SIM

search of the index map
search of the index map#English

(law, England and Wales) acronym of search of the index map.


as

From Middle English as, als(a), alswa, from Old English eallswā (“just so; as”), thus representing a reduced form of also. Compare German Low German as, German als, Dutch als.

The king was not more forward to bestow favours on them as they free to deal affronts to others their superiors.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

Darkness itself is no more opposite to light as their actions were diametricall to their words.

1660, James Howell, Parly of Beasts, page 48:

(rare, now England, Midland US and Southern US, possibly obsolete) Than.


egg

en-verb

egg (third-person singular simple present eggs, present participle egging, simple past and past participle egged)

eggs (present singular third-person)
egging (participle present)
egged (participle past)
egged (past)

The noun is derived from Middle English eg, egg, egge (“egg of a domestic or wild fowl; egg of a snake”) [and other forms] (originally Northern England and Northeast Midlands), from Old Norse egg (“egg”), from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”) (by Holtzmann’s law), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to clothe oneself, dress; to be dressed”) (in the sense of an animal clothed in feathers). Doublet of huevo, oeuf, and ovum.
The native English ey [and other forms] (plural eyren) (obsolete), from Old English ǣġ, is also derived from Proto-Germanic *ajją. It survived into at least c. 16th century before being fully displaced by egg.
The verb is derived from the noun.

qualifier

I was out with my girlfriend in Birmingham, when some colorful local told us not to egg.

(England, vulgar, dialectal) To conceive a child, especially recklessly.


GA

General American
General American#English

(England phonology) Abbreviation of General American.


do

en-verb

do (third-person singular simple present does, present participle doing, simple past did, past participle done)

does (present singular third-person)
doing (participle present)
did (past)
done (participle past)
do (infinitive)

Brittonicisms in English
Do
Do-support
Early Modern English

From Middle English don, from Old English dōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dōn, from Proto-Germanic *dōną, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, do, make”).
For senses 4 and 5, compare Old Norse duga, whence Danish du.
The past tense form is from Middle English didde, dude, from Old English dyde, *diede, an unexpected development from Proto-Germanic *dedǭ/*dedē (the expected reflex would be *ded), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰédʰeh₁ti, an athematic e-reduplicated verb of the same root *dʰeh₁-.
The meaningless use of do in interrogative, negative, and affirmative sentences (e.g. "Do you like painting?" "Yes, I do"), existing in some form in most Germanic languages, is thought by some linguists to be one of the Brittonicisms in English, calqued from Brythonic. It is first recorded in Middle English, where it may have marked the perfective aspect, though in some cases the meaning seems to be imperfective. In Early Modern English, any meaning in such contexts was lost, making it a dummy auxiliary, and soon thereafter its use became mandatory in most questions and negations.
Doublets include deed, deem, and -dom, but not deal.
Other cognates include, via Latin, English feast, festival, fair (“celebration”), via Greek, English theo-, theme, thesis, and Sanskrit दधाति (dadhāti, “to put”), धातृ (dhātṛ, “creator”) and धातु (dhātu, “layer, element, root”).

der

not used in Dutch (translated by inversion)

est-ce que (or translated by inversion of the verb and subject)

tun

in colloquial speech, certain dialects, baby-language

ay

positioned at the beginning of a sentence

do unto others as you would have them do unto you

never put off until tomorrow what you can do today

the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing

the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must

those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it

what does that have to do with the price of corn

what does that have to do with the price of fish

what does that have to do with the price of tea in China

who are you and what have you done with someone

you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone

you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't

A big framed beast takes a lot of food — expensive food at that [—] to keep it doing […]

1908 September 21, “The fattening beast”, in Mark Lane Express Agricultural Journal, page 340:

That farm would go like a rick a-fire. It would do: it would go forward and prosper and make him his money.

1971, George Ewart Evans, quoting ploughman Charles Last (born 1878), Tools of Their Trades: An Oral History of Men at Work c. 1900, Taplinger Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 68:

(intransitive) To fare, perform (well or poorly).

(especially England, intransitive) To fare well; to thrive; to prosper; (of livestock) to fatten.


Christian

/ˈkɹɪʃt͡ʃən/

/ˈkɹɪst͡ʃən/

From Middle English Cristien, from Old French chrestien, from Latin Chrīstiānus, from Ancient Greek Χρῑστιᾱνός (Khrīstiānós), from Χρῑστός (Khrīstós, “Christ, anointed [one]”) + Latin suffix -ānus. The older form is Christen. Doublet of cretin. By surface analysis, Christ + -ian.

(obsolete, England) A European, especially though not necessarily of the Christian religion.


matter

en-verb

matter (third-person singular simple present matters, present participle mattering, simple past and past participle mattered)

matters (present singular third-person)
mattering (participle present)
mattered (participle past)
mattered (past)

From Middle English matere, mater, from Anglo-Norman matere, materie, from Old French materie, matiere, from Latin materia (“wood”), from mater (“mother”), in which case cognate with Old Armenian մայր (mayr, “cedar”) and մայրի (mayri, “forest”). More recently, referred to Proto-Indo-European *dem-. Doublet of Madeira, mata, mater, matrix, and mother.
Displaced Middle English andweorc, andwork (“material, matter”), from Old English andweorc (“matter, substance, material”), Old English intinga (“matter, affair, business”).

cog

it doesn't matter what they say about you as long as they spell your name right

Besides, if it had been out of doors I had not mattered it so much; but with my own servant, in my own house, under my own roof […]

He matter'd not that, he said; coy maids made the fondest wives […].

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LVI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(transitive, in negative constructions, now England regional, Caribbean) To care about, to mind; to find important.


plea

en-verb

plea (third-person singular simple present pleas, present participle pleaing, simple past and past participle pleaed)

pleas (present singular third-person)
pleaing (participle present)
pleaed (participle past)
pleaed (past)

From Middle English ple, from Old French plait, plaid, from Medieval Latin placitum (“a decree, sentence, suit, plea, etc., Latin an opinion, determination, prescription, order; literally, that which is pleasing, pleasure”), neuter of placitus, past participle of placere (“to please”). Cognate with Spanish pleito (“lawsuit, suit”). Doublet of placit. See also please, pleasure.

der

With my riches, my unhappiness was increased tenfold; and here, with another great acquisition of property, for which I had pleaed, and which I had gained in a dream, my miseries and difficulties were increasing.

1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner:

(chiefly England regional, Scotland) To plead; to argue.


spider

en-noun

spider (countable and uncountable, plural spiders)

[ˈspʌɪ̯ɾə(ɹ)]

From Middle English spiþre, spydyr, spider, spiþer, from Old English spīþra (“spider”), from Proto-West Germanic *spinþrijō, from Proto-Germanic *spinnaną (“to spin”). Mostly displaced attercop (“spider, unpleasant person”), now a dialectal term.

(fly fishing, England) A soft-hackle fly.


AAA

w:Amateur Athletic Association of England

(England) Initialism of Amateur Athletic Association of England.


town

town (countable and uncountable, plural towns)

→ Chichewa: tawuni

→ Jersey Dutch: tāun

→ Pennsylvania German: Taun

→ Japanese: タウン (taun)

From Middle English toun, from Old English tūn (“enclosure, garden”), from Proto-West Germanic *tūn, from Proto-Germanic *tūną (“fence”), of Celtic origin, from Proto-Celtic *dūnom, from Proto-Indo-European *dewh₂- (“to finish, come full circle”).
See also West Frisian tún, Dutch tuin (“garden”), German Zaun, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian tun; also archaic Welsh din (“hill”), Irish dún (“fortress”). Doublet of dun. See also -ton and tine (“to enclose”).

der

(England, traditional, also Town, in phrases such as 'in town' or 'to town') London, especially central London.


tap

en-noun

tap (countable and uncountable, plural taps)

The verb is derived from Middle English tappen, teppen (“to give (something) a knock or tap; to hit (something) lightly, pat, tap”), either:
* imitative of the making of a tapping sound; or
* from Old French tapper, taper (“to tap”) (modern French taper), from Frankish *tappōn, *dabbōn (“to strike”), or from Middle Low German tappen, tapen (“to rap, strike, tap”), both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dab- (“to strike”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰebʰ- (“to beat, strike; to stun; to be speechless”). Doublet of dab.
Verb sense 1.1.1 (“to arrest (someone)”) and sense 1.6 (“to choose or designate (someone) for a duty, etc.”) allude to a police officer or other person tapping someone on their shoulder to catch their attention or to select them.
The noun is derived from Middle English tap, tappe (“light blow or hit”), and then either:
* from Middle English tappen (verb) (see above); or
* from Old French tape (“light slap or touch, pat”) (modern French tape), from tapper, taper (verb) (see above).
Cognates
* German tappen (“to fumble; to grope”)
* Icelandic tappa, tapsa, tæpta (“to tap”)

der

She had a good figure, was twenty-one, five-feet-five, hair probably brown (dyed blond), brown cloth coat, rabbit-skin collar, cotton print dress, brown calf shoes (heel taps a little run over), scuff on the right toe.

1954 June 10, John Steinbeck, “Enter Suzy”, in Sweet Thursday, 1st British edition, London: William Heinemann, →OCLC, page 33:

(British, dialectal or US) A piece of leather or other material fastened upon the bottom of an item of footwear when repairing the heel or sole; also (England, dialectal) the sole of an item of footwear.


Gothic

en-adj

Gothic (comparative more Gothic, superlative most Gothic)

more Gothic (comparative)
most Gothic (superlative)

From Late Latin gothicus (“Gothic, barbaric”), from Ancient Greek Γοτθικός (Gotthikós), from Ancient Greek Γότθοι (Gótthoi, “Goths”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”), proposed to derive from unattested Gothic *𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌰 (*guta). Equivalent to Goth + -ic. The various usages of the adjective are introduced nearly simultaneously in the first half of the 17th century. The literal meaning “of the Goths” is found in the 1611 preface of the King James Bible, in reference to the Gothicke tongue. The generalized meaning of “Germanic, Teutonic” appears in the 1640s. Reference to the medieval period in Western Europe, and specifically the architecture of that period (“barbaric style”, initially a term of abuse), also appears in the 1640s, as does reference to “Gothic characters” or “Gothic letters” in typography.

готически

of the type formerly used for printing German

Gothic letters

black letter
black letter#English:_typography

(typography, England) Synonym of black letter


dress

en-verb

dress (third-person singular simple present dresses, present participle dressing, simple past dressed, past participle dressed or (obsolete) drest)

dresses (present singular third-person)
dressing (participle present)
dressed (past)
dressed (participle past)
drest (obsolete participle past)
dress (infinitive)

→ Sranan Tongo: dresi

PIE word
 *dwís
The verb is from Middle English dressen, dresse (“to arrange, put in order”), from Anglo-Norman, Old French dresser, drecier (modern French dresser), from Late Latin *directiare, from Latin dīrēctus, the perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“to arrange in lines, direct, steer”), from dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart; asunder; in two’) + regō (“to govern, manage”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“straight, right”). Doublet of direct.
The noun is derived from the verb.

aantrek

to put clothes on (oneself or someone, etc.) — see also clothe

self aantrek

to put on clothes — see also get dressed

koristaa

to adorn or ornament (something) — see also adorn, ornament

siistiä

to fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose — see also get ready

whakahuene

referring to preparing rough sawn timber

To fit or prepare (something) for use; to render (something) suitable for an intended purpose; to get ready.

