Letter W - 1892 Mid-Antrim Glossary
Author: ‘F.L.’ (William James Knowles)
Date: 1892
Source: Nine lists of local (mid-Antrim) words and sayings, with notes, published in the Ballymena Observer between April and August 1892. See 1892 Ballymena Observer (Mid-Antrim) Word Lists for original articles (USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/012).
Comments: This serialised ‘glossary’ was compiled in response to a letter published in the Ballymena Observer, 19 February, 1892, from P W Joyce, whose book, English as we Speak it in Ireland, was in preparation. Dr. Joyce was appealing throughout Ireland for help in amassing a record of Irish Dialect, including words of Scotch origin. The first response from the readers of the Ballymena Observer was a significant glossary of local words by ‘F.L.’ on April 8. This word list began with an appeal for other readers to “add to it and throw light on meanings which they will see are rather obscure to me”. Further word lists introduced by ‘F.L.’ then appeared on April 22; April 29; May 6; May 27; June 17; July 1; and August 18. The identity of F.L. as William James Knowles, MRIA (1832–1927), a distinguished antiquarian from Cullybackey, was confirmed by Joyce when English as we Speak it in Ireland was published in 1910. Numerous entries sourced from this ‘Ballymena Observer’ glossary were also published in the English Dialect Dictionary (1898) and the Scottish National Dictionary (1929–1946). A complete A–Z ‘merged’ glossary has been created from these entries, and appears as the ‘1892 Mid-Antrim Glossary’ in this website.
Doc. ref. no.: USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/013-w
Home | Introduction | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | W | Y | Sayings
Wale – to select, to separate one kind from another, as, wale the prittas, that is to separate the good and large from the bad and small ones. Wale the best o’ them oot.
Wapper – something very large or good of its kind. Heth it’s a wapper.
Warlocks – as, witches and warlocks.
Wax kernels – swollen glands about the throat.
Weasened – withered and wrinkled.
Weed – an illness somewhat like a chill that woman are subject to.
Weeks – as the weeks of your mouth – the corners of your mouth.
Weethin – a little. Are ye coul? A im. A weethin.
Welt – an elevated mark on the skin from the effect of a blow with a whip or rod.
Weltin – a correction with a whip or rod.
Wersh – having no taste of salt.
Whammle – to overturn; as, A’ll whammle you; that is, knock you down. Whammle the stool an let the waen sit doon.
Whang – a shoe tie of leather.
Wheen – a good number; as, Were there many there? There wus a guid wheen.
Wheeple – to whistle.
Wheesh – an expression used in driving off fowl.
Wheesht – the local expression used when calling silence.
Whiles – sometimes, occasionally; as, Dae ye go tae school? Whiles.
White – to cut a stick with a knife.
Whungin – whineing.
Whunstane – a broad, flat stone for burning whins on for cattle food.
Wiggin – A’ll gie ye a wiggin – a correction by pulling the hair.
Wulfire – an eruption of the skin, chiefly of children, and generally about the face.
Wunnelstrae – the tough withered flowers stalks of crested dog’s tail are known as wunnelstrae.
Home | Introduction | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | W | Y | Sayings