Seldom-used words - M to A

[AllardChardon]

Og, you add so much to this thread, thanks, again.

Tio, thanks for stopping by and adding such an interesting word.

I earned about this fabric in my historical studies and decided to add it here;

linsey-woolsey - noun (15c) a coarse sturdy fabric of wool and linen or cotton

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, you add so much to this thread, thanks, again.

Tio, thanks for stopping by and adding such an interesting word.

I earned about this fabric in my historical studies and decided to add it here;

linsey-woolsey - noun (15c) a coarse sturdy fabric of wool and linen or cotton

I think its related to what became known as "Winciette"

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, I looked it up and it is spelled winceyette and that is more like flannel than the rugged fabric of linsey-woolsey. But, I could be wrong. Thanks for the new word, which I did not find in my dictionary, only online.

This definition was news to me;

linoleum - noun (1878) 1. a floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums, cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments 2. a material similar to linoleum

Cork dust? Wood flour? Ah, the many things one learns from the humble dictionary.

 

[Handley_Page]

Handley, I looked it up and it is spelled winceyette and that is more like flannel than the rugged fabric of linsey-woolsey. But, I could be wrong. Thanks for the new word, which I did not find in my dictionary, only online.

This definition was news to me;

linoleum - noun (1878) 1. a floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums, cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments 2. a material similar to linoleum

Cork dust? Wood flour? Ah, the many things one learns from the humble dictionary.

Take a look at Wki:

 

[oggbashan]

Handley, I looked it up and it is spelled winceyette and that is more like flannel than the rugged fabric of linsey-woolsey. But, I could be wrong. Thanks for the new word, which I did not find in my dictionary, only online.

...

Winceyette? Everyone's grandmother used to wear winceyette nightdresses because bedrooms weren't heated.

The catalogues showed (and show) them on young ladies but they weren't (and aren't) the target customers:

http://www.adaptawear.com/images/2012-l-sleeved-wincy-nightie.jpg

 

[oggbashan]

...

This definition was news to me;

linoleum - noun (1878) 1. a floor covering made by laying on a burlap or canvas backing a mixture of solidified linseed oil with gums, cork dust or wood flour or both, and usually pigments 2. a material similar to linoleum

Cork dust? Wood flour? Ah, the many things one learns from the humble dictionary.

Until the 1950s, linoleum known as 'lino' was used in many British kitchens and bathrooms because it was waterproof and could be washed with a mop.

I remember removing it from several rooms in our previous house. Some of it had been on the floor since 1903. Typical linoleum was dark brown but colours and patterns came in the 1930s; bright colours in the 1950s.

Wood flour? = fine sawdust.

 

[Handley_Page]

Wynciette ?
PJs supplied to Ordinary Airmen in the 1960s were Wincyette, as were PJs used in Hospitals.

Tearing up Lino from a house gave a good excuse for a bonfire; it burned well.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Until the 1950s, linoleum known as 'lino' was used in many British kitchens and bathrooms because it was waterproof and could be washed with a mop.

I remember "linoleum" floors in kitchens and bathrooms back in the fifties. The word has remained in use in many parts of the US for floor coverings made of plastics or other synthetics---much like "fridgidare" for refrigerator or "kleenex" for any facial tissue.

 

[Handley_Page]

I remember "linoleum" floors in kitchens and bathrooms back in the fifties. The word has remained in use in many parts of the US for floor coverings made of plastics or other synthetics---much like "fridgidare" for refrigerator or "kleenex" for any facial tissue.

A vacuum cleaner in the UK is usually called a "Hoover" for the same reason

 

[oggbashan]

Wynciette ?
PJs supplied to Ordinary Airmen in the 1960s were Wincyette, as were PJs used in Hospitals.

...

Air Force (and other) barracks were cold places. Heating cost money. Warm winter weight pyjamas were cheaper than heating.

Hospitals? Usually overheated so Winceyette was not so practical except it could be washed at a very high temperature.

 

[AllardChardon]

What a lively exchange I somehow managed to miss. Thanks, all, for the informative posts and links.

linn - noun (1513) 1. chiefly Scot: WATERFALL 2. chiefly Scot: a steep ravine

 

[AllardChardon]

Greetings, posters.

This is an interesting grouping;

linksman - noun (1937) one who plays golf

linksland - noun (1926) seaside terrain that is characterized by rolling hills of sand and is often used as the site of golf course

links - noun plural (15c) 1. Scot: sand hills esp. along the seashore 2. GOLF COURSE; specif: a golf course on linksland

 

[Handley_Page]

Greetings, posters.

This is an interesting grouping;

linksman - noun (1937) one who plays golf

linksland - noun (1926) seaside terrain that is characterized by rolling hills of sand and is often used as the site of golf course

links - noun plural (15c) 1. Scot: sand hills esp. along the seashore 2. GOLF COURSE; specif: a golf course on linksland

When I was a lot younger, my parents used to mention "the links" which was a Golf Course at the back on my Gran's house. I've not heard that term since.

 

[oggbashan]

When I was a lot younger, my parents used to mention "the links" which was a Golf Course at the back on my Gran's house. I've not heard that term since.

I've heard it recently, mainly about the golf courses near Sandwich in Kent, which fit the linkland description.

 

[Weird Harold]

I've heard it recently, mainly about the golf courses near Sandwich in Kent, which fit the linkland description.

Obviously neither of you Brits listen to American coverage of "The Open Championship" (aka the British Open); American commentators seem bound and determined to make sure that American Viewers know that The Open Championship is held on "links-style golf courses."

 

[AllardChardon]

Gentlemen, my second eldest son is a decent golfer with a membership at the local course and he watches a lot of golf on TV. This is where I first heard the term. Very interesting, all in all.