(historical or England, regional) To remove chaff or impurities from (flour, grain, etc.) by bolting or sifting, winnowing, and other methods.

puhdistaa

to remove chaff or impurities from (flour, grain, etc.) by bolting or sifting, winnowing, and other methods


ordinance

From Middle English ordinaunce (ca. 1300), from Old French ordenance (“decree, command”) (modern French ordonnance), from Medieval Latin ordinantia, from ordinans, the present participle of ordino (“put in order”) (whence ordain). Doublet of ordonnance.

An edict or decree, authoritative order.

(England) Prior to the Third English Civil War, a decree of Parliament.


rapid

en-adj

rapid (comparative more rapid, superlative most rapid)

more rapid (comparative)
most rapid (superlative)

Borrowed from French rapide, from Latin rapidus.


exchange

en-noun

exchange (countable and uncountable, plural exchanges)

From Middle English eschaunge, borrowed from Anglo-Norman eschaunge, from Old French eschange (whence modern French échange), from the verb eschanger, from Vulgar Latin *excambiāre (from Latin ex with Late Latin cambiō). Spelling later changed on the basis of ex- in English. By surface analysis, ex- + change.

exchange of contracts
exchange of contracts#English

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland) Clipping of exchange of contracts.


exchange

en-verb

exchange (third-person singular simple present exchanges, present participle exchanging, simple past and past participle exchanged)

exchanges (present singular third-person)
exchanging (participle present)
exchanged (participle past)
exchanged (past)

From Middle English eschaungen, from Anglo-Norman eschaungier, Old French eschanger, from the Old French verb eschangier, eschanger (whence modern French échanger), from Vulgar Latin *excambiāre (from Latin ex with Late Latin cambiō). Gradually displaced native Old English wrixlan, wixlan (“to change, exchange, reciprocate”) and its descendants, wrixle being one of them.

exchange contracts
exchange contracts#English

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland) Clipping of exchange contracts.


whiskey

en-noun

whiskey (countable and uncountable, plural whiskeys or whiskies)

→ Jersey Dutch: wäski

→ Punjabi: ਵਿਸਕੀ (viskī)

→ Welsh: chwisgi

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *wed-
Proto-Indo-European *-r̥
Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der.
Proto-Celtic *udenskyos
Old Irish uisce
Irish uisce
Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-
Proto-Indo-European *-wós
Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós
Proto-Celtic *biwos
Proto-Celtic *-tūts
Proto-Celtic *biwotūts
Old Irish bethu
Irish beatha
Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.
Irish uisce beathabor.
Old Irish uisce
Scottish Gaelic uisge
Old Irish bethu
Scottish Gaelic beatha
Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.
Scottish Gaelic uisge-beathabor.
English usquebaugh
English usque
English whiskey
Variant of usque, abbreviation of usquebaugh, from Irish uisce beatha, calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae (“water of life”). Compare akvavit, aquavit, aqua vitae, eau de vie, and water of life from the same source and vodka from a Russian diminutive for water in reference to the dilution of pure grain spirits.

der

LL-Q1860 (eng)-عُثمان (Middle river exports)-whiskey.wav

The exceſſive drinking of ſpirituous liquours, eſpecially whiſkey, is now become ſo common, that more people are killed by them, than by ſmall-pox, fevers, broken limbs, accidents, and all other diſtempers put together. And we are credibly informed, that in one dram ſhop only in this town, there are 120 gallons of that accurſed ſpirit, whiſkey, ſold.

1753 September, “Historical Chronicle”, in The Gentleman's Magazine, volume XXIII, number VIII, London, page 391:

(Ireland, US, England) A liquor distilled from the fermented mash of grain (as rye, corn, or barley).

(Ireland, US, England) A drink of whiskey.


pant

(Scotland and northeast England) Any public drinking fountain.


plat

en-verb

plat (third-person singular simple present plats, present participle platting, simple past and past participle platted)

plats (present singular third-person)
platting (participle present)
platted (participle past)
platted (past)

The noun is a variant of plait.
The verb is from Middle English platte, English plat, respectively archaic past and past participle forms of English pleat (a variant of plait), Middle English platten (“to braid, weave; plait; to fold”).

inh

And when they had platted a crowne of thornes, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, ſaying, haile king of the Jewes.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 27:29:

A customer hailed him; he placed the stool on the ground, and the customer seated himself upon it, while the barber shaved his face, platted his hair, and washed his hands [...]

1844, Thomas Jefferson Jacobs, Scenes, Incidents, and Adventures in the Pacific Ocean, page 349:

She platted her hair in segments the night before, so that today she’d have a rippling effect through her hair.

2006, Elka Paquette, Taboo, →ISBN, page 100:

She carried in her hand a broad belt of wampum, and a white honeycomb from the hollow oak, and on her way she stopped and platted a garland of the gayest flowers of the season.

1828, William Cullen Bryant, “The Cascade of Melsingah”, in The Talisman, volume 1, New York, page 206:

(dated except regional England) To braid, to plait.


equity

en-noun

equity (countable and uncountable, plural equities)

From Middle English equitee, equytee, from Old French equité, from Latin aequitās (“uniformity; impartiality; fairness”).

bonds

(in various financial and economic subsenses): debt; as stock in a company

(law) Various related senses originating with the Court of Chancery in late Medieval England

(law, England) The body of law which was developed in the English Court of Chancery, which Court had extra-statutory discretion, and is now administered alongside the common law of Britain.


seat

From Middle English sete, from Old English sǣte, possibly from (or simply cognate with) Old Norse sæti (“seat”), both from Proto-Germanic *sētiją (“seat”), from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (“to sit”); compare Old English set (“seat”).
Sense 2 (“location or site”) is probably derived from Old English sǣte (“house”), which is related to Old High German sāza (“sedan, seat, domicile”).
Cognates
* Middle Dutch gesaete
* Old High German gisazi (modern German Gesäß)

cog

would you mind putting on your seat belt

(law, England and Wales) One of a series of departmental placements given to a trainee solicitor as part of their training contract.


garbage

From late Middle English garbage (“the offal of a fowl, giblets, kitchen waste”, originally “refuse, what is purged away”), from Anglo-Norman, from Old French garber (“to refine, make neat or clean”), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *garwijan (“to make ready”).
Akin to Old High German garawan (“to prepare, make ready”), Old English ġearwian (“to make ready, adorn”). More at garb, yare, gear

cog

(England, dialectal, Cumbria, Lancashire, archaic) foul, rotten or unripe vegetable matter.


toll

From Middle English toll, tol, tolle, from Old English toll m or n and toln f (“toll, duty, custom”), from Proto-West Germanic *toll, *tolnu, from Proto-Germanic *tullaz, *tullō (“that which is counted or told, reckoning”), from Proto-Indo-European *dol- (“calculation, fraud”).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Tol (“toll”), Dutch tol (“toll”), German Zoll (“toll, duty, customs”), Danish told (“toll, duty, tariff”), Swedish tull (“toll, customs”), Icelandic tollur (“toll, customs”). More at tell, tale.
Alternate etymology derives Old English toll, from Medieval Latin tolōneum, tolōnium, alteration (due to the Germanic forms above) of Latin telōneum, from Ancient Greek τελώνιον (telṓnion, “toll-house”), from τέλος (télos, “tax”).

der

(obsolete, regional England) A portion of grain taken by a miller as a compensation for grinding.


frail

The scythe, the sickle and the flail (or "frail", is it is invariably called) - these should surely be incorporated in the county arms, for on their use much of the prosperity of Essex has always rested until now.

1948, C. Henry Warren, The English Counties, Essex: Odhams, page 170:

(England, dialectal, obsolete) Synonym of flail.


rather

/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/

/ˌɹɑːˈðɜː(ɹ)/

/ˈɹɑː.ðə(ɹ)/

From Middle English rather, from Old English hraþor, comparative of hraþe (“soon, early, fast”). More at rathe. Cognate with Dutch radder (“faster”), comparative of Dutch rad (“fast; quick”), German Low German radd, ratt (“rashly; quickly; hastily”), German gerade (“even; straight; direct”). By surface analysis, rathe + -er.

cog

Would you like some? –Rather!

"Do you mean to say, young man," she said frostily, "that you expect me to drink this stuff?" ¶ "Rather! Bucks you up, you know."

"Farewell, Daughter of Eve," said he. "Perhaps I may keep the handkerchief?"
"Rather!" said Lucy, and then ran towards the far-off patch of daylight as quickly as her legs would carry her.

1950, C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe:

"Some of us stupid old die-hards believe that there is yet room for pride in one's work, Pook," Mr Pants said with dangerous emphasis. "Oh, rather, sir. I'd much sooner walk to London Town than ride in one of those motorcars we've heard tell of, sir."

1967, Peter Pook, Banker Pook Confesses:

(England, dated) An enthusiastic affirmation.


pug

en-verb

pug (third-person singular simple present pugs, present participle pugging, simple past and past participle pugged)

pugs (present singular third-person)
pugging (participle present)
pugged (participle past)
pugged (past)

The origin of the verb is uncertain; it is possibly:
* related to southern Dutch puggen (“to hit hard”), German pucken (“to beat, thump”), possibly ultimately imitative; or
* related to poke (verb).
It is also uncertain whether the various senses are derived from the same source.
The origin of the noun is also uncertain; it is probably related to the verb.

(England, regional, also figurative, archaic) To pack or tamp (something) into a small space.

(intransitive, England, regional, also figurative, archaic) To pack or tamp into a small space.


pug

Origin unknown; sense 1.2 (“to spoil (something) by touching too much”) is possibly influenced by pug (verb, noun) (see etymology 5) or puggy.

(intransitive) Followed by at: to pull or tug.


pug

en-noun

pug (countable and uncountable, plural pugs)

From Late Middle English pugge (“husk of grain”); further etymology unknown, possibly related to pug (verb) (see etymology 5). However, the latter is only attested much later.

