Geanie, 2/6, _adj._ profitable, useful. A.S. _gægn_, fit, suitable.
Robert de Brunne in his History of England, 3376, has, "a _geiner_ way"
= a more direct advantageous way. Scot. _gane_, fit, useful. Lanc.
_gainest_ way = the shortest cut.
Geld, 15/17, _s._ castrate, spay.
*Gentiles, 17, _s. pl._ gentle-folk.
Gentilie, 9/14, _adv._ kindly, with proper respect.
Gentils, 49/_c_, _s. pl._ gentles, maggots.
Gentlenes, 102/7, _s._ gentlemanly manners.
Gently, 102/7, _adv._ as gentlemen, in a gentlemanly manner.
Gentrie, 114/33, _s._ true nobility.
Gesse, 114/1, _v. imp._ guess, believe.
Gest, 4/2, _s._ a guest. A.S. _gest_.
Get, 9/5, _v._ earn.
Gettings, 9/5, _s._ earnings.
Giddie braine, 10/23, _adj._ giddy, unsteady.
Giles, 114/18, _s. pl._ traps, deceits.
Gillet, 50/30, _s._ lad. Gael, _gille, giolla_, a lad. Halliwell gives
"an instrument for thatching" as the meaning in this passage, but why,
I do not know.
Gillian spendal, 23/18, wasteful, careless housekeeper.
Giloflowers, 15/42, _s. pl._ carnations, pinks. Fr. _giroflée_,
from Lat. _caryophyllus_, a clove, from the clove-like smell of the
flowers.--Wedgwood.
Gin, 10/19, _s._ trap.
Ginnes, 106/22, _s. pl._ means, contrivances.
Ginnie, 90/5, Jenny.
Ginny, 33/38, _s._ a name for a filly. Mavor reads Jilly.
Gise, 97/4, _s._ fashion, way.
Gloues, 57/9, _s. pl._ gloves.
God night, 18/49. A phrase equivalent to "it is all over," "it is too
late."
Goef, 55/4, _s._ the stack or rick.
Goeler, 46/4, _adj._ "The Goeler is the yellower, which are the best
setts, old roots (of hops) being red."--T.R. A.S. _geolewe_.
Gofe, 56/20, _s._ rick, stack. In Addit. MS. 1295, a Lat. Eng. Vocab.
written in Norfolk in the 15th century, occur "_Gelimo_, to golue,
_Ingelimum_, golfe." Palsgrave gives "a _goulfe_ of corne."
Gofe ladder, 17/1, _s._ a ladder for hay ricks.
Gole, 115/3, _s._ goal, prize.
Goom, 33/59, _s._ gum.
Goordes, 41/5, _s. pl._ gourds. Lat. _cucurbita_.
Gossep, 94/7, _s._ gossips, companions.
Got, 114/16, _pp._ caught.
Gotten, 10/4, _pp._ earned, acquired.
Gould, 3/3, _s._ gold, money.
Goue, 57/10, _pp._ laid up in the barn in the straw. Another form
of _Goaf_. "_Goulfe_ of corne, so moche as may lye betwene two
postes."--Palsgrave. Dan. _gulve_ = to lay corn sheaves on the floor,
from Dan. _gulv_, a floor.
Gouing, 57/23, _v._ laying up in the barn in the straw. See Goue.
Graffing, 46/10, _s._ grafting. O. Fr. _grafe_, from Lat. _graphium_, a
pencil, from the resemblance of the graft to a pointed pencil.
Grassebeefe, 12/4, _s._ beef of an ox fattened upon grass.
Grate, 10/29, _s._ prison (grating).
Greaseth, 68/2, _v. pr. t._ bribes, enriches.
Great, 57/8, by great = task or piece-work, in contradistinction to
_day_-work.
Greedie gainfull, 2/13, _adj._ greedy for gain.
Greefe, 89/8, _s._ trouble, worry.
Gregorie, 46/2. St. Gregory's Day, 12th March.
Grinstone, 17/8, _s._ grindstone.
