Seldom-Used Words

[oggbashan]

...
Kent, formerly Cantia, an English county (contains Ogs and other people).

Three of the rare Brythonic Celtish words which have survived in English.

Kent has a unique distinction. The motto on its coat of arms is "Invicta" or "Unconquered" because after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 the Kentish Fyrd (militia) opposed William the Conqueror's march on London and refused to let him pass unless he agreed that they could keep their peculiar (in both senses of the word) laws and customs. He agreed. That meant that Kent remained prosperous after the Conquest because their laws of inheritance ensured that properties remained whole and undivided. Unfortunately it didn't exempt them from taxation!

Kent has a historic division. Those from West and North of the River Medway are Kentish Men, those from East and South are Men of Kent.

I'm an immigrant, having been born in Wales of parents from the City of London, but my daughters are Maids of Kent (as opposed to Kentish Maids). The first two were born a couple of miles South of the Medway, but the third was born on the Isle of Thanet, very definitely in Maid of Kent territory. Granddaughter is a Maid of Kent but sounds like an Essex Girl (I blame the other grandparents who live in Essex), and new grandson is a Man of Kent.

Canterbury is "The burgh of the Cantii", and is the burial place of the Kings of Kent.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

Thanks for the Brythonic words, Ishtat. All of this was fascinating, Og, especially the parts about the William the Bastard and Canterbury. I can wait until this time next year when I arrive for an extended visit! And I almost hate to admit how much I loved the movie, The Canterbury Ghost.

togs - noun informal articles worn to cover the body

tog - verb informal to put clothes on

tog out - verb informal to dress in formal or special clothing

tog up - same as above

 

[oggbashan]

Thanks for the Brythonic words, Ishtat. All of this was fascinating, Og, especially the parts about the William the Bastard and Canterbury. I can wait until this time next year when I arrive for an extended visit! And I almost hate to admit how much I loved the movie, The Canterbury Ghost.
...

Oops! It was The Canterville Ghost.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

Oh, so funny! It was the Canterville Ghost, what a leaky brain I have. Thanks for the correction, Og. I don't doubt Canterbury has at least one ghost, as well.

I did not know the true meaning of this one;

tinsel - adj tastelessly showy

Tinsel Town takes on a whole new meaning.

 

[oggbashan]

Oh, so funny! It was the Canterville Ghost, what a leaky brain I have. Thanks for the correction, Og. I don't doubt Canterbury has at least one ghost, as well.

...

Canterbury has dozens. Saint Thomas A Becket is the most famous. Almost every square yard of Canterbury and its outskirts has burials from Neolithic through Roman to Medieval, including Martyrs for Protestant and Catholic beliefs.

Og

 

[AllardChardon]

I figured Becket would not leave willingly, hehehe

thralldom or thraldom - noun a state of subjugation to an owner or master

 

[Weird Harold]

Oh, so funny! It was the Canterville Ghost, what a leaky brain I have. Thanks for the correction, Og. I don't doubt Canterbury has at least one ghost, as well.

I did not know the true meaning of this one;

tinsel - adj tastelessly showy

Tinsel Town takes on a whole new meaning.

That adjective definition is a secondary, derivative, definition of the word.

Etymology

French étincelle (“spark”), from Old French estincelle, from Latin scintilla; compare scintillate, stencil.

Noun

1. A shining material used for ornamental purposes; especially, a very thin, gauzelike cloth with much gold or silver woven into it; also, very thin metal overlaid with a thin coating of gold or silver, brass foil, or the like.

2. Very thin strips of a glittering, metallic material used as a decoration, and traditionally, draped at Christmas time over streamers, paper chains and the branches of Christmas trees.

3. Anything shining and gaudy; something superficially shining and showy, or having a false luster, and more gay than valuable.  

Adjective

tinsel (comparative more tinsel, superlative most tinsel)

1. Showy to excess; gaudy; specious; superficial.

Tinseltown is more about the superficial, "false luster" and "gay without value" noun than the adjective -- note that the references to tinseltown I found spell it as one word. I didn't find a specific etymology for tinseltown, but I've always seen it used with the connotation of falseness; more movie set than real.