(Southwest England, archaic) The residue left after pressing apples for cider; pomace.


yoke

From Middle English yok, yoke, ȝok from Old English ġeoc (“yoke”), from Proto-Germanic *juką (“yoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *yugóm (“yoke”), from *yewg- (“to join; to tie together, yoke”). Doublet of yuga, jugum, yoga and possibly yogh.
Senses 3.1 (“area of arable land”) and 3.2 (“amount of work done with draught animals”) probably referred to the area of land that could generally be ploughed by yoked draught animals within a given time.

poikkipuu

linking or supporting object that resembles a yoke

駕駛桿 /驾驶杆

device with crosspieces used to control an aircraft

iugum

unit of land area notionally equivalent to the area a team of yoked draft animals can work in a day

to work two yokes
(literally, “to work both morning and afternoon”)

Senses relating to quantities, and other extended uses.

(chiefly England, especially Kent; also Scotland; historical) An amount of work done with draught animals, lasting about half a day; (by extension) an amount or shift of any work.


lawn

lawn (countable and uncountable, plural lawns)

Early Modern English laune (“turf, grassy area”), alteration of laund (“glade”), from Middle English launde, from Old French lande (“heath, moor”), of Germanic or Gaulish origin, from Proto-Germanic *landą (“land”) or Proto-Celtic *landā, both from Proto-Indo-European *lendʰ- (“land, heath”).
Akin to Breton lann (“heath”), Old Norse & Old English land. Doublet of land and lande.

der

(England, historical or regional) An open space between woods.


mend

en-verb

mend (third-person singular simple present mends, present participle mending, simple past and past participle mended)

mends (present singular third-person)
mending (participle present)
mended (participle past)
mended (past)
mend (infinitive)

PIE word
 *h₁eǵʰs
From Middle English menden (“to cure; to do good to, benefit; to do or make better, improve; to get better, recover; to keep in a good state; to put right, amend; to reform, repent”), the aphetic form of amenden (“to alter, change (especially for the better); to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure; to excel, surpass; to forgive; to get or make better, improve; to make ready; to mend, repair, restore; to get well, recover; to relieve”), or from its etymon Anglo-Norman amender and Old French amender (“to cure; to fix, repair; to set right, correct”) (modern French amender), from Latin ēmendāre, the present active infinitive of ēmendō (“to atone; to chastise, punish; to correct, remedy, amend; to cure”), from ē- (variant of ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’)) + mendum (“defect; error, fault”) (from Proto-Indo-European *mend- (“defect; fault”)) + -ō (suffix forming first-conjugation verbs).

der

"Ready?" said the old gentleman inquiringly, when his guests had been washed, mended, brushed, and brandied.

1836 March – 1837 October, Charles Dickens, “A Short One—Showing among Other Matters, How Mr. Pickwick Undertook to Drive, and Mr. Winkle to Ride; and How They Both Did It”, in The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1837, →OCLC, page 50:

She will tend him, nurse him, mend him; / Air his linen, dry his tears. / Bless the thoughtful fates that send him / Such a wife to soothe his years!

1877 November 17 (first performance), W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert, librettist; Arthur Sullivan, composer, The Sorcerer. […], New York, N.Y.: A. S. Seer, […], published 1879, →OCLC, Act [II], page 22:

(England, regional) To repair the clothes of (someone).


rout

en-verb

rout (third-person singular simple present routs, present participle routing, simple past and past participle routed)

routs (present singular third-person)
routing (participle present)
routed (participle past)
routed (past)

The verb is derived from Middle English routen (“to snore; to grunt, snort; to sleep; to dwell; to settle permanently”), [and other forms], from Old English hrūtan (“to snore; to make a noise”), from Proto-West Germanic *hrūtan (“to snore”), from Proto-Germanic *hrūtaną, *hreutaną (“to snore”), from *hruttōną (“to snore; to roar”), from Proto-Indo-European *ker-, *kor-, *kr- (“to croak, crow”), *krut- (“to snore; to roar”), probably ultimately imitative.
The English word is cognate with Icelandic rjóta, hrjóta (“to snore; to rattle, roar”), rauta (“to roar”), Middle Dutch ruyten (“to make a noise; to chatter, chirp”), Middle High German rūssen, rūzen (“to make a noise; to buzz; to rattle; to snore”), Norwegian Nynorsk ruta (“to make a loud noise; to roar, rumble”), Swedish ryta (“to bellow, roar; to scream or shout angrily”). Compare Old English rēotan, *hrēotan (“to make a noise; to make a noise in grief, lament, wail; to shed tears, weep”), from Proto-Germanic *reutaną; see further at etymology 4.
The noun is derived from the verb. It is cognate with Southern Norwegian rut (“loud noise, din, roar”).

nb...

rout, route, routte, routten, rowte, rowtte, ruten

onomatopoeic

imitative

cog

(intransitive, chiefly England, regional) To snore, especially loudly.

(intransitive, chiefly England, regional) To make a noise; to bellow, to roar, to snort.

mylviä

to make a noise — see also bellow, roar, snort


sett

A variant of set to distinguish various technical senses.

(weaving, England) The number of reeds or splits per inch – one half the number of ends per inch.


wreathe

en-verb

wreathe (third-person singular simple present wreathes, present participle wreathing, simple past and past participle wreathed)

wreathes (present singular third-person)
wreathing (participle present)
wreathed (participle past)
wreathed (past)
wreathe (infinitive)

From Middle English wrethen (“to twist”), partly:
* from wrethen (“twisted, wreathed”) (whence modern English wreathen (“(obsolete) made into a wreath; twisted”, adjective)), the past participle of writhen, wrythen (“to twist into a braid, coil, or wreath; to twist out of position or shape, deform; to twist together, intertwine; to twist about, writhe; to bend; to swathe, wrap; etc.”), from Old English wrīþan (“to twist; to bind; to wrap”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”); and
* from wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”, noun), from Old English wrǣd, wrǣð, wriþa (“bandage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (“to twist; to weave”) (see further above).

kääriä

(transitive) to coil, twist, or wind (oneself or something) around a person or thing; to cause (oneself or something) to cover or encircle a person or thing; (intransitive) to coil, twist, or wind around a person or thing

(also figurative) Senses relating to intertwining or twisting.

(Southeast England) To strengthen (an earthen embankment) with hurdles of wattle.

vahvistaa punoksin

to strengthen (an earthen embankment) with hurdles of wattle


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.


blackmail

Anglo-Scottish border
Scottish Highlands
blackmail
border reivers

From black + mail (“a piece of money”). Compare Middle English blak rente (“a type of blackmail levied by Irish chieftains”).
The word is variously derived from the tribute paid by English and Scottish border dwellers to border reivers in return for immunity from raids and other harassment. This tribute was paid in goods or labour, in Latin reditus nigri (“black mail”); the opposite is blanche firmes or reditus albi (“white rent”), denoting payment by silver.
McKay derives it from two Scottish Gaelic words blàthaich, pronounced (the th silent) bl-aich, "to protect" and màl (“tribute, payment”). He notes that the practice was common in the Scottish Highlands as well as the Borders.
More likely, from black + Middle English mal, male, maile (“a payment, rent, tribute”), from Old English māl (“speech, contract, agreement, lawsuit, terms, bargaining”), from Old Norse mál (“agreement, speech, lawsuit”); related to Old English mæðel (“meeting, council”), mæl (“speech”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌸𐌻 (maþl, “meeting place”), from Proto-Germanic *maþlą (“gathering, agreement”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to give advice, measure”). From the practice of freebooting clan chieftains who ran protection rackets against Scottish farmers. Black from the evil of the practice.
Expanded c. 1826 to any type of extortion money. Compare silver mail (“rent paid in money”) (1590s); buttock mail (“fine imposed for fornication”) (1530s, Scottish).

der

(England law, historical) Black rent; rent paid in corn, meat, or the lowest coin, as opposed to white rent, which was paid in silver.


nervous hit

But it hardly mattered; her singing (including "My Own Best Friend" made into a solo) and performing were so strong that few quibbled, especially as she was accomplishing a valiant task by selling out a new, somewhat nervous hit while its regular star recovered.

(theater, idiomatic, England) A production which receives generally favorable notice, but is not assured of success.


coop

Possibly from coop, above. Sense 2 may be from English coup (“to tilt, overturn, upset”).

cog

Fan Coops an' Carts were unco rare, / An' Creels, an' Corrocks boot to ſair. […]

1794, “The lamb-leader” [pseudonym; William Anderson], The Piper of Peebles. A Tale, Dundee: Printed by T. Colvill for the author, →OCLC, page 5:

(regional, England, Scotland) A cart with sides and ends made from boards, enabling it to carry manure, etc.

COOP, […] A cart, the box of which moves upon its shafts by hinges, by which means it may be emptied of its load without unyoking the horse, S. "The body of the cowp-cart is attached to the shafts by a peculiar kind of hinges, which allow of elevating it before, either partially or entirely, to facilitate the discharge of its load backwards, either by degrees into small heaps, or at once, without the trouble of unyoking the shaft horse." Agr. Surv. of Berw. p. 167. As used in the latter sense, the term is obviously from the v. to Coup, to overturn.

[1825, John Jamieson, “COOP”, in Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language: […], volume I (A–J) (in Scots), Edinburgh: […] University Press; for W[illiam] & C[harles] Tait, […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 248, column 1:

(regional, England, Scotland) A cart which opens at the back to release its load; a tumbril.


paddy

Krio: pàdí

(colloquial, England) A labourer's assistant or workmate.


becket

Compare Dutch bek (“beak”) beak, and English beak.

The tool with which the cesses are dug is called a becket […] It is a wooden spade of a rectangular shape, quite flat, and shod with iron. An iron notch projecting at right angles to the plane of the blade cuts into the peat, and forms the side of the cess. The workman stands above and drives the becket almost vertically into the soft peat.

1877, Sydney B. J. Skertchly, Geology of the Fenland, page 136:

In the earlier time sods or hassocks were dug with a moorland spade, heart-shaped, but about 1856 a tool eighteen inches long and four inches wide, with an iron flange, called a becket was used […] The becket was first used in Isleham Fen and was of smaller dimensions than that used in Burwell Fen, being fourteen inches long and two and a half inches wide.

Frank Meeres (2019) The Story of the Fens

He marked four widths of the becket to the left, then thrusting and penetrating for fully 18 inches into the soggy peat, withdrawing and twisting the becket, completing the final thrusting on the back run.

2019, Frank Meeres, The Story of the Fens:

(England, dialect, historical) A spade for digging turf in the Fens.


shire

→ Icelandic: skíri

The noun is derived from Middle English schire (“region, shire, county”) [and other forms], from Old English sċīr (“administrative region under an alderman and sheriff, shire; district under a governor or official; status of an official, office”) [and other forms], from Proto-West Germanic *skīru (“district; status of an official, office”); further etymology uncertain, possibly related to Latin cūra (“care, concern; administration, charge, management; command, office”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kʷeys- (“to heed; to see”).
The verb is derived from the noun.

nb...

chyer, schere, schire, schyr, schyre, scīr, sheere, sher, shir, shyr, shyre, sir, ssire

inh

Yorkshire is the largest shire in England.

