l e m e . l i b r a r y . u t o r o n t o . c a

w i n g r 3 8 9

v e r . 1 . 0  ( 2 0 1 9 )



A 
COLLECTION
OF 
English WORDS 
Not Generally used, with their
Significations and Original, in two
Alphabetical Catalogues,

THE ONE
Of such as are proper to the Northern,
the other to the Southern Counties.

WITH
An Account of the preparing and
refining such Metals and Minerals
as are gotten in England.

The Second Edition, augmented with many
hundreds of Words, Observations, Letters, &c.
By JOHN RAY: Fellow
of the Royal Society.

LONDON:
Printed for Christopher Wilkinson, at the
Black Boy over against S. Dunstan's 
Church in Fleetstreet. 1691.












TO HIS 
Honoured FRIEND
Peter Courthope, Esq;
OF
DANNY in SUSSEX.

Sir,
THough I need no other
Motive to induce me
to present you with this
Collection of English Words,
but that I might take occasion
publickly to own my Obligati­
ons to you, as well for your





long continued Friendship as for
the Assistance you have some­
time afforded me in those Studies
to which I am I think naturally
inclined, yet one Circumstance
did more especially lead me to
make choice of you for its Pa­
tron; and that is, that you were
the first that Contributed to it,
and indeed the Person that put
me upon it; and so it being in 
good measure your own, I have
reason to hope that you will
Favourably accept it. I confess
the Work is so inconsiderable,
that I am somewhat ashamed to
prefix your name before it, but
having nothing else left of my
own, which I design to trouble
the World with, as not knowing





whether I may live so long as to
perfect what I have now before
me; I chuse rather to present you
with this, than lose the Honour
of being known to have such a
Friend, or neglect the duty of
making acknowledgments where
they are due, especially having
already made Presents of this
Nature to others of my Friends,
which is enough to excuse this
Dedication intended to do other
purposes by

Sir,

Your very humble Servant,

JO. RAY.











THE 
PREFACE.

Since the publishing this Collecti­
on of Local Words, in the year 
1674. which were hastily ga­
thered up by me, I received a 
Letter from my worthy Friend M. Fran­
cis Brokesby, sometimes Fellow of Tri­
nity College in Cambridge, and since 
Rector of Rowley in the East Riding 
of Yorkshire, attended with a large 
Catalogue of Northen Words, their 
significations, and Etymologies, to be 
added to a second Edition of this Col­
lection, if ever it came to be reprinted; 
which then I did not expect that it 
would. But since it hath found so 
favourable acceptance among the inge­
nious, that the former Impression be­






ing disperst and exhausted, a new one 
is desired by the Bookseller concerned: 
I readily entertained the motion, that 
I might enrich my Book, and recom­
mend it to the Reader by so consider­
able an Addition, as also procure my 
Friend the praise due to his pains 
and performance. And lest I my self 
should defraud him, and intervert any 
part thereof, I hold my self obliged to 
advertise the Reader, that the greatest 
part of the Words added to the Nor­
thern Collection are owing to him, 
though his name be not subjoyned. The 
rest are a supplement of such Words ob­
served by the learned and ingenious, 
my honored and dear Friend Dr. Tan­
cred Robinson as he found wanting in 
Mr. Brokesbyes Catalogne. The great­
est part of the additional Words in the 
Southern Collection were contributed 
by my ingenious Friends Mr. Nicolas 
Jekyll of Sibble Heveningham, and 
Mr. Mansell Courtman Minister of 
Castle Heveningham in Essex. Since 
the Copy of this Collection was out of 






my hands, and delivered to the Book­
seller in order to the Printing of it, I 
received three Catalogues of Local 
Words, two from my learned and wor­
thily esteemed Friend Mr. Edward 
Lloyd of Oxford, one drawn up by 
himself, of British Words parallel to 
some of the Northern Words in this 
Collection, from which probably the 
Northern might be derived: the other 
communicated to him by Mr. Tomlin­
son of Edmund Hall, a Cumberland 
Gentleman. The third from Mr. Wil­
kinson a Bookseller in Fleetstreet, 
London, owner of the Copy of this 
Collection, sent him from Mr. Wil­
liam Nicholson, an ingenious Mini­
ster living in Cumberland. I found in 
it many Words already entred in my 
Collection, the most of which I thought 
fit to omit, though had they come time­
ly enough they might have been useful 
to me, because they contain many pa­
rallels in the Teutonick, Cimbrick, 
and old Gothick Languages, which 
might have been added in their places.






Some Words, I also observed therein of 
common and general use in most coun­
tries of England, at least where I 
have lived or conversed, which I also 
omitted, (because it is not my design 
to write an English Glossary) but yet 
shall here mention them.

Benison  for Benediction, which is 
not unusual among our Elegant Wri­
ters.

Blume,  or Bloom for Blossome.

A Bowre,  for an Arbour, because 
made of Bows, or as they usually spell 
it, Boughs of Trees: though I confess 
with us it is used neither for a House 
nor for a Room.

A Brigge,  for a Bridge used at Cam­
bridge. It is but a difference of Dia­
lect.

Childermas day,  for Innocents day.

A Corse,  for a dead body, which 
in my opinion is originally nothing but 
Corps.

A Cragge,  probably from the British 
Craig.

To Cun, or Con thanks:  to give 
thanks.
 Sense of "cun(v)" and "con(v)" not found in OED. 






Deft,  for Neat, pretty.

Fangs,  for Claws Clutches, is a 
general Word.

To Fleer  or Flyre, to laugh slily, to 
jeer.

Gear  or Geer, for clothes, accou­
trements, harness. So Women call the 
Linnen and what else they wear upon 
their Head, Head-gear: Gear is al­
so used for trumpery, rubbish, so as 
stuffe is. Goodly gear.

A Glead,  for a Kite, which he very 
probably deduces from gliding.

Grave The Word Grave is not used in the 
South for digging wuth a Spade, but is 
appropriated to cutting upon Metal. 
But a Grave i.e. Sepulchrum is a 
Pit digged with a Spade, and we say 
a Spade-graft or a Spit deep. And a 
Groove is a Furrow made in Wood or 
Metal by Joyners, Smiths, or other 
Artificers.

Groats,  for great Oatmeal is a ge­
neral Word.

Gripe,  the same with Grupe, is 
frequently used with us for fulcus, fos­
sula, illex..






Harrying the Country,  is also ge­
nerally used for wasting, plundering, 
spoiling it by any means. There is a 
sort of Puttock called a Hen-harrier 
from chasing, preying upon and destroy­
ing of Poultry.

Than Hie you,  for hast you, nothing 
wore common.

Lugs,  for Ears is a general but 
derisory Word. With Hair in Cha­
racters and Lugs in text. Cleve­
lands Poems.

Neb,  is of frequent use, though not 
for the Nose of a Man, yet for 
the Bill of a Bird, and metaphorically 
for the point of a Pen, or the long 
and slender Nose of any Vessel.

To Nip,  for to press between the 
Fingers and Thumb not using the 
Nails, or with any Instrument that is 
flat as Tongs or the like: to press be­
tween things that are edged, is called 
pinching.

A Reek,  with us signifies not a 
Smoak, but a steam arising from any 
Liquor or moist thing heated.






Sad,  is used also for heavy, spoken 
of Bread that rises not, or the like.

A Strand,  for a Shoar or bank of 
Sand, whence the Strand in Lon­
don; and a Ship is said to be Strand­
ed.

Uncouth,  is commonly used for ab­
surb, incongruous.

Warre,  for beware, as War Heads, 
or Horns.

Wented,  for acid or a little changed, 
spoken of Wort.

To Whittle sticks,  to cut off the Bark 
with a Knife, to make them white. 
Hence also a Knife is in derision cal­
led a Whittle.

Wilie,  Subtle, deceitful.

I was the less scrupulous of omit­
ting these Words, because the Gentle­
man himself intends to publish with a 
History of the Kingdom of North­
umberland a large North-humbrick 
Glossary.

To these I might add some Words 
I observed in Mr. Hickes his Islan­
dish Dictionary, by him noted for






Northern Words, v. To Banne,  i.e. 
to Curse. To make a Dinne,  i. e. a 
Noise, which we in Essex pronounce 
Dean, and is in frequent use. A Fang,  
for a Claw or Paw. A Frosh,  for a 
Frog. Galts  and Gelts, or as they 
here pronounce it Yelts, for young Sows 
before they have had their first Fare 
of Pigs. To Yell.  i.e. to cry out 
hideously, to howl. To Glow,  i.e. to 
be hot. To Heave,  i.e. to lift up. 
The Huls of Corn , i.e. the chaffe or 
covering from Hill to cover. To 
Lamme,  i.e. to beat.

These Gentlemen being, I suppose 
North Country Men, and during their 
abode in the Universities or elsewhere, 
not happening to hear those Words used 
in the South, might suppose them to be 
proper to the North. The same error I 
committed my self in many Words that 
I put down for Southern, which after­
wards I was advised were of use also 
in the North, viz. Arders, Auk and 
aukward, to Brimme, Bucksome, 
Chizzel, Clever, a Cob-iron, a Cot-­






terel, to Cour down, to Cope, Crank, 
it Dares or Dears, a Dibble, a Dool, 
Feaberries, to Goyster, Hogs for 
Sheep, a Jarre, to Play, i.e. to Boyl, 
Shie, Temse-bread.

In the same Islandish Dictionary 
I find also some Northern Words not 
entred in my Catalogue, viz.

The Eand, Spiritus, à Cimbrico 
Ande. To Byg, ædificare; Bigd ha­
bitatio. To Britten Beef, to break 
the Bones of it. AS. Brittan fran­
gere. The Ey-brees, Palpebræ Ey­
lids. Scot. Bran abIsland, Brun. We 
use Eybrows for Supercilia. To 
Dwine away, Gradatim perire, inde 
Dwindle Dimin. à Duyn Islandico, 
Cesso, deficio. Easles, Boreal. Isles, 
Cinis ignitus, scintillans abIsland. 
Eysa. We in Essex use Easles for the 
hot Embers, or as it were burning 
Coals of Straw only. A Fell, mons. 
Fournes fells, The Fell-foot. ab
Islandico Fel, Acclivitas.

Fliggurs Ebor. Young Birds that 
can fly, fledge, Isl. Fleigur Volatilis.






The Gowk,  the Cuckow, Island. 
Gaukur.

Nowt-geld,  Tributum pro pecore 
solutum.

A Nab,  Summitas rupis vel montis. 
Island. Gnypa.

Heasy,  Raucus, Isl. Hæse Ranci­
tas.

To Helle water . Effundere aquam. 
Island. Helle, heltre, fundo.

A Whreak,  Tussis, a hauking, Scre­
atio. Island. Hroak, Sputum.

To Ream,  manum ad aliquid capi­
endum exporrigo. Island. Hremme, 
Unguibus rapio.

To Reouse,  commendare.

Axel-tooth,  Dens molaris, Island 
jaxl, idem.

Yaud Eboracensibus  a Horse, a 
Jade.

To Lek,  Stillo, Island. Lek.

The Fire lowes,  i. e. flames Ebora­
censibus. Germ. Lohe, Flamma.

The Munne,  the Mouth. Island. 
Munnur.

In Sir Tho. Browns eighth Tract,






which is of Languages, there are se­
veral Words mentioned as of common 
use in Norfolk, or peculiar to the East-­
Angle Countries, and not of general, 
viz. Bawnd, Bunny, Thurk, Enem­
mis, Sammodithee, Mawther, Kedge, 
Seel, Straft, Clever, Matchly, Dere, 
Nicked, Stingy, Non eore, Feft, 
Thepes, Gosgood, Camp, Sibrit, 
Fangast, Sap, Cothish, Thokish, 
Bide owe, Paxwax.

Of some of these the forementioned 
Mr. Hickes gives an account in the 
Preface to his Saxon Grammar, as 
Bunny, a swelling upon a stroke or 
blow on the Head or elsewhere, which 
he parallels with the Gotthick Bango
uteus, and the Islandick Ban, a Wound, 
and Ben vibex. We in Essex call it 
a Boine on the Head. Bunny is also 
used as a flattering word ύποκοριϛι­
κόν to Children. Bawnd tumens, as 
his Head is bownd, his head is swoln, 
from the forementioned Islandick word 
Bon. Thurk or Thark is plainly 
from the Saxon deork, dark Enem­






mis, nè, ne forte, as Spar the door 
Enemmis he come, i. e. lest he come, he 
deduces probably from Eigenema or 
Einema an adverb of excluding or ex­
cepting now in use among the Islanders. 
Sammodithu, a form of salutation sig­
nifying, tell me how do you, pro­
bably may be nothing but the Saxon 
sæg me hu dert þu, rapidly pronounc'd, 
as we say Muchgooditte for Much 
good do it you. Mauther I take to 
be our Mothther a Girl or young Maid, 
of which I rather approve Sir Hen. 
Spelmans account, which see in my 
Collection. Seel, Tempus, entred in 
the Collection. Strast, iratus, irâ excla­
mans, Islandis at Straffa est objurgare, 
corripere, increpare. Matchly; Per­
fectly well. Islandis Maatlega, Magt­
lega; Sax. Mihtilice, valdè, mightily. 
To Dere or Dare, entred in the Col­
lection. Noneare, modò. Isl. Nunær. 
[ere seems to signifie in old English be­
fore as in Ere-now and in Erewhile, 
i.e. before now, before time, and ere 
I go, i.e, before I go, of which yore






seems to be but a Dialect, in days of 
yore. So non-ere may be not before, 
now] To Camp. To play at Foot­
ball. Sax. Camp is striving, and Cam­
pian to strive or contend. This word, 
for this exercise, extends over Essex 
as well as Norfolk and Suffolk. Si­
brit is entred in the Collection. This 
Author makes it a compound of Sib and 
byrht manifest. Angl. to Bruit, apud 
Salopienses to Brit, to Divulge and 
spread abroad: I should rather make 
it a compound of Sib and ritus. Fan­
gast, a marriageable Maid, viro ma­
tura & q. virum jam expetens: per­
chance from fengan or fangan, Sax. 
to take or catch, and aast love, as 
much to say as taken with love or 
capable of love. To bide owe, pœnas 
dare: unde constat (saith he) bide pro­
fluxisse à Saxonico wyte, quod pœnam 
mulctam, supplicium significant. The 
other words which he leaves to others to 
give an account of are Kedge for brisk 
budge; clever, neat, elegant. See the 
Collection: to nick, to hit the time right






I nick'it, I came in the nick of time, 
just in time. Nick and Notch, i.e. 
crena are synonymous words, and to 
nick a thing seems to me to be origi­
nally no more than to hit just the notch 
or mark, scopum petere: Stingy, 
pinching, sordid, narrow-spirited, I 
doubt whether it be of ancient use or 
Original, and rather think it to be a 
newly coined word. To feft, to per­
suade, or indeavour to persuade. We 
in Essex use feffing for putting, thrust­
ing or obtruding a thing upon one, do­
num or Merces obtrudere, but for 
the Etymon or Original I am to seek: 
Gosgood, i.e. Yeast or Barm, is no­
thing but Gods-good, (Bonum Di­
vinum) as they pronounce the word in 
Sussex and Kent, where it is in use; 
it is also called Beer-good. Thepes 
is the same with Febes or Feaberries, 
i.e. Goose-berries, a word used also in 
Cheshire, as Gerard witnesseth in his 
Herbal; but what Language it owes 
its Original to is further to be enquired. 
Cothish, Morose, and Thokish, sloth­






ful, sluggish, I have no account to give 
of. Paxwax, for the Tendon or apo­
neurosis to strengthen the Neck, and 
bind the Head to the Shoulders, I have 
nothing to say to, but that it is a word 
not confined to Norfolk or Suffolk, 
but far spread over England; used to 
my knowledge in Oxfordshire.

As for the Catalogues of English Birds 
and Fishes inserted in the first Editi­
on of this Book, I thought fit to omit 
them in this; because they were very 
imperfect, and since much more fully 
given in the Histories of Birds and 
Fishes published by us; besides if God 
grant life and health I may put forth 
a particular methodical Synopsis of our 
English Animals and Fossills with Cha­
racteristick Notes, and Observations 
upon them, which will swell to a con­
siderable Volume, our Insects being more 
numerous than the Plants of this Island.














A
COLLECTION
OF
Local Words
Proper to the
NORTH and SOUTH Countries.





A.

TO Adle  or Addle; to Earn, from 
the ancient Saxon word Ed-lean, 
a reward, recompence or re­
quital.
      
After-math;  the Pasture after the Grass 
hath been mowed. In other places called 
Roughins.

Agate;  Ches. Just going, as I am A­
gate. Gate in the Northern Dialects signi­






fies a way, so that a Agate is at or upon the 
way.

Alantom;  At a distance.

A mell;  Among, betwixt, contracted 
from a middle; or perchance from the 
French word Mesler, signifying to mingle, 
whence our English Medley is derived. 
Some pronounce it ameld.

Anauntrins;  If so be. I know not what 
the Original of this should be, unless it be 
from An, for if, and Auntrins contracted 
from Peradventure.

Anent;  Over against, concerning. A 
word of frequent use among the Scots. 
Some deduce it from the Greek ϲναντί, ϲναντίον
Oppositum. Nec malè sanè (inquit Skinne­
rus in Etymologico Linguae Anglicanae) si 
vel soni vel sensus convenientiam respicias. 
Sed quo commercio Græci Scotis totius Eu­
ropæ longitudine dissitis vocabula impertiri po­
tuerunt? Mallem igitur deducere ab AS 
Nean Prope, additâ particulâ initiali otio­
sa A.

An Arain;  a Spider: à Lat. Aranea. It 
is used only for the larger kind of Spiders. 
Nottinghamshire.

Arf;  Afraid.
 "arf(a)" not found in OED. 

An Ark;  A large Chest to put Corn or 
Fruit in like the Bing of a Buttery; from 
the Latin word Arca.






Arles or Earles;   Earnest, an Arles-penny, 
an Earnest-penny, from the Latin Word 
arrha.

An Arr;  A Skar. Pock-arrs, the Marks 
made by the Small Pox. This is a gene­
ral Word, common both to North and 
South.

Arvill-Supper;  A Feast made at Fune­
rals: in part still retained in the North.
 "arvill-supper(n)" not found in OED. 

An Aiker;  a Newt, or Eft, Salamandra 
aquatica.
 "aiker(n)" not found in OED. 

Astite;  Anon. shortly, or as soon. i.e. 
As Tide, Tide in the North signifies soon, 
and tider or titter sooner. The tider (that 
is the sooner) you come, the tider you'll go; 
from the Saxon Tid, signifying time, which 
is still in use, as in Shrove-tide, Whitsun­
tide, &c.

As Asly;  As willingly.

An Attercob;  A Spiders Web. Cum­
berland.

Aud-farand;  Children are said to be so, 
when grave or witty, beyond what is usual 
in such as are of that age.

Aud;  Old. Var. Dial. as Caud for Cold, 
Wauds for Wolds, Aum for Elm. And Fa­
rand the Humor or Genius, Ingenium.

Average;  The breaking of Corn Fields; 
Eddish, Roughings. Average in Law 
signifies either the Beasts which Tenants 






and Vassals were to provide their Lords 
for certain Services, or that Mony that 
was laid out by Merchants to repair the 
Losses suffered by Shipwrack; and so it is 
deduced from the old word Aver [Averi­
um] signifying a laboring Beast: or Ave­
ria signifying Goods or Chattels, from the 
French Avoir to have or possess. But in 
the sense we have used it, it may possibly 
come from Haver signifying Oats; or 
from Averia, Beasts, being as much as 
Feeding for Cattle, Pasturage.

Aum;  Elm. Var. Dial.

An Aumbry, or Ambry, or Aumery.  A 
Pantry or Cupboard to set Victuals in: 
Skinner makes it to signifie a Cupboard's 
Head, or Side-Table: super quam vasa 
mensaria & tota argentea supellex ad usum 
conviviorum exponitur: à Fr. G. Aumoire, 
Armaire, & Armoire, It. Armaro idem sig­
nantibus, q. d. Latinè Armarium. Prov. 
No sooner up, but the head in the Aumbry, 
and Nose in the Cup. In which Sentence 
it must needs signifie a Cupboard for Vi­
ctuals.

Aund;  Ordained: forsan per contractio­
nem. I am aun'd to this luck, i.e. Ordain'd.
 "aund(a)" not found in OED. 

Aunters;  Peradventure, or, in case, if 
it chance. I guess it to be contracted from 
Adventure, which was first mollified into 






Auventure, and then easily contracted in­
to Aunter. It signifies also needless Scru­
ples, in that usual Phrase, He is troubled 
with Aunters.

The Aunder, or as they pronounce it in 
Cheshire, Oneder;  The Afternoon.

Awns;  Aristæ, The Beards of Wheat or 
Barley. In Essex they pronounce it Ails.


B. 

A Backstex;  A Baker.
 "backstex(n)" not found in OED. 

A Badger;  Such as buy Corn, or 
other Commodities in one place, and 
carry them to another. It is a Word of 
general use.

Bain;  Willing, Forward: opposed to 
Lither.

The Balk or Bawk;  The Summer­
beam, or Dorman, Balks, Bawks: Poles 
laid over a Stable or other Building for the 
Roof, à Belgico, & Teuton. Balk, Trabs, 
tignum. In common speech a Balk is the 
same with Scamnum in Latin, i.e. a piece 
of Land which is either casually over­
slip'd, and not turned up in plowing, or 
industriously left untouched by the Plow, 
for a Boundary between Lands, or some 
other use. Hence to balk, is frequently






used metaphorically, for to pass over.

A Balk staff;  A Quarter-staff, a great 
Staff like a Pole or Beam.

A Bannock;  An Oat-cake kneaded with 
Water only and baked in the Embers. In 
Lancashire, and other parts of the North, 
they make several sorts of Oaten bread, 
which they call by several Names: as 1. 
Tharcakes, the same with Bannocks, viz. 
Cakes made of Oat-meal, as it comes from 
the Mill and fair Water, without Yeast 
or Leaven, and so baked. 2. Clap-bread: 
Thin hard Oat-cakes. 3. Kitchiness-bread: 
Thin soft Oat-cakes made of thin Batter. 
4. Riddle-cakes: thick Sour-cakes, from 
which differs little that which they call 
Hand-hoven Bread, having but little Lea­
ven, and being kneaded stiffer. 5. Jan­
nock, Oaten bread made up in Loaves.
 "kitchiness-bread(n)" not found in OED. 

A Bargh;  A Horseway up a steep Hill, 
York-shire.

A Barn or Bearn;  A Child. It is an an­
cient Saxon word. In the ancient Teu­
tonick, Barn signifies a Son, derived per­
chance from the Syriack Bar, Filius.

A Barr;  A Gate of a City. York. As 
Bootham Bar, Monk-bar, Michael Gate-Bar 
in the City of York.

Bawaty  or Bowety; Linsey-Wolsey.

Bearn-teams;  Broods of Children, as 






they expounded it to me. I find that 
Bearn-team in the Saxon, signifies Issue, 
Offspring, Children, from team, soboles, and 
Bearn. A teeming Woman is still in use 
for one that is apt to bear Children.

Bearing with Child;  Breeding, gravid. 
York-shire.

A Beck;  a small Brook. A Word com­
mon to the ancient Saxon, High and Low 
Dutch and Danish. Hence the Termina­
tions of many Towns, Sand beck, Well­
beck, &.

Beeld;  Shelter.

Beer or Birre; q. Beare;  Force, might. 
With aw my Beer. Cheshire. i.e. With all 
my Force.

Beight of the Elbow;  Bending of the 
Elbow. Chesh. A Substantive from the 
Preterperfect Tense of Bend, as Bought of 
the like signification, from Bow.

Belive;  Anon, by and by, or towards 
night. By the Eve. This mollifying the 
into le being frequent in the North, as to 
la for to the. We have the Word in Chau­
cer for Anon.

To bensel;  To bang or beat. Vox Ru­
stica Ebor..
	
To Berry;  To thresh, i.e. to beat out 
the Berry, or Grain of the Corn. Hence 
a Berrier, a Thresher: and the Berrying­
stead, the Threshing Floor.






To Bid  or Bede; To pray. Hence a 
Bedes man, one that prays for others: and 
those little Globules, with which they 
number their Prayers, are called Bedes.

Biggening:  I wish you a good biggen­
ing: i.e. A good getting up again after ly­
ing in. Votum pro puerpera..

A Birk;  A Birch-Tree. Var. Dial.

Bizen'd;  Skinner writes it Beesen or Bee­
zen or Bison: Blinded. From By signify­
ing besides, and the Dutch word Sin, sig­
nifying Sense. q. d. Sensu omnium nobilissi­
mo orbatus: saith he.

Blake;  Yellow, spoken of Butter and 
Cheese. As blake as a Paigle.

Cow-blakes:  Casings, Cow-dung dried, 
used for Fewel.

A Bleb;  a Blister, a Bain, also a Bub­
ble in the Water.

Corn Bleeds well;  when upon threshing 
it yields well.

Bleit or Blate;  Bashful. A toom purse 
makes a bleit Merchant. Scot. Prov. That 
is, an empty Purse makes a shamefac'd 
Merchant. Fortasse q. Bleak or blank.

Bloten;  Fond, as Children are of their 
Nurses. Chesh.

Blow-Milk;  Skim'd or floten Milk; 
from whence the Cream is blown off.
 "blow-milk(n)" not found in OED. 

To Bluffe;  To blind-fold.






To blush another;  to be like him in 
Countenance. In all Countries we say, 
He of she hath a Blush of; i.e. resembles 
such another.

A Body;  A Simpleton. Yorkshire.

To Boke at one:  To point at one. Chesh. 
i.e. to poke at one.

To Boke;  To nauseate, to be ready to 
vomit, also to belch. Vox agro Lincolni­
ensi familiaris (inquit Skinnerus) Alludit 
saltem Hispan. Bossar vomere, Boquear, osci­
tare seu Pandiculari; vel possit deflects à La­
tino evocare, vel melius à Belg. Boocken, 
Boken pulsare, vel Fuycken Trudere, pro­
trudere. Vomitus enim est rerum vomitu re­
jectarum quædam protrusio seu extrusio..

The Boll of a Tree;  The Body of a 
Tree, as a Thorn-Boll, &c. Bolling-Trees 
is used in all Countries for pollard Trees, 
whose Heads and Branches are cut off, 
and only the Bodies left.
 "boll(n)","thorn-boll(n)", and "bolling-tree(n)" not found in OED. 

A Boll of Salt;  i.e. two Bushels.

The Boor;  The Parlor, Bed-chamber, or 
inner Room. Cumb.

A Boose;  an Ox, or Cow-Stall. Ab. 
AS. Bosih. V. Ox-boose.

To Boon or Beun;  To do Service to 
another as a Landlord.

Bones;  Bobbins, because probably made 
at first of small Bones. Hence Bone-lacs.






To Boun and unboun;  To dress and 
undress. Forte à Belgico Bouwen, to build 
or manure. Which Word also substantive­
ly signifies a Womans Garment. Boun 
subst. Ready.

To Bourd;  To jest, used most in Scot­
land. Bourd [Jest] neither with me nor 
with my honor, Prov. Scot.

Bout;  Without. Chesh. To be bout as Bar­
row was, i.e. To be without as, &c. Prov.

Braken;  Brakes, Fern. [Var. Dial.] 
Brakes is a Word of general use all Eng­
land over.

Bragget  or Braket; A sort of compound 
Drink made up with Honey, Spices, &c. 
in Cheshire, Lancashire, &c. Minshew de­
rives it from the Welsh Bragod, signify­
ing the same. Fortè q.d. Potus Galliæ 
Braccatæ. The Author of the English 
Dictionary set forth in the Year, 1658. 
deduces it from the Welsh word Brag, sig­
nifying Malt, and Gots a Honey Comb.

A Brandrith;  a Trevet or other Iron to 
set any Vessel on, over the Fire, from 
the Saxon Brandred, a Brand Iron.

Brant;  Steep: A brant Hill, as brant as 
the side of a House.

Bratt;  A course Apron, a Rag. Vox a­
gro Lincolniensi usitata, sic autem appellatur 
Semicinctium ex panno vilissimo abAS Bratt 






panniculus; hoc à verbo Brittan. Gebrittan, 
frangere, q.d. Panni fragmenta. Skinner.

Braughwham;  A Dish made of Cheese, 
Eggs, Clap-bread and Butter boiled toge­
ther, Lancash.

To Breade;  i.e. To make broad, to 
spread. ab AS. Brædan..

To Bree;  to Frighten.

To Breid or brade of;  to be like in Con­
ditions, from Breeding, because those 
that are bred of others are for the most 
part like them. Ye breid of the Millers 
Dog, ye lick your mouth or the poke be ope.
Prov. Scot.

To Brian an Oven;  to keep Fire at the 
Mouth of it, either to give light, or to 
preserve the Heat. Elsewhere they call 
this Fire a Spruzing.
 "brain(v)" not found in OED. 

Brichoe;  Brittle. Var. Dial. Chesh.

A Broach;  a Spit. It is a French Word: 
From its similitude whereto a Spire­
Steeple is called a Broach-steeple, as 
an Obelisk is denominated from χιλος 
a Spit. It signifies also a Butchers-prick.

Hat Bruarts;  Hat Brims. Cheshire, Var. 
Dial.

To Bruckle;  To dirty. Bruckled, Dirty.

To Brusle;  To dry: As the Sun brusles 
the Hay, i.e. dries it: and brusled Pease, 
i.e. parch'd Pease. It is, I suppose, a






Word made from the Noise of dried 
things, per Onomatop. or from the French 
Brusler, to scorch or burn.

A Buer;  a Gnat.

Bullen;  Hempstalks pilled: Buns.

A Bulkar;  A Beam. Vox agro Lincoln. 
usitatissima, proculdubio à Dan. Bielcker, n. 
pl. trabes, Bielck, Tignum, Trabs. Skinner.

Bumblekites;  Bramble-Berries. Yorkshire.

A Burtle;  a Sweeting.
 "burtle(n)" not found in OED. 

A Bur tree;  An Elder tree.

Butter-jags;  The Flowers of Trifolium 
siliquâ cornutâ.
 "butter-jag(n)" not found in OED. 

A Bushel;  Warwickshire and the neigh­
boring Counties, i.e. two Strikes or two 
Bushels Winchester measure.
 Sense of "strike(n)" not found in OED. 


C.

TO Cadge;  To carry. A Cadger to a 
Mill, a Carrier or Loader.

To Callet;  to cample or scold; as a 
calleting Housewife.
	
A Cankred Fellow:  Cross, ill con­
dition'd.

Cant;  Strong, lusty, Very cant, God yield 
you, i.e. Very strong and lusty, God re­
ward you, Cheshire.






To Cant;  to recover or mend. A 
health to the good Wives canting, i.e. her re­
covering after lying in. Yorkshire.

Canting;  Auctio.

A Capo;  a working horse. Cheshire. 
Capel in Old English signifies a Horse, from 
Caballus.

A Carl-cat;  a Boar or He-cat, from 
the old Saxon Carle, a Male, and Cat.

A Carre;  a hollow place where Water 
stands.

A Carberry;  a Gooseberry.
 "carberry(n)" not found in OED. 

The Carr-sick;  the Kennel; a Word u­
sed in Sheffield, Yorkshire. From Carr and 
Sike, i.e. a Furrow or Gutter, q. The 
Cart-gutter.

To Carve or Kerve;  to grow sour, spo­
ken of Cream, Cheshire. To Kerve or 
Kerme, i.e. to curdle as sour Milk doth.

