Letter B - Glossary of words in ‘The Northern Cottage and other poems’ by George Dugall

Author: George Dugall

Date: 1824

Source: ‘Glossary’ — an appendix with notes to The Northern Cottage and other poems; written partly in the Dialect of the North of Ireland by George Dugall (Londonderry: William McCorkell, 1824)

Comments: George Dugall (c.1790-1855) lived most of his life at Portlough near Newtowncunningham in Donegal. His book of poems The Northern Cottage and other poems; written partly in the Dialect of the North of Ireland (sixteen of which were written in what he describes sometimes as ‘braid Scotch’ and sometimes as the ‘dialect of the North of Ireland’), also contains an extensive and separately compiled ‘Glossary’ of Ulster-Scots words. George Dugall describes this Glossary as “a tolerably correct analogical specimen of the language … worthy of the unprejudiced and philanthropic eye of research, [hoping that] the acute and erudite philologer will not despise the simple data”. Indeed Dugall’s poems (see Ulster-Scots Poetry 1800-1899) were “cast”, he says, in the scene of “that part of the North of Ireland” where the dialect “bears a strong affinity to that of Scotland”. His poems are even richer in Ulster-Scots vocabulary than the Glossary indicates, and so citations from his poetry have also been excerpted for the Academy’s Historical Dictionary (see Dictionary).

Doc. ref. no.: USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/009-b

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Ba’, a ball

Bairn, a child

Bairntime

Baith, both

Bane, bone

Bang, to beat

Barefitted, barefooted

Batch, a parcel

Batts, botts

Baul’, bold

Bawk, a cross beam in roofing

Baws’nt, having a white stripe on the face

Beet, to add more fuel

Befa’, to befall

Behint or behin’, behind

Beld, bald

Belyve, after a while

Beuk, book

Big, to build

Biggin, building, a house or shed

Bigg’d, built

Bill, bull

Bing, a heap of grain, potatoes, &c.

Birk, to scourge

Bizz, to buzz

Blate, bashful

Blatherie, trash

Blaud, a broad flat piece

Blaw, blow, boast

Blawin-horn, matter of boast

Bleer’d, having sore eyes

Bleeze, to blaze

Blether, to talk nonsense; a bladder

Blink, a moment; a transient glance

Blinker, a cock blind of one eye

Bluid, blood

Bock, to vomit

Bonnock, a very large oat-cake

Boortree, alder

Botch, to spoil in making; any thing spoiled

Bother, to tease; trouble

Bouse, to drink

Bowt, bended; crooked

Brae, brow of a hill; high bank

Braid, broad

Braik, a mallet for bruising flax

Brak, broke

Braken, fern

Branks, a wooden curb

Brash, a sudden fit

Brat, a rag; a coarse cloth

Brattle, a clap of thunder

Braw, brave; fine

Brawlie, very well; heartily

Breeks, breeches

Brie, broth

Brig, a bridge

Brock, a badger

Brogue, a clumsy shoe

Brust, burst

Bught, a pen for sheep

Bum-clock, the large flying beetle

Burn, a small river

Busk, to dress; to deck

Butt, a small wooden vessel; a narrow deep tub

Byke, a heap; a croud, &c.

Byre, a cow-house

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