kenning, seeing. Arch- 
 deacon Nares says, " In Scotland these words are still in 
 full currency." He might have added, in the North of 
 England also. 
 
 -" Fast by the eoune on hie 
 
 As kennyng mycht I with mine eie 
 Methought I saw an egle sore." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Troilus and Cresseide. 
 
 Kendal Green, a kind of green cloth made in Kendal. 
 
 Kennel, to kindle, to bring forth young. 
 
 Kennen, Kenning, a measure of two pecks of corn, half a 
 
 bushel. 
 Kenspecked, Kenspeckled, conspicuous — specked, bo 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-ba', hand-ball. In former times it was customary^ 
 every year at Easter and Whitsuntide, for the mayor, al- 
 dermen, and sheriff of Newcastle, attended by the burgesses, 
 to go in state to a place called the Forth — a sort of mall 
 — ^to countenance, if not to join in the play of keppy-ba^, 
 and other sports. The esprit de corps is gone, though the 
 diversion is still in part kept up by the young jjeople of 
 the town ; but it would of course, in these altered times, 
 be considered highly indecorous to " unbend the brow of 
 authority" on such an occasion. Puerile, however, as it
 
 KETM 247 
 
 may seem, there was a time — if we may credit Belithus, 
 an ancient ritualist — when the bishops, and even arch- 
 bishops, of some churches, used to play at hand-ball with 
 the inferior clergy. — Tempera mutantur, et nos mutamur 
 cum illis. 
 Kern, v. to chum. Goth, kerna. Sax. cernan. Teut. ker- 
 
 nen. 
 Kern, s. a chum. Sax. cerene. Teut. kerne. Also (by a 
 dialectical variation of quern), a hand-mill for grinding 
 corn. See Querx. 
 Kern-baby, an image dressed up with com at a harvest 
 home — corn-hahy. 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 
 com. See Mell-doll. 
 Kern-milk, butter-milk, churn-im\k. Teut. kem-melck. An 
 Anglo-Saxon supper ; and stiU 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. 
 Kerve, the first operation in preparing a jud, in a coal mine, 
 for blasting, is the removal of a large portion of the foun- 
 dation of the block ; the exjjansive action of the gun- 
 powder detaching the remainder in large masses. 
 Kesh, the kex, or hollow stem of an umbelliferous plant. 
 Ki/x, a hemlock, occurs in Peirs Ploughman. Welsh, 
 ceci/s. 
 Keslip, Keslop, a calf's stomach salted and dried for rennet 
 — that which loppers or curdles the milk in order to make 
 cheese. Sax. ceselib, coagulum. Germ, kaselab, rennet. 
 Keslop, the belly, or stomach. Kittle yor keslop, a Newcas- 
 tle trope for a chastisement. Warm yor keslop, a meta- 
 phor for a hot-pot. 
 Ket, carrion, filth, useless lumber. Su.-Got. koett. 
 Ketment, a dirty mixture, any sort of filth.
 
 248 KETT 
 
 Kettle of Fish, a mode of cookinj^ salmon. See an article 
 by the late Sir Walter Scott on Sir Humphrey Davy's 
 Salmonia, in Quarterly Review, No. 76. 
 
 Ketty, bad, filthy, dirty, worthless. " A ketty fellow." 
 
 Kevel, a large hammer for quarrying stones. 
 
 Ki, quoth. — Kiv-Aw, Kiv-i, quoth I. See Labberixo. 
 
 Kick, the top of the fashion — in other language, quite the go — 
 just the thing. Q,. Isl. hosier, gestus indecorus? 
 
 Kill, the Northern word for a kiln. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Kill-cow, a matter of moment, or of consequence. " It's 
 no great Mll-coio" — it is only a trifling loss, an inconsider- 
 able sacrifice. 
 
 KiLLicoup, a summerset. Probably from Fr. cul-a-cap, tail 
 to head — head over heels. Killing the calf, a droll per- 
 formance. V. Glossary to the Priory of Finchale. V. 
 Laerchambre. 
 
 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. lilte-op, to tuck up. 
 
 Kind, intimate.-^Noi kind, unfriendly, at enmity. See 
 Thick. 
 
 King's-cushion, a sort of seat made by two persons crossing 
 their hands, on which to i^lace 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-cusMon. 
 
 King's-dykes, the entrenchment which once surrounded the 
 outside of the town walls of the town of Newcastle. 
 
 Kink, v. to laugh immoderately, to labour for breath as in 
 the hooping cough ; most likely derived from the spasmo- 
 dic action which accompanies it. Teut. Hncken, difficulter 
 spirare. — Kink, s. a violent or convulsive fit of laughter or 
 
 I
 
 KIRK 249 
 
 coughing, esi^ecially when the breath is stopped. Sax. 
 cincung, cachinnatio. 
 
 Kink, s. a twst or short convolution in a rope, especially 
 when it is too hard " laid," 
 
 KiNK-couGii, the hoojsing-cough — chin-cough. The ignorant 
 and the superstitious have various fooleries, for curing or 
 alleviating this ejiidemic disorder — such as eating a mouse- 
 pie, or hanging a roasted mouse round the neck — dipping 
 the persons affected nine times in an o^^en grave, or putting 
 them nine times under a pie-hald horse — passing them nine 
 times through the mill-hopjyer — making them ride on a 
 hear — any thing, in short, to disgust and frighten them : — 
 which, so far as it is a nervous disease, may possibly have 
 a temporary effect. Another vulgar remedy was, three 
 things prescribed by a man riding on a pie-bald horse. — 
 A person so mounted, passing through a village in Nor- 
 thumberland, was stopped by the mother of a child that 
 had the kink-cough, and requested to name three things 
 as a cure. He declared that he knew nothing of physic, nor 
 of anything likely to mend the child ; but being still urged 
 to name three things, he at length answered " then gan 
 thy ways h'yem and gie the bairn a piece butter and brede 
 wi' sugar on't." 
 
 KiNK-HAUST, the hooping cough. Teut. hinch hoest, asthma. 
 
 Kip, an overgrown calf. 
 
 Kirk, a church. A very old English word, still retained in 
 Northumberland. Sax. ci/rc, circ. Su.-Got. kyrka. Germ. 
 kirche. Dut. kerk. Gr. tcv^txxvi. — 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 kirke yard 
 Ne Kirke was buried, 
 But quick he bequeath'd them ought, 
 Or quit part of his debt."— Piers Ploxvman. 
 VOL. I. K k
 
 250 KIRK 
 
 KiRK-GARTir, a church yard. In remote country parishes, 
 the kirk-garth, on a Sunday morning, is to the country 
 people what the Exchange is to the London merchants : 
 all general information being made known to the congre- 
 gation , 
 
 KiRK-MAiSTER, or KiRK-MASTER, a church Warden. Teut. 
 kerk-maester. — Kirk-folk, the congregation at a church. — 
 Kirk-hole, a grave. 
 
 KiROK, a large heap of stones. See Carrock. 
 
 KisT, a box, a chest. Sax. cist, cyst, cest. Low Dut. kiste. 
 Dut. kist. Common to all the Northern, and also to the 
 Welsh and Cornish languages. The over-sea kist is an in- 
 variable item of furniture in ancient inventories. It is still 
 to be found in old houses. 
 
 KisTiNG, a funeral. Borders of North. V. Tomlin's Law 
 Diet, ki/ste ; and Jamieson, kisting. 
 
 Kit, properly a covered milking pail with two handles, but 
 often applied to a small pail of any sort. Adopted, pro- 
 bably, 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. 
 
 Kitchex-physic, substantial fare — good living — ojiprobrium 
 medicorum. 
 
 " There was of old no use of physieke amongst us, and but little at 
 this day, except it be for a few nice idle citizens, surfetting cour- 
 tiers, and stauled gentlemen lubbers. The country people use 
 kitchen physieke." — Burton, — Anatomy of Melancholy. 
 
 Kite, the belly. Allied to Moc.-Got. quid, and Su.-Got. 
 qwcd, venter. Bag-kite and pod-kite, are ludicrously ap- 
 plied to persons with larger capacities than common. 
 " Running to kite" — becoming corpulent.
 
 KITT 251 
 
 Kith, acquaintance. Sax. cutha. Not obsolete, as stated by 
 Dr. Johnson. — Kith-and-kin, friends and relations. 
 
 " It is ruthe to rede 
 How rightwise men ly vede, 
 How thei defouled hir flessh 
 Forsoke hir owene wille 
 Fer fro kyth and kyn 
 Yvell y-clothed yeden 
 Baddely y-bedded, 
 No book but conscience 
 Ne no richess but the roode 
 To rejoisse hem irmQ."— Piers Plovmmn. 
 
 Kittle, v. to tickle, to enliven. Sax. citelan, titUlare. Fr. 
 kitelje. Dut. Uttelen. Teut. hitzelen. Swed. Httla. 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, hyUell. 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 Mttle. 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 kittle a deed, 
 For I'll steal an auld lurdane afF the bench." 
 
 Christie's Will. 
 
 This word has other meanings ; as kittle weather— change- 
 ablo or uncertain weather ; a kittle question — such as it is 
 inconvenient 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 fire. — Durham. 
 
 Kittling, a kitten. A very ancient word. In Palsgrave, it 
 is kytlynge ; in Prompt. Pai-v. kytlinge ; and in the Ortus 
 Vocabulorum, kyttelynge. Juliana Barnes, or Bemers,
 
 252 KITT 
 
 writes kcndd of cats, for a litter of cats. Hence, khiflle, 
 to bring forth young ; still in general use. 
 
 Kitty, a name formerly given to the house of correction in 
 Newcastle. Su.-Got. kaitta, includere. Germ, ketten, to 
 fetter. A similar place of confinement at Bridlington was 
 formerly called the kit. 
 
 Kitty-cat and Buck-stick, a puerile game, described by 
 Moor, in his Suffolk Words, under kit-cat. Strutt men- 
 tions a game, which used to he played in the North, called 
 tip cat, or more properly cat. V. Sports and Pastimes, p. 
 8G. 
 
 Kitty-wren, the common wren — an elegant little bird, the 
 
 reputed consort of the red breast, and generally regarded 
 
 with reverential affection. 
 
 " 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. " Kizzened meat" — meat too much 
 roasted. See Gizen ; to which it is 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 affectedly, to ape a style beyond the speak- 
 er's education. Germ, knacken, to crack, to " clip the 
 king's English." — Knackit, one quick at a repartee, a 
 clever child. 
 
 Knack-and-eattle, a quick and noisy mode of dancing with 
 
 the heels, among the lower orders of society. 
 
 " He jumps, and his heels knack and rattle." 
 
 The Colliers' Pay Week. 
 
 Knack-knee'd, in-kuee'd — having the knees so that they 
 knack, or strike, against each other in walking — knock- 
 knee^d. 
 
 Knaggy, testy, ill-humoured, waspish. Derived, perhaps, 
 from Swed. ^naga, to tease, to tormeut. 
 
 1
 
 KNOO 253 
 
 Knags, Knaggs, pointed rocks, the rugged tops of a hill. V. 
 Ihre, knagglig. See, also. Knap. 
 
 Knap, v. to break anything short off. To talk glibly with 
 an attempt at refinement. 
 
 Knap, the brow or projection of a hill. Sax. cncep, vortex 
 montis. Isl. gnop, prominentia. Su.-Got. hicep, summi- 
 tas montis. In the Gospel of Saint Luke (chap, iv,, v. 29) 
 where the Jews led our Saviour — unto the brow of the hill, 
 the Saxon expression is, wees muntes cncep. 
 
 Knap, a blow. 
 
 " Colbrande was wroth of that rap, 
 He thought to give Guy a knap." 
 
 Romance of Sir Guy. 
 
 Knarl, a hunch-backed or dwarfish man. Old Eng. knurle, 
 
 knot. Hence, a knurled or knurled tree, for a stunted or 
 
 knotty tree. 
 Knaw, v. to know. Sax. cnawan. " Aw knaw it weel." 
 Knedde-cake, a cake kneaded with butter and baked on 
 
 the girdle. Knedde is the ancient spelling of kneaded, as 
 
 we find in Chaucer. 
 
 If love be serched well and sought 
 
 It is a sickness of the thought, 
 Annesid and knedde betwixte twinne." 
 
 Rom. of Rose. 
 
 Knifle, to steal, to pilfer. Q,. Celt, cnefio, to shear. 
 
 Knobble, to hammer feebly. Also used in Herefordshire. 
 
 Knocking-mell, a large wooden mallet with which our an- 
 cestors used to bruise and take the outer husk from the 
 barley to fit it for the pot, before barley-mills were used. 
 
 Knocking-trough, a stone-trough, or mortar, in which the 
 operation alluded to in the last article was performed. 
 Many hollow stones, originally applied to this purpose, are 
 still to be seen about farm-houses. See Creeing-trougu. 
 
 Knop, a knob or bauble. 
 
 Knoop, the cloud-berry. Rubus CTiamcemorus, from cncep. 
 Sax. a knob. See CtouD-BERRv.
 
 254 KNOT 
 
 Knotty-tommy, milk boiled and poured upon oatmeal. 
 
 Knoutberry, a dwarf mulberry. Ruhus chamcemorus. The 
 common people give it this name from a tradition that 
 king Knut, or Canute, once relieved his hunger by it. 
 
 Knowe, the top of a hill — a bare rounded hillock or eminence. 
 Sax. cnolle. Tout, knolle, a hill or knoll. 
 
 Kuss, v. to kiss. Welsh, cusan. — Kuss, s. a kiss. Welsh, cus. 
 
 Ky, Kye, or Kie, the plural of cow — kine. Sax. cj/, vaccse. 
 
 " We had three ky that was baith fat and fair." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 " We have also another kind of dock growing Ln orchards, gar- 
 dines, and about tonnes, and suche places as kye and oxen and 
 other beastes use commonly to haunt and stand in." 
 
 Turner's Herbal, 2d Part,fol. 21. 
 
 Kyle, a cock of hay. Fr. cneillir, to gather. 
 
 Kyloes, a small sort of cattle, bred in the Highlands of Scot- 
 land — said to be from kj/le, a Gaelic word for a ferry — over 
 which they are transported. But may it not be from 
 Germ, huli-hlein, a email cow? 
 
 Kyne, cattle. 
 
 end of vol. I. 
 
 NEWCASTLE : 
 PBINTED BY T. AND J. HODGSON, UNION STREET.
 
 GLOSSARY 
 
 op 
 
 iEortf) Cotmtrp ISSortis. 
 
 WITH 
 
 THEIR ETYMOLOGY, 
 
 AND 
 
 AFFINITY TO OTHER LANGUAGES; 
 
 AND OCCASIONAL 
 
 NOTICES OF LOCAL CUSTOMS 
 
 AND 
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 JOHN TROTTER BROCKETT, F. S. A., 
 
 LONDON AND NEWCASTLE. 
 
 THIRD EDITION, CORRECTED AND ENLARGED BY 
 W. E. BROCKETT. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 VOL. IL 
 
 NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE: 
 
 EMERSON CHARNLEY, BIGG MARKET; AND 
 SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXLVI,
 
 Les mots sont le lien des eocietes, le vehicule des lumieres, la base des 
 sciences, les depositaires des decouvertes d'une Nation, de son savoir, de 
 sa politesse, de ses idees : la connoissance des mots est done un moyen 
 indispensable pour acquerir celle des choses ; de-la ces Ouvrages appelles 
 Dictionnaires, Vocabulaires ou Glossaires, qui ofirent I'etendue des con- 
 noisances de chaque Peuple. — Gebelin. 
 
 NEWCASTLE : PRINTED BY T. AND J. HODGSON, UNION STREET.
 
 OF 
 
 NORTH COUNTRY WORDS. 
 
 L. 
 
 Laag, a word used only in driving geese. " Fy-laag.^'' 
 
 Grose has Le-egging, waddling. 
 Labbering, floundering, struggling, or labouring in water. 
 
 " Aw was settcn 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 labbering aboot i' the tide. 
 ' It's a flucker ." ki Dick ; ' No,' ki Mat, ' its owre big," 
 It luick'd mair like a skyat when I first see'd it rise ;' 
 ' Kiv aw' — for aw'd getten a gliff o' tlie wig— 
 ' Odds mercy ! Wye, marrows, becrike it's Lord 'Size." 
 
 Newcastle Song,- -My Lord 'Size. 
 
 These lines allude to an accident that befel the late Mr. 
 Baron Graham, who unfortunately slipped into the Tyne 
 a few years ago, while walking on the river wall in front 
 o"f the Mansion House. 
 
 Labies, a store, plenty, abundance. From lay-hy. 
 
 Laboursome, made with much labour. " Not now in use." 
 Todd's John. It is still in use among the Northern pea- 
 santry. 
 
 Laced-tea, tea having spirits in it. 
 
 Lacing, a good beating. V. Todd's John, lace, 6th sense. 
 
 Lackits, small sums of money — odd things, generally. 
 
 Lad, a boy ; originally a man ; from Sax. Icode, the people. 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 2 LADD 
 
 Langland, the reputetl author of the Visions of Piers 
 Plowman, uses ladde, in its primitive sense ; from which, 
 no doubt, proceeded lasse, lass. In Scotland, the men are 
 all lads, however old, so long as they remain in 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 65 or 60 — 
 "Where is my ?«<??" 
 
 " Claudite jam rivos, pueri." — Virgil. 
 Laddie, a lover, a sweetheart — a diminutive, from lad. 
 
 " May aw the press-gang perish, 
 Each lass her laddie cherish, 
 Lang may the coal trade flourish, 
 
 Upon the dingy Tyne." 
 
 Newcastle Song, — Uie Keel Row. 
 
 Lade, a load, a back load, a cart load. An old mode of 
 
 spelling the word. 
 Lad's-love, southern-wood. Artemesia Abrofanum. 
 Lafter, Lawter, as many eggs as a hen will lay before she 
 
 incubates. Teut. legh-tyd, tempus quo gallinae ovapariunt. 
 Laggin, the projecting part of the staves at the bottom part 
 
 of a cask, or other hooped vessel. It also means the 
 
 pendent part of the hay in a stack, corresponding with 
 
 the eaves of a house. Probably from Su.-Got. lagg, the 
 
 end. 
 Laidly, Laithly, foul, loathsome, disgustingly ugly. Sax. 
 
 laithUc. Fr. laid. 
 
 " Our mesis and oure meit thay reft away ; 
 And with thare laithlie twich all things fyle thay." 
 
 Douglas' Xnied. 
 
 Laid-out, a fine imposed uj)on a coal hewer, if a corf is 
 found to contain above a certain quantity of refuse coal, 
 stone, or other extraneous substance. 
 
 Lainch, a long stride. " What a lainch he has got — how he 
 lainches out his legs." Germ, lanzcn, to reach. 
 
 Lair, mire, dirt. Isl. leir. Su.-Got. ler. To be laired, to
 
 LAKE 3 
 
 stick in the mire. Swed. ler, lera, clay, seems cognate. — 
 Lair-hole, a boggy spot. 
 
 " They came to a place called Sohvay Moss, where through nei- 
 ther horse nor man might pass, and their laired all their horse, 
 and mischieved them." — Pitscottie. 
 
 Laird, "the lord of a manor in the Scottish dialect," says 
 Dr. Johnson. This is its old meaning ; but it is now a 
 common 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 loup- 
 ing-on-stane, glowxing fraehim." 
 
 Sage Sayings of Jock the Laird's Man. 
 
 " A knight of Cales, 
 A squire of Wales, , 
 
 A laird of the North Countree ; — 
 A yeoman of Kent 
 With his yearly rent 
 
 Would buy them out all three." 
 
 Laith, loth, unwilling. 
 
 Lake-wake, or Lyke-wake, the watching of a corpse pre- 
 vious to interment ; one of the most ancient customs that 
 has been preserved through ages of progressive civilization 
 in any country. Sax. lie, a body, and wcscce, a watching, 
 or wake. Swed. vakt — vaJcstuga. 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 oc- 
 curred, where the corpse was forcibly kej^t unburied by the 
 waking friends, until they had consumed, in this incongru- 
 ous festivity, all that the deceased had left behind him. 
 The lake-wake is not yet entirely laid aside in country vil- 
 lages, though somewhat fallen into disuse. The funeral 
 procession is opened by singers singing appropriate psalms,
 
 4 LAKE 
 
 followed by two young girls dressed in white, called ser- 
 vers ; it l)eing their business to attend to the wants and 
 wishes of the mourners. It was a custom with the Anglo- 
 Norman race to celebrate a solemn dirge during the cere- 
 mony of sepulture. The Laplanders still utter a ferocious 
 howl at their funerals. It is called joicka ; and is, accord- 
 ing to Dr. Clarke, the only species of song known among 
 them. 
 
 " Now the Uche-wake was yhold." 
 
 Chaucer,— Ttie Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Lake, v. to play. Sax. lacan, to play. 
 Laker, a person engaged in sport. 
 Laking, Baby-Lakin, a child's toy, a plaything. 
 Lah, Lamb, to beat soundly, to chastise severely. 
 
 " ' Lamb them, lads ; lamb them !' — a cant phrase of the time, de- 
 rived 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 the Peak, Vol. IV., p. 152. 
 
 This is an error of our great Novelist. The word is used 
 in two or three of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, 
 written before the conjuring Doctor's catastrophe, which 
 did not happen until the year 1628. He was hunted by 
 the mob, coming from a play at the Fortune, June 13, 
 1628 ; maltreated at Moorgate, and died of the same the 
 next morning at the Poultry Compter. There is an exceed- 
 ingly scarce tract, " The Notorious Life of John Lambe, 
 together with his ignominious Death," 4to., 1628. Be- 
 sides, the derivation seems obviously from Isl. lem, ver- 
 berare, or Teut. lompen, infligere. See Thomson, who gives 
 a Gothic root. 
 Lam, or Lamb, and its diminutive Lammie, favourite terms of 
 
 endearment. " Maw bonny lam" — " maw canni/ lammie." 
 Lameter, Lamiter, a cripple. " He'll be a lametcr 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.
 
 LAP-B 6 
 
 Land-louper, a vagabond, a person who flees the country 
 for crime or debt. Teut. land-looper, erro vagus, multi- 
 vagus, vagabundus. Killian. See Loup. 
 Lang, long. Common to the Saxon, Danish, and Dutch 
 
 Languages. To think lang, to long, to weary. 
 Lang-length, the whole length. " He fell aw his lang 
 
 length." 
 Lang-loajs'ing-cake, a cake made for school-boys on their re- 
 turn home at the vacation. 
 Lang-saddle, or Lang-settle, a long wooden seat, or bench, 
 with a back and arms ; usually of oak, sometimes curi- 
 ously carved. 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 gene- 
 rations — are going fast out of use : — both the thing and 
 the name. See Settle. 
 Langsome, tedious, tiresome. Sax. langsum. Swed. Idng- 
 sam, slow, tardy, dilatory. — Langsomeness, tediousness, 
 wearisomeness. 
 
 '' Bot to deplore I think greit pane 
 Of nobill men that thare was slane, 
 And als langsum to be reportit 
 Of thame quhilk to the court resortit." 
 
 Lymlsay's Complaynt. 
 
 Langstne, long since. Sax. longe siththan. Sw. lang sedan. 
 
 Lant, the old name for the game of loo at cards ; still re- 
 tained among the vulgar. — Lantered, looed, behind time, 
 — Lanters, the players. Probably from Fr. lanterner, on 
 which Le Durchat says — " On dit aussi lanterner quelqu'- 
 un, pour r amuser mal a propos." 
 
 Lant, urine. V. Todd's John, land ; 7th. sense. 
 
 IaA-V, preterite of leap. " The horse Uq) the wall." 
 " The queyne and all hyr cumpany, 
 Lap on thair horss, and furth thai far." — The Bruce. 
 
 Lap-bander, that which binds closely one thing to another — 
 lajy, wrap — band, bind. A tremendous oath is frequently 
 called a lap-bander.
 
 6 LAP-U 
 
 Lap-up, to give up, to relinquish, to discontinue — to wrap up 
 tools, &c. when the work is finished. 
 
 Lardose, a corruption of the French term rarriere dos, em- 
 ployed to designate the high altar-screen of Durham Ca- 
 thedral. — Ancient Rites and Monuments of Durham. 
 
 Lake, learning, scholarship. Pure Saxon. — Lare-father, 
 
 instructor. Both Chaucer and Spenser use lere, 
 
 " O noble Ovlde, so sayest thou, God wote, 
 What sleighte it is if love be long and bote. 
 That he n' ill find it out in som manere ? 
 By Pyramus and Thisbe may men lere." 
 
 CJiaucer, — 77ie Merchante's Tale. 
 
 Lasche, cold and moist — not actually rain. Fs. Idche. Lat. 
 
 laxiis. V. Moor, lash or lashy. 
 Last, a measure of corn — 80 bushels. Sax. hlcESt. Su.-Got. 
 
 laest. V. Tomlins' Law Dictionary. 
 Lasty, serviceable, durable, continuing — lasting. 
 Lat, a lath. Sax. latta. Dut. lat. Fr. latte. — Lat-and- 
 
 PLASTER, 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. Iceccan, prehendere. 
 
 A very old word, still in use in the North. 
 
 "When that he Galathe besought 
 Of love, which he might not lache." 
 
 Gower, Co)\fessio Amantis. 
 
 Late, or Leat, to search, to seek, to summon, to invite. 
 Goth, and Isl. lei/ta, quaerere. Hence Court Leet, a court 
 to which all freeholders within the district are invited. 
 V. Black Comm. Vol. IV., p. 273. — Latixg, or Leatikg, a 
 summons or invitation. Dr. Willan mentions Leating, or 
 Leating-row, 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 inhabitants. 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- 
 given. 
 
 Lather, to beat or chastise. See Leather.
 
 LATT 7 
 
 Latten, Lattin, Laton. The exact nature of this metal, 
 frequently mentioned in old records, is not ascertained. 
 By the various notices it appears to have been different 
 from copper, iron, tin, steel, and some other metals. Pis- 
 tol's sarcastic 
 
 " Challenge of this latten bilbo." — Merry Wives of Windsor. 
 Has been " a stumbling block," not so much " to the ge- 
 nerality of readers," as Sir Thomas Hanmer would ex- 
 press it, but to the commentators themselves. See the 
 learned remarks of the " collective wisdom," in the last 
 Varior. Edit, of Shakespeare, Vol. VIII., p. 22-3 ; to 
 which should be added. Sir Thomas's idea — " a factitious 
 metal." The meaning of the word latte7t 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 transmutation into brass. The days 
 of alchymy, however, are past. In addition, it may be 
 observed, that Ruddiman — the learned Glossarist to Dou- 
 glas' Virgil — interjirets latecl, iron covered with tin. This 
 was also the opinion of Ritson, a writer of elaborate re- 
 search, and deep penetration — minutely accurate in his 
 elucidations of our ancient dialect, with which he was well 
 acquainted. Pettus, too, in his Essays on Words Metallic^, 
 says, that " thin plates of iron tinned over are vulgarly 
 called latton."" He, also, conceives that the white brass, 
 mentioned by Pliny (I. 34, c. 11) was no other than brass 
 tinned over, and called laten, or auricalcum. The late Mr. 
 Douce, who is followed by Willow (in Pugin's Specimens 
 of Goth. Arch.), says, it was brass ; whilst Dr. Meyrick
 
 8 LATT 
 
 thinks it was copper gilt. In the Ancient Rites and 
 Monuments of Durliam, a large branching candlestick 
 in the Cathedral is described as of " most fine and curi- 
 ous candlestick-metal, or lattcn metal, glistening like gold 
 itself." 
 
 Latter, v. to run in a vagrant or hasty manner. Hence, 
 Latterin, or Latherix, a drab, a trollop. " A lazy 
 latherin." In Swed. Idtja, 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. 
 " Damming and laving is sure fishing."— iS'^, C Prov. 
 
 Lave, s. the residue ; after partition, the persons or things 
 remaining. Sax. lafe. It also means a crowd. 
 
 " And tlie lave sone unarm yt war 
 And skaylt to laye thaim lier and thar."— 77ie Bruce. 
 " The Armstronges that aye hae been 
 A hardie house, but not a hail. 
 The Elliot s honnors to maiutaine 
 Brought down the lave of Liddesdale." 
 
 Raid of the Reidswire. 
 
 " Of prelates proud, a populous lave. 
 
 And abbots boldly there were known ; 
 With bishop of St. Andrew's brave, 
 Who was King James's bastard son." 
 
 Battle oj Floddon. 
 
 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, and 
 frequently distinguished themselves in a military capacity. 
 At the battle of Neville's Cross, where the Scottish king 
 became a captive, the English army was in part command- 
 ed by two Archbishops and three suffragans, to whom, in 
 that age of chivalry, it was any thing but derogatory to 
 put on unspiritual armour. 
 Laver, to wash. It was anciently the custom, as is well 
 known for guests to wash before sitting down to meat.
 
 LAY-0 9 
 
 Lavrock, Laverock, the sky-lark. Sax. laferc, lawerc. Dr. 
 Jamieson observes that " the name of this bird appears in 
 its most simple form in Isl. lava, vulgo loova, or lova ; avis, 
 alauda." Wachter derives the Sax. laferc, from Celt, lief, 
 vox, and orka, valere, powerful in voice. 
 
 " Holy hath byrds 
 A fill fayre flok 
 The nyghtyngale, the poppyngay. 
 The gayntyl lavyrok." 
 
 TIte Contest of the Ivy and the Holly, temp. Hen. VI. 
 Hit. An. Bal. Vol. I. p 133. 
 
 " Here hear my Kenna sing a song, 
 There see a blackbird feed her young, 
 Or a leverock build her nest. 
 Here give my weary spirits rest." 
 
 Walton, — A ngler's Wish. 
 
 Law, 5. a hill or eminence, whether natural or artificial. 
 Sax. hloew, hlaio, agger, acervus. "Mts .-Got. hlaiw, monumen- 
 tum. 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. — Lawlt, lowly, humble. 
 
 Lawer, lower. 
 
 " Thai said, successioun of kyngrik 
 Was nocht to lawer feys lik." — The Bnice. 
 
 Law me ! Lawful me ! frequent colloquial exclamations, im* 
 
 plying either wonder or fear — Lord bless me. 
 Lays, Laggs, dregs, sediment — lees. Span. lias. 
 Lay-on, v. to fight. 
 
 " Then laid thai on with all thair mycht."— The Bruce. 
 " He hente a stof with herte grete 
 And al his goddis he gan to bete 
 
 And drough hem al adoun ; 
 And Icyde on til that he con swete 
 With Sterne strokes and with grete 
 On Jovyn and and Plotoun." 
 
 Romance of the Kyng of Tart, 
 Warton, Vol. I., p. 197. 
 VOL. TI. C
 
 10 li-:a 
 
 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. 
 
 " Her fallow leas 
 
 The darnel, hemlock, and rank fumitory. 
 Doth root upon." — lien. V., Act V., Sc. 2. 
 
 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 ; caoutchouc ; 
 the gum oificus elastica. 
 
 Leader, a small band of coal connecting the portions of a 
 coal-seam detached by a dyke, and following which, leads 
 the miner to the seam again. 
 
 Leaf, the flap of a table, the two sides of a folding door. 
 Although this word is common in the North, the only in- 
 stance of its use by our old writers that I have met with 
 it in Robinson's translation of More's Utopia. 
 
 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 Icme in a sense 
 nearly similar. 
 
 " Which causeth folk to dreden in hir dremes 
 Of arwes and of fire with red lemes." 
 
 Tlie A'omie's PreeMe's Tale. 
 " All the feolds feor and neer 
 Of helmes leoniede lihte." 
 •• Romance of the Kyng of Tars, 
 
 Warton, Vol. I., p. 1.94. 
 
 Leam, the appellation of Icam was frequently applied by the 
 Saxons to the remains of Roman roads ; and wherever 
 this word enters into the composition of a modem name, 
 some vestiges of a Roman way may be expected in the 
 neighbourhood. In particular, the great Watling Street 
 is called Lcaminfi Lane for miles, from Catterick to York. 
 Leamington, in Warwickshire, is on the Fosse Road ; the 
 Devil's Causeway touches Lemmington, near Whittingham, 
 Northumberland ; Lcinin on and Newburu, both on the
 
 LEAP 11 
 
 Tyne, and two farms iu the parisli of Corsenside, in Redes- 
 dale, called High and Low Learn, adjoin a branch of the 
 Watling Street. The Learn, at Follingsby, in the parish 
 of Jarrow, in the county of Durham, is the genuine 
 Wreckendike. V. Surtees' Durham. See also some curi- 
 ous speculations as to the origin of the word, by the late 
 Rev. J. Hodgson, iu Arch. uEliana, Vol. II., p. 23, et seq. 
 Leam, a word used iu speaking of a hazel nut, when it be- 
 comes brown or ripe, and ready to fall out of its husk. 
 " It leairCs well." See Brown-leamer. 
 Lean, in the sense of, to conceal. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 Leap, to scald, to boil for a short time with a view to pre- 
 serve for ultimate cooking. Most commonly spoken of 
 newly taken salmon, not intended for immediate use. 
 " In Tyberius tyme, the trew imperatour, 
 Quhen Tynta hills fra skraping of touin-henis was keipit. 
 Thair dwelt ane grit Gyre Carling iu awld Betokis hour. 
 That levet upon christiane menes flesche and rewheids un- 
 leipit." Bannatyne M.S. as quoted in Border Minstrelsy, 
 
 Vol. II. p. 199. 
 
 Leaping-the-well, going through a deep and noisome pool ou 
 Alnwick Moor, called the Freemen's Well — a sine qua non 
 to the freedom of the borough. On Saint Mark's day, the 
 aspirants proceed in great state, and in equal spirits, from 
 the town to the moor, when they draw up in a body, at 
 some distance from the water, and on a signal being given, 
 they scramble 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 ludi- 
 crous by being performed in white clothing — was imposed 
 by that capricious tyrant. King John, who, it is said, was 
 bogged in this very pool, on his dreadful journey to the 
 North. I witnessed the ceremony several years ago, and 
 I can certainly state that there is no foundation for the 
 supposition of the late Mr. Surtees, that they contrive to
 
 12 LEAR 
 
 keep the pond dry. They generally ride through it, when 
 
 it is often indeed very filthy, and traversed with straw ropes 
 
 to make the horses stumble, and thus give the riders a 
 
 loathsome ducking. 
 Learn, to teach — conformable to Sax. loeran. This sense is 
 
 not yet obsolete. 
 Leasu, to ply the whip. See Nares' Glossary. 
 Leatiie, a place for storing hay and com in winter — a barn. 
 
 Lathe is used by Chaucer for a barn, or, perhaps, a stable. 
 
 V, Skinner, lath. 
 
 " Alas! (quod John) Alein, for Cristes pein 
 Lay doun thy swerd, and I shal min alswa. 
 I is fill wight, God wate as is a ra. 
 Why ne had thou put the capel in the lathe ?" 
 
 The Reeves' Tale. 
 
 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, 1681. 
 
 Leather-head, Leather-heed, a block-head, a thick-skull. 
 Lanthorn Leatherhead, one of the characters in Ben John- 
 son's Bartholomew Fair, has been thought to have been 
 meant for Inigo Jones ; but Mr. Gilford doubts it. 
 
 Leather-hungry, tough cheese. See old Tusser's Lesson for 
 Dairy Maid Cisley. 
 
 Leathering-Chep, a big, stout fellow. 
 
 Leave, Lieve, Lief, willingly, rather, as soon. Sax. leof. 
 Lief is common in Shakspeare, and his contemi^oraries. — 
 Leaver, or Liefer, more willingly, sooner. Sax. leofre. 
 Both Gower and Chaucer often use the comparative lever. 
 
 " Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trip- 
 pingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it, as many of our play- 
 ers do, I had as ?i(/the town-crier spoke my lines." — Hamlet. 
 " Now, wif, quod he, here n' is but thou, and I, 
 That art the creature that I best love : 
 For by that lord that sit in heven above,
 
 LEET 13 
 
 I hadde lever dien on a knif. 
 
 Than thee offenden, dere trewe wif." 
 
 Chaucer, — Hie Merchant's Tale. 
 " But not for gold nor glee will I abyde 
 By you when you arrive in that same place, 
 For lever had I die than see his deadly face." 
 
 Spenser, — Fairy Queen. 
 
 Leazes, a common pasture belonging to the freemen of New- 
 castle. In many other parts of the kingdom it is spelt and 
 pronounced leasows. Sax. Iceswe, a pasture, a common. 
 Norm. Fr. leswes, lesiies, pasture-ground. 
 
 Leck, to leak. Isl. lek^ stillare. Swed. l&ka, to leak. — 
 Leck-on-and-off, to pour on, and drain off, gradually. 
 
 Led, a term in coal mining. Men in drawing timbers have 
 generally an extra prop placed behind them for additional 
 security against the falling of the roof, and this is called a 
 led prop. Putters have led trams, and, in fact, any spare 
 article or increased number of articles beyond the actual 
 requirements of the work, are called led. 
 
 Ledder, s. a ladder. 
 
 " Till he gert Syme off the Leidhous, 
 A crafty man and a curiouss, 
 Of hempyn rapis leddis ma." — TIte Bruce. 
 
 Lee, v. to lie, to tell a falsehood. Sax. leogan. " Thou 
 lees." — Lee, s. a lie. This word, vulgar as it is, occurs in 
 Chaucer. — Lee-with-a-latchet, a monstrous falsehood. 
 V. Nares. — Leear, a liar. " The king of leears." 
 
 " Therefore now I 
 
 Of herte yerie you here mercy 
 
 That I have ben so rechiles 
 
 To tamin him, withouten lees." — Rom. of Rose. 
 
 Lee, a watery fluid discharged from badly healing wounds. 
 
 To run lee, to discharge lee as above. 
 Leggaxs, stockings with their feet cut off, and drawn over 
 
 the shoes. See Hoggers. 
 Leet, v. to meet with, to fall out, to alight. — Leet, s. light. 
 
 — Leet, a. light. ' " When than heart's sad, can mine be 
 
 Uet ?"
 
 14 LEET 
 
 Leets, the lungs or lights. Used, also, for windows — lights. 
 
 Leetsome, light, coinfoi-table, cheerful — lighUome 
 
 Leil, true, honest, faithful, constant. Old Fr. leal, haul. 
 
 " But if ye loven leelly 
 
 And lene the povere 
 
 Swich good as God yow sent 
 
 Goodliche parteth." — Piers Plowman. 
 "I'm wearin awa, John, 
 
 I'm ■wearin awa, man, 
 
 I'm wearin awa, John, 
 
 To the land of the leal."— Old Song. 
 
 Leisu, Lish, nimble, strong, active, stout, alert, lithe. 
 " Whe's like my Johnny, 
 Sae leish, sae blithe, sae bonny, 
 He's formast mang the monny 
 Keel lads o' coaly Tyne." 
 
 The Neic Keel Row, by T. TfiO'mpson. 
 
 Leister, a prong or trident, used in spearing salmon by 
 torch-light. See Blaze. Su.-Got. liustra, percutere. 
 Burns, humourously enough, makes this instrument a part 
 of the paraphernalia of Death, in his celebrated satire on 
 Dr. Hombrook. 
 
 " An awfu' scythe, out owre ae shouther, 
 Clear dangling hang ; 
 A three-tae'd leister on the ither 
 Lay, large and lang." 
 
 Len, v. to lend. Sax. Icenan. — Len, s. a loan. Sax, laen. 
 
 Lend, a substantive. " Give us the lend of." 
 
 Length, s. ajjijlied to stature, instead of height. — Lengthy, 
 
 tall, as well as, long. 
 Length, " the length of;" i. e. as far as. 
 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 intimate, as, " I never Id-on I heard him." Isl. 
 
 laeta, ostendere. 
 Let-wit, to make known Dut. laaten iceeten, Sw. lat reta. 
 Leuf, Luff, Luif, the palm of the hand. A very ancient
 
 LICK 15 
 
 word. V. Jamieson. Outside the lenf, back of the hand — 
 equivalent to rejection and repulse. 
 
 " If ye'll scart maw leiif, I'll claw yur elbow," — K. C. Prov., 
 Meaning, If you will do me a favour, I mil do you an- 
 other. 
 
 Leuk, c, to look. — Leuk, 5. a look. — Lecks, the countenance 
 — looks. " His leuks wad spaen a calf." 
 
 Lever, one of the chief supporters of the roof timber of a 
 house, being itself not a jjrop, but a portion of the frame- 
 work. Cottages of this primitive structure are still com- 
 mon in old remote villages in the north of England. F". 
 Glossary to the Priory of Finchale. 
 
 Lew, mUd, calm. — Lew-warm, tepid — luke-ar m. Teut. 
 lauwen, tepefacere. 
 
 Lewd, wild, ungovernable ; as a lewd pointer. 
 
 LiARED, dappled as with red and white. See Lyery. Meat 
 is said to be well liarcd when the fat and lean are fairly 
 mixed and freckled together. A red liared horse, a black 
 liared horse. King Edw. I., 12th Alarch, 1.300, paid 10^. 
 for one black liared horse, &c. Wardrobe Acct. 7B. The 
 King also, at the same time, bought for 71. Qs. 8d., unum 
 equum griscum liardum. 
 
 Lib, to emasculate. Dut. lubken. Used by Bishop Hall, 
 Massinger, and others. — Libber, qui castrat. Lib, appears 
 the same as glib, in The Winter* s Tale, Act II., Sc. 1. 
 
 LiBBARD, s. a leopard. 
 
 " The Erie of Carrick, Schyr Edward, 
 
 That stoiitar wes than a lihbard." — Tlie Bruce. 
 
 Lich-gate, a covered shed, or gateway, at the entrance to a 
 church yard, intended to shelter the corpse and mourners 
 from rain. Germ. Iitchen-ga7ig. A description of one at 
 Birstal, in Yorkshire, with an engraving, may be seen in 
 the History of Mori cy, by Morison, p. 289. 
 
 LiCKLY, likely, probable. — Lickliest, the superlative degree. 
 
 Licks, a sound beating, a severe chastisement. The verb 
 lick, I believe, is a general provincialism.
 
 16 LIFT 
 
 Lift, assistance. To give a lift, to lend a helping hand. 
 Lift, the sky, firmament, air. The same idea as heaven — 
 heaved or lifted up. 
 
 " Haif I nocht maid ane honest shift 
 That has betraistit Common Thrift — 
 For thare is nocht under the lift— 
 Ane curster corse." 
 
 Lyndsay'8 Three EstaitU. 
 " The galey yede as swift 
 As ony fowle by the lufte." 
 
 Romance of Richard Coeur de Lyon. 
 
 Lifters, stealers of cattle, common thieves ; such as were 
 formerly many of the people of Tynedale and Reedsdale, 
 in Northumberlond. 
 
 LiG, to lie do^vn, to rest the limbs. Common to the Saxon and 
 most of the Northern languages. — Lig-ma-last, a loiterer, 
 the last. — LiG-o-BED, one who lies long in bed — the " slug- 
 a-bed" of Shakspeare. 
 
 " What haukes sitten on the perche above 
 What houndes liggen on the flour adoun." 
 
 CJmucer, — 27ie Kaighte's Tale. 
 " ^lethuncheth that deth has don us wronge. 
 That he so sone shall Ugge stille." 
 
 Elegy on tlie Death of Edw. I., 
 Warton, Vol. I.,p.\Q^. 
 
 LiGGEE, or LiGxiE, a carved lignum vitce coit for playing at 
 
 doddart, or the game of trijypit 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. Pegge. 
 Liking, delight, pleasure. Sax. licmig. 
 
 " A : freedome is a noble thing ! 
 Fredome raayss man to hailF?*!))^ .' 
 Fredome all solace to man giffls ; 
 He levys at ess, that frely levys." — The Brvcf.
 
 LIN 17 
 
 LiLE, little. Cumb. Swed. Ulle, adj. def. liten. Widegren. 
 
 LiLL, to assuage pain. Lat. lallare, to lull. 
 
 LiLLY-wuNs ! LiLLT-wuNTERs ! cxclamations of amazement. 
 
 Lil^ icomids — from the crucifixion ? 
 Lilt, to sing with a loud voice. — North. Su.-Got. lulla, 
 can ere. 
 
 " I've heard a lilting, at the ewes' milking." 
 
 Floicers of the Forest. 
 Lilt, s. a song. 
 
 Limbo, in gaol — the ablative of Limbus, the place of the de- 
 parted Saints and Holy men who died before the cruci- 
 fixion. V. Du Cange. " He's getten into limho, tip 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 
 Episcoporuni Latialium) in Limho Patrum. V. Letany of 
 John Bastwick, Doctor of Phisicke, 4to. 1637, passim. 
 LiMMER, a person of loose manners, a worthless idle person. 
 — LiMMER-LOON, a mischievous young man — a rogue, a 
 scoundrel. 
 
 " Tak ye the hude, and I the go^vn, 
 This limmer luke's als lyke ane lown, 
 As any that ever I saw." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitls. 
 
 LiMMERS, the shafts of a cart or carriage. Isl. limar, rami ar- 
 
 borum. 
 LiN, V. to cease, to stop, to yield. Isl. Una, enervare, fran- 
 
 gere. 
 
 " Yet our northern prikkers, the borderers, notwithstanding, with 
 great enormitie (as thought me), and not unlike (to be playn) 
 unto a masterless hounde hougling in a hie wey, when he hath 
 lost him he wayted upon, sum hoopyng, sum whistelyng, and 
 most with crying a Berwykc .' a Bfrwylic ! a Fenieylx ! a Fenicyke .' 
 a Buhner .' a Bulmcr .' or so ootherwise as theyr capteins names 
 wear, never linnde those troublous and dangerous noyses all the 
 night long." — Patten'g Expedicion of the Duke of Somerset 
 " Set a beggar on horseback, he'll never lin till he be agallop." 
 Ben JoTtson, — Staple of yews 
 VOL. II. D
 
 18 LIN 
 
 Lin, 5. linen. Swed. lin, flax, linne, linen. 
 
 Lin, or Linden, s. the lime tree. Swed. lind, the lime tree. 
 
 Lin, Linn, a cascade, a precipice. — Dur. and Noi-th. Sax. 
 hylnna, a torrent. Isl. lind, a cascade. In Northumber- 
 land the word is sometimes used to denote a pool formed 
 below a waterfall ; agreeing in this sense with Welsh llt/n, 
 a lake. 
 
 -" The near'st to her of kin 
 
 Is Toothy, tripping down from Verwin's rushy lin." 
 
 Drayton's Poly-olbion. 
 
 " But as I lukit myne alane, 
 I saw a river rin ; 
 And owre a steipie rock of stane. 
 Syne lichtit in a lin." — The Clierry and the Sloe. 
 
 Ling, provincially, heath. Erica vulgaris. Isl. ling. It is 
 extensively used for thatching cottages and making be- 
 soms. 
 
 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 
 lignel, 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 iron pin which goes through the 
 axle-tree to keep on the wheels. Su.-Got. lunta, paxillus 
 axis. Jamieson. 
 
 LiNT-wHiTE, or LiNTY-WHiTE, the linnet. Sax. linctwige. 
 Supposed to receive its name fi-om its feeding on the lint- 
 seed. 
 
 LiPPEN, to expect, to depend upon. " I lippened on you to 
 
 join me." Sax. Icafen, credere. 
 
 " Lippen to me, but look to yoursel." — N. C. Prov. 
 
 " The tothyr is, that thai cummynar. 
 For lyppijnnyno ofTthar gret powar, 
 To sek us in our awue land.'' — Tlie Bnice. 
 
 " But his majestie must be plain with them, both what his majestic
 
 LITT 19 
 
 would have them do, and in like manner what they shall 
 lippen to of his majesty." 
 
 Letter from Brunston to Sir It. Sadler, 1515. 
 
 LiPPER, spray from small waves ; either at sea, or in a river. 
 LiRK, V. to crease, to rumple. Isl. lej:ka, contraliere. — Liek, 
 
 iS. a crease, a wrinkle. 
 LisH, nimble, active, lively. 
 LiSK, the groin. " a j)ain in the lisk.'' Dan. and Swed. 
 
 liusi'e. 
 List, inclination, generally used in a negative sense. " I 
 
 have no list to do it." 
 Listen, the selvage of woollen cloth. Sax. list. Dan. liste. 
 LiSTY, an ease, free from pain. Sax. lisse^ relief, ease. 
 Lite, to rely on, to trust on, to depend upon. Swed. lita. 
 Lite, little. An old word from Sax. Ij/t ; used by Chaucer, 
 both as a substantive and an adjective ; and still retained 
 in the North. 
 Lite, to alight ; to lite down, as a bird ; also to fall upon ; 
 meet with. " He lit on it," he met with, fell upon what 
 he was in search of. 
 
 " Over Ottercaps hyll they cam in 
 And dowyn by Rodelyft'e cragge ; 
 Upon Grene Leyton they lyghted dowyn, 
 Styrande many a stagge." 
 
 Battle of Otterburn. 
 
 Lithe, to listen. " LitJie ye" — hark you. Su.-Got. l^da^ 
 audire, lyda till, aures advertere. 
 
 " And under a lynde upon a launde 
 Lened I a stounde. 
 To lytlie the layes 
 The lovely foweles made." — Piers Ploivman. 
 
 Lithe, Lithen, to mix, to thicken ; as to lithe the pot. — 
 LiTHiNG, Lithening, a mixture, or thickening for the pot ; 
 such as oatmeal, flour, &c. — Lithy, thickened by admix- 
 ture. V. Wilbraham, and Jamieson. 
 
 Littlest, least, the regular Northern superlative of little. 
 
 " Where love is great the littlest doubts are fear." 
 
 Shak., — Hamlet.
 
 20 LIZZ 
 
 Lizzie, an abbreviation of Elizabeth. " Lizzie Moody." 
 Loach, a leech. — Lop-LOAcn, the leech used by surgeons. In 
 
 the first part of Henry IV., the carrier says, " Your 
 
 chamberlie breeds fleas like a loach.'' This passage has 
 
 sorely puzzled the commentators, though it simply means 
 
 that the fleas drew blood like leeches. 
 LoAK ! LoAK-A-DAziE ! LoAK-A-DAZiE-ME ! exclamatious of 
 
 surprise or pleasure, modulated to suit the occasion. 
 LoAL, or Loll, to make a strange noise, to mew like a cat. 
 
 V. Jam. Supp. hailing. 
 Loaning, Lonnin, a lane or bye-road. Swed. I8ungdng. 
 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 qfa Young Wit. 
 
 LocH, a lake. See Lougii. 
 
 LoDE-sTAR, the leading or guiding star, the North Star. 
 
 LoE, Lowe, synonymous with Law ; which see. 
 
 LoGWATER, still water. 
 
 LoKE, a small quantity ; as a loke hay, a loke meal, a loke 
 
 sand. Fr. loqiie, a piece, morceau. V. Jam. loci; loahe. 
 Loke, the flood-gate, the sluice in a mill-dam. 
 LoLLOCK, or Lollop, a lump ; as, a lolloch 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. 
 
 " A hundred marks is a loan for a poor lone woman to bear." 
 Shak.,~'2-d. Part of King lien. IV., Act II., Sc. 1. 
 
 LooF, rather, as soon. Sax. leof. See Leave. 
 
 Look, to weed or thin ; generally applied to the weeding of
 
 LOPS 21 
 
 corn. V. Ray. " Look the head," to do what is often 
 necessary with children. 
 Loon, Lodn, Lowne, an idle vagabond, a worthless fellow, a 
 rascal. The word is old ; but etymologists are not agreed 
 in the derivation. A learned friend of mine derives it 
 from Germ, luff en, to lie ; adding, that luffen-maul,literal\j 
 lying chops, is a huge liar. Shakspeare has evidently 
 taken the stanzas in the drinking scene in Othello, from 
 the ancient version of. Take thy old Cloak about ihee, reco- 
 vered 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 stooj) in walking — -to lower. 
 LoosE-i'-THE-HEFT, a disorderly person, a vagabond — uncer- 
 tain in his haunts. See Heft. 
 Lop, Loppe, a flea. Pure Saxon. Swed. lappa. In the 
 Middle Ages, when this enemy to mankind infested a bed, 
 it was attributed to the envy of the Devil. 
 LoppEN, or LuppEN, pret. leaped. Sax. hleop. Swed. lupen. 
 It also means, burst ; as a hoop, from the swelling of a 
 cask ; or as potatos, from too quick boiling. 
 " And mo thousandes myd hym 
 Than man kouthe nombre 
 Lopen out with Lucifer 
 In lothliche forme," — Piers Plowman. 
 
 LopPER, or Lapper, to coagulate. Loppered milk — milk that 
 sours and curdles without the application of an acid. 
 Swed. Upa, to run together. Sc. lapper, to curdle. Isl. 
 hlaup, coagulum. 
 
 " And there will be lapper'd milk kebbucks. 
 And sowena and fardies and baps." 
 
 Ritson's Sc. Songs. 
 
 LopsTROPOLOUS, mischievous, clamorous — obstrepero/us. 
 " Lobstrop'lmis fellows, wo kick'd them O." 
 
 Song,—Swalwell Hopping.
 
 22 LOUG 
 
 Lough, a lake. A pure Gaelic word. '■ Black Lough." V. 
 Thomson. 
 
 " Thai abaid till that he was 
 Entryt in ane narow place 
 Betius a louchsid and a bra." — Tlie Bruce. 
 
 LouN, Lown'd, calm, sheltered from the "\\4nd. Isl. logn, aeris 
 tranquillitas. Swed. lugn, calm, serene. "" 
 
 LorrNDER, to beat with severe strokes. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Lounge, a large lumji ; as of bread or cheese. Span, loncha, 
 a lunch. 
 
 Loup, v. to leap. Su.-Got. locjm, currere. Sw. Idjm, to run. 
 — Loup, s. a leap or spring. — Loupixg, the act of leaping. 
 " Loupinge, or skyppinge, saltus." Prompt. Parv. 
 " Loup now gif thou list, for thou hes lost the ledder." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tliree Eetaitis. 
 " Thou sal be faine to fetch agane the ledder or I louj) 
 I sail sit heir into this cheir till I have tumde the stoup." 
 
