Strange Trio—The Mulatto—The Peace-offering—Moors of Granada—Vive la
Guadeloupe—The Moors—Pascual Fava—Blind Algerine—The Retreat.
Three men were seated in the _wustuddur_ of Joanna Correa, when I
entered; singular-looking men they all were, though perhaps three were
never gathered together more unlike to each other in all points. The
first on whom I cast my eye was a man about sixty, dressed in a grey
kerseymere coat with short lappets, yellow waistcoat, and wide coarse
canvas trousers; upon his head was a very broad dirty straw hat, and in
his hand he held a thick cane with ivory handle; his eyes were bleared
and squinting, his face rubicund, and his nose much carbuncled. Beside
him sat a good-looking black, who perhaps appeared more negro than he
really was, from the circumstance of his being dressed in spotless white
jean—jerkin, waistcoat, and pantaloons being all of that material: his
head gear consisted of a blue _montero_ cap. His eyes sparkled like
diamonds, and there was an indescribable expression of good humour and
fun upon his countenance. The third man was a Mulatto, and by far the
most remarkable personage of the group: he might be between thirty and
forty; his body was very long, and, though uncouthly put together,
exhibited every mark of strength and vigour; it was cased in a _ferioul_
of red wool, a kind of garment which descends below the hips. His long,
muscular, and hairy arms were naked from the elbow, where the sleeves of
the _ferioul_ terminate; his under limbs were short in comparison with
his body and arms; his legs were bare, but he wore blue _kandrisa_ as far
as the knee; every feature of his face was ugly, exceedingly and bitterly
ugly, and one of his eyes was sightless, being covered with a white film.
By his side on the ground was a large barrel, seemingly a water-cask,
which he occasionally seized with a finger and thumb, and waved over his
head as if it had been a quart pot. Such was the trio who now occupied
the _wustuddur_ of Joanna Correa: and I had scarcely time to remark what
I have just recorded, when that good lady entered from a back court with
her handmaid Johár, or the pearl, an ugly fat Jewish girl with an immense
mole on her cheek.
“_Que Dios remate tu nombre_,” exclaimed the Mulatto; “may Allah blot out
your name, Joanna, and may he likewise blot out that of your maid Johár.
It is more than fifteen minutes that I have been seated here, after
having poured out into the _tinaja_ the water which I brought from the
fountain, and during all that time I have waited in vain for one single
word of civility from yourself or from Johár. _Usted no tiene modo_, you
have no manner with you, nor more has Johár. This is the only house in
Tangier where I am not received with fitting love and respect, and yet I
have done more for you than for any other person. Have I not filled your
_tinaja_ with water when other people have gone without a drop? When
even the consul and the interpreter of the consul had no water to slake
their thirst, have you not had enough to wash your _wustuddur_? And what
is my return? When I arrive in the heat of the day, I have not one kind
word spoken to me, nor so much as a glass of _makhiah_ offered to me;
must I tell you all that I do for you, Joanna? Truly I must, for you
have no manner with you. Do I not come every morning just at the third
hour; and do I not knock at your door; and do you not arise and let me
in, and then do I not knead your bread in your presence, whilst you lie
in bed, and because I knead it is not yours the best bread in Tangier?
For am I not the strongest man in Tangier, and the most noble also?”
Here he brandished his barrel over his head, and his face looked almost
demoniacal. “Hear me, Joanna,” he continued, “you know that I am the
strongest man in Tangier, and I tell you again for the thousandth time,
that I am the most noble. Who are the consuls? Who is the Pasha? They
are Pashas and consuls now, but who were their fathers? I know not, nor
do they. But do I not know who _my_ fathers; were? Were they not Moors
of Garnata (_Granada_), {375} and is it not on that account that I am the
strongest man in Tangier? Yes, I am of the old Moors of Garnata, and my
family has lived here, as is well known, since Garnata was lost to the
Nazarenes, and now I am the only one of my family of the blood of the old
Moors in all this land, and on that account I am of nobler blood than the
sultan, for the sultan is not of the blood of the Moors of Garnata. Do
you laugh, Joanna? Does your maid Johár laugh? Am I not Hammin Widdir,
_el hombre mas valido de Tanger_? {376a} And is it not true that I am of
the blood of the Moors of Garnata? Deny it, and I will kill you both,
you and your maid Johár.”
“You have been eating _hsheesh_ and _majoon_, Hammin,” said Joanna
Correa, “and the _Shaitán_ has entered into you, as he but too frequently
does. I have been busy, and so has Johár, or we should have spoken to
you before; however, _ma ydoorshee_, {376b} I know how to pacify you now
and at all times; will you take some gin-bitters, or a glass of common
_makhiah_?”
“May you burst, O Joanna,” said the Mulatto, “and may Johár also burst; I
mean, may you both live many years, and know neither pain nor sorrow. I
will take the gin-bitters, O Joanna, because they are stronger than the
_makhiah_, which always appears to me like water; and I like not water,
though I carry it. Many thanks to you, Joanna; here is health to you,
Joanna, and to this good company.”
She had handed him a large tumbler filled to the brim; he put it to his
nostrils, snuffed in the flavour, and then, applying it to his mouth,
removed it not whilst one drop of the fluid remained. His features
gradually relaxed from their former angry expression, and looking
particularly amiable at Joanna, he at last said—
“I hope that within a little time, O Joanna, you will be persuaded that I
am the strongest man in Tangier, and that I am sprung from the blood of
the Moors of Garnata, as then you will no longer refuse to take me for a
husband, you and your maid Johár, and to become Moors. What a glory to
you, after having been married to a _Genoui_, and given birth to
_Genouillos_, to receive for husband a Moor like me, and to bear him
children of the blood of Garnata! What a glory, too, for Johár!—how much
better than to marry a vile Jew, even like Hayim Ben Attar, or your cook
Sabia, both of whom I could strangle with two fingers, for am I not
Hammin Widdir, _Moro de Garnata_, _el hombre mas valido de Tanger_?” He
then shouldered his barrel and departed.
“Is that Mulatto really what he pretends to be?” said I to Joanna; “is he
a descendant of the Moors of Granada?”
“He always talks about the Moors of Granada, when he is mad with _majoon_
or _aguardiente_,” interrupted, in bad French, the old man whom I have
before described, and in the same croaking voice which I had heard
chanting in the morning. “Nevertheless it may be true, and if he had not
heard something of the kind from his parents, he would never have
imagined such a thing, for he is too stupid. As I said before, it is by
no means impossible: many of the families of Granada settled down here
when their town was taken by the Christians, but the greater part went to
Tunis. When I was there, I lodged in the house of a Moor who called
himself Zegri, {378} and was always talking of Granada and the things
which his forefathers had done there. He would moreover sit for hours
singing romances of which I understood not one word, praised be the
Mother of God, but which he said all related to his family: there were
hundreds of that name in Tunis, therefore why should not this Hammin,
this drunken water-carrier, be a Moor of Granada also? He is ugly enough
to be emperor of all the Moors. Oh, the accursed _canaille_! I have
lived amongst them for my sins these eight years, at Oran and here.
_Monsieur_, do you not consider it to be a hard case for an old man like
myself, who am a Christian, to live amongst a race who know not God, nor
Christ, nor anything holy?”
“What do you mean?” said I, “by asserting that the Moors know not God?
There is no people in the world who entertain sublimer notions of the
uncreated eternal God than the Moors, and no people have ever shown
themselves more zealous for His honour and glory: their very zeal for the
glory of God has been and is the chief obstacle to their becoming
Christians. They are afraid of compromising His dignity by supposing
that He ever condescended to become man. And with respect to Christ,
their ideas even of Him are much more just than those of the Papists;
they say He is a mighty prophet, whilst, according to the others, He is
either a piece of bread, or a helpless infant. In many points of
religion the Moors are wrong, dreadfully wrong; but are the Papists less
so? And one of their practices sets them immeasurably below the Moors in
the eyes of any unprejudiced person: they bow down to idols, Christian
idols if you like, but idols still, things graven of wood, and stone, and
brass; and from these things, which can neither hear, nor speak, nor
feel, they ask and expect to obtain favours.”
“_Vive la France_, _Vive la Guadeloupe_!” said the black, with a good
French accent. “In France and in Guadeloupe there is no superstition,
and they pay as much regard to the Bible as to the Koran; I am now
learning to read, in order that I may understand the writings of
Voltaire, who, as I am told, has proved that both the one and the other
were written with the sole intention of deceiving mankind. _O_, _vive la
France_! where will you find such an enlightened country as France; and
where will you find such a plentiful country as France? Only one in the
world, and that is Guadeloupe. Is it not so, Monsieur Pascual? Were you
ever at Marseilles? _Ah quel bon pays est celui-là pour les vivres_,
_pour les petits poulets_, _pour les poulardes_, _pour les perdrix_,
_pour les perdreaux_, _pour les alouettes_, _pour les bécasses_, _pour
les bécassines_, _enfin_, _pour tout_.”
“Pray, sir, are you a cook?” demanded I.
“_Monsieur_, _je le suis pour vous rendre service_, _mon nom c’est
Gérard_, _et j’ai l’honneur d’être chef de cuisine chez monsieur le
consul Hollandois_. _A present je prie permission de vous saluer_; _il
faut que j’aille à la maison pour faire le diner de mon maître_.”
At four I went to dine with the British consul. Two other English
gentlemen were present, who had arrived at Tangier from Gibraltar about
ten days previously for a short excursion, and were now detained longer
than they wished by the Levant wind. They had already visited the
principal towns in Spain, and proposed spending the winter either at
Cadiz or Seville. One of them, Mr. ---, struck me as being one of the
most remarkable men I had ever conversed with: he travelled not for
diversion nor instigated by curiosity, but merely with the hope of doing
spiritual good, chiefly by conversation. The consul soon asked me what I
thought of the Moors and their country. I told him that what I had
hitherto seen of both highly pleased me. He said that were I to live
amongst them ten years, as he had done, he believed I should entertain a
very different opinion; that no people in the world were more false and
cruel; that their government was one of the vilest description, with
which it was next to an impossibility for any foreign power to hold
amicable relations, as it invariably acted with bad faith, and set at
nought the most solemn treaties. That British property and interests
were every day subjected to ruin and spoliation, and British subjects
exposed to unheard-of vexations, without the slightest hope of redress
being offered, save recourse was had to force, the only argument to which
the Moors were accessible. He added, that towards the end of the
preceding year an atrocious murder had been perpetrated in Tangier: a
Genoese family of three individuals had perished, all of whom were
British subjects, and entitled to the protection of the British flag.