Casings;  Dried Cows Dung used for 
Fewel, from the Dutch Koth, fimus, ca­
num, q.d. Cothings. Skinner.

Cats foot;  Ground-Ivy.

A Char;  a particular business or task, 
from the Word Charge. That Char is 
chard, &c. That business is dispatch'd. I 
have a little Char for you, &c. A Char 
is also the name of a Fish of the Trout-­
kind found in Winander-mere in Westmer­
land, and in a Lake in Carnarvanshire, by 
the back of Snowdon.






To Chare;  to stop: as char the Cow, 
i.e. stop or turn her. Also to counterfeit, 
as to char a Laughter, to counterfeit it.

Chats;  Keys of Trees, as Ash-chats, 
Sycomore-chats, &c.

A Chaundler;  a Candlestick, Sheffield.

To Chieve;  to succeed: as, It chieves 
nought with him: So, Fair chieve you, I 
wish you good luck, good speed, or suc­
cess, from Atchieve per Aphæresin: or per­
chance from the French word Chevir, to 
obtain.

Clamps;  Irons at the ends of Fires, to 
keep up the Fewel. In other places called 
Creepers, or Dogs.

To Claut;  to scratch, to claw.

A Cletch;  A Brood: as a Cletch of 
Chickens.

A Clock;  a Beetle or Dor, a Hot-cha­
fer. This is a general Word, in this sense, 
all England over.

To Cleam;  A Word of frequent use in 
Lincolnshire, signifying to glue together, to 
fasten with Glue. ab AS. Clæmian, be­
clæmian. Oblinere, unde nostrum clammy. 
AS. clam, Plasma, emplastrum: Danic. 
Kliiner, Glutino. Nescio autem an verbum 
clæmian & Nom. Clam orta sint à Lat. Li­
mus, Limus enim propter lentorem admotis 
corporibus adhæret, Skinner. In Yorkshire, 






to cleame or clame is to spread thick: As 
he cleam'd Butter on his Bread; the Co­
lors are laid on as if they were clamed on 
with a Trowel, spoken of Colors ill laid 
on in a Picture.

Clem'd or clam'd;  Starved, because by 
Famine the Guts and Bowels are as it were 
clammed or stuck together. Sometimes it 
signifies thirsty, and we know in thirst the 
mouth is very often clammy.

A Clough;  a Valley between two steep 
Hills. It is an ancient Saxon word, de­
rived (as Skinner saith) from the Verb to 
cleave. Clem. of the Clough, &c. A famous 
Archer.

Clumps,  Clumpst; Idle, lazy, unhandy, 
ineptus, a Word of common use in Lin­
colnshire, à vet. Fr. G. Cloppe, claudus, vel 
à Belg. Klonte, Klonter, vel potius 
Klompe, Teut. Klamp, Massa, q.d. Car­
nis massa, spiritus & ingenii expers, vel à
Belg. Lompsch, stupidus, piger, hoc fort. à 
Lompe, Clompe massa ob rationem jam 
dictam: vel fortè clumps contr. & corr. à
nostro clownish. Skinner. This is, I sup­
pose, the same with our clumsy, in the 
South, signifying unhandy, clumpst with 
Cold, i.e. benummed: or it may be from 
lumpish, heavy, dull, from the Subst. lump, 
massa.






Clung;  Closed up, or stopped, spoken 
of Hens when they lay not; it is usually 
said of any thing that is shrivelled or 
shrunk up; from cling.

Cluts or Clots;  Petasites, rather Burr­
dock.
 Sense of "clut(n)" or "clot(n)" not found in OED. 

A Clussum'd Hand;  a clumsie hand. 
Cheshire. Per Metathesin literarum.

Cobby;  Stout, hearty, brisk.

A Cobble;  a Pebble. To cobble with 
Stones, to throw Stones at any thing.

Cocket;  Brisk, malapert. Dicimus au­
tem (verba sunt Skinneri) He is very cock­
et, de homine valetudinario qui jam melius­
cule se habet & convalescere incipit, q.d. Est 
instar Galli alacer, non ut prius languidus. vel 
à Fr. G. Coqueter, Glocitare instar Galli 
gallinas suas vocantis, vel superbè incedere 
iustar galli in suo sterquilinio.

A Cod;  a Pillow: a Pin-cod, a Pin-­
cushion. A Horse-cod, a Horse-collar.
 "pin-cod(n)" and "horse-cod(n)" not found in OED. 

Coil;  A Hen-coil, a Hen-pen.

Coke;  Pit-coal or Sea coal charred: it is 
now become a word of general use, à Lat. 
coquere, q.d. Carbo coctus. This sort of 
Coal is now much used for the melting of 
Lead.

Cole or Keal;  Pottage: Colewort: Pot­
tage-herb, Pottage was so denominated 
from the herb Colewort, because it was 






usually thereof made, and Colewort from 
the Latin word Caulis κατ΄ έξοχήν, signi­
fying Brassica. Good Keal is half a meal. 
Prov.

A Collock;  a great Piggin.

To Cope a Wall;  to cover it: the Coping, 
the top or roof of the Wall. ab AS. Coppe, 
Apex, Culmen, fastigium, hoc à Cop, Caput. 
This is a Word of general use, and not 
proper to the North Country only.

Coprose;  Papaver rhœas: called also 
Head-wark.

Coppet;  Saucy, malepert, peremptory: 
also merry, jolly: The same with Cocket.

A Coop,  a Muck-coop, a Lime-coop; a 
Cart or Wain made close with Boards, to 
carry any thing that otherwise would fall 
out, i.e. a Tumbrel. Perchance from the 
Latin Cupa, which Fuller, Miscellan. l. a. 
c. 18. derives from the Hebrew בוק, a 
Belly: whence he deduces our English 
Word Cup and Couper.
 "muck-coop(n)" not found in OED. 

A Fish-coop  is likewise a great hollow 
Vessel, made of Twigs, in which they 
take Fish upon Humber.

A Coop  is generally used for a Vessel or 
place to pin up or enclose any thing; as 
that wherein Poultry are shut up to be fed, 
is called a Coop.

Counterfeits and Trinkets;  Porringers and 
Sausers, Cheshire.
 Sense of "counterfeit(n) not found in OED. 

A Crake;  a Crow, Hence Crakeberries, 
Crow-berries. Crake is the name of an 
ancient Family with us [in the East 
Riding of Yorkshire] as Crane, Dove, He­
ron, Sparrow, Swallow, &c. have given 
Sirnames sufficiently known. Mr. Brokes­
by.

To Coup;  to exchange or swap: Horse-­
coupers, Horse-buyers. V. Cope in S.W.

Crake-needle;  Shepherds-needle, or the 
Seed-Vessels of it.

A Cranny lad;  Chesh. A jovial, brisk, 
lusty Lad.

A Crassantly Lad;  a Coward. Chesh. In 
Lancashire they say Craddanly.

To Cream;  to mantle, spoken of Drink: 
it is a Metaphor taken from Milk.

Creem it into my Hand;  Put it in slily 
or secretly, Chesh.

To Cree Wheat  or Barly, &c. to boil it 
soft.

Crowse;  Brisk, budge, lively, jolly. As 
crowse as a new washen Louse, Prov.







D.

TO Dacker;  to waver, stagger or tot­
ter: a word used in Lincolnshire, pa­
rum deflexo sensu à Belg. Daeckeren, mo­
tare, motitare, volitare, hoc à nomine Daeck, 
Nebula: Vapores enim nebulosi huc illuc vel 
minimo venti flatu impelluntur. Skinnerus.

To Daffe;  to daunt.

A Daffock;  a Dawkin.

Daft;  Stupid, blockish, daunted; à 
verbo Daffe..

Dare;  Harm or pain. Dare in the an­
cient Saxon signifies hurt, harm, loss. It 
does me no dare: i.e. no harm. So in Es­
sex we say, It dares me, i.e. it pains me.

To Daw or Dow:  to thrive. He nei­
ther dees nor daws, i.e. He neither dies 
nor mends. He'll never dow, i.e. He will 
never be good. A Teut. Dauwen, Ver­
dauwen, concoquere, vel potius à Deyen, 
Gedeyen, Augescere, increscere, proficere, 
AS. Dean, Proficere, vigere, Skinner.

To Daw;  in common speech is to a­
waken: to be dawed, to have shaken off 
sleep, to be fully awakened, and come 
to ones self, out of a deep sleep.






A Dawgos or Dawkin;  a dirty, slatter­
ing Woman.

A Dayes man;  an Arbitrator; an Um­
pire or Judge. For as Doctor Hammond 
observes in his Annotation on Heb. 10. 25. 
p. 752. The Word Day in all Languages 
and Idioms signifies Judgement. So άν­
θραπίνχ ήμίρα mans day, I Cor. 3.13. is 
the Judgement of Men. So diem dicere, in 
Latin, is to implead.

Dazed Bread;  Dough-baked. Dazed 
Meat; Ill roasted, by reason of the bad­
ness of the Fire. A dazed Look, such as 
persons have when frighted.

I's dazed;  I am very cold.

Deafely;  Lonely, solitary, far from 
Neighbors.

Dearn  signifies the same.

Deary;  Little.

Deft;  Little and pretty, or neat. A 
Deft Man or thing. It is a word of ge­
neral use all England over.

To Deg.  V. Leck.

Dessably;  Constantly.

To Desse;  to lay close together, to desse 
Wool, Straw, &c.

To Didder;  to quiver with cold, à Belg. 
Sitteren, Teut. Zittern: omnia à stridulo 
sono, quem frigore horrentes & trementes den­
tibus edimus, Skinner.






A Dig;  A Mattock. In Yorkshire they 
distinguish between digging and graving, 
to dig is with a Mattock, to grave with, 
a Spade. Mr. Brokesby.

Dight;  Dressed: Ill dight, ill dressed 
from the Saxon Dihtan, parare, instruere.

To Dight;  Cheshire, To foul or dirty 
one.

To Ding;  to beat: fortè à Teut. Drin­
gen: urgere, premere, elisa literâ r.

A Dingle;  A small Clough or Valley 
between two steep Hills.

To Dize;  to put Tow on a Distaff.
 
Dizen'd;  Drest.

Dodded Sheep,  i.e. Sheep without Horns.

Dodred Wheat;  is red Whoat without 
Beards.

To Doff and Don  ones Cloaths; con­
tracted from do off, and do on; to put 
off and on.

A Donnaught or Donnat;  [i.e. Do­
enaught:] Naught, good for nothing: 
idle persons being commonly such, York­
shire.

A Dole or Dool;  a long narrow Green 
in a plowed field left unplowed. Com­
mon to the South also.

Doundrins:  Derb. Afternoons Drink­
ings: Aunder there signifying the After­
noon. Dondinner in Yorkshire.
"dondinner(n)" not found in OED. 






A Dosome Beast;  Chesh. That will be 
content with nothing, also thriving, that 
comes on well.

A Dootle;  a Notch made in the Pan in­
to which the Bawk is fastened, of this Fi­
gure &250c;&2510; q. Doo tail, i.e. Dove-tail, be­
cause like a Pigeon's tail extended.
 "dootle(n)" not found in OED. 

A Doubler;  a Platter, so called also in 
the South.

Dowly;  Melancholy, lonely.

A Drape;  a farrow Cow, or Cow 
whose Milk is dried up. Drape-Sheep, O­
ves rejiculæ, credo ab AS. Drefe, Expulsio. 
Skinner.

To Drate;  to draw out one words.

A true Dribble;  a Servant that is truly 
laborious and diligent.
 Sense of "dribble(n)" not found in OED. 

Drauk;  Lolium, Festuca altera, Ger.

Dree;  Long, seeming tedious beyond 
expectation, spoken of a way. A hard 
Bargainer, spoken of a person. I sup­
pose it is originally no more then dry, tho 
there be hardly any word of more fre­
quent use in the North Country, in the 
senses mentioned.

Drozen;  Fond, ςέργαν.

A Dub;  a Pool of Water.

A Dungeonable Body;  a shrewd per­
son, or, as the vulgar express it, a divel­
lish Fellow. As Tartarus signifies Hell,






and a Dungeon; so Dungeon is applied 
to both.

Durz'd or Dorz'd out;  it is spoken of 
Corn, that by Wind, turning of it, &c. 
is beaten out of the Straw.







E.

EALD;  Age. He is tall of his Eald. 
Hence old or ald, aud.

Eam, mine Eam;  my Uncle, also gene­
rally my Gossip, my Compere, my Friend. 
ab AS. Eam, Teut. Ohm, Belg. Oom, A­
vunculus. Omnia à Latino Amita, fort. 
& ant. Amitus, Hinc Dan. & Teut. Amme, 
Nutrix: Materteræ enim seu Amitæ nepotes 
suos nutrire solent & fovere, Skinner.

To Earn;  to run as Cheese doth. Earn­
ing, Cheese-rennet or rening. Var. Dial.

The Easter;  the Back of the Chimney, 
or Chimney-stock.

Eath;  Easie. It is eath to do, i.e. Easie.

To Eckle or Ettle;  to aim, intend, de­
sign.

Eddish;  Roughings, ab. AS. Edisc Gra­
men serotinum & hoc à Præp. loquelari AS. 
Ed, rursus, denuo. q. d. Gramen quod denuo 
crescit. Fortè Eatage.






To Eem;  Chesh. As I cannot Eem, I 
have no leisure, I cannot spare time.

Eever;  Chesh. Corner or quarter. The 
wind is in a cold eever. i.e. a cold corner 
or quarter.

An El mother;  Cumb. A step mother.

The Elder;  the Udder: it signifies the 
same thing in the Low Dutch.

Elden;  Fewel for Fire, ab AS. Æled, 
ignis. Ælan, accendere.

Else;  Before, already. I have done 
that else, i.e. already.

To Elt;  to knead.

To Ettle;  to intend.

An Eshin;  a Pail or Kit.

Skeer the Esse;  Chesh. Separate the dead 
Ashes from the Embers. Esse being the 
Dialect of that Country for Ashes.


F.

Fain;  Glad. Fair words make fools fain, 
Prov. From the Saxon Fægan, Læ­
tus, hilaris, Fægnian, gaudere. Psalm Ixxi. 
21. In the Translation of our Liturgy: 
My lips will be fain when I sing unto thee.

Fantome Corn;  lank or light Corn: 
Fantome Flesh: when it hangs loose on the 
Bone. A Fantome, a conceited person.






The French call a Spirit, appearing by 
night, or a Ghost, a Fantosme, from 
Phantasma, Spectrum. So then Phantosme 
Corn is Corn that hath as little bulk or so­
lidity in it as a Spirit or Spectre.
 Sense of "phantom(n)" not found in OED.

Farand  is used in composition: as Fight­
ing-Farand, i.e. in a fighting humor. 
V. Aud farand.

Farantly;  handsom. Fair and farantly: 
Fair and handsom.

Fastens-Ein or Even;  Shrove-tuesday, the 
succeeding day being Ashwednesday, the 
first of the Lenten Fast.

Fause;  q. False, cunning, subtle.

To Feal;  to hide. He that feals can 
find. Prov. i.e. He that hides, &c.

To Fee;  to winnow: perchance the 
same with Fey to cleanse, scour or dress.
 "fey(v)" not found in OED. Sense of "fee(v)" not found in OED. 

Feg;  Fair, handsom, clean: from the 
Saxon Fæger by Apocope: to feg, to flag 
or tire.

To Fend;  to shift for, from defend, per 
aphæresin. Inde Fendable, one that can 
shift for himself.

Festing-penny;  Earnest given to Ser­
vants when hired.

To Fettle;  to set or go about any thing, 
to dress, or prepare. A word much used.

To Few;  to change.






To Fey or Feigh it;  to do any thing no­
tably: to fey Meadows is to cleanse 
them: to fey a pond, to empty it.

A Flacket;  a Bottle made in fashion of 
a Barrel.

A Flaun;  a Custard. As flat as a 
Flaun, Proverb.

To Flay;  to fright. A flaid Coxcomb, 
a fearful Fellow.

A Fleak;  a Gate to set up in a Gap. I 
understand by Mr. Brokesby, that this word 
Fleak signifies the same as Hurdle, and is 
made of Hasel, or other Wands.
 Sense of "fleak(n)" not found in OED. 

Fluish,  q. Fluid; washy, tender, weak, 
perchance from the Low Dutch, Flaun; 
faint, feeble.

To Flizze;  to fly off, from the Low 
Dutch, Flitsen, to fly and Flitse an Ar­
row or Shaft.

A Flizzing;  a Splinter, of the same 
original, they seem to be made from the 
sound per όνοματοποίαν.

To Flite;  to scold or brawl, from the 
Saxon Flitan, to contend, strive or brawl.

Flowish;  light in carriage, impudioa.
 "flowish(a)" not found in OED. 

Flowry;  Florid, handsom, fair, of a 
good complexion.

Flowter'd;  Affrighted. A Flowter, a 
Fright.






A Flurch;  a multitude, a great many; 
spoken of things, not persons, as Flurch 
of Strawberries.
 "flurch(n)" not found in OED. 

Fogge;  Long Grass remaining in Pa­
stures till Winter.

To Format or Formel;  to bespeak any 
thing: from Fore and mal (as I suppose) 
signifying in the ancient Danish, a word, 
sermo. Formæl or Formal in the Saxon 
signifies a Bargain, a Treaty, an Agree­
ment, a Covenant.

Fore-worden  with Lice; Dirt, &c. i.e. 
over-run with.

A Forkin Robbin;  an Earwig: called 
from its forked Tail.

Forthen and Forthy;  therefore.

Fow;  Chesh. Fowl. Var. Dial.

A Foutnart;  A Fitchet.
 "foutnart(n)" not found in OED. 

To Fore-heet;  to predetermine. Prov. 
I'll fore-heet naught, but building Kirks, and 
louping o'er 'um.
 "fore-heet(v)" not found in OED. 

Freelege;  Sheffield: Privilege, Immuni­
tas.

Frem'd or Fremt;  far off, not related 
to, or strange, at enmity. From the 
Saxon and Dutch Fremb'd, advena, exte­
rus, alienigena, or Stranger or Alien, from 
the Preposition Fram, Fra From.






Frim;  Handsome, rank, well liking, 
in good case, as a frim Tree or Beast, i.e. 
a thriving Tree or Beast. A Wallico Frum: 
vel forte ab AS. Fremian: valere, pro­
desse.

To Frist;  to trust for a time. Fristen in 
Dutch is to give respit, to make a truce. 
ab AS. Fyrstan: ejusdem significationis.

Frough;  Loose, spungy: Frough Wood, 
brittle.

A Fruggan;  the Pole with which they 
stir Ashes in the Oven.

A Frundele;  Two pecks.

A Fudder;  a Load. It relates properly 
to Lead, and signifies a certain Weight, 
viz. eight Pigs or sixteen hundred pounds, 
from the High Dutch Fuder, signifying  
a Cart-Load. Hoc fortè (inquit Skinner) 
à Teut. Fuehren, vehere, ducere, & tan­
dem omnia credo à Lat. vehere.

Fukes;  Chesh. Locks of hair.

Where Fured you?;  Cumb. Whither 
went you?.

Fuzzen  or Fuzen; Nourishment, the 
same with Fizon or Foifon used in Suffolk, 
signifying there the natural juice or moi­
sture of any thing, the Heart and Strength 
of it. Elsewhere it signifies plenty, abun­
dance, and is a pure French word. Vid. 
Skinner.







G.

THE Gail  or Guile-dish; The Tun-dish. 

Gail-clear;  a Tub for Wort.

Gain;  Not. Applied to things is conve­
nient, to persons active, expert, to a way 
near, short. The word is used in many 
parts of England.

A Gally-bauk;  the Iron Bar in Chim­
nies, on which the Pot-hooks or Reckans 
hang, a Trammel.

A Gang;  a Row or Set v.g. of Teeth, 
or the like. It is in this sense a general 
word all over England.

To Gang;  to go or walk, from the Low 
Dutch Gangen, both originally from the 
Saxon Gan, signifying to go. 

To Garre;  to make, cause or force: 
from the Danish word Gior, to make.

A Garth;  a Yard or Backside, a Croft: 
from the Saxon Geard a Yard. Hence 
Garden.

Garzill;  Hedging wood.

A Gate;  a way or path: in Low Dutch, 
Gat. In Danish, Gade, from the Saxon 
Gan, to go. It is used for the Street of a






Town. Hence the Names of Streets in 
York, Stone-gate, Peter-gate, Waum-gate, 
&c. And so in Leicester, Humbaston-gate, 
Belgrave-gate, &c. Porta is a Bart.

A Gavelock;  a Pitch, an Iron Bar to 
enter stakes into the ground, or the like 
uses.

A Gauntry;  That on which we set Bar­
rels in a Cellar. A Beer-stall.

To Gauster;  as Goyster. Vid. Southern 
Words.

A Gaule;  Lanc. a Leaver; ab AS 
Geafle, Palanga, Vectis.

Gaulick Hand;  Left Hand. I suppose 
from Gauche.
 "gaulick hand(n)" not found in OED. 

A Gawn or Goan;  Chesh. a Gallon, by 
contraction of the word.

To Ghybe  or Gibe; to scold. Elsewhere 
to Gibe is to jeer.

To Geer or Gear; to dress Snogly gear'd, 
neatly dressed.

A Gibbon;  a Nut-hook.

A Gib-staff;  a Quarter-staff.

Giddy;  mad with anger. The word 
Giddy is common all England over, to sig­
nifie Dizzy, or by Metaphor, uncon­
stant, Giddy-headed: but not to signifie 
furious or intoxicated with anger, in 
which sense the word Mad is elsewhere 
used.

Gilders;  Snares.






A Gimmer-lamb;  an Ew-lamb: fort. q. 
a Gammer-lamb: Gammer is a contracti­
on of Godmother, and is the usual com­
pellation of the common sort of Women.
 "ew-lamb(n)" and "gammer-lamb(n)" not found in OED. 

A Gelt-gimmer;  a barren Ew.

Gin,  Gif; in the old Saxon is Gif, from 
whence the word if is made per aphæresin 
literæ G. Gif from the Verb Gifan, 
dare, and is as much as Dato.

Glad;  is spokes of Doors, Bolts, &c. 
that go smoothly and loosely.

Glave or Glafe;  smooth. Glavering is 
generally used for flattering with smooth 
speech. A glavering Fellow, a smooth-­
tongued flattering Fellow.
 "glave(a)" not found in OED. 

To Glaffer or Glaver;  Chesh. to flatter.

Glatton;  Welsh-flannel.

Glob'd;  Chesh. Wedded to, fond of.

Glotten'd;  Chesh. Surprised, startled.

To be Glum;  to look sadly or sourly, to 
frown, contracted from Gloomy. A word 
common to the vulgar both in the North 
and South.

To Gly  or Glee; Lincoln. to look a­
squint. Limis seu distortis oculis instar 
Strabonis contueri, fortè abAS. Gleyan, 
Belg. Gloeyen, Teut. Gluen, ignescere, 
candescere, q. d. incensis & præ ira flam­
mantibus oculis conspicere, Skinner.






To Goam;  to grasp or clasp: In York­
shire to mind or look at. We pronounce 
it Gaum and Gauve; and speak it of per­
sons that unhandsomely gaze or look a­
bout them. Mr. Brokesby.

Goulans,  q.d. Goldins; Corn Marigold. 
In the South we usually cal Marigolds 
simply Golds; from the color of the 
Flower.

A Gool;  a Ditch, Lincolnsh: Lacuna, 
fort. à Belg. Gouw, Agger, Aquagium, vel 
à Fr. G. Jaule, Gaiole, Latinè Caveola, 
quoniam ubi in fossam, scrobem seu lacunam 
hujusmodi incidimus, eâ tanquam cavea aut 
carcere detinemur, &c. Skin. Hence a 
Gully and Gullet, a little Ditch; and Gullet 
the Throat: or rather from the Latin Gu­
la,, from whence perchance Gool it self 
may be derived.

Goose-grass,  Goose-tansie; Argentina. Call­
ed also by some Anserina, because eaten 
by Geese.

Goping-full;  as much as you can hold in 
your Fist.

A Goppen full;  a Yeepsen. Vid. South. 
Words.

Goppish;  proud, pettle, apt to take ex­
ception.
 "goppish(a)" not found in OED.  

Grisly;  ugly: from Grize Swine. Grisly 
usually signifies speckled of black and 
white, from Griseus.






Guizen'd;  spoken of Tubs or Barrels 
that leak through drought.

Gypsies;  Springs that break forth some­
times on the Woulds in Yorkshire. They are 
look'd upon as a Prognostick of Famine 
or Scarcity. And no wonder in that or­
dinarily they come after abundance of 
Rain.

Greathly;  Handsomely, towardly. In 
Greath: Well.

Grath;  assured, confident.

Grees or Griece;  Stairs: From the French 
Grez and both from the Latin Gradus. In 
Norfolk they call them Grissens.

To Greit or Greet;  to weep or cry: it 
seems to come from the Italian Gridare, to 
cry or weep. Vox Scotis usitatissima. To 
Greet and Yowl, Cumberland; To weep 
and cry. For Yowl, in the South, they 
say yawl.

A Grip, or Gripe;  a little Ditch or 
Trench, Fossula, ab AS. Græp, fossula, cu­
niculus. This word is of general use all o­
ver England.

A Grove;  Lincolnshire: a Ditch or Mine 
à Belg. Groeve, fossa, to grove: to grave, 
à Belg. Graven, fodere.

Grout;  Wort of the last running. Skin­
ner makes it to signifie condimentum cere­
visiæ, mustum cerevisiæ, ab AS. Grut. Ale 






before it be fully brewed or sod, new Ale. 
It signifies also Millet.

I Grow;  I am troubled.

To Growze:  to be chill before the be­
ginning of an Ague-fit. 

To Guill;  to dazle: spoken of the 
Eyes. Chesh.

A Gun;  a great Flagon of Ale sold for 
three pence or four pence.


H.

A Hack;  Lincoln. fortè ab AS. Hegge, 
Hæg, Sepes, Septum, vel Hæca, 
Belg. Heck. Pessulus, repagulum, vel Lo­
cus repagulis seu cancellis clausus: nobis au­
tem parum deflexo sensu Fæni conditorium, 
seu Præsepe cancellatum signat; à Rack. 
Skinner.

A Hack;  a Pick-ax; a Mattock made 
only with one, and that a broad end.

It Haggles;  it hails, Var. Dial. ab AS. 
Hægale, Hægle, Grando.

Haghes, Haws:  Var. Dial. ab AS. Ha­
gan, Haws.

To Hake;  To sneak or loiter.

Hanty;  Wanton, unruly: spoken of a 
Horse or the like, when Provender pricks 
him.






To Happe;  to cover for warmth, from 
Heap, as I suppose, to heap Cloaths on 
one.

Happa,  Hap ye: Think you?.

To Harden;  as, The Market hardens, 
i.e. Things grow dear.

A Harl;  a Mist.
 Sense of "harl(n)" not found in OED. 

Hariff  and Catchweed; Goose grease, 
Aparine.

Harns;  Cumb. Brains.

A Sea Harr;  Lincoln. Tempestas à mari 
ingruens, fortè ab AS. Hærn, Flustrum, æ­
stus. Skin.

A Harry-gaud;  a Rigsby, a wild Girl.
 "harry-gaud(n)" not found in OED. 

Hart-claver;  Melilot.

A Haspat or Haspenald Lad;  between 
a Man and a Boy.
 "haspenald(n)" not found in OED. 

Hattle;  Chesh. Wild, skittish, harmful. 
Tie the hattle Ky by the Horn, i. the skittish 
Cow.

A Hattock;  a Shock containing twelve 
Sheaves of Corn.

Haver;  Cumb. Yorksh. Oats: it is a Low 
Dutch word.

The Hause or Hose;  the Throat: ab AS. 
Hals, collum.

An Haust or Hoste;  a dry Cough. To 
Hoste: to cough from the Low Dutch word 
Hoesten to cough, and Hoest a Cough: ab
AS. Hwostan, tussire, to cough.






It hazes;  it misles, or rains small rain.

To Hose  or Hause; to hug or carry in 
the arms, to embrace.

To Heald;  as when you pour out of a 
pot.

A Bed-Healing;  Derb. a Coverlet: it is 
also called absolutely a Hylling in many 
places. To heal signifies to cover in the 
South. Vid. Suss: from the Saxon word 
Helan, to hide, cover or heal.

The Heck;  the Door. Steck the Heck. 
Hence Hatch cum aspirat.

An Heck;  a Rack for Cattle to feed at. 
Vid. Hack.

Heldar;  Rather, before.

An Helm;  A Hovel. I suppose, as it 
is a Covering, under which any thing is 
set. Hence a Helmet a covering of the 
Head: ab AS. Helan.

Heloe  or Helaw: Bashful; a word of 
common use. Helo in the old Saxon signi­
fies health, safety.

A Henting;  one that wants good breed­
ing, that behaves himself clownishly.

Heir-looms;  Goods left in an House, as 
it were by way of Inheritance. Some 
standing pieces of Houshold stuff that go 
with the House. From Heir and Loom, i.e. 
any Utensil of Houshold stuff.






Heppen or Heply:  Neat, handsome. 
Yorkshire. Skinner expounds it dexter, agi­
lis, and saith it is used in Lincolnshire, fort. 
ab AS. Hæplic, compar, vel potius Belg. 
Hebbelick, habilis, decens, aptus: vel q.d. 
Helply, i.e. helpful.

Hetter;  Eager, earnest, keen.

Hight:  called ab AS. Haten, gehaten, 
Vocatus à verbo Hatan dicere, jubere, Teut. 
Heissen, nominari, cluere.

To Hight;  Cumb. To promise, or vow; 
as also the Saxon verb Hatan sometimes 
signifies, teste Somnero in Dictionario Saxo­
nico-Latino-Anglico, so it seems to be used 
in the English Meeter of the fourteenth 
Verse of Psalm 116. I to the Lord will 
pay my vows, which I to him behight. So 
also it is used in Chaucer, for promised.

Hind berries;  Raspberries: ab AS. Hind­
berian. Forte sic dicta, quia inter binnulos 
& cervos, i.e. in Sylvis & saltibus crescunt.

Hine,  Hence Cumb. Var. Dial.

Hine of a while;  ere long; q.d. behind 
or after a while.

A Hipping-hold or Hawd;  A place 
where people stay to chat in when they 
are sent of an Errand.
 "hipping-hold(n)" not found in OED. 

The Hob;  The back of the Chimney.

Hod;  Hold. Var. Dial.

Hole;  Hollow, deep: an hole dish, op­
posed to shallow.
 Sense of "hole(a)" not found in OED. 






A Hog;  a Sheep of a year old; used 
also in Northampton and Leicester shires, 
where they also call it a Hoggrel.

Hoo,  he; in the North-West Parts of 
England most frequently used for she: ab
AS. Heo, Hio, à Lat. Ea fortasse.

A Hoop;  A measure containing a Peck 
or quarter of a Strike, York-shire.

A Hoppet;  a little Handbasket. Nescio 
an à Corbe, saith Skinner, addita term. 
dim. & asperam caninam literam r propter 
euphoniam elidendo, & quod satis frequens 
est C initiali in Spiritum & B in P mu­
tando.

Horseknops;  Heads of Knapweed so 
called, q. Knopweed.

The House;  the Room called the Hall.

A Gill-houter;  Chesh. An Owl.

Hure;  Hair: Var. Dial.

