FOREIGN LOAN-WORDS
We have often been told, or we have read in newspaper reviews and
suchlike works, that the rustic vernacular is indigenous to the soil,
mostly raw material in the rough, but entirely a native product. Of
course this is in the main true, the real backbone of the dialects is
genuine English, but when we examine the whole vocabulary in detail,
we find it contains a very considerable admixture of foreign elements.
French, Scandinavian, Celtic, and even Latin words permeate the
dialects throughout the country, in varying proportions according to
the geographical area. To take first a sample of the French loan-words:
_agist_ (Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Der. Not. Lin. Rut. Lei. Nhp. w.Cy.), to
receive cattle to graze for a fixed sum, to put out cattle to pasture,
O.Fr. _agister_, to lodge, to make to lie; _aigle_ (midl. counties), an
icicle, Fr. _aiguille_, a needle; _avoirdupois_ (Wor. Hrf. Suf.), to
consider, to weigh mentally, adv. undecided, in doubt, e.g. I be quite
haverdepaise about sending Jane to service; _arain_ (Dur. Yks. Lan.
Der.), a spider, O.Fr. _araigne_, _iraigne_, cp. ‘Oure ȝeris schulen
bithenke as an yreyn,’ Wyclif, _Ps._ lxxxix. 10; _asprous_ (Lei. War.),
of the weather: raw, inclement, Fr. _aspre_, sharp, harsh, rough, +
the termination _-ous_; _bastile_ (Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der.
Rut. War. Wor.), a popular name for the workhouse, an application of
Fr. _Bastille_, the prison-fortress built in Paris in the fourteenth
century, and destroyed in 1789; _bowet_ (Sc. Nhb.), a hand lantern,
Fr. dial. _bouete_, an equivalent of Fr. _boite_;_benè(s_ (n.Cy.
Yks. Lan.), in the phrase _to clap benè(s_, to clap the hands as an
expression of thanks or of pleasure, used in children’s language.
Children are taught to _clap benè_ before partaking of food, and nurses
say: Clap benès for daddy to cum, An’ bring lile babby a ceàk an’ a
bun. The word _benès_ is a shortened form of _benison_, a blessing,
benediction, used in M.E. in the sense of grace before meat, cp. ‘bord
leyd, And the beneysun was seyd,’ _Hav._ l. 1723, O.Fr. _beneison_.
_Boco_ (Sus.), a large quantity, used principally of fish, Fr.
_beaucoup_, a great deal, much; _bran_ (Lin. Oxf. Nrf. Suf.), freckles,
Fr. ‘_bran de Judas_, freckles in the face,’ Cotgrave. Littré says:
‘_Bran de Judas_, tache de rousseur au visage. Locution vieillie, et
qui vient sans doute de ce qu’on se représenta Judas roux.’ _Chibbole_
(War. Wor. Glo. Oxf. I.W. Wil. Dor. Som. Dev. Cor.), a young onion
with the green stalk attached, a scallion, O.Fr. (Picard) _chibole_,
Mod.Fr. _ciboule_, cp. ‘Chibolles and cheruelles and ripe chiries
manye,’ _Piers Plow._ B, VI, l. 296; _courant_ (Sc. Wm. Yks. Chs. Shr.
I.W. Dev. Cor.), a running and violent dance, a revel, a romp, &c.,
Fr. ‘_courante_, sorte de danse,’ Littré; _dishabille_ (n. and midl.
dials. also s.), disorder, a state of confusion, working-dress, Fr.
_en déshabillé_, ‘en vêtement aisé que l’on porte d’ordinaire chez
soi,’ Hatzfeld; _dole_ (Sc. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Stf. Der. Dor. Cor.),
sorrow, grief, misfortune, O.Fr. _dol_, _dul_, _deul_, Mod.Fr. _deuil_,
sorrow; _fammel_ (War. Wor. Glo. Oxf.), to starve, famish, e.g. I’m
half fammel’d, Norm. dial. _fameiller_, ‘être affamé,’ Moisy, O.Fr.
_fameiller_, avoir faim; _fay_ (Sc. Yks. Som. Dev. Cor.), faith, used
as an interjection, and in assertions and quasi-oaths, cp.:
Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?
Nay, quod Arcite, in ernest by my fey.
_Knightes Tale_, ll. 267, 268.
[Sidenote: _French Loan-words_]
O.Fr. _fei_, faith; _flasket_ (Yks. Lan. Chs. Lei. Nhp. Hnt. Ken. Sus.