I thanke his grace he hath appointed him, / Chiefe colonell of all thoſe companies / Muſtred in London, and the ſhires about, / To ſerue his highneſſe in thoſe warres of France: […]

1599 (first performance; published 1600), Thomas Dekker, “The Shomakers Holiday. Or The Gentle Craft. […]”, in The Dramatic Works of Thomas Dekker […], volume I, London: John Pearson […], published 1873, →OCLC, page 10:

But thus I do conjecture it to be, That at the firſt Unitining^([sic – meaning Uniting?]) of the Heptarchy of the Saxons, and the Shiring out of the Kingdom, it vvas divided into Shires, and the Shires again into Hundreds, as it fell out, in ſome more, in ſome leſs: VVhich Shires (as I have ſaid) the King gave to ſuch as he pleaſed, and to their Heirs, to hold of him by an Earls Fee.

a. 1604 (date written), Sampson Erdeswicke, edited by Simon Degge, A Survey of Staffordshire. […], London: […] E[dmund] Curll, […], published 1717, →OCLC, page 211:

In August, 1642, the sword was at length drawn; and soon, in almost every shire of the kingdom, two hostile factions appeared in arms against each other.

1849, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter I, in The History of England from the Accession of James II, volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 113:

Mrs. Heywood tells me that there are many Catholics among the lower classes in Lancashire and Cheshire,—probably the descendants of retainers of the old Catholic nobility and gentry, who are more numerous in these shires than in other parts of England.

1854 November 14 (date written), Nathaniel Hawthorne, Passages from the English Note-books of Nathaniel Hawthorne, volume I, Boston, Mass.: Fields, Osgood, & Co., published 1870, →OCLC, page 139:

As through the wild green hills of Wyre / The train ran, changing sky and shire, / […] / My hand lay empty on my knee. / Aching on my knee it lay: / That morning half a shire away / So many an honest fellow's fist / Had wellnigh wrung it from the wrist.

1896, A[lfred] E[dward] Housman, “[Poem] XXXVII”, in A Shropshire Lad, New York, N.Y.: John Lane Company, The Bodley Head, published 1906, →OCLC, stanza 1, page 53:

The early history of the shire is hard to trace. Already in the ninth century it seems to have been the core administrative division within Wessex. Originally each shire was overseen by an ealdorman, who was charged with raising levies and perhaps also overseeing the local court (though the evidence is scant on the latter point). At the heart of the shire lay the local assembly (the ‘shire court’), at which such business was conducted.

2016, Levi Roach, “Birth and Childhood: The Court of King Edgar, c. 966×9–75”, in Æthelred the Unready, New Haven, Conn., London: Yale University Press, →ISBN, page 26:

(chiefly historical) An administrative area or district between about the 5th to the 11th century, subdivided into hundreds or wapentakes and jointly governed by an ealdorman and a sheriff; also, a present-day area corresponding to such a historical district; a county; especially (England), a county having a name ending in -shire.

гра́фство

administrative area or district subdivided into hundreds or wapentakes and jointly governed by an ealdorman and a sheriff; present-day area corresponding to such a historical district; administrative area or district in other countries — see also county


parlous

en-adj

parlous (comparative more parlous, superlative most parlous)

more parlous (comparative)
most parlous (superlative)

From Middle English parles, parlous, perlous, [and other forms], a contraction of perilous (“dangerous; dreadful, terrible; morally corrupt, sinful, wicked; inauspicious, unlucky”) (and thus a doublet of perilous), from Old French perilleus, perillos, perillous, perilluse, perilleuse, perilleux (“very dangerous, perilous”) (modern French périlleux), from Latin perīculōsus (“dangerous, hazardous, perilous”), from perīculum (“danger, hazard, peril, risk”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“to dare, risk, try”)) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of, prone to’ forming adjectives).

nb...

parels, parlious, parlows, parlyous, parlyus, perleous, perlews, perlewse, perlios, perlious, perliouse, perlioux, perliouz, perlis, perlius, perllous, perlouse, perlus, perlyous, perlyows, perlys

der

A parlous Boy: go too, you are too ſhrew'd.

c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], page 185, column 1:

[O]h their parlous fellows, they will ſearch more with their wits than a Cunſtable with all his officers.

1607, W. S. [attributed to Thomas Middleton or William Shakespeare (doubtful)], The Pvritaine. Or The VViddovv of Watling-streete. […], imprinted at London: By G[eorge] Eld, →OCLC, Act III:

This Midas knew: and durſt communicate / To none but to his wife his ears of ſtate: / One muſt be truſted, and he thought her fit, / As paſſing prudent, and a parlous wit.

a. 1701 (date written), John Dryden, “[Tales from [Geoffrey] Chaucer] The Wife of Bath, Her Tale”, in The Miscellaneous Works of John Dryden, […], volume III, London: […] J[acob] and R[ichard] Tonson, […], published 1760, →OCLC, page 222:

The Patten, Fan, and Petticoat, / Three modern Themes of ſpecial Note, / In parlous rimes immortal live, / If rimes immortal life can give; […]

1720, N[icholas] Amhurst, “The Bottle-scrue. A Tale”, in Poems on Several Occasions. […], London: […] R. Francklin, […], →OCLC, page 105:

(rare or obsolete, also England, dialectal) Dangerously clever or cunning; also, remarkably good or unusual.


summit

I need to get summit to eat.

(England, especially Lancashire, Yorkshire, informal) Alternative spelling of summat (“something”)


voir dire

en-noun

voir dire (countable and uncountable, plural voir dires)

/ˈvwɑː ˌdɪə/

/ˈvɔɹ ˌdaɪɹ/

/ˈvwɑɹ ˌdɪɹ/

Anglo-Norman for “to say the truth”, from Old French voir (“true, truth”) + dire (“to say”), from Latin vērum + dīcere.

(law, England, Wales, New Zealand, Australia, US) A preliminary hearing without a jury in order to determine whether the evidence meets the test for admissibility to go to a full hearing at a criminal trial, in the legal systems of England and Wales, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.


commonhold

(property law, England and Wales) The freehold tenure of part of a multioccupancy building (typically a flat) with shared responsibility for common services.


a

From Middle English a, a reduced form of he (“he”)/ha (“he”), heo (“she”)/ha (“she”), ha (“it”), and hie, hie (“they”).

a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.

1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

Well! in a come [in he came]—KING GEORGE to town, / With doust and zweat az netmeg brown, / The hosses all in smoke;

1795, Peter Pindar, The Royal Visit to Exeter, a Political Epistle: by John Ploughshare ... published by Peter Pindar, Esq, page 5:

A do veed amang th' lilies.

"The amoighty's a taakin' o' you to 'issén, my friend," a said, […]

1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 7, version of 1917, Raymond Macdonald Alden, Alfred Tennyson, how to Know Him, page 226

And, by your leave, for all the marvellous rich and sumptuous coat a weareth, he is very like a false jewel in a rich casing.

1922, E[ric] R[ücker] Eddison, The Worm Ouroboros, London: Jonathan Cape, page 8:

(obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, she, they: the third-person singular or plural nominative.

(obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, the third-person singular nominative.

A wanted me to go with her.

Did a do it!

A's getting wambling on her pins [shaky on her legs].

1883, Hardy, Tover, page 124 (edition of 1895)

(obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) She, the third-person singular nominative.

He've a got a great venture on hand, but what a [it] be he tell'th no man.

1855, Kingsley, W. Ho!, page 120 (edition of 1889)

Doctors, they knaws nowt, fur a [they] says what's nawways true.

1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 2


Lammas

From Old English hlafmæsse (“loaf mass, harvest festival”).

inh

(England) A former festival held on 1st August celebrating the harvest.


Oi

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(south west England) Pronunciation spelling of I.


cleg

From Middle English clege, from Old Norse kleggi, possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰ-s (“point”); compare with Norwegian Nynorsk klegg, Ancient Greek γλωχίς (glōkhís, “barb”).

Sir Christopher Pack did cleave like a clegg, and was very angry he could not be heard ad infinitum.

Now that was in summer, the time of fleas and glegs and golochs in the fields, when stirks would start up from a drowsy cud-chewing to a wild a feckless racing, the glegs biting through hair and hide to the skin below the tail-rump.

1932, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song (A Scots Quair), Polygon, published 2006, page 39:

The clegs continue to swarm all around. I wonder how many there are.[…]Remaining seated on the block, I seize clegs out of the surrounding air at random, and with scissors cut out a tiny triangle from the rear edge of each one's right wing before releasing it.

1998, V. K. Riabitsev, One Season in the Taiga, page 138:

Cattle were grazing languidly on the lush grass and flicking their tails to keep away the clegs that constantly plagued them and, having recently suffered a nasty bite from one, I was wary of them myself.

2007, John T. Wright, An Evacuee's Story: A North Yorkshire Family in Wartime, page 361:

Whilst the swarms which surround you are annoying, they do not bite. It is the midges, clegs and ticks you should be on the lookout for.

2011, Denis Brook, Phil Hinchliffe, North to the Cape: A Trek from Fort William to Cape Wrath, page 49:

(Scotland, England dialect) A blood-sucking fly of the family Tabanidae; a gadfly, a horsefly.


EPA

en-noun

EPA (countable and uncountable, plural EPAs)

Coordinate term: LPA

enduring power of attorney
enduring power of attorney#English

(countable, law, England and Wales) Initialism of enduring power of attorney.


AHA

AHA (countable and uncountable, plural AHAs)

Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy#English

(countable, property law, England and Wales) Initialism of Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy.


AHA

Agricultural Holdings Act
w:Agricultural Holdings Act

(countable, property law, England and Wales) Initialism of Agricultural Holdings Act.


CPR

Civil Procedure Rules
w:Civil Procedure Rules

(law, England and Wales) Initialism of Civil Procedure Rules.


AST

AST (countable and uncountable, plural ASTs)

assured shorthold tenancy
w:assured shorthold tenancy

(property law, real estate, England and Wales) Initialism of assured shorthold tenancy.


FBT

FBT (countable and uncountable, plural FBTs)

farm business tenancy
farm business tenancy#English

(countable, property law, England and Wales) Initialism of farm business tenancy.


inquisition post mortem

inquisition post mortem (plural inquisitions post mortem)

(historical, England) A local investigation into the lands of a deceased person in order to discover the amount of income and the legal rights that were due to the crown.


Haligonian

(England) Of, from, or pertaining to the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.

halifaksa

of, from, or pertaining to the town of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England


Haligonian

(England) A native or inhabitant of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England.


pelf

pelf (countable and uncountable, plural pelfs)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-pelf.wav

From Late Middle English pelf, pelfe (“stolen goods, booty, spoil; forfeited property; money, riches; property; valuable object”), possibly from Anglo-Norman pelf (a variant of pelfre (“booty, loot”)) and Old French peufre (“frippery; rubbish”); further etymology uncertain, possibly a metathesis of Old French felpe, ferpe, frepe (“a rag”). The English word is perhaps related to Late Latin pelfa, pelfra, pelfrum (“forfeited or stolen goods”), Middle French peuffe and French peufe, peuffe (“old clothes; rubbish”) (Normandy), and pilfer.

