DIALECT AND WORD MEANINGS

[Marilyn]

I used the word “Skullduggery” this morning. My son found it very funny

[Stanley]

Just fired the stove. Why is the hod I use for carrying the smokeless fuel called a 'scuttle'? I went for a furtle....
"Result for Coal scuttle etymology Origin. The word scuttle comes, via Middle English and Old English, from the Latin word Scutula, meaning a shallow pan. An alternative name, hod, derives from the Old French hotte, meaning "basket," and is also used in reference to boxes used to carry bricks or other construction materials"

[Tripps]

The bag that on course bookies put the cash in is also known as the 'hod'. I think it's a touch ironic.

PS I heard the phrase 'recreational rioting' with reference to Ulster, used today.

[Stanley]

'Recreational Rioting'... That's a new one on me David.

[Tizer]

Wendy referred to `Vivary Way' in Colne this morning in the Attention thread. Why is it called Vivary? I ask because we have Vivary Park here in Taunton but the name is supposed to be derived from the fact that the stream and lake are the remains of the Bishop of Winchester's `vivarium' (fish pond) which provided him with carp. The fish were taken live by boat and cart from Taunton to Winchester.

[Wendyf]

Wendy referred to `Vivary Way' in Colne this morning in the Attention thread. Why is it called Vivary? I ask because we have Vivary Park here in Taunton but the name is supposed to be derived from the fact that the stream and lake are the remains of the Bishop of Winchester's `vivarium' (fish pond) which provided him with carp. The fish were taken live by boat and cart from Taunton to Winchester.

Same here Tiz, there was a fish pond in that area.

[Stanley]

Vivary Bridge Mill in Colne in 1979.

[Tizer]

How interesting! It's always satisfying when you find confirmation of old names and their meanings.

[Stanley]

It's why I love local history Peter. It is the foundation of all the rest. The same can be said of local politics, all politics is local.

[Tripps]

we have Vivary Park here in Taunton

I spent a very pleasant afternoon there once. We stayed in the 'Vicar's cottage' at South Petherton. He bought it for his pending retirement, and let it to friends (and friends of friends) at mate's rates to pay the outgoings. I think it was £50 for the week.

I still have the thank you letter from Mrs Vicar - for leaving it such a good condition. She may have been influenced by the fact that - after discreet enquiries that it would be welcomed - I left them a bottle of Cognac.

I don't think they ever lived there. Looks to have been sold - and from Streetview, extended beyond recognition.

Nice memory though.

[Stanley]

"I left them a bottle of Cognac. "
Typical! Just what I would expect a gentleman like you to do....

[Tripps]

Cometh the hour - cometh the word. . . .

Susie Dent
Word of the day is 'snollygoster' (19th century): an individual guided by personal gain rather than by principles.

snollygoster /ˈsnɒlɪɡɒstə/
nouninformal•US
noun: snollygoster; plural noun: snollygosters
a shrewd, unprincipled person, especially a politician. "snollygosters must be thrown out of political office and other positions of power"

Example - "David Cameron is a failed snollygoster". Other examples are readily available.

[Stanley]

"Cometh the hour....."
Indeed David. Never come across that word before.

[Cathy]

I used the word ‘flibbertigibbet’ today, I was thinking of a frivolous person.
In Yorkshire it can refer to an excessively talkative person.

Tripps - have you heard of these 2 words?
Impignorate - it refers to pledge, pawn or mortgage.
Nudiustertian - it refers to ‘Of or relating to the day before yesterday’.

[Stanley]

I don't know about David Cathy but I wouldn't have known what they meant....

[Tripps]

Tripps - have you heard of these 2 words?

In a word - no. Can't imagine how I've managed without them.

[Stanley]

I was thinking about running the mobile shop from Sough round the farms and two words came to mind, sweets were always 'spice' and animal feed was 'provender' or more usually 'proven'. Another old word you came across a lot was agistment. This was the letting out of grazing to other farmers if you had any to spare. Commonly shortened to 'giste'.

[Stanley]

The word 'sausage' leapt out at me today so I looked it up. See THIS Wikipedia article.
"The word "sausage" was first used in English in the mid-15th century, spelled "sawsyge". This word came from Old North French saussiche (Modern French saucisse)". The French word came from Vulgar Latin salsica (sausage), from salsicus (seasoned with salt)."

[PanBiker]

Have we discussed or do we have any origin for the naming of Esp Lane in Barlick?

[Stanley]

I've looked at all the usual sources.... All of the references I found, including the use of 'Esp' as a surname, refer ultimately back to the Aspen tree. So the best I can suggest is that there were Aspen Trees up that lane.

[Tizer]

Reading about a quarry that was sold in the early 1900s I saw that the assets including a scabbling machine. That was a new word for me. Collins says scabbling is the rough sawing of stone and it's derived from French escapier, which referred to rough sawing of wood.

[PanBiker]

I've looked at all the usual sources.... All of the references I found, including the use of 'Esp' as a surname, refer ultimately back to the Aspen tree. So the best I can suggest is that there were Aspen Trees up that lane.

Thanks Stanley it's regarding something that Jack Parsons, (Moor Close) has mentioned regarding a historical pathway in the lea of Weets. I wondered if there were any more hints in the name of the lane.

[plaques]

Try this.

Espinal is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from a family once having lived in the settlement of Aspinwall, which was in the parish of Aughton in Lancashire county. The name Aspinwall literally means the aspen-well, referring to a well near a grove of aspen trees.

[Stanley]

With regard to Peter's scabbling, I always thought it was the rough surfacing of a stone by knocking off the high points with a points chisel and that the name came from the scabs they knocked off.
For 'scab', see THIS Wiktionary entry.
"From Middle English scabb, scabbe (also as shabbe, schabbe > English shab), from Old English sċeabb and Old Norse skabb, both from Proto-Germanic *skabbaz (“scab, scabies”), from Proto-Indo-European *skabʰ- (“to cut, split, carve, shape”). Cognate with German Schabe (“scabies”), Danish skab (“scab, scabies”), Swedish skabb (“scab, scabies”), Latin scabies (“scab, itch, mange”). Related also to Old English scafan (“to scrape, shave”), Latin scabere (“to scratch”), English shabby."

[Tizer]

That sounds a more likely derivation. I see there were scabbling hammers and the notice I read only referred to a `scabbling machine' not a saw.