The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies

The Dialect of Cornwall

In Conjunction with Brian Stevens

Recorder of Dialect

Dialect

Meaning

Cornish

Comment

Date

HAA' PATH

Halfpence, daft person

20

General

WC

HAAF

Half

20

General

WC

HACK:

a biddix. 

Zennor

HACKBOLT:

 a shearwater. 

See C.S.W

HACKMAL,

Ekkymole, Heckmowl: the tomtit or titmouse. 

O. E.; hice mase

HAGDEN

the common skua. 

C.S.W

HAGENBAG:

 mutton or beef boiled or baked in pie-crust.

HAGAR, AGAR:

 ugly. 

Con. hager

Zennor. 

HAGGLAN, HAGGLES:

 fruit of hawthorn. EGGLETS

HAKE: 

a groove. See AKE. HAKING: see Hacken 

C.S.W. p.89.

HAILER:

a thief's confederate or his receiver.  "the hailer is as bad as the stailer".

0. E. helan.

HAIN:

 to shut off cattle from a grass field to allow grass to make hay.  Also, ground preserved by tin-bounds

O.E.

HAIR PITCHED

Rough; animals with unbrushed coats.

20

Farming

WC

HALY CALY: 

to throw things to be scrambled for, as in Tea-treats. A scramble

HAL AN TOW:

sung to dancers on morning of Furry Day. "Heel and Toe". See "

Canow Kernow" p.12

HALE: 

to haul, drag pull violently.  .

Con. halya

M. E. Courtney.

HALE: 

the plough tail or tension rod under the plough

HALE: 

to roof with slates. "a haled house"  Hence Hellyer, Heller Healer "a slater"

O.E. "to cover"

HALF CREASE: 

To put bees out to feed; the owner has half the honey and the bee keeper half.

Con.Cres.

HAALF BAAKED:

 "put in with the bread and taken out with the cake". Said of someone who is thought stupid.

20

General

WC

HAILED or HAILEN

Pulled with great strength

20

General

WC

HALGAVE, HALGAVE TRIAL: 

hang first and try afterwards. "A blundering use of halgavar".

  R. M. Nance

HALVANS:

 halves. Second grade ore but not the poorest. To go halvans: to receive half of produce. Halvaner

HALISH, AILISH:

ailing. 

O.E

HALL MONDAY: 

Shrove day Monday. Hallow Monday. "Nicky Nan Night" 

See Couch in J.R.I.C. 1842

HANDSOME: 

general complimentary adjective

HAMES:

a horse collar of straw with wooden collar-trees. 

20

WC.

HANDSEL: 

a foretaste. An early snatch meal. When a man is well paid for a chance job early in the day he says, That's a good hansel.

0. E. handselen. Also hauncell.

HANGE, HENGE, AINGE:

 heart, liver, lights of sheep (the pluck)

HARDAH:

elvan rock

HARDHEADS:

the plaintain or knapweed

HARKY

Listen

20

General

WC

HARVE, HARVEY:

to harrow.(Agric.)

HARE'S MEAT:

 the wood sorrel (Oxalis)

HARKING

of weather, close, thundery

HATCH:

 a staff 3 to 7 fathoms long made by tin-streamers. (2) the bottom half of a stable door. See "pliffen", and "heps".

HAVAGE: 

family, original stock. "He comes of a bad havage."

HAVES

Eaves of a house.

20

General

WC

HAWN, AWME:

 oven. 

St. Just

HAY MAIDEN:

ground ivy (Nepeta)

HAYLE, HAYEL:

 the windpipe

HAYS:

Haysing: poaching, chasing hares by night

St. Ives.

HAWN: 

haven. 

See C.S.W

HARVEY DARVEY: 

see Old Cornwall no. 6 Vol. I. p.37.

HATTER FLITTER

for Heather Bleater. The jacksnipe.

HEAD FLAY: 

a disease of cattle

HEAD: 

Head of the well; the centre of influence.

HEAD LIKE A TURMOT

Head like a turnip

20

General

WC

Head sword:

the water running through the adit

HEAVING: 

dampness of stones due to change in temperature. See GIVING. confusion with thawing.

O.E. hefung, 

HEAVER, HAVER: 

the grass. See Eaver

HECKMAL, EKKMAL, EKKYMAL:

the tomtit. 

O.E

HEAVY CAKE: 

a rich flat cake made without yeast and eaten warm

HECCA, EKKA: 

a fool. 

Cor. form of Richard?

HECKETT, HICKETT:

a ramming blow

HEDOKAGENA:

 a call to oxen. Hedheugh e genough! lit. "fetch it with you" a fragment of spoken Cornish. Ploughing with oxen at Trefusis.

Con.

Dr. Boxer Mayne, Mylor.

HEEDY PEEP:

hide and seek. Cp. Mop ha heedy

HEEL

"Cornish to heel" thoroughly Cornish

Con.

HEFF:

to heave. "Heff over the killick."

HELLYER, HELLER, HEALER:

 a slater HALE: to roof. 

