Northumbrian Farming Glossary
With kind permission. from an article by Clive Dalton at http://woolshed1.blogspot.com/p/northumbrian-farming-glossary.html
NY Times reports Professor Harold Orton Cataloguing English Dialects
One of the most important considerations of the Northumbrian dialect to emerge in the 20th century was Harold Orton's study in the 1950s, when Northumberland was included in his national "Survey of English Dialects" (SED). Clive Dalton reports a crossing of paths when they both taught at Leeds University.
The late Harold Orton was a Professor in the English Department at the University of Leeds where his students used to go out during the summer vacation into rural areas to interview and record folk such as farm workers, game keepers and other rural workers. The English Department was near the Agriculture Department where I taught, and it was a great experience meeting Harold. He told me he had done some of his own student study in Bellingham and had recorded Jack Telfer the tobacconist and watchmaker.
We talked of the North Tyne accent and he assembled some students to hear me give an example of the lingo! Choosing a subject was easy as I just imitated some of the grand old folk I worked for. I gave them a treatise on how to judge Blackfaced tups! Prof Orton played me recordings of rural folk from the East Riding and West Riding of Yorkshire and it may as well have been a foreign language. He then played me a discussion between two rural lads from around Wooler arguing about the merits of their Border "tarriers" (terriers), and to sort it out they were going to let them have a "whorry". It took me some time te get me lugs tuned in illustrating the changes in speech over very small areas of the county. The material collected by Prof Orton is now famous world wide as a source of English dialects.
In researching images for the blog related to this project, I found this article reporting the study is from the 1956 archives of the New York Times, who have a unique (and amusing) take on the study (click on the image to expand in size and make it readable):
A to Z of Northumbrian Farming Language
In preparing the book Daft Laddies - Farming Tales of North Tyne and Rede 50 years on, Clive Dalton and Donald Clegg assembled an extensive glossary of farming terms. Of interest to linguists, students of farming and history alike, this collection is a useful companion to the many stories of the North Tyne on the woolshed1 website http://woolshed1.blogspot.com
| Aad | Old |
| Aall | All |
| Aafull | Awful |
| Aafu | Awful |
| Abun | Above |
| Aert | Direction of the Wind |
| Afore | Before |
| Ahite | Up above |
| Ahint | Behind |
| Aixe | Axe |
| Akin | Alike |
| Akwaad | Awkward |
| Alridy | Already |
| Alwes | Always |
| Amoont | Amount |
| An’aal | As well |
| Ashees | Ashes |
| Atween | Between |
| Artifishel | Artificial |
| Aye | Always or Yes |
B Baalks Hen roosts Baccy Tobacco Backend End of year/Autumn Baeth Both Bait Lunch/Snack Barra Barrow Bease Cattle beasts Beators Beaters Becum Become Beddin Bedding Buist Mark of ownership Belaa Below Bent Moor grass (Molinia) Bissom Awkward animal Bittle Round headed mallet Bitty Small Blaain Blowing Blackie Scottish BF sheep Blowd Blinkin or total Blunteed Blunted Bonny Pretty, nice, well Booncy Bouncy Bord Bird Borstin Bursting Bottle Bundle of straw Bowked Blocked Bowlts Bolts Bowt Bought/purchased Boxees Boxes Braird Germination Bray Hit or knock Brayed Beaten/knocked Breed Bread Breeks Trousers Brimmin On heat (pig) Broughtinsup Up bringing Brokken Broken Brum Broom Brussen Full Bull snoots Tufts of grass Bullin Cow bulling or on heat Bullock Castrated male in cattle Bund Bound Burn Small stream Butt Bottom Butends Bottom ends Butt & Ben Cottage Byor Byre where cows tied Byorman Worker who tends cattle
