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(delwedd D6569) (tudalen 00a)
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Rhan 1
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. IV.
London; J. Russell Smith, 36, Soho Square.
1871.
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(delwedd D6570) (tudalen 00b)
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Rhan 1
Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. Part I. By Elias Owen. 49.
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(delwedd D6571) (tudalen 49)
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49
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
The inhabitants of the eastern borders of Montgomeryshire, adjoining
Shropshire, and even so far up the valley of the Severn as Llanidloes, speak
a language which contains many archaisms, and their vocabulary contains words
peculiar to itself, and many also similar and germane to those of Lancashire,
South Scotland, and other provincial dialects in England. Offa’s Dyke, the
line of demarcation between Celt and Saxon for a thousand years, skirts the
boundary of the county passing into Shropshire, a little to the east of the
town of Montgomery; and in the north, it passes over the Llanymynech hills.
Following this dyke, we may hear on one side pure Saxon words, while on the
other Welsh is spoken. This is the case in the neighbourhood of Llanymynech,
but as we proceed south, in the direction of Welshpool and Montgomery,
English is now generally used. This preference on one side the boundary for
English, and on the other for Welsh, was very perceptible fifty years ago,
but at present Welsh appears to recede, and not only does the Welsh language
disappear from these parts, but the peculiar pronunciation, words, and
phrases once in common use, handed down from the time when Mercia was a
distinct kingdom, and its people distinguished from the other Saxon tribes by
their own shibboleths, are gradually dying out, and it is only in the
familiar conversations of the lower orders in the more secluded districts
that we can meet with a provincialism worth making a note of. Schools,
railways, and the cheap press are all at work,
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(delwedd D6572) (tudalen 50)
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50 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
and if these fast becoming obsolete words and expressions are to be
perpetuated, they can only be so by being collected and deposited in the
pages of such a publication as that issued by the Powys-Land Club. As a proof
that the language of the working people in Montgomeryshire is undergoing a
change, and that English is gradually usurping the supremacy, the writer will
relate an anecdote in which he himself figures. A good many years since I
wanted to pay a visit to a Roman mine on Llanymynech hills, but after a
fruitless ramble, I descended, to seek information, to a village, through
which the railway now runs, but then no iron horse frightened the drowsy kine
with his terrible puffings. I could not make the villagers understand what I was
in search of. But, after a time, one of them said, “Do you mean ogo-hole,
sir?” It turned out that that was what I wished to find. Here are two words,
meaning the same thing, joined together, and applied to the place which
formerly was known by the Welsh speaking population by the name of ‘yr ogof’
(the cave). The succeeding English speaking population not being aware that
ogof, or as it is usually pronounced in Welsh, ogo, was equivalent to the
word cave, added thereto the word hole. So, here we have a double
appellative, and from this circumstance we may infer that the people to whom
the word ogof was intelligible have been succeeded by a people to whom that
word conveys no idea, but to whom the word hole is familiar, that is, the
English language is now spoken where formerly Welsh was spoken. We meet with
similar appellatives in other parts of the country.
I shall, without any attempt at classification, select from my list of words
those that I think most striking, and make them the subject of an occasional
paper; I will not attempt, as a rule, to trace their derivation, for they
linger so disguised that it is difficult to ascertain their origin.
If a child wants his bread and butter, he asks for a piece. The same word is used in Philadelphia, as in the following
lines:
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(delwedd D6573) (tudalen 51)
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51 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
“And on the dresser you will find
At twelve o’clock your piece.
The piece was two nice corn-meal cakes.”
Notes and Queries, September 24th, 1870,
“What a nesh thing you are,” says
a mother to her shivering child, who rushes to the fire as soon as he can on
a cold winter’s morning. This word in the sense of delicate, tender, soft, is
the A.S. [Anglo-Saxon] nesc. This word is to be met with in Cheshire and
other parts.
To start is to oss. “Wen bin e
gween to oss?” says a countryman to his fellow-workman. “I be gween now, bin
e gween?” (going) “Iss” (yes) is the answer.
“Who cleped on me?” enquires a
discovered culprit, indignantly. In the Canterbury Tales Chaucer says of his
Prioress:
“And sche was clept Madame Englentyne.” — Prologue, 121.
That is, called. William de Swynderby, contemporary with Chaucer, likewise
uses the word in the sense of named or called. In the time of Shakespeare it
retained the same meaning. Hamlet says:
“They clepe us drunkards.” — Act I, scene 3.
The word at present signifies to blab, rather than to name. In Welsh we have
the word “clepian.”
A boy who plays truant is called a
micher, and playing truant is miching.
The word is similarly applied in Pennsylvania (see Notes and Queries, 4th S.
vi, 249).
Hamlet: Marry, this is miching mallecho; it means mischief. — Act III, scene
2.
The Shakspearian commentators are at variance as to the meaning of this
puzzling term. It is said to come from the Spanish, meaning concealed
mischief. That something of the kind is implied can be inferred from the
context. Miching we see is still a current word; but what of mallecho or malicho?
for it is given in both ways.
“O what a nawf!” exclaims a person
who has observed
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(delwedd D6574) (tudalen 52)
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52 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
or heard of another’s silly actions or words. It is occasionally pronounced
as an oaf; or, perhaps, the sound would be better represented by o.of, the
first o taking the sound of o in nor, and the second the sound of o in off.
It is nearly synonymous with soft, in the sense with which it is used in the
sentence, “What a soft you are,” but nawf does not carry with it the idea of
so great imbecility as soft. It conveys almost a sense of tenderness when
applied by a mother to her child. Every one tolerates the term nawf with a
good-natured smile, when the word soft, addressed to the same individual,
would to a certain degree raise his choler. “Gnoffe” is found in Chaucer.
“I dunna know where the hen lays, dust tee?” asks one servant to another. “I
binna sure, but I seed her in the talant,”
answers the other. Talant means hayloft.
There are several words in English which have lost the sense in which they
were formerly used. Starve is one
of these. A couple of centuries ago it was equivalent to cold. Milton applies
the epithet starved to a serenader, not in the sense of wanting food, but his
serenader is excessively cold from staying too long in the biting wind,
entertaining his lady-love with music and song. Now a starved person, in
England, is understood to be a famished person. The word is still used in its
original sense in Montgomeryshire. A lad running home says: “Mother, give me
a piece, for I am just clemmed, and do let me stand before the fire to eat
it, for I am just starved” Clemmed in the sense of wanting food is current in
Lancashire, and so is starved in its obsolete sense. In Welsh we have
“starvio.”
Gaw-bee, an uncouth rustic. The
term is applied commonly by the inhabitants of towns to country-folks. In
Notes and Queries, 4th S. iv, p. 72, is published a Lancashire song: “The
Country Gaby.” Mr. James Nicholson, in his introduction to the song, writes:
“For the benefit of those not well up in this dialect I may observe that
‘gaby’ is pronounced as if written “gawbee,” which is the exact pronunciation
of the word in Montgomeryshire. The country gaby says in the song:
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(delwedd D6575) (tudalen 53)
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ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 53
“I could manage ought in th’ working line.
But they made rare fun o’ some words o’ mine;
For I could not mon that talking fine,
I wur such a country gaby.^’
Sawnee, noodle, a silly person.
Both terms are used in much the same sense. They are epithets somewhat similar
in meaning to nawf. If a distinction were to be drawn between these two
words, perhaps noodle would imply a greater degree of intellectual incapacity
than sawnee. Nevertheless, nawf, gawbee, sawnee and noodle are all loosely
and promiscuously used. A person wishing to shew his disapprobation of
another’s doing, or wishing to persuade a friend from undertaking anything,
exclaims: “Oh! yo canna be such a nawf!” The surrounding company joins in one
with: “I never heerd of such a sawnee.” “What a noodle!” chimes in a third;
whilst a fourth positively affirms, that the man is a “gawbee.”
With a few observations on the pronunciation of certain words, I shall bring
this paper to a close.
Father is pronounced as if written,
fodder, a taking the soimd of a, in fare, and dd, the sound of th in
whether. This word, thus pronounced, is, both in meaning and sound, Saxon.
Are is pronounced so as to rhyme with fair, dare, etc., as in the following
stanzas:
“If ladies are
But young and fair
They have the gift to know it.”
and
“Touch a Welshman if you dare.
We the true-bom Britons are;
We held our country safe and sound,
Before you Saxons trod the ground.”
This word was so pronounced by the educated and upper classes in the last
century; and we occasionally meet with a distinguished septuagenarian who
adheres to this pronunciation.
Calf is pronounced as if written cave; another version
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(delwedd D6576) (tudalen 54)
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54 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE,
of this word is cauve. The writer
is acquainted with a lad, who when reading the eleventh chapter of St. John,
upon coming to the words, “It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it,” supposed
that the whole narrative given in that chapter was a silly hoax, and it was
not without explanation that he perceived that the misapprehension was caused
by an unfashionable pronunciation.
Elias Owen.
Llanllechid, Carnarvonshire.
(To be continved.)
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(delwedd D6577) (tudalen 000a)
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Rhan 2
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. IV.
London; J. Russell Smith, 36, Soho Square.
1871.
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(delwedd D6578) (tudalen 000b)
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Rhan 2
Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. Part I. By Elias Owen. 433.
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(delwedd D6579) (tudalen 433)
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Rhan 2
433 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
No. II.
A SINGULAR peculiarity in the dialect of Montgomeryshire is the frequent use
of the letter n as a final letter. This peculiarity was at one time not so
exclusively confined to the borders of Wales as at present. Dr. Guest, in his
History of English Rhythms, referring to the Brut of Layamon, says: — “The
language of Layamon may perhaps (at least in substance) be considered as a
dialect spoken in south Gloucestershire during the twelfth century. One of
its stiiking peculiarities is its nunnation — many words end in n which are
strangers to that letter, not only in the Anglo-Saxon, but in all the later
dialects of our language.” Although it is now believed that the dialect of
Layamon is not that of Gloucestershire, but that of the adjoining county,
Worcestershire, the fact remains that a considerable portion of the west of
England some six centuries ago made much more extensive use of n as a
terminal letter than in our days. It appears, however, from Sir Frederic
Madden’s introductory remarks upon the language of Layamon’s Brut, that the
nunnation which characterised the original Brut was discontinued in the later
text of Layamon. He states, referring thereto, that “the n final is generally
elided even in regular forms, and therefore we should hardly expect to find
in it any instance of nunnation.” Whether this elision was for the purpose of
making the later issue agree with the then current language of
Worcestershire, or
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(delwedd D6580) (tudalen 434)
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Rhan 2
434 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
whether the nunnation was avoided for some other reason, such as to suit
readers of other parts of the kingdom where this peculiarity did not prevail,
is a matter of not much moment. It is, however, highly interesting to notice,
that this partiality for n terminations, so characteristic of the older text
of the Brut of Layamon, still lingers in Montgomeryshire. Thus we have liken,
for like, as in the sentence, “Do as yo liken;” plasen, for please; maden,
for made; weren, for were; weran, for where have; gween, for going; housen,
for houses; hosen, for stockings, as the plural for hose. This word was in
common use when the authorised version of the Bible was published, as may be
inferred from its appearance in the following verse: —
“Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen and their hats.” —
Daniel, ch. iii, v. 21.
Hosan m the Welsh for stocking, or hose. Bin is used instead of are; as “Bin
e there” (are you there). Chaucer says: —
“The greatest clerkes ben not the wysest men.”
Seen is occasionally heard doing service for saw. This use of the perfect
participle for the past tense is, however, not very prevalent in
Montgomeryshire. Its locality is more to the east, being common in
Staffordshire, and other English counties.
Seed is the word which takes the place of the past tense of the verb to see,
both in Montgomeryshire and Shropshire, and this word is generally heard even
among farmers and tradesmen. Towards the end of July, 1869, the following
paragraph went the round of the papers. “A jury at the Montgomeryshire
Quarter Sessions found a tramp guilty of theft, but at the same time
recommended the man to mercy. ‘On what ground?’ asked the chairman. The
foreman replied, first, that he did not know; but, after a lengthy conference
with his brother jurymen, he thus seriously delivered himself before a
laughing court. ‘We recom-
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(delwedd D6581) (tudalen 435)
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Rhan 2
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE 435
mend him to mercy because no one seed him commit the crime.’”
Words ending in d preceded by oun are pronou[n]ced as if they ended with n;
bound becomes boun; hound, houn; sound, soun, etc. This elision of d may be
traced in Chaucer: —
“Thou wottest well that speech is soun,
Or elles no man might it hear.”
Send is not unfrequently pronounced as if written sen; and the third person singular,
present tense of this verb, becomes sens; as “John sens Tom,” for “John sends
Tom.” Both sen and sens are current in certain parts of Scotland. The d in
“and” is not generally sounded.
The possessive pronoun ours becomes ourn, his, hisn; but this latter term is
not by any means confined to the borders of Wales, as the following well
known lines will testify: —
“He that prigs what isn’t hisn,
When he’s cotched will go to prison.”‘
In words of more than one syllable ending in ing, the letters ng, which
represent a simple single elementary sound, as in the word king, are
generally pronounced as the letter n; thus, loving becomes lovin, etc. This,
however, is a vulgarism which may be heard in almost every part of the
kingdom.
Another peculiarity is the tendency to make past tenses end in d. Thus we
hear bringd, for brought; shewd, for shewn; knowd, for knew; sawd, for sawn,
the perfect participle of the verb to saw; sawd, for saw, the past tense of
the verb to see; ketched, for caught, etc. This peculiarity is not confined
to Wales. In the Tichbome case, the claimant, in describing an accident
supposed to be a link in his identification, says: —
“A hook ketehed me in the eye.”
Standard, Thursday, June 1, 1871.
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(delwedd D6582) (tudalen 436)
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Rhan 2
436 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
In forming past tenses, the working people reason from analogy, and hence
their blunder.
Having said thus much upon certain peculiarities of the Montgomeryshire
dialect, I will now proceed with the list of words used in the country.
Conster, to argue with a
considerable amount of warmth; or, rather, the word is applied to the twaddle
and ebullition of temper which takes the place of reason when an opponent has
the best of the argument. The word is generally used in connection with
female bickerings. “She would conster with me,” is an apologetic remark for a
reciprocity of abuse. In Welsh we have the word constro, which, however, is
not found in the dictionaries. This word is current in Camarvonahire, in the
sense of to pry about, or to search with perturbation of mind.
Clampers, a derisive term for
finery, useless, or ornamental fumitiure. I once heard a person, when describing
a house which he had visited, say: — “There was a piano there, a harp, and
all such clampers.” A mother says to her child, when amusing itself with its
playthings, “Put those clampers away,” meaning, thereby, the little one s
toys.
Couse, to drive or course away.
“Couse the pig from the yard.”
Rap, to exchange. “I’ll rap with
yo.”
Raps, news. “I heerd such raps.”
Azings, the drops of rain which
fall from roofs during, but particularly after, a shower of rain. “Does it
rain?” “No, but the azings are dropping.”
Aizing, sauntering about. “What
are you aizing about for?”
Gallas, frolicsome. This word is
given in Mr. Hartshome’s Salopia Antiqua as being common in Shropshire, but
there it seems to have a dfierent sense to what it has in the adjoining
county, Montgomeryshire. Mr. Hartshome makes the following remark thereon: —
“Gallows, gallous, adj., applied to a person who, by bad conduct, stands a
fair chance of reaching one. Ex. “He’s an onlucky gallous dog.” —
Hartshorne’s Saiopia Antiqua, p. 439.
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(delwedd D6583) (tudalen 437)
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OF MONTGOMEBTSHIRE. 437
Edder, or nedder, an adder. The dd has the sound of th in “whether.” The
word is usually pronounced nedder when preceded by an a; as, “I seed a
nedder,* not “an edder” When the article a, or an, does not come before, the
n does not appear. This seems to have been the case when Piers the Ploughman
wrote: —
“Each a werd that he warp
Was of a nedders tongne. ‘ — Piers Ploughman. Each word that he uttered
Was of an adder’s tongue.
Upon referring to Mr. Hartshome’s Glossary, I find edder, ether, is the word
for an adder, or any kind of snake, in Shropshire.
Wool, for will “Wool yo do this”—
“Will you do this?” Wol for will appears in Chaucer.
“We wol meddle (intermix) us each in other.”
Chaucer’s House of Fame.
Meddle is often heard, but in the
lapse of time it has undergone a change in meaning, but this change is not
very great. It still has the notion of to touch, to interfere officiously
with. “Dunna meddle with that knife.” “Dunna meddle with other people’s
business.” As applied in the last sentence, meddle has pretty nearly the
sense which it had when Chaucer lived.
Slither, a slide. “There are fine
slithers on that pool”;
Slither, v. to slide.
Shrode, fierce, savage. A term
applied to a vicious bull.
Shettance, riddance. “She’s gone,
and good shettance too.”
Gad, to walk lazily about. This
Biblical word is gradually dying out.
“Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way?”
Jeremiah, chap, ii, v. 36.
Gad is applied to a person who saunters about, not because he has nothing to
do, but because he has enough to do, but no inclination to do it.
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(delwedd D6584) (tudalen 438)
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Rhan 2
438 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Tack, a taint. “There’s a tack on
the butter.”
Sken, to pry about.
Clout, worn out clothes that are
torn up for other purposes, rags.
“Ebed-melech . . . took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let
them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.” — Jeremiah, chap, xxxviii,
v, 11.
“A clout upon that head.” — Hamlet, act ii, sc. ii.
An expression similar to this in Hamlet is still common, and is derived
probably from the custom at one time all but universal, of wrapping the heads
of infants with various bands to help nature in properly forming the head.
“Go home, put a clout upon thy head and go to bed,” may be often heard, and
implies that the person to whom the advice is given has a head not properly
developed.
Clout, a blow. “Give him a clout
in th’ face.”
“Did Sandy hear ye.
Ye wadna miss to get a clout”
Ritson’s English Songs, vol. i, p. 183. 1
Clout, to patch. “Clout these
shoes.”
“The inhabitants of Gibeon .... did work wilily .... and took sacks upon
their asses . . . and old shoes and clouted upon their feet.” — Joshua, chap,
ix, v. 4, 5.
Clout, to strike. “Clout him in
the face.”
“Baxter lads hae sealed a vow.
To skelp and clout the guard.” — Fergusson’s Poems. 1
The word clout in the sense of to patch, may have been derived from the Welsh
word clwt, a piece; and likewise clout, a blow, from the Welsh clewtan, a
blow.
Lout, a dunce, a silly person. “What
a lout of a boy.”
Dout, do out, to put a light out,
to extinguish. “Dout the candle.”
In “Hamlet,” act iv, sc. 7, Laertes says: —
1 Taken from Salopia Antigua, p. 363, where other examples may be seen.
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Rhan 2
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 439
“Adieu, my Lord;
I have a speech of fire that fain would blaze,
But that this folly douts it.”
Snive, to swarm or crowd. “What a
snive of bees.’” To be brainsick, to be irrational, to rave, to be delirious.
“Lady M. “Why, worthy Thane,
You do unbend your noble strength, to think
So brainsickly of things.” — Macbeth, act ii, sc. 2.
