Saturday 4 October 2008

Kinlough vocabulary

While I was looking for something else I stumbled upon a site which gives a list of rare words:

"The people of Dartry had (and still have) their own expressive language. Many of the words which were formerly in common usage in the area have disappeared completely, particularly among the younger generation. Below is a sample of the words formerly in use which are now fast disappearing. Some are derived from Irish, others from 18th and 19th century English. The spelling is mostly phonetic.

ault - (Irish). A narrow glen with cliffs on both sides.
banting - (19th century English). Slimming.
besom - A small brush made from heather for sweeping around the fire.
brae - (English). The side of a hill. He went up the Slippy Brae.
breetog - (Irish). A paunch; protruding stomach.
britchel - (From English breeching). The back part of a donkey/horse harness. He put the britchel on the ass.
brosna - (Irish). Small sticks used to light a fire.
bruisie - (English). Potatoes mashed with milk and butter.
buckawn - (Irish). A hinge hook for a door/gate.
bulker - (English). Large marble. I lost my bulker in the game.
cantman - (English). A travelling trader.
cartgrease - (English). A thick grease used on the axles of carts.
ceili - (Irish). To visit. Can you ceili for a while?
ceolan - Irish). A cowardly type of person. He's a big ceolan.
cippins - (Irish). Little sticks. She lit the fire with cippins.
citeog - (Irish). A left-handed person.
clauber - (Irish). Wet mud. They were covered in clauber.
clew - (English). A ball of rope made from straw or hay.
clift - A foolish person.
clocker - (English). A broody hen.
closh - (Irish). To tell tales. She closhed to the teacher.
cooper - (English). A barrel maker.
crathán - Long grass.
creel - (English). A large wicker back basket used for carrying turf etc.
cribrod - (English). An iron rod used to attach a crib to a cart.
criven - A rounded heap. He put a criven of turf on the cart.
curragh - (Irish). A low flat field, often wet.
cutty - (English). A girl. She is a nice wee cutty.
dander - A walk. He took a dander up the road.
dexter - A short-legged cow.
docken - (English). A dock leaf. Rubbed on the skin as a cure for nettle stings.
dorneen - (Irish). A short hand-grip attached to the handle of a scythe
dreep - (Colloquial). To drip or drain.
drooth - (19th century English). Thirst. I am dying with the drooth.
dúidín - (Irish). A clay pipe. He was smoking a duidin.
dunt - (19th century Scots English). A blow.
fooster - To handle awkwardly.
footery - Fumbling/awkward.
footing - (English). Small stack of 6 to 8 turf, used for drying turf on the bog. We were footing the turf.
fosy - Soft. The bread was very fosy.
gad - (Irish). An iron hoop used to attach a cattle chain to a wooden post in a byre.
galluses - Braces or suspenders for trousers.
gander - To look. Take a gander at this.
gastha - (Irish). A stream.
gawall - (Irish). An armful. Bring in a gawall of turf.
gilly - (Irish). A boatman. Also short for gillaroo trout.
girning - Complaining. What are you girning about?
gollop - (Colloquial). To gulp down.
gom - A simple-minded person.
grasscock - (English). A small round pile of grass used to assist drying.
griosach - (Irish). Ashes in a fire.
gulder - (Irish). A shout. He let a gulder out of him.
gulpin - A greedy person.
hams - (English). A hames. A wooden or metal attachment to a horse collar.
hanger - (English). A carrying strap of sacking or hay rope on a creel.
harry - A daddy-long-legs or cranefly.
haveral - A big awkward person.
heise - To lift. Give me a heise with this bag.
hobnail - (English). A large-headed nail used to protect the soles of boots.
huckster - (English). A general trader/shopkeeper
hunkers - (Scots English). A squatting position. She went on her hunkers.
jook - To conceal oneself. He jooked behind the hedge.
junt - A large piece. She ate a junt of bread.
keeb - (Irish). Short dry grass. The field was only fit for growing keeb.
kesh - (Irish). A small bridge over a drain. Take the cart over the kesh.
leebeen - (Irish líbín). Anything soaking wet. He was like a leebeen.
loy - (Irish). A long-bladed spade.
maum - (Irish). A handful.
mauntach - (Irish). Having a speech impediment.
mearing - The dividing line/fence between two farms.
meitheal - (Irish). A group of farmers working co-operatively.
nave - Centre of a cart wheel.
oxter - (Irish). Under the arm. He had a book under his oxter.
paring - (English). The dry heathery topsod of a bog.
pardóg - A basket used in pairs on a donkey.
pishreóg - (Irish). A superstition.
plosh - To mess with water. The children were ploshing in the river.
polly - (English). A hornless cow.
ponger - (Old English). A porringer - a tin mug used for drinking.
pooch - To search. She was pooching in the room.
pookeen - A small potato.
pooler - (English). A stonemason who prepared stone for building.
pooter - To do small jobs, to work ineffectually.
rickling - (English). A long low heap of turf.
sally - (English). Part of a sallow bush. She cut a sally rod.
scaldy - An unfledged bird. There were three scaldies in the nest.
scraw - A rectangular sod of earth, often used beneath thatch.
semmit - (Old English). A sleeved vest of heavy material. Pronounced simmet.
sheugh - (Irish). Pronounced "shuck". An open drain.
shoeing - The iron tyre surrounding a cartwheel.
shooler - (Irish). A wanderer; a useless person.
skite - A blow. I got a skite from the cow's tail.
slanlus - (Irish). Grass plantain.
slipe - A wheel-less cart.
slunk - A hole in a road or laneway.
smur - A light shower of rain.
sned - The handle of a scythe.
soople - (Colloquial). Supple or fit.
spadóg - (Irish). Poor quality turf.
spancil - (Irish). A method of restricting the movement of animals by tying two legs together with sacking.
spaul - (English). Small stones remaining after larger stones are dressed. Used in making walls.
spavin - (English). A faulty walking movement, especially in donkeys.
sprit - Short rushy grass.
stinch - To make water-tight. The barrel is stinch.
strockle - To struggle. He strockled with the heavy bag.
styling - Bushes placed under a cock of hay.
sweal - To surround with rope.
swingle - A wooden or metal crossbar used to attach a horse to a plough.
tallach - (Irish). A swelling or soreness of the wrist.
taw - (English). A marble, originally of clay.
teem - (English). To drain. She teemed the pot.
thally - Awkward.
thole - To bear. Can you thole the pain?
thraneen - (Irish). A tall grass with a seed-head.
tramcock - (English). A tramp-cock; a cock of hay built by pressing the hay into place with the feet.
trawhook - A hook with handles for twisting rope from hay.
traws - Tails. The straw was gathered heads and traws.
wrack - Seaweed used as fertiliser."

The link is here. Enjoy!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Fascinating glossary-- thanks!
Mike NYC