(uncountable, Southwest England) Dust; fluff.


LSB

Legal Services Board
w:Legal Services Board

(England and Wales, law) Initialism of Legal Services Board.


yack

If 't ash tree buds before 't yack, […]

Awd stiff yack nut eeasy bended, […]

1878, John Castillo, Poems in the North Yorkshire Dialect, section 25:

(England, dialectal, possibly obsolete) An oak.


Collop Monday

Collops (“sliced bacon”) and eggs were traditionally eaten on this day.

(England, northern and east Midlands, now chiefly historical) The day before Shrove Tuesday.


enfranchise

en-verb

enfranchise (third-person singular simple present enfranchises, present participle enfranchising, simple past and past participle enfranchised)

enfranchises (present singular third-person)
enfranchising (participle present)
enfranchised (participle past)
enfranchised (past)

From Old French enfranchir (“to set free, enfranchise”), from en- (“in”) + franchir (“to set free”), equivalent to en- + franchise.

uder

(property law, England and Wales, historical) to convert a copyhold estate into a freehold estate


ginnel

From ginn (“a road or passage down to the sea”) + -el (diminutive suffix), ultimately from Old English ginn (“a side expanse, an opening, abyss”).

inh

[…]maks things as pleasant as stondin in a ginnel ov a wyndy neet waitin o'th' sweetheart comin out.

1885, Benjamin Brierley, Ab-o'th'-Yate in Yankeeland, page 59:

At the end of a short side-street a narrow ginnel with concrete bollards led into the surprisingly wide area in which the blocks of flats stood.

1988, Alan Hollinghurst, The Swimming-Pool Library, paperback edition, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 169:

Pssht, get over here, whoopie / Finish him like Sub-Zero / Out the window, into the garden / Over the fence and straight through the ginnel

2014 September 7, “Spitfire”, Aaron Davis (lyrics), performed by Davis, Aaron [as Bugzy Malone], JDZ Media:

(England, especially Yorkshire, Lancashire, Manchester) A narrow passageway or alley often between terraced houses.

Lancashire; Manchester; Lancashire; Manchester


A-level

I took my A-levels last year.

Applicants must have at least one A level.

(England, Wales) A non-compulsory examination taken in the final two years of secondary education as a requisite for university or other tertiary education; the qualification obtained by passing such an exam

selectivitat

a non-compulsory examination taken in the final two years in British high schools


sull

From Old English sulh (“plough”). Compare sullow and Old High German suohili (“little plough”).


Abbas

From Arabic عَبَّاس (ʕabbās, “one who frowns a lot; untamed lion”), from عَبَسَ (ʕabasa, “to frown”), the title of the eightieth sura of the Qur'an.

bor

[It] comprises the out-parishes of Holy Trinity, St. James and Peter, the parishes of Cawn, St. Rumbold Motcomb, East Stower, Stower Provost, Todbere, Melbury Abbas, Compton Abbas[.]

1832, George Crabb, The Reformer’s Guide: Part the Second : Being a Comprehensive Analysis of the Boundary Act (2 & 3 GUL.IV.c.64), Thomas Kelly:

(England, Dorset) A placename affix, denoting previous ownership by an abbey


ladyship

From Middle English ladyship; equivalent to lady + -ship.

(England and Commonwealth) Formal form of address for a lady judge (as opposed to the informal "judge").


golden rule

statutory interpretation
statutory interpretation

(law, England and Wales, idiomatic) A method of statutory interpretation, whereby a judge will deviate from a literal interpretation of the law to the extent necessary to circumvent obvious absurdities or (sometimes) conclusions repugnant to public policy.


chuffing

(England, slang) Used as a mild intensifier, especially as a substitute for "fucking".


industrial tribunal

en-noun

industrial tribunal (plural industrial tribunals)

(law, India, dated in England and Wales) A tribunal with jurisdiction to hear labour disputes.


cider house

(West of England) A public house that sells a selection of draught ciders rather than beer.


yeo

From Middle English ea, eo, from Old English ēa (“running water, water, stream, river”), from Proto-West Germanic *ahu, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō (“waters, river”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ekʷeh₂ (“water, flowing water”). Doublet of aqua. Compare ea, Eau, eau.

inh

(Southwest England) Alternative form of ea


twibill

From Middle English twibill, from Old English twibill, from twi- (“double”) + bill (“edge, blade”), see also billhook.

(dialectal, England) A reaping hook, especially for cutting beans and peas.


enfranchisement

en-noun

enfranchisement (countable and uncountable, plural enfranchisements)

enfranchisement of copyhold

(land legal, England and Wales, historical) the conversion of a copyhold estate into a freehold estate


nuncle

en-verb

nuncle (third-person singular simple present nuncles, present participle nuncling, simple past and past participle nuncled)

nuncles (present singular third-person)
nuncling (participle present)
nuncled (participle past)
nuncled (past)

From rebracketing of phrases an uncle, mine uncle, thine uncle, etc. Compare neam and naunt.
For the verb, OED suggests an evolution in sense "to claim to be one's uncle" > "to cheat". It compares this derivation with cozen, which it derives from cousin.
For the technical anthropological sense, compare nibling.


round robin

/ˌɹaʊnd ˈɹɒbɪn/

From round (adjective) + robin. Sense 1 (“senses relating to something with a round shape, or which goes around”) is connected with the word round, while sense 2 (“senses relating to people, animals, or plants”) is connected with some English regional senses of the word robin where it is used in the names of various fish and plants which are not related to the red-breasted bird. However, apart from the alliteration, it is not clear why the two words came to be linked together in compounds. It is possible that the term was first used to refer to sense 1.13.1 (“consecrated host”) which appears to be the earliest attested sense, and then extended to other senses either having the sense of round or robin.
Alternatively, it has been suggested that the term is a corruption of French ruban rond (literally “round ribbon”), referring to the practice in 17th-century France of signing on ribbons which were then attached to petitions of grievances in a circular manner: see sense 1.1. However, this etymology does not explain the senses of the term unrelated to a signed document.

der

Silene dioica
Silene dioica#Translingual

Senses relating to people, animals, or plants.

(southwest England) Any of various hedgerow plants with pink flowers, especially a red campion (Silene dioica).

ailakki (campion)

any of various hedgerow plants with pink flowers


asker

From Middle English ascre, a variant (with uncertain suffix) of Middle English aske (“newt”). More at ask.

Great crested newts, “askers”, used to be common in the Marshwood Vale.

2018 April 21, Sara Hudston, The Guardian:


wharfinger

/ˈwɔːfɪnd͡ʒə/

/ˈwɔɹfɪnd͡ʒəɹ/

From Late Middle English wharfager (“keeper of a wharf”) (modified in the same way as messenger from Middle English messager, passenger from Middle English passager, etc.), from wharfage (“use of a wharf; payment for such use”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns, especially names of persons engaged in professions or trades). Wharfage is probably derived from Medieval Latin wharfāgium, or from Middle English wharf (“structure projecting into a body of water for ships to moor and load or unload, pier, quay, wharf”) + -age (suffix forming nouns denoting actions, states, etc.). By surface analysis, wharfage + -er.

inh

A female wharfinger—a grade of staff peculiar to the Wenford Mineral Line—lives in an adjacent house.

1940 December, Charles E. Lee, “The Wenford Mineral Line”, in The Railway Magazine, London: Tothill Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 645:

(by extension, England, rail transport) The manager of a wharf along a railway line, that is, a place used for loading and unloading goods on to trains.

laiturinpitäjä

manager or owner of a wharf; manager of a wharf along a railway line


summat

Dialectal variant of somewhat attested from the 18th century. Joseph Wright suggested that it might be a contraction of "some that" in A Grammar of the Dialect of Windhill (page 78).

...every gentleman tips us summat, we looks for it as natural as possible.

1809, Theodore Hook, “Killing No Murder”, in The Sporting Magazine, volume 34, number 202, page 185:

They require the atmosphere of a cigar and the amalgam of a sum'mat comfortable.

1825 October 12, Walter Scott, Letters (published 1935), IX.245

A man must learn summat beside Gospel to make them things.

1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter I, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 10:

He were a-going to gie I summat for’n, but like enough it’ll be worth more to a gent like yourself.

1929, John Cowper Powys, Wolf Solent, page 129:

Does he think I’ve been soaping up to the Governor or summat?

1947, Thomas Armstrong, King Cotton, page 53:

Got summat fer yeh here – I mighta sat on it at some point, but it’ll taste all right.

1997 June 26, J. K. Rowling [pseudonym; Joanne Rowling], chapter IV, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Harry Potter; 1), London: Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

Why go all the way to find summat that ain’t there?

Do you ever get that fear that you can't shift the type / That sticks around like summat in your teeth?

2013, Alex Turner (lyrics and music), “Do I Wanna Know?”, in Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley, Matt Helders (music), AM, track 1:

(England, especially Lancashire, Yorkshire, informal) Something.


summat

It's summat-like to see such a man as that i' the desk of a Sunday!

1859, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter VIII, in Adam Bede […], volume I, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book first, page 172:

(England, especially Lancashire, Yorkshire, informal) Something (“to a degree”); somewhat.


ramps

(England, Scotland, Ireland) Alternative form of ramson


Newton hearing

From the 1983 case R v Newton, in which the defendant admitted buggery but claimed his wife had given her consent.

(England, law) A part of a court case in which a judge, sitting alone and without a jury, hears evidence on factual points disputed between prosecution and defence.


LEA

local education authority
w:local education authority

(England and Wales, education, historical) Initialism of local education authority.


tiver

en-verb

tiver (third-person singular simple present tivers, present participle tivering, simple past and past participle tivered)

tivers (present singular third-person)
tivering (participle present)
tivered (participle past)
tivered (past)

From Middle English *teveren, from Old English tēofrian, *tīefran (“to mark in red or purple, colour; depict, portray”), from tēafor as above.

(transitive, regional England) To mark with tiver, as sheep.


yarwhelp

Perhaps related to Old English hwilpa, Scots whaup and Dutch wulp (“curlew”).

(England, archaic) godwit, a type of bird.


LPC

Legal Practice Course
w:Legal Practice Course

(law, England and Wales) Initialism of Legal Practice Course.


PCC

police and crime commissioner
w:police and crime commissioner

(England and Wales) Initialism of police and crime commissioner.


bridleway

The bulk for the funding (£40 million) will be spent on a 240MW Supergrid to boost power supply in the area, while £5 million will be spent on a new bridleway bridge over the East Coast main line to enable the closure of Lindsells level crossing, which has a high risk rating from Network Rail.

