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THE MEN WHO MADE THE CORNISH MINES. 

 By J. B. CORNISH. 



A short time ago I had occasion to enquire with some care 

 into the history of our great county industry, and in the course 

 of that research I met, in the preface of Pryce's " Mineralogia," 

 the statement that "the idioms and terms of the Cornish 

 miners are mostly derived from the Ancient Cornish-British 

 dialect." This statement naturally leads one to an examination 

 of the words in question, and that examination in turn leads to 

 a conclusion " So much the worse for Pryce." As a matter of 

 fact, very few of the idioms and terms of the Cornish miners 

 are derived from the ancient Cornish-British dialect. In fact, 

 we may say that none of the terms which apply exclusively to 

 mining are Cornish ; the few old Cornish words and idioms 

 which the miners used being names of things which exist quite 

 apart from mining, but coming more generally in the miner's 

 way, are classed as mining expressions. The strictly mining 

 terms are mostly English and some German in origin, while 

 " adit " and " Stannary " are Latin, and " coinage " is Norman- 

 Erench. 



Of the English words we have : 



Attle or addle, same as addled egg. 



Buddie, also used in Northumberland, Westmorland, Yorks., 

 Derby, Cardigan, and Somerset. 



Oad, which occurs in Shakespeare, and for which Skeat 

 suggests a Scandinavian origin. 



Wheal according to the same authority is the English 

 " wheel." 



Stope connected with English " step." 



Lode is from English verb " lead." 



Even Stean, the Cornish word for tin itself, is derived from 

 Latin " Stannum " (Skeat), the word tin being of Saxon 

 parentage. 



Still or Stull is Q-erman " Stulle," a pillar; shaft smdisump 

 (which Pryce spells " sumph") are German, and pump and 

 stamps also are probably from the fatherland. 



