Letter E - Glossary of Words in the Counties of Antrim and Down

Author: William Hugh Patterson, MRIA

Date: 1880

Source: A Glossary of Words and Phrases used in Antrim and Down (London: Trübner & Co., for the English Dialect Society)

Comments: In the introduction to his Glossary of Words and Phrases used in Antrim and Down, William Hugh Patterson provided an historical account of the Scottish settlement of east Ulster from 1607. From these origins he observed that the words and phrases of the local population ‘will be found in the main to be of Scottish origin, and many of them have already found a place in Jamieson’s dictionary’. He acknowledged difficulty in spelling many words ‘because I only had them as sounded’. William Hugh Patterson (1835-1918) was the son of a famous naturalist, Robert Patterson, whose book on Birds frequenting Belfast Lough was also published in 1880. Many of the local names for birds in the glossary were sourced from his father. As he was also a collector of phrases and proverbs, Patterson’s glossary remains a unique record of Ulster-Scots in the 19th century.

Doc. ref. no.: USLS/TB/Hist/1800-1899/006-e

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Earles, sb. earnest money. Same as Airles.

Ears, (1). When the right ear is hot, some one is speaking ill of you; when the left ear is hot, some one is speaking good of you. (2) ‘I can’t hear my ears,’ i.e. there is such a din that I can’t hear a word.

Earywig, sb. an earwig.

Easin, sb. pl. the eaves of thatch. Same as Aizins.

Edge, sb. an adze. ‘Foot edge,’ a foot adze.

Ee, Een, sb. eye; eyes.

Eedyet, sb. an idiot.

Eelans, of the same age. ‘We’re eelans.’

Eel oil, sb. used as a cure for deafness.

Eel skins, sb. these are used for bandages for sprains, and are supposed to possess a curative property; they are bound round the hurt wet and slimy, just as they are taken off the eels. Eel-skin is also used for the ‘hooden,’ or ‘mid-kipple’ of a flail.

Ekes an’ ens, sb. odds and ends; small scraps of things turned to account. ‘Ekes an’ ens rise to something if you just put them together.’ ‘Between ekes an’ ens I’ve managed this.’

Elder, sb. a cow’s udder.

Elk, sb. a term for the wild swan (Harris, Hist. co. Down).

Elsin, sb. a shoemaker’s awl.

End. ‘From end to one’ = from one end to the other; throughout. ‘I’ve cleaned the hedge from end to one.’ ‘The story’s known from end to one through the whole place.’

Endeavour, sb. an attempt; one’s utmost. To do one’s endeavour = to try earnestly. ‘He come in, an’ they done their whole endeavour to get him out.’ ‘Make an endeavour to do it.’

End’s erran’. ‘On one end’s erran’,’ on one single purpose or errand.

Eneugh between melts and rounds, i.e. between one thing and another: the allusion is to the milt and roe of herrings.

Engrained, Ingrained, v. A very dirty-looking person is said ‘to have the dirt engrained into his skin.’

Enjain, Injain, sb. an ingenious thing. ‘That’s a great enjain.’

Entertainment, sb. lodging and food. ‘Entertainment for man and beast,’ a notice.

Entry mouth, sb. the end of an entry or lane, where it opens upon a street.

Ere yesterday, sb. the day before yesterday.

Errran’, sb. an errand. ‘If A mak an erran’ tae yer face, it ’ill no be tae kiss ye,’ said in anger.

Errock, sb. a young hen.

Espibawn, sb. the ox eye, Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum.

Etarnal, adj. infernal. ‘He’s an eternal villain.’ Compare Shakespeare, ‘The eternal devil.’

Ettle, v. to intend.

Even, v. to impute. ‘Would you even the like of that to me.’

Even ash, sb. an ash-leaf with an even number of leaflets, used in a kind of divination. The young girl who finds one repeats the words —

“This even ash I hold in my han’,

The first I meet is my true man.”

She then asks the first male person she meets on the road, what his Christian name is, and this will be the name of her future husband.

Evenlier, adj. more even.

Even one’s wit, v. to condescend to argue with another. ‘I wouldn’t even my wit to you.’

Even on, or Even down, applied to heavy, continuous rain. ‘There was an even down pour.’

Every, each. ‘There’s a chimley on every en’ o’ the house.’

Eyes, (1) When the right eye itches it is a sign of crying; when the left eye itches it is a sign of laughing. (2) ‘Your eyes are like two burnt holes in a blanket,’ an expression of derision.

Eye sore, sb. a blemish; anything that looks ill.

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