2019 October, “Funding for 20tph East London Line service”, in Modern Railways, page 18:

The master plan for the site includes 3.3km of new surfaced and unsurfaced walking routes, more than 1km of new bridleways and cantering routes, and retention of the 2.3km Old Shire Lane bridleway.

2024 March 20, Chris Howe, “High speed underneath the Chilterns...”, in RAIL, number 1005, page 33:

(England) A right of way defined in law, over which the public have the right to travel on foot or on horseback or leading a horse, with or without a right to drive animals of any description along the way.


LPA

en-noun

LPA (countable and uncountable, plural LPAs)

Coordinate term: EPA

lasting power of attorney
lasting power of attorney#English

(countable, law, England and Wales) Initialism of lasting power of attorney.


wath

From Middle English wath, from Old Norse vað (“a ford”). Cognate with Scots wath, Swedish vad. Related to wade.

The Romans had a bridge across the Eden near where the Caldew falls into the larger stream; had that bridge been in existence when this road or track was first made, its makers would have gone to the Roman bridge, and not to the deep and dangerous wath at Etterby. This ancient road and the ford at "Willie-of-the-Boats" were not superseded until[…]1816.

1885, R. S. Ferguson, C. F. Keary, “The Beaumont Hoard, with some remarks on a pre-Roman road near Carlisle”, in Transactions of the Cumberland & Westmorland Antiquarian & Archaeological Society, volume 8, published 1886, page 375:


flicky

(slang, urban England and Ireland) flick knife, switchblade


potato cake

(Scotland, England) A savory flat cake made from flour and mashed potatoes, often fried or baked.


dook

(mining, historical, Scotland, northern England) A heading or roadway following the dip of the strata.


soke

From Middle English soke, from Medieval Latin (Anglo-Latin) sōca "right of jurisdiction", from Old English sōcn (“jurisdiction, prosecution”, literally “act of seeking”), from Proto-West Germanic *sōkni, from Proto-Germanic *sōkniz (“seeking, inquiry”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂g- (“to track”).
Cognates: see English soken. More at sake, seek.

der

(England, law, historical) A soc (a medieval right to hold a court or to receive fines).

(England, historical) A district under a particular jurisdiction.


hurple

en-verb

hurple (third-person singular simple present hurples, present participle hurpling, simple past and past participle hurpled)

hurples (present singular third-person)
hurpling (participle present)
hurpled (participle past)
hurpled (past)

A word of unknown origin, perhaps cognate with Scots hirple (“to limp”) or Dutch hurken (“to squat”), plus the suffix -le.

Goas hurpling abart fit to give a body t'dithers to luke at him! - The Dialect of Leeds, 1862

(England) To shrug up the neck and creep along the streets with a shivering sensation of cold, as an ill-clad person may do on a winter's morning.


English English

My own tongue is neither American English nor English English, but Irish English; so I am as nearly impartial in the matter as it is in human nature to be.

1901, [George] Bernard Shaw, “Notes to Captain Brassbound’s Conversion”, in Three Plays for Puritans: The Devil’s Disciple, Cæsar and Cleopatra, & Captain Brassbound’s Conversion, London: Grant Richards, […], →OCLC, page 305:

A dialect of the English language that is spoken mostly in England.


Oi've

(south west England) Pronunciation spelling of I've.


Oi'll

(south west England) Pronunciation spelling of I'll.


abaht

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles

Oxford University Press
w:Oxford University Press

(England) Pronunciation spelling of about.


abaht

There's a lot o' brothers knockin' abaht as people don't know on, eh what?

1908, Charles Rann Kennedy, The Servant in the House:

Ther wor nowt for it but to be wed bi licence, an' hah to get th' brass Dick couldn't tell, but at last he detarmined to tell one ov his shopmates all abaht it, an' ax him to advance him twenty paand, to be paid back as sooin as he gate th' properties.

So when the war broke out, sez 'e: "Well, wot abaht it, Joe?"

1958, Robert W. Service, Rhymes of a Red Cross Man:


unparished

/(ˌ)ʌnˈpæɹɪʃt/

/ˌʌnˈpɛɹɪʃt/

From:
* un (prefix meaning ‘not’) + parish (noun) + -ed (suffix forming possessional adjectives from nouns); and
* un- + parished (“organized into parishes; possessing parishes”, adjective).

prefix

(England) Of an area: not in a civil parish (“an administrative subdivision of a borough or local government district”), or not having a parish council or town council.

seurakunnaton

of an area: not in a civil parish, or not having a parish council or town council


reest

en-verb

reest (third-person singular simple present reests, present participle reesting, simple past and past participle reested)

reests (present singular third-person)
reesting (participle present)
reested (participle past)
reested (past)

Gay Garland had carried my father over long to reest with him at the hinderend.

1895, S. R. Crockett, The Men of the Moss-Hags:

(Scotland, England) Alternative form of rest (“to cure, smoke, or dry (meat or fish); (of a horse) to stop or refuse to go, balk”)


FAT

en-noun

FAT (countable and uncountable, plural FATs)

full agricultural tenancy
full agricultural tenancy#English

(countable, property law, England and Wales) Initialism of full agricultural tenancy.


pooty

Uncertain. Possibly from pooty (“pretty”), although that term is attested slightly later.

Do 'e remember that nest then? and the pooty shells I collected for you, and all our playings?

1980, Gillian Nelson, Charity's Child, London: W. H. Allen, →ISBN, page 45:

(England, dialectal, Northamptonshire) Cepaea nemoralis, one of the most common species of land snail in Europe, with a dark brown lip to its shell.


LSC

Legal Services Commission
w:Legal Services Commission

(England and Wales, historical) Initialism of Legal Services Commission.


wanger

(dialectal, Westcountry England) A contemptible person, neutral variant of a swear word.


feg

From fig, with the change in spelling reflecting a Caribbean pronunciation.

I have many relations and friends who are West Indians. They always speak of the section of an orange as a "fig," and of tearing an orange into its different pieces as "figging an orange." This does not apply to a division by knife.

1877 February 17, G.P.T., Notes and Queries, volume VII, number 164, London: John Francis, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 134, column 1:

Place about ten to fifteen fegs of garlic, half cup of dried fine thyme, (more if fresh thyme is used), 4 or more wiri wiri peppers, and a tablespoon of salt in a blender with about a cup of vinegar and blend for about a minute until well blended.

2023 December 23, “So you don't eat pork? Use chicken and make Garlic Chicken instead.”, in Guyanese Association of Barbados Inc, archived from the original on 2024-09-21:

(originally England, dialectal, now chiefly Caribbean) A piece, a clove (of segmented produce, especially oranges and garlic).


misanalyse

en-verb

misanalyse (third-person singular simple present misanalyses, present participle misanalysing, simple past and past participle misanalysed)

misanalyses (present singular third-person)
misanalysing (participle present)
misanalysed (participle past)
misanalysed (past)

(chiefly UK England) Alternative form of misanalyze


essoiner

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman essoigniour, from Old French essoignier. By surface analysis, essoin + -er.

(England, archaic, law) An attorney who sufficiently excuses the absence of another.


glump

glump (third-person singular simple present glumps, present participle glumping, simple past and past participle glumped)

glumps (present singular third-person)
glumping (participle present)
glumped (participle past)
glumped (past)

(intransitive, colloquial, archaic, southern, England) To be glum; to sulk.


merestone

From Middle English merestone, merestane, from Old English mǣrstān (“boundary-stone”), equivalent to mere (“boundary”) + stone.

The mislayer of a merestone is to blame

1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Judicature”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC:

Past the mere-stones that marked their turf they strode, with grass stems between their teeth and dandelion seed heads in their hair […].

2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 30:

(England, regional, now historical) A stone designating a limit or boundary; a boundary stone.


whetile

European green woodpecker
European green woodpecker

(England, dialect, archaic) The European green woodpecker


parrock

From Middle English parrok, from Old English pearruc, pearroc (“clatrum, fence by which a space is enclosed, enclosure, enclosed land”), perhaps from post-classic Latin parricus (compare park). Cognate with Dutch perk (“flowerbed”), German Pferch (“pen, fold”).

James Broadbent did not wonder what Isaac Hartley was doing in the sodden parrock that lay behind Elphaborough Hall in the fading light of day […].

2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 231:

(now chiefly Scotland, England regional) An enclosed area of land; a small field or a paddock.


hoddydoddy

From hoddy-dod, an obsolete English regionalism meaning “periwinkle” or “snail”. Compare dodman.

A River snail in Oxfordshire is “Hoddy-doddy”; in Northamptonshire the Wall snail is “Packman snail.”

1899, W.T. Fernie, Animal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure, page 448:

(obsolete, England) A snail; a snail’s shell.


IPCC

w:Independent Police Complaints Commission

(government, England, Wales) Initialism of Independent Police Complaints Commission: a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales.


abjure the realm

abjure the realm (third-person singular simple present abjures the realm, present participle abjuring the realm, simple past and past participle abjured the realm)

abjures the realm (present singular third-person)
abjuring the realm (participle present)
abjured the realm (participle past)
abjured the realm (past)

(chiefly historical, England law) To swear to leave the realm as soon as possible and not return without the permission of the sovereign.


riggot

From obsolete French rigot (“canal”), from Middle French rigole.

(dialectal, England) The draining of a surface mainly by rainwater.


Metropolis

The journey from our town to the metropolis, was a journey of about five hours.

1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter I, in Great Expectations […], volume II, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 1:

(England, dated) London, United Kingdom.


beadsman

From earlier bedeman, from Middle English bedeman (“a petitioner”), equivalent to bead (“request, petition, prayer”) + -man.

suffix

Whereby ye shall bind me to be […]your poor beadsman for ever unto Almighty God.

1655, Thomas Fuller, The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI):

(historical, England) A poor man, supported in a beadhouse, and required to pray for the soul of its founder; an almsman.


dry lunch

Who's the dry lunch?
That's Terry. He's the one you headbutted.
Oi, lunch, show us your face.

(England, slang) A contemptible or uncool person.


Cup Final

(England and Wales, soccer) The last match in the Football Association Challenge Cup competition.


knight caligate

en-noun

knight caligate (plural knights caligate)

(obsolete, England) A knight of the common birth who acted as a herald, messenger, and arms-bearer for a noble house and was distinguished by travelling on foot, by his two-color coat, and by his startups (“a kind of thigh-high boots”).


jessamy

The word's second sense is from a man's use of a particular perfume, most likely jasmine-scented.


stowp

(Scotland, England) Alternative form of stoup


praemunire facias

From Middle English premunire facias, premunire fac', from Latin praemunire facias (“that you cause to be forewarned”) from the opening words of the writ: praemūnīre (“you fortify (defend in advance)”) (an error for praemonēre (“you forewarn”)) + faciās (“you make”).

der

It [praemunire] is named, from the words of the writ, preparatory to the prosecution thereof, "Præmunire facias A. B. – Cause A. B. to be forewarned – that he appear before us to answer the contempt wherewith he stands charged;" which contempt is particularly recited in the preamble to the writ. […] It [the Statute of Praemunire (16 Ric. II, chapter 5)] enacts, that whoever procures at Rome or elsewhere, any translations, processes, excommunications, bulls, instruments, or other things, which touch the King, against him, his Crown and Realm, shall be put out of the King's protection; their lands and goods forfeited to the King's use; and they shall be attached by their bodies to answer to the King and his Council; or process of Præmunire facias shall be made out against them as in other cases of Provisors.

