_Hell-Rake_ (Vol. v., p. 162.).--The explanation given by J. SANSOM of
the Devonian use of the term _helling_ or _heleing_, signifying the roof
or covering of a church, corresponds to the Midland meaning of the word
_hilling_, _s._ bed-clothes or coverlet: "She has got no _hilling_ at
all." Ger. _Hüllen_, to wrap one's self up; Saxon, _hilan_. In
Warwickshire used for the covers of a book: "It is the _hilling_ which
makes it so expensive." _Hilled_, p. _hilled up_, _i.e._ covered with
bed-clothes. Leicestershire is particularly rich in quaint phrases and
proverbs.
In Leicestershire it is common for the wives of farmers to style their
husbands "the Master," and husbands to call their wives "Mamy;" and a
labourer will often distinguish his wife by the title of "the O'man."
There are people now living who remember the time when _Goody_ and
_Dame_, "Gaffer" and "Gammer," were in vogue among the peasantry.