bat

From Middle English bat, batte, from Old English batt (“bat, club, cudgel”), probably of Celtic origin, compare Old Breton bath (“club, cudgel”) and modern Breton bazh (“swagger stick”), ultimately from a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰh₂- (“to strike, beat, pierce”), similar to the Gaulish source of Latin battuo (“I beat, pound”).

der

So ſlides he dovvne vppon his greyned bat; / And comely diſtant ſits he by her ſide, […]

1609, William Shakespeare, “A Louers Complaint”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC, signature K2, verso:


rise

From Middle English risen, from Old English rīsan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīsan, from Proto-Germanic *rīsaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁rey- (“to rise, arise”). According to Kroonen (2013), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to stir, rise”). See also raise.
cognates
Cognate with West Frisian rize, Saterland Frisian riese (“to arise”), Dutch rijzen (“to rise, ascend, lift”), German Low German riesen (“to rise; arise”), German dialectal reisen (“to fall”), Norwegian Nynorsk risa (“to rise”), Icelandic rísa (“to rise”). Related also to German reisen (“to travel, fare”), Dutch reizen (“to travel”), Danish rejse (“to travel”), Swedish resa (“to travel”). Non-Germanic cognates include Albanian rris (“I raise, grow”) and Russian рост (rost, “growth”).

cog

(Sussex) A small hill; used chiefly in place names.


link

Azerbaijani: link

Belarusian: лінк (link)

Bulgarian: линк (link)

Catalan: link

Chinese:

Hong Kong Cantonese: link (ling1), 拎 (ling1)

Czech: link

Danish: link

Dutch: link

Estonian: link

Finnish: linkki

Georgian: ლინკი (linḳi)

German: link

Hebrew: לינק (línk)

Hindi: लिंक (liṅk)

Hungarian: link

Italian: link

Japanese: リンク (rinku)

Korean: 링크 (ringkeu)

Lower Sorbian: link

Macedonian: линк (link)

Persian: لینک (link)

Polish: link

Portuguese: link

Romanian: link

Serbo-Croatian: линк, link

Slovak: link

Spanish: link

Russian: линк (link)

Thai: ลิงก์ (líng)

Turkish: link

Ukrainian: лінк (link)

Yiddish: לינק (link)

From Middle English linke, lenke, from a merger of Old English hlenċe, hlenċa (“ring; chainlink”) and Old Norse *hlenkr, hlekkr (“ring; chain”); both from Proto-Germanic *hlankiz (“ring; bond; fettle; fetter”). Used in English since the 14th century. Related to lank.

tejlidhje

computing: short for hyperlink — see also hyperlink

a chain is only as strong as its weakest link

They used formerly to live in caves or huts dug into the side of a bank or "link," and lined with heath or straw.

2008, Richard John King, A Handbook for Travellers in Kent and Sussex:

(Sussex) a thin wild bank of land splitting two cultivated patches and often linking two hills.


brook

From Middle English brook, from Old English brōc (“brook; stream; torrent”), from Proto-West Germanic *brōk (“stream”).

Audio (Southern England)

(Sussex, Kent, in the plural) Low, marshy ground.


beach

→ Japanese: ビーチ

→ Punjabi: ਬੀਚ (bīc)

→ Zulu: ibhishi

From Middle English bache, bæcche (“bank, sandbank”), from Old English beċe (“beck, brook, stream”), from Proto-West Germanic *baki, from Proto-Germanic *bakiz (“brook”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeg- (“flowing water”).
Cognate with Dutch beek (“brook, stream”), German Bach (“brook, stream”), Swedish bäck (“stream, brook, creek”). More at batch, beck.

der

(UK dialectal, Sussex, Kent) The loose pebbles of the seashore, especially worn by waves; shingle.


height

en-noun

height (countable and uncountable, plural heights)

From Middle English heighte, heiȝþe, from Old English hēahþu, hēhþo, hīehþu (“height”), Proto-West Germanic *hauhiþu, from Proto-Germanic *hauhiþō (compare *hauhaz). Equivalent to high + -th.
Cognates
See also Saterland Frisian Höchte, Hööchte (“height”), West Frisian hichte (“height”), Dutch hoogte (“height”), Middle High German hœhede, hœhte (“height”), Old Norse and Old Norse hæð (“height”) (compare Swedish höjd, Norwegian høyde), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌿𐌷𐌹𐌸𐌰 (hauhiþa, “height”).