 Ibid. 
 
 Loup, v. to cover. Teut. loopen, catulire. 
 
 Louping-on-Stane, Leaping-ox-Stone, a stone block, placed 
 in streets and highways, for travellers to mount and dis- 
 mount from their horses. 
 
 Loup-the-lang-lonnix, a name for the game of leap-frog. 
 
 LouPY-DYKE, a term of contempt ; conjoining the ideas of 
 imprudence and waywardness. Sometimes applied to one 
 of those exi^editions that maidens sigh for, but which pru- 
 dent matrons deprecate as shameless and untoward. It 
 has no doubt been adopted from its primary apjjlication to 
 cattle leaping a dike. 
 
 Louse, to unbind, to release, to leave off work — to loose. 
 
 Lout, v. to bow in the rustic fashion. Sax. hlutan, to bend. 
 
 Swed. luta, to stoop. 
 
 " Knelynge Conscience 
 To the kyng touted." — Piers Ploinnan. 
 " This proude king let make a statue of gold 
 Sixty cubites long, and seven in brede. 
 To which image bothe yonge and old 
 Commanded he to loute, and have in drede." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Monke's Tale.
 
 LUCK 23 
 
 " He lowtyt and his live has tayne 
 And to wart his countre has he gayne."— 77*6 Bruce. 
 
 Lout, s. a stupid awkward person, a clown or rustic. Teut. 
 loete, homo insulsus. Shaksi^eare writes it loict. 
 
 Louver, the opening at the top of a cottage, to let out the 
 smoke ; an opening in a dove-cote. hSee Lum. 
 
 LovEsoME, lovely. Sax. lossum, delectabilis. In Piers Plow- 
 man, Chaucer, &c., indeed, in old English, some and Ij/ 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, V. to make a bright flame. — Lowe, s. a flame, a blaze, 
 
 a light. See Blaze. Su.-Got. loga. Isl. logi, flamma. — 
 
 LiLLT-LowE, a comfortable blaze. Lilly, which is probably 
 
 from Sax. lig, flamma, seems redundant. Fire-on-low. 
 
 See Romance of Sir Degue. 
 
 " The breath of his mantle, that did outblow 
 As it had been a.Jire-on-low." 
 
 " I would set that eastell in a loive 
 And sloken it wi' English blood 
 There's never a man in Cumberland 
 Should ken where Carlisle Castle stood." 
 
 Ballad, — Kinmont Willie. 
 
 Lowe (trying the), an operation by which gas is detected in 
 a coal mine, and in the hands of an exj^erienced pitman 
 can be carried almost to the firing point without explosion. 
 It is the effect of the gas to elongate the flame of a candle, 
 and this, with the colour it assumes, indicates the danger. 
 It is only the superior officers in a pit who have acquired 
 this knowledge by long observation, who are permitted to 
 " try the lowe" it being an exceedingly delicate test. 
 
 Lowes, small hills or eminences on a flat. 
 
 LowRY, LowERY, ovorcast, threatening to be wet, or stormy 
 — lowering. Spoken only, I think, of the weather. 
 
 LucK-PENNY, a small sum of money returned to the purcha-
 
 24 LUCK 
 
 ser, on selling horses or cattle, by way of ensuring good 
 luck. 
 Lucky, large, wide, easy. Country tailors generally receive 
 directions to make their customers' clothes "hrave and 
 
 Lug, the ear. An old word, both in England and in Scot- 
 land. Su.-Got. higga. Sax, ge-higgian, to pull — the ear 
 being a part easily pulled or lugged. 
 
 Lughjie, a wooden dish. Burns, in the poem of Halloween^ 
 alludes to a singular species of divination ^vith " 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 luggish, 
 ye ha' nae sjiunk 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 
 Lancashire, 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 jjhysic for the family. I find lover in Piers 
 Plowman, and also in the Faerie Queene ; probably from 
 Fr. Vouverte. Sibbald conjectures 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 loam or clay wherewith 
 the wattle work is daubed over inside and out 1 Louver is 
 used in Holland's Pliny for a cupola or dome, whence, 
 probably, the Louvre at Paris, on which there are many 
 domes. 
 
 LuM-soopER, a chimney-sweep, or lum-sweeper. — North, and 
 Newc. 
 
 LuNT, a light. Teut. lonte, femes ignavus. Sw. limta.
 
 MAB 25 
 
 LuRDANE, a drone or sluggard. Teut. herd, 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 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 inha- 
 bitants, with outrageous insolence and pride. 
 " lu every house Lord Dane did then rule all; 
 Whence laysie lozels lurdanes now we call." 
 
 Mirror for Magistrates. 
 " For thar with thaim wes a tratour, 
 A fals lourdane a losyngeour." — The Bruce. 
 
 " For youre champion chivaler 
 Chief kayght of you alle, 
 Yilt hym recreaunt renning 
 Right at Jhesus wille. 
 For be this derkness ye do, 
 His deeth worth avenged ; 
 And ye lurdaynes han y-lost 
 For lif shal have the maistrye." — Piers Plovmian. 
 
 LuRDY, lazy, sluggish. Fr. lourd, dull, stupid. Ital. lordo, 
 foul, dirty, filthy. 
 
 Lyery, the lean or muscular flesh of an animal ; especially 
 that on the buttocks. Sax. lira, viscum. Neat-Cattle, 
 remarkable for the rigid muscularity of their hinder parts, 
 are said to be lycri/ j bulls of this make are considered bad 
 subjects, and such cows bring forth their young with ex- 
 treme difficulty, and not unfrequently die in parturition. 
 
 Lyka ! listen — an exclamation of astonishment. An abbre- 
 viation to look ye ! " Lyka man J what do I hear you say V 
 
 M. 
 
 Mab, v. to dress carelessly. Hence, Mab-cap, generally 
 called mob-ccep, a cap which ties under the chin — worn by 
 elderly women. Shakspeare's " mobled queen" signifies 
 veiled. Sandys, speaking of the Turkish women, says, 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 26 MAB 
 
 ** their heads and faces are mahhd in fine linen, that no 
 
 more may be seen of them than their eyes." Warhurton. 
 
 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. 
 Mabblin, a kind of mason's tool, having a pick at one end 
 
 and a hammer at the other. 
 Mack, v. to make. Preterite, m^ycd. Germ. macJien, to 
 
 make. 
 Mack, s. kind, sort, fashion — a match or equal. Swed. make, 
 " There is Sir Edward Stanley stout, 
 
 For martial deeds clear without a iiutck." 
 
 Battle oj Floddon. 
 
 Mack-bould, to venture, or take the liberty — to make hold. 
 
 Macklees, matchless, unequalled. Swed. makalbs, incom- 
 parable. 
 
 Macks, sorts, fashions — makes. " A little o' a' macks." 
 
 Mackshift, a substitute or expedient in a case of necessity 
 or difficulty — a makeshift. 
 
 Maddle, to wander, to talk inconsistently, to forget or con- 
 found objects, as if in a state bordering on delirium. 
 
 Madpash, a person disordered in the mind — a madbrain. 
 From mad, anApasJi, a ludicrous term for the head. 
 
 Maffle, to stammer, to be puzzled — to act by means inade- 
 quate to the attainment of the object or end proposed — 
 like one in dotage. Teut. maffelen, balbutire. — Mafflixg, 
 a state of perplexity. 
 
 Maggoty, frisky, playful, whimsical. 
 
 Maggy, a provincial name for a magpie. See Pianet. 
 
 Maiden-way, the Roman highway, running from the station 
 at Whitley Castle in Northumberland, into the county of 
 Westmoreland. 
 
 Mail, a travelling trunk. F. malic, a trunk, or box. 
 
 " But, sires o word forgate I in my tale; 
 I have relikes and pardon in my male 
 As faire as any man in Englelond, 
 Which were me yeven by the Popes hand." 
 
 ClMuccr ,~Tl\i Pardonere'i Tale.
 
 MAIS 27 
 
 Mailex, or Maeylin, a sort of mop made of old rags, with a 
 long pole, for cleaniug out an oven — metaphorically, a 
 dirty, careless wench. V. Todd's Johnson, malkin, and 
 maukin. 
 
 Maillen, Meallix, the quantity of milk which a cow gives 
 at once ; as well as the appointed time of milking her. 
 Sax. mcel, portio, spatium temporis — a meal. 
 
 Main, s. might, strength, exertion. Sax. mcegn, Isl. magn. 
 " Na man thoucht on cowardyss ; 
 
 But faucht sa fast, with all thair mayn. 
 
 That thai fele of thair foyis has slayn."— TAe Bruce. 
 
 Main, used adverhially for very ; as main dark. 
 
 Mains, a farm, or fields, attached to a mansion house, in the 
 occuj^ation of the owner — lands in dominico, demesne, s. 
 See Du Gauge, mansus dominicatus ; and Skene de Verb. 
 Significat, vo. manerium. 
 
 Mainswear, or Manswear, to take a false oath. Sax. man- 
 swerian, pejerare. Dan. meensvoren, perjured. — Main- 
 swearing, or Mans WEARING ; perjury. 
 
 Mairt, a cow or ox slaughtered at Martinmas, and salted 
 for winter store. The custom of salting meat to last 
 throughout the inclement months was universal among our 
 ancestors. Though less frequent, since the extensive cul- 
 tivation of turnips, it still partially prevails in Northum- 
 berland, where it is not unusual for a few families to join 
 in the purchase of a Mairt, and to divide it among them. 
 
 Maist, most. Sax. maest. — Maistly, mostly. — Maistlings, 
 for the most part. 
 
 Maister, master, mister. Sax. moester. Old Eng. mayster, 
 
 " O mayster dere and fadir reverent, 
 My mayster Chaucer, floure of eloquence." 
 
 Occleve de Regimine Principle. 
 " Gower, that first garnished our English rude ; 
 And maister Chaucer, that nobly enterprised 
 How that English myght freshely be ennewed." 
 
 Skelton's Croicne of Laurell. 
 
 Maisterman, a common vulgar term for a husband.
 
 28 MAIS 
 
 Maistry, skill, power, superiority — mastery. Fr. maistre. 
 
 Make, a companion or equal. An old word. Sax. maca, 
 socius, consors, conjux. Swed. male, spouse, mate. 
 
 Make-count, i\ to calculate on, to mean or intend to do any 
 thing. Fr. /aire comptc, to be assured. 
 
 Make- count, s. a makeweight — something over. Germ, zu- 
 geivicht. 
 
 Makeless, matchless, without an equal. Su.-Got. makaloes. 
 Swed. makalvs, excellent, above compare. This latter 
 word in the Grecian garb of MAKEAfiS — adopted by the 
 learned Queen Christina, on one of her numerous medals 
 (Brenner Num. Sueo.-Goth. Chr. Tab. IV.) — sadly per- 
 plexed the antiquaries at Rome. 
 
 Mall, Mally, a girl's name — ]Mary. V. Thomson, Molly. 
 
 Mally, a name for the hare. — Dur. Sc. maukin, maxckin. 
 
 Mammer, 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." — Shak., — Othello. 
 
 Sir Thomas Hanmer most unfortunately refers to Fr. 
 m'ttmour, 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. 
 
 Mammocks, scraps, fragments. This word, in a provincial 
 sense, is in extensive use. 
 
 Mammy, a childish name for a mother. Teut. mamme, mater. 
 
 Man, must. 
 
 " For then thae sleuthers man be treatit, 
 Or els thair querrelis undebatit." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tliree EstalU^. 
 
 Manadge, a box or club instituted by inferior shop-keepers 
 — generally linen-drapers — for supplying goods to poor or 
 improvident jieople, who agree to pay for them by instal- 
 ments — a mode of dealing extremely lucrative to the one 
 party, but sadly the contrary to the other. Of late, much 
 of this deservedly disreputable trade has been in the hands 
 of manadge- women, who become resjionsible to the drapers
 
 MARR 29 
 
 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 ; given to 
 dogs and swine. Perhaps from Sax. mengean, to mingle. 
 Mungcorn, mixed corn, occurs in ancient records. Mong- 
 corn is also an old English word. 
 
 Manner, dung, or compost — manure. 
 
 Mannie, a diminutive of man. " A tight little mannie." 
 
 Mappen, perhaps — it may haj^pen. — Cumb. and West. 
 
 March, a land-mark, a boundary-line or division. Sax. 
 mearc. Fr. marche. Our modern word demarcation is cog- 
 nate. — 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." 
 
 Shak.,—Hen. V. 
 " Schir Robert Nevile that tid 
 Wonnyt at Berwik, ner besid 
 The march quhar the Lord Douglas 
 In the forest repayrand was." — T}ie Bruce. 
 
 Marchman, an inhabitant of the marches. 
 
 " Sir Henry Perssy lay at the New-Castell 
 I tell you withowten drede ; 
 He had byn a march-man all his dayes, 
 And kept Barwyke upon Twede." 
 
 Battle of Otterburne, Ritson, An. Bal., Vol. I., p. 96. 
 
 Mare, more. Pure Saxon. Germ. mehr. Sax. mair. 
 Margit, the usual pronunciation of Margaret, — the g being 
 
 sounded hard. 
 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 ;
 
 30 MARR 
 
 For aw the fine things ye are gobbin about, 
 We can marra iv Canny Newcassel." 
 
 Sonff, — Canny Newccusel. 
 
 Marrow, s. a mess-mate, companion, or associate — an equal. 
 See Ruddiman's Glossary to Douglas. 
 
 " Amang the wyves with winks and wylea 
 As all my marrowis, men begyles, 
 
 With our fair fals flatterie," 
 
 Lyndsay's Ttiree Estaitis. 
 
 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-ox-us ! Marry-cojie-out ! Marry-come- 
 up ! common interjections — purposed disguises in favour 
 of pious ears. Marrt/, 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. Proba- 
 bly 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 Northumbrian- 
 ism, but still more common in Scotland. 
 
 Mask, to infuse. " J/a^^- the tea." Identical with ww.<:^, as 
 applied to brewing. Swed. mSsla, to mash. The original 
 idea is mix. 
 
 Mason-due, the -soilgar name for an ancient hospital, on the 
 Sandhill, Newcastle, taken down some years ago. Evi- 
 dently a corrujjtion of F, Maisoii de Dieu, a house of God, or 
 religious hospital. Meason-due occurs in the statutes of 39 
 Elizabeth, c. 5. Chaucer writes it maisondewe. 
 
 " Unto some ruaisondeice beside, 
 He caste nought what shall him betide, 
 He thinketh nought that ever he shall 
 Into any sieknesse yfall." — Rom. qf Rose. 
 
 Masselgem, a mixture of T\heat and rye for household bread
 
 MAUN 31 
 
 — maslin. Teut. mastelnpi, farrago. Dut. mastelepi. Old 
 Tusser, 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. In Shropshire it is called 
 monh corn, from its having been thrashed out from the 
 miscellaneous gathering of the tithes of the monasteries. 
 In Staffordshire blencorn, i. e. blendcorn, mixed corn. 
 
 Maud, Mawd, a plaid in common use in the North by shep- 
 herds and others engaged in out-door employment. Su.- 
 Got. mudcl, a garment made of rein-deer skins. V. Ihre. 
 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, Mealgh, a brother-in-law. V. Lye, mceg ; 
 Sibbald (Glossary of ancient Scottish Words), inaigh ; and 
 Jam. maich. 
 
 Mauk, Mawk, a maggot, a gentle. Su.-Got. math, ant ; 
 madk, vermis. Swed. masl, a worm. Also,'; a dirty wench, 
 a malkin. 
 
 Maukt, Mawky, maggotty, whimsical, proud, capricious. 
 
 Maum, Maumy, mellow, soft. Su.-Got. mogna, to become 
 mellow. To maum a crust of bread, is to soften it in 
 water. 
 
 Maunder, to wander about in a thoughtful manner ; to be 
 tedious in talking ; to say a great deal, but irregularly 
 and confusedly ; to lose the thread of a discourse. So. 
 maunder, to talk nonsense. In Norfolk, and some of the 
 South Eastern counties, it means to grumble, or murmur. 
 
 Maunderer, a tedious and weary speaker, a confused, or in- 
 coherent talker. Gael, mandagh, a stutterer, seems allied. 
 
 Maunt, Muncle, familiar and easy transmutations of, my 
 aunt, my uncle. Borders of Northumberland. Nuncle 
 and Naimt, for an uncle and an aunt, occur in Beaumont 
 and Fletcher.
 
 S2 MAUP 
 
 Maup, to wander about in a thoughtful manner, to mope. 
 Maut, malt. " Willie hrew'tl a peck o' mimt." Bums. 
 Mauten-corn, com damped and beginning to germinate — 
 
 malting-corn. — North. V. Ihre, malt. 
 Maw, v. to mow, or cut with a scythe. Preterite, mew. Sax. 
 
 mawan. Germ, mahen. — Mawer, a mower. 
 Maw, pronoun, my, mine, belonging to me. " Maw hinny." 
 Mawkin, a dirty lazy woman ; also a bunch of rags to clean 
 
 an oven with, a malkin. 
 Mawment, a puppet. Old English, maumet, an idol ; cor- 
 rupted 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 ; 
 I've been gathering my garlands gay ; 
 Rise up, fair maids, and take in your May." 
 
 Old Nciocastle Song. 
 
 Major Moor gives an inaccurate version of this homely 
 canticle, in his Suffolk Words, p. 225. Three centuries 
 ago, the first day of May was a holiday for all ranks, 
 classes, and ages, as one especially devoted to sport and 
 merriment. Even the gorgeous pomj) of the old courts did 
 not disdain to borrow a fragrance and freshness from the 
 joys of the people. May games, as well as many other 
 harmless rural amusements, have been too hastily extin- 
 guished. Little now remains that poverty and innocence 
 can partake of. The human mind — whether educated or 
 not — requires employment ; and the interdiction of the 
 recreations of the poor, under the j^retence of the imj^rove- 
 ment of the people, will not eradicate licentiousness ; nor 
 can the multitude be made good by compulsion alone. All 
 such busy intermeddling with the natural arrangement of 
 society is mischievous, and has a tendency to drive the 
 lower orders to the public-house, or into the j^rivate haunts 
 of debauch and sensuality. 
 " We are not made of wood or stone, and the things which con-
 
 MEET 33 
 
 nect themselves with our hearts and habits, cannot, like bark 
 or lichen, be sent away without our missing them." 
 
 Guy Manncring, new Ed., Vol. I., p. Gl. 
 
 Mazed, astonished, amazed. Also stupified — rendered in- 
 sensible by a blow. " Aw stood quite mazed" 
 
 " As mazed folk they stonden everich on 
 For drede of wreche, save Custance alone. " 
 
 Clmucer, — Man ofLaives' Tale. 
 
 Me, for I. A common grammatical error. Not, however, 
 without examples in our old language. 
 
 Mead, the intoxicating liquor of our forefathers ; made from 
 honey and water boiled together and fei'mented. 
 
 Meal-kail, hasty-pudding for breakfast and supper, among 
 the labouring people in the Northern parts of Northum- 
 berland. 
 
 Mealy-mouthed, " using soft words, concealing the real in- 
 tention ; speaking hyjjocritically." Todd's Johnson. It 
 also means, not telling a tale at full length from motives 
 of delicacy. I should prefer Skinner's construction — mild'- 
 mouthed or mellow-mouthed — but derive the word from Fr. 
 miele, honied ; as we say honied words 
 
 " Clayton was false, mcaUe-mouth'd, and poore spirited.'' 
 
 Life of Ant. a IFood, p. 165. 
 
 Mean, to complain, to lament — to bemoan. Sax. 7naenan, 
 
 dolore. 
 
 " And thus she means." — SliaJc, — Midsum. Night's Dream,. 
 Mean, s. heavy complaint, lamentation — moan. 
 Meaning, shrinking ; as indicative of pain or lameness. 
 
 Tout, minchen, mcnchcn, to go lame, to limj). 
 Mebby, Maybees, Mavies, perhaps, probably — it m((^ he^ 
 Meddle-nor-make. " He'll neither meddle nor make" — he'll 
 
 not interfere. Sc. meddle nor male. 
 Meer, the vulgar word for a mare. Also an abusive term 
 
 among the lower order of women in Newcastle. 
 Meet, fit, proper. Swed. mattlig, moderate, temperate. 
 
 This is classical, but in the North it is in common use. 
 
 VOL. II. F
 
 34 MEGG 
 
 Meggy-monny-legs, a lively insect, something resembling an 
 earwig, but longer, often seen on garden walks — viillepes. 
 — Dui\ It is also called Meg-monny-feet. 
 
 Melder, a making of meal — a parcel of com 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 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 com- 
 mentators are not agreed on the expression. 
 
 " Men are to mell with." 
 
 Shak.,— All's well ihat Ends Well. 
 
 It means men are to meddle with ; without the least allu- 
 sion to the indecent idea surmised by Theobald. 
 
 " Above all vtheris Dares in that stede 
 Thame to behold abasit, wox gretumly, 
 Tharwith to viel refusing aluterlie." 
 
 Douglas' ^ncid. 
 
 Mell, v. to pound, to bruise — from the instrument used. 
 Mell, s, a wooden mallet, or hammer ; generally with a long 
 handle. Lat. nialleus, the ancient mallet, or maule. This 
 weapon, under the name of miolner, was assigned by the 
 Goths, to their God Thor. 
 "I, John Bell, 
 Leave this mell. 
 For to fell 
 
 Them that gie a" to their bairns, 
 
 And leave nought to their sell." 
 
 " Some made a mell of massy lead, 
 
 "Which iron all about did bind." 
 
 Battle o/Floddoti. 
 
 Mell-doll, an image of cora, 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 C corn J Baby. There is also, occasionally, a Har- 
 vest Queen — thought to be a representation of the Roman
 
 MENS 35 
 
 Ceres — apparelled in great finery, and crowned with 
 flowers ; with a scythe in one hand, and a portion of com 
 in the other. This old custom is noticed by Hentzner, in 
 his Journey into England, during the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth. 
 Mell-door, the space between the heck and outward door, 
 the entry or passage — middle [of] doors. Fr. milieu. 
 Mell is an old word for hetween, not yet altogether disused. 
 Mell-drop, the secretion of clear liquid from the nose. 
 Mell-supper, a supper and merry-making on the evening of 
 the concluding reaping day — the feast of harvest home. 
 Besides a grand display of excellent old English cheer, 
 with a mixture of modern gout, to enlarge the sphere of 
 epicurean enjoyment, there is dancing, masking, and dis- 
 guising, 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 ; the word melle being a provincial word, equi- 
 valent to mingle : implying that the cakes used at this fes- 
 tival are mingled or made of new com, 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. Va- 
 rious other etymologies have been conjectured, which are 
 noticed in Brand's Pop. Ant., Vol. I., Harvest-Home; 
 where the reader will find much interesting matter on thia 
 subject. 
 Mends, recompense, atonement, satisfaction — amends. 
 " If she be fair, 'tis the better for her ; an she be not, she has the 
 inends in her own hand." — Shak., — Troilus and Cressida. 
 
 Mennam, the minnow. Nearly resembling Gael, meanan. 
 Mense, v. to grace, to ornament, to decorate. " The pic- 
 tures mense the room," a compliment paid by a Northern 
 artist to my unpretending collection. 
 " Yet I may as I myghte 
 Menske thee with giftQS."— Piers Plowman.
 
 V 
 
 36 MENS 
 
 " Cum heir Palset, and mense the gallows ; 
 Yo man hing up amang your fallows." 
 
 Lijmlsay's Tlaee Egtaitis. 
 
 Mense, s. decency, proiiriety of conduct, good manners, kind- 
 ness, hospitality. It also means an ornament, or credit ; 
 as he is " a mense to his family." Sax. mennesc, humanus. 
 Su.-Got. munnisklig. Svved. mensklig. See Tailor's- 
 
 MENSE. 
 
 Menseful, decent, graceful, mannerly, hospitable, creditable. 
 
 " Blow northerne wynd, sent 
 Thou me my suetynge ; blow 
 Northerne wynd, blou, blou, blou. 
 Ichot a burde in boure bryht 
 That fully semly is on syht 
 Menksful maiden of myht." 
 
 Frcni a Love Song quoted by Warton.frotn the 
 Barleian MSS., and which he places about 
 the year 1200. 
 
 Menseless, indecorous, graceless, inhospitable, unmannerly. 
 Mense, or Menseful-penxt, liberality conducted by pru- 
 dence. 
 
 " Would have their moisejvl-penny spent 
 With gossips at a merriment." 
 
 The Collier's Weddiiig. 
 
 Mercury, or Good King Henry, wild spinage. 
 
 Mere, a lake, a marsh, a large pool. A jjure Saxon word. 
 
 The White-mere, on the turnjiike road from Gateshead to 
 
 Sunderland, has got the pleonastic adjunct of pool, and is 
 
 now called the Wliite-mare-pool. 
 Mere-stone, a boundary stone or mark. Sax. maire. Isl. 
 
 meiri. 
 Merry-begotten, illegitimate — in law, filius nullius — rather 
 
 waggishly alluded to by old Brunne. 
 
 ' ' Kuoute of his body gate sonnes thre, 
 Tuo by tuo wifes, the third in jolifte." 
 
 Langtoft's Chronicle. 
 
 The historical reader is aware that, in most countries of 
 Europe, bastardism, especially if the father were royal or
 
 METE 37 
 
 noble, was in the early ages no disgrace ; and that very 
 latitudinarian principles were disseminated concerning 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." Among 
 the Germans, however, bastards have always been held 
 odious ; and in many of the public instruments, about the 
 time of the Reformation, they are classed with Papists, 
 and placed under similar disabilities. 
 
 Merry-dancers, the glanciugs of the Aurora Borealis, when 
 vividly depicted. The Northern lights, when first seen, 
 were called burning spears, and which to persons of a vivid 
 imagination still seem to represent the clashing of arms in 
 a military engagement. The first instance of their appear- 
 ance mentioned by Dr. Halley, is that which occurred in 
 1560. In the high Northern latitudes, when the Northern 
 Lights vary their position in the air, they make a rustling 
 and cracking noise. See Hearne's Journey from Hudson's 
 Bay to the Northern Ocean. 
 
 Merry-neet, or Merry-night, a rustic ball — a night (gener- 
 ally about Christmas) aj^propriated 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 occasionally of the ancient sword 
 dance ; with an indisi^ensable admixture of kissing and 
 romping, and other " gallantry robust." V. Willan. 
 
 Messit, or Messan, a little dog, a sort of cur. V. Jamieson, 
 messan. 
 
 Metal, broken stones, rubbish. An old provincial term, still 
 in use. 
 
 Metal-rig, metal-rige, the curved ridge of thill stone occu- 
 pying the face of a " board" or excavation, in a coal 
 pit, caused by the pressure of the superincumbent strata. 
 
 Met, v. to measure. Teut. meten, metiri. Swed. mdta. — 
 Met, s. a measure, either of length or capacity. Sax. mitta. 
 
 Mexerly, tolerably well — moderately — \vithin bounds ; i. e.
 
 38 METT 
 
 i7i mete, or measure. In the older Northern glossaries, as 
 Mr. Todd remarks, the word is defined indifferent. 
 
 Metter, a person legally authorised to measure. — Newc. 
 
 Meuthy, a difficult respiration, occasioned by the lightness 
 of the air." Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumberland. 
 
 MicKLE, much, great. — Dur. and North. A word of remote 
 antiquity. Gothic, mickils. Sax. micel, micle. Isl. mikill. 
 Teut. miJcel. The word was in common use by our early 
 writers, both English and Scotch. See Muckle. 
 
 " Homely hearts do harbour quiet ; 
 Little fear, and mickle solace ; 
 States suspect their bed and diet ; 
 Fear and craft do haunt the palace." 
 
 Ih-ayton's Nymphidia. 
 
 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. 
 Middling, in good health ; as well as out of order. See 
 
 Glossary of Provincial Words used in Herefordshire. 
 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. 
 Milker, a cow that gives milk ; not the person who milks 
 
 the cow. " She's a top milherP 
 MiLKUs, Milkness, a dairy, or mill-house. Sax. melcc-hus. 
 Mill-reek, a term for a disease to which lead miners and 
 
 smelters are subject. 
 MiM, prim, affected in manner ; generally applied to females. 
 MiNCH, to mince. Isl. minka, diminuere. — Minch-pie, a 
 
 mince pie. 
 Mind, to remember, to be steady and attentive. Dan. mindcy 
 
 to mind, to recollect.
 
 MISF 39 
 
 MiNGE, to mention, to remind. Sax. mt/ngian. 
 
 " Could never man work thee a worser shame 
 Than once to minge thy father's odious name." 
 
 Hall's Satires. 
 
 MiNNY, a fondling term for mother. Tent, tninne, nutrix. 
 
 Mint, to aim at, to show a mind to do something, to endea- 
 vour, to make an attempt. Sax. ge-myndian, intendere. 
 Swed. mena, to mean. 
 
 " A ful fel 'niynt to him he made. 
 He began at the shulder-blade, 
 And with his pawm al rafe he downe." 
 
 Yewaine and Gaxvin. 
 
 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-Dnmi, from its singular loud note, espe- 
 cially 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 universal gladnesss." — Wal- 
 lis' Hist, of North., Vol. I., p. 324. 
 
 Mirk, Mirky, dark, obscure, gloomy. Sax. mirce. Isl. 
 myrhr, tenebrosus. Swed. mork, dark. Old Eng. mirke, 
 
 " Gane is the day, and mirk's the night, 
 But we'll ne'er stay for faute o' \\g\\t."— Burns. 
 
 Mis-BODEN, injured. 
 
 " Quod Theseus, have ye so grete envie 
 Of min honour, that thus complaine and crie ? 
 Or who hath you nUs-boden, or oft'ended ? 
 Do telle me, if that may be amended." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Tlie Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Miscall, to abuse, to call names to. Sc. misca\ 
 MiscHANCY, mischievous, generally applied to a horse or other 
 
 animal, that is constantly getting into scrapes. 
 Misfortune, a palliative term for an act of indiscretion ; 
 especially when a country lass is so unfortunate as to lose 
 all pretensions to the name of maiden, without acquiring a 
 legal right to that of matron. V. Jam. Supp.
 
 40 MISH 
 
 MiSHANTER, disaster, misfortune, mischance — misadventure. 
 
 Old Fr. mcsavcnture. V. Roquefort. 
 Mis-ken, to be ignorant, not to know, to misunderstand ; 
 
 also, to disown. 
 
 " Schyr Covetyce, will ye also mlsken me ?" 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitig. 
 
 MiSLiPPEN, to suspect, to neglect, to disapi^oint. 
 
 MisMARRow, to mismatch. 
 
 MissENs, 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 ; perhaps from 
 
 misteach. Chaucer uses tctch, for a spot or blemish. Fr, 
 
 tacTie. 
 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, mitena. 
 
 " He that his hand wol put in this mitaine 
 He shal have naultiplying of his graine." 
 
 Chaucei-, — Pardonere's Tale. 
 
 " With dowbill schone, and mittanis on my handis." 
 
 Lyndsay's Drone.. 
 
 MiTTS, worsted gloves with a thumb and no fingers. V. 
 Moor, 
 
 MixTY-jiAXTY, MixY-MAXY, any thing confusedly mixed, an 
 irregular medley — a mish-mash, or hotch-potch. Su.-Got. 
 misk-masl'. 
 
 Mizzle, v. to rain in very small drops. Teut. mieselen. — 
 Mizzle, s. small rain. 
 
 MoiDER, to puzzle, to perplex, to confuse. It is, I suppose, 
 an old word ; but if one was to imitate some of our ety- 
 mologists, it might be brought from the Spanish name of 
 the seven-and-twenty shilling pieces, which would, I dare 
 say, very much moidcr poor John Bull in his reckonings.
 
 MOOT 41 
 
 MoiDERED, puzzled, bewildered, confused, distracted, tired 
 
 in an extreme degree. 
 Moil, laborious industry. To moil, to daub with dirt, to toil 
 
 or labour, occurs in Johnson. 
 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. molUura, multura. Fr. mou- 
 
 ture. It is also used as a verb. 
 " It is good to be merry and wise, 
 Quoth the miller, when he monter'd twice."— Sc. Proverb. 
 
 Mome, soft, smooth, conjoining the idea of sweetness. Hence, 
 the liquor mwn — ale brewed with wheat. Mumme is a 
 German name for beer. " Brunswick mum.''' 
 
 Monny, many. Sax. monig. Swed. mange. Sc. moni/, mon- 
 nie. — Monny-a-time-and-oft, a colloquial expression for 
 jfrequently. 
 
 Moo, v. to low as a cow. — Moo, 5. the act of lowing. Germ. 
 mti, vox vaccse naturalis. Wachter. 
 
 Moon-light, Moon-shine, Mountain-dew, smuggled whis- 
 ky. Thanks to the excise — a refinement unknown in the 
 financial system of our ancient government — for the intro - 
 duction of these neologisms. 
 
 Moor, a heath — a common or waste land. Sax. mor, erice- 
 tum. Isl. mor, terra arida, inculta, et inutilis. Sc. mure, 
 muir. Dr. Jamieson erroneously supposes that our word 
 always implies the idea of water or marshiness, as deno- 
 ting a fen. V. Co. Litt. 5 a. 
 
 Moorland, common or waste ground — a hilly, barren dis- 
 trict. 
 
 MooT-HALL, the ancient hall of the castle of Newcastle — the 
 place of holding the assizes for the county of Northumber- 
 land. Brand has a needless difficulty about the etymo- 
 logy, which is indubitably Sax. moth-heal, conventus aula, 
 the hall of deliberation or judgment. V. Dugdale, Ori- 
 gines Juridiciales, Edit. 1G80, p. 212. The folk-mote was 
 originally a convention of all the inhabitants ; which, if 
 
 VOL. II. G
 
 42 MOP 
 
 within a town, was called a Burgh-mote, but if of all the 
 free tenants within a county — the Shire-mote. In the lat- 
 ter assembly the sheriff was annually chosen, until the 
 election of that officer devolved to the king's nomination ; 
 after which the town folk-mote was swallowed up in the 
 common council, as that of the county was in the Sheriff's 
 Turn and Assizes. 
 
 " ' And yet,' quod Reson, ' by the Rode, 
 I shal no ruthe have 
 While Made hath the maistrie 
 In this moot-halle.' " — Piers Plovoman. 
 
 Mop, " to make wry mouths or grin in contempt." Todd's 
 Johnson. In the North it means to prim or look affected- 
 ly. Hence, Moppet, a child so acting. The latter is also 
 a term of endearment, from moppc, an old word in that 
 sense. 
 
 Moral, model. " The moral of a man." An archaism. 
 
 More, a hill — a mountainous or waste country ; whence, 
 Westmoreland. Sax. mor, mens. See Moor. 
 
 Mormal, a bile or sore of a virulent nature. Fr. mort-mal. 
 
 MoRX, morrow. — The jMorx, 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 ; a mort of people. Hal- 
 lamshire. — Mortal- while, a long while. 
 
 " 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 contra-distinction to the mortar mentioned in 
 Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Moss, a boggy place — a morass. Su.-Got. mossa. 
 
 Moss, peat, in a soft state. 
 
 Moss-troopers, banditti, who inhabited the marshy borders
 
 MOTE 43 
 
 of the northern provinces of England, and the southern 
 counties of Scotland, and subsisted chiefly by theft and ra- 
 pine. So called from living in mosses, or morasses, and 
 riding in troops together. The Merchant Adventurers of 
 Newcastle, by an ancient order of their society, were pro- 
 hibited from taking apprentices " proceeding from such 
 lewde and wicked progenitors." Indeed, the restriction 
 extended to any person born in " Tyndale, Liddesdale, 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 conversation." 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 Bor- 
 der, fulminate his resentment against those vagrant and 
 dissolute churchmen, who wandered with these lawless 
 hordes from jjlace to place, amidst the wilds of Northum- 
 berland — 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' His- 
 tory of Durham, Vol. L, p. 166. 
 
 " An aged knight, to danger steel'd, 
 With many a moss-trooper came on ; 
 And aznire in a golden field, 
 The stars and crescent graced his shield 
 Without the bend of Murdieston." 
 
 Lay of tlte Last Minstrel, Canto IV. 
 
 Most. It is not unusual to prefix this superlative degree to 
 the regular superlative form of another word — as, most 
 highest, most wickedest, most ivisest, most 2^leasantest, &c. 
 There are examples for it in Shakspeare and his cotempo- 
 raries. It was not then esteemed bad grammar. There 
 is a higher example in the Scriptures ; particularly in the 
 Psalms. 
 Mote-hill, a curious embankment of earth, apparently form- 
 ed by art, lying at a short distance from Elsdon, in Nor-
 
 44 MOTH 
 
 thumberland. At the top it is not unlike the shape of a 
 horse shoe, and appears to have been surrounded by a 
 rampart of earth, the remains of which at present are 
 most plainly to be distinguished on one side. 8ee Hodg- 
 son's History of Northumberland. 
 Mother-gate, the principal road of a coal-pit, along which 
 the daily supply of coal is sent to the shaft, and from 
 which the various other roads diverge. 
 
 MOUDY-RAT, MOUDY-WARP, MoULDI-WARP, MoULEY-RAT, pro- 
 vincial names for a mole. Sax. mold, mould, and weorpan, 
 to cast up. Dan. muharp, a mole. Spenser and other 
 old writers use mould-warp. Shakspeare, in allusion to 
 the prophecy which is said to have induced Owen Glen- 
 dower to rebel against King Henry, causes Hotspur, 
 when taxed by Mortimer with crossing his father, thus to 
 exclaim — 
 
 " I cannot choose : sometimes he angers me 
 With telling me of the mold-warp and the ant," &c. 
 
 First Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 MouDY-HiLL, MouLEY-RAT-HiLL, the mould throwD up by the 
 mole. The nest of this " little gentleman in velvet" is of 
 a curious construction. And is fully and accurately de- 
 scribed by Buffon. 
 
 MouLEY-HEELS, hccls affccted by chilblains. Mouldy-heels. 
 
 " Here's a shoeing-horn chain gilt over, how it scentitb ! 
 Worse than the dirty mouldy -heels it served for." 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher,— Rule a Wife and have a Wife. 
 MotTNCH, to chew, or masticate food. 
 
 MouNGE, to grumble lowly, to whine. " What are ye mount- 
 ing 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. Mowtcn is found in Prompt. 
 Parv. with the definition oiplumeo.
 
 MUCK 45 
 
 Mow, to converse unlawfully. I believe an old word. See 
 the ancient ballad of " Bonny Dundee, or Jockey's Deli- 
 verance." 
 Mow, a distorted mouth. Fr, moue, a mouth, a wry face. 
 Mow, a stack. " The barley mow." Sax. mowc, 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. mocha, to dung — mocha 
 stallet, to throw the dung out of a stable. Widegren. — 
 Mucking, s. the clearing away of dung — the cleansing. 
 Swed. mochiing. " The muching 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. Much, however offensive to those whose affected 
 gentility recoils at every vulgar phrase, is supported by 
 the authority of several of our best and most accomplished 
 writers. 
 
 MucK-FORK, a fork for manure, used in throwing it into a 
 cart. 
 
 MucK-HACK, a fork with crooked grains to pull manure from 
 a cart and distribute it in small heaps upon the ground. 
 
 MucK-woRM, " a miser, a curmudgeon." Todd's Johnson. 
 In the North it also means, an upstart. 
 
 MucKENDER, MucKENGER, a pocket handkerchief; seemingly 
 mentioned by Arnobius, under the word mucciniwn. Fr. 
 mouchoir. Ben Jonson uses muckindcr. 
 
 MucKLE, MucKEL, much, large, great. Sc. mehyl, or meihle. 
 Sax. mid. Mces.-Got. mihils. 
 
 " He had in arms abroad won muckel fame." 
 
 Spenser,— Fairy Queen. 
 
 " As fer alle these precious presents 
 Oure Lord Kyng Jhesus 
 Was neither kyng ne conquerour 
 Til he gan to wexe 
 In the manere of a man 
 And that by muchel sleighte"— Ptcre Plowman.
 
 4G MUD 
 
 Gower and Chaucer spell it mochel. 
 
 " Wife-less he was, Florent he hight 
 
 Ho was a man of mochel might."— Goiver,—Fh)rent. 
 " And over all this, yet said he mochel more." 
 
 Chaucer,— Tlie Enlghte's Tale. 
 
 Mud, a small spike or nail used by cobblers. 
 
 Muddle, to mix confusedly. — Muddled, inebriated — not ab- 
 solutely drunk, nor entirely sober. 
 
 MuFFETTEE, a worstcd covering, or small muff for the wrist. 
 The Scotch have a kind of glove worn by old men, called 
 a muffitie, from which the term may have been borrowed. 
 
 Mug, a pot, an earthen bowl. — Mug- wife, a female dealer in 
 earthenware. "Mugs and doublers, wives !" — Ncicc. Cry. 
 
 Mugger, a hawker of pots, an itinerant vender of earthen- 
 ware. This trade is carried on to a great extent among 
 the gipsy or Faa tribes in the Northern counties. 
 
 Muggy, the white throat. Motacilla Sj/lva. Linnaeus. 
 
 Muggy Weather, damp, foggy weather. 
 
 Mull, dirt, rubbish, crumbs. Su.-Got. and Swed. mull, 
 mould, earth. Chaucer uses mullok. The fragments and 
 dust of a stack of peats, are called ijyesiX-muU ; and oaten 
 bread broken into crumbs, is called mulled bread. 
 
 Mulligrubs, bad temper, ill humour, fancied ailment — any 
 indescribable complaint. 
 
 " Whither go all these men-menders, these physicians? 
 Whose dog lies sick o' th' inulUgnibs ?" 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, — Monsieur Tliomas. 
 
 Mulls, the lips of a sheep ; or, in contemjit, of a man. 
 " Aw'U slap yor mulls." 
 
 Mummer, a person disguised under a mask, a sort of morris 
 dancer ; so called from Dan. mummc, or Dnt. momme, mum. 
 The grand scene of the antic diversion of mumming was 
 the Christmas holidays in olden times, when the masque- 
 raders 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. 854. 
 
 " Who lists may in their mumming see 
 Traces of ancient mystery ; 
 
 'A
 
 MURT 47 
 
 White shirts supplied the masquerade, 
 And smutted cheeks the visors made; 
 But, O ! what masquers, richly dight, 
 Can boast of bosoms half so light," 
 
 Scott's Marmion. 
 
 Mump, to slap — to beat about the mouth. A very low word. 
 
 The disease called the vitimps, coguate. 
 MuN, man — an expletive much used by the vulgar. 
 MuN, MuNS, the mouth. Swed. mun. Germ, immd, 
 MuN, must. " I mtm gan." Isl. mtm. Moun occurs in Wic- 
 
 lif 's New Testament. 
 
 " A fine jest, i' faith ! slid, a gentleman iniun show himself like a 
 gentleman." — Ben Jon., — Every Man in his Humour. 
 
 Munch, something to eat — a lunch. V. Todd's John, mounch. 
 
 MuNNOT, must not. " Thou munnot come." 
 
 MuRDERiNG-piE, the great ash-coloured shrike, or butcher- 
 bird. Lanius excuhitor. Linnaeus. This bird has a mur- 
 . dering propensity ; 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 atten- 
 tive observer of the habits and economy of the feathered 
 race, says he had the o})portunity of witnessing this opera- 
 tion of the shrike upon a hedge accentor, which it had just 
 killed. See Illustrations of British Ornithology, p. 141. 
 Another ornithological writer, in a very fascinating little 
 work, states that all small birds have an antipathy to the 
 shrike, betray anger, and utter the moan of danger, when 
 it approaches their nests. Journal of a Naturalist. 
 
 MuRL, to fall in pieces, to waste, to crumble. Welsh, mwrl, 
 crumbling. Dut. miillen, to crumble. — Mdrlings, crumbs. 
 
 MuRTH, aljundance ; as a murth of corn ; a murth of cold. It 
 seems identical with mort, a great quantity ; which Dr. 
 Johnson derives from Isl. morgt.
 
 48 MUSH 
 
 Mush, the dust, or dusty refuse of any dry substance, any 
 thing decayed or soft. Germ, mus, 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 quibbling between the meaning of laced mutton and lost 
 mutton. The expression " eat mutton on Friday," in Mea- 
 sure for Measure (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 hoiile— fatigued with liquor, as a "wet friend" once 
 expressed it, 
 
 My-eye, a vulgar interjectional expression of exultation or 
 amazement ; commonly associated with Betty Martin — 
 my eye and Betti/ Martin ; which Bowles, in one of his 
 pamphlets on the Pope controversy, says is from the begin- 
 ning of an old pojDular hymn, " Milii Beate Martine." 
 
 Mysell, myself. An universal corruption among the vulgar. 
 
 N. 
 Na, no. — Nat, not. Both pure Saxon. Chaucer has given 
 these and other words of the Saxon form in some of his tales 
 where he appears to have had a wish to introduce rusti- 
 city. In the Reeve's Tale he makes one of his scholars say, 
 " This lange night ther tides me no reste, 
 But yet na force, all shal be for the beste." 
 
 Mr. Tyrwhitt has some very just observations on this point 
 in the note on verse 4021 of the Canterbury Tales. 
 
 Nab, Nabb, a protuberance, an elevated point, the rocky 
 summit and outermost verge of a hill. Identical with 
 Knap ; which sec. A steep and high precipice at the con- 
 fluence of the Baulder and the Tees, in the county of Dur- 
 ham, is called the Nahb. There is also Nab-hill, in the 
 same county. 
 
 Nackey, active, clever, generally said of an old-fashioned 
 child.
 
 NAPK 49 
 
 Naf, the nave of a wheel. Swed. naf. Fr. nef. 
 
 Nag, to gnaw at any thing hard. Dan. nage. 
 
 Nag, ajJi^lied to ale, or other liquor, when it has a sour or 
 other unpleasant flavour. " It hez a nag.^'' 
 
 Naggy, irritable, contentious, disposed to quarrel. V. Todd's 
 Johnson. 
 
 Naig, a little hack-horse, not a mare — a nag. Dut. negge. 
 
 Naky-bed, Naked-bed, in ^^wm naturalibus — stark-naked. 
 Nares observes, that down to a certain i^eriod, 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. But at the present day, naked-bed, or, as 
 it is commonly pronounced, nealt-heA, means merely to 
 go to bed undressed ; not to lie down with your clothes 
 on. 
 
 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. 
 
 Nanterscase, the same as Antees ; which see. 
 
 Napkin, a pocket handkerchief. Borders of North. This 
 word is often used by Shakspeare, and by other old writers. 
 Barret, in his Alvearie, has napkin, or handkerchief, where- 
 with to wipe away the sweat, sudarium ; distinguished 
 from a table napkin, mantile. Dr. Johnson makes the 
 derivation from nap ; oddly favoured, as he says, by Vir- 
 gil, ^'^ Tonsisque ferimt mantilia villis ;" adding Ital. nape- 
 ria ; but I have not met with such a word in any diction- 
 ary. 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 lin ; ori- 
 ginally, perhaps, from Germ. Mud, a child. The transitions 
 of meaning cannot be better shown than in this word 
 pocket-handkerchief, originally cover chief, head cover. 
 Chaucer uses it coverchief. The same kind of napkin, being 
 
 VOL. II. H 
 
 f^i.-T^.y
 
 60 NAPP 
 
 borne in the hand, became handkerchief ; that applied to 
 the neck, neck-handkerchief ; 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, nappe, a 
 table cloth. 
 
 Napry. Household linen, of any kind. 
 
 "Here is to be considered to have provision made of sufficient 
 plate, napry, and all other implements of Housholde." 
 
 Note of certain points to be resolved by Sir Ralph Sadler. 
 See Sad. P., Vol. 11., p. 439. 
 
 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. 
 
 Nath, the nave of a wheel. 
 
 Nation, very, exceedingly. Equivalent to the Scotch prodi- 
 gious, 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 an- 
 other gently and quick, to make a noise like that of a 
 mouse gnawing a board, to nibble. — Nattlixg-stones, po- 
 lishing stones. 
 
 Nattley Ground, gravelly ground. 
 
 Nattrish, Nattry, ill-natured, petulant. " A nattty face." 
 Germ, natter; an adder ; as we say waspish. 
 
 Natty, neat, tidy, particular, accurate. Gothic, natid. 
 
 Naup, to beat, to strike. Isl. l-nefa. See Nevel. 
 
 Nay-say, a refusal, a denial. Holinshed uses nay, v. to re- 
 fuse. 
 
 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 per- 
 son. Probably from Fr. ncgrc, a negro.
 
 NEED 61: 
 
 Near-hand, near at hand, close to, nearly, almost. 
 
 " Quhen that the Douglas saw nerhand."—T}ie Bruce. 
 " Swa but full fewe wyth hym ar gane ; 
 He was nere hand left hym alane." — Wyntoun. 
 
 Near-tee, near to. 
 
 Neb, a point, a beak — also the nose, the mouth. Sax. nebbe, 
 rostrum, nasus. Isl. nehbi, nef. Dan. nceb, 
 
 " How she holds up the neh, the bill to him ! 
 
 Skak.,— Winter's Tale. ' 
 " Give her a buss — see how she cocks her neb." — Neioc. 
 
 Neck-about, a woman's neck-handkerchief — a necJcatee. 
 
 Neck-'vterse, a cant term formerly used by the marauders on 
 the Borders — adopted from the verse beginning the 51st 
 Psalm " Miserere mei," recited by a criminal about to be 
 executed. 
 
 Ned-cake. See Knedde-cake. 
 
 Nedder, s. an adder. So pronounced in Northumberland, 
 and for which we have the authority of our elder writers. 
 In Gothic it is nader. Sax. ncBclre (which in English is 
 neathy nether, low), applied to the whole class of serpents. 
 " Bute hyt tho more wonder be 
 
 Selde we schal in the lend eny foule wormes se 
 For iiedres ny other wormes ne mow ther be nogt." 
 
 R. Gloucester. 
 " Ech a word that he warpe 
 
 Was of a ncdilrcs tongue."— Piers Ploioman. 
 " Like to the nedder in bosom slie untrue." 
 
 Chaucer, — 'Die Merchant's Tale. 
 
 Need-fire, an ignition produced by the violent friction of 
 two pieces of dry 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 superstitiously used in avert- 
 ing the disease from cattle infected with the murrain. 
 They were formerly driven through the smoke made by 
 straw, ignited by the " need-fire." It was then thought 
 wicked to neglect smoking them. Sax. n^d, force, and^r, 
 fire ; that is, forced fire.
 
 62 NEED 
 
 Needler, a keen, active, thrifty person — a niggard. 
 Neer-dee-weel, Ne'er-do-weel, a graceless person — one 
 who seems never to do loell. 
 
 " That poor silly Jeezabel, our Queen Mary, married the lang- 
 legged ne'er-do-iveel, 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 sneeze. Sax. neisan. Germ, niesen. 
 
 Neest, Niest, Nest, next. Sax. nehst. 
 
 Neet, the Northern word for night. " Good neet, hinny." 
 
 Neir, a kidney. See Ear, under which it is improperly 
 placed. 
 
 Nenst, Nents, towards, against. " The cash was paid nenst 
 his year's rent." 
 
 Nerled, ill-treated, pinched : often applied to a person under 
 unnatural conduct of a step-mother. Germ, knurren, to 
 snarl ; or knorren, a knot in wood — cross-grained. 
 
 Nestling, the smallest bird in the nest, the weakest of the 
 brood. Sax. nestling. In the southern counties, wreck- 
 ling, or reckling. Something like the Dowpt. 
 
 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 tmder stocks. 
 
 " Ere I lead this life long, I'll sew nether-stocks, and mend them." 
 
 Shak.— 1st. Hen. IV., Act II., Sc. 4 
 " When a man is over lusty at legs, then he wears wooden nether- 
 stocks." — Ih. — K. Lear, Act II., Sc. 4. 
 
 Nettled, provoked, irritated — as if stung by a nettle. To 
 water a nettle, in a peculiar way, has been said pro- 
 verbially to cause peevish and fretful humour in the
 
 NICK 63 
 
 party doing it. See the proverb in homely English, in 
 
 Howell. 
 Neuck, Nuik, a corner, or nook. Gael. niuc. Sc. nenk. 
 Neucle-cow, Neucled-cow, Newkeld-cow, a cow which has 
 
 had a calf within the year. 
 
 Nevel, to beat violently with the fists, or neioes. See Neif. 
 
 " She'l nawpe and nevel them without a cause, 
 She'l macke them late their teeth naunt in their hawse." 
 Yorkshire Dialogue, p. 68. 
 
 Nevy, nephew. 
 
 Newcastle Cloak, a large barrel, formerly used in Newcas- 
 tle as a punishment inflicted on drunkards and other dis- 
 turbers of the public peace. One end of it was taken out, 
 and a hole being made in the middle of the other, to admit 
 of the head of the person appearing through it, by which 
 contrivance the vessel was borne upon his shoulders. 
 
 Newcastle Hospitality, roasting your friend to death. 
 
 Newcastle Salmon, a name given in the London market to 
 fish caught in the Tweed, and the rivers in the North of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Ni ! Ni ! a common exclamation in Newcastle. It seems to 
 be a diminutive of 7iice, nice; as spoken by children. " Ni! 
 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 stratagen, to deceive. — Nick, s. a wink. 
 Germ, nicken, to wink — to tiji the wink. 
 
 Nick, the perpendicular groove made in the sides of a " jud," 
 which, with the " kerve," completes it ready for blasting. 
 See Kerve. 
 
 Nick-stick, a tally, or notched stick, by which accounts are 
 kept after the ancient method. This simple mode of 
 reckoning seem to have been the only one known to the 
 Northern nations. Olaus Wormius gives us a representa- 
 tion of the tallies 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 vaca-
 
 64 NICK 
 
 tion, from which with delight they cut daily one nick, up 
 to the " very nick of time" for duke domum. When a 
 married female, in a certain interesting situation, exceeds 
 her calculation, she is said, among the vulgar, to have hst 
 her nick-stick. 
 