To Hype at one;  to pull the mouth a­
wry, to do one a mischief or displeasure. 
An Ox is also said to hype, that pushes 
with his Horn.


I.

Jannock;  Oaten bread made into great 
loaves.

The Jaum of the Door,  the side post.






This word is also used in the South, where 
they say the Jaum of the Chimney; 
from the French Jambe, signifying a 
Leg.

Jimmers;  Jointed Hinges: in other parts 
called Wing-hinges.

To Ill;  To reproach, to speak ill of 
another, used verbally.

Innom-Barley;  Such Barley as is sown 
the second Crop after the Ground is fal­
lowed.

An Ing:  A common Pasture, a Mea­
dow, a word borrowed from the Danes, 
Ing in that Language signifying a Mea­
dow.

Ingle:  Cumb. Fire, a Blaze or Flame, 
à Lat. Ignis.

To Insense;  to inform, a pretty word 
used about Sheffield in York-shire.

Jurnut;  Earth Nut, Bulbocastanum.


K.

Kale  or Cale; turn, vicem, Cheshire. 
Kale or Keal for pottage. Vide 
Cole.

Kazzardly;  Cattle subject to die, ha­
zardous, subject to Casualties.

A Keale:  Lincoln, a Cold, tussis à frigore 






contracta, abAS, Celan, Frigescere.

To Kedge;  To fill ones self with meat.
 Sense of "kedge(v)" not found in OED.  

A Kedge-belly;  Helluo.
 "cadge-belly(n)" not found in OED. 

To Keeve a Cart,  Chesh. To overthrow 
it, or to turn out the Dung. 

To Ken;  To know: as I ken him not: 
abAS. Kennan. Ken is commonly used 
of viewing or prospect with the Eye. 
As far as I can ken, i.e. as far as the 
sight of my Eye can reach; and so out 
of ken, i.e. out of sight.

Kenspecked;  marked or branded, not â 
insignitus, q.d. maculatus seu maculis di­
stinctus ut cognoscatur: abAS. Kennan 
scire & Specce macula, Skinner.

To Kep;  To boken, spoken when the 
Breath is stopt upon ones being ready to 
vomit. Also to kep a Ball, is to catch it; 
to keep it from falling.

Kickle or Kittle;  uncertain, doubtful; 
when a man knows not his own mind.
 "kickle(a)" not found in OED. 

To Keppen;  To hoodwink.

A Ketty Cur;  A nasty stinking Fel­
low.

A Kid;  A small Faggot of Under­
wood or Brushwood: forte à cædendo, q. d. 
fasciculus ligni cædui, Skinner.

A Kidcrow;  A place for a sucking Calf 
to lie in, Cheshire.

Kilps;  Pot-hooks.






A Kimmel or Kemlin;  a poudering 
Tub.

To Kink;  It is spoken of Children 
when their Breath is long stopped through 
eager crying or coughing. Hence the 
Kink-cough, called in other places the 
Chin-cough, by adding an Aspirate.

A Kit;  a milking Pail like a Churn 
with two Ears and a Cover, à Belg. 
Kitte.

A Kite;  A Belly, Cumb.

To Klick up;  Lincoln, to catch up, ce­
leriter corripere: nescio an à Belg. Klacken. 

Klutsen;  Quatere; vel à Latino clepere, 
hoc à Græco ϰλέπτα, Skinner.
 "klutsen(n)" not found in OED. 

To Knack;  to speak finely. And it is 
used of such as do speak in the Southern 
Dialect.

A Knightle Man;  an active or skilful 
Man. I suspect it to be the same with 
Nitle.

A Knoll;  a little round Hill, abAS. 
Cnolle. The top or cop of a Hill or 
Mountain.

A Kony thing;  a fine thing.
 "kony(a)" not found in OED. 

Kye;  Kine, Var. Dial.

Kyrk;  Church, ϰυριαϰόν.

Kyrkmaster;  Churchwarden.







L.

TO Lake;  to play, a word common to 
all the North Country, vel (inquit 
Skinnerus) abAS, Plægan, ludere, re­
jecto P. æ Diphthong. in simpl. a & g in c 
vel k mutatis, vel à Teuton. & Belg. La­
chen ridere vel quod cæteris longe verisimi­
lius est à Dan. Leeger ludo. Ideo autem 
hæc vox in Septentrionali Angliæ regione, 
non in alis invaluit, quia Dani illam par­
tem primam invaserunt & penitus occupa­
runt, uno vel altero seculo priusquam reli­
quam Angliam subjugarunt.  

The Langot of the Shooe;  The Latchet 
of the Shooe, from Languet Lingula, a 
little tongue or slip.

Land;  Urine, Piss, it is an ancient 
Saxon word, used to this day in Lancashire, 
Somner. We say Lant or Leint.

To Leint Ale;  to put Urine into it to 
make it strong.

Lancing;  they will give it no lancing, 
i.e. they will divulge it.
 "lancing(n)" not found in OED. 

Lare;  Learning, Scholarship. Dial.
 "lare(n)" not found in OED. 

Lat.  q. late, slow, tedious, ; Lat week; 
Lat Weather; wet or otherwise unsea­
sonable weather.






A Lath  is also called a Lat in the 
Northern Dialect.

Latching;  catching, infecting.

To Late;  Cumb. to seek.

A Lathe;  a Barn, fort, à verbo Lade, 
quia frugibus oneratur, Skinner, fort.

Lathe;  Ease or rest, ab AS Latian, 
differre, tardare, cunctari.

Lathing;  Entreaty or invitation. You 
need no Latching: You need no invitation 
or urging: ab AS. Gelahdian, to bid, in­
vite, desire to come.

The Lave;  all the rest, Cumb.

A Lawn;  a place in the midst of a 
Wood free from wood, a Laund in a 
Park, à Fr. G. Lande, Hisp. Landa: in­
culta planities.

Lazy;  Naught, bad.

Leach;  Hard-work: which causeth 
Le Ache in the Workmens Joints; fre­
quent among our Miners in the North.
 Sense of "leach(n)" not found in OED. 

A Leaden or Lidden;  a Noise or Din: 
ab AS. Hlydan, clamare, garrire, tumul­
tuari, to make a noise or outcry, to bab­
ble, to chatter, to be tumultuous; Hlyd, 
tumult, noise.

To Lean nothing;  to conceal nothing, 
q. leave nothing; or from the old Saxon 
word Leanne, to shun, avoid, decline.

To Lear;  to Learn, Var. Dial.






Leath;  Ceasing, intermission: as no 
Leath of pain, from the word leave, no 
leaving of pain.

Leck on;  pour on more, Liquor, v.g.

Leeten you;  Chesh. Make your self, pre­
tend to be. You are not so mad as you 
leeten you.

Leethwake;  Limber, pliable.

Leits;  Nomination to Offices in E­
lection: often used in Archbishop Spot­
wood's History, q. Lots.

Leftal;  saleable, that weighs well in 
the hand, that is heavy in lifting, from 
the Verb Lift, as I suppose.

To Lib;  to Geld. A Libber; a Sow­
gelder.

Lingery;  Limber.
 "lingery(n)" not found in OED. 

To Lig;  to lye, Var. Dial. it is near 
the Saxon Licgan to lye.

Ling;  Heath, Erica, Yorkshire.

To Lippen;  to rely on or trust to, 
Scot.

Lither;  Lazy, idle, slothful. A word 
of general use, ab AS. Lidh, Liedh, Le­
nis. Alludit Gr. Άειόϛ lævis, glaber, & 
λιτόϛ simplex, tenuis, Skinner.

Lithing:  Chesh. Thickening, spoken of 
a pot of broth, as Lithe the Pot, i.e. put 
Oatmeal into it.

A Lite;  a few, a little, per Apocopen.






To Lite on;  to rely on.

A Liten;  a Garden.

To Lit;  to colour or dye; à linendo 
sup. litum.

A Loe:  a little round hill, a great 
heap of stones: ab AS Læwe, Agger, aæ
cervus, cumulus, tumulus, a Law, Low, 
Loo or high ground, not suddenly rising 
as an hill, but by little and little, tillable 
also, and without Wood. Hence that 
name given to many Hillocks and Heaps 
of Earth, to be found in all parts of 
England, being no other but so much 
congested Earth, brought in a way of 
Burial used of the Ancients, thrown up­
on the Bodies of the dead. Somner in 
Diction. Saxon.

A Loom:  an Instrument or tool in ge­
neral. Chesh. Any Utensil, as a Tub, 
&c.

Loert;  q. Lord, Gaffer, Lady, Gam­
mer, used in the Peak of Derbyshire.

A Loop;  An Hinge of a Door.

To Lope;  Lincoln. To leap, Var. Dial.

A Lop;  a Flea, ab AS, Loppe, from 
leaping. Lops and Lice, used in the South, 
i.e. Fleas and Lice.

Lopperd Milk;  such as stands so long 
till it sours and curdles of it self. Hence 
a Lopperd Slut.






Lowe;  Flame: and to Lowe; to flame, 
from the High Dutch Lohe.

A Lilly-low;  a Bellibleiz, a comfort­
able Blaze.
 "bellibleiz(n)" not found in OED. 

To Lowk;  i.e. to weed Corn, to look 
out weeds: so in other Countries, to look 
ones head, i.e. to look out Fleas or Lice 
there.

A Lout;  a heavy, idle Fellow: to lowt 
is a general word for cringing, bowing 
down the Body: They were very low in 
their lowtings.

A Lown or Loon;  the same with a 
Lout, or more general for an ill-condi­
tioned person. The Scots say, a fausse, 
i.e. false Loon.

The Lufe;  the open hand.


M.

To Mab;  to dress carelessly: Mabs are 
Slatterns.

Mam-sworn;  forsworn.

To Maddle;  to be fond. She maddles 
of this Fellow, she is fond of him. She 
is (as we say) mad of him.

Make;  match: makeless; matchless, 
ab AS. Maca, a Peer, an equal, a Com­
panion, Consort, Mate.






To Mantle;  kindly to embrace.

A Marrow;  a Companion or Fellow. 
A pair of Gloves or Shooes are not Mar­
rows, i.e. Fellows. Vox generalis.

Mauks,  Makes, Maddocks; Maggots 
by variation of dialect.

Mauls;  Mallowes. Var. dialect.

A Maund;  a Handbasket with two 
lids; abAS. Mand. Fr. G. Mande. Ital. 
Madia, corbis ansatus, utrumque à Lat. 
Manus quia propter ansas manu commodè 
circumferri potest, Skinner. It is used also 
in the South.

Meath;  Vox agro Lincoln. usitatissima, 
ut ubi dicimus, I give thee the Meath of 
the buying, i.e. tibi optionem & plenariam 
potestatem pretii seu emptionis facio, ab AS. 
Mædh, Mæht, Mædgh, Mægen, Poten­
tia, potestas; hoc à verbo Magan posse, 
Skinner.

My Meaugh;  my Wives Brother, or 
Sisters Husband.

Meedless;  Unruly.

Meet or Mete;  Measure. Vox general. 
Meet now, just now.

Meeterly, Meetherly, Meederly;  hand­
somely, modestly; as ow meeterly, from 
meet, fit. We use it for indifferently, 
mediocriter, as in that Proverb, Meeterly 
as Maids are in fairness. Mr. Br.






A Mell;  a Mallet or Beetle, Mal­
leus.

Meny;  a Family: As we be six or seven 
a Meny, i.e. six or seven in Family, 
from the ancient French, Mesnie, signify­
ing a Family, v. Skinner. Hence a me­
nial Servant.

Menseful;  comely, graceful, crediting 
a Man, York-sh.

Merry bauks;  a cold Posset, Derb.

A Met:  a Strike or four Pecks, ab AS. 
Modius, in York-sh. two Strike.

Mickle;  much.

A Midding:  a Dunghil, it is an ancient 
Saxon word; à nomine mud fortè.

A Midge;  a Gnat, ab AS. Mycg, 
Mycge, Belg. Mugge, Teut. Muck, Dan. 
Myg, Omnia à Lat. Musca.

Milknesse;  a Dairy.

Mill-holms;  watery places about a Mill 
Dam.

Milwyn;  Lancash. Greenfish, fort. à 
Milvo q. piscis milvinus.

To Mint at a thing;  to aim at it, to 
have a mind to it.

To Ming at one;  to mention, ab AS. 
Mynegung an admonition, warning or 
minding; so it is usually said, I had 
a minging, suppose of an Ague or the 
like Disease, that is, not a perfect Fit, 






but so much as to put me in mind 
of it.

A Minginater;  one that makes Fret­
work; it is a rustick word used in some 
part of York-shire, corrupted perchance 
from Engine.

Miscreed;  descryed, This I suppose is 
also only a rustick word, and nothing 
else but the word descried corrupted.

Mistetcht;  that hath got an ill habit, 
Property or Custom. A Mistecht Horse. 
I suppose q. misteacht, mistaught, unless 
it come from tetch for distast, as is usually 
said in the South, he took a tetch; a dis­
pleasure or distast; this tetch seems to be 
only a variation of a dialect for touch, 
and techey for touchy; very inclinable to 
displeasure or anger.

A Mizzy;  a Quagmire.

Molter;  the Toll of a Mill, à Latino 
Mola.

Mores;  i.e. Hills: hence the hilly part 
of Staffordshire is called the Morelands: 
hence also the County of Westmorland 
had its name, q. The Land or Country 
of the Western Mores or Hills: and ma­
ny Hills in the North are called Mores; 
as Stanemores, &c. from the old Saxon 
word Mor, a Hill or Mountain.






To Mosker;  to Rot, or contract Cor­
ruption, perhaps from gathering Mosse; 
as a Moskerd Tree, a Moskerd Tooth.

Welly Moyder'd;  almost Distracted. 
Cheshire.

Muck;  Lincolns. moist, wet, à Belg. 
Muyck, Mollis, lenis, mitis. Mollities 
enim humiditatem sequitur. Elsewhere 
Muck signifies Dung, or Straw that lies 
rotting, which is usually very moist. 
Hence those Proverbial Similies, As wet 
as muck, muck wet.

Mugwort;  in the East Riding of York­
shire, is the usual word for common Worm­
wood; though they have there abun­
dance of Artemisia, which they call 
Motherwort.

Mullock;  Dirt or Rubbish.

Murk;  Dark: Murklins: in the dark, 
à Dan. Morck, Fuscus, Morcker: infus­
co: item tenebræ. Occurrit & Ant. Lat. 
Murcidus, Murcus, quæ Festo idem sonant 
quod ignavus, iners. This word is also 
used in the South but more rarely.

To Murl;  to crumble.

A Murth of Corn;  abundance of Corn. 
forte à More.






A Nape or Neap;  a piece of Wood, 
that hath two or three feet, with 
which they bear up the fore-part of a 
laded Wain. This was the furca of the 
ancient Romans thus described by Plutarch,
ξύλον διπλου  ό ταις άμάξαις όφιςάσι, which Is. 
Casaubon, Exercit. 16. § 77. thus inter­
prets, Significat esse lignum divisum in al­
tero extremo in duo cornua, quod subjicitur 
temoni plaustri, quoties volunt aurigæ rectum 
stare plaustrum oneratum. Furca was used 
in several kinds of punishments. V. Casau­
bon. ibid. pag. 443. Edit. Fraconf.

A Napkin;  a Pocket Handkerchief, 
so called about Sheffield in Yorkshire.

Nash or Nesh;  Washy, tender, weak, 
puling. Skinner makes it proper to Wor­
cestershire, and to be the same in Sence 
and Original with Nice. But I am sure 
it is used in many other Counties, I be­
lieve all over the North-West part of 
England, and also in the midland, as in 
Warwickshire. As for the Etymology of 
it, it is doubtless no other then the ancient 
Saxon word Nesc, signifying soft, tender, 
delicate, effeminate, tame, gentle, mild.






Hence our Nescook in the same Sence, i.e. 
a tenderling, Somner.

Nearre,  Lincoln. in use for neather. ab
AS. Nerran, posterior.

A Neive or Neiffe;  a Fist.

A Neckabout;  any Womans Neck Lin­
en. Sheffield.

*My Neme;  my Gossip, my Compere. 
Warwickshire. v. Eame.

*Netherd;  starved with Cold.

*Netting;  Chamber-Lee, Urin.

To Nigh a thing;  to touch it. I did 
not nigh it: i.e. I came not nigh it.

Nittle;  Handy, neat, handsome. fort. 
abAS. Nytlic, profitable, commodious.

Nithing;  much valuing, sparing of, 
as Nithing of his pains: i.e. sparing of 
his pains.

A Noggin;  a little Piggin holding a­
bout a pint, à; Teut: Nossel.

Nor;  Than: more nor I, i.e. more 
than I.

To Note;  to push, strike or goar with 
the Horn as a Bull or Ram. ab AS. Hni­
tan ejusdam signification. Lancash. Som­
ner.

A Note-heard;  a Neat-heard, var. Dial.







O.

OMy;  mellow: spoken of Land. 

Oneder;  v. Aunder.

Orndorns;  Cumberland: Afternoons 
drinkings, corrupted from Onederins.

An Osken of Land;  an Ox-gang, 
which in some places contains ten Acres, 
in some more. It is but a corruption of 
Ox-gang.

To Osse;  to offer to do, to aim at, or 
intend to do, Ossing comes to bossing. Prob. 
Chesh. I did not osse to meddle with it. 
i.e. I did not dare, &c. fortè ab Audeo, 
Ausus.

Ousen;  Oxen.

An Overswitcht House-wife;  i.e. a 
Whore. A Ludicrous word.

An Ox-hoose;  an Ox-stall, or Cow-­
stall where they stand all night in the 
Winter, ab AS. Bosih, Præsepe, a Stall.

An Oxter;  an Armpit, Axilla.


P.

TO Pan;  to close, joyn together, a­
gree. Prov. Weal and Women cannot 
Pan, but wo and Women can. It seems to






come from Pan in Buildings, which in 
our Stone Houses is that piece of Wood 
that lies upon the top of the Stone-Wall, 
and must close with it, to which the bot­
tom of the Spars are fastned: in Tim­
ber Buildings in the South, it is called the 
Rasen or Resen, or Resening.

Partlets;  Ruffs or Bands for Women. 
Chesh. Vetus vox (inquit Skinnerus) pro Su­
dario, præsertim quod circa collum gestatur. 
Minshew dictum putat quasi Portelet, 
quod circumfertur, vel, ut meliùs divinat 
Cowel, à verbo to part, quia facilè sepa­
ratur à corpore, Skinner.

A Pate;  a Brock or Badger: it is also 
a general word for the Head. Peat in 
the North is used for Turf digged out of 
Pits, and Turf appropriated to the Top. 
Turf or Sod: but in Cambridge, &c. Peat 
goes by the name of Turf.

A mad Pash;  a mad-brain. Chesh.

A Pelt;  a Skin: spoken chiefly of 
Sheeps Skins when the Wooll is off, from 
Pellis, Lat. The Pelt-rot is when Sheep 
die for poverty or ill keeping. Pelt is a 
word much used in Falconry for the skin 
of a Fowl stuft, or the Carcase it self 
of a dead Fowl, to throw out to a 
Hawl.

Peale the Pot;  cool the Pot.






Peed;  Blind of one Eye: he pees: he 
looks with one Eye.

Peevish;  witty, subtil.

A Penbauk;  a Beggers Can.

A Pet and a Pet-Lamb;  a Cade Lamb.

Pettle;  Pettish. Var. dial.

To Pifle;  to Filch.

A Pin-panniebly Fellow;  a Covetous 
Miser: that pins up his Panniers or 
Baskets.
 "pin-panniebly(a)" not found in OED. 

A Piggin;  a little Pail or Tub with an 
erect handle.

It's Pine  q. pein to tell; it is difficult to 
tell, ab AS. Pin.

A Pingle;  a small Croft or Picle.

A Pleck;  a Place: York-sh. Lanc. ab
AS. Plæce, a Street, a Place.

A Poke;  a Sack or Bag. It is a general 
word in this Sense all over England, 
though mostly used ludicrously, as are 
Gang, and Keal, &c. because borrowed 
of the Northern People. Hence Pocket, 
a little Poke: and the Proverbs, to buy a 
Pig in a Poke, and when the Pig is profer'd 
hold ope the Poke. Mr. Brokesby informs 
me, that with them in the East Riding of 
Yorkshire, the word Sack is appropriated 
to a Poke that holds four Bushels: and 
that Poke is a general word for all Mea­
sures; hence a Met-Poke, a 3 Bushel 
Poke, &c.






Poops;  Gulps in drinking. Popple, 
Cockle.

To Pote the Clothes off;  to kick all 
off; to push or put out, from the French, 
Pousser or Poser, pulsare, or ponere, to put.

Prattily;  softly.

Prich;  thin drink.

A Princock;  a pert, forward Fellow. 
Minshew, deflectit à Præcox, q. d. Ado­
lescens præcocis ingenii: quod licèt non ab­
surdum sit, tamen quia sono minùs discre­
pant, puto potiùs dictum quasi jam primùm 
Gallus, qui sci. non ita pridem pubertatem 
attigit, & recens Veneris stimulos percepit, 
Skinner.

Pubble;  Fat, full: usually spoken of 
Corn, Fruit, and the like. It is oppo­
site to fantome.

A Pulk;  a Hole of standing water, is 
used also for a Slough or Plash of some 
depth.

A Puttock-Candle:  the least in the 
Pound, put in to make weight.


Q.

The Quest of an Oven;  the side 
thereof. Pies are said to be Quested 
whose sides have been crushed by each






other, or so joyned to them as thence to 
be less baked.
 Sense of "quest(n)" not found in OED. 	


R.

To Rack or Reck;  to care, never 
Rack you: i.e. take you no thought 
or care. From the ancient Saxon word 
Recc, care, and Reccan to care for. Chau­
cer hath recketh, for careth. Hence 
Retchless and Retchlessness, for Careless 
and Carelessness; as in the Saxon.

Race;  Runnet or Renning. Hence 
Racy spoken of Wine.
 "race(n)" not found in OED. 

To Rait Timber;  and so Flax and 
Hemp, to put it into a Pond or Ditch, to 
water it, to harden or season it.

Radlings;  windings of the Wall.

To Rame;  to reach; perchance from 
Rome.

Rash;  It is spoken of Corn in the 
Straw, that is so dry that it easily durses 
out, or falls out of the Straw with 
handling it. Vox esse videtur Όνοματοπε­
ποιημεόη.

To Rauk;  to scratch. A rauk with a 
Pin. Perchance only a variation of di­
alect for rake.

Redshanks;  Arsmart.






To Reek;  to wear away. His sickness 
will reek him, that is so wast him as to 
kill him.

Reckans;  Hooks to hang Pots or Ket­
tles on over the Fire.

To Reem;  to Cry: Lancashire, abAS. 
Hræman, Plorare, clamare, ejulare, to 
weep with crying and bewailing, Hream, 
ejulatus.

To Rejumble;  Lincoln. as it rejumbles 
upon my Stomach, Fr. G. Il regimbe sur 
mon estomac, i.e. calcitrat. Sic autem 
dicimus ubi cibus in ventriculo fluctuat &
nauseam parit. Verb, aut Fr. G. à Præp. Re, 
& Fr. G. Jambe, It. Gamba ortum ducit. 
Skinner.

To Remble;  Lincoln. to move or re­
move, q.d. Remobiliare.

A Reward or good Reward;  a good 
colour or ruddiness in the Face, used a­
bout Sheffield in Yorkshire.

Renty;  handsome, well shaped, spoken 
of Horses, Cows, &c.
 "renty(a)" not found in OED. 

To Render;  to separate, disperse, &c. 
I'll render them, spoken of separating a 
Company. Perchance from rending per 
paragogen.

Rennish;  furious, passionate: a rennish 
Bedlam.

To Reul;  to be rude: to behave ones






self unmannerly, to Rig. A Reuling 
Lad; a Rigsby.

To Reuze;  to extol or commend 
highly.

To Rine;  to touch: ab AS. Hrinan, 
to touch or feel.

To Ripple Flax;  to wipe off the Seed 
Vessels.

Rooky;  misty: a variation of dialect for 
Reeky. Reek is a general word for a 
steam or vapour.

Rops;  Guts, qu. Ropes, funes. In the 
South the Guts prepared and cut out for 
Black Puddings or Links are called 
Ropes.
 "rop(n)" not found in OED. 

Ream-penny;  q. Rome-penny, which 
was formerly paid from hence to Rome, 
Peter-pence. He reckons up his Ream-­
pennies, that is tells all his faults.

A Roop;  a Hoarsness.

Rowty;  over-rank and strong: spoken 
of Corn or Grass.

To Rowt or Rawt;  to Lowe like an 
Ox or Cow. The old Saxon word Hru­
tan, signifies to snort, snore or rout in 
sleeping.

To Ruck;  to squat of shrink down.

Runches and Runchballs;  Carlock when 
it is dry and withered.






Runnel;  Pollard wood, from running 
up apace.

He Rutes it;  Chesh. spoken of a Child, 
he cries fiercely, i.e. he rowts it, he bel­
lows.

Rynt ye;  by your leave, stand hand­
somly. As Rynt you witch, quoth Besse 
Locket to her Mother, Proverb, Cheshire.


S.

SAckless;  innocent, faultless, without 
crime or accusation; a pure Saxon 
word, from the Noun Sac, Saca, a Cause, 
strife, suit, quarrel, &c. and the Præpo
sition leas, without.

A Saghe:  i.e. a Saw.

To Samme Milk;  to put the running to 
it to curdle it.

A Sark;  a Shirt.

Saugh and Sauf;  Sallow.

A Saur-pool;  a stinking puddle.

Scaddle;  that will not abide touching: 
spoken of young Horses that fly out.

Scafe;  wild: spoken of Boys.
 "scafe(a)" not found in OED. 

A Scarre;  the cliff of a Rock, or a 
naked Rock on the dry Land, from the 
Saxon, Carre, cautos. This word gave 
denomination to the Town of Scarbo­






rough. Pot-Scars, Pot-sheards, or broken 
pieces of Pots.

A Scrat;  an Hermaphrodite: used of 
Men, Beasts, and Sheep.

Scrogs;  Blackthorn.

Scrooby-grass;  Scurvy-grass: Var. Dial.

A Sean;  Lincoln. a kind of Net, Pro­
culdubio contract. à Latino & Gr. Sagena, 
Skinner.

Seaves;  Rushes: Seavy ground, such 
as is overgrown with Rushes.

A Seeing-glass;  a Looking-glass.

Seer;  several, divers. They are gone 
seer ways. Perchance seer is but a con­
traction of sever.
 "seer(a)" not found in OED. 

Sell;  self.

Selt;  Chesh. Chance; it's but a selt 
whether, it is but a chance whether.
 "selt(n)" not found in OED. 

Semmit;  limber.
 Sense of "semmit(n)" not found in OED. 

To Setter;  to cut the Dew-lap of an 
Ox or Cow, into which they put Helle­
boraster, which we call Setterwort, by 
which an issue is made, whereout ill hu­
mors vent themselves.

Senfy;  not: sign, likelyhood, appear­
ance.
 "senfy(n)" not found in OED.  

Sensine;  Cumb. since then, Var. Dial.

A Shafman, Shafmet, or Shaftment;  the 
measure of the Fist with the Thumb set 
up, ab AS. Scæft mund, Semipes.






Shan;  Lincoln. Shamefacedness, ab AS. 
Scande, confusio, verecundia; item abo­
mination, ignominia.

Shandy;  wild.

To Sheal;  to separate, most used of 
Milk. So to Sheal Milk is to curdle it, 
to separate the parts of it.

To Shear Corn;  to Reap Corn.

No Shed;  no difference between things: 
to shead, Lanc. to distinguish, ab AS. 
Sceadan to distinguish, disjoyn, divide or 
sever. Belgis Scheyden, Scheeden.

Shed Riners with a Whaver;  Chesh. 
Winning any cast that was very good, i.e. 
strike off one that touches, &c. v. Ryne.

Shoods;  Oat-hulls, Darbish.

The Shot-flagon or Come again;  which 
the Host gives to his guests of they drink 
above a Shilling. Darbish.

A Shippen;  a Cow-house ab AS. Scy­
peme, Stabulum, Bovile, a Stable, an Ox-­
Stall.

A Shirt-band;  Yorksh. a Band.

Sib'd;  a Kin, no sole sib'd, nothing a­
kin: No more sib'd then Sieve and Rid­
dle, that grew both in a Wood together. 
Prov. Chesh. Syb or Sybbe is an ancient 
Saxon word signifying Kindred, Alli­
ance, Affinity.






Sickerly;  surely, à Lat. Secure.

Side;  long; My Coat is very side, i.e. 
very long: item Proud, steep, from the 
Saxon side, sid, or the Danish side signi­
fying long.

A Sike;  a little Rivulet, ab AS. Sich, 
Sulcus, a Furrow, vel potius sulcus, aqua­
rius, Lacuna, lira, stria, elix, a Water­
furrow, a Gutter, Somner.

Sike;  such: Var. Dial. sike a thing, 
such a thing.

To Sile down;  Lincoln. to fall to the 
bottom, or subside: fort, ab AS. Syl, 
Basis, limen, q.d. ad fundum delabi, Skin­
ner.

Sizely;  Nice, Proud, Coy.

To Skime;  to look a squint, to glee.

Skatloe;  loss, harm, wrong, prejudice, 
One doth the skath, and another hath the 
scorn. Prov, ab AS. Scædan, Sceadhian, 
Belg. Schaeden, Teut. Schaden, Dan. Ska­
der, nocere. Add skath to scorn, Prov. 
of such as do things both to their loss and 
shame.
 "skatloe(n)" not found in OED. 

A Skeel;  a Collock.

A Slab;  the outside Plank of a piece 
of Timber when sawn into Boards. It's 
a word of general use.






Slape;  slippery: vox usitatissima.

Slape-Ale;  Lincoln. Plain Ale as op­
posed to Ale medicated with Wormwood 
or Scurvy-grass, or mixed with any other 
Liquor: fortean, licet sensus non parum 
variet, ab alt. Slape quod agro Lincoln. lu­
bricum & mollem significat, i.e. smooth 
ale, hoc à verbo, to slip, Skinner.

To Slat on;  to leck on, to cast on, or 
dash against. Vox ονοματοπ.

To Sleak out the Tongue;  to put it out 
by way of scorn, Chesh.

Sleck;  Small Pit-Coal.

To Sleck;  i.e. slack, to quench or put 
out the fire, v.g. or ones thirst.

To Sleech;  to dip or take up water.

To Slete a Dog;  is to set him at any 
thing, as Swine, Sheep, &c.

Slim;  Lincoln. à Belg. Slim, Teut. 
Schlim, vilis, perversus, pravus, dolosus, 
obliquus, distortus, Skinner. It's a word 
generally used in the same sence with 
Sly. Sometimes it signifies slender bo­
died, and thin cloathed.

To Slive;  Lincoln. à Dan. Slæver. Ser­
po, Teut. Schleiffen, humi trahere: hinc &
Lincoln. a sliverly Fellow, Vir subdolus, 
vafer, dissimulator, veterator. Sliven; 
Idle, lazy.






Slokened;  slockened: q. slackened, 
choaked, Var. Dial. as a Fire is choaked 
by throwing water upon it.

The Slote of a Ladder or Gate;  the 
flat Step or Bar.

To Slot a Door,  Lincoln. i.e, to shut 
it, à Belg. sluyten. Teut. schliessen, clau­
dere, occludere, obserare, Belg. slot, sera, 
claustrum, ferreum.

A Slough;  a Husk, it is pronounced 
sluffe.