(Sussex) An area of land at the top of a cliff.

A high point.
An area of land at the top of a cliff.


nowt

Dialectal pronunciation of naught. Akin to West Frisian neat (“nothing”), German nichts (“nothing”).

(Northern England, Sussex, Berkshire) Naught, nothing.


wish

From Middle English wisshen, wischen, wüschen, from Old English wȳsċan (“to wish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wunskijan, from Proto-Germanic *wunskijaną (“to wish”), from Proto-Indo-European *wenh₁- (“to wish, love”).
Cognate with Scots wis (“to wish”), Saterland Frisian wonskje (“to wish”), West Frisian winskje (“to wish”), Dutch wensen (“to wish”), German wünschen (“to wish”), Danish ønske (“to wish”), Icelandic æskja, óska (“to wish”), Latin Venus, veneror (“venerate, honour, love”).

der

if wishes were horses, beggars would ride


dean

(Sussex, chiefly in place names) A hill.


gap

From Middle English gap, gappe, from Old Norse gap (“an empty space, gap, chasm”), from gapa (“to gape, scream”), from Proto-Germanic *gapōną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰeh₂- (“to open wide, gape”). Related to Danish gab (“an expanse, space, gap”), Old English ġeap (“open space, expanse”); compare English gape.

cog

At Birling Gap we can stop and go have a picnic on the beach.

(Sussex) A sheltered area of coast between two cliffs (mostly restricted to place names).


sliver

From Middle English slivere, sliver from Middle English sliven (“to cut, cleave, split”), from Old English slīfan (as in tōslīfan (“to split, split up”)).

треска

A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment.

(Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Kent, Sussex, Upper Midwestern US, Canada) Specifically, a splinter caught under the skin.

Sussex; Upper Midwestern US; Sussex; Upper Midwestern US


moonshine

en-noun

moonshine (countable and uncountable, plural moonshines)

From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.

(England, dialectal, archaic) smuggled spirits, often with a specific sense;(Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin.


laine

(Sussex) an area of arable land at the foot of a hill


stew

stew (usually uncountable, plural stews)

→ Japanese: シチュー (shichū)

From Middle English stewe, stue, from Anglo-Norman estouve, Old French estuve (“bath, bathhouse”) (modern French étuve), from Medieval Latin stupha, of uncertain origin. Perhaps from Vulgar Latin *extufāre, from ex- + Ancient Greek τῦφος (tûphos, “smoke, steam”), from τύφω (túphō, “to smoke”). See also Italian stufare, Portuguese estufar. Compare also Old English stuf-bæþ (“a hot-air bath, vapour bath”); see stove.

cog

It was used as a stew, so that the inhabitants of the castle could have fish on Fridays, and for this reason the architects had been careful not to let the drains and sewers run into it. It was stocked with fish every year.

1958, T[erence] H[anbury] White, chapter V, in The Once and Future King, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, book I (The Sword in the Stone):

(Sussex) A pool in which fish are kept in preparation for eating.


Way

From specific instances of way. In Christian contexts, a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ὁδός (hodós) used with that meaning in the Acts of the Apostles (for example, Acts 9:2). In Chinese contexts, a semantic loan from Chinese 道 (Dào).

semantic loan

We're walking along the Way now.

(Sussex, with the definite article) Clipping of South Downs Way.


pell

From Latin pellis (“animal skin, pelt”), from Proto-Italic *pelnis, from Proto-Indo-European *pel-ni-. Distantly related to fell and film.

