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Particularly Somersetshire, by James Jennings

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Title: The Dialect of the West of England Particularly Somersetshire

Author: James Jennings

Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7453]
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[This file was first posted on May 3, 2003]

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  "Goo little Reed!
  Aforn tha vawk, an vor me plead:
  Thy wild nawtes, mAc-be, thAc ool hire
  Zooner than zActer vrom a lAcre.
  ZAc that thy Maester's pleas'd ta blaw 'em,
  An haups in time thAc'll come ta knaw 'em
  An nif za be thAc'll please ta hear,
  A'll gee zum moor another year."--_The Farewell._


THE Dialect of the West of England

PARTICULARLY SOMERSETSHIRE;

WITH A GLOSSARY OF WORDS NOW IN USE THERE; ALSO WITH POEMS AND
OTHER PIECES EXEMPLIFYING THE DIALECT.

BY JAMES JENNINGS,

HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE METROPOLITAN LITERARY INSTITUTION,
LONDON.

BASED ON THE _SECOND EDITION,_

THE WHOLE REVISED, CORRECTED, AND ENLARGED, WITH TWO DISSERTATIONS
ON THE ANGLO-SAXON PRONOUNS, AND OTHER PIECES,

BY JAMES KNIGHT JENNINGS, M.A.,

Late Scholar and Librarian, Queens' College, Cambridge; Vicar of
Hagbourn, Berkshire; and Minister of Calcott Donative,
Somersetshire.



TO THA DWELLERS O' THA WEST,


  Tha Fruit o' longvul labour, years,
  In theA¤ze veo leaves at last appears.
  Ta you, tha dwellers o' tha West,
  I'm pleas'd that thAc shood be addresst:
  Vor thaw I now in Lunnan dwell,
  I mine ye still--I love ye well;
  And niver, niver sholl vorget
  I vust drAcw'd breath in _Zummerzet_;
  Amangst ye liv'd, and left ye zorry,
  As you'll knaw when you hire my storry.
  TheA¤ze little book than take o' me;
  'Tis Acll I hAc just now ta gee
  An when you rade o' _Tommy Gool_,
  Or _Tommy Came_, or _Pal_ at school,
  Or _Mr. Guy_, or _Fanny Fear_,--
  I thenk you'll shod vor her a tear)
  _Tha Rookery_, or _Mary's Crutch_,
  Tha cap o' which I love ta touch,
  You'll vine that I do not vorget
  My naatal swile--dear Zummerzet.

JAS. JENNINGS.




PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.


In preparing this second edition of my relative's work, I have
incorporated the results of observations made by me during several
years' residence in Somersetshire, in the centre of the district.
I have also availed myself by kind permission, of hints and
suggestions in two papers, entitled "Somersetshire Dialect," read
by T. S. Baynes in 1856, and reprinted from the Taunton Courier,
in London, in 1861.

During the forty years which have elapsed since the first edition,
very much light has been thrown on the subject of Provincial
Dialects, and after all much remains to be discovered. I consider
with Mr. Baynes that there is more of the pure Anglo-Saxon in the
west of England dialect, as this district was the seat of
classical Anglo-Saxon, which first rose here to a national tongue,
and lasted longer in a great measure owing to its distance from
the Metropolis, from which cause also it was less subject to
modern modification.

I shall be happy to receive any suggestions from Philological
scholars, which may increase the light thrown on the subject, and
by which a third edition may be improved.

_Hagbourn Vicarage, August,_ 1869.




PREFACE.


The usefulness of works like the present is too generally admitted
to need any apology for their publication. There is,
notwithstanding, in their very nature a dryness, which requires
relief: the author trusts, therefore, that, in blending something
imaginative with the details of philological precision, his work
will afford amusement to the reader.

The Glossary contains the fruit of years of unwearied attention to
the subject; and it is hoped that the book will be of some use in
elucidating our old writers, in affording occasional help to the
etymology of the Anglo-Saxon portion of our language, and in
exhibiting a view of the present state of an important dialect of
the western provinces of England.

A late excursion through the West has, however, induced the Author
to believe that some valuable information may yet remain to be
gathered from our Anglo-Saxon dialect--more especially from that
part of it still used by the common people and the yeomanry. He
therefore respectfully solicits communications from those who feel
an interest in this department of our literature; by which a
second edition may be materially improved.

To a _native_ of the west of England this volume will be
found a vade-mecum of reference, and assist the reminiscence of
well-known, and too often unnoted peculiarities and words, which
are fast receding from, the polish of elegance, and the refinement
of literature.

In regard to the _Poetical Pieces_, it may be mentioned that
most of them are founded on _West Country Stories_, the
incidents in which actually occurred. If some of the subjects
should be thought trifling, it must not be forgotten that the
primary object has been, to exemplify the Dialect, and that common
subjects offered the best means of effectuating such an object. Of
such Poems as _Good Bwye ta thee Cot_; _the Rookery_;
and _Mary Ramsey's Crutch_, it may be observed, that had the
Author _felt_ less he might, perhaps, have written better.

_Metropolitan Literary Institution, London, March 25, 1825._




CONTENTS


- Dedication

- Preface to the Second Edition

- Preface to the First Edition

- OBSERVATIONS on some of the Dialects of the West of England,
particularly Somersetshire

- A GLOSSARY of Words commonly used in Somersetshire

- POEMS and OTHER PIECES, exemplifying the Dialect of the County
of Somerset

- Good Bwye ta Thee Cot

- Fanny Fear

- Jerry Nutty

- Legend of Glastonbury

- Mr. Guy

- The Rookery

- Tom Gool

- Teddy Band--a Zong--Hunting for Sport

- The Churchwarden

- The Fisherman and the Players

- Mary Ramsey's Crutch

- Hannah Verrior

- Remembrance

- Doctor Cox

- The Farewell

- Farmer Bennet an Jan Lide, a Dialogue

- Thomas Came an Young Maester Jimmy, a Dialogue

- Mary Ramsay, a Monologue

- Soliloquy of Ben Bond

- Two Dissertations on Anglo-Saxon Pronouns

- Miss Ham on the Somerset Dialect

- Concluding Observations




OBSERVATIONS, &c.


The following Glossary includes the whole of Somerset, _East_
of the River Parret, as well as adjoining parts of Wiltshire and
Gloucestershire. West of the Parret many of the words are
pronounced very differently indeed, so as to mark strongly the
people who use them. [This may be seen more fully developed in two
papers, by T. Spencer Baynes, read before the Somersetshire
Archaeological Society, entitled the Somersetshire Dialect,
printed 1861, 18mo, to whom I here acknowledge my obligations for
several hints and suggestions, of which I avail myself in this
edition of my late relative's work].

The chief peculiarity West of the Parret, is the ending of the
third person singular, present tense of verbs, in _th_ or
_eth_: as, he _lov'th_, _zee'th_, &c., for he
loves, sees, &c.

In the pronouns, they have _Ise_ for _I_, and _er_
for _he_. In fact the peculiarities and contractions of the
Western District are puzzling to a stranger. Thus, _her_ is
frequently used for _she_. "_Har'th a doo'd it_," is,
"_she has done it_," (I shall occasionally in the Glossary
note such words as distinguishingly characterise that district).

Two of the most remarkable peculiarities of the dialect of the
West of England, and particularly of Somersetshire, are the sounds
given to the vowels A and E. A, is almost always sounded open, as
in _fA¤ther_, _rA¤ther_, or somewhat like the usual sound
of _a_ in _balloon_, _calico_, lengthened; it is so
pronounced in bA¤ll, cA¤ll. I shall use for this sound the
_circumflex over the a_, thus Ac_ or A¤_. E, has commonly
the same sound as the French gave it, which is, in fact, the
slender of A, as heard in _pane fane_, _cane_, &c. The
hard sound given in our polished dialect to the letters _th_,
in the majority of words containing those letters [as in
_through_, _three_, _thing_, think_], expressed
by the Anglo-Saxon _A _, is frequently changed in the Western
districts into the sound given in England to the letter _d_:

  as for _three_, we have _dree_

  for _thread_, _dread_, or _dird_,

  _through_, _droo_, _throng_, _drong_, or
rather _drang_;

_thrush_, _dirsh_, &c. The consonant and vowel following
_d_, changing places. The slender or soft sound given to
_th_ in our polished dialect, is in the West, most commonly
converted into the thick or obtuse sound of the same letters as
heard in the words _this_, these &c., and this too, whether
the letters be at the beginning or end of words. I am much
disposed to believe that our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, used
indiscriminately the letters A� and A  for D only, and sounded them
as such, as we find now frequently in the West; although our
lexicographers usually have given the _two_ sounds of
_th_ to A� and A  respectively. The vowel O is used for
_a_, as _hond, dorke, lorke, hort,_ in hand, dark, lark,
heart, &c., and other syllables are lengthened, as _voote, bade,
dade,_ for foot, bed, dead. The letter O in _no, gold,_
&c., is sounded like _aw_ in _awful_; I have therefore
spelt it with this diphthong instead of _a_. Such word as
_jay_ for _joy_, and a few others, I have not noted.
Another remarkable fact is the disposition to invert the order of
some consonants in some words; as the _r_ in _thrush,
brush, rush, run,_ &c., pronouncing them dirsh, birsh, hirsh,
hirn; also transposition of _p_ and _s_ in such words as
clasp, hasp, asp, &c., sounded claps, haps, aps, &c. I have not
inserted all these words in the Glossary, as these general remarks
will enable the student to detect the words which are so inverted.
It is by no means improbable that the order in which such sounds
are now repeated in the West, is the original order in which they
existed in our language, and that our more polished mode of
expressing them is a new and perhaps a corrupt enunciation.
Another peculiarity is that of joining the letter _y_ at the
end of some verbs in the infinitive mood, as well as to parts of
different conjugations, thus, "I can't _sewy, nursy, reapy_,
to _sawy_, to _sewy_, to _nursy_, &c. A further
peculiarity is the _love of vowel_ sound, and opening out
monosyllables of our polished dialect into two or more syllables,
thus:

  ay-er, for air;
  boo-A¤th, for both;
  fay-er, for fair;
  vi-A"r for fire;
  stay-ers for stairs;
  show-er for sure;
  vrA¶o-rst for post;
  boo-ath for both;
  bre-ash for brush;
  chee-ase for cheese;
  kee-ard for card;
  gee-ate for gate;
  mee-ade for mead;
  mee-olk for milk; &c.


Chaucer gives many of them as dissyllables.

The verb _to be_ retains much of its primitive form: thus
_I be, thou,_ or _thee, beest,_ or _bist, we be, you
be, they be, thA¤ be_, are continually heard for _I am_,
&c., _he be_ is rarely used: but _he is_. In the past
tense, _war_ is used for _was_, and _were_: _I
war, thou_ or _thee wart_, he _war_, &c., we have
besides, _we'm, you'm, they'm_, for _we, you, they,
are_, there is a constant tendency to pleonasm in some cases,
as well as to contraction, and elision in others. Thus we have
_a lost, agone, abought_, &c., for _lost, gone, bought_,
&c., Chaucer has many of these prefixes; but he often uses
_y_ instead of _a_, as _ylost_. The frequent use of
Z and V, the softened musical sounds for S and F, together with
the frequent increase and multiplication of vowel sounds, give the
dialect a by no means inharmonious expression, certainly it would
not be difficult to select many words which may for their
modulation compete with others of French extraction, and, perhaps
be superior to many others which we have borrowed from other
languages, much less analogous to the polished dialect of our own.
I have added, in pursuance of these ideas, some poetical and prose
pieces in the dialect of Somersetshire, in which the idiom is
tolerably well preserved, and the pronunciation is conveyed in
letters, the nearest to the sound of the words, as there are in
truth many sounds for which we have neither letters, nor
combinations of letters to express them. [I might at some future
period, if thought advisable, go into a comparison between the
sound of all the letters of the alphabet pronounced in
Somersetshire, and in our polished dialect, but I doubt if the
subject is entitled to this degree of criticism]. The reader will
bear in mind that these poems are composed in the dialect of
Somerset, north east of the Parret, which is by far the most
general.

In the Guardian, published about a century ago, is a paper No. 40,
concerning pastoral poetry, supposed to have been written by
_Pope_, to extol his own pastorals and degrade those of
Ambrose Phillips. In this essay there is a quotation from a
pretended _Somersetshire_ poem. But it is evident Pope knew
little or nothing about the Somersetshire dialect. Here are a few
lines from "this old West country bard of ours," as Pope calls
him:

  "_Cicely._ Ah Rager, Rager, cher was zore avraid,
  When in yond vield you kiss'd the parson's maid:
  Is this the love that once to me you zed,
  When from tha wake thou broughtst me gingerbread?"

Now first, this is a strange admixture of dialects, but neither
east, west, north, nor south.

_Chez_ is nowhere used; but in the southern part _utche_
or _iche_, is sometimes spoken contractedly _che_. [See
_utchy_ in the Glossary].

_Vield_ for _field_, should be _veel_.

_Wake_ is not used in Somersetshire; but _revel_ is the
word.

_Parson_, in Somersetshire, dealer, is _pAcson_.

In another line he calls the cows, _kee_, which is not
Somersetian; nor is, _be go_ for begone: it should, _be
gwon_; nor is _I've a be_; but _I've a bin_,
Somersetian.

The idiomatic expressions in this dialect are numerous, many will
be found in the Glossary; the following may be mentioned. _I'd
'sley do it_, for _I would as lief do it_. I have
occasionally in the Glossary suggested the etymology of some
words; by far the greater part have an Anglo-Saxon, some perhaps a
Danish origin; [and when we recollect that _Alfred the
Great_, a good Anglo-Saxon scholar, was born at Wantage in
Berks, on the border of Wilts, had a palace at Chippenham, and was
for some time resident in Athelney, we may presume that
traditional remains of him may have influenced the language or
dialect of Somersetshire, and I am inclined to think that the
present language and pronunciation of Somersetshire were some
centuries past, general in the south portion of our island.]

In compiling this Glossary, I give the fruits of twenty-five
years' assiduity, and have defined words, not from books, but from
actual usage; I have however carefully consulted _Junius_,
_Skinner_, _Minshew_, and some other old lexicographers,
and find many of their definitions correspond with my own; but I
avoid _conjectural_ etymology. Few dictionaries of our
language are to be obtained, published from the invention of
printing to the end of the 16th century, a period of about 150
years. They throw much light on our provincial words, yet after
all, our _old writers_ are our chief resource, [and doubtless
many MSS. in various depositories, written at different periods,
and recently brought to light, from the Record and State Paper
Office, and historical societies, will throw much light on the
subject]; and an abundant harvest offers in examining them, by
which to make an amusing book, illustrative of our provincial
words and ancient manners. I think we cannot avoid arriving at the
conclusion, that the Anglo-Saxon dialect, of which I conceive the
Western dialect to be a striking portion, has been gradually
giving way to our polished idiom; and is considered a barbarism,
and yet many of the _sounds_ of that dialect are found in
Holland and Germany, as a part of the living language of these
countries. I am contented with having thus far elucidated the
language of my native county. I have omitted several words, which
I supposed provincial, and which are frequent to the west, as they
are found in the modern dictionaries, still I have allowed a few,
which are in Richardson's Johnson.

_Thee_ is used for the nominative _thou_; which latter
word is seldom used, diphthong sounds used in this dialect are:

  uai, uoa, uoi, uoy, as
  guain, (gwain), quoat, buoil, buoy;

such is the disposition to pleonasm in the use of the
demonstrative pronouns, that they are very often used with the
adverb _there_. _TheA¤ze here, thick there_, [_thicky
there_, west of the Parret] _theA¤sam_ here, _theazamy
here, them there, themmy there_. The substitution of V for F,
and Z (_Izzard_, _Shard_, for S, is one of the strongest
words of numerous dialects.)

In words ending with _p_ followed by _s_, the letters
change places as:

  hasp--haps;
  clasp--claps,
  wasp--waps;

In a paper by General Vallancey in the second volume of the
_Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy_, read Dec. 27,
1788, it appears that a colony of English soldiers settled in the
_Baronies_ of _Forth Bargie_, in the county of Wexford,
in Ireland, in 1167, 1168, and 1169; and that colony preserved
their customs, manners, and language to 1788. There is added in
that paper a _vocabulary_ of their language, and a
_song_, handed down by tradition from the arrival of the
colony more than 600 years since. I think there can be no question
that these Irish colonists were from the West of England, from the
apparent admixture of dialects in the _vocabulary_ and
_song_, although the language is much altered from the Anglo-
Saxon of Somersetshire. [Footnote: This subject has been more
fully treated in the following work: A Glossary, with some pieces
of verse of the old dialect of the English colony in the Baronies
of Forth and Bargy, Co. Wexford, Ireland. Formerly collected by
Jacob Poole, of Growton, now edited with Notes and Introduction by
the Rev. W. Barnes, author of the Dorset Poems and Glossary, fcap.
8vo, 1867.] The words _nouth_, knoweth; _zin_, sin,
_vrast_, frost; _die_, day; _Zathardie_, Saturday;
_Zindii_, Sunday; and a few others, indicate an origin west
of the Parret. There are many words which with a trifling
alteration in spelling, would suit at the present time the north
eastern portion of the county: as _blauther_, bladder:
_crwest_, crust; _smill_, smell; _skir_, to rise in
the air [see _skeer_]; _vier_, fire; _vier_, a
weasel; _zar_, to serve; _zatch_, such, &c. From such
words as _ch'am_, and _ch'uh_, the southern part of the
county is clearly indicated. I think the disposition to elision
and contraction is as evident here as it is at present in
Somersetshire. In the song, there are marks of its having
undergone change since its first introduction.