1820, Thomas Edlyne Tomlins, The Law-dictionary: Explaining the Rise, Progress, and Present State of the British Law; Defining and Interpreting the Terms or Words of art; and Comprising also Copious Information on the Subjects of Trade and Government, 3rd edition, volume II, London: Printed for Payne and Foss [et al.], →OCLC, pages 95–96:

Sect. 196. Also, there are sixe manner of men, […] who, if they sue, judgement may be demanded, if they shall be answered, &c. […] Sect. 199. The fourth is a man, who by judgement given against him upon a writ of praemunire facias, &c. is out of the king's protection.

1832 (originally 1628), Edward Coke; Francis Hargrave and Charles Butler, editors, The First Part of the Institutes of the Laws of England; or, a Commentary Upon Littleton: Not the Name of the Author only, but of the Law itself: Revised and Corrected with Additions of Notes, References, and Proper Tables, by Francis Hargrave and Charles Butler, Esqrs. of Lincoln's Inn, including also the Notes of Lord Chief Justice Hale and Lord Chancellor Nottingham; and an Analysis of Littleton, Written by an Unknown Hand in 1658–9, volume I, 19th corrected edition, London: Printed for J. & W. T. Clarke [et al.], OCLC 60713242, pages [638] and [644]; a republication in an edited form of The First Part of the Institutes of the Lawes of England. Or, a Commentarie upon Littleton, Not the Name of a Lawyer onely, but of the Law it selfe, London: Printed [by Adam Islip] for the Societe of Stationers, 1628, OCLC 84760833, book 2, chapter 11, sections 196 and 199

In the writ for the execution of all these statutes, the words præmunire facias, being used to command a citation of the party, here denominated in common speech not only the writ, but the offence itself, of maintaining the papal power by the name of præmunire.

1835, Thomas Stephen, The Book of the Constitution of Great Britain: Containing a Full Account of the Rise, Progress, and Present Construction of the Three Estates of the Realm, King, Lords and Commons; of the Various Courts of Jurisdiction; and of those Acts by which the Liberties or Rights of the Subjects are Affected, Glasgow: Blackie & Son, 8, East Clyde Street, and 5, South College Street, Edinburgh; W. Curry, Jun., & Co., Dublin; and Simpkin & Marshall, London, →OCLC, page 80:

Præmunire is so called from a word in the writ, præmunire facias præfatum A.B. quod tunc sit coram nobis, &c. where præmunire is used for præmonere, to warn the person to appear […] And by the 16 Rich. II c. 5, commonly called the Statute of Præmunire, and to which the several subsequent statutes do refer, both those who pursue, or cause to be pursued, in the court of Rome, or elsewhere, any processes or instruments, or other things whatsoever, which touch the king, against him, his crown and regality, or his realm, and also those who shall bring, receive, notify, or execute them, and their faulters, and abettors, shall be out of the king's protection; and their lands, tenements, goods and chattels, forfeit to the king; and they shall be attached by their bodies, if they may be found, and brought before the king and his council, there to answer; or process shall be made against them by præmunire facias, in manner as is ordained in other statutes of provisors.

1837, Richard Burn, Joseph Chitty, Montague B. Bere, Thomas Chitty, The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer, 28th edition, volume V, London: S[tephen] Sweet, 1, Chancery Lane; Stevens & Sons, 39, Bell Yard, and A[lexander] Maxwell, 32, Bell Yard, Lincoln's Inn, →OCLC, page 287:

The latter statute [Statute of Praemunire (16 Ric. II, chapter 5)] stated that any person who appealed to a court outside England, if presented with a writ of praemunire facias, was required to answer the resulting charges of contempt within two months or face penalties of outlawry and forfeiture of all lands and goods. The writ of praemunire facias had been available for some years. What the new statute did was to ensure that people making an appeal to a foreign court faced serious penalties if they ignored a writ of praemunire facias.

2002, Ronald H. Fritze, William Baxter Robison, Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272–1485, Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, →ISBN, page 439:

(law, England, historical) More fully writ of praemunire facias: a writ directing a sheriff to forewarn a person that he or she must appear before a court to answer a criminal charge of having brought a suit in or obeyed a foreign (especially papal) court or authority, thus challenging the supremacy of the Crown; a praemunire.


woak

Like one, the word oak acquired an intrusive initial /w/ in some dialects beginning already in the 1400s with Middle English wocke (“oak”).

When I'd a-hung un up in th' woak tree […]

1890, Sydney Savory Buckman, John Darke's Sojourn, section XIV:

As we wer catchèn vrom our laps / Below a woak our bits an' draps […]

1879, William Barnes, Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect, section 78:

(England, dialectal, possibly obsolete) An oak.


CBO

criminal behaviour order
w:criminal behaviour order

(law, England and Wales) Initialism of criminal behaviour order.


zock

(Western England dialect) Synonym of sock: a blow, a strike.


Town

en-proper noun

Town (countable and uncountable, plural Towns)

Town (disambiguation)#People
Town, Merthyr Tydfil

(England, traditional, in phrases such as 'in Town' or 'to Town', also without capital) London, especially central London.


frampold

en-adj

frampold (comparative more frampold, superlative most frampold)

more frampold (comparative)
most frampold (superlative)

(England, regional) Bad-tempered, angry, disagreeable.


chackle

en-verb

chackle (third-person singular simple present chackles, present participle chackling, simple past and past participle chackled)

chackles (present singular third-person)
chackling (participle present)
chackled (participle past)
chackled (past)

Perhaps related to chatter, chuckle or cackle?

[…] calling in partridges, gagleing in geese, groaning in pigeons and turtles, crowing in cocks, chackling and clucking in [hens] […]

1661, Robert Lovell, Panzooryktologia: Sive Panzoologicomineralogia, or a Compleat History:

"The Lord hath delivered-- do you ever bet?" he chackled.

The cock sat up in the yew-tree, The hen came chackling by, I wish you all good morning, And a good fat pig in the sty.

Her dressed in Grandma's jarberlunks, got into her trinkle and settled down to wait. Red Riding Hood walked jebblydove along the path, through the jonkeyhaze and finally reached Grandma's cottage. She chackled at the door and went in.

2010, Liz Spooner, Jacqui Woodcock, Teaching Children to Listen: A practical approach to developing children's listening skills, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 109:

"So you've finally come back to me, eh Grandma Matchie?" Lunker chackled. "You haven't been down here since I threw you out of my court two thousand years ago!" Grandma atchie chackled right back. "An it's bin feelin pretty empty e'er since, I bet!"

2012, Steven Erikson, The Devil Delivered and Other Tales, Macmillan, →ISBN, page 303:

(England, dialectal, rare) To chatter (to talk or make noise) or chuckle.


yaff

yaff (third-person singular simple present yaffs, present participle yaffing, simple past and past participle yaffed)

yaffs (present singular third-person)
yaffing (participle present)
yaffed (participle past)
yaffed (past)


canbottle

Aegithalos caudatus
Aegithalos caudatus#Translingual

(England) A small bird of Europe and Asia, the long-tailed tit Aegithalos caudatus.


spug

Apparently an alteration of sprug, spurg.

Birds on the ground. Birds of different varieties. Crows and gulls and spugs.

2017, Benjamin Myers, The Gallows Pole, Bloomsbury, published 2019, page 178:

(chiefly Ireland, Scotland, England regional) A sparrow.


paper book

(law, England), A document prepared in English legal practice containing a record or summary of the pleadings.


show cause

show cause (third-person singular simple present shows cause, present participle showing cause, simple past showed cause, past participle shown cause)

shows cause (present singular third-person)
showing cause (participle present)
showed cause (past)
shown cause (participle past)

(law, England, Wales) In English law, to argue against the confirmation of a provisional order or judgment.


hoddy-dod

“You’ve brought yer house on yer back like a hoddy-dod,” she said with a grin.

1889, Amy Walton, White Lilac; or The Queen of May:

(obsolete, England, East Anglia) A snail.


LAD

local authority district
w:local authority district

(England, government) Initialism of local authority district.


in statu pupillari

(England, education) In the state of pupilage; subject to the rules of a college or university as they apply to junior members.


newelty

He believed he kept no particular mistress; for he had heard newelty, that was the man's word, was every thing with him.

1748, [Samuel Richardson], chapter 4, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume I, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(now England regional) Newness, novelty.

My Wife loves newalties abominationly, and I must tell her something about the King.

(now England regional) Something new; a piece of news.


well-thriven

en-adj

well-thriven (comparative more well-thriven, superlative most well-thriven)

more well-thriven (comparative)
most well-thriven (superlative)

Then I have a sort of quarrel against his face, though in his person, for a well-thriven man, tolerably genteel.

1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter XLVI”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; […], →OCLC:

(now chiefly Scotland, England regional) That has developed well; flourishing, thriving, healthy.


Metropolitan

(England, dated) Of or pertaining to London, United Kingdom.


civil parish

(England) An administrative subdivision of a borough or local government district, which is the lowest tier of local government, mainly, but not exclusively, in rural areas.

community (Wales)
community council#Scotland


mislest

en-verb

mislest (third-person singular simple present mislests, present participle mislesting, simple past and past participle mislested)

mislests (present singular third-person)
mislesting (participle present)
mislested (participle past)
mislested (past)

Apparently an alteration of molest, after mis-.

“I'd scorn for to mislest a gentleman when he's taking his pleasure.”

1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, III.v.12:

(now Ireland, England regional) To molest, mistreat.


meadow bright

(dialectal, England) A swamp plant of Europe and North America having bright yellow flowers resembling buttercups; Caltha palustris.


like a million pounds

like a million dollars
like a million dollars#English

(England) Synonym of like a million dollars


abart

Pronunciation spelling
pronunciation spelling

(England) Pronunciation spelling of about.


Crown Court

(England, Wales) A senior court that sits regularly in various regional locations, normally with a judge and jury. It deals with indictable offences and either-way offences referred from magistrates' courts, as well as appeals against the decisions of magistrates' courts.