 Nicker, to neigh, to laugh in a loud ridiculous manner. 
 Sax. gnccgan. Sc. neicher. " What are you nickering at ?" 
 
 Nicker and Sneer, a loud vulgar laugh — apparently bor- 
 rowed from the neighing and snorting of a horse. 
 
 Niddered, starved with cold, hungered. V. Jamieson. 
 
 NiDY-coRN, weak, unproductive corn. 
 
 NiEF, the fist. Isl. k7iefi. Su.-Got. kncefce. Dan. nceve. 
 Swed. oiafve. A good old Shaksperian word. Archdeacon 
 Nares' display of authorities was unnecessary ; the word 
 being still in general use in all the Northern counties. — 
 DotTBLE-NiEF, the clenchcd fist. 
 
 " Give me your nief, Monsieur Mustard-seed." 
 
 Shak. — Mid. Sum. Night's Dream, Act IV., Sc. 1. 
 
 NiEF-Fu', a handful. Swed. en nafve full. 
 
 NiFF-NAFFS, trifles, things of little value. Germ, nichts, no- 
 thing, and nachst, next — next to nothing. Hence, nick- 
 nacks, trifles. 
 
 NiFFY-NAFFT, a term for an insignificant or conceited person 
 — one whose attention is chiefly devoted to trifles. 
 
 NiFFLE, to steal, to plunder. Perhaps, by a metathesis from 
 rifle. More j^robably, a late ingenious friend thought, 
 from neif, to lay hands on. Shakspeare makes a verb of 
 fist, to seize. 
 
 NiFLE, a trifle, a thing of no value. Old French. 
 
 NiGGLER, one who is clever and dexterous. 
 
 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,
 
 NOR 55 
 
 to steal privately. In the latter sense the word may be 
 
 derived from Sax. niman, to take. Germ, nchmcn, 
 NiNE-TRADESj nine trading comjDanies in Newcastle — three of 
 
 wood — three of thread — and three of leather. " The 
 
 meeting of the nine trades." V. Letters of Tim. Timbelly, 
 
 p. 77. 
 Nip, a sudden denudation, or nipping out of a coal seam, 
 
 caused by the roof and the thill coming together. 
 Nip-cheese, a contemptuous designation for a parsimonious, 
 
 covetous person. — Nip-screed is identical. 
 Nip-up, to wij)e up, to move quickly, to pilfer. Swed. 
 
 knipa, to pinch, to squeeze. 
 Nipping, pinching ; such as is produced by frost or cold. 
 
 " It is a nippino aud an eager air." — Shak., — Hamlet. 
 NiTHixG, much valuing, sparing of ; as, ???'?/^Miy of his pains. 
 
 Ray. Probably from Germ, neiden, to grudge. 
 NiTLE, Nittle, handy, neat, handsome. Sax. nytlic, utilis. 
 Nob, the head. Used ludicrously. It is the same word as 
 
 knoh, any round protuberance. An officer, whose duty it 
 
 is to coerce unruly children in church during the time of 
 
 divine service, is, in some jjlaces, called the hnochiohher ; 
 
 that is the man who strikes the head. 
 NoBBUT, only — a compound of hut and the negation not. 
 
 Nohbut let me go." See Tooke's definition of but, Vol. I., 
 
 p. 202 & seq. 
 NoDGE, or Nudge, to push, to jog. Teut. hiiidsen, to knock. 
 No-FAE, near — not far. A common North country phrase. 
 Noodle, a fool. Sax. nih dol, nearly stupid. Germ, oiudel, 
 
 a dumjiling, as if his head were nothing better. We say, 
 
 "pudding headed." The term is often used in Newcastle 
 
 — sometimes ungallantly. V. Mackenzie's Hist, of New., 
 
 p. 84. 
 Nooled, checked, curbed, broken spirited. Properly nulled, 
 
 for annulled or nullified. Lat. nullus. 
 NoPER, a l)ig one. A large hare is said to be a noper, — Dur. 
 Nor, for than. Gael. na. This transposition — so common
 
 66 NORA 
 
 among the vnlgar — ia occasionally used hj people in New- 
 castle, in a sphere beyond the " mere ignoble," and is au- 
 thorised by ancient examples. 
 
 " God wald steir up ma Bodwellis 7ior ane, that wes enimies to him 
 
 nor Bod well." — Diary of Robert Birrel. 
 " Sparing the lives of witches is no less a sin in the magistrate, nor 
 
 it was in Saul sparing Agag." — King James' Dcemonology. 
 
 NoHATioN, a narrative, a speech — a corruption of oration. 
 
 " But aw whupt maw foot on his noratlon." 
 
 Song, — Canny Neweatsel. 
 
 NoRRiD, northward. " Several Greenlandmen passed nor- 
 ridr 
 
 NoRWART, northward, 
 
 NosE-ON-THE-GRiNDSTONE, a simUe for the fate of an improvi- 
 dent jjerson. See an illustration in Bewick's -^sop, p. 
 128. Mr. Hunter informs me, that in Hallamshire nose to 
 tJie grindstone is differently used ; being said of those who 
 are deeply humbled by adversity. 
 
 NosE-wisE, jjryingly acute. Germ, nase-weis, self-witted, 
 presumptuous, inquisitive. Dan. okesvUs, impertinent, inso- 
 lent. Swed. ndsvis, saucy, pert. 
 
 Note, to jjush or strike — to gore with the horns, as a bull or 
 or ram. Isl. hniota, ferire. Sax. hnitan. V. Somner. 
 
 NoTTAMT, a meagre person — a skeleton. Shakspeare's host- 
 ess, among many other strange words, uses atomy, in the 
 former sense. 
 
 NoucE, purport, intent, design, occasion. Erroneously stated 
 in Todd's Johnson to be not now in use. 
 
 NouT, or NoLT, neat, or horned cattle of the ox species. Isl. 
 naut, bos. Dan. nod. Old Eng. nowt. The nolt market 
 is the ancient name of a street in Newcastle — the cattle 
 market. — Nout-feet, cow heel. — Noutherd, a neatherd. 
 
 " It is Weill kend I had baith nolt and hors 
 Now all my gier ye se upon my cors." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Nout-geld, or Neat-geld, cornage rent, originally paid in
 
 NUT-C 67 
 
 cattle — a horn tax. " Cornage seems to have been pecu- 
 liar to the Border 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 defiles of the country, had the honour 
 of marching in the vanguard, when the king's army passed 
 into Scotland." Nicolson and Burn's Hist, of West, and 
 Cumb., Vol, I., p. IG. This species of cornage is different 
 from that mentioned in Littleton's Tenures, chap. Grand 
 Serjeantry. Sir Edward Coke, it would seem, too, misun- 
 derstood its nature. In the Chancellor's Rolls of 3d John, 
 payments occur by persons who held in cornage, both in 
 Cumberland and Westmorland. They did not pay by the 
 knight's fees, but compounded for the quantity of land 
 which they held. 
 
 NouTH, the north. — Noutherly, northerly. 
 
 NouTHER, NowTHER, neither. Sax. nouther, nowther, neque. 
 
 " Ze, of this sang, schir, we are fane 
 
 We sail nothcr spair wind nor rain 
 
 Till our dayis wark be done." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 NowsE, nothing. Sax. 7iaht, nihil. Germ, nichts. 
 
 " As to that pedant, Mr. Hall, 
 By Jove — I'll give him noivse at all." 
 
 Tlie Vicar's Will. 
 
 NoY, to vex, to trouble — to annoy. Not now in use. Dr. 
 Johnson says. As a Northern word it is quite common. 
 
 NuENTY, NuNTY, mcau, shabby, scrimp, scanty. 
 
 NuT-CRACK-NiGHT, All Hallows' Eve. 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 
 quantities. 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 
 
 VOL. 11. I
 
 58 NUTM 
 
 is said to prognosticate a happy marriage, or at least a 
 hopeful love ; 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. Hee 
 Burns' inimitable 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 still 
 form a portion of the popular creed in the North of Eng- 
 land. 
 
 NuTMUG, a nutmeg. Our old word was notemiige. 
 
 Nuts, coals that have passed through a half or three-quarter 
 inch screen. 
 
 N'yem, name. " Aw diwent ken his v^t/em." — Broad Newc. 
 
 O. 
 
 O. This letter is often used for a, in our Northern pronun- 
 ciation, particularly in the neighbourhood of Hexham ; as 
 mo7i, for man ; hond, for hand ; low, for law, &c. 
 
 Oaf, a fool, a blockhead, an idiot. V. Todd's John, and 
 Wilb. 
 
 Oast, curd for cheese. 
 
 Oast, v. n. used with at, to frequen t an inn ; as, " he oasts at 
 the Half-moon." 
 
 Oasthouse, or Hosthouse, a public house or place to which 
 farmers or strangers resort on a market day. Sax. gest- 
 hus. V. Somner. 
 
 Obstropolous, vociferous, turbulent obstreperous. This 
 
 word occurs in Benwell Village, a local burlesque poem, of 
 some rarity. 
 
 " Cease such obstrojyioiis roar." 
 
 Oddments, scraps, things of little value, odd trifles. 
 Odds-bobs, a vulgar exclamation of surprise, originating in 
 
 the avoiding of an oath, or the softening down of a solemn 
 
 asseveration. 
 Odds-heft, a common palliative adjuration. 
 Odd-white-te, an equivocal malediction very frequent in the
 
 OLD-P 59 
 
 North. It may be remarked, as a trait of manners, that 
 the common people are much in the habit of using tem- 
 pered oaths or asseverations as substitutes for others of a 
 more gross sort. 
 
 Offens, Oftens, the plural of often — a very common provin- 
 cial i^eculiarity. There is, throughout the North, a simi- 
 lar jjeculiarity in the use of the word objection, which, for 
 all ordinary purposes, good usage confines to the singular, 
 while the common people on every occasion say, they have 
 " no objections". — Oftish, Oftenish, very often. 
 
 Off-handed, all workmen about a coal-pit are said to be off- 
 handed who are not engaged in the business of hewing and 
 putting the coal. 
 
 Off-take, the deduction made from the fortnight's earnings 
 of a pitman, for fines, &c. 
 
 Old, great, pre-eminent — such as was practised in the " olden 
 time." — Old-doixgs, great sport, extra feasting — an un- 
 common display of hospitality, as in days of yore. 
 
 Old-bexdt, one of the many ludicrous names given to the 
 Devil — possibly from his supposed circuitous mode of pro- 
 ceeding. Another of his popular names is Au'd-hooky — 
 of application 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 synouymes 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 Nicken, a deity of the waters, 
 represented as of a hideous shape, and of diabolical princi- 
 ples ; from which, no doubt, the term auld-nick has been 
 derived. 
 
 Old-peg, or more frequently, Au'd-peg, or Auld-peg, an in- 
 ferior 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 Lard to hii^."— Farmer's Boy.
 
 60 OLD-H 
 
 Old-horse-shoe. If found })y one of the family, and nailed 
 against the door, it is still believed to be a preservative 
 against witchcraft and bogles. 
 
 Old-shoe. The ancient custom of throwing an old shoe after 
 a person as an appearance of good luck ; it is not yet dis- 
 used in the North. In the case of marriages, it is often 
 practised ; even among some of the great. See on this sub- 
 ject, Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. II., p. 490 ; and Nares' 
 Gloss. 
 
 Old-trot, an old woman, a gossip. Used by Shakspeare. 
 
 Omy, mellow ; generally sjioken of land. V. Jam. oam. 
 
 On-come, a fall of rain or snow. 
 
 Ongoings, conduct, doings, merriment — goings on. 
 
 Ont, any, the old form of the word. — Ony-bit-like, toler- 
 able, decent, likely. — Ony-way-for-a-little-apple, easily 
 persuaded — probably from the credulity of mother E\-e. 
 
 Onset, a dwelling-house and out-buildings. Sax. on-sittung, 
 habitatio : unde onset apud Northymbros, teste Nicholsono, 
 mansum, toftum, tugurium, significans. Lye. 
 
 Onsetten, dwarfish, curbed in growth — applied as a term of 
 derision. Teut. ont-setten, male tlisponere. 
 
 Onsetter, the person who attaches the corf to the pit-rope 
 at the bottom of the shaft. 
 
 Onstead, the buildings on a farm — a station or stay near the 
 house for cattle or stacks. Sax. on, and sted, locus. 
 
 Oo, often pronounced ui ; as book — huih ; look — luik ; &c. 
 Dur. and North. In York, it is made into a sort of dis- 
 syllable by adding 2 y thus, fool, /oo-zYy school — schoo-il ; 
 &c. 
 
 OoL, OwL, wool. Had the learned author of the Commenta- 
 ries on the Laws of England been acquainted with this 
 pronunciation, he need not have gone so far to seek the 
 meaning of what he calls owling. V. Blackstone, Vol. 
 IV., p. 154. This word is also pronounced oo, rhyming 
 with do, 
 
 Oolers, runners and smugglers of wool.
 
 OUTI 61 
 
 Or, e're, before, preceding this time. 
 
 " Clere was the day, as I have told or this." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Kniffhte's Tale. 
 
 Orndorns, " afternoons drinkings, corrupted from onederi7is." 
 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 com- 
 municated to my friend, a native of Cumberland, I find 
 orndinner, for afternoon's luncheon. This seems allied to 
 Down-dinner, which see. 
 
 OsKEN, an oxgang of land — varying in quantity in different 
 townships, according to the extent of ground, and the num- 
 ber of oxgangs contained in the resj)ective aggregates. In 
 our old laws it meant as much as an ox-team could plough 
 in a year. 
 
 Othergaits, Othergates, otherwise, different. Goth, odru- 
 gatas. 
 
 " If Sir Toby had not been in drink, he would have tickled you 
 othergates than he did." — Shak., — Twelfth Xiffht. 
 
 Othir-sum, some others. 
 
 " For sum wald haiff the Balleoll king 
 For he wes cummyn oft" the offspryng 
 Of hyr that eldyst syster was. 
 And othir sum nyt all that cass." — The Bruce. 
 
 OuMER, the shade. Fr. ombre. Lat. umbra. 
 
 Ousen, or OwsEN, oxen. Mce.-Got. auhsne. Sc. ousen. 
 
 " He has gowd in his cofters, he has ousen and kine, 
 And ae bonie lassie, his darling and mine." — Bums. 
 
 OuT-BY, a short way from home, not far distant. 
 
 Outcry, a sale by public auction. The old Roman way of 
 selling by auction, was by setting up a spear, from whence 
 the phrase, sub hasta vendere. 
 
 OuT-FALL, a quarrel, a misunderstanding — a falling-out. 
 Swed. utfall, a hostUe excursion. 
 
 Outing, an airing, going from home. Swed. uttaeg, an expe- 
 dition abroad. The word is also used for an entertainment
 
 62 OUTL 
 
 or supper given by an apprentice to his shopmates, on the 
 expiration of his servitude ; called likewise 2ifoi/. 
 Outlay, expenditure. Dr. Jamieson refers to Swed. utlagga, 
 to exjiend ; 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 
 
 persons, outlier is classical. 
 OuTRAKE, a term used by shepherds to signify a free passage 
 for sheep from inclosed pastures into open grounds or com- 
 mon lands. Sax. ut-rcecan, extendere. Dr. Willan thinks 
 that, in writing the word out-tracJc, we should perhaps ex- 
 hibit the right mode of spelling, as well as the derivation 
 of it, but he is clearly wrong ; to rake or rake out is a verb 
 in common use. 
 
 " I have now in Lough-liven been 
 
 The most part of these years three, 
 Yett have I never had no out-rake, 
 Ne no good games that I cold see." 
 
 Ballad of Northumberland betrayed by Dottglas. 
 
 OuTRAKE, the inclosure surrounding a pigaree. 
 
 OuTSHOT, a projection of the upj^er stories of an old house. 
 
 There used to be several of these outshots in Newcastle, 
 
 though few now remain. Swed. utsHutande. — Outshot- 
 
 wiNDOw, a bow, or projecting window. See Shot-wixdow. 
 
 OuTWALE, refuse — that which is waled out, or rejected. See 
 
 Wale. Isl. utvel, eligere, seems cognate. 
 Owe, to belong to — to own. " Whose owe that 1" — to whom 
 ■ does it belong I Who does own it ? 
 
 " Quanne that was sworn on this wise 
 The king dede the niayden arise 
 And the erl hire betaucte 
 And al the lond he ever aicete." — Havelok. 
 " But. I no longer can give way 
 To hope which doth so little pay ; 
 And yet I dare no freedom oice. 
 Whilst you are kind though but in shew." 
 
 Sidney Godolphin. 
 OwER, over. " Oicer little." — Ower, too. " Ower large." — 
 OwER-TANE, overtaken. Also, as applied to situation,
 
 OYST 63 
 
 upper, higher. — Out-ower, across, beyond, or, on the other 
 side of a hill. — Ower-by, over the way. — Owerfornenst, 
 opposite to. — Ower-greet, too familiar ; generally in a 
 bad sense. — Dur. and North. 
 
 " And thai that folowit thaim has slane 
 Sum of thaim that thai haf ourtane." — The Bruce. 
 
 OwER-iT, Over-it, v. to recover from an illness. " Poor 
 thing, I'm sadly afraid she'll never ower itP 
 
 OwER-MAN, an overseer. 
 
 Owermickle, Overmickle, over much. Sax. ofer-micel, 
 
 OwERWELT, applied to a sheep incapable of rising from its 
 supine state. — York. It seems synonymous with Au- 
 WARDS ; which see. 
 
 Owerword, a word frequently repeated in discourse ; the 
 burthen of a tale. 
 
 OwsE, any thing ; the contrary to Nowse. " Owse or 
 nowse." 
 
 OwT, Ought, any thing. Sax. owhit, aliquid, quicquid. 
 
 OwTHER, either. An old word. " Owther of us." 
 
 Ox-eye, the greater titmouse. Parus major. — Linnseus. 
 
 OxLiP, the greater cowslip ; one of the earliest flowers of 
 spring. Primula elatior. Sax. oxan-slippa. In the Mid- 
 summer's Night's Dream, the place of Titania's repose is 
 
 " A bank whereon the wild thyme blows, 
 Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows." 
 
 OxTAR, Oxter, the arm-hole or 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-oysters, 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.
 
 64 PAAP 
 
 P. 
 Paap, a pap, a teat ; also a projection from the roof of a 
 
 house. 
 Pack, s. the portable warehouse of a pedlar. " Perish the 
 
 Pack," was a well-known character in Newcastle, a few 
 
 years ago. 
 Pack, v. to go in company with, to congregate for an evil 
 
 purpose. Both Pope and Stevens have mistaken the 
 
 meaning of the word. 
 Pack, tame, docile. " That colt is \erj pad." — Durh. 
 Packing-pennt-day, the last of the fair ; when all the cheap 
 
 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 digni- 
 
 tate, are lineally descended from packmen — of whose coun- 
 try we know nothing — through no very remote genealogy. 
 
 Many of the Scots pedlars, too, have arrived at the highest 
 
 civic honours. 
 Paddick, or Paddock, a frog. Never applied to a toad ; 
 
 though the etymology favours that meaning. Sax. pad. 
 
 Swed. pada. Dut. padde, a toad. 
 
 " Paddockes, todes, and water-snakes." 
 
 Chapman — Caesar and Pompey. 
 
 " As ask, or eddyre, tade, or pade." 
 
 Wyntoivnis Cronykil. 
 
 Paddock, a small field or park adjoining to, or surrounding a 
 house. Sax. pearroc, pearruc. In Westmorland, parruck, 
 evidently the proper word, is a common name for an inclo- 
 sure near a farm house. So in Northumberland, parrick 
 is still used for a place made with rails and straw, to shel- 
 ter lambs in bad weather. 
 
 Paddock-stool, or Paddock-stuil, a fungus often mistaken 
 for a mushroom. Teut. padden-stoel, boletus. It is also 
 frequently called a toad-stool. 
 
 Pad-the-hoof, to walk — to pad, or travel on foot.
 
 PANC 65 
 
 Paffling, silly, trifling, loitering. " A paffling fellow." 
 Paik, to beat, to chastise. Germ, pauken. — Pairs, a beat- 
 ing, a drubbing, a chastisement. V. Jam. and Peg infra. 
 
 " He turnit and gaif them bayth iheir paikis." 
 
 Christ Kirk on tlie Green. 
 
 Painches, the common name for tripe. From paunch. — 
 Painch-wife, a tripe woman. — Newc. 
 
 Paitrich, a partridge. Welsh, pertris. There is an act of 
 Q,ueen Mary in Skene's Collection, " anentis stealing 
 halkes, howndes, pertriches, dukes," &c. 
 
 Palms, the flowers or buds of the sallow, one of the willow 
 tribe. See Saugh. 
 
 Pammer, the same as Poomer ; which see. 
 
 Palterley, a common vulgar pronunciation 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. ^^icm, a piece of cloth 
 inserted or agreeing with another. But see Todd's John. 
 pan; and Kennett's Gloss, impanalere. In Hallamshixe, 
 to pan to, is to apply closely. 
 
 Pancake-Tuesday ; Shrove Tuesday ; on which day it is a 
 general 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. Taylor, the Water Poet, who wrote in the 
 beginning of the I7th century, gives us a singular account 
 of the pancake-hell : — 
 " Shrove Tuesday, at whose entrance in the morning all the whole 
 kingdom is unquiet, but by that time the clocke strikes eleven, 
 which (by the help of a knavish sexton) is commonly before nine, 
 then there is a bell rung, called pancake-bell, the sound whereof 
 makes thousands of people distracted and forgetful either of 
 manners or humanity," — ^f'orks, p. 115. 
 VOL. II. K
 
 C6 PANG 
 
 Pang, to fill, to stuff. Tuet. banghen, premere. — Pang-pull, 
 or Bang-full {p and h being often interchanged), crammed 
 with food. 
 
 Pant, a public fountain. In Newcastle there are several. 
 The water issues from a spout into a basin, in the same 
 manner as in the more elegant fountains in continental 
 towns. According to Skinner, pond was anciently pro- 
 nounced pand, which may with great probability be derived 
 from Sax. pyndan, to inclose or shut up, and which might 
 easily get changed to pant. See a representation of a 
 North country pant, in Bewick's ^sop, p. 834. See also 
 Penny Magazine for 1836, p. 404. In the market place at 
 Durham is a pant built of stone, on an octangular plan, 
 surmounted by a statue of Neptune. It is said that the 
 water was first conveyed to this place in 1451. 
 
 Pap of the Hass, the uvula. See Hause. 
 
 Pannage, the feeding of swine upon acorns and mast in a 
 wood, or money paid to the owner of the wood for permis- 
 sion so to do. 
 
 Parage, kindred rank, high lineage. Old Fr. 
 
 Parcy-and, or And-parcy, the sign or contraction S^. 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 — "^, y, z, and parcy" 
 
 Parfit, perfect, entire. Yx. parfait 
 
 " He never yet no vilanie ne sayde 
 In all his lif, unto no manerc wight. 
 He was a veTa,y parfit gentil knight." 
 
 Cltaucer, — The Prologti^e. 
 
 Parfitly, perfectly. 
 
 " He spoke to hem that wold live parfitly." 
 
 Chancer, — 2?ie IVi/e of Bathe's Prologue. 
 
 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 a surname in 
 the midland counties. 
 
 A 
 
 A-f^
 
 PAUL 67 
 
 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. 
 
 Part, some. "He has part money." 
 
 Parrished, perished, starved, much affected by cold. — Par- 
 RiSHMENT, a state of starvation. " A parrishment o' caud." 
 Pase, or Paze, v. to raise, to lift up, to break or open with 
 violence. Fr. peser^ to weigh. — Pase, or Paze, s. a lever. 
 — See Prize. 
 Pash, v. to bruise, to crush, to dash in pieces. Su.-Got. 
 hasa. This old word occurs in a sublime passage in the 
 first of our English satirists — 
 
 " Deeth cam drevynge after, 
 And al to Ansie passhed 
 Kynges and knyghtes, 
 Kuysers and popea : 
 Lered annd lewede, 
 He leete no man stonde 
 That he hitte evene 
 That evere stired after." — Peirs Plowman. 
 
 Pash, s. any thing decayed. Properly, rotten straw. " As 
 rotten as pash." 
 
 Pash, a heavy fall of rain or snow. Dut. plas, puddle ! 
 
 Paste-eggs, eggs boiled hard, and dyed or stained various 
 colours — given to children about the time of Easter ; an- 
 ciently called pasch, from Sax. pasche. The custom of pre- 
 senting eggs at this season of the year is of great antiquity, 
 and pervaded various nations. Su.-Got. posh-egg. V. 
 Ihre, vo. egg. Dan. p)aas'ke-(Bg , coloured eggs. Much cu- 
 rious matter relative to this subject is collected in Brand's 
 Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., Easter-eggs. 
 
 Paste-egg-DAT, the common appellation of Easter Sunday. 
 
 Pate, a Northern name for a brock or badger. V. Ray. 
 
 Pauky, saucy, squeamish, scrupulously nice — also proud, in- 
 solent, cunning, artful. Q. Sax. pceca^i. mentiri. 
 
 Paul, or Pall, to puzzle, to put to a stand. Perhaps from 
 appal.
 
 68 PAUT 
 
 Paut, v. to walk heavily, or in an awkward clumsy manner, 
 to paw, to kick. — Paut, 6-. a stroke on the ground with the 
 foot. Teut. pad, jilanta pedis. 
 
 Paut, s. the foot — particularly a large, clumsy one. 
 
 Pay, to beat, to drub. " The rascal pays his wife." Welsh, 
 pim/aw, to beat, to batter. Pays, a beating, a drubbing. 
 
 " And he tauld how a carle him maid 
 With a chib sic felloun pay." — The Bruce. 
 " Two, I am sure, I have paid." 
 
 Shak., — First Part of King Henry IV. 
 
 Pea-jacket, a loose rough jacket, or short covering, with 
 conical buttons of a small size, termed j^ea-buttons ; mucb 
 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 consola- 
 tion, rubbed with j^ea-straw by the neighbouring lads ; and 
 when a Cumbrian youth loses his sweetheart, by her mar- 
 riage 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 swaicp. See Swad. 
 Gay describes a rustic method of love di\'ination with 
 peascods. 
 
 Pedder, Pether, Pethur, a pedlar — (by the courtesy of 
 Scotland) a travelling merchant on foot — ^he that paddeth . 
 See Tooke on path. Fr. pied aller, to go on foot. 
 
 Pee, to squint, to spy with one eye. There is a ludicrous 
 anecdote 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 the charge of the 
 rudder. In other respects, something similar to the cabin- 
 boy of a ship. Gr. 5T«(do<, has been communicated to the
 
 PEEL 69 
 
 author as the derivatiou ; and Fr. petit, has been suggested 
 as allied. But there is an old French word pedisseque, 
 defined by Roquefort, " valet, laquais qui va k pied," 
 which seems to be the most probable etymon. Cole has 
 pedee, a (commander's) foot boy. The boys who walk by ^ 
 the side of the High Sheriff's carriage, during the assizes, 
 are properly pee-dees. 
 Peel, or Peel-house, a fortalice, almost peculiar to the Bor- 
 ders. Sax. pil, moles. Lat. pela, pehim, a pile or fortress. 
 The incessant warfare, which prevailed till a recent period, 
 rendered it necessary for persons in every rank of life to take 
 measures, by means of these Peel-houses, for their security. 
 These petty fortresses usually consisted of a square tower, 
 of two or three stories, with walls of great thickness ; the 
 chamber on the ground floor vaulted with stone, and the 
 entrance thoroughly barricaded with an iron grated door, 
 was used to secure the cattle at night, while the family oc- 
 cupied the ill-lighted apartments above, the ascent to which 
 was by an exterior stone stair, where they were often obli- 
 ged to shut themselves up for days together. The late pe- 
 riod at which some of these Peel-houses were built, indicates 
 the slow progress of civilization and refinement among 
 the Border clans, with which the country was infested. 
 — These marauders, composed principally of the outlaws 
 of both nations ; and inhabiting the fastnesses of bogs and 
 mountains, they sallied out and plundered in all directions. 
 These strongholds, of various sizes, from the single room 
 below and one above, to the square and massy tower 
 possessing all the character of a castle, except its inner 
 court, were not confined to mere lay proprietors. In a 
 list of Northumberland fortresses, taken during the minority 
 of King Henry VI., several fortified parsonages are enu- 
 merated among the fortalicia, or lowest order of castalets. 
 Indeed, it was not uncommon in the North to use the 
 church towers for defensive purposes, and relics of old ar- 
 mour are yet preserved in some of them. After the
 
 70 PEEL 
 
 union of the Crowns, many of these Peels had modern 
 mansions added to them, and the old towers were gradu- 
 ally suffered to fall into decay. 
 
 " Invidious rust corrodes the bloody steel; 
 Dark and dismantled lies each ancient /»c«i ,■ 
 Afar, at twilight gray, the peasants shun, 
 The 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 Continent 
 at a very early period. They are described by Caesar as 
 the fortresses of the Britons. Robert de Brunne tells us 
 that Richard constructed one in his wars against the 
 Saladin — 
 
 " The romance it sais Richarde did make a pele 
 On kastelle-wise allwais wrought of tre ful wele." 
 
 Cfironicle, p. 157. 
 
 " And at Lythkow westhen apeU 
 Mekill and stark, and stuflyt wele 
 With Inglis men." — The Bruce. 
 
 Chaucer uses the word to describe the Palace or " House 
 of Fame." 
 
 " But Lord ! so faire it was to shewe. 
 For it was all with golde bedewe'; 
 But in I went, ana that anone 
 There met I crying many one 
 ' A larges, larges, hold up well, 
 God save the Lady of this pell. 
 Our owne gentill Ladie Fame."'— iJoo^iii., I. 220. 
 
 Peelers, two or more proposals for a farm, contract, tStC, 
 being alike, are peelers. 
 
 Peeling, a paring. " An apple peeling''' — " A potato peel- 
 ing r 
 
 Peenging, uttering feeble, frequent, and somewhat peevish 
 complaints. " A peenging hairn" — a whining, fretful child. 
 Tout, pynighen, aifligere. 
 
 Pee-wit, Peez-aveep, the lapwing, or bastard plover ; so
 
 PENN 71 
 
 called from the well-known unremitting querulous cry of 
 the bird. Tringa vmiellus. 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 ex- 
 change took place between the two birds, and that at the 
 present day they respectively sing out their feelings upon 
 the subject. A local rhyme will have it that the pee-wit 
 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, cold, wet, bad land, which the pee-wit gener- 
 ally 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 little children. There is a peg-top 
 (a toy used by boys) that spins on a foot resembling a 
 tooth. 
 
 Peg, to work. "YLq pegged hard at it," is a common say- 
 ing. 
 
 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. picha, to pant. 
 
 Pelch, weak, faint, indisposed, exhausted. 
 
 Pen, the old, though now vulgar, name for a feather. Old 
 Fr. penn". 
 
 Penning, putting down stones in order. An old word still 
 in use.
 
 72 PENN 
 
 Penny-stane, a stone quoit with which children play. 
 
 Perith, the ancient, and still the vulgar, name of Penrith. 
 
 Perry, a heavy shower of rain — a pour or stream. 
 
 Pet, a domesticated lamb — a spoiled, pampered child — a 
 fondling 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. pceth, semita, callis. Se- 
 veral places in Northumberland and Durham have this 
 appellation. 
 
 " Bot betuixt thaim and it thar wass 
 A craggy bra, strekyt weill lang 
 And a greipeth up for to gang." — The Bruce. 
 
 Peust, snug, comfortable, in easy circumstances. Sc. ptiist. 
 
 Phrase, wonder. " What need ye make sic a phrase about 
 it?" 
 
 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 
 concerning the character of the omen : 
 
 " One is sorrow, two mirth, 
 Three a wedding, four a birth." 
 
 Pick, v. to pitch, to throw. Su.-Got. picla, minutis ictibus 
 tundere. 
 
 " I'd make a quarry 
 
 With thousands of these quarter'd slaves, as high 
 As I could pick my lance." — Shak., — Coriolamis. 
 
 Pick, s. pitch. Sax. pic. Dut. pil: " Pt/TcTce, pix." 
 Prompt. Parv. From .an old entry in Darlington parish 
 books, it appears that " Bess Johnson used a pound oipich 
 in effecting a cure of Ann Spence's scald head." 
 
 " And pyk and ter als haiff thai tane. 
 And lynt, and herdis, and brynstane." -37ie Bnice.
 
 PIGE 73 
 
 Pick, the best, the choice. Belg. piiyk, choice. 
 
 PicKATREE, the woodpecker. This sprightly bird is remark- 
 able for its curious dwelling, picked in the solid tree, with 
 the most consummate art. 
 
 " Their hard tongue, armed with solid, corneous papillae, is a very 
 proper weapon for seizing the insects, and more especially the 
 soft larvae which these birds seek under the bark. . . . The 
 woodpeckers are continually occupied in hollowing trees ; into 
 the holes of these they retire during the night, and also when 
 they lay their eggs, which the female deposits there without any 
 nest." — Cuvier. 
 
 Pick-fork, a hay-fork with two prongs — 2i pitch-fork. 
 Pickle, a small quantity, a little. Ital. piccolo. 
 
 " O gin my love were & pickle of wheat. 
 And growing upon yon lily lee." 
 
 Border Minstrelsy. 
 
 Pick- NIGHT, dismal — as dark as pick, or pitch. 
 
 " Then aw met yor Ben, an' we were like to fight ; 
 An" when we cam to Sandgate it v!a.a jHck-niglit." 
 
 Song,— Maw Canny Ilinny. 
 
 Shakspeare and later writers use pitchy, in the same sense. 
 
 Picks, an ancient term, still in use among the vulgar, for the 
 suit of diamonds at cards. Grose erroneously says spades ; 
 which, I believe, is the case in Scotland. Brand pretends 
 to seek a derivation in the resemblance which the diamond 
 bears to a mill-pick, as fusils are sometimes called in He- 
 raldry. But it is nothing more than the adoption of the 
 French pique. V. Minsheu's Guide into Tongues, Art. 
 Diamond or Picke at Cards. Mr. Taylor is of opinion that 
 it is from being of the form of the pi/x, or pias, — the box in 
 which the sacred wafer was kept. Mr. Hunter informs 
 me, that when the people have burnt their shins by sitting 
 before a hot fire, they ^vill say " my legs are all over picks 
 and hearts ;'" that is red blotches. 
 
 Piece, a little while. " Stay a pieced Ital. pczzo. 
 
 PiFLE, to filch, to steal — to pilfer ; from which it is derived. 
 
 Pigeon's-feathers. It is a matter of very general belief, 
 
 VOL. II. L
 
 74 PIGG 
 
 that if there be pigeon's feathers in a bed on which a dying 
 person lies, the struggle of the departing spirit in liberating 
 itself from its tenement of clay, is painfully protracted ; 
 and that such a person cannot die in such a bed, but must 
 be lifted out before the troubled spirit can obtain its re- 
 lease. 
 
 Piggery, a pig-sty. See Outrake ; 2d sense. 
 
 PiGGiN, a small wooden cylindrical vessel, made with staves 
 and bound with hoops like a pail. In common use on the 
 borders of Northumberland. 
 
 Pike, «. to select, to chuse, to pich. From Dut. piclcen. 
 
 Pike, *. the top or ajjex of a conical hill or eminence ; such 
 as Pontop-pike, in the county of Durham ; Glanton-pike^ 
 Northumberland. Sax. pcac. Fr. pic. Sp. pico. 
 
 Pike, s. a large cock or jiile of hay. See Hay-makixg. 
 
 Pikelet, a small round light cake — a sort of muffin. 
 
 Pilch, a piece of flannel fastened to an infant's under-clothes, 
 for the purpose of keejiing the wet off the nurse. It was 
 anciently a dress or mantle made of skins. Sax. pt/lche. 
 
 Pilgrimage of Grace, the great northern Insurrection or 
 Rebellion, which resulted from discontent at the suppres- 
 sion of the monasteries, and which became so formidable in 
 England. 
 
 Pillars, the rectangular masses of coal between the "boards.'' 
 When the whole extent of the mine has been regularly 
 excavated by " boards" and " walls," the pillars are also re- 
 moved, beginning at the extremity of the mine. 
 
 PiLLow-BERE, s. a pillow caso. 
 
 " But of his craft, from Berwicke unto Ware 
 Ne was there swiche an other pardoners 
 For in his male he hadde a pilwebere. 
 Which, as he saide, was oure ladies veil." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Pardonere't Prologue. 
 
 Pix-coDD, or Prin-codd, a pin-cushion. Sc. x>rcen-cod. 
 Pinch-gut, a penurious person — a covetous, miserable wretch, 
 quasi pinched.
 
 PITM 75 
 
 PiND, to impound, or i)ut into the pinfold. 
 
 Pinging, complaining, whining, as from cold or hunger. 
 
 PiNGLE, to work assiduously but inefficiently — to labour until 
 you are almost blind. Germ, jyeiniffen, to pain, to harass. 
 " Pintle in yur awn poke neuk." That is, help yourself 
 sparingly out of your own means. 
 
 Pink, v. to look sly at — to look with the eye half open. 
 
 Pink, a. small. — Pinky, very small. Dut. pinlje. — Pinky- 
 wiNKY, the smallest imaginable. " You're all pinly-winky , 
 and ready for Qiebbi/" — 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. 
 
 PiN-PANNiERLY-FELLOw, a miserable, covetous, suspicious 
 fellow, one who pins up or fastens his panniers and baskets. 
 Grose. 
 
 Piper, a minstrel. North. Sax. pipere. The noble house 
 of Percy still retains pipers in its service. They wear, 
 on the right arm, a silver crescent, granted as a badge of 
 cognizance to the family, for having taken the Turkish 
 standard, in a warlike expedition against the Saracens, in 
 the Holy Land. The pipers attend the court leet and fairs 
 held for the Lord : — and pay suit and service at Alnwick 
 Castle. Their instrument is the ancient Northumbrian 
 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 possesses all the wild and spirited characteristics of 
 the Highland pibroch, without its heavy drone. 
 
 Pipestoppel, a fragment of the shank of a tobacco-pipe. 
 Germ, stopsel^ a bung or stopper. Sc. pipe-stapple. 
 
 Pirn, a quill or reed on which yarn is wound. 
 
 Pitman, a collier — a man who works in a coal pit. The pit- 
 men are a distinct class in society, almost entirely sepa- 
 rated 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.
 
 76 PITM 
 
 called pit-rows, in the vicinity of the mines. They com- 
 mence their laborious calling at a very early period of 
 life, and have been accustomed for generations to marry 
 with their own race ; the sons regularly following the oc- 
 cupations of their sires. 
 
 Pitman's-pink, a name given to the single pink, which is 
 a great favourite among the pitmen, who, in general, pay 
 much attention 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. plasJca. — Plash, s. a heavy 
 fall or severe shower of rain. Germ, platzregen. Dut. 
 plasregen. 
 
 Plat, clear, plain. 
 
 " My will is this tor plat conclusion 
 TVithouten any replication. 
 That everich of you shal gon wher him leste !" 
 
 Chaucer,— The Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Play, is used in the North as a reflective verb. — " He has 
 been splaying hissel." 
 
 Pleach, to bind a hedge, to interweave branches of trees to- 
 gether. Fr. plesser. V. Cotgrave. 
 
 Plean, to complain. An old word ; from Fr. plaigner. 
 
 Plean, or Pleany-pye, a tell-tale, or prating gossip. Pldg- 
 nen occurs in Gower. 
 
 Plenish, to furnish a house, to stock a farm. Old Fr.plenir, 
 to replenish. — Plenishing, household furniture. — Plenish- 
 ing-wain, the wain or waggon laden with furniture belong- 
 ing to a bride. 
 
 Plett, to fold, to twist or plait. Su.-Got. plata, nectere, con- 
 nectere. 
 
 Pletts, folds, plaits. " I must put my mouth into small 
 plots when I go there ;" meaning, I must be circumspect 
 in my behaviour.
 
 PLUF 77 
 
 Plie, a fold, or wrapping. " Twee plie, three plie." Two 
 fold, or double ; three fold, &c. 
 
 " Thorowe ryche male and mjTie-ye-ple 
 ]\Iany sterne the stroke done straight 
 Many a freyke, that was ful fre 
 Thar undar fool dyd lyght." 
 
 Old Ballad of Chevy Chace. 
 
 Plodge, to wade through water, to plunge. Dut. ploegen. 
 Plooky, Plooky- faced, pimpled. Gael, pliicany a pimple. 
 
 " Plooky , plooky , are your cheeks. 
 And plooky is your chin." 
 
 Ballad,— Sir Hugh le Blond. 
 
 Plote, to pluck feathers ; metaphorically to chide vehemently. 
 
 " How she plotes him." 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. 
 Plough-shoe, the iron work upon which the sock is fixed ; 
 the casing of iron at the nose, or fore part of that part of 
 the plough which enters the ground. 
 
 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. — Plowd- 
 ing, is also used in the same sense ; though probably only 
 a variation niplodging. 
 
 Ploy, a harmless frolic in which a party is engaged ; a 
 merry meeting. Dr. Jamieson is inclined to view the 
 word as formed from Sax. plegan, to play. 
 
 Pluff, to blow in the face, to explode gunpowder — to puff. 
 
 Pluff, Pleugh, a plough. Su.-Got. ^;fo^. Qi&rca..p>jiug. Sc. 
 pleuch. This gives me an opportunity of presenting to the 
 reader a genuine Northumbrian specimen of an agricul- 
 tural reproof ; communicated to me by a friend, who heard 
 it. 
 " Ye ill far'd body ye ! ye pretend to guide the plutff ! to leeve a 
 saet a baaka in aa the faugh quarter. I'll ha ne mair o" thee !
 
 78 PLUM 
 
 Se ye may gang at the Fair, honest man ! Thou mun de't better 
 nor that, else thou may gang heam." 
 
 Plump, a clump of trees. Plumbe, is an old word for a 
 
 woody place. 
 PocK-ARRED, pitted with the small pox. See Arr. 
 PocK-FRETTEN, marked with the small pox. See Fretten. 
 PoE, a turkey. Fr. j^aon, Lat. pavo. Sax. pawa, — Poe ! 
 
 Poe ! a call to turkies. 
 Poke, to thurst. " To pohe the head." " Poling his nose 
 into every thing." Germ, pochen, to knock, as if the head 
 were projected for the purpose. 
 Poke, a bag, a sack. The parent of pocket. Sax. poceo, a 
 pouch. Isl./:)oH, saccus. Tent poie. " A -pig in a poke." 
 is an old, well-known. Northern proverb. 
 
 " Gerveis answered : ' Gerties were it gold. 
 Or in a poks nobles all untold." 
 
 Cliaucer, — The Miller's Tale. 
 " And on the nose he smote him with his fist ; 
 Down ran the blody streme upon his brest : 
 And in the flore with nose and mouth to-broke 
 They walwe, as don two pigges in a poke." 
 
 Chaucer, — Tlie Meve's Tale. 
 
 Poked, offended, piqued. " He was sure 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, and Forging. 
 
 PooDLERS, a name given to the fry of the coal-fish or cole-say 
 when about a foot in length. 
 
 PooMER, any thing very large. " Ee ! what a poomcr it is." 
 
 Poorly, indifferent in health. — Very poorly, very unwell. 
 
 PoR, Pore, an iron bar, or poker, for stirring the fire. Teut. 
 porren, urgere, compellere. 
 
 Porky, plump in the person. " What ? the porky gentle- 
 man." 
 
 Porrage, hasty-pudding, or ^ornaj^e-oatmeal mixed in boil- 
 ing water, and stirred on the fire till it be considerably 
 thickened. In Durham it is Poddish. " Put on the pod- 
 dish-pot."
 
 POT-L 7» 
 
 PoRTMANTiE, a vulgar, though old, name for a portmanteau ; 
 which was originally a hag for a cloak or mantle. 
 
 Pose, a rheum from the nose, a cold in the head. Sax. 
 gipose. 
 
 PosiE, a nosegay. See Brand's Pop. Antiq. Vol. II., p. 48. 
 
 PosiE-JACKETS, the holiday waistcoats of the pitmen, fre- 
 quently of very curious patterns, and displaying flowers of 
 various dyes. 
 
 Poss, to dash violently in the water, to beat ; as to " poss 
 clothes" in what is called a Poss-tub. 
 
 " For a cat of a contree 
 Cam whan hym liked 
 And overleep hem lichtliche 
 And laughte hem at his wille 
 And pleide with hem perillousli 
 And passed aboute." — Piera Plotoman. 
 
 PossET-cup, a cup of silver or pewter, in which warm drinks 
 were served. 
 
 " Before the introduction of tea, it was customary to give strangers 
 at festival times, ale-possets ; they were served up in bowls 
 called doublers into which the company dipped their spoons pro- 
 miscuously, for the simplicity of the times had not then seen 
 the necessity of accommodating each guest with a basin or soup- 
 plate. The posset cup shone as an article of finery in the better 
 sort of houses ; it was made of pewter, and was furnished with 
 two, three, or more, lateral pipes, through which the liquid part 
 of the compound might be sucked by those who did not choose 
 the bread." — Gloss, to Wettm. and Cunib. Dialects. 
 
 PossY, short and fat, thick-set, protuberant ; applied to the 
 person. Apparently the same as Powsey. 
 
 Post, sandstone. 
 
 PoTATO-BOGLE, a scarccrow. 
 
 PoT-cLEPs, pot-hooks. Ray says, from clip or clap, because 
 they clij} or catch hold of the pot. 
 
 Pot-luck, an invitation to a family dinner, or friendly re- 
 past, excluding the idea of any previous or ceremonious 
 preparation — the chance of the table. The Roman condi- 
 cere ad ccenam. Fr. la fortune du pot. A Northern squire
 
 00 POTS 
 
 invited his late Majesty King George IV., when Prince 
 Regent, to take pot-hiclc with him. 
 
 PoTSHARD, a piece of broken tile or pot. Sec Shard. 
 
 Potter, to stir, to poke ; as to potter the fire. \)\iX.peutcren. 
 
 PoTTicAR, an apothecary. Potycary is the genuine old word, 
 derived from Span, boticario (which signifies the shop of a 
 vendor of medicines, as distinguished from a travelling em- 
 piric), and is not a contraction of apothecary, as Dr. John- 
 son and others have pretended, Mr. Taylor judiciously 
 observes on this word, that from its Greek origin, it must 
 necessarily have brought the A with it at first, and, there- 
 fore, however ancient paticary may be, it is only an ancient 
 corruption, and probably proceeded from the unlearned 
 considering apothecary as a pothccary. 
 
 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. 
 
 PouLTER, a poulterer. This is the ancient and correct way 
 of spelling the word. 
 
 PouNCET-Box, a small bos, with open work on the lid, in 
 which to keep perfume. 
 
 Pout, to kick or strike with the feet. V. Ray, p)ote. 
 
 Pout, a chicken. Fr. jyoulet. Poult is classical. 
 
 Pow, a term for the head ; obviously from poll. 
 
 " Albeit my pow was bald and bare." — Ramsay. 
 
 Pow, a large open drain. 
 
 Pow-HEAD, a tad-pole before it has legs. 
 
 PowsET. fat, decent-looking, respectable in appearance. 
 
 See PossY. 
 PowsoDDY, or Pansoddy, a pudding jilaced under the roast. 
 
 Also called Yorkshire-pudding, Aud-wife's-sod, and Cin-
 
 PUIZ 81 
 
 DER-CATCHER. In Scotland there is a dish — sheep's head 
 broth, pov)-soddcn. 
 
 Freeze, to strain, or make ineffectual attempts to evacuate 
 the bladder, or bowels — from press. But see Jamieson on 
 prize-up. 
 
 Preuve, prove. Genuine French. 
 
 Pricking, a thin layer of bad soft coal or metal, generally 
 found at the bottom of a seam of coal. 
 
 Prickle, a basket or measure of wicker work among fruiter- 
 ers. Formerly made of briers ; hence, perhaps, the name. 
 
 Prig, to plead hard in a bargain, to higgle in price, Dut* 
 prachen, to beg. 
 
 Prigged, entreated earnestly and perseveringly. 
 
 Priggish, vain, conceited, affected, coxcomical. From prig. 
 
 Primp, to behave in a ridiculously formal or affected manner. 
 
 pRiN, a pin. Isl. prion, acus capitata^ Dan. preen, a bod- 
 kin, or punch. Dr. Jamieson has satisfactorily proved 
 that this is no corruption of the word. 
 
 " To mix set ye nocht by twa i^rinnis 
 Fyne ducat gold with hard gudhingis 
 Lyke as I leirnit yow last." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 pRiN-coD, a pincushion. In the reign of Henry VIII., the 
 men stuck pins in a disgusting part of their dress ; 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 John. ])rincockt 
 Prize, to lift with a lever, ^ec Jamieson on prize-up ; but it 
 is probably from press, as the lever acts at one end, by 
 pressure at the other. So paze is used in the same sense, 
 from peser, to weigh, because acting by a weight. 
 
 VOL, II. M
 
 82 PROD 
 
 Prod, Proddy, a j^rick, a skewer. Su.-Got. Irodd, acnietis. 
 Dau. hrod, a sting, a prick, B and p are often used indis- 
 criminately in the Gothic languages. 
 
 Prog, Proggle, v. to prick, to pierce. Isl. hri/dda, pungere. 
 
 Prog, s. a prick. — Progly, a. prickly. See Prod. 
 
 Proper, very, complete. " It is a proper wet day." 
 
 Pross, v, to chat, to talk familiarly. Fr. prosner, or proner, 
 to gossip. 
 
 Pross, s. talk, conversation — rather of the gossiping kind. 
 " Let us have a bit oi pross." The prose of modem times, 
 as Mr. Todd justly remarks, is akin to this Northern word. 
 
 Proud, luxuriant ; as proud corn. Snx. jyrot. Ital. prode. 
 
 Proud, a seam of coal is said to be proud when its section is 
 higher than ordinary. 
 
 P's AND Q,'s, a nicety of behaviour ; the observance of all due 
 formalities. Perhaps from the French injunction to make 
 proper obeisances, " Soyez attentifs k vos pies et a ros 
 queues;" in other words, " miiid your P^s and Q^s." 
 
 PuBBLE, full, plumj) ; usually spoken of corn or fruit ; in op- 
 position to fantome — any thing fat, or distended. 
 
 Pucker, flutter, agitation, confusion. " What a, pucker he's 
 in !" A figurative apiilication of the word. 
 
 Puggy, damp, most ; arising from gentle perspiration. " A 
 puggy hand." " A puggy face." 
 
 Pule, or Puel, a hole of standing water — ^pool. Sax.pul. 
 Welsh, pivl. Ray and Grose have pull: 
 
 Pule, to eat without appetite. — Puling, sick, without appe- 
 tite. 
 
 PuLLEN, poultry. An old word. V. Todd's Johnson. The 
 Pullen market in Newcastle. Pullcn is also a term for the 
 small crab used for baiting sea-fishing-hooks. The cor- 
 rect name is pina7i, frompcel, to skin ; because if you crack 
 the shell of the jnllan, you may strip it off, leaving the 
 substance of the claw entire. That is pillan, i. e., peeled, 
 because the fishermen peel off the sliell before they bait the 
 hooks ^nth them.
 
 PURL 83 
 
 Pummel, to beat severely, to chastise with the fist. Lat. 
 piegno. 
 
 " For your pate I would p?(?»ime/." 
 
 Beaum. and Flet., — Foxir Plays in One. 
 
 Punch, to strike with the feet — to thrust as with a point. 
 
 Germ, punct, a point. 
 PuND, a pound. Sax. pund. The Gothic, Islandic, and Swe- 
 dish are the same. Welsh, 2>U7iU 
 Pund, to imi^ound, to put into the pin-fold. 
 PuN-FAUD, or PiN-FAUD, a pin-fold. Sax. pz/ndan, 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, in- 
 stead of a part of the word. Poles, for pushing on boats, 
 occur in all ages. 
 PuRDY, a little thickset fellow. I owe this word to the com- 
 munication of a clerical friend in the County of Durham, 
 who first heard it at Barnard Castle. On ascertaining the 
 meaning, the following dialogue took place. 
 " Q. What does purdjj mean ? 
 A. A little throstan up tliiiig like a Jack at Warts. 
 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 thick-set fellow." 
 
 Moor has purdy, in the sense of j)roud, ostentatious. 
 Purely, quite well in health — pi(,re well. 
 PuRLicuE, or Curlicue, a flourish in writing — a dash at the 
 
 end of a word. F. pmtr la, queue. V. Jamieson. 
 PuRLicuE, the space inclosed by the extended fore finger and 
 
 thumb. A " spang and a purlicuc'^ is a measure allowed 
 
 in a certain game at marbles.
 
 84 PURN 
 
 PuiiN, s. the same as Twitch ; which see. 
 
 Purpose-like, a person or thing well suited to the purpose 
 
 intended. 
 Pursy, fat, bloated, swolu out ; implying also the difficulty 
 
 of breathing arising from such a state. V. Jam. and Jam. 
 
 Supp. 
 Put, to push, to pro2)el ; as, putting a keel. W elah. pwtiaw. 
 Put-about, jjerplexed, at a dfficulty. Shakspeare repeatedly 
 
 uses put to it, in the same sense. 
 Putter, a person who conveys coals from the hewers. Put- 
 ters are commonly young men from sixteen to twenty 
 
 years old. 
 PuzziN, s. poison. This is the pronunciation at this day in 
 
 Northumberland. 
 
 " For in till Ms neyst potion 
 
 He suld gifF him dedly pugcrun." — 77(6 Bruce. 
 " But syne allace ! pusaynt was he." — Ibid. 
 