_Lowthee_ is evidently derived from _lewth_ [see
Glossary] _lewthy_, will be, _abounding in lewth_, i. e.
sheltered.

The line

  "_As by mizluck wus I pit t' drive in._"

would in the present Somerset dialect stand thus:

  "_That by misluck war a put ta dreav in."

  That by mis-luck was placed to drive in.

In the line

  "_Chote well ar aim wai t' yie ouz n'eer a blowe_."

the word _chete_ is, I suspect, compounded of _'ch'_
[_iche_] and _knew_, implying _I knew_, or rather
_I knew'd_, or _knewt_. [Footnote: The following is
from, an amatory poem, written, in or about the reign of Henry
II., during which the colony of the English was established in the
county of Wexford.

  "Ichot from heune it is me sent."

In Johnson's _History of the English Language_, page liii. it
is thus translated--

  "I wot (believe) it is sent me from heaven."

To an admirer of our Anglo-Saxon all the lines, twelve in number,
quoted by M. Todd with the above, will be found a rich treat: want
of space only prevents my giving them here.]

The modern English of the line will then be,

  _I knew well their aim was to give us ne'r a blow_.

I suspect _zitckel_ is compounded of _zitch_, such, and
the auxiliary verb _will_. _I view ame_, is _a veo
o'm_; that is, _a few of them_. _Emethee_, is
_emmtey_, that is, abounding with ants. _Meulten away_,
is melting away.

  _Th'ast ee pait it, thee'st a paid it_; thou hast paid it.

In the _English translation_ which accompanies the original
_song_ in _General Vallancey's_ paper, some of the words
are, I think, beyond controversy misinterpreted, but I have not
room to go critically through it. All I desire should be inferred
from these remarks is, that, although this _Anglo-Saxon_
curiosity is well worthy the attention of those who take an
interest in our early literature, we must be careful not to assume
that it is a pure specimen of the language of the period to which,
and of the people to whom, it is said to relate.




A GLOSSARY OF WORDS COMMONLY USED IN THE County of Somerset,

BUT WHICH ARE NOT ACCCEPTED AS LEGITIMATE WORDS OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE;

OR WORDS WHICH, ALTHOUGH ONCE USED GENERALLY, ARE NOW BECOME
PROVINCIAL.




A.


A. _adv._ Yes; or _pron._ He: as _a zed a'd do it_;
he said he'd do it.

Aa'th. _s._ earth.

Ab'bey. _s._ The great white poplar: one of the varieties of
the _populus alba_.

Ab'bey-lubber. _s._ A lazy, idle fellow.

Abought. _part._ Bought. _See_ VAUGHT.

Abrood'. _adv._ When a hen is sitting on her eggs she is said
to be _abrood_.

Ad'dle. _s._ A swelling with matter in it.

Ad'dled. _a._ Having pus or corruption; hence

Ad'dled-egg. _s._ An egg in a state of putrefaction.

Affeard'. _a._ Afraid.

Afo're, Afo'rn. _prep_. and _adv._ Before; _afore,
Chaucer_.

Again. _prep_. Against.

Agon', Agoo'. _adv._ [these words literally mean
_gone_.] Ago; _agoo, Chaucer_; from the verb to
_goo_, _i.e._ to go; _he is up and agoo_; he is up
and gone.

Alas-a-dAcy. _interj._ A-lack-a-day.

Ale. _s._ A liquor, brewed with a proportion of malt from
about four to six bushels to the hogshead of 63 gallons; if it
contain more malt it is called _beer_; if less, it is usually
called _small beer_.

Al'ler. _s._ The alder tree.

AllA"s. _adv._ Always.

All'once. _pron._ [all ones] or rather (all o'n's) All of us;
_Let's go allonce_; let us go all of us.

All o's. _pron._ All of us.

Alost'. _part._ Lost: _ylost, Chaucer_.

Amang. _prep._ Among.

Amawst', Amoo'A¤st _adv_. Almost.

Amper. _s_. A small red pimple.

Anby'. _adv_. Some time hence; in the evening.

Anear', Ane'ast, Aneoust'. _prep._ Nigh to; _aneast en_,
near him.

Aneen. On end, upright.

An'passy. _s._ The sign &, corrupted from _and per se_.

Anty. _adj._ Empty.

Apast'. _part._ and _prep._ Past; _apast. Chaucer._

A'pricock. _s._ An apricot.

Aps. _s._ The asp tree; _populus tremula_.

Aps'en. _a_. Made of the wood of the asp; belonging to the
asp.

To Arg. _v. n._ To argue.

To Ar'gufy. _v. n._ To hold an argument; to argue.

Ascri'de. _adv._ Across; astride.

Aslen'. _adv._ Aslope.

Assu'e. _adj._ When a cow is _let up_ in order that she
may calve, she is said to be _assue_--having no milk.

Ater. _prep._ After. _Goo ater'n_: go after him.

Athin. _adv._ Within.

Athout. _prep._ Without.

Auverdro. _v. a._ Overthrow.

Avaur', Avaur'en, Avaurn._prep._ Before.

Avoordin. _part._ Affording.

Avraur'. _adj._ Frozen; stiff with frost.

Awakid. _adj._ Awake; _awakid, Chaucer_.

To Ax. _v. a._ To ask; _ax, Chaucer_.

Ax'en. _s. pl._ Ashes.

Axing. _s._ and _part._ Asking; _axing, Chaucer_.

Ay'ir. _s._ Air.




B.


Back'sid. _s._ A barton.

Back'y. _s._ Tobacco.

Bad. _adv._ Badly.

Bade. _s._ Bed.

Ba'ginet. _s._ Bayonet.

Bai'ly. _s._ A bailiff; a superintendent of an estate.

Ball. _adj._ Bald.

Bal'let. _s._ Ballad.

Ball'rib. _s._ A sparerib.

To Bal'lirag. _v. a._ To abuse with foul words; to scold.

To Ban. _v. a._ To shut out; to stop.

To Bane. _v. a._ To afflict with a mortal disease; applied to
sheep. _See_ to COATHE.

To Barenhond', To Banehond'. _v. n._ (used chiefly in the
third person singular) to signify intention; to intimate.

These words are in very common use in the West of England. It is
curious to note their gradation from Chaucer, whose expression is
_Beren hem on hond_, or _bare him on hand_; implying
always, it appears to me, the same meaning as I have given to the
words above. There is, I think, no doubt, that these expressions
of Chaucer, which he has used several times in his works, are
figurative; when Chaucer tells us he _beren hem, in hond,_
the literal meaning is, he carried it in, or on, his hand so that
it might be readily seen. "_To bear on hand_, to affirm, to
relate."--JAMIESON'S Etymological Scots Dictionary. But, whatever
be the meaning of these words in Chaucer, and at the present time
in Scotland, the above is the meaning of them in the west of
England.

Banes. _s. pl._ The banns of matrimony.

Ban'nin. _s._ That which is used for shutting out or
stopping.

Ban'nut. _s._ A walnut. [Only used in northern parts of
county.]

Barrow-pig. _s._ A gelt pig.

Baw'ker, Baw'ker-stone. _s._ A stone used for whetting
scythes; a kind of sand-stone.

To Becall'. _v. a._ To censure; to reprove; to chide.

Bee'A¤s, Bease. _s. pl. [Beasts]_ Cattle. Applied only to
_Oxen_ not Sheep.

Bee-but, Bee-lippen. _s._ A bee-hive

Bee'dy. _s._ A chick.

Beedy's-eyes. _s.pl._ Pansy, love-in-idleness.

Beer. _s. See_ ALE.

Befor'n. _prep._ Before.

To Begird'ge, To Begrud'ge. _v. a._ To grudge; to envy.

LORD BYRON has used the verb _begrudge_ in his notes to the
2nd canto of Childe Harold.

Begor'z, Begum'mers. _interj._

These words are, most probably, oaths of asseveration. The last
appears to be a corruption of _by godmothers_. Both are
thrown into discourse very frequently: _Begummers, I ont tell; I
cant do it begorz._

Begrumpled. _part._ Soured; offended.

To Belg. _v. n._ To cry aloud; to bellow.

Bell-flower. _s._ A daffodil.

To Belsh. _v. a._ To cut off dung, &c., from the tails of
sheep.

BeneA¤pt. _part._ Left aground by the recess of the spring
tides.

To Benge. _v. n._ To remain long in drinking; to drink to
excess.

Ben'net. _v._ Long coarse grass.

Ben'nety. _adj._ Abounding in bennets.

Ber'rin. _s._ [burying] A funeral procession.

To Beskum'mer. _v. a._ To foul with a dirty liquid; to
besmear.

To Bethink' _v. a._ To grudge.

Bettermost. _adj._ The best of the better; not quite
amounting to the best.

Betwat'tled. _part._ In a distressing and confused state of
mind.

To Betwit'. _v. a._ To upbraid; to repeat a past circumstance
aggravatingly.

To Bib'ble. _v. n._ To drink often; to tope.

Bib'bler. _s._ One who drinks often; a toper.

Bil'lid. _adj._ Distracted; mad.

Billy. _s._ A bundle of wheat straw.

Bi'meby. _adv._ By-and-by; some time hence.

Bin. _conj._ Because; probably corrupted from, being.

Bin'nick. _s._ A small fish; minnow; _Cyprinus
phloxinus._

Bird-battin. _s._ The catching of birds with a net and lights
by night. FIELDING uses the expression.

Bird-battin-net. _s._ The net used in bird-battin.

Birch'en. _adj._ Made of birch; relating to birch.

Bis'gee. _s._ (g hard), A rooting axe.

Bisky. _s._ Biscuit. The pronunciation of this word
approximates nearer to the sound of the French _cuit_ ["twice
baked"] the t being omitted in this dialect.

To Bi'ver. _v. n._ To quiver; to shake.

Black-pot, _s._ Black-pudding.

Black'ymoor. _s._ A negro.

Blackymoor's-beauty. _s._ Sweet scabious; the musk-flower.

Blanker. _s._ A spark of fire.

Blans'cue. _s._ Misfortune; unexpected accident.

Blather. _s._ Bladder. To blather, _v. n._ To talk fast,
and nonsensically [_to talk so fast that bladders form at the
mouth_]

BleAcchy. _adj._ Brackish; saltish: applied to water.

Blind-buck-and-Davy. _s._ Blind-man's buff. _Blindbuck and
have ye_, is no doubt the origin of this appellation for a
well-known amusement.

Blis'som. _ad._ Blithesome.

Blood-sucker. _s._ A leech.

Bloody-warrior. _s._ The wall-flower.

Boar. _s._ The peculiar head or first flowing of water from
one to two feet high at spring tides, in the river Parret a few
miles below and at Bridgewater, and in some other rivers.

[In Johnson's Dictionary this is spelt _bore_; I prefer the
above spelling. I believe the word is derived from the animal
_Boar_, from the noise, rushing, and impetuosity of the
water, Todd gives it "a tide swelling above another tide." Writers
vary in their opinions on the causes of this phenomenon. St.
Pierre. Ouvres, tom vi., p. 234, Ed. Hamburgh, 1797, describes it
not exactly the same in the Seine as in the Parret:--"Cette
montagne d'eau est produite par les marA"es qui entrent, de la mer
dans la Seine, et la font refluer contre son cours. On l'appelle
la _Barre_, parce-qu'elle _barre_ le cours de la Seine.
Cette barre est suivA(e d'une seconde barre plus elevA"e, qui la
suit a cent toises de distance. Elles courent beaucoup plus vA(te
qu'un cheval au galop." He says it is called _Bar_, because
it _bars_ the current. In the Encyclop. Metropol., art.
_Bore_, the editor did not seem more fortunate in his
derivation.]

Bobbish. _adj._ In health, and spirits. [_Pirty
bobbish_, pretty well.] Bonk. _s._ Bank.

BooA¤t. _s._ Boat.

BooA¤th. _pron._ Both. "_Boo'A¤th o' ye_; both of you.

Bor'rid. _adj._ A sow is said to be borrid when she wants the
male.

Bote. _part._ Bought.

Bow. _s._ A small arched bridge.

Boy's-love. _s._ Southernwood; a species of mugwort;
_artemisia abrotonum_.

Brave. _adj._ Well; recovering.

Bran. _s._ A brand; a stump of a tree, or other irregular and
large piece of wood, fit only for burning.

Bran-viA"r. _s._ A fire made with brands.

Bran'dis. _s._ A semicircular implement of iron, made to be
suspended over the fire, on which various things may be prepared;
it is much used for warming milk.

Brash. _s._ Any sudden development; a crash.

Brick'le, Brick'ly. _adj._ Brittle; easily broken.

Brim'mle. _s._ A bramble.

To Bring gwain. _v. a._ [_To bring going._] To spend; to
accompany some distance on a journey.

To Brit. _v. a._ To indent; to make an impression: applied to
solid bodies.

Brock. _s._ An irregular piece of peat dried for fuel; a
piece of turf. _See_ TURF.

Bruck'le, Bruck'ly. _adj._ Not coherent; easily separable:
applied to solid bodies. "My things are but in a bruckle state."
Waverley, v. 2, p. 328, edit. 1821. _See_ BRICKLE.

Bruck'leness. _s._ The state of being bruckle.

To Buck. _v. n._ To swell out.

To Bud'dle. _v._ To suffocate in mud.

To Bulge. _v. a._ To indent; to make an irregular impression
on a solid body; to bruise. It is also used in a neuter sense.

Bulge. _s._ An indentation; an irregular impression made on
some solid body; a swelling outwards or depression inwards.

Bul'len. _adj._ Wanting the bull.

Bul'lins. _s. pl._ Large black sloes; a variety of the wild
plum.

Bun'gee. _s._ (g hard), Any thing thick and squat.

Bunt, Bunting, _s._ Bolting cloth.

Bunt. _s._ A bolting-mill.

To Bunt. _v. a._ To separate flour from the bran.

Bur'cot. _s._ A load.

Buss. _s._ A half grown calf.

But. _s._ A conical and peculiar kind of basket or trap used
in large numbers for catching salmon in the river Parret. The term
_but_, would seem to be a generic one, the actual meaning of
which I do not know; it implies, however, some containing vessel
or utensil. _See_ BEE-BUT. _But_, applied to beef,
always means _buttock._

Butter-and-eggs. _s._ A variety of the daffodil.

Bwile. _v._ Boil.

Bwye. _interj._ Bye! adieu. This, as well as _good-bye_
and _good-bwye_, is evidently corrupted from _God be with
you_; God-be-wi' ye, equivalent to the French _A  Dieu_, to
God. Bwye, and good-bwye, are, therefore, how vulgar soever they
may seem, more analogous than _bye_ and _good-bye_.




C.


Callyvan'. _s._ A pyramidal trap for catching birds.

Car'riter. _s._ Character.

CAcs. Because.

Cass'n, Cass'n't. Canst not: as, _Thee cass'n do it_, thou
canst not do it.

Catch corner. A game commonly called elsewhere puss in the corner.

Cat'terpillar. _s._ The cockchafer; _Scarabeus
melolontha_.

_West_ of the Parret this insect is called _wock-web_,
oak-web, because it infests the _oak_, and spins its web on
it in great numbers.

ChaA-ty. _adj_. Careful; nice; delicate.

To Cham. _v. a._ To chew.

ChAimer. _s._ A chamber.

Change, _s._ A shift; the garment worn by females next the
skin.

Chay'er. _s._ A chair; chayer--_Chaucer_.

Chick-a-beedy. _s._ A chick.

'Chill. I will.

Chim'ley. _s._ A chimney.

Chine. _s._ The prominence of the staves beyond the head of a
cask. This word is well known to coopers throughout England, and
ought to be in our dictionaries.

To Chis'som. _v. n._ To bud; to shoot out.

Chis'som. _s._ a small shoot; a budding out.

Chit'terlins. _s. pl._ The frills around the bosom of shirt.

Choor. _s._ A job; any dirty household work; a troublesome
job.

Choor'er, Choor'-woman. _s._ A woman who goes out to do any
kind of odd and dirty work; hence the term _char-woman_ in
our polished dialect; but it ought to be _choor-woman_.

To ChoA ry. _v._ To do any kind of dirty household work.

Chub'by. _adj._ Full, swelling; as _chubby-faced_.

Claps, _s._ A clasp.

To claps, _v. a._ To clasp.

ClAivy and ClAivy-piece. _s._ A mantel-piecce.

[_Clavy_ was probably given to that piece of wood or other
material laid over the front of the fireplace, because in many
houses the keys are often hung on nails or pins driven into it;
hence from _clavis_ (Latin) _a key_, comes _clavy_,
the place where the keys are hung.]

Clavy-tack. _s._ The shelf over [tacked on to] the mantel-
piece.

Clear-and-sheer. _adv._ Completely; totally.

Cleve-pink. _s._ A species of Carnation which grows wild in
the crannies of Cheddar-cliffs: a variety of the _Dianthus
deltoides_; it has an elegant smell.

To Clim, to Climmer. _v. a._ To climb; to clamber.

Clin'kers. _s.pl._ Bricks or other earthy matter run into
irregular shapes by action of heat.

Clinker-bell. _s._ An icicle.

Clint. _v.a._ To clench; to finish; to fasten firmly.

Cliver-and-Shiver. _adv._ Completely; totally.

Clit. _v. n._ To be imperfectly fermented: applied to bread.

Clit'ty. _adj._ Imperfectly fermented.

Clize. _s._ A place or drain for the discharge of water
regulated by a valve or door, which permits a free outlet, but no
inlet for return of water.

CoA¤se. _adj._ Coarse.

Coathe. _v. a._ To bane: applied to sheep.