C Caa Call. Turn Caad Cold Caalf Calf Caall Call Caek Cake/Concentrate feed. Caep Coping or top stone Caert Cart for horse Canny Good, nice, agreeable Carryall Box fitted to tractor Cannyen Canny or good one Cassey Causeway or path Cast On the ground Cassen Cast Catchy Unsettled Chain 22 yards Chine Chain Chowin Chewing Chowkin Choking Chimbley Chimney Chivits Cheviot hills/Sheep breed Claes Clothes Clagged Stuck Clap To pat, eg, a dog Clapped Made flat Clarts Mud Clarty Muddy Clashed Washed Clashy Cold wet and windy Clim Climb Clippor Clipper Clivor Clevor Clocker Broody hen Cloot Cloth Clooty hat Cloth hat Coll Draw hoe Colleege College Coonty County Cotteed Cotted, matted Couter Coulter on plough Cowp/Coup Tip or turn over Cowp creels Go head over heels Craas Crows Cree Pigstye for pig Crine Dry up, shrivel Croose Bright/on the mend Crowdy Oat meal porridge Cruttin Improving Cuddy Horse Cum Come Cundy Drain of loose stones Cut Area where sheep graze Cut-oot Cut out. The final cut. Cuw Cow Cuwman Cowman
D Dadd Bang or press Dadded Banged or pressed Daen Done Daft Silly Daft laddie Inexperienced lad Dee Do Deed Dead Dein Doing Dess Area of cut hay in shed Derg Dog Dibble Dig or plant Dinmont Young ram, 14-20m old Dippor Bath to dip sheep Dissent Does not Divvel Devil Divn’t Don’t Doon Down Dorty Dirty Dosin’ Administer medication Dottle Piece of baccy/dung Draas Draws Draan Drawn Dressin’ Dressing Drift Tool for enlarging hole Drowt Draft or culled sheep Dyke Stone wall
E Easin’ Easing Edgees Edges Edyecateed Educated Eeze Ease or release Eftor After Eke Lanolin from the wool Eild Barren Enuef Enough Ewer Udder Exsanguination Blood letting Eye Section of hayshed
F Faall Fall Falley Follow Fannors Fanners, wooden blades Fell To knock down or over Fell Moorland Femor Weak Fettle Mood/condition. Fettle To mend Fettlin Mending Fiddle Device for sowing seed Fillors Fillers Fingor Finger Flagged Stone tiled Flittin Moving house Fly Crafty Flying bent Molinia grass Fog/fogg New grass Foondard Chilled and near death Foonds Foundations Forkfu Forkful Forrard Forward Forst First Fortilisor Fertilser Fowerth Fourth Forkfus Forkfull Frae From Fummlin Fumbling
G Gan Go Gat Got Gay Very Gey Very Geld Barren Gethored Gathered Gey Gay Gimmer Female sheep 14-20m Git Get Gitten Got Glaikit Stupid Glaur Mud Gleet Thin slippy layer Gliff Fright Gliffed Frigthened Gnarly Gnarled or rough Gob Mouth Gollands Buttercups Gollar Shout Gollarin Shouting Grate Great Greet Great Grip Channel behind cow Gripe Fork Grape Fork Grit Old ewe Grund Ground Grundeed On the ground Guddling Feeling with hand Gully Knife Gye Twisted
H Haad Hold Hack Long bent handled fork Haad Hold Haadin Holding Haeme Home Hadaway Go away Halff Half Happed Covered over Haugh Fields near river Heed Head Heedrig Headrig or side of field Heedland See Heedrig Hefted Adapted to an area. Heor Here Heord Herd or shepherd Hemmel Covered cattle building Het Hot Hike Lift or heave Hind General farm worker Hing Hang Hingin Hanging Hint Hind Hint end Hind end, backside Hoose House Hopin Hoping Hor Her Horsel Herself Hirrord Hired/employed Hott, Hutt Heap or pile Howk Dig Hoy Hoy Hund Hound or move Hungor Hunger Hutchees Hutches/small pens Huw How
I Illiven Eleven In-bye land close to the farm Inte Into Intiv Into Iv In Ivribody Everybody
J Jaa Jaw
K Keb Abort Ket Rubbish Kile Small heap of hay Kilin’ Making kiles Kinlin’ Kindling wood Kist Chest Kittle Ticklish Knaa Know Knapping Knocking or breaking Knowes Hill tops Kositos Feed supplement
L Lambin’ Lambing Lang Long Langor Longer Larn Learn Lass Young girl Lashin’ on Working hard Leish Fit and active Lethor Ladder Leuk Look Lonnen Lane/road Lowp/loup Jump Lowse Finish work Lowse Unyoke the horse Lugs Ears