 Pyrrht-dancers, a name given to the glancings of the Au- 
 rora Borealis. The same as Merry-daxcers ; which see. 
 This term may have been adopted from the Pyrrliica sal- 
 tatio, or military dance of the ancients ; from which, no 
 doubt, the sword-dance of the Northern youths, at Christ- 
 mas, has had its origin. But Mr. Forby says, an allusion 
 to the revels of the fairies is more likely among our ances- 
 tors, than to the Pyrrhic-dance of the ancients. V. Voc. 
 East Anglia, perry-dancers. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quail, to fail, to fall sick, to faint. F. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Quandary, a dilemma, an unpleasant jiredicament, a state 
 of perplexity. Skinner's derivation from Fr. qv^e^i dirai 
 ja? what shall I say about it ? is adopted in Todd's John- 
 son. But the pronoun (nominative) was often left out by 
 old French writers, which would here make the derivation 
 more accurate — qit^en dirai ? 
 
 Quean, a term of abuse to a female — sometimes implying the
 
 Q,UIC 86 
 
 most disgraceful name that can be a23plied to the sex. 
 Moe.-Got. queins, quens. Sax. cwen, a wench — though pri- 
 marily not always used in a reproachful sense ; nor always 
 so now, for we say, " a sturdy quemi," — " a good-like 
 quean" — without affixing any bad meaning to it. 
 
 " Or Provost full of trecMrie, 
 Or Prelate lining jolilie, 
 Or Priest that halt his quein him by." 
 
 Chaucer, — Rom. of Rose. 
 
 " A witch, a qiiean, an old cozening quean." 
 
 Shak. — Men-y Wives of Windsor. 
 
 Q,UEER, the choir, or quire of a church. Old Eng. quier. 
 
 Q,uEER, a quire ; as of paper. Old Eng. quaire. Old Fr. 
 quaver. 
 
 Q,UERN, a hand mill for grinding com, made of two corres- 
 ponding stones. It exhibits the most ancient methods of 
 grinding corn ever known in the world, and is the same to 
 which allusion is made in the New Testament. Matthew 
 xxiv., 41. Travellers tell us that this kind of hand mill is 
 used in the East Indies. Dr. Clarke saw it in use among 
 the native Laplanders. Quern may be considered as 
 one of our oldest woi'ds ; and, with slight variations, is 
 found in all the Northern languages. — Moe.-Got. quairn, 
 mola manualis. Su.-Got. quern. Sax. cioeorn. Dan. 
 quern. Swed. quarn. Teut. querne. 
 
 " But or his here was clipped or yshave, 
 Ther was no bond, with which men might him bind, 
 But now is he in prison, in a cave. 
 Whereas they made him at the querne grind." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Monke's Tale. 
 
 Q,uEY, generally pronounced Whye, a heifer, or young cow, 
 until it has had a calf. Dan. quie. Swed. quiga. 
 
 " 1538, paid for four cows, called whyes, 36«." 
 
 Finchale Glossary. 
 
 Q,UEY-CALF, a female calf. Dan. quiehalo. Swed. quighalf. 
 Quick, alive. Sax. civic. This word is classical ; but in the
 
 86 QUIC 
 
 South is not in the general sense in which we hear it in 
 the North. 
 
 " Not fully (iuik, ne fully ded they were." « 
 
 OMVAxr,—The Knight's Tale. 
 
 " The quick and the dead."— 37i« Lord's Prayer. 
 
 Q,uiCKEN-TREE, the mountain ash. See Roun-tree, 
 Quick-wood, thorns. 
 
 " The first hedges were made of dead wood, but quick wood was 
 soon found to be more durable, and when the thorn came into 
 general use for the purpose, on account of its valuable proper- 
 ties, the term quick wood was appropriated to it exclusively." 
 
 Finchale Glossary. 
 
 QuisEY, confounded, dejected. V. Todd's John., queasy. 
 
 Quite, got quit of. — Quite-better, (not certainly, or un- 
 doubtedly better, but) quite well, completely recovered. 
 It is the comparative joined with the superlative — an in- 
 veterate Northumbrianism. 
 
 QuoRN, or QuoARN, a Northern pronunciation of com. 
 
 R. 
 
 R. The very broad or gutteral pronunciation of tliis letter in 
 the dialect of the people of Newcastle and of Northumber- 
 land generally, is one of its most striking characteristics. 
 The broad dialect of the English, north of the Humber, is 
 not unfrequently alluded to by old authors. Chaucer, in 
 particular, gives specimens of dialect, in which it is not diffi- 
 cult to discover many peculiarities of phrase and pronun- 
 ciation which are quite common in Northumberland at the 
 present day. 
 
 Rabble, to speak in a confused manner. Tout, rahelen, 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 obso- 
 lete. 
 
 Rack, s. a narrow path, a track, a trace. Dut. racke. This 
 is the meaning of the word used by our great dramatic
 
 RAID 87 
 
 poet, in the following exquisite and well-known passage 
 in the Xempest, 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." — Shakspeare. 
 
 Rack, s, the clouds ; or rather the trad- 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 ws 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..— SfMk.,—Ha7nlet. 
 
 Rack, s. wreck. Sw. rak, bona naufragorum in littus ejecta. 
 Rack, -v. to care, to heed. Sax. recan, to reck. V. Ray. 
 Rack, a name given to the Brandling trout in some parts of 
 
 Northumberland . 
 Rackless, sometimes Rackle, thoughtless, careless, heed- 
 less, improvident. Old Eng. retchless, recJceless; 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-mer- 
 chant ; and Raff- yard, for a timber-yard. 
 Raff, abundance, a great quantity, a great number. " A 
 
 raff oi fellows," a great many men. 
 Raffling, idle, worthless, dissolute. " A raffling chap." 
 Rag, to rate or reproach, to scold. Isl. raega, to accuse. 
 Ragabasu, Ragabrash, low, idle people — such as are gene- 
 rally in rags. — Rubbish is used in the same sense. Both 
 terms may be said to be synonymous with ragamuffin. 
 Rageous, in a rage, in excessive pain, violent — rageful. 
 Raid, an incursion, or ijlundering inroad of the Borderers
 
 88 RAIN 
 
 into the territory of their neighbours Sax. rad, radr, 
 invasio, incursus, irruptio. V. Somner. 
 
 " And by my faith, the gate- ward said, 
 I think 'twill prove a warden raid." 
 
 Scott, — Lai/ <4 tf>^ I'd^t Mimtrel. 
 
 Rain. *' Happy is the corpse that the rain rains on," a po- 
 pular saying in Northumberland ; meaning, that rain at a 
 funeral is a sign of future happiness to the person whose 
 remains are about to be interred. 
 
 Rain-birds, Rain-fowl, jjopular names for woodpeckers. 
 These birds are well known by their loud and peculiar 
 cries, which, frequently repeated, are thought to prognos- 
 ticate rain. The Romans called them pluvice 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. Hutchinson's Hist, of Cumb., Vol. I., p. 252. 
 There is also Womidale Raise, in the parish of Winder- 
 mere, in Westmorland. V, Nicolson and Bum, 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. 
 
 " Robene answerit, Be the rude 
 
 Na thing of lufe I knaw, 
 Bot keipis my scheip undir yone wud, 
 
 Lo quhair thay raik on raw." 
 
 Henrysone's Robene and Makyne. 
 
 Rake, to cover, to gather together. To rake the fire, is to 
 supply it with coals, or to i:»ut 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
 
 RAND 89 
 
 word in this sense, when, in King Lear, he makes Edgar 
 
 saj, 
 
 " Herein the sands 
 
 Thee I'll rake vp."—Act IV., Sc. 6. 
 
 Ram, Rammish, foetid, rank, like a ram. Isl. ramtnr, ama- 
 rus. Dan. ram, rank, rancid, " A ram smell" — " a ram 
 taste." 
 
 " For all the world they stinken as a gote, 
 Hir savour is so rammish and so hote." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Chanone's Teman's Tale. 
 
 Rame, Ream, to cry aloud, to ask over and over again in a 
 teasing manner. Sax. hreaman, clamare. Su.-Got. raama. 
 — Ramin'g, Reamixg, crying ; especially as denoting re- 
 iteration of the same sound. 
 
 " Sche full vn happy in the batell stode— 
 Her mj-nd troublit, gan to rame and cry." 
 
 Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 Rame, Raim, Rawm, to reach anything awkwardly or greed- 
 ily, to stretch after. Teut. raemen, extendere, distendere. 
 
 Ramell-wood, natural copse-wood. In the " Complaynt of 
 Scotland," mention is made of a "a banc ful of rammel 
 grene treis." 
 
 Ramlix-lad, a tall, fast growing, rambling youth — a sort of 
 hohhlety-lioy, 
 
 Rammely, tall, and rank. V. Jam. rammel, 2d. sense. 
 
 Ramp, a lowering in the top of a wall. 
 
 Rampadge, to prance about furiously, to make a great noise 
 or disturbance. Sax. rempend, rampant. 
 
 Rampageous, furious, uncontrollable. 
 
 Ramps, ramson, allium xirsinum, a pernicious herb in grass 
 fields, as it imparts a flavour like that of garlic to the milk 
 of cows that eat of it. 
 
 Ramshackle, or Ramsheckle, to search narrowly, to ran- 
 sack. RanshacUe, for plunder, is old in our language. 
 
 Randy, s. a vulgar, brawling woman — a coarse, fiery virago. 
 Rand (German) is the strand or margin of the river. Has 
 
 VOL. II, N
 
 90 RAND 
 
 the word reference to the vulgar character of the lower 
 
 orders of women usually inhabiting such localities ? 
 Randy, o. boisterous, obstreperous, disorderly in behaviour. 
 Range, to cleanse by washing, to rinse. See Rencii. 
 Rannel-bauk, Ran\el-tree, a beam or bar across a chimney 
 
 on which boilers and other culinary vessels 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 com fields of 
 
 this name. 
 Rape, a rope. Moe.-Got. raip. Sax. rape, funis. 
 Rapier-dance, nearly the same as the sword-dance of the 
 
 ancient Scandinavians, or as that described by Tacitus 
 
 among the Germans. See a full account of in the Archaeo- 
 
 logia. Vol. XVII., p. 155. 
 Rapscallion, a low, worthless fellow ; apparently the same 
 
 with rascallion used in Hudibras. 
 Rash, dry ; as rash-corn — com so dry in the straw that it 
 
 falls out with handling. 
 Rash, brisk, hearty. " She was vary rash when I left her, 
 
 but she's sair fail'd now." 
 Rasher, a rush. Rasher-cap, rasher-duclet, rasher-whip, 
 
 articles made of rushes by children. See Resh, Reshejr. 
 Rasp, raspberry — both the bush and its fruit. Ital. raspo. 
 Rat, a wart. See Wrat. 
 
 Ratch, v. to stretch, to pull asunder. See Rax. 
 Ratch, v. to mark with lines. — Ratch, s. a strait line, a 
 
 stripe. Germ, recht, straight. 
 Ratch, s. the straight course of a navigable river. The 
 
 word is used on the Tyne, in the same sense as Reach on 
 
 the Thames. The Newcastle keelmen generally call it 
 
 Rack. It is a strait line of any kind, as a white ratch 
 
 down a horse's face. Germ, recht, straight. 
 Rate, v. a. and n. to loosen any fibrous texture so as to 
 
 make it approach to decomposition ; or to be in a state
 
 RAW 91 
 
 caused by such action. " Quicklime rates the sods in a 
 compost heap" — or, " Sods rate fast in that heap." Sax. 
 rotian, to rot. 
 Rather. To ham 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 / would, and / had, into I'd. 
 I had rather was probably first used as a false translation 
 for Pd rather, written for / would rather ; and when I had 
 rather was once received, to have rather followed of course. 
 Ratherlings, for the most part. Dur. and North. 
 Ratten, our Northern provincial name for the mus rattus, the 
 well-known and plundering animal, which, as Gesner ob- 
 serves, is called rat, not only in Germany, but in Spain, 
 France, Italy, and England. 
 
 " With that ran ther a route. 
 Of ratons at ones, 
 And small mees myd hem 
 Mo than a thousand." — Piers Plowman. 
 " Al this route of ratons 
 
 To this reson thei assented. — Ihid. 
 " And forth he goth, no longer wold he tary 
 Into the town unto a Potecary 
 And praied him that he to him wolde sell 
 Some poison, that he might his ratonns quell." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Pardonere's Tale. 
 
 Ratten-crook, a long crook, reaching from the rannel-hauh 
 to the fire. See Rannel-bauk. 
 
 Rattlepate, a giddy, thoughtless, volatile person. 
 
 Rauk, to mark with lines, to scratch. See Ratch. 
 
 RA^^<;L, to speak in an unconnected manner, to wander. Dut. 
 revelen, to rave, to talk idly. 
 
 Raw, a row of buildings, the side of a street. Sax. raiwa. 
 " Row and Raw," Mr. Hodgson observes, " are akin to the 
 French rue ; but in the upland part of the Northern coun- 
 ties were formerly chiefly confined to those lines of dwell- 
 ing-houses which lay along the fell sides, and had between 
 them and the beck, or river of the dale, the inclosed
 
 92 RAX 
 
 ground, of which the houses -were the several messuages. 
 In later times, coal and manufacturing districts ahound in 
 Rows of vast variety of description and designation." V. 
 Hist, of North. Part II., Vol. I., p. 134, n. 
 Rax, to stretch, to enlarge, to reach. Sax. rcecean, 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 them- 
 selves, so that the sky is seen. 
 
 " He raise and rax'cZ him where he stood, 
 
 And bade them match him with his marrows ; 
 Then Tindaill heard them reasun rude, 
 And they loot off a flight of arrows."— TJaid o/tfie Redawire. 
 
 Re. See Heck. 
 
 Read, Rede, v. to counsel, to advise. Sax. rcedan. Teut. 
 raeden. 
 
 " And askyt his consaile tharto, 
 AVhat he wold rede him for to do." — TIxe Bruce. 
 
 Read, Rede, s. counsel, advice. Sax. reed. Teut. raed. 
 There has been handed down to us the barbarous cry of 
 " Good rede, short rede, slea ye the Bishop ;" raised during 
 a general council or assembly at Gateshead, by the mur- 
 derers of Bishop Walcher, the first Norman prelate who 
 filled the see of Durham. V. Surtees' Hist, of Dur., Vol. 
 L, p. 17. 
 
 Reade, a calf's stomach, used for rennet. Teut. roode. 
 
 Reang, a furrow, in old husbandry generally twisted. Rectng 
 therefore, like wrong and wring, is from the Saxon wringan, 
 to distort ; so wrong and tort, in law, mean the same thing, 
 something toasted out of its right course. 
 
 Reap, a bundle of corn, parcels of which are laid by the 
 reapers to be gathered into sheaves by the binders in har- 
 vest time. Sax. rijya, ripe. Sc. rip. 
 
 Rear, raw, unripe ; as rear corn. 
 
 Reast, restiveness. — Reasty, restive, stubborn. Ital. restio 
 Old Eng. restie. " A reasty horse," Sometimes applied
 
 RED 93 
 
 to a man. " He's reasty now." See Glossary of Provincial 
 Words used in Herefordshire, v. Rusty. 
 
 Reasty, rancid ; particularly applied to bacon spoilt by long 
 keeping. Skelton uses the word. In the Prompt Parv. 
 it is rcsty. See Reest. 
 
 Reave, to take away violently, to bereave, to rob or plun- 
 der. Sax. reafian. Sw. rbfva. See Reaver. 
 
 Reavel, or Raffle, to entangle, to knot confusedly together 
 — to ravel. Dut. ravelen, " A reavelled hank" — a twisted 
 skein. 
 
 Reaver, a plunderer, or freebooter — who bereaves others, by 
 violence, of their property ; a person 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 alternately 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 " labouring in the vocation of their fa- 
 thers." These Illustrious Personages, besides their own 
 names, generally assumed a sort of twm cle guerre, from 
 their residence, or their exploits ; or had a soubriquet, to 
 distinguish them from others of the same clan. See Thief- 
 and-reaver-bell. 
 
 Reckox, to suppose, to conjecture. Local in this sense. 
 
 Red, to put in order, to clear, to disentangle. " To red up 
 the house." Su.-Got. reda. Dan. rydde. Pronounced in 
 Durham, reel ; i. e. right. To part, to separate. 
 
 " Falset, Alace for ever my eye is out 
 Walloway, well na man red the vaQTi."—Lynd8ay. 
 
 " And quhen the man 
 
 Saw his mantill ly brinnand than 
 To red it ran he hastily. "^T/je Bruce. 
 
 " She's aye sae clean, red up, and braw, 
 She kills whene'er she dances." 
 
 Bessy Bell and Mary Gray.
 
 94 REDD 
 
 Redding-k'yame, a comb for the hair. 
 
 Ree, to cleanse corn by whirling it about in a weight, 80 as to 
 collect the lighter substances at the top. Germ, rein, 
 pure, clean, unmixed. 
 
 Reed, red. Sax. read. Old English, rede. Reeder, red- 
 der. 
 
 " Why shulde I not as wel eke tell you all 
 The purtreiture, that was upon the wall 
 Within the temple of mighty Mars the rede." 
 
 Chaucer,— Tlie Kaighte's Tale. 
 
 Reef, a cutaneous eruption. Sax. Jtreof, scabies. — Reefy, 
 scabby. 
 
 Reek, v. to smoke. Sax. recan. Swed. rbka. — Reek, s. 
 smoke. Sax. rec. Swed. rbk. — Reek-penny, money paid 
 to be permitted to have fire, hearth-money — a modus paid 
 to the clergy in many parts of Northumberland and Dur- 
 ham. See Tomlins' Law Diet., smoke-silver. 
 
 " Yet in our ashen cold is fire yreken." 
 
 Cliaucer, — The Reeve's Tale. 
 
 Reek, a term for money — that which makes the pot to boil 
 and the chimney to smoke ; but probably that which is the 
 principal subject of reckoning. 
 
 Reekin, or Reeking-crook, a horizontal bar of wood or iron, 
 placed at a suitable height in the reek or smoke of a chim- 
 ney, from which vessels are suspended over the fire. 
 
 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 right, not in the 
 exercise of sound reason. Germ, nieht 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. In 
 the northern counties, in sloping situations, we still occa- 
 sionally meet with regular flights of terraces, called reins; 
 a method of cultivation probably introduced by the
 
 RICE 95 
 
 Romans. It has prevailed much about Haltwhistle, in 
 
 Northumberland, and near the Roman Wall in that parish. 
 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, renegaclo, an apostate, qui 
 
 fidem renegat. It is a genuine old word. 
 
 " How may this weke woman have the strength 
 Hire to defend again this renegate." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Man of Lawes' Tale. 
 
 " A false knight, and a renegate." 
 
 Gower ,—Confessio Ainantis. 
 
 Renk, the distance of the face of the workings in a coal pit 
 from the crane, determining the wages paid to the putters. 
 The places are balloted for by the putters each day. 
 
 Rentt, well shapen ; spoken of horses or horned cattle. 
 
 Resh, Resher, a rush. Sax. resce. 
 
 Respectively, for respectfully. I had a correspondent — by 
 no means deficient in learning — who invariably subscribed 
 himself — " your's respectively.^^ He, perhaps, relied on the 
 authority of Shakspeare, and Beaumont and Fletcher. 
 
 Rheumatiz, the vulgar word for the rheumatism. 
 
 Rice, small twigs of trees or bushes, brushwood for the pur- 
 pose of hedging. Used by our early writers in a more ex- 
 tended sense. Isl. hrys. Su.-Got. and Swed. ris. Dan. 
 rii^. Germ. reis. 
 
 " What is there in Paradis, 
 But grass and flure, and green ris" 
 
 " Cokaygne," a Poem of the Vith Century, in 
 Hicks' Thesaurus. 
 " And thereupon he had a gay surplise 
 As white as is the bloom upon therwe." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Miller's Tale. 
 " She was brighter of her blee than was the bright sonn : 
 Her reed redder than the rose that on the rise hangeth." 
 
 From " Death and Life," a Poem, of which specimens are given in 
 Dr. Percy's Essay on the Metre of Piers Plomnan.
 
 96 RIDD 
 
 " Heicli Iluchan with ane hissill ryss 
 To red gan throw thame ruiiimill.", 
 
 Girist Kirk on the Green. 
 
 Ridding, a piece of land converted from wood-land into ara- 
 ble — an assart. 
 
 Riddle, a coarse sieve with large insterstices ; much used 
 about farm-houses. Sax. hriddel. Welsh, rhidyll. The 
 vulgar, in many parts, have an absurd 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 suspected of any crime, prevailed among 
 the Greeks. V. Potter's Gr. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 352. In 
 Northumberland young people tur7i the riddle for the pur- 
 pose of amusing themselves with the foolish idea of raising 
 their lovers. It is done between two open doors at mid- 
 night and in the dark. 
 
 Ride, to rob ; or rather to go out on horseback for such a 
 purpose. A Border word. " A saying is recorded of a 
 mother to her son (which is become proverbial) Ride, Row- 
 lie, 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-trooj)er, or robber on the Borders. 
 
 Riding, a term among the Borderers for making incursions 
 on the opposite country. See Introduction to the Border 
 Antiquities of England and Scotland, jj. cxxi. 
 
 " Then Johnnie Armstrong to Willie gan say 
 Billie a riding then will we, 
 England and us have been lang at feud — 
 Perhaps we may hit on some bootie." — Border Ballad. 
 
 Riding, a division or third part of a county ; now peculiar to 
 Yorkshire ; though formerly common to many other coun- 
 ties. Sax. thrihiiige, tertia 2)ars provinciae alicujus. Ex- 
 press mention is made of this ancient partition in the laws
 
 RIG 97 
 
 of Erlwartl the Confessor, cap. ,'34. In those early days, 
 appeals were made to the Riding in such causes as could 
 not be determined in the Wapentake court. 
 
 Riding- FOR-THE-KAiL, a marriage ceremony. See Bride- ale. 
 
 RiDiNG-TiiE-FAiR, proclaiming a fair. See an interesting ac- 
 count of the North country mode of performing this cere- 
 mony at Ovingham (erroneously printed Avingham) in 
 Hone's Every Day Book, 1653. 
 
 RiDiNG-THE-STANG, a burlcsque punishment. See Stang. 
 
 Rife, abounding, common, prevalent. Sax. ri/f. Tent. riif. 
 
 Swed. rif. Dr. Johnson is mistaken in confining the use of 
 
 this word to epidemical distempers ; and Archdeacon Nares 
 
 (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 ryfe." 
 
 Shak., — Midsum. Night's 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 rab- 
 ble, or mere canaille. Dan. ripsraps, the dregs of the 
 people. 
 Rift, a chasm, a chink, a crevice. 
 
 " Than shalt thou go the dore before, 
 If thou maiste finden any shore, 
 Or hole, or reft.e what ere it were ; 
 Than shalt thou stoupe, and lay to ere, 
 If thei within a slepe be." 
 
 ClMUcer, — Rom. of Rose. 
 
 Rift, v. to belch. From Dan. rwhe; and not raevcr, as given 
 by Dr. Jamieson, who appears to have been misled by 
 Skinner. — Rift, s. an eructation. Dan. raeben, belching. 
 
 Rift, v. to plough out grass lands. Su.-Got. rifwa. Sw. 
 rifva. 
 
 Rig, a female light in her carriage, a wanton, an imprudent 
 woman. 
 
 VOL. II. o
 
 98 RIG 
 
 Rig, a ridge, an eminence. Sax. hricg. Isl. hriggr. Su.- 
 Got. rygg, dorsum. " Riggc of land, agger," occurs in 
 Prompt. Parv. 
 
 " As thai war on this wiss spekand 
 Our ane hey rUj thai saw ridand 
 Towart thaim ewyn, a battaill braid."— 77i« Bruce. 
 
 Rig, among quadrupeds, to perform the act of supersaliency 
 only, to back. Sax. hricg, dorsum. Hence, Riggot, or 
 RiGGELT, a male animal imperfectly emasculated — very 
 troublesome to the female. 
 
 RiG-AND-FUR, RiG-AND-REiN, ridge and furrow. Also ribbed ; 
 as a jjair of rig-and-fur stockings. 
 
 RiGGE, the bark. Sax, hngg. 
 
 RiGGiN, the ridge or roof of a building. Sax. hricg, fasti- 
 gium. To ride the riggin is a Northern phrase denoting 
 excessive intimacy. The Scotch have a saying that " a 
 man may be very fond of the kirk without aye riding on its 
 riggin" 
 
 RiGGiN-TREE, the beam along the roof of a building. 
 
 Right, v. a. To stretch and fold, in right order, clothes to 
 be mangled or ironed before they are quite dry. 
 
 Rile, to render turbid, to vex, to disturb. V. Moor. 
 
 Rim, Belly-rim, the jjeritoneum, or membrane inclosing the 
 intestines. " Mind dinna brust yor belly-rim" — a caution 
 among the vulgar in Northumberland. Sax. ream. 
 
 " For I will fetch thy rim out at thy throat. 
 In drops of crimson blood." — Shak., — Ken. V. 
 
 The original reading, says Nares, is rymme, which Capell, 
 judging from the main object of the speaker, boldly pro- 
 nounced to signify money ; others have wished to read 
 ryno, but that term is probably not of such antiquity : and 
 the conjecture sujiposes the original word to be printed 
 rym, which it is not. Pistol, with a very vague notion of 
 the anatomical meaning of rymme, seems to use it in a ge- 
 neral way for any part of the intestines ; his object being 
 to terrify his prisoner. It may lie further stated, that
 
 RIVE 99 
 
 rimhursin is a common term on the Borders of Northum- 
 berland 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. 
 
 Ring, a circular spout in the shaft of a coal pit for collecting 
 the side feeders of water into a box. 
 
 Rip, a profligate. Half of Germ, ripps-ro.pps. In fashion- 
 able cant — for all ranks have their cant — demirep is one of 
 dubious, or half reputation. 
 
 Ripe, to search, to steal privately, to plunder. Sax. hyrpan, 
 dissuere. " To ripe for stones in the foundation of an 
 old wall." — " She riped my pockets." — " He riped the 
 nest." 
 
 " Gif I haif mair, schir, cum and rype my coat." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Ripple, to clean ; applied to flax. Su.-Got. repa lin, linum 
 vellere. Teut. repen, stringere semen lini. 
 
 Rise, the angle of the coal stratification with the horizon. 
 " She's a heavy rise." 
 
 Riser, a trouble or dislocation ; the coal being so affected as 
 to be above the level at which the seam is working : in 
 opposition to a " dipper." 
 
 Ruling, the smallest and last hatched youngling. — Lane, 
 See DowpY, Wreckling. In Norfolk, ricHing. 
 
 Rive, v. to tear membrane from membrane, to eat voraciously 
 without knife or fork. " Aw hae been rivin at the leg iv 
 this aud guse for half an hour, and am ne farther end- 
 ways." 
 
 Rive, to separate into j^arts by applying force to each side. 
 Dan. rive, to tear or rend in j^ieces. Swed. rifva. There 
 is a difference between riving and splitting — the hands rive, 
 a wedge splits. 
 
 " Paid for fellying of wood and ryving of spilys." 
 
 Bishop of Durham's Accounts, circ. 1515.
 
 100 RIVE 
 
 Rive, s. a rent, or tear. The very term occurs in lal. ryf. 
 
 " Him had levir a sondre shake, 
 And let al his limmes a sondre rioe." 
 
 Cliancer,—Rom. of Rose. 
 
 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 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 as the har- 
 binger of death. This is the more remarkable, because its 
 general familiarity and confiding manners, as observed by 
 Mr. Selby, have procured for it an api^ellation of endear- 
 ment in most of the countries that it inhabits. 
 
 Rock, a distaff; not only from which thread was sj)un by 
 twirling a ball below ; but that attached to the spinning 
 wheel upon which the yarn or lint was wound. 
 
 RoGGLE, to shake, to jumble. A variation of wriggle. 
 
 Rode, the complexion of the face. 
 
 " His rode was red, his eyen grey as goos." 
 
 aiaucer,—The Miller's Tale. 
 
 RoiLE, to ramble or gad about. 
 
 RoiNT, be gone, stand off. Aroint. 
 
 Roister, to behave turbulently, to make a great noise, to in- 
 dulge in rough mirth and jollity. 
 
 Roisterer, a turbulent, swaggering, and uncontroulable 
 person. Junius refers to Isl. hrister, a \'iolent man ; but 
 I am inclined, with Dr. Jamieson, to look to Barb. Lat. 
 Rmtarii, the same with Butarii (old Fr. Routiers) — free-
 
 I 
 
 ROU 101 
 
 bootei's who committed great devastation in France, in the 
 eleventh century. Riiptarii and Rutarii were names given 
 to the stipendiary troops (perhaps 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 j)usillanimons monarch, and the miser- 
 able inhabitants abandoned to the murderous cruelty of 
 his rapacious followers, without resjject of age or sex, rank 
 or profession. The epithet Rot/tercr, or Roi/stercr, was be- 
 stowed on the cavaliers by the puritanical party, in the 
 accounts of the civil wars of a subsequent period. 
 RoLLEY, similar in construction to a tram (which see), but 
 larger ; a long carriage for conveying the corfs or tubs of 
 coals from the crane or flat, to the bottom of the shaft, 
 drawn by horses. 
 RoLLEY-wAY, the under-grouud waggon-way along which 
 
 the rollers travel. 
 Rone, properly a thick plantation of bushes ; but in the 
 North usually applied to a thick cover of whins, which is 
 called " a rone of whins." The origin seems to be Isl. and 
 Goth, runn, a bush or shrub. 
 RooF-TREE, the beam which forms the angle of the roof, to 
 
 which the couples are jointed. 
 Rook, Rouk, a mist, or fog. Teut. roock, vapor. — Rooky, 
 
 RouKY, misty, damp, foggy. Old Eng. roki/. 
 Roop, or Roup, a hoarseness. Isl. hroop, vociferatio.— 
 
 RooPY, or RouPY, hoarse ; as with cold. 
 Rooty, coarse, or over rank ; said of grass or corn when in 
 that state. Old Eng. roi/tish, wild irregular. See Routh. 
 RossEL, to heat, to roast, to bask over a fire until what is 
 below the skin is ready to exude — the same idea as rosin. 
 — RossELLED, decayed ; as a rosselled ajjple. 
 RossEL, rosin. " Rossel and pick" — rosin and pitch. 
 Rou, cold, bleak, and damp ; especially as applied to a place, 
 or to the weather— mtc. Sax. hreaw. Germ, roh, ratih.
 
 102 ROUX 
 
 RouN, to whisper or speak in secrecy. Sax. runian. Germ. 
 
 runen. 
 RouN-TREE, or Rowan-tree, the quicken tree, mountain ash, 
 or witch-wood — a tree of high consideration in the North, 
 and considered by the superstitious peasantry of wonder- 
 ful efficacy in depriving witches of their infernal power. 
 This notion has been handed down to us from early anti- 
 quity — perhaps from the Druids. Skinner is uncertain 
 whether the tree may not have received its name from the 
 colour called roan ; but, as observed by Dr. Jamieson, the 
 term is Gothic — Su.-Got. ronn, runn, sorbus acuparia. 
 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, 
 rMn, mystery, sorcery, religion, and apparently used in 
 the Runic ceremonies. In Wales these trees are reputed 
 so sacred, that, according to Evelyn, there is not a church- 
 yard without one of them planted in it. 
 
 " In my plume is seen the holly green,' 
 With the leaves of rowan tree. 
 And my casque of sand, by a mermaid's hand. 
 Was formed beneath the sea." 
 
 The Cout of Eeeldar. 
 " They built a ship without delay, 
 With masts of the roican tree ,- 
 With flutt'ring sails of silk so fine. 
 And set her on the sea."— 274C Laidley Worm. 
 Roup, sale by auction. 
 
 Rout, Rought, or Rowt, to make a bellowing noise, to roar, 
 as the sea. 
 
 " And what sowne is it like (quod he) ? 
 Peter, lyke the beting of the se 
 (Quod I) against the rochis halowe 
 When tempestes done ther shippes swalow. 
 And that a man stande out of doubte 
 A myle ofl'thus, and here it route" 
 
 Chaucer, — Home of Fame. 
 
 It also means to grunt, to snore. Sax. hrutan. 
 " And eft he routeth, for his bed mislay." 
 
 Chaucer,— The MiUer's Talc.
 
 RUCK 103 
 
 RouTH, plenty, abundance ; especially applied to rank grass 
 or corn. V. Jamieson. 
 
 RouTixG, or RouGHTixG, the lowing or bellowing of an ox. 
 In Ingram parish, a wild part of Northumberland, there is 
 a place called the Rougliting Linn — deriving its name, no 
 doubt, from the great noise made by the fall of water after 
 heavy rains. Also snoring. 
 
 " His wif bare him a burdon a ful strong, 
 Men might his routing heren a furlong." 
 
 Cliauecr, — The Reeve's Tale. 
 
 Rowley- powLEY, a sort of childish game at fairs and races. 
 
 RoYAL-oAK-DAY (the 29th of May), the restoration of lOng 
 
 Charles II. ; in commemoration of which it is customary 
 
 for 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, 
 
 " Wlien 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 re- 
 membrance of the facetious monarch ; 
 
 " Royal oak 
 The Whigs provoke." 
 
 It was not, however, to be expected that this sarcastic 
 ebullition of party-spirit should escape the retort cour- 
 teous. The contemptuous rej)ly was, 
 
 " Plane-tree leaves; 
 The church-folk are thieves." 
 
 RoYNE, to grumble or growl ; and not, as Dr. Johnson has 
 defined it, to gnaw, to bite. Fr. rogner. 
 
 RozzLE, to beat. " I'll rozzle your hide for you." Rosser, 
 French — " battre quelque violement." Diet. Acad. Also, 
 to redden by di-ink. " He rozzled his nose." 
 
 Ruck, a rick of corn or hay. — North. A heap, or large quan- 
 tity. — York, and Lane. Su.-Got. rbk. V. Ihre. 
 
 Ruckle, to rumple, to crease. Germ, rilck.
 
 •< 
 
 101 RUD 
 
 RuD, ruddle for marking sheep. Sax. riidu, rubor. See 
 Keel. 
 
 Rue-Bargain, something given to be off an agreement — a 
 bargain repented of. 
 
 Rug, to pull hastily or roughly. Teut. ruckcii, detrahere.— 
 RuGGiNG-AND-RiviNG, pulling and tearing with force. 
 7^ Ruinated, reduced to ruin, ruinous. Pegge erroneously con- 
 sidered this word, which is in common use in the North, as 
 peculiar to Londoners. 
 
 RuLE-o'-THUMB, gucss 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 sticl'. May not Dr. Johnson's rum parson be what is 
 called a hackney jiarson, and come from Germ, rum, which 
 is from herum, about, as herum laufer is a vagabond ? He- 
 rum parson, or rum parson, may, therefore, be a vagabond 
 parson. 
 
 RuMBUSTiCAL, rude, noisy, overbearing, turbulent. 
 
 Rum-gumptious, pomjious, forward, violent, bold, rash. 
 
 RuMMEL-GuMSHiox, the same as Gumshon. Sc. rumgump- 
 tion. 
 
 Rumpus, a great noise, a disturbance, an uproar. V. Jen- 
 nings. 
 
 Run or Rund, the selvage of woollen cloth, list. Sax. rand, 
 a border, an edge. 
 
 Run away Dr. Bocanki, a proverbial expression, familiar in 
 the couuty of Durham, near the river Tees — said to have 
 originated in the trepidation and sudden flight of Dr. Bal- 
 canquall. Dean of Durham, a Scotchman, who was pecu- 
 liarly obnoxious to his countiymen, on account of having 
 penned the King's declaration against the Covenanters- 
 V. Surtees' Hist, of Dur., Vol. I., p. xcvi. 
 
 RuNCH, wild mustard, charlock. Sinapis arvensis. 
 
 Rung, a s^^oke, the step or round of a ladder. Moe.-Got. 
 
 <^/, 
 
 ^/<J o- C fl^^
 
 RUZE 105 
 
 hrung, virga. It is also a name for a cudgel, or walking 
 staff. 
 
 " Be sure ye dinnaquit 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. ivrincHan. 
 " At har'st at the shearing nae younkers are jearing, 
 The bansters are runkled lyart and grey." 
 
 27(6 Flowers of the Forest. 
 
 RuxxELL, pollard wood. Perliajis from running up apace. 
 
 Runt, tbe 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, rind, an ox or cow; h\xi, figurativeli/, a dull-pated, 
 stupid fellow. Teut. rund. Also, an opprobrious desig- 
 nation for an old woman. Isl. hrund, mulier. V. Jam. 
 Supp. 
 
 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. — 
 Rushes were formerly used on the floors of private rooms 
 for carpets. Our ancestors had a great predilection for 
 them, and they seem to have constituted an essential arti- 
 cle, not only of comfort, but of luxury. 
 
 Rut, for root. So pronounced in the North. 
 
 RuTTLiNG, a noise occasioned by difficulty of breathing. Teut. 
 rotelen, murmurare. The dead ruttle, a particular kind of 
 noise made in respiring by a person in the extremity of 
 sickness, is still considered in the North as an omen of 
 death. Levinus Lemnius (Occult Miracles of Nature, Lib. 
 II., 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. 
 Cornish, ros, bragging. Hence, perhaps, roozer, or rouser, 
 a great untruth. It is commonly used negatively, as, 
 
 VOL. II. p
 
 106 SACK 
 
 " Y'U not ruze yersel o' that." You will have no reason 
 to congratulate yourself on that. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sack-and-seam-road, a horse road — properly a pack-horse 
 road over moors. V. Lye, vo. seam. 
 
 Sackless, simple, weak, helj^less, innocent. Dr. Willan 
 considers that this epithet must have originated after the 
 introduction of the favourite beverage, sack and sugar ; 
 but the word (which is old in our language, and often oc- 
 curs in the Border Laws) may evidently be traced to Sax. 
 sacleas, quietus. Isl. saklaus, innocens. Swed. sakl6s, 
 exempt from punishment. 
 
 " For throwch me and my werraying 
 Off bind has bene rycbt gret spilling 
 Quhar mony sakles men war slayn." — Tlie Bruce. 
 " He knew the gentlemen of the country were altogether sacWe«», 
 and to make open roade upon the Marsh would but shew his 
 malice, and lay him open to the punishment due to such of- 
 fences." — Carey's Memoirs. 
 
 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." 
 
 Sag. See Seg. 
 
 Saim, hog's-fat, goose-grease. Welsh, saini. Sax. s me. 
 Shakspeare, 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 ; being considerably larger than the domestic 
 species : Anas mollissima. — Linnaeus. These interesting 
 sea-birds are found on the Farn and Coquet Islands, situ- 
 ated on the coast of Northumberland, the only places in 
 England where they are known to incubate. They are 
 now, however, almost extinct, in consequence of the wan- 
 ton cruelty of those who visit the islands during the breed- 
 ing season. Their feathers are remarkably soft, and of
 
 SAIN 107 
 
 great value. The popular name is obviouly connected 
 with the celebrated Saint and Patron of Durham ; who, 
 regardless of the pomp and glories, and vanities of the 
 world, resigned the splendour and magnificence of an epis- 
 copal station, for the purity of an hormitical life. Retir- 
 ing to a humble 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. Bonum est laborare manibus. 
 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 work- 
 manship 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 Cuthbert sits, and toils to frame, 
 The sea-born beads that bear his name." 
 
 Scott's Marmion. 
 
 " The Entrochi are frequently called Saint Cuthbert's Beads, from a 
 vulgar opinion that they were made by that holy man ; or be- 
 cause they were used in the rosaries worn by the devotees of that 
 Saint. On the Continent they have been known by the name of 
 Mummuli Sancti Bonafacii." — Ure's Hist. Rutherglen, p. 319. 
 
 They are about the size of the seeds of the mallow, of a 
 dark leaden colour, with a brownish speck in the cen- 
 tre. 
 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 believed to be invested, and of which the wily 
 monks never failed to avail themselves as the best means 
 of enriching their coffers.
 
 108 SAIN 
 
 Saint John's Nut, a double nut. — Saint Mart's Nut, a 
 triple nut. I know not why so called. 
 
 Saint Switiiin's Day, the 15th of July. I introduce this 
 term for the purpose of remarking, that almost all the vul- 
 gar, but more especially elderly females, place great con- 
 fidence 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 ever the humid dei)artment of the firma- 
 ment. The origin of this i^articular prognostication is 
 variously deduced. See Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 
 271 ; and Nares' Glossary. 
 
 Sair. See Sare. Sec, also, the example under Ken. 
 
 Sairy, poor, pitiable, helpless. Sax. sceri. sarig, sorry, sad. 
 
 Sall, very commonly used for shall. Chaucer, sal. 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. 
 
 Salter's Track, an old road near the coast, which may be 
 traced all along the county of Durham, and perhaps all 
 round the island. 
 
 Samcast, same cast, two ridges ploughed together. Referrible 
 to Germ, sammeln, to gather ; zusammen, together. 
 
 Sampleth, a sampler, a piece of needle work. That which 
 gives a sample — sampleth. V. Suffolk Words. The inge- 
 nious author is mistaken in thinking 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."
 
 SARR 109 
 
 Sandgate-rattle, a peculiar step in vulgar dancing, consist- 
 ing of a quick and violent beating of the toes on the floor. 
 
 Sandscrawler, the hirundo riparia or sand-martin. 
 
 Sang, a song. Pure Saxon. It is the same in Teut. and 
 Germ. Sang-book, a song book. Sax. scnig hoc. 
 
 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. 
 
 Safe, soap. Sax. sape. Swed. 5«/>a. Isl. sapa. 
 
 Sapscull, a simple, foolish fellow — a blockhead. 
 
 Sare, sore, painful. Sax. sar. Su.-Got. saar. So. sair. — 
 Sare-heed, sore head, the head ache. 
 
 Sare, very much, greatly, intensely. Tevit. seer. Germ. 
 sehr. ^^ Sare hadden" — (sore holden) — very much dis- 
 tressed by pain or sickness. 
 
 " A dynte he gaff with mekill mayne 
 Syr Ewayne was unhorsid thare 
 That al men went he had ben slayne 
 So was he woundyd wondyr sare." 
 
 LaMorte Arthur e. 
 
 Sark, a shirt — sometimes a shift. Sax. syrc. Su.-Got. s(erk. 
 See a curious quotation from Scotch Presbyterian Elo- 
 quence Displayed, in Boucher, vo. agee ; and Kelly's Scot- 
 tish Proverbs, p. 139, 140. 
 
 '* Ane cuppill oisarlcs, with all my hart 
 The best claith in the land." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tliree Estaitis. 
 " They leif not spindell, spoone, nor speit, 
 Bed, bolster, blanket, sark, nor scheit." 
 
 Maitland's Complaynt. 
 " Near is my sark, but nearer is my skin."— iV. C. Prov. 
 
 Sarra, to serve with meat. 
 
 " Aelsie Marley 's grown se fine, 
 She wunna get up to sarra the swine." 
 
 Song on Alice Marley, an aie wife at Pictree. 
 
 Is it from serian (Sax.), to set in order ? as we use serve in
 
 110 SART 
 
 the double sense of, to supply with meat, and to arrange 
 the table. 
 
 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. 
 
 Sattle-bords (from Settle), the boards or frame-work at the 
 top of a coal-pit upon which the tram or sledge stands, to 
 receive the corf. 
 
 Sauce, insolence of speech, impertinence — saueiness. Sauce 
 piquante no doubt faire la sauce a qudqiC un — to repri- 
 mand him — originally salsus, attic salt, somewhat altered 
 in its quality after being landed at the Quayside — not quite 
 " neat as imported." 
 
 Sauce, vegetables. An ancient use of the word. 
 
 Saufey Money, protection money formerly paid by many of 
 the inhabitants of Northumberland and Durham to marau- 
 ders in consideration of their not stealing their cattle. 
 Safety money. 
 
 Saugh, the great round-leaved sallow. Salix caprea. 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 commemoration of our Savi- 
 our'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 writ- 
 ing the word. 
 
 " Thou, John, thou swineshed awake, 
 
 For Christes saiUe."— Chaucer,— The Reve's Tale. 
 
 Saul, the solid substance in the inside of a covered button. 
 
 Fr. saoid, soul, a filling. 
 Saul, a part of the viscera of the goose, when cooked. Q. ths
 
 SCAL 111 
 
 pleura 1 for it seems to line or fill the inside of the upjjer 
 cavity. Fr. saoul, or souler, to fill, to glut. 
 
 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 I is omitted. — Saut-kit, a salt-box of a 
 peculiar form ; often found in old farm-houses. 
 
 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 Tommt-savelicks. 
 
 Saw, to sow. Ma\-Got. saian. Sax. sawan. Su.-Got. sa. 
 Germ, sllen. 
 
 Sawney, a silly, stupid fellow — a sarcastic designation for a 
 native of Scotland. Sawney is the Scotch abridgment of 
 their common name of Alexander ; but in the sense of 
 foolish, it is, perhaps, as many Scotch phrases are, derived 
 from the French, who use nez for sagacity — sans nez may 
 be foolish, as " on dit un homme a bon nez pour dire, il a 
 de la sagacite." See Diet, de I'Academie sub voce nez. 
 
 Say, authority, influence, sway. " She has all the say" 
 
 ScABY, Scabie, mean, paltry, shabby. Lat. scabies. 
 
 Scad, to scald. — Scaddixg 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 com- 
 pany afterwards pelt each other with the swads, or husks ; 
 and the entertainment is sometimes in consequence called 
 peas and sport. It is generally a scene of uproarious mirth, 
 but frequently a filthy aff'air. 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. 
 
 ScADDLE, wild, skittish. York. Craven Glossary. 
 
 Scale, to spread abroad, to separate, to divide, to shed, to 
 scatter. Sax. scyhm. 
 
 " I shall tell you 
 A pretty tale ; it may be, you have heard it ;
 
 112 SCAL 
 
 But since it serves my purpose, I will venture 
 To scale 7 a little more." — Shale. — Coriolanug. 
 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 dividedmio 
 more particulars and degress ; told more circumstantially 
 and at length. In some parts of the North, they say, 
 " The church is scaling" " The school is scaling ;" and 
 every agreement between landlord and tenant in Northum- 
 berland contains a stipulation that the tenant shall scale 
 the mole-hills. 
 
 " Scaling and dressing the ground." 
 
 House Expenecs, Slierburn Hospital, lt)86. 
 " An aud poke is a.ye scaling." — N.C. Prov. 
 " Fie, fie; he's no Frenchman to fret at the loss of a little scal'd 
 haAi. "—Dekkar's Honest Whore. 
 
 Scale-away, a disorder — a whitlow, a rush in children. 
 
 ScALE-DiSH, a thin dish used in the dairy for skimming milk. 
 
 ScALLiONS, a punishment among boys — a good drubbing. 
 
 Scallop, to work coal in a mine entirely by the hand, with- 
 out the use of gunpowder. 
 
 Scam, Scaum, to bespatter, to stain, to discolour. Lat. 
 squama. 
 
 Scamp, a mean rascal, a fellow devoid of honour and princi- 
 •ple. Properly, a runaway ; from Ital. scampare. 
 
 ScANTisH, scarce — Scantly, scarcely. 
 
 Scar, Skar, a bare and broken rock on the side of a moun- 
 tain, or in the high bank of a river. Su.-Got. slcer, rupes. 
 Sax. carr. " Hence," says Bosworth, " Scarborough de- 
 rives its name." — Scars, cinders burnt to a very hard 
 substance, often used to mend the roads. 
 
 Scare, to fasten two broken or sliced pieces of wood, Isl. 
 skara, asseres reciproce adaptare. 
 
 ScAREY, streaky, smeared, as walls badly coloured. 
 
 ScARN, Sharn, dung of cattle. Su.-Got. 5/{ff;7J, stercus. Sax. 
 scearn. Dan. skarn. See Cow- shaken.
 
 SCOT 113 
 
 ScARN-BEE, a beetle. 
 
 ScART, V. to scratch. — Scart, s. a scratch. See Scrat. 
 Scathe, Skaith, Scath, loss, spoil, damage, harm, destruc- 
 tion. Pure Saxon. Dan. shade. 
 
 " Without gilt, God it woot, 
 
 Gat I this scaithe." — Piers Plovmian. 
 " All these could not procure me any scatfie."—Shaksp. 
 
 " And all my hoped gain is turned to scathe." 
 
 Spenser,—Shep. CaU 
 
 ' ' And thai couth nocht persawe the skaith 
 That towart thaim was appearand."— 27ie Bruce. 
 
 Scatter-brained, weak, giddy, thoughtlesss, light-headed. 
 
 ScHAw, a wood or thicket of trees. See Shaw, 
 
 Sclafe, shallow, as a sclafe dish. 
 
 ScLooT, to squint. 
 
 Scobes, Scopes, or Scoubes, hazel sticks sharpened at each 
 end, and used in a bow shape to fasten down thatch. 
 
 Scon, to strike, to inflict punishment ; a common word 
 amongst the coal miners. 
 
 Sconce, a fixed 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 sejjarate seat. I should 
 prefer Germ, schanze, a defence, a screen, a shelter. 
 
 Sconce, the head. 
 
 Scooter, a syringe. Shooter, perhaps, would be more cor- 
 rect. Sc. skj/ter, from ski/te, to eject forcibly. 
 
 Score, a notch. Sax. scor. The old custom of numbering 
 and keeping accounts by notches on a tally is not yet 
 wholly disused in the North. 
 
 Scotch and English, an amusement similar to Stealy- 
 CLOTHES ; which see. The game seems evidently to have 
 had its origin and name from the raids, or inroads, of the 
 Scotch and English " in times of old" — tho language used 
 on the occasion, consisting, in a great measure, of the terms 
 VOL. ir. Q
 
 114 SCOT 
 
 of reproach common among the Borderers during their pil- 
 fering warfare. 
 
 Scotch-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 Eng- 
 lishman to the skin. Scotch mists, like Scotchmen, are 
 proverbial 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. 
 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, 5. 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 ance cus an ee, 
 Ye'd crack on't as lang as ye're livin." 
 
 Song, Canny Neiccassel. 
 
 ScRAFFLE, s. a Scramble, or eager contest for any thing. 
 Scraffle, to be assiduously industrious, to struggle. — 
 
 ScRAFFLiNG, 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 peoi^le in the North of England. 
 ScRA>xHUM, thin wafery gingerbread ; so called from the 
 
 sound when eaten — scranched. 
 ScRANNY, thin, meagre. Su.-Got. shrinn, macer, gracilis. 
 
 Dan. skrantcn, weak, sickly, infirm. 
 ScRAT, ScRAUT, V. to scratch. Anglo-Norman, escrat Swed. 
 
 Iratsa. — Scrat, s. a scratch — the itch. Welsh, crach, 
 
 scabies ; and Ir. scraw, scurf, seem allied. 
 ScRAT, an hermaphrodite. Sax. scritta. V. Todd's John. 
 Screed, a rent or tear — a shred or fragment. Sax. screade. 
 
 f
 
 SEA-F 116 
 
 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 skir- 
 mish. The word was formerly written skaramouche. 
 Scrimp, v. to spare, to scant. Teut. krimpen, contrahere. — 
 
 ScuiMP, a. short, scanty, little. 
 ScROG, a stunted bush, or shrub. Sax. scrob, frntex. — Scrog- 
 
 GY, full of old stunted trees or bushes. 
 Scrounge, or Scruxge, to crowd, to squeeze. See Skreenge. 
 ScRows, the small shrimp-like insect found in fresh-water 
 
 pools, 
 ScRUDGE, V. to crowd thickly together, to squeeze. — Scrudge, 
 
 s. a crowd, a squeeze. 
 Scruff, scurf. A transposition of letters very common. 
 ScRUNTY, short, meagre, stunted. See Scranny. 
 ScuDDicK, the lowest measure of value. Perhape from sceah 
 
 sceata, a small coin among the Saxons ; or from some other 
 
 denomination of money. 
 Scuff, the hinder part of the neck. V. Wilb. skuff. 
 ScuG, to hide, to shade, to lurk. See Skug. 
 ScuiLL, the ordinary and ancient pronunciation of school. 
 " I send my sones to Pareis to the nciiiUis 
 I trust in God that thay sail be ne fuillis." 
 
 Lyndsai/'s Three EstaitU. 
 
 Scum, to strike a person on the mouth. A low word. 
 
 ScuMFiSH, to smother, to suffocate with smoke. Wood em- 
 bers, the snuffing of a candle, sulphur, &c., have scumfish- 
 ing effluvia in close rooms. Ital, scoiifiggere, to discomfit. 
 
 Scunner, to nauseate, to feel disgust, to loathe — to shy, as a 
 horse in harness. It is also applied, figuratively, to a man 
 whose courage is not at " the sticking place" — who shrinks 
 through fear. Sax. scitnian, to fear, to abhor, to shun. 
 
 Scurf, or Salmon-scurf, salmon trout. Tees, Wear, &c. 
 
 Scurry, unthriving ; applied to trees. 
 
 Sea-fret, a wet mist, or haze proceeding from the sea inland.
 
 116 SEAM 
 
 Seam. The seams, or strata, of coal, are not perfectly hori- 
 zontal, but have a considerable inclination, generally rising 
 from the north-east to the south-west. From the pieces 
 of coal and cinders which have been discovered in digging 
 up the ruins of several Roman stations in the counties of 
 Northumberland and Durham, it is almost certain that the 
 Romans were acquainted with the article of coal, though 
 scholars may dispute about the name by which it was 
 known to them. 
 
 Sear, s. autumn — the time of the drying and ^vithering of 
 leaves. Sax. searian, to nip, or dry. — Seak, a. dry, of a 
 yellow hue ; ojpposed to green. 
 
 " I have liv'd long enough ; my way of life 
 Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf." — Macbeth. 
 
 Dr. Johnson and some other of the commentators object 
 to wai/ of life, and wish to substitute May ; but I must 
 confess that I am not convinced by their arguments. — 
 The May of life cannot fall into the sear. Dr. Johnson 
 and others were far too fond of altering Shakspeare, just 
 because they thought what ih^ did not understand must be 
 wrong. 
 
