The Influence of Low Dutch on the English Vocabulary

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Chapter I
The Settlement of Low Dutch in England, and General Intercourse

1. 1.^{1. 1.}

In the Middle English period the Low Dutch people which had the most intercourse with English was naturally enough the Flemish. Most of the Flemings who came over with William I were soldiers, and these did not all return to the Continent when the Conquest was completed. Some were planted out at special points as military colonies, as, for example, that under Gherbord at Chester. This policy was continued by William II, who established a military colony at Carlisle.

William I replaced the higher native English clergy by foreigners, and Flemings had their share in the appointments, e.g. Hereman, Bishop of Salisbury, Giso of St. Trudo, Bishop of Wells, Walter, Bishop of Hereford, and Geoffrey of Louvain, Bishop of Bath.

Thierry states that not only soldiers, ecclesiastics, and traders, but whole families came over. Matilda, William's queen, was the daughter of Count Baldwin V of Flanders, and doubtless she had many Flemings in her train.

The immigration of Flemings went on steadily after the Conquest and in such numbers that Henry I did not know what to do with them. There is a tradition that in his reign an incursion of the sea made thousands homeless in the Low Countries and that the refugees came to England. They were settled first on the Tweed, but four years later were transferred to Wales. These settlements were reinforced in 1105 and 1106, and according to Florence of Worcester Henry sent another large body to South Wales in 1111. The colonies at Haverfordwest, Tenby, Gower, and Ross may have been intended to keep the Welsh in check; at any rate that was the result, for the districts settled lost entirely their Welsh character, and the dialects spoken in them to-day retain in vocabulary a pronounced Flemish element. Some of the Flemish mercenaries who came in Stephen's time were deported to Wales.

The Flemish immigration into Scotland also was considerable. The shores of the Clyde received a large settlement at the time

1. 1. A.I. 22, 25-6, 29, 39-40; I.C. i. 187, 649; Th. i. 328-9, 349, ii. 154; Ram.D.C. 278, 369.

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of the expulsion of the Flemings from England by Henry II. A colony at Berwick held the Redhall there by the tenure of defending it against the English. Many Scottish armies had a Flemish element, whether mercenaries or a levy of the settlers it is impossible to state. At the Battle of the Standard in 1138 there was a Flemish contingent under a son of Gilbert of Ghent; and they were present also in the expedition of William the Lion in 1173-4. The Flemish element in the early Scottish towns was so large that a writ was actually addressed, ‘Francis et Anglis et Flamingis et Scotis’. Berwick appears to have had a separate gild of Flemish merchants, and when Bishop Robert was desirous of creating a burgh at his new see of St. Andrews, one Mainerd, a Flemish burgess of Berwick, was transferred as its new provost. There is evidence of Flemish colonies at St. Andrews, Edinburgh, and Perth. The Low Dutch immigrants in Aberdeen and Moray were associated with the Hanse which existed in northern Scotland in the 13th century.

There does not seem to have been any single, large influx of Flemings in the 13th century comparable to those of the previous century; but a constant stream of traders and artisans from Flanders maintained the intercourse. In 1272, however, England and Flanders, usually so friendly, severed commercial relations; all Flemings not engaged in weaving were ordered to leave the country.

All the chivalry of England was assembled at London in 1296 for the wedding of Marguerite, daughter of Edward I, and John of Brabant. The Duke had a train of over eighty knights and sixty ladies. Crowds of foreign minstrels, harpers, acrobats, and buffoons appeared at the festivities, and this is a fact of some importance as throwing light on one of the means of entry of Low Dutch words into cant and slang.

1. 2.^{1. 2.}

A closer connexion between England and the Low Countries was brought about by the marriage of Edward III and Philippa, daughter of William II, Count of Holland, Zeeland, and Hainault. Edward's mother, Isabella, had received substantial help from the Count in her struggle against her husband, and the engagement had been the outcome of this. This Dutch marriage was favourable to English interests, the Dutch being friendly allies united by commercial interests.