 

[ishtat]

Kent has a unique distinction. The motto on its coat of arms is "Invicta" or "Unconquered" because after the Battle of Hastings in 1066 the Kentish Fyrd (militia) opposed William the Conqueror's march on London and refused to let him pass unless he agreed that they could keep their peculiar (in both senses of the word) laws and customs. He agreed. That meant that Kent remained prosperous after the Conquest because their laws of inheritance ensured that properties remained whole and undivided. Unfortunately it didn't exempt them from taxation!

Og

The remainder of the English had a somewhat less charitable view of either Kentish men or men of Kent, after all, they had just helped the invader. In fairness to them, however, they had been invaded about once a fortnight for the previous 600 years, ever since Hengst and Horsa and were probably fed up with it.

The most extraordinary thing about the Norman conquest was the fact that Scandinavian incursions largely petered out quite quickly as the new rulers were accepted. Recent research has concluded that one of the main reasons for this was not just the traditional view of a strong military elite oppressing everybody else but because William reduced taxation sharply. In fact tax receipts in England did not regain pre-conquest levels until the reign of John 1199-1216, almost 150 years later. And that is the real reason he was "Bad King John."

Og used the word Fyrd (Old English) which was the personal obligation every man owed his lord to fight (a sort of Anglo-Saxon 2nd Amendment!) and as Og pointed out they were organised in local militias. King Harold was a man of Wessex and the obligation of the Kentish Fyrd to fight for him was not very strong because the concept of a centralised nation state of England was very new and had little meaning. Personal obligation was much more important.

 

[oggbashan]

The remainder of the English had a somewhat less charitable view of either Kentish men or men of Kent, after all, they had just helped the invader. In fairness to them, however, they had been invaded about once a fortnight for the previous 600 years, ever since Hengst and Horsa and were probably fed up with it.

The most extraordinary thing about the Norman conquest was the fact that Scandinavian incursions largely petered out quite quickly as the new rulers were accepted. Recent research has concluded that one of the main reasons for this was not just the traditional view of a strong military elite oppressing everybody else but because William reduced taxation sharply. In fact tax receipts in England did not regain pre-conquest levels until the reign of John 1199-1216, almost 150 years later. And that is the real reason he was "Bad King John."

Og used the word Fyrd (Old English) which was the personal obligation every man owed his lord to fight (a sort of Anglo-Saxon 2nd Amendment!) and as Og pointed out they were organised in local militias. King Harold was a man of Wessex and the obligation of the Kentish Fyrd to fight for him was not very strong because the concept of a centralised nation state of England was very new and had little meaning. Personal obligation was much more important.

The Kentish Fyrd was on its way to join King Harold, as were other Fyrds. If Harold had waited a few more days before giving battle to William's forces, many of the Fyrds would have arrived and the result might have been different.

As with most of England at the time, the locals didn't care who was King, and William had an arguable claim. Once Harold was dead, the other claimants to the English throne had a weaker case than William's, and he had the armed support.

Og

 

[Handley_Page]

Good morning everyone, here is today's offering;

tocsin - noun a signal that warns of imminent danger

It also means the bell that sounds the warning, according to my Oxford.

Drazel A loose woman.

 

[AllardChardon]

I love history as much as the words it produced. I am eternally grateful for your input, Gentle Men of Kent or elsewhere.

thew(s) - noun the state or quality of being physically strong

 

[Xelebes]

Most older people in the UK still weigh themselves in stone.

I can visualise an 8 stone woman or a 16 stone man much easier than their equivalents in pounds (112 lb and 224 lb) and have little idea of what 50kg and 100kg would be.

Og

In Canada, we measure food in kg, Litres and cups (quarter of a Litre.) 50 kg is 5 big sacks of flour. Real estate is still commonly sold by the square-foot, however that is slowly changing as young people are growing up not knowing how much a foot is. Square-metre is replacing that. Mile is never used except by people who are over 45. Click or Klick is the curt way of saying kilometre-per-hour.

All that being said, we use pounds to measure the body and feet and inches are still used to measure the height of someone but nothing more. If asked to give the length of one's leg, we'll give it to you in metres. (Mine's about seven or eight tenths, I reckon.)