 Seave, a rush. — Seavy, overgrown with rushes. " Sem>i/ 
 ground." Hexhamshire. 
 
 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 
 Sagkite. 
 
 Seed, saw. Universal among the vulgar. " Aw seed it." 
 
 Seedy, poor, distressed, without money. 
 
 Seeing-glass, a mirror, or loolmg-glass. Isl. sibnargler, 
 speculum. The term often occurs in old inventories of 
 household furniture. 
 
 Seek, sick. Sax. seoc. Old Eng. sclc, as used by Chaucer. 
 
 " The holy blissful martyr for to seke, 
 That him hath holpen when that they were selte." 
 
 Chaucer,— Prologue to Cant. Tales.
 
 SEMP 117 
 
 Seekening, sickening, the period of confinmeut at child-birth. 
 
 Seer, several, divers. Su.-Got. saer, an adverb denoting 
 separation. Ihre. " They are gone seer ways." 
 
 Seer, sure, certain. 
 
 See-saw, a sort of swing — from its reciprocating motion. 
 Fr. ci-(;a. V. Brand's Pop Antiq., Vol, II., p. 304. 
 
 Seestah, Seestow, seest thou. Also so pronounced in Aber- 
 deenshire. 
 
 " Seestow this peple, 
 How bisie thai hen."— Piers Plowman. 
 
 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 ; as, the sacking of a bedstead 
 when it becomes slack, is said to seg. 
 
 Segger's-clay, a name given by miners in the county of 
 Durham, to a kind of clay lying immediately over a seam 
 of coal. It falls into powder when exposed to the air, and 
 is used to make fire-bricks. Can it also be employed for 
 filtering, as by sugar boilers, who force their liquor through 
 a stratum of clay to separate impurities ? If so, it is pro- 
 bably from seiger. Germ, a strainer or filterer. 
 
 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. 
 
 Seiter, thin. When a piece of cloth is worn so thin as to be 
 nearly in holes, it is said to be all in a seiter, 
 
 Sele, a marshy water course, a stream creeping through 
 reeds and rushes. 
 
 Sell, pronoun, self — used in compounds of niysell, hissell, her- 
 sell, yoursell. Plural sells, for selves. 
 
 Semmant, soft, slender, weak, thin, supple, pliant, active. 
 
 Semple, ordinary, vulgar — simple; api)lied to a person of 
 ignoble birth. " Gentle and semple.'" — high and low.
 
 118 SEN 
 
 Sen, Sin, Syne, since. V. Jam. scti. — Sex-syne, Sin-syne, 
 Bince then. " It's lang syne sen he left us. 
 
 " Bot ladie Sensualitie 
 Semyne has gydit this countrie." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 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 Pho'nomena. — 
 Perhaps it is sous-pool — pool below the surface ; or it may 
 havs been adopted from Lat. cedo, cessi, &c., to settle 
 down. See Soss. 
 
 Set, disposal. " She has made a pretty set of hersell." 
 
 Set, a permanent deflection, or settling of a railway or ma- 
 chinery. 
 
 Set, to propel, to push forward ; as setting a keel. Also, to 
 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. 
 
 Set-out, a term applied to a corf of coals deficient in the 
 quantity stipulated to be sent to bank. When a corf is 
 set out, it is forfeited as a penalty for negligence or attempt 
 to defraud. 
 
 Sets-ye-weel. It becomes you well ; said tauntingly or 
 ironically. 
 
 Setten, the old participle of set, is still used colloquially by 
 the common people ; and so are kitten, letten, piitten, and 
 many others. 
 
 Setten-on, short in growth, ill thriven ; said of feeble, dimi- 
 nutive children. The term is also applied to what is 
 slightly burnt in a pan. 
 
 Settle, a seat, or bench stool ; but more generally a long 
 wooden bench with a high back, part of the furniture of 
 
 ^& ft-
 
 SHAF 119 
 
 ancient halls, and still frequently to be found in old houses 
 in the country. Sax. setel, setl, sedes, sella. Our Saxon 
 ancestors had their high settle, or king's settle ; the bishop's 
 settle, or see ; the ceap settle, or tradesman's bench or 
 booth ; 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 un- 
 suitable to his or her station or merit. " She rides in a 
 coach — set her iq?, indeed !" V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Seugh, a wet ditch ; such as that out 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 preposition and in the imperative mood, schab ah, sneak 
 away. 
 
 Shab-eag, a mean person. — Shag-rag, is identical. 
 
 Shack, Shak, to shed, or shahe ; as corn in harvest time. 
 
 Shack-fork, Shak-fork, a pitch-fork — a shake-fork. 
 
 Shackle, a moveable iron hoop, fixed to the extremity of 
 the plough beam by a loose bolt and screw. The team of 
 oxen or horses to draw the ploUgh is yoked to the shackle. 
 Teut. schaechel. 
 
 Shackle, the wrist. Sc. shacMe-bone, the wrist bone. 
 
 Shaffle, to move with an awkward or irregular gait ; to 
 hobble. A corruption of shuffle. To " mack a bad shaffle 
 ont," is to do a thing clumsily. 
 
 Shag-hat, a hat made very long in the down ; much worn 
 by pitmen and keelmen in the environs of Newcastle. 
 
 Shaft, the pit, or perpendicular entrance to a coal mine. 
 There are commonly two shafts to every large colliery, the 
 second being required for the purpose of ventilation. The 
 shaft by which the air enters the mine, called the downcast
 
 120 SIIAK 
 
 shaft, is that by which the men descend to their work, and 
 by which the coals are drawn up. At the Ijottom of the 
 other, called the upcast shaft, a large fire is somestimes 
 kept burning, though more frecjuently there is a furnace 
 at its mouth, with a high chimney, to promote a current 
 of air. 
 
 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 
 appearance. V. Tooke, Vol. II., p. 233. 
 
 Shally-wally, a sign of contempt — shallow brained. 
 
 Sham, shame. Sax. sceam. — Shamfaced, bashful — shamefacecl. 
 Sax. scamfcest. 
 
 " Of hunting and of shamefast chastitie-" 
 
 Chaucer, — The Knight's Tale. 
 
 " But rather would I wish the ground to gape for me below. 
 Or God himself with thunder dint to hell my soul to throw, 
 O Virtue ! ere I thee refuse, or shamefastmss iorsake." 
 
 Phear. and Twyne, Virgil, B. iv. 
 
 Sham-a-sterne, a vulgar phrase, equivalent to not one. This 
 may possibly serve to explain an obscure and difficult pass- 
 age in the fine old heroic ballad of C7iep_y Chase, Fit. 2. 
 " Thorowe ryche male and myne-ye-ple 
 Many sterne the stroke downe streght." 
 Which may be read, — Mr. Lambe says — " they struck 
 down straight mani/ a one, through rich coat of mail and 
 many folds." Sterne, here, seems to be in the sense of 
 stour — store, collective numbers. See Tooke's curious dis- 
 quisition on these words, Vol. II., p. 73 and 185. Or 
 Sterne may be parenthetical. " Many (sterne) they," &c. 
 
 Shandy, wild, frolicksome. Hence Tristram Shandy. V. 
 Suffolk Words, shanntf. 
 
 Shangy, Coally-shanky, Culley-shangy, a row, a tumult, a 
 riot. V. Jam. Supp. shangie.
 
 SHAR 121 
 
 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 sJtanhs na<jy." — Ritson's Scotch Songs. 
 
 Shanty, gay, showy, flaunting. Perhaps, as suggested by 
 Mr. Todd, a corruption of jauntt/. 
 
 Shap, Shape, to I'egin, to set about any thing, to have a pro- 
 mising appearance. Teut. schafen, agere, negotiari. V. 
 Wilb. shape. 
 
 Shapings, shreds, cuttings of cloth. " Tailors' shapings." 
 
 Shard, a broken piece of any brittle or fragile substance. 
 The past participle of the Sax. scyran, to divide ; whence 
 shear, shire, shore, &c., see Tooke, — 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 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. 
 
 " And he took a ■poi-sherd and scraped himself withal." — Job ii. 8. 
 Shard is also a North country word for the shell, or hard 
 outward covering of the tribe of insects denominated Cole- 
 optera. The derivation of shell itself, indeed, is analagous. 
 V. Tooke. 
 
 " Often, to our comfort, shall we find 
 
 The sharded beetle in a safer hold 
 
 Than is the full-winged eagle."— SJiak.—Cymbeline. 
 
 " Ere, to black Hecate's summons. 
 
 The shard-borne beetle, with his drowsy hum. 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 
 A deed of dreadful note."— Shak. — Macbeth. 
 
 These expressions of our dramatist — sharded beetle, and 
 shard-home beetle — are as correct as they are poetical. Dr. 
 
 VOL. II. R
 
 122 SIIAR 
 
 Johnson's ignorance of the latter meaning of the word com- 
 pletely misled him in his interpretation. His error, how- 
 ever, is not overlooked by the learned and indefatigable 
 Mr. Todd. 
 Shaken, dung of cattle, Bee Scarn ; and Cow-sharex. 
 Sharps, coarse ground flour with a portion of bran. 
 Shaw, a small shady wood, a wooded bank. Sax. scua. 
 Teut. schawe, umbra. The word was used by Gower and 
 Chaucer ; and is still current in many parts of England. 
 " Gaillard he was as goldfinch in the skawe." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Coke's Tale. 
 " In somer when the shawes be sheyn, 
 And leves be large and lang." 
 
 Ancient Ballad ,— Robin Hood. 
 Shaw, the stalk or haulm of the potato. 
 Shay, or Po Chay, a chaise. Shay-drivers, the post boys. 
 Shear, to reap, or cut corn with the sickle. Su.-Got. shaera. 
 Shear is not, provincially, applied to sheep. A sheep- 
 shearing is a clipj)ing. — Shearer, a harvest reaper. 
 Shed, to put aside, to disperse, to separate, to divide. 
 " Shedding the hair on the forehead." " Shedding sheep." 
 Sax. sceadan, dividere. Teut. scheeden, separare. Germ. 
 scheiden, to ijart. In tarring sheep, the wool is shed, or 
 parted by the operator for the purpose of introducing the 
 layer of salve. 
 
 — " Till the last day of paiment, when the goats 
 
 and lambs shall be shed or separated by the good sheepheard a 
 sunder." 
 
 J. Radford, — A Directorie touching the Way 
 to the Truth. 1605. 
 A learned and distinguished historian, Dr. Lingard, informs 
 me, that in Lancashire the word shed is used for, to sur- 
 pass ; " that sheds all," being a common expression of sur- 
 prise, equivalent to " that surpasses all that I ever heard 
 of." He further states, that he discovered, in the church- 
 yard at Cockerham the following inscription : 
 " Here lies John Richmond, honest man, 
 Shed that who can !"
 
 SHIP 123 
 
 Sheely, or Sheeley, Sheel-apple, tbe chaffinch. Fringilla 
 ccelebs. Linnaeus. Also called the Spink. 
 
 Sheeting, applied to a slope or waterfall of a mill-dam. 
 Sheet, Tooke says, is the participle sceat of scytan, 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, shame. Ncicc. It nearly resembles Sax. sceam. 
 " It's a shem, and a holy bizon." See Bizon. 
 
 Shent, reproved, blamed, disgraced. Sax. sceadan. 
 
 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, Shield, Shieling, originally a temporary hut or 
 cabin for those who had the care of sheep on the moors, in 
 which they resided whilst tending their flocks during the 
 summer months ; but afterwards applied to fixed habita- 
 tions. Su.-Got. slcale, tuguriolum, domus. Isl. skali. 
 Hence, North and South Shields. In the Endowment of 
 the Cathedral Church of Durham by Henry VIII., 1541, 
 we find " Ecclesia Sanctse Hildge juxta Shelles." The 
 word exactly expresses the sennhilttcn of the Swiss pea- 
 santry. 
 
 " If he cannot apprehend them (Border thieves) he shall 
 
 declare them to be fugitives throughout his marche, and cause 
 them to be declared throughout the other marches of the realm ; 
 and after the said proclamation, shall cause their houses and 
 shields to be destroyed." — Border Laws, p. 162. 
 Shift, to remove from one dwelling-house to another. 
 Shift, the time which one set of men work in a coal pit. 
 Shifter, a coal-miner who works by the shift or day ; gene- 
 rally old men. 
 Shifting, the removal of the furniture, on changing an habi- 
 tation. 
 Shifty, changeable, deceitful, not to be depended on " A 
 shifty fellow" — a person of dubitable character.
 
 124 SHIL 
 
 Skill, to separate, to shell. Sax. ascilian, enucleare, 
 " Shilling oats or harley''' — taking off the hulls. " Shilling 
 peas" — cleaning them of their swads, or husks. 
 
 Shilly-shally, hesitating, irresolute. Generally thought to 
 be a corrupt reduplication of shall I? But see Thomson, 
 who assigns a Gothic origin — skialg, skcelg, corresponding 
 with o-xaXioi. 
 
 Shin, to trump at cards. — Dur. In North, ruff, an 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 
 Shinney, 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. Germ, schoppen, a 
 shed. 
 
 " The shepen brerming with the blake smoke." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Knight's Tale. 
 
 Shire, to separate or divide ; as cleansing liquor from the 
 residuum ; or parting the thick from the thin. A good 
 old word of pure Saxon origin. 
 Shirl, Shurl, to slide ; as on the ice. Fr. secouler, to slide. 
 Shirry-moor, a " row" — a tumult, such as was usual on 
 Gateshead Fell when the judges were met by the Sheriff 
 at what is still called Sheriff Hill. 
 Shittletide, a vulgar expression of disbelief or disapproba- 
 tion. V. Crav. Gloss, shittle-cum-shaw. 
 Shive, a slice ; as of bread or cheese. Sax. sceavan, to 
 shave. Dut. schi/f. It occurs in Titus Andronicus. — 
 Chaucer and other early writers call it shiver. 
 " Now dame, quod he, jeo vous die sang doute, 
 Have I nat of a capon but the liver. 
 And of your white bred nat but a shiver." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Sompnoure's Tale.
 
 SHOT 12S 
 
 ^' Might get a shivef out of thair shelde." 
 
 Yewaine and Gavnn. 
 
 Shoe-the-cobbler, a quick and peculiar movement Avith the 
 fore foot, when sliding on the ice. The " cobbler's knock,'' 
 in the South, is given with the hind foot. 
 
 Shog-bog, Shake-bog, a quaking bog. 
 
 Shoggle, to shake, to joggle. Germ, shaukeln. 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 shoon. 
 
 For they are thrifty honest men." — Sliak., — Hen. VI. 
 " His schon war with gold ydyght." 
 
 Yewaine and Gaxmn, 
 
 ■ " Na schoyne thai had, 
 
 Bot as thai thaim of hydys made." — The Bruce. 
 
 Shore, to threaten. " It shores rain." To frighten, — " He 
 
 shored them away." V. Jam. schor. 
 Short-bread, rich cake. 
 Shot, shifting colour. A shot silk, a colour appearing to 
 
 shoot in different directions. 
 Shot, each man's share or just proportion of the score or 
 reckoning at a public-house. Sax. scot, tributum exactio. 
 Swed. skStta, to join, to join together ; past participle, 
 skbtt. But see Tooke, Vol. II., p. 130. 
 Shot-of. To get shot of, to get rid of. 
 
 Shot-window, a projecting window, common in old houses. 
 Tooke derives it from the Saxon sutan, to project to throw 
 out. In this sense the Northumbrians apply it to a pig 
 taken forth, or put forth, out of the litter, it being then 
 called a shot pig. 
 
 "And forth he goth, jolif and amorous, 
 Til he came to the carpenter's hous, 
 A litel after the cocke had ycrow, 
 And dressed him up by a shot window." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Miller's Tale. 
 " Ane schot wyndo unschet ane litel on char." 
 
 Oaivin Douglas.
 
 126 SHOU 
 
 Shoutuer, the shoulder. Dut. sc?i07ider. — Shouther-fellow, 
 a partner or marrow in any work that requires the joint 
 exertions of more than one man. 
 
 Shrew, a field mouse. Sax. screava. A supersition once 
 prevailed that this poor creature, which is perfectly harm- 
 less, was of so baneful and venomous a nature that when- 
 ever it crept over a horse, cow, or sheep, the animal so 
 touched became afflicted with cruel anguish, and threaten- 
 ed with the loss of the use of its limbs ; many extraordinary 
 remedies for this imaginary evil have been mentioned ; 
 among others, to close up the shrew alive in a hole bored 
 in an ash, elm, or willow-tree ; and afterwards to whip 
 the cattle, thus tormented, with one of the boughs, which 
 was considered an efficacious cure. An intelligent friend 
 has reminded me of an old notion, that the supposed ma- 
 lignity of this mouse is the origin o{ shrew, a vixen ; in re- 
 gard to which much difference of opinion exists among 
 etymologists. But Tooke (Vol. II., p. 207,) seems to de- 
 cide it to come from Sax. sj/rwan, to vex, to molest, to 
 cause mischief to. See also Todd's Johnson. The mat- 
 ter, however, is daily becoming less important ; as, to the 
 honour of the females of the present age, we seldom en- 
 counter " a peevish, malignant, clamorous, spiteful, vexa- 
 tious, 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 ^sop, p. 4, where 
 his Satanic Majesty is amusing himself in this manner. — 
 The origin is probably Germ, scliaukel, a swing-rope, and 
 scheu, 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. Q. 
 SpuUf or Spiile-bane ?
 
 SICK 127 
 
 Shut, to slide or shoot, as shut up or shut down the window, 
 if it be a sash, or shut back if be a horizontal slide. In a 
 trial at Durham in 1827, for a burglary, where the house 
 was entered by a slide casement, the late Justice Bayley 
 was sadly puzzled by a principal witness against the offen- 
 ders, who stated that they must have got in by shutting the 
 window shutter. 
 
 Sic, Sik, Sike, such. Spenser uses sike. Wiclif, swike. 
 
 " To haven with sike lazars acquaintence 
 It is not honest, it may not advance." 
 
 Oiaucer, — The Frere's Prologue. 
 
 " Thai eit and drank «c as thai had." — The Bruce. 
 " And there shall come si/c sleet and rain 
 That unese shall you stand again." 
 
 Yewain and Gawin. 
 
 Sicker, sure. Dan. sikker. Swed. saker. Germ, sicher. 
 
 " When he is siker of his goode name." 
 
 Cliaucer, — The Knighte's Tale. 
 
 '• For to live chaist they vow solemnitly 
 But fra that, they be sUcker of thair bowis 
 Thay live in huredome and in harlotry 
 Examine thame, schir, how thay observe thair vowis." 
 Lyndsay's Tliree Estaitis. 
 
 " The king said ' Certes I can nocht se 
 How that thou yeit may sekyr be 
 Into that countre fer to far, 
 Quhar Inglissmen sa mychly ar." " — Tl\e Bruce. 
 
 It occurs in the following beautiful passage in the Ro- 
 maunt of the Rose. Chaucer is describing Cresseide's 
 modesty in disclosing her love. 
 
 " And as the newe abashed nightingale 
 That stinteth first when she beginneth sing. 
 What that she hereth any herdis tale 
 Or in the hedges any wight stirring 
 And after sikir doth her voice outring : 
 Right so Creseide when her drede stent 
 Opened her herte, and told him her intent." 
 
 SicKERLY, surely. Dan. sikkert. Sw. sakerligen. Germ, 
 sicherlich. 
 
 I- C O .-' -.^
 
 128 SICK 
 
 Sick-like, Sik-like, Sike-like, such like. Goth, swaleik. 
 Sax. swilc. In Chaucer, slike. 
 
 " Sidyke are ye se in the burrows toun." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Side, to decide, to settle ; as well as to coincide, to agree. 
 In Lancashire, to set things aside, or out of the way ; i. e. 
 aside. — To Side. Shakespeare writes 'cide. " To cide 
 this title is imi^annelled — a quest of thoughts." — Sonn. 46. 
 
 Side, a. long, wide, large ; particularly as applied to articles 
 of dress. The word occurs both in the Saxon and Danish 
 languages. Shakespeare and Ben Jonson use side shevesy 
 for long loose hanging sleeves. 
 
 " I biheUl that litel man 
 
 By the stretes als we gon yae 
 His herd was syde ay large span 
 And gilded als the father of pae." 
 
 Ballad on the Seottish Wars,—Ritson's A. B.,\. 40. 
 
 " And thaune cam Coveitise 
 Kan I hym noght discryve 
 So hungrily and holme 
 Sire Horvy hym loked 
 He was betel-browed 
 And baber-lipped also. 
 With two blered eighen 
 As a blynd hogge ; 
 And as a letheren purs 
 Lolled hise chekes 
 "Weilsidder than his chyn." — Piers Plowman. 
 
 Sidesman, an umpire, or referee. 
 
 Side-up, to put things in order ; as to side up the house. — 
 To Side-up, is to set things away. 
 
 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." 
 
 Sight, a large number. Used also in some of the Southern 
 counties. 
 
 Sike, Syke, v. to ooze or run slowly ; as water in a ditch- 
 er through a dam.
 
 SIME 129 
 
 SiKE, Syke, s. a streamlet of water, the smallest kind of na- 
 tural runner. Sax. sic, sick, lacuna. Isl. sijke. In title 
 deeds relating to property in the North, the word often 
 occurs, in the dog-latin of our old records — so archseolo- 
 gically 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 sile." 
 
 Lord Derwentwater's Goodnight. 
 
 SiLE, V. to strain, to purify milk through a straining dish, to 
 cleanse it from impurities. Su.-Got. sila, colare. — Sile, or 
 SiLE-DisH. s. a fine sieve or milk strainer. Su.-Got. sil, 
 colum. Swed. sil, a strainer. See Ray and Grose. 
 
 Sill, stratum of minerals. Sax. sj/lla, the sell or seat. 
 
 Siller, for silver. Still current in our Northern dialect. P. 
 Wachter, silber. 
 
 SiLLERLEss, jioor, needy. 
 
 " A Hllerless man gauns fast through the market." — N. C. Prov. 
 
 Sills, the shafts of a waggon. A corruption of thills. 
 
 Silly, disordered, wretched — used to express bodily weak- 
 ness. A person not in health is said to be silli/. Su.-Got. 
 saleg, poor, miserable. 
 
 Silly-iiue, or Silly-how, the name of the caul, or membrane, 
 in which the heads of some children are invested at their 
 birth. It is vulgarly supposed that one person in a thou- 
 sand comes into the world thus enveloped ; and these cauls 
 are carefully preserved by mothers to sympathise with the 
 fortunes of the children they belonged to in whatever part 
 of the world they may be — to be dry when he is happy 
 and well, and moist when he is afflicted or ill. — Hodgson's 
 North., Part II., Vol. III., p. 373. 
 
 Simey, a foolish, silly fellow. " Thou's a simple simey." 
 
 VOL. 11. s
 
 130 SIMP 
 
 Simple, feeble, helpless, sickly. 
 
 Sin, since. — Sinsink, since that time. 
 
 SiND, to wash out, to rinse — also to dilute ; to sind it douw, 
 
 being to take a drink after meat. So. synde. 
 SiNDRY, sundry. 
 
 " The riche riveres, plesand and proffitabill, 
 The lusty lochis with fische of sindry kyndis." 
 
 Lyndsay'g Dreme. 
 
 Sine, to percolate. — Dur. Fr. saigner, to bleed, to drain or 
 let out water. To sine a cow is to let her go dry ; to dis- 
 perse her milk. 
 
 Sine, afterwards. " As tite sune as sine." V. Jam. sr/ne. 
 
 " And how sura men doith spend thair youtheid haill 
 In courts, syne endis in the hospitaill." 
 
 Complaynt of the Papingo. 
 
 SiNGiN-HiNNiE, or SiNGiNG-HiNNT, a rich kneaded cake ; in- 
 dispensable in a pitman's family. So called from the 
 singing noise emitted while baking it on the girdle. 
 
 SiNGLiN, a handful of gleaned com — a single gleaning. This 
 word is doubtless the same as the Cheshire songow, songal, 
 so ably illustrated by Mr. Wilbraham in his Glossary. In 
 a IMS. addition to a copy of that interesting and privately 
 printed work, presented to me by the author, reference is 
 made to Hyde, dc Religione Persarum, for the ancient use 
 of songall. 
 
 Sink, a frequent asseveration among the pitmen. See 
 Smash. 
 
 SiNNON, for sinew. So. senon. Dr. Jamieson, among other 
 etymons, refers to Old Fris. sijnnen. 
 
 " His houch senons thai cuthyt in that press." 
 
 Wallace, B. i., I. 322. 
 
 SiPE, to leak, to ooze or drain out slowly through a small 
 crevice. Sax. siimn, macerare. Teut. sijpen, stillare, 
 fluere. — SirixGs, 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. sbrpla,
 
 SKEG 131 
 
 to clriuk by little at a time. A horse is said to sirple, when 
 he drinks fastidiously and sparingly. 
 Sit, to become. 
 
 '• I am a king. It sit me not to lie." 
 
 Oiaucer, — TJte Merchante's Tale. 
 
 In the North, it is most frequently used ironically, as " It 
 sits him weel, indeed," is said of a person who arrogates to 
 himself more than is thought proper. 
 
 Site, or Sight, vulgarly pronounced sdet, a great number. 
 
 SiTH, since. Sax. sithe. — Sithin, since then. 
 
 Skadely, having a propensity to steal slyly ; esjjecially any- 
 thing eatable. It is also said of a person whose habits are 
 not strictly virtuous. 
 
 Skare, or Skaire, wild, timid, shy. Grose. V. Jam. Supp. 
 skar. 
 
 Skeel, a cylindrical wooden tub or vessel for carrying milk 
 or water, ^vith an upright handle made of one of the staves 
 in place of a bow. Isl. skiola, a milk-pail. Sw. skid, a 
 bowl.— Hodgson's North., Part II., Vol. II., p. G4.— We 
 have the diminutive skillet as a classical word. 
 
 Skeel, or Skill, to know, to understand — to have a good 
 opinion or foreboding of a person or thing. It is most 
 commonly used negatively, as — " Aw had ne skeell of 
 him." Isl. skilia, intelligere. Sc. skeel ; which is also the 
 vulgar pronunciation in North. The word is not obsolete, 
 as stated by Dr. Johnson. 
 
 Skeely, Skilly, knowing, intelligent, skilful. Often used 
 to denote real or supposed skill in the cure of diseases. 
 The simple doctress of a country village has often been 
 skeely in effecting a cure, when mortality was not more ex- 
 tensive than in this age of greater pretension and display. 
 
 " But out andspak Lord John, Lis mother, 
 And a gkeely woman was she ; 
 Where met ye, my son, wi' that bonny boy, 
 That looks sae sad on thee ?" — Ballad qf Burd Helen. 
 
 Skeo, the stump of a branch.
 
 132 SKEL 
 
 Skelly, v. to squint. Isl. skaela. Germ, schielen. — Skellv, 
 
 s. a squinting look. Sax. sceoleage. 
 Skelly, the dace and the roach. Cyprenus Lincescus, and 
 
 C. Rutilus, — Durham, The Chub. — Cumb. 
 Skelp, v. to slap or strike with the open hand ; particularly 
 on the breech or the cheek. Isl. skelfa, 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 drubUng. 
 Skelper, a vulgar term for any thing very large. 
 Skep, a basket made of rushes, or wicker work. It is an 
 ancient name, not yet obsolete, for a measure of un- 
 certain quantity. Sax. seep. A bee-hive of straw is 
 called a bee-sleep. Gael, sgeip. In old times bees Avere 
 an object of much importance in domestic economy. It 
 was then common for every rural incumbent, and every 
 yeomanly gentleman who made a will, to mention his 
 sheps of bees. V. Surtees' Durham, Vol. III., p. 239. In 
 the Pipe Rolls of Hen. II., it is called eskeppa. In York- 
 shire a coal-scuttle is called a coaX-skep. 
 Sker, to slide swiftly, to skate. Su.-Got. skiuta, trudere, 
 
 impellere. Swed. skara, to cut. 
 Skew, to go aside, to walk obliquely. Germ, scheuen, to go 
 aside, to avoid, to shun, to eschew. Yet Johnson says 
 there is no satisfactory derivation of skew. The word is 
 also used for the slanting wall of the gable, on which the 
 roof rests. 
 Skew, to look obliquely, to squint. Used in Cheshire. V. 
 
 Wilb. 
 Skew, to throw violently — properly in an oblique direction. 
 Skew-xhe-dew, a term for a splay-footed person. 
 Skey, to start, to fly oiF ; as a horse that takes fright — to shy. 
 Skime, to look asquint. — Sken has the same meaning in the 
 
 Westmorland and Craven Dialects. See Skelly. 
 Skimmer, to glitter, to gleam. Sax. sciman, sciiniav, splen- 
 dere, fulgere. Germ, schimment, to shine.
 
 SLAB 133 
 
 Skip-jack, the merry-thought bone of a goose. See Moor's 
 
 Suff. "Words. See, also, Jam. fiupp. 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, 
 
 nauta. Dut. sckipper, a shipmaster. Old Swed. skipare. 
 Skirl, v. to cry excessively, to j^ierce the air with a shrill 
 
 voice. 
 Skirl, s. a loud and incessant scream or shriek — a continua- 
 tion of childish rage and grief. Dan. skraal, an outcry. 
 Swed. shrull, sound, noise. Isl. shrall. 
 Skit, to throw reflections on. Sax. scitan, to cast forth. 
 Skitter, liquidum excrementum jaculare. Hence this vul- 
 gar 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. skeetta, and Swed. 
 skijta, exonei'are 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 etymo- 
 logy is probably to be found in Gr. o-vpiy^, a syringe. Fr. 
 seringue. 
 Skrike, to shriek. Dan. slcrige. Su.-Got. skrika, vociferari. 
 Skrive, to mark or scratch wood or metal. Sw. skrifva, to 
 
 write. 
 Skug, v. to hide, to screen. Su.-Got. skj/gga, obumbrare. — 
 Skug, s. a sheltered place. Isl. skuggi, umbra. Sw. 
 skugga. 
 Skurry, haste, impetuosity. " What a hurrt/skurry." Fr. 
 
 escurer, to scour. Ital. scorrere. 
 Skyat, a paper kite. 
 
 Sla, Slee, a sloe. Sax. sla. Dut. slee. Dan. slaaen. 
 Slab-dash, or Slap-dash, a cheap mode of colouring rooms, 
 by dashing them with a brush in imitation of stained paper. 
 Slabby, dirty and damp — sloppy. Teut. slabberen, to slab- 
 ber. Hence, Slab-basin, for slop-basin.
 
 134 SLAC 
 
 Slack, an opening between two hills, a valley or email shal- 
 low dell. Su.-Got. slak. Isl. slakiir. 
 
 Slack, a long pool in a streamy river. Germ, schlicht, 
 smooth. 
 
 Slade, a breadth or slip of green sward in ploughed land, or 
 in plantations. 
 
 Sladdery, wet and dirty. " Sladdcry walking." Isl. sladda, 
 squalide grassari. See Slatxer. 
 
 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 sla, 
 the chips of iron that fly from the anvil ; and Wachter 
 deduces Germ, schlack, scoria, fa3x metalli, from schlagen, 
 ejicere, excernere. 
 
 Slain, a. blighted ; as slain com, when the grain is reduced 
 to a dry sooty powder. Swed. slagen, struck ; e. g. struck 
 with blindness — slagen mcd blindhet. — Slain, s. the smut. 
 
 Slaister, to beat, to thrash, to drub, to thump. 
 
 Slaistering, doing any thing in an awkward, untidy man- 
 ner. V. Ihre, slask. 
 
 Slake, v. to smear, to wet, to bedaub. Isl. slok, delutare. 
 
 Slake, s. an accumulation of mud or slime, especially in a 
 river. Su.-Got. slak, laxus ; as being soft and flaccid ; or 
 Teut. slijck, coenum, lutum. There is Jarrovo Slake, on 
 the river Tyne, wherein, according to Hoveden, the royal 
 navy of the Northumbrian sovereign Ecgfrid rode at 
 anchor. 
 
 Slam, to beat, to cuff — 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, 5. a joke, a 
 sneer. Fuller uses slent. 
 
 Slap-bang, violently, head-long — slap-dash. 
 
 Slape, slippery, smooth. V. Skinner, Ray, and Grose. 
 
 Slapping, tall, strong, strapping. — Slapper any large ob- 
 ject.
 
 SLEU 136 
 
 Slashy, wet and dirty. Sw. slask, wet. " A slashj/ 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. — Slattery, wet and dirty. 
 
 Slaver, to talk fast, or unintelligibly. Swed. slarfca, to 
 blunder in speaking. See Hash. 
 
 Slaw, the Northern word for slow. Pure Saxon. 
 
 Sle, Slee, to slay. Past participle, Slawte, slaughtered. 
 
 " The leon sit in his awaite ahvay 
 To sle the innocent if that he may." 
 
 Chaucer,— Ttte Frere's Tale. 
 
 Slea, a sloe ; the fruit of the black thorn. 
 
 Sleek-stone, the glass used for rubbing the floors. A polish- 
 ing stone. 
 
 Sleck, V, to cool in water. Hence, Sleck-trough, the 
 trough containing the water in which smith's cool their 
 iron and temper steel. Identical with Slake, v. which see. 
 
 Sleck, to quench ; as to sleek your thirst. Isl. slaecka. 
 
 Sled, a sledge. 
 
 Slee, cunning, prudent, wise. Hence the modem sly. 
 Chaucer uses slie, sligh. In Sir Walter Scott's edition of 
 Sir Tristram, the word is written sleighe, sleige. 
 
 " A thefe he was forsooth of come and mele. 
 And that a slie and usant for to stele." 
 
 Chaucer, — 'Die Reeve's Tale. 
 
 Sleeveless, unsuccessful, unprofitable, pretended, causeless, 
 feigned. " A sleeveless errand," a useless or unprofitable 
 errand. V. Tooke. It is often pronounced in Northum- 
 berland Threeveless, probably from thrieveless, or thrift- 
 less. 
 
 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 New South Wales, the aboriginal natives
 
 186 SLEU 
 
 possess amazing quickness of eye and ear, and can trace a 
 man's footsteps with perfect ease through every descrip- 
 tion 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 lovg 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 blood-hound ; so 
 called from its quality of tracing the sleuth, a word which 
 signifies the scent left by an animal of chace. These dogs 
 were held in great estimation by our ancestors ; particu- 
 larly on the Borders, where a tax was levied for maintain- 
 ing them. Their scent was so remarkably quick, that they 
 could follow, with great certainty, the human footsteps to 
 a considerable distance, as fox-hounds chase a fox, or as 
 beagles and harriers chase a hare. Many of them were, in 
 consequence, kept in certain districts for the purpose of 
 tracing thieves and marauders through their secret re- 
 cesses. 
 
 " Thai maid a prive assemble 
 Off well twa hundir men and mea, 
 And slewth hundis with thaim gan ta." — The Bruce. 
 
 Somervile's description of this lawless race is fiill of poetic 
 beauty. 
 
 " 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 traiu'd and skill'd 
 In all the mysteries of theft, the spoil 
 Their only substance, feuds and war their sport." 
 
 Chase, Book I. 
 
 The poet afterwards beautifully describes the mode of pur- 
 suing these arch felons by this sagacious animal ; but the 
 passage is too long for quotation here. Those, who would
 
 SLIT 137 
 
 wish to have furtliev information relative to the blood- 
 hound, may consult Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel, Note 
 16, Canto I. ; and Dr. Jamieson's Edition of Wallace, 
 Notes on Book V., p. 370. 
 
 Sliddery, slippery. Sax. sliddor, lubricitas. See Slither. 
 
 Slim, wicked, mischievous, perverse. V. Jam., 2d sense. 
 
 Sllnge, to go creepingly away as if ashamed, to sneak. 
 Sax. slincan, to creep. Swed, slinla, 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 
 slipped 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. 
 
 Slip-dyke, a slip or depression in the seam of a coal mine ; 
 the fissure in such cases being mostly filled with fragments 
 of the adjacent strata. 
 
 Slipe-opf, to strip off the skin or bark of any thing. Grose. 
 V. Jam. Supp. sli/pe. 
 
 Slippy, slippery. Not an abbreviation, as Mr. Wilbraham 
 supposes, but a pure Saxon word ; and, as shown by Mr. 
 Todd, of old English usage ; notwithstanding which the 
 great lexicographer characterized it as a barbarous provin- 
 cial term, from sli2) ! 
 
 Slir, to slip, to slide. See Slither. 
 
 Slither, to slide, to slip. Sax. sliderian. Teut. slidderen. 
 — Slithery, slippery. Chaucer uses slider, which I am 
 informed is still in vulgar use in Gloucestershire and So- 
 mersetshire. 
 
 " A dronken man wot wel he hath an hous, 
 But he ne wot which is the right way thider, 
 And to a dronken man the way is slider." 
 
 Cliaucer. — The Kniyht's Tak. 
 VOL. II. T
 
 138 SLIV 
 
 Sliver, v. to cut off a slice, to tear away a part. Sax. slifan. 
 
 " She that herself will diver and disbranch." 
 
 Shak., — King Lear. 
 
 Pope altered this to shiver, for which the Monthly Re- 
 viewers wished to substitute sever. Oh ! these commen- 
 tators ! 
 Sliver, s. a slice. The word, in the sense of a branch torn 
 off, occurs in Hamlet. Chaucer writes it slivere. 
 
 " There on the pendant boughs her coronet weeds 
 Clambering to hang, an envious «/««<?>• broke." 
 
 Shak.,— Hamlet, Act IV., Sc. 7. 
 
 Slocken, to slake, to quench. Su.-Got. slockna, extinguere. 
 Isl. slolca. Old Eng. slokkyn. " To slocken your thirst." 
 See quotation to Lowe. 
 
 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 dark- 
 ness of night, or in the confusion of battle. Gael, sluagh- 
 ghairm, the signal for battle among the Highland clans. 
 Sax. sla, slag, bellicum, an alarum to war, a warning or sig- 
 nal to battle. 
 
 " Our slogan ia their lyke-wake dirge 
 
 Our moat, the grave where they shall lie." 
 
 Lay of the Last Miiistrel. 
 
 The ancient Britons had their war-song, intituled 
 Arymes Prydain, or the armed confederacy of Britain, 
 which may be seen in the Cambrian Register. Taci- 
 tus mentions the chaunters in the army who excited the 
 soldiers to exert themselves, setting forth as examples 
 the glorious deeds of renowned heroes. The Ubooboo Cean- 
 nan, or yell of the Irish, became proverbial. Mottoes are 
 supposed to have been originally the war cries or slogan of 
 the family or faction ; but this opinion is not confirmed by 
 the earliest knovra instances of their employment, and 
 among the Scotch clans, so far back as we can trace their
 
 SMAC 1S9 
 
 history, the slogan seems to have been quite distinct from 
 the motto of the chief — being generally either a shout of 
 his name, or of the usual place of rendezvous. Certain it 
 is, however, that after the change of manners, several fami- 
 lies in Northumberland converted their slogans into mot- 
 toes to their arms. 
 
 Sloggering, loose, untidy, slovenly ; especially in the under 
 garments. Swed. slushig, slovenly. 
 
 Sloom, Sloum, a gentle sleep, or slumber. Teut. sluymen^ 
 leviter 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 swal- 
 low ungracefully. Teut. slorpen, sorbere. Isl. slurla, 
 deglutire. Dan. slurker, to swallow. 
 
 Slot, v. to fasten by a bolt. " Slot the door." T«ut. sluy- 
 ten. Swed. sluta, to shut, to close. Dan. slutte. Germ. 
 schliessen. 
 
 Slot, 5. a small bolt or sliding bar. Teut. *^^, sera. Germ. 
 schloss, a bolt. 
 
 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, wet, or muddy ; but most com- 
 monly applied to snow in a state of liquefaction. Su.- 
 Got. slash, humor quincunque 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 glut- 
 ton. 
 
 Slushy, muddy, wet, or plashy. 
 
 Smack, v, to kiss with a noise. — Smack, s. a loud kiss ; such
 
 /. 
 
 140 SMA'-C 
 
 as was giTen at the ludicrous wedding of Catherine and 
 Petruchio. 
 
 " He took the bride about the neck ; 
 
 And kiss'd her lips with such a clamorous smack 
 That, at the parting, all the church did echo." 
 
 Sfiak.,— Taming of the Shrew. 
 
 The ceremony of saluting a bride at the altar, imme- 
 diately after the i^erformance of the marriage service — a 
 very ancient custom — has not yet fallen into disuse. 
 There are two sources whence to derive the word stnacJc. 
 Dr. Johnson says, Sax. smceccan j which no doubt is the 
 origin of Germ. schmeicJieln, to coax ; but this seems too 
 gentle a procedure. It is rather, a friend remarks, the 
 German mode of doing the thing with a schmach — gout, 
 relish, gusto ; and hence their schmatzen, which is to make 
 a noise with the mouth in eating or kissing, when doing 
 either with a relish. 
 
 Sma'-co'-fizzer, & 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. «. to crush, to break in pieces, to shiver. — Smash, s. a 
 crush, the state of being shivered, atoms. Gael, smuais, 
 broken in shivers. 
 
 Smash, a kind of oath among the pitmen. Nothing ener- 
 getic can be said without it. Indeed, it is the most strik- 
 ing characteristic of their uncouth phraseology — and natu- 
 ral enough considering their liableness to be smashed. 
 
 Smash, to pass bad money. 
 
 Smasher, a paper of counterfeit coin. 
 
 Smasher, a small standing pie, or raised tartlet ; generally 
 made of gooseberries. — Newcastle. This word almost means 
 any thing larger than another of the same sort. It is like- 
 wise a cant name for a pitman ; in which I am told by an 
 
 / 

 
 SMOC 141 
 
 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 eat up at a mouthful ! But it is, I think, more 
 likely from Germ, schmausen, to feast — schmauser, a feaster. 
 As great quantity and feasting are in a pitman's glossary 
 of taste quite synonymous, a smasher signifies necessarily 
 something A?y, just as in the English idea of prettiness 
 always including plumpness, the French joli becomes in 
 English jolli/. 
 
 Smatch. a slightly-unpleasant savour, " a twang." 
 
 " I had only sweetened their lips, and left them a smatch of some 
 honey in their mouth." — Ousman, Part ii., p. 157. 
 
 Smeeth, to smooth. It is the ancient Saxon form of the 
 word. 
 
 Smelt, the fry of the salmon ; usually pronounced smout. 
 Sax. smelt, a smelt. Sardina jiiscis. 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, the fragments 
 struck oiF from the hot iron by the ha.mmer. 
 
 Smirk, Smirkle, to smile pleasantly, to laugh in the sleeve 
 or secretly, but not satirically. Sax. smercian, subridere. 
 
 Smit, Smittle, v. to infect. Sax. smittan. Dan. smiite. — 
 Smit, Smittle, s. infection. — Smittle, Smittlish, a. infec- 
 tious, contagious. Dan. smitsom. Teut. smettelick. 
 
 Smock, the under linen of a female. Sax. 5»ioc. A good old 
 word, though in the index cxpurgatorius of fashionable 
 delicacy. In former days, gifts of land for the singular 
 purpose of purchasing smocks for Nuns were not uncom- 
 mon. 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 smock of fine Holland, and the bodies and sleeves 
 wrought all over with black silk." As remarked by Fos- 
 broke, this may appear to modern ideas an odd kind of
 
 142 SMOC 
 
 present ; 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 
 continued at Newburn, a village near Newcastle, on As- 
 cension-day. 
 
 Smoor, to smother, to suffocate. Sax. smoran. Teut. smoo- 
 ren. Common in Lancashire and Westmorland Mr. Todd 
 says. It may be added, in Northumberland and Durham 
 
 also. 
 
 " Als I pray to the rude 
 
 That Martin Luther, that fals loun 
 Black BuUinger, and Melancthoun, 
 
 Had bene stnorde in their cude." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tliree Estaitis. 
 
 SouTHERLicK, of a dusky complexion. A word used by 
 Chaucer. 
 
 Smouch, to salute. An old word. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Smudge, v. to laugh in a clandestine or concealed manner. 
 Ger. schmimzcln, to laugh in one's sleeve. 
 
 Smudge, v. to burn without a flame, or any appeai'ance 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 Avith an axe. For etymology, 
 see Todd's Johnson. I am informed that the trees drifted 
 down by the Mississippi are classified as snags, mags, plan- 
 ters, and sawyers. 
 
 Snag, s. the part left on the tree after a branch is cut off. 
 
 Snake-stones, petrified shell fish or ammonites, resembling 
 snakes coiled up, without heads, for which Whitby has long
 
 SNED 143 
 
 been celebrated. They were supposed to have been real 
 snakes ; and the want of heads was no valid objection to 
 the hyijothesis, 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 pe- 
 trified, through that good saint's prayers. V. Young's 
 Geology of the Yorkshire 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 unakes, each one 
 Was changed into a coil of stone, 
 
 When holy Hilda prayed."— ,Sco«'s Marmion. 
 
 Snap, a small round cake of brittle gingerbread — liable to be 
 
 snapped. 
 Snap-apple, or Snack-apple, a kind of play. See Halle- e'en. 
 Snape, to chide, to reprimand. IsL sneipa, contumelia affi- 
 
 cere. V. Todd's John, sneap. 
 Snarl, v. to ensnare ; as to snarl hares. — Snarl, s. the snare 
 
 itself, made of wire. " Snaryn or snarlyn, illaqueo." 
 
 Prompt. Parv. 
 Snarle, s. a hard knot. 
 Snathe, to prune, to lop. Sax. snithan, to cut. Swed. snida, 
 
 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 fasten it by a latch. 
 
 Teufc. snacken, captare. V. Ray. See 9th acceptation of 
 
 Catch, in Todd's Johnson. 
 Sneck-drawn, narrow-minded, covetous. V. Jam. sneck- 
 
 drawer. 
 Sned, v. to lop, to cut. " To sned sticks." Apparently the 
 
 same as Snathe. Dut. sneeden, Teut, sniiden, and Germ. 
 
 schneiden, cognate. 
 Sned, 5. the long shank or handle of a scythe. Sax. snced.— 
 
 To Sned is a Hartlepool word for to catch. A boy fishing
 
 144 SNEL 
 
 at the Pier-end, exclaimed " Eh ! aw've snedded twee at a 
 band :" i. e. I have caught two fish on one line. 
 Snell, sharp, keen, piercing ; as a snell air. Teut. snel, acer- 
 Ital. snello, brisk. " December fell, baith sharp and 
 snell" 
 
 " Sa hard anoythaim then assayit, 
 Off hungir, cauld, with schowris snell 
 That nane that levys can weill it tell."— 37ie Bruce. 
 
 Sneul, a pitiful, sneaking, crow-trodden fellow. 
 Sneulls, the internal lining of a sheep's nostrils. 
 Snew, snowed. " It stiew all day." It is the old preterite, as 
 used by Chaucer and other ancient writers. 
 
 " It snewed in his house of mete and drinke 
 Of all deintees that men coud of thinke." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Franklein's Prologue. 
 
 Sneeze-horn, or Sneesh-horn, a common sort of snuff-box, 
 
 made of the tip of a cow's horn. 
 Snifter, to snuff up the nose, to sniff. Su.-Got. sni/fsta. 
 Snig, an eel. Hence, to sniggle, to fish for eels. 
 Snippy, parsimonious, niggardly. Teut. snippen, resecare. 
 Snirle, an iron instrument for holding a bull by the gristle of 
 
 the nose. 
 Snirt, v. to laugh suddenly and involuntarily. — Snirt, 5. a 
 
 suppressed laugh. V. Jam. Supp. 
 Snithe, sharp, piercing, cutting ; applied to the wind. Sax. 
 
 snithan, secare. See Snell. 
 Snivt, Sneavel, to speak through the nose, to sniff — to 
 
 snuffle. Su.-Got. snyfsta. V. Ihre. 
 Snivy, mean, covetous. Identical Avith Snippy. 
 Snock-snarled, entangled, much twisted, curled up like hard 
 
 twined worsted. Germ, knilpfen, a fastening, and knorr, a 
 
 knot — the fastening knotted. 
 Snod, smooth, neat, even, trimmed. Sax. snidan, to cut. 
 
 Applied to persons, it means sly, cunning, demure. " The 
 
 s7iod fellow would kiss the lass if he could." 
 Snoke, to smell, to pry about curiously, to look closely at 
 
 anything, to ferret. Swed. snola, insidios^ scrutari, Se-
 
 SODD 146 
 
 reiiius. — JSnoka i hear vrd, to thrust one's nose into every 
 corner. Widegren. 
 
 Snood, or Snudge, a fillet, a ribbon. Sax, snod, vitta. Welsh, 
 ysnoden. Cornish, snod. 
 
 Snort, to laugh outright. — Snorting, laughing out. 
 
 Snot, Snotty, a contemptuous epithet for an insignificant fel- 
 low — a snot, mucus nasi. " What rich folks put in their 
 pocket, and poor folks throw to the door." — North, 
 riddle. 
 
 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, 
 s. mucus nasi. Sax. snote. Tuet. snot. 
 
 Snudge, a mean, sordid, and avaricious fellow. 
 
 Soak, or Soke, the same privilege as Sucken, which see. Sax. 
 soc. V. Grose, soke. 
 
 Soak, a small spot of marshy ground in which a spring rises, 
 or which is kept moist during the winter by the action of 
 water. Also used in Herefordshire. 
 
 SoAM, a trace used in ploughing, generally of iron. It oc- 
 curs in the inscription at Houghhead, in Roxburghshire, 
 recording Habbie Hall's defence of his land against the 
 Kerrs, quoted by Sir Walter Scott in his introduction to 
 the Minstrelsy. Soani is also the name of a short rope by 
 which the tram in a colliery is drawn. 
 
 SoBBLE, to thrash, to beat. Probably a contraction of disable. 
 It is a very common word among the pitmen. " Aw'U sohble 
 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'unc charrue. See a good article upon the word in 
 Jamieson. 
 
 SoDDY, Soddent, heavy, sad. Perhaps from sodden, the part. 
 of seethe, boiled down, all the goodness taken out. — Sod- 
 den-wheat, furmety, or, as it ought to be sj^elt, frumertj/ ; 
 a preparation of newly reaped corn, which, rcboiled with 
 vol. II. u
 
 146 SODS 
 
 milk, and a little sweetened, makes a pleasant and nutri- 
 tive 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 ; as applied to the weather. " A 
 soft day" — a mild damp day, threatening rain. " A softly 
 day." — Westmoreland. 
 
 Soft, weak, foolish, innocent. 
 
 Soil, the fry of the coal-fish, or colesay ; appearing in the 
 river Tyne, at North Shields, about June. " In a short 
 time they increase to about five inches in length, when 
 they are called liallan, and are caught near the shore in 
 considerable numbers, with a small hook baited with a 
 muscle. By September they increase to about a foot in 
 length, and are then called poodlers. — Rambles in North., 
 p. 23. 
 
 Solar, Soller, an upper room. An old word. See Glossary 
 of provincial words used in Herefordshire. 
 
 Sole, the bottom of a waggon. 
 
 Sole, the surface of meadow ground ; if it be smooth and 
 level it is said to have a good sole. 
 
 Solid, steady and serious. Used also in Gloucestershire and 
 Herefordshire. 
 
 Some, a collective termination. " The tweeso/rte" — " the 
 three5(M»c." 
 
 SoNCT, or Sonsy, pleasant, agreeable, engaging ; as applied 
 to a person's looks. It may, as a literary friend supposes, 
 be referred to Ital. concio ; though it is, perhaps, merely a 
 corruption of Fr. sans souci. 
 
 SoNCY, Sonsy, plump, fat, thriving — also lucky. " A so7isi/ 
 lass," Probably from Tuet. sanse, increase, prosperity. 
 Todd. 
 
 " But I've twa sonsy lasses, young and fair." 
 
 Romsay. 
 " Better be sonsy than soon up."— i\". C. Prov.
 
 SOTT 147 
 
 SooM, the Northumbrian pronunciation of swim. — Soomer, a 
 
 swimmer. " A top soomer.''^ 
 Soop, our Northern word for sweep. Su.-Got. sopa. 
 SooPLE, s. the heavy end of a flail, the part which strikes the 
 
 corn. 
 Sooth-fast, true. 
 
 " Myght he not make liis grayne to growe and sede 
 AVithin her brest, that was both mayd and wyfe 
 Wherof is made the sooth-fast bread of lyfe." 
 
 Lydgate. 
 
 " Tharfor I wald fayne set my will 
 Giff my wyt mycht suffice thartill 
 To put in wryt a suthfast story." — "Die Bruce. 
 
 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. 
 
 " Now vengeance light on all the sort, that better shold have 
 kept it." — Gamtner Gurton's Needle, Act I., Sc. 3. 
 
 " But like a sort of sheep dispersed farre." 
 
 Spenser, — Fairie Queene. 
 
 " They can see a sort of traitors here." 
 
 SliaJc, — King Richard III. 
 
 " Gif that be trewe, the feind resave the sort." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Soss, V. to lap like a dog. — Soss, s. a call of dogs to their 
 meat. " Soss, houndis mete." Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Soss, s. a heavy, clumsy fall ; the sound caused by the act of 
 falling. See Souse. Dr. Jamieson refers to Ir. and Gael. 
 sios, down, downwards. V. Supp. Ital. scossa, seems al- 
 lied. 
 
 " Cham faine abrode to dyg and delve in water, myre and claye 
 Sossing and possing in the durte styll from daye to daye." 
 
 Gammer Gurton's Needle, Act I., Sc. 4. 
 
 Soss, s. puddle, any thing foul or muddy. " The beer's as 
 
 thick as soss." V. Gael. Diet, sos ; and Jam. soss. 
 SoTTEB, to boil slowly, to simmer. Sax. seothan.
 
 148 SOUG 
 
 Sough, v. to sigh, as the wind. 
 
 " No preia of Grekis routis maid agast 
 Ilka sowch of wynd, and every quhisper now." 
 
 Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 Souk, the Northern form of suck. — Souring, sucking. V. 
 Crav. Gloss. 
 
 SouPLE, elastic — supple. Fr. souple. " He's as souple as an 
 eel." — SouPLEJACK, a cane. 
 
 SouR-DOCKEN, common sorrel. Rumex acetosa. Welsh, suran. 
 
 SouR-MiLK, butter niilk. ^weA. sur miolk . 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 siis, the old French word for above or upon, 
 for which they now use sur, though still retained in some 
 phrases ; as courir sus a quel qii'un, to fall upon one. The 
 modern proposition dessus, upon or above, is only a com- 
 pound of de and the old sus. Mr. Todd, I observe, in his 
 2d. edition, prefers this etymology. See Diet, de I'Acad. 
 sub voce sus ; and that is derived, perhaps, from Greek 
 o-x? , contracted from e-o'oj, impetus ; at least this seems as 
 likely as Murray's " sursum, susum, sus." 
 
 Souse, s, a great thumj), 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 
 slciden soe, a nasty, greasy, stinking jade. Wollf. 
 
 Sowings, a dish made by jjouring boiling water upon oat- 
 meal seeds, by which a fine meal is extracted, and then 
 boiled. Perhaps, from sodden, the particijile of seethe, to 
 boil down. Sodden wheat is frumerty. 
 
 Sow-KiLL, a kiln for burning lime, made by heaping up the 
 limestones and coals, and covering them with sods, in dis- 
 tinction from a regular built kiln.
 
 SPAN 149 
 
 SowTHER, V. to solder. Fr. soiuler. — Sowther, s, solder, 
 used by plumbers, braziers, &c. 
 
 Spack, or Spak, the ancient preterite of spcal ; still in com- 
 mon use in the North. 
 
 Spait, Spate, Speat, or Spyet, a great fall of rain, a torrent, 
 a spout. Sax. speyte, sipho, siphon. Teut. spuyte. Gael. 
 speid, a great flood, seems allied. 
 
 Spale, Spail, Sptel, Spell, a chipping of wood, or splinter. 
 Su.-Got. spiaell, segmentum. Swed. spjcde, a pale, a splint. 
 Old Eng. spall, a chip. 
 
 Spaxcel, 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, span- 
 nen, to extend. — Spang, s. a leap, a bound, a jump. 
 
 Spang-axd-purley-q, a mode resorted to by boys, of mea- 
 suring distances ; particularly at the game of marbles. — 
 It means a space and something more pour le queue — the 
 flourish a Frenchman makes with his pen at the end of a 
 paragraph. 
 
 Spanghew, to throw with violence. The word is sometimes 
 used to express a barbarous operation on the toad, a reptile 
 to which rustics have a great antipathy. In performing it 
 they rest one-half of a long wooden bar on a large step- 
 ping stone, or over a cart, placing the toad at its extre- 
 mity. A person, with a 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, 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 so 
 much against the animal as against its supposed inmate ; 
 for the clowns imagine, that by the process they shall give 
 a coup de grace to a witch. A similar diversion, called 
 filipping the toad, appears to be common with boys in War- 
 wickshire and the adjoining counties. V. Boswell's Shak.
 
 160 SPAN 
 
 Vol. XVII., p. 38. The same cruel sport prevails in 
 Scotland, See Jam. Snpp. spang-tade. 
 Spanker, a tall 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 Aid er- 
 man's pace." 
 Spanker-eel, the lamprey. 
 
 Spar, to dispute angrily. Germ, sperren, to resist, to op- 
 pose. 
 Spar, Spare, to shut, to close. A very common word in the 
 North. Sax. sparran, to bar. Dan. sperre. Germ, sperren. 
 When the stede is stolen, sparre the stable A\xt.— Helton. 
 " Orgayn unto the yatis he yade. 
 But they war sperred ferly fast 
 With lokkes." — Yewain and Gawin. 
 " Lyke as the byrde within the cage inclosed 
 The dore unsparred, his foe, the hawke, without, 
 'Twixt death and prison pitiously oppressed." — Wyat. 
 
 Spar, A-spar, in a state of opposition. To set the legs a-spar, 
 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 spark' d my 
 boots." Elsewhere to sparkle. 
 
 Sparling, the smelt of the Thames, but not so of the Tyne ; 
 occasionally caught in the latter river. Sahno 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 unlike cucumber — smell it. Its German name is stinck- 
 fisch. 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 de. 
 rived from Gr. a-Trei^roi. Eurip. Phoen., or Lat. spartum. 
 
 Sparty-ground, ground wet, and with rushes here and there 
 — such as are seen in sour pastures.
 
 SPER 161 
 
 Spave, Speave, to castrate, to spay ; properly confined to 
 the taking out of the ovaria from female animals. Lat. 
 spadare. Germ, spadden. Welsh, dispaddu. V. Gael. 
 Diet, spoth. 
 Spean, Spaen, or Spane, to wean a child, to dej)rive a crea- 
 ture of its mother's milk. Germ, spenen. Young corn is 
 said to be speancd, when the saccharine, milky juice of its 
 grain is exhausted, and it is obliged to depend on the nu- 
 triment collected by its own roots. 
 Speat-of-wet, a very heavy rain. See Spait. 
 Speel, Speil, to climb, to clamber. Sc. spele, speil. 
 " This bird I set upon ane branche me by 
 Bot scho began to speill richt spedilye." 
 
 Lyndsay's Complaynt of the Faplngo. 
 
 Spelder, to spell. Very common in Yorkshire. 
 
 Spelk, a small splinter, a thatching stick. Sax. spelc. Teut. 
 
 spalcke. Swed. spjMka. 
 Spelk, a little, slender creature; used as a term of reproach. 
 The word is often applied contemptuously to a puny, ac- 
 tive child — a mere splinter. 
 Spell-and-ore, a game. — Durham. In Yorkshire it is 
 Spell- AND-NURR, or knur ; the ore, or wooden ball, hav- 
 ing 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 ajjartment, a country parlour. Meaning a 
 larder, or store-room, — this is a very old word ; from Fr. 
 despence. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 " Me thinketli they ben like Jovinian, 
 Fat as a whale, and walken as a swan ; 
 AI vinolent as hotel in the spence." 
 
 Chaiccer, — Tlie Sompnoure's Tale. 
 
 Spere, v. to ask, to enquire, to search. Sax. spyrian, investi- 
 gare. Swed, spbrja, to ask, to question. Isl. spyria, in- 
 vestigare, quserere. " This terme \_spere'\ is far Northerne, 
 and nat usyd in commyn speche." Palsgrave. See Spur, 
 in Hunter's Glossary.
 
 162 SPER 
 
 Spere, s. a screen across the lower end of a hall ; any parti- 
 tion within the entrance of a room. 
 
 Spetchel, a stone or spetchel dike is one made of stones laid 
 in horizontal rows with a bed of thin turf between each of 
 them. This fence will stand many years if well built 
 at first. In building it, care should be taken to let each 
 row of stones rest upon the joints of the row below. 
 
 Spice, gingerbread. Germ, speise, a mixture of different in- 
 gredients. Fide Glossary to the Priory of Finchale vo. 
 species. 
 
 Spice, dried fruit. Hence, Spice-cake, a cake full of cur- 
 rants ; and Spice-pudding, a plum-pudding. 
 
 Spiddick-and-fawcett, a wooden instrument used as a sub- 
 stitute for a cock to let out liquors. Spigot-and- faucet. 
 
 Spile, a peg in a cask of liquor. Germ, spcilcr, a skewer. — 
 Spile-Hole, the receptacle for the same. 
 
 Spile, to make a foundation in soft or boggy ground ; as, for 
 instance, for a bridge, by driving in spiles ; i. e. piles, or 
 large 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 throAving 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 ? Un- 
 questionably. 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 was 
 always kept, we have the authority of Horace. Accord- 
 ing to the well-known custom of our ancestors, they for- 
 merly 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 
 below the salt, particular care was taken to place the 
 guests in a situation suitable to their rank. It would seem
 
 SPUN 163 
 
 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, which 
 
 see. 
 Spinny-wye, or Spinnywhy, a game among young persons in 
 
 Newcastle. V. Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. II., p. 805. 
 Spital, Spittle, a corruption of the word hospital, and hav- 
 ing the same signification. Su.-Got. spetal. So. spittle. 
 
 The late Mr. Gilford endeavoured to distinguish between 
 
 Spital and Spittle. V. Todd's John. Spittle. 
 Spirt, Splirt, Splurt, to spit out, to eject from the mouth. 
 Splay, to fasten down the edges of a seam — from display, to 
 
 spread out. 
 Splint or Splent, an inferior coal ; a highly bituminous shale. 
 Sponsible, worthy of credit in the world — responsible. 
 Sprackle, to climb, to clamber. Isl. sprikla, membra con- 
 
 cutere. 
 Sprag, lively, active, ingenious. Grose. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 sprack. 
 Spreckled, streaked, speckled. Su.-Got. spreklot. 
 Spree, sport, merriment, a frolic. Fr. esprit, spirit, vivacity. 
 Sprent, bespattered, splashed with dirt. Sax. sprengatiy 
 
 spargere. Chaucer uses spreint. 
 
 " O soden wo, that ever art successour 
 To worldly blis, spreint is with bitternesse, 
 Th' ende of the joye of our worldly labour." 
 
 The Man of Larce's Tale. 
 
 Spring, a growth of natural wood. 
 
 Spunk, a spark, a small fire. Also a piece of wood dipped 
 in brimstone — used as a match. 
 
 Spunk, mettle, spirit, vivacity ; usedjf?y?wa?««e^ 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 
 
 VOL. II. X
 
 164 SPUN 
 
 contemptible expression. But see Dr. Jamieson's Sup- 
 plement. 
 
 Spunky, sparkling, fresh, spirited. So. spunMe. 
 
 Spurlino, the deep track of a coach or cart wheel. Germ. 
 spur, a rut ; plural, spurcn. Sw. spdr, track, trace. 
 
 Squab, a rustic seat, a long settle of wood. See Lang-saddle. 
 
 " In the Task of Cowper, there is a history of the progress of in- 
 vention, to rest our weary or idle limbs : but his ignorance of one 
 stage in the progress, makes it seriously defective, for in his ac- 
 count he has made no mention of the long settle, not unusually 
 called a squab, with which every cottage in this neighbourhood 
 has from time immemorial been furnished." — Pijter on the Dialect 
 of Sheffield. 
 
 Stacker, to reel, to totter, to stagger. The old form of the 
 word. Swed. stagra. — Stackers, a disease in horses — the 
 staggers. 
 
 Staddle, the bottom of a corn or hay stack, a mark left in 
 the grass by the long continuance of the hay in bad wea- 
 ther. Sax. stadel, a foundation, or ground work. Isl. 
 studull, pes. Welsh, ystadledd, a continuous state. 
 
 Stag, a colt, or young horse. V. Jam. staig, stag. 
 
 Stagnate, to astonish. " I'll stagnate h-er wi' my story." 
 
 Staid, advanced in years. Local in this sense. 
 
 Staidlin, a part of a corn stack left standing. Sec Staddle. 
 
 Stainchils, the door-posts. 
 
 Stair-head, the landing of a staircase. 
 
 Staith, often pronounced Steeth, or Steith, a place to lay 
 up and to load coals at — either a storehouse or wharf, as 
 occasion may require. Sax. stath, stathe, ripa, littus, sta- 
 tio navium. The word occurs in a demise from the Prior 
 of Tynemouth, A. D. 1338. 
 
 Stake-and-rice, Stake-and-yeathee, a sort of wattled fence. 
 See Rice and Yeather. 
 
 Stalwart, stout, strong, hale, valiant. Sax. stcel-iccorth. 
 
 Stammer, to stagger, to stumble. Isl. stiimra, collabi. 
 
 Stanchil, or Stannel-hawk, the Kestril or Windhover ; in- 
 habiting rocks and old buildings. Falco Tinnunculus. Lin. 
 Shakspeare, in the Twelfth Night, calls it stanyel.
 
 STAN 155 
 
 jTANCHiL, Staneshel, the iron-bar of a window — a stanchion. 
 Stand-for'd, I'll engage, I'll be bound. 
 
 " Thou art ane limmer, / stand for'd." 
 
 Lyndsay's TJiree Estaitis. 
 
 Standstill, a stoppage, a cessation. An inversion of the 
 classical stillstand — Dan. and Dut. stilstand. Swed. stille- 
 stund. 
 
 Stane, Stahan, St'yan, a stone. Sax. stan, Dan. steen. 
 
 Germ, stein. Isl. steinn. Sc. stane. 
 
 " And schot and tumblet on him stanys, 
 Rycht gret and hewy for the nanys." — The Bruce. 
 
 Stang, v. to shoot with pain ; as in the tooth-ache — to 
 sting. Isl. stanga, pungere. — Stang, s. an acute pain, a 
 sting. 
 
 Stang, s. a long bar, a wooden pole — a piece of timber adapt- 
 ed for the shaft of a cart or carriage ; or for railing or put- 
 ing across a brook ; or, indeed, for any other purpose re- 
 quiring strength. Dan. stang, a bar, a pole. Su.-Got. and 
 Swed. stang, a pole. Isl. staung, pertica. Sax. steng, vec- 
 tis. Dut. stang, a pole. Ital. stanza, a bar. Sec Steng. 
 
 " Wallas that stelng tuk up in till his hand." 
 
 Wallace, B. it, I. 41. 
 " Upon the hed ane with the steing hitt he, 
 Till bayn and brayn he gert in pecis fle." 
 
 lb., B. a., I. 49. 
 
 Riding-the-stang, a punishment among the vulgar ; inflict- 
 ed upon fornicators, adulterers, severe husbands, and such 
 persons as follow their occupations during particular festi- 
 vals or holidays, or at prohibited times, when there is a 
 stand or combination among workmen. Offenders of this 
 description are mounted astraddle on a long pole, or stang, 
 supported upon the shoulders of their companions. On 
 this painful and fickle seat, they are borne about the neigh- 
 bourhood backwards, attended by a swarm of children, 
 huzzaing and throwing all manner of filth. It is consi- 
 dered as a mark of the highest reproach ; and the person
 
 166 STAN 
 
 who has been thus treated, seldom recovers his character 
 in the opinion of his neighbours. When they cannot lay 
 hold of the culprit himself, a boy mounts the stang ; but 
 he is unmolested, though attended with the same tumul- 
 tuous cries, if not with increased shouts of acclamation. 
 The proxy vociferously proclaims, that it is not on his own 
 account that he is thus treated, but on that of another per- 
 son whose crime he names. I have been witness to pro- 
 cessions 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 in- 
 dignity. In this case, it is called " Riding the stang for a 
 neighbour's wife ;" and a man is placed in the same un- 
 easy situation as before described, so that he may be sup- 
 posed to represent, or to sympathize with his henpecked 
 friend, whose misery he sometimes laments in doggrel 
 rhyme, applicable to the occasion. He is carried through 
 the whole hamlet, with a view of exposing or shaming the 
 viraginous lady, and of thus preventing further outrages 
 on the person of her pitiable partner. This mark of dis- 
 grace 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 Niding, 
 or the infamous ; being disqualified from ever giving evi- 
 dence in any judicial matter. Eric, Iving of Norway, was 
 compelled to fly from his dominions, so great was the ha- 
 tred against him, for having been the means of inflicting 
 this tremendous stigma on Egill Skallagrim, a celebrated 
 Islandic bard. In Cumberland, it was a constant holiday 
 custom, on Old Christmas Day, to carry every man they 
 could catch, on a stang, and every woman, in a swill, to a 
 public-house, and fine them a pint of beer.
 
 STAY 167 
 
 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. stanha, to pant for breath. Swed. stdnla. 
 Stank, a wet ditch or boggy piece of ground. It is an old 
 
 English word, in the sense of a pond, or dam of water. 
 Stap, the stave of a tub. " To take a stap out of your bicker," 
 
 implies, to humble you. Su.-Got. staaf, a stave. 
 Staple, a small shaft of a coal pit, generally connecting two 
 
 seams. 
 Starring, quick ; as, " he's going at a starking pace." 
 Starn, a star in the heavens. Mce.-Got. staimo. Su.-Got. 
 
 stierna. Sax., Teut., and Germ, stern. 
 Starne, a portion, used negatively, as, " De'il a stariie" 
 
 Devil a one. Devil a bit. 
 Starrish, powerful ; as medicine that is too much for the 
 
 strength of the patient. Germ. Storrisch, rough. 
 Start, the tail, or handle of any thing. Sax. steort, cauda. 7^ 
 Startings, in coal mining are openings between the winning 
 
 headways (which see) cut through the intervening wall of 
 
 coal. 
 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 
 
 stow, to cram — stowed, 
 Staul, Stall, to fill to a 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 ; as in the dark — stumbling. Swed. 
 
 stappla,, to stumble, to trip, to falter. 
 Stay-leave, according to the custom and understanding of 
 miners, and other persons conversant in coal mines, means 
 a right in the coal owner of having a station, where he
 
 158 STEA 
 
 may deposit his coals for the purpose of disposing of them to 
 the purchaser. This place of deposit and vend is either 
 at the pit mouth, or, when detached, it is, in the case of 
 land-sale collieries, at some station by a highway ; and in 
 the case of sea-sale collieries, at a staith, trunk, or spout, 
 on some navigable river. 
 Stead, Sted, Stid, a place, a farm house and offices. Sax. 
 sted, stede. Su.-Got. stad, locus, situs. Swed. stalle. It 
 is a common affix to names of places in the North. 
 Stealy-clothes, an ancient game, still played at by boys. 
 The little party divide themselves into two bands, drawing 
 a line as th« boundary of their respective territories ; and 
 at equal distances 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 restore the plunder, but re- 
 main 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. It is an active and even violent re- 
 creation. 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 stei/e, to ascend, 
 and st>/e, with the same meaning, occurs in Palsgrave. 
 " For a schor crag, Ley and hidwouss 
 Raught to the se, doun fra the pass 
 On athyr halff the montane was 
 Swa combrowss, hey, and stay 
 That it was hard to pass that way."— T/i« Bruce. 
 " Sometimes we clamb o'er craggy mountains high. 
 And sometimes stay'd on uglie braes of sand ; 
 They were so stay that wonder was to see." 
 
 Lady Culross's Dream in Pinkerton's Collection.
 
 STID 159 
 
 Steek, to fasten, to close. Tout, stecken, clauclere. Sax. sti- 
 ff ean, to inclose. " Steek the heck" — fasten the door. 
 
 " steek the stable door, when the steed's stowen."— iV^. C. Prov. 
 
 " Kittle t'coal, and mak t'ingle shine ; 
 Steek t'dere, and keep out t'swine." — Cumb. 
 
 Steel or Stele, the wooden handle of a rake or pitch-fork. 
 An old word. 
 
 Steeping, very wet ; applied to a rain which steeps every 
 thing. 
 
 Steer, a three years old ox. Sax. sti/re, 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 
 clownish fellow. " A stupid steg" 
 
 Stell, Stelle, a large open drain in a marsh, a wide gut- 
 ter of water. Dan. steil, steep ? 
 
 Stell, a fold, or small inclosure for cattle. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 Stend, v. to strike, to walk with long strides. 
 
 " Stawin came steppand in with stendis," 
 
 Christ Kirk on the Green. 
 
 Steng, a bar, a pole, a post. The pole of the old Northum- 
 brian " drees" was called a ste7ig. The post on which the 
 notorious William Winter (convicted at Newcastle in 1792) 
 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, a confusion. V. Grose ; and Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Stick, a stand or combination among workmen ; generally in 
 regard to wages — what is elsewhere called a strike ; cor- 
 responding, with Sax. gcstric, strife, mutiny. 
 
 Sticky-stack, a game among young people in running up the 
 face or cut part of a hay stack, to try who can put in a 
 stick the highest. 
 
 Stiddy, Stithy, an anvil — used sometimes, but I think im-
 
 ICO STIF 
 
 properly, for the smith's shop. Isl. stedi, incus. Stithe, is 
 old English. Shakspeare employs the word stithy, in both 
 senses ; and he also uses the verb to stithy, to employ an 
 anvil. Ray has, among his Northern words, stith, strong, 
 hard, which is pure Saxon ; but it is not now in use, that 
 I am aware of, excejit in Scotland. 
 
 " There was also Marti's devision 
 Th' armorer, and the bowyer, and the smith 
 That forgeth sharpe swerdes on his stith. 
 
 Chaucer, — The Knighte't Tale. 
 
 Stiff, wealthy. " He's a rare stiff one" — he is immensely 
 
 rich. 
 Stilt, the handle of a plough. Sax. stele. V. Somner. 
 Stime, Sttme, the most indistinct, or the faintest form of any 
 
 object — a glimpse, a whit. " I cannot see a stime." Sax. 
 
 scima, fulgor. Welsh, ystwn, figure, shape. 
 Sting, to thatch ; as to sting a stack, to cover or thatch a 
 
 stack with straw or rushes ; — to repair thatch by thrusting 
 
 portions of straw into the decayed parts, with a sting, or 
 
 forked instrument for the purpose. 
 Stint, ^. to stop, to cease, to desist. Sax. stintan. 
 
 " Axe him thyself if thou not trowest me, 
 Or else stint a while and thou shall see." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Frier's Tale. 
 
 " And pretty fool, it stinted and said — Aye." 
 
 Shak., — Romeo and Juliet. 
 
 Stint, s. a limit, a quantity or allowance of anything. 
 
 Stirk, Sturk, a yearling ox, or heifer. Sax. sfj/rc, juvencus. 
 See Stot. 
 
 Stirrup-glass, parting drink taken ■with a friend ; literally, 
 at the door on horseback — similar to the Irish duc-an-dur- 
 ras. The expression may be referred to an old Xorthem 
 custom of the landlord presenting a stirrup-cup to his 
 guests for which no charge was made. 
 
 Stitches, narrow ridges of land. 
 
 Stive, strong, muscular. Sax. stife, durus.
 
 STOO IGl 
 
 Stob, a stump, a stake, a post. Teut. stobbe, truncus. 
 Swed. stubbe, the stump of a tree. 
 
 " Upon ane stub scho lichtit on hir breist ; 
 Theblude ruschit out and scho cryit for ane preist." 
 
 Lyndsay ,—Complaynt vfthe Paptngo. 
 
 The gibbet near Ferryhill, a portion of which was stand- 
 ing within my recollection, was constantly called Andrew 
 MilW Stob. Mr. Surtees, who gives a detailed account of 
 the prevailing traditions respecting the tragical catas- 
 trophe which led to the execution of Mills, remarks, 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, 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. Jamieson 
 Supp. 
 
 Stodge, to satiate. — Dur. 
 
 Stomachy, easily offended, resentful — stomachful. 
 
 Stone-spitchil-dike, a raised earthen dike, faced with 
 stones. 
 
 Stock, twelve sheaves of corn, ten of them being set up- 
 right, and two, called hoods, or hood-sheaves, placed on the 
 top, to protect them from the wet. Teut. stook, meta, a 
 heap. V. Jam. and Todd's John. 
 
 Stoop, a post fastened in the earth. Su.-Got. stolpe, ful- 
 crum. Lat. stupa. Sc. stoitp. " A gscie-stoop," — a guide 
 stoop. 
 
 Stoor, dust in motion. — Stoort, dusty. Sax. styran, tur- 
 bare, movere. Dut. stoorcn, to disturb. — Stoor also means 
 a bustle ; as, all in a stoor, all in a hurry. 
 
 " Yet up he raise, the treuth to tell ye. 
 And laid about him dints full dour
 
 162 STOO 
 
 HiH liorsenien they rode sturdilie 
 And stude about him in that stoure." 
 
 Said of the Redeswire. 
 
 Stoorey, a mixture of warm beer and oatmeal with sugar — 
 that which is stirred up. V. Jam. Supp. stourum. 
 
 Stop, to thrust ; e. g. to stop the poker into the fire ; to stop 
 out your een — to put out your eyes. 
 
 Stoppings, a barrier of plank, brick, or stone, filling up an 
 excavation to give direction to a current of air in a coal 
 mine. 
 
 Store, estimation, regard, esteem. Dan. stor, great. 
 
 Storken, to strengthen, to stiffen. Germ, 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 ap- 
 proaching 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. stuiteii, to bounce, to 
 rebound. — Stotting-ball, a rebounding ball. 
 
 Stot, a young ox from one to four years old. Su.-Got. stut, 
 juvencus. Dan. stud, an ox. " A Coldingham Roll (1G50) 
 proves that the stotters and its female juvenca were animals 
 of three years old ; and that the stercus and ferrella 
 were applied to those males and females which had only 
 reached two years." — Baine's North Durham, page 111, 
 note Y. 
 
 Stotjnd, a small portion of time, a moment. Sax. stund- 
 There are many cognates in the Northern languages. 
 
 Stound, v. to ache, to smart, to be in pain. Isl. stj/n, inge- 
 mescere. — 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, styfioa, amputare. 
 
 Stowen, the participle passive oi steal — stolen. Sc. stoicn.
 
 STRE 103 
 
 Stower, a hedge or other stake ; also an upright bar in the 
 body of an open cart. Su.-Got. 5?oer, palus. In old Latin 
 charters estuarium, estouarium. 
 
 Strain, to link together ; expressive of the union of the sexes 
 in the canine race. Sax. stiynan, gignere, generare, pro- 
 creare. V. Tooke, Vol. II., p. 289. 
 
 Stramash, v. to beat, to bang, to break irreparably, to de- 
 stroy. Ital. strammazzare, to fling down vsdth force. 
 
 Stramash, s. a complete overthrow, with great breakage and 
 confusion. " He made a sad stramash amang the pots and 
 pans." A.-p-p\ie(}i,metaphoricalli/, to a violent party contest, 
 or to the disorder arising in a popular tumult or commo- 
 tion. Dr. Jamieson refers to Fr. estrama(;on, a blow. 
 There is a Latin word strummum, which Du Cange explains 
 to mean a skirmish. 
 
 Stramp, to tread upon, to trample. Germ, strampfen. Su.- 
 Got. tramjm. V. Wachter ; and Ihre. 
 
 Stbandt, restive, passionate, and contradictious. Germ. 
 stranden, to run aground — to set the legs a-spar y if I may 
 so translate it. See Spar. 
 
 Strang, strong. Pure Saxon. Isl. strangr. Sw. streng. 
 
 Strap, a cluster, a bunch ; as of onions or currants. 
 
 Strapping, tall. — Strapper, a large man or woman. 
 
 Stravaiging, Strataging, 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. slrea, stre, streow. So. strae. Chaucer writes it stre. 
 
 " Of stre first there was laied many a lode." 
 
 nie Kni'jlite's Tale. 
 " Ne how the fire was couched first with stre. 
 And then with drie stickes-cloven a-thre." — lb. 
 
 Streek, to stretch or expand, to lay out a corpse. Sax. 
 Sax. streccan, extendere. Swed. stracka, to stretch, to 
 extend.— -Streeking-board, a board on which the limbs of 
 a deceased person are stretched out and composed.
 
 164 STRE 
 
 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.-Got. strj/ka. 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 streeked, or stroked, and usually attached 
 to the end of its handle or pole. Sax. stracan, stracian, 
 to stroke. This word diifers very little, either in name 
 or use, from its etymon strigil, a rubber or scraper. 
 The use of the strigil has been frequently mistaken ; 
 and in dictionaries the strigil cquisonvm is stated to be 
 a currycomb, though, in fact, it is nothing more than a 
 scraper, and used to remove profiise sweat and moisture. 
 At the jiresent day, in common stables, a piece of an old 
 iron hoop is generally the substitute for the ancient 
 strigil ; though blood horses, after running, are most 
 frequently scraped with a jiiece of smooth flat wood, in 
 shape not unlike a cooper's draw-knife. An excellent 
 account of the form and use of the strigil is to be found in 
 Battley's Antiquitates Ruterpinte, pag. 70 to 83. An en- 
 graving of one is given in La Cabinet de la Bibliot. de 
 Genevieve, Plate 2d., fig. 7 ; and in Jabes Hughes' transla- 
 tion of Suetonius, page 127, London edit., 1717. 
 
 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 strokings or afterings. 
 
 Stroke, quantity ; as a great stroke of business. Meaning 
 sway or influence, it is an old word. 
 
 Strons, tenants who are bound to assist the lord in hunting, 
 and turning the red deer on the tops of the mountains to 
 the forest. Nicohon and Burns' JVcst. and Cumb. 
 
 Strounge, harsh, surly, morose. V. Jamieson.
 
 STY 165 
 
 StrUnt, a sullen fit. To take the strunts, to be under the in- 
 fluence of a pettish humour. — Strunty, petted, out of 
 humour. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Strunt, the tail or rump. — Strunty, any thing short or con- 
 tracted. Yt. estreint, shrunk up. V. Skinner, and Ray. 
 
 Stubbed, grubbed up ; metaphorically/, ruined. Swed, stvh- 
 big, cut off, curtailed. 
 
 Studdy, a smith's anvil. See Stiddy, Stithy. 
 " Fling off their black duddies, 
 Leave hammers and studdies." — Song, Bonny Geateiders. 
 
 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, stutnpf. 
 
 Stump, to put down, to pay ready money ; stump your cash, 
 being synonymous with down with your dust. It has ob- 
 viously the same origin as on the nail — solvere super un- 
 guem. 
 
 Stumps, a term for the legs. " Stir your stumps." V. Jam. 
 Supp. 
 
 Stupid, obstinate ; though possessing good talents. A per- 
 son really stupid, is generally called soft. 
 
 Sturdy, a disease in the head of cattle, especially sheep, by 
 which the animal becomes stupified — a vertigo. Old Fr. 
 estourdi, dizzy-headed. Teut. stooren, vertere. Gael. 
 stuird, a vertigo. 
 
 Sturt, disturbance, vexation, complaint. Dan. styrte. 
 " And cast asyde all sturt and stryfe."— jtyn(?«aj^. 
 
 Stut, to stammer, to stutter. An old word, still in general 
 use. Stot, to rebound or reduplicate sounds, seems cog- 
 nate. 
 
 " She spake somewhat thicke, 
 Her fellowe did stummer and stut. 
 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
 
 1G6 STYT 
 
 be effected by the application of a wedding ring nine times 
 repeated. The use of talismanic rings, as a charm against 
 diseases, appears to have l)een general, and in great esti- 
 mation, in remote ages, and among many different nations. 
 These rings were considered to be 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." — Jago's EdgehUl. 
 
 Subterraneous-passages. Near every ancient castle, cathe- 
 dral, abbey, or hall, the common people have traditionary 
 tales of underground (vaulted) roads, sometimes to great 
 distances ; such as — from Newcastle to Tynemouth — from 
 Tynemouth to Carlisle — from Hexham to Alnwick Castle 
 — from Durham to Findchale Abbey, and other places. 
 The interminable cavern, ending in hidden treasure, 
 guarded by spell or wakeful demon, is another common 
 topic of pojiular superstition, concerning which a variety 
 of incredible stories have been fabricated. 
 
 SucKEN, an exclusive privilege of grinding, or other jurisdic- 
 tion attached to a mill ; the dues paid to the miUer as a 
 remuneration for grinding. Sax. socne, a liberty, privi- 
 vilege, or franchise. Su.-Got. sokn, exactio rei judicatse 
 vel mulctte. Dan. sogn, a jDarish or district ; and Swed. 
 sockcn, a parish, are allied. In England, in early times, 
 all mills belonged to the lords of manors, by whom they 
 were for the most j^art originally founded ; nor were the 
 tenants, who owed service, permitted to grind except at 
 such mills. In after ages, especially in districts where the 
 population had increased, the obligation to grind at a par- 
 ticular mill was felt to be a vexatious exaction. Hence 
 the miller, who had so much in his power, was usually an 
 obnoxious character. Mills also seem to form one of the 
 principal heads of the law of Scotland ; where that extent
 
 SWAI 167 
 
 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 sullt/. Germ, sudeln. 
 Swed. sudda. 
 
 SuMF, a term of reproach — a fool. V. Jamieson, simph. 
 
 Summer-goose, the vulgar name for Gossamer ; which see. 
 
 Sump, Sumph, a bog, a swamp, a miry jjool. Su,-Got. and 
 Dan, sump. — Sumpy, miry, dirty, Dan. sumjng. — Sumph, 
 an epithet for a dirty person. It also means a secondary 
 shaft in a mine. 
 
 Sun. " Happy is the bride that the sun shines on," a pojiu- 
 lar saying well known in Northumberland, meaning that 
 sun-shine at a wedding is a sign of hapjiiness in the mar- 
 riage state to the bride. 
 
 Sun-dance. It was formerly a custom, scrupulously ob- 
 served, 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 believe, is not yet entirely laid aside among 
 those that have eyes for such things. Our ancestors deco- 
 rated 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, scng, a pad, 
 
 SwAD, the pod or shell of peas, the husk of any kind of pulse. 
 Skinner deduces the word from Sax. swelhan, fasciare ; 
 hence to swaddle. 
 
 SwAiR, or Swire, the descent of a hill. In the boundary be- 
 tween England and Scotland, near the head of Reedsdale, 
 there is a place called the Reedswire, which was the scene 
 of a contest, in 1575, between the English and Scotch bor- 
 derers, arising out of a quarrel between the wardens, Sir 
 John Forster and Sir John Carmichaol.
 
 168 SWAM 
 
 SwAMiSH, SwEAMiSH, shy, awkwardly bashful. Perhaps from 
 squeamish, to which it certainly bears an affinity 
 
 Swanky, a strapping young country-man — an athletic, efficient 
 labourer. Sax. swayi, swang, a country swain ; from swin- 
 can, to work, to labour. 
 
 Swap, to exchange, to barter. Isl. sMpta, mutare. V. Jam. 
 
 SwAPE, V. to sweep. Sax. swapan, verrere. Isl. sweipa, per- 
 cutere. 
 
 SwAPE, s. a long oar or sweep, used in working a keel on the 
 Tyne ; that at the stem 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 is commonly 
 called, scaling, manure. 
 
 SwARBLE, to climb up the bole of a tree by the muscular ac- 
 tion of the arms, thighs, and legs — to swarm. 
 
 SwAREY, useless, worthless. " A swarcy Jack," a useless fel- 
 low. From yeiu.1, idle, heavy, burdensome. 
 
 SwARFE, to faint, to swoon. 
 
 SwARTH, Swath, the apparition of a person, about to die. 
 Ray says from Sax. sweart, black, dark, pale, wan. See 
 Waft. 
 
 Swatch, v, to swathe, to swaddle. Sax. swcdan, to bind. 
 
 Swatch, s. a pattern, a sample, a tally. V. Ray, swacJie. 
 
 SwATTLE, to consume, to waste ; generally applied to fluids. 
 
 SwEAL, V. to melt, to waste or blaze, to bum away rapidly ; 
 as a candle when exposed to the wind. Sax. swelan, to 
 bum. An old English word. — Sweal, s. a blaze, an en- 
 larged flame. 
 
 SwEARLE, or SwEEVEL-EYE, an eye with a particular cast. 
 
 Sweat-cloth, a very vulgar (though the classical Roman) 
 name for a handkerchief ; obviously the swat-clath, or su- 
 dary of the Saxons. 
 
 SwEDDLE, to swell. — SwEDDLED, Swelled or puff'ed out. 
 
 Swede, or Swathe, a row of moAvn grass. See Hay-making. 
 
 SwEEL, a sudden burst or swell of laughter.
 
 SWIL 169 
 
 SwEER, unwilling, backward, burdensome. Sax. swcer. V. 
 Somner. 
 
 " Cum heir, gossop, cum heir, cum heir, 
 Your raikles lyfe ye sail repent 
 Quhen was ye wont to be sa stceir ? 
 Stand still, and be obedient " 
 
 Lymlsay's Three EstaUis. 
 
 Sweetheart, v. to court, to woo. — Sweetheartixg, s. court- 
 ship. 
 
 Sweeties, confections, or sweetmeats, for children. 
 
 SwEiGH, or SwEY, to poisc, to swing, to lean or incline to one 
 side. Isl. sweigia, inclinare. Germ, schwebcn, 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. 
 sweltan, to die, seems the probable origin. Kilian gives a 
 correspondent term in vet. Fland. — sicelten, deficere, 
 languescere, I may add Swed. svalta, to starve with hun- 
 ger, as allied. 
 
 Swerle, to roll from side to side in walking. Teut. swieren, 
 circumvolvere. It is also applied to express the meander- 
 ing of a stream of water. A small runner in Sandgate, 
 Newcastle, was anciently called the Swerle. 
 
 Swerle, or Swirle, a t^vist 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. 
 Teut. swieren, vagari. — Swidders, doubt, hesitation. 
 
 Swig, a hearty draught. Swig, to drink heartily. 
 
 Swill, a round basket of unpeeled willows ; generally car. 
 ried on the head. Hence its Newcastle name, Keyside um- 
 brella, when reversed in wet weather. Probably from Sax. 
 ceawell, basket. 
 
 Swill, to rinse, or wash out. Sax. swilian, to wash, 
 
 Swillixgs, the washings of vessels given to swine — sioill. Sax. 
 swilgan, to drink largely — to swill. 
 VOL. II. z
 
 170 SWIN 
 
 SwiNQE, to chastise, to beat soundly. Sax. svnngan, flagel- 
 
 lare, castigare. It occurs in Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
 Swingle or Swingel, that part of the flail which comes in 
 
 contact with the com. 
 Swingle-tree, a moveable piece of wood to which the traces 
 
 of husbandry horses are fastened — the splinter bar. Teut. 
 
 swinghelen, vibrare. 
 SwiNKED, oppressed, vexed, fatigued — literally worked. Sax. 
 
 swincan, laborare, fatigari. Used in Peirs Ploughman; 
 
 and several times by Chaucer. 
 
 " The thridde he kepte clene for his drinke 
 For all the night he shope him for to swinke 
 In carying of the gold out of that place. 
 
 Chaucer, — The Pardonere's Tale 
 
 Swipe, to drink off to the very bottom. — Swipes, dregs. 
 
 SwipPEK, nimble, quick. Sax. swipan, cito agere. V. Lye. 
 
 Swire, Swyre, the hollow or defile near the summit of a hill. 
 — North. V. Jam. sivare, swirc, swyre; 2d sense. 
 
 Swirl, v. to whirl round, as a gust of wind sometimes does 
 the dust, straws, and other light bodies. 
 
 SwiRT, a syringe, a squirt. Su.-Got. sqiicetta, liquida effundere. 
 
 Swirtle, to proceed with a moving motion like an eel. Su.- 
 Got. swarfwa, circumagere. 
 
 Switch, to walk with a light quick step, to go with a sort of 
 jerk. Su.-Got. swiga, loco cedere. " He switched by." 
 
 Switched, to be hard pressed ; to be in diflSculty. 
 
 SwiTHER, to fear, to tremble. Apparently identical with 
 Swidder. 
 
 SwiTTERED, flooded. 
 
 Sword-dance, a curious and ancient Christmas game or cus- 
 tom ; still continued in many parts of the North, especially 
 in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. It is 
 fully described in Brand's Pop. Antiq., Vol. I., p. 400, & 
 seq. There is also an interesting dissertation on the an- 
 cient English Morris Dance, introduced into these regions 
 many centuries since by natives of Morocco, in the 2d vol. 
 of .Mr. Deuce's Illustrations of Shakspeare.
 
 TAIL 171 
 
 SwupPLE, or SouPLE, the upper joint of a flail, Fr. souple. 
 
 supple ; or Isl. sioeipa, to strike. In Cheshire, swippo. 
 Syles, the jjrincipal rafters of a house, or building. Isl. 
 
 sillur, tigni proceres latus jugentes. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tab, a strap. Sax. tceppe, tape, tsenia lintia. 
 
 Table, to board. To table with a person is to board with 
 
 him, and is a common expression. 
 Tack, v. to take. — Tack, s. a lease or farm — a taking. V, 
 
 Co. Litt. o a. 
 Tacke, endurance, lasting. 
 
 " None of their lean carrion commodities, but one that may have 
 some tacke and substance in it." — Gusman. 
 
 Tacket, a small nail. " Used in Scotland." Todd's John- 
 son. It is also in common use in the North of England. 
 
 Tae, the toe ; according to the Scottish form. Sax. ta. 
 Dan. taa. 
 
 Taed, T'yed, a toad. Sax. tade. Sc. taid. — Taed-red, 
 T'ted-red, the seed, or spawn of toads ; generally seen in 
 a mass like a bunch of grapes. V. Bewick's iEsop, p. 
 290. 
 
 " Hunger and thirst, insteid of meit and drink, 
 And for thair cleithing taidis and scorpions." 
 
 Lyndsay's Dreme. 
 
 Taffy, a sort of candy made of boiled treacle thickened with 
 flour. A company of young people often make it in a winter 
 evening by way of amusement — called joining for taffy. 
 Mr. Wilbraham derives the word from Fr. ia^a, or taffiat, 
 sugar and brandy made into cakes. Others think the \)XQ- 
 per 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
 
 172 TAIS 
 
 best fare is iuvariubly provided ; and the tailor, to show 
 that he has had enough, generally leaves a little on his 
 plate ; which is called tailor's mense ; perhaps pro mensd 
 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 
 applied to an adult, it is an expression of great contempt, 
 equivalent to scoundrel. Perhaps only a variety of lais- 
 trel, or kestrel, a bastard kind of hawk. 
 
 Take-off, to ridicule, to jeer — by means of mimicking. 
 Dan. tage-een-af, a twin expression, to take one off. 
 
 Taking, distress of mind \ as " to be in a taking about some- 
 thing." Also used in Herefordshire. 
 
 Tale-pie, Tell-piet, a malicious informer — a tell-tale. 
 
 Tang. To tang bees is to make a clatter in order to draw a 
 swarm into the hive. An old word. 
 ">• 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. tang. 
 
 Tang, sea-weed, Su.-Got. and Swed, tang, alga marina. 
 
 Tanging-nadder, the large dragon-fly. See Fleeing-eather. 
 
 Tang-o'-the-trump, identically, tongue of the gewgaw, or 
 Scotch trump ; but, figuratively, the active partner in a 
 commercial firm — the principal person, or chief spokes- 
 man, in any outbreaking of popular violence. Borders of 
 NoHli. 
 
 Tank, a piece of deep water, natural or artificial. Willan. 
 
 Tanter, to quarrel, and Tantrums, fits of violent passion, 
 may be both from tintimar, for which see Todd's John. 
 
 Taplash, bad small beer, dregs. An old word, still in use. 
 *^ Tappt-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. tiarn, a pool, standing water. 
 
 Tat, to mat, to entangle. Su.-Got. ttidda, intricare.
 
 TAWS 173 
 
 Tate, or Ta'et, a lock, or small quantity ; as of hair, wool, 
 &c. V. Jamieson. 
 
 " At ilka tctt of her horse's mane 
 Hang fifty siller bells and nine." 
 
 Ballad of T/iomas the Rhymer. 
 
 Tatee, a potato. — Tatee-bogle, a scarecrow in a potato 
 field. 
 
 Tatee-and-point, a repast consisting of a plentiful enough 
 dish of potatos, but where the meat is merely pointed at — 
 by way of indulging the fancy. They seem to imjjrove 
 upon this in the romantic regions of the Emerald Isle, vul- 
 garly called the land of potatos. 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 beauti- 
 ful provision of Providence." An examination of the works 
 of infinite power always reminds us of the benevolence 
 with which it is combined. For etymology see Jamieson. 
 
 Tathy-grass, short grass without seed, refuse grass. See 
 Tath. 
 
 Tatter-wallops, ragged clothes fluttering in the wind. iSee 
 Wallop. The term is also applied to a female whose 
 dress and manners are indecorous. 
 
 Tatty, matted. " A tattj/ jjow." See Tat, and, I suspect, 
 more immediately derived from Fr. tate, fingered. 
 
 Taving, s. irregular motion ; picking the bed clothes in 
 febrile delirium. Willan. V. Jamieson, taiver ; and 
 Ray, tave. 
 
 Tawm, Tome, Tam, a fishing line. "^ lang twine tarn" 
 Apparently corrupted from team. But see Jam. Supp^ 
 tome. 
 
 Tawm, to fall gently asleep. " He'll soon tavrni over." Gael. 
 tamh, rest, sleep. V. Gael. Diet. 
 
 Taws, a pair of taws, a leather strap used by schoolmasters 
 for chastising chiklren. Isl, taug, lorum, V. Jam. tawis.
 
 174 TAYL 
 
 Taylior, or Teaylear, a tailor. Old Eng. talyovore. " What 
 mon aw flee te next, as the teaylear's lad said, when he had 
 been all day stitching a l)utton hole." North. Prov. 
 
 Tea, the one ; as " tea hand" — the one hand. Sc. tae. 
 
 Tea, toe, Germ, zehe, pronounced tsche, and that corrupted 
 from Sax. ta ; so we have mixed the Saxon and German. 
 
 Teady, Teedy, weary, peevish, fretful. See Teetiiy. 
 
 Teagle, an apparatus for raising weights ; a tackle, de- 
 scribed in Vitruvius 10, 2, 1. 
 
 Teangs, T'tengs, a pair of tongs. Sax. tangan, forcipes. 
 Tangs is an ancient form of spelling the word. 
 
 Tearan, tearing. A tearan fellow is a rough, hot-headed 
 person, who drives every thing before him, regardless of 
 danger or of consequences. Teut. tieren, tumultuari. 
 
 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-draw, a place of resort, a house ; a place resorted to by 
 idlers ; applied as well to a person as a place. 
 
 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 late friend Mr, Cotes' sug- 
 gestion, that this provincial word should be written "T -fall^ 
 or T -fall, with the cross bar of the letter T reclining to de- 
 note the peculiar form of the building. 
 
 Teem, to pour out of one vessel into another. Isl. taenia, to 
 empty. Swed. tBma. " Teem out the tea, hinnt/." 
 
 Teem, a brood of young ducks. Sax. team, offspring. 
 
 Teeming- WDM an, a dame who is more prolific than every 
 loving husband considers indispensably necessary to his 
 happiness. Sax. team-full, prole plenus, foecundus.
 
 THAC 175 
 
 Teen, v. to kindle, to light. " Teen the candle." IVest, V. 
 
 Jamieson, teind j and Wilb., tin. 
 Teen, s. sorrow, injury. An old word ; used by many of 
 
 our early writers. — Teen, a. angry. V. Lye, teon, 
 
 " And Emelie him loveth so tendrely, 
 And he hire serveth al so gentilly 
 That never was ther no word hem betwene 
 Of jalousie ne af non other tene." 
 
 Cliaucer, — 37tc Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Teedy, Teethy, cross, fretful, peevish ; generally spoken of 
 children. The term has been viewed as having some con- 
 nection with the teeth. V. Grose. See also Todd's John. 
 techy ; and Jam. teth. 
 
 Tell, a tale. To hear tell, to learn by report. 
 
 Tell'd, for told. A corruption authorized by Spenser. 
 
 Temse, 10. to sift. — Temse, s. a sieve of hair cloth, used in se- 
 parating flour from bran, or fine flour from that of a coarser 
 nature. See Timse. 
 
 Tennel, to die away ; applied to trees. 
 
 Tent, to observe — to tend or look to, to watch over. V. Ray. 
 
 Terr, v. to uncover ; as, " to terr the thatch ofi" a roof." See 
 Tirl. 
 
 Teugh, Tough, tedious, difficult. " A teugh journey." — 
 " Teugh wark." Apparently, the original sense of the 
 word. 
 
 " Al be ye mate it never sa tewehe. 
 To me your labour is in vain." 
 
 Mrs. Maitland. The mourning Maiden ,- 
 quoted by Tyrwhitt. 
 
 Th, frequently changed into D ; as father, io fader ; mother, 
 to moder ; Rothbury, to Rodbuiy, &c. Although the 
 powers of th are generally given to the Saxon D and 'S, 
 yet there is little doubt that these letters were often used 
 indiscriminately for D only. In German the cognate t 
 in vater and mutter is without the asj^irate. 
 
 Thack, thatch ; both as verb and substantive. Sax. thaccan, 
 to cover ; tJiac, a roof or covering for a house. The original
 
 17C THAC 
 
 meaning is straw or rushes ; onr Saxon ancestors using 
 no other covering for the roofs of their houses. The word 
 is still retained in Yorkshire for a roof, of whatever kind. 
 — Thacker, a thatcher. 
 
 " Wi ae lock o' his gowdenhair 
 We'll theck our nest when it grows bare." 
 
 Ballad of the two Corhiet. 
 
 " Then said the lords of the host 
 And so conclude least and most, 
 That they would ever in houses of thacke 
 Their lives lead and weare but black." 
 
 Chaucer's Dremc. 
 
 Thack-nail, a wooden pin or stob used in fastening thatch 
 to the roof of a building. 
 
 Thaft, or Thoft, a-thwart ; the cross bench in a boat. 
 
 Tharm, or Thairm, the small guts of an animal made into 
 cords, and used in spinning wheels. 
 
 That, as an adverb of comparison. " He's not that old." 
 
 Thatadonnet, a good for nought, the devil. Is it, that 
 " adone " (Fr.) abandoned one ? Mr. Ward says, it is 
 " that that doivs not." To dow, is to avail, to be useful. 
 "Better be in with that adonnet than out." — Yorlslnre 
 saying. 
 
 Thatjf-Cake, or Tharf-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, similar to the manner of preserving bread in Swe- 
 dish families, where they bake only once or twice in the 
 whole year. An ingenious friend conjectures that we have 
 the term from Sax. thcarfan, opus habere, necesse habere 
 — necessity cake, or cake made in urgent haste, as what 
 used to be calied 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 of England 
 expression, for unleavened bread. Sax. therrf, vel theorf 
 panis azymus. Wiclif uses therf-loavcs.
 
 THIE 177 
 
 Tharf, cold, forbidding, shy. — Tharfly, denoting a cold re- 
 ception — unfriendly. V. Somner, thrafian. 
 
 Theak, Theek, thatch ; both as i\ and 5. Sax. thecan, tegere 
 — thcec, tectum. See Thack. 
 
 " Wi ae lock o' his gowden hair. 
 We'll theek our nest when it grows bare." 
 
 Ballad of the " Twa Corbies." 
 
 " Then said the lordis of the host 
 And so concludid lest and most, 
 That they would in housis of thacke 
 Ther lives lede and were but blacke." 
 
 Chaucer's Dremc. 
 
 Theaker, Theeker, a thatcher. So the Latin theca, a 
 sheath, or covering ; and that, of course, from Syikyj, which 
 Varro derives from riSyipi, but is, much more probably, from 
 the Saxon ; for thatching would be one of the earliest arts 
 taught by those who taught both the Greeks and Romans. 
 Hence, too, " a ihcaking snoio,'^ quietly but continuously 
 falling, so as to cover thickly, as thatch does, a house. 
 
 Theam, anciently the privilege of repossessing yourself of 
 your native, or bondmen, and their families and goods, 
 wherever you might find them ; saving only, that if any 
 one of your bondmen had lived for a year and a day in any 
 privileged to^^Ti, and had been received into its guild as a 
 citizen, he was freed from villainage. See Glossary to 
 Priory of Finchale, v. Theam ; and History of North 
 Durham, Appendix, p. 106. 
 
 The-day, for to-day. A Scotticism. V. Jam. Supp. the. 
 
 Thee, the thigh. Sax. theoli. Old writers use thie. 
 
 Thew'd, towardly. Grose. V. Lye, tlieaw ; and Jam. thew. 
 
 Thick, intimate, familiar, on friendly terms. " As thick as 
 inkle weavers," said of great intimates — from the narrow- 
 ness of the woof the weavers must sit close — close inti- 
 mates. 
 
 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 
 
 A'OL. II. A a
 
 178 THIL 
 
 invitation to all thieees and rogues to cuter that good town. 
 See Reaver. 
 Thill, the bottom stone of a coal .seam. 
 Think-on, is either v. n. to remember ; or v. a. to remind ; to 
 
 think sham, to be ashamed. 
 Thirl, to pierce or stab, to perforate, to bore. Sax. thirlian. 
 Thirl, in the old Northumberland dialect, means to bind 
 or enthral. The word, as applied to places, occurs fre- 
 quently in the North ; as Thirlwall Castle, Thirlstane, &c. 
 " Whoso wol fleshye lust forgon and hevene-blisse abyde. 
 On Jhesu be his thoht anon, that tharled was ys side." 
 
 From a Norman- Saxon Poem qttoted in 
 WaHon, Vol. I., p. 30. 
 " Al were they sore yhurt, and namely one 
 That with a spere was thirled his brest bone." 
 
 Chaucer, — Hie Kaighte's Tale. 
 Thirlage, the service of certain lands, the tenants of which 
 
 are bound to take their corn to grind at the lord's mill. 
 Thivel, a smooth stick, used for various purposes of domes- 
 tic economy ; especially for stirring hasty pudding. Sax. 
 thyfel, a stem or stalk. " He's a queer stick to make a 
 thivel of" — said of an awkward or wayward person. 
 Thoji, the thumb ; the true ancient orthography of that 
 
 member of the hand, still retained in our oral language. 
 Thole, to wait awhile. Su.-Got. tola, expectare. Also, to 
 bear, to endure ; in which sense it may be derived from 
 Swed. tdla, to suffer. 
 
 " And if the kyng of that kyngdom 
 Come in that tyme 
 There feloun thole sholde 
 Deeth or oother juwise." — Piers Plowman. 
 " So mochel wo as I have with you tholed." 
 
 Cltaucer,—The Frere's Tale. 
 " Quaharefore my freind thou mon returne agane 
 And for thy sinnis be penence suffer pane 
 And thole the deith with cruell panis sore, 
 Or thow be digne to dwell into this glore." 
 
 Lyndsay's Dreme. 
 " He that has a good crop may thok some thistles.— iV'. C. Prov.
 
 THRE 179 
 
 Thonder, there, yonder. Sax. geond, geonda. 
 
 Thout, Thought, a small portion, a little more or less. 
 