1. 2. Ram.G.L. i. 154, 195, 245, 252-64, 269-72, 276-83, 313; ii. 19-20, 156-69, 277; R. 41-2; A.D.R. 89-90.

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In the sparring preliminary to the Hundred Years War, England was in the closest diplomatic relations with many of the Low Dutch states and especially with Flanders.

In order to consolidate his Low Dutch alliances Edward made, in 1338, a continental tour. He sailed to Antwerp with a numerous fleet, set up his court in that city, entertained the Flemish and Brabanter lords with the most lavish hospitality, made commercial treaties with the towns of Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Louvain, Diest, Brussels, Mechlin, and Cologne. Then he travelled by way of Breda and Juliers to Cologne and on into the Rhineland, spending such huge sums of money that when he returned to Antwerp he was forced to borrow 54,000 florins from three citizens of Mechlin. His allies took some part in his fruitless invasion of France in 1339. After more conferences, one of which restored the wool staple to Flanders, Edward returned to England.

Queen Philippa had been left behind with her court at Ghent, and there she gave birth to a son, the famous John of Gaunt. The Flemings remained in the closest alliance with England. The French continued to try to detach them and at last were successful, for in 1371 the Flemings committed outrages on English shipping, and as a result all Flemings resident in England were arrested. But Flanders could never afford to be on bad terms with England for long.

The Peasants' Rising of 1381 proved disastrous to foreigners resident in England. The Flemings were especially unpopular through their number and through their competition in work and trade, which tended to lower wages. In London all suspected of Flemish blood were made to pronounce the phrase ‘bread and cheese’, and if the words sounded anything like ‘brod and case’, off went their heads. Thirty to forty Flemings who had sought refuge in the church of St. Martin's in the Vintry were dragged out and beheaded. In Norwich, too, when Lytster and his mob invaded the city, six unfortunate Flemings were done to death.

Knights from the Low Countries were sometimes present in the 14th century at tournaments in England. At a great jousting held for three days at Smithfield in 1390 there were present men of rank from Holland and Germany, among them the Count of Ostrevant, son of the Duke of Holland. He was afterwards admitted to the Order of the Garter.

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Throughout the 15th century diplomatic relations were continuous between England and the Low Countries. There were some important marriage alliances; in 1424 Jacqueline of Holland was married to the Duke of Gloucester, and in 1467-8 Charles the Bold married Margaret of York, and many English people went in her train to attend the festivities and jousts. Sir John Paston, we know, was present. Margaret retained some English at her court in Bruges; Caxton was with her in 1470.

During the Wars of the Roses many Englishmen took refuge in the Low Countries. The princes George and Richard of York were sent for safety to Utrecht. Other prominent refugees were Lord Ross, the Earl of Wiltshire, and Bishop Morton, while Edward IV fled in 1470 to Flanders to gather strength for his successful return to Ravenspur.

1. 3.^{1. 3.}

The religious differences of the Reformation divided Europe into two camps. Owing to continuous persecution migration became a necessity for a large part of the industrial population of Germany and the Low Countries. Their prime object was not to discover a country that offered special advantages to their particular callings, but to secure an asylum where they could live according to their own convictions. That they exercised an enormous economic and industrial influence the other chapters of this book prove, but this result was incidental; the motive that brought them here was not industrial but religious.

This religious immigration must have begun early. Among the lists of those who were proceeded against for heresy in 1521, in the times when ecclesiastical authorities were still concerned with preserving England from the contagion of the new doctrines which were being widely spread on the Continent, are names which are suggestive of Flemish extraction. The numbers of the immigrants must have been considerable. Froude states that there were 15,000 Flemings in London as early as 1527. In 1536 the strangers in London were called to take part in repressing the rebellion of that year; the French tailors and the Flemish shoemakers are specifically mentioned. The congregations of the refugees were dispersed at the accession of Mary, but liberty of worship came to them again from Elizabeth. As the aspect of affairs in the Low Countries became more threatening, the numbers of the refugees increased; it is said that in 1560 more

1. 3. A.I. 137-57; I.C. ii. 37, 79-81.