The murderers were known, and the principal one was even now in prison
for the fact; yet all attempts to bring him to condign punishment had
hitherto proved abortive, as he was a Moor, and his victims Christians.
Finally, he cautioned me not to take walks beyond the wall unaccompanied
by a soldier, whom he offered to provide for me should I desire it, as
otherwise I incurred great risk of being ill-treated by the Moors of the
interior, whom I might meet, or perhaps murdered; and he instanced the
case of a British officer who not long since had been murdered on the
beach for no other reason than being a Nazarene, and appearing in a
Nazarene dress. He at length introduced the subject of the Gospel, and I
was pleased to learn that, during his residence in Tangier, he had
distributed a considerable quantity of Bibles amongst the natives in the
Arabic language, and that many of the learned men, or _talibs_, had read
the holy volume with great interest, and that by this distribution,
which, it is true, was effected with much caution, no angry or unpleasant
feeling had been excited. He finally asked whether I had come with the
intention of circulating the Scripture amongst the Moors.
I replied that I had no opportunity of doing so, as I had not one single
copy either in the Arabic language or character. That the few Testaments
which were in my possession were in the Spanish language, and were
intended for circulation amongst the Christians of Tangier, to whom they
might be serviceable, as they all understood the language.
It was night, and I was seated in the _wustuddur_ of Joanna Correa, in
company with Pascual Fava, the Genoese. The old man’s favourite subject
of discourse appeared to be religion, and he professed unbounded love for
the Saviour, and the deepest sense of gratitude for his miraculous
atonement for the sins of mankind. I should have listened to him with
pleasure had he not smelt very strongly of liquor, and by certain
incoherences of language and wildness of manner given indications of
being in some degree the worse for it. Suddenly two figures appeared
beneath the doorway; one was that of a bareheaded and bare-legged Moorish
boy of about ten years of age, dressed in a _gelaba_. He guided by the
hand an old man, whom I at once recognized as one of the Algerines, the
good Moslems of whom the old _mahasni_ had spoken in terms of praise in
the morning whilst we ascended the street of the Siarrin. He was very
short of stature and dirty in his dress; the lower part of his face was
covered with a stubbly white beard; before his eyes he wore a large pair
of spectacles, from which he evidently received but little benefit, as he
required the assistance of the guide at every step. The two advanced a
little way into the _wustuddur_, and there stopped. Pascual Fava no
sooner beheld them, than assuming a jovial air he started nimbly up, and
leaning on his stick, for he had a bent leg, limped to a cupboard, out of
which he took a bottle and poured out a glass of wine, singing in the
broken kind of Spanish used by the Moors of the coast—
“Argelino,
Moro fino,
No beber vino,
Ni comer tocino.” {382}
He then handed the wine to the old Moor, who drank it off, and then, led
by the boy, made for the door without saying a word.
“_Hade mushe halal_,” {383a} said I to him with a loud voice.
“_Cul shee halal_,” {383b} said the old Moor, turning his sightless and
spectacled eyes in the direction from which my voice reached him. “Of
everything which God has given, it is lawful for the children of God to
partake.”
“Who is that old man?” said I to Pascual Fava, after the blind and the
leader of the blind had departed. “Who is he!” said Pascual; “who is he!
He is a merchant now, and keeps a shop in the Siarrin, but there was a
time when no bloodier pirate sailed out of Algier. That old blind wretch
has cut more throats than he has hairs in his beard. Before the French
took the place he was the _rais_ or captain of a frigate, and many was
the poor Sardinian vessel which fell into his hands. After that affair
he fled to Tangier, and it is said that he brought with him a great part
of the booty which he had amassed in former times. Many other Algerines
came hither also, or to Tetuan, but he is the strangest guest of them
all. He keeps occasionally very extraordinary company for a Moor, and is
rather over-intimate with the Jews. Well, that’s no business of mine;
only let him look to himself. If the Moors should once suspect him, it
were all over with him. Moors and Jews, Jews and Moors! Oh my poor
sins, my poor sins, that brought me to live amongst them!—
“‘Ave maris stella,
Dei Mater alma,
Atque semper virgo,
Felix cœli porta!’” {383c}
He was proceeding in this manner when I was startled by the sound of a
musket.
“That is the retreat,” said Pascual Fava. “It is fired every night in
the _soc_ at half-past eight, and it is the signal for suspending all
business, and shutting up. I am now going to close the doors, and
whosoever knocks, I shall not admit them till I know their voice. Since
the murder of the poor Genoese last year, we have all been particularly
cautious.”
Thus had passed Friday, the sacred day of the Moslems, and the first
which I had spent in Tangier. I observed that the Moors followed their
occupations as if the day had nothing particular in it. Between twelve
and one, the hour of prayer in the mosque, the gates of the town were
closed, and no one permitted either to enter or go out. There is a
tradition current amongst them, that on this day, and at this hour, their
eternal enemies, the Nazarenes, will arrive to take possession of their
country; on which account they hold themselves prepared against a
surprisal.
GLOSSARY.
In the following pages a translation only has been given, as a rule, of
the Romany words, but references have been added which will enable _los
del aficion_ to acquire fuller knowledge elsewhere. It is only right to
state that for any philological theories advanced in this part of the
Glossary the late Mr. Burke is not responsible.—H. W. G.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
A. Ascoli, Zigeunerisches. 1865.
F. Francisque-Michel, Le Pays Basque. 1857.
G. Journal of the Gypsy Lore Society. 1888–1892.
Gr. Groome, In Gipsy Tents. 1880.
H. Hidalgo, Romances de Germanía. 1779.
J. Jimenez, Vocabulario del Dialecto Jitano. 1853.
Lel. Leland, The Gypsies.
LL. Borrow, Romano Lavo-Lil. 1888.
M. Miklosich, Ueber die Mundarten und die Wanderungen der
Zigeuner Europa’s. 1872–1880.
McR. MacRitchie, The Gypsies of India. 1886.
P. Pott, Die Zigeuner in Europa und Asien. 1844–5.
Pp. Paspati, Etudes sur les Tchinghianés ou Bohémiens de
l’Empire Ottoman. 1870.
R. De Rochas, Les Parias de France et d’Espagne. 1876.
S. Smith, Tent Life with English Gypsies in Norway. 1873.
SC. Smart and Crofton, The Dialect of the English Gypsies.
W. Wlislocki, Die Sprache der transsilvanischen Zigeuner.
1884.
Z. Borrow, The Zincali, 3rd edit. 1843.
A. _Arab._ O! _A sidi_, “_O my lord_!”
Á. _Span._ and _Port._ To.
ABAJAR. _Span_. To descend.
ACÁNA. _Rom._ Now. P. ii. 124; A. 21; W. 70.
ADUANA. _Span._ The custom-house. Fr. _la douane_, from Arab. _diwán_;
either as a council or as an account-book.
ADUN. _Hebr._ Lord; _Adon_.
AFICION. _Span._ Affection. _Los del aficion_, “those of the
predilection,” persons addicted to the gypsies and their language. Z.
ii. 58.
AFRANCESADO. _Span._ Frenchified.
AGOA. _Port._ Water. Span. _agua_.
AGUADOR. _Span._ A water-carrier.
AGUARDIENTE. _Span._ _Agua ardiente_, fire-water; coarse native spirit;
Spanish brandy.
ALAMEDA. _Span._ A public promenade in or near a town, planted with
trees. Lit. a place of poplars, from Span. _álamo_, a poplar.
ALCAHUETE. _Span._ A spy; a pimp. Arab. _al ḳawwād_.
ALCALÁ. _Span._ The fort. Arab, _al-ḳal‘ah_.
ALCALDE. _Span._ The mayor or chief magistrate of a town or village.
Arab. _al ḳádi_, the judge.
ALCALDE MAYOR. The chief magistrate of a district.
ALCAYDE. _Span._ A governor of a castle or fortress. Arab. _al ḳáid_,
the general. In more modern parlance, the governor of a prison, a
jailer.
ALCAZAR. _Span._ A castle; palace; a fortress. Arab. _al ḳaṣr_.
ALCORNOQUE. _Span._ The cork tree, _Quercus suber_.
ALDEA. _Span_. and _Port._ A village.
ALECRIM. _Port._ Rosemary. A word said to be of Arabic origin, perhaps
_al karím_, a precious thing. The Spanish _romero_, or pilgrim flower
(see note, i. 47). The English word is said to be derived from _ros
marinus_, dew of the sea.
ALEM. _Port._ Beyond. _Alemtejo_, the district beyond the Tagus.
ALFANDEGA. _Port._ Custom-house. The Arab. _funduḳ_, a large house.
ALFORJAS, LAS. _Span._ Saddle-bags. Arab. _al khurj_.
ALGIBE. _Span._ A vaulted subterranean cistern for storing water.
Arab. _jubb_, a reservoir.
ALGUACIL or ALGUAZIL. _Span._ A constable, or peace-officer. Arab. _al
wazir_, the vizier, governor, deputy, or minister.
ALHAJA. _Span._ Any precious article, a jewel. Probably from the Arab,
_al-hadja_.
ALHAMA. Stated by Borrow (i. 394) to be a Moorish word, meaning “warm
baths.” Apparently the Arab, _al ḥammām_.
ALKHEIR. _Arab._ Of good.
ALMA. _Span._ and _Port._ Soul.
ALMOCREVES. _Port._ Muleteers or carriers. A word of Arabic origin,
_al mukāri_, like the Spanish _arriero._
ALQUILADOR. _Span. and Port._ A letter on hire of anything, especially
of horses. _Alquilar_, in Spanish, signifies to give or lend on hire.