Som.), a kind of basket, a shallow, oval washing-tub, Fr. (Béarnais)
_flasquet_, ‘flasque’; _flue_ (Hrf. Brks. Ken. Sur. Sus. Hmp. Wil.),
delicate, sickly, thin, in poor condition, O.Fr. ‘_flou_, délicat, en
parlant des choses; doux, en parlant des personnes,’ La Curne; _frap_
(Nhb. Yks. Lan. Suf. Sus.), to strike, rap, Fr. _frapper_, to strike;
_gigot_ (Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Der. Lei.), a leg of mutton, Fr. ‘_gigot_ (_de
mouton_), a leg (of mutton),’ Cotgrave; _goo_ (Sc. Nhb.), taste, relish,
Fr. _goût_, ‘sensation agréable que produisent certaines saveurs,’
Hatzfeld; _hogo_ (Irel. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. Hrt. e.An. Ken. Hmp. I.W. Wil.
Som.), used of tainted meat and strong cheese: a strong disagreeable
smell or odour, Fr. _haut goût_, high flavour; _hone_ (Sc. n.Cy. Lin.
Stf. War. Wor. Shr. Dev.), to whine, complain, with _after_ or _for_: to
repine for want of, to long or pine for, Fr. (Norman dial.) _hoigner_,
‘hogner, geindre, pleurnicher, se lamenter,’ Moisy. Dr. Johnson has: ‘to
Hone.... To pine; to long for any thing,’ but without any quotations.
_Hanch_ (n. counties), to bite, snap at with the teeth as a dog does,
e.g. That dog o’ yours hanched at ma when ah tried ti clap [pat] him,
Fr. _hancher_, to snatch at with the teeth; _hespel_, _huspel_ (Wor.
Shr. Hrf.), to worry, harass, to hurry, drive away, Fr. _houspiller_,
‘maltraiter (qqn.) en le secouant,’ Hatzfeld; _jet_ (Sc. Lakel. Yks.
Not. Lin. War. e.An. s. and sw. counties), to throw, Fr. ‘_jetter_, to
throw,’ Cotgr.; _jigget_ (Sc. Irel. Lan. War. Oxf. Brks. Wil. Som. Dev.
Cor.), to ride or walk at a jog-trot, to shake, to dance up and down,
Fr. _gigotter_, ‘remuer vivement les jambes,’ Littré; _jouke_ (Yks.
Der.), to sleep or roost as partridges, O.Fr. (Picard) _jouquer_,
‘percher, jucher,’ _joquer_, ‘être en repos, percher,’ La Curne, M.E.
_jouken_, cp.:
Now rys, my dere brother Troilus;
For certes, it noon honour is to thee
To wepe, and in thy bed to iouken thus.
Chaucer, _Troil._ V. ll. 407-9.
[Sidenote: _Latten, Maugre, Merry, Mort_]
_Jowl_ (Stf. Der. War. Shr.), an earthenware pan or vessel, Fr.
_jalle_, ‘a soe or tub,’ Cotgr.; _keeve_ (Sc. Irel. Glo. Dor. Som.
Dev. Cor.), a large tub, a vat used for fermenting beer, Fr. _cuve_,
‘an open tub, a fat or vat,’ Cotgr.; _lash_ (Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Lin. Nhp.
e.An. Som.), relaxed in consequence of weakness or fatigue; as applied
to fruit and grass feed: soft and watery, Fr. _lasche_, ‘slack, loose,
weak, faint,’ Cotgr., cp. ‘That the Israelites were forbidden to eat
the fruit of their new-planted trees, before the fifth year, was very
agreeable unto the natural rules of husbandry; fruits being unwholesome
and lash, before the fourth or fifth year,’ Sir T. Browne, _Garden of
Cyrus_, 1658; _latten_ (Sc. n.Cy. Nhb. Yks. Nhp. Oxf. e.An. Sus. Dor.
Som. Dev. Cor.), any kind of very thin sheet-metal, tin plate, Fr.
_laiton_, ‘lattin (metal),’ Cotgr., cp. ‘He hadde a croys of latoun
ful of stones,’ _Prol._ l. 699; _lingle_ (Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb.),
shoemakers’ thread, Fr. _ligneul_; _lyart_ (Sc. n.Cy. Nhb.), of hair:
streaked with grey, O.Fr. _liart_, ‘gris,’ La Curne; _maugre_ (Sc. Lin.