Brave, out-spoken Latimer, in a sermon preached before Edward VI at
Westminster, 22nd March, 1549, exclaims: —
“Ye braynsycke fooles.”
Drab, a prostitute. A term of
reproach upon women, formerly implying an unchaste woman. “Go to the house,
you drab.”
“Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, quarrelling drabbing, — you may go so
far,” — Hamlet, act ii, sc. 1.
“I would rather be known for the spurious issue of a highwayman,
ditch-delivered of a drab.”
Sir P. Francis,. Notes and Queries, July 1871, p. 4.
Rip, a rough uncouth woman.
Crowner, a coroner.
“The crowner hath set on her, and finds it Christian burial.”
Hamlet, act v, sc. 1.
Quest, inquest.
“Ay, marry is’t; crowner’s quest law.” — Hamlet, act v, sc. 1.
Lungous, a cruel vindictive
person. “Did you ever
see such a lungous man, he kicked the other man on the ground, bit him, and
no one could make him be quiet.”
Clip, to embrace by encircling the
neck with the arms.
“You elements that clijp us round about.”
Othello, act iii, sc. 3.
“O, let me clip you in arms as sound.”
Coriolanus, act i, sc. 6.
Great, intimate, familiar,
friendly. “They are very
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(delwedd D6586) (tudalen 440)
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440 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHKASES, ETC.
great,” that is, they are very great friends. This word in the sense of
intimate is current in other Welsh counties and in Scotland. Mr. Hartshome,
remarking thereon, says that it is “a word now chiefly confined to the
vocabulary of schoolboys, though formerly in higher circulation.” A remark
which does not hold good with regard to Montgomeryshire, where great has
still a large circulation amongst adults and children, but by-and-bye it may
come to the schoolboy stage, and then finally disappear.
Stut, to stammer.
Nec, to pelt. “He is necking the
ducks,” that is, throwing stones at them with the intention of knocking them.
Nec, the word used when calling
young pigs together to feed them.
Plug, to pull, possibly a
corruption of pluck. “A fish plugs the hook.” “I saw four horses plugging a
wagon.”
Lazing, gleaning. “Mother is
lazing in yonder field.”
Fretchet, peevish, irritable. The
word is chiefly used in reference to babies and children.
Reeve, to corrugate, as to reeve
the forehead.
Fiddy-faddy, adj. Always at work
but never finishing anything. A fiddy-faddy man is a fussy man.
Sloven, slanney, flommucky.
These words have much the same meaning in ordinary conversation, and as might
be expected, are often used one for the other. It is diflicult, if possible,
to define so as to clearly shew the different shades of meaning which each
word has or was intended to convey. They all carry with them the idea of
untidiness. Perhaps, though, the first word refers more immediately to women
who are untidy in dress or person; the second and third to those who lack
order in their household affairs; but this distinction is certainly not made
by the persons who use these words. Elias Owen.
(To he continued.)
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(delwedd D6587) (tudalen 000a)
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Rhan 3
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. V.
London; J. Russell Smith, 36, Soho Square.
1872.
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(delwedd D6588) (tudalen 000b)
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Rhan 3
Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. Part III. By Rev. Elias
Owen. 199.
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(delwedd D6589) (tudalen 199)
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Rhan 3
199
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF
MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
By REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. III.
THERE are two words which are used instead of the comparative conjunction
than, viz, nor and then; but these two words cannot be
said to be current in the same parts of the county. In the southern part, in
the neighbourhood of the Severn, nor is in general use, but in the northern
parts then is more prevalent. Thus, in such expressions as “I am taller than
John,” we meet with the following forms: “I am taller nor John,” and I am
taller then John,” and these words are employed to the exclusion of than. Then,
as in present use in Montgomeryshire, seems to have been so used in the time
of Queen Elizabeth, as may be seen from the following lines
“And sternely bad him other business plie
Then hunt the steps of pure unspotted maid.” Faerie Queene, c. ii, 46.
Anungst, opposite. “He planted the
tree anungst the door,” i.e., opposite the door. Anungst is pronounced so as
to rhyme with amongst
Agen, against, by. “I’ll do it
agen yo come home.”
Ax, to ask. This word is often met
with in early English writers.
Begum, an interjectional
exprecion. When a person’s attention is called to a certain object some
distance off, he exclaims, “Begum, I see it.”
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200
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Bust, to burst. A rather common
vulgarism. In the Tichborne cnse the claimant says
“The biscuits were all spread about the place. The bag had busted.”
—Standard, June 1, 1871.
Bruck, a brook.
Bledder, a bladder. The dd taking
the sound of th in whether.
Brat, the pinafore worn by
children.
Brat, a child. “Go away, you
little brat.”
Belluck, to cry audibly, to roar.
“That child is always bellucking,” that is, always crying. “That bull is
bellucking at summat,” that is, bellowing at something. This word, with a
slight difference in sound, is common in Shropshire. Mr. Hartshorne, in his
Salopia Antiqua, gives the following forms of word: “Bellock, bullock, and
bluckn, the last pronounced very short,” neither of which agrees entirely
with the belluck of Montgomeryshire. The various shades of difference
observable in the pronunciation of this word in two neighbouring counties
show how easily words become corrupted when not protected by a written
language.
Crabbit, saucy, sharp-tongued.
Causey. The pavement on the side
of streets is called the causey, a corruption of cause-way. An English
sea-captain, writing about one hundred and twenty years ago of the chief town
of New Spain, says that the streets are wide and well paved, and run at right
angles to one another,” and that “there are five causeys running through the
gate into the city.”
Collow, soot. “There is collow on
yor face.” “Iss I dare say, I snuffed the candle with my finger just now. “
Cooch, and crool, to squat A partridge when frightened is said to cooch, and
children, when playing hide-and-geek, cooch, or crouch, behind any object
which they suppose to be well adapted for hiding them from their pursuers.
Chickens, when nestling themselves under the hen’s breast, are said “to cooch
under
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
201
her wings.” Crool likewise means to squat, but to squat from excessive cold.
Cocket, pert, swaggering, easily
offended. What a cocket lad that is.”
Cockrell, a cock. “That cockrell
crows every night; someone is sure to die.”
Dock, to do of, to deprive, to
lessen, to disappoint.
Douck, to dip into water.
Children, when bathing, are said “to douck over their head and ears.” The
water ouzel (cinclus aquaticus) in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes goes by
the name of the white-breast-doucker, a descriptive and expressive name, as
this bird may frequently be seen dropping itself into the river in pursuit of
its prey.
Drench, to draw clothes through
the water, to get wet. “I got sich a drenching yesterday, it rained all day
long.” In Wiclif’s Bible we read
“His chosen princes weren drenched in the reed see.”
Exodus, ch. xv.
Daggles, the spots of dirt thrown
up when walking. “Yo have daggled your trowsers all over.”
Daggling, drizzling. “It is
oncommon daggling this morning “is an expression which may be heard when a
drizzling rain is falling.
Emer, emest, nearer, nearest.
“This way is emer,” or “this is the emest way.”
Farrow, a litter of pigs.
Farrowing, the bringing forth of young pigs.
“Pour in sow’s blood that hath eaten her nine farrow.”
Macbeth, act iv, sc. l.
Fould, a farm-yard, or other
enclosure attached to a house or building. Probably a corruption of fold.
Fuddle, spree. “He is on the
fuddle,” that is, he is on for a spree by drinking himself drunk in a
public-house. This word is current in Lancashire.
“And almost made us fuddled (drunk) with drinking the Prince’s health.”
Grindle-stone, a grindstone.
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
Gobbler, a person who swallows his
food greedily in large pieces, from gob, the mouth. The verb to gobble, from
the same root, is common. These words were once in more general use than at
present.
“And that more wondrous was, in either jaw
Three ranckes of yron teeth enraunged were,
In which yet trickling blood and gobbets raw
Of late devoured bodies disappeare.”
Faerie Queene, c. xi, 13,
Giggle, to titter. This word is
common in Cornwall, Cheshire, Montgomeryshire, and most probably in other
parts. A person who laughs at what is best known to himself, when apparently
there is no cause even for a smile, and whose manners and conversation are
light and foolish, is called a giggler, in strict accordance with the
derivation of the word, Welsh, gêg; A.-Saxon,
gegas, gegas-spræc, nugatorius sermo.
Kit, a stye; as “a pig’s kit,”the
calves’ kit.”
Moither, moider, to bewilder, from
the Welsh word byddaru, to deafen, to stun.
Openayment. The exact meaning of
this word I am unable to give. I have heard of its having been applied under
the following circumstances. A young girl was to be married, and had entered
the church with her intended husband, when the mother opposed the marriage in
the following words, “My daughter is under age, and openayment to the world.”
In pronouncing the word both a and y are sounded, but very rapidly, the a
taking the sound of a in fate. I have heard that the term openayment is
applied to a dilapidated building, through the roof of which the sky can be
seen.
Owlert, the owl.
Pilk, a minnow.
Pitching, a pavement. Roads or
streets that are paved are said to be pitched. A woman describing a portion
of the Roman road that runs through the ground belonging to Caersws Church,
told me that it was pitched, that is, paved with stones.
(To be continued.)
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243 ARCHAIC WORDS,
PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. IV.
AFTER the appearance of my last instalment of words, I received a letter from
my friend the Rev. R. Harries Jones, M.A., vicar of Llanidloes, calling my
attention to the fact that the words I had given as provincialisms of
Montgomeryshire were likewise common in Lancashire. I have no doubt though I
have not the means of verifying what I now advance that all, or nearly all,
the words current in Montgomeryshire are likewise to be heard, though
slightly changed, perhaps, in Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmorland, Cumberland,
Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, and Wigton, or that they are co-extensive with the
limits of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde. I am aware that several of the
words which I have given in my lists are likewise to be found in various
parts of England, and they may be considered as the lingering remains of a
language spoken by a people having a common origin. I believe it was a fancy
of Iolo Morganwg’s that all the words ever spoken in England and Wales by the
inhabitants thereof might still be discovered amongst the people.
But to return to Mr. Jones’s letter. It is certainly singular that the
dialects of Lancashire and Montgomeryshire should at the present day resemble
each other so strongly. We have only to take Tim Bobbin, and open any page,
and we shall find that these dialects are substantially one. The following
sentence
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244 ARCHAIC
WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
will serve as an illustration: “Well, on if I dunnaw try thee, titter or
latter, ittle be o marvel.” Dunnaw, in Montgomeryshire becomes dunna; ittle
(it will) is the same in both counties. The above quotation will likewise
serve to show certain points of dissimilarities between the speech of both
counties. I may, however, say, that a Montgomeryshire man would immediately
understand the extract just given when spoken by a Lancashire man. The points
of difference are, that on for and, and o for a, become respectively in
Montgomeryshire an and a; and titter and latter, above used, are not to be
met with in Montgomeryshire. It seems, though, that an for and is not
uncommon even in Tim Bobbin. I find therein such expressions as the
following, “An I con tell thee.” In agreement with the contraction ittle we
have thattle (that will) in both counties. The points of resemblance, though,
are really so many that a paper might be written thereon, and perhaps in some
future number of the Montgomeryshire Collections such a paper from the pen of
one who has resided in both counties, and who is highly qualified for such an
undertaking, will appear.
Affront, to offend. “I affronted
him unknowns” (I offended him unwittingly).
“Good my liege,
Your preparation can affront no less Than what you hear of.”
Cymbeline, act iv, scene 3.
Commonly, affront signified confront, face. In this latter sense it is used
in Hamlet.
“That he, as ‘twere by accident, may here affront Ophelia.”
Hamlet, act iii, scene 1.
And in the same sense it is used by Milton.
“And with their darkness durst affront his light.”
Paradise Lost, book i, 391.
It appears, from Shakspere’s unsteady use of the
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OF
MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 245
word, that it was in his time employed in the double sense of to offend and
to confront. Piers Plowman uses the word in the sense of to offend. In Montgomeryshire
it always carries the meaning which I have given above.
Aukurt, awkward. “He has an
uncommon aukurt gait” Perhaps oc-kerd represents the sound of this word
better than aukurt.
Affeerd, afraid.
Afore, before. Occasionally this
word is shortened into ‘fore. “I can do it ‘fore thee.”
Bytak, a small farm, generally
held with a larger one by the same tenant. The bytak usually consists of a
few acres of ground with a hovel thereon. The word is common in
Welsh-speaking counties, as well as in the English-speaking parts of
Montgomeryshire.
Backstone, an iron pan upon which
oatmeal and other cakes are baked. A backstone cake is one which has been
baked upon this kind of pan.
Blows, blossoms. The flowers of
all plants are called blows. “The wind has blown the apple blows all about.”
Cruds, curds. The transposition of
letters is not uncommon.
Cheer, chair. The long sound of e
is often used instead of the long sound of a; as breek for brake. “Take care
that yo dunna breek it.” Great, becomes greet; and there, theer, etc.
Chop, to remove a thing from one
place to another quickly. “Chop the beesom by the pump and drive the pig out
of the garden in a minute.” “Chop yo’r top coat on and run after him.”
Crack, a bad tempered person.
“He’s a reg’lar crack, hee’d jest as lief strike yo as no.”
Childern, children. Another
instance of transposition of letters; or, perhaps, the word should be
childer, the plural of Anglo-Saxon did.
Clicket, the latch of a door. The
word clicket seems to be derived from the Welsh word clicied, a door-latch.
Clicket is common in Shropshire.
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246 ARCHAIC
WOKDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Canna and conna are both to be met with as contractions of can not. Canna
is current in those parts of the county where Welsh is not extinct; and conna
in English-speaking parishes, particularly along the borders of Shropshire
and Montgomeryshire.
Choked, to be excessively thirsty.
“I’m jest choked, do give me a drop of water to drink.”
Camp, a trial of strength, a feat.
When a person does an act which he supposes another cannot do, he challenges
him to attempt the same in the following words: “There’s a camp for you.” The
word camp is Welsh, in which language it means a contest, a game, a trick, a
feat, a qualification. The twenty-four games of the Welsh were called campau;
as, gwrawl gampau (manly feats or qualifications), mabawl gampau (boyish feats),
gogampau (inferior feats). Camp, in the sense of a friendly contest of
rivalry, is still used by the English speaking people of Montgomeryshire.
Even when no trial of strength takes place, it is employed as a term of
admiration of a person’s achievements. It appears from several writers in
Notes and Queries, that campe, kempe, or kemp is common in the county of
Londonderry, Norfolk, Northumberland, etc. I cannot say whether any of these
writers are aware of the existence of the word in Welsh. The derivation of
kemp has been discussed in Notes and Queries (4th series, viii, 264, 357,
444, and in ix, 119). The Rev. W. W. Skeat, M.A., Cambridge, traces the word
through several European languages, and suggests that it is of Scandanavian
origin. The following is Mr. Skeat’s note: “Kemp. This word presents no
difficulty, being simply the A. S. camp, Du. kamp, Ger. kampf, a fight, a
contest. The spelling (with an e) suggests that it is, however, of
Scandinavian origin; cf. Sw. kampe, Dan. koempe, A.S. cempa, a fighter;
whence, through the French, the English word, champion. The Icelandic has
kapp, strife; kappi, a champion. The Cleveland word kemp, to contend, is duly
entered in Atkinson’s Glossary of the Cleveland Dialect,
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OF
MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 247
One writer in Notes and Queries says that kemp is a common Scotch word. It
has a singularly extensive currency, being found in England, Wales, Scotland,
Ireland, and the northern parts of Europe.
Chuck, to throw.
Dither, to shake. Applied to the
chattering of the teeth, or shaking of the body from excessive cold.
Daunt, to dishearten.
Duff, dough. The word dough is
pronounced so as to rhyme with gruff, and not as if it rhymed with glow.
Del, deal. “A greet del more nor
that.”
Enow, enough.
Ess, coal, peat, or wood ashes.
Fiss, pl. fisses, fist, fists.
Gylan, cylan, the bank of a river.
“He fell over the gylan into the river.”
Hadlan, headland, that part of
ploughed fields nearest the hedges. The breadth of the hadlan is a little
greater than the length of a horse, measuring from the hedge. It is the space
required for the turning of the horses at the end of the furrows.
Hush, pronounced hoosh, to push.
Hafe, half.
Hod, hog, a hole in the ground
into which potatoes are stowed during the winter. Hodding potatoes is
covering them over with earth for winter keep.
Mace, acorn.
Mase, p[resent]. tense of the verb
to make. “It mase no matter” (it makes no difference).
Pikgrate, the grate on the top of
the ash-hole of a kitchen fireplace.
Piclates, pikelets, a kind of
tea-cake, baked on a pan and considered as a dainty.
Proffer, to offer.
Pluckin, a twitching; as in St.
Vitus’s dance.
Prodigal, proud.
Ratlin, the smallest or last pig
in a litter.
Souse, to wet, to dip often in the
water.
“Oft soust in swelling Tetley’s saltish teare.”
Faerie Queene, canto iii, 31.
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248
ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC.
Souse, to strike. In the Lincoln Rebellion (1536), to prevent the suppression
of monasteries, a Welsh monk “wished he had the king (Henry VIII) on Snowdon,
that he might souse his head against the stones.” This word, in the sense of
a smart blow, is current in Shropshire.
Solar, an upstairs room, the room
in a house above the first floor.
Stall, to be exhausted, to come to
a stand from over exertion. “That horse is stalled on the steep.”
Steep, a rising piece of ground,
an incline.
Skip, a glance. “I saw it all at a
skip.”
Steel, stall, the haft of a knife,
the handle of a whip.
Trouse. The stems of the potato
plant are so called in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes; but about Caersws,
eight miles from Llanidloes, potato stems are called rice, whilst the
brushings cut off hedges are called in and about Caersws, trouse.
Tot, a very small jug. “Mother
sent me for a totful of milk.”
Willow, to search carefully. I
willowed everywhere for it, but cudna fine it.” Perhaps this word is a
corruption of the Welsh word chwilio, to search. I have noticed that the
Welsh-speaking inhabitants of the southern parts of the county omit the
letter ch when an initial; thus, chwech (six) becomes wech, and, in
accordance with this rule, chwilio would become wilio, and the conversion of
wilio into willo, willow, would thence easily follow.
Whisket, a basket. A word which is
common in Lancashire; as “He whoast (heaved) his whisket oer’t.” Tim Bobbin.
Witherwathering, undecided,
changeable; sometimes inclining to one opinion and then recoiling therefrom,
veering from one extreme to another, in an unsettled agitated state of mind.
(To be continued.)
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Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. VII.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1874.
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Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. By the Rev. Elias Owen,
B.A. No. v. 116.
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC, OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
By the Rev. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. V.
A WRITER in the “Bye.gones” column of the Advertiser, for October 22nd, 1873,
calls attention to my glossary of Montgomeryyhire Words, for the purpose of
eliciting from me an answer to query, which I shall give in his own words. I
had intended answering “Chatterton’s” question in the Oswestry Advertiser, but
upon reconsideration thought that since “Chatterton” is a reader of the
Powys-land Club publication, his question had better be answered in the
periodical in which the list of words appeared, that is, in the
Montgomeryshire Collections.
