Danish : Gaelic And Welsh : Scottish : Castle Terms : Older Words
|
|
isnae (iz-na) |
|
is not |
|
ither (The ither yin o'er there.) |
|
other, other one |
|
iver |
|
ever |
|
jalouse ( ja-looz) |
|
to suspect or infer (not jealousy) |
|
keekhole |
|
peephole (chink in a door or wall) |
|
kelpie |
|
water spirit in lochs & rivers |
|
ken (Do ye ken?) |
|
Do you understand? |
|
kist (I will gie ye a kist on the morrow.) |
|
Sounded good, didn't it? Actually a kist is a large box or the a person's chest. |
|
Lammas |
|
August 1st |
|
lang |
|
long |
|
lug |
|
ear |
|
mawkit |
|
very dirty |
|
midden (Ye dirty auld midden.) |
|
dirty person, also a dirty place |
|
mither |
|
mother |
|
mon |
|
man |
|
muckle |
|
large |
|
na |
|
no |
|
-na or -nae |
|
When added to verb forms the negative |
|
naething |
|
nothing |
|
ne'er |
|
never |
|
nicht |
|
night |
|
nibbie |
|
Not a nibble of common sense |
|
nippy sweetie |
|
irritable, a sharp tongued person |
|
noo |
|
now - as now hurry up. |
|
o |
|
of |
|
prig, prigging |
|
beg or plead (Not a holier than thou person.) |
|
puir |
|
poor |
|
queerie |
|
Odd or strange person |
|
reekin |
|
very angry |
|
sae (say)/sa |
|
so |
|
scud (Are ye wantin' a scud on the lug?) |
|
slap (as on 'a slap on the ear') |
|
selkie |
|
fairy |
|
shite |
|
You know what it is! |
|
skelp |
|
whip |
|
slabber |
|
slobber |
|
swive |
|
Just another name for 'you know what'! |
|
tup |
|
(see swive) |
|
verra |
|
very |
|
wee |
|
little |
|
wean |
|
little one |
|
Wheesht (Haud yer wheesht!) |
|
Hold your tongue!; be quiet, silence - you get the drift. |
|
wrang (Whit's wrang noo?) |
|
What's wrong now? |
|
widna |
|
would not |
|
winna |
|
will not |
|
wud |
|
would |
|
wouldna/wudna |
|
would not |
|
wumman |
|
woman |
|
yatter |
|
chatter |
|
"Ye dirty auld midden!" |
|
dirty person |
|
"Ye wee daftie." |
|
little foolish oneyer |
|
bailey |
|
Courtyard |
|
barbican |
|
An outwork or forward extension of a castle gateway |
|
battlement |
|
Narrow wall built along the outer edge of the wall walk to protect soldiers against attack |
|
crenelation |
|
A notched battlement made up of alternate crenels (openings) and merlons (square sawteeth) |
|
curtain wall |
|
A castle wall enclosing a courtyard |
|
drawbridge |
|
A wooden bridge leading to a gateway, capable of being raised or lowered. |
|
embrasure |
|
The low segment of the altering high and low segments of a battlement |
|
gate house |
|
The complex of towers, bridges, and barriers built to protect each entrance through a castle or town wall |
|
inner ward |
|
The open area in the center of a castle |
|
keep |
|
The inner stronghold of the castle |
|
merlon |
|
Part of a battlement, the square “sawtooth” between crenels |
|
murder holes |
|
A section between the main gate and a inner portcullis where arrows, rocks, and hot oil could be dropped from the roof through holes |
|
parapet |
|
A protective wall at the top of a fortification, around the outer side of the wall-walk |
|
portcullis |
|
Vertical sliding wooden grille shod with iron suspended in front of a gateway, let down to protect the gate |
|
postern gate |
|
secondary gate or door |
|
solar |
|
originally a room above ground level, but commonly applied to the great chamger of a private sitting room off the great hall |
|
trebuchet |
|
war engine developed in the Middle Ages employing couterpoise |
|
turret |
|
a small tower rising above and resting on one of the main towers, usually used as a look out point |
|
wall walk |
|
the area along the tops of the walls from which soldiers could defend the castle |
|
ward |
|
courtyard or bailey |
Measurements and weights:
Hand = 4 inches
League = 3 miles
Pace = 2 1/2 feet
Stone = 14 pounds
Time:
fortnight = fourteen days
sennight = seven daysTimes of Divine Offices:
These have undergone vast transformations from time to time. I used the following:
Vigils - During the night; Midnight
Matins - Before dawn—lengthy office with psalms
Laud - Around 3:00 a.m. Psalm reading
Prime - About 6:00 a.m. Beginning of work day
Terse - Around 9:00 a.m. followed by mass
Sext - Noon hour.
Vespers - Sunset — psalm reading
Compline - Before retiring
As I mentioned, you can research in one area and they give the above. Go to another reference, and they will be different. Any time you have a problem with a word, write me at www.sophiajohnson.net and I'll be glad to explain it.