 Thralage, a state of pecuniary difficulty. 
 
 Thrang, y. 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, or bundles of 
 straw ; generally, I believe, twenty-four — a quantity of 
 straw, consisting of twelve fads, or fauds. 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. In the Deed Thraw, in articulo 
 mortis. Sax. threa, 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, fastened to 
 the waist by a strap for twisting ropes. 
 
 Threap, v. to persist vehemently in assertion or argument, be 
 it Wright or wrong — to aver pertinaciously in reply to de- 
 nial. " Threap him down." Sax. threapian, redarguere. 
 
 " Sol gold is, and Luna silver we threpe." 
 
 Chaucer, — Tlie Clmnom-'x Temanes's Tale. 
 " Itt's not for a man with a woman to thieape. 
 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 1774, an agree- 
 ment was entered into for dividing land of this kind near 
 Bamborough, in Northumberland, between Sir Henry Grey 
 and the Trustees of Lord Crewe and others ; which was 
 confirmed by an vVct of Parliament passed in 1774. Pen- 
 nant, in his Tours in Wales, gives a curious picture of a
 
 180 , THRE 
 
 noted common, called Threap-wood, from time immemorial 
 a placo of refuge for the frail fair, who make it a tran- 
 sient abode, clandestinely to be freed from the consequences 
 of illicit lovo. V. Vol. I., p. 289. 
 Threesum, consisting of three persons ; as " the threesum." 
 
 " Bot it sa Utile wes, tliat it 
 Mycht our the watters bot thaeesxtm flyt." 
 
 Tlie Bruce. 
 
 Thring, to thrust, to press, to squeeze. Sax. thringan. 
 Thrist, thrust. 
 
 " The fiend a faster I micht gang, 
 I micht not thrist out throw the thrang." 
 
 Lyndsay's Tltree Egtaitis. 
 
 Throdden, v. to make grow, to thrive. Hence, Throdden, 
 and Throddy, plump, fat, well thriven. 
 
 Throme, or Thrum, any collection of short threads ; gene- 
 rally the end of the warp in weaving. Norm. Fr. 
 thrommes. The reader needs hardly be reminded of Bot- 
 tom'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 the fire, to make, or heap it up. 
 
 Throwing-the-stocking, an odd sort of love di\'inatiou, on 
 the first evening of a wedding. After the bride has retired, 
 and while she is undressing, she delivers one of her stock- 
 ings to a female attendant, who throws it at random 
 among the company assembled on this occasion. The per- 
 son, on whom it happens to alight, will, it is sujjposed, be 
 the next to enter into the blessed state of matrimony. 
 Another, and more curious, though perhaps obsolete mode, 
 was for the guests invited to repair to the bridal cham- 
 ber, where it was customary for the happy pair to sit up
 
 THRU 181 
 
 in bed, in full dress, exclusive of their shoes and stockings. 
 One of the bride's maids then took the bridegroom's stock- 
 ing ; 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 bridegroom. 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 young men at the bride in like manner ; 
 from which a similar j^rognostic was taken. 
 
 Thruff, Thruff-stone (properly Thorough-stone), a large 
 stone put through the entire thickness of a jjeculiar species 
 of dry stone wall, serving as a fence, with which the reader, 
 if at all acquainted with the north of England, is sure to 
 be familiar. These walls being composed of fragments of 
 all shapes and sizes laid together without mortar, the 
 thruffs are used as bond stones, and give them great sta- 
 bility and firmness. Considering the nature and intract- 
 ability of the material, the skill of the workman is often 
 wonderful. These fences may be compared to Cyclopean 
 walls in miniature. A much regretted gentleman of New- 
 castle was accustomed, when claret and port ^vine were in 
 circulation together, to take every third glass of -poTt 
 which he facetiously called a thruff. 
 
 Thruff-stoxe, a flat tomb stone. Sax. thnih, loculus, sar- 
 cophagus. Lye. Sc. thruch-stane. 
 
 Thrumble, or Thumble, to handle awkardly — to thumb. 
 
 Thruiimy Cap, the name of a sprite who occasionall}^ figures 
 in the fairy tales of Northumberland, lie is mostly de- 
 scribed as " a queer-looking, little, auld man ;" and the 
 scene of his exploits frequently is in the vaults and cel- 
 lars of old castles. 
 
 Thrunty, stout, robust, strong-built. " A tlirurdy fellow." 
 
 Thrust, the crushing or grinding the sides of the coal pillars 
 by the cover, when the pillars are insufficient for its sup- 
 port.
 
 182 THRU 
 
 Thrusty, thirsty. Sax. thurstig. 
 
 " My soule for anguishe is now ful thrunly 
 I faint, 1 faint right sore for hevlnes." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Lara, of Mary Mag. 
 
 Thud, the noise of a fall, a heavy stroke — causing a dull 
 and hollow sound. Sax. «A(?<7m, turbo, noise, din. Somner. 
 
 Thumping, great, huge, large, ; as a thumping bairn — 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 common 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, ji. 25G & seq. 
 
 Thunner, thunder. Sax. thuner. Dan. thorden, as Mr. 
 Thomson remarks, signified the voice or din of Thor, and 
 Goth, thordunur was Jupiter Tonans. Mr. Wilbraham 
 has thimna^ s, and v. 
 
 Thur, Thor, these, those. Isl. thej/r, illi ; thaer, illae. Sc. 
 thir. 
 
 " Whae drives thir 'kye? gan Willie say." — Jamie Telfer. 
 
 Thwaite, land grubbed up and cleared of wood for cultiva- 
 tion — an assart. Norm. Fr. twaite. The word, in the 
 composition of local names, is very frequent in Cum- 
 berland and Westmorland, and also in some parts of Lan- 
 cashire. 
 
 Thwart-saw, a cross-cut saw, used in sawing trees into 
 lengths. 
 
 Thwite, to cut, chip, or hack with a knife. See Whet. 
 
 Thwittle, a kind of knife. Sax. hioitel. Our venerable 
 poet, Chaucer, writes it thwi/tel. See Whittle. 
 
 TiBBY, Isabella. We have all read of " Tibbie Fowler o' the 
 glen," who had so many followers, that " a' the lads were 
 wooing at her." 
 
 TiCE, to entice. Old English, tj/ce, in the same sense.
 
 TILL 183 
 
 TiD, Mid, Miseray, Carling, Palm, and Paste-egq-day, popu- 
 lar names for Sundays in Lent. Three of them are obviously 
 from the old Latin service, Te Deum, Mi Deus, Miserere, 
 mei. The rest elucidate themselves. 
 
 Tidy, honest, well-disposed. A '■Hidy man," a good sort of 
 man. V. Jamieson, Tydy. 
 
 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 piece of work. In Craven, an insig- 
 nificant trifler. V. Crav. Gloss. 2d. edit. 
 
 Tifle, Tyfell, to entangle, to mix and knot threads toge- 
 ther, to ruffle. Sax. twy-fyldan, duplicare. V. Jam. Supp. 
 tuffle. 
 
 Tift, a fit of anger, or rather the act of quarrelling, ill hu- 
 mour. — 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 
 endeavours to get the last touch ; also called Last Bat. 
 
 TiGGY-Toucii-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 
 connection, from Sax. tian, ligare. 
 
 Tike, or Tyke, a blunt or vulgar fellow — affording grounds 
 of an unfavourable impression. Also a name for a dog. 
 Tijh, according to Mr. Steevens, is the Runick word for a 
 little or worthless dog. 
 
 " If you can like, 
 A Yorkshire tike." 
 Carey, — The Wonder, an Honest Torkshircman. 
 
 Till, to or unto. It is still quite common in many parts of 
 Northumberland. Dan. Sw. and Isl. til. — Till and frae, 
 to and fro. 
 
 " Tlaer saw I Dane yturned til a tree." 
 
 aimicer,—The Knighte's Tale.
 
 184 TILL 
 
 " Hethene hoiinde he doth the calle ; 
 And or his dogter he give the /illc 
 Thyn herte blode he wolle spille 
 And thi barrens alle." 
 
 Romance of the Kyng of Tars, quoted in 
 yvarton. Vol. J., p.l9Z. 
 
 Tiller, to send out slioots ; as wheat, Dtir. Germ, theilev, 
 to separate into parts. V. Jam. Supp. 
 
 TiMERSOME, TiMMERsoME, fearful — timorous. Sc. timersotne. 
 
 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. tottto), to beat. 
 
 Ttxe, to shut, to inclose. Sax. tynan, claudere. — Tixe, to 
 lose. V. Jam. tine, tyne ; and Supp. tine. 
 
 TiNG-TONG, the little bell of a church. Fr. tintouin, a ting- 
 ling ; or Teut. tinghe-tanghen, tintinare. " The primary 
 signification of ting-tong," an ingenious literary corres- 
 pondent remarks, " was only expressive of the sound of a 
 little bell — the sound of a large one being termed di7ig- 
 dong, from its being more hollow. Ting-tong has, there- 
 fore, by transference, come to signify the bell itself." 
 
 " The tingle tangle of the convent bells made fine music " 
 
 A uhrey. 
 
 TixKLER, a tinker. Various extraordinary feats have been 
 ascribed to our ancient tinkers. The noted WnU Allan 
 was for many years king of this honourable profession in 
 the North. He had a son, Jamie Allan, the celebrated 
 Northumberland piper, a still more enterprising Aaga- 
 bond, who, on the 13th November, 1810,uuder sentence of 
 death, died in Durham Gaol, and whose relict, Tibhu Allan, 
 lived to the advanced age of 109, and died at Rothbury, 
 on the 27th March, 1830. 
 
 " Nae mair he'll scan wi" anxious eye, 
 The sandy shores of winding Reed,
 
 TOAD 185 
 
 Nae mair he'll tempt the finny fry, 
 The King o" Tinklers, Allan's dead !" 
 
 Roxby ,—Reedwater Minttrel. 
 " A boy of the Tinklers, of Byers Green, bur. 16th Oct., 1609." 
 
 Register of St. Andrew's AucMand. 
 
 TiNNEL, to (lie away ; applied to trees. 
 
 Tint, lost. See Tine. 
 
 Tint-tiny, the proclamation when anything is found ; and 
 
 the claimant answers — minej/-mme^. Tine, to lose. See 
 
 Tine. 
 Tipple, to touch lightly. The game of trippit and coit is 
 
 played either as " farrest batter," or " tippler saves." 
 Tippy, smart, fine, modish — tip top. " Tippy Bob." 
 Tire, s. the iron hoop which surrounds a cart wheel. 
 TiRL, to make a slight scratching noise — to turn over the 
 
 leaves of a book quickly — to strip off a roof. Tirling, the 
 
 unroofing of a house. 
 
 " Whyles rangin' like a roarin' lieu, 
 For prey a' holes and corners tryin", 
 Whyles on the strong-wing'd tempest flyin', 
 Tirling the kirks." 
 
 Burns, — Address to the De'il. 
 
 TiTE, soon, easily, well. — Titter, sooner, rather, earlier. 
 See 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 titling, a ludicrous designation given to such dummiri. 
 
 Titty, a diminutive of sister. " Black Titty Bet." 
 
 Tiv, to. — Tiv-a-tee, just the thing, exactly — to a T. 
 
 ToAD-BiT, a disease among cattle, absurdly imjiuted to the 
 poison of toads ; and against which lustration by need-fire 
 is employed. Dr. Willan mentions a recent instance of 
 the practice, as occurring near Sedbergh, in Yorkshire. 
 
 Toad-under-a-harrow, a proverbial saying of considerable 
 VOL. II. a b
 
 186 TOCII 
 
 antiquity ; meant to express the comparative situation of 
 a poor fellow, whose wife, not satisfied %\'ith 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, 
 A/hen every tooth gave him a tig." 
 
 Tocher, dowry. See Tougher. 
 
 Tod, a name for the fox. In consequence of what is said 
 in Dr. Jamieson's Supplement, it is proper to mention 
 that this word is in common use in Northumberland ; and 
 that it was inadvertently omitted in transcribing the first 
 edition of this Glossary for the press. 
 
 " Birdis hes thair nestis, and todls hes their den." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 " He maun be seun up that cheats the tod." — N. C. Prov. 
 
 Toddy, a mixture of whisky and warm water. — North. There 
 is a tree in the East Indies from which a liquor called tod<ly 
 is extracted. V. Herbert's Travel, p. 29. 
 ToDLE, or Toddle, to totter, to walk unsteadily like a child. 
 Germ, trotteln, to totter. Swed. tnlta, to waddle. 
 " Todlen hame, todlen hame, 
 Couldna my love come todlen hame V— 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 call- 
 ed, from Teut. treurigh, msestus, 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 pronounced Toitffa. Teut. toe-vallen, 
 adjungere se. See Tee-fall. 
 
 Tommy, a little loaf. " A soldier's foimnj/." 
 
 Tommy-loach, a name given to the loach by boys. 
 
 Tommy-noddy, the coulter-neb, or puffin. Alca arctica. This
 
 TOSS 187 
 
 very singular bird breeds in various parts of our coasts, 
 
 and in various situations. A few of them are visitants of 
 
 the Fame Islands, on the Northumberland coast, where 
 
 they lay their eggs in old rabbit burrows. 
 ToM-TKOT, candy made of treacle. Same as Taffy. 
 Too, to, shut, close. " Put the door too ?" — " It is too." Dut. 
 
 toe. Is de deur toe ? V. Tooke on preposition To, Vol. I., 
 
 p. 350. 
 TooM, or Teum, the participle of Teem, empty. Dan. tomme, 
 
 to empty. " A toom purse." — " A teum cart." An old 
 
 word, stiU in general use. 
 
 " A too'ni purse makes a blate merchant." — N. C. Prov. 
 
 " Set on them lads 'quo Willie than, 
 Fye lads set on them cruellie 
 For ere they win the Retter ford 
 Mony a toom saddle there sail be." 
 
 Ballad of Jamie Telfer. 
 
 TooRCAN, to wonder, or muse on what one means to do, 
 Grose, from Ray. Dr. Jamieson refers to Isl. torkendr, 
 notu difficilis item deformatus. Haldorson. 
 
 ToozLE, or TouzLE, to pull about ; esjiecially ajjplied 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 suijerior — a cle- 
 ver, or extraordinary person ; but generally in an ironical 
 sense. 
 
 Top, the portion of a coal seam after the nicking and kirving 
 processes are performed, left to be detached by the " shot." 
 
 ToppENLY, in good health. " He's toppenlj/ to-day." 
 
 Topping, a tuft on the top of the head. 
 
 ToPSMAN, the head man or manager, the chief hind or bailiff. 
 
 ToRFEL, or ToRFLE, to fouudcr, to fall, to die. V. Jam. 
 
 ToRMiT, or TuRMiT, a common pronunciation of turnip. 
 
 Tosh, a projecting or unseemly tooth — a tusk. 
 
 TossicATED, Tosticated, perplexed ; puzzled ; as if intoxi- 
 cated.
 
 188 TOTE 
 
 Tote, the whole. The whole tote, a common pleonasm. Lat. 
 
 toius. Sc. tot. V. Jam. Supp. 
 ToTEY, irritable, bad-tempered. Sc. toutie. "A totie hody" 
 To-THE-FORE, alivc, in being, forthcoming', in store. 
 Touch, a feat or trick. " That's a clever touch." 
 Tout, the rump, the posterior. 
 
 " Off goth the skinne an hondbrede al aboute. 
 The hote culter brenned so his toute." 
 
 ChaiuMr,—The MUlere's Tale. 
 
 Touted, to be followed or pursued, 
 
 TowGHER, a portion or dowry, dower. — Oiimh. — Toker, iu 
 other places, means the same. V. Jam. tocher. 
 
 TowLiNG, a mischievous amusement among the boys in New- 
 castle, during the evenings of the horse-fairs. It consists 
 of whipping up and down the diflferent " choice tit bits " 
 shown on those occasions, and, therefore, probably from 
 tollen, German, to be mad — maddening them — " setting 
 them mad." It has been practised from time immemorial, 
 and is, no doubt, the remains of some ancient custom 
 connected with a toll exacted on horses so kept in the 
 fair. 
 
 To- YEAR, a provincialism for this year ; as we say to-day, to- 
 night. 
 
 Traike, V, to drop the wings as do poultry out of health. 
 
 Traike, s. a sheep found dead, and salted for food. Germ, 
 trag, slack — applied to the flabby flesh of " a sheep of God's 
 killing." 
 
 Traiky, Traiking, in a declining state of health. "He's 
 been traiMng lang, poor man." V. Jam. traik. 
 
 Tram, a small carriage on four icheels — so distinguished from 
 a sledge. It is used in coal mines to bring the coals from 
 the hewers to the crane. 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 coun-
 
 TRIF 189 
 
 try — soliciting from door to door, and finding subsistence 
 as tliey can, and lodgings where they may. 
 
 Translators, cobblers who buy old boots and shoes and make 
 them up anew for sale. The Castle Garth, in Newcastle, 
 is the grand emporium of this learned and gentle craft. 
 
 Transmogrify, to transform, to metamorphose. 
 
 Trap, a door in the works of a coal pit to preserve the ven- 
 tilation. 
 
 Trapper, a boy whose business it is to attend to the trap- 
 doors in a coal-mine. 
 
 Trash, to tramp about with fatigue. Swed. trasJca, to jog, 
 to trudge. Sometimes, as a verb active, to harass. — 
 Trashed, adjectively, is almost daily applied to a man, or 
 beast, weary with travelling, or ill used by severe work — 
 worn out. 
 
 Treeksin, or Trewksin, three weeks since. — Lane. Lord 
 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 substan- 
 tive of it, as is customary in the word fortnight. V. Wil- 
 braham. 
 
 Treet, a species of bran. See Bye-bootings. 
 
 Treenail, a wood bolt or peg used in ship-building. The 
 trenails of carts are the wooden pins round its sides. The 
 Danes call a fence of pallisades a tre-mur, i. e. a wood 
 wall. 
 
 Tress, the frame of a table on which the moveable board, or 
 leaf rests. 
 
 Trew, a truce. Sax. treotca, 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's Leges Marchiarum, i^dssim. 
 Tricky, artful, cunning. Full of tricks — trickish. 
 
 Trifled-corn, corn that has fallen down, in single ears, 
 mixed with standing corn.
 
 190 TRIG 
 
 Trig, true, faithful. 
 
 " For Geordy aw'd dee— for uiy loyalty's triy, 
 
 And aw own he's a good leuken niannie ; 
 
 But if wor Sir Matthew ye buss iv his wig, 
 
 By gocks ! he wad leuk just as canny." 
 
 Song,— Canny Keweassel. 
 
 Trig, v, to fill, to stuff.— Trig, a. full. V. Todd's John. 
 
 Trig, neat, trim ; or rather tricked out, or what is called 
 fine. 
 
 Trim, to chastise, to beat soundly. " I'll trim your jacket." 
 
 Trip, a small flock ; as of sheep. V. Jamieson. 
 
 Trippit-and-coit, a game formerly known under the appel- 
 lation of tripj)ets. Neivc. It is the same as tripcat in some 
 of the southern counties. The trijipit 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 buclstick. The recreation is also 
 called BucKSTicK-sPELL-AXD-oRE. I was once inclined to 
 think that the buckstick, being broad at one end Like the 
 but of a gun, might be derived from Germ, hiichse, a fire- 
 lock ; but the name is probably antecedent to firelocks ; 
 and may, perhaps, be considered as the bough stick ; i. e,, 
 flexible stick. F. Tooke, ad v. buxom. 
 
 Trippit-and-rack. The same as Trippit-and-coit. 
 
 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 I'ramlington Trist, and 
 Felton Trj/st, in Northumberland. Sc. tr^st, 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. When a thief 
 escaped from Yorkshire, going northwards, it used to be 
 said he had gone the Darnton (Darlington) trod. 
 
 Trod, a step in a stair-case. 
 
 Troke, to barter — to truck. Fr. troquer, to exchange. 
 
 Troliibags, a vulgar term for tripe. The roll or complica- 
 tion of the intestines. Germ, trollcn, to roll.
 
 TUE 191 
 
 Trones, a steel-yard. Isl. trana, grus, Lat. trona. V. 
 Fleta, Lib. II., c. 12. Since the j^wblication of the first 
 edition of this work, it has been remarked to me, 
 that trones is properly an instrument for weighing 
 goods, usually api^lied, in contradistinction to steel-yard, 
 to a little cylindrical machine, in which the compression 
 of a spiral machine indicates the quantum of appended 
 weight. Another correspondent says, " Tron is a very old 
 word : the public Tron in the Grass Market in Edinburgh 
 has been there for centuries ; but the sjjiral spring trones 
 are a late invention." 
 
 Trouble, a dislocation of the strata in a coal-mine. See 
 Dike. 
 
 Trows, a curious sort of double boat, which is used in spear- 
 ing salmon in parts of a river where they cannot be taken 
 with a net. See Rambles in North., p. 154. 
 
 Trumph, a trump at cards. Swed. trumf, the winning card. 
 Trump is but a corruption oitriumpli. 
 
 Truxk, a small hoop-net, used by the Bshermen of Holy 
 Island for catching lobsters. 
 
 Truthfu', truthful, an excellent adjective, more expressive 
 than any other cognate word ; yet quite local. 
 
 TuBBER, a cant term for a cooper. A maker oituhs. 
 
 TuE, to labour long, to work hard, to be fatigued by repeated 
 or continued exertion. Fr. tuer, se tucr, originally to kill ; 
 but used also for, to fatigue or weary. II se tiie, he wearies 
 himself ; or, in North country language, he tues himself. 
 " Tuing on" — toiling on. "A tiling life" — a laborious 
 life. ''A tuing soul" — a hard working person. " Sare 
 tues" — great difficulty in accomplishing any thing. " We 
 have got here at last ; but we had a great tue" A London 
 lady, once so addressed 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'U tue all my cap."
 
 192 TUEL 
 
 TuEL, a sijecifs of bantering ; or rather a tendency to 
 squabble accomiianiecl with it — any troublesome inter- 
 meddling. " Dinna hmid me sic a tuel" — don't 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, cold, wct, 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. 
 
 TuMBLE-CARR, a cart drawn by a single horse ; probably so 
 named from the axle being made fast in the wheels, and 
 turning round with them. 
 
 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, 
 when the infernal lago announces to the old senator, Bra- 
 bantio, the elopement of Desdemona ; but the passage, 
 though it is said by a French critic that it did not make 
 Queen Elizabeth blush, is certainly too strongly marked 
 with the taste of the time when Shakespeare wrote to 
 warrant quotation here. 
 
 TuRBOT, a common, though improjier, name for the halibut. 
 
 TuRMiT, a turnip. Also used in Herefordshire, Gloucester- 
 shire, and other counties. 
 
 Tussle, or Tustle, a confused struggle. See Toozle. 
 
 TwA, the vulgar pronunciation, in some places, of two ; ac- 
 cording to the ancient Saxon form. 
 
 Twang, a quick pull, a sudden seizure — a tweak, or twitch. 
 
 Twang, a sudden paroxysm of pain — a pang. 
 
 Twang, a slightly unpleasant taste. Si^oken of anything 
 which has an adventitious flavour, 
 
 TwATTLE, s. idle prate or chatter. Teut. schivatzen. 
 
 TwATTLE, v. to pat, to make much of, to fondle. V. Grose. 
 
 TwEA, two. Sax. twa. — Tweasome, two in company.
 
 T'YAK 193 
 
 Twee-faced, two-faced, deceitful. Sax, twea-feald, duplex, 
 " A twee-faced chap." 
 
 TwEE-FAtTD, two-fold. In Northumberland, twee-faud, three- 
 faud, four-faud, and five-faud, constantly occur, and I am 
 not aware of any other number so expressed, Mr, Bou- 
 cher gives instances of an-fald being used, but I never 
 heard it in the North. 
 
 " A male txceiSoUl on his croper lay." 
 
 Chaucer, — The Chanone's Yenianne's Prologue. 
 
 " He has broken three ribs in that ane's side 
 But and his collar bane ; 
 He 's laid him twa-fald ower his steed ; 
 Bade him carry the tidings hame." 
 
 Border Minstrelsy, Vol. I., p. 79. 
 
 Twill, a quill— also a spool to wind yarn upon. V. Ray. 
 TwiLT, a quilt, or bed cover, V. Todd's Johnson, to twill. 
 Twine, to cry. Probably a variation of whine ; which may 
 be traced to Su,-Got. hwina, to mourn, — Twiny, fretful, 
 uneasy. 
 TwiNTER, 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, 
 " Fyue twinteris brinyt he, as was the gyis 
 And als mony swine, and tydy gwyis." 
 
 Douglas' Virgil. 
 
 Twitch, to tie closely, to fasten so as to cause pain. Sax. 
 
 twiccian. Twitch, s. an instrument applied to the nose of a 
 
 vicious horse, to make it stand still during the process of 
 
 shoeing. 
 Twitch-bell, the ear-wig. From the forceps with which it 
 
 is furnished. 
 Twitter, to tremble, to be in a state of uneasiness. V. Ray. 
 
 Germ, zittern, to shiver or quake. 
 T'tak, to take. — T'yak-efter, to imitate or resemble. " The 
 
 bairns fyak eftcr their dad."— T'yak-up, to reform. " He'll 
 
 fpah up" — said of an extravagant, thoughtless person, likely 
 
 to reform, 
 
 VOL, ir. c c
 
 194 TWYS 
 
 TwYSiLL, or TwiZLE, T'wis'hill, a contraction for the "Wise 
 Hill. Haut-wt/se-hiliy It was the moat hill of South 
 Tyndall. 
 
 U. 
 Ug, to feel abhorrence at, to create disgust. 
 Ugsome, disgusting, exciting abhorrence. The word is derived 
 from Sax. oga, fright ; whence tigli/; i. e. uglike, or fright- 
 like. 
 
 " Ugsum to here was hir wyld elrische skreik." 
 
 Gawin Douglas. 
 
 U'm, H'm, or Umhim, an indifferent, careless manner of as- 
 senting to what is said ; pronounced with the mouth shut, 
 the last syllable short : very common in Newcastle. A 
 literary friend suggests a derivation from umph, ascribed 
 satirically to the resjDectable Society of Friends. 
 
 Un, one — referring to an individual. " He's a real bad nn." 
 
 Unbethink, to reflect ; often implying a change of opinion. 
 V. Wilbraham. 
 
 Unbiddable, unadvisable, uncounselable. A Scottish term. 
 
 Unboun, to undress. 
 
 Uncanny, giddy, careless, imprudent. It s also applied by 
 the superstitious to one supposed to possess supernatural 
 influence. Sc. " no canny." — Uncannily, awkwardly, un- 
 thinkingly, thoughtlessly. 
 
 Unchancy, unfortunate, also mischievous. 
 
 Unco, Unket, strange, unusual. Sax. uncuth, incognitus, 
 
 alienus. Swed. ohdnd. 
 
 " Daniel seide. Sire kyng, 
 This dremels bitokneth 
 That xinkouthe knyghtes shul come 
 Thi kjTigdom to cleyme." — Piers Plomnan. 
 
 Unco, very, " unco glad," very glad. 
 
 Uncos, Unkits, Unkids, news, strange things. 
 
 " I hear down at the Brough this day ye've been, 
 Sae tell's the uncos that ye've heard or seen." 
 
 Morison's Poeyns. 
 
 %
 
 UNSP 195 
 
 Undercumstand, to understand. A mere vulgar change. 
 
 Undight, undressed, undecked. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Unforbidden, disobedient ; said of a child who is so. 
 
 Unfrem'd, unkind. See Frem, Frem'd. 
 
 Ungear, to unharness. " Ungear the yoke ^* — loose the horses. 
 
 Unhonest, dishonourable, dishonest. Fr, inhoneste. Lat. 
 inhonestus. This is an old word, still in use in the North. 
 
 Unletes, displacers or destroyers of the farmer's produce, 
 V. Grose, imleed, or unlead. 
 
 Unlicked-cdb, an ignorant, unpolished youth. From the old 
 story of the bear's cub being bom 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 vul- 
 gar in the North. Not in Johnson ; but Mr. Todd has 
 given it a place in his valuable insertions. It is the genu- 
 ine word, and well authorised. 
 
 Unrid, to rid. Here the particle is of no force. — Unrip, a 
 common word in the North — authorised by some of our 
 best writers — is similarly circumstanced. See the very 
 amusing 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. 
 
 " Tip-toe she tript it o'er the floor ; 
 She drew the bar, uiistieclc'd the door." 
 
 Jamieson's Pop. Bal. 
 
 Unsoncy, Unsonsy, careless, luckless, unpleasant, disagree- 
 able. So. unsonsie. See Soncy, or Sonsy. 
 Unspar, to open, to unclose. 
 
 " ' Suflfre we,' seide Truthe : 
 ' I here and see bothe 
 How a spirit speketh to helle 
 And biddeth unspere the yates.' " 
 
 Piers Plowman.
 
 196 UNTI 
 
 " Lyke as the byrJe within the cage enclosed, 
 The door vnsparred, his foe the hawke without, 
 'Twixt death and prison piteously oppressed." — Wyat. 
 
 Untidy, ill-disposed, dishonest. See Tidy. 
 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. An 
 " upcast (pronounced upkest) shaft" in a coal-mine, is one 
 used to promote a circulation, or upward draft of air, 
 by having a fire at the bottom, which produces a current 
 of air by rarefaction. 
 Upcasting, a rising of the clouds above the horizon ; espe- 
 cially as threatening rain. 
 Uphad, Uphaud, Uphowd, to warrant, to engage to defend 
 an opinion or assertion ; also to uphold against defects. 
 Su. Got. uppehaelle, alimonia ; Isl. uphellce, sustentatio, 
 sustentaculum, victualia. 
 Uppish, lofty, aspiring, consequential, jealously proud, cap- 
 tions. Su.-Got. yppig, superbus, vanus. Ihre. 
 Upsides, even with, quits. To be upsides loith any one, is to 
 threaten vengeance for a real or supposed injury or afifront. 
 " I'll gee fyfteen shilling to thee cruickit carl, 
 For a friend to him ye kythe to me ; 
 Gin ye'll take me to the wicht Wallace, 
 For upsides wi "m I mean to be." 
 
 Jamiesmi's Pop. Bal. 
 
 Uptack, 'V. to comprehend, to understand. Swed. uptaga, to 
 take up, to adopt. — Uptack, s. comprehension, under- 
 standing. 
 
 Upwith, on an equal or superior footing — quit ^vith. 
 
 Urchin, a hedge-hog. Chaucer uses urchon, V. Nares. 
 Ignorant persons who attend to the keeping of cattle still 
 believe in that very ancient prejudice of the hedge-hog's 
 drawing milk from the udders of resting cows duriug the 
 night, thus disappointing the milkmaid of the expected 
 repletion of her morning pail. The smallness of its mouth
 
 VARD 197 
 
 renders such an accusation utterly absurd ; but to reason 
 Avith such people is like talking of the blessing of light 
 to those who have the misfortune to be born blind. 
 It however is very fond of eggs, and does considerable 
 mischief by destroying game during the breeding season. 
 The hedge-hog, it is well known, is a nocturnal animal, 
 seeking food and society in the night ; but Shakspeare is 
 probably the first writer who afl&rms that it utters its pe- 
 culiar cry at that time. See Titus Andronicus, Act II., 
 Sc. 3. One of the witches in Macbeth also notices that 
 " the hedge-pig whines" at midnight. 
 
 " Full grete he was, and blacke of hewe, 
 Sturdie and hideous whoso him knewe ; 
 Like sharp urchoiu his heere was grow, 
 His eyes red sparcling as fire glow." 
 
 Chaucer — Romaunt of the Rose. 
 " I saw the urcheon and the hare 
 In hidlings hirpling here and thair." 
 
 The Clierry and the Slae. 
 
 Ube, the udder of a cow or sheep. See Yure. 
 
 Urled, stinted in growth. — Urling, a dwarf. V. Ray. Sc. 
 
 urliich, having a feeble and emaciated appearance, seems 
 
 allied. But see Jam. Supp. worlin. 
 Used, situated at a short or convenient distance for carrying 
 
 or leading. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vage, a journey, a voyage, Sc. vage, viage, veyage. Fr. 
 ■my age, denotes either a voyage or a journey. 
 
 Vaig, to wander, to roam. Old Fr. vaguer, — Veiger, a wan- 
 derer, a vagrant, a stroller. See Stbavaging. 
 
 Vamp, to pawn any thing. 
 
 Vamper, to vapour or swagger, to make an ostentatious ap- 
 pearance. The nearest affinity I can trace is Welsh 
 gwemp, splendid. But a friend prefers Ital. avvampare, to 
 blaze, to burn. 
 
 Vardie, opinion, judgment. A corruption of verdict.
 
 198 VARM 
 
 Varment, vermin — a term of reproach, particularly to a 
 child. It is aleo a sort of cant word for knowing ; as a 
 varment chap, a knowing one. 
 
 Varra, Varry, Vurry, provincial pronunciations of very. 
 
 Vast, elliptically for vast deal — a great quantity or num- 
 ber. " A vast of news." " A vast of money." " A vast of 
 sheep." 
 
 Vennel, a sewer, sink, or drain. Probably from kennel, an 
 open water course. The word is also commonly used for 
 a narrow lane or passage from one place to another. Fr. 
 venelle, petit rue. 
 
 ViEWLY, sightly, good-looking, striking to view. 
 
 ViEwsoME, striking, pleasant to the sight, handsome to be- 
 hold. 
 
 Vine-pencil, a black lead pencil. Perhaps from the ore 
 being first embedded in vine, as it is now in cedar-wood. 
 
 Virgin's-garland. Many country churches in the North of 
 England were adorned with these garlands ; in token, says 
 Bourne, of esteem and love, and as an emblem of reward 
 in the heavenly Church. They were made of variegated 
 coloured paper, representing flowers, fastened to small 
 sticks crossing each other at the top, and fixed at the bot- 
 tom by a circular hoop. From the centre was 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 were sometimes written. The custom, once 
 probably very general, of placing flowers in the coffin with 
 the deceased, is still jireserved 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 remarked by Dr. Drake, 
 something so strikingly emblematic, so delightfully sooth- 
 ing in these old rites, that though the prototype be proba- 
 bly heathen, their disuse is to be regretted. The Romans 
 loved to keep alive the memory of their dead, showing 
 therein a constancy of affection which does them honour ;
 
 WAD 199 
 
 and not only immediately after the funeral, but at stated 
 periods from time to time, they celebrated feasts, and of- 
 fered sacrifices and libations to them." " Perfumes and 
 flowers were also thrown upon the tomb ; and the inex- 
 pediency of wasting rich wines and precious oils on a cold 
 stone and dead body, when they might be employed in 
 comforting the living, was a favourite subject with the 
 bo7is vivans of the age. It was with the same design to 
 crown it with garlands, and honour it with libations, that 
 Electra and Orestes met and recognized each other at their 
 father's tomb. Roses were in especial request for this ser- 
 vice, and lilies also." — Pompeii, Vol, II. Indeed, all nations 
 at different periods, seem to have delighted to deck the 
 graves of their departed relatives with garlands of flowers — 
 emblems at once of beauty and quick fading into death. 
 The Greeks crowned the dead with flowers, and the mourn- 
 ers wore them at the funeral ceremonies. 
 
 Voider, s. a butler's tray. Fr. vuider, to empty. 
 
 VoKY, damp, moist, juicy. Wohie occurs in Peirs Plow- 
 man. — VoKY, is also used in the sense of gay, cheerful. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wabble, v. to vacillate, to reel, to waver. Teut. wahelen. A 
 large unwieldly fish is said to wabble in the water ; and 
 growing corn on a windy day likewise wabbles. — -Wabble, s. 
 an unsteady rotatory motion. 
 
 Wabster, a Northern term for a weaver. See Webster. 
 
 Wad, black lead. — Cwnb. Nigrica fabrilis. Pure Saxon. This 
 ore has been erroneously supposed to be the pnigitis or 
 melanteria of Dioscorides. 
 
 Wad, woad used by dyers. Isatis tinctoria. Sax. wad. The 
 ancient Britons were in the habit of staining their bodies 
 with the juice of this plant, from a desire, by thus dis- 
 tinguishing themselves in the field of battle, of inspiring 
 confidence among their followers, and terror in the enemy.
 
 200 WAD 
 
 But wad and woad, I am informed, are in Yorkshire differ- 
 ent things ; woad being the blue substitute for indigo ; and 
 wad, the genista tinctoria, a yellow die. 
 Wad, a pledge ; our early writers, both English and Scotch, 
 spell it toed or weddc, which is the pure Saxon. 
 
 " Thoii Shalt me leave such a locdde, 
 
 That I will have thy trouth on hand."— Cower. 
 " Let him beware, his nekke beth to wedde." 
 
 Oiaucer, — The Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Wad, the vulgar word for would. " He wad come." 
 
 Wadd, a forfeit ; especially in the game called wadds, or for- 
 feits. Sax. wad, pignus. 
 
 Wade. The moon is said to wade when she seems as if toil- 
 fully making her way through a succession of clouds, which 
 flit rapidly past her. 
 
 Waden, Wauden, young and active — vigorous in limb. "A 
 wauden lad." " Wauden of her age." Isl. valldr, validus, 
 potens. Wauden is more properly supple than vigorous ; 
 though vigour be often the concomitant of suppleness. 
 
 Waddler-wife, the keeper of a register office for servants — 
 a term, I believe, peculiar in Newcastle. See Weddler- 
 
 WOMAN. 
 
 Wae-me ! or Wae's-me ! an exclamation of sorrow frequently 
 used by the vulgar, equivalent to looe is me — a pure Saxon 
 expression — loa is me. In Scotland they have dowie an'' 
 wae, solitary and melancholy. 
 
 Waff, an apparition in the exact resemblance of a person, 
 supposed to be seen just before or soon after death. It is 
 said to be commonly seen by a near relation or friend of 
 the party, whose death it portends ; and it is stated to be 
 sometimes seen, though the person whose death is thus 
 announced be in a distant country. 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 conversed 
 with well-educated people, who have gravely and unequi-
 
 WAIR 201 
 
 vocally asserted that they have seen these spectral appear- 
 ances of their deceased friends and relations. 
 
 " Thiddir went this wrayth or schado of Enee." 
 
 Douglas' Virgil. 
 
 Waff, 5. a slight motion of the hand ; a slight puff of wind. 
 
 Waffle, to wave, to fluctuate. Identical with Wabble. 
 Sax. loafian, vacillare. Teut. weyfelen, fluctuare. Swed. 
 wefta, vibrare. 
 
 Waffler, the green sand-piper ; so called from its undulat- 
 ing odd flight. 
 
 Wag, to vibrate as the pendulum of a clock, to beckon with 
 the hand — to shake. Sax. loagian. — Wag-hands, to shake 
 hands among Southrons. 
 
 Wag-at-the-waw, Wagger, a cheap wooden clock of Ger- 
 man 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 
 plural. In many jiarts of the North, however, the singular 
 is in common use. 
 
 " Paid to Tho. Jenkinson, clerk to the Churchwardens for this 
 yere's ffee or waige, 26s. %d." — Beverley Parish Accounts, 1593. 
 
 Waifinger, an estray, a waif. Law Lat. waivium. 
 " Somme serven the kyng 
 And his silver tellen 
 la cheker and in chauncelrie 
 Chalangen hise dettes 
 Of Wardes and of Wardemotes, 
 Weyves and streyves." — Piers Plotvman. 
 Waiggle, v. to waddle, as a goose does in'walking. Moes.- 
 
 Got. wagian, agitare. 
 Wain, a cart or waggon drawn by oxen yoked by means of 
 
 bows over their necks. 
 Wairsh, Wearch, Werch, thin, watery, weak, insipid. It 
 is also used to express a griping in the bowels. — Wairsh- 
 bread, bread not sufficiently salted. JVeaish is old in 
 our language. V. Todd's Johnson. 
 
 VOL. II. D d
 
 202 WAIT 
 
 Wait, wot. Sax. wat ; from witan, to know. 
 Wait, to know, to be aware. Sax. witan. 
 
 . " Thocht fer ane quhyll I man from you depart 
 
 I wait my spreit sail remain in your hart." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three EstaitU. 
 
 Waiter, or Waeter, the Newcastle pronunciation of water. 
 Sax. woeter. The a and ce were interchangeably used. V. 
 Bosworth's Saxon Grammar, p. 51. The Borderers use 
 the word in a peculiar sense to express a district, as 
 " Coquet Water," meaning the country immediately ad- 
 joining the Coquet. In the admirable ballad of " Jamie 
 Telfer," old Buccleugh says, 
 
 " Gar warn the water braid and wide ; 
 Warn Wat o' Warden and his sons, 
 Wi' them will Borthwick water ride." 
 
 Wait te weel, know ye, be assured. 
 
 " Bot wit ye well my hart was wounder sarye." 
 
 Lyndsay's Dreme. 
 
 Waith, or Wraith, the spectral appearance of a person 
 about to die, or recently dead. See Waff. 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 ; 
 originally watchmen or sentinels. One of the old towers, 
 in Newcastle, was formerly called the Waits' Tower, and 
 was the place of meeting of these itinerant musicians. 
 They used to be the privileged minstrels at weddings and 
 feasts. Their playing to Oliver Cromwell, while that ex- 
 traordinary character was entertained at dinner, on his 
 route to or from Scotland, is still traditionally remembered. 
 The term would seem to be derived from Moe.-Got. wahts, 
 vigilia, excubisB ; these waits being anciently viewed as a 
 sort of watchmen. Wait is explained in Prompt. Parv., 
 speculator, vigil. So, in old French, luaite is garde, sen- 
 tinelle. See etymology and explanation in Todd's John- 
 son, Waits.
 
 WALL 203 
 
 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 
 History of North., Vol. II., p. 26 ; Brand's Pop. Anti'q., 
 Vol. I., p. 422 ; and Herrick's Hesperides, p. 300, 30i 
 Wake, a. weak. Sax. w(ec. " As wake as water." 
 Wala-wa, interj. alas. Sax. wela-tcas. Su.-Got. prok- 
 dolor. 
 
 " Deves (deaf) godes ant dombe, he servid nit and day, 
 So deden mony otliere that singeth welaway." 
 
 From a Saxon Poem of the Life of St. Margaret, 
 printed in Hicks. 
 
 " Alas, Custance, thou hast no champion, 
 Ne flghten canst thou not, so icala va." 
 
 C}iaucer,—The Man ofLawe't Tale. 
 
 " Now nowther gretest Juno, waU away .' 
 Nor Saturnus son hie Jupiter with just ene 
 Has our quarell considerit, na ouer sene." 
 
 Douglas' Virgil. 
 
 Wale, Wail, Weal, v. to select, to choose, to sort. Su.- 
 Got. walja, eligere. Swed. v'dlja, to choose. Germ. 
 wahlen, to pick out. 
 
 " With similitudes semelie he dois declair 
 With weille icailUt wordis, wyse and familiar." 
 
 Cliarteris' Character of Lyndsay. 
 
 Wale, s. choice, best part. Su.-Got. loal, electio. Dan. 
 valg. choice. 
 
 " Auld Bob Morris that wins in yon glen. 
 He's the king of good fellows, and wall of auld men." 
 Rit-son's Scots Songs, Vol. /., p, 176. 
 
 Walk-mill, a fuUing-mill. Germ, walhmihle. Before the 
 introduction of machinery it was customary to use the feet 
 in fulling cloth. The Fullers and Dyers of Newcastle were 
 anciently called Wallers. "Wend to the icalk mylne." 
 Ordinary, 1477. 
 
 Wall, Walle, Wallup, to boil. Teut. wallen. Su.-Got. 
 waella. 
 
 Wall-eyed. In those parts of the North, with which I am
 
 204 WALL 
 
 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 occasionally 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 perfectly well. The author of the Crav. Gloss- 
 explains wall-een, to mean white or green eyes ; and does 
 not consider the etymology 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." 
 
 " The beast was sturdy, large and tall, 
 With mouth of meal and eyes of walV'—Hudibras. 
 
 Wallop, to move quickly and with much agitation of the 
 body or clothes. Teut. wal-oppe, 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. loeallan, to boil. Germ, wallen, to move up and 
 down as in ebullition. Isl. loella, to bubble up. Whence 
 the potwallopers of the Cornish boroughs — those seductions 
 of power too tempting for patriotism to resist — take their 
 title. 
 
 Wallopixg, doing a thing in a slatternly, slovenly manner. 
 
 Wallow, insipid, nauseous. See Welsh. Also Wairsh. 
 
 Walls, excavations in a colliery six feet wide, which run 
 parallel to the winning headways, and intersect the boards 
 at the interval of about twenty yards. 
 
 Walls-end, a name extensively used for Newcastle coals. 
 Walls-end, in Northumberland (deriving its name from 
 being at the end of the Roman Wall), is a village about 
 three miles east of Newcastle upon Tyue. The coals ob- 
 tained from this place being at one time of the most valu- 
 able description, and meeting with a ready sale at enor- 
 mous prices, other coalowners began to append to the
 
 WANG 205 
 
 names of their coals the favourite term of Walls-end, no 
 matter from whence they came, and the fact is, that, at 
 the present time, coals of every quality, shipped in the 
 Tyne, Wear, and Tees, bear that name, without the least 
 connection with Walls-end colliery, whose coals alone are 
 properly entitled to be called Walls-end. 
 
 Wallup, v. to beat. — Wallup, s. a blow. Rather, perhaps, 
 Whallup ; from wheal, the mark of a blow. 
 
 Walluping, strong, athletic. " A great walluping chap." 
 
 Walm, v. to seethe or boil. V, Wilbraham. — Walm, s. a 
 slight boiling. Willan, 
 
 Walt, to totter, to lean one way, to overthrow. V. Jam. 
 ivelt. 
 
 Wame, the stomach, the belly. Moe.-Got. waniba, uterus. 
 Sax. watnb, venter ; whence womb. — Wame-ill, an ache or 
 pain in the intestines. Sax. toamb-adl, dolor ventris. 
 
 Wame-fu', a bellyfull. 
 
 " Than the fowll monster Gluttony 
 Of wame insasiable and greedy 
 
 To dauace syn did him dress." — Dunbar's Daunoe. 
 
 " Gif ye wald travail fra toun to toun 
 " I think this hude and hevie goun 
 
 " Will hold your tvambe over warme." 
 
 Lindsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Wame-towe, a belly-band or girth, going from shaft to shaft 
 
 beneath the belly of the animal. 
 Wan, a corruption of wand. " A 9/ard-wan." — " A mill- 
 wan." 
 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, Wannel, supple, pliant — when spoken of a per- 
 son, agile, nimble. — Wandy, long and flexible ; like a 
 wand. 
 
 Wanq-tooth, dens molaris. Pure Saxon. It is the catch, or
 
 206 WANI 
 
 fang-iooih. ; wang, or vang, being to catch, or fang. In- 
 fangthefy and outfcmgthcf — ancient privileges of trying 
 thieves, caught in or out of the jurisdiction — may be re- 
 ferred to the same source. So, perhaps, may the name of 
 Mrs. Quickly's bailiff. "Good Master Fang, hold him 
 sure." 2d. Part King Henry IV, — Before the use of seals, 
 according to Verstegan, 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 ban biten this wax with my wang-tothe." 
 
 But there can be no doubt that this pretended metrical 
 character is a gross and impudent forgery, since it repre- 
 sents the Norman Conqueror as making a grant in English 
 before the language existed. In Chaucer we find the word 
 in the plural, 
 
 " Our manciple I hope he wol be ded, 
 Swa werkes ay the wanyes in his bed." 
 
 The Reeve's Tale. 
 
 Wanion, vengeance. Not noticed by Todd or Jamieson. 
 It seems tantamount to " with a vengeance," and is 
 used in Durham. Is it from Germ, icohnen, to insult? 
 which is the origin of Honi, in the motto on the Gar- 
 ter — and of the modern French honte, and not the nonsense 
 of Menage. Wanion may be only a corruption of ven- 
 geance in the Townley Mysteries, p. 29 (published by the 
 Surtees Society, 1836). 
 
 " He would have battered the Presbyterian spirit out of him with 
 a wanion." — Scott's Woodstock, Vol. IV., p. 122. 
 
 "W ANKLE, Wankelly, Uncertain, variable. In our northern 
 climate, so remarkable for not knowing its own mind, the 
 weather, when unfixed " in its resolve," is said to be tca7i- 
 He, or wankelly. Sax. wancol, instabilis, vacillans. Germ
 
 WAR-D 207 
 
 wanke7i, to change. The word also means weak, loose, 
 unsteady. 
 
 " But, Thomas, truly I thee say, 
 This world is wondir icankel." — Ballad of True TJiomas. 
 
 Want, v. to do without, to spare. " Lend me your specta- 
 cles ?" " I cannot wcmt them." Sometimes, not to have 
 had; as a mother will say, her " child tcants the small 
 pox." 
 Want, s. There's a want ; implying a mental imbecility. 
 Want, the mole. 
 
 " Lord Redesdale, however, thinks that the three moles in the 
 Mitford arras were probably taken from the river on which Mit- 
 ford stands — the Wansbcch, or Mole's river ; for the low grounds 
 on the banks of the river are to this day remarkably full of 
 moles, and the icant is a common name for the mole in many 
 parts of the North." 
 
 Hodgson's Northumberland, Pt. II., Vol II. p. 85. ■ 
 
 Wanweard, a profligate — a graceless, or wiivorthj/ person. 
 Wanworth, a thing of little value, a worthless person. Su.- 
 Got. Wanwoerda, dehonestare. V. Ihre vo. worda. 
 " Worlin wanworth, I warn thee it is written." 
 
 Dunbar's Evergreen. 
 
 Wapper, or Wrapper, any thing large ; both in a literal 
 and metaphorical sense. See Whacking ; and Whacker, 
 
 War, worse. Su.-Got. toarre. Dan. vcerre. Sax. wcerre. 
 Sc. waur. " War and war'''' — worse and worse. 
 
 War, take care, beware. " War below''' 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 jiunc- 
 ture the skin for this purpose, a small knot or warhle arises, 
 which serves for the nidus of the young insect so long as 
 it continues in its worm state, and gives great pain to the 
 animal. Dr. Jamieson derives the term from Sax. wear, 
 weer, a knot or bunch. 
 
 War-day, every day in the week except Sunday — working- 
 day.
 
 208 WARD 
 
 Warden (Lord), an officer of high rank on the Borders, 
 whose authority was partly military and partly civil. 
 
 Ware, Wear, v. to lay out or expend money. V. Jam. 
 Supp. war. 
 
 " An old caetel and not repaired 
 With was walles and wowes wide 
 The wages been fnl yvel ivared 
 With suiche a capitayn to abide. 
 
 Satire against the Lollards, circa 1413, Rit. A.B. 
 " A shilling aw thought at the play-house aw'd ware." 
 
 Song,— Canny Newcassel. 
 
 Ware, s. sea- weed. Sax. war, alga marina. V. Grose, 
 weir. 
 
 As ane rich of the se 
 
 Skellyis and fomey craggis they assay 
 Rowtand and ranand, and may nocht empere, 
 Bot gyf thay sched fra his sydis the ware." 
 
 Dovglas' Virgil. 
 
 Ware, s. delf ; or, rather, delft. " White ware.'" — " Brown 
 icare." Sax. ware, ware, merchandise. 
 
 Wark, v. to ache. — Wark, s. a pain or ache. Sax. wcerc, 
 Swed. warJc, pain, smart. 
 
 Wark, v. to work. " He can neither wark nor want." 
 
 Wark, s. work, employment. 
 
 " Wail ye this woeful waste of Nature's wark." 
 
 Spenser,— Shep. Cat. 
 
 Wark-folks, labourers, work-people. 
 
 Warld, the world. — Warldly worldly — like other people. 
 
 Warm-store, any thing carefully laid up, or stored away, in 
 a secure place, till it be wanted. 
 
 Warn, Warnd, Warnp, to warrant. " Aw's warn him." 
 
 Warn, to give notice. This word has a peculiar local ap- 
 plication in the lower vales of the Tees, a river, which, 
 from the rapidity of its upper course, and from the nu- 
 merous streams it receives from hill and moorland, often 
 rises suddenly. In that district to warn the water, is to 
 give the inhabitants timely notice of a flood.
 
 WA'T 209 
 
 Warp, to open. Sax. awarpan, to cast out. A Len is said 
 to warp when she lays. In Lincolnshire the act of casting 
 up the alluveal soil uj^on the land to fertilize it, is called 
 warping. 
 
 Warrish. The withers of a horse, from the French garrots, 
 the withers — we generally changing their incipient g into 
 w, as warrior for guerrier, &c., &c. Le Drachut shews 
 it was, in old French, written garetz (which is somewhat 
 nearer our word) and derives it from arcus — because " ar- 
 rondi comme un arc" — and he might have added, in con- 
 firmation, that I'argon de la selle is the saddle-bow. Me- 
 nage, however, despairs of an etymon. 
 
 Warse, worse. " Warse and warse" Moe.-Got. wairs, 
 Chaucer uses iverse. — Warst, the worst. 
 
 " Now is my prison leerse than beforne." — The Knighte's Tale. 
 
 Warsen, to grow worse. " He's warsen'd sadly." See 
 Worsen. 
 
 Warsle, to strive, to wrestle. Teut. werselen. V. Kilian. 
 
 Wassail-bowl, a drinking cup. In former times, at the 
 Christmas season, parties used to proceed from door to 
 door, singing certain verses, and bearing a wassail-bowl, 
 containing ale, nutmeg, sugar, toast, and roasted apples. 
 This custom, however, is now very much on the wane. 
 The ancient bowl was usually of silver, oak, or maple, but 
 in after days a more humble material was substituted. — 
 Brand derives Wassail iroia Anglo-Saxon loaes-hael, be in 
 health. Was-haile and Drinc-heil were ancient phrases 
 among the English, equivalent to " Here's to you," and 
 " I'll pledge you." 
 
 Waste, in a coal mine, is all that portion left behind when 
 working out the pillars. 
 
