lick - 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.
lick n A sharp blow or stroke with the hand or a heavy instrument. Hence vb To strike, beat severely; licking n A severe beating, whipping. [oed lick n1 4a ‘a smart blow’; snd lick n I(3) ‘a hard blow, smack, wallop’ 1746→, vb III(3) ‘to wallop, thrash; to beat, surpass, overcome’; dare lick n 1 ‘a sharp blow or stroke, as with the fist, a weapon, or a tool’ chiefly South, South Midland, Texas, Oklahoma]
Ulst.:
1879 Lyttle Paddy McQuillan 32 Wait till I get aff my coat, fur A can lick the best man amang ye!
1880 Patterson Antrim/Down Glossary 62 = (1) a blow; (2) to beat; licking = a beating.
1885 Lyttle Robin Gordon 15 Nae metter what he din we niver had the heart tae gie him a lickin’.
1942 Bangor Words 49 = to beat: ‘Tom licked Bill at the exam’ = Tom did better than Bill; ‘His mother gave Bill a good licking, for stealing the sugar’.
1955 Murphy Culprit of Shadows 17-18 If I know his breed he’d only be too glad to get a lick after all the talk that was about his marriage.
U.S.:
1871 Eggleston Hoosier Schoolmaster 119 I’d lick you till your hide wouldn’t hold shucks.
1939 Hall Coll I knocked [the bear] in the head ever so many licks before I could get it to roll over and hush hollerin’.
1993 Walker Life History 75 The first lick he throwed he hit that wildcat and knocked it out.
Purchase From Ulster to America
The second, revised edition of Michael Montgomery’s From Ulster to America is now available here:
From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English (Europe)
From Ulster to America: The Scotch-Irish Heritage of American English (North America)