To Slump;  to slip or fall plum down 
into any wet or dirty place.

To Smartle away;  to wast away.

To Smittle;  to infect, from the old 
Saxon smittan and Dutch Smetten, to spot 
or infect, whence our word smut.

Smopple;  brittle: as smopple Wood; 
smopple Pie-crust, i.e. short and fat.

To Snape or Sneap;  to check: as Chil­
dren easily sneaped: Herbs and Fruits 
sneapt with cold weather. It is a general 
word all over England.

The Snaste;  the burnt Week or Snuffe 
of a Candle.

To Snathe or Snare;  to prune Trees: 
to cut off the Boughs of Ash or other 
Timber Trees; of which this word is 
used, as Prune is of Fruit-Trees. A 
snathe.






Snever;  slender: an usual word.

A Snever-spawt;  a slender stripling.

Sneck the Door;  latch the Door; the 
sneck or snecket of a Door (according to 
Skinner) is the String which draws up the 
Latch to open the Door: nescio an à 
Belg. snappen, Corripere, quia sci. cum ja­
nua aperienda est, semper arripitur.

To Snee or Snie;  to abound or swarm. 
He snies with Lice, he swarms with them.

To Snite;  to wipe. Snite your Nose, 
i.e. wipe your nose, à Schneutzen, Belg. 
Snutten, Snotten, Nares emungere, Dan. 
Snyder emungo, à Snot substantivo, to wipe 
off the Snot.

A Snithe wind;  Vox elegantissima, agro 
Lincoln. usitatissima, significant autem ven­
tum valdè frigidum & penetrabilem, ab AS. 
snidan, Belg. sneiden; Teut. schneiden, 
scindere, ut nos dicimus, a cutting wind, 
Skinner.

Snod and Snog;  neat, handsome: as 
snogly gear'd, handsomely drest.

Snog Malt;  smooth with few Combs.

A So or Soa;  a Tub with two Ears to 
carry on a stang.

A Sock or Plough-sock;  a Plough-share.

A Soss;  a mucky Puddle.

A Sod;  a Turf: I will dye upon the 
Sod; i.e. in the place where I am. Sods






are also used for Turfs in the midland 
part of England.

To Soil Milk,  to cleanse it, potius to 
sile it, to cause it to subside, to strain it, 
v. sile.

A Sile-dish;  a straining or cleansing 
Dish.

Sool or Sowle;  any thing eaten with 
Bread.

To Sowl one by the Ears , Lincoln. i.e. 
Aures summa vi vellere; credo a sow, i.e. 
Aures arripere & vellere, ut suibus canes so­
lent, Skinner.

Soon;  the Evening; a soon, at Even.

A Spackt;  Lad or Wench: apt to 
learn, ingenious, Pat in the East Riding 
of Yorkshire.

A Spancel;  a Rope to tye a Cows hinder 
Legs.

To Spane a Child;  to wean it.

To Sparre or speir or spurre;  to ask, en­
quire, cry at the Market, ab AS. Spyri­
an, to search out by the track or trace, 
or enquire or make diligent search.

To Spar the Door,  to bolt, bar, pin, 
or shut it, ab AS. Sparran, Obdere, clau­
dere. This word is also used in Nor­
folk, where they say spar the Door an emis 
he come, i.e. shut the Door lest he come 
in.






A Spaut or Spowt;  a Youth.

To Spelder;  to Spell.

The Speer;  Chesh. the Chimney post. 
Rear'd against the speer; standing up a­
gainst the Chimney post.

Spice;  Raisins, Plums, Figs and such 
like Fruit. Yorksh. Spice à species.

A Staddle;  a mark or impression made 
on any thing by somewhat lying upon it. 
So scars or marks of the Small-Pox are 
called Staddles. Also the bottom of a 
Corn-Mow, or Hay-Stack, is called the 
Staddle.

A Stang;  a wooden Bar; ab AS. stang, 
sudes, vectis Teut. stang, pertica, contus, 
sparus, vectis. Datur & Camb. Br. Ystang 
Pertica, sed nostro fonte haustum. This 
word is still used in some Colleges in the 
University of Cambridge; to stang Scho­
lars in Christmas, being to cause them 
to ride on a Colt-Staff or Pole, for mis­
sing of Chappel. It is used likewise 
here [in the East Riding of Yorkshire] 
for the fourth part of an Acre, a Rood. 
Mr. Brokesby.

A Start:  a long Handle of any thing, 
a Tail, as it signifies in Low Dutch; so a 
Redstart is a Bird with a red Tail.

Stark;  stiff, weary, ab AS. sterc, 
strace, Rigidus, durus, Belg. & Dan. sterck, 






Teut. starck, validus, robustus, firmus, 
v. Skinner.

Staw'd:  set, from the Saxon Stow, a 
place, originally from statio and statuo. 
Hence (I suppose) stowing of Goods in 
the Hold of a Ship, or in a Store-­
House.

A Stee;  a Ladder, in the Saxon stegher 
is a Stair, gradus scalæ, perchance from 
stee.

Stead;  is used generally for a place, 
as, It lies in such a stead, i.e. in such a 
place, whereas elsewhere only in stead is 
made use of for in place, or in the 
room of.

To Steak or Steick or Steke the dure;  
to shut the Door, à Teut. & Belg. stecken, 
steken, to thrust, or put, to stake.

To Steem;  to bespeak a thing.

A Steg;  a Gander.

To Stein or Steven;  idem.

Stiven;  sternness, perhaps from Stiffe.

A Stife Quean;  a lusty Quean: stife 
in the old Saxon is obstinate, stiff, in­
flexible.

Stife Bread;  strong Bread, made with 
Beans and Pease, &c. which make it of 
a strong smell and tast.

Stithe;  strong, stiff, ab AS. stidh, 
stiff, hard, severe, violent, great, strong, stithe 
Cheese, i.e. strong Cheese.






A Stithy:  an Anvil, à prædict. AS. 
stidh, rigidus, durus. Quid enim incude 
durius?

A Stot;  a young Bullock or Steer: a 
young Horse in Chaucer: ab AS. stod or 
steda, a Stallion, also a War Horse, a 
steed.

Stood;  Cropt: Sheep are said to be 
stoo'd whose Ears are cropt, and Men 
who wear their Hair very short.

A Stoop or Stowp;  a Post fastned in 
the Earth from the Latin Stupa.

Stocks-bill;  Geranium Robertianum.

A Stound  q. Stand; a wooden Vessel 
to put small Beer in. Also a short time, 
a small stound.

A Stowk  q. Stalk; the handle of a 
Pail, also a Shock of twelve Sheaves.

A Stowre;  a round of a Ladder: a 
Hedge-stake. Also the Staves in the side 
of a Wain in which the Eve-rings are 
fastned, though the large and flat ones are 
called Slots.

Strandy;  restive, passionate: spoken 
of Children. Such they call Strandy-­
mires.
 "strandy(a)" not found in OED. 

A Strike of Corn;  a Bushel, four 
Pecks, à Teut. Kornstreiche, Hostorium, 
vel radius; streichen, Hostorio mensuram 
radere, coæquare, complanare.






Strunt;  the Tail or Rump, ab AS. 
steort, stert, Belg. Stert, Steert, Teut. 
 Stertz, cauda: vel à Belg. stront, Fr. G. 
Estron, It. Stronzo stercus, per Metonym. 
adjuncti, Skinner.

3. Strunt;  Lincoln. stubborn, fierce, 
angry; ab AS. stunta stunt, stultus, fa­
tuus, fortè quia stulti præferoces sunt; vel 
à verbo to stand; ut Resty à restando, Me­
taphorâ ab equis contumacibus sumptâ, Skin­
ner.

1. A Strom;  the Instrument to keep the 
Malt in the Fat.

2. Strushins;  Orts, from destruction 
I suppose. We use the word Strushion for 
destruction. It lies in the way of stru­
shion, i.e. in a likelyhood to be destroyed. 
Mr. Brokesby.
 "strushins(n)" not found in OED. 

A Sturk;  a young Bullock or Heifer, 
ab AS. Styrk, Buculus--à.

To Sturken;  to grow, thrive: Throd­
den is the same.

A Swad;  Siliqua, a Cod: a Pease-­
swad. Used metaphorically for one that 
is slender: a meer Swad.

A Swache;  a Tally: that which is fixt 
to Cloth sent to Dye, of which the 
Owner keeps the other part.

Swale;  windy, cold, bleak.

To Swale or sweal;  to singe or burn, 






to waste or blaze away, ab AS. Swælan, 
to kindle, to set on fire, to burn.

A Swang;  a fresh piece of green 
Swarth lying in a bottom among arable 
or barren Land. A Dool.

A Swarth;  Cumb. the Ghost of a dy­
ing Man, fort. ab AS, Sweart. Black, 
dark, pale, wan.

Swathe;  Calm.

To Swattle away;  to waste.

A Swathe bauk;  a Swarth of new 
mowen Grass or Corn.

Sweamish;  i.e. squeamish, used for 
modest.

To Sweb;  to swoon. To Swelt; 
idem.

A Swill;  a keeler to wash in, stand­
ing on three Feet.

To Swilker ore:  to dash over. Vox
ὀνοματοπ.

A Swinhull or Swine-crue;  a Hogs-­
Stye.

Swipper;  nimble, quick, ab AS. Swippre, 
crafty, subtle, cunning, sly, wily.

To Swizzen;  to singe.







T.

The Tab of a Shooe;  the Latchet of 
a Shooe.

A Tabern;  a Cellar, à Lat. Taberna.

Tantrels;  Idle People that will not fix 
to any Employment.
 "tantrel(n)" not found in OED. 

A Tarn;  a Lake or Meer-pool, a usual word in the North.

To Tast;  i.e. to smell in the North: 
indeed there is a very great affinity be­
tween these two senses.

To Tave;  Lincoln. to Rage, à Belg. Tob­
ben, Toppen, Daven, Teut. Toven, Furere. 
Sick People are said to tave with the 
Hands when they catch at any thing, 
or wave their Hands, when they want 
the use of reason.

To Tawm;  to swoon.

To Teem or team;  to pour out, to lade 
out of one Vessel into another. Credo à 
Danico Tommer, Haurio, exhaurio, vacuo, 
tommer autem oritur à Tom. vacuus, v. 
Skinner.

Teamful;  Brim-ful, having as much as 
can be teemed in, in the ancient Saxon it 
signifies fruitful, abundant, plentiful, 
from Team, Soboles, fætus and full.






Teen;  Angry, ab AS. Tynan, to pro­
voke, stir, anger or enrage. Good or 
fow teen, Chesh. Good or foul taking.

A Temse;  a fine sierce, a small sieve, 
Belg. Teems, Tems, Fr. G. Tamis, It. 
Tamisio, Tamiso, cribrum; whence comes 
our Temse bread.

To Tent;  to tend or look to. Var. Dial. 
Chesh. I'll tent the, quoth Wood. If I can­
not rule my Daughter I'll rule my Good. 
Prov. Chesh.

Tharn;  Lincoln. Guts prepared, clean­
sed and blown up for to receive Puddings: 
ab AS. Dearm. Belg. Darm, Derm, 
Teut. Darm, Dearm, simpl. intestinum.

Theat;  firm, staunch; spoken of Bar­
rels when they do not run.

Thew'd;  Towardly.

To Thirl;  to bore a Hole, to drill. Lin­
coln. ab AS. Dhyrl, Dhyrel, foramen. 
Dhirlian, Belg. Drillen, Perforare. Skinner.

A Thible or Thivel;  a Stick to stir a 
Pot. Also a Dibble or setting Stick.

To Thole;  Derb. to brook or endure; 
Thole a while, i.e. Stay a while. Chaucer 
hath Tholed, for suffered, ab AS. Tholian, 
ejusdem significationis.

Thone, thony;  meâ sententiâ. q. thawn; 
damp, moist. Skinner à Teut. Tuncken; 
macerare, intingere, deducit.






A Thrave;  a Shock of Corn contain­
ing twenty four Sheaves. ab AS. Threaf, 
manipulus, a Handful, a Bundle, a Bot­
tle.

To Thrave;  Lincoln. to Urge, ab AS. 
Thravian, Urgere.

To Threap, Threapen;  to blame, rebuke, re­
prove, chide: ab AS. Threapan, 
Threapian ejusdem signification. to Threap 
kindness upon one, is used in another sense. 
To threap with us is to urge or press. 
It is no threaping Ware; so bad that one 
need be urged to buy it. Mr. Brokesby.

I'll Thrippa thee;  Chesh. I'll beat or cud­
gel thee.

Very throng;  busily employed.

To Throdden;  to grow, to thrive, to 
wax, to sturken.

Thrutch for thrust;  Chesh. Maxfield mea­
sure, heap and trutch. Prov.

To Throw;  to Turn as Turners do; 
ab AS. Thrawan, quæ inter alia, to wheel, 
turn or wind, significat.

To Thropple;  to Throttle or Strangle: 
Var. Dial. Yorksh.

The Thropple;  the Wind-Pipe, Yorksh. 
Dial.

To Thwite;  to whittle, cut, make 
white by cutting. He hath thwitten a Mill-­
Post into a Pudding-Prick, Prov.






Tider or Tidder or Titter;  soon, quickly, 
sooner. From Tide, vid. Astite.

To Tifle;  to turn, to stir, to disorder 
any thing by tumbling in it: so standing 
Corn or Grass is tifled when trodden 
down.

Till;  to.

Timorous;  by the Vulgar is here used 
for furious or passionate.

To Tine;  to shut, fence. Tine the 
Door; shut the Door. ab AS. Tynan, 
to inclose, fence, hedge or teen.

Tipperd;  drest unhandsomely.
 "tipperd(a)" not found in OED. 

Tiny;  puny, little: it is usually joyned 
with little as an augmentative: so they 
say, a little tiny thing.

Too too;  used absolutely for very well 
or good.

Toom or Tume;  empty, A toom purse 
makes a bleit, [i.e. bashful] Merchant. 
Prov. manifeste à Danico Tom, vacuus, 
inanis.

To Toorcan;  to wonder or muse what 
one means to do.

A Towgher;  a Dower or Dowry, Dial. 
Cumb.

Toothy;  peevish, crabbed.

Tranty;  wise and forward above their 
Age: spoken of Children. The same 
with Audfarand.
 "tranty(a)" not found in OED. 






Trouts;  Curds taken off the Whey 
when it is boiled: a Ristick word. In 
some places they call them Trotters.

To Tum Wooll;  to mix Wooll of di­
vers colours.

A Twill;  a Spoole: from Quill. In 
the South they call it winding of Quills, 
because anciently, I suppose, they wound 
the Yarn upon Quills for the Weavers, 
though now they use Reeds. Or else 
Reeds were called Quills, as in Latin ca­
lami. For Quills, or Shafts of Birds 
Feathers, are now called calami, because 
they are employed for the same use of 
writing, which of old Reeds only were, 
and to this day are in some parts of the 
World. The word Pen, now used for 
the Instrument we Write with, is no other 
than the Latin Penna, which signifies the 
Quill or hard Feather of any Bird, and 
is a very proper word for it, because our 
Pens are now made of such Quills, which 
(as I said) were anciently made of Reeds.

Treenware;  earthen Vessels.

To Twitter;  to tremble: à Teut. Tit­
tern, Tremere, utrumque à sono fictum. 
This is a word of General use. My heart 
Twitters. To Twitter Thread or Yarn, 
is to Spin it uneven, generally used also 
in this sense.

A Tye-top;  a Garland.
 "tye-top(n)" not found in OED.  







U.

U-Bach;  U-block, &c. v. Yu-bach, 
&c.

Umstrid;  astride, astridlands.

Vinerous;  hard to please.

Unbeer;  impatient.
 "unbeer(a)" not found in OED. 

Ure;  Udder.

To be Urled;  it is spoken of such as 
do not grow. Hence an Urling, a little 
dwarfish person. In the South they call 
such Knurles.


W.

A Walker;  a Fuller; a Walk-mill; 
a Fulling-mill; à Belg. Walcker 
Fullo; hoc à verb. Belg. Walcken, It. 
Gualcare, Pannos premere, calcare. Teut. 
Walckon, pannum polire, Omnia credo à 
Lat. Calcare, Skinner.

To Wally;  to Coquer or indulge.
 "wally(v)" and "coquer(v)" not found in OED. 

Walsh;  insipid, fresh, waterish: in the 
South we say wallouish, meaning some­
what nauseous.

Walling;  i.e. Boyling: it is now in 
frequent use among the Salt-Boylers at 
Northwych, Namptwych, &c.






To Walt;  to totter or lean one way, 
to overthrow, from the old Saxon Wæl­
tan, to tumble or rowl, whence our 
weltring in blood, or rather from the 
Saxon Wealtian, to reel or stagger.

The Wang-Tooth;  the Jaw-Tooth, ab
AS. Wang, Wong, mandibula. Wone 
todh seu potius Wong-todh, Dens cani­
nus.

Wankle;  limber, flaccid, ticklish, fickle, 
wavering.

A Want;  a Mole, ab AS. Wand. 
Talpa.

War;  worse; war and war; worse and 
worse, Var. Dial.

To Warch or wark;  to ake, to work: 
ab AS. Wark, Dolor. Utrumque a work.

To Wary;  Lancash. to curse, ab AS. 
Warian, Werigan, Execrari, Diris devo­
vere. To wary, i.e. Lay an Egg.

To Ware ones Mony;  to bestow it 
well, to lay it out in Ware.

Warisht;  that hath conquered any 
Disease or difficulty, and is secure against 
the future; also well stored or furnished.

To Warp;  to lay Eggs: a Hen warps. 
The same with wary.

A Warth;  a Water-Ford, I find that 
warth in the old Saxon signifies the Shoar.






Warstead;  used in that sense: q. Wa­
terstead.

Wa's me;  woe is me: Var. Dial.
 "wa's me(ex)" not found in OED. 

Way-bit;  a little piece, a little way: a 
Mile and a way bit. Yorksh.

Way-bread;  Plantain; ab AS. Wæg­
bræde, so called because growing every 
where in Streets and Ways.

Weaky;  moist.

Mown Grass welks;  that is dries in 
order to becoming Hay. To Wilt, for 
wither, spoken of green Herbs or Flowers, 
is a general word.

To Welter;  to goe aside, or heavily, 
as Women with Child, or Fat People: 
from the old Saxon Wealtian, to reel or 
stagger; or else from the Saxon Weltan, to 
tumble or rowl, whence Weltering in 
blood.

To Wear the Pot;  to cool it.

To Weat the Head;  to look it. v.g. 
for Lice.

Wea-worth you;  Woe betide you.

A Weel;  Lancash. a Whirlpool, ab AS. 
Wæl, vortex aquarum.

Weet or Wite;  nimble, swift: used also 
in the South.

Weir or Waar;  Northumberland, Sea-­
Wrack, Alga marina, from the old Saxon 
Waar, alga marina, Fucus marinus. The 






Thanet Men (saith Somner) call it wore 
or woore.

Wellaneer;  alas.

To Wend;  to go.

Westy;  Dizzy, giddy.

Wharre;  Crabs: As Sowr as Wharre, 
Cheshire.
 "wharre(n)" not found in OED. 

A Wheady Mile;  a long Mile, a Mile 
longer than it seems to be. Used in 
Shropshire.
 "wheady(a)" not found in OED. 

Wheam or Wheem;  near, close, so as 
no Wind can enter it: also very hand­
some and convenient for one: as, It lies 
wheem for me, Chesh. ab AS. Gecweme, 
grateful, acceptable, pleasant, fit.

Wheamow;  Nimble; I am very whea­
mow, quoth the old woman, when she stept 
into the Milk-bowl, Prov.
 "wheamow(a)" not found in OED. 

A Whee or Whey;  an Heifer. The
only word used here [in the East-Riding
of Yorkshire] in that sence.
 "whee(n)" not found in OED. 

A Wheen-Cat;  a Queen-Cat: Catus fæ
mina. That Queen was used by the Saxons 
to signifie the Female Sex appears in that 
QUEEN Fugol was used for a Hen­
fowl.

A Wheint Lad;  q. queint: a fine Lad: 
ironice dictum, Chesh. Var. Dial. Also 
cunning, subtle.






A Whinner-neb;  a lean, spare-faced 
Man. Whinner, I suppose is the name 
of some Bird that usually builds in Whins, 
having a slender Bill or Neb. Mr. Brokesby. 
I rather take it to be the name of some 
Bird that frequents the Waters.
 "whinner-neb(n)" not found in OED. 

Whirkened;  Choaked, strangled.

A Whisket;  a Basket a Skuttle or shal­
low Ped.

To White;  to Requite: as God white 
you: God requite you, Chesh. Var. Dial. 
white pro quite, quite per Aphaeresin pro re­
quite.

To White;  to blame: You lean all the 
white off your sell, i.e. You remove all the 
blame from your self. V. Wite.

To Wite;  to blame, ab AS. Pæna, 
mulcta, q. supplicium. Chaucer useth the 
word for blame.

To Whoave;  Chesh. to cover or whelm 
over. We will not kill but whoave. Prov. 
Chesh. Spoken of a Pig or Fowl that they 
have overwhelmed with some Vessel in 
readiness to kill. ab AS. Hwolf, Hwalf, 
a Covering or Canopy: Verb. Hwalfian, 
camerare, fornicare.

To Widdle;  to fret.

Wigger;  strong. A clear pitch'd wig­
ger Fellow.
 "wigger(a)" not found in OED. 

The Wikes of the Mouth;  the Corners 
of the Mouth.







To Wizzle;  to get any thing away 
slily.
 "wizzle(v)" not found in OED. 

A Who Whiskin;  a whole great drink­
ing pot. Who being the Cheshire Dialect 
for whole, and a Whiskin signifying a 
Black-Pot.

Whook't every joynt;  shook every joynt, 
Chesh.

A Wiegh, or Waagh;  a Leaver, a
Wedge, ab AS. Wæge, Pondus, massa, 
libra.

Willern;  peevish, willful, à Saxon, 
Willer, willing.

A Wilk or Whilk;  a Periwinkle or Sea-­
snail, ab AS. Wealk, cochlea marina, Li­
max marinus: Higgin. ςρόμβος ςρόιλος
Turbo, cochlea marina, quâ olim ad bucci­
nandum utebantur. Hoc â verbo Wealcan 
volvere, revolvere, quia sci. ejus testa in 
orbem, spiræ in modum contorquetur, Skin­
ner.

A Wind-berry;  a Bill-berry, or Whortle-­
berry.

A Wisket;  v. Whisket.

Winly;  quietly.

Woat.  ------

A Wogh;  a Wall: Lancashire, ab AS. 
Wag, Paries, elsewhere in the North 
Wogh is used for Wooll, by a change of 
the Dialect.






To Wonne or Wun;  to dwell: to haunt 
or frequent: as where won you? where 
dwell you? ab AS. Wunian, Gewunian, 
Habitare, manere, Belg. Woonen, Teut. 
Wonen, Wohnen: habitare, morari. Hæc 
ab AS. Wunian, Gewunian. Assuescere, 
q.d. Ubi soles aut frequentas?

Wood-wants;  holes in a post or piece 
of Timber, q.d. places wanting Wood.

Worch bracco;  Chesh. i.e. Work-brittle, 
very diligent, earnest or intent upon ones 
Work. Var. Dial.

To be Worried;  to be choak'd. Worran 
in the ancient Saxon signifies to destroy: 
in which sense we still say, A Dog worries 
Sheep.

A Wreasel;  a Weasel.

Wringle-streas; or Straws:  i.e. Bents, 
item Windle Straws.

A Wright;  is the only word in use here 
[East Riding of Yorksh.] for a Carpenter. 
Mr. Brokesby.

To Wyte;  i.e. blame, v. Wite.


Y.

Yane;  one: yance; once: Var. Dial.

Yare;  Coveteous, desirous, eager: 
also nimble, ready, fit, ticklish. It is used






also in the South, â Teut. Geaher, Geah, 
Fervidus, promptus, præceps, impatiens: 
Geahe Præcipitia, Jearen, Fervere, effer­
vescere: vel parum deflexo sensu ab AS. 
Gearo, Gearre, Chaucero etiam Yare, 
Paratus, promptus, &c. v. Skinner cui præ 
reliquis omnibus arridet Etymon, ab AS. 
Georn, studiosus, sedulus, diligens, intentus. 
Spoken of Grass or Pastures, it is fresh, 
green.

Yeardly;  valdè: yeardly much; yeardly 
great, that is very great.
 "yeardly(a)" not found in OED. 

The Yeender or Eender;  the Forenoon, 
Derbysh.

A Yate;  a Gate.

Yeander;  yonder, Var. Dial.

Yewd or Yod;  went: yewing, going: 
ab AS. Eode; ivit, iter fecit, concessit, he 
went. Chaucero Yed, Yeden, Yode eodem 
sensu. Spencer also in his Fairy Queen, 
lib. I.c.10.

He that the blood-red Billows like a Wall,
On either side disparted with his Rod.
Till all his Army dry-foot through them 
Yod,
Speaking of Moses.

Yoom;  Oven: Var. Dial.
 "yoom(n)" not found in OED. 

To Yowfter;  to Fester.






Yu-batch;  Christmas-batch. Yu-block or 
Yule-block; Christmas block: Yu-gams or 
Yule-gams; Christmas games: ab AS. Ge­
hul: Dan. Jule-dag natalis Christi: Hoc 
forte à Latino. Hebræo Jubilum, Skinner.

Yuck;  Linc. à Belg. Jeucken, Joocken, 
Teut. Jeucken, prurire: Jucken, Fricare, Scabere.







SOUTH AND EAST
Country
WORDS. 



A.

An Alp or Nope;  a Bulfinch. I 
first took notice of this word in 
Suffolk, but find since that it is 
used in other Counties, almost generally 
all over England.

An Amper;  a fault or flaw in Linnen 
or Woollen Cloath, Suss. Skinner makes 
it to be a word much used by the com­
mon or Countrey people in Essex to sig­
nifie a Tumor, Rising or Postule, vel ab
AS. Ampre, Ompre, varix: vel à Teut. 
Empor, sursum, empor heben, emporen, 
elevare, q.d. cutis elevatio.






Anewst;  nigh, almost, near hand, a­
bout, circiter. Suss. and other places of 
the West, ab AS. On-neaweste, propè, 
juxta, secus, near nigh: à Præp. On, and 
neaweste vicinia.

Arders;  Fallowings or Plowings of 
Ground. This is also a Northern word.

Argol;  Tartar or Lees of Wine.

Atter;  matter, Pus, sanies: à Teut. & 
Belg. Eyter ejusdem significati, vel ab ejus 
parente, AS. Ater, virus.

Auk and aukward;  untoward, unhan­
dy, ineptus, ab AS. Æwerd, perversus, a­
versus; hoc ab Æ Præp. loquelari negati­
va privativa & Weard versùs, quasi di­
cas, qui ad nullam rem vel artem à natura 
comparatus est; iratâ Minervâ natus. Huic 
autem Aukward omnino tum sensu tum Ety­
mo opponitur Toward. This is a word 
used also in the North, as I am inform­
ed by Mr. Brokesby.


B.

A Barth;  a warm place or pasture for 
Calves or Lambs.

A Barken or (as they use it in Sussex) 
Barton;  a yard of a House, a Backside, 
vel à verbo, to Barre, vel à Germ. Ber­






gen, Abscondere, AS. Beorgan munire, 
q.d. Locus clausus, respectu sci. agrorum.

Baven;  Brush Faggots, with the Brush-­
wood at length, or in general Brush-wood. 
Nescio an q.d. Feuine Gallicà à Feu, Fo­
cus. Vir Rev. deflectit à Belg. Bauwen, 
Teut. Bawen, Ædificare, cum fiat ex re­
liquiis arborum pro ædificiis succisarum, 
Skinner. Utrumque Etymon me judice in­
eptum.

Bain;  Lithe, limber-joynted, that can 
bend easily, Suffolk.

Behither;  On this side, it answers to 
beyound, Suss.

Behounc'd;  Tricked up and made fine; 
a Metaphor taken from a Horse's 
Hounces, which is that part of the Furni­
ture of a Cart-horse, which lies spread 
upon his Collar, Ess. Ironically used.

A Bishop;  The little spotted Beetle 
commonly called the Lady cow, or Lady-­
bird. I have heard this Insect in other 
places called a Golden-Knop; and doubtless 
in other Countries it hath other Names.

A Bigge;  a Pap or Teat, Ess.

A Billard;  a Bastard Capon, Suss.

The Bird of the Eye;  the Sight or Pu­
pil, Suff.

Blighted Corn;  Blasted Corn, Suss. 
Blight idem quod Milldew, i.e. mel rosci­






dum, vel roscida quædam melligo quæ fruges 
corrumpit: nescio an à Teut. Bleych, palli­
dus, à colore scilicet, Skinner.

Bogge;  Bold, forward, sawcy. So we 
say, a very bog Fellow.

A Bumby;  A deep place of Mire and 
Dung; a filthy Puddle.
 "bumby(n)" not found in OED. 

A Bugge;  Any Insect of the Scarabæi 
kind. It is, I suppose, a word of gene­
ral use.

Budge;  Adject. Brisk, jocund. You 
are very Budge. To Budge verbally is to 
stir, or move, or walk away, in which 
sense it is, I suppose, of general use.

A Bostal;  a way up a Hill, Suss.

Bouds;  i.e. Weevils, an Insect breed­
ing in Malt, Norf. Suss. Ess.

Bown;  i.e. swelled, Norf.

Brank;  Buck-wheat: Ess. Suff. In some 
Countries of England they call it crap.

A Break;  i.e. Land plowed the first 
year after it hath lain fallow in the sheep-­
walks, Norf.

To Bricken;  to bridle up the Head. A 
Rustick word corrupted from Bridle.

A Sow goes to Brimme:  i.e. to Boar. 
Of use also in the North.

Brine it hither;  i.e. bring it hither, Suff. 
Var. Dial.

To Brite;  spoken of Hops when they 
be over-ripe, and shatter.






To Brook up;  spoken of Clouds; when 
they draw together, and threaten rain, 
they are said to brook up.

To Brutte;  to Browse, Suss. Dial.

The Buck;  the breast Suss. it is used 
for the Body or the Trunck of the Body; 
in Dutch and old Saxon it signifies the 
belly, the buck of a cart; i.e. the body of 
a cart.

Bucksome;  Blithe, jolly, frolick, chear­
ly, some write it Buxome; ab AS. Bocsum, 
Obediens, tractabilis, hoc à verbo Bugan 
flectere, q.d. flexibilis: quod eo confirmatur, 
quod apud Chaucerum Buxumness exponi­
tur lowliness. Skinner. It's used also in 
the North.

A Bud;  a weaned Calf of the first 
year, Suss. because the Horns are then in
the Bud.

Bullimong;  Oates, Pease, and Vetches 
mixed, Ess.

A Buttal;  a Bittern; à Latino Buteo. 
In the North a Mire-Drum.
 Sense of "buttal(n)" not found in OED. 


C.

A Caddow;  a Jack-daw, Norf. In 
Cornwal they call the Guilliam a 
Kiddaw.






Carpet-way;  i.e. Green-way.

A Cadma;  the least of the Pigs which 
a Sow hath at one fare; commonly they 
have one that is signally less that the rest; 
it is also called the Whinnock.
 "cadma(n)" not found in OED. 

A Carre;  a wood of Alder or other 
Trees in a moist boggy place.

A Cart-rake;  Ess. A Cart-track, in 
some Countries called a Cart-rut, but 
more improperly; for whether it be Cart-­
rake, or originally Cart-track, the Etymo­
logy is manifest, but not so of Cart-rut.
 "cart-rake(n)" not found in OED. 