Just recently I learned that a pint was two cups. I deduced this pouring chocolate milk into a pint glass and ended up with two glasses per Litre. The more I know.

 

[Xelebes]

It also means the bell that sounds the warning, according to my Oxford.

Drazel A loose woman.

I posted a variant of that word a few pages ago in the form of Dross, and Drossel. I may have also posted drazel.

 

[Xelebes]

I figured Becket would not leave willingly, hehehe

thralldom or thraldom - noun a state of subjugation to an owner or master

The old Germanic classes were so:

Earl (Eorle) [Jarl] - the dryght, the ones who had lead the armies
Churl (Carl) [Karl] - the landed peasant
Thrall (Þrall) [Þrall] - the serf or slave

A Housecarl or Huscarl is a body guard of the king or an earl.

 

[AllardChardon]

Very interesting, Xelebes. Now I know the origin of Carl and the other names, thanks to you. Way back in school we learned two cups make a pint, but then Americans do their cooking with cups and pints and teaspoons and tablespoons, so it is second nature to me now.

theurgy - noun the use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events

 

[Handley_Page]

Very interesting, Xelebes. Now I know the origin of Carl and the other names, thanks to you. Way back in school we learned two cups make a pint, but then Americans do their cooking with cups and pints and teaspoons and tablespoons, so it is second nature to me now.

theurgy - noun the use of supernatural powers to influence or predict events

How many millilitres in a cup ?

 

[trysail]

How many millilitres in a cup ?

1 Milliliter(ml) = 0.0042268 Cup(C), thus there are 236.5856 millilitres (sic) in a cup.

 

[oggbashan]

1 Milliliter(ml) = 0.0042268 Cup(C), thus there are 236.5856 millilitres (sic) in a cup.

Beware! If using recipes, US cups and UK cups are of differing sizes.

So are bra cups.

Og

 

[trysail]

Beware! If using recipes, US cups and UK cups are of differing sizes.

So are bra cups.

Og

Yea, verily.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cup_(volume)

 

[AllardChardon]

What an entertaining group you are. No matter what has transpired in my day, I can cruise over to LIT and see what's new in the word market.

If I were shopping for a corset using actual measurements in inches, would I have to convert to some other measurement in the UK? I do not mean bras, those are different, but corsets where the precise measurements matter. Not that there is a lack of corset shops online in America to choose from...

terpsichorean - noun a person who dances, esp. professionally

 

[Weird Harold]

What an entertaining group you are. No matter what has transpired in my day, I can cruise over to LIT and see what's new in the word market.

If I were shopping for a corset using actual measurements in inches, would I have to convert to some other measurement in the UK? I do not mean bras, those are different, but corsets where the precise measurements matter. Not that there is a lack of corset shops online in America to choose from...

terpsichorean - noun a person who dances, esp. professionally

I'm pretty sure that you'd only need to convert to metric units for corset fitting, but beware of the language barrier -- I think corsets are the same, but words like "vest" don't mean the same article of clothing to brits and americans.

From Wikipedia/terpsichore
Terpsichore (pronounced /tərpˈsɪkəriː/; Τερψιχόρη) "delight of dancing" was one of the nine Muses, ruling over dance and the dramatic chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". She is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs with her music. She is sometimes said to be the mother of the Sirens by Achelous. Her name comes from the Greek words τέρπω ("delight") and χoρός ("dance").

I supect there is some connection between Terpsichore and the word Chorus, too. If so, it has morphed a good deal more than terpsichorean -- from a group of dancers to a group of voices/singers.

 

[AllardChardon]

Thank you, Harold, for the explanations. I love to dance and study Greek mythology and am amazed at myself that I never wondered about the Greek Muse of Dance's name before this. I will likely use the name for a lovely dancer in Paris in Book Two of my trilogy, along with an Italian last name I encountered here in Tennessee, Archangeli.

termagant - noun a person, esp. a woman, who habitually uses loud, abusive language

 

[Weird Harold]

Thank you, Harold, for the explanations. I love to dance and study Greek mythology and am amazed at myself that I never wondered about the Greek Muse of Dance's name before this. I will likely use the name for a lovely dancer in Paris in Book Two of my trilogy, along with an Italian last name I encountered here in Tennessee, Archangeli.

termagant - noun a person, esp. a woman, who habitually uses loud, abusive language

Firefox 2 has this neat feature -- highlight a word and right-click to get the "search google for " context option. Doing that for termagant turnd up a bit of a surprise:

Origin of the concept

European literature from the Middle Ages often referred to Muslims as pagans, with sobriquets such as the paynim foe. These depictions naively represent Muslims worshipping Muhammad (Mahomet, Mahound) as a god and depict them worshipping various deities in the form of idols (cult images), ranging from Apollo to Lucifer, but their chief deity was typically named Termagant.

