A SUPPLEMENT TO THE GLOSSARY OF THE Dialect of Cumberland BY E. W. PREVOST, PH.D., F.R.S.E. WITH A GRAMMAR OF THE DIALECT By S. DICKSON BROWN, M.A. (LOND.), F.R.G.S. MEMBER OF THE PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY LONDON HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAREHOUSE BEMROSE & SONS, LTD. 4 SNOW HILL, E.C. CARLISLE: C. THURNAM & SONS 1905 All rights reserved PART I PREFATORY NOTE THE necessity for a Supplement to the Glossary embodying that of Mr. Wm. Dickinson, which was issued in 1899, became evident soon after its publication, for much new material was offered to me by those who had become acquainted with my work. Several of these became regular correspondents, and the additional List of Correspondents shows that I have thus been able to increase largely my sources of information; districts hitherto altogether neglected, or but slightly explored, having now been well worked. Meanwhile I have continued to collect quotations from the newspapers, books published after 1899, and many other sources, wherewith to illustrate the use of words recorded. From the English Dialect Dictionary I have recovered material which I had collected and handed over to the Editor before I commenced my own independent labours, and it is a pleasing duty to thank Professor Wright for many quotations and references to several obsolete words. It has come as a surprise to many that, apart from dialect form and pronunciation, there are several words and phrases in daily use which are either unknown or bear a different signification in the South of England; e. g. a 'small family' a southerner considers to refer to the number of children, whereas the northerner means that the children in the family are young; a 'tablemaid' is not to be found in the advertising columns of a London daily newspaper, whilst a 'parlourmaid' is. While therefore it might appear that much matter of this nature has now been added unnecessarily, the contrary is the fact; for apart from having given to the instances illustrated full consideration before adopting them, I find there are still others which might have been similarly treated. Exception may be taken to the introduction of technical terms, &c., in and out of use, and though some of them cannot be said to be strictly dialectal, yet by being more or less restricted to the northern counties they possess a sufficient interest to warrant their insertion here. Where the original glosses seem to be in any way misleading or uncertain, I have made additions which will, I hope, remove any element of uncertainty that may exist. A few peculiar shades of meanings attributed to words in general use are here given for the first time; notable examples will be found in Teem and Tew. |