(Sussex) A body of water somewhere between a pond and a lake in size.


elven

Probably a variant of elmen (“of or pertaining to an elm tree; composed of elm trees; made of elm wood”).

(Kent, Sussex, Warwickshire, Worcestershire) An elm (a tree of the genus Ulmus, particularly the wych elm or Scots elm (Ulmus glabra))).

Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire; Sussex; Warwickshire; Worcestershire


burgh

From Middle English borwe, borgh, burgh, buruh, from Old English burh, from Proto-West Germanic *burg, from Proto-Germanic *burgz (“city, stronghold”).
Cognate with Dutch burg, French bourg, German Burg, Persian برج (borj, “tower; battlement, fort”), Swedish borg. Doublet of borough, Brough, and Bury.

cog

(Sussex) a small mound, often used in reference to tumuli (mostly restricted to place names).


twitten

Corruption of betwixt and between.
Alternatively: derived from Low German "twiete" (alley)

1892: "A Peep Into the Past": Brighton in the Olden Time, with Glances at the Present by John George Bishop
Separated from the Brewery by the narrow twitten running into Ship-street was "THE CRICKETERS"

On her rounds, she preferred to walk around Lewes via the twittens, the steep high-walled alleyways that ran betwixt and between the old buildings of the town.

(Sussex) a narrow path between two walls or hedges, especially on hills. For example, small alleyways leading between two buildings to courtyards, streets, or open areas behind.


bluely

The Sussex fishermen call the porpoise 'Bluely'.

(UK dialectal, Sussex, obsolete) Porpoise.


torchmaking

(Sussex) The communal work carried out by bonfire society members in September, October and early November to prepare for Bonfire Night, especially by making torches.


bonfire society

en-noun

bonfire society (plural bonfire societies)

(Sussex) A group of people who celebrate Bonfire Night by moving in procession through the streets of their town or village, and also participate in other smaller events throughout the rest of the year.


bonfire boy

(Sussex) A male who participates in bonfire celebrations.


torch runner

(Sussex) One who collects used torches for a bonfire society on Bonfire Night.


bostal

track - can be either side (canonical)
bostals (plural)

When the practice was over it was still light, and Robert and Bessie turned inevitably along the little bostal that trickles through the fields […]

1916, Sheila Kaye-Smith, Sussex Gorse: The Story of a Fight:

[…] up the chalky bostals over the Downs from the secluded villages and hamlets […]

1965, Geoffrey Jules Marcus, Before the lamps went out:


outfire

Are you going to any outfires this year? Yes, Barcombe and Glynde I think.

(Sussex) A visit by one bonfire society to join in with the celebrations of another.


underhill

en-adj

underhill (comparative more underhill, superlative most underhill)

more underhill (comparative)
most underhill (superlative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-underhill.wav

There's an underhill lane you can walk along there.

(Sussex) (of a road, track or other path) passing along the foot of a hill.


DFL

(Sussex, Kent) a person who has moved from their previous home in London to live in southern England.


Downs

Let's go for a walk on the Downs.


Badge Night

(Sussex) A night several days before Bonfire Night in which members of a bonfire society congregate at their headquarters (usually a pub) to be initiated with the current year's badges and receive information on the upcoming event.


Caburn

(Sussex, rare) A male given name transferred from the place name deriving from the hill in Sussex, mainly found in the city of Brighton.


streal

From Middle English strele, stral, from Old English strǣl (“arrow, shaft, dart, missile”), from Proto-West Germanic *strālu (“arrow, ray, beam”), from Proto-Indo-European *strēl- *strēlā- (“arrow, beam”). Cognate with West Frisian striel (“arrow, dart, shaft”), Dutch straal (“radius, ray, beam, stream”), German Strahl (“beam, ray, spurt”), Swedish stråle (“beam, ray”), Icelandic strjál (“arrow”), Lithuanian strėlė (“arrow, dart, jib”), Russian стрела (strela, “arrow, dart”). See also streel.


tipteerer

(UK, Sussex, historical) A Christmas mummer.