Letter I - 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-i

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I, adv. yes.

I-dent, adj. diligent; hard-working; attentive.

Idleset, sb. off work; idle time. ‘The horse was kept idleset.’ ‘There wasn’t much idleset since you went away.’

If I know, I don’t know. ‘Deed if I know when he’s commin’.’

Ignorant, adj. wanting in manners.

Il-convainient, Onconvainient, adj. inconvenient.

Ill, adj. difficult. ‘That stuff’s ill to grind.’

Ill done, wrong. ‘It was very ill done of you to go there.’

Ill-faured, adj. ill-favoured; ugly.

Ill-like, adj. ugly.

Ill put on, badly or carelessly dressed: said of a person.

Ill to learn, difficult to teach. ‘I wasn’t ill to learn when I was young.’

Ill willie, Ill wullie, adj. disobliging; not willing to share anything with neighbours.

Immaydiantly, adv. immediately.

Impedent, adj. impudent.

Impediment, sb. ‘There was a man there who had an impediment; he had lost more than the half of his hand.’

I’m sure! indeed! really!

Income, sb. a running sore. ‘What makes you lame?’ ‘A tuk’ it first wi’ an income in ma knee.’

In coorse, of course.

Indeed-an’-doubles, a strong way of saying indeed.

India buck, sb. meal or porridge made from Indian corn (maize).

Indue, adv. due. ‘He was indue me a year’s wages.’

Industrious, sb. an industrious person. ‘He was a good industrious.’

Infair, sb. the bringing home of a bride.

Innocent, sb. a simpleton.

Inns, sb. inn. ‘I put up at the head inns.’ ‘He went to the horse show, and stayed at the inns.’

Innundher, adv. underneath. Same as Annundher.

In or over, near about any fixed date or any exact quantity.

Ins and outs. ‘The ins and outs’ of anything, i.e. all that can be known about a thing.

Insense, v. to explain. ‘Come here, and I’ll insense you into it.’

Inshave, sb. a cooper’s tool, like a drawing knife, but curved.

In the inside of an hour, within an hour.

Intill, prep. into.

It’s lone, alone. ‘Can the chile go it’s lone?’

It took me all my time, i.e. I found it very difficult to do; it kept me very busy to do it.

Ivory, sb. ivy.

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