Gromel, 45/9, _s._ the plant Gromwell. _Lithospermum arvense_, Linn.
Grosest, 19/18, _adj._ heaviest, thickest, Fr. _gros_.
Grosse, 18/18, _adj._ coarse.
Grossum caput, 95/1, a blockhead, stupid.
Grotes, 33/46, _s. pl._ money (groats). L. Ger. grot = a large piece
(of money), so called because before this coin was issued by Edward
III., the English had no larger silver coin than the penny.
Gruch, 57/19; Grutch, 86/2, _v._ grudge. O. Fr. _grouchier_, to grumble.
Grutching, 10/8, _s._ grumbling.
Guise, 89/12, *Guyse, 5, _s._ habit, custom.
Gunstone, 10/19, _s._ a ball of stone, used in heavy artillery before
the introduction of iron shot.--Nares' Gloss.
Gutted, 46/4, _pp._ taken off from the old roots.
*Gutting, 27, _v._ cutting up, making ruts in.
H.
Haberden, 23/12, _s._ "that kind of cod which is usually
salted."--Nares. ? Aberdeen haddocks.
Hacking, 53/15, _v._ hewing down, cutting of trees.
Had I wist, 77/8, lit. "had I known:" foole had I wist = foolish and
useless regrets.
*Haft, 60, _v. imp._ "Act like a miser, be a niggard. The sentence
then reads 'Be not niggardly towards God of the goods He sends you.'
_Haft_, to grasp (an extension of the verb _to have_), and hence to
save, be a niggard, is preserved in _hafter_, a miser, saver; which see
in my Notes to P. Plowman, l. 197, p. 117. See nine examples of this
word in Skelton, ed. Dyce, ii. 108."--Note by Rev. W. W. Skeat. The
word, however, seems to bear even a stronger meaning, for Cooper, in
his "Thesaurus," 1584, has "_Cauilla_, a mocke, a scoffe, an haftyng
question, a cauill." The words "haft not to godward" thus may mean "do
not grumble at, find fault with, or question the justice of what God
sends you."
Haie, 63/24, _s._ hay. A.S. _haga_.
Haier, 57/51, _s._ cloth made of goats' hair.
Haile, 15/34, _adj._ sound, strong. A.S. _hæl_.
Hailoft, 89/6, _s._ hay-lofts.
Haithorne, 34/28, _s._ hawthorn. A.S. _hagaþorn_ from _haga_ = hedge,
haw. Ger. _hagedorn_.
Hallomas, 23/1, _s._ the Feast of All Saints. Hallowmas, _i.e._ All
Saints' Day, Nov. 1, was, in Tusser's time, ten days nearer the winter
solstice than now.
Hallontide, 21/1. All Saints' Day, 1st November.
Handsome, 48/18, _adj._ useful, ready, _handy_. A.S. _hand, hond_, the
hand. Prompt. Parv. gives "handsum, _manualis_."
Handsomly, 21/24, _adv._ neatly, trimly.
Hardhead, 71/4, _adj._ hardy, brave.
Hardlie, 10/50, _adv._ with difficulty.
Harlots, 74/4, _s. pl._ tramps, vagrants, or disreputable characters of
either sex. "An harlott, _balator, rusticus_."--Cathol. Anglicum.
Harmes, 16/15, _s._ in harm's way, in danger.
Harolds Booke, 114/11, _s. pl._ the Books of the College of Heralds.
Hart, 19/13, _s._ strength, fertility.
Harted, 48/17, _pp._ provided with a good heart, or, as we should now
say, a good bottom; strengthened.
*Harthe, 65, _s._ hearth.
Hartilie, 10/55, _adj._ hearty.
Hartstong, 45/10, _s._ the Heartstongue, _Ceterach officinarum_, so
called from the shape of the frond.
Hastings, 18/32, _s. pl._ an early variety of peas, "soone ripe, soone
rotten."--D. Rogers' Naaman.
Hauke, 56/44, _s._ hawking, falconry.
