Words and Phrases of the Seventeenth Century Here are some old words and phrases to amaze your friends and the audience when talking about the seventeenth century in Living History and elsewhere. Word/Phrase Meaning (using C21 terms) Affect Pretend falsely Affront Insult Affray Attack, disturbance, riot Ague Fever – particularly malaria in C17 All of a dudder Shivering and shaking Anon At once Apothecary Druggist, Chemist, Pharmacist Ay Yes Baffle Foils the plans of Bedlam Madhouse Betimes Early, soon Blackguard A body of criminals or vagrants ( became Blagard – criminal) Board Daily provision (food and drink) Boards Table (made of boards) Bolts Shackles, fetters Bravery Fine clothes Buss Kiss Buttery Store room for wine, beer, casks, bottles, pewter etc Butler The servant in charge of the buttery, person who serves wine, beer etc Buxom Plump and good looking Betwixt Between Caitiff Wretch, villain Calf Lolly Idle simpleton Calling Name, station in life, profession Carrion Decaying flesh Censured Pass sentence on Certain Constant, reliable Character Handwriting Clay brained Speaks for itself Coif Linen cap for women Cousin (or Coz) Term used of all close kindred Crave Want, seek, beg Crotchets Whims, fancies Cry you mercy Beg your pardon Cunning Skill, knowledge, smart, devious Cur(s) Dog(s) Dalliance Flirting Dandy Pratt Insignificant Person Deflaterhose A type of men’s breeches (early C17) Dislike Express an aversion to Divers Many Divines Clergymen Dizzy Foolish Dog Apes Baboons Dog- bolt A wretch Doom Sentence, judgement Falling band Separate collar Foppish Lout Overdressed, ostentatious person Forms Reflections, ceremonies Forsooth In truth, indeed Forswear Deny, repudiate Forsworn Perjured Foul Ugly Frieze A thick material for coats Fry To a child ‘young fry’ Furnish’d Dressed, equipped Gentle Well born, honourable, courteous Gentleman Owner of land or property earning £50 or more per year Gentlewoman Most usually the wife or widow of a Gentleman Gillyflower Fragrant flower – usually carnation, stock or wallflower, Go your ways Go away God buy you God be with you – (now Goodbye) Good faith In truth Gown A long coat worn over all clothing – often open at the front Gruel A cheap food made by boiling oats with water or milk Handkercher Handkerchief Holds Cells Hose Breeches (from Tudor – doublet and hose) – becoming stockings House of Profession Brothel Hoyden A rude or ill-bred woman or girl Husband Housekeeper (hence also as a verb – to look after) Husbandry Cultivation of the soil Hussy Immoral, wanton (usually preceded by little – or light – ) Huswife Housewife Idle Useless and foolish (e.g. ‘in idle price’) Imposthume A swelling containing pus or an abcess Jerkin Waistcoat League About 3 miles Lisp After a foreign accent Lunch A meal of a hunk of bread and cheese (North English – Tudor) Luncheon A drink or snack in mid-morning Lusty Vigorous Manchett A loaf of best quality bread Mardle Gossip Mark The sum of 13s 4d Mark Pay serious attention to, take note of Marry To be sure of, indeed Mauther Girl (still used in Norfolk) Mawkish Derived from ‘Mawk’ an old word for maggot – nauseating, sick making, having no appetite Mercer Textile merchant Mercy Beg forgiveness Name Reputation Napkin Handkerchief Naughty Wicked Neckerchief A separate cloth around the neck and shoulders Nice (affectedly) fastidious, refined Nuncheon A drink or snack in the afternoon Paint Apply cosmetics Palsie Shaking fit, tremor, paralysis Pantler The servant in charge of the pantry and bread Physic Medicine, cure Pick purse Pickpocket Place Office, station, position of authority, safe home Ply To urge, work upon, persuade Posset Hot drink of milk curdled with wine, beer or brandy Pox To curse you (literally to cause you to get the pox (syphilis)) Practices Plots, deceit, conspiracy Prithee I beg you Puny Inferior, petty, underdeveloped Raw Inexperienced, uncooked, uncultivated, sore or sick Receipt Recipe Russet A type of woollen cloth (also the colour) Sack Fortified wine Searsed Sifted Shifter Con man Sirrah Form of address used to inferiors or expressing contempt Stuff Dress material Tapster Person serving drink Tarry Wait Tawdry Cheap and pretentious finery Thankee Thank you Troth In truth, indeed (by my troth – truly) Yeoman Owner/tenant of a small property/land earning >£6 per year Villain Low born rustic, wicked scoundrel, lower servant Wainscot Wooden panelling Whiles While Winsom Attractive, handsome Worm’s nest Decayed fresh, a corpse Worsted A type of wool cloth Wrangling Arguing Zounds An oath Some Suitable Expletives and Insults Abate your noise you rebel dogs! Bid you go preach in a crab tree! Come and fetch the colours which they lost! Hell and devil confound you sir! Rogues to your King and Country! The devil take you sir! The sons of Puritan bitches! Traitors! Villains! Where are the Scots, you rogues, whom you hired to fight against your King? Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Share on Digg Share