Catch-land;  Land which is not cer­
tainly known to what Parish it belong­
eth; and the Minister that first gets the 
Tithes of it enjoys it for that year; Norf.

A Chavish;  a chatting or pratling noise 
among a great many, Suss.

A Chizzell;  Bran; à Teut. Kiesell, Sili­
qua, Gluma. Suss. Kent. It is also used in 
the North.

The Church-litten;  the Church-yard, 
Suss. Wilt. fort. ab AS. Lædan, Teut. Ley­
ten, ducere, q.d. via ducens ad templum, 
Skinner.

A Chuck;  a great Chip, Suss. in other 
Countries they call it a Chunk.

Cledgy;  i.e. stiff. Kent.

Clever;  Neat, smooth, cleanly wrought, 
dextrous, à Fr. G. Leger, cleaverly, q.d.






Legerly, Skinner. Of use also in the 
North.

A Cobweb morning;  i.e. a misty Morn­
ing. Norf.

A Combe;  a Valley, Devon. Corn. ab 
AS. Comb, comp. à C. Br. eóque antiquo 
Gallico Kum, Cwmm, unde defluxit Galli­
cum recens Combe, Vallis itrinque collibus 
obsita, Skinner.

A Coomb or Coumb of Corn;  Half a 
Quarter, à Fr. G. Comble utrumque à 
Lat. Cumulus.

A Cob-iron;  an Andiron, Ess. Lei­
cestershire.

A Cob;  a Wicker-basket to carry upon 
the Arm. So a Seed-cob or Seed-lib, is 
such a Basket for Sowing.

To Cope;  i.e. to chop or exchange, 
used by the Coasters of Norf. Suff. &c. 
As also Yorkshire.

A Cosset Lamb or Colt;  &c. i.e. a cade 
Lamb, a Lamb or Colt brought up by the 
hand, Norf. Suff. This word Dr. Ham­
mond, in his Annotations on the New 
Testament, p.356. Act. cap. 7. derives 
from the Hebrew חםיסק signifying a 
Lamb.

Costard;  the Head. It is a kind of 
opprobrious word, used by way of Con­
tempt.






A Cottrel;  Cornw. Devonsh. a Trammel 
to hang the Pot on over the fire. Used 
also in the North.

A Cove;  a little Harbor for Boats, 
West Countrey. Used also in the North 
from Cavea.

To Coure;  to ruck down, ut mulieres 
solent ad mingendum, ab. It. Covare: Fr. 
G. Couver, incubare, hoc à Lat. cubare. 
It seems to be a general word.

A Cowl;  a Tub, Ess.

A Cowslip;  that which is elsewhere call­
ed an Oxeslip.

A Cragge;  a small Beer-vessel.
 Sense of "cragge(n)" not found in OED. 

A Crotch-tail;  a Kite; Milvus caudâ 
forcipatâ.

Crank;  Brisk, merry, jocund, Essex. 
Sanus, integer: sunt qui derivant à Belg. 
& Teut. Kranek, quod prorsus contrarium 
sc. ægrum significat. ab istis autem anti­
phrasibus totus abhorreo. Mallem igitur de­
ducere ab Un vel Onkranck, non æger, 
omissa per injuriam temporis initiali syllabâ, 
Skinner. It is also used in Yorkshire. Mr. 
Brokesby.

Crap;  Darnel, Suss. in Worcerstershire 
and other Countries they call Buck-wheat 
Crap.

Crible;  course Meal, a degree better 
than Bran: à Latino cribrum.






A Crock;  an Earthen Pot to put Butter 
or the like in, ab AS. Croca, Teut. Krug, 
Belg. Krogh, Kroegh, C. Br. Crochan, 
Dan. Kruck, Olla fictilis, vas fictile, Ur­
ceus, Skinner.

To Crock;  Ess. to black one with soot, 
or black of a Pot or Kettle or Chimney-­
stock, this black or soot is also substan­
tively called Crock.

Crones;  old Ewes.

A Cratch or Critch;  a Rack. ni fallor 
â Lat. Cratica, Craticula, Crates.

Crawly mawly;  indifferently well, 
Norfolk.

A Culver;  a Pigeon or Dove, ab AS. 
Culfer, Columba.


D.

Dag;  Dew upon the Grass. Hence 
daggle tail is spoken of a Woman 
that hath dabbled her Coats with Dew, 
Wet or Dirt.

It Dares me;  it pains or grieves me. Ess. 
ab. AS. Dare, signifying hurt, harm, 
loss. Used also in the North.

A Dilling;  a Darling or best beloved 
Child.






A Dibble;  an Instrument to make 
Holes in the Ground with for setting 
Beans, Pease or the like. Of general 
use.

Dish-meat;  Spoon-meat. Kent.

To Ding;  to sling, Ess. in the North 
it signifies to beate.

A Dodman;  a shell-snail or Hodman­
dod, Norf.

A Doke;  a deep Dint or Furrow, Ess. 
Suff.

A Dool;  a long narrow Green in a 
plowed Field with plowed Land on each 
side it: a broad balk. Fortè à Dale, a 
Valley, because when the standing Corn 
grows on both sides , it appears like a 
Valley. Of use also in the North.

The Dorr;  the common great round-­
bodied black Beetle.

A Douter;  an Extinguisher, qu. Do­
outer.

A Drazell;  a dirty Slut.

To Drill a Man in;  to decoy or flat­
er a Man into any thing. To Drill, is 
to make a Hole with a Piercer or Gim­
let.







E.

Ellinge;  Solitary, lonely, melancholy, 
far from Neighbours: q. elongatus. 
Suss. à Gallico Esloigner. Ellende in the 
ancient Saxon signifies procul, far off, far 
from.

Ernful,  i.e. Lamentable.

Ersh;  The same that Edish, the Stubble 
after the Corn is cut, Suss. Edisc is an 
old Saxon word signifying sometimes 
Roughings, Aftermathes.


F.

Fairy-sparks  or Shel-fire: Kent. often 
seen on clothes in the night.

A Fare of Pigs;  is so many as a Sow 
bringeth forth at one time. To farrow 
is a word peculiar to a Sows bringing 
forth Pigs. Our Language abounds in 
unnecessary words of this and other 
kinds. So a Sheep is said to Yean, a Cow
to Calve, a Mare to Foal, a Bitch to 
Whelp, &c. All which words signifie no 
more than Parere, to bring forth. So for 
Sexes we have the like superfluous words,






as Horse and Mare, Bull and Cow, Ram 
and Sheep, Dog and Bitch, Boar and 
Sow, &c. Whereas the Difference of 
Sex were better signified by a Termi­
nation.

Feabes or Feaberries;  Gooseberries, Suff. 
Leicestershire. Thebes in Norf.

Fenny;  i.e. Mouldy: Fenny Cheese, 
mouldy Chese, Kent. ab AS. Fennig, 
mucidus.

Fimble Hemp;  Early ripe Hemp.

Flags;  the Surface of the Earth which 
they pare off to burn: the upper turf: 
Norf.

To Flaite;  to affright or scare: Flait­
ed is the same as gastered.

A Flasket;  a long shallow Basket.

Foison or Fizon;  the natural Juice or 
Moisture of the Grass or other Herbs. 
The Heart and Strength of it, Suff. à 
Gallico Foissonner: abundare, vel fortè, à 
Teut. Feist, pinguis.

Footing time,  Norf. is the same with Up­
setting time in Yorkshire, when the Puer­
pera gets up.

A Fostal;  fortè Forestal: a way lead­
ing from the high way to a great House, 
Suss.

Frampald or Frampard;  Fretful, pee­
vish, cross, froward. As Froward comes 
from from, so may Frampard.






A Frower;  an Edge-tool used in cleav­
ing lath.

To Frase;  to break, Norf. it is likely 
from the Latin word frangere.

Frobly mobly;  indifferently well.


G.

To Gaster;  to scare or affright sud­
denly. Gastred, Perterrefactus: ab 
AS. Gast, Spiritus, Umbra, Spectrum, q.d. 
Spectri alicujus visu territus, vel q.d. Ga­
strid vel ridden, i.e. à spectro aliquo vel 
Ephialte invasus & quasi inequitatus, Skin­
ner. It is a word of common use in 
Essex.

A Gattle head;  Cambr. a forgetful per­
son: ab AS. Ofer-geotol oblivious, im­
memor.

To Gaincope;  to go cross a Field the 
nearest way, to meet with something.

Gant;  Slim, slender, It is, I suppose, 
a word of general use.

Gatteridge-tree;  is Cornus fœmina, or 
Prickwood, and yet Gatteridge-berries 
are the Fruit of Euonymus Theophrasti, i.e. 
Spindle-tree or Louse-berry.

Gare-brain'd;  very heedless. Hare-­
brain'd is also used in the same sence: the






Hare being a very timorous Creature 
minds nothing for fear of the Dogs, rushes 
upon any thing. Garish is the same, sig­
nifying one that is as 'twere in a fright, 
and so heeds nothing.

Geazon;  scarce, hard to come by, Ess.

A Gibbet;  a great Cudgel, such as 
they throw up Trees to beat down the 
Fruit.

A Gill;  a Rivulet, a Beck, Suss.

A Gimlet;  an Instrument to bore a 
small hole, called also Screw.

A Goffe;  a Mow of Hay or Corn. Es­
sex.

Gods good;  Yeast, Barm. Kent, Norf. 
Suff.

Gole;  Big, large, full and florid. It is 
said of rank Corn or Grass, that the Leaf, 
Blade, or Ear is goal: so of a young 
Cockrel when his Comb and Gills are red 
and turgid with blood, that he is goal.

A Gotch;  a large earthen or stone 
drinking Pot with a great Belly like a 
Jugg.

To Goyster;  to be frolick and ramp, to 
laugh aloud, Suss. Used also in York­
shire.

Gowts;  Somersetshire. Canales, cloa­
cæ, seu sentinæ subterraneæ, proculdubio à 
Fr. G. Gouttes, gutæ, & inde verb. Es­






gouter, guttatim transfluere. Omnia ma­
nifestè à Lat. Gutta, Skinner.

A Grain-staff;  a Quarter-staff with a 
pair of short Tines at the end, which they 
call Grains.

To Grain or Grane;  to choak or throttle.
 Sense of "grain(v)" not found in OED. 

A Gratton;  an Ersh or Eddish. Suss. Stub­
ble, Kent.

The Gray of the Morning;  Break of 
day, and from thence till it be clear light. 
That part of time that is compounded of 
Light and Darkness, as Gray is of white 
and black, which answer thereto.

A Grippe or Grindlet;  a small Drain, 
Ditch, or Gutter.


H.

A Hagester;  a Magpie, Kent.

A Hale;  Suff. i.e. a trammel in the 
Essex Dialect, V. Tramel.

A Haw;  Kent. A Close: ab AS. Ha­
ga seu Hæg, Agellulus seu Cors juxta domum, 
hoc ab AS. Hegian sepire.

To Heal;  to Cover, Suss. As, To heal 
the fire, to heal a House: to heal a person in 
bed, i.e. to cover them, ab AS. Helan,





 
to hide, cover or heal: hence in the 
West he that covers a House with Slates, 
is called a Healer or Hellier.

To hie;  to make haste: unde Hith 
haste.

Haulm  or Helm; Stubble gathered after 
the Corn is inned: ab AS. Healm, Hielm, 
Stipula, Culmus. Omnia à Lat. Calamus 
vel culmus.

Hogs;  Young sheep, Northamptonshire. 
Used also in the same sense in Yorkshire.

Hoddy;  well, pleasant, in good tune or 
humour.

A How;  pronounced as mow and 
throw; a narrow Iron Rake without 
Teeth, to cleanse Gardens from Weeds, 
Rastrum Gallicum.

A Hornicle;  a Hornet, Suss. Dial.

To Hotagoe;  to move nimbly, spoken 
of the Tongue, Suss. You hotagoe your 
Tongue.

A Holt;  a Wood, an ancient Saxon 
word.

Hover ground;  i.e. light ground.

To Hummer;  to begin to neigh: Vox 
Onomatopœum.







I.

The Door stands a Jarr;  i.e. the 
Door stands half open, Norf.

A Jugglemear;  a Quagmire, Devon­
shire.

An Ice-bone;  i.e. a Rump of Beef, 
Norf.


K.

KEdge;  Brisk, Budge, Lively. Suf­
folk.

A Keeve;  Devon. a Vat wherein they 
work their Beer up before they tun it.

Kelter or Kilter;  Frame, order, Pro­
culdubio (inquit Skinnerus) à Dan. Op­
kilter succingo, Kilter, Cingo; vel fortè à 
voce cultura. Non absurde etiam deflecti 
posset à Teut. Kelter, torcular, Skinnerus, 
quem adi sis.

The Kerfe;  the Furrow made by the 
Saw, Suss. Ess.

A Kerle of Veal, Mutton, &c.  a Loin 
of those Meats. Devon.

A Kidder;  Badger, Huckster, or Car­
rier of Goods on Horseback, Essex, Suf­
folk.






A Knacker;  One that makes Collars 
and other Furniture for Cart-horses.

Knolles;  Turneps, Kent.


L.

To Lack;  to dispraise.

A Largess, Largitio;  a Gift to 
Harvest-men particularly, who cry a Lar­
gess so many times as there are pence 
given. It is also used generally by good 
Authors for any gift.

A Lawn in a Park;  Plain untilled 
Ground.

Laye;  as Lowe in the North, the Flame 
of Fire; tho it be peculiary used for the 
steam of Charcoal or any other burnt 
Coal, and so distinguished from Flame, 
as a more general word.

A Leap or Lib;  Suss. Half a Bushel: 
in Essex a Seed Leap or Lib is a Vessel or 
Basket to carry Corn in, on the Arm to 
sow. ab AS. Sæd-Leap, a Seed-basket.

To Lease and Leasing;  to glean and 
gleaning, spoken of Corn, Suss. Kent.

A Letch or Lech;  a Vessel to put Ashes 
in to run water through, to make Lee 
or Lixivium for washing of Cloaths. A 
Buck.
 Sense of "letch(n)" not found in OED. 






Lee or Lew;  Calm, under the Wind, 
Suss.

A Leef or Leve;  as willingly, as good; 
spoken of a thing equally eligible. Le­
ver in Chaucer signifies rather, tho this 
Comparative be not now in use with us.
 Sense of "lever(adv)" not found in OED. 

A Three or four-way Leet;  trivium vel qua­
drivium; where three or four ways meet.

A Lift;  i.e. a Stile that may be opened 
like a Gate, Norf.

Lither;  Lithe, flexible. It is used also 
for lazy, slothful.

Litten;  V. Church-litten. Lic-tune 
Saxonicè cœmiterium.

Lizen'd Corn;  q. Lessened, i.e. lank 
or shrank Corn, Suss.

Long it hither;  Reach it hither, Suff.

A Loop;  A Rail of Pales, or Bars join'd 
together like a Gate, to be removed in 
and out at pleasure.

Lourdy;  Sluggish, Suss. From the 
French Lourd, socors, ignavus, Lourdant, 
Lourdin Bardus. Dr. Heylin in his Geo­
graphy will have Lourdan for a sluggish 
lazy Fellow to be derived from Lord 
Dane; for that the Danes when they 
were Masters here, were distributed sing­
ly into private Houses, and in each call­
ed the Lord Dane, who lorded it there, 
and lived such a slothful idle Life.






A Lynchett;  a green Balk to divide 
Lands.


M.

A Mad;  an Earth Worm, Ess. from 
the High Dutch Maden.

Mazzards;  Black Cherries. West 
Countrey.

A Meag or Meak;  a Pease-Hook, 
Ess.

A Mere;  i.e. Lynchet.

To be Mirk'd or Merk'd;  to be trou­
bled or disturbed in ones mind, to be 
startled. Probably from the Saxon Merk, 
signifying dark.

Misagaft;  Mistaken, misgiven, Suss.

A Mixon;  Dung laid on a heap or bed 
to rot and ripen, Suss. Kent. I find that 
this word is of general use all over Eng­
land. ab AS. Mixen, Sterquilinium: 
utr. à Meox, fimus: hoc forte à misceo. &. 
miscela: quia est miscela omnium alimentorum.

A Modher or Modder, Mothther;  a Girl 
or young Wench: used all over the Eastern 
Part of England, v.g. Essex, Suff. Norf. 
Cambr. From the ancient Danish word 
Moer, Quomodo (saith Sir H. Spelman in 
Glossario) à Danis oriundi Norfolcienses pu­






ellam hodie vocant, quod interea rident An­
gli preteri, vocis nescientes probitatem. Cupio 
patrio meo suffragari idiomati. Intelligen­
dum igitur est Norfolciam hanc nostram (quæ 
inter alios aliquot Angliæ Comitatus in Da­
norum transiit ditionem, An. Dom. 876.) 
Danis maximè habitatam fuisse, eorúmque 
legibus, lingua atque moribus imbùtam. Claras 
illi virgines & puellas (ut Arctoæ gentes 
aliæ) Moer appellabant. Inde quæ canen­
do heroum laudes & poemata palmam retu­
lere (teste Olao Wormio) Scaldmoer, i.e. 
Virgines cantatrices: quæ in præliis glori­
am ex fortitudine sunt adeptæ Sciold Moer 
hoc est Scutiferas virgines nuncupârunt. Eo­
dem nomine ipsæ, Amazones, &c. En quan­
tum in spreta jam voce antiquæ gloriæ. Sed 
corrumpi hanc fateor vulgari labio, quod Mo­
ther matrem significans etiam pro Moer, 
h.e. puella pronunciat.

A Muckinder;  a cloth hung at Chil­
drens Girdles to wipe their Noses on, 
from Mucus narium; from which word 
comes also our English Muck, used espe­
cially in the North.

Muckson up to the Huckson;  Devon. Dir­
ty up to the Knuckles.

The Mokes of a Net;  the Mashes or 
Meishes, Suss.

Mulch;  Straw half rotten.







N.

A Nail of Beef,  v.g. Suss. i.e. the weight 
of eight pounds.

Newing;  Yeast or Barm. Ess.

Near now;  just now, not long since, Norf.

To Not, and Notted:  i.e. polled. shorn, 
Essex. ab AS. Hnot, ejusdem significationis.

Nush'd;  Starved, in the bringing up.


O.

OLD Land;  Ground that hath lain 
untilled a long time, and is new 
plowed up, Suff. The same in Essex is 
called Newland.

Ollet;  Fewel, q.d. Ellet, ab AS. Ælan, 
Onælan, accendere, Dan. Eld. Ignis.

Oast or East;  the same that Kiln or Kill, 
Somersetshire, and elsewhere in the West.

Orewood;  Quædam Algæ species quæ 
Cornubiæ agros mirificè fœcundat, sic dicta 
fortè, quod ut Aurum incolas locuplet et, & 
auro emi meretur. East autem vox Cornu­
biæ ferè propria. Sea-wrack, so called in 
Cornwal, where they manure their Land 
with it: as they do also in Scotland and 
elsewhere.






Ope Land;  Ground plowed up every 
year: Ground that is loose or open, Suff.


P.

A Paddock;  a Frog: Ess. Minshew 
deflectit à Belg. Padde Bufo. A Pad­
dock or Puddock is also a little Park or En­
closure.

A Paigle;  it is of use in Essex, Middle­
sex, Suffolk, for a Cowslip: Cowslip 
with us signifying what is elsewhere called 
an Oxslip.

A Petticoat;  is in some places used for a 
Mans Wastcoat.

Pease-bolt;  i.e. Pease-straw, Ess.

Pipperidges;  Barberries, Ess. Suff.

To Play;  spoken of a Pot, Kettle or 
other Vessel full of Liquor, i.e. to Boil: 
playing hot; boyling hot: in Norfolk they 
pronounce it plaw. Vox generalis.

A Pose;  a Cold in the Head: that 
causes a running at the Nose.

A Poud;  a Boil or Ulcer, Suss.

A Prigge;  a small Pitcher: this is I 
suppose, a general word in the South 
Country.

Puckets;  Nests of Caterpillars, Suss.






A Pitch;  a Bar of Iron with a thick 
square pointed end to make holes in the 
ground by pitching down.


Q.

Quotted;  Suss. Cloyed, glutted.


R.

Rathe;  early, Suss. as Rathe in the 
morning. i.e. early in the morning. 
Rath-ripe fruit, i.e. early Fruit, fructus 
præcoces, ab AS. Radh, Radhe, cito.

A Riddle;  an oblong sort of Sieve to 
separate the Seed from the Corn: ab AS. 
Hriddel, cribrum; hoc à Hreddan, libe­
rare, quia sc. cribrando partes puriores à cras­
sioribus liberentur: because it rids the Corn 
from the soil and dross.

A Ripper;  a Pedder, Dorser or Badger, 
Suss.

Rising;  Yeast; Beergood.
 beergood(n)" not found in OED. 

Roughings;  latter Grass, after Mathes.

Rosil or Rosilly soil;  Land between Sand 
and Clay, neither light nor heavy: I 






suppose from Rosin, which here in Essex 
the Vulgar call Rosill.

To Rue;  to sift, Devonsh.


S.

To Santer about;  or go Santering up 
and down. It is derived from 
Saincte terre, i.e. The Holy Land, be­
cause of old time when there were fre­
quent Expeditions thither: many idle per­
sons went from place to place, upon pre­
tence that they had taken, or intended 
to take the Cross upon them, and to go 
thither. It signifies to idle up and down, 
to go loitering account.

Say of it;  i.e. tast of it, Suff. Say for 
Assay, per Aphæresin, Assay from the French 
essayer, and the Italian assaggiare, to try, 
or prove, or attempt; all from the Latin 
word sapio, which signifies also to taste.

A Scopperloit;  a time of idleness, a 
play time.

A Seame of Corn of any sort;  a 
Quarter, eight Bushels, Ess. ab AS. seam, 
& hoc fortegrave; à Græco σαγυα a Load, a 
Burthen; a Horse-load: it seems also to 
have signified the quantity of eight 
Bushels, being often taken in that sense 
in Matth. Paris. Somner.






A Seam of Wood;  an Horse-load: 
Suss.  ejusdem originis.

Sear;  dry: opposed to green, spoken 
only of Wood, or the parts of Plants, 
from the Greek ξηρός aridus. Hence per­
haps Woodsear.

Seel or Seal;  time or season. It is a fair 
seel for you to come at, i.e. a fair season or 
time; spoken ironically to them that 
come late, Ess. ab AS. Sæl. time. What 
seel of day? What time of day.

To go Sew;  i.e. to go dry, Suss. spoken 
of a Cow.

A Shaw;  a Wood that encompasses a 
Close, Suss. ab AS. scuwa umbra, a sha­
dow.

A Shawle;  a Shovel to Winnow withal, 
Suss. videtur contractum à Shovel.

A Sheat;  a young Hog, Suff. in Essex 
they call it a shote, both from shoot.

Shie or shy,  apt to startle and flee from 
you, or that keeps off and will not come 
near. It. Schifo, à Belg. Schouwen, Schu­
wen, Teut. Schewen, vitare, Skinner. Vox 
est generalis.

Sheld;  flecked, party-coloured, Suff. 
inde Sheldrake & sheld Fowle, Suss.

To Shimper;  to shimmer or shine, Suss. Dial.






A Showel;  a blind for a Cows Eyes: 
made of Wood.
 "showel(n)" not found in OED. 

To Shun;  to shove, Suss. Dial.

Sibberidge; or sibbered:  the Banes of 
Matrimony, Suff. ab AS. syb, sybbe, 
Kindred, alliance, affinity.

A Shuck;  an husk or shell; as Bean-­
shucks, Bean-shells, per Anagrammatis­
mum του Husk forte.

Sizzing;  Yeast or Barm, Suss. from 
the sound Beer or Ale make in working.

Sidy;  surly, moody, Suss.

Sile;  filth: because usually it subsides 
to the bottom.

Simpson;  Groundsel, senecio, Ess. Suff.

A Size of Bread, and a Cue of Bread,  
Cambridge. The one signifies half, the 
other one fourth part of a Half-penny 
Loaf. That Cue is nothing but q, the 
first Letter of quarter or quadrans is ma­
nifest. Size comes from Scindo.

Skaddle,  scathie; ravenous, mischievous, 
Suss. ab AS. skade, harm, hurt, damage, 
mischief: or scædan, lædere, nocere. Prov. 
One doth the Skathe, and other hath 
the Scorn: i.e. one doth the harm, and 
another bears the blame. Supra among 
the Northern words.
 "scathie(a)" not found in OED. 






A Skip or Skep;  a Basket, but not to 
carry in the Hand: A Bee-skip, a Bee 
Hive.

Skrow;  surly, dogged: used most ad­
verbially, as to look shrow, i.e. to look 
sowrly, Suss.

Skeeling;  an Isle or Bay of a Barn, 
Suss.

To Skid a Wheel;  Rotam sufflaminare, 
with an Iron Hook fastened to the Axis 
to keep it from turning round upon the 
descent of a steep Hill, Kent.

A Slappel;  a piece, part, or portion, 
Suss.

To Slump;  to slip or fall plum down 
into any dirty or wet place: it seems to 
be a word made per onomatopœian from 
the sound.

A Snagge;  a Snail, Suss. Dial.

A Snurle;  a Pose or Cold in the Head, 
Coryza, Suff.

Span New;  very new: that was never 
worn or used. So spick and span new.

The Snaste;  the burnt Week or Snuffe 
of a Candle.

A Snathe;  the Handle of a Sithe.

A Spurget;  a Tagge or piece of Wood 
to hang any thing upon.

A Spurre-way;  a Horse way through a 
Mans Ground, which one may ride in 
by right of Custom.






To Spurk up;  to Spring, shoot or 
brisk up.

To Squirm;  to move very nimbly a­
bout, after the manner of an Eel. It is 
spoken of an Eel.

To Summerland a Ground;  to lay it 
Fallow a year, Suff.

Soller or solar;  an upper Chamber or 
loft, à Latino solarium.

To Squat;  to bruise or make flat by 
letting fall: activè, Suss.

A Staffe of Cocks;  a pair of Cocks.

A Stank;  a Dam or Bank to stop 
water.

Stover;  Fodder for Cattel: ab Estover, 
Gal.

A Swamp;  a low hollow place in any 
part of a Field.

The Steale of any thing;  i.e. manubri­
um, the Handle, or Pediculus, the foot­
stalk: à Belg. Steel, stele. Teut. Stiel Pe­
tiolus.

A Speen or Spene;  a Cows Pap: Kent. 
ab AS. spana, mammæ, ubera.

A Sosse-bangle;  a sluttish, slattering, 
lazy Wench; a Rustic word, only used 
by the vulgar.

A Stew;  a Pool to preserve Fish for 
the Table: to be drawn and filled again 
at pleasure.






A Stoly House;  i.e. a clutter'd dirty 
House, Suff.

A Strand;  one of the twists of a 
Line: be it a Horse-Hair or ought else, 
Suss.

A Stound;  a little while: Suff. q.a. 
stand.

The Strig;  the footstalk of any Fruit; 
Petiolus, Suss.

Stamwood;  the Root of Trees stubbed 
up, Suss.

A Stuckling;  an Apple-Pasty or Pye, 
Suss.

Stupnet;  a Posnet or Skillet, Suss.

A Stull;  a Luncheon, a great piece 
of Bread, Cheese or other Victuals, 
Ess.

Sturry;  inflexible, sturdy and stiffe: 
Stowre is used in the same sense, and 
spoken of Cloth, in opposition to lim­
ber.

A Stut;  a Gnat: Somerset, ab AS. Stut, 
Culex.

Stover;  Fodder for Cattel: as Hay, 
Straw or the like, Ess. from the French 
estouver fovere, according to Cowel. 
Spelman reduces it from the French 
estoffe materia, & estoffer, necessaria 
suppeditare.






Swads;  Pods of Pease or the like 
Pulse.

To Sweale;  to singe or burn, Suss. a 
sweal'd Pig, a singed Pig: ab AS. swælan, 
to kindle, to set on fire or burn.

To Sworle;  to snarle as a Dog doth, 
Suss.


T.

A Tagge;  a Sheep of the first year: 
Suss.

Techy,  i.e. Touchy; peevish, cross, apt 
to be angry.

To Tede Grass;  to spread abroad new 
mowen Grass: which is the first thing that 
is done in order to the drying it, and 
making it into Hay.

Tewly or tuly;  tender, sick: tuly sto­
mached, weak stomached.

To Toll;  to entice or draw in, to de­
coy or flatter: as the Bell tolling calls in 
the people to the Church.

Temse-bread;  i.e. sifted Bread: from 
the French word Tamis, a Sieve or Sierce.

Very Tharky;  very dark, Suff.

A Theave;  an Ewe of the first year:
Ess.






Tiching;  Devonsh, Cornw. setting up 
Turves that so they may be dryed by the 
Sun and fit to burn upon Land.

To Tine or tin a Candle;  to light it: 
ab AS. Tynan, accendere; hinc Tinder.

A Tovet or Tofet;  half a bushel: Kent. 
à nostro Two, AS. Tu, Duo, & Fat men­
suram unius pecci signante, a Peck.

A Trammel;  an Iron Instrument hang­
ing in the Chimney, whereon to hang 
Pots or Kettles over the fire, Ess.

Treaf;  peevish, froward, pettish, very 
apt to be angry.

A Tumbrel;  a Dung-Cart.

Trewets or Truets;  Pattens for Women, 
Suff.

A Trip of Sheep;  i.e. a few Sheep, 
Norf.

A Trug;  a Trey for Milk or the like: 
Suss. Dial.

To Trull;  to trundle; per contractio­
nem, Suss.


V.

To Vang;  to answer for at the Font 
as Godfather. He vangd to me at 
the Vant, Somersetsh. in Baptisterio pro me 
suscepit: ab AS. Fengan, to receive, also 






to undertake, verso f in v pro more loci.

Velling;  Plowing up the Turf or upper 
surface of the Ground, to lay on heaps 
to burn. West-Country.

A Voor;  a Furrow, Suss.

A Vollow;  a Fallow, Suss. Generally in 
the West-Country they use v, instead of f, 
and z instead of s.

Vrith;  Eththerings or windings of 
Hedges, teneri rami Coryli, quibus inflexis 
sepes colligant & stabiliunt: ab AS. Wryd­
han, torquere, distorquere, contratorquere: 
Wridha, lorum, Wridelf, Fascia, quia sci. 
hi rami contorti instar lori & Fasciae sepes 
colligant, Skinner.


W.

Wattles;  made of split Wood in fa­
shion of Gates, wherein they use 
to fold Sheep, as elsewhere in Hurdles, 
Suss. ab AS. Watelas, Crates, Hurdles.

Welling of Whey;  is heating it scalding 
hot, in order to the taking off the Curds: 
Welling or walling, in old English, is boyl­
ing.

A Wem;  a small fault, hole, decay or 
blemish, especially in cloth, Ess. ab AS. 
wem, a blot, spot or blemish.






A Were or wair;  a Pond or Pool of 
water, ab AS. waer a Fish-Pond, a place 
or Engine for catching and keeping of 
Fish.

A Whapple way;  i.e. where a Cart and 
Horses cannot pass, but Horses only, Suss.

A Wheden;  a simple person, West.

A wheady Mile;  A Mile beyond ex­
pectation, longer than it seems to be.
 "wheady(a)" not found in OED. 

Whicket for whacket;  or quittee for quat­
tee; i.e. Quid pro quo, Kent.

