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N.Bacon eques auratus & magni figilli Angliae Cuftos librum hunc bibliothecae Cantabrig.dicauit

1574.

Norfolk Words

NOT FOUND IN FORBY'S "VOCABULARY."

COMMUNICATED BY

W. G. WATERS, ESQ.

THE words contained in the following collection have every one come under my personal notice; and, so far as my knowledge goes, have not been hitherto dealt with. While I was engaged in collecting them I learnt accidentally that some years ago a supplementary volume to Forby's Vocabulary had been published, but that it was now out of print and very scarce. I have not been able to consult it, and I must, on this account, beg forbearance in case I may have given below words already therein catalogued.1 claiming all the words I now produce as genuine Norfolk provincialisms, I by no means intend to assert that their use is limited by the boundaries of our own county. readily admit that many of them are known in other parts of England, and that a student of dialect, working in Somersetshire or Cumberland, might claim them with just as valid a title as I do myself.

In

I

An asterisk is prefixed to those words which appear in Forby with different meanings.

ASHEL, v. To cut bricks to form a joint in masonry. *BALK, v. To let land lie fallow. Vide "Summerlay." BELT, 8. A narrow strip of woodland.

1 It has since been compared, and the words in both lists are noted.

BETTER, adj. More. Ex., "I have known him better

than ten years."

BETTY, s. The familiar name applied to the kettle.

BOWDER RUSHES, s. Coarse rushes used for making horse collars.

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BROW, v. To clear away rough grass and brambles; 'Browings" is the term applied to the rubbish when it is collected.

BRUSH and BRUSHINGS have the same meanings as the preceding words.

BURKNOT, s. An excrescence often found growing on

elm and oak trees.

CAMP, v. "The rooks are camping" is an expression often heard in the autumn when those birds assemble together and gyrate in the air.

CAPPLE, s. The revolving wooden loop on the top of a flail by which the "swingel" is attached to the "handstaff."

CHAR-HOLE, s. The place in the roof of a stack in which

stands the harvest man who takes the corn from the man below him.

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CLOSURE, s. The cover or binding of a book.

COOMB, s. A measure of four bushels.

CRAB-GRASS, s. The common sand-wort.

CRADLE, s. An iron fixed upon a scythe to gather the corn. In the latter days of mowing it superseded the primitive "bail."

CROW, s. A heavy iron instrument used for making holes in the ground for hurdles or fold stakes.

CULLS, s. Refuse cattle.

DILBERRIES, 8. Pellets of hardened dung hanging in the breech of a sheep.

DINGLE, r. To dawdle.

*DOG, s.

An instrument used for lifting carriages in order to grease the wheels.

DOKER, s. A diminutive generally used with respect to "Have you seen my new calf?

young animals.

Ex,

He is a neat little doker."

DORL, DAWL, v. To stroke gently with the hand, to fondle.

DRAW, s. A spade's depth in trenching. The same as "Spit." Cf. Forby.

DRAW, v. To take the bread out of an oven, or the lime out of a kiln. Ex., "The baker draws his batch at twelve o'clock." "I shall draw my kiln to-morrow."

DRIFT, DROVE, s. A field road.

DRINGLING-PAINS, s. Premonition of labour in women.

DUBBIN, 8. A joint of meat.

Cf. Forby.

The same as the "bed."

DUDDER, v. To shudder. [In Forby's Supplement.]

FAN, s. A large basket.

FINELY, adj. A term usually applied to convalescence after childbirth. [In Forby's Supplement.]

FINGERS AND TOES, s. A disease common in turnips. FINTOMS, s. Fancies.

FOOTLACE, v. To repair a wall just above the foundation. FRANK, s. A familiar name applied to the heron. Ex., "I see old Frank this morning."

FREEMARTIN. A barren heifer: usually applied to the female calf of twins when the two are of different sex. FROTHY, adj. Light, slippery, unmanageable. Ex., "We can't do nothing with this here barley, sir, 'tis so frothy," is a frequent complaint in the harvest time when corn is carted without having had rain upon it. It is then said to "bulber" or "bulver." Cf. Forby, on the stack.

GAN, v. For gave. Ex., " He never gan me anything." *GAVEL, v. To prepare straw for thatching.

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