M Maaks Maggots Mashinorry Machinery Maede Made Maeke Make Meare Mare/Female horse Maest Most Mare More Mebbes Maybe Mek Make Mell Large hammer Mesel Myself Midgee Midge insect Middlin’ Fair Milk sile Metal bowl & filter Moonted Mounted Moose Mouse Mooth Mouth Moornin’ Morning Morneen Morning Mooth Mouth Mow The hay level on a stack Muck Cow dung & bedding Muckin’ oot Cleaning out Muckle Large or big Muffler Scarf Mule Crossbred sheep
N Neb Nose Nee No Neebody Nobody Neewhere Nowhere Nettie Toilet New Fangled Hi-tec Newland New resown pasture Newland hay Hay from new pasture Nivor Never Nowt Nothing Nowt a’maest Not much Nuw Now
O Ony Any Oot Out Oot-bye Out-bye, isolated hills. Ootlyers Cattle not housed Ootside Outside Oppen Open Orly Early Oweld Sheep cast on its back Ower Over Owld Old Owt Anything Oxters Armpits
P Paaky Not eating Paerts Parts Pailfu Pailful Particla Particular Pestor Bother Pinch bar Crow bar or lever Pinney Apron Pitchin’ Throwing Plew Plough Ploat Pluck Poke Sack Pomor Very large object Porpose Purpose Pooch Pouch Pooky Pokey Porpose Purpose Porse Purse or scrotum Possin’ doon Possing or pressing Proggy mat Rug of cloth pieces Prongs Tines Pund Pound
Q Quart Measure of two pints
R Rake Move sheep over fell Rakin’ Raking Rash Wild Rax Strain or tear Reapor Reaper Reek Smoke or smell Reshees Rushes Ridded Empty Ridden Emptied Riddy Ready Rigg/Rig Ridge Rise Growth of new wool between skin and last year’s fleece Ritin’ Writing Rittor Spade for cutting drains Rive Tear, work hard Rive up Mess Roond Round Rowin’ Rolling Rubbeesh Rubbish Rushed Afflicted with diarrhoea Rutts Roots
S Saa Saw Saen Soon Sair Badly or very Sairly Badly Sartainly Certainly Sarvant Servant Settin’ Setting Settle Settee Scalin’ Spreading (muck) Scartin’ Scratching Sceul School Scuffler Machine for weeding Seuw Sow Sharped Sharpened Shearling Once-shorn sheep Shekin’ Shaking Sheors Shears Shud Should Shuttin’ Shooting Shilleen Shilling Shooder Shoulder Shooer Shower Shooery Showery Soorch Search Shoot Shout Shootin’ Shouting Shoel Shovel Shoelfuus Shovelfuls Sic Such Sind Wash/Rinse Singlin’ Singling Sizees Sizes Skelp Lump or blow Skittad Scoured or diarrhoea Slack Hollow ground/loose Slaistor Mess Slopin’ Sloping Smaa Small Sneck Latch Sods Lumps of turf Sook Suck Soond Sound Sooth South Spalorin’ Falling about Spang Jump Speel Climb Splet Split Squeshed Squashed Squart Squirt Spreddin’ Spreading Staals Stalls Staen Stone Stannin’ Standing Standin’ Place where cow stands Steddin’ Steading/farm buildings Steed Stead or stand. Stell Round stone shelter Stiddy Steady Stirks Cattle under 12m old Stooks Groups of sheaves Stookin’ Building stooks Stoor Dust Strite Straight Summit Something Suw Sow Swalleed Swallowed Sweape Sweep Sweeth Swath or swathe Swill Basket for carrying Swillfu Swillfull Syke Small stream or burn
T Taalk Talk Tek Take Telld Told Telt Told Tettie Potato Teuk Took Tewin’ Working, hard or strong Tewsdey Tuesday Theak Thatch Theaked Thatched Thor Their Thorsels Themselves Thorty Thirty Thow Thaw Threttnin’ Theatening Throckin’ Panting Thockin’ Panting Tilleege Cultivated/arable land Tiv To Toppin’ Topping Torn Turn Towld Told Trail Hay swept into a heap Trow Trough Treakel Treacle Tup Ram or male sheep Torn Turn Turnoot When cattle go to grass
W Waall Wall Waallin’ Building walls Waalk Walk Wad Would Wadn’t Would not Waffy Wobbly Wale Sort Walin’ Sorting Wan Poorly Wapped Wrapped Warse Worse Wastor Waster Wattor Water Wearsh Tasteless/Bland Weel Well Weshoot Washout/failure Weshors Washers Wethers Castrated males Whacked Hit/Beaten Whap Wrap Whaat What Whelt Blow Wi’ With Win’row A row of raked hay Winnelstraes Straws/dead grass Wor Our Woo’ Wool Woork Work Woorldly Worldly Wrang Wrong
Y Yarkin’ Scratching, heaving Yeddle Urine and liquid dung Yen One Yence Once Yi’ll You’ll Yit Yet Yi’ve You’ve Yon That over there Yookey Lousy Yorsel Yourself Yowe Ewe or female sheep Yowens Ewe lambs