Cob-wall, _s._ Mud-wall; a wall made of clay mixed with
straw.

Cockygee. _s._ Cockagee; a rough sour apple.

Cocklawt. _s._ A garret; cock-loft.

Originally, most probably, a place where the fowls roosted.

Cock-squailing. _s._ A barbarous game, consisting in tying a
cock to a stake, and throwing a stick at him from a distance till
he is killed.

Cock-and-Mwile. _s._ A jail.

Col'ley, _s._ A blackbird.

To Collogue, _v. n._ To associate in order to carry out some
improper purpose, as thieves. [Two such rascals _collogue_
together for mischief. Rob Roy, p. 319, ed. 1821.]

Collo'gin. _s._ (g _hard_). An association for some
improper purpose.

[Johnson defines it _flattery; wheedling_; which does not
convey the correct meaning.]

Colt-ale, _s._ (Sometimes called _footing_ or foot-ale)
literally ale given, or money paid for ale, by a person entering
on a new employment, to those already in it.

Comforts (comfits.) _s. pl._ Sugared corianders, cinnamon,
&c.

Com'ical. _adj._ Odd; singular.

Contraption. _s._ Contrivance; management.

Coop. _interj._ Come up! a word of call to fowls to be fed.

To Cork. _v. a._ Cawk; calk; to set on a horse's shoes sharp
points of iron to prevent slipping on ice.

To Count, _v. n._ To think; to esteem.

Cow-baby, _s._ A coward; a timid person.

To Crap, to Crappy. _v. n._ to snap; to break with a sudden
sound; to crack.

Crap. _s._ A smart sudden sound.

Craup. _preterite_ of creep.

Cre'aped. Crept.

Creem. _s._ Sudden shivering.

CreA(my. _adj._ Affected with sudden shivering.

Creeplin. _part._ Creeping.

Crips. _adj._ Crisp.

Criss-cross-lain. _s._ The alphabet; so called in consequence
of its being formerly preceded in the _horn-book_ by a cross to
remind us of the cross of Christ; hence the term. _Christ-Cross-
line_ came at last to mean nothing more than the alphabet.

Crock, _s._ A bellied pot, of iron or other metal, for
boiling food.

Croom. _s._ A crumb; a small bit.

Crowd-string, _s._ A fiddle-string.

Crowdy-kit. _s._ A small fiddle.

Crow'ner. _s._ A coroner.

To be Crowned. _v. pass._ To have an inquest held over a dead
body by the coroner.

Crowst. _s._ Crust.

Crow'sty. _adj._ Crusty, snappish, surly.

Crub, Crubbin. _s._ Food: particularly bread and cheese.

Cubby-hole. _s_. A snug, confined place.

Cuckold _s._ The plant burdock.

To Cull. _v. n._ To take hold round the neck with the arms.

Cute. _adj._ [Acute] sharp; clever.

Cutty. _adj._ Small; diminutive.

Cutty, Cutty-wren._s._ A wren.




D.


DA`. _s._ Day.

DA yze. Days.

Dade. Dead.

Dad'dick. _s._ Rotten wood.

Dad'dicky. _adj._ Rotten, like daddick.

Dame. _s._ This word is originally French, and means in that
language, _lady_; but in this dialect it means a mistress; an
old woman; and never a lady; nor is it applied to persons in the
upper ranks of society, nor to the very lowest; when we say
_dame_ Hurman, or _dame_ Bennet, we mean the wife of
some farmer; a school-mistress is also sometimes called dame
(dame-schools).

Dang. _interj._ Generally followed by pronoun, as _dang
it_; _dang Aªm_; _od dang it_: [an imprecation, a
corruption of _God dang it_ (_God hang it_) or more
likely corruption of _damn_.]

Dap, _v. n._ To hop; to rebound.

Dap. _s._ A hop; a turn. _To know the daps of a person_
is, to know his disposition, his habits, his peculiarities.

Dap'ster. _s._ A proficient.

To Daver. _v. n._ To fade; to fall down; to droop.

Dav'ison. _s._ A species of wild plum, superior to the
bullin.

Daw'zin. _s._ The passing over land with a bent hazel rod,
held in a certain direction, to discover whether veins of metal or
springs are below, is called _Dawzin_, which is still
practised in the mining districts of Somersetshire. There is an
impression among the vulgar, that certain persons only have the
gift of the _divining rod_, as it has been sometimes called;
by the French, _Baguette Devinatoire_.

_Ray_, in his _Catalogus Plantarum AngliA|, &c._, Art.
_Corylus_, speaks of the divining rod: " Vulgus metallicorum
ad virgulam divinum, ut vocant, quAc venas metallorum inquA-rit prA|
cA|teris furcam eligit colurnam." More may be seen in John Bauhin.


Des'perd. _adj._ [Corrupted from desperate.] Very, extremely;
used in a good as well as a bad sense: _desperd good_;
_desperd bad_.

Dewberry, _s._ A species of blackberry.

Dibs. _s. pl._ Money.

Did'dlecome. _adj._ Half-mad; sorely vexed.

Dig'ence. _s._ [g hard, _diggunce_, Dickens] a vulgar
word for the _Devil_.

Dird. _s._ Thread.

Dirsh, _s._ A thrush.

Dirten. _adj._ Made of dirt.

Dock. _s._ A crupper.

Doe. _part._ Done.

To Doff. _v. a._ To put off.

To Don. _v. a._ To put on.

Donnins. _s. pl._ Dress; clothes.

Dough-fig. _s._ A fig; so called, most probably, from its
feeling like _dough_. JUNIUS has _dotefig_: I know not
where he found it. _See_ FIG.

To Dout. _v. a._ To extinguish; to put out.

To Downarg. _v. a._ [To _argue_ one _down_]; to
contradict; to contend with.

Dowst. _s._ Dust; money; _Down wi' tha dowst!_ Put down
the money!

Dowsty. _adj._ Dusty.

[_Dr_ used for _thr_ in many words:] as _droo_ for
_through_.

Draffit. _s._ [I suppose from draught-vat.] A vessel to hold
pot-liquor and other refuse from the kitchen for pigs.

Drang. _s._ A narrow path.

To Drash. _v. a._ To thresh.

Dras'hel. _s._ The threshold; a flail.

Dras'her. _s._ A thresher.

Drauve. _s._ A drove, or road to fields.

Drawt. _s._ Throat.

To Drean. _v. n._ To drawl in reading or speaking.

Drean. _s._ A drawling in reading or speaking.

Dreaten. _v._ Threaten.

Dree. _a._ Three.

To Dring. _v. n._ To throng; to press, as in a crowd; to
thrust.

Dring'et. _s._ A crowd; a throng.

To Droa. _v. a._ To throw.

Droa. Throw.

DrooA¤te. Throat.

Drob. _v._ Rob.

Drode (_throw'd_). _part._ Threw, thrown.

Droo. _prep._ Through.

To drool. _v. n._ To drivel.

To Drow. _v. n., v. a._ To dry.

_The hay do'nt drowy at all._ See the observations which
precede this vocabulary.

Drowth. _s._ Dryness; thirst.

Drow'thy. _adj._ Dry; thirsty.

Drove. _s._ A road leading to fields, and sometimes from one
village to another. Derived from its being a way along which
cattle are driven. RAY uses the word in his _Catalogus Plantorum
AngliA|, &c._, Art. _Chondrilla_.

To Drub. _v. n., v. a._ To throb; to beat.

Drubbin. _s._ A beating.

To Druck. _v. a._ To thrust down; to cram; to press.

Dub, Dub'bed, Dub'by. _adj._ Blunt; not pointed; squat.

Dub'bin. _s._ Suet.

Duck-an-Mallard. _s._ (Duck and Drake) a play of throwing
slates or flat stones horizontally along the water so as to skim
the surface and rise several times before they sink. _"Hen pen,
Duck-an-Mallard, Amen."_

To Dud'der. _v. a._ To deafen with noise; to render the head
confused.

Duds. _s. pl._ Dirty cloaths.

Dum'bledore. _s._ A humble-bee; a stupid fellow.

Dunch, (Dunce?). _adj._ Deaf.

As a deaf person is very often, apparently at least, stupid; a
stupid, intractable person is, therefore, called a DUNCE: one who
is deaf and intractable. What now becomes of _Duns Scotus_,
and all the rest of the recondite observations bestowed upon
DUNCE?--_See_ GROSE.

I have no doubt that _Dunch_ is Anglo-Saxon, although I
cannot find it in any of our old dictionaries, except Bailey's.
But it ought not to be forgotten, that many words are floating
about which are being arrested by our etymologists in the present
advancing age of investigation.

Durns. _s. pl._ A door-frame.

Dwon't, Dwon. _v._ (Don't) do not.




E.


Eake. _adv._ Also.

Ear-wrig. _s._ Earwig.

This word ought to be spelled _Earwrig_, as it is derived,
doubtless, from wriggle. See WRIGGLE.

Eese. _adv._ Yes.

Eet. _adv._ Yet.

El'men. _adj._ Of or belonging to elm; made of elm.

El'ver. _s._ A young eel.

Em'mers. _s. pl._ Embers.

Emmet-batch, _s._ An ant-hill.

To Empt. _v.a._ To empty.

En. _pron._Him; _a zid en_; he saw him.

Er. _pron._ He. [Used West of the Parret.]

Eth. _s._ Earth.

To Eve. _v.n._ To become damp; to absorb moisture from the
air.

Evet. _s._ A lizard.

Ex. _s._ An axle.




F.


Fags! _interj._ Truly; indeed.

Fayer. _s._ and _adj._ Fair.

To Fell. _v.a._ To sew in a particular manner; to inseam.

This word is well known to the ladies, I believe, all over the
kingdom; it ought to be in our dictionaries.

Fes'ter. _s._ An inflammatory tumour.

Few, Veo. _adj._ More commonly pronounced _veo_. Little;
as a _few broth_.

Fig. _s._ A raisin.

Figged-pudding. _s._ a pudding with raisins in it; plum-
pudding.

FildA"fare. _s._ A Fieldfare. "Farewell fieldA"fare."
_Chaucer_. Meaning that, as fieldfares disappear at a
particular season, _the season is over_, _the bird is
flown_.

Fil'try. _s._ Filth; nastiness; rubbish.

Firnd. _v._ To find.

Firnd. _s._ Friend.

Fitch, Fitchet. _s._ A pole-cat. _As cross as a
fitchet._

Fit'ten, Vit'ten. _s._ A feint; a pretence.

Flap-jack. _s._ A fried cake made of batter, apples, &c.; a
fritter.

To Flick. _v.a._ To pull out suddenly with some pointed
instrument.

Flick-tooth-comb. _s._ A comb with coarse teeth for combing
the hair.

Flick. _s._ The membrane loaded with fat, in the bellies of
animals: a term used by butchers.

Flook. _s._ An animal found in the liver of sheep, similar in
shape to a flook or flounder.

Flush. _adj._ Fledged; able to fly: (applied to young birds.)

FooA¤se. _s._ Force. See VooA¤se.

To FooA¤se. _v.a._ To force.

Foo'ter. _s._ [Fr. _foutre_] A scurvy fellow; a term of
contempt.

Foo'ty. _adj._ Insignificant; paltry; of no account.

For'rel. _s._ the cover of a book.

Forweend'. _adj._ Humoursome; difficult to please: (applied
to children).

Fout. _preterite._ of to fight.

French-nut. _s._ A walnut.

To Frump. _v.a._ To trump up.

To Frunt. _v.a._ To affront.

To Fur. _v.a._ To throw.

Fur'cum. _s._ The bottom: the whole.

Fur'nis. _s._ A large vessel or boiler, used for brewing, and
other purposes; fixed with bricks and mortar, and surrounded with
flues, for the circulation of heat, and exit of smoke.




G.


Gaern. _s._ A garden.

Gale. _s._ An old bull castrated.

Gal'libagger. _s._ [From _gally_ and _beggar_] A
bug-bear.

Gal'lise. _s._ The gallows.

Gallid. _adj._ Frightened.

To Gal'ly. _v. a._ To frighten.

Gallant'ing, Galligant'ing. _part._ Wandering about in gaiety
and enjoyment: applied chiefly to associations of the sexes.

Gam'bril. _s._ A crooked piece of wood used by butchers to
spread, and by which to suspend the carcase.

Gan'ny-cock. _s._ A turkey-cock.

Ganny-cock's Snob. _s._ The long membranous appendage at the
beak, by which the cock-turkey is distinguished.

Gare. _s._ The iron work for wheels, waggons, &c., is called
ire-gare; accoutrements.

Gate-shord. _s._ A gate-way; a place for a gate.

Gat'fer. _s._ An old man.

Gaw'cum. _s._ A simpleton; a gawkey.

Gawl-cup. _s._ Gold cup.

To Gee. _v.n._ [g soft] To agree; to go on well together.

To Gee. _v.n._ [g hard; part, and past tense, _gid_.] To
give. _Gee_ often includes the pronoun, thus, "I'll gee"
means I'll give you; the _gee_, and _ye_ for _you_,
combining into _gee_.

To G'auf. _v.n._ To go off.

To G'auver. _v.n._ To go over.

To G'in. _v.n._ To go in.

To G'on. _v.n._ To go on.

To G'out. _v.n._ To go out.

To G'under. _v.n._ To go under,

To G'up. _v.n._ To go up.

Gib'bol. _s._ [g soft] The sprout of an onion of the second
year.

Gid. _pret. v._ Gave.

Gifts. _s.pl._ The white spots frequently seen on the finger
nails.

Gig'letin. _adj._ Wanton; trifling; applied to the female
sex.

Gil'awfer. _s._ A term applied to all the kinds of flowers
termed _stocks_; and also to a few others: as a
_Whitsuntide gilawfer_, a species of _Lychnidea_.

Gim'mace. _s._ A hinge.

Gim'maces. _s. pl._ When a criminal is gibbeted, or hung in
irons or chains, he is said to be hung in _Gimmaces_, most
probably because the apparatus swings about as if on hinges.

Ginnin. _s._ Beginning.

Girnin. _part._ Grinning.

Girt. _adj._ Great.

Gird'l. Contracted from _great deal_; as, gird'l o' work;
great deal of work.

To Glare. _v. a._ To glaze earthenware.

Glare. _s._ The glaze of earthenware.

G'lore. _adv._ In plenty.

This word, without the apostrophe, _Glore_, is to be found in
Todd's Johnson, and there defined _fat_. The true meaning is,
I doubt not, as above; _fat g'lore_, is _fat in plenty_.

Gold. _s._ The shrub called sweet-willow or wild myrtle;
_Myrica gale_.

This plant grows only in peat soils; it is abundant in the boggy
moors of Somersetshire; it has a powerful and fragrant smell.

Gold-cup. _s._ A species of crow-foot, or ranunculus, growing
plentifully in pastures; _ranunculus pratensis._

To Goo. _v. n._ [_Gwain_, going; _gwon_, gone.] To
go.

Gookoo. _s._ Cookoo.

Goo'ner. _interj._ Goodnow!

Good'-Hussey. _s._ A thread-case.

Goose-cap. _s._ A silly person.

Graint'ed. _adj._ Fixed in the grain; difficult to be
removed; dirty.

Gram'fer. _s._ Grandfather.

Gram'mer. _s._ Grandmother.

To Gree. _v. n._ To agree.

Gribble. _s._ A young apple-tree raised from seed.

To Gripe, _v. a._ To cut into gripes. See GRIPE.

Gripe. _s._ [from Dutch, _groep_.] A small drain, or
ditch, about a foot deep, and six or eight inches wide.

In English Dictionaries spelled _grip_.

Griping-line. _s._ A line to direct the spade in cutting
gripes.

Groan'in. _s._ Parturition; the time at which a woman is in
labour.

Ground, _s._ A field.

Gro'zens. _s. pl._ The green minute round-leaved plants
growing upon the surface of water in ditches; duck's-meat; the
_Lens palustris_ of Ray.

Gruff. _s._ A mine.

Gruf'fer. Gruf'fier. _s._ A miner.

To Gud'dle. _v. n._ To drink much and greedily.

Gud'dler. _s._ A greedy drinker; one who is fond of liquor.

To Gulch, _v. n._ To swallow greedily.

Gulch. _s._ A sudden swallowing.

Gump'tion. _s._ Contrivance; common sense.

Gum'py. _adj._ Abounding in protuberances.

Gurds. _s. pl._ Eructations. [By _Fits and gurds._]

Guss. _s._ A girth.

To Guss. _v. a._ To girth.

Gwain. _part._ Going.

Gwon. _part._ Gone.




H.


Hack. _s._ The place whereon bricks newly made are arranged
to dry.

To Hain. _v. a._ To exclude cattle from a field in order that
the grass may grow, so that it may be mowed.

Hal'lantide. _s._ All Saints' day.

Ham. _s._ A pasture generally rich, and also unsheltered,
applied only to level land.

Hame. _sing._, Hames. _pl._ _s._ Two moveable
pieces of wood or iron fastened upon the collar, with suitable
appendages for attaching a horse to the shafts. Called sometimes
_a pair of hames_.

Han'dy. _adv._ Near, adjoining.

Hang-gallise. _adj._ Deserving the gallows, felonious, vile;
as, _a hang-gallise fellow_.

Hange. _s._ The heart, liver, lungs, &c., of a pig, calf, or
sheep.

Hang'kicher. _s._ Handkerchief.

Hangles. _s. pl._ A _pair of hangles_ is the iron crook,
&c., composed of teeth, and hung over the fire, to be moved up and
down at pleasure for the purpose of cookery, &c.

To Happer. _v. n._ To crackle; to make repeated smart noises.

To Haps. _v. a._ To Hasp.