Haunt, 67/14, _v._ follow, pursue, be accustomed. O. Fr. _hanter_, to
pursue.
Haunting, 16/31, _adj._ frequenting, in the habit of coming.
Hauocke, 77/3, _s._ havoc, waste.
Hawe, 36/13, _s._ the berries of the hawthorn, hips.
Hawme, 55/14, _s._ haulm, straw. "Haulm, straw left in an esh or
gratten; stubble, thatch. Sax. hælme, _culmus, calamus_. Icel. halmur,
_palea_."--Bish. Kennett's MS. Ray gives "haulm or helm, stubble
gathered after the corn is inned."
Hazard, 23/11, _s._ danger.
Heale, 19/37, _v._ to recover, be cured.
Healthsom, 11/8, _adj._ healthy, invigorating.
*Heare, 41, _s._ hair.
Hearesaie, 2/10, _s._ hearsay, report.
Hearie, 49/7, _adj._ hairy, full of hairs. A.S. _hær._ O. Icel. _här_,
hair.
Heate, 76/2, _pp._ heated, hot.
Heawers, 47/8, _s. pl._ woodcutters. A.S. _heawan_, to cut.
Hed, 89/9, _s._ head, mind.
Hedlonds, 52/17, _s. pl._ headlands.
Hew, 113/1, _s._ colour, "changed hew" = have changed, become
unfavourable.
Hew prowler, 35/25. "Hugh Prowler is our Author's name for a
night-walker."--T.R.
Hid, 2/11, _s._ care, heed. A.S. _hédan_.
Hier, 23/9, _s._ business, duty.
Hight, 114/3, _v. pt. t._ was called, named. O. Eng. _higt, higte_.
A.S. _hâtte_ from _hatan_, to call, name.
Hilback, 10/40, _s._ cover back, _i.e._ clothes, extravagance in dress.
Kennett, MS. Lansdowne 1033.--Halliwell. A.S. _hilan, helan_, to cover.
Hindring, 88/3, _v._ injuring, damaging.
Hir, 35/51, _poss. pr._ their. A.S. _heor_.
Hobbard de Hoy, 60/3, _s._ a lad approaching manhood. "Hober-de-hoy,
half a man and half a boy."--Ray's Gloss.
Hogscote, 17/21, _s._ a pen or sty for hogs.
Holds, 33/40, _v. pr. t._ equals, gains equal.
Holiokes, 43/15, _s. pl._ hollyhocks. A.S. _holihoc_.
Homelie, 1/2, _adj._ plain, homely, unpretending.
Hone, 46/9, _s._ "a common rubber or whetstone."--T.R.
Honie, 106/4, _adj._ sweet.
Horehound, 45/11, _s._ horehound. A.S. _hara-hune_, or possibly a
corruption of Lat. _urinaria_, the plant being considered a sovereign
remedy in cases of strangury and dysuria.
Horselock, 17/21, _s._ shackles for horses' feet.
Horseteeme, 17/10, _s._ team of horses.
Hostis, 10/8, _s. pl._ entertainers.
Housholdry, 9/11, _s._ furniture and articles for domestic use.
Houell, 52/8, _s._ barn, outhouse.
Houen, 49/4, _pp._ swelled. A.S. _hebban, hefan_ (pp. _hofen_), to
heave, raise. O. H. Ger. _hevan_.
Hower, 107/4, _s._ hour.
Howse, 57/32, _v. imp._ house.
Hoy, 57/13, _v. imp._ drag, frighten, drive away by crying, "hoy, hoy!"
Hull, 36/23, _s._ holly.
Huluer, 48/10, _s._ holly. O. Icel. _hulfr_.
Hurtilberies, 34/13, _s. pl._ the hurtle-berry or whortleberry,
bilberry.
Hutch, 10/47, _s._ money chest or box. A.S. hwæca = chest, an
unauthorised (? invented) form, due to Somner. O. Fr. _houche_.
I.
*Iayle, 88, _s._ a gaol, prison.
Ictus sapit, 2/8. Lat. Prov. See Note E15.
