able - From Ulster to America
Source: From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English
Author: Michael Montgomery
Comments: From Ulster to America recounts the lasting impact eighteenth-century settlers from Ulster have made on the development of the English language of the United States. The book documents over 500 vocabulary items contributed to American English by these ‘Scotch-Irish’ settlers. Each ‘shared’ term with its meaning is authenticated by quotations from both sides of the Atlantic. This searchable online version of his book takes its text from the dictionary part of the second edition published by the Ullans Press in 2017.
able adj Well-to-do, rich. [oed able 6 →1863, obsolete]
Ulst.:
1953 Traynor Donegal Glossary 1 = well-to-do, prosperous.
1990 Todd Words Apart 20 They may be able enough now but I mind them when they hadn’t tuppence.
U.S.:
1899 Green Virginia Word-Book 37 = wealthy: ‘He is an able man’.
1952 Wilson Folk Speech NC 512 = rich, possessing considerable means.