 Wastemen, men whose duty it is to attend to the ventilation 
 of the wastes, and generally of the pit. 
 
 Wasting, or Waisting, a consumption, a decline. 
 
 Wa't, indeed, certainly. " Wa't is't" — indeed it is. It is 
 
 VOL. II. E e
 
 210 WATC 
 
 the Saxon wat, from witan ; whence our old verb wot, to 
 know. 
 Watching on St. Mark's Eve. Young rustics will some- 
 times 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 terror to his neighbours ; for, 
 on the least offence received, he is apt, by significant hints 
 and grimaces, to insinuate the speedy death of some che- 
 rished friend or relative. Persons are said to have actually 
 died from their imaginary fears on the occasion. Some of 
 the young girls, too, follow the ancient method of sowing 
 hemp-seed J whilst others prepare the dumb cake, or dream- 
 ing bread. 
 Watch-webs, or Weds, identical with Stealy-clothes, and 
 Scotch- and-Englisii. The weh, or iced, is the heap of 
 clothes deposited by each party in the game. 
 Water-brash, a disease in the stomach. Perhaps from the 
 
 bursting or discharge of aqueous humour. 
 Water- J AGS, a cutaneous disease among children. 
 Water-kaill, s. broth made without meat. 
 " For sum or hichtit sa into thair maill 
 
 Thair -winning will nocht find thaim water-kaill." 
 
 Li/ndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 " Bot commoun taking of blak mail 
 Thay that had fleshe, and breid and aill 
 Now ar sa wrakit 
 Made bare and nakit 
 Fain to be slakit 
 With watter-kaill."—Maitlaiid's Complaynt. 
 
 Water-side, a common term in the North for the whole vale 
 through which a river runs. 
 
 " From Bolland bill-men bold came on, 
 With such as Botton Banks did hide ; 
 From Wharmore up to Whittington, 
 And all to Wenning Water-side. 
 
 Battle qf Floddon.
 
 WEAD 21 1 
 
 Wath, Warth, a ford over a river. Sax. wad ; from wadati, 
 to wade or pass through water. 
 
 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. ivah. In Lancashire and 
 Yorkshire it is wogh. 
 
 Waxen-chitrxel, or Waxing-kernel, a swelling in the glands 
 of the neck in young growing persons. Wax, to grow — 
 from Sax. weaxan, Swed. viixa — is in general use. 
 
 Wax-end, a term for the icaxed thread of the cordwainers. 
 
 Way-ganging, away-going. 
 
 Way-leave, the privilege of crossing land for the supply of 
 coals to the purchaser. This privilege is generally the sub- 
 ject of detailed contracts, specifying the particular direc- 
 tions and extent of the way-leave, and there is no usage 
 or understanding amongst persons conversant with coal 
 mines, by which to interpret the extent of the privilege 
 when conferred in general terms. The narrowest enjoy- 
 ment of a way-leave is where the sale is at the pit's mouth, 
 and the purchasers cross to the pit with their carts from 
 the highway. Where the sale is at a detached station, the 
 grantee of a way leave generally sends coals to the station 
 by means of a railway ; in the case of sea-sale collieries 
 this is universally the mode of transit, and the railway is 
 laid down in the most direct and commodious course from 
 the pit to the place of shipment, for which the coalowners 
 can obtain leave from the landowners vnthout regard to the 
 intervention of highways. 
 
 Wea, Weha, sad, oppressed with woe, sorrowful. Sax. wa, 
 afflictus. Sc. wae. "I am wea for you" — I pity you. 
 " She's iveha for him poor man" — she is very sorry for him. 
 
 Wead, very angry — mad, in a figurative sense. Grose de- 
 rives it from wode ; but Dr. Jamieson, with greater proba- 
 bility, from the old v. wcid, to become furious.
 
 212 WEAK 
 
 Weaky, juicy, moist, watery. — Dur. V. Janiieson, wak. 
 Wealthy, well-fed ; spoken of cattle in that state. 
 Weam, Weime, dialectical variations of Wame ; which see, 
 " Paide to a poore woman the 19th of August, who havinge her 
 husband murtheard in his bed and havinge certifycaite from 
 Scotland, and a pass to travel to London, havinge a woolve in 
 her weame feedinge, 12d."—C}iester-le-Strcet Parish Register, 1630. 
 Weary, vexatious, troublesome. So used in Hamlet's well- 
 known soliloquy. Sax. weerig, malignus, infestus. 
 
 " How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable 
 Seem to me all the uses of this world .'" 
 
 Wearying, a slow consumption, or long decline. 
 Weasan, Weazen, the mnd-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-de-se. 
 
 Weather-ga', a phenomenon something like a second rain- 
 bow — said to indicate bad weather. Germ, wassergalle. 
 V. Nares' Gloss, water-gall ; and Jam. weddir-gaw. 
 
 Weather-gleam, clear sky near the horizon — spoken of ob- 
 jects 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 radiance, like one of Ossian's departed heroes. 
 The term seems derived from Sax. wcsder, coelum, and 
 gleam, splendor. 
 
 Webster, a weaver. Sax. wehbestre, textrix, a female wea- 
 ver. The use of this term, as remarked by Dr. Jamieson, 
 indicates that, among our forefathers, the work of weaving 
 was appropriated 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 learned correspondent, Mr. Hunter, however, 
 does not assent to Dr. Jamieson's inference. The word, 
 he says, classes \vith back-ster, malt-ster, huck-ster, all of 
 which can hardly be considered as feminine occupations.
 
 WE EL 213 
 
 Wed, for weeded ; a common abbreviation. — Dur. Also for 
 married. 
 
 Wed, a heap of clothes, which each party of boys puts down 
 in a game called " Scotch and English." 
 
 Wedder, or Wether, which is the pure Saxon word, a cas- 
 trated male sheep after the second shearing. See Dinman 
 
 or DiNMONT. 
 
 Wedder-woman, one who keeps a register office for female 
 servants. See Waddler-wife, 
 
 Wee, little, small. '^ A wee hit." — " A wee thing ." F. Jam. 
 " Thy ivee 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, weel-to-do, living comfortably, in 
 good circumstances — doing well. Our early writers, whose 
 orthography is at all times capricious, often spell the word 
 wele, but I have given the present spelling because it is in 
 conformity with the Saxon original. 
 
 " Be it ryght, or wrong, these men among 
 On women do complayne ; 
 Affyrmynge this, how that is 
 
 A labour spent in vayne. 
 To love them ivele ,- for never a dele 
 They love a man agayne." 
 
 The Not Brotvne Mayde. 
 
 Weel-faurd, well-favoured. 
 
 " Gude-day, gude-day, greit God saif baith your Graces ! 
 Wallie, Wallie, fall thaetwa weil-fairde faces." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three EstaUis. 
 
 There is a satire upon the Monastic profession printed in 
 Hicks, believed to be written soon after the Conquest, in 
 which the expression occurs thus : — 
 
 " Ther is a welfair abbei 
 Of white monies and of grei." 
 
 Weel-smon-thee ! well come on thee. A pure Saxon inter- 
 jection — weeks mothe; literally " well is me of thee."
 
 214 WEEN 
 
 This benediction, 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. 
 
 Weeny, very little. Germ, loenig. 
 
 Weer, or Wear, to stop or oppose, to keep off, to guard. 
 Sax. werian, prohibere, defendere. Dut. weeren, 
 
 Weet, v. to rain, to wet. — Weet, s. slight rain, wet weather. 
 Sax. locEta, humiditas. 
 
 " The winter is gone, with all his raines wete." 
 
 Cliaucer, — Merchant's Tale. 
 Yet take good hede ; for ever I drede 
 
 That ye coude nat sustayne 
 The thornie wayes, the depe valeies, 
 
 The snowe, the frost, the rayne, 
 The colde, the hete : for dry, or wete, 
 We must lodge on the playne." 
 
 The Not Browne Mayde. 
 
 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, csespes ; or it may 
 be from ease. Brand thinks it a corruption of icisp. Sc. 
 waese. 
 
 Weight, an implement used in winnowing corn, for lifting 
 grain — in form like a sieve, but not pervious. It consists 
 of a wooden rim, with a sheep's pelt stretched over it. 
 Teut. wecht, a sieve. Sc. wecht, weicht. Wehit is a term 
 which occurs in the Boldon Book of the county of Durham, 
 and is still understood by the country people 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. 
 
 Weil, or Wheal, a still deep part of a river, where there is 
 mostly an eddy. 
 
 Welk, V. to dry, to wither. An old word. F.Todd's John. 
 
 Welk, s. a voluted shell — a wilk. Sax. wealc, a perimnkle.
 
 WENT 216 
 
 Well, to weld. Swed. wella. Sax. wellen, to be very hot. 
 Well, is used in some of the Northern counties as a kind of 
 expletive, introductory to any sort of observation, con- 
 nected or unconnected, or even contrary to being well. 
 Thus a person will ask after a sick friend : " Well, how's 
 John to-day 1" and will be answered, " well, he's far 
 worse !" So a late worthy Baronet, when passing sen- 
 tence, 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, or Wersh, insipid, almost tasteless. Teut. gaelsch, 
 Welsh and wallow are synonyma. Broth and water, and 
 pottage without salt, are loallow or icelsh. A person whose 
 face has a raw, pale, and unhealthy look — whom a keen 
 frosty morning pinches, and to whom it gives an appear- 
 ance of misery and poverty — has a welsh and wallow face. 
 A welsh day, is the same as a sleety day, when it is neither 
 thaw nor frost : but a walloio day is when a cold, strong, 
 and hollow wind prevails. Wallow, applied to the state 
 of the weather, is perhaps only applicable in a rugged 
 and mountainous country. 
 
 Welter, to reel or stagger. Teut. loelteren, volutare. 
 
 Wend, to go. The old present tense of went. Sax. wendan. 
 Not obsolete, as stated by Dr. Johnson, 
 
 Wexd, or WiEXD, a narrow street, or small court. Sc. wynd, 
 an alley, a lane. Obviously from Sax. toindan, to turn. 
 The word is still in use at Darlington and Stockton upon 
 Tees. 
 
 Wensday, the present vulgar word for Wednesday. Wens- 
 daj/e is found in our old lexicographer, Huloet. The term 
 is derived from Woden, the great 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
 
 216 WERE 
 
 it be approaching to sourness. Perhaps an euphonism for 
 spoiled ; as we say of spoiled meat — it is gone. But see 
 Tooke's curious article onvinny, decayed, Diver, of Purley 
 Vol. II., p. 61. 
 Were, to ward off, to defend. 
 
 " Thou must take the shelde and sper 
 
 Ogayne them the forts were." — Yewain and Qawain. 
 " The Souldan neigh he hadde islawe 
 But thritti thousant of hethen lawe 
 Commen him for to were." 
 Romance ofihe King of Tars, — Warton Vol. I., p. 194. 
 " Ne no man shal unto his felaw ride 
 But o coura, with a sharpe ygrounden spere : 
 Foin if him list on foot, himself to were." 
 
 Chaucer,— The Knighte's Tale. 
 " Ten sergeaunts of the best his targe gan him here 
 
 That egre were and prest to covere hym and to were." 
 
 Robert de Brunne. 
 
 " I set him to wear the fore-door wi' the spier 
 While I kept the back door wi' a lance," — Fray of Support. 
 
 Were, s. a defence, an embankment to prevent the encroach- 
 ment, or turn the course of a stream. 
 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 in- 
 clination, 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 loerre. Perhaps a rapid pronunciation of wear- 
 out. See Johnson 7th sense of wear. 
 
 " To xoerre each other and to slay."— Goiwf, Conf. Amant. 
 Wersh, see Welsh. 
 Wese, we will, or shall. 
 
 " Wese have our neele els dame Chat comes nere within heaven's 
 gate." — Gammar Gurton's Needle. 
 " The sooner Doctor Rat be here, the sooner tceie ha an ende." 
 
 Ibid.
 
 WHAP 217 
 
 Wesh, v. to wash. — Wesh, s. stale urine, sometimes used in 
 washing. Teut. wasch, lotura. V. Jamieson, wash. 
 
 Wet-hand, a drunken 2>erson ; termed by Bewick (Fables of 
 iEsop, p. 138), " an old filtering stone." Seneca humour- 
 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 
 vrith wine ; empty the cup and depart." 
 
 Wevil, an insect infesting granaries. 
 
 Wezzle, a weasle. Sax. wesel. 
 
 Wha, the vulgar pronunciation of who. 
 
 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, s. a small leather-thong, such as is used for tying 
 
 shoes. Sax. thwang. 
 
 " But they hae run him thro' the thick o' the thie, 
 And broke his knee pan, 
 And the mergh o' his shin bane has run 
 Down on his spur-leather tcMng'."—Frrt2/ of Svpport. 
 
 Whang, a thick or large piece of any thing eatable — espe- 
 cially of bread or cheese. — Whanging, large, great. 
 
 Whap, v. to beat soundly. — Whap, s. a knock-down blow. 
 
 Wrapper, or Wapper, any thing uncommonly large. In 
 many instances, as remarked by Dr. Willan, our fore- 
 fathers seem to have estimated weights and magnitudes by 
 the force of their blows. Thus, they employed in grada- 
 tion the terras slapper, smacker, banger, thumper, thwacker, 
 
 VOL. II. F f
 
 218 WHAR 
 
 swinger, and rattler. The word btmper, concerning which 
 so much has been said and surmised, the Doctor thinks, ie 
 not of a more exalted origin than what is here stated. 
 Whart, or Wheart, a Northumberland pronunciation of 
 quart. 
 
 " Each pay-day fairly. 
 He takes his wheart right dearly, 
 'Bout Latin, Greek — o rarely — 
 Maybee he'll jaw ayfuy.— Keel Row, T. T. 
 
 Whatsomever, or Whatsomdever, whatever. A vulgarism, 
 but very common. 
 
 Whatten, what kind of, what. " Wkatten o'clock is it ?" 
 
 Whaup, the larger curlew. Scolopaz arquata. Linnasus. 
 In the Satistical Account of Scotland, an amusing trait 
 of nationality is recorded, where the 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 i7i 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 tliere ?" " Whee's 
 wi'yel" 
 
 Wheal, v. to gather, to suppurate. Sax. huylca, a pustule. 
 This verb is not in Todd's Johnson. 
 
 Wheam, snug, sheltered, imjjervious to the wind. Perhaps, 
 as suggested to me by a skilful etymologist, a corruption of 
 Holm. In Knaresdale, my correspondent remarks, there 
 is a place called IVhit- Wham, which he always believed 
 to be White-Holm ; and in West Allen, there is another 
 place called Wliam-Lands, evidently from the situation, 
 the Holm-Lands. But see Kennett. 
 
 Whean, to coax, to flatter. " What a wheaning way she 
 has."
 
 WHIG 219 
 
 Whean, a few, a small quantity. " A lohean nout," said of 
 cattle. " A whean bairns." Sax. hwcene, a little, Mr. 
 Lamb writes it toheen. V. Notes on the Battle of Flod- 
 don, p. 72. 
 Wheel, a deep pool immediately above Brinkbum,in North- 
 umberland, affording an excellent shelter for trout. 
 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 mo- 
 vere. 
 Whemmel, 5. an overthrow ; figuratively, a dovm-pour, or 
 
 continuous fall of rain. 
 Wherewith, used substantivelj/ for money, or property. 
 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. Perhaps this proverb might 
 be derived from the 52d Psalm, v. 3d, "With lies thou 
 cuttest like a sharp razor," of which a whetstone would 
 increase the power ; and so we have " rasurs of slan- 
 dorynges" in Townley Mysteries, p. 204 (published by 
 Surtees Society). Brand, on the authority of the late 
 Mr. Punshon (Pop. Ant., Vol. I., p. 481), 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 fibbing ; 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. " Wliick and alive" a common lauda- 
 tory expression in Newcastle, among certain ladies, who
 
 220 WHIG 
 
 neither sell the best fish, uor speak the plainest English. 
 JVh, and quh, seem convertible modes of spelling, especi- 
 ally among the old Scots. It seems merely omitting the 
 first part (the k) of the compound sound q — hence, as in 
 the next word, whick for quick — whyat for qmet — whean for 
 qttean, &c. 
 
 Whickens, a general name for all creeping or stoloniferous 
 grasses or plants, which give the farmer so much trouble 
 to eradicate from his fields. Quick-ones — for there is no 
 killing them. 
 
 Whicken-tree, the mountain ash. See Roun-tree. 
 
 Whicks, plants or slips of the white thorn. "A whick- 
 hedge." 
 
 Whidder, or "Whither, to shake, to quake, to shiver ; hence 
 a whither of cold, 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 whiff, in a short 
 time. 
 
 Whig, sour whey. Sax. hwceg, 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 possession 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, qnhynge.
 
 WHIS 221 
 
 WniNNERNER, 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 is is more 
 likely from Welsh, wi/neb, a face, a visage. 
 
 Whins, gorse or fm-ze. Ulex Europceus. Welsh, chwyn, 
 " Wliinns, for baking." — House Expences Sherbum Hospital, 1686. 
 
 Whipper-and-hougher, an officer of the Corporation, New- 
 castle. See HouGHER. 
 
 Whipper-snapper, a diminutive, insignificant person. Mr. 
 Todd says, it is a common expression, usually in ridicule 
 or contempt. 
 
 Whipping-the-cat, the custom of itinerant tailors, carpenters, 
 &c., going from house to house to work. 
 
 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." 
 
 Pickering, — Donocht Head. 
 
 Whisht ! be silent, hush ! hist ! " Whisht, woman, ivhisht .'" 
 This vulgarism, if such it be, is not without ancient author- 
 ity, being used by honest old Latimer. 
 
 Whisk, ■??. 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-sundat/ is also used : and if whitsun-tide be cor- 
 rect, this will be so too.
 
 222 WHIS 
 
 Whistle, " the mouth ; the organ of whistling," says Dr. 
 Johnson ; quoting Walton's Angler. 
 
 " Let's drink the other cup to icet our whistles, and ao 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. In- 
 deed, the use of the expression in this sense is very ancient. 
 
 " I wete my whystell as good drinkers Ao."—PaUgrave. 
 
 White, to requite. " God white you !" V. Ray. 
 
 Whiteheft, flattery, cunning. " Whiteheft o' Lunnun." 
 
 White-plough, another name for Fool-plough ; so denomi- 
 nated from the young men composing the pageant being 
 dressed in white. See Fool-plough. 
 
 White-herring, a pickled, and not a fresh herring — with 
 all due deference to Mr. Archdeacon Nares. See his 
 Glossary, where it is stated, in regard to Steevens's ex- 
 planation (similar to my own) and his reference to the 
 Northumberland Household Book, that " there three are or- 
 dered for a young lord or lady's breakfast, and/oMrformy 
 lord's, which no lord or lady could j^ossihly eat." This 
 may be quite true ; but what does it prove ? From Bi- 
 shop 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 time, 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 eat." 
 
 White-neb'd-craw, a provincial designation for the rook. 
 
 Whitling, a much-admired species of trout, the history of 
 which is but imperfectly known. It is sometimes taken 
 in the river Tyne ; but more frequently in the Tweed and 
 its tributaries. In some parts it is called whiting, or whit-
 
 WHO 223 
 
 ten. Sw. hwitling, a whiting. Many persons have suppos- 
 ed this fish to be a young salmon ; but the better opinion 
 seems to be that it is a distinct species. It has probably 
 obtained the name from its light silvery appearance, being 
 free from any red or dark spots on its sides, as other trouts 
 have. The flesh is of a reddish colour, like that of salmon. 
 
 Whitster, a bleacher of linen. 
 
 Whittee-whatteeing, speaking low and privately — whisper- 
 ing between two persons, to the exclusion of a third — also 
 indecision, or procrastination, on frivolous pretences. The 
 etymology of words of this peculiar form is extremely un- 
 certain. 
 
 Whittle, v. to haggle in cutting. Cumh. and West. 
 
 Whittle, s. a knife ; generally a clasp-knife. Sax. whi/tel ; 
 and that, probably, from Goth, huet tol, a sharp instru- 
 ment. A whittle was a knife, such as was formerly carried 
 about the person by those whose quality did not entitle 
 them to the distinction of a sword. Long knives were for- 
 bidden to be worn in the City of London or Westminster 
 in 1351, during the sitting of Parliament. " An harden 
 sari; a guse grassing, and a whittle gait " were all the salary 
 of a clergy- man, not many years ago, in Cumberland ; in 
 other words, his entire stipend consisted of a shirt of coarse 
 linen, the right of commoning geese, and the more valua- 
 ble privilege of using a knife and fork at the table of his 
 parishioners. 
 
 " There are schools in this parish (Bewcastle), supported by pub- 
 lic subscription ; the masters are hired for about 10/. a year, aad 
 they go about with the scholars in rotation for victuals, a privi- 
 lege called, in many places, " a whittle gate." — Hutchinson's Cumb. 
 
 Whizzer, a falsehood. More wind than 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 Nor- 
 thern usage — occasionally to be met with. Heo is the 
 ancient Saxon form, still retained in some jilaces. V. 
 Verstegan.
 
 224 WHOP 
 
 Whopt, Wiiupt, put, i^laced — embracing the idea of whipped. 
 " He whopt his foot o'nt." 
 
 Whripe, to complain peevishly, to whimper, to whine. 
 
 Whummel, v. a. to invert, as to whummel a dish over any- 
 thing, is to cover it by turning the dish upon it. 
 
 Whurry, wherry, a large boat — a sort of a barge or lighter. 
 Newc. Bryant says, the name of wherry is very ancient, 
 and, by the Romans, was expressed horia. Thomson de- 
 rives 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 ; 
 which it might be safely asked (saving both meat and 
 mense) "who'll ha' mare ?" In a note to Anderson's Bal- 
 lads, its surface is said to be so hard, that it frequently 
 bids defiance to the keenest edge of a Cumhrian gulJu, and 
 its interior substance so very tough, that 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 stri\'ing. 
 
 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 widdey, from its hav- 
 ing been made of oziers before the common use of iron. 
 " As tough as a loiddey." Old Eng. wtfthe ; from Sax. 
 withig ; and that from tvilhan, to join ; whence, says 
 Tooke, the preposition loith.
 
 WILE 225 
 
 WiDDLE, to fret. Germ, ivedeln, to wag, to move. V, Jam. 
 
 widdill. 
 Wide-coat, an upper or great coat. Perhaps not peculiar. 
 Wife, any woman, whether married or not, in fact, the fe- 
 male sex generally.— " ^« apple wife"— " A fish wife.'"— 
 '*A tripe wife." Sax. wif mulier, foemina. Bede uses 
 wif-cild for a female infant. 
 
 " Makbeth turned hym agayne, 
 And sayd ' Lurdane, thow prykys in wayne, 
 For thow may noucht be he, I trowe, 
 That to dede sail sla me nowe. 
 That man is nowcht borne of wyS 
 Of powere to rewe me my lyfe." " — ^yyntoxcn. 
 
 Wig, a kind of small cake, or bun, much used in the North 
 as a tea cake. "^ plain loig" — "^ spice wig ;" that is 
 one baked without, and one with, currants. Teut. wegghe, 
 panis triticeus. Kilian. 
 
 Wiggle-waggle, tremulous undulating motion, a WTiggle. 
 
 Wight, a hoop with a skin stretched over it for lifting grain, 
 differing from a riddle or coarse boulter for sifting the 
 grain by being unperforated, called loiglite. {See Raine's 
 North Durham, p. 92), from Germ, weighten, to remove. 
 
 WiGHTY, strong and active. V. Todd's Johnson, ivight. Sax. 
 ivig-lie, bellicosus. 
 
 WiK, Wyck, or Wyke, a crook or corner, as in a river or 
 the sea shore. Hence the names of numerous places in 
 such situations. The comers of the mouth are called the 
 Wicks of the mouth. Su.-Got., wik, angulus. Sc, weik; 
 week. 
 
 Wike, Wick, Wicker, a mark used in setting out tithes ; 
 generally a small branch of a tree. 
 
 Wile, to entice, to accomplish by coaxing, or cunning ; as, 
 " I'll wile it out of him." I'll get his secret from him. 
 Su.-Got. wela, to deceive ; to use art or stratagem in a 
 good as well as a bad sense. 
 
 " Beleif ye that we will begyle yow, 
 Or from your vertew for till wyle you 1—Lj/ndsap. 
 
 VOL. II. G g
 
 226 WILL 
 
 Will, for shall; and Woiild, for should; are misapplied j9as- 
 sitn in "The North Countreye." The Northumbrian gen- 
 try, though much addicted to the use of tliis peculiar 
 idiom, disrelish any admonition of their mistakes. Such 
 errors, however, are incorrigible, both in them and in their 
 neighbours, the Scots. Even such WTiters as Blair and 
 Robertson are not always exempt from this inveterate dis- 
 figurement. 
 WiLLET-WAND, a wiUoW rod. Sax. welig, and wand. " A 
 
 mere willey-waiid'^ — applied to a tall, thin person. 
 Win, to dry hay by exposing it to the air, to get in harvest 
 generally. Sax. loindwain, ventilare. Taut, winnen, colli- 
 gere fructus terrjE. Our farmers speak of " Well won hayT 
 " Yt fell abowght the Lammas tyde. 
 Whan husbondes xcynn ther h£^e, 
 The dowghtye Dowglasse bowynd him to ryde, 
 In Ynglond to take a praye."- Battle, of Otterbourne. 
 
 Barbour uses the word in a more general sense, applying 
 it to the harvesting of corn. 
 
 " This was intill the harvest tyd, 
 Quheu feldis, that ar fayr and wid, 
 Chargyi with corne all fully war. 
 For syndry connys that thai bar 
 Wax ryp to wyn, ti mannysfed." — The Bruce. 
 
 Win, to get up, to attain to. 
 
 Win, to gain, to raise, to get ; as coals from a pit, or stones 
 in a quarry. Su.-Got. icinna, laborare, labore acquirere. 
 Sax. winna7i. " Reserved all manner of mines and mi- 
 nerals full liberty to work, win and carry away the same," 
 is a usual covenant in North country leases. 
 
 Win, to dwell. See Won. 
 
 Winder, v. to separate grain from the chaff — to winnow. 
 
 Winder, a window ; originally a wind-door, or aperture for 
 air. V. Craven Glossary, winder ; and Nares, windore. 
 
 Windle-strea, or Winnel-stree, crested dog's-tail grass ; 
 Ci/nosurus cristatus. Lin. Sax. icindel-streowe. 
 " Branchis brattlyng and blaiknyt schew the brayia, 
 AVith hirstis harsh of waggand wymlil-stravis.— Douglas.
 
 WISE 227 
 
 Windy, noisy, loquacious, marvellous in narration. 
 
 "Though he is a, ivindij body, when he gets in his auld warld 
 stories, he has mair gumption in him than most people." 
 
 Jiedgauntlet. 
 Windy- WALLETS, a noisy, gasconading fellow — one who is ac- 
 customed to magnify in conversation. 
 Winn A, Winnot, provincialisms for will not. 
 Winning head-ways, two parallel excavations in the work- 
 ings of a colliery, about six feet wide, and twenty feet 
 apart, extending in a direction from north to south. — The 
 principal exploring drifts of a colliery, for opening out the 
 seams for the daily supply. 
 WiNRAw, hay, when raked up in long rows for the purpose 
 
 of being more easily dried, is said to be in the icinraw. 
 Winsome, engaging, lively, cheerful, gay. Sax. winsum, 
 " Busk ye, busk ye, my bonnie bride, 
 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow. 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bride. 
 Busk ye, and go to the braes of Yarrow." 
 
 Scottish Song. 
 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 anything laboriously and slowly. A re- 
 spected friend, now no more, suggested work and dele — to 
 work gradually. 
 Wise, to let in or out. Sax. wisian, wissian, monstrare, 
 monere, docere. Swed. visa, to show, to exhibit. " JVise 
 him in." — " Wise out the horse." — " Wise the door open." 
 It also means, to insinuate, to work into ; 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 pro- 
 priety. Sax. wis-lic, sapiens, prudens. 
 Wise-man, a periphrasis for a conjuror, or wizard. In the 
 dark ages, when astrology was in vogue, thieves were kept
 
 22B WISH 
 
 in surprising awe by the cunning men Avith long beards and 
 white wands. If the same effect could now be produced, 
 it might do well to revive the Black Art. Certain it is, 
 that wretches, pretenders to occult science, are still occa- 
 sionally consulted by the lower and more ignorant classes, 
 ever the dupes of empiricism and knavery. 
 
 Wish to, to help to. Can you wish me to a customer. 
 
 WisKET, a small clothes basket. — Yorkshire. 
 
 Wist, Wiste, the pret. of wissen, to know. 
 
 Witch- WOOD the mountain ash. A piece of this tree, worn 
 about some part of the dress, is still believed to be a pre- 
 servative against the charms of withcraft. See Roux-tree. 
 
 Wit, v. to know. Ma?.-Got. and Sax. loitan. Su.-Got. 
 weta, scire. 
 
 " Lat not thi left half 
 Late ne rathe 
 Wite what thou werchest 
 With thy right syde."— Pier« Plowman. 
 " But the lord Douglas, that ay was war 
 And set owt wachis her and thar, 
 Gat viyt of their enbuschement." 
 
 The Bruce. 
 
 WiTE, V. to blame, to reproach. Sax. loitan, imputare. — 
 Wite, s. blame, imputation. A Chaucerian word, retained 
 by Spencer. Su.-Got. wite, poena. Swed. vite, pecuniary 
 punishment. Sc. im/te. 
 
 " As helpe me God I shall thee never smite, 
 That I have done it is thyself to wite." 
 
 Chaucer — Wife of Bath's Prologue. 
 
 " That I am dronke, I know it by my soune, 
 And therefor if that I misspoke or say, 
 WUe it the ale of Southwerk, I you pray." 
 
 Chaucer— The MUlere's Prologue. 
 
 " So as their begging now them failed quite, 
 For none would give, but all men would them wite." 
 
 Spenser. 
 
 " I wyte the Emperour Constantine 
 That I am put to sic mine."— Lyndsay't Tlirce Estaitii. 
 
 WiTiNG, Witting, knowledge, judgment, vnt. See Wit.
 
 WORM 229 
 
 WiTTEUiXG, a hint. Sc. wittryng, information, knowledge. 
 WiTEE-wiTTE-WAY, a game among boys — which I do not re- 
 member in the South of England. 
 Wiv, with.— iVb/tA. a,\xA Dur.—W\' .— York. 
 Wizened, Wizzened, Wizzent, dried, parched, withered, 
 wrinkled, shrivelled. Sax. wisnian, arescere. Sw. vistna. 
 " Fast by my chalmer on hie loisnit treis 
 The sary gled quhissillis with money ane pew." 
 
 Douglas's Mnied. 
 
 WoAD, WuD, WuDE, mad, frantic, furious. Sax. wod^ insa- 
 nus, furiosus. Sc. icod, toted. 
 
 " On Monday next, at quarter night, 
 
 Shal fall a rain, and that so wild and wood. 
 That half so great was never Noes flood." 
 
 Chaucer,— TJie Millere's Tale. 
 
 Wo-le-tot, an execration. " Woe light on't." 
 
 Wommel, or WuMBLE, an auger. From Wivible. 
 
 Won, Wun, to dwell, to haunt or frequent. A very old word 
 
 but not obsolete, as stated by Ash ; being quite common in 
 
 Cumb. and Lane, as well as in Northumberland. Sax. 
 
 tvonian, wunian. Teut. tcoonen, habitation, frequentare. 
 
 Cornish, wonnen, to stay, to tarry. 
 
 " Schir Robert Nevill that tid 
 
 Wounyt at Berwek, ner besid" — 77te Bruce. 
 " Thou lourede leches 
 
 And lettres thei sente 
 
 That he sholde wonye with hem."— Piers Plowman. 
 " A sturdy pass doun to the court he gothe, 
 
 Wher as ther ivoned, a man of gret honour, 
 
 To whom that he was always confessour." 
 
 Chaucer— The Sompnoure's TaU. 
 
 Woo, wool. A common pronunciation in many places. 
 
 WoR, our. — WoRSELLs, oursclvcs. 
 
 WoRSELL, V. to wrestle, to strive. Dut. worstelen. — Wok- 
 sell, WoRSTLE, s. a struggle. 
 
 Worm, a serpent of great magnitude, and of terrific descrip- 
 tion — a hideous monster in the shape of a worm or dragon. 
 The application of this title to the serpent tribe is very
 
 230 WORM 
 
 general, and has been used with great latitude. Indeed, 
 the similarity of form naturally led to it. The Italian 
 poets call the infernal serpent of old, " II gran Vermo ;" 
 and Milton's Adam is made to reproach Eve mth 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 serpent ; and Germ. wUrmy 
 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. wurm, also, sometimes 
 occurs in this sense. In Northumberland and Cumber- 
 land, the viper, coluber verics, is called the hagworm ; and 
 the unguis fragiUs, the blind or slow- worm. Pojiular tra- 
 dition has handed down to us, through successive genera- 
 tions, with very little variation, the most romantic details 
 of the ravages committed by these all-devouring worms, 
 and of the valour and chivalry displayed by their de- 
 etroyers. Without attempting to account for the origin 
 of such tales, or pretending in any manner to vouch for 
 the mattei's of fact contained in them, it cannot be dis- 
 guised, that many of the inhabitants of the county of Dur- 
 ham in particular, still implicitly believe in these ancient 
 superstitions. The Worm of Lamhton is a family legend, 
 the authenticity of which no true born native will suffer 
 to be impugned or challenged. Various adventures and 
 supernatural incidents have been transmitted from father 
 to son, illustrating the devastation occasioned, and the 
 miseries inflicted by the monster — 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 completely enveloped in 
 obscurity the particular details, that it is impossible to 
 give a narration which could in any degree be considered 
 as complete. The story related in my late friend Mr. 
 Surtees' splendid and elaborate History of Durham is in- 
 correct in many particulars. Those parts, which allude
 
 WORM 231 
 
 to the profane fishing on a Sunday, and the consequences 
 resulting from it, are mere modern disfigurements of the 
 original tradition, utterly at variance with the state of 
 the times — amusements on the Sabbath, in those days, 
 when Catholicism i^revailed, not being regarded as an act 
 of profaneness. A history of the worm, " gleaned with 
 much patient and laborious investigation, from the mvd 
 voce narrations of sundry of the elders of both sexes" in 
 the immediate neighbourhood of the scene of action, by 
 another literary friend, has recently been privately printed 
 under the title of The Worm of Lambton,4to., 1830. There 
 is a conical hill of considerable size, on the banks of the Wear, 
 near Fatfield, about two miles from Lambton Castle, which 
 from time immemorial has been called the Worm Hill, and 
 round which this great serpent is said to have coiled it- 
 self. — Another old, and well-authenticated Durham legend, 
 is the Dragon, Worm, or Flying Serpent of Sockburn ; de- 
 scribed as a monster that devoured men, women, and 
 children, and which was vanquished and slain by Sir John 
 Conyers in the year 10(50 ; in memory whereof, and as a 
 reward for his bravery, his sovereign gave him the manor 
 of Sockburn, to hold to him and his heirs for ever, by the 
 tenui'e 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 continued, honoris causa. In 
 the neighbourhood of Bamburgh the stoiy of the Laidley 
 Worm of Sj)indleston Heughs is an ancient tradition, which 
 supplied Mr. Lamb with the materials for his very clever 
 ballad. 
 
 " I seigh the sonne and the se, 
 And the sond aftar ; 
 And where the briddes and beestes 
 By hir makes yeden ; 
 Wild wormcs in wodes, 
 And wonderful foweles 
 With fleckede fetheres 
 And of fell colours.— Pte)'« Ploinnan.
 
 232 WORM 
 
 WoRMiT, worm-wood. The common 2>tople consider this 
 herb as prophylactic against fleas, and accordingly place 
 it about their beds. 
 
 Worry, to eat voraciously, to choak, to sufifocate. T. Ray. 
 
 Worsen, v. n. to become worse. Used as v. a. by Milton. 
 
 Wot, to know. Cumb. 
 
 " If iSkiddaw hath a cap, 
 Criffel loots full well of tha.t."— Proverb. 
 
 Wou, the worst kind oisioipes. •' Farthing wou.'' The word 
 is also applied to weak tea, or any other worthless liquor. 
 
 WowL, to cry, to howl. Shakspeare uses wawl. 
 
 Wraith, or Wauf. See Waff. 
 
 Wramp, a sprain. 
 
 Wrang, wrong. Pure Saxon. — Wrangsly, falsely. 
 
 " What is right, and what is icrang, by the law, by the law ? 
 What is right, and what is wrang, by the law ? 
 What is right, and what is wrang ? 
 A short sword and a lang, 
 A weak arm and a Strang 
 
 For to dTa,w.— Jacobite Song. 
 
 Wrangous, wrongful, false. 
 
 " Cum follow me, all curst unhappie wyfis, 
 That with your gudeman dayly flytis and stryfis, 
 And quycklie with rybaldis makis repair. 
 And takis na care to mak ane ivrangoiis air." 
 
 Lyndsay, — Tliree Estaitis. 
 
 Wrat, or Rat, a wart on the finger or face. Dut. and Sc. 
 
 wrat. 
 Wreck, sea-weed ; much used for manuring land. 
 Wreck, a great quantity — from wreck — as a confused heap. 
 
 This is the sense of the word in Norfolk, given in sixth 
 
 acceptation by Todd. 
 Wrecken-dike, a Roman military way crossing the county 
 
 of Durham, from the station at Lauchester, to the sestuary 
 
 of the Tyne. See Arch, ^liaua, Vol. I. 
 Wreckling, an unhealthy feeble child — the youngest or 
 
 weakest of the breed among animals — the smallest bird in 
 
 the nest — anv ill-orown creatui-c. See Dowry. Ritling.
 
 WYE 233 
 
 Gifford has used " wretchcock" in this sense in the note 
 on 1. 55 of his 2d Satire of Persius. I have not met with 
 wretchcock in any other author. Little wretch is obviously 
 the meaning. 
 
 Wriddex, or Wreedex, cross, ill-natured, perverse — tori- 
 then ; applied in particular to children. I have heard 
 weirdy used in the same sense. 
 
 Wrout, to bore, to dig up like a hog, to root. Sax. wrotan, 
 subigere. Chaucer has wrote. 
 
 " O good God ! ye women that ben of gret beautee, remembreth 
 you on the proverbe of Salomon, that likeneth a faire woman, 
 that is a fool of hire body, to a ring of gold that is wome in the 
 groine of a sowe : for right as a sowe wroteth in every ordure, so 
 UTOteth she hire beautee in stinking ordure of sinne." 
 
 The Persone's Tale. 
 
 " Or like a worm, that tcroteth in a tree." — Lydgate. 
 
 WuD, with. — Cumb. " God be wud her." God rest her soul. 
 
 WuDDLE, to sever by short and frequently-renewed efforts. 
 For authority see Weasan. 
 
 WuLL, for will, very common in the country dialect. Chau- 
 cer uses wol. 
 
 " And eke in what araie that they were iuu ; 
 
 And at a knight than wol I firste beginne.'" — The Pfologuc. 
 
 Wunnel-stree. See Windle-strea. 
 
 WuNSOME, engaging, giving joy. Same as Wixsome. 
 
 WuRSUJi, s. Pus ; particularly when foul. 
 
 WuRT-sPRiNGS, s. The cracking of the skin at the roots of 
 
 the nails, called also Agg or Hagg-nails. 
 Wus, to wish. " I wus ye well." 
 
 " His bushopricke he wust wel, and eke his prioric, 
 And forced him to serve wel God and Seinte Marie." 
 
 FfOM the Lives of the Saints , printed in Hicks, from 
 a MS. in Trin. Col, Camb. Wartonsays it is cer- 
 tainly prior to 1200. 
 
 Wye, Wya, well, yes. — Wye — W^ye, very well ; yes, yes. 
 A common expresssion of assent. Fr. oui, 
 
 VOL. II. H h
 
 234 WYLE 
 
 Wylet, Wylecoat, a night gown, vest for a child ; generally 
 of flannel. 
 
 " In this congelit sesoun scharp and chill. 
 The callour are penetrative and pure — 
 Made seik warme stouis and bene fyris hote, 
 In doubill garment cled and wylecote."— Douglas. 
 
 Wyllement, or Wullement, a pale, sickly looking person. 
 
 Y. The use of this letter, as a vowel, is very frequent in the 
 diphthongal language of the North ; as yaits, oats ; yak, 
 oak ; yearih, earth, &c., &c. In the country dialect the 
 Saxon ea is almost uniformly j^ronouncedya. In a glos- 
 sary of this kind, where words are recorded which are sel- 
 dom elsewhere written, and threfore spelt merely for con- 
 veying the sound, there ought to be a distinct character for 
 y, the vowel employed to express i long, and for^ the con- 
 sonant. Thus, at page 72, Vol. II., a mag-pie is said to be 
 called a pyanot ; and at page 26, Vol. II., the preterite 
 of mack is said to be m^yed. Now a southern would not 
 hence learn tliat^ in the first instance is a long «', and in 
 the second a consonant, though he might be puzzled with 
 the ' between the m and y, \vith which the difference is 
 there designated. \iy consonant were accented, it mi(yht 
 serve as some guide, though not a perfect one. 
 
 Yables, Yeblins, Yeablesae, Yebblesee, perhaps. »Sec Ablins. 
 
 Yaddle, drainings from a dunghill. — Cumb. 
 
 Yaitixg, or Yeating, a single sheaf of corn. Identical M-ith 
 Gating, or Gaiting. See Gate, or Gait. 
 
 Yal, Yall, ale. A, in this, and many other provincial words, 
 is sounded like j/«w. 
 
 Yammer, to fret, to whine, to complain — or rather to repeat 
 the same comjjlaint. Also to cry like a dog in pain, or 
 when it is wanting to follow its master if shut up from 
 him. Gferm.. jammern, to complain. '&vfed.. jamra sig, to 
 lament — -jammer, lamentation.
 
 YARE 235 
 
 Yammering, 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 very complex 
 idea, into which enters a combination of habitual fretful- 
 ness, discontent, brawling, and anger. 
 
 " The birsit baris and beris in thar styis 
 Raring all wod furth quhrynis and wyld cryis, 
 And grete figuris of wolfes eik in fere, 
 Youland and yammerand grislie for to here." 
 
 Douglas' Mneid. 
 
 " Come, dinna, dinna whinge an' whine, 
 Like yammering Isbel Macky." 
 
 Song, — Boh Cranky's Adieu. 
 
 Yan, Yen, one. — Yance, Yence, one. — Yansell, Yensel, 
 one's self. 
 
 Yap, apt, quick. Sax. gep, astutus. In Peirs Plowman we 
 find yeep, which Dr. Whitaker considers of the same origin, 
 and explains in the sense of alert and vigorous. 
 
 " Concupiscentia-carnis 
 Colled me aboute the nekke, 
 And seide, ' Thow art yong and peepe. 
 For to ly ve longe 
 And ladies to love." — The Vision. 
 
 Yap, Yep, an opprobrious epithet to a youngster — an ape. 
 Yare, alert, nimble, fit, ticklish. The word occurs in The 
 
 Mad Lover of Beaumont and Fletcher, in a sense not very 
 
 delicate to modern ears. 
 
 " Good: speak to the mariners : fall to it yarely, or we run our- 
 selves aground." — Shah., — Tempest. 
 
 Yare, a kind of hedge formed of stakes and wicker work 
 extending from the bank towards the middle of a river for 
 the purpose of catching fish. An extract from an original 
 writ issued by Neville, Bishop of Durham, in 1440, com- 
 manding certain j/arcs in the river Wear to be removed, 
 because they interrupted the navigation and prevented 
 salmon and trout from ascending, is given in Spearman's 
 Enquiry, p. 36.
 
 236 YARK 
 
 Yark, or Yerk, to wrench or twist forcibly — to jerk. 
 
 Yark, to beat soundly, to correct severely. Isl. hreckia, 
 pulsare. A favourite word among the vulgar. 
 
 Yarnut, an earth-nut. See Arnut, Awnut. 
 
 Yate, Yat, Yet, a gate. Sax. zcat. Both Chaucer and 
 Spenser use i/ate. " As old as Pandon-yate" is a local 
 proverb of great antiquity ; but Pandon Gate — the oldest 
 of all the fine antique towers that once adorned the ve- 
 nerable walls of Newcastle, which, in the days of Leland, 
 who visited them three hundred years ago, for " strength 
 and magnificens far passeth al the cities of England, and 
 most of the townes of Europe" — to the regret of every 
 man of taste, was totally demolished in l795 ; since which, 
 a spirit of innovation, has attacked with unrelenting gripe, 
 many other interesting memorials of our former state. 
 The antiquary, who remembers, with kindred emotion, 
 those ages that are gone by, has the yearly mortification 
 of seeing one vestige after another give way to substitutes 
 less picturesque, yet it must be confessed better adapted 
 to our present wants. Diversi tempi, diversi costumi. 
 
 " ' SufFre me,' seide Trutlie : 
 I here and see bothe 
 How a spirit speketh to belle 
 And bid Jetli unspere the yates."— Piers Plowman. 
 
 '• Ful besy was Grisilde in every thing 
 That to the feste was appertinent 
 Right naught was she abaist of hire clothing. 
 Though it were rude and somdel eke to-rent, 
 But with glad chere to the yate is went 
 With other folk, to grete the markisesse." 
 
 aiaucer,—Thc Clerke's Tale. 
 
 " Thai fled for owtyne mar debate, 
 
 And thai thaim folowit to the yate ,■ 
 
 And.slew of thaim as thai in past, 
 
 Bot thai thair yate barrit fast.""— 77ie Bruce. 
 " Quhair they onsett 
 
 Ay in thair gaitt 
 
 Thair is na yet 
 
 Nor der them l>ydiii."—Mailla nil's Cvmplaynt.
 
 YEAR 237 
 
 Yate-stoop, Yat-stoop, Yet-stoop, 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. 
 
 " On his grey yaud as he did ride."— Ritson's Sc. Songs. 
 
 Yaud, "Fie^awc?," or "far yaud" is the cry of the shep- 
 herds on the borders when they wish the dogs to drive the 
 sheep at a distance. Sax, yoden, to go. 
 
 " Hey ! Bally lad! far yaud/ far yaud! 
 
 These were the morning sounds heard he, 
 And 'everalack!' old Durie cried, 
 ' The deil is hounding his tykes on me.' " 
 
 Border Minstrelsy. 
 
 Yaup, to cry loudly and incessantly, to lament ; to yelp as a 
 dog. Teut. galpen, gannire instar vulpis. Kilian. — Yaup- 
 iNG, crying, shouting. Sax. Yppe, open — with open mouth, 
 as in hunger or wonder. 
 
 Yaup, v. to be hungry. — Yaup, a. having a keen appetite — 
 hungry. 
 
 Year, used for the plural, as well as the singular ; as " I 
 henna seen him this twenty year." 
 
 Yearn, v. to long for, to desire. 
 
 " The golden sun his glistring head gan shew 
 And sad remembrance now the prince amoves 
 With fresh desire his voyage to persew 
 As Una earned her traveill to renew." — Spenser's F. Q. 
 
 " Quhen kirkmen yairnis na dignitie 
 Nor wyffls na soverainitie." — Lyndsay's Complaynt. 
 
 Yearn, to coagulate milk. Germ, gerimien, to coagulate ; 
 
 or probably Sax, t/ernan, to run ; for it is commonly said 
 
 when milk coagulates, that it rins or runs. 
 Yearning, cheese rennet, or that which curdles milk. Sax. 
 
 ge-runnen. V. Lye. A plant used in Nortli Tindale, for 
 
 the purpose of curdling milk for cheese, is called yerning 
 
 grass. See Keslip.
 
 238 YEAT 
 
 Yeatuer, v. a. To yeather is to twist in the rise, or flexible 
 twigs among tlie stakes in making a hedge. " Canst steak 
 and yea^/ier, lad?" was formerly the first question put to a 
 farmer's servant offering himself for a place. 
 
 Yeats, oats. 
 
 " The oats which they call yeats, are commonly first covered with 
 snow." —North's Lije of Lord Keeper Guildford. 
 
 Yebble, the common Northern pronunciation of able. 
 Yeis, you shall. 
 
 " I gang this gait with richt gude will 
 Schir Wantonnes, tarie ye stil 
 And Hamelenes the cup yeis fill 
 And beir him cumpanie." 
 
 Lyndsay's Three Estaitis. 
 
 Yek, the oak. See Aac. " He's as hard as yek and iron" — 
 
 a common Northumbrianism. 
 Yeld, barren, unprofitable ; as a cow that does not give 
 
 milk, or from its age is too young to bear ; or, as applied 
 
 to males, not ready for profit. See Geld. 
 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. yeldring. 
 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. 
 Yerbs, Yarbs, the Northern pronunciation of herbs. 
 Yerth, earth ; both vowels being pronounced. 
 Yetling, a small metal pan or boiler, with a bow handle. 
 
 V. Jam. yetlaiid. 
 Yeuk, Yuck, v. to itch. Teut. jeuclo?, prurire. Dut-jeukcn. 
 
 — Yeuk, Yeck, s. a cutaneous disease — jocosely denomi-
 
 YULE 239 
 
 natecl the plague of Scotland ; from an idea of its being so 
 prevalent in that country. See Scotch-Fiddle. 
 
 Yeuky, Yucky, prurient ; especially in a sense inadmissible 
 here. YeMn, pruritus, occurs in Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Yevering Bell, a curious hill near Wooler, in Northumber- 
 land, where very ancient remains still exist on its 
 summit. 
 
 Yiffer, a long fir pole, used in scaffolding. 
 
 YissERDAY, yesterday. — Yisserneet, yesternight. 
 
 YoR, your. — Yor-sell, yourself. 
 
 Yore, the ore of metal, 
 
 York has the higher rack, but Durham the deeper manger, 
 was the reply of a Bishop of Durham who declined an ele- 
 vation in the Church. It has now passed into a pro- 
 verb in the North. 
 
 Youl, Yowl, to cry, to howl. Isl. gola, ululare. The super- 
 stitious are much afraid when they hear a dog j/om? near 
 their dwelling, and consider it a prediction of an early 
 death in some of the family. This is a very old ai*ticle 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 youths 
 
 Yow, Yowe, a ewe. Sax. cowa, ovis fQ?mina. 
 
 Yule, the time of Christmas — a festival observed among the 
 northern nations long before the introduction of Christi- 
 anity. The feast was evidently, in its origin, in honour of 
 the Sun's passing the winter solstice. The Romans at 
 this period of the year also celebrated the Saturnalia. The 
 Greenlanders still keep a feast to testify their joy at the 
 return of the sun to the Northern 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. jxml. Isl. jol. 
 Sax. geola. Teut. jocl.
 
 240 YULE 
 
 " Welcome yol, thou mery man, 
 In werchepc of this holy day." 
 
 From a CJiristnias Carol, called " Welcome Yol," 
 in RU. A. B. 
 
 " She might have been ane menatral againis yule." 
 
 Complaynt of the Papingo. 
 
 In the good old days of English plenty and hospitality, 
 the festivities at Christmas were universally felt and en- 
 joyed by all ranks of society, from the humblest of the poor 
 to the mightiest of the rich ; and this, otherwise gloomy 
 and desolate, was the season of social indulgence ; or, as 
 the poet has more aptly termed it, 
 
 " The long night of revelry and ease." 
 
 This cheerful conviviality and friendly intercourse, it is 
 pleasing to remark, are not altogether driven from your 
 ^ule fire-sides in the North ; though the superstitious 
 observances, which used to be celebrated, are now grown 
 rare, if not entirely discontinued. A vmter in the Quar- 
 terly Review (Sept. 1835, p. 307,) says, " Much has 
 been written, to little purpose, respecting the origin of 
 yuUy Dr. Jamieson, however, has amassed a fund of 
 curious information respecting it. And, amongst other 
 things, says, " it is believed by some that, if one were to 
 go into the cow-house at twelve o'clock at night (on yule 
 e'en), all the cattle would be seen to kneel. This wild idea 
 seems to refer to our Lord's being born in a stable." This 
 belief is not confined to Scotland ; on the English Border 
 it is still by many an article of faith. 
 
 Yule-candle, a large mould-candle, lighted and set on the 
 supper-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 celebra- 
 tion of which lights were used. 
 
 Yule-clog, a large block or log of wood, sometimes the root 
 of a tree, laid on the fire on Christmas Eve, and kept
 
 YULE 241 
 
 burning all the following day, oi* longer, if possible. The 
 yule clog is still burnt in many farm-houses and kitchens 
 in the North of England ; and there are several supersti- 
 tions connected with it among the peasantry. A portion 
 of the old clog of the preceding year is sometimes saved to 
 light up the new block at the next Christmas, and to pre- 
 serve the family from harm in the mean time Herrick, a 
 minute describer of the superstitions of his times, in allu- 
 sion to this custom, says, 
 
 " Come bring with a noise, 
 My merrie, merrie boys, 
 
 The CJiristmas log to the firing: 
 While my good dame she 
 Bids ye all be free. 
 
 And drink to your heart's desiring." 
 
 Ceremonies for ChrUstmasse. 
 " 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. 
 
 " Yule sits upon Yule-clog 
 With a white feather in his cap 
 
 Red Rose, when wilt thou spring?" 
 
 Ancient Ballad. 
 
 As knowledge advances, superstition almost necessarily 
 recedes. Yet even now — extensively as rational education 
 and intelligence 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 in- 
 fluenced in their manner of thinking, as to be uncomfort- 
 able in the idea of entirely 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 impei*- 
 fectly cultivated. No extent to which national education 
 
 VOL. II. I i
 
 242 YULE 
 
 can be carried can extirpate superstitions, so long as cre- 
 dulity is one of the characteristics of the human mind. 
 
 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, julhrocl — 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. yver, a dug. Dut. ujer. 
 
 NEWCASTLE: 
 
 VIUM'KO BY r. AMJ J. IIOIK^SON, INION STllEET. 
 
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