Here is a oldie (new to me);

linkboy - noun (1652) an attendant formerly employed to bear a light for a person on the streets at night

 

[oggbashan]

Gentlemen, my second eldest son is a decent golfer with a membership at the local course and he watches a lot of golf on TV. This is where I first heard the term. Very interesting, all in all.

Here is a oldie (new to me);

linkboy - noun (1652) an attendant formerly employed to bear a light for a person on the streets at night

Oldie?

As late as the 1990s, the Inns of Court in Central London used to employ a linkboy who lit the gas lamps in the open areas.

He was an oldie, continuing to work into his 70s.

They still exist:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ts-five-men-burning-just-did-Dickens-day.html

 

[legerdemer]

I'll try this again, though last time I tried I failed miserably.

limerence = a relatively new term, invented in the 70s to describe a state of romantic attraction and desiring one's feelings to be reciprocated (rough paraphrase from the Wikipedia entry).

First, I find the the word beautiful-sounding. Second, it is a perfect term for those feelings of longing and romantic need.

 

[oggbashan]

I'll try this again, though last time I tried I failed miserably.

limerence = a relatively new term, invented in the 70s to describe a state of romantic attraction and desiring one's feelings to be reciprocated (rough paraphrase from the Wikipedia entry).

First, I find the the word beautiful-sounding. Second, it is a perfect term for those feelings of longing and romantic need.

An interesting word, but the attraction can be awkward and embarrassing if not reciprocated. In the 1960s I remember having that feeling for someone, and someone having that feeling for me. Unfortunately they weren't the same person and it was difficult for all three of us.

Limerence is not in my dictionaries.

The closest are Limerick - a poetry form, and

Slang Dictionary

Limer (West Indian slang 1970s) a layabout, an idler.

Shorter Oxford. Full Oxford expands with examples.

Limer - Middle English - a kind of hound, properly a leash-hound; in early use (now archaic) a bloodhound; later a mongrel.

Limer 1611 - one who limes; one who ensnares with bird-lime; one who limewashes. Also, a brush for limewashing.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Limerence is not in my dictionaries.

Limerence appears in the on-line dictionary that lives on (came with) my Mac. The definition given there is substantially that we've already seen. The word appears to have originated in the 1970s, the dictionary says, "from limer- (apparently an arbitrary syllable) + -ENCE".

 

[AllardChardon]

Og, a word from the 1600s seems old to me. Thank you from my heart for the wonderful article on linkboys. Some of the pictures were so wonderful, I immediately decided to add observing this practice in person, if I ever get to London, that is.

legerdemer, a new word is just as much fun as an old one. Thanks for contributing.

Here is an obscure entry for a common word;

link(4) - vi (1715) Scot: to skip smartly along

 

[Handley_Page]

Og, a word from the 1600s seems old to me. Thank you from my heart for the wonderful article on linkboys. Some of the pictures were so wonderful, I immediately decided to add observing this practice in person, if I ever get to London, that is.

legerdemer, a new word is just as much fun as an old one. Thanks for contributing.

Here is an obscure entry for a common word;

link(4) - vi (1715) Scot: to skip smartly along

From my online Oxford:-
link² /noun historical a torch of pitch and tow for lighting the way in dark streets.
– origin C16: perhaps from medieval Latin lichinus ‘wick’.

 

[oggbashan]

Og, a word from the 1600s seems old to me. Thank you from my heart for the wonderful article on linkboys. Some of the pictures were so wonderful, I immediately decided to add observing this practice in person, if I ever get to London, that is.

...

A word from the 1600s? Most of the words we use are from sources older than that. The full Oxford English Dictionary gives the first appearance in print of a particular word.

Because printing was a recent invention in the 1500s, most long standing words have first mentions in the 1600s.

 

[AllardChardon]

Handley, a similar definition for link is the third entry in my dictionary. The fourth one, which I posted, is the one that seemed seldom-used.

Og, I understand most of our language is very old and many words appeared in print for the first time in the 1600s with the help of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, but it is still 400 years ago and that seems old, even though it is not. Knowing how old a word is fascinates me and the older the better in this case.

Here is a word that relates;

linguistic geography - noun (1926) local or regional variations of a language or dialect studied as a field of study - also called dialect geography

 

[oggbashan]

...

Here is a word that relates;

linguistic geography - noun (1926) local or regional variations of a language or dialect studied as a field of study - also called dialect geography

One of the interesting things about the British Ordnance Survey early mapping process was their survey of Ireland (then British).

The surveyors were mapping places that had never been surveyed accurately before and in Ireland they wanted to know not just the place names in English as known by the gentry and clergy, but what the locals called them in Gaelic, and significantly, WHY.

They recorded a fantastic amount of oral history about the place names, including WHO told them, how they told them, and if there were differing accounts. They then had to decide what a particular geographical feature should be named on a map, and record how they had reached that decision.

So a small hill might be called - in Gaelic - the place where Brian Boru stubbed his toe on a rock. But the background information would include why Brian Boru was there, how this incident fitted in to the main Brian Boru legend (legend because Brian Boru was a real King but stories about him include impossible ones), and how long the hill had been called that, together with any alternative names and the explanation for the alternatives.

Although this information was and is fascinating, and a valuable record for the Irish people, the surveyors were taking far too long over their survey of Ireland which was supposed to have been completed before they did the surveys of Scotland, England and Wales.

The authorities in London decided that the surveyors were taking their task far too far and too seriously. What was wanted were accurate maps, not pages of argument about whether Brian Boru had stubbed his left big toe or his right big toe...

http://www.osi.ie/about/history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_O'Donovan_(scholar)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_O'Curry