Chatterton’s communication is as follows: - “I observe that on pp. 243-8 of
the new number of Montgomeryshire Collections, the Rev. E. Owen continues his
glossary of words. It would appear that the Rev. Harries of Llanidloes, has
taken exception to some in the previous lists, as ‘common in Lancashire.’ ‘
Mr. Owen admits this, and replies, ‘that all, or nearly all, the words
current in Montgomeryshire are likewise to be heard, though slightly changed
perhaps, in Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright,
and Wigton,’ and he believes they are ‘co-extensive with the limits of the
ancient kingdom of Strathclyde.’ Now these words are generally Saxon, or at
any rate of Teutonic origin. The language of the
1 Continued from vol. vi, p. 248
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
inhabitants of this ancient kingdom of Strathclyde, if there was such a
kingdom, is said to have Welsh How does he reconcile these?”
The writer of the foregoing remarks doubts the existence of the kingdom; so I
had better at once give my authority for believing that there wu such a
kingdom.
Under the year A.D. 924, I find in the Anglo-Sazon Chronicle the following
entry; “This year Edward was chosen for father and for lord by the king of
the Scots, and by the Scots, and king Reginald, and by all the Northumbrians,
and also the king of the Strath-clyde Britons, and by all the Strath-clyde
Britons.”
It appears, therefore, from this quotation, that there was an ancient kingdom
of Britons known to the Saxons by the very name which I applied to them in my
last paper. And the following extracts from Brut y Tywysogion will prove, I
think, that the Welsh knew of the existence of this kingdom, as well as the
Saxons, and furthermore, claimed affinity thereto.
In Brut y Tyvysogion we are informed, under the year A.D. 890, that: “The men
of Strath-clyde, who not unite with the Saxons, were obliged to leave their
country and go to Gwynedd.”
Again, A.D. 943 “The same year Strath-clyde was devastated by the Saxons, who
killed all they could find in their way of the Britons belonging thereto.”
So much upon this point. I will now proceed to “Chatterton’s” query. He
wishes me to reconcile the fact that the words in my glossary are generally
of Saxon origin, with the fact that the language of the inhabitants of the
ancient kingdom of Strathclyde was Welsh. To this I will say, that in the
fusion of two races speaking different languages, and botth, at the time the
amalgamation takes place, in a low state of civilisation, the language of the
more numerous race; or, at least, predominate over it to such a degree that
the speech the mixed race, while maintaining evident
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 119
traces of the superseded language, will be chiefly made up of the words of the
language of the tribe superior to the other in numbers. This appears to have
been the case in Lancashire, Cumberland, and the southern parts of Scotland.
But it is not in the number of words only, evidently derived from the Welsh.
to met with in those parts, but also in the intonation and general manner of
speaking of the inhabitants, that we discover traces of the influence of
Welsh upon the language of those places. Processes analogous to what I have
described are now taking place in Wales, particularly in Montgomeryshire. It
is true, we find in Montgomeryshire a great number of words of Saxon origin
which are of necessity heard in other parts of the kingdom, but we hear
likewise a certain number of metamorphosed Welsh words which are not heard in
England. This is also the case in Lancashire, where there are a good many
Welsh-like words which are not understood m the rest of England, and the same
can be said of Westmoreland, Cumberland, etc. I look upon Lancashire, and the
other counties I have named, as somewhat similar to Montgomeryshire, each
having a substratum of Welsh underneath a heavy deposit of English, and
hence, probably the similarity of the provincialisms of these counties.
For the of throwing light uopn what I have just advanced, I will give a brief
history of the of the Saxons in the kingdom of Strathclyde, which kingdom
extended from Chester to the valley of the Clyde.
From Bede, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, we learn that in the first decade
of the seventh century, Æthelfrith struck at Chester, which he burnt and
destroyed. The opposing Brit-Welsh he routed, and slaughtered the monks of
Bangor, who fought against him with their prayers. Gildas, speaking
metaphorically with reference to Æthelfrith’s conquest, says that a fire went
through the land. The inhabitants were either put to the sword, or became the
slaves of the conquerors.
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120 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Thus the power of Strathclyde was broken, and the North Welsh severed from
the West Welsh. Cheshire, and most likely South Lancashire, were seized at
this time by the victors, and from the days of Æthelfrith have been peopled
chiefly by Saxons.
The northern portion of the kingdom of Strathclyde remained intact until
subdued by Ecfrith, or Eckfrid, between the years A.D. 670-685. But the
inhabitants seem to have regained their independence, and although they
elected as their king, Edward, the son of Alfred the Great, in A.D. 924; they
bad a native king in A.D. 975. In the interval between these two dates, the Saxons
made an unsuccessful attempt to regain their supremacy. The Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle informs us, under the year A.D. 945, that “King Eadmund harrowed
all Cumberland.” But no crop followed this harrowing, for shortly after, we
find from Brut y Tywysogion, that Dunwallon was king of Strathclyde, of which
Cumberland was a part. The entry is as follows: “A.D. 975, Dunwallon, king of
Strathclyde, went to Rome and took the tonsure.” From this date to the Norman
conquest, the Saxon power censed to be formidable, and the Celtic population
of the ancient kingdom of Strathclyde was left undisturbed in the north of
England and south-west of Scotland, where their descendants remain, more or
less assimilated to the Saxon, to this day.
I should feel thankful to “Chatterton” or any other gentleman for the
slightest assistance towards making
my list of words as complete a glossary of Montgomeryshire terms as possible.
Even a pronunciation of a common word will be acceptable. No one need be
afraid of sending me a word which is likewise heard in other counties. It
will be more useful and interesting to record such words than those that are
exclusively local. In the rules and directions for word-collectors issued in
January by the English Dialect Society, I find the following sensible
direction. “It is not at all necessary for you to ascertain that the word
which you
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OF MONMOUTHSHIRE 121
’locate’ is so peculiar to the town or district mentioned as not to be in
common use ebewhere. Remember, too, that the present rules relate only to the
way in which the work should be prepared, not to the final form form in which
it is appear. Non-observance of this rule will lead to great disappointment,
and frequently to miserable failure; whilst the observance of it will lead to
the most interesting results, enabling us, in some cases, fairly to map out
the whole range of country (sometimes extending over seven or eight counties)
over which the use of the word prevails. The commonest words will, in this
way, prove of the highest interest. But if collector A leaves out a word
because it occurs in B’s district, and B leaves it out because it occurs in
A’s district, the apparent result will be that a word in common use over two
districts will seem to be unknown in either! Many glossaries have been
depreived in this way of their most characteristic words.”
Aftermath, or latter math, both words current second in Montgomeryshire, the
second mowing or crop of grass, which, though occasionally harvested, is
rerally grazed. Aftermath becomes after-grass in Shropshire. I am indebted to
the Rev. R. Harries Jones, the vicar of Llanidloes, for the following
information. “The Lancashire word for what we call here aftermath or
latter-math is eddish, and corresponds with the Welsh word adloedd, which
means ad-ladd, to mow again; lladd gwair (mowing hay). Adloedd often becomes
adladd (ad = re, again, as in reproduce; lladd, to kill, to cut, etc.) Mr.
Longfellow’s new volume of poems is called Aftermath, being a continuation of
his Tales of a Wayside Inn, and he thus prettily describes it: -
“When the summer fields are mown,
Whea the birds are fledged and flown,
And the dry leaves strew the’ path;
With the falling of the snow,
With the cawing of the crow,
Once again the fields we mow,
And gather in the aftermath.”
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(delwedd D6606) (tudalen 122)
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122 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Mr. Longfellow’s Aftermath is a second mowing, but in these parts the word is
applied, improperly it may be, to the second crop of hay even in its growing
state.
Brivit, to ferret after or search
for a thing. A person told me that a certain discovery was made whilst a
drawer was being brivited; i.e., whilst its contents were being thoroughly
inspected.
Crudled, curdled, congealed. “My
blood crudled when I saw him fall off the bridge.” “The milk crudled in a
minute.” The word is used by Spencer of cold.
“Till crudled cold his corage gan assaile.”
Faery Queene, book i, vii, 6.
“The crudled cold ran to her well of life.”
Faery Queene, ix, 52.
Cornel , corner.
Cummund, come. “The man has
cummund.”
Camlas or Gamlas (the initial c and g changeable in Welsh), a near a river.
It seems that these pools, which have this distinctive name, were at one time
in the bed of the river, and being deeper than the other parts of the river,
were left as they are after the river had changed its course. The word camlas
is given in Dr. O. Pughe’s dictionary as pure Welsh. He derives it from cam,
crooked, and glas, blue, etc. A derivation which does not describe the thing
defined. His explanation of the term is as follows. “A trench or ditch; a
narrow inlet of the the sea. Tir camlas, land intersected with rivulets or
ditches.” It to me rather that, allowing the etymology of the first part of
the word, we must look elsewhere for the meaning of the latter part. There
are no less than four rivers Montgomeryshire called Dulas, two of which are
not far distant from Caersws. Could not Dulas be translated black-water, and
camlas a crokked pool? Gwellt—y-gamlas (zostera marina) is the Welsh for
sea-wrack. There are a good number of places in Wales in which las appears,
Llanddulas, Dowlas, or Dowlais, etc.
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 123
Even, material. A country woman
goes to town to buy many yards of corduroy to make trousers for her lad, but
she does not know how many yards will be required, so she tells the shopman
that she does not know how much even will do for a lad of ten years old, but
that he, the shopman, does. The carpenter tells a customer that he has even
enough to make him a box, either of deal or oak.
Greet, great. It appears that the
pronunciation of the word great was uusettled so late as Johnson’s time. In
Boswell’s Life of Johnson, Croker’s edition, page 233, I find Johnson saying
“When I published the plan for my dictionary, Lord Chesterfield told me that
the word great should pronounced as to rhyme to state; and Sir William Yonge
sent me word that it should pronounced so as to rhyme to seat, and that none
but an Irishman would pronounce it grait.” The editor mak es a note u the
al»ve: The nunciation is now ood in Chester-Geldls way.” It is cunous to find
t.hat in these parts word great is pronounced 80 to rhyme with seat.
Glat, a hole in a hedge. Akin to
glade, an opening in a wood.
Peannet, a magpie. A corruption of
the Welsh, pia, pioden, a magpie; the vowel i in Welsh having the sound as e
in English when short.
Pentice, the open shed of a
blacksmith’s shop where horses are shod. This word may be derived either from
the English pent-hous or from the Welsh pendist, which pen, head, and dist, a
joist. Thus, should the joists of a house be projected to form another roof
and walls be be built up to meet it, we have a pendist or pentice. Pendist is
a common word in North Wales.
Swinge, to singe. “That clout is
swinging — I smell it.”
“The scorching dame sore swinged all his face.” Faery Queene, xi, 26.
Slawns, sloes.
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124 Archaic Words. Phrases, etc.
Simple, unwell, sickly. “How is
your child to-day?” “But simple, indeed, sir.”
Tyne or tine, to repair hedges or fences. “Our hedges want tyning a del.”
Viage, a journey, a rejoicing.
“There’s going to be a great viage at the wedding next week.” Perhaps the
viage or voyage means a great gathering of people, and consequently of
journeys or walkings to and fro at the place of assembly. The word voyage is
used by Spenser in the sense that we use the word journey.
“So diversly discoursing of their loves,
The golden sunne his glistring head gan shew,
And sad remembrance, now the prince amoves,
With fresh desire his voyage to pursue.”
Faery Queene, ix, 18.
Wnt (the to be sounded as oo in
good, or w in well), a mole. Oont or wnt is a corruption of the Old Enclish
word want, a mole. Want is still used provincially for a mole in several
parts of England. In Dorsetshire it has the same name as in Montgomeryshire
(To be continued.)
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(delwedd D6609) (tudalen 000a)
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Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. VII.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1874.
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(delwedd D6610) (tudalen 000b)
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Rhan 6
Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. By Rev. Elias Owen, B.A.
393.
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(delwedd D6611) (tudalen 393)
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393 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC, MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
By the Rev. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. 6.
In the introduction to my last instalment of Montgomeryshire words (Mont.
Coll., vol. vii, p. 120), I stated that the inhabitants of the northern
portion of the kingdom of Strathclyde, although subdued by Eckfrid, or
Egfrid, seemed to have regained their independence after the death of that
king, A.D. 685, and I quoted, in corroboration of my statement, certain
passages from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and Brut-y-Tywysogion; but, as the
subject is a controverted one, and not altogether uninteresting, nor, in an
ethnological sense, foreign to the matter I have in hand, I will adduce ther
evidence from original sources to show that the northern Britons regained
their independence after their subjugation by Egfrid.
Bede, speaking the last act of Egfrid, says:
“That same king (Egfrid) rashly leading his army to ravage the province of
the Picts much against the advice of his friends… the enemy made show how as
if they fled, and the king was drawn into the straits of inaccessible
mountains and slain, with the greatest part of bie forces.”
A.D., 685. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: “And the year, on the 13th before the
kalends of June, King Egfrid was slain near the North Sea, and a great army
with him.”
VOL VII.
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(delwedd D6612) (tudalen 394)
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394 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
William of Malmesbury records the above-mentioned disaster in these words:
“As he (Egfrid) leading an expedition the Picts, and eagerly pursuing them
they purposely retired to some secluded mountains, he perished with almost
all his forces; the few who escaped by flight carried home news of the
event.”
Bede moans over this catastrophe its immediate in these words:
“From that time the hopes and strength or the English Crown began to waver
and retrograde, for the Picts recovered their lands… and some of the Britons
their liberty, which they now have enjoyed for about forty-six years.”
This, therefore, brings down the history of the North Britons to the year
A.D. 731, at which time, at least, a portion of them were in possession of
their lost independence. Up to this date the Northutnbrians had not recovered
from the effects of their defeat in A.D. 685. Their valour, which commenced
to decay upon the death of Egfrid and the destruction of his army, was, in
Bede’s time, waning, und their territories curtailed. The Picts in the north
had thrown off their yoke, and some of the Britons had by arms regained their
liberty. Why all did not obtain their freedom at the same time I cannot say;
but, presuming that Bede’s some refers to a part of the Strathclyde Britons,
which I am rather inclined to believe it does, then the fact that a portion
of them had recovered their independence would act as a powerful incentive to
those still in subjugation to regain their freedom. Ultimately, I believe,
all the Strathclyde Britons freed themsekes from Saxon control.
I will make one Other quotation from Bede. He says, referring to Alfrid, the
successor of Egfrid:
“Alfrid succeeded Egfrid in the throne, being a man most learned in
scripture, said to be brother to the other, and son to King Oswy; he nobly
retrieved the ruined state of the kingdom, though within narrower bounds.”
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(delwedd D6613) (tudalen 395)
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OF MONTGOMERYSRIRE. 395
The “narrower bounds,” consistently with what hag already told us, were
caused by the successful revolt of the Picts and Britons and the consequent
rending of their territories from Northumbria It was within these narrower
bounds that Alfrid reigned, “and nobly retrieved the ruined state of the
kingdom.” But Bede, reviewing the state of the kingdom twenty-six years after
the death of Alfrid, described it as wavering and retrograding, and this
downward movement, he says, commenced with the overthrow of Egfrid in A.D.
685, when the “Picts recovered their lands and some of the Britons their
liberty,” which I have they enjoyed A.D. 731, the year in which Bede ends his
history.
I have only to add that Bede was a Northumbrian, and that he lived during the
years A.D. 673-735 in that country, and consequently the infortnation he
gives of profane events occurring in Northumbria between the years A.D.
685-731, with or without corroboration, may be considered authentic.
But to proceed with my argument, I find that when the Danes visited England
they made a lodgment in Northumbria, but they only ravaged the country of the
Picts and Strathclyde Britons. In the entry which records this fact, the
Strathclyde Britons are mentioned in such a manner that their independence
might be inferred therefrom. But I do not wish to make too much of this,
particularly as the same chronicle contains a more positive statement
respecting the point under consideration.
The following is the entry now referred to: A.D. 875. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. “This
year the army (Danish) went to Repton and Halfdene (one of the Daish kings)
went with some the army into Northumbria… and the army subdued the land
(Northumbria), and ofttimes spoiled the Picts and the Strathclyde Britonx”
Here we are informed that the Northumbrians, the previous subjugators of the
Picts and North Britons,
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(delwedd D6614) (tudalen 396)
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Rhan 6
396 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC,
are themselves subdued whilst these latter are merely oiled. Had the
Strathclyde Britons been subject to Northumbrians at the time that Halfdene
onquered them, it would seem probable that their subjugation would be
involved in the overthrow of their masters, and that when Northumbria fell
Strathcylde would fall to[o], just as the conquest of England would carry
with it the conquest of Wales. But, instead of quietly submitting to the
Danes in a submissive manner, as became a dispirited servile people, to whom
a change of masters was a matter of indifference — a mere change of evils, we
find that they were so far independent and powerful that, although the Black
Nation ofttimes made marauding expeditions into the country of the Picts and
Britons, they made no settlement therein; a fact to be accounted for by
supposing that the several inroads of the Danes were so manfully opposed that
they could do no more than devastate that country whiXch they were unable to
conquer.
I now come to a statement in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which requires but
little comment. It is as follows:
“A.D. 924. And they chose him (Edward) for father and for lord, the king of
the Scots and the whole nation of the Scots, and Reginals and the son of
Eadulf, and all of those who dwell in North-humbria, as well English as
Danes, and Northmen and others, and also the king of the Strath-clyde
Britons, and all the Strathclyde Britons.”
Here Northumbria is brought before us as inhabited by various races, the
Scots as having a king, and the Strathclyde Britons as having a king.
Therefore, according to the testimony of the authority just quoted, it seems
that the Strathclyde Britons had a king of their own to reign over them in
A.D. 924, and that consequently they must have regained their independence
after their subjugation by Egfrid in 670-685.
As already shown, Bede states that some of the Strathclyde Britons recovered
their liberty upon the
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(delwedd D6615) (tudalen 397)
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OF MONTGOMERYSUIRE. 397
death of Egfrid, but the extract above given speaks of all the Strathclyde
Britons, as concurring with their king in choosing Edward “for father and for
lord.” And what other inference can be drawn from such a statement than that
in A.D. 924 the Strathclyde Britons were independent of the Saxons.
From the tenth century to the conquest of England by the Normans, the Saxons
were in no condition to enlarge their boundaries, and therefore those
inhabitants of the land whom they had not previously overcome, were left
alone to govern themselves in their own way. Thus the population of the
northwest of England and south-west of Scotland outlived the Saxon domination
in England, and although at the present day the inhabitants of those
districts are more or less blended with the Saxon, still I believe there are
observable physical and lingual divergences between them and the English
proper. In fact such differences as exist between the inhabitants of
Montgomeryshire and Kent, or any other county where the Saxon element
predominates over the Celtic, exist also between the population of the
ancient kingdom of Strathclyde and the more English counties of England.
In discussing any question, such this under consideration, bearing upon those
of the country, where the Celts once predominated, but where at present they
exist amalgamated with or assimilated to the Saxon, the ethnological aspect
of such a question should not be the ethnol lost sight of. Even should the
apparent results be such as were not expected, a thorough sifting of the
matter can but lead to interesting and trustworthy information, and now that
it is contemplated to make a systematic and accurate survey of archaic and
dialectical words heard at present in England, or found in books or
glossaries, it is of real importance that a too contracted view of what a
county glossary ought to include or exclude should not be taken.