Haps. _s._ A hasp.

Hard. _adj._ Full grown. _Hard people_, adults.

Harm. _s._ Any contagious or epidemic disease not
distinguished by a specific name.

Har'ras. _s._ Harvest.

Hart. _s._ A haft; a handle.

Applied to such instruments as knives, awls, etc.

Hathe. _s. To be in a hathe_, is to be set thick and close
like the pustules of the small-pox or other eruptive disease; to
be matted closely together.

To Have. _v. n._ To behave.

Haw. See _ho_.

Hay-maidens. _s. pl._ Ground ivy.

Hay'ty-tay'ty, Highty-tity. _interj._ What's here! _s._
[height and tite, weight]. A board or pole, balanced in the middle
on some prop, so that two persons, one sitting at each end, may
move up and down in turn by striking the ground with the feet.
Sometimes called _Tayty_ [See-saw].

In Hay'digees. [g soft] _adv._ To be in high spirits; to be
frolicsome.

HeA¤t _s._ Pronounced He-at, dissyllable, heat.

Hea'ram-skearam. _adj._ Wild; romantic.

To Heel, _v. a._ To hide; to cover. Chaucer, "_hele_."
Hence, no doubt, the origin of _to heal_, to cure, as applied
to wounds; _to cover over_.

Heeler, _s._ One who hides or covers. Hence the very common
expression, _The healer is as bad as the stealer_; that is,
the receiver is as bad as the thief.

Heft. _s._ Weight.

To Hell. _v. a._ To pour.

Hel'lier. _s._ A person who lays on the tiles of a roof; a
tiler. A Devonshire word.

Helm. _s._ Wheat straw prepared for thatching.

To Hen. _v. a._ To throw.

To Hent. _v. n._ To wither; to become slightly dry.

Herd _s._ A keeper of cattle.

Hereawa, Hereaway. _adv._ Hereabout.

Herence. _adv._ From this place; hence.

Hereright. _adv._ Directly; in this place.

Het. _pron._ It. _Het o'nt_, it will not.

To Het. _v. a._ To hit, to strike; _part._ _het_
and _hut_.

To Hick. _v.n._ To hop on one leg.

Hick. _s._ A hop on one leg.

_Hick-step and jump._ Hop-step and jump. A well known
exercise.

To Hike of. _v. n._ To go away; to go off. Used generally in
a bad sense.

Hine. _adj._ (Hind) Posterior; relating to the back part.
Used only in composition, as, a _hine_ quarter.

To Hire tell. _v. n._ To hear tell; to learn by report; to be
told.

Hip'pety-hoppety. _adv._ In a limping and hobbling manner.

Hirches. _s._ riches.

Hir'd. _v._ [i long] heard.

To Him. _v. n._ [_hirnd_, pret, and part.] To run.

To Hitch, _v. n._ To become entangled or hooked together; to
hitch up, to hang up or be suspended. _See the next word._

To Hitch up. _v. a._ To suspend or attach slightly or
temporarily.

The following will exemplify the active meaning of this verb:

 Sir Strut, for so the witling throng
 Oft called him when at school,
 And _hitch'd_ him _up_ in many a song
 To sport and ridicule.

Hiz'en. Used for _his_ when not followed by a substantive,
as, whose house is that? _Hiz'en._ [His own].

Hi'zy Pi'zy. A corruption of _Nisi Prius_, a well known law
assize.

To Ho for, To Haw vor. _v. a._ To provide for; to take care
of; to desire; to wish for.

Hob'blers. _s. pl._ Men employed in towing vessels by a rope
on the land.

Hod. _s._ A sheath or covering; perhaps from _hood_.

Hog. _s._ A sheep one year old.

To Hoke. _v. a._ To wound with horns; to gore.

Hod'medod. _adj._ Short; squat.

Hollar. _adj._ Hollow.

To Hollar. _v. a._ To halloo.

Hollar. _s._ A halloo.

Hol'lardy. _s._ A holiday.

Hollardy-day. _s._ Holy-rood day; the third of May.

Hollabeloo'. _s._ A noise; confusion; riot.

Hol'men. _adj._ Made of holm.

Holt. _interj._ Hold; stop. _Holt-a-blow_, give over
fighting.

Ho'mescreech. _s._ A bird which builds chiefly in apple-
trees; I believe it is the _Turdus viscivorus,_ or missel.

Hon. _s._ hand.

Honey-suck, Honey-suckle. _s._ The wodbine.

Honey-suckle. _s._ Red Clover.

Hoo'say. _See_ WHOSAY.

Hoop. _s._ A bullfinch.

Hor'nen. _adj._ Made of horn.

Hornen-book. _s._ Hornbook.

Horse-stinger. _s_ The dragon-fly.

Hoss. _s._ horse.

Hoss-plAcs _s. pl._ Horse-plays; rough sports.

Houzen. _s. pl._ Houses.

Howsomiver. _adv._ However; howsoever.

Huck'muck. _s._ A strainer placed before the faucet in the
mashing-tub.

Hud. _s._ A hull, or husk.

Huf. _s_ A hoof.

Huf-cap _s._ A plant, or rather weed, found in fields, and
with difficulty eradicated.

I regret that I cannot identify this plant with any known
botanical name.

 Graced with _huff-cap_ terms and thundering threats,
 That his poor hearers' hair quite upright sets.

 _Bp. Hall, Book_ I, _Sat._ iii.

Some editor of Hall has endeavoured to explain the term huff-cap
by _blustering, swaggering._ I think it simply means
_difficult_.


Hug. _s._ The itch. _See_ SHAB (applied to brutes. )

Hug-water. _s._ Water to cure the hug. _See_ SHAB.

To Hul'der. _v. a._ To hide; conceal.

Hul'ly. _s._ A peculiarly shaped long wicker trap used for
catching eels.

To Hulve. _v. a._ To turn over; to turn upside down.

Hum'drum. _s._ A small low three-wheeled cart, drawn usually
by one horse: used occasionally in agriculture.

From the peculiarity of its construction, it makes a kind of
humming noise when it is drawn along; hence, the origin of the
adjective _humdrum_.

Hunt-the-slipper. _s._ A well-known play.




I.


I. _ad._ Yes; _I, I_, yes, yes; most probably a corrupt
pronunciation of _ay._

Inin. _s._ Onion.

Ire. _s._ Iron.

Ire-gare. _s. See_ GARE.

Ise. _pron._ I. _See_ UTCHY, [West of the Parret].

Ist. [i long]. _s._ East.

Istard. [i long]. _adv._ Eastward.

It. _adv._ Yet, [pronouced both _it_ and _eet>]. see
N'eet.




J.


Jack-in-the-Lanthorn, Joan-in-the-Wad.	_s._ The meteor
usually called a _Will with the Wisp_.

Ignis Fatuus.--Arising from ignition of phosphorus from rotten
leaves and decayed vegetable matters.

Jaunders. _s._ The jaundice.

To Jee. _v. n._ To go on well together; _see_ To GEE.
Jif'fey. _s._ A short time: an instant.

Jist. _adv._ Just.

Jitch, Jitchy. _adj._ Such.

Jod. _s._ The letter J.

Jorum. _s._ A large jug, bowl, &c., full of something to be
eaten or drank.

To Jot. _v. a._ To disturb in writing; to strike the elbow.




K.


The sound K is often displaced by substituting _qu_, as for
coat, corn, corner, cost; _quoat_ or (_quA"t_) _quoin,
quiner, quost._


Keck'er. _s._ The windpipe; the trachea.

Keep. _s._ A basket, applied only to large baskets.

To Keeve. _v. a._ To put the wort in a keeve for some time to
ferment.

Keeve. _s._ A large tub or vessel used in brewing. A mashing-
tub is sometimes called a _keeve_.

Kef'fel. _s._ A bad and worn out horse.

To Kern. _v. n._ To turn from blossom to fruit: the process
of turning from blossom to fruit is called _kerning_.

Kex, Kexy. _s._ The dry stalks of some plants, such as Cows-
parsley and Hemlock, are called Kexies. _As dry as a kexy_ is
a common simile.

Kill. _s._ A Kiln.

Kil'ter. _s._ Money.

King'bow, or rather, a-kingbow. _adv._ Kimbo.

Chaucer has this word _kenebow,_ which is, perhaps, the true
one--a _kenebow,_ implying a bow with a keen or sharp angle.

 "He set his arms in _kenebow_."

CHAUCER, _Second Merchant's Tale._

Or place the arms _a-Kingbow_, may be to place them in a
consequential manner of commanding, like a king.


Kir'cher. _s._ The midriff; the diaphragm.

Kirsmas. _s._ Christmas.

Kirsen. _v. a._ To Christen.

[These two words are instances of the change of place of certain
letters, particularly _r._]

Kit. _s._ A tribe; a collection; a gang.

Kit'tle, Kittle-smock. _s._ A smock frock.

Knack-kneed. _adj._ In-kneed; having the knees so grown that
they strike [_knock_] against each other.

Knot'tlins. _s. pl._ The intestines of a pig or calf prepared
for food by being tied in knots and afterwards boiled.




L.


Lade-Pail. _s._ A small pail, with a long handle, used for
the purpose of filling other vessels.

LAideshrides. _s. pl._ The sides of the waggon which project
over the wheels. _See_ SHRIDE.

Ladies-smock. _s._ A species of bindweed; _Convolvulus
sepium. See_ WITHY-WINE.

Lady Buddick. _s._ A rich and early ripe apple.

Lady-cow. _s._ A lady-bird; the insect _Coccinella
Septempunctata_.

Lady's-hole. _s._ A game at cards.

Lai'ter. _s._ The thing laid; the whole quantity of eggs
which a hen lays successively.

 _She has laid out her laiter._

Lamager. _adj._ Lame; crippled; laid up.

Larks-leers. _s. pl._ Arable land not in use; such is much
frequented by larks; any land which is poor and bare of grass.

Lart, Lawt. _s._ The floor: never applied to a stone floor,
but only to _wooden_ floors; and those up stairs.

Las-charg'eable! _interj._ Be quiet! _The last
chargeable_: that is, he who last strikes or speaks in
contention is most blamable.

LAct. _s._ A lath.

Lat'itat. _s._ A noise; a scolding.

Lat'tin. _s._ Iron, plates covered with tin.

Lattin. _adj._ Made of lattin; as a lattin saucepan, a lattin
teakettle, &c.

Laugh-and-lie-down. _s._ A common game at cards.

To Lave. _v. a._ To throw water from one place to another.

To Le'A¤t. _v. n_. To leak.

Le'A¤t. _s_. A leak; a place where water is occasionally let
out.

Leath'er. _v. a_. To beat.

Leathern-mouse, _s_. A bat.

Leer. _adj_. Empty.

Leer. _s_. The flank.

Leers. _s. pl_. Leas; rarely used: but I think it always
means stubble land, or land similar to stubble land.

Lent. _s_. Loan; the use of any thing borrowed.

Lew. _adj_. Sheltered; defended from storms, or wind

Lew, Lewth. _s_. Shelter; defence from storm or wind.

Lib'et. _s_. A piece; a tatter.

Lid'den. _s_. A story; a song.

Lie-lip. _s_. A square wooden vessel having holes in its
bottom, to contain wood-ashes for making lie.

Lights. _s. pl_. The lungs.

Lighting-stock. _s_. A horse-block; steps of wood or stone,
made to ascend and descend from a horse.

Lim'bers, Lim'mers. _s. pl_. The shafts of a waggon, cart,
&c.

Linch. _s_. A ledge; a rectangular projection; whence the
term _linch-pin_ (a pin with a linch), which JOHNSON has, but
not linch.

The derivations of this word, _linch-pin_ by our
etymologists, it will be seen, are now inadmissable.

To Line. _v. n._ To lean; to incline towards or against
something.

Lin'ny. _s._ An open shed, attached to barns, outhouses, &c.

Lip, Lip'pen. _s._ A generic term for several containing
vessels, as _bee-lippen_, _lie-lip_, _seed-lip_,
_&c_. which see.

Lip'ary. _adj._ Wet, rainy. Applied to the seasons: _a
lipary time_.

To Lir'rop. _v. a._ To beat.

This is said to be a corruption of the sea term, _lee-rope_.

Lis'som. _adj._ Lithe; pliant. Contracted from _light-
some_, or _lithe-some_.

List, Lis'tin. _s._ The strip or border on woollen cloth.

Lis'tin. _adj._ Made of list.

To Lob. _v. n._ To hang down; to droop.

Lock. _s._ A small quantity; as a _lock_ of hay, a
_lock_ of straw.

Lock-a-Daisy. _interj._ of surprise or of pleasure.

Lockyzee. _interj._ Look, behold! _Look you, see!_

To Long. _v. n._ To belong.

Long'ful. _adj._ Long in regard to time.

Lose-Leather. To be galled by riding.

Lowance. _s._ Allowance: portion.

Lug. _s._ A heavy pole; a pole; a long rod.

I incline to think this is the original of log.

Lug-lain. _s._ Full measure; the measure by the lug or pole.

Lump'er. _v. n._ To lumber; to move heavily; to stumble.




M.


Mace. _s. pl._ Acorns.

Madam. _s._ Applied to the most respectable classes of
society: as, Madam Greenwood, Madam Saunders, &c.

Mallard. _s._ A male duck.

To Manche, to Munche. _v. a._ To chew. Probably from
_manger_, French.

Man'der. _s._ A corruption of the word, _manner_, used
only in the sense of _sort_ or _kind_: as, _Acll mander
o' things_; all sorts of things.

To Mang. _v. a._ To mix.

Mang-hangle. _adj._ Mixed in a wild and confused manner.

To maw. _v. a._ To mow.

Maw'kin. _s._ A cloth, usually wetted and attached to a pole,
to sweep clean a baker's oven. _See_ SLOMAKING.

May. _s._ The blossom of the white thorn.

May-be, MAc-be. _adv._ Perhaps; it may be.

May-fool. _s._ Same as _April fool_.

May-game, MAc-game. _s._ A frolic; a whim.

To Meech. _v. n._ To play truant; to absent from school
without leave.

Meech'er. _s._ A truant.

To Mell. _v. a._ To meddle; to touch. _I'll neither mell
nor make_: that is, I will have nothing to do with it. _I ont
mell o't_, I will not touch it.

 "Of eche mattir thei wollin mell."

CHAUCER'S _Plowman's Tale._


Mesh. _s._ Moss; a species of lichen which grows plentifully
on apple trees.

To Mess, To Messy. _v. a._ to serve cattle with hay.

Messin. _s._ The act of serving cattle with hay.

Mid. _v. aux._ Might, may.

To Miff. _v. a._ To give a slight offence; to displease.

Miff. _s._ A slight offence; displeasure.

Mig. _s. As sweet as mig_ is a common simile; I suspect that
_mig_ means _mead_, the liquor made from honey.

Milt. _s._ The spleen.

Mi'lemas. Michaelmas.

Min. A low word, implying contempt, addressed to the person to
whom we speak, instead of Sir. I'll do it, _min_.

Mine. _v._ Mind; remember.

Mix'en. _s._ A dunghill.

Miz'maze. _s._ Confusion.

Mom'macks. _s. pl._ Pieces; fragments.

Mom'met, Mom'mick. _s._ A scarecrow; something dressed up in
clothes to personate a human being.

Moor-coot. _s._ A moor hen.

To Moot. _v. a._ To root up.

Moot. _s._ A stump, or root of a tree.

To More. _v. n._ To root; to become fixed by rooting.

More. _s._ A root.

Mought. _v. aux._ Might.

Mouse-snap, _s._ A mouse trap.

Mug'gets. _s. pl._ The intestines of a calf or sheep.
Derived, most probably, from maw and guts.

To Mult. _v._ To melt.

Mus' goo. must go.

'Mus'd. Amused.




N.


Many words beginning with a vowel, following the article
_an,_ take the _n_ from an; as, _an inch,_
pronounced _a ninch._

Na'atal. _adj._ natural.

Na'atally. _adv._ naturally.

NaA¬se. _s._ noise.

Nan. _interjec._ Used in reply, in conversation or address,
the same as _Sir_, when you do not understand.

NAcnt. _s._ Aunt.

Nap. _s._ A small rising; a hillock.

NAction. _adv._ Very, extremely: as _nation_ good;
_nation_ bad.

Nawl. _s_. An awl.

Nawl. _s._ The navel.

Nawl-cut. _s._ A piece cut out at the navel: a term used by
butchers.

N'eet, N'it. _adv._ Not yet.

Nestle Tripe. _s._ The weakest and poorest bird in the nest;
applied, also, to the last-born, and usually the weakest child of
a family; any young, weak, and puny child, or bird

New-qut-and-jerkin. _s._ A game at cards in a more refined
dialect _new-coat and jerkin_.

Nif. _conj._ If.

Nill. _s._ A needle.

Nist, Nuost. _prep._ Nigh, near.

Niver-tha-near. _adv._ (Never-the-near), To no purpose,
uselessly.

Nona'tion. _adj._ Difficult to be understood; not
intelligent; incoherent, wild.

Nor'ad. _adv._ Northward.

Nora'tion. _s._ Rumour; clamour.

Nor'ra un, Nor'ry un. Never a one.

Norn. _pron._ Neither. _Norn o'm_, neither of them.

Nor'thering. _adj._ Wild, incoherent, foolish.

Nort. _s_. Nothing. West of the Parret.

Not-sheep. _s_. A sheep without horns.

Not. _s_. The place where flowers are planted is usually
called the _flower not_, or rather, perhaps, knot; a flower
bed.

Not'tamy. _s_. Corrupted from _anatomy_: it means very
often, the state of body, _mere skin and bone_.