_Alquiler_, to take or borrow for reward. The converse, _inquiler_.
ALTO. _Span._ and _Port._ High.
AMIGA. _Span._ and _Port._ A mistress, or concubine. Lit. a female
friend.
AMIGO. _Span._ and _Port._ A friend.
ANCIÑA ANCIÑACO. _Basque_. The ancient of the ancient.
ANDALOU. _Rom._ An Andalusian.
ANDRÉ. _Rom._ In. P. ii. 56.
ANISE-BRANDY. _Eng._ A cordial, something like the French _anisette_.
The anise (_Pimpinella anisum_) is largely cultivated in Spain, where it
is known as _anis_. The seed is dried and exported, the aniseed of the
English cake-makers.
AOUD. _Arab._ According to Borrow, a stallion. It is the Moorish
‘_aud_ = horse.
AQUEL. _Span._ That.
ARCO. _Span._ and _Port._ A bow, an arch.
ARDOA. Guipuzcoan and Biscayan for _arno_,_ arnoa_, wine, the final _a_
being the definite article.
ARGELINO. _Span._ A native of Algiers.
ARMADA. _Span._ and _Port._ A fleet, or navy.
AROMÁLI. _Rom._ Truly. _Arromales_ = _caramba_. J.
ARRIERO. _Span._ Muleteer; one who cries _arrhé_ or _harré_, Arabic
“Gee up!” The older form of _Harriero_, given in the Dictionary of the
Spanish Academy, more clearly preserves this etymology.
ARROBA. _Span._ and _Port._ A weight equal to about 25 lbs. English.
Arab, _ar ruba_‘, a quarter.
ARROYO. _Span._ A brook, stream.
ARTESANO. _Span._ Artisan, workman.
ASHOR. _Hebr._ Jewish feast of the tenth (day), ‘_āsor_. It is really
the Arabic ‘_ashūrā_.
ATAJO. _Span._ A short cut, material or moral; an expedient of any
kind. Lit. a tying; _atar_, to tie.
ATALAYA. _Span._ A watch-tower. Port. _atalaia_. A word of Arabic
origin; _aṭ-ṭalí‘ah_, a view.
ATTAR. _Arab._ Essence. More correctly, ‘_aṭar_. Frequently in
combination. The Eng. _otto_.
AUSLANDRA. _Milan._ The meaning of this word is given by Borrow himself
as “to roam about in a dissipated manner.” It is obviously the Germ.
_Ausland_, “a foreign country,” made into an Italian verb. On the
authority of the native of Como, whom Borrow met at Cerrig y Drudion, it
was considered a vulgar word, even in the _gergo_ of the Milanese, and
that it is so may be proved by a reference to Cherubini, _Vocabolario
Milanese-Italiano_, s.v. _Slándra_, _Slandrà_.
AUTO DA FÉ. _Port._ Span. _auto de fé_. Execution of persons condemned
by the Inquisition.
AVELLANA. _Span._ A filbert.
AYANA. _Arab._ According to Borrow, a locust. It is not an ordinary
Arabic word, possibly of some North African dialect.
AZABACHE. _Span._ Jet. The Arab, _as-sabaj_.
AZABACHERIA. _Span._ Jet-market.
AZINHEIRA. _Port._ The holm-oak.
AZUMBRE. _Span._ A measure for liquids, the eighth of an _arroba_,
equal to about half a gallon. From the Arab. _ath-thumn_ = the eighth.
* * * * *
BAB. _Arab._ Gate. _Bab del Faz_, gate of Fez.
BACALHÃO. _Port._ (In _Span._ BACALLAO or ABADEJO). Salt cod, commonly
imported from the Newfoundland coast.
BAHAR. _Arab._ Sea.
BAHI or BAJI. _Rom._ Fortune. _Penar baji_, _decir la buena ventura_,
to tell fortunes. According to Borrow, the Sanscrit and Persian _baḥkt_.
BAKH, BOK. _Rom._ Luck. _Kosko bakh_, “Good luck to you!” P. ii. 398;
A. 47; M. vii. 14.
BALAD. _Arab._ Land. Also _beled_.
BALICHÓ. _Rom._ A hog. P. ii. 420; A. 54; M. vii. 15.
BAR. _Aram._ Son.
BAR. _Rom._ A stone. P. ii. 409; M. vii. 16.
BAR LACHÍ. _Rom._ The loadstone; a gypsy charm or talisman. Lit. “the
good stone.” See LACHÓ.
BARIA. _Rom._ Used by Borrow in ch. x., and given in Z. ii. 147, as
_Germanía_, or thieves’ slang, for a gold _onza_ (q.v.). Cf. _varia_ =
weight. A. 12. It is also the plural of _bar_, used by English gypsies
for a sovereign. The correct Gitano for _onza_ is _jara_.
BARIBÚ, BARIBUTRE, BARIBUSTRE. _Rom._ Plenty, much. P. ii. 400; M.
vii. 17.
BARO. _Rom._ Great. _Len Baro_ = the great river, the Guadalquivir.
_Hokkano Baro_ = the great trick. See HOK. P. ii. 411; A. 59; M. vii.
17.
BARRA. _Arab._ Outside; out of the town. See SOC.
BARRAGANERIA. _Span._ Concubinage. See note, i. 157.
BARRANCO, BARRANCA. _Span._ A fissure in a hill, a deep cleft, made by
the action of water; a precipice.
BARRETE. _Span._ A helmet, cap.
BARRIO. _Span._ One of the quarters or districts into which a large
town is divided. Fr. _quartier_.
BATU, BATO. _Rom._ Father. Perhaps from the Russ. _batuschca_, q.v.
In thieves’ slang, a prison governor or jailer. P. ii. 430; F. 145; G.
i. 61; J.
BATUSCHCA, BATUSHKA. _Russ._ Little father. A term of endearment or
familiar address, something like the Span. _tio_, uncle.
BEBER. _Span._ and _Port._ To drink.
BECORESH. _Hebr._ I.e. _Epikores_ = Epicurus, selected by Jewish
writers as a type of insolent atheism.
BEDEYA. _Arab._ An open waistcoat. More correctly, _bad‘iyya_.
BELAD. _Hebr._ In the power of.
BELED. _Arab._ Country. Also _balad_.
BELLOTA. _Span._ An acorn. The Portuguese _bolota_; Arab, _balūt_.
BEN, plur. BENI. _Hebr._ and _Arab._ Son.
BENDITO. _Span._ and _Port._ Blessed, praised.
BENG, BENGUE, BENGUI. _Rom._ The devil; also any demon, or evil spirit.
P. ii. 407; M. vii. 19. As to the meaning, frog or toad, see G. i. 118.
BERAKA. _Hebr._ A blessing.
BESTI, BESTIS. _Rom._ A seat, chair, or saddle. P. ii. 428; M. vii.
20. Borrow, however, seems to use it as a slang form of the following.
BESTIA. _Span._ An animal. “You brute!”
BIRDOCHE. _Rom._ Used by Borrow in ch. ix. for a stage-coach or
_galera_, q.v. It is probably connected with _bedo_, _berdo_, a cart.
Z. ii. * 17. Eng. Rom. _vardo_. See P. ii. 80; A. 68; M. viii. 96.
BOCA. _Span._ and _Port._ Mouth.
BODA, BODAS. _Span._ and _Port._ Marriage, a wedding.
BOGAMANTE, BOGAVANTE. _Span._ The slang name for a large lobster; orig.
the stroke-oar of a galley; _bogar_ = to row, _avante_ = in front.
BOHÉMIEN. _Fr._ A gypsy.
BOLOTA. _Port._ (_Span._ BELLOTA.) An acorn.
BOLSA. _Span._ and _Port._ (1) A purse. (2) The Exchange.
BOMBARDÓ. _Rom._ A lion. Used also of the gulf usually called the Gulf
of Lyons, but in French La Golfe du Lion, or “Gulf of the Lion,” from its
stormy water. Lyons on the Rhone may have given the English, but
certainly not the French, name to the bay. P. ii. 432.
BONANZA. _Span._ Fair weather. See note, ii. 273.
BONITO. _Span._ and _Port._ Pretty.
BORRACHO. _Span._ and _Port._ A drunkard. _Borracha_ is a wine-skin,
or leathern bottle. Hence Shakespeare’s _Borachio_.
BORRICO. _Span._ Dimin. of _Burro_, an ass.
BOTA. _Span._ A leather wine-bottle or bag; usually made of the skin of
a pig for storing purposes, of goatskin for travelling. A glass bottle
is called _frasco_ or _botella_.
BRASERO. _Span._ Brazier; brass or copper pan to hold live coals.
BRETIMA, BRETEMA, BRETOMA. _Gal._ A low-lying mist or fog. When thick
and damp it is called—also in Galician—_mexona_.
BRIBON, BRIBONAZO. _Span._ A vagrant, vagabond, or impostor. The
termination in _bribonazo_ does not express action, as in such words as
_calmazo_, q.v., but augmentation.
BRIBONERIA. _Span._ Knavery, rascality.
BROA. _Port._ and _Gal._ BARONA. _Span._ and _Gal._ BRONA. _Gal._ A
bread made of a mixture of maize (2 parts), rye (4), millet (1), and
panic-grass (1).
BROTOBORO. _Rom._ First. Grk. πρῶτος. _Brotorbo_, J.
BRUJO or BRUXO. _Span._, _Port._, and _Gal._ A sorcerer, or wizard.
BUCKRA. _Arab._ _Bikr_, a virgin; used (ii. 357) for the Blessed Virgin
Mary.
BUENO. _Span._ Good. _Buenas noches_, “good night.”
BUFA. _Rom._ A manger, crib. P. ii. 433.
BUL, BULLÁTI. _Rom._ The _anus_. P. ii. 422.
BURRA. _Span._ and _Port._ Jackass; she-ass.
BUSNÓ. _Rom._ A man who is not a gypsy, a Gentile. P. ii. 434; Pp.
172; M. vii. 26.
* * * * *
CA. _Span._ An abbreviated form of CARAJO, _q.v._
CABALGADURA. _Span._ A sumpter horse or mule; beast of burden.