King's highway

(England) A publicly maintained road or right-of-way.


blushwort

(England) A European common centaury (Centaurium erythraea).


gollop

gollop (third-person singular simple present gollops, present participle golloping, simple past and past participle golloped)

gollops (present singular third-person)
golloping (participle present)
golloped (participle past)
golloped (past)

(colloquial, England) To eat greedily or quickly.


crack the flags

crack the flags (third-person singular simple present cracks the flags, present participle cracking the flags, simple past and past participle cracked the flags)

cracks the flags (present singular third-person)
cracking the flags (participle present)
cracked the flags (participle past)
cracked the flags (past)

See flag (“a flagstone”); the idea is that the extreme heat might cause paving-stones to split.

Early summer sunshine threatened to crack the flags outside.

1998, Julia Wild, Blue Silk Promise, page 80:

I was apprehensive, feeling butterflies, pissed, the sun cracking the flags.

2005, Andrew Porter, Suicide Squad: The Inside Story of a Football Firm:

[…] plus the sun was still cracking the flags as we headed back to Geneva.

2008, Dave Spencer, A Smudge on My Lens, page 276:

The sun's hot enough to crack the flags and there's not a cloud in sight.

2010, Maureen Lee, The House By Princes Park:

'Tis fit to crack the flags so you'll not be wantin' your brolly.

2012, Audrey Howard, There is No Parting:

(northern England, colloquial) Of the sun or sunshine: to beat down very strongly; to be extremely hot.


lease for lives

en-noun

lease for lives (plural leases for lives)

term of years determinable
term of years determinable

(law, England and Wales, historical) A kind of lease for a term of years determinable, popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, which typically named three individuals – the "lives" – and determined upon the death of all three.


August Bank Holiday

August Bank Holiday (plural August Bank Holidays)

The fact that rail's August Bank Holiday figures this year were higher than before the virus indicates the potential for growth.

2021 November 17, Anthony Lambert, “How do we grow the leisure market?”, in RAIL, number 944, page 35:

(England, Wales, Northern Ireland) A public holiday on the last Monday in August.


exchange of contracts

exchange of contracts (plural exchanges of contracts)

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland) The act of exchanging contracts.

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, idiomatic) The point or stage at which a conveyancing contract comes into existence between negotiating parties for the carrying out of a disposition of an estate in land; usually requiring the payment of a deposit.


exchange contracts

en-verb

exchange contracts (third-person singular simple present exchanges contracts, present participle exchanging contracts, simple past and past participle exchanged contracts)

exchanges contracts (present singular third-person)
exchanging contracts (participle present)
exchanged contracts (participle past)
exchanged contracts (past)

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, idiomatic) To formally contract to purchase, sell or otherwise be party to a disposition of an estate in land; usually requiring the payment of a deposit by one of the parties.

legal representative
legal representative

(law, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, chiefly by legal practitioners) To create a contract for the disposition of an estate in land between negotiating parties, by a process which is immediately followed by the exchange of executed counterparts of the contract between each party's legal representative.


mines and minerals

Near-synonym: mineral rights

(property law, England and Wales, idiomatic) The legal title to geological resources in the subsurface of a piece of land, usually by reference to being in the same or separate ownership to the surface of that land.


deed of appointment

en-noun

deed of appointment (plural deeds of appointment)

(law, England and Wales) A deed executed by the trustees or beneficiaries of a trust appointing one or more new trustees.

(law, England and Wales) A deed executed by the trustees of a trust appointing sums or property out of the trust to one or more beneficiaries.


deed of retirement

deed of retirement (plural deeds of retirement)

(law, England and Wales) A deed executed by the trustees of a trust under which one or more voluntarily retire from being trustees.


fee simple absolute in possession

fee simple absolute in possession (uncountable)

From fee simple + absolute + in possession.

(law, England and Wales, formal, idiomatic) The unqualified and unrestricted ownership of an estate in land; freehold tenure.


term of years absolute

term of years absolute (plural terms of years absolute)

(law, England and Wales, formal, misleading) An estate in land held for a term of years of either a specified length or on a periodic basis, and which is not a term of years determinable (though may be determinable for other reasons); a leasehold estate in land.

(law, England and Wales, idiomatic) The lease under which that estate in land is held.


term of years determinable

term of years determinable (plural terms of years determinable)

(law, England and Wales, formal, historical) An estate in land held for a term of years which determined on the deaths of certain individuals, or the cessation of certain life interests.

(law, England and Wales, idiomatic, historical) The lease under which that estate in land was held.


gouernement

1575, George Gascoigne, The Glasse of Gouernement:

1593, Thomas Bilson, The Perpetual Gouernement of Christes Church:

CHAP. IX. Of the beginning and establishing of Gouernement.

1736, The History of the World in Five Books:

(archaic, England) Archaic spelling of government.


tits out for the lads

(England, derogatory, offensive) A chant, usually by a group of men to one or more women, demanding that they expose their breasts.


get your tits out for the lads

tits out for the lads
tits out for the lads#English

(England, derogatory, offensive) Alternative form of tits out for the lads.


Conqueror

The making this survey was a great design in the Conqueror; and it is plain he considered the finishing of it as an event of great importance; a charter, granted by him soon after, having this remarkable date.

1788, Robert Kelham, chapter 1, in Domesday Book Illustrated, page 5:


farm business tenancy

farm business tenancy (plural farm business tenancies)

Coined by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1995 in the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.

coinage

(property law, England and Wales) An agricultural tenancy agreed on or after 1 September 1995, made under the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995.


full agricultural tenancy

en-noun

full agricultural tenancy (countable and uncountable, plural full agricultural tenancies)

(property law, England and Wales) An agricultural tenancy agreed before 1 September 1995, to which the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986 applies.


1986 Act tenancy

1986 Act tenancy (plural 1986 Act tenancies)

(property law, England and Wales) Synonym of full agricultural tenancy.


Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy

Agricultural Holdings Act tenancy (plural Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies)

Agricultural Holdings Act tenancies (plural)


bannut

Wor. They picks they stones off the common, as small as bannuts (H.K.). w.Wor.¹ Sarmints is ahl like bannuts; d’reckly yŭ opens ’um, yŭ knaows w’ats in ’um.[…]se.Wor.¹ The fust time as ever I knaowed ’im wus w’en ’e wus took up fur stalin’ bannits.[…]We cannot tell how many bannuts there be, till we beat the trees (A.B.); Ellis Pronun. (1889) V. 66. ne.Glo. The old man … forbade the young fellow’s visits, bluntly declaring that he might go and ‘bad the bannuts’ somewhere else, Household Wds. (1885) 141.[…]Som. A woman, a spaunel, and a bannut tree, The mooar you bate ’em the better they be, W. & J. Gl. (1873);

1898, “BANNUT, sb.”, in Joseph Wright, editor, The English Dialect Dictionary: […], volumes I (A–C), London: Henry Frowde, […], publisher to the English Dialect Society, […]; New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →OCLC, page 158, column 1:

Crack nuts and bannuts (walnuts), / Say the bells of St. Weonard’s.

1912, Ella Mary Leather, The Folk-Lore of Herefordshire: Collected from Oral and Printed Sources, page 241:

In 1810-11 the tenant of Rushock Court at his own expense, planted: / 220 strong pears at 3/- / 56 pear stocks at 2/- / 104 pears at 1/6 / 114 stocks at 2/- / 60 crabs at 1/6 / 41 crabs at 1/- / 26 damsons at 1/6 / 14 walnuts at 2/- / 2 Bannuts at 3/- / 6 Spanish Chestnuts at 1/- /—total with expenses of planting £79 2s. 0d.

1913, Gerald Poynton Mander, The History of the Wolverhampton Grammar School, Wolverhampton: […] Steens Limited at the Old Grammar School Press, page 338:

One of the workmen remarked that “He be so like a Christian you canna pass him without givin’ him summat, an’ now I gives him the bannuts* he runs to the door to meet me when he sees me a-comin’.”[…]* “Bannuts”—local word for walnuts.

1917 January, Frances Pitt, “The Education of “The Coon””, in The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, volume XLVII, number 258, London, page 84:


title plan

(property law, England and Wales) A plan issued by HM Land Registry that accompanies a title register, showing the extent of the legal title described in that register, and sometimes other interests in land that affect the title.


market overt

Learned borrowing from Law French market overt, a calque of Anglo-Norman marché ouvert (“open market”).

calque

(law, England and Wales, historical) A rule in English law that overrode the general rule that the purported sale of stolen goods would not transfer ownership, if the goods were openly sold at a designated market between sunrise and sunset.

Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1994
market overt


GDL

Graduate Diploma in Law
w:Graduate Diploma in Law

(law, England and Wales) Initialism of Graduate Diploma in Law.


LPMPA

w:Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989

(property law, England and Wales) Initialism of Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1989.


SRA

Solicitors Regulation Authority
w:Solicitors Regulation Authority

(England and Wales, law) Initialism of Solicitors Regulation Authority.


BSB

Bar Standards Board
w:Bar Standards Board

(England and Wales, law) Initialism of Bar Standards Board.


NOMS

National Offender Management Service
w:National Offender Management Service

(England and Wales, historical) Initialism of National Offender Management Service.


employment tribunal

en-noun

employment tribunal (plural employment tribunals)

From employment + tribunal. Coined by the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1998 in the Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Act 1998; replacing the former term industrial tribunal.

ref

Although the principal English and Welsh act is the Employment Tribunals Act 1996, its former name was the Industrial Tribunals Act 1996 until 1998.

court of first instance
court of first instance

(law, England and Wales) A tribunal with jurisdiction to hear disputes related to employment (such as unfair dismissal); the mandatory court of first instance in such claims.


LBC

letter before claim
letter before claim#English

(law, England and Wales) Initialism of letter before claim.


interview under caution

en-noun

interview under caution (plural interviews under caution)

From the mandatory caution given by the police to the suspect at the beginning of such interviews: “You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”.

(criminal law, law enforcement, England and Wales, formal) A formal interview of a suspect by the police as part of a criminal investigation, for which the suspect is entitled to legal representation. Used to determine whether or not to prosecute the suspect, and most commonly conducted following arrest, though sometimes in other circumstances.


PWITS

possession with intent to supply#English

(England and Wales, criminal law) Acronym of possession with intent to supply.


pie crust lease

pie crust lease (plural pie crust leases)

From pie crust + lease, in reference to the lease only including the topmost layer of the land. Coined due to the fact that estates in land include the subsurface by default.

(England and Wales, law) A lease for the surface of some land or structure (such as a bridge), which excludes the subsurface or land beneath.


truff

truff (countable and uncountable, plural truffs or truff)

One of these pools is designated par excellence the otter pool, for as surely as the truff appear, so surely do the strong hovers hold an otter, nay, sometimes a brace or more, in attendance on the prey so bountifully supplied to them.

1885, The Duke of Beaufort [i.e., Henry Somerset], Mowbray Morris, Hunting, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., page 307:

Salmo trutta morpha trutta
Wikispecies:Salmo trutta morpha trutta

(England, Cornwall, dialectal, archaic) The sea trout (a fish of the species Salmo trutta morpha trutta, closely related to salmon).