Indian eie, 43/16, _s._ the Pink, so called from the eye-shaped marking
of the corolla.
Inholder, 97/1, _s._ innkeeper.
Inned, 23/19, _pp._ saved, housed.
Intreating, 88/5, _s._ treatment.
Inuest, 11/8, _v._ surround.
Ise, 112/2, _s._ ice.
Isop, 42/9, _s._ hyssop. A name assigned in the Authorised Version of
the Bible to the caper.
Ist, 5/3, is it.
Iuie, 50/6, *Iuye, 42, _s._ ivy. A.S. _ifig_.
J.
Jack, 17/20, _s._ a horse or wooden frame upon which wood is sawn.
Jack, 85/10, _s._ a drinking vessel containing half a pint according to
Grose, and quarter of a pint according to Pegge, and Peacock's Gloss.
of Manley and Corringham.
Jade, 17/3, _s._ an ill-tempered horse.
Janting, 87/3, _v._ driving. Cotgrave gives another form of the word
in English. "_lancer un cheval_. To stirre a horse in the stable till
hee sweat withall; or (as our) to iaunt; an old word." "Jaunt" is found
in Romeo and Juliet, ii. 5, 26, "What a _jaunt_ have I had!" and in
line 53 of the same scene:
"To catch my death with _jaunting_ up and down."
Cf. also Richard II. v. 5, 94.
Jarring, 88/3, _s._ quarrelling, scolding.
Jerke, 64*/9, _s._ stroke, blow. See Yerke.
Jet, 114/38, _v._ strut about, walk proudly. Fr. _jetter_.
"Along the streetes as he doth _jetting_ passe,
His outside showes him for an inward asse."
--Rowland's Knave of Hearts, 1613.
Jettie, 68/1, _v._ walk or strut about.
Jobbing, 37/12, _v._ pecking. "As an ass with a galled back was feeding
in a meadow, a raven pitched upon him, and their sate _jobbing_ of the
sore."--L'Estrange's Esop.
John Baptist, 12/4. The feast of St. John the Baptist, 24th June.
Jornie, 57/38, _v. pr. t._ go on a journey, start.
Just, 57/10, _adv._ neatly, trimly.
K.
Karle hempe, 15/24, _s._ the male hemp. See Glossary of Manley and
Corringham (E. D. Soc. No. VI.), by E. Peacock.
Keies, 89/3, _s. pl._. keys, locks.
Kell, 57/51, _s._ hop-kiln.
Kerue, 114/32, _v._ (carve), set out, arrange.
Kest, 11/3, _v. imp._ cast, turn.
Kiffe, 10/30, _s._ kith, kindred, relations.
Kinde, 46/20, _s._ nature, natural way. A.S. _cynd_.
Kirnels, 36/13, _s. pl._ pips, seeds. A.S. _cyrnel_.
Knacker, 58/5, _s._ a cart, collar and harness maker, chiefly employed
by farmers.
Knackes, 86/7, _s. pl._ knickknacks, trifles.
Knap, 85/11, _v. imp._ rap, knock.
Knauerie, 9/13, _s._ roguery, craft, deceit.
Knede, 74/5, _v. imp._ knead. A.S. _cnedan_. O. H. Ger. _chnetan_.
Kniueles, 98/1, _adj._ having no knives. "When knives were not laid for
the guests, as at the present period, they would use their daggers to
carve with, which were harmless as to any other purpose."--Mavor.
Knot, 22/22, _s._ flower-beds laid out in fanciful shapes. See Bacon's
Essay Of Gardens, ed. W. A. Wright, p. 189: "As for the making of
_knots_, or figures, with divers coloured earths, that they may lie
under the windowes of the house, on that side, which the garden stands,
they be but toyes." Compare also Love's Labour's Lost, i. 1, 249: "Thy
curious-_knotted_ garden;" and Milton's Paradise Lost, iv. 242:
"Flowers worthy of Paradise, which not nice art
In beds and curious _knots_, but nature boon
Pour'd forth profuse."