CABALLEJO, or CABALLUELO. _Span._ Pony.
CABALLERIA. _Span._ Is used either of a single horse, mule, or ass used
for riding, as the Fr. _monture_, or for a number of such beasts
together. The word in the plural also signifies chivalry or knighthood.
CABALLERO. _Span._ Lit. a cavalier, but constantly used either as a
mode of polite address, “Sir,” or in speaking of a gentleman, whether
mounted or on foot.
CABAÑA. _Span._ (1) A shepherd’s hut or cabin. (2) A flock, or
assemblage of flocks, of sheep, under the charge of a _mayoral_, driven
to and from the wild pasture lands of Estremadura. See note, i. 146.
CACHARRO. _Span._ A coarse earthen pan or pot.
CACHAS. _Rom._ Shears, scissors. Z. i. 244; P. ii. 99; _cachais_, R.
295.
CACHIMANI. _Rom._ A wine-shop, or tavern. _Cachiman_, J. See P. ii.
117; M. i. 19.
CAES. _Port._ A wharf.
CAFILA, rather ḲĀFILAH. _Arab._ A caravan.
CALABOZO. _Span._ Dungeon or underground cell. _Calabozero_, the
keeper thereof; turnkey.
CALASH. _Eng._ A two-wheeled carriage with a hood; a buggy. Span.
_calesa_; Port. _caleça_; Fr. _calèche_.
CALDAS. _Span._ and _Port._ Warm Baths. Used most frequently in
combination as a place name; e.g. Caldas de Reyes, called by Borrow (i.
394) Caldas de los Reyes, in Galicia.
CALÉS. _Rom._ Plur. of CALÓ, CALORÓ. A gypsy; lit. a black and dark
man. See CALÓ.
CALESERO. _Span._ (1) The driver of a _calesa_. (2) The driver of any
carriage or cart.
CALLAR. _Span._ To be silent. _Calla boca_, “Hold your tongue!”
CALLARDÓ, GALLARDÓ. _Rom._ A black man, mulatto. See CALÓ.
CALLE. _Span._ A street.
CALLEE, CALLÍ. _Rom._ Fem. of CALÓ, _q.v._
CALLICASTE. _Rom._ (1) Yesterday. (2) Tomorrow. So in English Rom.
_cóllico_, _káliko_. P. ii. 107; LL. 7.
CALMAZO. _Span._ A calm at sea. Lit. an “attack” or “stroke” of calm,
such being the force of the termination _azo_; as _puñal_, a poignard;
_puñalazo_, the blow of a poignard.
CALÓ, CALORÓ. _Rom._ One of the _kalo rat_, or black blood; a gypsy.
P. ii. 106; A. 44; M. vii. 71; G. i. 178.
CAMARERA. _Span._ A lady’s maid, chambermaid.
CAMPIÑA. _Span._ The open country, the fields. Dimin. of CAMPO.
CAMPO. _Span._ and _Port._ The country. In the mouths of
English-speaking Argentines it has become “the camp,” conveying no idea
whatever of the Anglo-Indian “camp,” or “marching” with tents, or
“camping out.”
CAMPO SANTO. _Span._, _Port._, and _Ital._ A churchyard, cemetery.
CANALLIS. See JARA CANALLIS.
CANDORY, plur. CANDORÉ. _Rom._ Christian. P. ii. 125; McR. 46.
CANÓNIGO. _Span._ A canon or prebendary of a cathedral.
CAPATAZ. _Span._ and _Port._ Not _capitaz_. A head man; overseer;
ganger; steward on a farm. From Lat. _caput_.
CAPILLA. _Span._ A chapel.
CAPITULAR. _Span._ Belonging to the chapter. _Sala capitular_,
chapter-house.
CARAJO. _Span._ “The great oath of Spain, which ought never to be
written or pronounced in full, practically forms the foundation of the
language of the lower orders; it is a most ancient remnant of the phallic
abjuration of the evil eye, the dreaded fascination which still perplexes
the minds of Orientals, and is not banished from Spanish and Neapolitan
superstitions. The word terminates in _ajo_, on which stress is laid;
the _j_ is pronounced with a most Arabic guttural aspiration. The word
_ajo_ means also garlic, which is quite as often in Spanish mouths, and
is exactly what Hotspur liked—a ‘mouth-filling oath,’ energetic and
Michael Angelesque.”—Ford’s _Spain_, Introd. p. 35. For “the evil eye,”
see; Z. i. 138.
CARALS. Catalan for CARAJO, _q.v._
CARAMBA. _Span._ A polite modification of the grosser CARAJO, _q.v._
CARBONERO. _Span._ A charcoal-burner; also a collier.
CARCEL. _Span._ A prison.
CARCELERO, CARCELERA. _Span._ A male or female jailer; or the latter
may be merely the wife of a jailer.
CARLINO, CARLISTA. _Span._ A partisan of Don Carlos.
CARLO. _Rom._ Heart. P. ii. 125. It also means “throat,” the only
meaning in English Rom. P. ii. 96; A. 66; Pp. 299; SC. 91.
CARRACHO. _Gal._ A tick, or small parasite found on dogs and cattle.
_Carracha_ is a somewhat similar pest of the human body. The word, which
is not Spanish, is used by Borrow as an expletive, instead of the coarser
CARAJO, _q.v._
CARRASCAL. _Span._ and _Port._ A plantation or grove of the following.
CARRASCO. _Span._ and _Port._ The _ilex_, or evergreen oak.
CARRETA. _Span._ and _Port._ A long and narrow cart.
CARRETERA. _Span._ A high-road. Fr. _voie carrossable_.
CARRONADE. _O. Eng._ A short cannon of large bore, usually carried on
board ship. The word has nothing to do with cannon, but is derived from
the Scotch town of Carron, in Stirlingshire, where these pieces were
first made in 1779. They were not used after 1852, and the name is
obsolete.
CARTA. _Span._ and _Port._ A letter.
CASA. _Span._ and _Port._ House.
CASPITA. _Span._ “Wonderful!” Milder than CARAMBA, _q.v._
CASTELLANO. _Span._ A Castilian. _Hablar Castellano_, to talk Spanish.
CASTUMBA. _Rom._ Castile.
CAVALGADURA. _Gal._ See CABALGADURA.
CAVALHEIRO. _Port._ See CABALLERO.
CÉAD. _Irish_. A hundred.
CERRADA. _Span._ and _Port._ Closed, concealed, dark.
CERRO. _Span._ and _Port._ A hill, hillock.
CHABÍ. _Rom._ A girl. See CHABÓ.
CHABÓ, CHABÉ, CHABORÓ. _Rom._ A boy, youth, fellow. P. ii. 181; A. 51;
Pp. 528; M. vii. 30; McR. 100. Possibly the origin of the English slang,
“chap.”
CHACHIPÉ. _Rom._ The truth. P. i. 138; ii. 178; A. 29; Pp. 523; M.
vii. 27.
CHAI. _Rom._ Irreg. plur. of CHABÓ, _q.v._ Chaps; used commonly for
gypsies.
CHAL. _Rom._ A lad, boy, fellow; possibly the same as chiel, childe.
_Rómano-chal_, a gypsy. McR. 98.
CHALI DEL BAHAR. _Arab._ _Bahar_ is “the sea” in Arabic; _shát_ is “the
shore.” _Chali_ is possibly a misprint for this.
CHALAN. _Span._ A jockey or horse-dealer.
CHARDÍ, CHÁTI. _Rom._ A fair. I cannot find this word except in Borrow
(Z. ii. * 36), though J. gives _chandí_. Borrow derives it from Hind,
_chhetr_ = field. If so it is perhaps connected with _char_, _chor_ =
grass. P. ii. 198; Pp. 529; M. vii. 29. Can it be the Persian
_chatrí_—canopy, tent?
CHARIPÉ, CHERIPEN. _Rom._ Bed, or bedstead. Hind. _charpoy_ = that
which has four feet or legs. Borrow (Z. ii.* 37) wrongly suggests the
Grk. κρεββάτι, though giving, as elsewhere (LL. 100), the right
derivation. P. ii. 203; M. vii. 32.
CHEGAR. _Port._ To arrive, land.
CHENOURAIN. Synagogues. From _shanūra_, an Algerian or low Arabic word.
CHI, CHICHÍ. _Rom._ Nothing. P. ii. 176; M. vii. 31.
CHIBADO. _Rom._ Put into. From _chibar_, a word used in many senses.
P. ii. 184.
CHICA. _Span._ Little girl. Properly the fem. of the adj. _chico_,
which is also used commonly for a boy, especially as a mode of address,
or to call attention, _hé_, _chico_!
CHICOTITO. _Span._ Dimin. of _chico_. A little fellow, dwarf.
CHIM. _Rom._ Kingdom, country. P. ii. 295; M. viii. 82; Z. ii. * 38;
and J.
CHINDOMAR. _Rom._ A butcher. From _chinar_ = to cut. P. ii. 208; Pp.
538; M. vii. 33.
CHINEL. _Rom._ A man of official position or rank. Especially an
_alguacil_. Russ. _chin_, rank. P. ii. 204.
CHINOBARÓ. _Rom._ A head official. Compounded of CHIN and BARO, _q.v._
CHIPE. _Rom._ Tongue, speech. P. ii. 216; M. vii. 31; SC. 64.
CHIRIA. Borrow gives this as Sanscrit for “bird,” but I cannot find his
authority. The Rom. word is _cziriklo_, _chiriclo_. See P. ii. 199.
CHOR. _Rom._ _Subs._ a thief; _verb_, to steal. P. ii. 200; A. 46; Pp.
545–6; M. vii. 36.
CHOZA. _Span._ A hut or small cottage. According to Dozy and Engelmann
it is the Arab. _khas_.
CHULÍ, plur. CHULÉ. _Rom._ A dollar. Span. _peso fuerte_. Borrow uses
the word in his gypsy St. Luke, xv. 8, etc. P. ii. 205, has “_Chuli_ =
_Groschen_,” and suggests a connexion with _tchulo_ = thick. It is
tempting to compare the English slang “a thick ’un” = a sovereign.