As, however, objections have been made to my list of words, because some of
them may seen or heard in
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(delwedd D6616) (tudalen 398)
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398 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
other places, I will state that I did not trouble myself to ascertain whether
a word I had heard in Montgomeryshire existed in other places or not, but
when I knew this to be the case, I invariably stated the fact. I was more
concerned to make a collection of Montgomeryshire words, meaning thereby such
words as are heard in Montgomeryshire, than to inspect the works of others. I
have, however, occasionally referred to Hartshorne’s Salopia Antiqua,
Shropshire being the adjoining county to Montgomeryshire; and the readers of
the Mont. Coll. will observe that I have now and again mentioned Mr.
Hartshorne’s Glossary in the course of my remarks upon certain words. It
appears that the plan I adopted was in agreement with the rules of the
English Dialect Society, and the Manchester Literary Club. I gave an extract
from the first named society in my last contribution (Mont. Coll, vol. vii,
120-121) upon this point, and I will now make two extracts, one from each
report of these respective societies, upon the same matter.
The opinion of the English Dialect Society in favour of the inclusive
glossary, is expressed as follows:
“Quite common words will acquire a new value and interest when duly labelled
with the localities in which they are used. ...Members are cautioned against
considering the words with which they are familiar, as peculiar to their own
district. Occasionally this is the case. But more frequently, a word which is
called peculiar to Lancashire or Yorkshire, is not all unknown in Kent and
Surrey, and few facts are more interesting than the sporadic distribution of
some words. Thus, the Furness word ta-year for this year, like our to-day for
this day, is well commented on in the introduction J. P. Morris’s Furness
Glossary, and he pointed out that it occurs in Chaucer. But Chaucer was
better acquainted with the South of England, and it is accordingly not
surprising to find in Dr. Pegge’s MS. Kentish Glossary, the followmg entry: -
To-year, this year, as to-day is this day.” See also Ta-year in Moor’s Suffolk
Words. We may fairly hope, in this way, to get quite a new light upon the
subject of the distribution of words.”
This quotation also shows how difficult it is to say
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(delwedd D6617) (tudalen 399)
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 399
what words are peculiar to any district. Here we have variations of the same
expression heard in places wide apart of each other. It is the exclusive
property of neither county, but nevertheless it is better to record such
words in glossaries of both places, rather than omit them from a glossary of
one of the places merely because they happen to be heard in the other.
The Glossary Committee of the Manchester Literary Club, in discussing “What
ought a glossary to include and exclude?” has, after a very considerable
correspondence upon the subiect, come to the conclusion to adopt as the basis
of their glossary the inclusive principle. The report says:
“Words are fragments of history... and to adopt the plan of excluding words,
which are to be found in other county glossaries, would be to cut away one of
the historical links which binds us to history.” The report goes on to say,
quoting the words of the Rev. W.W. Skeat, director and honorary secretary of
the English Dialoct Society... “all county glossaries must be made on the
inclusive system, otherwise the most characteristic and the most common words
of all are actually omitted. County division has nothing do with the
language. The rule is to record all your common und idiomatic words... Your
calling a word Lancashire means that you can answer for its being used there,
and means also that you express no opinion as to its use elsewhere. Else when
we come hereafter to map out our words, and state the exact number of
counties over which the use of the word heal or hell ranges, we shall put
down that it is unknown in Lancashire, and a curious result that will be!
Such is our rule, and those counties that omit to claim their words will be
held not to possess them, and it will be their own faults.”
It seems to me superfluous to add any further arguments in favour of the
inclusive county glossary, so I now proceed with my list of words in the
manner I have alread done.
When I have exhausted my subject, I intend making an alphabetical list of the
words given, and thus I hope to remedy the disadvantage arising from the want
of arrangement in the lists already pubhshed.
I may add that when I first commenced writing on
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(delwedd D6618) (tudalen 400)
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
the English of Montgomeryshire, I had no intention of forming a glossary, but
having come to reside in my native county, after a long absence therefrom,
the work has grown in my hands in a manner that I had not anticipated.
Cassetly or cassently. This word is applied to uncertain showery weather;
thus, “‘Tis cassently weather,” or, as a woman said to me the other day, “It is
a cassetly harvest, “meaning thereby that the rain fell rather too much to do
good to the grain then ready for the sickle. I have heard no other form of
the word.
Cat. A rather short piece of wood,
a little wee thing, and possibly a small portion of anything. Thus, “have you
finished your work John?” “No ma’m, I’ve that cat to saw yet.” A small weak
lamb is said to “a cat of a thing.” The word cwta in Welsh, from which cat
might have been taken, means short, etc.
Cop, a ridge. The highest or
middle part of a furrow is called the cop. Moulding up potatoes with plough
is called “copping potatoes. This word is taken bodily by the
English-speaking people of Montgomeryshire from Welsh; thus “cop, s., the
top, or summit.” - Dr. O. Pughe’s Dictionary.
Coppy, a wood or coppice.
Dubbit, blunted, or stupid. An axe
which has lost its edge from overuse is described as being “worn dubbit”. A
child that is not over-bright is, in the hilly parts of Llandinam, said to be
“as dubbit as possible.”
Fullbert, a polecat. Fullbert is
in ordinary use with people who are unable to speak Welsh. A polecat in
modern Welsh is ffwlbart, and this word is pronounced much like the word
fullbert.
Gostrell. A small hand-barrel of
various capacity, from one to ten quarts, used for carrying drink to the farm
workmen. The only difference between this word and the Welsh word costrel, a
flaggon, is, that the c in Welsh becomes g in its derivative.
Glaster, a drunk made of
butter-milk and water
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(delwedd D6619) (tudalen 401)
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OR MONTGOMERYSHIRE 401
mixed. Derived from the Welsh word glasdwr, common in all parts of the
country.
Heerd, heard. “I never heerd sich a thing.” Boswell well caught Johnson
pronouncing the word heard as it is pronounced in Montgomeryshire. He records
the fact in his Life of Johnson in these words:
“I perceived that he (Johnson) pronounced the word heard as if spelt with
double e, heerd, instead of pronouncing it herd, as is most usually done.
When spoken to about it, Johnson defended his pronunciation, stating that his
reason for so doing was, that if it were pronounced herd them would be a
single exception from the English pronunciation of the syllable ear, and he
thought it better not to have that exception.” — Croker’s Boswell, p. 56.
It is not unlikely that Johnson’s pronunciation was, as surmised by Dr. Hall,
a provincialism, just as his pronunciation of the word punch, poonsh, was a
Lichfield provincialism. Be this as it may, heerd still keeps ground in the
colloquial English of Montgomeryshire.
Hoop, a measure of two bowls. Four
of these bowls made a peck, and eight made a strike; three strike made a bag
of wheat.
“Miller, miller, wind your horn,
You shall be hung for stealing corn;
First a hoop, and then a peck,
And then a halter round your neck.”
Old song.
Harp, to become thin, to
deteriorate. The word is applied to sheep whose condition has changed for the
worse; as “yo’r sheep harp”.
Her is generally made to do
service for she; as “Her sed her’d do it.” This is also common in the vale of
Gloucester.
I have noticed that some people apply a word much like her in to males. But
it is not exactly her, nor hur. I cannot easily combine letters to the convey
the correct sound. It resembles the sound of the letter y in Welsh when
properly pronounced. Dryden hu-
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(delwedd D6620) (tudalen 402)
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402 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
mourously alludes to this misapplication of hur, as he has it, in the ballad,
Shenkin.
“Of noble race was Shenkin,
Of the line of Owen Tudor;
But hur renown was fled and gone,
Since cruel Jove pursued hur.”
This stanza is transcribed from the Cambro-Briton, vol. i, p. 146. Au example
will suffice to show how the word is used. “Where’s your husband, Mrs.
Edwards?” “Hur’s in the fould.”
Hackle — to arrange sheaves of
wheat so as to protect them from the rain. Hackling is as follows. The mows
consist of four or six sheaves piled together in the harvest field. Two
sheaves placed together on the top of the mows, with the ears downward as a
kind of cap to ward off the rain from the mow, is called hackling the wheat.
Kaiment or kymet — A kind of sickness to which sheep are subject. It takes
them in the head, and they turn round and round until they fall down. I have
been told that it is caused by a grub, which may be extracted. This is the
word used in the neighbourhood of Montgomery for this ailment; whilst in
these parts the Welsh word Pendro, slightly altered, is in general use for
the same complaint. I believe the word kymet is also applied to any
dizziness, and to a person supposed to be “not quite right in the head.”
Keip or kipe - The word rhymes to ripe, a large kind of basket.
Mundle, a ladle — a long piece of
wood for turning food whilst it is being cooked in a pot.
Moulywart — A mole. This word is used
in the north-west part of Montgomeryshire, while the word for a mole in the
south part o the county is wnt, i.e. oont. Moldwarp, a mole, is found in
Shakespeare.
Onder — evening. “I’m toch in the
onder nor in the morning.”
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 403
Ornery — ordinary, mean.
Piggin — a wooden bowl in which
broth, etc., is sewed to farm servants.
Ruck — a heap, a huddling
together, as “a ruck of stones,” “I saw about a dozen of yo all in a ruck.”
Rasty — the outside parts of
bacon, which by exposure to the air have become discoloured, are called
rasty. “I wonna eat yor rasty bacon.” Rasty rhymes to tasty.
Rommalee, or rommelly — a strong, heavy, or coarse rank kind of crop; rommelly
hay is unfit for cows. It is given to horses and young stock. “You have a
very rommelly crop of hay on that field.”
Rean, rane, or rene — the channel
between two butts in a ploughed field.
Suck — a ploughshare, the iron
which forms the nose of a plough. It called in Welsh swch, or swch aradr,
suck is swch Anglicised.
Strave – stray – The word is used
in reference to sheep in the following sense: After shearing season there are
to be seen on the mountain sheep which have not been deprived of their
fleece. This is a sign that they have strayed from their walk, and
consequently they are called strave sheep. The person who collects these
sheep is called the strave man. After the strave man has succeeded in
securing these sheep, he takes them upon a set day to a certain specified
place for the purpose of identification. The farmers who have lost sheep
assemble at this place. This gathering of farmers is called a strave meeting.
Stinge — a spite. “Why did he
poison your dog?” “Oh I spose he had a stinge agen me.”
Skew — oblique — a rick made out
of the perpendicular is said to be “all of a skew.”
Scawen — The elderberry tree. This
word is nearly identical with the Welsh word ysyawen, an elderberry tree, from
which it is evidently derived.
Thrave — several, a good number.
Twenty-four sheaves of wheat are a thrave. I heard a person
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(delwedd D6622) (tudalen 404)
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Rhan 6
404 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE
speaking of a crowd of people, say that there were a whole thrave of them.
Toch – (the ch takes the Welsh
sound of the letters ch), stronger, tougher, in better working order. See
word onder.
Yead, head. The y likewise occasionally is substituted for h in the words,
herbs, heap, etc., yerbs, yeap. This peculiarity is not confined to
Montgomeryshire.
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(delwedd D6623) (tudalen 000a)
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Rhan 7
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. VIII.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1875.
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(delwedd D6624) (tudalen 000b)
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Rhan 7
Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. No. 7. By Rev. Elias Owen,
B.A. 117.
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(delwedd D6625) (tudalen 117)
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Rhan 7
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES. ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. VII.
Afore, before.
“And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other.” -
Athanasian Creed.
Arga, argay, an embankment on the
side of a river, a dam across a river. The word arga is common in the level
part of the county where the country is subject to floods. It is usual in
those parts to make a parochial charge towards keeping the river embankments,
or argays, as they are called there, in order. The word arga is derived from
Welsh “argae” from which it differs but slightly in sound.
Beddow, a dull person. This word
is current in the
Parish of Llandinam.
Bwgan, a ghost, a hobgoblin, a bugbear. The word is Welsh, and is to be seen
in Dr. Owen Pughe’s Dictionary.
Brumhook, a billhook.
Blether, a bladder. The th in
blether has the sound
of th, whether.
Bumm, or Bummbailiff, a person who
executes writs
of distraint. Current in the south of the county.
Bout, a bolt.
Bout, to bolt.
Bay, a cowhouse.
Boosey, kind of manger near the
ground, in which the food for cows is placed.
Bastechild, a bastard.
Boutin, bolt. A bundle of straw.
The straw from
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(delwedd D6626) (tudalen 118)
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Rhan 7
118 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
six sheaves makes a boutin, but usually any moderate-sized bundle of straw is
called a boutin. This word is common in the neighbourhood of Welshpool.
Bottle, a large bundle of straw.
The word is current about Llanidloes.
Butt, the ground between two reans
or channels in
a ploughed field. It consists usually of fourteen furrows, or it may consist
of less; but should, however, the space exceed fourteen furrows, it is called
a plank.
Coist, quice, a wild pigeon.
Quice is the usual
name for this bird about Llanidloes. Coist is heard
further north.
Conterary, contrary, cantankerous.
“There’s no dealing with him, he is so conterary.”
Crot, crod, a small, chubby child.
This word comes from Welsh “crwt, a round, dumpy fellow.” Dr. O. Pughe.
Craggin, cragen, a shell. Cragen
is Welsh.
Cout, a colt. Cout rhymes to bout
in about.
Clenk, to hit, to strike.
Clenker, a blow: “I gave him a
clenker in the face”
Cre-af-ol, the berries of the
mountain ash.
Cute, sharp, expert, acute. This
word is also in use
in Swaledale, Yorkshire. see Captain Harland’s Glossary,
published by the English Dialect Society.
Cundary, to be much put about, an
uneasiness of
mind. “The old woman was in sich a cundary, wanting to know who would pay her
for her work.” A young blacksmith, who was obliged, on account of bad health,
to leave his work for few days, told the writer that he was sure his
employers would be in a cundary when they found he was not at his work, for
they were very short of hands.
Diff, deaf.
Diffrothen, a lazy, worthless
person. In use in
Llandinam parish. Probably from the Welsh word
diffrwyth, unfruitful, unprofitable.
Elder, a cow’s udder.
Fearn, fern.
Fild, field.
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(delwedd D6627) (tudalen 119)
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Rhan 7
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 119
Foret, forward, advanced. “He inna
so foret as he ought to be”, says a mother, respecting her son’s progress in
school.
Flen, a flea.
Frum, premature. “That field of wheat
is too frum to stand the winter”, i.e., the blade is too much grown to
withstand the frosts of winter. The term is applied to a precocious child,
and to things and persons prematurely ripe.
Fistful, or fissful, handful.
Favours, resembles. “Yo favour vor
father in yor face, but yor voice is like yor uncle William’s.”
Glebber, blabber.
Grotts, hulled oats.
Hout, hold. “Take hout on it.”
Homber, hammer.
Heft, weight
Hoontyluck, a mole hillock. In
Tregynon these hillocks are called oontlocks. In Llandinam woontlocks.
Kex, kecks, decayed stems of
hemlock.
Kiddle, saliva. This word is
common in Shropshire.
Kit, a sty; as a pig’s kit.
Keck, to stammer.
Kail, to upset, to topple over;
probably a corruption of keel, the bottom of a boat, etc., which becomes
uppermost when tthe boat is capsized.
Lather, ladder. The th has the
same sound as in blether (see above).
Lown, a rate.
Lewn, a portion of work done by a
thatcher with one relay of straw.
Looby, a stupid fellow.
Lissum, lizum, lissom,
pliable, easily bent„ Upon referring to Salopia Antiqua, I find that the word
lissom is common in Shropshire.
Nailposser, nailpasser, a gimlet.
Pwn (w = oo), to punch, to beat:
“I got his head under my arm, and pwnned it well.”
Puke, to vomit. Common in the
south part of the county.
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(delwedd D6628)
(tudalen 120)
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Rhan 7
120 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Pennerth, a pennyworth.
Plank, a portion of ploughed land
(see Butt).
Pletch, to plash
Rove, to entangle, used in
reference to entangled thread, yarn, etc. “Baby has roved the thread that I
cannot get a length out of it.”
Rotch, light gravelly soil. This
word is used about Trefeglwys.
Rundell, a decayed tree; a tree
with a hollow trunk. Applied to trees in situ, and chiefly to old oak trees.
Sally, the willow tree.
Shonk, lively, health. This word
is taken from the Welsh, sionc. Dr. O. Pughe speaks of sionc as follows:
“Sionc, a. (si-onc), brisk, nimble, active, flippant.
Shishering, whispering.
Stock, to dig with a maddock. “To
stock potatoes” is to dig between the potatoe rows with a maddock.
Stump, v., to mash boiled potatoes
into one consistent mass.
Stump, s., mashed potatoes.
Stwmper, s., a wooden utensil with
which potatoes are mashed.
Swp, a heap. This word is borrowed
from the Welsh word swp, and has the same meanings which stop has. “He fell
all in a swp” means that the person fell in a heap, and not lengthwise.
Skellet, a copper saucepan; but it
differs in shape from the common saucepan in having no handle nor bulging
sides.
Scrip, to snatch.
“I resisted him, and tore out of his hold, and in so doing be scripped the
shawl which was on my arm from me.” – Newtown and Welshpool Express, Dec. 8,
1874.
Seemerly, seemingly, apparently.
“He died a fresh man, seemerly.”
Shoves, sheaves.
Spit, likeness: “He’s the very
spit of his father”.
Ted, to spread hay to dry in
harvest-time.
Te, thou. In these parts of Montgomeryshire,
where English is all but the language of the people, te for
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(delwedd D6629) (tudalen 121)
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Rhan 7
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 121
thou is generally affxed to a verb, “a’tte going?” “art thou going?” “biste
well?” “art thou well?” “wytte now?” “will you now?” I think te is used only
in interrogations, at least I cannot recall a single instance in which it is
otherwise employed. In Captain Harland’s Glossary, previously referred to, I
find the word te. It is mentioned as follows: -
“Te (tu) for thee, but used for thou: “whar’s te been?” “where hast thou
been?”
Ti (i=e), is welsh for thou.
Too-ert, toward.
The-ar, there, In the more English
pars a of Montgomeryshire I have heard there pronounced as thear, and chair
as chear; but this pronunciation does not prevail in, for instance,
Llanidloes, which was Welsh when thear made its appearance in the county, nor
probably will it ever gain a footing there, nor in other parts where it does
not at present exist, for such provincialisms were introduced Into
Montgomeryshire at a time when English was less settled than it is, and
learning less common; and these two causes combined procured for such words
an existence amongst the illiterate; but when these causes have entirely
disappeared, as they have already done to a considerable degree, byewords
cannot gain an entrance into the country. It is, however, curious to notice
how far a vulgarism has travelled, and how tenacious of life it is. Thear was
a Lichfieldian barbarism in Johnson’s day, and Boswell twitted him thereon.
Johnson, with a laudable affection for his native place, had stated that the
inhabitants of Lichfield “spoke the purest English”. “I,” says Boswell, “doubted
to the last article of this eulogy, for they had several provincial sounds,
as there, pronounced like fear, instead of like fair” (Croker’s edition, p.
