An Elizabethan Lexicon
Language in the sixteenth century was rich,
poetic – and coarse. Here are some of the words I have gleaned in many years of reading histories and plays of the
period. Some still in use, many sadly long gone.
I apologise for the extraordinary number of derogatory
words there were for women, especially when men do not suffer the same
treatment. But you’ll have to blame our sexist ancestors for that!
 W
Wainscot: panelling
Walking-mort: unmarried female vagrant, perhaps pretending to be soldier’s wife or widow
Wanton: lascivious, immoral
Ware-bench: shop counter
Warp: 1) pull clear of harbour by hauling on cables and ropes; 2) curber’s look-out man (stealing through open window)
Wattle, wattlework: Twigs and poles for building; wickerwork. Used with daub
Washtocke: a wooden club for beating clothes being laundered
Weasand-pipe: throat, windpipe
Weather gauge: being to windward
Wenching: associating with common women
Wheel-lock: matchless gun. A serrated steel wheel is spun against a plate – the resultant sparks ignite the gunpowder
Wherry: light rowing boat used to ferry goods and people on rivers; a large river barge
Whid: word, to speak (slang)
Whipjack: vagrant pretending to be a sailor having suffered at sea
White meat: dairy produce such as cheese and eggs (fit only for common people)
White money: silver coins
Whittawer: a glover, one who works with white leather
Wiche: a bin into which flour or meal is sifted
Wild dell: female born into vagrancy
Winchester geese: prostitutes (Southwark, where many whores plied their trade, was largely owned by the Bishops of Winchester)
Wink at: overlook an indiscretion
Wit: cleverness
Withal: besides, for all that, nevertheless
Wooldriver: man who buys wool from the producer to sell to clothmaker
Back to page top >
|