To Whimper;  to being to cry.

A Whittle;  a double Blanket, which 
Women wear over their Shoulders in the 
West Country, as elsewhere short Cloaks, 
ab AS. Hwitel, Sagum, Saga, læna, a 
kind of Garment, a Cassock, an Irish 
Mantle, &c. v. Somner.

Widows bench;  a share of the Husbands 
Estate which Widows in Sussex enjoy, be­
side their Joyntures.

To Wimme;  Suss. Dial. i.e. Winnow.

A Wind-row;  the Greens or Borders 
of a Field dug up, in order to the carry­
ing the Earth on to the Land to mend it. 
It is called Windrow because it is laid in 
rows, and exposed to the Wind.

Woadmel;  a hairy coarse stuff made 
of Island Wool: and brought thence by 
our Seamen to Norf. Suff. &c.






Woodcock Soil;  Ground that hath a 
Soil under the Turf that looks of a 
Woodcock colour and is not good.


Y.

YAre;  nimble, sprightly, smart, Suf­
folk.

A Yaspen or Yeepsen;  in Essex signifies 
as much as can be taken up in both 
Hands joyn'd together. Gouldman ren­
ders it vola seu manipulus, fortean à nostro. 
Grasping, elisâ propter euphoniam literâ 
caninâ r, and g, in y facillimâ sanè & vul­
gatissima nostræ linguæ mutatione transeunte: 
q.d. quantum quis vola comprehendere potest, 
Skinner.

In Sussex for hasp, clasp, wasp, they 
pronounce hapse, clapse, wapse, &c. for 
neck nick, for throat throtte, for choak, 
chock. Set'n down, let'n stand, come 
again and fet'n anon. C'have cat so much 
c'ham quit a quot, Devon. i.e. I can eat 
no more, I have eat so much that I am 
cloyed.









A Catalogue of Local Words 
parallel'd with British or Welsh, 
by my learned and ingenious 
Friend Mr. Edward Lloyd of 
Oxford.

The Syllables thus mark'd ^ are long 
thus ' very short and smart.


1. [English] AN Ark;  a 
large Chest for Corn.

1. [British] Arkh,  Lat. 
Arca, cista. But the modern sig­
nification is a Cof­
fin. It is doubtless 
of the same origin 
with the Latin 
word, though we 
cannot say that all 
that are so have 
been borrowed from 
the Romans.

2. [English] An Attercop;  
A Spiders Web. 
Mr. Nicolson gives 
the Etymology of 
this word from the 
Saxon. I rather 
think it originally 
British, because re­
maining in use only 
in Cumberland.

2. [British] Cop,  and Cop­
pin is Spider; but 
a Spiders web we 
call gwêr-cop and 
corruptly Gwydyr goppyn.

3. [English] An Aumbry:  a 
Cupboard.

3. [British] 'Almari  signi­
fies the same thing 
in Welsh,  but it's 
now grown obso­
lete. I suppose we 
might have it of 
the Normans.

4. [English] Bragget;  a sort 
of compound drink 
or Metheglin.

4. [British] Bràgod  idem. 
A common drink 
among Country 
people in their 
Feasts or Wakes.

5. [English] A Bratt;  Se­
micinctium ex vi­
lissimo panno.

5. [British] Bràthay;  Rags, 
Brettyn, a rag; Brè
thyn, Woollen cloth, 
Hibernis Bredhy^n.

6. [English] Braugh wham;  
a sort of meat in 
Lancashire.
 "braugh wham(n)" not found in OED. 

6. [British] Brwkhan,  a 
sort of Lhymry.






7. [English] A Capo;  A 
working Horse.
 Sense of "capo(n)" not found in OED. 

7. [British] Kèphyl,  a Horse. 
The Irish call a 
working Horse 
Kappwl. All of the 
same original with 
Caballus.

8. [English] A Cod;  a Pil­
low; AS. Codde est 
Pera, Marsupium. 
Matth. 10.10. Græci 
ϰώδια lectis hyemem 
imponebant, ut æ
state ψάϑουϛ, Autore 
Laertio lib. 2. in 
Menedemo, Mr. Ni­
colson.

8. [British] Kw^d and Kôd,  
a Bag.

9. [English] A Crag;  a 
Rock. In Lycia 
Cragus mons qui­
dam est dictus Ste­
phano autore, Cu­
jus etiam meminit 
Horatius.

Aut viridis Cra­
gi, &c. Mr. Nicol­
son.

9. [British] Kraig,  a Rock 
I conjecture this 
word to be original­
ly British.

10. [English] Cole or Keale;  
Potage.

10. [British] Kawl,  idem: 
Sic Armoricanis. 
This word run 
through many.






Languages or Dia­
lects, and is no­
thing but the Latine 
Caulis a Synonyme 
of Brassica, called 
thence Colewort.

11. [English] Coping;  the 
top or roof of a 
Wall.

11. [British] Koppa,  The 
top of any thing.

12. [English] Dare;  Harm 
or pain.
 Sense of "dare(n)" not found in OED. 

12. [British] Dêra;  Phre­
nesis, unde y Gyn­
dharedh, Insania, 
furor.

13. [English] Trinket;  a 
Porringer.

13. [British] Trànked,  i­
dem.

14. [English] A Dub;  a 
Pool of water.

14. [British] Hibernis Ty­
byr Fons;  nobis 
Dwv'r, Aqua.

15. [English] A Doubler;  
a Dish.

15. [British] Dwbler  in 
Cardiganshire signi­
fies the same.

16. [English] A Dool. 

16. [British] Dôl,  a Mea­
dow by a River
side.

17. [English] An Ellmo­
ther;  a Stepmother.
 "ellmother(n)" not found in OED. 

17. [British] Ail,  the se­
cond; so that per­
haps a Stepmother 
might be called the 
second Mother.






18. [English] Elden;  fewel, 
ab AS. Æled. Ignis.
 "elden(n)" not found in OED. 

18. [British] Aelwyd,  The 
Hearth.

19. [English] A Garth;  a 
Yard.

19. [British] Gardh,  a Gar­
den.

20. [English] Grig;  Salopi­
ensibus Heath.

20. [British] Gry^g,  Heath.

21. [English] Greès;  Stairs.

21. [British] Grisiay,  idem: 
Borrowed doubtless 
from the French.

22. [English] He,  She.

22. [British] Hi,  She. In 
pronunciation there 
is no difference.

23. [English] To Heal;  
to Cover.

23. [British] Hilio,  to co­
ver. Perhaps we 
have received it 
from the English, 
which may be the 
reason Dr. Davies 
hath omitted it in 
his Lexicon. It is 
a word generally 
used in North Wales.

24. [English] Helo;  Bash­
ful.

24. [British] Gw^yl,  Bash­
ful, which in the 
feminine gender is 
w^yl, as Merkhw^yl, 
a bashful Maid: and 
so in some other 
cases according to 
the idiome of this






Language. v. g. y 
màe yn w^yl, He is 
bashful.

25. [English] Knoll;  a lit­
tle round Hill, ab
AS. Cnolle, the top 
or cop of a Hill or 
Mountain.

25. [British] Klol,  the 
Head. The Hills in 
Wales are generally 
denominated by 
metaphors from 
some parts of the 
body. Ex. gr. Pen 
maenmawr, y Bèn­
glog, Tal y' Lhykhay, 
Ker'n y Bw^kh, y 
vròn dêg, Kev'n y 
Braikh, y Grimmong. 
Pen signifying a 
Head, Penglog a 
Skull; Tál the fore­
head; Kern one side 
of the Face y Vron 
the Breast; Keven 
the Back. Braikh 
an Arm, and Krim­
mog a Leg.

26. [English] The Speer,  
the Chimney Post.

26. [British] Yspyr,  idem.

27. [English] Stouk;  the 
handle of a Pail.

27. [British] Ystw'k,  a 
milking Pail.

28. [English] Tabern;  a 
Cellar.

28. [British] Tavarn,  an 
Alehouse: a word






in all probability 
borrowed from the 
Latine, though the 
Irish use it also in 
the same sence.

29. [English] To Ware ones 
money;  to spend it 
or lay it out.

29. [British] Gwarrio,  to 
spend mony; which 
according to the 
propriety of the 
Welsh becomes 
sometimes Wàrrio, 
E.g. Eu a warriodh 
ei goron. He spent 
his Crown.

30. [English] Yule;  Christ­
mass, Fr. Junius (in 
Lexico suo AS.) vo­
cem Zehul factum 
putat ϰατ΄ έξοχήν à 
Britan. Gwyl, Fe­
stum Feviæ Mr. Ni­
colson. So that Yule 
is originally no­
thing else but Vigi­
liæ, as Mr. Lloyd 
rightly judgeth.

30. [British] Gwìliay,  i­
dem: which ac­
cording to the Welsh 
Syntax is sometimes 
Wiliay. Properly it 
signifies only Holy­
days, and is doubt­
less derived from 
the Latine word Vi­
giliæ.

31. [English] A Fowmart,  
a Polecat. Martes 
is a noted Beast of 
this verminous kind, 






desired for their 
Furs; whence per­
chance the Polecat 
might be denomi­
nated Foumart q. 
Foul mart from its 
stinking smell.

31. [British] Phw'lbart,  i­
dem.

32. [English] Durdom,  noise.

32. [British] Dwrdh,  noise; 
hence Dadwrdh, 
Contention.

33. [English] A Gavelick;  
an Iron crow.
 "gavelick(n)" not found in OED. 

33. [British] Gwiv,  a lea­
ver. Gavel, a Hok.

34. [English] A Middin;  a 
Dunghil.

34. [British] Ming,  Dirt.

35. [English] A Mear;  a 
Lake, From the La­
tine Mare.

35. [British] Mèr,  Water; 
whence Sallow-­
trees are called Mer­
helig h.e. Salices a­
quaticæ.

36. [English] An Elk;  a 
wild Swan.

36. [British] Elkys,  Wild 
Geese.

37. [English] Saime,  which 
we pronounce 
sometimes Seame. 
It signifies not only 
Goose-grease, but 
in general any kind 
of Grease or Sewet 
or Oil, wherewith 
our Clothiers a­
noint or besmear 
their Wool to make 
it run or draw out 
in Spinning. It is 
a general word in 
most Countries.

37. [British] Saim,  Grease, 
of the same Foun­
tain doubtless with 
the Latine word Se­
bum. I should ra­
ther think with the 
Hebrew Shamen 
Pinguèdo. Sevum
not being a general






word for Fat or 
Grease, but proper 
for Tallow or hard 
Fat.

38. [English] Spokes  of a 
Wheel.

38. [British] Yspagay,  Legs, 
used also metapho­
rically for the feet 
of a Stool.

39. [English] A Glaive;  a 
Sword or Bill.

39. [British] Glaìv,  a Bill, 
it is French word.

40. [English] A Riddle;  a 
course Sieve. We 
make a difference 
between a Riddle & 
a Sieve. A Riddle 
is of an oblong fi­
gue, whereas a Sieve 
is round: and a 
Riddle is made of 
round Wickers 
placed longways 
one by another, 
whereas a Sieve is 
made of thin long 
Plates, as it were 
woven together, so 
that the holes of it 
are four-square.

40. [British] Rhidilh,  i­
dem.







A Catalogue of North Country 
Words received from Mr. Tom­
linson of Edmund Hall, a Cum­
berland Gentleman, and com­
municated to me by the same 
Mr. Edward Lloyd.


A Beck,  a Rivulet or small Brook. This 
Word is already entred among the 
Northern words; and noted to be common to 
the ancient Saxon, High and Low Dutch, 
and Danish. It is used not only in the North, 
but in some Southern and Western Coun­
ties; and gives denomination  to some Towns, 
as Welbeck, Sandbeck, Troutbeck.

Bourn or Burn,  a Rivulet or Spring. 
This is also common to some Southern Coun­
ties, and gives denomination to many Towns, 
as Sherburn, Milburn, &c.

Bore-tree,  Elder-tree: from the great 
pith in the younger branches which Chil­
dren commonly bore out to make Pot­
guns of them.






Bracken,  Fern. ab Angl. Break, be­
cause when its moisture is dried up it is 
very brittle. A Brake is an instrument 
to break Flax with, of the same original. 
Break comes from the Saxon Brecan. Brake 
Fern is a general word all England over; 
and better known in this Country [Essex] 
then Fern; indeed the only word in use a­
mong the Vulgar, who understand not Fern. 
Bracken is but the plural of Brake, as Eyn 
of Ey, and Peasen of Pease. &c.
	
Brent-brow,  a steep Hill, Metaph. The 
brow of a Hill, Supercilium, the edge or 
side of a Hill or Precipice.

A Brock,  a Badger. This is a word 
known in most Countries. The Ani­
mal is trionymous, Badger, Brock or 
Gray.

To Coop or Cowp.  To chaffer or ex­
change. It is a Low Dutch word. That 
which is given by the party which hath 
the worst Goods is called boot; as What 
Root will you give me between your old 
Yawd and my Filly? i.e. between your 
old Mare and my young one: ab AS. 
Bot reward or recompense. To boot is used 
frequently in the same sense all England over. 
Boot signifies profit, as in that impersonal 
Verb, It booteth not, It profiteth, helpeth 
or availeth not.






Copt-know,  The top of a Hill rising 
like a Cone or Sugar-Loaf. Copt I 
conceive, comes from Caput, and Know 
or Knolle is the top of a Hill.
 "copt(n)" and "copt-know(n)" not found in OED. 

A Cowdy,  a little Cow, a Scotch Runt 
without Horns, or else with very short 
ones, scarce exceeding a South-Country 
Veal in height:  So that the word is only a 
diminutive of Cow.

A Creil,  a short, stubbed, dwarfish man. 
Northumberland.

A Croft,  a small Close or inclosure, at 
one end whereof a dwelling House with 
a Garth or Kitchin-Garden is usually 
placed: ab AS. Croft, Agellulus. Croft 
for any small Field or inclosure in ge­
neral, without any respect to a Mansion 
House, is common in all Counties of Eng­
land.

Cyphel,  Houseleek.

A Dish-Cradle or Credle,  a wooden U­
tensil for wooden Dishes, much in use in 
the North of England, made usually like 
a Cube or Die, and sometimes like a Pa­
rallelipipedon, long Cube; or Cradle, 
Cumber.

A Dike,  a Ditch, this is only a variety 
of Dialect. Though it seems Dyke and 
Seugh or Sough are distinguished in the 
North, a Dyke being a Ditch to a dry






Hedge, either of Trees or Earth, as in 
arable Lands, where the Ditch is usually 
dry all Summer; but a Sough a Ditch brim­
ful of water, as in Meadows or Sow­
brows are not above 1/2 yard in height. A 
Sough is a subterraneous vault or channel cut 
through a Hill to lay Coal Mines or any other 
Mine dry.

A Dubler or Doubler,  a Platter or Dish. 
Vox per magnam Anglia partem diffusa.

Draffe,  the Grains of Malt, à Belg. 
Draf ejusdem significati. This is a ge­
neral word, signifying not only Grains, but 
Swill, as in those Proverbs, Draffe is good 
enough for Swine, and, The still Sow 
eates up all the Draffe.

A Fowmart,  a Polecat or Fitchet: Brit. 
Ffwlbarth. This is entred in the Col­
lection.

A Gill,  a place hem'd in with two steep 
brows or banks, usually flourishing with 
Brushwood, a rivulet running between 
them. It's entred in the Collection.

A Geose or Grose cree;  a Hut to put 
Geese in.

A Gob,  an open or wide mouth. Hence 
to goble, to swallow greedily, or with 
open mouth. Gob in the South signifies a 
large morsel or bit, so we say a good Gob 
i.e. a good Segment or part. The diminu­






tive whereof is Gobbet; cut into gobbets, 
perchance from the Greek word ϰόπτα,
ϰόμμα.

A Gully;  a large household Knife.

A Gavelock,  an iron Crown, ab AS. 
Gaveloc. catapulta, balista. Already 
entred.

Hadder,  Heath or Ling.

The Hollen,  is a wall about 2 1/2 yards 
high, used in dwelling Houses to secure 
the Family from the blasts of wind, rushing 
in when the heck is open, To this Wall 
on that side next to the Hearth is annex'd 
a Sconce or Skreen of Wood or Stone.

Hen-bawks,  A Hen Roost, from the 
Bawks of which it consists. v. Bawks.

A Knor or Knurre,  a short stubbed 
dwarfish Man. Metaph. from a Knor, 
or Knot in a Tree. In the South we use 
the Diminutive Knurle in the same sense.

A Keil of Hay,  a Cock of Hay.  
Northumberl.

A Losset,  a large flat wooden dish not 
much unlike a Voider.

A Mould warp,  a Mole, Mold in the 
Saxon is dust, in English Mould is used for 
Earth, especially among Gardeners. 
Worpen in Low Dutch is cast forth, 
whence to wort is to cast forth as a 
Mole or Hog doth. This is a word known






all over England, though not in frequent 
use.

A Mell,  a wooden sledge or Beetle, ab
AS, Mell, Crux, from the exact resem­
blance of the Head and Shaft (or handle) 
especially before the upper part of the 
Shaft is cut off, to a Cross. Hence Mel­
deors (or Doors) a passage through a 
dwelling house. For in the North parts 
of England the Houses of those of the in­
ferior sort have a passage through them 
with a Door or Heck on one side into the 
dwelling House, and another on the other 
side into the Byer, where they bind their 
Cows, Oxen, &c. lengthways on each 
side. This Byer hath a Grupe, Groop or 
Fossula in the midst from the Door to 
the other end: so that the Fossula from the 
Door to the other end represents the 
Shaft of a Mell; or the streight Tree 
in a cross, and the passage though the 
House the Head or transvers Tree.

A Porr,  a  Glasier or Plummer, a Sala­
mander.

Pot-cleps,  Pot-hooks, from clip or clap, 
because they clap or catch hold of the 
Pot.

Rud,  a sort of Blood-stone used in 
marking Sheep; from the red colour.






A Riggilt,  a Ram with one Stone. A 
Tup-Hog is a Ram of one year old: a 
Gimmer-hog, an Ewe of the same age. 
A twinter is a Hog two years old.

A Roop,  a Hoarseness: à Cimbrico 
Hroop vel Heroop, vociferatio, by which it 
is frequently contracted.

Smidy,  a Smiths Shop, whence Smidy­
koom. Var. Dial.

A Steg,  a Gander.

To Slam one,  to beat or cuffe one stre­
nuously. A slam or slim Fellow is a 
skragged, tall, rawboned Fellow, the 
length of whose Arms gives him the 
advantage of strinking hard, and there­
fore such are noted for fisty-cuffs; whence 
slam seems to be derived.

Snurles,  Nostrils.

Sower-milk,  Butter-milk. Sower from 
its long standing.

A Swang,  locus paludosus, or part of 
a Pasture overflow'd with water, not 
much unlike a Tarn or Lough, whence 
the Grass by the superfluity of an olea­
ginous moisture degenerates into course 
Piles, which in Summer (most of the 
water being exhal'd) is so interwoven 
with thick mud and slime, and the Piles 
so long and top-heavy, that they embrace 
the surface of the Mud, and compose






a verdure like that of a Meadow.

Swine greun,  a Swines snout, a Dan. 
and Island. Graun Nasus, superius la­
brum. Whence our English word to grin, 
because in grinning the Muscles of the 
upper Lip are contracted.

Tabs,  Childrens hanging sleeves, a 
Tab for a Shooe Latchet is already entred.

Thin-drink,  small Beer, Cerevisia tenu­
is, whence thin is derived. The Low 
Dutch use thick Beer for strong Beer; though 
to say the truth, that they call thick Beer is 
properly so, very thick and muddy.

Wad,  Black lead, Cumberland. See 
Mr. Nicolsons Catalogue.

Walsh or Welsh,  strange, insipid, ab AS. 
Wealh, vel potiùs Teutonico Welsch 
strange: Welsh Potage, strange, insipid 
Potage.

Unleed or Unlead,  a general name for 
any crawling venomous creature; as a 
Toad, &c. It's sometimes ascribed to 
Man, and then it denotes a sly wicked 
fellow, that in a manner creeps to do 
mischief, the very pest of Society. See 
Mr. Nicolsons Catalogue.

A Whinnock or Kit,  a Pail to carry Milk 
in.







Glossarium Northanhymbricum.


A Andorn.  Merenda. AS. Undern­
met, Prandium. Ita & Goth. Un­
daurnimat. Luc. xiv. 12. This is I sup­
pose the same word that is entred Orndorn 
in my Collection.

Arelumes.  V. Heir-lumes.

Arvel-bread.  Silicernium. AS. Arfull, 
Pius, Religious, huc spectare videtur. Ita 
ut Arvel-bread propriè denotet panem 
solenniter magis & Religiosè comestum. 
This Word is also entred in the Collection, 
but there wants the Etymology of it.

Attercop.  Aranea. AS. Attercopa, 
q.d. Animal summè Venenosum. This 
is in the Collection without Etymol.

A Beeld.  Munimentum, à frigoris in­
juriâ. Quid si ab AS. beladian, Excusare, 
Liberare?

A Bispel.  Nequam. q.d. Qui adeò 
insignis est Nebulo ut jam in proverbium 
abiit. AS. bigspel & Bispel, Parabola, 
Proverbium. Matth. xxi. 33.






Blake.  Color subniger. AS. bleac. Hinc 
cognomen, apud Nostrates frequens, 
Blakelock; vox ejusdem ferè valoris cum 
nobili fairfaxiorum cognomine. Videtur 
esse variatio duntaxat Dialecti pro Black.

To Blin.  Cessare. AS. ablinnan. & 
blinnan; sine augmento initiali. Chau­
cero, Blin.

Brott.  Frumenti analecta. AS. gebrote, 
Fragmenta. Luc. ix. 17. & Matt. xv. 37.
 "brott(n)" not found in OED. 

Bummle-Kytes.  Vaccinia. Rubum 
Saxonis vocârunt beig-beam, i.e. Tribu­
lum majorem. Est autem cyþ, vel cið, 
minatio.
 "bummle-kyte(n)" not found in OED. 

A Cawel.  Chors. AS. Ca&wyn;el, Calathus, 
Qualus.

A Chibe.  Cepa. AS. Cipe.

To Click.  Arripere. AS. gelæcean.

Copt.  Superbus, Fastuosus. AS. coppe, 
Apex, Fastigium. Unde copest, Sum­
mus.
 "copt(n)" not found in OED. 

A Cowshot.  Palumbus. AS. cusceote.

To Crune.  Mugire. Fortè à Saxonico 
Runian, Susurrare, Mussilare.

Quæ in C desiderantur Quære in K.

To Deeght.  Extergere, mundare. AS.
dihtan, Parare, Disponere. dihtan an 
ærend ge&wyn;rit. Nobis, to indite a Letter.

A Dobby.  Stultus, Fatuus. AS. dobgend, 
senex decrepitus & delirans.






To Dree.  Perdurare. AS. adreogan
Pati.

Druvy.  Limosus. AS. gedræfed wæ
ter, Aqua turbata. Chaucero, drovi.

Eeth.  Facilis. AS. Eað & eaþelic. 
Matt. xix. 26. Chaucero, Eith & Eth.

To Fang.  Apprehendere. AS. fangan. 
Belgis, vanghen.

To Faw.  i. Fang. AS. fon. Gothicè, 
Fahan. Islandis, faa.
 "faw(v)" not found in OED. 

A Fell.  Mons. Plura, πεϱί του φελλέωϛ, 
Vide apud Scholiasten in Aristoph. in 
Nubibus, Act. I. Scen. I. Quæ transcripsit 
ferè Suidas in voce φελλά.

Foor-days.  Die declinante. AS. forð­
dages. Et forðnihtes Nocte longè pro­
vectâ.

To Found.  Idem quod Fettle. AS. fun­
dian.

Garn-Windles.  Harpedone, Rhombus. 
AS. gear-&wyn;indel. Quod à gearn Pensa, 
Stamen; & &wyn;indan, torquere.

To Geall.  Dolere. Vox propriè de do­
lore ex nimio frigore dr. Fortè à Saxonico 
geallan, Intertrigere, to gall.

Giverous.  Avidus. AS. gifer. Luc. xvi. 
14. Quam vocem à Græco ϰίχισμα petit 
M. Casaub. Tract. De 4&#00B0;. Ling. p.212.

To Gloom.  Vultu esse severiori. AS. 
glommung, Crepusculum; nostratibus,






the glomeing. Ita ut to gloom aptè re­
spondet Latino frontem obnubilare: In 
the South we use gloom or glum fre­
quently as an Adjective for tetricus, vul­
tu tristi.

A Gobstick.  Cochleare. F. Junius (in 
Gloll. Goth. p. 318.) testatur se quondam 
in illo tractu Hollandiæ ubi, &c. ineidisse in 
Rusticas aliquot familias quibus cochlear quo­
tidiano Sermone gaepstock dicebatur. Goth. 
Stika est Calix. AS. sticce Cochlear; & 
sticce bacillus. Vox gob est ab AS. geapan 
pandere to gape. Unde gap, pro diru­
ptione sepis.

A Gote.  Comma. A flood gate. AS. 
geotan t ageotan, Fundere. Goth: Giu­
tan. Belgis, gieten.

A Gouk.  Cuculus, Avis. AS. gæce t 
gaec. Danis, gôg.

A Grupe.  Latina. AS. græp, grep & 
groepe. Kiliano, grippe. Goth: Grobos, 
foveas. Matt. viii. 20.

A Hackin.  Lucanica. AS. gehaccod 
flesc, Farcimen; & gehæcca, farcimen­
tum.

Hand festing.  Contractur Matrimonia­
lis. Danis, festenol J. Is. Pontan. Chor. 
Dan. Descr. p. 799.

Harnes.  Cerebrum. Goth: Thairn. 
Danis. Hierne. Sicanibris; hern vel hirn.






Omnia hæc facillimè à Græco ϰράνιογ. V. 
M. Casaub. de 4&#00B0;. Ling. p. 170. This 
word is entred in the Collection, but no ac­
count given of its Etymology.

To Herry.  Spoliare. AS. herian t her­
gian. P. Julius derivari vult ab αίϱω, Tol­
lo, Aufero.

Hoven bread.  Zymites. Matt. xiii. 33. 
oð he wæs eall ahafeh. i. e. Osque dum 
fermentarertur tota. Hoven is the Preter­
perfect tense of heave, we use it for what 
is unduly raised as heven cheese, &c.

A Hull.  Hara. AS. hnuthula, Cul­
leola tegens nucem. Erat etiam hulc pro­
avis nostris Tugurium: quod contractè 
dictum putat F. Junius ab ϋλιϰοϛ Materialis. 
Goth. Hulgan est Velare, tegere. Islandis, 
eg hil tego.

Ilkin.  Quilibet. AS. ælc. Chaucero, Ilk.

A Karl.  Rusticus, vir Robustus. Chau­
cero, Carl. AS. ceorl. mas (unde no­
strates dicunt Karl cat pro Fele masculo 
& Karl-hemp pro Cannabo majori vel 
masculo) It. vir fortis robustus, strenuus. 
Unde hus-ceorl, æcer-ceorl, ge eorlice
ge cerlice, &c. Belgis, kaerle.

To Kenn.  Scire. Chaucero, to ken; 
&, ,kende, notus. AS. cunnan. Goth. 
Kunnan. Germanis, kennen. Danis, ki­
ende. Islandis, kunna. Belgis, kennen.






This Word is of general use, but not very 
common though not unknown to the Vulgar. 
Ken for prospicere is well known and used, 
to discover by the Eye.

To Kep.  Apprendere. to catch falling. 
AS. cepan, captare. he cept &wyn;oruldlicre
heyung. i. mundanam captavit laudem.

A Kyte.  Venter, Uterus. Fortè à 
Græco ϰύτοϛ, εος, τό. Ventricosa cavitas. 
Est & ϰύτοϛ (apud Aristot. in Hist. Animal.) 
Insectorum truncus.

The Láve.  Reliquis. AS. laf & lafe. 
laf etiam est vidua; ut nobis hodiè Relict. 
This is entred in the Collection but without 
Etymology. Those that are left, from 
leave.
 
A Lavroc.  Alauda. AS. laferc. lauerc. lauerc. 
la&wyn;erc. Lark is but this word contracted.

To Lether.  AS. hleoðrian est Tonare. 
Dicunt autem Nostrates de Equis cursitan­
tibus. They lether it: sicus Australiores. 
They thunder it.

A Leikin.  Amasius, vel Amasia. Goth. 
Leikan est Placere. AS. lician. Cimbris, 
Arliika. Anglis Australioribus to like: no­
stratibus, to leik, &c. Et fallor si non ali­
qua sit cum his affinitas in Latinorum Di­
ligo, negligo, &c. à Lego. Præsertim 
cum probabile sit verbum LEGO anti­
quitùs cum C, LECO, scriptum suisse.






Sicut LECE pro LEGE, LECION pro 
LEGION, non semel in vett. Monu­
mentis.

Liethwake.  Agilis AS. liþe&wyn;ac est 
Tractabilis; & unliþe&wyn;ac, Intractabilis. 
A liþ (Goth. Litha) Membrum; & &wyn;ace, 
lentus, flexilis. Chaucero, lithi & lethy, 
mansuetus. This word is also entred in the 
Collection, but no account of it: I should ra­
ther take it to come from lith, i. e. limber, 
pliable, &c. and wake a termination.
 "liethwake(a)" not found in OED.  

Liever.  Potius. Chaucero, Lever & 
liver. AS. leofer & leoffe. V. Ælfr. de 
vet. test. p. 23. & 40. Ubi Interpres, 
Leyfer & leiver.  Lieve or lief is of fre­
quent use all England over, in this expression, 
I had as lief, i.e. Æque vellem.

To Lithe.  Auscultare. Chaucero, 
Lithe. Fortè à Sax. hliðe, Tranquillus, 
Quietus.

A Luve.  Vola. Cimbris, Luvana sunt 
volæ manuum. Gothicè etiam Lofam 
Saohun ina. i.e. Alapis cædebant eum. 
Marc. xiv. 65.

To Mäle.  Decolorare. AS. mæl & mal, 
macula. Goth. Melgan est Scribere. 
Vide plura apud Cl. F. Jun. in Append. 
ad Gloss. Goth. p. 428. It. Observat. in 
Willeram. p. 69. Est & Cambro-Britan­
is magl, macula: quæ tamen vox fortè à 
Romanis mutuata. 






Mallison.  q. d. Malediction. V. Ben­
nison.

Mense.  Έυτραπελία. Good manners. 
AS. mennisc,  Humanus. Unde men­
nisclice, Humaniter; & menniscnys, 
Humanitas. The Adjective menseful is 
entred in the Collection.

Moam,  vel Maum. Maturo-mitis. mel­
low. In agro Oxoniensi lapidem inve­
nies friabilem & frigoris impatientem, 
quem maum vocant Indigenæ. V. D. Plott 
Hist. Nat. Com. Oxon. p. 69.

Murk.  Tenebricosus, obscurus. AS. 
myrce. Danis, morcker Tenebræ. 
Chaucero, merck. 

To Nate or Note.  Uti. AS. notian. 
Cimbris, Niutt. Belgis, nutten. Chauce­
ro, note, usus.

A Nedder.  Coluber, Anguis. AS. 
Næddre. Matt. iii. 7. Chaucero, Ned­
ders pro Adders.

Oumer.  Umbra. Unde f. originem 
habet. Vide Umbra in Cl. Vossi Ety­
mol. Ling. Lat.