489).
Tump, a hole or trench in the
ground, in which potatoes are kept during winter. The potatoes are placed in
this trench with straw upon them, and then a mound of earth is raised over
them, and this is the potatoe tump.
Thrashel, a flail.
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(delwedd D6630) (tudalen 122)
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Rhan 7
122 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC.
Urchin, a hedgehog.
Wheddy, tiresome, tedious. Wheddy appears
in these parts to be used solely in reference to the act of passing from
place to place, but always with the idea that the journey jades the
traveller. This word has been discussed in Byegones, and as what the writers
say throws light upon the word, I will take the liberty to transcribe their
words. Chatterton writes as follows: -
“Weddy... lt means that the piece of ground a person may be ploughing is .
more than it looks, or that the road a person is walking on is longer than he
expected it be, between two gtven points. ‘That’s a weddy bit of ground,
John, yo are ploughing’; or, ‘It is a weddy bit of road from Cilgwran to the
Court.’” – Byegones, in Oswesttry Advertiser, April 29, 1874.
“R.E.D.” remarks as follows: -
“Weddy in Shropshire takes the form of Wady. Any food that is very solid and
satisfying is said to be ‘Wady atin.’ The word is usually applied to
something that is done slowly and laboriously, or that is tedious. Hartshorne
gives the following In his Salopian Glossary - ‘Wady, Wëädy, adj. This has
been noticed both by Ray and Bailey as a Shropshire word, and they seem to
have caught entirely the spirit of its meaning in the definition they have
given. The latter explains it thus: ‘A wheady mile, a mile beyond
expectation, a tedious one’; and the former says a wheady mile is a long
mile, a mile longer than it seems to be. And thus, too, every task or labour
which turns out to be greater than was at one time anticipated, or anything
that is peculiarly long, tedious, or wearisome, is a ‘weady job,’ or
described as ‘mighty waydy.’ Anglo-Saxon wide, longus. The common word to
wade is probably akin to this.” – Byegones, May 20th, 1874.
Wheddy seems less confined in
signification in Shropshire than in Montgomeryshire; and as the w is followed
by the aspirate h in Montgomeryshire, the word has a slightly different
pronunciation in both counties.
Whitty-tree, mountain ash; or, as
it sometimes called, the whitty-berry tree.
Yow, yew, ewe.
Yowl, howl.
Yarly, early.
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(delwedd D6631) (tudalen 000a)
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Rhan 8
Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. VIII. London:
Printed for the Club by Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street. 1875.
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(delwedd D6632) (tudalen 000b)
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Rhan 8
Archaic words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire.
No. VIII.
By Rev. Elias Owen, B.A. 351.
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(delwedd D6633) (tudalen 351)
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Rhan 8
351 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC, OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
By the REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. VIII.
Abide, to endure, suffer. “I can’t
abide him, he is so overbearing.”
Aisterhole. A hole in the back of
the chimney just above the hob, of various size, but usually just big enough
to admit the hand. A brick taken endways out of the chimney wall would make a
good aisterhole. The “maister’s” pipes and the “mistresses” matches are
usually kept in this recess, and bits of dry sticks for lighting the
indispensable ‘bacco pipe, are stowed away here to be always handy and ready
for use. Such holes are to be seen only in old houses in which the chimneys
are open and large, with seats on each side the fire, and thus the fireplace
in such abodes is the most agreeable place in the house, particularly of a
winter’s evening when the winds are howling through every crevice in the
building.
Aister, also called esster, the
back of the chimney from side to side, and extending some distance above the
fire. Occasionally the aister is protected from the weather by a kind of roof
in the chimney through which there is left an escape for the smoke. This
provision adds to the attractions of a seat on the hob when the storms of
winter are raging. The aister is also called the backaister, though one would
expect that both names could not apply to the same place. Both words,
however, are current about Caersws without any difference in meaning. In
Ray’s Collection of North Country Words the word easter is given. The
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(delwedd D6634) (tudalen 352)
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Rhan 8
352 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
word is evidently another form of aister, as will be seen from the following
quotation:-
“Easter, sb., the back of the chimney or chimney stack.” -English Dialect
Society, No. 6, p. 41.
Backaister, see aister.
Betting, or bettin, virgin sward, the surface of the soil which has never
been broken up; but the sward is not called betting until it is pared. The
word will be better understood by explaining the process of “cutting the
betting”. The first thing that is done in bringing a portion of upland into
cultivation is to bare the surface and then to pare it with a betting knife
or plough of peculiar formation, which cuts or peels off the sward, the sward
which is pared off is called betting. The betting after exposure to the air
until it is dried, is gathered into heaps and then burned, and this is called
“burning the betting”. The ashes are then spread over the ground and ploughed
into it, as manure for oats, &c. Betting is common in Welsh, as ‘Tori
betyn,’ &c. The word appears in Ray’s Collection, 1691, of North Country
words: -
“Betting, sb., betting of ground,’ i.e., burning land after it is pared.” –
English Dialect Society, No. 6, p. 32.
Bait. Refreshment partaken of by
farm servants about ten o’clock in the forenoon, and four o’clock in the
afternoon, a kind of luncheon between meals to enable the labourers to wait
for their dinner and supper. Milton uses the word bait in the sense of delay.
“For evil news rides post, while good news baits.” - Samson Agonistes, line
1538.
Bout, a journey up and down a butt
in ploughing.
Coolins (oo = oo in cool)
cool-lings, those sheep of a flock or pigs of a litter which remain unsold
after the best have been disposed of. The smallest and poorest sheep and pigs
are by way of depreciation called coolings. Sheep and pigs of this kind are
called in Welsh
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(delwedd D6635) (tudalen 353)
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Rhan 8
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 353
cwlyn. They have a similar word in Sussex, as will be seen from the following
extract from the Rev. W.D. Parish’s Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect.
“Culls, or cullers, m. the inferior sheep of a flock culled from the rest,
and offered for sake in a lot by themselves.”
Crabbed, stunted in growth.
Cowshon, dried cow’s dung.
Cratch, the hind side of a cart or
waggon.
Dozen, to stun.
Dunning, fading away, get worse
and worse day after day. The word is applied to sick people of whose recovery
there is but little hope. “Poor thing, she is dunning away oncommon fast” -
she is finishing her journey through life rapidly.
Ebb, shallow, not sufficiently
deep. “Don’t you think that grave is too ebb?” “It certainly does not look
deep.” Drains or excavations that are too shallow are said to be ebb.
Fegg, withered grass which remains
in meadows throughout the winter, grass which has not been eaten off the
fields bv the stock in the fall of the year, and remains in tufts here and
there along the fields. A field of fegg is a field that contains quantities
of such grass, “There’s nothing but fegg on that field, but the sheep will
eat it with the young grass in the spring.” Fegg is heard in Welsh in some
parts of Wales. It is also given in Ray’s Collection of North Country words:
“Fegg, sb., long grass remaining in winter.” English Dialect Society, No. 6,
p. 43.
And also another form of the word is given in page 43 of the same
publication: -
“Fegge, sb., long grass remaining in pastures till winter.”
This latter form is not current in these parts, and it is only the withered
grass, whether long or short, that is called fegg in Montgomeryshire.
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(delwedd D6636) (tudalen 354)
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Rhan 8
354 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Grout, grounds, sediment. “There’s
nothing but grouts in the bottom of the bottle.”
Grout, a rumbling noise heard in
the horse’s bowels when they are trotting or at other times.
Gurgins, a kind of coarse flour.
Wheat was formerly ground in the country mills so as to produce sack flour,
gurgins, and bran, and sack flour was further refined Into firsts and
seconds. The gurgins was the next to bran, and was at one time the flour with
which the working man’s loaf was made. A dark or brown loaf it was, but it is
said to have been healthy. The expression “white bread” is common in Wales, and
points to a time when there was black bread in the country. The white loaf
was eaten by the better-to-do while the gurgin loaf was found on the poor
man’s table. Gurgins are now called sharps, and this kind of flour is only
used for fattening stock.
Husky, cold weather. “It’s very
husky weather,” is an expression which the writer heard for the first time
last March. It means that the wind and temperature are such that thereby
vegetation is retarded. Before the weather can be husky, the wind must be
either north or east, and the time of the year must be Spring.
Imple order, perfect order,
everything clean and in its proper place. “The maister gets into sich a
towering passion, if everything is’nt in imple order.”
Another form of “imple order” is “ample order”, and even “apple-pie order” is
often heard, but what kind of order “apple-pie order” is, the writer is
unable to say.
Jurgy, in a sulky threatening
manner. “I made the bull go off, but he went away oncommon jurgy.” Jurgy
seems to be derived from the same root as the Latin word jurgium, or possibly
it is a corruption of the word jurgium. The word jurgy is apphed to the surly
threatening manner of a bull when, unwillingly, he is driven from the cows or
out of a field.
Kilt, killed. “He kilt the adder
with a hazel rod.”
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(delwedd D6637) (tudalen 355)
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Rhan 8
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 355
Bishop Thirwall and his friends Julius Hare and Whewell, when at Cambridge,
attempted to revive this manner of writing the perfect participle. Thus they
wrote “preacht” for preached, and “publisht” for published, but they were not
followed by others, and the Bishop aud Whewell ultimately abandoned the
undertaking.
“That unspotted lam
That for the sinners of al the world was kilt.
- F. Queene, c. x, 57.
Lyer, lier, liar, a gloss. Lyer
rhymes to buyer. If a farm is in good trim it is said to have a lyer on it. A
horse with a shining coat has a lyer, even a sheep with a good oily fleece is
said to have a better lyer than one with a dry hairy fleece. Lyer appears to
be a descriptive term for everything that is well looked after and
consequently in good condition, and as some animals, as the horse, actually
shine when properly fed and attended to such a word as lyer was probably
applied to them, and from them to other animals and things which showed signs
of careful looking after. Perhaps lyer is an abbreviation of the Welsh word
dyscleirio, to shine.
Maggal, a noose made of hair, or
brass wire, to catch fish, rabbits, etc.
Ommost, almost.
Scade, a person given to scolding,
a regular scold, a quarrelsome person.
“What are you scading about, you noisy old thing,” said a cottager to a hen
that in querulous tone was asking for bit of bread in the presence of the
writer.
Screen, a coffin. This word is
also common with the Welsh speaking people of this neighbourhood, as well as
with the English speaking population. It is current here in English and
Welsh. The Welsh use it to the exclusion of the word arch, a coffin, whilst the
English employ both it and the word coffin.
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(delwedd D6638) (tudalen 356)
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Rhan 8
356 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Scrout, a drudge, a servant girl
that doe the lowest kind of work. such as scrubbing the floors, &c.
Skide, to bask. “The cat and dog
are blading before the fire.”
Stelsh, the wood pillar to which a
cow is fastened in the bay.
Stope, to leave a farmer’s
service, having obtained from him more than one’s due. “Jack is a bad un, he
stoped his rnaster”, i.e., left his master’s employment, having raised more
than his wages.
Soundly. This word is used in many
senses in these parts. The following example will show how it is employed.
“He feathers me soundly,” said by the father of a young man who had long been
ill, and was the while supported by his parent, a laboring man.
“I fretted soundly,” spoken by a man who had grieved after a certain thing
which he had done.
“I’ll stick to it soundly, so as to finish it afore night.”
“How is Mr. Parry?” “Well hur’s bin very bad, but hur’s getting on soundly
now.”
Sight, a quantity. “Oh, you may
take them all, I’ve a sight of them at home,”
Swag, to sway to and fro.
Tend, attend, watch, wait upon.
“John tends the cow this morning for fear she’ll get into the wheat, and
William is tending the baby.”
“I to the lords will intercede, not doubting
Their favourable ear, that I may fetch him
From forth this loathsome prison-house, to abide
With me, where my redoubl’d love and care,
With nursing diligence, to me glad office,
May ever tend about thee to old age.”
Samson Agonistes, 920-5.
Trouseket, an open cart for
carrying branches of trees, etc.
Tast, taste, “Let’s tast it, boy.”
Tast rhymes with fast. This pronunciation of taste was very common in the
south of Montgomeryshire from twenty to thirty
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(delwedd D6639) (tudalen 357)
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Rhan 8
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE 357
years ago. It is still so pronounced by those who use the word when speaking
Welsh, and it can also be met with in secluded districts by those who speak
English.
“No scarse good morsell all his life did tast.” - F. Queene, c, iv, 28.
Trigg, sb, a small trench indicating
the boundary between two townships, parishes, etc; the wedge-like space
between two furrows. A person describing the feat of a favourite dog said,
“We had out some time and I lost my old dog, but going to the top of bank I
saw the old thing course a hare in a fallow, but he was too old to catch her,
for every time he was upon the hare she squatted in the trigg and the poor
old dog passed over her.” Two men, the one an Englishman, and the other an
English speaking Welshman, meeting on the hill between Carno and Trefeglwys,
spake thus to each other, “Please tell me where’s the mere, for I should like
to know what parish I am in.” The answer was, “Oh, you have not passed the
trigg, you are still in the parish of Trefeglwys.”
Trigg, v. a., to mark out by
cutting away the sod. The place from which the sod is taken is called the
trigg.
This word has been ventilated in Bye-Gones. Idloes writes thereon as follows:
“Trig or Trigg (July 29, 1874). In the neighbourhood of Llanidloes the word
is used to signify a small gutter, trench, or other mark which serves as a
boundary, generally between two sheep walks. The word frequently crops up in
the disputes among the sheep farmers: ‘I coursed his sheep cos they crossed
the trig,’ was an expression used a short time ago in a local county court.
In Salopia Antiqua (p. 600), trig is defined as a small gutter, but nothing
is regarding its use. Halliwell quotes Mr. Hartshorne’s explanation. I
believe the word is also used as a verb - trig it out, to mark it out.”
Oswald says: “I am not aware that ‘trig’ is ever used to signify
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(delwedd D6640) (tudalen 358)
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Rhan 8
358 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC,
’neat’ on the borders of Wales. When we mark out ground for sale, we ‘Trig it
out’, i.e., put pegs in the ground to show the extent of each lot…. –
Bye-Gones, reprint, 1874, p. 90.
Vessel, abbreviation of universal.
“What have you there, John?” “I have nothing in the vessel world.”
In Thoresby’s letter to Ray, 1703, published by the English Dialect Society,
he gives varsall in his list of Yorkshire words thus:
“Varsall, adj., universal.” Eng. Dia. Society, No. 6, p. 108.
Whimpering, pining away, in a
dying state; applied to persons and plants. When spoken of women It implies
that they are fading away of grief.
Wenten, went. This old form of the
perfect of the verb to go is found in Wiclif’s Bible.
“And to tweyne of him wenten in that day into a castel.” St. Luke, xxiv, I8.
(To be continued.)
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Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. IX.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1876.
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Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. No. 7. By Rev. Elias Owen,
B.A. IX. 403
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403
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
(Continued from Vol. viii, p. 358.) BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
No. IX.
ALTHOUGH the word phrases has appeared at the head of my papers, I have
hitherto introduced no Montgomeryshire phrases into my contributions to
comment thereon. I will, however, on this occasion, preface my list of words
with a few expressions that I have heard in Montgomeryshire. They may not be
peculiar to the county, but there they are in the county. Sometimes a saying
may be traced to its Welsh origin, and sometimes it is one that has found a
shelter in Montgomeryshire.
“It holds to the rain”, said a
respectable English farmer to me one day. The meaning of the expression is
seen at once, but the use of the word hold in the above sense at the first
glimpse seems to be strange, still it is in common use in the above form in
Llanwnog parish, and it is an exact equivalent of the Welsh word dal, hold.
“Y mae hi yn dal i wlawio” (It holds to rain), is a Welsh phrase.
“It is as dry as ponce”, i.e., It
is as dry as powder.
“He’s as wet as a thatcher.” When
a person has been well drenched, and wishes to let others know how wet he is,
he states that he is as wet as a thatcher. This saying is not over
intelligible to those who are unacquainted with rural occupations. In
agricultural districts the person who covers stacks of hay or ricks of wheat
with a straw roof is called a thetcher, or thatcher, but why should he become
the very embodiment of moisture? The following seems to be the reason: The
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
straw that is used by him in thatching is steeped in water before it is used,
and consequently the thatcher soon becomes wet by handling the wet straw. His
occupation is a wet one, and hence the expression.
“He is wet through the skin.”
Since we are upon the subject of rain, the strange phrase “wet through the
skin” may just as well be mentioned. “Wet to the skin” is bad enough, but to
be wet through the skin is still worse, and hardly conceivable, but with the
fact I have nothing to do, it is the expression only that I have to mention.
“He’s as mad as a tup in a halter.”
A ram with a rope around its neck is anything but contented and comfortable
he is restive in the extreme, and although not really insane he has become
the synonym for a maniac.
“The one is as good as the other, and
better too.” When comparing two things which are much alike, this
expression is often heard. ‘The one is as good as the other is good’; nay,
the one is better than the other which is good. The preference is here given
to one which is said to be as good, and better than the other. The worse is
made to be the better. Greater praise is given in such an expression to that
which in itself is worse than that to which it is compared. There is
something like this in Welsh, “Y bydd y foreu megis heddyw, ac yn well o
lawer”, To-morrow will be as to-day, and very much better. A saying of this
kind has on the face of it a fallacy, for things cannot be as good and at the
same time better the one than the other. Possibly, the expression is intended
to ridicule those who, without reason, prefer one of two things that are
identical in value.
“For ever and a day.” Eternity
itself is here limited, and the time spoken of is a whole day longer than
eternity. A very very long time must that be which is fully twenty-four hours
longer than eternity. I have heard of a person, who, as a climax in his
sermon, was in the habit of saying that such and such would last to the end
of eternity, and that certainly was not bad; but, “For ever and a day”
outdoes the preacher’s
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OF
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hyperbole. Montgomeryshire cannot claim this large phrase as its own. It has
come to the dells of Montgomeryshire, and has made its home there; but it is
evidently a fugitive. In a version of the Psalms in a Bible of 1615, the
following verse occurs:
“What is his goodnesse clean decayed
For ever and a day,
Or is his promise now delayed
And doth his truth decay?” Psalm 77-8.
Longfellow, in his piece called The Children’s Hour, uses the same
expression.
“Very runnable, and nothing amazing.”
This expression is used to describe a person whose character is not over
trustworthy. In appearance he may be good, or feasible, this is intimated by
the word runnable, and as water escapes the grasp, so does he. There is
nothing tangible about the person. No reliance can be placed in such a one.
Should you fondly suppose he is equal to his outward appearance and fair
words, and should you act towards him as if you “heeded not what others might
say”, you will rue your mistake. Such seems to be one meaning of the
expression. It has, however, another, and that not so bad a one as that now
given. It means that the man does not go beyond mediocrity. There is nothing
amazing in him, nothing wonderful, he may be taking, but he is after all only
an ordinary person. You are mistaken in supposing that he is a superior
person he is only an average a. runnable man.
“He is no great shakes”, is
another derogatory expression. “What do you think of so and so?” “Oh, I hear
he is no great shakes.” “But, they say, he is a gentleman!” “Tut, he is no
great shakes.” With such words is conveyed the spleen or envy of a person
towards another, with whom the speaker may have no acquaintance, and of whose
circumstances he knows next to nothing.