Suf.), in spite of, notwithstanding, e.g. Theäre’s a right of waay by
the Milner’s Trod, and I’ll goä by it when I want, mauger the teäth
of all th’lords and squires i’Linkisheer, O.Fr. _maugré_, ‘malgré,’
La Curne; _maund_ (in gen. dial. use in Sc. and Eng.), a basket, a
hamper, O.Fr. _mande_, ‘panier d’osier à deux anses,’ La Curne; _mell_
(Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lei. Dor. Som. Dev.),
to mix, mingle, to meddle, interfere, O.Fr. _mesler_, _mêler_, ‘unir
ensemble,’ Hatzfeld; _merry_ (Wm. Lan. Chs. Der. Shr. Oxf. Brks. Bck.
Hnt. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor.), the wild cherry, Fr. _merise_, ‘a small
bitter cherry,’ Cotgr. The English form without the _s_ is parallel
to _cherry,_ from Fr. _cerise_, where the _s_ has been supposed to
be a plural suffix. _Mort_ (in gen. dial. use in Irel. and Eng.), a
quantity, a great deal, abundance, e.g. It did me a mort o’ good,
There’s a mort o’fruit in the garden, Fr. (Norm. dial.) _mort_, in the
phrase _à mort_, ‘en grande quantité: Le prunier a des prunes à mort,’
Moisy; _mure_ (Sc. Yks. Cor.), to confine, as within prison-walls,
Fr. _murer_, ‘to inclose, or shut up between two walls,’ Cotgr.;
_parl(e_ (Sc. Yks. Lan. Chs. Lin. Glo. Brks.), to talk, converse,
O.Fr. _parler_, cp. ‘Patriarkes and prophetes han parled her-of long,’
_Piers Plow._ B, XVIII. l. 268; _peel_ (in gen. dial. use in Sc. and
Eng.), a flat, long-headed shovel, generally of wood, used for taking
bread and pies in and out of a brick oven, O.Fr. _pele_, ‘pelle,’
La Curne; _pelt_ (in gen. dial. use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.), a skin,
hide, Fr. (Norm. dial.) _pelette_, ‘morceau de peau de mouton, avec sa
laine,’ Moisy; _percage_ (Nhb.), a little sheltering cot for a man at a
check gate, a shelter used by shepherds when sheep are lambing, O.Fr.
_parcage_, ‘enceinte pour parquer les bestiaux,’ La Curne; _quail_,
_quell_ (Nhp. Bdf. e.An.), of milk: to curdle, to turn sour, O.Fr.
_coailler_, to curdle; _quiddy_ (Sus.), what do you say? Fr. _que
dis-tu?_; _race_ (Nhb. Dur. Chs. War. Suf.), a root, especially of
ginger, O.Fr. _raïs_, _raïz_, a root, cp. ‘a race or two of ginger,’
_Wint. T._, IV. iii. 50; _regrater_ (Dev. Cor.), one who buys butter,
fruit, &c., from the farmers to sell in the market, O.Fr. _regratier_,
a huckster, cp. ‘Rose þe regratere was hir riȝte name,’ _Piers
Plow._ B, V. l. 226; _rigol_ (Shr.), a small gutter or channel, a
surface-drain, Fr. _rigole_, ‘a trench, drain, gutter,’ Cotgr.; _scute_
(Dor. Som. Dev. Cor.), a sum of money, a present, reward, payment,
O.Fr. _escut_ (Mod. _écu_), a buckler, shield, a coin; _spairge_ (Sc.
Nhb. Yks. Der.), to dash, to scatter broadcast, to sprinkle, Fr.
_asperger_, ‘to besprinkle; to sprinkle, or strew water or dust upon,’
Cotgr.; _stravaig_ (Sc. Irel. n.Cy. Nhb.), to wander about aimlessly,
to stroll, saunter, O.Fr. _estravaguer_, from Low Latin _extravagari_,
to wander out or beyond; _suant_ (Gmg. Glo. Sus. Hmp. I.W. Wil. Dor.
Som. Dev. Cor.), smooth, even, regular, &c., O.Fr. _suant_, pres. part.
of _sivre_, to follow; _tass(e_ (Sc. Yks. e.An.), a cup, glass, a bowl,
Fr. _tasse_; _urchin_ (in gen. dial. use in Sc. and Eng.), a hedgehog,
e.g. Hoo’s getten a tung sharp enough for t’shave a urchant (Lan.),
O.Fr. _eriçon_, _heriçon_, cp. ‘I shal putte it in to the possession
of an irchoun,’ Wyclif, _Isaiah_ xiv. 23; _venell_ (Sc. Irel. n.Cy.
Nhb. Yks.), an alley, a narrow lane or passage, Fr. _venelle_, a little
street, Hatzfeld.