The origin of the name Termagant is unknown, and does not seem to derive from any actual aspect of Muslim belief or practice, however wildly distorted. W. W. Skeat in the 19th century, speculated that the name was originally "Trivagante", meaning 'thrice wandering', a reference to the moon, because of the Islamic use of crescent moon imagery. An Old English origin has also been suggested, from tiw mihtig r ("very mighty"), referring to the Germanic god Tiw. Another possibility is that it derives from a confusion between Muslims and the Zoroastrian Magi of ancient Iran: thus tyr-magian, or "Magian god".

Termagant in literature

Whatever its origins, "Termagant" became established in the West as the name of the principal Muslim god, being regularly mentioned in metrical romances and chansons de geste. ...

Termagant also became a stock character in a number of medieval mystery plays. On the stage, Termagant was usually depicted as a turbanned creature who wore a long, Eastern style gown. As a stage-villain, he would rant at and threaten the lesser villains who were his servants and worshippers.

"Termagant" as a shrewish woman

Because of the theatrical tradition, by Shakespeare's day the term had come to refer to a bullying person. Henry IV contains a reference to "that hot termagant Scot". In Hamlet, the hero says of ham actors that "I would have such a fellow whipped for o'er-doing Termagant, it out-Herods Herod". Herod, like Termagant, was also a character from medieval drama who was famous for ranting.

Mainly because of Termagant's depiction in long gowns, given that female roles were routinely played by male actors in Shakespearean times, English audiences got the mistaken notion that the character was female, or at least that he resembled a mannish woman. As a result, the name termagant came increasingly to be applied to a woman with a quarrelsome, scolding quality, and thus the name applies today to a quarrelsome, scolding woman.Virago, fishwife and shrew are also pejorative names for other types of unpleasant, aggressive women. Nevertheless, the term is still sometimes used of men. The Australian politician Kim Beazley labelled a male opponent a termagant.

ETA: the obligatory new seldom used word:

Virago is a term that refers to a strong, brave, or warlike woman. The term comes from the same root as the word virile, the Latin vir "a man", hence, a masculine woman.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virago

 

[ishtat]

Termagant

The OED suggests that this word originates from Tervagan (Old French) the name of a character in Le Chanson de Roland which story of course is based on the wars between Charlmagne and the Muslims.

Personally I don't find the argument all that convincing.

 

[ishtat]

The Kentish Fyrd was on its way to join King Harold, as were other Fyrds. If Harold had waited a few more days before giving battle to William's forces, many of the Fyrds would have arrived and the result might have been different.

As with most of England at the time, the locals didn't care who was King, and William had an arguable claim. Once Harold was dead, the other claimants to the English throne had a weaker case than William's, and he had the armed support.

Og

Considering that the Kentish Fyrd was within 50 miles of Hastings at the most and whilst Harold waited for them to sort themselves out, he marched his army 200 north miles to Stamford Bridge, fought and defeated Tostig, marched another 200 miles to Hastings where he almost won. And the leaders of the Kentish Fyrd claimed they hadn't time to ready themselves.

My view is that :-

1 Harold and his family (the Godwins) were thoroughly disliked by other English rulers for their greed and perceived disloyalty to the interests of other English lords

2 The leaders in Kent had the sense to realise that they could win simply by backing the winner after the event.

As an aside Og I come from a small town of Berkeley in the West Country where the Saxon Landowner made a similar decision to the Kentish leaders and backed William. As a result his child was married to one of Williams Norman supporters and the same family still owns half the town 950 years later. So backing William the winner was good sense.

Now I will cease the threadjack!