“He’s not naughty, but he’s very
wicked.” There is a nice distinction drawn in this saying between naughty
and wicked. Generally, a naughty boy is synonymous
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHUASES, ETC.,
with a wicked boy; but such is not the case in the above saying. Naughty, in
this expression, means of nought, worthless, useless. The saying might be
paraphrased thus: “He is not a boy of nought, although he is very wicked;”
“He is not an imbecile, good for nought, although he is a bad child;” “The
boy is of some value, although he be wicked.”
“Beat all to winder rags”, i.e.,
Beaten into shreds. Spoken also of a person who in competition with others
far outstrips his opponents, and thus he is said to beat them into winder
rags. The following expression has the same meaning:
“I’ll beat him hollow”, i.e., I
will beat him so that there will be no comparison between us. “Well, how did
the race come off?” “Oh, Silverwing beat them all hollow.”
“I wont pretend to say”, or, “I
canna”, or, “musna pretend to say.” When there is considerable doubt in the
mind of a person who answers the enquiries of another, he shows the unsettled
state of his mind, or the uncertainty of his mind, by employing in his answer
the word pretend, thus, “Do you think it will rain to-night?” “I won’t
pretend to say”, i.e., I won’t attempt to say, or I won’t presume to predict.
There is much uncertainty respecting the affair, and consequently I will be
silent thereon.
“Oh, she is dangerous, and not
expected.” An abbreviated expression, meaning that a person is
dangerously ill, and not expected to live.
“The early bird gets the worm.” People
get up well betimes in agricultural places, and there are good tales of
farmers thriving by getting up “before the cock crows”. The necessity of
early rising in country places is so great that country clocks are usually an
hour before the day, and thus the horses are fed, and the washing begins, and
a journey is undertaken by the clock an hour earlier than the day, and the
mistress scolds the maid for getting up at six, when nothing can be done
unless people are “out of it at five”. A great
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407
OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 407
virtue it is in maids to ‘‘put the washing out” with the rising of the sun;
and in carefully managed houses, the hedges are spread with sheets, etc.,
usually before breakfast time. Washing-day, as every one knows, is Monday,
and there is a rivalry between the servant girls in one house to finish
washing before those in a neighbouring house. All this conduces to the comfort
of a household. Washing-day becomes washing-night, and there is nothing
formidable in the undertaking. Early rising is inculcated in many ways by
proverbs and various precepts; and we are told in the saying at the beginning
of this paragraph that “the early bird gets the worm”. Poor early worm!
Aitches, aches, “How are you
to-day, Mary?” “Very poorly, ma’m. I have aitches all over my body.” This
word is heard in and about the parish of Llandrinio.
Avenless, aimless, not thrifty one
that is always in difficulties. “Poor thing, I thought it would come to that,
he was always sich a avenless kind of man.” Thus would a person who tailed in
business be commiserated.
A, to, unto. “A woman like a me
canna do much.” A, as in above sentence, is generally used in conjunction
with the word like.
Bank, to pass over, to avoid, to
disappoint, to baulk. “Don’t bank that hay man”, i.e., “Don’t pass it by”,
said to a person raking hay, and leaving patches or bits of hay behind him.
“He was banking the corners”, i.e., “Avoiding, or leaving the corners of the
field untouched when mowing.
Brieff, a brief, a begging letter.
“He is very poor, he is taking a briff round the parish.” The custom, once
common, of taking briefs regularly testified by persons holding responsible
positions, round a parish, or even a county, has not altogether passed away
from certain districts. It still lingers in Llanwnog, but it is fast becoming
obsolete, and does not succeed in these days of parochial relief as it
formerly did.
Cooth, a cold. “I ketched a cooth
in my limbs, and
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408 ARCHAIC
WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
I amna hafe well.” This word is heard in the parts of the county adjoining
Shropshire.
Brickle, fickle, unsettled. The
word rhymes to fickle. “It be brickle weather, these days”, i.e., showery,
unsettled weather.
Fussack, bloated, overgrown, said
of a full-sized fat person. The word seems to be a corruption of fullsack.
The full is transferred from the sack to the person, who, if lusty, is said
to be “full his clothes”, the clothes stand for the sack, and in this way a
fat person is described as fussack a fullsack.
Glemmy, a sudden burst of
sunshine. “It’s a glemmy day”, a day in which the sun now and again peeps
through the clouds.
Govlet, a handful. This word is
very common in and about Llanidloes. It is used chiefly by gleaners. “How
many govlets did you gather yesterday?” i.e., How many handfuls. When a good
handful of wheat lias been gathered it is tied up by twisting a few of the
wheat straws in the hand around it, and it then becomes a govlet. The word is
derived from the Welsh gafael, a hold.
Grow, the gravel by the side of a
river, etc. This word is common in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes, and also
in other places by the side of the Severn. It is the Welsh word gro.
Hist, turn. This word is more
common in the vocabulary of children than in that of men. The word is heard
in Llanidloes, and also in Caersws, and probably in other parts of the county.
The boy, whose turn it is to play marbles, or rather to try to strike the
marbles in the ring, etc., shouts out when his turn has come, “Hist to me
now, hist to me.” When men have to do anything in rotation the hist shows who
next takes up the work.
Leifer, or lifer, comparative of leif, or lif. “I would as lif do that as
this.” “Oh, I wudna, I’d lifer do the other.” The word appears in Stapleton’s
translation of Bede, thus:
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OF
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“Accompanied with a number of flattering favours, having leifer to commit
their cause to open disputing then to seem to the people whom they have
subverted to have nothing to say to the defence thereof.”
Nogs, or noggs, the rough hemp. Every farm had its plot of ground for
hemp, or its garddlin (gardd, garden, llin, hemp), and one of these plots has
given its name to a part of Llandrinio parish, viz., Arddlin. But to return
to the explanation of the word nogs. After the best fibres had been taken
away, the refuse, i.e., the coarser kind of hemp, was called nogs. This was
spun, and manufactured into aprons and towels. A noggin apron was one that
was made of the coarser kind of hemp. “Farmer Jones’s girls were good girls.
They worked in their noggin aprons every morning, and dressed up like any
lady in the evening. They were not ashamed to be seen at work in their noggin
aprons, no not they.”
Nisgull, the least or last of a
litter (see ratlin in former paper), the nestcull.
Owe, own. “The gentleman that owes
that hall is very rich.”
On, of, about. “You’ll think on me
sometimes.”
Pilliner, same as boutin. (See
boutin). Before threshing machines came into use, wheat was threshed by hand.
A very important item was this threshing in farm work; and as everything ere
long will be done by machinery in and about farms, I may just as well, for
the purpose of throwing light upon the word pilliner, or boutin, enter a
little more minutely into the process of pilliner making. I do this now, for,
when old things have passed away the Montgomeryshire Collections will still
be in existence, and they will be referred to as to a museum to see how
things were in days of yore. So, to proceed, after the floor is swept the
thresher places six sheaves of wheat side by side on the floor, and then,
opposite them, he places six other sheaves, and after he has threshed all the
wheat out of them he makes the straw up into two bundles, the six
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
sheaves on one side form, when bound up into a bundle, a pilliner, or boutin;
and the six sheaves on the other side make another boutin; so that twelve
sheaves of wheat make two pilliners of straw.
Pletch, plash. To pletch, or plash
a hedge, is to partially cut the quicks so as to enable the hedger to bend
them; and then after they are cut, he bends them at a angle, and by driving
stakes into the hedge they are kept in that bent position. When the whole is
dressed the hedge is pletched, or plashed.
Rouse, thin, weakly. “Those
turkeys are rouse.”
Shet, a lane, an entrance to a
court containing houses by a covered passage formed by adjoining houses, a
word heard in Llanidloes. In Welshpool a passage between two houses is so
called.
Skuff, the nape of the neck. “He
took him by the skuff of the neck, and threw him out of the house.”
Splaight, a splutter. “There’s a
splaight”, an exclamation uttered upon seeing a glass knocked over, and
broken to pieces.
Stickan, a spoon, a large wooden
spoon.
Slutch, or sludge, mud.
(To be continued.)
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Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. X.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1877.
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Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. No. X. By Rev. Elias Owen,
B.A. 207.
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207
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, B.A.
(Continued from Vol. ix. p. 410.) [mewn gwirionedd, yng nghyfrol x y mae’r
rhan flaenorol]
No. X.
Market Peert or Pert. This phrase expresses the state
of inebriation in which farmers and others are at the end of market-day.
Those who are acquainted with the manner in which business is done in rural
districts, with their small central market towns of a thousand or two
inhabitants, are well aware that the produce of the farm and the live stock
are taken generally to the town in the vicinity of the farms, and there
disposed of; and commodities are bought for weeks to come, when the farmer
lives a distance oif, but for the ensuing week only, if he happens to live
near the town; and thus market or fair-day is an important event, as it
brings together the population of a district of perhaps thirty miles in
circumference. The inhabitants within this area are usually related to each
other by blood or marriage, or if not connected in this way, they become
acquainted through meeting at the common market town. Friends meet friends
upon market-days or fairs, and after business is over they take a glass or
two together in the public houses which they are in the habit of “putting up
at.” Sometimes they become “unco happy” and chatty, if not noisy. Those who
have not a trap leave rather early by the market train, but at the station it
is easily seen that they have managed to become “market pert.” Some
frequenters
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
of markets invariably leave the town with “three sheets in the wind”, and of
them it can safely be said as Burns sang of Tarn o Shanter,
“That frae November till October,
On market day thou was nae sober.”
I am not aware that a person who has taken too much intoxicating liquors is
described, out of Montgomeryshire, as “market pert.” The words do not imply
an unconscious state of drunkenness. Perhaps in other parts and upon other
occasions a “market pert” person would be described as a “little gone”, or
“elevated”, possibly he would not be called “tight” nor “screwed”, but all
these shades of inebriation prove the prevalence of drinking. Since an exact
definition of “market pert” is very difficult to give, and as enough has been
said to show what the term means, I will not attempt any further explanation
of the words.
“Stir up the Athenian youth to merriments;
“Awake the pert and nimble spirit of mirth.”
Midsummer Night’s Dream, I, i, 13, 14.
Rather for’ard, not quite sober.
This expression is heard in the neighbourhood of Newtown.
Blind man’s holiday. This is a
common way of expressing the approach of night. It is heard more in the north
parts of the county than in the south. A tailor before he lights his candle
in the winter months incorrectly says, it will soon be “blind man’s holiday”
with me. In times gone by, when rush-lights were in use, and tallow candles
scarce, the expression was a good one, and implied that darkness would
necessitate a cessation from labour whether the worker wished it or not.
Buy a pig in a poke. Poke means
bag. The word “pooak or pooak-seck” is common in the neighbourhood of Whitby,
and in fact in the whole of Yorkshire. It is explained as follows in the
Whitby Glossary issued by the English Dialect Society:
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“Pooak or pooak-seck, a large coarse bag, or rather a long narrow bag, into
which you have to dive to get to the bottom.” The word poke is not heard in
Montgomeryshire for a bag, but it appears as above. To “buy a pig in a poke”
is a saw that requires no lengthy comments. The folly of buying unseen or
unknown things is so apparent that it is strange that it should ever be done.
Stranger still it is that it is so often done that a caution against such
proceedings has taken the form of a proverb.
The following sayings that are heard in Montgomeryshire need no remarks:
“As lively as a flen (flea).”
“As lousy as a badger.”
“As long as oak and ash grow.”
As drunk as a fiddler. This saying
refers to a state of society differing in many respects to that of the
present day, and so also does the saying, “As drunk as a lord.” The sayings
have happily outlived drunken lords and fiddlers. Both were to be found
common enough in the last century, and drunken fiddlers were an outcome of
the merry makings, wakes keeping, and village-green dancings that were not
uncommon so late as thirty years ago. With drunken lords I have nothing to
do, as they do not come within the scope of my paper. The fiddler was a
necessary part of every village feast, and usually as long as he held out so
long did the dancing continue. From the green the lads and lasses went to the
neighbouring public-house, and they tripped it in the big parlour, or if that
were too small the barn was converted into a ball-room, and on and on they
whirled until morning. The dancing, though, was sometimes brought to an
earlier close by the fiddlers having indulged over freely in the
oft-proffered and oft-accepted glass. In our days the dancing-green is
unfrequented in Montgomeryshire, and therefore fiddlers have disappeared.
Should there be one still lingering and wandering in the county, he is, as
regards his predecessors, in the same plight as
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
was Sir Walter Scott’s last minstrel with regard to his. He with him might say:
“For, well a day! their date was fled,
His tuneful brethren all were dead;
And he, neglected and oppressed,
Wished to be with them and at rest.”
Lay of the Last Minstrel. Canto i, 9-13.
A power of, a large quantity.
“I’ve a power of work to do before night.” Spenser wrote that Robert Bruce
sent over his brother Edward “with a power of Scottes and Red-shankes into
Ireland.”
Abundation, abundance, more than
enough. Abundation is often abbreviated into bundation.
Agen. This word is singularly used
in and about Llanidloes, and also in other parts of the county. Thus, “Have
you done it, John?” “No, sir, I will do it agen”, meaning some other time.
When used, it does not mean a second time, but a first time, at a different
or more convenient period. “I can’t give it now, but I’ll give it you agen”,
i.e., at some more suitable season. English-speaking Welshmen often employ
the word as given above. It appears to be a translation of the Welsh word
etto, again, another time. But in English there is a somewhat similar use of
the word again. Thus in the three Creeds, the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene
Creed, and that which is commonly called St. Athanasius’s Creed, the word
“again” occurs:
“The third day he rose again from the dead.”
Apostles’ Creed.
And so also in the other two creeds now mentioned, and also in the Articles
of Religion, the phrases “rose again” or “did rise again” occur. The fact
would in one sense be fairly expressed by the words, “The third day he rose
from the dead,” as in Welsh, “y trydydd dydd y cyfododd o’r feirw.” St. Paul
writes, “But now is Christ risen from the dead.” He does not say, “But now is
Christ risen again from the dead.” Not having risen before he could not with
propriety be said to rise again. But when it is borne in mind that “rose
again”
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is intended as a translation of the word “resurrexit”; again standing for the
prefix re, and rose for surrexit, the difficulty in connexion with the word
“again” in the creeds, etc. , is lessened. The word resurrection, again rise,
carries with it the sense of rising to a previous state of existence. Thus,
first life, then death, and then the resurrection or life once more, or
again, and hence the expression ‘‘‘rose again”. “I lay down my life that I
may take it again” (St. John x, 17) i.e., rose again to life. Agen is
sometimes abbreviated in Montgomeryshire to ‘gen; but the usual pronunciation
is agen, and this appears to have been the general pronunciation of “again”
in the last century, as shown by the following quotation given in Walker’s
dictionary.
“I little thought of launching forth agen, Amidst advent’rous rovers of the
pen.”
But in Shakespere’s days, “again” was pronounced as rhyming with rain; as,
“When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain.”
Macbeth, act i, sc. 1.
Brownsheelers, brownshellers, ripe hazel nuts, nuts
ready to drop from the tree, nuts whose shells are browned.
Bloke, a single peat used for
firing. In the neighbourhood of turbaries, which are common on the hilltops
in most places in Wales, the inhabitants during the summer months harvest peat
for winter use. They build the peat into stacks near the house, and fill
spare recesses in the house with their fuel. The peat is cut into pieces at
the turbary in shape and size somewhat like a brick. When a mother tells a
child to go and fetch a bloke for the fire, the little one obeys by bringing
a single peat. This word is heard in Dolfor, a part of Kerry parish, and
probably it is common in other parts. Peat is called turf in the
neighbourhood of Newtown and Llanidloes.
Boke, to belch, to heave at the
stomach, as when sick.
Bree, an insect that torments
cattle in hot weather,
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a horse fly. This word is Welsh, and it is used as now given by the
English-speaking people in Kerry parish. The Welsh word is Pryf. The f is
dropped, as is often the case in colloquial Welsh with a final f, and then
the word pry or pree is obtained. It might be observed that pryf has a more
extensive application in Welsh than bree has, which is limited to the fly
that irritates cows in summer.
Baily or bailiff, the head servant-man in a farm, the one who acts as
foreman or manager in a farm under the “master” or tenant of the farm.
Buzzy or bussy, or boosy
pasture, a pasture held by an outgoing tenant from day of notice to quit to
the 1st of May following. This is really one field claimed by an outgoing
tenant from Lady-day to May 1st. The incoming tenant can put his cattle on
the farm at Lady-day except on one boosy pasture, which he cannot claim until
the 1st of May. This arrangement is often a great convenience to an outgoing
farmer.
Burr, a whetstone to sharpen
sickles and scythes.
Burr, or bur-dock, a kind of weed with round prickly seed balls.
Bundation (see Abundation).
Bigsorted, proud, “stuck-up”.
Bay, a space in a wall for a door,
&c.
Bay, an empty space for storing
fodder, generally joining the place where cattle are tied up. Sometimes any
recess in a stable or cowhouse is termed a bay.
Bandy, game of bandy, game of
hockey.
Backside the house, the back of a house.
Boltin, p. boutins, a bundle of straw. Current in the south part of the
county. This word takes the form of boutin or bolt in the neighbourhood of
Welshpool. (See Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. viii, p. 117.)
Bendro, a disease in the head of
sheep which causes them to turn round and round, until they die. The sickness
is a kind of water on the brain, which forms in a kind of bladder. There are
shepherds so expert that they can
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find the part of the head where the cause of giddiness lies, and they are able
to extract the bladder. The writer has seen a sheep which was successfully
operated upon. This sheep sickness is called in some parts of the county,
Kaimet, Caimet, or Kymet, but it is more generally called, even in the
English speaking parts of the county, as above. The word is Welsh pendro,
pen, head; tro, a turn; a word highly descriptive of the sickness.
Buft, stutter, stammer. Usually
heard in the participial form, as bufting, stuttering.
Blackberry hunters, blackberries;
common throughout the county. The hunters are those that gather the
blackberries, but the berries are invariably called blackberry hunters by the
hunters themselves.
Blackbird of the Church, the
swift. This bird is so called in Llanidloes, probably because it nests in the
church steeple.
Barm, yeast. Common in all parts
of the county, and also in various parts of England. The fairy in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream says:
“And sometimes make the drink to bear no barm.”
Act ii, sc. 1.
Baist, to beat. “I’ll give thee a
good baisting if thee dusna shut up.”
Clane, quite, altogether, “He is
clane off his head”, i.e., quite mad. “I’m clane done up”, altogether
exhausted. The word clean, pronounced clane, has found its way into
colloquial Welsh. Thus in Carnarvonshire we hear the expression, “Dyn clen”,
i.e., a kind obliging man. The same expression is also heard occasionally in
Montgomeryshire Welsh, but a man of this description is generally in
Montgomeryshire called a “Dyn decha,” decha being a local form of deheu. Dyn
decha, a handy man, also a kind man. Decha becomes detha in Denbighshire.
Cricks, pots, dishes, crockery.
Crock, a jug, cup, mug.
Charm, noise, uproar. “What a
charm those people do make, to be sure.”
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
Clamperation, fuss, bother. “What
a clamperation about nothing.”
Clamper, v. to make a fuss.
Clamper, v. has already been
noticed in a former paper in the Montgomeryshire, Collections, but in the
neighbourhood of Newtown it has another meaning, viz., a scandal, and also
disturbance. In this sense it is current in Mochtre parish.
Close, or close-fisted, stingy, niggardly.
Chitterlings, or chitterlins, pigs’ bowels or
intestines.
Cives, a sort of very small onion,
used in flavouring broth, stuffing, &c.
Clucks, fingers. “What does Poll
do in school, Emma?” “Her sucks her clucks, and looks like a nawf.”
Cengle, or sengle, a strap or belt round a horse’s belly. This is the Welsh
word cengyl, a girth.
Clap, to put in quickly. “Clap it
in the oven.”
Curst, very cunning, or sharp.
Chump, a log of wood.
Cletch, a brood or hatch of
chickens. Current in Dolfor and the parts thereabouts.
Cambrel, a piece of wood used for
suspending sheep, pigs, &c. from, when they are being cut up. The cambrel
is a crooked piece of wood from which the slaughtered beast is hung by its
hind feet. This word is from the Welsh cambren, pronounced in some parts of
Wales as if it were cambran (cam, crooked; bren, a piece of wood).
Crumble, a crumb. “She hasna eaten
a crumble for three days.”
Cricket, a kind of stool.
Cratch, pl. cratches, the skinny refuse of lard, that which is left after the
lard has been melted down. The fat of pigs is placed over a fire, but the
whole does not turn into lard; a skin remains which becomes crumbled. These
pieces are called cratches, and also scratches.
Cratch, to eat heartily. “He
cratches pretty well.” “He is a good one to cratch.” I believe the word is
applied not only to the person whose appetite is good,
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but chiefly to one who makes a cranchmg noise when eating.
Dumbcake. This cake is made by a
girl who wishes to dream of her future husband. It is made as follows: The
girl is to get everything required for the cake without speaking to any one.
She is to be dumb during the baking of it. It is to be carried by the girl
upstairs, and she is to go to her bedroom backwards. She is to undress with
her back to the bed, get into the bed backwards, place the cake under her
pillow, and then she will dream of her future husband. A not unlikely thing,
since her mind would be so thoroughly taken up with one idea for so long a
time before going to bed, that that one thought would be centred on the man
whom the girl loved, and whom she wished to be her husband.
Douter, extinguisher, a do outer.
Dearn, stern or hard. This word is
current in Mochtre parish, and probably in other parts of the county.
Drat thee, a kind of oath. “Drat
thee, wst ti be quiate” - Drat thee, will you be quiet.
Danker me. This also is an
expression something like an oath. “Danker me, how is it I conna do it.
Dun, do, Dunna, do not. A wealthy, but niggardly farmer said to his
mother, who lived with him, upon the occasion of his sister’s marriage, when
more beer was required by the wedding party than he thought necessary,
“Mother, what dun yo think?” “I dunna know, Richart.” “The men want another
jug o’ drink, they dunna, dun they?” “Aye, they dun,” was the mother’s
response.
Eft, lift, raise.
Entic, a whinchat. Current in
Mochtre parish.
Egg or hegg, nightmare.
Elderberry tree, the alder tree.
Heard about Llandrinio parish.
Flem, the pool near a mill which
supplies it with water.
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
Fitchoc, fitchet, a marten, a
polecat.
Flakes, hurdles.
Gambo, a low cart without sides.
When required, poles are inserted along the sides into iron staples. The gambo
seems to be another name for a trouseket, or cart. Gambo and trouse cart are
heard in Dolfor. (See Montgomeryshire Collections, vol. viii, page 356.)
Gulley, a gosling.
Gossips, godfathers and
godmothers. A school in the north of the county was being examined, and the
children were asked to give another word for godfathers and godmothers, when
a child answered gossips, which was the local word for baptismal sponsors.
Hog, a yearling sheep.
Heck, to hiccup.
Hooze, hoozing, to wrap oneself
up. “What do you hooze yourself up for?”
Heesh, hush. “Heesh’d, what’s
that?”
Hoodgy, or hoo-gee, to nestle quietly in the breast, to go to sleep. The
word comes in a nursery song:
“Hoo-sy bye, babie,
And sleep with your daddy
Till mammy comes home from the mill.”
“Hoo-sy bye, babie, on the tree-top, When the wind blows the cradle will
rock.
Jorum, a large quantity. “Well,
I’ve a jorum of food on my plate, and no mistake.”
Kawp, bark. “What’s the dog
kawping at.”
Linnow, pliant, supple. “I’m as linnow
now as ever,” said by an aged man.
Lam, to beat.
Lewn, lunge, to hit. Both words in
the sense of “to hit” heard in Llandinam parish. I have heard the word lewn,
a blow, a hit, in Llanwnog parish.
Lowance, allowance.
Lockaday, an exclamation.
Mixen, a dunghill.
Methodee, a Methodist. The word is
so pronounced in Llanwnog parish. The Calvinistic Methodists are thus
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called in this parish, and that too without intending thereby any marks of
disrespect. It is strange that this word is also common in Lancashire. Thus,
in Mary Barton, a tale of Manchester Life, we read as follows: “He’s worked
with Carson that long, and were always a steady, civil spoken fellow, though,
as I said afore, somewhat of a methodee.”
Mind, to attend to, to guard “The
boy minds the sheep.”
Mow, four or six sheaves, but more
generally six, piled together in the harvest field.
Mammy, the rag that is stuffed in
the mouth of a football to keep the bladder from protruding.
Nizen, nisses, or nisses, nistes, nests. All these
forms of the word nests are heard in various parts of the county. Nizen is in
the more English parts of the county adjoining Shropshire in the north.
Nisses is common to the valley of the Severn. Nistes also is heard in the
quiet nooks of the county. In Wickliffe’s translation of the Bible we have
the following:
“Foxis hav dennes, and birddes of the air have nestis.”
St. Luke ix, 58.
Nizen is worthy of note, as being
another example of nouns whose plurals end in en, as ox, oxen, which is still
current, just as house, housen, is still current in Montgomeryshire; another
plural of ness is nesses. There are other instances of words like nesses
undergoing a similar change, as fiss, pl. fisses; fists. The plural fistes is
also heard in the county. But I have never heard fissen. Postes, as a plural
of posts, is not uncommon.
Overlook, to bewitch. The belief
in witchcraft is very general among the peasant classes along the border. It
is no unusual thing for sickness or misfortune to be attributed to
witchcraft. It was believed that a person’s property could be “overlooked”.
The various writers of the interesting Parochial Histories which appear in
the Montgomeryshire Collections have mentioned instances of the prevalence of
superstitions which
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218
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
still linger in the county. Instances of this have come to the writer’s
knowledge during his parochial visits.
Oddments, odd numbers.
Odds, difference. “What odds to
you,” i.e., “What difference does it make to you”, meaning, that it makes no
difference. “No odds to you”; it makes no difference to you. It concerns not
you: “What ‘s the odds, so you’re happy!”
Onks, to carry about, hawks. “She
onks cabbage all about the town.”
Oiler, alder tree, so called in
Llandinam parish. Along the borders of Montgomeryshire adjoining Radnorshire,
and in Radnorshire, this tree is called Orl. In other parts of Montgomeryshire
it is called weller, waller, wooller, woller.
Posey, Powsi, a bunch of flowers.
Used in Welsh also, as in the following:
“Myn’d ir ardd i ddewis powsi,
Pasio’r lavant, pasio’r lili,
Pasio’r pinks o’r [sic; a’r??] rhosys cochion
Dewis powsi o ddana’l poethion.”
Plack, a situation, a place, as it
is called in Montgomeryshire.
Permant, to perambulate. The
permants, or perambulations, were around the church, and for the following
reason. It was a custom along the borders of Shropshire and Montgomeryshire
for a servant girl who wished to pierce the future on sweetheart matters, to
visit the churchyard about midnight, and while walking round the church to
sow hempseed, and while so engaged to call upon her future husband to show
himself. This custom is termed “Permants”. That the custom was not altogether
useless or barren in results, will appear from the following: A servant girl
who went through the performance, when she returned asked her mistress why
she had sent the master to frighten her. “I did not,” was the answer. The
girl said, “Well, I saw him in the churchyard.” “Then you’ll be his second
wife,” said the mistress; and that servant girl is now
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the mistress where she once was a servant. Her mistress died, and in course
of time her master married her.
Pink, a pied finch. A name
corresponding with the note of the bird.
Pitch, a steep ascent. “The horse
stalled on the pitch by our house.”
Pissant, pisspot, an ant. Pissant in Mochtre, Pisspot in Llanidloes,
Llanwnog, and other places.
Pikle, a hay fork.
Quell, to squeeze, or hug in one’s
arms. “When I go to bed this little child always sleeps in my arms and quells
me round the neck.” Heard in Dolfor.
Rumpus, a row, a noise, an uproar.
Rickets, a ricketyness in the
limbs. A child with weak legs, and who is long before he walks, is said to
have the rickets, and this is supposed to be the effects of bad nursing.
Rying sieve, formerly used for
cleaning chaff, dirt, &c., from wheat.
Seats, large roots of hazel or
other underwood used for making a hedge.
Slobber, sleet, or cold rain.
Skutch, or quitch twitch grass.
The roots of this weed grow rapidly, and it is so tenacious of life that it
gives the farmer much trouble.
Shenkin, kettlebroth. Shenkin is
made of bread, butter, and hot water seasoned with salt and pepper. It is
also called Browis.
Sied, escheat. Stray sheep escheated
by the lord of the manor. Such sheep are called in Welsh in Montgomeryshire,
“Defaid sied.”
Storm, a sharp frost. Current in
Mochtre parish.
Splawfooted, having the feet
turned outward.
Stock, v. to hoe, to dig with a
mattock. “He is stocking potatoes.”
Scotch, to stop a wheel. “Scotch
the wheel,” i.e., place something behind the wheel to prevent the vehicle
going down hill.
Sprott, to run about, to prowl
about. “What are children sprotting about for.”
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ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.
Sclem, v., to steal eatables as a
cat.
Sclem, n., a greedy child that is
not satisfied with the food given it, but who helps himself in every possible
way.
Stean, steen, an earthen
conical-shaped pan or vessel.
Singles, shingles, a spreading
inflammation. Heard in Dolfor.
Succourful, very fruitful,
fertile. Heard in the neighbourhood of Montgomery.
Scooter, a spell, a long pull of
work. “He’s been working a tidy scooter.”
Surging sieve, a sieve which was
formerly used to clean flour from the bran.
Swingle, a swing used by children,
consisting of a rope suspended from two trees, or some other imrnoveable
supporter.
Spurt, to grow, to sprout. Wheat
left long on the field in wet weather spurts or sprouts.
Soak, to harden by baking. Bread
that is not well baked is not soaked.
Tid, timid, with the idea of
carefulness combined.
Tender, mild, applied to the
weather.
Thatchbirds, sparrows.
Tack, to put cattle on another
farm for grass; to hire grazing for cattle when the pastures on a farm are
insufficient to supply the stock with food.
Trapse, to rush about. “See the
dog trapsing about the fould.”
Tweek, or tweak, to press down. The cheese press tweaks out the whey from
the curds.
Tap, a patch on a shoe.
Tap, v., to patch or repair shoes
by putting on them a new piece of leather.
Wicked, frolicsome, playful.
Wooller (see Oiler), the alder
tree.
(To be continued.)
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Collections Historical & Archaeological Relating to Montgomeryshire.
Issued by the Powys-land Club for the Use of its Members.
Vol. XI.
London:
Printed for the club by
Thomas Richards, 37, Great Queen Street.
1878.
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Archaic Words, Phrases, etc., of Montgomeryshire. By Rev. Elias Owen, M.A.
No. XI. 317. (Continued)
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317
ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, M.A.
(Continued from Vol. x, p. 220.)
No. XL
I WILL begin this paper with a few phrases that were often heard in
Llanidloes some thirty years ago.
“Think on me.” The preposition on
in this expression takes the place of the preposition of, and “think on me”
means, “think of me.” Thus “You’ll never think on me, when you are gone; out
of sight out of mind, it will then be.” “No,” is the gallant response, “I’ll
think on you every breath I’ll take.”
The preposition on is used in other expressions than that now given. The
other day I heard a person use the words, “top on the hill,” for “top of the
hill”. Thus also I have often heard the expression “I’ll think on what you
have told me”; and again, “He spoke on it afore”; and again, “afore I begin
on”.
It appears that this use of the word on is not peculiar to Montgomeryshire.
The Rev. T. L. O. Davies, in his book on Bible English, page 55, writes as
follows on the word on: “On is found for ‘of’ in 1 Sam. xxvii, 11, in a
phrase that is still current, ‘Lest they should tell on us,’ i.e., of us. The
usage was frequent, e.g., ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on.’
(Tempest, iv, 1.) ‘The bird is dead that we have made so much
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318 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
on.’ (Cymbeline, iv, 2.) ‘Amongst so many battles which in ten years time
have rent the bowels of England, some on necessity would fall on that day
(Sunday) (Fuller, Ch. Hist., xi, ii, 43). We still say ‘on purpose’.” I have
heard the expression “I begged on him to stop.”
“Take on.” This phrase is used to indicate
that the person who uses it, saw a certain party, or observed a certain
thing, without indicating his observation. “I saw her in the street, but I
didna take on that I seed her.” A similar expression was formerly in use in
Scotland. Dean Ramsay, in his Reminiscences of Scottish Life, p. 116, writes:
“I can remember a peculiar Scottish phrase very commonly used, which now
seems to have passed away. I mean the expression ‘to let on’, indicating the
notice or observation of some thing, or of some person. For example, ‘I saw
Mr. - - at the meeting, but I never let on that I knew he was present.’”
“Under one,” together, at the same
time. “I’ll bring up the two under one.”
“He’s a dead un.” Dead in such
expressions as this means, sly, cunning, knowing, it is applied to a person
that has, as it is said, his wits about him. The phrase is used in reference
to various matters in which sharpness is observable. Thus, when a person is
apparently getting the worse of an argument, his acquaintances who know his powers
are not the least disconcerted, “Wait a bit,” they say, “he is a dead un,
he’ll soon turn him topsy turvy.”
“A dead lay.” These words are
heard in the neighbourhood of Llanymynech. Their import will best be seen
from the following example. A friend informs me that an old man speaking of a
person whom he knew said “He is on some dead lay now,” i.e., up to some
mischief, about to do something not quite right, and possibly not quite
honest. The words also imply perseverance in attaining an object in ways that
are considered locally as “underhanded dealings”.
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 319
There are words in Montgomeryshire that retain the sense they formerly had in
England, but which in modern English they no longer have. Starve for cold is one of these. But
there are also words in Montgomeryshire that perhaps are used with a local
meaning attached thereto; thus comical,
which in modern English means mirthful, or diverting, in Montgomeryshire
means impudent. There are in Montgomeryshire a good number of these two kinds
of words, viz., those that are used in a sense which formerly belonged to
them, but which now is obsolete, and those that seem to have a local meaning.
I will give a few of these latter kind of words. I have here and there in iny
former papers given examples of the former class, and I shall most likely
give a more complete list as I go on with rny list of words. I have also given
examples of those words that I suppose have a local sense, and now I will add
thereto.
Comical, impudent, saucy. The
following conversation will shew the sense in which this word is used. A
farmer describing a labourer to a friend said “I never saw sich a comical
fellow in all my life. I oifer’d him good wages, and he tould me to my face
to keep them myself.” The person addressed responded, “Well, he needna haf
bin so comical, I know’d a time when he were glad enough of a job.”
Jest, just, nearly. “How is Thomas
to-day, John ?” “Oh, sir, he’s jest dead?” meaning that he is very ill. A
clergyman unacquainted with this use of the word along the borders of Wales
found himself condoling with a party for a death that had not occurred. The
vicar had started to visit a distant sick parishioner, and on the way he met
the sick man’s son, and immediately made enquiries after his father’s health.
The answer was “He is jest dead.” “I am very sorry,” said the clergyman,
“will you kindly tell your mother that I was on my way to see your father
when you met me.” “But, sir,” said the man, “my father would be very glad to
see you.” “To see me !” said the clergy-
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320 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
man, “did you not tell me that your father was dead?” “No, sir,” said the
man, “I said he was jest dead.”
Keep, to make. I remember when a
lad, often hearing some one or other of the teachers in the National School
say to their noisy talking classes, “Don’t keep a noise, boys”; and I well
remember the master, who was a Londoner, and consequently unacquainted with
Welsh idioms, would correct the monitors by saying, “That is what you want
them to do, and why should you ask them to do what you don’t want them to do
if they keep a noise they don’t make a noise.”
Keep, to put away. “Keep this for
me,” i.e., put this away to save me doing so. “Keep it in its place,” i.e.,
put it in its proper place. The word keep is a translation of the Welsh word
cadw.
Learn, teach. “Learn me how to do
it,” i.e., teach me. This word was once generally used as it is now heard in
Llanidloes. It occurs in the Book of Common Prayer.
“learn me true understanding.” Ps. cxix, 66.
The Rev. J.L.O. Davies, in his Bible English, remarks respecting the word
learn, that “it is never found in our Bible; we may conclude, therefore, that
this signification of the word was passing away in 1611.” Shakespeare uses
the word in the Tempest, i, 2:
“You taught me language; and my profit on’t
Is, I know how to curse. The red plague rid you
For learning me your language.”
The words teach and learn are used in the sense we now use them in this very
act. From the use that Caliban makes of learn, one would infer that he spoke
somewhat imperfectly the language which Prospero had taught him. Prospero
says:
“I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour,
But thy vile race
Though thou didst learn.”....
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 321
These quotations shew that Caliban used not the chaste language of his
teacher Prospero.
Mr. Davies also takes note of the use of the word by Fuller in the Pisgah
sight of Palestine, first published in 1650. “No doubt,” Fuller writes, “as
the corps had learned them, and followed the precedents of their idolatrous
parents” (ii. xii. 22). From this quotation it appears that the use of the word
in the sense of to teach, lingered even among the learned to the latter half
of the seventeenth century. It is not unlikely that it continued for some
time current in both senses among the educated class, until at last one sense
only of the word was used by this class, and the people clung to the other
use of the word.
So, short of, less, all but, “What
is the length of that plank?” “It is four feet, so a quarter,” i.e., its
length is 3¾ feet.
Abide, endure, “I can’t abide that
man.” This word appears to have been used in Shakespeare’s days in the way it
now is in Montgomeryshire.
“But thy vile race
Though them didst learn, had that in’t which good natures
Could not abide to be with;”
The Tempest (i, 2.)
Evening. Afternoon. In Llanidloes
the afternoon is always called evening. “Come to our house for tea this
evening.” “Thank you, I shall be delighted to do so.” “Then mind you be in
time, not later than three o’clock.” “Ah,” you say, “it’s fortunate the time
was named, or I fear I should have but a cold cup of tea had I gone later on
in the day.”
Having noticed several words heard in Montgomeryshire in a sense now no
longer common, I will proceed with my list of words.
Ansel. The first bargain in the
day. I have heard this word with the aspirate, as hansel. The first comer to
a stall on market-day is addressed thus: “Come, give us a ansel.” This word
is used about Buttin gton and other parts. I first heard it in Llanfyllin.
VOL. XI.
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322 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
I observed to a young man last April that the snow had not entirely disappeared
there were patches of snow here and there by the hedges “No,” he said,
“there’s a honsell.” When asked for an explanation, he said, that the snow in
the ditches was like an egg in a nest, waiting for more to come. I never
heard the word in or about Llanidloes. Upon referring to my friend Mr.
Earner’s list of Llanidloes words, I find he does not notice it; and either
the word is not there, or it has escaped both his and my notice.
Arrust, harvest. Heard in the
north parts of the county.
Asinder, asunder.
Awkit, awkward.
Anyways, in anywise. “He won’t
allow you to.” “Never heed, I’ll do it anyways,” i.e., in any case, with, or
without permission.
The word occurs in the Bible in several places, - thus: “And if the people of
the land do anyways hide their eyes from the man.” Lev. xx, 4. See also Num.
xxx, 15, and 2 Chron. xxxii, 13. - The word is found also in the Prayer Book:
“Those who are anyways afflicted or distressed.”
Batter. An artificial bank, or
slope.
Dearn, eager for, determined to
have, or get a thing. “He was very dearn on it.”
Dizoner, a blow which makes a
person feel dizzy. “He gave me sich a dizoner on my head.”
Far, a fair. Fairday is pronounced
farday. Laughable mistakes are made by mispronunciations of words. The Rector
of a certain parish told me that he was teaching his Sunday-school children
one Sunday afternoon, and these words were read: “‘Divers of them came from
far.” Wishing to ascertain whether the scholars understood the meaning of the
passage, he asked them what the words meant. By-and-bye one of the children
ventured an answer, and “‘sposed they came from a-far”; meaning, a fair. The
clergyman, not immediately perceiving the little one’s misconception, said,
“Yes,
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 323
they came from afar, but what do you mean by divers.” The child again,
“‘Sposed that the drivers of them came from the far.” The clergyman now saw
the little one’s mistake, and further questioning elicited an answer, which
showed that the little one thought it might have been “Oggestry far”, from
which the drivers were returning. Evidently this child had, on account of a
local pronunciation of the word fair, misunderstood the whole sentence, and
to his mind it merely meant that sheep or cattle drivers were returning from
a fair. Probably he had never heard the word divers before, and by a little
ingenuity he converted this word into drivers, and thus made sense of what
before was meaningless to him.
Feef, or feif, a thief.
Fit, feet.
Fitches. Vetches. The word
fitches, for vetches, was once common. Thus, in Isaiah xxviii, 25: “Doth not
the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his
ground? When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the
fitches?”
Gallus, frolicsome. This word
takes a substantive form, as frolicsomeness.
Hooze, or ooze, oftener used in its participial form, as hoozing or oozing,
wrapping oneself up. For instance, a woman going out with a shawl wrapped
over her head and shoulders, is accosted thus: “What’s the matter, hoozing
yourself up, arnt you well.”
Loose, loose in, to let, or let in. “My shoes loose in wet.” This use of
the word loose is from the Welsh. It is merely a translation of the word
gollwng, to loose or loosen, to let go; gollwng dwr, to let in water.
Lovechild, an illegitimate child.
Muggil, rubbish. There’s a lot of
muggil about.
Nan, what? If a person has not caught
another’s words, he says, “Nan?” and then the remark is repeated.
Scoot, a large piece, a scoot of
land, a large piece of land. This word is heard in Kerry parish, in and about
Sarn.
Y 2
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324 ARCHAIC WORDS, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
Spunge, to spunge, to make oneself
a burden to others, to force oneself upon a person’s hospitality.
Spunger, the person who spunges.
Sop, to soak, to get thoroughly
wet. “My feet are sopping wet.” From the Welsh sopen, a wet mass - yn wlyb
sopen, soaking wet.
Scroot, scrout, scrowt, a small
insignificant person. “I never thought he could have done it, he is such a
scroot of a man.” There is a word similar to scroot in Welsh, crwtyn, and
scroll seems to be a corruption of crwtyn. I have heard the word scrwtyn,
used for crwtyn in Montgomeryshire by Welsh-speaking people, and this further
shows the derivation of the word scroot through scrwtyn from crwtyn, a little
dumpy fellow.
Them is used for those. Lately I
heard these words “Them as ar gween to Llanyrnynech.” Them for those is to be
met with in the Prayer Book. “Spare Thou them which confess their faults”;
“Restore Thou them that are penitent”; “He pardoneth and absolveth all them
that truly repent.”
Trod, to walk in mud. In the
winter of 1877, I heard the word troddling for the first time. One person
said to another, in my hearing, not far from Llanyrnynech station “I’d rather
be at home than troddling up here.” The road was wet and muddy. Trode, a
path, is found in Wright’s Dictionary, and, possibly, the word trod, as heard
in parts of Montgomeryshire, is connected therewith. But it resembles in
sound the Welsh word troed, a foot, and troediaw, to foot, to tread, is still
current in Welsh. It is not unlikely that trod is derived more immediately
from the Welsh word troed than from trode, a pathway. Both words, probably,
have a common origin.
Whittle. A small woollen shawl for
throwing over the shoulders, so called in Llanidloes, where they are made.
(To be continued.)
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139 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC., OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE.
BY THE REV. ELIAS OWEN, M.A. (Continued from Vol. xii, p. 324.)
FROM the names of places in the border land between England and Wales it will
be seen that Welsh was spoken in places where at present it is not heard; and
from places’ names, however strangely disfigured by the tongue of the
foreigner, we learn how tenacious of life is the name of a place. What is
going on, and has gone on in Wales, has likewise occurred in other parts of
England, and many an English town, river, and brook, mountain and dale, owes
its name to the Celt, who, in ages long gone by, inhabited the whole country
and freely roamed over the downs in the south of England and along the
valleys of Derbyshire, and other parts of the kingdom, and gave names to the
places therein that have come down to our days. These names, though, can in
the lapse of time be hardly recognised in their modern garb even by a
Welsh-speaking Welshman. It requires an ingenious aptitude for such a work
ere the present name of an English place can be referred to its undoubtedly
Celtic original appellation. The writer does not lay claim to such a gift,
but in his various journeys, the somewhat disguised names of places, evidently
at one time Welsh, strike his ear, and he has thought that it would be well
to record a few, if only a few, of these names, merely to indicate what may
be done by local word-worms who have the curiosity and time for collecting a
list of place names undoubtedly derived
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140 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
from the Welsh in former years. Such an undertaking would be interesting and
useful, and there is ample scope for it in many parts of England, and
particularly in the English counties adjoining Wales, as well as in the
English-speaking parts of Wales.
The other day I was in the parish of Buttington, near Welshpool, and I had
several instances of the corruption of the names of places from an
intelligent lad who accompanied me in my walk. Pointing to a conical summit
of a branch of the Breidden Hill, I asked him what it was called. He said,
“That point there is called Pennyrozin.”
Pennyrozin. This word I took down
just as the boy pronounced it. The first part was clear - the pen - but what
could the rozin mean? This was the crux, but upon looking round the
difficulty vanished. Stretching before me right up to the Long Mynd Mountains
was a valley, which, before its cultivation, was a regular rhos, or moist
meadow land. On the other side, again, was the Severn; and ere the land at
the foot of the mountain was drained, that, too, must have been a rhos;
hence, the plural of rhos, rhosydd. The Penny is made to do duty for Pen y
(the top of), and the name undoubtedly at one time was Pen-y-rhosydd, which
in the course of years has been corrupted into Pennyrozin.
A summit not far from Penyrhosydd was called by the boy Molly golfa. Here, again, a similar change to that which
Penyrhosydd underwent was evident. The Molly of to-day was the Moel y of
former days. Moel means a conical hill void of wood. The latter part of the
name, viz., golfa, is not clear. There are those who derive it from collfa, a
place of execution; others, again, think it comes from gwylfa, a
watching-place. The g is certainly often dropped when an initial in Welsh
words in Montgomeryshire, but other changes would be required to convert
wylfa to collfa, and such changes as do not occur. Perhaps the root of the
word is to be looked for in coll, hazel wood; thus, Moel-y-gollfa would mean
the hazel wood hill.
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 141
Near Newtown, on the road to Kerry, is a place called locally Vastry. The present form of the word
is rather obscured, but with a little thought the darkness is dispelled, and
it is soon seen that Vastry comes from Maes, an open space, plain, or field,
and tref, a homestead.
Rossett, a parish adjoining
Cheshire, is evidently a corruption of rhosydd, marshy land.
Gresford derives its name from
Croes, a cross, and fford, a road. A few hundred yards from the village is
still to be seen the pedestal or base of a wayside cross.
Cytte, a place in Whittington
parish, comes from coed, wood, and ty, a house.
Such changes as those now referred to are common; but there is another
peculiarity observable in various parts of Wales, but more particularly so on
the border land, that is the translating of the names of places from Welsh
into English, both names being current at the same time. Thus in the valley
of Trefeglwys there is a house known as Tycoch, and it is always so called by
the Welsh-speaking population of those parts, while the English-speaking
people call it Redhouse. Thus, too, we have Whitehouse for Tygwyn. In the
neighbourhood of Denbigh stands the mother church of that parish. It is also
one of those places that have the peculiarity alluded to. It is known to the
Welshman as Eglwyswen, and to the Englishman, Whitechurch.
Whitechurch, the terminus of the
Cambrian railway line, was once Eglwyswen.
Bettisfield, a station between
Oswestry and Whitechurch, and which is also an ecclesiastical district, seems
to be an attempt at a translation of the word Caerbettws. The cae, field, is
translated, and the bettws is judiciously left alone, and this gives us the
mongrel word Bettisfield.
I have no doubt that the key to the meaning of many names of places will be
got by bearing in mind that partial or literal translations of Welsh names
often took place.
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142 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
There is another peculiarity in reference to the names of places which shall
be referred to, viz., the addition of a word in English, to make the meaning
of the term intelligible to English-speaking people. Thus, not far from
Llanymynech is a bridge now commonly called “Pont Meredith Bridge”. Pont is
the Welsh for bridge. This the English population either is ignorant of, or
it has Anglicised the term, to make it a descriptive term to them. In the
same manner yr ogof, the cave on the Llanymynech Hill, has been converted
into “the ogo hole”. In the uplands of Radnorshire, between Buillt and
Knighton, is a lake, locally called Lynbucklyn Pool, llyn meaning pool, or
lake. This combination of synonymous words is not uncommon.
Passing on from the names of places to words used in ordinary conversation,
it is in this case also observable that there is an interchange of words
between the Welsh and English. Some of these I have already mentioned in the
course of these papers, such as pendre [sic; = pendro], for the sickness to
which sheep are subject, and which affects their heads, and causes them to
turn round and round; glasder for glasdwr, etc. Words like these are common.
In this manner do concurrent languages affect each other.
In this paper I will put down, without alphabetical order, Welsh words, or
words used by Welsh-speaking people in Montgomeryshire, that are either not
used, or are not commonly used, in other parts of the principality.
Shettin, a hedge. In other parts
of Wales a hedge is a gwrych. In Carnarvonshire, where stones are plentiful
and trees scarce, the hedge becomes clawdd, a mound; but the divisions
between field and field there are stone-built walls. Shettin has an English
sound about it, and probably it is derived from shut in, to enclose.
Wttra, a lane; sometimes the w
aspirated as hwttra. In Carnarvonshire a wttra is a lôn; in Denbighshire, a
rhewl.
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 143
Cog, a lump. A short, lusty fellow
is called a cog - “Mae o yn glamp o gog lusti”. The cog may be applied to
thick-set, short men, but it is usually applied to children, as “Pan oeddwn i
yn gog bach” “When I was a little cog”. “Cymmerwch gog o gaws” - “Take a cog,
or lump, of cheese”.
Anferth, which Dr. Owen Pugh gives
as “without beauty, monstrous”, is a word of wide application in
Montgomeryshire. It answers somewhat to the word ofnadwy, terrible,
frightful. It is one of those words intended to intensify an expression. “Yn
sal anferth” - “very ill indeed”, or “extremely ill”. “Y mae yn rhewi yn
anferth” - “It freezes very hard, or tremendously”.
Manwes. An open sow that has not
had pigs.
Mwlwg mawn, the peat-ash, or
remains of peat after they are burnt. In some parts this is called mwnws
mawn.
Caenen, a heavy fall of snow. This
word is commonly used in Carno parish. In Cardiganshire the word used for the
same thing is Haen.
Talch, coarse meal.
Stican, a spoon. In
Carnarvonshire, and other parts of Wales, the usual word for a spoon is llwy.
There is, however, a piece of wood used to stir the porridge called a stican
in Carnarvonshire.
Grwn, a seed bed, called in parts
of Wales Gwely. Thus, in Llanfair Caereinion they would say, “Dyma frwn o
foron anferth o fawr” - “This is a very large bed of carrots”. In Anglesey
the same information would be conveyed thus - “Dima wely o garaitch mawr
ofnadwy.”
Moron, carrots. In some places
called moron cochion, or red carrots, to distinguish them from parsnips,
called moron gwynion, or white carrots. The usual name for this vegetable is
a corruption of carrots, as given above.
Ffebrys, gooseberries. In
Carnarvonshire the word used is a corruption of the English word, as
coesberrins. Similar corruptions are used in other parts. In Llan-
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144 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
fyllin, I have heard gooseberries called Eirin-Mair, Mary’s plums.
Gomedd, to refuse. The common word
is gwrthod, or nacau, but gomedd is the word used in Llanfair,
Montgomeryshire, and the parts there about. Thus, there a person would say,
“Yr oedd o yn gomedd dod getha i”, which in Flintshire would take the form -
“Yr oedd o yn naca dod gyda mi”- “He refused to come with me.”
Dannod, to upbraid, is a word
that, while it is good Welsh, is, nevertheless, a local word. The usual word
in other parts of North Wales is edliw, to upbraid, or reproach.
Ffwrn, an oven. The use of this
word strikes a person from Carnarvonshire as singular, where an oven is a
pobty, or baking-house.
Ffwrna, to bake, or, in
Flintshire, “I rhoi yn y pobty” is to put into the bakehouse.
Cligeth, a funeral. This is a word
common to South Wales, as well as Montgomeryshire. It is an abbreviation of
Claddedigaeth. In Anglesey and Carnarvonshire, a funeral is a cynhebrwng. In
Montgomeryshire hebrwng is the word used when a person goes “to send a person
on his way”.
Gythge, necks. Gythge seems to be
a corruption of the word gyddfau, plural of gwddf, neck.
Gwddwg, neck. A word heard in
Llanfair, Montgomeryshire. “Y mae llawer a dolur gythge y mis yma” - “Many
suffer from sore throats this month.”
Enfedd, ripe. The usual word is
addfed.
Modyd, for teimlo, to feel.
Moyn, to go for a thing, or to
fetch a thing. The usual words in other parts of Wales are “Yn hol”. The
common use of the word moyn in Montgomeryshire would strike a Carnarvonshire
person as very strange.
Da, cattle. This is a good Welsh
word, but as applied to cattle it is not often heard out of the county; at
least, I have not heard it. The usual
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OF MONTGOMERYSHIRE. 145
word for cattle is gwartheg, or anifeiliaid. In Denbighshire, cattle becomes
cattal. Thus, in a booklet, by Robert Davies, Nantglyn, published in 1803, p.
27, is the line
“Ac ar ei gattal gyrn.”
Nant, a brook. In most counties in
North Wales a nant is a dingle, or narrow valley, and not a brook. Thus sings
the bard of Nantglyn of his native valley, Nantglyn
“Nantglyn drwy’r flwyddyn yn flith nant gyrchog,
Nant gorchwyl y fenditb,
Nant winwydd, nant o wenith,
Nant is law, hwyl glaw, haul, gwlith.”
Clwyd, a hen-roost.
Clwyd, a sort of a gate, which is
not secured to its posts by hinges, but by a straw, or other kind of, rope.
The word is in Dr. Owen Pugh’s Dictionary, and is defined by him as a hurdle
and wattled gate. It is a local term, and it is interesting to find it
current in Montgomeryshire. It is common in Trefeglwys parish.
Plancio, to protest, or affirm a
thing, as “Yr oedd yn plancio na wyddai ddim am y peth.” - He protested that
he knew nothing of the matter. This word is heard in Llangadfan parish.
Burr, a whetstone. It is called
calenhogi in Flintshire. In some parts it is called maen hogi, and in other
parts of Wales it goes by other names. Burr is heard in Llangyniew parish,
Montgomeryshire.
Penty, a cottage standing alone, a
detached house without land belonging thereto, a farm-servant’s house built
by itself, a hovel. The word is in Dr. Owen Pugh’s Dictionary, but there it
is defined as “a building added to the main house; penthouse, a shed; also,
the head house”. It is used in quite a different sense to this in
Montgomeryshire, for instead of being “the head house”, it is a mean
building, standing by itself, without any pretension to distinction of any
kind.
Blaid, cowhouse. The general term
for cowhouse in
VOL. xiv. L
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146 ARCHAIC WORDS, PHRASES, ETC.,
Welsh is Beudy. “Dew’ch a getho i i’r blaid” - “Come with me to the cowhouse”
is heard in Llangyniew for “Deuwch gyda mi i’r beudy” in more northern parts
of Wales. In Flintshire a cowhouse is called a cor.
Wap, soon, immediately. The sense
in which the word is used may be seen from the following example: “Ni a
fyddwm wedi darfod wap” - “We shall finish in the twinkling of an eye”. Wap
is a slang term. In some parts of Wales the equivalent is wap is toc, which
means instantaneous; thus, “Fyddwn wedi darfod toc.”
Dyl means the same as toc, or wap.
Allusion has already been made in a former paper to the dropping of ch, when
an initial letter, in the neighbourhood of Llanidloes. It appears, though,
that this peculiarity extends to other parts of the county. Thus I am
informed by my friend, the Rev. G. Edwards, M.A., that it is common in
Llangadfan, of which parish the reverend gentleman is rector. My friend Mr.
Griffiths, schoolmaster, Llangyniew, tells me that such also is the case in
that parish. In Llanwnog and Llanidloes I have myself noticed repeatedly this
provincialism. There is, however, a difference, which I think I have
observed, in the pronunciation of such words as begin with ch in the eastern
and western parts of the county; thus, in the western parts, where Welsh only
is the language of the people, the w is preceded by the aspirate thus, chwech
becomes hwech; whilst in the eastern parts of the county there is a tendency
to drop the aspirate altogether, and the chwech becomes wech; this, however,
will require further corroboration. The peculiarity of dropping the ch leads
to the abbreviation of words; thus, chwyad becomes hwyd, and chwyaden hwyden.
In such words as these, where the initial is aspirated, it is difficult to
state with certainty whether the h precedes or follows after the w. In the
English word, when, and such like, the aspirate appears after the w, but it
is a question whether in sound it does not precede it.
(To be continued.)
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