[Sidenote: _French Words peculiar to Scotland_]
There are certain French words peculiar to Scotland, but their number
is not very large, for most of the French words found in Scotland
belong also to parts of England. Examples of the exclusively Scottish
loan-words are: _ashet_, a dish, Fr. _assiette_; _cashie_, delicate,
not able to endure fatigue, also soft, flabby, not of good quality, Fr.
_cassé_, ‘broken, quasht in pieces; also cassed; also decaied, worn,
or broken with age,’ Cotgr.; _evite_, to avoid, escape, Fr. _éviter_,
to avoid; _fier_, plur., the prices of grain legally fixed in each
county for the current year, O.Fr. _feur_ (_foer_, _fuer_), ‘prix,
valeur,’ La Curne; _graduwa_, _gradawa_, a physician, a doctor with
a medical degree, Fr. _gradué_, ‘a graduate, one that hath taken a
degree in an University,’ Cotgr.; _gillem_, a carpenter’s or joiner’s
tool, a rabbet-plane, Fr. _guillaume_, ‘rabot à fer étroit, échancré,
pour faire les rainures,’ Hatzfeld; _jupe_, a woman’s skirt, or short
petticoat, O.Fr. _jupe_; _pirlicue_, a brief résumé or recital given
at the close of a series of addresses or sermons of the principal
subjects and points treated, Fr. ‘_par la queue_, par le bout, par la
fin,’ Littré; _pownie_, a peacock, Fr. _paon_; _retour_, a return, Fr.
_retour_; _skellat_, a small bell, a hand-bell, O.Fr. _eschalette_,
_esqualette_, _escalette_, a little bell; _souflet_, a stroke,
blow, Fr. _soufflet_, ‘a box or cuff on the ear,’ Cotgr.; _stance_,
a standing-place, position, a site, O.Fr. _estance_, a condition,
situation; _trance_, a passage within a house, an entrance-hall,
&c., O.Fr. _transe_, ‘passage,’ Godefroy; _vivers_, food, provision,
Fr. _vivres_, food; _vizzy_, a look, view, a scrutinizing gaze, Fr.
_visée_, ‘a levelling, or ayming at with the eye, a level or aym
taken,’ Cotgrave.
[Sidenote: _The Development of ‘Mooch’_]
A loan-word which has undergone a curious development of meanings is
the common dialect word _mooch_ (in gen. dial. use in Sc. and Eng.),
_meech_, or _mitch_. In O.E. there must have been an unrecorded form
_mȳcan_, which gave the dialect form _mitch_. This O.E. _mȳcan_
corresponds to the O.H.G. _mūhhan_, to lie lurking secretly, to waylay
a person with intent to do him bodily harm, a word which remains in
the Modern German _Meuchelmord_. The German word passed into Northern
French, and underwent the Norman-French change of _hh_ [_ch_ as in Sc.
_loch_] to _tch_ [as in _such_], becoming _moucher_. In this stage the
Normans brought the word to this country, where it developed a curious
category of meanings: 1. To idle and loaf about, generally with the
idea of seeing what one can pick up on the sly; to pilfer, e.g. That
owd black cat goes mouchin’ about, in an’ out uv folkses ’ousen, ’er’ll
sure to get shot one uv these daays. Hence _moocher_, a pilferer, a
loafer, one who dogs another by stealth; a beggar; a hawker. 2. To play
truant, especially to play truant in order to gather blackberries; to
absent oneself from business, e.g. My lad’s been mouching again. Hence
_moocher_, a truant from school, especially one who plays truant in
order to gather blackberries; hence a gatherer of blackberries, a
blackberry-moocher. 3. In the Imperative, _mooch_ means Be off! 4. The
phrase _on the mooch_ means gone off loafing. 5. _Mooch_ sb. means a
blackberry. Meanwhile a further development in form took place on the
Continent; the Norman-French _moucher_ passed into Central French,
and underwent the ordinary change of _tch_ to _ss_, thereby becoming
_musser_, and later _muser_, to lurk in a corner, preserved in the
Modern French reflexive verb _se muser_, to play truant. From _musser_
was derived the substantive _musse_, defined in Littré as a narrow
passage through a wall or a hedge for hares, rabbits, and other game.
This Central French word _musse_ was brought over to England in the
reign of Henry VII, as a hunting term, together with many other words
of the same kind. It is common in English works of the seventeenth
century in the form _muse_, familiar to us in the old English
proverbial saying:
Take a hare without a muse,
And a knave without excuse,
And hang them up.
