118 



Wiltshire Words. 



earliest English. Some of these words are found in 

 literature, as in Wyclif's translation of the New 

 Testament, and Shakespeare, hut not in modern 

 writers. 



2. Expressions forcible and imaginative. 



3. Words expressing specialised meanings, where the ordinary 



language has to couple words together, and so is less 

 terse. 



1. — The following are some of the words found in the oldest 

 English, though the impoverished polite language has lost them : 

 the earliest form we give on the authority of the editors : — 



AU-a-hoh. Lopsided. A. S. awoh. 



Aps. The aspen tree. A. S. aeps. 



Attercop. A spider. A. S. dttor-coppe. 



Ax. To ask. A. S. acsian. 



Bivcr. To tremble, of. bifian, to tremble. 



Dawk. To prick. A. S= dale, a brooch. 



Frum. Of strong-growing plants. A. S.from. 



Har. The hinder upright of a gate, by which it is hung to its 

 post. A. S. heorr, hinge. 



Hole. To cover over ; and un-hele, to uncover ; as of a rough wind 

 stripping off thatch. A. S. he lan. 



Dummel. Stupid, ef. the German dumm, with the same meaning. 



En. The old plural termination is still in use, in nouns, housen, 

 houses ; faeen, faces ; bluen, blossoms : in adjectives, elmen, of 

 elm ; a corken leg ; a papern bag ; glassen slippers ; a glassen 

 cup ; as a participle in boughten bread, opposed to home-made. 



Galley. To frighten ; galley-crow, a scarecrow. A. S. agaelwan, to 

 stupefy. 



Hinted. Of wheat ; harvested, secured in barn. A. S. hentan, to 

 secure. 



Oaves. The eaves of a house. " A good old form ; Middle-English 



ovese" 



Pud-beggar. Water spider. Middle-English, padde, a toad. 

 Ruddock. A robin red-breast. A. S. rudduc. 