And Shakspere, Richard II. iii. 4, 46.
Knotted, 42/13, _adj._ jointed. "The _knotted_ rush-ringes, and gilte
Rosemaree."--Spenser, Shep. Cal. November.
L.
Lackey, 87/3, servant, messenger.
Lag, 20/15, _v. pr. t._ pilfer, steal.
Lagged, 36/25, _pp._ caught.
Laggoose, 85/4, _s._ laggard, lazy.
Laie, 4/1, 9/32, _v._ plan, intend, purpose.
Laie, 35/46, Lay, 35/48, _s._ untilled land, grass land, lea.
Laier, 63/4, _s._ soil, ground.
Laier, 20/27, _s._ beds, litter.
Lammas, 50/36, _s._ Lammas Day, the 1st August. A.S. _hlâfmaesse_. O.
Eng. _loafmas_, the bread-feast or feast of first fruits.
Lamming, 35/21, _s._ lambing.
Lams, 51/1, _s._ lambs.
Langdebiefe, 39/16, _s._ Wild bugloss. See Mr. Britten's note, E205.
Larkes foot, 43/18, _s._ Larkspur, or Larksclaw. _Delphinium_, Linn.
Lash, 63/20, _s._ dirt, mud; leaue in the lash = leave in the lurch,
or, perhaps, in the snare, trap. See next word.
Lash, 10/15, _s._ the leash in which an animal is caught or held, hence
"to run in the lash" = to fall into the snare.
Lasheth, 23/18, _v. pr. t._ lavisheth, wastes.
Lashinglie, 9/6, _adv._ lavishly, freely.
Lash out, 9/6, _v._ lavish, spend.
Laster, 85/10, _s._ is no laster = will not or does not last, i.e. is
soon broken.
Launders, 83/2, _s. pl._ washers, laundresses.
Lauender cotten, 42/12, _s._ the Garden cypres,
_Chamæcyparissus_.--Lyte's Dodoens, ed. 1578, p. 29.
Lauender spike, 42/11, _s._ spike lavender, _Lavandula spica_, from
M. Lat. _lavendula_, from _lavare_ = to wash, as being the plant used
to scent newly-washed linen, whence the expression of "laid up in
lavender." The essential oil distilled from this plant, which is nearly
allied to the common Lavender, is called in French Essence d'Aspic,
and in English Oil of Spike. It is used in porcelain painting and in
veterinary medicine. See Pharmacographia, p. 430.
Lawe, 56/2, _s._ rule, for a lawe = as a rule.
Laxe, 19/41, _s._ looseness, diarrhœa. See Cowlaske.
Lay, 10/60, _v. pr. t._ plan, try.
Lay land, 33/49, _s._ untilled lands. "Lay lande, _terre nouvellement
labourée_."--Palsgrave.
Lead, 56/14, _s._ a cauldron, copper, or kettle. Gaelic _luchd_ =
a pot, kettle. "That stemede as a forneys of a _leede_."--Chaucer,
Prologue to C. T. l. 202. "Make þe broys in þe _led_."--Havelok, ed.
Skeat, 924.
Lease, 33/49, _s._ a pasture. "A lease is a name used in some
countries for a small piece of ground of two or three acres."--T.R.
O.E. _leswen_, to pasture, from A.S. _læsu_, a pasture, _lǽswian_, to
pasture.
Leaueled, 46/7, _pp._ levelled, measured.
Leauens, 89/10, _s. pl._ the barm and meal laid together for
fermentation: _to lay the leavens or leavance_ = to put them together
for that purpose. See Halliwell, s.v. Leavance.
Leese, 56/47, _v. imp._ lose, miss.
Leete, 86/10, _s._ a manor court.
Lemmans, 40/2_a_, _s. pl._ lemons. Arabic _laimûn_.
Lent stuffe, 63/36, _s._ provisions for Lent.
Lesse, 2/8, _s._ lease, term. Fr. _lais, laissement_, the lease or
instrument by which a holding of any kind is let (_laissé_) to a tenant.