A Parrock.  Septum, prope domum. 
AS. Pearroc & pearruc, Saltus septum. 
Unde vox hodierna Park. V. etiam Cl. 
Vossii Etymol. in Parochi. Est enim & 
hoc παρά τώ οτϰώ.






To Read.  Consilium dare. Huc ref. 
dictum illud proverbiale apud Chauce­
rum:

Men may the old outrun, but not outrede.

Ut & apud Matth. Paris, in nar­
randâ cæde Walteri Ep. Dunelm. ad An. 
1077. Short red, good red, slea ye the 
Byshoppe. AS. rad vel ræd Germanis, 
rust. Belgis, Ræd. Hinc Redniss-Hall 
Carleoli. Inde etiam nomina propria 
non pauca apud priscos Alamannos, nós­
que hodiè (qualia sunt Radegund, Ra­
dulf sive Ralph, &c.) ortum habuêre. 
De quibus plura, apud R. Verstegan. Cl. 
Schottelium; Cambdenum, in Reliq. & 
F. Junium in notis ad Willeramum. 
p. 151.

Rideing.  Three Yorkshire Rideings. 
i. Tres Comitatûs Eboracensis Districtus 
sic dicti. Fortè a voce AS. ðrihing, ejus­
dem valoris. V. Not. in Vit. Ælfr. R. 
p. 74.

To Ripe.  Diligentiùs inquirere, inve­
stigare. AS. hripan.

To Rûze.  Abblandiri. Danis, Roes­
glede, Jactantia.

Same.  Pinguedo. AS. seime. Hinc f. 
sic dictum, quòd Pinguedo immensi sit 
instar Oneris. Seame enim propiè est 
Onus, sarcina. Latino-Barbaris, Sauma.






Græcis, σάγμχ. This is a general word for 
Oil or Grease to anoint wood withal to make 
it draw out in Spinning. Forte ab Hebr. 
Shamen Pinguedo.

A Scaw.  Ficus. AS. sco.
 Sense of "scaw(n)" not found in OED. 

Scarn.  Stercus bovinum, vel vaccinum. 
AS. scearn. Hincque Scarabæus AS. 
scearn&wyn;ibba; Kiliano, Schearnwever. Et
quidem (sit conjecturæ venia) videor 
mihi non minima in voce Scarabæus vo­
cabuli nostri Skarn vestigia decernere. 
Quàm apposite enim redderent nostrates, 
A Skarn-bee?

A Scemmel.  Scamnum. AS. scamul, 
scæmol & scamol. Matth. v. 35. Unde 
vox hodierna Shambles. Occurrit & a­
pud Latinos aliquoties Scamellum pro 
Scabellum: & Scamillus apud Apuleium 
& Vitruvium.

Scug.  Umbra. AS. scua.

Segg'd.  Callo obductus. AS. secg, 
Callus.

A Shoe-whang.  Corrigia. AS. sceo­
ð&wyn;ang.

A Slott.  Pessulus. Lipsio, inter voces 
vett. Germanicas, Sclott est Sera. In the 
South we have some footsteps of this word, 
for we say to slit a lock i.e. to thrust back 
the bolt without a Key.






Snod.   Lævis, Æquus sine nodo AS. 
snidan & gesnidan, Dolare. Belgis, 
Smiden. Willeramo, Snidan & Snithan.

A Snude.  Vitta. AS. snod. Occurrit 
& apud Somnerum, fnæd pro snæde. 
Sicut & fnæstan pro snæstan; &c.

Sool.  Obsonium, Pulmentarium. AS. 
sufle & sufol. Joh. xxi. 5.

A Spelck.  Fascia. AS. spelc. Kiliano, 
Spalcke. Pastoral. xvii. 9. ðæt sceap 
ðær þær scancforad &wyn;æs ne spilcte ge 
ðet i. Exponente F. Junio, ovem cujus 
crus fractum erat non alligâstis.

A Stiddy.  Incus. Doctiss. Joh. Raius­
vocem petit ab AS. stið, Rigidus, Du­
rus. Millem tamen à steadig (hodie 
Steady) Stabilis, firmus.

A Stoop.  Cadus. AS. stoppa. Belgis, 
Stoop.

To Storken.  Gelu adstringi. Videtur 
non minimam habere affinitatem cum 
Gothico illo Gastaurkny quod occurrie 
Marc. ix. 18. pro ξηραίνέται. Novimus au­
tem ξηραίεθαι apud Hippocratem, Aliós­
que, non Arescere solummodò sed & 
Gelu constringi denotare. It seems to me 
to be derived from stark, stiff, rigid.

To Streek.  Expandere. AS. strecan.

To Swelt.  Deficere. To Sownd. AS. 
as&wyn;eltan, mori. Goth. Swiltan Chaucero 
Swelt, Deficiens.






To Threep.  Vehementiùs affirmare. 
AS. ðreapian, Redarguere, Increpare. 
Chaucero, threpe. This is entred in the 
Collection, but not in the sence of vehement 
affirming, in which yet, it is used even in the 
South: in that common phrase, He threap'd 
me down.

To Torfett.  Mori. AS. mit stanum 
torfian. Ad mortem Lapidare. Vide 
T. Mareschalli Observat. in Evang. Anglo-­
Sax. p.546.
 "torfett(v)" not found in OED. 

Unlead.  Nomen Opprobrii. Quidsi 
ab un particulâ privativâ & lædan, legem 
ferre? Adeò ut vox unlead propriè sit 
exlex. Goth. Unleds, Mendicus, Pau­
per.

Unsel.  Nomen (item) opprobriosum. 
Goth. Sel est bonus; Unsel, malus. AS. 
unsælig, Infœlix, Chaucero Seliness, Fœli­
citas.

Wad.  Oleastrense; Nigrica fabrilis 
Doct. Merret; Aliis, pnigitis. Black lead. 
AS. &wyn;id, Sandyx.

To Warp.  Ovum parere. ab AS. a&wyn;ir­
pan, Ejicere. V. Mould-warp.

A Wath.  Vadum. AS. &wyn;ad. quod à 
&wyn;adin, Transire. Kiliano, wadden & 
waeden. V. Vossii Etymol. in voce Vado, 
& Vadum.






To Weat.  Scire. AS. &wyn;ætan: Ps. 50.7. 
Chaucero, wate; & wete, scit. It seems 
to differ from Wote only in Dialect.

To Weell.  Eligere. Germanis, Welen. 
Belgis vet. waele (& Danis hodiernis, 
Vaal) Electio. Vide Cl. F. Junii Gloss. 
Goth. in voce Walgan.
 "weell(v)" not found in OED. 

Wellaway.  Heu! AS. &wyn;ala&wyn;a.

A Whang.  Lorum. AS. ð&wyn;ang. V. 
Shoe-whang.

Whilk.  Quis, Quid, Utrum. Chauce­
ro whilk. AS. h&wyn;ilc. Goth. Theleiks. 
Danis, huilk. Belgis, welk. Scotis, 
quilck.

A Whûne.  Pauci. AS. h&wyn;æn & h&wyn;on, 
Aliquantum. At &wyn;yrcende h&wyn;on, Ope­
rarii pauci in Codd. Rush. & Cott. Luc.
x. 2. & rursus h&wyn;on gecoreno, Pauci ele­
cti: Matt. xxii. 14. Germanis, Wrinyr.
 "whune(a)" not found in OED. 

A Whye.  Juvenca. Danis hodiernis & 
Scotis, Quie.

Wunsome.  Comptus, Juncundus. AS. 
&wyn;insum. Willeramo, wunne est gaudium. 
Kiliano, wonne. Et certè Nostratibus, 
a wun to See, est, Visu jucundum.

Yeable-Sea.  Forte, Forsitan. Vox
yeable manisfestò orta est à Saxonico 
geable, Potens. Et proinde yeable-Sea 
sonat ad verbum, Potest ita se habere. Sco­
tis. Able Sea. It may be so.
 "yeable-sea(n)" not found in OED. 






A Yeather.  Vimen. Eodor-bryce in 
LL. Sax. Sepis fractio. We in the South 
use this word in hedges. Eathering of 
hedges being binding the tops of them with 
small sticks as it were wooven on the 
stakes.







AN 
Account of some Errors and Defects 
in our English Alphabet, Ortho­
graphy, and Manner of Spelling.


Having lately had occasion to 
consider our English Alphabet, 
Orthography, and manner of 
Spelling, I observed therein many Er­
rors and Omissions. Those that concern 
the Alphabet I find noted and rectified 
by the right Reverend Father in God, 
and my honored Friend John, late Lord 
Bishop of Chester in his Book intituled, 
An Essay toward an universal Character, 
&c. p. 3. c. 10. Which, because that 
Work is not every man's hand, I shall 
together with my own Observations and 
Animadversions upon our Orthography, 
and manner of Spelling, here exhibit to 
the Reader. I could wish they were cor­
rected, as giving offence to strangers, and






causing trouble and confusion both to the 
Teachers and Learners to read; but I see 
little reason to hope they ever will be, so 
great is the force of general and inve­
terate use and practice.

 I know what is pleaded in defence of 
our present Orthography, viz. that in 
this manner of Writing, the Etymologies 
and Derivations of Words appear, which 
if we should write according as we pro­
nounce, would not so easily be discerned. 
To which I answer, That the Learned 
would easily observe them notwithstand­
ing, and as for the vulgar and illiterate it 
is all one to them, they can take no no­
tice of such things.

First then as to our English Alphabet, I 
have observed it to be faulty. I. In the 
Number. 2. In the Power and Valor of 
the Letters.

As to the number of Letters it is pec­
cant both in the defect, and in the excess. 
That is to say, It wants some Letters 
that are are necessary, and contains some 
that are superfluous.

I. It wants some that are necessary, 
both Vowels and Consonants.

First, Vowels, and of those it wants 
three.






1. It wants a Letter to express the  
sound we give to a in the words Hall 
shall, wall, and the like; and to o in the 
words God, Rod, Horn, and innumerable 
the like, it being the same sound with the 
former. This is supposed to be the power 
or sound which the ancient Greeks gave 
to the Letter Alpha or α; and therefore the 
Bishop of Chester would have the Cha­
racter α used to signifie this Vowel.

2. It wants a Letter to signifie the sound 
we give to oo or double o, as in good, stood, 
look, loose, and in whatever other words 
it is used. For that this is a simple Vowel 
is manifest, in that the entire sound of it 
may be continued as long as you please; 
which is the only certain Note of Distin­
ction between a simple Vowel and a 
Diphthong. This the Bishop of Chester 
expresses by the Character Ȣ, which is u­
sed in Greek for ου Diphthong, as also the 
French ou is pronounced in the sound of 
this simple Vowel.

3. It wants a Letter to denote the 
sound we give to the Vowel u in us, um, 
&c. which is manifestly different from 
what we attribute to it in the words use, 
muse, fume, &c. This Vowel, as the Bi­
shop well observes, is wholly guttural






and comes near to the sound we make in 
groaning, As for the Letter u in use, 
muse. &c. my Lord of Chester would have 
it to be a Diphthong, and the Vowel 
which terminates the Diphthong, or the 
Subjunctive Vowel to be oo, wherein I 
cannot agree with him, the Subjunctive 
Vowel seeming to me rather to be the 
French or whistling u, there seeming to 
me to be a manifest difference between 
Luke and Look, Luce and Loose, and that 
there is nothing of the sound of the latter 
in the former.

Secondly, it wants Consonants, and 
of those four.

1. A Letter to express the sound we 
give to V Consonant, which is nothing 
else but B aspirated or incrassated or Bh. 
For tho we distinguish v Consonant from 
u Vowel, and attribute to it the power 
of B incrassated, yet do we not make it 
a distinct Letter as we ought to do. The 
power of this Letter was first expressed 
among the Latines by the Digamma Æo­
licum (so stiled for its Figure, not its 
sound) which is now the Character for 
the Letter F, but had at first the power 
of the Consonant V, and was written in 
Claudius his time invertedly, as DIFAI, 
AMPLIAFIT. Bishop Chester.






2. A Character to express D aspirated 
or incrassated, or Dh. For that this is a 
distinct Letter from Th, tho we confound
them, making Th serve for both, is ma­
nifest by these Examples.

Dh.

The, this, there, then, that, thou, 
thine, those, tho, &c.

Father, Mother, Brother, &c.

Smooth, seeth, wreath, bequeath.

Th.

Thank, Thesis, thick, thin, thistle, 
thrive, thrust.

Death, doth, both, broth, wrath, &c.

Of this Difference our Saxon Ance­
stors were aware, and therefore made pro­
vision for both in their Alphabet. Dh they 
represented by ð, as in Faðer, Moðer, 
&c. Tb by þ, as in þeif, þick, &c.

3. A Letter to denote T incrassated, or 
the Greek ϴ, which we express by Th. 
That these three last mentioned are sim­
ple Letters, and therefore ought to be 
provided for in the Alphabet by distinct 
Characters appears in that the sound of 
them (for they are sonorous) may be






continued. 2. By the Confession of the 
Composers of our Alphabet; for they 
make F a simple Letter, and give it a 
several Character, which differs no more 
from Ph, than V doth from Bh, ð from 
Dh, or þ from Th. 3. By the consent 
of the Composers of other Alphabets. 
The Greeks and Hebrews making Th a 
simple Letter, and giving it a Character, 
and the Saxons both Dh and Th.

5. A Character to express Sh, which is 
the same with the Hebrew Schin, and may 
be proved to be a simple Letter by the 
foregoing Reasons.

II. Our English Alphabet contains some 
Letters that are superfluous: five in num­
ber.

1. C, which if we use it in its proper 
power (as we ought to do) differs not 
at all from K, and therefore the one or 
the other must needs be superfluous.

2. Q, which is by general consent 
granted and agreed to be nothing else but 
Cu. And therefore many Writers, and 
among the rest no less a Critick than 
Mr. Gataker omits the u after it, as be­
ing involved in it, writing instead of 
quis, quid, quam, &c. qis, qid, qam. But 
the Bishop of Chester, who more nicely 
and curiously considered it, finds the Let­






ter involved in Q to be oo not u, to whom 
I do fully assent.

3. W, which is nothing else but the 
Letter oo rapidly pronounced. This the 
Greeks were sensible of, for instead of 
the Dutch Word Wandals, they wrote 
΄Ουάνδαλοι· and we noted before that the 
Greeks pronounced their Diphthong Ȣ 
as we do oo.

4. X is confessedly nothing but the 
Letters CS, and therefore tho it may be 
retained as a Compendium of Writing, yet is 
it by no means to be accounted a distinct 
Letter, or allowed any place in the Al­
phabet.

Y, Tho it be by some esteemed a Con­
sonant, when placed before a Vowel, yet 
is it not so, but only the Greek Iota, or 
our ee rapidly pronounced, as we said 
before of W. When it is accounted a 
Vowel as in my, thy, it differs not at all 
from what we call i long in mine, thine.

Now I come to shew that our Alpha­
bet is faulty as to the powers or valors at­
tributed to some Letters.

1. To C before e and i we give the 
power of s, before the rest of the Vowels 
of K, which is a great offence and 
stumbling block to Children, who are apt 
(as they have good reason) to pronounce






it alike before all Letters. So my own 
Children have, I remember, in the word 
accept, for example, pronounced the se­
cond c as if it had been a k, as if the 
word had been written akkept, and I was 
forced to grant them, that they were in
the right, but only they must follow 
the received Pronunciation.

2. To g before e and i we give the 
same power we do to J Consonant, that 
is Dzy, as I shall shew afterward, as in 
Gender, Ginger, Gibbet, and which is 
worse, that not constantly neither, for 
in geld, gild, gird, &c. we pronounce it as 
we do before the rest of the Vowels, 
which doth and must needs breed trouble 
and confusion to Children.

3. To that we call J Consonant we at­
tribute a strange power, which no Child 
can imagine to belong to it: which the 
Bishop of Chester hath rightly determined 
to be Dzy. That D is an ingredient into it 
Children do easily discern; for bid a 
young Child, that begins to speak, say 
John, it will say Don.

4. To the Vowel I we give two powers; 
where it is pronounced short, that of Iota 
or ee, as in thin, thick, fill, and innu­
merable others: but elsewhere of a 
Diphthong, as in thine, mine, and in the






last syllable of all other words to which e 
is added after the Consonant. It is the 
received opinion that e is there a Note of 
Production, signifying that the Letter i is 
there to be pronounced long: but I say it signi­
fies that the Character i is there to be 
pronounced as a Diphthong. That it is 
a Diphthong is clear, because in pro­
nouncing of it you cannot continue the 
entire sound, but must needs terminate 
in iota or ee. What is the prepositive 
Letter in this Diphthong is doubtful; 
one that did not curiously observe it, 
would think it to be e, but the Bishop 
of Chester will have it to be u as pro­
nounced in us. Children take notice of 
this difference between i when pronoun­
ced as a Diphthong, and when as iota. 
One of my Children in all words wherein 
it is to be pronounced as a Diphthong, pro­
nounced it as simple iota or ee. As for 
mine, thine, like, bile, it pronounced 
meen, theen, leek, beel, and so in all o­
thers of that nature; the Child, it should 
seem, finding it more facil to pronounce 
the single Vowel, not being able to frame 
its mouth to pronounce the Diphthong.

5. To the Vowel A we give two 
powers. 1. That of the Greek Alpha in 
Hall, Wall, &c. as we noted before.






2. That of the Latine A in Hat, that, 
man, bran, &c.

6. To the Vowel O we give three 
powers: 1. That of the Greek Alpha in 
God, rod, hot, &c. 2. That of the Let­
ter oo in Hood, stood, book, &c. 3. The 
power usually attributed to it in other 
Languages, as in Hole, home, stone, &c.

7. To the Vowel u we also give two 
powers, as appears in us and use. Where­
of the first is a simple Letter, but the se­
cond a Diphthong, as was noted before.

8. To ch we give a strange power or 
sound, which the Bishop of Chester right­
ly determines to be Tsh. This young 
Children perceive: for bid them pro­
nounce Church, some shall pronounce it 
Tursh, and some Shursh, the former ob­
serving the Letter T in it, and the latter 
the Letter Sh. Whence it appears that 
the true Writing of it is Tshurtsh.

9. In all words where w is put before 
h, as in what, which, when, &c. it is 
evident by the pronunciation, that the 
h ought to be put before the w; and the 
words written Hwen or Hooen, hooitsh, 
hooat, &c. So our Saxon Ancestors were 
wont to place it. Which manner of Wri­
ting I cannot but wonder how it came 
to be changed for the worse.






If all these Faults were amended, viz. 
the superfluous Letters cut off, the want­
ing supplied, and to every Letter his pro­
per power attributed, spelling would be 
much more regular, uniform and easie.

I come now to make some further Ani­
madversions upon our Orthography and 
manner of Spelling.

The Grammarians have a Rule, that 
in spelling and dividing words by Syllables 
where-ever the is a Consonant or two 
before a Vowel, the Syllable must be be­
gun with the Consonant. Against this 
Rule I would put in two Exceptions.

1. In compound words I would have 
the Preposition in Spelling, and dividing 
the Syllables, to be separated from the 
radical word. As for example, I would 
have spelled Ab-use, not A-buse; Ab-rogate, 
not A-brogate; Dis-turb, not Di-sturb; 
Dis-trust, not Di-strust, and the like.

2. In words formed from Verbs for 
Tenses, Persons, or Participles, by a sylla­
bical Adjection, I think it proper, that 
the Syllable that is added, should, in 
spelling and dividing the word be sepa­
rated from the radical verb. For exam­
ple, I would have it spelled lov-ed, not 
lo-ved; hat-ed, not ha-ted, &c. This I 
think most rational and convenient.






1. To distinguish these Adjections from 
the radical Verb. 2. Because we separate 
them thus in pronunciation, as appears 
most evidently in words that end in Li­
quids, and therefore in such we double 
the Liquid rather than so divide the word. 
As for example, rather than spell and 
divide the word swimmeth thus swi-meth 
in our Orthography we double the m,
writing swim-meth; the like might be 
said of trimmeth, drummeth, in which last 
there is no more reason the m should be 
doubled than in the word cometh. This, 
I confess, seems not so convenient in 
words that end in a Mute and Liquid, 
such as are handle, tremble, spittle; yet 
may the Analogy be well enough observed 
even in them.

3. I disapprove the adding the Letter 
e to the ends of words to signifie the 
production of the last Syllable, as to mate 
to distinguish it from mat, smoke from 
smock, mine from min, shine from shin, &c. 
This is a great offence to Strangers and 
Children, who in such words are apt 
(as they have good reason) to make two 
Syllables of one, and to spell and pro­
nounce ma-te, smo-ke, thi-ne, people. The 
production of a Syllable ought to be 
signified by Mark over the Vowel to be






produced thus, e, q, &c. But where e is 
added to a Syllable compounded with 
i it signifies not as is vulgarly thought, 
that i is to be produced, but that it stands 
for a Diphthong; as we have before 
noted. The same is to be spoken against 
the adding of a to signifie the pronouncing 
of a Vowel, as in great, beat, stroak, 
broad, beat; which, as we said just now, 
ought to be signified by a stroak over 
the Vowel to be produced, thus br&#014D;d, 
grqt, bqd, bqt, &c.

In Adjectives that end in a Mute and 
a Liquid, v. g. ble. tle. &c. I think it 
were convenient that the e were left out, 
which troubles Children and Strangers in 
spelling and reading our Language, they 
in such words making two Syllables of 
one; for example, reading instead of 
probable, pro-ba-ble, pronouncing ble as we 
do in ble-mish. I say two Syllables of 
one, for probable I make consist but of two
Syllables thus pro-babl, brittl but of one, 
con-tem-ptibl but of there. A Mute and 
Liquid joyn'd together without a Vowel 
having an imperfect sound. So we see 
they who write words of the Mexican 
Language ending in tl, of which they 
having many, put no e after the l, as Me­
caxochitl, Achiotl, &c.






5. Nouns that end in tion are a great 
stumbling block to Children, who (as they 
ought) give the same power to t in 
these as they do in other words, that is, 
its proper power, as in tied; and there­
fore all these words ought to be written 
with si, as they are pronounced, and as 
School-masters are forced to teach their 
Scholars to pronounce ti in them.

6. We write gracious, righteous, grie­
vous, and a multitude of like words with 
the Diphthong ou, but pronounce them as 
if they were written with a single u, gra­
cius, righteus, grievus: We never pro­
nounce ous in these words as we do in 
house, mouse, &c. The like may be said 
of our in honour, oratour, auditour, credi­
tour, &c.

7. In the words neck, sick, sack, lock, 
muck, and all which we write with ck, 
either the c or the k is  altogether super­
fluous: for in pronouncing I challenge 
any man to shew me a difference between 
neck and nec, sick and sic, &c.

8. The spelling of blood, flood, &c. is 
erroneous; they ought to be written 
blud, flud, &c. for we never pronounce 
these words as we do mood, neither as we 
do proud.






I might also find fault with the spell­
ing of friend, fiend, believe, grieve, and 
others of like nature, which I think were 
better written with a single i short or 
long.

I might also note many false spellings 
in particular words, as tongue for tung, 
she for shee, scituàte for situate, which is 
but lately come up, and hath no ap­
pearance of reason, the Latine Word be­
ing situs without any c. Scent for Sent, 
signifying a smell or savour, which Wri­
ting is also but lately introduced, and 
hath no more ground than the former, 
the Latin Word from whence it comes 
being sentio.

Lastly, I would have gh quite cashier­
ed, we not knowing what sound our 
Ancestors gave it. Sometimes we pro­
nounce it as a double F, as in laugh, 
trough, cough, and therefore in such 
words F ought to be substituted instead 
of it: in others only as an h or simple 
aspiration, as in through, which there­
fore may be written throuh. In others 
as right, might, bright, light, (as we now 
pronounce them) it is altogether super­
fluous, and may be omitted; for who in






pronouncing doth, or in hearing pro­
nounced can distinguish between right 
and a rite for a Custom or Ceremony; 
and might and a mite in a Cheese, so in 
plough, for which therefore plow is now 
accepted.






POSTSCRIPT.

I Have this day sent you by the Car­
rier my Collection of Local Words, 
augmented almost by the one half, 
wherein I have inserted out of the Cata­
logue you were pleased to send me, 1. All 
suck as I took not to be of general use. 
For I intend not this Book to be a general 
English Glossary; (of which sort there are 
many already extant,) but only, as the 
Title imports, a Catalogue of such as 
are proper to some Countries and not 
universally known or used.

2. I have omitted also such as are names 
of some Utensils or Instruments, or 
Terms belonging to particular Trades 
and Arts.

And 3. Words newly Coined about 
London, which will soon be diffused all 
England over.

Of the first sort are Bonny, Sedge, 
whereof you may remember they have 
Faggots  at Cambridge, using it for the 
kindling of Coal-fires. Muck, Marry,






Cricket, Soss, Bang. A Toper and 
Toping, Buck and Bucking, a Wag, 
Blend, Blink, Brickle , which I take to 
come from break, signifying any thing 
apt to break. Sod  is also used for Turf 
in most places where I have been, so is 
Wood  a known word for mad, and is in 
the usual metrical Translation of the 
Psalms.


Some Observations made and communi­
cated by Mr. Francis Brokesby, 
concerning the Dialect, and various 
Pronunciation of Words in the East 
Riding of Yorkshire.


1. Many words are varied by chang­
ing o into a: though I question 
whether our Yorkshire Pronunciation be 
not the most ancient. So for both we 
Pronounce bath: for bone, bane; for work, 
wark; hence Newark, Southwark, &c. 
for more, mare; as mickle mare, much 
more; for home, hame; hence all the 
Towns ending in ham, as Wickham, Ful­
ham, Stretham, &c. hamely for homely; 
for worse, warse and war; for stone, stane






unde Stanton; q. Stony Town, Stanford, 
Stanemore, &c. So for Wo is me, Wa's 
me Οϊμοι. So Barns Children is Borns, de­
rived from Bear; exactly answering to 
the Latin nati. For Knapweed, Knop­
weed, because of the knops at the top.

2. In many words we leave out the 
aspirate, both at the beginning, and at 
the latter end. So for Chaffe, they say 
Caffe; for Churn, Kern; and thence Kern­
milk,  is Butter-milk; for Chest, Kist; 
near the Latin Cista: for Lath, Lat; for 
Bench, Binck: for Pitch, Pick; for Thatch, 
Thack; Thatcher, Theaker; for Church, 
Kyrk; near Κυριαϰόν.

3. In many words we change ol and 
oul into au; as for cold the say caud; 
for old, aud; thence Audley, as much as 
to say Old Town; for Elder, Auder; 
or as we write Alder; thence Alderman,  
a Senator; for Wolds or Woulds,  Wauds; 
thus the ridge of Hills in the East, and 
part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, 
[our Apennine] is called: and sometimes 
the Country adjoyning is called the 
Wauds. But that which lies under the 
Hills, especially down by Humber and 
Ouse side, towards Howden, is called by






the Country-people the Lowths,  i.e. The 
low Country in contradistinction to the 
Wauds. Though some call the East-­
Riding besides Holderness, and in distincti­
on from it the Woulds.

4. In some words for oo we Pronounce 
eu, as ceul, Feul, eneuf; for cool, Fool, 
enough. In some words instead of oo, or 
o, or oa, we Pronounce ee, as, Deer, for 
Door, steck the Deer; Fleer for Floor; 
abreed for abroad; ge for go; se for so; 
se throng i.e. so full of business; ne for no. 
For Poison the Pronounce Peuson.

Note, In some part of the West Riding 
they pronounce oi, for o; hoil, for hole; 
coil, for cole; hoise and shoin, for Hose 
and Shooes.

5. They ordinarily omit s at the end 
of a word when used for his: as instead 
of Jacksons Wife, they say Jackson Wife; 
instead of Brothers Coat, Brother Coat.

6. They Place y before some words be­
ginning with Vowels; yane, yance; as in 
some other parts of England yarely for 
early; Yowes, for Ewes.






7. To the ends of some words they add 
en; as in Maslingen, Docken, Bracken: 
elsewhere in England the termination en is 
a Note of the plural number, as in Housen, 
for Houses; Hosen, for Hoses; Shooen or 
Shoon, for Shooes; Peasen, for Pease; 
Children, for Childs, &c.

In the same Country for Straw, they 
use Strea, and for Claws, Cleas.










AN
Account of preparing
some of our English
METALS and MI­
NERALS.

The Smelting and Refining of Silver, at
the Silver Mills in Cardiganshire.


THE Oar beaten into small pieces
is brought from the Mine to the
Smelting-House, and there melt­
ed with black and white Coal; i.e. with
Charcoal and Wood slit into small pieces
and dried in a Kiln, for that purpose.
The reason why they mix black and
white Coal is, because the black alone
makes too vehement a Fire, and the
white too gentle, but mixt together they
make a just temper of heat. After the
Fire is made, the Mine is cast on the
Coals; and so interchangeably Mine and






Coals. The Mine when melted runs
down into the Sump,  i.e. a round Pit of
Stone covered over with Clay within.
Thence it is laded out and cast into long
square Bars with smaller ends fit to lift
and carry them by.

These Bars they bring to the Refining
Furnace, which is covered with a thick
Cap of Stone bound about with Iron and
moveable, that so they may lift it up, and
make the test at the bottom anew (which
they do every refining.) In the middle of
the Cap there is a hole in which the Bar
of Metal hangs in Iron Slings above the
Furnace, that so it may be let down by
degrees as it melts off. Besides this they
have another hole in the side of the Fur­
nace parallel to the Horizon, and bot­
tomed with Iron. At this hole they
thrust in another Bar. The Test is of
an Oval Figure, and occupies all the
bottom of the Furnace. The Fire is put
in by the side of the Bellows. When the
Furnace is come to a true temper of heat,
the Lead converted into Litharge is cast
off by the blowing of the Bellows, the
Silver subsiding into the bottom of the
Test. The blast blows the Lead con­
verted into Litharge off the Silver after the
manner that Cream is blown with Milk.






As soon as all the glut of Litharge (for
so they call it)  is cast off, the Silver in
the bottom of the Cuple grows cold, and
the same degree of heat will not keep it
melted as before. The Cake of Silver af­
ter it grows cold springs or rises up into
Branches.

The Test is made of Marrow-Bones
burnt to small pieces, afterward stamped
to powder, and with water tempered into
a Past. The Test is about a foot thick
laid in Iron. After the Cake of Silver is
taken out, that part of the Test which
is discoloured they mingle with the Oar
to be melted; the rest they stamp and
use again for Test.

The Litharge is brought to a reducing
Furnace, and there with Charcoal only
melted into Lead. The Litharge is cast
upon the Charcoal in the Bing of the
Furnace, and as the Charcoal burns away
and the Litharge melts, more Char­
coal thrown on and Litharge put upon it
as at first smelting.

Another Furnace they have, which
they call an Almond Furnace,  in which
they melt the slags or refuse of the Li­
tharge (not stamped) with Charcoal only.

The slags or cinders of the first smelt­
ing they beat small with great stamps






lifted up by a Wheel moved with water,
and falling by their own weight. First
they are stamped with dry Stamps, then
sifted with an Iron Sieve in water. That
which lies at the bottom of the Sieve is
returned to the smelting Furnace with­
out more ado. That which swims over
the Sieve is beaten with wet Stamp.

That which passeth through the Sieve,
as also that which after it hath been beaten
with the wet Stamps passes through a fine
Grate or Strainer of Iron, goeth to the
Buddle,  which is a Vessel made like to a 
shallow Tumbrel, standing a little shel­
ving. 

Thereon the Matter is laid, and water
running constantly over it, moved to
and fro with an Iron Rake or How, and
so the water carries away the Earth and
Dross, the Metal remaining behind. That
which is thus Budled they lue with a thick
hair Sieve close wrought in a Tub of wa­
ter, rolling the Sieve about, and enclining
it this way and that way with their hands.
The light which swims over to the Sieve is
returned again to the Buddle. That
which subsides is fit for the smelting
Furnace.

They have besides an Assay Furnace, 
wherewith they try the value of the Me­






tal, i.e. what proportion the Lead bears
to the Silver, cutting a piece off every
Bar and melting it in a small Cupel.Antedates earliest OED citation (1707). First
they weigh the piece cut off, then after
the Lead is separated the Silver. A Tun
of Metal will yield 10, sometimes 15,
and if it be rich 20 l. weight of Silver.
All Lead Oar dig'd in England hath a
proportion of Silver mixt with it, but
some so little, that it will not quit cost to
Refine it. 

At the first smelting they mingle se­
veral sorts of Oar, some richer, some
poorer, else they will not melt so kindly. 

The Silver made here is exceedingly fine
and good.

These six Mountains in Cardiganshire,
not far distant from each other, afford
Silver Oar, Talabont, Geginnon, Comsom­
lack, Gedarren, Bromefloid and Cummer.

At our being there they dig'd only at
Talabont.

They sink a Perpendicular square hole
or shaft, the sides whereof they strengthen
round from top to bottom with Wood,
that the Earth fall not in.

The transverse pieces of Wood, they
call stemples, and upon these catching
hold with their Hands and Feet they
descend without using any Rope. They






dig the Oar thus, one holds a little picque
or punch of Iron, having a long handle
of Wood, which they call a Gad;  ano­
ther with a great Iron Hammer or Sledge
drives it into the Vein.

The Vein of Metal runs East and West,
it riseth North, and slopes or dips to the
South. There is a white Fluor about the
Vein, which they call Spar, and a black
which they call blinds. This last covers
the Vein of Oar, and when it appears
they are sure to find Oar.

They sell the Oar for 3 l. or 4 l. the 
Tun, more or less, as it is in goodness, or 
as it is more rare or plentiful.

This Information and ac­
count we had from Major Hill,
1662. Who was then Master of
the Silver Mills.

The History of these Silver-Works may
be seen in Dr. Fullers Worthies of Wales.
General, p. 3.

The smelting of Lead is the same with
the smelting of Silver Oar, and therefore
no need that any thing be said of it.









The preparing and smelting, or blow­
ing of Tin in Cornwal.


THE Tinners find the Mine by the
Shoad  (or as they call it Squad)
which is loose Stones of Tin mixed with
the Earth, of which they give you this
account.

The load or Vein of Tin before the
flood came up to the Superficies of the
Earth. The flood washing the upper
part of it as of the whole Earth, brake
it off from the load, and confounded or
mixed it with the Earth to such a depth.
They observe that the deeper the shoad 
lies, the nearer is the main load, and the
shallower, the further off. Sometimes it
comes up to the exterior Superficies of
the Earth. The main load begins at
the East, and runs Westwar, shelving
still deeper and deeper; and sometimes
descending almost perpendicularly. Be­
sides the main load, they have little
branches that run from it North and
South, and to other points which they
call Countrey. The Vein or load is some­






times less, sometimes greater, sometimes
not a Foot thick, sometimes three Foot or
more. When they have digged a good
way they sink an Air-shaft, else they can­
not breath or keep their Candles light.
The shoad commonly descends a Hill side.
There is a kind of fluor  which they call
Spar next the Vein, and which sometimes
encompasseth it. In this are often found 
the Cornish Diamonds. Above the Spar
lies another kind of substance like a white
soft Stone, which they call Kellus.  They
get out the Mine with a Pick-Ax, but
when it is hard they use a Gad  [a Tool
like a Smiths Punch] which they drive in
with one end of their Pick Ax made like
a Hammer. When they have gotten out
of the Mine, they break it with a Ham­
mer into small pieces, the biggest not ex­
ceeding half a pound or a pound, and
then bring it to the stamps. [The stamps
are only two at one place, lifted up by a 
Wheel moved with water as the Silver
Mills]. There it is put into a square open
Box into which a spout of water con­
tinually runs, and therein the stamps
beat it to powder. One side of the Box
mentioned is made of an Iron-plate per­
forated with small holes like a Grate, by
which the water runs out, and carries 






away with it the Mine that is pounded
small enough the pass the holes, dross and
all together, in a long Gutter or Trough
made of Wood. The dross and earth
(as being lighter) is carried all along the
Trough to a Pit or Vessel into which the
Trough delivers it, called a loob:  the
Tin as being heavier, subsides and stays
behind in the Trough: and besides at a 
good distance from the stamps they put a
Turf in the Trough to stop the Tin that
it run not further.

The Tin remaining in the Trough
they take out and carry to the buddle, [a
Vessel described in the Silver Work]
where the Sand and Earth is washed from
it by the water running over it, the Tin­
ners stirring and working it both with a
Shovel, and with their Feet. In the bud­
dle the rough Tin (as they call it) falls
behind; the head Tin lies uppermost or
foremost. The head Tin passes to the
wreck, where they work it with a wooden
Rake in Vessels almost like the buddling
Vessels, water running also over it. In 
the wreck the head Tin lies again fore­
most, and that is finished and fit for the
blowing House, and is called black Tin, 
being black of colour, and as fine as Sand.
The rough Tin lies next, that as also that






in the buddle they sift to separate the
coarse, and dross, and stones from it,
which is returned to the stamps to be
new beaten. The fine is lewed in a fine 
fierce moved and waved to and fro in
the Water, as is described in the Silver
Work; the Oar subsiding to the bottom,
the Sand, Earth, and other dross, flows
over the Rim of the sierce with the Wa­
ter: that which remains in the sierce
they sift through a fine Sieve, and
what passes through they call black 
Tin. In like manner they order the wast
Tin that falls hindmost in the buddle and
wreck, which they call the Tail,  as also
that which falls into the loob, Pit or
Sump, viz. washing and sifting of it,
which they call stripping of it, returning
the rough and coarse to the stamps, and
the finer to the wreck.

With the rough Tin that is returned 
to th estmaps they mingle new Oar,
else it will not work, but fur up the 
stamps. The Tin in the loob they let
lie a while, and the longer the better,
for, say they, it grows and increases by
lying.






The black Tin is smelted at the
blowing House with Charcoal only, 
first throwing on Charcoal, then upon
that black Tin, and so interchangeably
into a very deep Bing  (which they 
call the House) broader at the top and
narrower at the bottom. They make
the Fire very vehement, blowing the
Coals continually with a pair of great
Bellows moved by Water, as in the
smelting of other Metals. The Melt­
ing Tin, together with the dross or slag
runs out at a hole at the bottom of
the Bing into a large Trough made of
Stone. The Cinder or slag swims on 
the top of it like scum, and hardens pre­
sently.

This they take off with a Shovel and
lay it by.

When they have got a sufficient
heap of it they sell it to be stamped,
budled and lued. They get a good
quantity of Tin out of it. Formerly
it was thrown away to mend High
Ways, as nothing worth. When they
have a sufficient quantity of the melted
Metal they cast it into Oblong square
pieces in a mould made of Moore-stone. 
The lesser pieces they call slabs, the 
greater Blocks. Two pound of black






Tin ordinarily yields a pound of white
or more.

The Tin after it is melted is coyned; 
i.e. marked by the Kings Officer with
the Lion Rampant. The Kings Custom
is four Shillings on every hundred pound
weight. Other particulars concerning
the Tin-Works I omit, because they
may be seen in Carewy's survey of Corn­
wal. But the manner of preparing the
Tin for blowing or smelting is now
much different from what it was in his
time.

Tin-Oar is so different in colour and
appearance from Tin, that one would
wonder that the one should come out 
of the other: and somewhat strange it
is that Tin being so like to Lead, Tin­
Oar should be so unlike to Lead-Oar,
being very like to the Lead that is melted
out of it.







The manner of the Iron-Work at
the Furnace.


THE Iron-Mine lies sometimes
deeper, sometimes shallower in the
Earth from four to forty, and up­
ward.

There are several sorts of Mine, some
hard, some gentle, some rich, some
coarser. The Iron-Masters always mix
different sorts of Mine together, other­
wise they will not melt to advantage.

When the Mine is brought in, they
take Small-Coal and lay a row of Small­
Coal, and upon it a row of Mine,
and so alternately, S. S. S. one above
another, and setting the Coals on fire,
therewith burn the Mine.

The use of this burning is to molli­
fie it, that so it may be broke in small
pieces: otherwise if it should be put in­
to the Furnace as it comes out of the
Earth, it would not melt but come away
whole.

Care also must be taken that it be not
too much burned, for then it will loop, 






i.e. melt and run together in a mass.
After it is burnt, they beat it into small
pieces with an Iron Sledge, and then
put it into the Furnace (which is before
charged with Coals) casting it upon the
top of the Coals, where it melts and falls
into the Hearth in the space of about 
twelve hours more or less, and then it is
run into a Sow.

The Hearth or bottom of the Fur­
nace is made of a Sand-stone, and the
sides round to the height of a Yard or
thereabout, the rest of the Furnace is
lined up to the top with Brick.

When they begin upon a new Furnace;
they put fire for a day or two before they
begin to blow.

Then they blow gently and increase
by degrees till they come to the height in
ten weeks or more.

Every six days they call a Founday,  in 
which space they make eight Tun of
Iron, if you divide the whole summ of
Iron made by the Foundays: for at first
they make less in a Founday, at last 
more.

The Hearth, by the force of the Fire,
continually blown, grows wider and
wider, so that if at first it contains so
much as it will make a Sow of six hundred






or seven hundred pound weight, at last
it will contain so much as will make
a Sow of two thousand pound. The
lesser pieces, of one thousand pound, or
under, they call Pigs. 

Of twenty four Loads of Coals they
expect eight Tun of Sows: to every
Load of Coals, which consists of eleven
Quarters, they put a Load of Mine,
which contains eighteen Bushels.

A Hearth ordinarily, if made of good
Stone, will last forty Foundays, that is
forty Weeks, during which time the
Fire is never let go out. They ne­
ver blow twice upon one Hearth,
though they go upon it not above five or
six Foundays.

The cinder like scum swims upon
the melted Metal in the Hearth, and
is let out once or twice before a Sow
is cast. 







The manner of working the Iron at
the Forge or Hammer.


IN every Forge or Hammer there are
two Fires at least, the one they call 
the Finery, the other the Chafery. 

At the Finery by the working of the
Hammer they bring it into Blooms and
Anconies, thus.

The sow at first they roll into the Fire,
and melt off a piece of about three
fourths of a hundred weight, which, so
soon as it is broken off, is called a Loop.

This Loop they take out with their
shingling Tongs, and beat it with Iron
Sledges upon an Iron Plate near the Fire,
that so it may not fall in pieces but be in
a capacity to be carried under the Ham­
mer. Under which they then remove
it, and drawing a little water, beat it
with the Hammer very gently, which
forces cinder and dross out of the Mat­
ter, afterwards by degrees drawing more
water they beat it thicker and stronger
till they bring it to a Bloom, which is a 
four-square mass of about two Foot long.






This operation they call shingling the
Loop.

This done they immediately return it 
to the Finery again, and after two or
three heats and working they bring it to
an Ancony, the figure whereof is in the
middle, a Bar about three feet long of
that shape they intend the whole Bar
to be made of it: at both ends a square
piece left rough to be wrought at the
Chafery.

Note, At the Finery three load of the
biggest Coals go to make one Tun of
Iron.

At the Chafery they only draw out the
two ends sutable to what was drawn out
at the Finery in the middle, and so finish
the Bar.

Note, I. One Load of the smaller
Coals will draw out one Tun of Iron
at the Chafery.

2. They expect that one Man and
a Boy at the Finery should make two
Tuns of Iron in a Week: two Men at
the Chafery should take up, i. e. make or
work five or six Tun in a Week.

3. If into the Hearth where they work
the Iron-sows (whether the Chafery or
the Finery) you cast upon the Iron a
piece of Brass, it will hinder the Metal 






from working, causing it to spatter a­
bout, so that it cannot be brought into a
solid piece.

This account of the whole process of
the Iron-work I had form one of the
chief Iron-Masters in Sussex, my honor­
ed Friend Walter Burrel of Cuck-field
Esquire deceased. And now that I have 
had occasion to mention this worthy
Gentleman, give me leave by the by
to insert a few Observations referring
to Husbandry communicated by him in
occasional discourse on those Subjects.

1. In removing and transplanting
young Oaks you must be sure not to
cut off or wound that part of the Root,
which descends down-right (which in
some Countries they call the Tap-Root) 
but dig it up to the bottom, and prepare
your hole deep enough to set it: else if
you persuade it to live, you hinder the
growth of it half in half.

2. Corn or any other Grain, the
longer it continues in the ground, or the
earlier it is Sown, cæteris paribus, the bet­
ter laden it is, and the Berry more plump,
full and weighty, and of stronger nou­
rishment, as for example, Winter Oats
better than Summer Oats, Beans set in
February than those set in March, &c.






3. The most effectual way to prevent
smutting or burning of any Corn is to
Lime it before you Sow it, as is found
by daily experience in Sussex, where,
since this practice of Liming, they have
no burnt Corn, whereas before they had
abundance. They Lime it thus, first
they wet the Corn a little to make it stick,
and then sift or sprinkle powdered Lime
upon it.

4. He uses to Plow with his Oxen
end-ways, or all in one File, and not 
to Yoke them by pairs, whereby he
finds a double advantage. 1. He by
this means loseth no part of the strength
of any Ox, whereas breastwise, it is ve­
ry hard so evenly to match them, as
that a great part of the strength of
some of them be not rendred useless.
2. In this way a wet and clay ground
is no so much poached by the feet of the
Oxen.

5. He hath practised to burn the ends
of all the Posts which he sets into the
ground to a Coal on the outside, where­
by they continue a long time without
rotting, which otherwise would sudden­
ly decay.






This Observation I also find men­
tioned in an Extract of a Letter, writ­
then by David Von-der-beck, a German
Philosopher and Physitian at Minden,
to Dr. Langelot, &c. Registred in the
Philosophical Transactions, Number 92.
Pag. 5185. In these words, Hence al­
so they sleightly burn the ends of Tim­
ber, to be set in the ground, that so by
the fusion made by Fire, the Volatile
Salts, which by the accession of the
moisture of the Earth would easily be
consumed, to the corruption of the Tim­
ber may catch and fix one another.

6. He first introduced the use of Fern
for burning of Lime, which serves that
purpose as well as Wood, (the flame
thereofbeing very vehement) and is far
cheaper.

7. Bucks if gelded when they have
cast their Head, their Horns never grow
again, if when their Horns are grown,
they never cast them; in brief their
Horns never grow after they are gelded.

This observation, expressed in almost
the same words, I find in the Summary
of a Book of Francesco Rodi the Italian,
called, Esperienze intorno à diverse cose na­
turali, &c. Delivered in the Philosophical
Transactions, Number 92. pag. 6005.






8. Rooks, if they infest your Corn,
are more terrified if in their sight you
take a Rook and plucking it Limb from
Limb, cast the several Limbs about your
Field, than if you hang up half a dozen 
dead Rooks in it.

9. Rooks when they make their Nests,
one of the pair always sits by to watch
it, while the other goes to fetch mate­
rials to build it. Else if both go and
leave it unfinished, their Fellow-Rooks,
ere they return again will have carried
away toward their several Nests all the
sticks and materials they had got toge­
ther. Hence perhaps the word Rook­ 
ing for cheating and abusing. 





The manner of the Wire work at
Tintern in Monmouthshire.


THey take little square Bars, made
like Bars of Steel, which they call
Osborn-Iron,  wrought on purpose for this
manufacture; and strain"osborn iron(n)" not found in OED. i. e. draw them
at a Furnace with a Hammer moved by
water (like those at the Iron Forges, but
lesser) into square Rods of about the big­






ness of ones little Finger, or less, and
bow them round. When that is done
they put them into a Furnace, and neal
them with a pretty strong Fire for a­
bout twelve hours: after they are nealed
they lay them in water for a month or
two (the longer the better) then the Rip­
pers take them and draw them into Wire
through two or three holes.

Then they neal them again for six
hours or more, and water them the se­
cond time about a Week, then they are
carried to the Rippers who draw them to
a two-bond Wire, as bing as a great Pack­
thread.

Then again they are nealed the third
time, and watered about a Week as be­
fore, and delivered to the small Wire
Drawers, whom there they call Over­
house­men,  I suppose only because they
work in an upper Room.Not found in OED but in later dictionaries.

In the Mill, where the Rippers work,
the Wheel moves several Engins like lit­
tle Barrels, which they also call Barrels,
hooped with Iron. The Barrel hath two 
Hooks on the upper side, upon each
whereof hang two Links standing a-cross,
and fastned to the two ends of the Tongs,
which catch hold of the Wire and draw
it through the hole. The Axis on which






the Barrel moves, runs not through the
Center, but is placed towards one side,
viz. that on which the Hooks are. Un­
derneath is fastned to the Barrel a Spoke
of Wood, which they call a Swingle, 
which is drawn back a good way by the
Calms or Cogs in the Axis of the Wheel,
and draws back the Barrel, which falls
to again by its own weight. The Tongs,
hanging on the Hooks of the Barrel,
are by the Workmen fastned on the
Wire, and by the force of the Wheel
the Hooks being drawn back, draw the
Wire through the holes.

They anoint the Wire with Train-Oil,
to make it run the easier. The Plate,
wherein the holes are, is on the outside
Iron, on the inside Steel.

The holes are bigger on the Iron
side, because the Wire finds more re­
sistance from the Steel, and is streightned
by degrees.

There is another Mill where the small
Wire is drawn, which with one Wheel
moves three Axes that run the length of
the House on three Floors one above ano­
ther.

The Description whereof would be
tedious and difficult to understand without
a Scheme, and therefore I shall omit it.










Modus faciendi Vitriolum coctile
in Anglia.


Worm. Mus. Sect. 2. Cap. 13. p. 89.

LApides ex quibus Vitriolum excoquitur
ad litus Orientale insulæ Shepey repe­
riuntur. Ubi ingentem horum copiam college­
runt per spatiosam areterræ mistos spargunt,
donec imbrium illuvie, accedente Solis æstu
& calore in terram seu pulverem redigantur
subtilissimum, nitrosum, sulphureum odore
prætercuntes offendentem. Interea aqua per
hanc terram percolata in Subjecta vasa per
tubulos & canales derivata in vase plumbeo
amplo sex vel septem dierum spatio coquitur
ad justam consistentiam, tum in aliud vas
plumbeum effunditur immissis asseribus ali­
quot; quibus adhærens concrescat vitriolum
omnibus refrigeratis. Nullo alio vase coqui
aut contineri hoc lixivium potest quàm plum­
beo; cui ut facilius ebulliat ferri injiciunt
particuls, quæ à lixivio planè consumun­
tur.






We saw the manner of making Vi­
triol or Cooperas at Bricklesey in Es­
sex. They lay the Stones upon a 
large Bed or Floor prepared in the
open Air, underneath which there are
Gutters or Troughs disposed to receive
and carry away the Liquor impreg­
ate with the Mineral to a Cistern
where it is Reserved. [For the Air
and Weather dissolving the Stones, the
Rain falling upon them carries away
with it the Vitrioline Juice or Salt dis­
solved.]

This Liquor they boil in large
leaden Pans putting in a good quan­
tity of old Iron. When it is suffici­
ently evaporated they pour it out into 
large Troughs wherein it cools, the
Vitriol crystallizing to the sides of the
Troughs, and to cross Bars put into
them.

The Liquor that remains after the 
Vitriol is Crystallized they call the Mo­
ther, and reserve it to be again evaporated
by boyling.

They gather of these Stones in several
places besides the Coast of the Island
of Shepey. I have observed people ga­
thering them on the Sea-shore near to
Bright Helmston in Sussex.






The manner of making Vitriol in
Italy is something different from ours in
England, which take in Matthiolus his
words.

Mineræ glebas in acervos mediocres con­
jectos igne supposito accendunt! Sponte autem
urunt semel accensæ, donec in calcem seu
cineres maxima ex parte reducantur. Mine
ram cubustam in piscinas aquæ plenas obru
unt, agitando, miscendoque eam, ut aqua
imbuatur substantiâ Vitrioli. Aquam hanc
Vitriolatam à sedimento claram hauriunt;
& in caldaria plumbea transfundunt, quam
igne supposito decoquunt. Verum dum ebul­
lit, in medio cocturæ vel parum supra vel
infra addunt modicum ferri veteriss vel gle­
bæ æris juxta intentionem operantis. Aquam
Vitriolatam decoctam in vasa lignea trans­
fundunt in quibus frigescens congelatur in
Vitriolum.

They make great quantities of green
Copperas at Debtford near Greenwich.










Modus faciendi Vitriolum coctile
in Anglia.


First they take Lead and waste it in an
Oven or Furnace: that is bring it
to a Substance almost like a Litharge, by
stirring it with an Iron Rake or How.
This they grind with two pair of Stones
which deliver it from one to another:
the first grind it coarser, the second finer
[There is a Mill so contrived as that it
moves at once six pair of these Stones.]
Thus reduced to powder and washed, it
is put into an Oven or reverberating Fur­
nace, and by continual stirring with the
Iron Rake or How, it is brought to the
right colour in two or three days. The
Fire must not be extreme all this while,
else it will clod together and change
colour. The Iron Rake wherewith it is
stirred is hung or poised on an Iron Hook,
else it is so heavy that it could not be
moved by one Man.

Ceruss is made of Plates of Lead
softned with steams of Vinegar. vid. Phi­
losphical Transactions, Number 137. p. 935.










The Allom Work at Whitby in
Yorkshire.


THE process of making Allom, as
we partly saw, and partly re­
ceived from the Workmen, was as fol­
loweth.

First, They take the Mine picked from
the Desse or Rock, and laying it on great
heaps burn it with Whins and Wood till
it be white. When it is sufficiently 
burned, they barrow it into a Pit made
on purpose, some ten feet long, six foot
broad, and seven fourths of a yard deep,
where it is steeped in water for the space
of eight or ten hours. Then they draw out
the Liquor, (which is but a Lixivium im­
pregnated with the Allom-Mine) into 
Troughs by which it is conveyed to the
Allom-House, into a deep Cistern of a­
bout twenty yards circumference, and
three yards and half deep. After this
first water is drawn off the Mine in the
Pits, they do not presently cast away the
Mine, but pour fresh water on it the
second time, and after the second water






is drawn off (which is much weaker
than the first) they cast out the Mine
and put in new, and pour on fresh water
as before.

Out of the Cistern they convey the 
Lixivium by Troughs into the Pans,
where it is boiled for the space of twenty
four hours ordinarily. Then they take
off the Liquor out of the Pans, and ex­
amine it by weight, to know how much
Lee made of kelp it will require, which
is for the most part six inches of the Pans
depth.

Which being put in so soon as the Li­
quor boils, or flows up, by the putting in
of an Iron Cole-Rake, or other Iron
Instrument, they draw it off into a set­
tler, and there let it stand about an hour,
that so the Sulphur and other dregs may
settle to the bottom, which being done
it is drawn off into Coolers, where it
continues about four days and nights.
The cooler being drawn about half full,
they pour into it a quantity of Urine, viz.
about eight Gallons into a Cooler that
contains about two half Tuns.

Having thus stood four days and
nights, it is quite cool, and the Allom
Crystallized to the sides of the Cooler.
Then they scoop out the Liquor (which






they call the Mother) into a Cistern,  and
put it into the Pans again with new Lixi­
vium to be evaporated by boiling, &c. 
The Allom that is shotten and crystal­
lized on the sides of the Cooler they
scrape off and wash with fair Spring
water; then throw it into a Bing,
where the water drains from it. Thence
it is taken and cast into a Pan, which
they call the rocking Pan, and there 
melted, it is scooped out and conveyed by
Troughs into Tuns, in which it stands
about ten days until it be perfectly cool
and condensed. Then they unhoop
and stave the Tuns, and taking out the
Allom, chip it and carry it into the
Store-House.

We failed to enquire exactly what
proportion of kelp they put in. For 
though they told us six inches of the Pans
depth, yet they told us not how deep the
Pans are made.










THE
Making of Salt at Nampt­
wych in Cheshire.


THE Salt-Spring, or (as they call
it) the Brine-pit is near the Ri­
ver, and is so plentiful, that were
all the water boiled out that it would
afford (as they told us) it would yield
Salt enough for all England. The Lords
of the Pit appoint how much shall be
boiled as they see occasion, that the
Trade be not clogged.

Divers persons have interest in the
Brine-pit, so that it belongs not all to
one Lord; some have one Lead-walling,
some two, some three, some four or
more. [N.B. A Lead-walling  is the
Brine of twenty four hours boiling for one
House.]

Two hundred and sixteen Lead-wall­
ings or thereabout belong to all the






Owners of the Pit. No Tradesman,
Bachelor or Widow can Rent more than
eighteen Lead-wallings.

They have four sworn Officers chosen
yearly, which they call Occupiers of Wall­
ing, whose Duty it is to see equal dealing
between Lord and Tenant, and all per­
sons concerned. They appoint how ma­
ny Houses shall work at a time, and that
is twelve at the most. When there is oc­
casion for Salt to be made, they cause
a Cryer to make Proclamation, that so
all Parties concerned may put to their
Fires at the same time; and so when they
shall cease at a determinate hour, at
which they must give over; else they
cause their Salt to be marred by casting
dirt into it, or the like.

There are in the Town about fifty
Houses, and every House hath four Pans,
which the Rulers are to see be exactly of
the same measure.

Salt-water taken out of the Brine-pit in
two hours and a quarter boiling, will be 
evaporated and boiled up into Salt. When
the Liquor is more than luke-warm, they
take strong Ale, Bullocks Blood, and
Whites of Eggs mixed together with Brine
in this proportion; of Blood one Egg­
shell full, the White of one Egg and a






Pint of Ale, and put it into a Pan of
twenty four Gallons or thereabouts. The
Whites of the Eggs and the Blood serve
to clarifie the Brine by raising the scum,
which they take off just upon the boiling
of the Pans, otherwise it will boil in,
and spoil the Salt. The older the blood
is, the better it is, cæteris paribus.
They do not always put in blood, viz.
when there is danger of the Liquors
boiling too fast. If the Liquor happens
to boil too fast, they take to allay it
Brine that had been boil'd and drain'd
from the Salt: Crude Brine, they say,
will diminish their Salt. The Ale serves
(they said) to harden the Corn of the
Salt.

After one hour boiling, the Brine will
begin to Corn: then they take a small
quantity of clear Ale, and sprinkle there­
of into the Pan about one Egg shell
full. [Note, If you put in too much
it will make the Broth boil over the
Pan.] All the while before they put
in the last Ale they cause the Pan to
boil as fast as they can; afterwards
very gently till the Salt be almost
dry. They do not evaporate ad sicci­
tatem, but leave about a Pottle or Gal­
lon of Brine in the Pan, lest the Salt






should burn and stick to the sides of the
Pan.

The Brine thus sufficiently boiled and
evaporated, they take out the Salt, and
put it into Conical Baskets, (which they
call Barrows)  and in them let the water
drain from it an hour, more or less, and
then set it to dry in the Hot-house be­
hind the Furnace.Antedates earliest OED citation (1686).

A Barrow containing six Peck is sold
there for 1 s. 4. d.

Out of two Pans of forty eight Gal­
lons they expect seven Pecks of Salt,
Winchester-measure.

Note, The House in which the Salt is
boiled is called the Wych-house,  whence
may be guessed what Wych signifies, and
why all those Towns where there are
Salt-Springs, and Salt made, are called
by the name of Wych, viz. Namptwych,
Northwych, Middlewych, Droitwych. The
Vessel whereinto the Brine is by Troughs
conveyed from the Brine-Pit is called the
Ship.  It is raised up out of the Pit by a
Pump. Between the Furnace and the
Chimney Tunnels which convey up the
Smoak is the Hot-House where they
set their Salt to dry, along the floor
whereof run two Funnels from the
Furnaces almost parallel to the Horizon,






and then arise perpendicularly; in these
the flame and smoak running along
from the Furnaces heat the Room by the
way.

At Droitwych in Worcestershire the Salt
is boiled in shallow leaden Pans. They
first put in Salt-water out of the Brine­
Pit.

After one hours boiling they fill up the
Pan with water that drains from the Salt
set to dry in Barrows: after a second
hours boiling they fill up the Pan again
with the same.

In five hours space the Pan boils dry,
and they take out the Salt.

In twenty four hours they boil out five
Pans: and then draw out the Ashes: af­
ter the Ashes are drawn out, they put
in the White of an Egg, to cause the scum
to arise [viz. the Dust and Ash that fell
into the Pans while the Ashes were draw­
ing out] which they take off with a scum­
mer. After four hours they begin to take
out the Salt; and once in twenty four 
hours they take out a Cake which sticks
to the bottom of the Pan, (which they
call clod Salt) otherwise the Pan would
melt.  They told us that they use neither
Blood nor Ale. The Salt made here is
extraordinary white and fine.






Anno 1670. a Rock of Natural Salt,
from which issues a vigorous sharp Brine,
was discovered in Cheshire in the ground
of William Marbury, Esq; The Rock,
which is as hard and pure as Allom,
and when Pulverized, a fine and sharp
Salt; is between thirty three and thirty
four yards distant from the Surface of the
Earth. Mountains of Fossile Salt are
found in Hungary, Transilvania, Lithua­
nia, &c.





The manner of making Salt of Sea­
sand in Lancashire,


IN Summer time in dry weather they
Skim or Pare off the upper part of the
Sand in the Flats and Washes that are
covered at full Sea, and bare when the
Tide is out, and lay it up on great
heaps.

Of this Sand they take and put in
Troughs bored with holes at the bottom,
and thereon pour Water, as Laundresses
do upon Ashes to make a Lixivium,
which Water draining through the Sand,
carries the Salt therein contained down






with it into Vessels placed underneath to
receive it. So long as this Liquor is
strong enough to bear an Egg, they pour
on more Water; so soon as the Egg be­
gins to sink they cast the Sand out of the
Troughs, and put in new. 

This water thus impregnate with Salt
they boil in leaden Pans, wherein the
water evaporating, the Salt remains be­
hind.

There is also at Newcastle, Preston
Pans in Scotland, Whithaven in Cumber­
land, and elsewere great plenty of Salt
made of Sea water by boiling, and evapo­
rating in like manner, wherein they make
use of Oxes Blood.

As for these accounts of preparing
some of our English Mineral, I dare an­
swer for the half of them, having seen
them my self many years ago in my
Travels through England and Wales, and
published them Anno 1674. Since which
time other processes have been given in
the Philophical Transactions, which being
more Operose may be useful to under­
takers of such Works, therefore we will
refer to them.

For the Iron Works in the Forest of
Dean. See Philosophical Transactions, Num­
ber 137.






For the Tin Mines of Cornwal and
Devonshire. See Number 69. and Num­
ber 138.

For Refining with Antimony, Num­
ber 138.

The Art of Refining, Number 142.

An account of our English. Allom-­
Works, Number 142.

Of our English Copperas Works, Num­
ber 142.

Of our Salt Works, ibid.

Of Coal-Pits. See Dr. Plot of Staf­
fordshire. Chap. 3. Paragraph 31, 32, 34,
36, 37, 60, 61, 62.

FINIS.