The following pages must not be considered as comprising an
exhaustive Glossary of our Wiltshire Folk-speech. The field is a
wide one, and though much has been accomplished much more still
remains to be done. None but those who have themselves attempted such
a task know how difficult it is to get together anything remotely
approaching a complete list of the dialect words used in a single
small parish, to say nothing of a large county, such as ours. Even
when the words themselves have been collected, the work is little
more than begun. Their range in time and place, their history and
etymology, the side-lights thrown on them by allusions in local or
general literature, their relation to other English dialects, and
a hundred such matters, more or less interesting, have still to be
dealt with. However, in spite of many difficulties and hindrances,
the results of our five years or more of labour have proved very
satisfactory, and we feel fully justified in claiming for this
_Glossary_ that it contains the most complete list of Wiltshire words
and phrases which has as yet been compiled. More than one-half of
the words here noted have never before appeared in any Wiltshire
Vocabulary, many of them being now recorded for the first time for
any county, while in the case of the remainder much additional
information will be found given, as well as numerous examples of
actual folk-talk.
The greater part of these words were originally collected by us
as rough material for the use of the compilers of the projected
_English Dialect Dictionary_, and have been appearing in instalments
during the last two years in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_
(vol. xxvi, pp. 84-169, and 293-314; vol. xxvii, pp. 124-159), as
_Contributions towards a Wiltshire Glossary_. The whole list has now
been carefully revised and much enlarged, many emendations being
made, and a very considerable number of new words inserted, either
in the body of the work, or as _Addenda_. A few short stories,
illustrating the dialect as actually spoken now and in Akerman's
time, with a brief _Introduction_ dealing with Pronunciation, &c.,
and _Appendices_ on various matters of interest, have also been
added; so that the size of the work has been greatly increased.
As regards the nature of the dialect itself, the subject has been
fully dealt with by abler pens than ours, and we need only mention
here that it belongs to what is now known as the South-Western group,
which also comprises most of Dorset, Hants, Gloucester, and parts
of Berks and Somerset. The use of dialect would appear gradually
to be dying out now in the county, thanks, perhaps, to the spread
of education, which too often renders the rustic half-ashamed of
his native tongue. Good old English as at base it is,--for many a
word or phrase used daily and hourly by the Wiltshire labourer has
come down almost unchanged, even as regards pronunciation, from his
Anglo-Saxon forefathers,--it is not good enough for him now. One
here, and another there, will have been up to town, only to come back
with a stock of slang phrases and misplaced aspirates, and a large
and liberal contempt for the old speech and the old ways. The natural
result is that here, as elsewhere, every year is likely to add
considerably to the labour of collecting, until in another generation
or so what is now difficult may become an almost hopeless task. No
time should be lost, therefore, in noting down for permanent record
every word and phrase, custom or superstition, still current among
us, that may chance to come under observation.
The words here gathered together will be found to fall mainly under
three heads;--(1) Dialect, as _Caddle_, (2) Ordinary English with
some local shade of meaning, as _Unbelieving_, and (3) Agricultural,
as _Hyle_, many of the latter being also entitled to rank as Dialect.
There may also be noted a small number of old words, such as _toll_
and _charm_, that have long died out of standard English, but still
hold their own among our country people. We have not thought it
advisable, as a general rule, to follow the example set us by our
predecessors in including such words as _archet_ and _deaw_, which
merely represent the local pronunciation of orchard and dew; nor
have we admitted _cantankerous_, _tramp_, and certain others that
must now rank with ordinary English, whatever claim they may once
have had to be considered as provincial. More leniency, however, has
been exercised with regard to the agricultural terms, many that are
undoubtedly of somewhat general use being retained side by side with
those of more local limitation.
The chief existing sources of information are as follows:--(1)
the Glossary of Agricultural Terms in Davis's _General View of
the Agriculture of Wilts_, 1809; reprinted in the _Archæological
Review_, March, 1888, with many valuable notes by Prof. Skeat;
(2) The Word-list in vol. iii. of Britton's _Beauties of Wilts_,
1825; collated with Akerman, and reprinted in 1879 for the English
Dialect Society, with additions and annotations, by Prof. Skeat;
(3) Akerman's _North Wilts Glossary_, 1842, based upon Britton's
earlier work; (4) Halliwell's _Dictionary_, 1847, where may be
found most (but not all) of the Wiltshire words occurring in our
older literature, as the anonymous fifteenth-century _Chronicon
Vilodunense_, the works of John Aubrey, Bishop Kennett's _Parochial
Antiquities_, and the collections by the same author, which form
part of the _Lansdowne MSS._; (5) Wright's _Dictionary of Obsolete
and Provincial English_, 1859, which is mainly a condensation of
Halliwell's work, but contains a few additional Wiltshire words;
(6) a Word-list in Mr. E. Slow's _Wiltshire Poems_, which he has
recently enlarged and published separately; and (7) the curious old
MS. _Vocabulary_ belonging to Mr. W. Cunnington, a _verbatim_ reprint
of which will be found in the Appendix.