Let, 57/50, _s._ hindrance, obstacle.
Letted, 23/2, _pp._ hindered, delayed.
Lettis, 39/18, _s._ lettuce. Lat. _lectuca_, from Greek γαλὰ [Greek:
gala] gen. γάλακτος [Greek: galaktos], milk, and ἔχω [Greek: echo], to
contain, through _lattouce_, an older form (still retained in Scotland).
"Letuce of lac derivyed is perchaunce;
Ffor mvlk it hath or yeveth abundaunce."
--Palladius on Husbondrie, E. E. Text Soc. ed. Lodge, 51/216.
Leuer, 50/9, _adv._ sooner, rather. A.S. _leofer_.
Lick, 23/6, _v._ lick themselves.
Licoras, 45/13, _s._ liquoras.
Licour, 22/23, _s._ water, drink.
Lide, 114/3, _v. pt. t._ lay, was situate.
Lie in the dust, 10/32, cease, be done away with.
Lieng alonge, 19/25, lying at a distance.
Linage, 114/3, _s._ lineage, family.
Lightly, 46/20, _adv._ easily.
Likest, 35/34, _adj._ most likely, promising.
Lillium cum-vallium, 43/20, _s._ Lily of the valley, or Lily-convally.
Lat. _Lilium convallium_, a name taken from Canticles ii. 1, "I am the
lily of the valleys."
Line, 17/5, _s._ rope (?).
Ling, 57/36, _s._ a fish (_Lota molva_) resembling a cod, but longer
and more slender. When salted, it is extensively used for food in
Scotland and Ireland. Fr. _lingue_, O. Dutch, _linghe_.
Linne, 97/3, _s._ the town of Lynn. "To purchase Lynn" seems to
have been a proverbial mode of expression used in ridicule of
stinginess.--Mavor.
Linnen, 94/13, _s._ linen.
Litherly, 85/8, _adj._ lazy, idle.
Lively spide, 3/2, quickly seen.
Liuerwort, 39/20, _s._ so called from the _liver_ shape of the thallus.
Lyte (Dodoens, ed. 1587, p. 411) tells us it is "a sovereign medicine
against the heate and inflammation of the liver."
Loiterers, 2/6, _s. pl._ hangers on, dependents.
*Lone, 10, _s. pl._ a loan, grant from God.
Longing, 16/10, _s._ desire, what it requires.
Longwort, 39/19, _s._ lungwort, _Pulmonaria maculosa_.
Looke, 5/1, 10/4, _v._ look for, seek, expect.
Loose, 57/22, _v. pr. t._ lose, waste.
Lop, 33/13, _s._ the faggot wood of a tree.
Lordlie, 113/3, _adv._ to live in a lordly or grand style.
Losels, 63/12, _s. pl._ worthless, abandoned fellows. Prompt. Parv. has
"Lorel or losel, or ludene, _lurco_."
Louage, 45/12, _s._ Lovage. _Ligusticum Scoticum_, Linn.
Lowe, 23/24, _adj._ not advanced, if Spring is taken to mean the
_season_; or, not grown up, if Spring is the _young grass_.
Lowe, 63/11, _adv._ low, feeding so lowe = to allow the flocks to eat
the pasture too low or short.
Lower, 20/17, _v._ scowl, look discontented.
Lubberlie, 9/16, _adj._ lazy, idle. "Thither this lusking
_lubber_ softly creeped." _Tom Tel Troth's Message_, New Shak.
Soc. ed. F. J. Furnivall, p. 128. "_Baligaut, m._ an vnweldie
_lubber_, great lobcocke, huge luske, mishapen lowt, ill-fauoured
flabergullion."--Cotgrave.
Lubbers, 57/22, _s. pl._ louts, awkward fellows. Welsh _llob_ = a heavy
lump, _llabi_ = a looby. Gaelic _leobhair_ = a lubber.--Wedgwood.
Lug, 87/4, _v._ drag, draw.
Lurched, 23/3, _pp._ robbed of their food, being left in the _lurch_.
Lurching, 88/7, _s._ greediness. L. Lat. _lurcare_, to swallow food
greedily. "To _lurch_, devour, or eate greadily, _ingurgito_."--Baret's
Alvearie. Cf. Bacon's Essays, xlv.
Lurke, 86/1, _v._ idle, loiter about.
Lurketh, 62/9, _v. pr. t._ lounge, dawdle about. The same as Lusk.
Harman, p. 82, speaks of "lewtering luskes and lazy lorrels."
Lust, 15/10, _s._ desire.
Lustie, 60/5, _adj._ strong, lusty.
M.
Mads, 50/4, _s. pl._ maggots, worms. Another form of _moth_.
Magget the py, 49/9, the magpie. See note E300.
Maides, 90/3, _s. pl._ maidens, girls.
Maierom, 42/13, _s._ marjoram, from Lat. _majorana_, with the change of
_n_ to _m_, as in "Holm, Lime," etc.
Maine, 19/17, _adj. = meint_, i.e. _mixed_ wheat. See _Mung_ or
_muncorn_ in Halliwell.
Mainecombe, 17/3, _s._ a comb for horses' manes.
Maine sea, 14/4, the ocean, the high sea. Cf. the expression "the
Spanish main."
Male, 102/4, _s._ mail-bag, portmanteau, or sack.
Mallow, 33/6, _s._ the field mallow.
Mams, 95/5, _s. pl._ mothers, mammas.
Manerly, 85/11, _adj._ polite, decent.
Mar, 95/2, _v._ spoil, ruin.
*Marefoles, 53, _s. pl._ fillies.
Marke, 17/17, _s._ marking tool.
Marres, 20/14, _v. pr. t._ spoils, interrupts.
Marrow, 57/40, _s._ a mate, companion. "Marwe, or felawe yn trauayle
or mate, _socius, compar, sodalis_."--Prompt. Parv. See Towneley
Mysteries, p. 110, and quotations in Craven Glossary and Jamieson.
Marsh men, 17/19, _s. pl._ farmers in the fen and marshy country.
Martilmas, 12/3. The feast of St. Martin, 11th November. See Note E60.
Mast, 63/5, _s._ the fruit of the oak and beech and other forest trees.
A.S. _mǽst_. Ger. _mast_, from Gothic _matan_, to nourish.
Mastlin, 63/23, _s._ mixed corn. See Mestlen.
Mates, 114/30, _s. pl._ companions.
Mawdlin, 49/_c_, _s._ Magdalene.
Mawdelin, 42/14, _s._ Maudlin. _Balsamita fæminea_.--Gerard's Herball.
Meade, 63/3, _s._ meadow. A.S. _mǽd, meadu_, genitive, _meadewes_.
Meake, 17/14, _s._ "a hook at the end of a handle five foot
long."--T.R. "A _meag_ or _meak_, a pease-hook."--Ray. Also in Coles'
Dict. 1676.
Meane, 114/25, means, help.
Meanie, 2/6, _adj._ many.
Measling, 16/23, becoming measly. "_Masyl_ or _mazil_,
sekenesse."--Prompt. Parv.
Measure, 68/9, _v._ be moderate, be within measure.
Meated, 17/12, _pp._ fed.
Meateth, 62/7, _v. pr. t._ feeds, supports.
Medcin, 33/19, _s._ medicine.
Meedeful, 87/7, _adj._ thankful.
Meedes, 106/4, _s. pl._ meadows. See Meade.
Mendbreech, 89/6, _s._ one who sits up late at night to mend his
clothes.
Mercurie, 39/22, _s._ Mercury, or Good King Henry, is largely grown by
cottagers in Lincolnshire. This plant, the _Chenopodium bonus henricus_
of botanists, bears tender young leaves resembling spinach, which, when
cooked, are but little inferior in flavour to the finest asparagus.
It is a robust-growing perennial, and, when once planted in deep,
rich soil, requires no further cultural attention than a dressing of
well-decomposed manure during the winter.
Mestlen, 37/21, _s._ a mixture of wheat and rye. "Mastilȝone,
_bigermen, mixtilio_."--Cath. Ang. "_Framois_, meslin of oats
and barlie mixed." "_Meteil_, messling or misslin, wheat and rie
mingled."--Cotgrave.
Mew, 36/26, _s._ a cage for moulting.
Michel, 33/32, Mihel, 57/25, Mihell, 12/4, _s._ Michaelmas. The feast
of St. Michael and All Angels, 29th September.
Michers, 10/15, _s. pl._ lurking thieves, skulkers. "Mecher, a lytell
thefe, _laronceau_."--Palsgrave. Now common as a term for a truant.
Cf. Shak. I Henry IV. ii. 4: "Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a
_micher_ and eat blackberries."
Mickle, 68/1, _adj._ great, much.
Mier, 107/4, _s._ mire, filth. A.S. _myre._
*Mier, 38, Mierie, 114/27, _adj._ filthy, muddy.
Mihelmas, 57/44, Michaelmas.
*Millons, 72/_c, s. pl._ melons. See Musk Million.
Mind, 68/5, _v._ notice, comment on.
Mind, 63/1, _v. pr. t._ intend, have in mind, wish.
Minion, 66/4, _adj._ pleasant, agreeable, favourite. Fr. _mignon_. L.
Lat. _mignonetus, gratissimus, minna,_ love.
Minnekin, 10/20, _adj._ little, perhaps with the idea of the modern
contracted form "minx."
Miring, 23/3, _v._ being stuck in bogs.
Mis, 16/8, _v._ want, be without.
Mischiefe, 23/4, _v._ hurt, injure.
Mischieued, 10/36, _adj._ unfortunate, ruined.
Misdeeme, 30/3, _v._ misjudge. A.S. _deman_, to judge.
Mislike, 23/16, _v._ displease, not suit.
Mistle, 33/12, _s._ mistletoe. A.S. _mistel_. O. H. Ger. _mistil_.
Mitch, 17/17, _adj._ large.
Mite, 63/20, _s._ the smallest piece. A.S _mite_.
Mo, 33/57, _adj._ more, others. A.S. _mâ_.
Moether, 17/13, Mother, 16/14, _s._ a girl. A woman and her mawther = a
woman and her daughter. "Moder, servaunte or wench."--Prompt. Parv.
Mogwort, 45/15, _s._ mugwort, _Artemisia vulgaris_, Linn.
Moile, 4/1, _v._ to work hard, drudge. Lat. _moliri_, to struggle. "In
the earth we _moile_ with hunger, care and paine."--Mirror for Magist.
ed. 1610.
Molding, 55/4, _v._ becoming musty, or mouldy.
Mome, 62/3, _s._ blockhead, fool. "A gull, a ninny, a _mome_."--Florio,
p. 81. "A youth will play the wanton, and an olde man proove a
_mome_."--Drayton, Skeltoniad.
Mone, 67/1, _s._ complaint, lamentation.
Mooueth, 94/7, _v. pr. t._ moves or exerts herself, plans.
Mother, 16/14, _s._ a girl. See Moether.
Moulspare, 17/18, _s._ mole spear.
Mow, 17/19, _s._ stack of hay or corn. A.S. _muwa_. L. Lat. _mugium_.
Mowles, 36/17, _s. pl._ moles.
Mowse, 38/3, _v. pr. t._ mouth, bite.
Mowth, 57/25, _v._ eat.
Muck, 51/13, _s._ manure.
Mulley, 57/46, a common name for a cow in Suffolk.
Mungrels, 46/3, _s. pl._ cur dogs, mongrels. A.S. _menegan_, to mix,
hence an animal of a mixed breed, a hybrid.
Musk Million, 40/8, _s._ the musk melon. "Pickled cowcombers I have
bought a pecke for threepence, and _musk mellions_, there hath beene
cast five or sixe loads of them in one day to their hogs."--Taylor's
Works, 1630. See Lyte's Dodoens, p. 590.