O.E. helen 

HELLAS: 

the nightjar

HENYWAYS, HENNAWAYS: 

cast away tin or copper ore.

HEPS:

 the lower half of a stable or cottage double door. "More tongue than teeth, she had better keep a heps befor her mouth."

HERBY PIE, HARBY PIE: 

made of spinach, parsley, mustard and cress, pepper-cress, young onions, lettuce, slices of bacon and a little milk.

HERN:

the heron.

HEVVA:

 the cry of the huer (q.v.)

Con. hevva, a flock, a swarm. a shoal.

HEWNE:

 the side of a calciner in a tin burning house, from hewn granite?

HEBBAL, EBBAL, IBBLE:

a small mow of corn or hay left in the field.

Cor. ebo/.

HIBBLED:

 heaped up. "Hibbled up like the banks of Daga" Bank of Daga is on Phillack downs.

St Ives

HIGH-BY-DAY: 

in broad daylight.

HITCH:

shallow hole cut in rock-face to support timber underground.

HOBBAN, HOGGIN:

 baked dinner cake. Figgy hobbin etc. Hoggin­the-liddle; containing a small piece of pork. . 

Cor. whyogen, hogen.

Lamorna

HILLA:

a nightmare.  

 Cor. hilla, (hun-/el).

Mousehole. 

See O.C. IV p.417 and I, No II, p.39.

HOGGANS: 

haws. See Egglets.

HOLLAPOT: 

confusion, muddle. See THOLLAPOT. Also loud talking person. "Hollow pot."

HOARDER: 

a keeping apple.

HOLLENSMOCKS: 

sea campions, Silene maritima. Holland Smock from their colour.

HOLLICK, OLLEK: 

the house-leek, Sempervivum.

HOLM SCRITCH /SCREECH: 

the missel thrush. In Devon, the jay. HOLM: the holly.

HOME:

 to put home: To take home, or give a lift. 

Cor. gorra dhe, gorra tre.

HONEY PIN: 

an apple variety.

HOOD: 

wood. 

Obsolete Eng.

HOODOWL:

the green woodpecker.

HOODLE, HOOL: 

to shorten a belt or chain. To tighten a rope by insertion of a bar or cart windlass.

HOOP: 

the bullfinch.

HOOPER: 

a spirit at Sennen that gave warning by shouting.

 WHOOPER: Cp. "whooping cough" .

Bottrell

C.S.W

HOOSE: .

a knot in wood. 

St. Agnes

HOOSEY: 

crabbed, ill-tempered. .

Camborne

HOP, OPP WAY, OPP: 

an open way connecting two streets.

HORMICK:

a shapeless person.  

HORNED CATTLE: 

nickname for limpets etc.

HORNIWINK: 

the plover, lapwing. Also a useless ornament, a desolate place or building.

HORROK: 

filth. 

St. Just.

HORROCK WATER: 

ditch water.

HORSE:

 mining, where a vein changes course. ? A piece of country contained within a wide lode or between two branches of a lode.

Cor. cors.

HORSE ADDER, HOSS ADDER:

 a dragon fly.

HORSE OF KNOWLEDGE: "

one who "knows everything.

HORSE TOOTH:

quartz spar in granite.  

HOUSE, HOUSING: 

to go gosspiping from house to house.

HOUSE OF WATER: 

mining, a large body of water in a flooded mine and accidentally holed.

HUCKSEN: 

knuckles, joints; plural of HOCK. Also, to hamstring. To fasten rabbit's hind legs by passing a skewer through the sinews at the hocks.

HUSKING: 

a scolding.

O.E.

HUBBA, HUBBADULLYA, HUBBALDULLION: 

uproar, noisy row.

HUCCANER:

wood-corner. 

O.E. hood.

HUDDY:

potato store or clamp. 

O.E. huden, hudern, shelter, hide.

HUFFA, UFFA: 

hoof. Also shoemaker's last.

HURLE: 

a filament of flax, "as dry as hurle".

HURLE: 

to sift earth through an oblong sieve supported against a pole or wall. 

HURLER, 

noun. Hurlers: sparks that run along the soot at the back of the hearth in dry weather. Hurling weather: drying weather.

HURLY BURLY: 

a scramble. Hurling: "the old village game". As in Wales later to be adopted as "Rugby".

HURREL: 

a row port. 

Also Hurl hole, Thurlehole.

 See C.S.W.

HURRIED:

worried, anxious, frightened.

HUNTSMAN's CUP: 

flower of water-figwort (Scrophularia).

HUER: 

the look-out man for a pilchard shoal.  Cp. E. hue and cry.

O.Fr. huer.

HURTS: 

whortleberries. 

O.E. hearot brer - "hart's berries".

HUGO, UGGO:

 a cave. See oga, fogo. 

Cor.

WORDS lacking definition: Hand-staff, Hangbow, Haul-and­tackle, Hay peak, Hedge-gripe, High-bell-topper, Hilse, Hipper withies.

Note:

SILVER HURLING BALLS: according to Nance the ball mentioned by Jago and bearing a Cornish inscription is in the British Museum.