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than 10,000 came over, mainly from Antwerp, and in the following year 30,000. In 1567 the advent of Alva and the triumph of the policy of persecution increased the immigration, and another impetus was given to it by Parma's suppression of the rebellion in Flanders in 1581.

The reception of the refugees was on the whole extremely friendly. We find the corporation of Norwich petitioning to have families settled in their town, and thirty families of Dutch weavers were sent to them. It was inevitable, however, that the industrial question should be raised in many places and in many trades. The fresh trade which the immigrants brought tended to remove much of this jealousy, and they were gradually absorbed into the life of the towns. The Government did not look upon all the sects with favour; the political views of the Anabaptists made them obnoxious, and in 1575 thirteen Dutch and Flemish Anabaptists were burnt as heretics. There were Low Dutch communities in many towns; the largest was in London (in 1618 it had 10,000, mostly Flemings and Walloons), and there were settlements in Norwich, Sandwich (where 406 persons settled in 1561 to engage in weaving and fishing), Canterbury, Maidstone, Southampton, Lynn, Rye, Colchester, Ipswich, Thetford, Stamford, and Dover.

1. 4.^{1. 4.}

Intercourse with Holland in the 17th century was of two kinds. Englishmen visited Holland and became familiarized with Dutch political, industrial, and commercial practice. During the Civil War and the Commonwealth many Royalists found a refuge in Holland; when the Commonwealth envoy Doreslaat was murdered at The Hague by some of these refugees, the assassins remained unpunished under the pretext that they could not be discovered among the many English there. Of the last half of the century it would be true to say that there was hardly a leading man, from Charles II downwards, who had not had some experience of Dutch conditions. But beside the visitors to Holland there were also immigrants from Holland. It is not easy to assess how much each of these classes had to do with the conscious imitation of the Dutch which went on during this period. It is at least true to say that the immigrants took a leading part in suggesting and carrying out the changes by which many English activities were brought into close accord with the Dutch model. There was a long preparation in

1. 4. A.I. 193-4; I.C. ii. 208; Bl. iv. 157.

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the deliberate imitation of Dutch methods, or the nation would not have been ready to welcome William III.

The following were the main lines of approach: (1) through commerce - Dutch business men came to a country where commerce was developing rapidly, and they entered into keen competition with the London merchants both in trade and finance, even assisting in the financial affairs of state; (2) through artisans who came in the wake of the Dutch capitalists; (3) through the military element, which was comparatively unimportant, though William brought a few regiments from Holland which did not return there, but were garrisoned permanently in England and Ireland. It is evident that the United Provinces were for England a more apposite model than was France at this time.

1. 5.

The proper names of Low Dutch countries, nations, and districts were borrowed from the various Low Dutch dialects. It is impossible to specify the particular channel of introduction; they could have come in by way of trade, travel, or war, or through political intercourse. Very interesting are the names of Northern, Baltic, and South German countries and peoples which came into English through the medium of Low Dutch.

Dutch (c. 1460), of or pertaining to the people of Germany; (1568), of the Low Dutch people of the Netherlands and Holland; (1592), of or belonging to the Dutch: as a sb. (o. 1380, Wyclif), the German language in any of its forms; (1647), the language of Holland or the Netherlands; (1577), the Dutch; ad. M.Du. dutsch, duutsch, duutsc (e.mod.Du. duytsch, Du. duitsch). The senses of the word have changed in English to correspond to political changes on the Continent: in the 15th and 16th centuries it was applied to all divisions of the German people and to all dialects of the German language; after the United Provinces became an independent State, the term was restricted to the people and the Nederduytsche dialect of the Netherlands, as being the branch of the Dutch with whom the English came most into contact in the 17th century. In Holland itself, duitsch is generally restricted to the language of Germany proper.

The terms for Flemish and Fleming are recorded surprisingly late, if the early and intimate intercourse with Flanders is borne in mind. Flandrish (c. 1386, Ch.), Flemish. Fleming (c. 1430, Lydg.), a native of Flanders; (1595), a Flemish vessel; ad. M.Du. Vlâming, from Flâm, Flanders, and the suffix -ing. Flanders

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(1460), used attributively; (1690), short for (a) Flanders lace, (b) Flanders horse; ad. Du. Vlaanderen, plur., the name of the ancient countship. Flemish (1488), of or belonging to Flanders or its inhabitants; ad. M.Du. Vlaemisch (Du. Vlaamsche). Flanderkin (1694), a Fleming; from Flanders and -kin.

Holland (a. 1400, Morte Arth.), the name of a province of the northern Netherlands; from Du. Holland, originally Holtlant, from holt, wood, and lant, land, i.e. the district around Dordrecht, the nucleus of the original county of Holland. Hollander (1547), a native of Holland, a Dutchman; also a Dutch ship; from Holland and the suffix -er. Hollandish (1611, Coryat), of or belonging to Holland, Dutch; from Holland and the suffix -ish.

Friese (1481, Cax.), Frisian; ad. M.Du. Vriese. Frisian (1598), of or pertaining to the people of Friesland, an inhabitant of Friesland, the language of Friesland; from L. Frīsī, plur., ad. the native name, O.Fris. Frise, Frese (Du. Vries, M.Du. Vriese), a Frisian, and the suffix -an. An exactly similar formation is Batavian (1598), of or pertaining to the ancient Batavi, of or pertaining to Holland or the Dutch, a Dutchman or Netherlander; this is from L. Batavia, the name given by the Romans to the people who lived in the part of Holland between the Rhine and the Waal, now known as Betuwe, and the suffix -an.

Zealander (1573), a native of Zealand, a province of the Netherlands; from Zealand (Du. Zeeland) and the suffix -er. Netherlandish (1600), of or pertaining to the Netherlands; ad. Du. Nederlandsch, or from Netherland and the suffix -ish. Netherlander (1610), an inhabitant of the Netherlands or Holland, formerly including Flanders or Belgium; ad. Du. Nederlander. Flushinger (1689), a Flushing sailor or vessel; from Flushing (Du. Vlissingen), the name of a Dutch port, and the suffix -er. Walcheren (1810), the Walcheren fever; from the name of a Dutch island in Zealand; the name came into English during the Napoleonic wars, when an English army in Walcheren was decimated by this fever.

Lubecker (1627), a Lubeck merchant vessel; from Lübeck and the suffix -er. Rhineland (1675), the country around the River Rhine; ad. Du. Rijnland or G. Rheinland.

The following are Northern, Baltic, and South German names which have passed into English through the medium of Low Dutch. Sweden (1503), the country; (1650), a Swede; ad. MLG.,

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M.Du. Sweden (Du. Zweden), probably the dative plur. of the national name Swede; the OE. forms Swēōland, Swēōrīce, Sweorīce, did not survive; in early 17th-century usage, Sweden appears as the name of the people and Swedeland as the name of the country. Swede (1614), an inhabitant of Sweden; ad. MLG., M.Du. Swede (Du. Zweed); here also the OE. plur. form Swēōn did not survive; ON. has Svíar, Sw. Svear, and it has been conjectured that the forms with -d-, Swede and Sweden, arose out of ON. Svíþjóð, lit. ‘Swede people’. Swedish (1632), from Sweden or Swede and the suffix -ish, perhaps after G. schwedisch, M.Du. swedesch, sweets(ch), Du. zweedsch.

Easterling (1534), a native of eastern Germany or the Baltic coasts, chiefly applied to the citizens of the Hanse towns; apparently from easter and -ling, probably after Du. oosterling; the word is not found in English before the 16th century, but occurs as AF. and AL. sterling(us), esterling(us), but only in the sense of ‘sterling penny’.

Overlander (a. 1548), a dweller in the uplands of a country, a highlander, spec. one dwelling in the highlands of Germany, as opposed to a Netherlander or Low German; apparently ad. Du. Overlander (G. Oberländer), a dweller in the Oberland or upper country. Switzer (1577), a native of Switzerland; ad. M.Du. Switser, Swytzer (Du. Zwitser), or MHG. Switzer, Schwytzer.

Norse (1598), a Norwegian, the language; probably ad. Du. noorsch, a variant of noordsch (M.Du. no(o)rdsch, no(o)rtsch), from noord, north, and -sch, -ish; MLG. had norrisch.

1. 6.

It is impossible to specify the channel of introduction for the names of rulers, officials, and dignitaries. The most probable is by way of political intercourse, but they could have come in equally well by way of trade or travel.

Schepen (c. 1481), a Dutch alderman or petty magistrate; ad. Du. schepen. Schout (c. 1481), a municipal or administrative officer in the Low Countries and the Dutch colonies; originally the schout was the lord's bailiff in a subject town or village; ad. Du. schout, M.Du. schout, schoutet, schoutheet. The variants schoutet, schoutheet have given the English Scoutette, Scouttet (1534). Scult (1548) is from the corresponding LG. schulte (MLG. schulte and schultête).

Boroughmaster (1494), a Dutch or Flemish burgomaster; similar functionaries in other countries; probably formed in imitation of the M.Flem. burgemeester. The usual form is

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Burgomaster (1592), from Du. burgemeester; Northern F. had bourguemaistre, ad. M.Flem. burchmeester, and it is possible that the F. is the immediate source of the English word. Burghermaster (1676) is from burgher and master, but the combination may have existed already in Du. as burger and meester.

Other combinations in -master are: Scaffmaster (1555), a steward; ad. Du. schaf-, scaffmeester, from schaffen, to provide, and meester, master. Wardmaster (1855), in Dutch history, an alderman, an administrator of a city ward; this is a rendering of Du. wijkmeester.

Various combinations of Grave appear before Grave itself. Palsgrave (1548), a count Palatine; ad. 16th-century Du. paltsgrave (Kilian), Du. paltsgraaf. Rhinegrave (1548), a count whose domain borders on the Rhine; ad. M.Du. Rijngrave. Margrave (1551), a German title originally given to the military governor of a border province; ad. M.Du. markgrave (Du. markgraaf). The wife of a margrave is a Markgravine (1692), ad. Du. markgravin, the feminine of markgraaf. Dikegrave (1563), in Holland, an officer in charge of the dikes or sea-walls; ad. M.Du. dijcgrave (Du. dijkgraaf), from dijk, dike, and grave. Grave (1605), a count, chiefly used of the Counts of Nassau; ad. M.Du. grave (Du. graaf).

Portery, Portary (1565, from Sc.), citizenship or burghership in a Flemish or Dutch city; the body of citizens collectively; the rights and privileges of a burgher; in the quotation of 1565, Reg. Privy Council Scotl., the reference is to Scottish merchants or factors resident hi Flanders; ad. M.Flem. porterie, porterije, from porter, citizen, from port, town, city. Burgher (1568), a citizen; in this sense it is now somewhat archaic; in the 16th century, burgher, ad. Du. or e.mod.G. burger, citizen of a burg or fortified town; the origin of the Du. word is HG.

Amtman (1587), ‘one in charge’, a bailiff, steward, magistrate, officer; the term is used in Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia; ad. M.Du. ambtman, amtman, amman, or MLG. amtman, amptman. Stadholder, Stadtholder (1591), the governor of a fortress; (1668), in Netherlands history; ad. Du. stadhouder, one who occupies another's place, a lieutenant, from stad, place, and houder, holder.

Hogen Mogen (c. 1645, Howell), their High Mightinesses, the States General; (1672), hence the Dutch, a Dutchman, contemptuous; a popular corruption or perversion of the Du.

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Hoogmogendheden, High Mightinesses, the title of the States General. Mynheer (1652), the courteous form of address or title of courtesy, corresponding in Du. to ‘sir’ or ‘Mr.’, hence a Dutchman; Du. mijnheer, from mijn, my, and heer, lord, master.

Drossard (1678), a steward, high bailiff, prefect; ad. Du. drossaard, a transformation through drossaet, drossaert (Kilian, 1599) of M.Du. drossâte, court functionary, steward. Postholder (1812), in Dutch colonial administration, a civil official in charge of a trading post; ad. Du. posthouder, from post, post, and houder, holder.

1. 7.

In the Middle English period a number of words appear which seem to have been introduced by vagrants, beggars, and strolling minstrels from the Low Countries. Such people would mix with the corresponding English class along the roads and in the inns, and words from their speech would pass into our vagrants' cant and slang, to appear later, perhaps, in more respectable dialects.

Bouse, Bowse (a. 1325, E.E.P., 1567, Harman, Caveat), to drink; to drink to excess, or for enjoyment or good fellowship, to swill, guzzle, tipple; ME. bousen is apparently from M.Du. bûsen (e.mod.Du. buizen), to drink to excess; the Du. word is probably related to buise, a large drinking-vessel; both vb. and sb. occur once in ME. and then appear as common words in thieves' and beggars' cant in the 16th century, and are then probably reborrowings from Du.; they then passed into colloquial use. The vbl. sb. Bousing (a. 1529, Skelton) occurs earlier in the 16th century than the sb. or vb. Since the 18th century both sb. and vb. are often written as Booze (sb. 1732, vb. 1768).

Loiter (13.., E.E.Allit.P. as loltrande, c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), in early use, to idle, to waste one's time in idleness, to linger indolently on the way when sent on an errand or when making a journey; ad. M.Du. loteren, to wag about, Du. leuteren, to shake, totter, also to dawdle, loiter over one's work (Kilian, loteren j leuteren ‘morari’); the sense which the vb. has in English has not been found in Du. earlier than the 16th century, but may be much older in slang use; O.E.D. states that the word was probably introduced into English by foreign ‘loiterers’ or vagrants; the diphthong -oi- is probably a substitution for the unfamiliar vowel of the Du. word, which was

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probably (). Loiterer (1530), one who loiters; in early use, a vagabond, ‘sturdy beggar’; this sb. is so much later than the vb. loiter that it is perhaps best to consider it a fresh borrowing and directly ad. Du. leuteraar. Lounderer (c. 1425, Wyntoun), a skulker; ad. Du. lunderaar (Kilian has lunderer), from lunderen, to idle.

Two terms of abuse probably entered by this channel. Scabbard (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), a scabbed person; this may be from scab and the suffix -ard, but compare Du. schobberd. Smaik (c. 1450, from Sc.), a low, mean, or contemptible fellow, a rascal, rogue; perhaps ad. M.Du. or MLG. smēker, smeiker, from smēken, smeiken, to flatter.

A term for one of the wandering performers is Speeler (1496, from Sc.), a performer, acrobat; probably this is ad. older Flem. or LG. speler, player, actor; a formation on the vb. speel is less likely.

In the 16th century there is a great influx of words of Low Dutch origin into the cant and slang of thieves, vagrants, and prostitutes. Not all of these came in through Low Dutch people in this country; doubtless many were picked up by the English soldiery, who throughout the period were serving in the Low Country wars. The facility of soldiers in acquiring words of this kind is considerable. Many of the prostitutes of London were Dutch or Flemish; as early as 1381, during the troubles of Wat Tyler, we hear of these ‘Flemish froes’, and the mob cleaned out the stewhouses of Southwark which they inhabited.

Landloper, -louper (15.., trans. of Bull Pope Martin, 1580), one who runs up and down the land, a vagabond, adventurer; ad. Du. landlooper, from land, land, and loopen, to run. Swinger (1500-20, Dunbar), a rogue, rascal, scoundrel; this is probably a cant term and perhaps a derivative of e.Flem. swentsen, which Kilian glosses vagari (O.E.D.). Scaff (1508, from Sc.), to beg or ask for food in a mean or contemptible manner; perhaps an adoption of the Du. and G. schaffen (also borrowed into M.Sw. as skaffa), to provide or procure food; this word may have been introduced by soldiers who served in the Low Country wars, and the bad sense of the word in Sc. is then easily understood if for ‘to procure food’ is read ‘to live on the country’, or in modern soldiers' slang ‘to scrounge’.

A term of prostitution is Dant (a. 1529), a profligate woman;

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perhaps ad. e.mod.Du. dante, which Kilian glosses ambubara, mulier ignava.

Monkey (1530), the simian animal; the MLG. version of ‘Reynard the Fox’ (1498) has once Moneke as the name of the son of Martin the Ape, but as it does not occur in any other version of ‘Reynard’, it is hardly the source of the English word; nevertheless, the proper name may reproduce an otherwise unrecorded MLG. *moneke, M.Du. *monnekijn, a colloquial word for monkey, and this may well have been brought to this country by travelling showmen from the Low Countries or Germany.

Two words are from colloquial Dutch. Segging (1546, J. Heywood) is used in echoes of the Dutch saying ‘zeggen is goed koop’, saying is cheap. Nose-wise (1566), conceited, clever in one's own opinion; from nose and wise, but probably after Du. neuswijs (LG. nasewîs).

Pad, vb. (1553), to tread, tramp on foot; it is undoubtedly related to the sb. below and is perhaps formed from it, even though it appears a little earlier; if so, it must be compared with LG. and E.Fris. padden, to tread, go along a path. The sb. Pad (1567) appears first in Harman's Caveat, which is a treasury of the canting speech; it means a path, road, track, way; ad. Du, or LG. pad, cognate with English path; the sense of ‘highway robber’ appears first in 1673.

Crank (1567, Harman, Caveat), an obsolete word of beggars' cant, in full ‘counterfeit crank’, a rogue who feigned sickness in order to move compassion and obtain money; apparently ad. Du. or G. krank, sick, ill.

A slang word for a German or Dutchman is Hans (1569); this is the familiar abbreviated form in G. and Du. of Johannes, John.

A term of rogues' cant which has gained general currency is Dock (1586), the enclosure in a criminal court in which the prisoner is placed at his trial; it was formerly filled with all the prisoners whose trial was put down for the day; it is the same word as the Flem. dok, rabbit-hutch, fowl-pen, cage, in Kilian, docke; for the sense-development compare the modern equivalent in thieves' slang, pen, the dock.

Drawl (1597), to prolong the sounds of speech in an indolent or affected manner; (1652), to move along with slow and loitering pace; O.E.D. states that the word was introduced in vagabonds' cant from LG. or Du.; Du. has a verb dralen, to loiter,

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linger, delay (in Kilian, draelen, ‘cunctari, morari, trahere moram’), LG. drâlen.

In the 17th century the following cant and slang terms appear. Skellum (1611), a rascal, scamp, scoundrel, villain; ad. Du. schelm, ad. G. schelm, rascal, devil, pestilence; the word passed from LG. into Scand. as ON. skelmir, Da. skelm, Sw. skälm. Another term of abuse is Skitterbrook (1632), one who befouls his breeches, a coward; ad. Du. schijte-broek, with the first element assimilated to skitter.

Kelder (1646), the womb; ad. Du. kelder, cellar. The word occurs a little earlier in the phrase, Hans-in-Kelder (1635), the slang term for an unborn child; from the Du. phrase which means literally ‘Jack in cellar’.

Mump (1651), to overreach, cheat; (1673), to beg, play the parasite; probably ad. Du. mompen, to cheat. Mumper (1673), a beggar, is from mump and the suffix -er.

Ogle (1682), to cast amorous, coquettish glances; it appeared first as a cant word apparently from Du. or LG.; compare LG. oegeln, frequentative of oegen, to look at, also e.mod.Du. oogheler, oegheler, flatterer (Kilian), and for the sense Du. oogen, to direct or cast the eyes.

Most of the cant and slang terms recorded first in the 18th and 19th centuries were probably introduced into the language long before. We owe our knowledge of many of them to the interest in the canting speech which found expression in such compilations as Tuft's Glossary of Thieves' Jargon (1798), and J.H. Vaux's Flash Dictionary (1812).

Smouse (1705), a Jew; ad. Du. smous, a Jew usurer, supposed to be the same word as the G. dialectal schmus, talk, patter, ad. Jewish schmuoss, tales, news, the reference being to the persuasive eloquence of the Jew pedlar. Houndsfoot (1710), scoundrel, rascal, worthless fellow; ad. Du. hondsvot (G. hundsfott), scoundrel, rascal, lit. cunnus canis, an appellation which is extremely coarse, but whose exact equivalent I have heard in the modern slang of Rotherhithe: Scott revived the term in Waverley, probably with no inkling of its real meaning. Funk, vb. and sb. (1737-9), vb. to flinch through fear; sb. cowering fear; the word is first mentioned in Oxford slang, and is perhaps, as Lye suggests, ad. Flem. fonck (Kilian). Nix (1789), nothing, nobody; ad. colloquial Du. and G. nix for nichts; the word has been revived in modern slang under the influence of the American

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film caption, and in American it is probably from the New York dialect and so probably Du.

Prad (1798), a horse; by metathesis from Du. paard, horse; this metathesis may have been made deliberately under one of the many systems of alteration of word-form in order to mystify the uninitiated; this is by no means impossible, but alteration to darp or drap would be more likely.

Spellken (c. 1800), a theatre; from spell and ken. Spell (1812), a playhouse or theatre; ad. Du. or Flem. spel, play, booth, show.

Crap (1812), the gallows; the vb. with the sense ‘to hang’ is earlier (1781); ad. Du. krap, cramp, clamp, clasp; Bense suggests that the origin may be the Du. phrase de krappe toedraaien, to close the clasps (of a book), and so ‘to close the book’ (of life), but this seems far too refined an origin; the clasp intended was a neck-clasp. Slang (1812), a watch-chain, chain of any kind; fetters, leg-irons; apparently ad. Du. slang, snake. Prop (1859, Dickens), in the thieves' slang sense of scarf-pin; ad. M.Du. proppe, prop, broach, skewer, plug.

1. 8.

Closely allied to the words of cant and slang are the terms of gaming and dicing, introduced mostly in the 16th century.

Mumchance (1528), a dicing game resembling hazard; (1550), to play mumchance, to preserve a dogged silence; (1555-75), a masquerade; ad. MLG. mummenschanze, -kanze, a certain game of dice, also a masked serenade (Du. mommecanse), from mummen, mum, and schanz, ad. F. chance. Gleek (1533), a game at cards played by three persons; ad. OF. glic, in 1464 written ghelicque, perhaps ad. M.Du. ghelic (Du. gelijk), like, the possession of three cards of one kind being one of the points of the game; but the word has not been found in Du. as the name of a game. Foist (1545), to palm a false die, so as to be able to introduce it when required; probably ad. dialectal Du. vuisten, to take in the hand, from vuist, fist; the Du. word now means to play at a game in which one player holds some coins in his hand and the others guess at their number. Rifle (1590), to play at dice, gamble, raffle; ad. Du. rijfelen, related to F. rafler, to raffle. The vbl. sb. is found somewhat earlier as in Du.; Rifling (1569), the action of raffling or dicing; compare Du. rijfling.

Deuce, colloquial or slang (1651), bad luck, plague, mischief; (1694), the personification of mischief, the devil; probably from LG., where it is used in phrases, de duus, wat de duus, corre-

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sponding to the usual English phrases, ‘the deuce!’, ‘what the deuce!’; the corresponding G. word is daus, probably the same word as das daus, the deuce at dice, and so the phrases would be the gambler's exclamation at bad luck. Spill-house (1778), a gaming-house; ad. Du. speelhuis or G. spielhaus.