CHULÍ, CHURÍ. _Rom._ A knife. Hind. _churi_. P. ii. 210; Pp. 550; M.
vii. 39. The form with L is only found in Spanish. Pott suggests that
it is a corruption of _cuchillo_. In Z. ii. 148 it is given as
_Germanía_, or thieves’ slang, and is probably their alteration of the
correct _churí_.
CHUQUEL. _Rom._ A dog. P. ii. 213; A. 64; Pp. 553; M. vii. 51; Z. ii.
* 132.
CIERRA! _Span._ “Close!” The war-cry of the Castilian chivalry; more
fully, _Santiago_! _y cierra España_!
CIERTO. _Span._ Sure, certain.
CIERVO. _Span._ A stag.
COCAL. _Rom._ A bone. P. ii. 92; A. 52; Pp. 289; M. vii. 85.
COISA, COUSA. _Port._ A thing.
COLEGIO. _Span._ A college.
COMER. _Span._ and _Port._ To eat.
COMITIVA. _Span._ and _Port._ Suite, following, company.
COMMERCIO. _Port._ Commerce. _Span. comercio_.
COMPANHEIRO. _Port._ Companion, comrade.
COMPRAR. _Span._ and _Port._ To buy.
COMUNERO. _Span._ A member or partisan of the Communities of Castile.
See Burke’s _Hist. of Spain_, ii. 316.
CON. _Span._ With.
CONCIUDADANO. _Span._ A fellow-citizen.
CONDE. _Span._ and _Port._ A count, or earl. Lat. _comes_. A title at
one time greater than that of duke in Spain. See Burke’s _Hist. of
Spain_, i. 148.
CONDENADO. _Span._ Condemned, damned.
CONQUISTAR. _Span._ and _Port._ To conquer.
CONSTITUCION. _Span._ Constitution; the constitution of 1812.
CONTRABANDISTA. _Span_ and _Port._ A smuggler.
CONVERSACION. _Span._ Conversation. As an interjection, “Folly!
rubbish!”
COPITA. _Span._ A wine-glass, or small drinking-cup; dimin. of _copa_.
COPLA. _Span._ and _Port._ A couplet, or a few lines of poetry. The
original Spanish of the lines quoted ii. 62 is as follows—
“Un manco escribió una carta;
Un siego {395} la está mirando;
Un mudo la está leyendo;
Y un sordo la está escuchando.”
(Rodriguez Marin, _Cantos Populares Españoles_, tom. iv. p. 364, No.
7434.)
CORAHAI or CORAJAI. _Rom._ The Moors of Northern Africa. P. ii. 127;
A. 27; Pp. 320; M. vii. 64.
CORAHANÓ, fem. CORAHANÍ. _Rom._ A Moor. See CORAHAI.
CORCHETE. _Span._ and _Port._ A catchpoll. Lit. a clasp; _corchetes_
are “hooks and eyes.”
CORÇO. _Gal._ A stag, or deer.
CORDOVES. _Span._ Of or belonging to Cordova.
CORREGIDOR. _Span._ A municipal magistrate. Orig. a _co-regidor_, or
joint administrator of the law; not, as Midshipman Easy and the Boatswain
decided, a _corrector_, though the word also has that signification in
Spanish. As regards the magistrate, the second _r_ is superfluous and
etymologically deceptive.
CORRIDA. _Span._ and _Port._ A racecourse; bull-fight.
CORTAMANGA. The word is not given in any dictionary that I have
consulted. Borrow evidently alludes to a vulgar and obscene gesture,
usually called _un corte de mangas_. It is made by bringing down the
right hand on the left forearm, and raising the left forearm, with the
middle finger of the left hand raised and the other fingers bent. It is
not under _corte_ or _manga_ either in Covarrubia or the 1730 edit. of
the _Dic. Acad. Esp._, or more recent ones, probably on account of its
indecent signification. I have never seen it written. The finger part
of the business is of course as old as the Romans, and survives still in
Italy.
CORTE. _Span._ and _Port._ The king’s court; more particularly the city
where the court resides—thus the capital. Applied colloquially and in
commercial correspondence to Madrid, Lisbon, Rio Janeiro, etc.
CORTEJO. _Span._ and _Port._ A lover. Orig. courtesy or homage.
_Cortejar_ = to do homage to.
CORTES. _Span._ and _Port._ The estates of the realm, parliament.
CORTIJO. _Span._ Farmhouse.
COSAS. _Span._ Things. “_Cosas de España_,” “_Cosas de Inglaterra_,”
“_Cosas de los Ingleses_.” Colloquially equivalent to our, “How
Spanish!” “Quite English!”
CRALLIS. _Rom._ King. The Slavonian _kral_. P. ii. 123; Pp. 296; M.
vii. 87.
CREER. _Span._ To believe. _Yo lo creo_, “I believe you, my boy!”
“You bet!”
CRIA. _Span._ and _Port._ A brood.
CRISCOTE. _Rom._ A book. See GABICOTE.
CRISTIANO. _Span._ Christian. Used in Spain for the Spanish language.
CRISTINO. _Span._ A partisan of Queen Christina.
CRUZ. _Span._ and _Port._ A cross; also the withers of a horse or mule.
CRUZADO. _Span._ and _Port._ A coin worth about six shillings. See
Burke’s _Hist. of Spain_, ii. 286.
CUADRILLA. _Span._ A band.
CUARTO. _Span._ A copper coin of the value of four maravedis, or about
one English farthing. Lit. the fourth part of anything.
CUENTA. _Span._ Bill, reckoning.
CUESTA. _Span._ A hill, or mount.
CUIDADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Care, anxiety. The Andalusians and
Gitanos say _cuidao_.
CUL. _Arab._ Every, all.
CURA. _Span._ and _Port._ Parish priest. Fr. _curé_; _not_ a “curate.”
The writer usually known as _El Cura de Fruime_ (i. 401) was D. Diego
Antonio Zernadas de Castro, born at Santiago in 1698. He wrote various
works in verse and prose, a complete edition of which, in seven volumes,
was published by Ibarra (Madrid, 1778–81), and was followed by another,
in three volumes, in 1783–9–90. A biography of the author, by D.
Fernando Fulgosio, appeared in the _Revista de España_, _tomos_ 27, 28
(1872). There was another _Cura de Fruime_, D. Antonio Francisco de
Castro, who was also a poet, and who died in 1836.
CURELAR. _Rom._ To do business. P. ii. 111; Pp. 281; M. vii. 88.
CURELÓ. _Rom._ Trouble, pain. P. ii. 115. See CURELAR.
CURIOSO. _Span._ and _Port._ Inquiring, curious.
* * * * *
DADAS. _Span._ and _Port._ Given. From _dar_.
DAI. _Rom._ Mother. P. ii. 309; Pp. 194; M. vii. 40.
DAOUD. _Arab._ Light. Arab. _ḍau_. _Daoud Scharr_ = _ḍau ash-sharr_,
light of mischief.
DAR. _Arab._ A house; often found in composition as _Dar-sinah_, _Dar
ṣinā_‘_ah_ (ii. 367), the house of the arts, or handicrafts; _Dar-dwag_,
_Dar dabbagh_ (ii. 371), the house of the bark, or tannery.
DEHESA. _Span._ Pasture; applied more particularly to large open tracts
of country where the cattle can roam at large.
DEMONIO. _Span._ and _Port._ Demon, devil.
DENHO. _Gal._ The devil; used familiarly, “the deuce.”
DESEMBARCAR. _Span._ and _Port._ To disembark.
DESESPERADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Desperate; a desperado.
DESHONESTO. _Span._ and _Port._ Not “dishonest,” but “immodest,
lascivious.”
DESPACHO. _Span._ An office; a _depôt_. Used also of certain shops,
such as the bakers, tobacco-sellers, and others.
DESPOBLADO. _Span._ Desert, or waste lands. Lit. depopulated; the true
history is seen in the etymology. The word is applied to uncultivated
desert, or uninhabited parts of the country, grazed for the most part by
half wild sheep or cattle.
DESPUES. _Span._ Afterwards. _Hasta despues_, “Au revoir.”
DETRAS. _Span._ Behind. See TIRAR.
DIESTRO. _Span._ Skilful, dexterous; as a substantive, a performer at a
bull-feast, also a fencer.
DIOS. _Span._ God.
DISPARATE. _Span._ and _Port._ A blunder, or extravagance. As an
interjection, “Stuff and nonsense!”
DJMAH. The name of a tower in Tangier. Apparently the Arab. _Jami_’ =
mosque.
DOIRO. _Port._ Of gold, _de oiro_ or _ouro_.
DON, DOÑA. _Span._ DOM, DONA. _Port._ Lord; lady.
DONOSTIAN. _Basque_. San Sebastian.
DORSO. _Span._ and _Port._ The back.
DOSTA. _Rom._ Enough! Span. _basta_! P. ii. 308; M. vii. 45.
DOUBLOON. _Eng._ A gold coin. _Span. doblon_. See Burke’s _Hist. of
Spain_, ii. 284.
DRAO. _Rom._ Poison. P. ii. 316; Pp. 215; M. vii. 45.
DROMÁLIS. _Rom._ Carriers, muleteers, men of the road. P. ii. 319.
See DRUN.
DRUN, DROM. _Rom._ A road. Grk. δρόμος. P. ii. 318; Pp. 215; M. vii.
46.
DRUNGRUJE, better DRONGRUGI or DRUNJI. _Rom._ The king’s highway; also
a bridle-path. See DRUN.
DUENDE. _Span._ and _Port._ A ghost, or hobgoblin. In _Germanía_, or
thieves’ slang = the watch, patrol.
DUFFEL. _O. Eng._ A coarse woollen cloth, said to have been first made
at Duffel, near Amsterdam.
DUROTUNÓ. A shepherd. Probably connected with _dur_ = far, P. ii. 317;
M. vii. 48. It is worth noticing that we find _Gorotuné_ = a native of
Estremadura, which looks like a pun, P. i. 54, so too J., who has also
_oroturné_ = a mountaineer, which suits the idea.
