The Influence of Low Dutch on the English Vocabulary

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Chapter XVII
Unclassified Borrowings from Low Dutch

A very great number of words have been borrowed from Low Dutch which cannot be included in the chapters above. They are words of general introduction for which no particular channel of entry can be specified. As no system of sub-division has been found profitable, they are here arranged in alphabetical order.

Baff (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), to bark or yelp, as a dog; possibly ad. M.Du. baffen, in the same sense; the locality of the earliest record favours a Dutch origin; nevertheless, an onomatopoeic origin cannot be ruled out.

Begeck (vb. a. 1513, sb. c. 1600), to befool, gull, jilt; a cheating disappointment; from be- and geck (see Geck, p. 192), but cf. M.Du. and MLG. begecken, in Kilian beghecken, ‘bespotten’.

Betall (1630), to pay; ad. Du. betalen, to pay.

Bonspiel (c. 1565, Lindsay, Chron. Scotl.), in Lindsay in the sense ‘a set match at a game’; now in Sc. a grand curling-match between two clubs or districts; O.E.D. supposes it to be a Du. word *bondspel, from bond, i.e. verbond, covenant, alliance, compact, and spel, play.

Bool (1513), the various senses of this word all express something bent into a curve, as the curved handle of a pail, the holes in scissors for the thumb and finger; in the plural bouls, bools, the movable handle of two parts for a pot, called also clips; perhaps ad. M.Du. boghel or MLG. bogel (Kilian has boghel, beughel, ‘hemi-ciclus, semi-circulus’); if the word is from Low Dutch, it must have been borrowed in ME. before (o) was diphthongized to (ou).

Bouerie (1577), ad. Du. bouwerij, from bouwer, as in landbouwer, peasant; used by Holinshed in the sense ‘boorishness’; there is no other record of the word.

Bought (1519), a bend or curve, esp. a hollow angle or bend in the animal body; (1480), a bending in a coastline, mountainchain, &c.; (c. 1460), the bend or loop of a rope, chain, or string; (c. 1435), a coil, fold, or knot formed by the body of a serpent, the tail of a horse, &c.; a comparatively late word (certain only from the 15th century), parallel in its senses to bight from OE. byht; it corresponds in form and sense

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to MLG. bucht (whence Du. bocht, M.Du. bocht, G. bucht, Da. and Sw. bugt); the Eng. word may be from MLG., but O.E.D. says that it more probably arose out of an assimilation of byght to bow, vb., or was itself formed from bow on the pattern of byght; if the word is from MLG., it probably entered as a nautical term, and then the association with byght and bow helped to stabilize, extend, and also confuse the word.

Bully (1538), a term of endearment and familiarity originally applied to either sex, later to men only; (1688), a blustering gallant, a bravo, swashbuckler; (1706), the protector of a prostitute; (1730), a ruffian hired for purposes of violence; possibly ad. Du. boel, lover (of either sex), also brother; there does not seem to be sufficient reason for supposing that the secondary senses are of distinct etymology; the sense of ‘hired ruffian’ may be a development of that of ‘bravo’, and the notion of ‘lover’ may have given rise to that of ‘protector of a prostitute’.

Bumpkin (1697, Dampier), a vessel for carrying water; perhaps ad. M.Du. bommekijn, diminutive of bomme, ‘vaatje’.

Bundle (1382, Wyclif), that which binds, a bandage; (1388, Wyclif), a collection of things bound or otherwise fastened together; O.E.D. states that OE. byndele would have yielded Eng. *bindle, so that the form of the existing word seems to point to adoption from Low Dutch, or else to analogy with the pple. bund, bound; the Low Dutch forms are M.Du. bondel, bundel, Du. bundel.

Bunting-crow (1658, Hexham), the hooded crow; from Du. bonte-kraai, from bont, parti-coloured, and kraai, crow; perhaps influenced by bunting; Bense points out that at Antwerp the name bonting is given to ‘de bonte kraai’, so the word is possibly directly from Flem.

Butterbouzy (1719, D'Urfey, Pills), used by D'Urfey in a contemptuous collocation to indicate the Dutch States, ‘the butterbouzy Hogen Mogen’; ad. Du. boterbus, butterbox, a compound probably coined by D'Urfey himself after the Du. boterdoos and boterpot.

Butterham (1716), perhaps a partial lining to a cloak; apparently ad. Du. boterham, ‘slice of bread and butter’, used in a slang or humorous sense.

Cachespell, -pule (1568, from Sc.), the game of tennis; (1526), a tennis-court; apparently a corrupt form of M.Flem. caetse-

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speel, from caetse (corresponding to F. chasse, Eng. chase), Du. kaats, the place where the ball falls, and speel, play; the Flem. caetse is ad. N.F. cache, cf. Picard cachier, to chase.

Callant (1716, from Sc.), a lad, youth, stripling, boy of any age; ad. Flem. or Du. kalant, customer, chap, blade, ad. N.F. caland (F. chaland), customer; this is a modern word in Sc. taken from the Du. or Flem. by the fisherfolk of the East Coast.

Cant (c. 1375), edge, border; (1481-90), a nook, corner in a building; (1611), a corner or angle of a polygon; (1611), one of the side-pieces in the head of a cask; the word is rare before 1600; there is no trace of it in the older stages of Teutonic, and the word in English is either ad. OF. cant, side, or M.Du. cant (Du. kant), border, side, edge, brink, corner, and MLG. kant, point, creek, border; in different senses the word may be from both.

Closh (1477), an obsolete game with a ball or bowl something like croquet and prohibited in many successive statutes in the 15th and 16th centuries; ad. M.Du. closse, a ball (Flem. and Du. klos, bowl); Kilian has klos and the combs. klos-betyl, klos-poorte, klos-bane and the vb. klossen; the game appears to be obsolete in Holland.

Closh-bane (1500), a green or ground for playing closh; ad. M.Du. klos-bane (Du. klos-baan), bowling-green, from klos and baan, way, road, alley.

Clump (a. 1586), sb. and vb., a compact mass or piece, heap, lump; (c. 1690), a cluster of trees; possibly ad. LG. klump (MLG. klumpe) or Du. klomp (M.Du. clompe), lump, mass; in the secondary sense perhaps introduced through vagrant's cant, as the first reference is from B.E., Dict. Cant. Crew.

Coot (1508), the ankle-joint; (1681), the fetlock of a horse; (1550), a thing of small value, perhaps originally a knucklebone used by children in playing, as in M.Du. cote; the word is probably from Low Dutch, which has the forms, M.Du. cōte, cöte, Flem. keute, Du. koot, knucklebone, MLG. kote, LG. kote, köte, hoof, fetlock, knucklebone, E.Fris. kote, kôt, ankle-joint, ankle.

Coot-bane (1648-60), is a comb. of the above; anklebone, knucklebone, esp. as used to play with; the quotation is from Hexham, Du. Dict., Pickelen, ‘to play at Coot-bane as boyes doe’.

Courtepy (1362), a short coat, cloak, or tabard of coarse

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material, worn in the 14th and 15th centuries; apparently ad. M.Du. korte pîe, i.e. korte, short, and pîe, coat of coarse woollen stuff, now pij.

Coy (1621), a place constructed for entrapping ducks, a decoy; (1629), coy-duck; ad. Du. kooi, formerly coye, in the same sense, a parallel form to M.Du. couwe.

Coy-duck (1621), from coy and duck; cf. Du. kooieend.

Crag (c. 1375, Barbour), the neck; no OE. *craga is recorded, and if it existed it would have given *craw; Icel. kragi, Norw. and Sw. krage, Da. krave are in the secondary sense of collar, and Fr. van Wely says that late ON. kragi is from MLG.; the word in Eng., therefore, is probably from Low Dutch, from MLG., M.Du., or M.Flem. krage, neck, throat.

Cratch (1225), to scratch; (1377), to grab, scrape up greedily; O.E.D. says that the word may possibly have been adopted from Low Dutch in the 12th or 13th century; the Low Dutch forms are MLG. kratsen (LG. krassen), M.Du. and M.Flem. cratsen, but more usually cretsen, to scratch; the earliest ME. form is crechen, which points to a borrowing from M.Du. or M.Flem.

Creek (1567), the break of day, the dawn, usually in the phrase ‘creek of day’; it is probable that this phrase was formed after the corresponding Low Dutch phrase; Plantijn has ‘den kriec van den dag’, M.Du. dat crieken van den dage, Du. het krieken van den dag, LG. de krik vam dage, from the vb. e.mod.Du. kriecken, krieckelen, Du. krieken, to break or burst through, as the daylight; perhaps this phrase was first introduced by seamen.

Cremp (a. 1250, Owl and Niqht), to contract, restrain; the word is only known in early ME.; probably ad. M.Du. crempen, the causal of crimpen.

Crimp (1398, Trevisa), to be compressed, pinched; (1698), to curl; (1712), to compress into minute parallel plaits or folds; (1698), to cause the flesh of fish to contract and become firm by gashing it before rigor mortis sets in; the vb. is unknown in OE.; there is one instance of the first meaning in late ME., and then the word is not met with till the end of the 17th century; it would seem that the word was introduced from a Low Dutch dialect in the 14th century and then died out, to be reintroduced from Du. in the modern period; the Low Dutch forms are M.Du. crimpen, to contract, draw oneself

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together, to become wrinkled, with a weak causal krempen, krimpen, to draw together, shrivel up, wrinkle, Du. krimpen, E.Fris. krimpen, to crook, wind, shrink, MLG. krimpen.

Croon (c. 1460), to utter a low murmuring sound; (1513), to utter a continued low, deep sound; the word was originally Sc. and Nthn., but has gained general currency in Eng. in the 19th century, mainly since Burns; there is no trace of the word in OE., and O.E.D. says that it appears to be one of the words from Low Dutch which came into Sc. early in the ME. period; the Low Dutch forms are M.Du. cronen, to lament, groan, murmur, Du. kreunen, MLG. kronen, to growl, grumble, scold; MLG. has also kroenen, to chatter, prattle.

Crouse (13.., Cursor M.), angry, irate, cross, crabbed; (13..), bold, audacious, daring; (a. 1400), in somewhat high or lively spirits; the word is not found in OE., and in Eng. only Nthn. and almost exclusively Sc.; as only the figurative senses are found in Eng., O.E.D. supposes it to be one of the Low Dutch words which appeared in the Nthn. dial. early in the ME. period; the Low Dutch forms are MLG. and LG. krûs, crisp, M.Du. kruys, crisp, curly, Du. kroes (from LG.), cross, out of humour, E.Fris. krûs, curly, entangled, luxurious.

Dapper (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), of persons, neat, trim, smart; the word is not in OE., and O.E.D. says that it was apparently adopted at the end of the ME. period from one of the Low Dutch dials. with modification of sense perhaps ironical or humorous; the Low Dutch forms are M.Du. dapper, powerful, strong, stout (in Du. valiant, bold), MLG. dapper, heavy, weighty, steady, stout, persevering.

Deck (1466), a covering; in the first quotation apparently some material used for covering; probably ad. M.Du. dec, roof, covering, cloak, pretext (in Kilian, decke, Du. dek); this is the same word as Deck, p. 74.

Deck, vb. (1513), to cover, esp. to clothe; (1514), to clothe in rich garments, adorn; in the 16th century ad. Du. dekken (M.Du. deken, decken, MLG. decken).

Decoy (1625), a pond or pool with contrivances to allure ducks to be caught; (1661), a bird or other animal trained to lure others into a trap; decoy was preceded in Eng. by the simple form Coy (see p. 189), ad. Du. kooi, of the same meaning; the origin of the prefix de- is undetermined; the following

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suggestions have been made: (1) that it is the Du. article in de kooi; (2) that it is the second half of Du. eende in eendekooi, decoy-duck; (3) that it is an obscuration of duck itself in duck-coy; (4) that the form has been influenced by the earlier word decoy (a. 1550), a game of cards, and swindler, sharper; this last view is the one to which O.E.D. inclines.

Domineer (1588 as Domineering, 1591), to rule or govern arbitrarily or despotically; ad. e.mod.Du. domineren, to rule, have dominion, ad. F. dominer; the word was perhaps introduced by the mercenary soldiers, who might have given it its harsh sense when speaking of the arbitrary and severe rule of the Dutch city functionaries, or it may have been brought in by the religious refugees who fled from the Spanish tyranny in the Netherlands.

Dopper (1620), a Dutch Baptist or Anabaptist; ad. Du. dooper, dipper, baptist, from doopen, to dip, erroneously shortened after the vb. dop.

Dorp (1570-6), a Dutch village; formerly more or less naturalized in sense; ad. Du. dorp, village.

Drivel (a. 1225, a drudge, kitchen knave; (1478), an imbecile; apparently ad. M.Du. drevel, scullion, turnspit, lit. ‘driver, tool for driving’, from M.Du. drîven, to drive.

Easter (1387, Trevisa), nearest the east, eastern, also in comb., as easter-board; perhaps comparative of east, adj., but possibly suggested by Du. ooster- in compounds.

Ees (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), ‘fysch mete on a hoke, esca, escarium’; probably ad. M.Du. aes, food, bait (Flem. ees), though OE. had ǣs, food, meat, carrion.

Fala (1721), a sort of kerchief worn in Holland; the word only occurs in Ramsay (Tartana, 340); ad. Du. falie.

Feague (1589-98, implied in Bum-feague, 1668), to beat, whip; (1668), to ‘do for’; probably as suggested in Bailey (1721) ad. G. fegen, lit. to polish, furbish, sweep, and used in a jocular sense, or the equivalent Du. vegen; but there may be mixture of a native word.

Flake (1598, trans. Linschoten), a shallow pool, salt marsh; perhaps ad. Du. vlacke.

Flitter-mouse (1547, Boorde), a bat; from flitter and mouse in imitation of Du. vledermuis or G. fledermaus.

Foy (1496-7), a parting entertainment, present, cup of liquor, &c., given by or to one setting out on a journey, in different

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parts of Scotland applied variously to a party given in honour of a woman on the eve of her marriage, to a feast at the end of the harvest or fishing season, &c.; ad. Du. fooi (in Kilian, foye, voye), probably as Kilian suggests ad. F. voie, way, journey.

Frister (1640, once), a sweetheart; ad. Du. vrijster (Kilian, vrijdster, ‘arasia, virgo nubilis’), from vrij(d)en, to woo, court.

Frokin (1603, Dekker), a little Dutch woman, a Dutch child; ad. Du. vrouwken (Kilian), diminutive of vrouw.

Frolic (1538), in early use, joyous, merry, mirthful; ad. Du. vroolijk (Kilian, vrolick), from M.Du. vrô, glad, joyous.

Froligozene, -one (1599), probably from the Du. phrase vroolijk zijn, to be jolly.

Frow (1390), a Dutchwoman; (1587), a woman, lady, wife, child, chiefly of Dutch or German women; ad. M.Du. vrouwe.

Frumple (1398, Trevisa), to wrinkle, crumple; sb. (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), a wrinkle; perhaps ad. M.Du. verrompelen, of the same meaning, from ver and rompelen, to rumple.

Funk (c. 1330, R. Brunne), a spark; (1673), touchwood; perhaps ad. M.Du. vonke, Du. vonk; there is a possibility, however, that it represents an unrecorded OE. *funca.

Geck (1515), a fool, simpleton, dupe; apparently ad. LG. geck (M.Du. gec(k), ghec(k), Du. gek, adj. and sb.), related either as source or derivative to the vb. geck, below.

Geck (1500-20), a gesture of derision, an expression of scorn or contempt; apparently ad. Du. or LG. geck, vbl. sb. corresponding to gecken, as in Du. in geck sagen, to say in jest (in Kilian, in gheck segghen).

Geck, vb. (1583), to mock, deceive, cheat; (1603), to scoff at; apparently ad. LG. gecken (M.Du. ghecken, Du. gekken).

Geir (1565), a vulture; ad. Du. gier.

Glib (1599), smooth and slippery in surface or consistency, easy; (1598), of an action, easy.

Glibber (1599), to slip, slide.

Glibbery (1601), slippery, fig. shifty, untrustworthy; this group of words is apparently from Du. glibberig, slippery, slithery, Du. glibber, slippery, vb. glibberen, to slip; (cf. also late MLG. glibberich, LG. glibbrich, slippery, Du. dial. glib, curds, Du. glippen, glipperen, to slip, slide, glipperig, slippery).

Glimster (1565), to glimmer feebly; apparently from glim after Du. glinsteren, to glimmer.

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Grim (a. 1400-50, Alexander), to be angry, look fierce; ad. M.Du. grimmen, in the same senses; in the other sense in Eng., ‘to make grim or fierce’, the vb. is from the adj. grim.

Groll (1637), a foolish or superficial person; ad. Du. grol, ‘inconditus sermocinator, auctor sordidus, proletarius’ (Kilian).

Gruff (1533), coarse, coarse-grained; apparently ad. Du. or LG. grof, coarse, gruff, rough, crude; O.E.D. suggests that the word may have been introduced from Low Dutch in commercial use.

Grundy (1570, Foxe, A. and M., where the quotation refers to a ‘John Vander Wurfe of Antwerp’), a designation applied to a short person; perhaps ad. Du. grundje, grontje, groundling.

Guess (c. 1330, R. Brunne), to form an approximate judgement; ME. gessen cannot well descend from an OE. form corresponding to LG. gissen, as the initial sound would then have been (y); O.E.D. would derive the word from Scand. forms, M.Sw. gissa, gitza, Sw. gissa, M.Da. gidze, gitse, Da. gisse, but according to Tamm, Svenkst Etym. Ordb., these rest on LG. gissen, gessen; O.E.D. hesitates to suggest a Low Dutch origin as there is nothing in the nature of the meaning to account for its having come from that source in or before the early 14th century; the word, however, could well have been adopted as a nautical term from LG. with the sense ‘to judge distance at sea’; the Low Dutch forms are MLG. and M.Du. gissen, M.Du. gessen (Du. and Fris. gissen).

Hove-dance (1390, Gower), a court-dance, apparently a particular dance of a lively character; ad. M.Du. hof-dans, lit. court-dance, a dance usual at the court, the dance that is in fashion.

Hustle (1684), to shake to and fro (money in a hat or cap); ad. Du. husselen, hutselen, to shake, toss (M.Du. hutselen), to shake the money in the game of hustlecap, a frequentative of Du. hutsen, of similar meaning.

Kakkerlak (1813), cockroach; (1777), an albino; ad. Du. kakkerlak, cockroach, albino, believed to be of S. American origin.

Kayles (c. 1325), the set of pins of wood or bone used in a kind of ninepins or skittles, more frequently the game played with these; probably ad. M.Du. keghel, kegel, also keyl in keyl-bane, skittle-alley (Du. kegel, plur. kegels, kegelen), tapering stick, cone, ninepin; Da. kegle and Sw. kegla, kägla are from LG., though the word is not found in MLG.

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Keest (1802, from Sc.), marrow, sap, substance, vigour; ad. Du. keest, marrow, kernel, the best part of anything.

Kermis (1577), in the Low Countries, parts of Germany, &c., a periodical fair or carnival characterized by much noisy merrymaking; ad. Du. kermis, earlier ker-, kirmisse, originally kerk-, kirkmisse, from kirk, church, and mis, mass; originally the mass or service on the anniversary of the dedication of the church, on which was also held a yearly fair or festival.

Killcrop (1652), an insatiate brat, popularly supposed to be a fairy changeling, substituted for the genuine child; ad. LG. kîlcrop.

Kneppel (c. 1500), the clapper of a bell; ad. LG. knäpel, knepel, or M.Du. knepel, kneppel, variant of kleppel.

Land-good (1591), a landed estate; ad. LG. landgoed.

Land-wine (1573), wine of native or home growth; probably after Du. landwijn or G. landwein.

Leefkyn (1540), darling; ad. obs. Du. liefken.

Liskin (1594), a Dutch maidservant; ad. obs. Du. Liesken, Du. Liesje, diminutive of Elizabeth.

Lollard (1390, implied in Lollardy, 1415), a name of contempt given in the 14th century to certain heretics, who were either followers of Wyclif or held opinions similar to his; ad. M.Du. lollaerd, lit. ‘mumbler, mutterer’, from lollen, to mutter, mumble, and -ard; the name was originally applied (c. 1300) to members of a branch of the Cellite or Alexian fraternity, who devoted themselves esp. to the care of the sick and the providing of funeral rites for the poor; in the course of the 14th century it was often used of other semi-monastic orders, and sometimes, by opponents, of the Franciscans; usually it was taken to denote pretensions to piety and humility, combined with views more or less heretical (O.E.D.).

Lollardy (1390, Gower), the tenets of the Lollards; from Lollard and -y.

Loller (c. 1386, Chaucer), Lollard; variant of the above, with substitution of the suffix -er for -ard.

Lopeholt (1616), a place of refuge; apparently formed after Lopeskonce, but the second part may be Du. holte, hollow, hole.

Lopeman (a. 1625), a runner; ad. Du. loopman, now obs., from loopen, to run, and man, man.

Luck (14.., Pol., Rel. and L. Poems, 1481), fortune, good or ill,

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the fortuitous happening of events favourable or unfavourable to the interests of a person; ad. MLG. lucke (LG. luk) or M.Du. luc (also ghelucke); borrowed also into Scand. as Icel. lukka, M.Sw. lukka, lykka, Sw. lycka, Da. lykke; probably introduced into Eng. as a gambling term.

Luck, vb. (14.., 1481), to chance, happen; perhaps ad. M.Du. lucken, from luk, but possibly an Eng. formation from the sb.

Lusthouse (1590), a country-house, villa, also a tavern with a beer-garden; used occasionally to render the Du. and G. equivalents, which occur more frequently in their foreign form; ad. Du. lusthuis or G. lusthaus, from lust, pleasure.

Lustick (1601), adj., merry, jolly, chiefly with reference to drinking; adv. merrily, jovially; ad. Du. lustig.

Lyfkie (1579), a bodice; ad. Du. lijfken, ‘corpusculum, subucula exomis’ (Kilian), diminutive of lijf, body.

Maelstrom (c. 1560, as Malestrand, 1682), a famous whirlpool in the Arctic Ocean on the west coast of Norway, also any great whirlpool; ad. e.mod.Du. maelstrom, now maalstroom, whirlpool, from malen, to grind, to whirl round and round, and stroom, stream; the use as a proper noun seems to have come from Du. maps, e.g. that in Mercator's Atlas (1595); Dutch philologists are of the opinion that the word is native; it is true that it is found in all the modern Scand. languages as a common noun, but it is purely literary and Danish scholars regard it as adopted from Low Dutch.

Mate (c. 1380), an habitual companion; (c. 1450), used as a term of address by sailors and labourers; (1496), in nautical use; apparently ad. MLG. mâte or M.Du. *mate (Du. maat), shortened form of *gemate (Flem. gemaat), lit. messmate.

May-drink (1850), white wine medicated with woodruff, drunk in Belgium and north Germany; from May and drink, after Du. meidrank or G. maitrank.

Measle (c. 1325), a specific infectious disease of man; in ME. maseles, plur.; there is no evidence for its occurrence in OE. except maesle-sceafe in a 12th-century manuscript as a spelling of maelsceafa, malshave; O.E.D. says that the word may have come into Eng. from Low Dutch, which has the forms MLG. masele, massele, M.Du. masel, blood-blister, pustule, spot, also in the plur. measles, Du. mazelen, measles; the phonetic development in Eng. is irregular, and the modern form should have been *mazel; that Standard English has the

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dial. form ‘measle’ may be due to a mistaken association of this word with mesel, leper.

Measlings (c. 1300), the measles; early ME. maselinges, from the above and -ing; Da. maeslingr, plur., Sw. messling, mäsling, Icel. mislingar; the formation has not been found except in Eng. and Scand., and it is unlikely to have arisen separately; it may have belonged to early MLG. and was taken thence into Eng. and Da.

Minikin (a. 1550), a playful or endearing term for a female; (1541), a thin string of gut for treble string of viol; ad. e.mod.Du. minneken (M.Du. minnekijn), from minne, love, and -kijn, -kin.

Miskin (1593), a little bagpipe; perhaps a diminutive of M.Du. muse, ad. OF. muse, a bagpipe.

Miskin-fro (1632), a maidservant; from M.Du. mesken, meiskijn (Du. meisje), diminutive of meis, young woman, and fro, woman, ad. Du. vrouw.

Mome (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), an aunt; perhaps ad. MLG. môme, aunt (M.Du. mône, aunt).

Morass (1655), a wet, swampy tract, marsh, bog; ad. Du. moeras, earlier moerasch, an altered form, influenced by moer, moor, of M.Du. marasch, maras, ad. OF. maresc, marais, which has given Eng. marish; MLG. had moras, which was borrowed into Sw. as moras, Da. morads; the word is now confined to literary use except in some parts of the West Indies as Barbados.

Mow (c. 1325), a grimace, esp. a derisive grimace; this word may be ad. OF. moe, moue, lip, pout, or ad. M.Du. mouwe, of the same meaning; the M.Du. word may be from OF., or it may be the source of the OF. word as a special use of mouwe, thick flesh, from which sense ‘thick lips’ has been assumed to be developed.

Muff (1590), a depreciative term for a German or Swiss, sometimes loosely applied to other foreigners; ad. Du. mof, a contemptuous appellation for a Westphalian.

Muff (1597), a covering into which both hands are thrust to keep them warm; probably ad. Du. mof (not found earlier than the 17th century), ad. F. moufle (Walloon mofe, mouffe), muffle.

Mutch (1473, from Sc.), a night covering for the head; (1634-5), a cap or coif usually of linen worn by women and young

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children; ad. M.Du. mutse, Du. muts, probably a shortened form of M.Du. amutse, almutse, going back to med.L. almutia, amice, originally a covering for the head and shoulders worn by canons.

Nipe (1430, Lydgate; c. 1440, Pr. Parv.; 1481, Caxton; 1597, A.M. trans. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg.), to nip; the quotation of 1597 is directly ad. Du. nijpen, to nip; the two early quotations are from texts in which Low Dutch influence is pronounced, and are perhaps from M.Du. or MLG. nīpen.

Outlander (1605), a man of foreign nationality, foreigner, alien, stranger; (1892), in reference to South African politics, a rendering of Du. uitlander; in the 17th century perhaps of English formation, but probably suggested by Du. uitlander (in Kilian, uutlander) or G. ausländer, and often virtually representing these words.

Overmorrow (1535, Coverdale), the day after to-morrow; from over and morrow, but probably after Du. overmorgen or G. übermorgen.

Pee (1483), a coat of coarse cloth worn by men esp. in the 16th century; in the 15th century pee, pe, but found from the 14th century in the comb. courtepy (see Courtepy, p. 188); probably ad. late M.Du. pîe, now pij, pije, coat of coarse woollen stuff.

Pickle (a. 1440), a salt or acid liquor in which flesh, &c., is preserved; (1770), article preserved in pickle; (1562), fig. a condition or situation usually disagreeable; ad. M.Du. pekel(e), peeckel or MLG. pēkel (LG. and Du. pekel); for the figurative sense compare Du. in de pekel zitten, iemand in de pekel laten zitten.

Pine-bank (1534), an old name for the rack; probably ad. M.Du. pijnbanck.

Ploat, Plote (1825, from Sc. and Nthn.), to pluck, strip off feathers, wool, fig. to rob; ad.Flem. and Du. ploten, to pluck the wool off.

Polder (1604), a piece of low-lying land reclaimed from the sea, from which it is protected by dikes, so called in the Netherlands; ad. Du. polder, M.Du. polre, polder; A. Mawer, Problems of Place-name Study (1929), disputes, on place-name evidence, the correctness of the O.E.D. derivation: ‘it is not a loan word from the Dutch, but a native English one, as can be seen from, the evidence of place-names. It is the same as

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Polders in Wodnesborough in Kent, Poldre in 1232 and Polre in 1246, and is used in “werklond vocata Polre” in Fleet in Lincolnshire in 1316, and in “le Newpolder” the polder in Playden in Sussex, in 1404. All these are in marshland, and the term is clearly only the cognate of the Dutch word, and not derived from it.’ Mawer's argument, however, is not decisive; the word could have been introduced by Flemish immigrants in the 12th century, and it is noticeable that all his instances are from counties (Kent, Lincoln, and Sussex) where Low Dutch influence was strong.

Post-wagon (1677-94), a mail or stage coach (in the Netherlands, Germany, &c.); from post and wagon, but reproducing Du. and G. postwagen.

Prop (a. 1568), to cram, stuff, load; apparently ad. M.Du. or MLG. proppen, to cram, stuff full.

Pup-barn (1483), a doll; apparently from MLG. puppe, pup, M.Du. and M.Fris. poppe (Du. and Fris. pop), doll, and barn, bairn, child.

Quacksalver (1579), an ignorant person who pretends to a knowledge of medicine; ad. e.mod.Du. quacksalver (Du. kwakzalver, whence G. quacksalber); the second element is from salf, zalf, salve, and the first is commonly regarded as the stem of quacken, Du. kwakken, to quack.

Quass (1549), to drink copiously or in excess, to quaff; ad. MLG. quassen (quasen, quatzen), to eat or drink immoderately.

Rack (c. 1305), a frame on which articles are arranged or hung; in the earliest instances rekke, apparently ad. M.Du. rec, reck (Du. rek, rekke) or MLG. rek, rekke (LG. reck, recke, whence Da. raekke, Sw. räck, räcke), applied to various contrivances (as a horizontal pole or bar, a framework, shelf) on which, things are hung or placed, a hen-roost, rail; the usual vowel of the Eng. word appears also in Du. rak, LG. rack, variants of rek, reck.

Rack, vb. (1433), to stretch, draw out; probably ad. M.Du. recken (Du. rekken) or MLG. recken, of the same meaning; MLG. racken is also recorded and Kilian has racken ‘torquere, tendere, tormentis exprimere’.

Rand (1601), to rant, rave; (1609), to utter in a furious manner; ad. obs. Flem. randen, variant of ranten, to rant.

Rant (1598, as Ranting, 1602), to talk or declaim in an extrava-

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gant, high-flown manner; ad. obs. Du. randten, ranten, to talk foolishly; to rave.

Rasp-house (1641, Evelyn, Diary), a house of correction formerly in use in Holland, Germany, &c., where prisoners were employed in rasping wood; ad. Du. rasphuis, from raspen, to rasp.

Ravel, vb. (1582), to become entangled or confused, of a fabric, to fray out; apparently ad. Du. ravelen (Kilian), rafelen, to tangle, fray out, unweave.

Ravel (1634), sb. is from the vb.; but cf. Du. rafel, a fraying-out.

Ray (c. 1384, Chaucer), a kind of round dance; ad. MLG. rei(e) (Du. rei) or MHG. reie, rei, rê.

Redship (1565, from Sc.), equipment, tackle; ad. obs. Du. reedschap (Kilian), from reeden, to set in order, fit out.

Rewish (1617), vehement in copulation, spoken of the pigeon; ad. e.mod.Du. reeuwsch.

Roar (c. 1374, Chaucer), confusion, tumult, disturbance; only in the phrases in, on, upon a roar, which compare with the Du. in roere zijn, bringen, stellen; ad. M.Du. roer; the rime of rore and pore (poor) in Chaucer proves that the word is different from the sb. roar, a loud, continuous sound.

Rore (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), to turn over, stir about or up, to trouble; (c. 1440, Ibid.), to exchange, barter; (1481, Caxton), to affect with some feeling; ad. M.Du. roeren or MLG. rôren, to move, stir.

Rorer (1311), a disturber of the peace; ad. M.Du. roerer or MLG. rôrer.

Rove (a. 1400), a scabby, scaly condition of the skin; (1590), a scab; ad. M.Du. rove (Du. roof), or MLG. rove, roffe (LG. rove, rave), or ON. hrufa.

Rumple (1500-20, Dunbar), a wrinkle, fold, crease; ad. M.Du. (and Du.) rompel or MLG. rumpel(e), derivatives of M.Du. rompe, MLG. rumpe, wrinkle.

Rumple, vb. (1603), is from the sb. or ad. M.Du. rompelen, or MLG. rumpelen, from MLG. rumpen, to wrinkle.

Samoreus (1622), a kind of boat used on the Rhine; Du. samoreus.

Schimmel (1849), a roan horse; ad. G. or Du. schimmel; also in South Africa (1899), from Afrik.

Schinkel (a. 1634), a ham, gammon; ad. Du. schinkel, knuckle, shinbone, schink, gammon.

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Schipperke (1887), a kind of lap-dog: ad. Du. dial. schipperke, lit. ‘little boatman’.

Scoffing (1514), a term of contempt for a person; perhaps from Du. schoft, a blackguard, and -ing.

Scone (1513, Douglas), a sort of cake; perhaps a shortened adoption of M.Du. schoonbrot or MLG. schonbrot, fine bread.

Scow (1534-5, from Sc.), plur., strips of wood for wattle work, barrel staves, fixing thatch, &c.; possibly ad. Du. schouw, in an unrecorded sense; the HG. etymological equivalent schalte has in Bavarian dialects the sense ‘wood for coopers, thin laths’.

Scrabble (1537), to make marks at random, scribble; (1600), of animals, to scratch with claws, so of a person, to scrape about; ad. M.Du. schrabbelen, to scratch, frequentative of schrabben; cf. Du. schrabbelaar, bad writer.

Scrae (1822, from Sc.), thin, lean; perhaps ad. LG. schrae, schra, schrade, lean, dried up, shrivelled.

Scrick-shoe (1659), a skate; ad. M.Du. schric-schoe, from the stem of schricken, to stride, and schoe, shoe.

Scrub (a. 1300), to curry-comb a horse; (1596, Nash), to scratch, rub; (1595), to clean by rubbing with a hard brush: perhaps ad. MLG. or M.Du. schrobben, schrubben, (whence Sw. skrubba, