‘THE NORTH’ – JOHN RAY 1674
A figure from the Royal Society who took an interest in local dialect was John Ray, naturalist and linguist.
He published a Collection of English Words, Not Generally Used. (London, 1674), whose first edition included a considerable number of words attested elsewhere to be in use in the North East. Although he does not distinguish these as ‘northern’, this may reasonably be assumed to be the case, and have the value that they were “collected orally by self and friends.” The third edition of 1737 was enlarged by information from Francis Brokesby, rector of Rowley in East Yorkshire, and other informants from e.g. Cumberland, and includes a much larger range of words also relevant to the North-East.
Words from the 1737 edition are preceded by a cross +.
ad(d)le – to earn
amell, ameld – among
anauntrins – if so be, if perchance [cf. aunters]
anent – over against, concerning [noted as esp. Scots]
+ arf – afraid
arles – earnest or advance of wages
asker – newt
astite – shortly, as oon… tider, titter – sooner
+aud-farand – of children, when grave or witty, beyond their age
aunters – peradventure, if it chance
+ axel-tooth – molar
bain – willing, forward
balks, bawks – poles laid over a stable or other building for the roof [i.e. a beam]
barn, bearn – a child… bearn-teams – broods of children
+ barr – gate of a city
+ beeld – shelter
+ blake – yellow
+ bleb – blister
+ brant – steep
bleit, blate – bashful
to boke – to belch, to eb ready to vomit
boose – an os or cow-stall
+ brat – a coarse apron or cloth
to breade – to spread
a buer – a gnat
+ bumble-kites – bramble-berries [Yorks]
a carl-cat – a he-cat
a carre – a hollow place where water stands
cleam – to glue together
clam’d – starved
+ clock – a beetle or dor, a hot-chafer cod – a pillow
cole, keal – potage made of colewort
+ coup – to exchange, or swop
cow-blakes – cow-dung [for fuel]
crowse – brisk lively, jolley: ‘as crowse as a new washen louse’
I’s dazed – I’m very cold
to didder – to quive with cold
to ding – to beat
dree – long, tedious
dub- pool of water
eckle, ettle – to aim, intend, design
elden – fewel for the fire
farantly – handsome e.g. fair and farantly
to fend – to shift for
fettle – to set or goe about any thiny, to dress or prepare
+ fighting-farand – in a fighting humour
fogge – long grass remaining in pastures till winter
+ foist – fusty
fremd, fremt – far off, not related to, strange, at enmity
gang – to goe or walk
garre – to make, cause or force
gate – way or path
+ gavelock – a pitch, an iron bar to enter stakes into the gorund etc.
+ gear – clothes, equipment
gimmer-lamb – ew-lamb
goam – to mind or look at [Yorks]
+ gowk – cuckoo
greath – adv. well
+ guizen’d – tubs that leak through drought
haggles – it hails
happe – to cover for warmth
+ harl – a mist
haver – oats [Cumb’land] hause, hose – throat
haust, hoste – a dry cough
heald – to pour from a pot
+ hell – to pour out
hind-berries – raspberries
+ ingle – a fire or blaze [Cumb’land]
+ jimmers – joined hinges
+ ken – know
kenspecked – marked or branded
+ kep – to retch… to kep a ball – to catch it
a kimmel – a poudring tub
kite – the belly [Cumb’land]
+ kittle – uncertain, doubtful
klick uo – to catch up [Lincs]
+ knack – to speak [as in the south]
kye – cows
+ kyrk – church
lake – to play
late – to seek [Cumb’land]
lig – to li
lope – to leap
lop – a flea
lowe – flame, vb. to flame
lowk – to weed corn
+ lugs – ears
+ mab – dress carelessly
+ maddle – to be fond: she maddles of this fellow
marrow – a companion or fellow
+ mauks – maggots
meaugh – my wives brother or sisters husband
+ mell – a mallet or beetle
menseful – comely, graceful, becoming
+ mickle – much
midding – a dung hill
midge – gnat
mizzy – a quagmire
+ nab – head of a hill
nash, nesh – washy, tender, weak, pulinh [Mids and NW?]
+ neb – bill of a bird, point of a pen, etc.
neive, neiffe – a fist
+ nip – to press between fingers and thumb
nor – than
omy – mellow e.g. land
+ ousen – oxen
ox-boose – ox/cow stall for winter nights
+ poke – sack or bag
+ pubble – fat [of corn, fruit, etc.]
+ reckans – hooks for pots over fires
+ renty – fine [of cattle, horses]
rine – to touch
roop – hoarseness
+ runches – dry charlock
sackless – innocent, faultless
+ sark – a shirt
+ seaves – rushes
sell – self
shippen – cow-house
sike – little rivulet
+ sike – such
+ slape – slipp’ry
sleck – small pit-coal
smittle – to infect
sneck – latch [the door]
snite – to wipe e.g. snite your nose
+ snod, snog – neat, handsome
+ so, soa – tube with two ears, to carry on a stang
speir… – to ask, enquire, search out
spell, speal – a splinter
stang – wooden bar or pole
stee – a ladder
+ steg – a gander
stithe – hard, sever, pungent
stot – young bullock or steer
sturk – young bullock or heifer
swale, sweal – to singe or burn, to wste or blaze away
swarth – the ghost of a dying man [Cumb’land]
teem – to pour out, as from one vessel to another
threap – to blame, rebuke
toom, tume – empty
wang-tooth – canine tooth
wankle – wobbly, wavery
wark – to ake
wend -t o go
wheen-cat – a queen-cat
to white – requite [Cheshire]… white – to blame
wind-berry – billberry or whortleberry
+ wizzle – to get any thing away slily
wonne, wun – to dwell – as, where w— you?
+ yan – one, yance – once
yate – gate
+ yaud – a horse
+ yeardly – vastly
yewd, yod – went; yewing – going
+yow[s]ter -to fester
+ yoon – oven
+ yuck – to itch, scratch
Yu-gams – Christmas games
The above material reproduced by kind permission of Tom Richardson.
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