[Sidenote: _French Hunting Terms_]
Though obsolete now in the standard language, it is still very common in
the dialects, meaning a small hole or ‘run’ through a hedge or through
grass made by a rabbit, hare, or other small animal in its track. The
form _mitch_, from the original O.E. _mȳcan_, developed meanings on the
same lines as _mooch_. It is found in Shakespeare: ‘Marry, this is
miching mallecho; it means mischief,’ _Ham._ III. ii. 147, together with
the substantive _micher_: ‘Shall the blessed sun of heaven prove a
micher and eat blackberries,’ _1 Hen. IV_, II. iv. 450. Tusser writes in
his ‘Good husbandlie lessons worthie to be followed of such as will
thriue’:
Once placed for profit, looke neuer for ease,
except ye beware of such michers as thease:
Unthriftines, Slouthfulnes, Careles and Rash,
that thrusteth thee headlong to run in the lash--
where ‘micher’ conveys the old sense of lurking stealthily, with intent
to do mischief.
[Sidenote: _Scandinavian Loan-words_]
To take next some specimens of the Scandinavian loan-words: _addle_
(n. counties to Chs. Stf. Der. Not. Lin., also in Rut. Lei. Nhp. War.
e.An.), to earn, acquire by one’s labour, to gain, procure, e.g. It
isn’t what a chap addles, but what a chap saves at makes him rich, cp.
‘Hu mann mihhte cwemenn [please] Godd & addlenn hefmess blisse,’
_Ormulum_, l. 17811, _c._ 1205, cp. O.N. _øðla_, reflexive _øðlask_, to
acquire (for oneself) property; _birr_ (Sc. Irel. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Chs. Der.), force, impetus, energy, &c., cp. ‘Lo in a greet birre,
al the drove wente heedlinge in to the see,’ Wyclif, _Matt._ viii. 32,
O.N. _byrr_, a favourable wind; _bulder_, _buller_ (Sc. Nhb. e.An.), a
loud gurgling noise, a bellowing, Norw. dial. _bulder_, _buller_, a
bubbling circle or whirlpool; _dag_ (n.Cy. Lan. Chs. War. Brks. e.An.),
dew, O.N. _døgg_ (mod. gen. _daggar_), dew; _ettle_ (gen. dial. use in
Sc. Irel. and all n. counties to Lan.), to intend, propose, have in
mind, &c., O.N. _ǣtla_, to intend, purpose; _fitty_ (Lin.), marsh-land
lying between the sea-bank and the sea, Norw. dial. _fit_ (pl.
_fitjar_), a level meadow by the water; _force_ (Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan.), a waterfall or cascade. It is not uncommon in certain parts of
Yorkshire to find that where sign-posts direct the traveller to
‘Stainforth Force’, or ‘Catterick Force’, the native will say,
‘Stainforth Foss’, ‘Catterick Foss’, the reason being that the O.N.
_fors_, a waterfall, has in the written language become associated with
_force_, and established as the standard form, whilst the Norw. dial.
_foss_, Dan. _fos_, has been preserved in the spoken dialects. _Frosk_
(Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.), a frog, O.N. _froskr_; _gaggle_ (e.An.), a
flock of geese, O.N. _gagl_, a young goose; _grum_ (Yks. Lan. Glo. Oxf.
Som. Dev.), surly, cross, disagreeable, angry, Norw. dial. _grum_,
proud, haughty, Dan. _grum_, fierce, angry. Dr. Johnson incorporates
this adjective, but marks it as ‘a low word’. _Hag_ (n. and midl.
counties), to hew, O.N. _höggva_; _haver_ (Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks.
Lan. Lin.), oats, Norw. dial. _havre_; _heppen_ (n.Cy. Yks. Not. Lin.),
tidy, respectable, handsome, handy, deft, O.N. _heppinn_, lucky, also
dexterous; _helder_ (n.Cy. Yks. Lan. Der.), adv. more, rather,
preferable to, O.N. _heldr_, the English form _helder_ being properly a
double comparative; _hill_ (n. and midl. counties), to cover up, to
wrap, cover with clothes, &c., O.N. _hylja_; _hooly_ (Sc. Nhb. Cum.
Wm.), adv. slowly, carefully, gently, O.N. _hōgliga_, gently; _keld_
(Nhb. Cum. Yks. Lan.), a spring of water, a fountain, a marshy place,
O.N. _kelda_, a spring of water; _lait_ (Sc. and n. counties), to seek,
O.N. _leita_; _lake_ (Sc. n. counties, Der. Not. Lin. Glo.), to play,
sport, amuse oneself, to idle, to be out of employment, _lake-house_, a
theatre, and _laker_, an actor, O.N. _leika_, to play, sport; _lamp_
(Sc. Nhb. Yks. Chs. Stf. War. Wor. Shr. Hrf.), to walk with long, heavy
steps, also to beat, thrash, Norw. dial. _lampa_, to walk with heavy
steps, to beat; _lea_ (n.Cy. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Lin.), a scythe, O.N.
_lē_; _loof_ (Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks. Nhp.), the palm of the hand, the
open hand, O.N. _lōfi_, the hollow of the hand; _mense_ (Sc. Irel. and
n. counties), honour, respect, hospitality good manners, &c., e.g. of a
person who has neither manners nor understanding it is said: He hez
nowder sense nor mense, O.N. _mennska_, humanity; _mun_ (Sc. and gen.
dial. use in Eng. down to Oxf. Brks.), must, O.N. _munu_, 3rd pr. pl.
will, shall; _nowt_ (Sc. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. e.An.), cattle, O.N.
_naut_, the cognate English word is _neat_, as in _neat-herd_; _oam_
(Sc. Dur.), steam, a blast of warm air, a warm aroma, Norw. dial. _ome_,
smoke, the smell of something burning; _ouse_ (Sc. n.Cy. Yks. Lin.), to
empty out liquid, to bale out a boat, Norw. dial. _ausa_, to bale water
out of a boat, O.N. _ausa_, to pump, especially a ship; _owmly_ (Yks.),
lonely, dreary, used with reference to large ancient houses, with few
inmates, e.g. Ah sudn’t like ti sleep wi mi-sen i’ that greeat owmly
hoose, Norw. dial _aumleg_, poor, wretched, miserable, O.N. _aumligr_;
_quey_ (Sc. Irel. n. and midl. counties), a heifer, O.N. _kvīga_; _ean_
(gen. dial. use in Sc. Irel. and Eng.), a balk in a field, a division of
land, &c., O.N. _rein_, a strip of land; _roose_ (Sc. n.Cy. Cum. Yks.
Lan. Lin.), to praise, O.N. _hrōsa_; _seave_ (Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan.
Chs. Lin.), a generic name for the rush, O.N. _sef_; _skep_ (Sc. Irel.
Eng. and Wal.), a basket, O.N. _skeppa_, a measure; _swip_ (Sc. Yks.),
the exact image or likeness, O.N. _svipr_, a likeness; _tine_ (Sc.
n.Cy. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Lan.), to lose, O.N. _tȳna_; _tite_ (Sc. Nhb. Dur.
Lakel. Cum. Yks. Lan.), adv. soon, early, readily, &c., O.N. _tītt_,
neut. of _tīðr_, frequent; _wath_ (Sc. Dur. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Lin.), a
ford, O.N. _vað_, a wading-place, a ford across a river or creek; _will_
(Sc. e.An.), bewildered, lost in error, uncertain how to proceed, O.N.
_villr_, bewildered, erring, astray, etymologically the same word as the
native English _wild_.
[Sidenote: _Celtic Words in the Dialects_]
The number of Celtic words in the English dialects is relatively
small, even if under the common term Celtic we group together Gaelic,
Welsh, and Old Cornish words. Some of these loan-words are very early
borrowings, and can be traced back to the O.E. period. _Bannock_ (Sc.
Irel. Nhb. Cum. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. e.An. Hmp. Wil. Som. Dev.),
a cake composed of oatmeal or barley mixed with water and baked on a
girdle, is O.E. _bannuc_; and _brat_ (Sc. Irel. Nhb. Dur. Cum. Wm.
Yks. Lan. I.Ma. Chs. Stf. Der. Not. Lin. Wor. Shr. Pem.), a child’s
pinafore, a large coarse apron made with sleeves, worn by workers in
factories, is found in the Northumbrian Gospels of the tenth century,
_bratt_ ‘pallium’, _Matt._ v. 40. Perhaps the most interesting of the
early Celtic loan-words is the word _tallet_, meaning a hay-loft,
especially one over a stable, also used of the space immediately under
the roof in any building, but not applied to a ceiled room of any kind.
It is originally a Latin word, _tabulatum_, a boarded floor, and must
have been a relic of the Roman occupation, picked up by the ancient
Britons, and preserved by them in a modified form, cp. Wel. _taflod_,
a hay-loft, O.Ir. _taibled_, a story. Then later it was adopted by
the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and became the English word _tallet_, which
is found to-day in common use in the dialects of Cheshire and all the
w.midl. and sw. counties, that is, in all the counties near the Welsh
border. The remarkable point about the preservation of this word is
that it never once occurs in the whole range of English literature down
to the nineteenth century, when Blackmore introduced it in his _Lorna
Doone_. Through all these centuries it has steadily persisted in the
spoken language without any help from the world of letters, linking the
modern rustic to the early Briton and the subjects of Julius Caesar.