Other authorities that must here be accorded a special mention are
a paper _On some un-noted Wiltshire Phrases_, by the Rev. W. C.
Plenderleath, in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_; Britten and
Holland's invaluable _Dictionary of English Plant-names_, which,
however, is unfortunately very weak as regards Wilts names; the Rev.
A. C. Smith's _Birds of Wiltshire_; Akerman's _Wiltshire Tales_; the
_Flower-class Reports_ in the _Sarum Diocesan Gazette_; the very
scarce _Song of Solomon in North Wilts Dialect_, by Edward Kite,
a work of the highest value as regards the preservation of local
pronunciation and modes of expression, but containing very few words
that are not in themselves ordinary English; the works of Richard
Jefferies; Canon Jackson's valuable edition of Aubrey's _Wiltshire
Collections_; and Britton's condensation of the _Natural History of
Wilts_. In _Old Country and Farming Words_, by Mr. Britten, 1880,
much information as to our agricultural terms may be found, gathered
together from the _Surveys_ and similar sources. Lastly, the various
_Glossaries_ of the neighbouring counties, by Cope, Barnes, Jennings,
and other writers, should be carefully collated with our Wiltshire
Glossaries, as they often throw light on doubtful points. Fuller
particulars as to these and other works bearing on the subject will
be found in the Appendix on _Wiltshire Bibliography_.
We regret that it has been found impossible to carry out Professor
Skeat's suggestion that the true pronunciation should in all doubtful
cases be clearly indicated by its Glossic equivalent. To make such
indications of any practical value they should spring from a more
intimate knowledge of that system than either of us can be said to
possess. The same remarks will also apply to the short notes on
Pronunciation, &c., where our utter inexperience as regards the
modern scientific systems of Phonetics must be pleaded as our excuse
for having been compelled to adopt methods that are as vague as they
are unscientific.
To the English Dialect Society and its officers we are deeply
indebted for their kindness and generosity in undertaking to adopt
this _Glossary_, and to publish it in their valuable series of
County Glossaries, as well as for the courtesy shown us in all
matters connected with the work. We have also to thank the Wilts
Archæological Society for the space afforded us from time to time
in their _Magazine_, and the permission granted us to reprint the
_Word-lists_ therefrom.
In our _Prefaces_ to these _Word-lists_ we mentioned that we should
be very glad to receive any additions or suggestions from those
interested in the subject. The result of these appeals has been very
gratifying, not only with regard to the actual amount of new material
so obtained, but also as showing the widespread interest felt in
a branch of Wiltshire Archæology which has hitherto been somewhat
neglected, and we gladly avail ourselves of this opportunity of
repeating our expression of thanks to all those who have so kindly
responded. To Dr. Jennings we owe an extremely lengthy list of
Malmesbury words, from which we have made numerous extracts. We have
found it of special value, as showing the influence of Somersetshire
on the vocabulary and pronunciation of that part of the county. To
Sir C. Hobhouse we are indebted for some interesting words, amongst
which the survival of the A.S. _attercop_ is well worth noting. We
have to thank Mr. W. Cunnington for assistance in many ways, and for
the loan of MSS. and books, which we have found of great service.
To Mr. J. U. Powell and Miss Kate Smith we owe the greater part of
the words marked as occurring in the Deverill district. Mr. E. J.
Tatum has given us much help as regards local Plant-names: Miss E.
Boyer-Brown, Mr. F. M. Willis, Mr. E. Slow, Mr. James Rawlence,
Mr. F. A. Rawlence, Mr. C. E. Ponting, Mr. R. Coward, the Rev. W.
C. Plenderleath, Mr. Septimus Goddard, Mrs. Dartnell, the Rev. C.
Soames, and the Rev. G. Hill must also be specially mentioned. We
are indebted to Mr. W. Gale, gardener at Clyffe Pypard Vicarage, for
valuable assistance rendered us in verifying words and reporting new
ones.
We take this opportunity of acknowledging gratefully the assistance
which we have throughout the compilation of this _Glossary_ received
from H. N. Goddard, Esq., of the Manor, Clyffe Pypard, to whose wide
knowledge and long experience of Wiltshire words and ways we owe
many valuable suggestions; from the Rev. A. Smythe-Palmer, D.D., who
has taken much interest in the work, and to whose pen we owe many
notes; from Professor Skeat, who kindly gave us permission to make
use of his reprints; and last, but by no means least, from the Rev.
A. L. Mayhew, who most kindly went through the whole MS., correcting
minutely the etymologies suggested, and adding new matter in many
places.
In conclusion, we would say that we hope from time to time to publish
further lists of _Addenda_ in the _Wilts Archæological Magazine_ or
elsewhere, and that any additions and suggestions will always be very
welcome, however brief they may be. The longest contributions are not
always those of most value, and it has more than once happened that
words and phrases of the greatest interest have occurred in a list
whose brevity was its only fault.
GEORGE EDWARD DARTNELL,
_Abbottsfield, Stratford Road, Salisbury_.
EDWARD HUNGERFORD GODDARD,
_The Vicarage, Clyffe Pypard, Wootton Bassett_.