Nottlins. _s. pl. See_ KNOTTLINS.

Num'met. _s_. A. short meal between breakfast and dinner;
nunchion, luncheon. Nuncle. _s_. An uncle.

To Nuncle. _v. a_. To cheat.

Nuth'er. _adv_. Neither.




O.


O'. _prep_. for of.

Obstrop'ilous. _adj_. Obstinate, resisting [obstreperous.]

Odments. _s. pl_. Odd things, offals. Office. _s_. The
eaves of a house.

Old-qut-and-jerkin. _s_. A game at cards; in a more refined
dialect, _old-coat-and-jerkin_; called also _five
cards_.

To Onlight. _v. n_. To alight; to get off a horse.

O'A¤nt (for w'on't). Will not. This expression is used in almost
all the persons, as _I A¶nt, he A¶nt, we A¶nt, they,_ or _thAc
A¶nt_; I will not, he will not, etc.

Ont, O't. Of it. I a done ont; I a done o't: I have done of it.

Ool. _v. aux._ Will.

Ope. _s._ An opening--the distance between bodies arranged in
order.

Or'chit. _s._ An orchard.

Ornd. _pret._ Ordained, fated.

Orn. _pron._ Either. _Orn o'm_, either of them.

Or'ra one, Or'ryone. Any one; ever a one. Ort. _s._ Anything.
[West of the Parret.]

Ort. _s._ Art.

Oten. _adv._ Often.

Ourn. _pron._ Ours.

To Overget. _v. a._ To overtake.

To Overlook, _v. a._ To bewitch.

Overlookt. _part._ Bewitched.

Over-right, Auver-right. _adv._ Opposite; fronting.

Overs. _s. p._ The perpendicular edge, usually covered with
grass, on the sides of salt-water rivers is called _overs_.




P.


Pack-an-Penny-Day. _s._ The last day of a fair when bargains
are usually sold. [_Pack, and sell for pennies._]

Parfit. _adj._ Perfect.

Parfitly. _adv._ Perfectly.

To Par'get. _v. a._ To plaster the inside of a chimney with
mortar of cowdung and lime.

Par'rick. _s._ A paddock.

To Payze. _v. a._ To force, or raise up, with a lever.

To Peach. _v. a._ To inform against; to impeach.

Peel. _s._ A pillow, or bolster.

To Peer. _v. n._ To appear.

Pen'nin. _s._ The enclosed place where oxen and other animals
are fed and watered; any temporary place erected to contain
cattle.

Pick. _s._ A pitch-fork: a two pronged fork for making hay.

Pigs-Hales. _s. pl._ Haws; the seed of the white thorn.

Pigs-looze. _s._ A pigsty.

Pilch, Pilcher. _s._ A baby's woollen clout.

Pill-coal. _v._ A kind of peat, dug most commonly out of
rivers: peat obtained at a great depth, beneath a stratum of clay.

Pil'ler. _s._ a pillow.

Pilm. _s._ Dust; or rather fine dust, which readily floats in
air.

Pink. _s._ A chaffinch.

Pip. _s._ A seed; applied to those seeds which have the shape
of apple, cucumber seed, &c.; never to round, or minute seeds.

To Pitch. _v. a. To lay unhewn and unshaped stones together, so
as to make a road or way.

_To Pitch_, in the West of England, is not synonymous with
_to pave_. _To pave_, means to lay flat, square, and
hewn stones or bricks down, for a floor or other pavement or
footway. A _paved_ way is always smooth and even; a
_pitched_ way always rough and irregular. Hence the
distinguishing terms of _Pitching_ and _Paving_.

Pit'is. _adj._ Piteous; exciting compassion.

Pit'hole. _s._ The grave.

To Pix, To Pixy. _v. a._ To pick up apples after the main
crop is taken in; to glean, applied to an orchard only.

Pix'y. _s._ A sort of fairy; an imaginary being.

Pix'y-led. _part._ Led astray by pixies.

PlAcd. _v._ Played.

Pla'zen. _s. pl._ Places.

To Plim. _v. n._ To swell; to increase in bulk.

Plough. _s._ The cattle or horses used for ploughing; also a
waggon and horses or oxen.

Pock'fredden. _adj._ Marked in the face with small pox.

To Pog. _v. n._ and _v. a._ To thrust with the fist; to
push.

Pog. _s._ A thrust with the fist; a push; an obtuse blow.

Pollyantice. _s._ Polyanthus.

To Pom'ster. _v. n._ To tamper with, particularly in curing
diseases; to quack.

Pont'ed. _part._ Bruised with indentation. Any person wkose
skin or body is puffed up by disease, and subject to occasional
pitting by pressure, is said to be _ponted_; but the primary
meaning is applied to fruit, as, a _ponted_ apple; in both
meanings incipient decay is implied.

Pook. _s._ The belly; the stomach; a vell.

Popple. _s._ A pebble: that is, a stone worn smooth, and more
or less round, by the action of the waves of the sea.

Pottle-bellied. _adj._ Potbellied.

To PooA¤t, To Pote. _v. a._ To push through any confined
opening, or hole.

PooA¤t-hole, Pote-hole. _s._ A small hole through which
anything is pushed with a stick; a confined place.

PooA¤ty. _adj._ Confined, close, crammed.

Port'mantle. _s._ A portmanteau.

Poti'cary. _s._ An apothecary.

To Poun. _v._ To pound [to put into the pound, to "lock up"].

A Power of rain. A great deal of rain.

Pruv'd. _v._ Proved.

To pray. _v. a._ To drive all the cattle into one herd in a
moor; _to pray the moor_, to search for lost cattle.

Prankin. _s._ Pranks.

Pud. _s._ The hand; the fist.

Pulk, Pulker. _s_ A small shallow-place, containing water.

Pull-reed. _s._ [Pool reed.] A long reed growing in ditches
and pools, used for ceiling instead of laths.

Pultry.  . Poultry.

Pum'ple. _adj._ Applied only, as far as I know, in the
compound word _pumple-voot_, a club-foot.

Put. _s._ A two-wheeled cart used in husbandry, and so
constructed as to be turned up at the axle to discharge the load.

Pux'ie. _s._ A place on which you cannot tread without danger
of sinking into it; applied most commonly to places in roads or
fields where springs break out.

Pwint. _s._ Point.

Pwine-end  \

                     } The sharp-pointed end of a house, where the
             wall rises perpendicularly from the foundation.
Pwinin-end./

Py'e. _s._ A wooden guide, or rail to hold by, in passing
over a narrow wooden bridge.




Q.


Qu is in many words used instead of K.

Quare. _adj._ Queer; odd.

Quar'rel. _s._ [_QuarrA(_, French.] A square of window
glass.

To Quar. _v. a._ To raise stones from a quarry.

Quar-man. _s._ A man who works in a quarry [_quar_].

Quine. _s._ Coin, money. A corner.

To Quine. _v. a._ To coin.

Quoin. Coin.

Quoit. Coit.

QA"t (Quut). _s._ Coat.




R.


R in many words is wholly omitted, as, _Arth. CoA¤se, Guth,
He'A¤th, Pason, Vooath, Wuss_, &c., for Earth, Coarse, Girth,
Hearth, Parson, Forth, Worse.


To Rake Up. _v. a._ To cover; to bury. To rake the vier. To
cover up the fire with ashes, that it may remain burning all
night.

Rames. _s. pl._ The dead stalks of potatoes, cucumbers, and
such plants; a skeleton.

Rams-claws. _s. pl._ The plant called gold cups;
_ranunculus pratensis_.

Ram'shackle. _adj._ Loose; disjointed.

Ram'pin. _part._ Distracted, obstreperous: _rampin mad_,
outrageously mad.

Ran'dy, Ran'din. _s._ A merry-making; riotous living.

Range. _s._ A sieve.

To Rangle. _v. n._ To twine, or move in an irregular or
sinuous manner. _Rangling plants_ are plants which entwine
round other plants, as the woodbine, hops, etc.

Ran'gle. _s._ A sinuous winding.

Ras'ty. _adj._ Rancid: gross; obscene.

Rathe-ripe. _adj._ Ripening early. _Rath. English
Dictionary:_

 "The rathe-ripe wits prevent their own perfection."

 BP. HALL.

Raught. _part._ Reached.

Rawd. _part._ Rode.

To Rawn. _v. a._ To devour greedily.

Raw'ny. _adj._ Having little flesh: a thin person, whose
bones are conspicuous, is said to be rawny.

To Ray. _v. a._ To dress.

To Read. _v. a._ To strip the fat from the intestines; _to
read the inward_.

Read'ship. _s._ Confidence, trust, truth.

To Ream. _v. a._ To widen; to open.

Reamer. _s._ An instrument used to make a hole larger.

Re'balling. _s._ The catching of eels with earthworms
attached to a ball of lead, hung by a string from a pole.

Reed. _s._ Wheat straw prepared for thatching.

Reen, Rhine. _s._ A water-course: an open drain.

To Reeve. _v. a._ To rivel; to draw into wrinkles.

Rem'let. _s._ A remnant.

Rev'el. _s._ A wake.

To Rig. _v. n._ To climb about; to get up and down a thing in
wantonness or sport.

Hence the substantive _rig_, as used in _John Gilpin_,
by COWPER.

 "He little dreamt of running such a _rig_."

To Rig. _v. a._ To dress.

Hence, I suspect, the origin of the _rigging_ of a vessel.


Righting-lawn. Adjusting the ridges after the wheat is sown.

Rip. _s._ A vulgar, old, unchaste woman. Hence, most
probably, the origin of _Demirip_.

Robin-Riddick. _s._ A redbreast. [Also _Rabbin
Hirddick_; the r and i transposed.]

Rode. _s._ _To go to rode_, means, late at night or
early in the morning, to go out to shoot wild fowl which pass over
head on the wing.

To Rose. _v. n._ To drop out from the pod, or other seed
vessel, when the seeds are over-ripe.

To Rough. _v. a._ To roughen; to make rough.

Round-dock. _s._ The common mallow; _malva sylvestris_.

Called round-dock from the _roundness_ of its leaves. CHAUCER
has the following expression which has a good deal puzzled the
glossarists:

 "But canst thou playin raket to and fro,
 _Nettle in, Docke out_, now this, now that, Pandare?"

 _Troilus and Cressida_, Book IV.

The round-dock leaves are used at this day as a supposed remedy or
charm for the sting of a nettle, by being rubbed on the stung
part, with the following words:--

 _In dock, out nettle,
 Nettle have a sting'd me_.

That is, _Go in dock, go out nettle_. Now, to play _Nettle
in Docke out_, is to make use of such expedients as shall drive
away or remove some previous evil, similar to that of driving out
the venom of the nettle by the juice or charm of the dock.


Roz'im. _s._ A quaint saying; a low proverb. _s._ Rosin.

Rud'derish. _adj._ Hasty, rude, without care.

Ruf. _s._ A roof.

Rum. _s._ Room; space.

Rum'pus. _s_ A great noise.

This word ought to be in our English Dictionaries.

Rungs. _s. pl._ The round steps of a ladder.




S.


The sound of S is very often converted into the sound of Z. Thus
many of the following words, _Sand-tot, Sar, Seed-lip, Silker,
Sim, &c._, are often pronounced _Zand-tot, Zar, ZeeA¤d-lip,
Zilker, Zim, &c._


SAc'cer-eyes. Very large and prominent eyes. [Saucer eyes.

Sand-tot. _s_. A sandhill.

To Sar. _v. a._ To serve--Toearn; as, _I can sar but
zixpence_ a day.

Sar'ment. _s._ A sermon.

Sar'rant. _s._ A servant.

Sar'tin. _adj._ Certain.

Sar'tinly. _adv._ Certainly.

Scad. _s._ A short shower.

Schol'ard. _s._ A scholar.

Scissis-sheer. _s._ A scissors-sheath.

Scollop. _s_. An indentation; notch; collop.

To Scollop. _v. a._ To indent; to notch.

Scoose wi'. Discourse or talk with you.

To Scot'tle. _v. a._ To cut into pieces in a wasteful manner.

Scrawf. _s_. Refuse.

Scrawv'lin. _adj_. Poor and mean, like scrawf.

Screed. _s_. A shred.

To Scrunch. _v. a._ and _v. n._ The act of crushing and
bringing closer together is implied, accompanied with some kind of
noise. A person may be said to scrunch an apple or a biscuit, if
in eating it he made a noise; so a pig in eating acorns. Mr.
SOUTHEY has used the word in _Thalaba_ without the s.

 "No sound but the wild, wild wind,
 "And the snow _crunching_ under his feet."

And, again, in the _Anthology_, vol 2, p. 240.

 "Grunting as they _crunch'd_ the mast."

Scud. _s_. A scab.

Sea-Bottle. _s_. Many of the species of the sea-wrack, or
_fucus_, are called sea-bottles, in consequence of the stalks
having round or oval vesicles or pods in them; the pod itself.

Sea-crow. _s_. A cormorant.

Seed-lip. _s_. A vessel of a particular construction, in
which the sower carries the seed.

Sel'times. _adv_. Not often; seldom.

Shab. _s_. The itch; the hug. Applied to brutes only.

Shab-water. _s._ A. water prepared with tobacco, and some
mercurial, to cure the shab.

Shabby. _adv._ Affected with the shab. Hence the origin of
the common word _shabby_, mean, paltry.

Shackle. _s._ A twisted band. Shal'der. _s._ A kind of
broad flat rush, growing in ditches.

Sharp. _s._ A shaft of a waggon, &c.

Shatt'n. Shalt not.

Sheer. _s._ A sheath.

Shil'lith. _s._ A shilling's worth.

Shine. _s._ Every _shine o'm_, is, every one of them.

To Shod. _v. a._ To shed: to spill.

Sholl. _v._ Shall.

Shord. _s._ A sherd; a gap in a hedge. A _stop-shord_, a
stop-gap.

Shower. _adj._ Sure.

Showl. _s._ A shovel.

To Showl. _v. a._ To shovel.

To Shride, To Shroud. _v. a._ To cut off wood from the sides
of trees; or from trees generally.

Shride, Shroud. _s._ Wood cut off from growing trees. It
sometimes means a pole so cut; _ladeshrides_--shrides placed
for holding the load. _See_ LADESHRIDES.

To Shug. _v. a._ To shrug; to scratch; to rub against.

Shut'tle. _adj._ Slippery, sliding: applied only to solid
bodies. From this word is derived the __shuttle__ (_s._)
of the weaver.

Sig. _s._ Urine.

Sil'ker. _s._ A court-card.

To Sim. _v. n._ To seem, to appear. This verb is used
personally, as, _I sim_, _you sim_, for _it seems to
me_, etc.

Sim-like-it. _interj._ (Seems like it.) Ironically, for
_very improbable_.

Sine. _conj._ [Probably from __seeing__ or
__seen__.] Since, because.

Single-guss. _s._ The plant orchis.

Single-stick. _s._ A game; sometimes called
__backsword__.

Sizes. _s. pl._ The assizes.

To Skag. To give an accidental blow, so as to tear the clothes or
the flesh; to wound slightly.

Skag. _s._ An accidental blow, as of the heel of the shoe, so
as to tear the clothes or the flesh; any slight wound or rent.

To Skeer. _v. a._ To mow lightly over: applied to pastures
which have been summer-eaten, never to meadows. In a neuter sense,
to move along quickly, and slightly touching. Hence, from its mode
of flight,

Skeer-devil. _s._ The black martin, or Swift.

Skeer'ings. _s._ pl. Hay made from pasture land.

Skent'in. _adj_. When cattle, although well-fed, do not
become fat, they are called skentin.

Skenter. _s._ An animal which will not fatten.

To Skew, \ To Ski'ver. / _v. a._ To skewer.

Skiff-handed. _adj._ Left-handed, awkward.

Skills, \ Skittles. / _s. pl._ The play called nine-pins.

Skim'merton. _s._ To ride Skimmerton, is an exhibition of
riding by two persons on a horse, back to back; or of several
persons in a cart, having _skimmers_ and _ladles_, with
which they carry on a sort of warfare or gambols, designed to
ridicule some one who, unfortunately, possesses an unfaithful
wife. This _may-game_ is played upon some other occasion
besides the one here mentioned: it occurs, however, very rarely,
and will soon, I apprehend, be quite obsolete. _See_
SKIMMINGTON, in _Johnson_.

Skiv'er. _s._ A skewer.

To Skram. _v. a._ To benumb with cold.

Skram. _adj._ Awkward: stiff, as if benumbed.

 "With hondis al _forskramyd_."

 CHAUCER, _Second Merchant's Tale_.

Skram-handed. _adj._ Having the fingers or joints of the hand
in such a state that it can with difficulty be used; an imperfect
hand.

To Skrent. _v. a._ [An irregular verb.] To burn, to scorch.

Part. _Skrent_. Scorched.

Skum'mer. _s._ A foulness made with a dirty liquid, or with
soft dirt.

To Skum'mer. _v.a._ To foul with a dirty liquid, or to daub
with soft dirt.

Slait. _s._ An accustomed run for sheep; hence the place to
which a person is accustomed, is called slait.

To Slait. _v. a._ To accustom.

To Slait. _v. a._ To make quick-lime in a fit state for use,
by throwing water on it; to slack.

To Slat. _v. a._ To split; to crack; to cleave. To Sleeze.
_v. n._ To separate; to come apart; applied to cloth, when
the warp and woof readily separate from each other.

Sleezy. _adj._ Disposed to sleeze; badly woven.

Slen. _adj._ Slope.

'Slike. It is like.

Slipper-slopper. _adj._ Having shoes or slippers down at the
heel; loose.

To Slitter. _v.n._ To slide.