DWAG. See DAR.
* * * * *
E, Es. _Rom._ Genitive, sing. and plur., of the article _O_.
E. _Port._ And.
EIDRI. See SHILLAM.
ELLEGREN. Stated by Borrow to be a Scand. word, meaning “elfin plant,”
but the dictionaries do not give it. _Elle_, however, in composition =
fairy, in Danish; and _gren_ = bough, in Danish, Norse, and Swedish.
EMBÉO. _Rom._ A book. P. ii. 62.
EMBUSTERO. _Span._ Impostor, cheat, schemer; from _embuste_, a deceit,
false or fraudulent scheme, snare.
ENCINA. _Span._ An oak.
ENDEMONIADO. _Span._ Possessed by the devil.
ENGANCHAR. _Span._ To enlist as a soldier. Prim. to hook; _gancho_, a
hook.
ENSAYO. _Span._ An essay, attempt.
ENTENDER. _Span._ To understand.
ENTERO. _Span._ An _entire_ horse, or stallion. As an adjective,
entire, perfect, complete.
ERRATE. _Rom._ A respectful appellation of the gypsy race, used by them
of their own race. From Rom. _rat_, blood; the people of the same blood;
our blood relations. P. ii. 272; Pp. 457; M. viii. 56.
ERRAY. _Rom._ Gentleman. More commonly, _rai_; in Eng. Rom., _rye_.
P. ii. 264; Pp. 453; M. viii. 54.
ERREGUIÑA. _Basque._ Queen. Borrow is mistaken in connecting this word
with Sanscrit. It is simply the Lat. _regina_.
ERUDITO. _Span._ and _Port._ Learned.
ESCAPADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Escaped, a runaway.
ESCLIVITUD. _Span._ Slavery.
ESCOCÉS. _Span._ Scotch.
ESCONDIDO. _Span._ and _Port._ _Adj._ hidden.
ESCOPETA. _Span._ and _Port._ A gun.
ESCRIBANO. _Span._ A notary, or his clerk. Lit. a writer.
ESCUCHAR. _Span._ To listen. _Escuchad_! “Listen!”
ESCUELA. _Span._ A school.
ESO. _Span._ That. _Que es eso_? “What’s that?”
ESPAÑA. _Span._ Spain. See i. 341.
ESPAÑOL. Spanish.
ESPINAL, ESPINAR. _Span._ A thorny thicket; place of thorns.
ESPINGARDA. _Span._ and _Port._ A musket.
ESPINHEIRO. _Port._ A thorn-tree.
ESTADEA. _Port._ ESTADAIÑA. _Gal._ Dimin. ESTADINHA. (1) A skeleton,
or death’s-head; a nocturnal procession of the spirits of the dead. (2)
A witches’ “sabbath;” for which last the Galician _compaña_ is also used.
ESTALAGEM. _Port._ An inn.
ESTAR. _Span._ and _Port._ To be.
ESTARIPEL. _Rom._ A prison. P. ii. 246; Pp. 146. SC. 141.
ESTRANGERO. _Span._ Strange, foreign.
ESTREMOU. _Rom._ ESTREMEÑO. _Span._ An inhabitant of the province of
Estremadura.
EUSCARRA. Basque. Used by Borrow (ch. xxxvii.) for the Basque name of
their own tongue; more commonly, _Escualdun_, _Escualdunac_; a word in
any case of very uncertain origin. See Burke’s _Hist. of Spain_, vol. i.
App. I., THE BASQUES.
EXEMPLO. _Span._ and _Port._ Example, pattern. _Por exemplo_, for
instance.
EXTENDERSE. _Span._ To extend, stretch.
* * * * *
FABRICA. _Span._ and _Port._ Manufactory.
FACCIOSO. _Span._ As an adjective, factious; more often used by Borrow
as a substantive, with the special signification, in the years 1830–1840,
of a disaffected or factious person; a rebel; a Carlist.
FÁILTE. _Irish_. Welcomes.
FAJA, FAXA. _Span._ and _Port._ A thick waist-band, usually of silk,
often red, and a characteristic portion of the dress of a great majority
of Spaniards. The Indian _kamarband_. From the Lat. _fascia_, a girth,
or band.
FANGO. _Span._ Mire, mud.
FAROL. _Span._ and _Port._ Strictly speaking, a lantern; used by Borrow
for FARO, a lighthouse. They are, of course, equally the ancient Grk.
φάρος.
FATO. _Port._ A herd; a multitude. Span. _hato_.
FELOUK, FELOQUE. _Eng._ A boat, felucca. Arab. _faluka_, _falak_ =
ship.
FERIOUL. _Arab._ A sort of shawl thrown over the shoulders. Arab.
_farwāl_.
FIDALGO. _Port._ A gentleman. The Spanish hidalgo = _filius alicujus_,
the son of some one.
FILIMICHA. _Rom._ The gallows. Found in Borrow, and J.; Pott, ii. 394,
simply quotes it from the former.
FINO. _Span._ and _Port._ Fine, excellent, sharp.
FONDA. _Span._ Hotel. According to Diez, from Latin _funda_, a sling,
or a purse, which has also given the French _bourse_ and Spanish _bolsa_,
an assembly of paying persons. See POSADA.
FORA. _Port._ and _Gal._ Outside, without.
FORO, FOROS. _Rom._ City, or town. P. ii. 393; Pp. 234; M. vii. 53.
FORTE. _Port._ Strong.
FREGONA. _Span._ A scullery maid.
FRIOLERA. _Span._ A trifle. Lat. _futilitas_.
FUENTE. _Span._ A fount, spring.
FUERON. _Span._ They were. From _ser_.
FUEROS. _Span._ Local privileges.
FUNCION. _Span._ A solemnity; festival; public assemblage of people to
do or see some important act. In military language, an action; then
colloquially, “a row.” The barbarous English adaptation, _function_, is
convenient, and is rapidly gaining ground.
* * * * *
GABARDINE. _O. Eng._ A long coat, or cloak, usually applied to the
distinctive dress worn by the Jews under compulsion. Said to be from the
Spanish and Old French _gaban_, a great coarse cloak with a hood, a word
itself supposed to be connected with _capa_.
GABICOTE. _Rom._ Book. Borrow seems the only authority for this word.
J. has _gascote_. P. ii. 145.
GABINÉ. _Rom._ A Frenchman. P. i. 54, ii. 145.
GACHAPLA. _Rom._ A couplet, in poetry. Span. _copla_. P. ii. 41.
GACHÓ. _Rom._ Any one who is not a gypsy; the same as Rom. _busnó_. P.
ii. 129; Pp. 235; M. vii. 53; McR. 93.
GALERA. _Span._ A long cart without springs; the sides are lined with
matting, while beneath hangs a loose open net, as under the _calesinas_
of Naples, in which lies and barks a horrid dog, who keeps a cerberus
watch over iron pots and sieves, and suchlike gypsy utensils, and who is
never to be conciliated.—Ford’s _Spain_, Introd. p. 37.
GALLEGO. _Span._ and _Port._ Galician; usually Anglicized by Borrow as
Gallegan. The Roman _Gallaeci_ or _Callaeci_.
GALLINERIA. _Span._ A hen-coop; a place for keeping _gallinas_, or
chickens.
GALOOT (_Galūth_). _Hebr._ Bondage, captivity. “The galoot of sin.”
In the slang of the United States the word means “a simpleton.”
GARBANZOS. _Span._ Chick-pease (_Cicer arietinum_). The invariable
vegetable in every _olla_ and _puchero_.
GARLOCHIN. _Rom._ Heart. See CARLO.
GARNATA. _Arab._ Granada. See MELEGRANA.
GARROTE. _Span._ and _Port._ The death penalty by strangulation, in
which an iron collar fixed to a post is tightened by a screw and receives
the neck of the culprit, which is broken by a sharp turn given by the
executioner. _Garrote_ also means a cudgel, or heavy walking-stick; and
the tourniquet used by surgeons. It is a word of strange and uncertain
etymology, and is said to be connected with Span. _garra_, a claw, Fr.
_jarret_, a thigh, and other apparently incongruous words.
GAZPACHO. A dish in the nature of a vegetable salad very popular in
Spain, made of bread, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic, _garbanzos_ or
chick-peas, with oil and seasoning of various kinds. The etymology is
uncertain.
GEFATURA. _Span._ Office of the following.
GEFE. _Span._ Chief. _Gefe politico_ = _corregidor_, _q.v._
GELABA. _Arab._ A long cloak. Arab. _jilbāb_.
GENIO. _Span._ and _Port._ Genius; spirit.
GENOUI, dimin. GENOUILLOS. Moor. A Genoese, Genoese children.
GENTE, JENTE. _Span._ and _Port._ People.
GERMANÍA. _Span._ According to the dictionaries, the dialect or mode of
speech used by gypsies, thieves, and ruffians, to prevent their being
understood, in which they give special meanings to ordinary words (e.g.
_aguila_, eagle = a clever thief), or invent words of their own (e.g.
_almifor_ = horse). No doubt _Germanía_ contains gypsy words, but it is
no more identical with Romany than are the Fr. _Argot_ or the Eng.
_Cant_. See Z. ii. 129.
GIBIL. _Arab._ A hill.
GINETE. _Span._ A good horseman. _À la gineta_, in the Moorish style
(of riding). Diez, strangely enough, would derive this Arab or Moorish
word from the Grk. μυμνήτης, a naked or light-armed foot soldier. It is
really derived from the proper name Zeneta, a Berber tribe who furnished
the finest horsemen to the Spanish Moors (Cron. Alfonso X., fo. 6 d, an.
1263). In Catalan the word has become _janetz_. Our English word
“jennet” may be derived from the same source.
GIRAR. _Span._ and _Port._ To turn round.
GITANA. _Thieves’ slang_. Twelve ounces of bread. See i. 177.
GITANO. _Span._ A gypsy. A corrupted form of _Egiptiano_, an Egyptian.
R. 269; McR. 109. See ZINCALO.
GODO. _Span._ and _Port._ A Goth; Gothic.
GOH. _Pers._ Mountain. More correctly, _koh_.
GONFALONIERA. _Ital._ Standard-bearer.
GRĀ, GRAS, GRASTE, GRY. _Rom._ A horse. P. ii. 145; A. 33; Pp. 249; M.
vii. 58.
GRACIA. _Span._ GRATIA. _Lat._ Grace.
GRANJA. _Span._ A grange, farm. _La Granja_, the royal palace at San
Ildefonso.
GRECO. _Ital._ GRIEGO. _Span._ Greek.
GUAPO, GUAPITO. _Span._ and _Port._ Gay, neat, clever, elegant,
gallant.
GUARDACOSTAS. _Span._ A revenue cutter.
GUARDIA. _Span._ A guard, watch.
GUERILLA. _Span._ Lit. little war. Irregular warfare to which the
Spaniards have ever been so much addicted. The _guerrillero_ is the
irregular soldier, or armed _paisano_, who wages this little war.
GUERRA. _Span._ War.
GUISSAN. _Basque_. According to. It is an adaptation of the Fr.
_guise_, Span. _guisa_. The regular Basque words are _arabera_,
_araura_. Aizquibel, Basque-Spanish Dict., gives the form _gisara_.
GURSÉAN. _Moor._ The giant aloe. Span. _pita_. _Apud_ Borrow, ii.
276.
GUSTO. _Span._ (1) Taste, lit. or fig. (2) Fancy, caprice, wish.
* * * * *
HABER. _Span._ To have. _Hay_, there are. _No hay mas_? Are there no
more?
HABLA. _Span._ Speech.
HABLAR. _Span._ To speak. Lat. _fabulare_.
HACER. _Span._ To do, make. _El hará el gusto por V_, He will do what
you want.
HADA, HADE. _Arab._ This.
HAIK. _Arab._ A white cloth worn over the head by the Moors.
HAIMAS. _Arab._ Tents. More correctly, _ḥaimat_, plur. _ḥiyām_.
HAJI. _Arab._, _Turk._, and _Grk._ One who having made the _haj_, or
pilgrimage, to Mecca, is entitled to wear a green turban and assume the
title of _haji_. But the same title, strange to say, is assumed by
orthodox Christians who have made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and _Haji
Yanco_ is quite as common a title or mode of address in the Levant as
_Haji Ibrahím_.
HALAL. _Arab._ Lawful.
HALOOF. _Berber_. Hog’s flesh. More correctly, _ḥalluf_.
HAMAL. _Arab._ Porter, carrier. More correctly, _ḥammāl_.
HANUTZ. _Arab._ Shop. More correctly, _ḥanūt_.
HARĀM. _Arab._ and _Hebr._ Forbidden. Akin to this is _harem_.
HASTA. _Span._ Until. See DESPUES.
HATO. _Span._ A herd, a multitude. Port. _fato_.
HAX WEIB, HAX. _Germ._ A witch. A wrong form of _Hexe Weib_ or _Hexe_,
a witch, or female wizard.
HAYIM. _Hebr._ Living. More correctly, _hayyim_.
HELLER. _Germ._ A copper coin in use in Germany previous to 1848; in
value about one farthing.
HERENCIA. _Span._ Heritage, inheritance.
HERRADOR. _Span._ A blacksmith.
HIDALGO. _Span._ See FIDALGO.
HIGUERA. _Span._ A fig-tree.
HIJO. _Span._ A son. Lat. _filius_.
HINAI. _Arab._ Here.
HOK. _Rom._ Deceit, falsehood, fraud. _Hokka_, to lie; _hokkawar_, to
cheat. _Hokkano_, in Eng. Rom., a lie. P. ii. 160; A. 37; Pp. 317; M.
vii. 63. _Hokkano baro_, the great trick. See Z. i. 310; LL. 244; Lel.
352; Gr. 357.
HOMBRE. _Span._ HOMME. _Fr._ A man
HORCA. _Span._ The gallows.
HORNO. _Span._ Oven.
HOURIS. _Arab._ The women of the Moslem Paradise. Plural of the Arab,
_ḥawrá_ = black-eyed.
HSHEESH. _Arab._ I.e. _ḥashish_, a preparation of hemp.
HUÁJE. _Arab._ Things. _Huáje del Mselmeen_, more correctly, _ḥawāij
el Muslimīn_, things of the Moslems.
HUESO. _Span._ A bone.
HUNDUNAR, JUNDUNAR. _Rom._ A soldier. P. ii. 172; R. 294. J. gives
_jundo_, _jundonal_.
* * * * *
ICHASOA. _Basque_. The sea. The verse quoted by Borrow (ii. 118) more
accurately runs thus—
“Ichasoa urac handi.
(The iea—the water—large)
Eztu ondoric aguerri—
(There is not—any bottom—manifest)
Pasaco ninsaqueni andic
(To pass—I could be able—thence)
Maitea icustea gatic.”
(The beloved—the seeing, _i.e._ to see—for).
INFAMIA. _Span._ and _Port._ Infamy.
INFANTE. _Span._ and _Port._ Prince.
INGLATERRA. _Span._ England.
INGLES. _Span._ English. _Inglesito_! “My little Englishman!”
INQUISICION. _Span._ The Inquisition.
INSHALLAH. _Arab._ Please God!
INSTANCIA. _Span._ and _Port._ Instance, prosecution. See note, ii.
141.
* * * * *
JABADOR. Apparently a Hispanized form of the African Arabic _jabdali_ =
a gold-embroidered waistcoat.
JACA, or HACA. _Span._ A pony, or small riding horse.
JARA CANALLIS. _Rom._ The only authority I have succeeded in finding
for this word is Z. ii. * 61. “_Jaracañales_, guards, officers of the
revenue.” It may possibly be derived from the Bohemian gypsy _xáro_,
Hungarian _háro_ = sabre, and the Span._ canalla_, but I have no reason
to suppose that the word _xáro_ or _háro_ was known to the gypsies of
Spain.
JARGON. _Eng._ Originally a Fr. word, meaning any unintelligible sound,
as that of birds, then applied to the strange speech of the _Gueux_; and
so to any unknown tongue. Borrow himself says of the gypsies, “when
wishing to praise the proficiency of any individual in their tongue, they
are in the habit of saying, ‘He understands the seven jargons’” (Z. ii.
125). Frampton Boswell is recorded (G. i. 374) to have stated that
Romany was not one of “the seven languages,” “but,” adds Mr. Hinde
Groome, “what he meant thereby, goodness alone knows.” The historian
Mazaris (A.D. 1416) states that at that time the Peloponnesus was
inhabited by seven principal nations, one of which was that of the
Egyptians. These “Egyptians” are held by M. Bataillard to have been
gypsies (_ib._ iii. 154), and I would suggest that we have here the
origin of “the seven jargons.” The number seven seems to be in a special
way connected with the children of Roma. For other instances see Leland,
_English Gypsies_, p. 218; Gr. 171.
JAUN, JAUNA. _Basque_. Lord, the lord.
JAUNGVICOA. _Basque_. The Lord God. _Jaun_ = man, sir, lord; _Gincoa_
or _Jincoa_ = God.
JEHINNIM. _Arab._ and _Hebr._ Hell.
JENNUT. _Arab._ Paradise. Usually written, _jannat_.
JENTE. _Span._ See GENTE.
JIN. _Arab._ In classic English, _genie_ (Arabic and Persian _jinn_), a
class of spirits lower than the angels.
JOHÁR. _Arab._ A pearl.
JOJABAR, JONJABAR. _Rom._ To deceive. From _jojána_, deceit. See HOK.
JORGE, dimin. JORGITO. _Span._ George.
JOROBADO. _Span._ A hunchback. The verb _jorobar_ means “to worry.”
JUEZ. _Span._ A judge.
JUMAL. _Arab._ Friday. More correctly, _jum_‘_a_.
JUNTA. _Span._ and _Port._ An assembly, meeting, council, governing
body.
JUNTUNÓ. _Rom._ A listener, spy, sneak. From _junar_, _junelar_, to
listen. P. ii. 221; Pp. 497; M. viii. 75.
JUSTICIA. _Span._ A legal tribunal, or the magistrate or magistrates
who constitute it. _Absol_, justice.
* * * * *
KAFIR. _Arab._ Not a Moslem.
KANDRISA. According to Borrow, Turkish trousers. Possibly the same as
the African Arabic _ḳan dūra_ = long shirt, _toga talaris_.
KAPUL UDBAGH. According to Borrow = “There is no God but one.”
KAUK. _Hebr._ The furred cap of Jerusalem, according to Borrow. We may
perhaps compare _ḳūḳa_, stated by Redhouse in his _Turkish Diet_, to be a
peculiar plumed head-dress worn by field-officers of the Janissaries.
KAWAR. _Arab._ An uncommon word, meaning, no doubt, a cemetery, being a
corrupt form of _ḳabr_, a tomb.
KEBIR. _Arab._ Great.
KER, QUER. _Rom._ A house. P. ii. 153; Pp. 279; M. vii. 79; G. i. 178.
KERMOUS DEL INDE. _Arab._ A fruit; the prickly pear.
KISTUR, KESTER. _Rom._ To ride. P. ii. 122; SC. refer to _uklistó_,
Pp. 560; A. 14; M. viii. 89. Borrow derives it from the Wallachian
_keleri_. Perhaps from the Grk. κέλης.
KJÆMPE. _Scand._ A champion. Cf. “Kempion the kingis son” in the
ballad that bears his name.
KNAW. _Rom._ Now. P. ii. 124; Pp. 130; M. vii. 5.
KOSKO, KOOSHTO. _Rom._ Good. P. ii. 157. This is an Eng. Rom. word.
Continental gypsies use _latchó_, _mishtó_.
KYRIE. Grk. Κύριε, sir, my lord.
* * * * *
LABRADOR. _Span._ Cultivator, rustic, peasant. _Labrar_, to till the
ground.
LÁCHA. _Rom._ Maidenhead, virginity. Z. ii. 7; P. ii. 331; Pp. 325; M.
viii. 4.
LACHIPÉ. _Rom._ Silk. I cannot explain this word, unless it is
connected with the following.
LACHÓ, fem. LACHÍ. _Rom._ Good. P. ii. 329; A. 49; Pp. 328; M. viii.
4.
LADRÕES. _Port._ Plur. of _ladrão_, a thief. Lat. _latro_.
LALORÉ. _Rom._ The Portuguese. LALORÓ, the red land. Eng. Rom.
_Lotto_ (cf. _Jackanapes_, p. 28). P. i. 54, ii. 338; Pp. 328, 339; M.
viii. 8.
LAPURRAC. _Basque_. The thieves.
LARGO. _Port._ A square, or public place in a town.
LECTURA. _Span._ Reading.
LEN. _Rom._ A river. _Len baro_, the great river; _Wady al Kebir_, the
Guadalquivir. P. ii. 336; Pp. 333; M. viii. 6.
LEVANTARSE. _Span._ and _Port._ To raise one’s self, rise.
LE. _Span._ To him.
LI, LIL. _Rom._ Paper; a letter, passport, book. P. ii. 329, 339; A.
48; Pp. 334; M. viii. 7.
LIB. _Hebr._ Heart. More correctly, _leb_.
LICEO. _Span._ School, college.
LILIPENDI. _Rom._ A simpleton. Akin to LILÓ, _q.v._
LILÓ, fem. LILÍ. _Rom._ Foolish, mad. P. ii. 340.
LIMOSNA, dimin. LIMOSNITA. _Span._ Alms, charity.
LINDO. _Span._ and _Port._ Beautiful, pretty.
LIRI. _Rom._ Law. P. ii. 340.
LLAVERO. _Span._ Turnkey.
LOCO. _Span._ Mad.
LOMBO. _Port._ Loin.
LONDONÉ. _Rom._ An Englishman; lit. a Londoner. So B., but it is
probably plural. P. i. 54.
LONGANIZERO. _Span._ Sausage-maker.
LONTRA. _Port._ Otter. Span. _nutria_. “L” for “N” is characteristic.
LOOR. _Old Span._ Praise.
LUME. _Port._ Light.
LUMIA. _Rom._ A harlot. P. ii. 334; Pp. 342; M. viii. 9; G. i. 178.
* * * * *
MA. _Arab._ Not.
MACHO, MACHA. _Span._ A mule, male or female. Considering that, even
in Spanish, _macho_ did, and does, signify a male animal of any
kind—being an abbreviation of the Latin _masculus_—_macha_, a she-mule,
is rather a strange word!
MADRILATI. _Rom._ Madrid. Also _Adalí_, J. In thieves’ slang also
_Gao_ (= _gav_, a town), Z. ii. * 54. But H. gives _gao_ = _piojo_ (a
louse).
MAHA. _Sanscr._ Great. Persian _mih_.
MAHASNI, plur. MAKHASNIAH. _Arab._ Soldiers. More correctly, men of
the garrison; defenders.
MAI. _Port._ Mother.
MAILLA. _Rom._ A she-ass. P. ii. 454. Apparently only found in Eng.
Romany.
MAJARÓ. _Rom._ Holy. P. ii. 462.
MAJO, MAJA. Dandy; fancy man or girl. _Majo_, scarcely to be rendered
in any foreign language, is a word of more general signification than
_manolo_, q.v. The one is a dandy, or smart fellow, all over Spain; the
other is used only of a certain class in Madrid.
MAJOON. I cannot find this word, but it is apparently the name of some
intoxicating substance, and is probably connected with the Arabic
_majnūn_ = possessed by a _jinn_, mad.
MAKHIAH. _Arab._ Brandy made of figs. More correctly, _ma’iyya_.
MALO. _Span._ Bad, wicked.
MALVADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Malicious, evil disposed.
MAN. _Rom._ Me. P. i. 229; Pp. 66; M. xi. 22.
MANOLO. _Span._ _Manolo_ is a somewhat difficult word to translate. It
is applied to the flash or fancy man and his _manola_ in Madrid only; a
class fond of pleasure, of fine clothes, of bull-fights, and of sunshine,
with a code of honour of their own; men and women rather picturesque than
exemplary, and eminently racy of the soil.
MANRÓ. _Rom._ Bread or corn. Estremadura is thus called _Chim del
Manró_, “The Land of Corn.” P. ii. 440; Pp. 350; M. viii. 12. Given as
_marron_, G. i. 177.
MANTA. _Span._ and _Port._ A woollen blanket. _Á manta de Dios_ =
copiously. The word has nothing to do with the national _cloak_ of
Spain, which is _la capa_.
MANTILLA. _Span._ The characteristic headdress of Spanish ladies, of
black silk or lace, drawn over the back of the head and shoulders.
Dimin. of _manta_.
MAR. _Span._ and _Port._ Sea.
MARAVEDÍ. _Span._ A coin of various weights and values. See Burke’s
_History of Spain_, ii. 282.
MAREQUITA. _Span._ Dimin. of Maria.
MARIPOSA. _Span._ A butterfly; a night light.
MAS. _Span._ More.
MATADOR. _Span._ and _Port._ (1) A slayer, murderer. (2) The man who
kills the bull. See note, i. 170.
MATO. _Port._ A forest; or more exactly, a wild country, full of bushes
and thickets.
MAUGHRABIE. _Arab._ A Borrovian adaptation of the Arabic _Al Maghrib_,
the west, signifying Mauretania, or North-Western Africa.
MAYIM. _Hebr._ Waters.
MAYOR. _Span._ and _Port._ Greater.
MAYORDOMO. _Span._ and _Port._ House steward, or major-domo.
MEARRAH. _Hebr._ and _Arab._ Cemetery. Lit. a cave. Hebr. _m_‘_arah_,
Arab. _maghārah._
MECLIS, MEKLIS. _Eng. Rom._ Leave off! have done! “‘_Meklis_,’ said
Mrs. Chikno, ‘pray drop all that, sister’” (_The Romany Rye_, ch. v.).
P. ii. 112, 434; Pp. 369; M. viii. 19.
MEDICO. _Span._ and _Port._ A physician.
MEFORSHIM. _Hebr._ The commentators. More correctly, _m_’_fár_’_shim_.
MEIGA. _Port._ and _Gal._ A female sharper, fortune-teller, or
sorceress. The adjective _meigo_, in Spanish _mego_, has the
signification of gentle, kind, mild.
MELEGRANA. _Rom._ Granada. From the Ital. _melagrana_, a pomegranate;
Span. _granada_. See note, 375.
MENDI. _Basque_. A mountain. See note to Ingles Mendi, ii. 314.
MERCADO. _Span._ and _Port._ A market, or market-place.
MERCED. _Span._ (1) Favour, grace, mercy. (2) A day labourer’s pay, or
wages. (3) In combination, _vuestra merced_, your worship, your honour,
etc.; written V. or Vd. and pronounced _usted_.
MESUNA. _Rom._ A wayside inn, or _posada_, q.v. P. ii. 43, 463.
MEZQUITA. _Span._ A mosque.
MÍLA. _Irish_. A thousand.
MILAGRO. _Span._ A miracle.
MIN. _Rom._ My, mine. P. i. 237; Pp. 69; M. xi. 30.
MIN. _Arab._ From.
MIRAR. _Span._ To look.
MISERIA. _Span._ and _Port._ Misery, wretchedness; also niggardliness,
stinginess.
MODERADO. _Span._ and _Port._ Moderate. The name assumed by the more
royalist members of the _Cristino_ party. See i. 180.
MODO. _Span._ and _Port._ (1) Measure; (2) courtesy, urbanity. _V. no
tiene modo_, “You’ve got no manners.”
MOIDORE. _O. Eng._ Portuguese _moeda d’ouro_ = golden money, was a gold
piece of the value of about twenty-six shillings.
MONA. _Span._ and _Port._ A she-monkey.
MONRÓ. _Rom._ A friend; in thieves’ slang, an adult. Z. ii. 149; P.
ii. 453; M. viii. 18.
MONTANA. _Span._ A hill, mountain.
MONTE. _Span._ and _Port._ A hill, mountain.
MONTERA. _Span._ A hunting-cap, a Montero cap.
MONTERO. _Span._ A hunter; originally, a mountaineer.
MORO. _Span._ Moorish.
MOSTRADOR. _Span._ The counter, of a shop.
MOZO. _Span._ A youth, or lad; _moza_, a girl.
MSELMEEN. _Arab._ Moslems. See HUÁJE.
MUCHACHO, MUCHACHA. _Spn._ Boy; girl.
MUCHO. _Span._ Much.
MUGER, MUJER. _Span._ Woman; wife.
MUJIK, MUZHIK. _Russ._ A peasant. It may be added that their popular
song, “Come, let us cut the cabbage” (i. 175), is not, as might be
supposed, an exhortation to horticultural pursuits. “To cut the cabbage”
is a slang expression among the Slavs for killing a Turk, in allusion to
the green turbans worn by the descendants of the prophet.
MUK. _Rom._ Let, allow. See MECLIS.
MUNDO. _Span._ and _Port._ World.
MUSHEE. _Arab._ I.e. _ma_ = not, _shee_ = thing.
MUY. _Span._ Very, much.
* * * * *
NACIONAL. _Span._ and _Port._ A Nationalist; a member of the National
Guard.
NADA. _Span._ and _Port._ Nothing.
NAHI. _Rom._ Translated by Borrow, lost. If so, perhaps connected with
_najabar_, to lose. P. ii. 324; Pp. 381; M. viii. 23. Possibly,
however, it is only a negative = is not. P. i. 319; A. 70.
NAO. _Port._ Ship.
NARANGERO. _Span._ An orange-seller.
NAVA. _Span._ A plain.
NDUI. _Hebr._ A kind of hell, or purgatory, according to Borrow, who
puts the word into the mouth of his Lisbon Jews. It is, apparently, the
Hebr. _niddui_ = ban, excommunication.
NEFSKY. _Russ._ Of the Neva.
NEGRO. _Span._ and _Port._ (1) Black; (2) a negro, or African; (3) the
nickname given by the Basque Carlists to the _Cristinos_, or
Constitutionalists, 1833–1839.