[Sidenote: _Celtic Words in Scottish Speech_]
The dialects of Scotland have adopted a certain amount of Gaelic
words into current speech, for example: _fuilteachs_, _fultachs_,
sb.pl. a period partly in January and partly in February, according
to ‘Old Style’ reckoning, now wholly in February. If the weather
is fine during the _fultachs_, a bad summer and a cold wet harvest
may be expected; but stormy _fultachs_ betoken a good summer, Gael.
_faoilteach_, the last fortnight of winter, and first fortnight of
spring, proverbial for variableness. _Glack_, a ravine, glen, Gael.
_glac_, a hollow, a narrow valley; _oye_, a grandchild, Gael. _ogha_;
_skeeny_, pack-thread, twine, Gael. _sgéinnidh_, twine, flax or hemp
thread; _taisch_, the voice of a person about to die, second sight,
Gael. _taibhs_, a vision, apparition, ghost. Similarly, modern Irish
has incorporated certain Old Irish words, such as: _gra(h)_, affection,
love, fondness, Ir. _gradh_, love; _grafan_, a small axe with the edge
turned across like an adze, used for grubbing, Ir. _grafán_; _miscaun_,
a lump of butter, Ir. _miosgán_, a small dish of butter; _partan_, the
common crab, Ir. _partán_, _portán_, a crab; _shanagh_, _shanacus_,
a gossip, chat, talk, Ir. _seanchus_, history, genealogy, every kind
of knowledge. From Wales a few Welsh words have been taken over into
the English dialects, for instance: _cader_ (Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Dev.
Cor.), a cradle, Wel. _cadair_, a chair, _cadair fagu_, a cradle;
_keffel_ (n.Cy. Yks. War. Wor. Shr. Som.), a horse, generally an old or
inferior one, Wel. _ceffyl_, a horse. The form _flannen_ for flannel,
which is in general dialect use in Scotland, Ireland, and England, is
also Welsh, and not a corruption of the standard pronunciation, cp.
Wel. _gwlanen_, woollen material. Old Cornish as a language ceased
to be spoken about the end of the eighteenth century, but here and
there can be found traces of it in the modern Cornish vocabulary, for
example: _mabyer_, a young hen, a pullet, a chicken, O.Cor. _mab_ +
_iar_, i.e. the son of a hen; _muryan_, an ant, O.Cor. _murrian_, ants;
_palch_, broken down in health, palsied, &c., O.Cor. _palch_, weak,
sickly; _pilm_, dust, dry dust, fluff, O.Cor. _pilm_, flying dust like
flour; _quilkin_, a frog, O.Cor. _cwilcen_; _subban_, a sop, O.Cor.
_suben_, a mass, a morsel.
[Sidenote: _Latin Words in the Dialects_]
The French and Scandinavian loan-words constitute by far the greater
proportion of the foreign element in the dialects, and next come the
Celtic words. Beside these, the borrowings from other languages are of
little or no importance, beyond the fact of their adoption. It strikes
one with surprise, for instance, to meet a Greek word like _nous_ in
common dialect use all over England, e.g. Th’ ’ead o’ un’s a-put on
vitty, there’s some nouse about he (Som.), or: T’yent no good to ax he
to do’t, vor ’e a-yent got no nowse (Brks.). Latin words have crept into
English dialects from various sources. Some have drifted down from the
Old English period, e.g. _sicker_ (Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum. Yks.), secure,
safe, which is O.E. _sicor_, secure, certain, from Lat. _securus_;
_taffel_ (Sc.), a small table, which is the same word as O.E. _tæfl_, a
chess-board, from Lat. _tabula_. Others have come through the medium of
Old Norse, e.g. _almous_, _aumous_ (Sc. Irel. and n. counties), money or
food bestowed in charity, a small portion, &c., from O.N. _almusa_,
beside the standard English form _alms_, from O.E. _ælmysse_, _ælmesse_,
from a pop. Lat. *_alimosina_; _scrive_ (Sc. Nhb. Yks.), to write, from
O.N. _skrifa_, from Lat. _scribere_. Some are legal terms, e.g.
_mittimus_ (Wm. Yks.), a legal summons, a notice to quit, a dismissal
from service, e.g. Poor fella, ah pity yon man, ah du really:
t’landlord’s sent him hiz mittimus to leeav; _siserary_ (Irel. Dur. Nhp.
e.An. Suf. Dev.), a violent scolding, a severe blow, which is a dialect
corruption and use of the legal term _certiorari_, a corruption found in
Smollett’s _Humphrey Clinker_, cp. ‘I have gi’en the dirty slut a
siserary.’ Others, again, are Church words, e.g. _cirage-money_ (Chs.),
church rates, originally the equivalent of ‘wax-shot’, a duty formerly
paid towards the charge of wax candles in churches, from M.Lat.
_ceragium_, ‘quod cerae nomine praestabatur ecclesiis ad luminarium
concinnationem,’ Ducange; _calends_ (Wor. Shr. Hrf.), a name given in
certain places to the footpath leading to the entrance of the church,
from M.Lat. _kalenda_, ‘Initium cuiusvis rei, puta, Locus ubi
territorium aliquod incipit,’ Ducange. A small sprinkling of Dutch words
can be found, such as: _dwile_ (e.An.), a coarse house-flannel, any
coarse rubbing-rag, a mop, Du. _dweyl_, a clout to wash the floor,
_stok-dweyl_, a mop; _frow_ (Sc. Irel. Nhb. Cum-Yks. Lan.), a big, fat
woman, Du. _vrouw_, a woman, wife.
[Sidenote: _Poetic Words in Dialect Use_]
Another feature of the dialect vocabulary which is worth a passing
notice, is the existence therein of words which we are wont to regard as
too poetical, or too literary for everyday use. We should fear to be
considered affected, and given to a habit of interlarding our
conversation with quotations from books, if we called a song-thrush a
_mavis_, or a _throstle_, and spoke of a _merle_ or an _ousel_ instead
of saying blackbird, yet all these four are extremely common dialect
terms. In parts of Yorkshire dialect-speakers call honeysuckle
_eglantine_, as Milton did in _L’Allegro_; and in certain southern
counties a stream is called a _bourn_, reminding us of Milton’s ‘bosky
bourn’; the two words would not, however, be still heard in conjunction
with one another, for _bosky_ is confined to the northern dialects. In a
number of counties from north to south _mead_ is a common term for a
field, a meadow, e.g. The beeses is i’ the mead; similarly _delve_ is a
common verb for dig, _dight_ for prepare, _hie_ for hasten, e.g. Hie
thee, Sarah, hie thee, and bring me a sope o’ beer, aw’m welly
[well-nigh] kilt wi’ droot (Chs.); _lap_ for wrap; _rive_ for tear;
_rue_ for regret, e.g. I’ve never rued it but once, and that’s ever sin;
_wax_ for grow, e.g. He’s waxed sair sin aa seed him last (Nhb.), Ah wax
warm (Suf.). _Sear_, adj. withered, dry, is common in East Anglia. A
Sussex rhyme runs:
Burn ash-wood green,
’Tis fire for a Queen;
Burn ash-wood sare,
’Twool make a man swear.
There is a ring of poetry in the mere sound of such a word as _dimble_
(Der. Not. Lei.) for dingle, an echo of Ben Jonson’s line: ‘Within a
gloomy dimble she doth dwell’; and the expression _a wimpling burn_ (n.
counties) seems to carry with it the note of fresh, running water.
[Sidenote: _Words of Academic Character_]
Beside these, are the words with a savour of academic learning such
as: _accord_ (Wor. Hrf.) for agree, e.g. ’Im an’ ’er can’t accard
together no waay; _element_ (n. and sw. counties) for sky, atmosphere.
A Somersetshire man describing a thunder-storm said: Th’element was
all to a flicker. The Yorkshire proverbial saying: Ah could na more
do it ner ah could fly into t’element, is worth recording before the
oncoming cloud of aeroplanes has made us forget that it could ever
typify the impossible. The term _cabal_ can be used to describe a group
of people met together for gossip, e.g. There wor Jane, an’ Hoppy, an’
Sal, an’ the hull cabal on ’em i’ the lane (Not.), or it can signify a
great noise of talking, &c., e.g. They war makkin’ a fine auld cabal at
t’public-hoose last neet (Wm.). In some parts of Ireland a _gladiathor_
is a well-known term for a fine fellow, a roysterer, a fighter, e.g.
Whin I comes acrass a man who has two or three hundred pounds, an’ sees
all his capers an’ antics, I says to meself, What a gladiathur ye are.
But here we have to deal also with the change of meaning which the
literary word has undergone, and as the majority of what we have termed
learned words are used in a transferred sense in the dialects, the
remainder of our examples must be carried over into the next chapter.