To Slock. _v. a._ To obtain clandestinely.

To Slock'ster. _v. a._ To waste.

Slom'aking. _adj._ Untidy; slatternly (applied to females.)

This word is, probably, derived from _slow_ and
_mawkin_.

Slop'per. _adj._ Loose; not fixed: applied only to solid
bodies.

To Slot'ter. _v. n._ To dirty; to spill.

Slot'tering. _adj._ Filthy, wasteful.

Slot'ter. _s._ Any liquid thrown about, or accidentally
spilled on a table, or the ground.

Slug'gardy-guise. _s._ The habit of a sluggard.

 _Sluggardy-guise;
 Loth to go to bed,
 And loth to rise._

WYAT says--"Arise, for shame; do away your _sluggardy._"


Sluck'-a-bed, \ Sluck'-a-trice,
                       } _s._ A slug-a-bed; a sluggard.
Slock'-a-trice. /

Smash. _s._ A blow or fall, by which any thing is broken.
_All to smash_, all to pieces.

Smeech. _s._ Fine dust raised in the air.

To Smoor. _v. a._ To smooth; to pat.

Snags. _s._ Small sloes: _prunus spinosa_.

Snag, \ Snagn. / _s._ A tooth.

Snaggle'tooth. _s._ A tooth growing irregularly.

Snarl. _s._ A tangle; a quarrel. There is also the verb _to
snarl_, to entangle.

SneA¤d. _s._ The crooked handle of a mowing scythe.

Snip'py. _adj._ Mean, parsimonious.

Snock. _s._ A knock; a smart blow.

Snowl. _s._ The head.

Soce. _s. pl._ Vocative case. Friends! Companions! Most
probably derived from the Latin _socius_.

To Soss. _v. a._ To throw a liquid from one vessel to
another.

Sour-dock. _s._ Sorrel: _rumex aceiosa_.

Souse. _s. pl. Sousen._ The ears. _Pigs sousen_, pig's
ears.

Spar. _s._ The pointed sticks, doubled and twisted in the
middle, and used for fixing the thatch of a roof, are called
_spars:_ they are commonly made of split willow rods.

Spar'kid. _adj._ Speckled.

Spar'ticles. _s. pl._ Spectacles: glasses to assist the
sight.

Spawl. _s._ A chip from a stone.

Spill. _s._ A stalk; particularly that which is long and
straight. _To run to spill_, is to run to seed; it sometimes
also means to be unproductive.

Spill. _s. See_ WORRA.

To Spit. _v. a._ To dig with a spade; to cut up with a
spitter. _See_ the next word.

Spitter. _s._ A small tool with a long handle, used for
cutting up weeds, thistles, &c.

To Spit'tle. _v. a._ To move the earth lightly with a spade
or spitter.

Spit'tle. _adj._ Spiteful; disposed to spit in anger.

To Spring. _v. a._ To moisten; to sprinkle.

To Spry. _v. n._ To become chapped by cold.

Spry. _adj._ Nimble; active.

To Squall. _v. a._ To fling a stick at a cock, or other bird.
_See_ COCK-SQUAILLING.

To Squitter. _v. n._ To Squirt.

To Squot. _v. n._ To bruise; to compress. _v. n._ To
squat.

Squot. _s._ A. bruise, by some blow or compression; a
squeeze.

Stad'dle. _s._ The wooden frame, or logs, &c., with stone or
other support on which ricks of corn are usually placed.

Stake-Hang. _s._ Sometimes called only a _hang_. A kind
of circular hedge, made of stakes, forced into the sea-shore, and
standing about 6 feet above it, for the purpose of catching
salmon, and other fish.

Stang. _s._ A long pole.

Stay'ers. _s. pl._ Stairs.

SteA¤n. _s._ A large jar made of stone ware.

SteA¤nin. _s._ A ford made with stones at the bottom of a
river.

Steeple. _s._ Invariably means a spire.

Steert. _s._ A point.

Stem. _s._ A long round shaft, used as a handle for various
tools.

Stick'le. _adj. Steep_, applied to hills; _rapid_,
applied to water: a _stickle_ path, is a steep path; a
_stickle_ stream, a rapid stream.

Stick'ler. _s._ A person who presides at backsword or
singlestick, to regulate the game; an umpire: a person who settles
disputes.

Stitch. _s._ Ten sheaves of corn set up on end in the field
after it is cut; a shock of corn.

To Stive. _v. a._ To close and warm.

To Stiv'er. _v. n._ To stand up in a wild manner like hair;
to tremble.

Stodge. _s._ Any very thick liquid mixture.

Stonen, Stwonen. _adj._ Made of stone; consisting of stone.

Stom'achy. _adj._ Obstinate, proud; haughty.

Stook. _s._ A sort of stile beneath which water is
discharged.

To Stoor. _v. a._ and _v. n._ To stir.

Stout. _s._ A gnat.

Strad. _s._ A piece of leather tied round the leg to defend
it from thorns, &c. A _pair_ of strads, is two such pieces of
leather.

Stritch. A strickle: a piece of wood used for striking off the
surplus from a corn measure.

To Strout. _v. n._ To strut.

Strouter. _s._ Any thing which projects; a strutter.

To Stud. _v. n._ To study.

Su'ent. _adj._ Even, smooth, plain.

Su'ently. _adj._ Evenly, smoothly, plainly.

To Sulsh. _v. a._ To soil; to dirty.

Sulsh. _s._ A spot; a stain.

Sum. _s._ A question in arithmetic.

Sum'min. _s._ (Summing) Arithmetic.

To Sum'my. _v. n._ To work by arithmetical rule_s._

Summer-voy. _s._ The yellow freckles in the face.

To Suffy, To Zuffy. _v. n._ To inspire deeply and quickly.
Such an action occurs more particularly upon immersing the body in
cold water.

Suth'ard. _adv._ Southward.

To Swan'kum. _v. n._ To walk to and fro in an idle and
careless manner.

To Swell, To Zwell. _v. a._ To swallow.

To Sweetort. _v. a._ To court; to woo.

Sweetortin. _s._ Courtship.




T.


Tack. _s._ A shelf.

Tac'ker. _s._ The waxed thread used by shoemaker_s._

Ta'A"ty. _s._ A potato.

Taf'fety. _adj._ Dainty, nice: used chiefly in regard to
food.

Tal'let. _s._ The upper room next the roof; used chiefly of
out-houses, as a hay-_tallet_.

Tan. _adv._ Then, _now an Tan_; now and then.

To Tang. _v. a._ To tie.

Tap and Cannel. _s._ A spigot and faucet.

Tay'ty. _s._ _See_ A hayty-tayty.

Tees'ty-totsy. _s._ The blossoms of cowslips, tied into a
ball and tossed to and fro for an amusement called _teesty-
tosty_. It is sometimes called simply a _tosty_.

Tee'ry. _adj._ Faint weak.
[proofer's note: missing comma?]

Tem'tious. _adj._ Tempting; inviting. [Used also in
Wiltshire].

ThAc. _pron._ They.

Than. _adv._ Then.

Thauf. _conj._ Though, although.

TheA¤ze. _pron._ This.

TheeA¤zam,TheeA¤zamy. _pron._ These.

Them, Them'my. _pron._ Those.

The'rence. _adv._ From that place.

ThereawAc, Thereaway. _adv._ Thereabout.

Therevor-i-sayt! _interj._ Therefore I say it!

Thic. _pron._ That. (Thilk, _Chaucer_.) [West of the
Parret, _thecky_.]

Tho. _adv._ Then.

Thornen. _adj._ Made of thorn; having the quality or nature
of thorn.

Thorough. _prep._ Through.

Thread the Needle, Dird the Needle. _s._ A play.

"Throwing batches," cutting up and destroying ant-hills.

Tiff. _s._ A small draught of liquor.

To tile. _v. a._ To set a thing in such a situation that it
may easily fall.

Til'ty. _adj._ Testy, soon offended.

Tim'mer. _s._ Timber; wood.

Tim'mern. _adj._ Wooden; as a timmern bowl; a wooden bowl.

Tim'mersom. _adj._ Fearful; needlessly uneasy.

To Tine. _v. a._ To shut, to close; as, _tine the door_;
shut the door. To inclose; to _tine in the moor_, is to
divide it into several allotments. To light, to kindle; as, to
_tine the candle_, is to light the candle.

QUARLES uses this verb:

 "What is my soul the better to be _tin'd_
 With holy fire?"

 _Emblem_ XII.

To Tip. _v. a._ To turn or raise on one side.

Tip. _s._ A draught of liquor. Hence the word _tipple_,
because the cup must be _tipped_ when you drink.

To Tite. _v. a._ To weigh.

Tite. _s._ Weight. _The tite of a pin_, the weight of a
pin.

Todo'. _s._ A bustle; a confusion.

To Toll. _v. a._ To entice; to allure.

Toor. _s._ The toe.

Tosty. _s._ See TEESTY-TOSTY.

Tote. _s._ The whole. This word is commonly used for
intensity, as the _whol tote_, from _totus_, Latin.

To Tot'tle. _v. n._ To walk in a tottering manner, like a
child.

Touse. _s._ A blow on some part of the head.

Towards. _prep._, is, in Somersetshire, invariably pronounced
as a dissyllable, with the accent on the last: _to-ward's_.
Our polite pronunciation, _tordz_, is clearly a corruption.

Tramp. _s._ A walk; a journey. _To Tramp. v. n._ and
_Tramper. s._ will be found in _Johnson_, where also
this word ought to be.

To Trapes, _v. n._ To go to and fro in the dirt.

Trapes, _s._ A slattern.

Trim. _v. a._ To beat.

Trub'agully. _s._ A short dirty, ragged fellow, accustomed to
perform the most menial offices.

To Truckle, _v. a._ and _v. n._ To roll.

Truckle. _s._ A globular or circular piece of wood or iron,
placed under another body, in order to move it readily from place.
A _Truckle-bed_, is a small bed placed upon truckles, so that
it may be readily moved about.

These are the primary and the common meanings in the West, of To
_truckle, v. Truckle, s._ and _Truckle-bed._

Tun. _s._ A chimney.

Tun'negar. _s._ A Funnel.

Turf. _s. pl._ Turves. Peat cut into pieces and dried for
fuel.

Tur'mit. _s._ A turnip.

Tur'ney. _s._ An attorney. Turn-string, _s._ A string
made of twisted gut, much used in spinning. _See_ WORRA.

To Tus'sle. _v. n._ To straggle with; to contend.

Tut. _s._ A hassock.

Tut-work. _s._ Work done by the piece or contract; not work
by the clay.

Tuth'er. _pron._ The other.

Tuth'eram. \
                   } _pron._ The others
Tuth ermy. /

Tut'ty. _s._ A flower; a nosegay.

'Tword'n. It was not.

To Twick. _v. a._ To twist or jerk suddenly.

Twick. _s._ A sudden twist or jerk.

Twi'ly. _adj._ Restless; wearisome.

Twi'ripe. _adj._ Imperfectly ripe.




U.


Unk'et. _adj._ Dreary, dismal, lonely.

To Unray'. _v. a._ To undress.

To Untang', _v. a._ To untie.

To Up. _v. a._ To arise.

Up'pin stock. _g._ A horse-block. _See_ LIGHTING-STOCK.

Upsi'des. _adv._ On an equal or superior footing. _To be
upsides_ with a person, is to do something which shall be
equivalent to, or of greater importance or value than what has
been done by such person to us.

Utch'y. _pron._ I. This word is not used in the Western or
Eastern, but only in the Southern parts of the County of Somerset.
It is, manifestly, a corrupt pronunciation of _Ich_, or
_IchA"_, pronounced as two syllables, the Anglo-Saxon word for
I. _What shall utchy do?_ What shall I do.

I think Chaucer sometimes uses _iche_ as a dissyllable;
_vide_ his Poems _passim_. _Ch'am_, is I am, that
is, _ich am_; _ch'ill_, is I will, _ich will_. See
Shakespeare's King Lear, Act IV., Scene IV. What is very
remarkable, and which confirms me greatly in the opinion which I
here state, upon examining the first folio edition of Shakespeare,
at the London Institution, I find that _ch_ is printed, in
one instance, with a mark of elision before it thus, _'ch_, a
proof that the _i_ in _iche_ was sometimes dropped in a
common and rapid pronunciation. In short, this mark of elision
ought always so to have been printed, which would, most probably,
have prevented the conjectures which have been hazarded upon the
origin of the mean- of such words _chudd_, _chill_, and
_cham_. It is singular enough that Shakespeare has the
_ch_ for _iche_ I, and _Ise_ for I, within the
distance of a few lines in the passage above alluded to, in King
Lear. But, perhaps, not more singular than that in Somersetshire
may, at the present time, be heard for the pronoun I,
_Utchy_, or _ichA(_, and _Ise_. In the Western parts
of Somersetshire, as well as in Devonshire, _Ise_ is now used
very generally for I. The Germans of the present day pronounce, I
understand, their _ich_ sometimes as it is pronounced in the
West, _Ise_, which is the sound we give to frozen water,
_ice_. See Miss Ham's letter, towards the conclusion of this
work.




V.


[The V is often substituted for f, as _vor_, for, _veo_,
few, &c.]


Vage, Vaze. _s_. A voyage; but more commonly applied to the
distance employed to increase the intensity of motion or action
from a given point.

To Vang. _v. a._ To receive; to earn.

Varden. _s._ Farthing.

Vare. _s._ A species of weasel.

To Vare. _v. n._ To bring forth young: applied to pigs and
some other animals.

Var'miut. _s._ A vermin.

Vaught. _part._ Fetched.

 _Vur vaught,
 And dear a-bought._

(i.e.) Far-fetched, and dear bought.


Vawth. _s._ A bank of dung or earth prepared for manure.

To Vay. _v. n._ To succeed; to turn out well; to go. This
word is, most probably, derived from _vais_, part of the
French verb _aller_, to go.

_It don't_ vay; it does not go on well. To Vaze. _v. n._
To move about a room, or a house, so as to agitate the air.

Veel'vare. _s._ A fieldfare.

Veel. _s._ A field; corn land unenclosed.

To Veel. _v._ To feel.

Yeel'd. _part._ Felt.

Vell. _s._ The salted stomach of a calf used for making
cheese; a membrane.

VeA¶. _adj._ Few, little.

Ver'di, Ver'dit. _s._ Opinion.

To Ves'sy. _v. n._ When two or more persons read verses
alternately, they are said to _vessy_.

Ves'ter. _s._ A pin or wire to point out the letters to
children to read; a fescue.

ViA"r. _s._ Fire. Some of our old writers make this word of
two syllables: "_Fy-er_."

Vin'e. _v._ Find.

Vine. _adj._ Fine.

Vin'ned. _adj._ Mouldy; humoursome; affected.

Vist, Vice. _s._ [_i_ long.] The Fist.

Vitious. _adj._ Spiteful; revengeful.

Vitten. _s._ See Fitten.

Vit'ty. _adv._ Properly, aptly.

Vlare. _v. n._ To burn wildly; to flare.

VleA"r. _s._ A flea.

Vlan'nin. _s._ Flannel.

Vleng'd. _part._ Flung.

Vloth'er. _s._ Incoherent talk; nonsense.

Voc'ating. _part._ Going about from place to place in an idle
manner. From _voco_, Latin. The verb to _voc'ate_, to go
about from place to place in an idle manner, is also occasionally
used.

Voke. _s._ Folk.

To Vol'ly. _v. a._ To follow.

Vol'lier. _s._ Something which follows; a follower.

VooA¤th. _adv._ Forth; out. _To goo vooA¤th_, is to go
out.

To VooA¤se. _v. a._ To force.

Vorad. _adv. adj._ Forward.

Vor'n. _pron._ For him.

Voreright. _adj._ Blunt; candidly rude.

Voun. Found.

Vouse. _adj._ Strong, nervous, forward.

VroA¤st. _s._ Frost.

To Vug. _v. a._ To strike with the elbow.

Vug. _s._ A thrust or blow with the elbow.

Vur. _adv._ Far.

Vur'der. _adv._ Farther.

Vurdest. _adv._ Farthest.

Vur'vooA¤th. _adv._ Far-forth.

Vust. _adj._ First.




W.


To Wal'lup. _v. a._ To beat. Walnut. _s._ The
_double_ large walnut. The ordinary walnuts are called French
nuts_.

To Wam'mel, To Wamble. _v. n._ To move to and fro in an
irregular and awkward manner; to move out of a regular course or
motion.

Applied chiefly to mechanical operations.

War. _interj._ Beware! take care! _War-whing_! Take care
of yourself.

War. _v._ This is used for the preterite of the verb _to
be_, in almost all the persons, as _I war, he war, we
war,_ &c.

To Ward. _v. n._ To wade.

To Warnt. To Warnd. _a._ To warrant.

Wash-dish, _s._ The bird called wagtail.

To Way-zalt. _v. n._ [To weigh salt.] To play at the game of
wayzaltin. _See the next article._

Way-zaltin. _s._ A game, or exercise, in which two persons
stand back to back, with their arms interlaced, and lift each
other up alternately.

Weepy. _adj._ Abounding with springs; moist.

Well-apaid. _adj._ Appeased; satisfied.

Well-at-ease, Well-at-eased. _adj._ Hearty. healthy.

Wetshod. _adj._ Wet in the feet.

Wev'et. _s._ A spider'_s._web.

To Whack. _v. a._ To beat with violence.

Whack. _s._ A loud blow.

Whatsomiver. _pron_. Whatsoever.

Whaur. _adv_. Where.

To Whec'ker. _v. n_. To laugh in a low vulgar manner; to
neigh.

Where. _adv_. Whether.

Wherewi'. _s_. Property, estate; money.

Whim. _s_. Home.

Whing. _s_. Wing.

Whipper-snapper. _adj_. Active, nimble, sharp.

Whipswhile. _s._ A short time; the time between the strokes
of a whip.

Whir'ra. _See_ WORRA.

Whister-twister. _s_. A smart blow on the side of the head.

To Whiv'er. _v. n_. To hover.

Whiz'bird. _s_. A term of reproach.

To Whop. _v.a._ To strike with heavy blows.

Whop. _s._ A heavy blow.

Who'say, or Hoosay. _s_. A wandering report; an observation
of no weight.

Whot. _adj_. Hot.

Whun. _adv_. When.

Wi'. With ye.

Wid'ver. _s_. A widower.

Willy. _s_. A term applied to baskets of various sizes, but
generally to those holding about a bushel. So called from their
being made commonly of _willow_: sometimes called also
_willy-basket_.

To Wim. _v. a._ To winnow. Wim-sheet, Wimmin-sheet. _s_.
A sheet upon which corn is winnowed.

Wimmin-dust. _s_. Chaff.

Win'dor. _s_. A window.

Wine. _s_. Wind.

With'er. _pron_. Other.

With'erguess. _adj_. Different.

With'y-wine. _s_. The plant bindweed: _convolvulus_.

Witt. _adj_. Fit.

With'erwise. _adj_. Otherwise.

Wock. _s_. Oak.

Wocks. _s_. _pl_. The cards called _clubs_; most
probably from having the shape of an oak leaf: _oaks_.

Wont. _s_. A Mole.

Wont-heave, _s_. A mole-hill.

Wont-snap, _s_. A mole-trap.

Wont-wriggle, _s_. The sinuous path made by moles under
ground.

Wood-quist. _s_. A wood-pigeon.

Wordle. _s_. World. [Transposition of _l_ and _d_.]

Wor'ra. _s_. A small round moveable nut or pinion, with
grooves in it, and having a hole in its centre, through which the
end of a round stick or _spill_ may be thrust. The _spill
and worra_ are attached to the common spinning-wheel, which,
with those and the _turn-string_, form the apparatus for
spinning wool, &c. Most probably this word, as well as whir'on, is
used for _whir_, to turn round rapidly with a noise.

Wrassly. Wrestle.

To Wride. _v. n._ To spread abroad; to expand.

Wriggle. _s._ Any narrow, sinuous hole.

Wrine. _s._ A mark occasioned by wringing cloth, or by
folding it in an irregular manner.

Wring, _s._ A. Press. A _cyder-wring_, a cyder-press.

To Wrumple. _v. a._ To discompose: to rumple.

Wrumple. _s._ A rumple.

Wust. _adj._ Worst.




Y.


Yack'er. _s._ An acre.

Yal. _s._ Ale.

Yaller. _adj._ Yellow.

Yal'house. _s._ An ale-house.

Yap'ern. _s._ An apron.

Yarly. _adj._ Early.

Yarm. _s._ Arm.

Yarth. _s._ Earth.

Yel. _s._ An eel.

Yel-spear. _s._ An instrument for catching eels.

Yes. _s._ An earthworm.

Yezy. _adj._ Easy.

Yokes. _s. pl._ Hiccups.

Yourn. _pron._ Yours.




Z.


See the observations which precede the letter S, relative to the
change of that letter to Z.

Za. _adv._ So.

ZAc. _v._ Say.

ZAct. _adj._ Soft.

Za'tenfare. _adj._ Softish: applied to the intellect_s._

To Zam. _v. a._ To heat for some time over the fire, but not
to boil.

Zam'zod, Zam'zodden. _adj._ Any thing heated for a long time
time in a low heat so as to be in part spoiled, is said to be
zamzodden.

Conjecture, in etymology, may be always busy. It is not improbable
that this word is a compound of _semi_, Latin, half; and to
_seethe_, to boil: so that Zamzodden will then mean,
literally, _half-boiled_.

Zand. _s._ Sand.

Zandy. _adj._ Sandy.

Zand-tot. _s._ A sand-hill.

To Zee. _v. a. pret._ and _part. Zid, Zeed._ To see.

ZeeA¤d. _s._ Seed. ZeeA¤d-lip. _See_ SEED-LIP.

Zel. _pron._ Self.

Zen'vy. _s._ Wild mustard.

The true etymology will be seen at once in _sA(nevA(_, French,
from _sinapi_, Latin, contracted and corrupted into
_Zenvy_, Somersetian.

Zil'ker. _See_ SILKER.

Zim, Zim'd. _v._ Seem, seemed.

Zitch. _adj._ Such.

ZooA¤p. _s._ Soap.

Zog. _s._ Soft, boggy land; moist land.

Zog'gy. _adj._ Boggy; wet.

Zoon'er. _adv._ Rather.

To Zound, To Zoun'dy. _v. n._ To swoon.

To Zuf'fy. _v. n._ See TO SUFFY.

Zug'gers! _'_ This is a word, like others of the same class,
the precise meaning of which it is not easy to define. I dare say
it is a composition of two, or more words, greatly corrupted in
pronunciation.

Zull. _s._ The instrument used for ploughing land; a plough.

Zum. _pron._ Some.

Zum'met. _pron._ Somewhat; something.

Zunz. _adv._ Since.

To Zwail. _v. n._ To move about with the arms extended, and
up and down.

To Zwang. _v. n._ and _v. n._ To swing; to move to and
fro.

Zwang. _s._ A swing.

To Zwell. _v. a._ To swell; to swallow. See TO SWELL.

Zwird. _s._ Sword.

Zwod'der. _s._ A drowsy and stupid state of body or mind.

Derived, most probably, from _sudor_, Latin, a sweat.




POEMS AND OTHER PIECES EXEMPLIFYING THE DIALECT OF THE

County of Somersetshire.


Notwithstanding the Author has endeavoured, in the Observations on
the Dialects of the West, and in The Glossary, to obviate the
difficulties under which strangers to the dialect of Somersetshire
may, very possibly, labour in the perusal of the following Poems,
it may be, perhaps, useful here to remind the reader, that many
mere inversions of sound, and differences in pronunciation, are
not noted in the Glossary. That it did not appear necessary to
explain such words as_ wine, _wind;_ zAc, _say;_ qut,
_coat;_ bwile, _boil_; hoss, _horse;_ hirches,
_riches; and many others, which it is presumed the_ context,
_the_ Observations, _or the_ Glossary, _will
sufficiently explain. The Author, therefore, trusts, that by a
careful attention to these, the reader will soon become_ au
fait _at the interpretation of these West-country_ LIDDENS.


GOOD BWYE TA THEE COT!


  Good bwye ta thee Cot! whaur tha dAcs o' my childhood
    Glaw'd bright as tha zun in a mornin o' mAc;
  When tha dumbledores hummin, craup out o' tha cobwAcll,
    An' shakin ther whings, thAc vleed vooA¤th an' awAc.
[Footnote: The humble-bee, _bombilius major_, or
_dumbledore_, makes holes very commonly in mud walls, in which
it deposits a kind of farina: in this bee will be found, on
dissection, a considerable portion of honey, although it never
deposits any.]

  Good bwye ta the Cot!--on thy drashel, a-mAc-be,
    I niver naw moor sholl my voot again zet;
  Tha jessamy awver thy porch zweetly bloomin,
    Whauriver I goo, I sholl niver vorget.

  Tha rawzes, tha lillies, that blaw in tha borders--
    The gilawfers, too, that I us'd ta behawld--
  Tha trees, wi' tha honeyzucks ranglin Acll awver,
    I Aclways sholl think o' nif I shood be awld.

  Tha tutties that oten I pick'd on a zunday,
    And stickt in my qut--thAc war thawted za fine:
  Aw how sholl I tell o'm--vor Acll pirty maidens
    When I pass'd 'em look'd back--ther smill rawze on tha wine.

  Good bwye ta thee Ash! which my Father beforne me,
    A planted, wi' pleasure, tha dAc I was born;
  ZAc, oolt thou drap a tear when I cease to behawld thee,
    An wander awAc droo tha wordle vorlorn.

  Good bwye ta thee Tree! an thy cawld shade in zummer;
    Thy apples, aw who ool be lotted ta shake?
  When tha wine, mangst thy boughs sifes at Milemas in sorrow,
    ZAc oolt thou sife for me, or one wild wish awake?

  Good bwye ye dun Elves! who, on whings made o'leather,
    Still roun my poorch whiver an' whiver at night;
  Aw mAc naw hord-horted, unveelin disturber,
    DestrAcy your snug nests, an your plAc by moonlight.

  Good bwye ta thee Bower!--ta thy moss an thy ivy--
    To tha flowers that aroun thee all blossomin graw;
  When I'm gwon, oolt thou grieve?--bit 'tis foolish to ax it;
    What is ther that's shower in this wordle belaw?

  Good bwye ta thee Cot! whaur my mother za thoughtvul,
    As zumtimes she war droo er care vor us Acll,
  Er lessins wi' kindness, wi' tenderness gid us;
    An ax'd, war she dead, what ood us bevAcll.

  Good bwye ta thee Cot! whaur tha nightingale's music,
    In tha midnight o' MAc-time, rawze loud on the ear;
  Whaur tha colley awAck'd, wi' tha zun, an a zingin
    A went, wi' tha dirsh, in a voice vull and clear.

  Good bwye ta thee Cot! I must goo ta tha city.
    Whaur, I'm tawld, that the smawk makes it dork at noon dAc;
  Bit nif it is true, I'm afeard that I Aclways
    And iver sholl thenk on tha cot thatch'd wi' strAc.

  Good bwye ta thee Cot! there is One that rAcins awver,
    An wActches tha wordle, wi' wisdom divine;
  Than why shood I mang, wi' tha many, my ma-bes;
    Bin there's readship in Him, an to him I resign.

  Good bwye ta thee Cot! shood I niver behauld thee
    Again; still I thank thee vor Acll that is past!
  Thy friendly ruf shelter'd--while mother wActch'd awver.
    An haw'd vor my comfort vrom vust unto last.

  Good bwye ta thee Cot; vor the time mAc be longful
    Beforn I on thy drashall again zet my eye;
  Thy tutties ool blossom, an daver an blossom
    Again and again--zaw good bwye, an good bwye!




FANNY FEAR


The melancholy incident related in the following story, actually
occurred a few years ago at Shapwick.


  Good Gennel-vawk! an if you please
    To lissen to my storry,
  A mAc-be 'tis a jitch a one,
    Ool make ye zummet zorry.

  'Tis not a hoozay tale of grief,
    A put wi' ort together,
  That where you cry, or where you laugh,
    Da matter not a veather;

  Bit 'tis a tale vor sartin true,
    Wi' readship be it spawken;
  I knaw it all, begummers! well,
    By tale, eese, an by tawken.

  The maid's right name war FANNY FEAR,
    A tidy body lookin;
  An she cood brew, and she cood bake,
  An dumplins bwile, and skimmer cake;
    An all the like o' cookin.

  Upon a Zunday Acternoon,
    Beforne the door a stanin,
  To zee er chubby cheaks za hird,
  An whitist lilies roun 'em spird,
    A damas rawze her han in,

  Ood do your hort good; an er eyes,
    Dork, vull, an bright, an sporklin;
  Tha country lads could not goo by,
  Bit look thAc must--she iver shy,
    Ood blish--tha timid lorklin!

  Her dame war to her desperd kind;
    She knaw'd er well dezarvin:
  She gid her good advice an claws,
  At which she niver toss'd her naws,
    As zum ool, thawf pon starvin.

  She oten yarly upp'd to goo
    A milkin o' tha dairy;
  The meads ring'd loudly wi' er zong;
  Aw how she birshed the grass along,
    As lissom as a vairy!

  She war as happy as a prince;
    Naw princess moor o' pleasure
  When well-at-eased cood iver veel;
  She ly'd her head upon her peel,
    An vound athin a treasure.

  There war a dessent comly youth,
    Who took'd to her a likin;
  An when a don'd in zunday claws,
  You'd thenk en zummet I suppaws,
    A look'd so desperd strikin.

  His vace war like a zummer dAc,
    When Acll the birds be zingin;
  Smiles an good nature dimplin stood,
    An moor besides, an  Acll za good,
  Much pleasant promise bringin.

  Now Jan war sawber, and afeard
    Nif he in haste shood morry,
  That he mid long repent thereof;
    An zo a thwart 'twar best not, thawf
    To stAc mid make en zorry.

  Jan oten pAcss'd the happy door,
    There Fanny stood a scrubbin;
  An Fanny hired hiz pleasant voice,
  An thawt--"An if she had er choice!"
     An veel'd athin a drubbin.

  Bit Jan did'n hulder long iz thawts;
    Vor thorough iv'ry cranny,
  Hirn'd of iz Lort tha warm hird tide;
  An a cood na moor iz veelins bide,
    Bit tell 'em must to Fanny.

  To Fanny, than, one Whitsun eve,
    A tawld er how a lov'd er;
  Naw dove, a zed to er cood be
  Moor faithvul than to her ood he;
    His hort had long appruv'd er.

  Wi' timourous blishin, Fanny zed,
  "A maid mist not believe ye;
  Vor men ool tell ther lovin tale,
  And awver seely maids prevail--
  Bit I dwont like ta grieve ye:

  Vor nif za be you now zAc true--
  That you've for I a fancy:
   (Aw Jan! I dwont veel desperd well,
  An what's tha cAcze, I cannot tell),
  You'll zAc na moor to Nancy."

  Twar zaw begin'd their zweetortin;
  BooA¤th still liv'd in their places;
  Zometimes thAc met bezides tha stile;
  Wi' pleasant look an tender smile
  Gaz'd in each wither's faces.

  In spreng-time oten on tha nap
  Ood Jan and Fanny linger;
  An when war vooA¤s'd to zAc "good bwye,"
  Ood meet again, wi' draps in eye,
  While haup ood pwint er vinger.

  Zo pass'd tha dAcs--tha moons awAc,
  An haup still whiver'd nigh;
  Nif Fanny's dreams high pleasures vill,
  Of her Jan's thawts the lidden still,
  An oten too the zigh.

  Bit still Jan had not got wherewi'
    To venter eet to morry;
  Alas-a-dAc! when poor vawk love,
  How much restraint how many pruv;
    How zick zum an how zorry.

  Aw you who live in houzen grate,
    An wherewi' much possessin,
  You knaw not, mAc-be, care not you,
  What pangs jitch tender horts pursue,
      How grate nor how distressin.

  Jan sar'd a varmer vour long years,
    An now iz haups da brighten:
  A gennelman of high degree
  Choos'd en iz hunsman vor to be;
    His Fanny's hort da lighten!

  "Now, Fan," zed he, "nif I da live,
    Nex zummer thee bist mine;
  Sir John ool gee me wauges good,
  AmAc-be too zum viA"r ood!"
    His Fan's dork eyes did shine.

  "To haw vor thee, my Fan," a cried,
    "I iver sholl delight;
  Thawf I be poor, 'tool be my pride
  To ha my Fan vor a buxom bride--
    My lidden dAc an night."

  A took er gently in iz orms
    An kiss'd er za zweetly too;
  His Fan, vor jay, not a word cood speak,
  Bit a big roun tear rawl'd down er cheak,
  It zimm'd as thawf er hort ood break--
    She cood hordly thenk it true.

  To zee our hunsman goo abroad,
    His houns behind en volly;
  His tossel'd cap--his whip's smort smack,
  His hoss a prancin wi' tha crack,
  His whissle, horn, an holler, back!
    Ood cure Acll malancholy.

  It happ'd on a dork an wintry night,
    Tha stormy wine a blawin;
  Tha houns made a naise an a dismal yell;
  Jitch as zum vawk zAc da death vaurtell,
    The cattle loud war lawin.

  Tha hunsman wAckid an down a went;
    A thawt ta keep 'em quiet;
  A niver stopped izzel ta dress,
  Bit a went in iz shirt vor readiness
    A voun a dirdful riot.

  Bit Acll thic night a did not come back;
    All night tha dogs did raur;
  In tha mornin thAc look'd on tha kannel stwons
  An zeed 'em cover'd wi' gaur an bwons,
    The vlesh Acll vrom 'em a taur.

  His head war left--the head o' Jan
    Who lov'd hiz Fanny za well;
  An a bizzy gossip, as gossips be
  Who've work o' ther awn bit vrom it vlee,
    To Fanny went ta tell.

  She hirn'd, she vleed ta meet tha man
    Who corr'd er dear Jan's head:
  An when she zeed en Acll blood an gaur,
  She drapp'd down speechless jist avaur,
    As thauf she had bin dead.

  Poor Fanny com'd ta erzel again,
    Bit her senses left her vor iver!
  An all she zed, ba dAc or night--
  Vor sleep it left her eye-lids quite--
  War, "why did he goo in the cawld ta shiver?--
      Niver, O Jan! sholl I zee the, niver!"

[Footnote: See a letter by Edward Band, on this subject, in the
prose pieces.]




JERRRY NUTTY; OR THE MAN OF MORK.


  Awa wi' Acll yer tales o' grief,
  An dismal storry writin;

  A mAc-be zumthin I mAc zing
    Ool be as much delightin.

  Zumtime agoo, bevaur tha moors
    War tin'd in, lived at Mork
  One JERRY NUTTY--spry a war;
    A upp'd avaur the lork.

  Iz vather in a little cot
    Liv'd, auver-right tha moor,
  An thaw a kipt a vlock o' geese,
    A war a thoughted poor.

  A niver teach'd tha cris-cross-lain
    Ta any of his bways,
  An Jerry, mangst the rest o'm, did
    Not much appruv his ways.

  Vor Jerry zumtimes went ta church
    Ta hire tha PAcson preach,
  An thawt what pity that ta read
    Izzel a cood'n teach.

  Vor than, a zunday Acternoon,
    Tha Bible, or good book
  Would be companion vit vor'm Acll
    Who choos'd therein ta look.

  Bit Jerry than tha naise o' geese
    Bit little moor could hire;

  An dAcly goose-aggs ta pick up
    Droo-out tha moor did tire.

  A A´ten look'd upon tha hills
    An stickle mountains roun,
  An wished izzel upon their taps:
    What zights a ood be bA un!

  Bit what did mooA¤st iz fancy strick
    War Glassenberry Torr:
  A Aclways zeed it when tha zun
    Gleam'd wi' tha mornin stor.

  O' Well's grate church a A´ten hired,
    Iz fancy war awake;
  An zaw a thawt that zoon a ood
    A journey ta it make.

  An Glassenberry's Torr, an Thorn
    The hawly blowth of which
  A hired from one and tother too;
    Tha like war never jitch!

  Bit moor o' this I need not zAc,
    Vor off went Jerry Nutty,
  In hiz right hon a wAckin stick,
    An in hiz qut a tutty.

  Now, lock-y-zee! in whimly dress
    Trudg'd chearful Jerry on;

  Bit on tha moor not vur a went--
    A made a zudden ston.

  Which wAc ta goo a cood not thenk,
    Vor there war many a wAc;
  A put upright iz walking stick;
    A vAcll'd ta tha zon o' dAc.

  Ta tha suthard than iz wAc a took
    Athert tha turfy moors,
  An zoon o' blissom Cuzziton,
[Footnote: Cossington.]
    A pass'd tha cottage doors.

  Tha maidens o' tha cottages,
  Not us'd strange vawk to zee,
Com'd vooA¤th and stood avaur tha door;
  Jer wonder'd what cood be.

  Zum smil'd, zum whecker'd, zum o'm blish'd.
    "Od dang it!" Jerry zed,
  "What do tha think that I be like?"
    An nodded to 'm iz head.

  "Which is tha wAc to Glassenberry?
    I've hired tha hawly thorn
  War zet there by zum hawly hons
    Zoon Acter Christ war born;

  An I've a mine ta zee it too,
    An o' tha blowth ta take."
  "An how can you, a seely man,
    Jitch seely journey make?

  "What! dwont ye knaw that now about
    It is the midst o' June?
  Tha hawly thorn at Kirsmas blaws--
    You be zix months too zoon.

  Goo whim again, yea gAcwky! goo!"
    Zaw zed a damsel vair
  As dewy mornin late in MAc;
    An Jerry wide did stare.

  "Lord Miss!" zed he, "I niver thawt,
    O' Kirsmas!--while I've shoes,
  To goo back now I be zet out,
    Is what I sholl not choose.

  I'll zee the Torr an hawly thorn,
    An Glassenberry too;
  An, nif you'll put me in tha wAc,
    I'll gee grate thanks ta you."

  Goo droo thic veel an up thic lane,
    An take tha lift hon path,
  Than droo Miss Crossman's backzid strait,
    Ool bring ye up ta Wrath.

  Now mine, whaur you do turn again
    At varmer Veal's long yacker,
  ClooA¤se whaur Jan Lide, tha cobler, lives
    Who makes tha best o' tacker;

  You mist turn short behine tha house
    An goo right droo tha shord,
  An than you'll pass a zummer lodge,
    A builded by tha lord.

  Tha turnpick than is jist belaw,
    An Cock-hill strait avaur ye."
  Za Jerry doff'd his hat an bow'd,
    An thank'd er vor er storry.

  Bit moor o' this I need not zAc,
    Vor off went Jerry Nutty;
  In his right hand a wAckin stick,
    An in hiz qut a tutty.

  Bit I vorgot to zAc that Jer
    A zatchel wi' en took
  To hauld zum bird an cheese ta ate;--
    Iz drink war o' tha brook.

  Za when a got upon Cock-hill
    Upon a linch a zawt;
  The zun had climmer'd up tha sky;
    A voun it very hot.

  An, as iz stomick war za good,
    A made a horty meal;
  An werry war wi' wAckin, zaw
    A sleepid zoon did veel.

  That blessed power o' bAcmy sleep,
    Which auver ivery sense
  Da wi' wild whiverin whings extend
    A happy influence;

  Now auver Jerry Nutty drow'd
    Er lissom mantle wide;
  An down a drapp'd in zweetest zleep,
    Iz zatchel by iz zide.

  Not all tha nasty stouts could wAcke
    En vrom iz happy zleep,
  Nor emmets thick, nor vlies that buz,
    An on iz hons da creep.

  Naw dreams a had; or nif a had
    MooA¤st pleasant dreams war thAc:
  O' geese an goose-aggs, ducks and jitch;
    Or Mally, vur awAc,

  Zum gennelmen war dreavin by
    In a gilded cawch za gAc;
  ThAc zeed en lyin down asleep;
    ThAc bid the cawchman stAc.

  ThAc bAcll'd thAc hoop'd--a niver wAck'd;
    Naw houzen there war handy;
  Zed one o'm, "Nif you like, my bways,
    "We'll ha a little randy!"

  "Jist put en zActly in tha cawch
    An dreav en ta BejwActer;
  An as we Acll can't g'in wi'n here,
    I'll come mysel zoon Acter."

  Twar done at once: vor norn o'm car'd
    A strAc vor wine or weather;
  Than gently rawl'd the cawch along,
    As zAct as any veather.

  Bit Jerry snaur'd za loud, tha naise
    Tha gennelmen did gally;
  ThAc'd hAcf a mind ta turn en out;
    A war dreamin o' his Mally!

  It war the morkit dAc as rawl'd
    Tha cawch athin BejwActer;
  ThAc drauv tip ta the Crown-Inn door,
    Ther MAc-game man com'd Acter.

  "Here Maester WActer! Lock-y-zee!
    A-mAc-be you mid thenk
  Thic mon a snauren in tha cawch
    Is auvercome wi' drenk.

  Bit 'tis not not jitchy theng we knaw;
    A is a cunjerin mon,
  Vor on Cock-hill we vound en ly'd
    Iz stick stif in his hon.

  Iz vace war cover'd thick wi' vlies
    An bloody stouts a plenty;
  Nif he'd o pumple voot bezide,
  An a brumstick vor'n to zit ascride,
  O' wizards a mid be thawt tha pride,
    Amangst a kit o' twenty."

  "Lord zur! an why d'ye bring en here
    To gally Acll tha people?
  Why zuggers! nif we frunt en than,
    He'll auver-dro tha steeple.

  I bag ye, zur, to take en vooA¤th;
    There! how iz teeth da chatter;
  Lawk zur! vor Christ--look there again!
    A'll witchify BejwActer!"

  Tha gennelman stood by an smiled
    To zee tha bussle risin:
  Yor zoon, droo-out tha morkit wide
    Tha news wor gwon saprisin.

  An round about tha cawch thAc dring'd--
    Tha countryman and townsman;
  An young an awld, an man an maid--
  Wi' now an tan, an here an there,
  Amang tha crowd to gape an stare,
    A doctor and a gownsman.

  Jitch naise an bother wAckid zoon
  Poor hormless Jerry Nutty,
  A look'd astunn'd;--a cood'n speak!
    An daver'd war iz tutty.

  A niver in his life avaur
    'ad been athin BejwActer;
  A thawt, an if a war alive,
    That zummet war tha matter.

  Tha houzen cling'd together zaw!
    Tha gennelmen an ladies!
  Tha blacksmith's, brazier's hammers too!
    An smauk whauriver trade is.

  Bit how a com'd athin a cawch
    A war amaz'd at thenkin;
  A thawt, vor sartin, a must be
    A auvercome wi' drenkin.

  ThAc ax'd en nif a'd please to g'out
    An ta tha yalhouse g'in;
  Bit thAc zo clooA¤se about en dring'd
    A cood'n goo athin.

  Ta g'under 'em or g'auver 'em
    A try'd booActh grate and smAcll;
  Bit g'under, g'auver, g'in, or g'out,
    A cood'n than at Acll.

  "Lord bless ye! gennel-vawk!" zed he,
    I'm come to Glassenberry
  To zee tha Torr an Hawly Thorn;
    What makes ye look za merry?"

  "Why mister wizard? dwont ye knaw,
    TheA¤se town is cAcll'd BejwActer!"
  Cried out a whipper-snapper man:
    ThAc all bust out in lAcughter.

  "I be'nt a wizard, zur!" a zed;
    "Bit I'm a little titch'd; [Footnote: Touched.]
    "Or, witherwise, you mid well thenk
    I'm, zure anow, bewitch'd!"

  Thaw Jerry war, vor Acll tha wordle,
    Like very zel o' quiet,
  A veel'd iz blood ta bwile athin
    At jitchy zort o' riot;

  Za out a jump'd amangst 'em Acll!
    A made a desperd bussle;
  Zum hirn'd awAc--zum made a ston;
    Wi' zum a had a tussle.

  Iz stick now sar'd 'em justice good;
    It war a tough groun ash;
  Upon ther heads a plAc'd awAc,
    An round about did drash.

  ThAc belg'd, thAc raur'd, thAc scamper'd Acll.
    A zoon voun rum ta stoory;
  A thawt a'd be reveng'd at once,
    Athout a judge or jury.

  An, thaw a brawk navy-body's bwons,
    A gid zum bloody nawzes;
  Tha pirty maids war fainty too;
    Hirn'd vrom ther cheaks tha rawzes.

  Thinks he, me gennelmen! when nex
    I goo to Glassenbery,
  Yea shant ha jitch a rig wi' I,
    Nor at my cost be merry.

  Zaw, havin clear'd izzel a wAc.
    Right whim went Jerry Nutty;
  A flourished roun iz wAckin stick;
    An vleng'd awAc iz tutty.




A  LEGEND OF GLASTONBURY.

[First Printed in "Graphic Illustrator, p. 124.]


I cannot do better than introduce here "_A Legend of
Glastonbury_," made up, not from books, but from oral tradition
once very prevalent in and near Glastonbury, which had formerly
one of the richest Abbeys in England; the ruins are still
attractive.


  Who hath not hir'd o' _Avalon?_
[Footnote: "The Isle of ancient Avelon."--Drayton.]
  'Twar talked o' much an long agon,--
  Tha wonders o' tha _Holy Thorn_,
  Tha "wich, zoon Acter Christ war born,
  Here a planted war by _ArimathA(_,
  Thic Joseph that com'd auver sea,
  An planted Kirstianity.
  ThAc zAc that whun a landed vust,
   (Zich plazen war in God's own trust)
  A stuck iz staff into tha groun
  An auver iz shoulder lookin roun,
  Whatever mid iz lot bevAcll,
  A cried aloud "_Now, weary all_!"
  Tha staff het budded an het grew,
  An at Kirsmas bloom'd tha whol dAc droo.
  An still het blooms at Kirsmas bright,
  But best thAc zAc at dork midnight,
  A pruf o' this nif pruf you will.
  Iz voun in tha name o' _Weary-all-hill!_
  Let tell _Pumparles_ or lazy _Brue_.
  That what iz tauld iz vor sartin true!

["The story of the Holy Thorn was a long time credited by the
vulgar and credulous. There is a species of White Thorn which
blossoms about Christmas; it is well known to naturalists so as
to excite no surprise."]




MR. GUY.


The incident on which this story is founded, occurred in the
early part of the last century; hence the allusion to making a
_will_ before making a journey to the metropolis.


  Mr. Guywar a gennelman
    O' Huntspill, well knawn
  As a grazier, a hirch one,
    Wi' lons o' hiz awn.

  A A´ten went ta Lunnun
    Hiz cattle vor ta zill;
  All tha horses that a rawd
    Niver minded hadge or hill.

  A war afeard o' naw one;
    A niver made hiz will,
  Like wither vawk, avaur a went
    His cattle vor ta zill.

  One time a'd bin ta Lunnun
    An zawld iz cattle well;
  A brought awAc a power o' gawld,
    As I've a hired tell.

  As late at night a rawd along
    All droo a unket ood,
  A ooman rawze vrom off tha groun
    An right avaur en stood:

  She look'd za pitis Mr. Guy
    At once hiz hoss's pace
  Stapt short, a wonderin how, at night,
    She com'd in jitch a place.

  A little trunk war in her hon;
    She zim'd vur gwon wi' chile.
  She ax'd en nif a'd take her up
    And cor her a veo mile.

  Mr. Guy, a man o' veelin
    For a ooman in distress,
  Than took er up behind en:
    A cood'n do na less.

  A corr'd er trunk avaur en,
    An by hiz belt o' leather
  A bid er hawld vast; on thAc rawd,
    Athout much tAck, together.

  Not vur thAc went avaur she gid
    A whissle loud an long;
  Which Mr. Guy, thawt very strange;
    Er voice too zim'd za strong!

  She'd lost er dog, she zed; an than
    Another whissle blaw'd,
  That stortled Mr. Guy;--a stapt
    Hiz hoss upon tha rawd.

  Goo on, zed she; bit Mr. Guy
    Zum rig beginn'd ta fear:
  Vor voices rawze upon tha wine,
    An zim'd a comin near.

  Again thAc rawd along; again
    She whissled. Mr. Guy
  Whipt out hiz knife an cut tha belt,
    Then push'd er off!--Vor why?

  Tha ooman he took up behine,
    Begummers, war a _man!_
  Tha rubbers zaw ad lAcd ther plots
    Our grazier to trepan.

  I shall not stap ta tell what zed
    Tha man in ooman's clawze;
  Bit he, and all o'm jist behine,
    War what you mid suppawze.

  ThAc cust, thAc swaur, thAc dreaten'd too,
    An ater Mr. Guy
  ThAc gallop'd all; 'twar niver-tha-near:
    Hiz hoss along did vly.

  Auver downs, droo dales, awAc a went,
    'Twar dAc-light now amawst,
  Till at an inn a stapt, at last,
    Ta thenk what he'd a lost.

  A lost?--why, nothin--but hiz belt!--
    A zummet moor ad gain'd:
  Thic little trunk a corr'd awAc--
    It gawld g'lore contain'd!

  Nif Mr. Guy war hirch avaur,
    A now war hircher still:
  Tha plunder o' tha highwAcmen
    Hiz coffers went ta vill.

  In sAcfety Mr. Guy rawd whim;
    A A´ten tawld tha storry.
  Ta meet wi' jitch a rig myzel
    I shood'n, soce, be zorry.



THE ROOKERY.


The rook, _corvus frugilegus_, is a bird of considerable
intelligence,  and is, besides, extremely useful in destroying
large quantities of worms and larvA| of destructive insects. It
will, it is true, if not watched, pick out, after they are
dibbled, both pease and beans from the holes with a precision
truly astonishing: a very moderate degree of care is, however,
sufficient to prevent this evil, which is greatly overbalanced by
the positive good which it effects in the destruction of insects.
It is a remarkable fact, and not, perhaps, generally known, that
this bird rarely roosts at the rookery, except for a few months
during the period of incubation, and rearing its young. In the
winter season it more commonly takes flights of no ordinary
length, to roost on the trees of some remote and sequestered wood.
The _Elm_ is its favorite, on which it usually builds; but
such is its attachment to locality that since the incident alluded
to in the following Poem took place the Rooks have, many of them,
built in _fir_ trees at a little distance from their former
habitation. The habits of the Rook are well worthy the attention
of all who delight in the study of Natural History.


  My zong is o' tha ROOKERY,
    Not jitch as I a zeed
  On stunted trees wi' leaves a veo,
    A very veo indeed,

  In thic girt place thAc _Lunnun_ cAcll;--
    Tha Tower an tha Pork
  HAc booA¤th a got a Rookery,
    Althaw thAc han't a Lork.

  I zeng not o' jitch Rookeries,
    Jitch plazen, pump or banners;
  Bit town-berd Rooks, vor Acll that, hAc,
    I warnt ye, curious _manners_.

  My zong is o' a Rookery
    My Father's cot bezide,
  Avaur, years Acter, I war born
    'Twar long tha porish pride.

  Tha elms look'd up like giants tAcll
    Ther branchy yarms aspread;
  An green plumes wavin wi' tha wine,
    Made gAc each lofty head.

  Ta drAc tha pectur out--ther war
    At distance, zid between
  Tha trees, a thatch'd Form-house, an geese
    A cacklin on tha green.

  A river, too, clooA¤se by tha trees,
    Its stickle coose on slid,
  Whaur yells an trout an wither fish
    Mid A´tentimes be zid.

  Tha rooks voun this a pleasant place--
    A whim ther young ta rear;
  An I a A´ten pleas'd a bin
    Ta wActch 'em droo tha year.

  'Tis on tha dAc o' Valentine
    Or there or thereabout,
  Tha rooks da vast begin ta build,
    An cawin, make a rout.

  Bit aw! when May's a come, ta zee
    Ther young tha gunner's shut
  Vor SPOORT, an bin, as zum da zAc,
    (Naw readship in't I put)

  _That nif thAc did'n shut tha, rooks
    ThAc'd zoon desert tha trees!_
  Wise vawk! Thic reason vor ther SPOORT
    Gee thAc mid nif thAc please!

  Still zeng I o' tha Rookery,
    Vor years it war tha pride
  Of all thAc place, bit 'twor ta I
    A zumthin moor bezide.

  A hired tha Rooks avaur I upp'd;
    I hired 'em droo tha dAc;
  I hired ther young while gittin flush
    An ginnin jist ta cAc.

  I hired 'em when my mother gid
    Er lessins kind ta I,
  In j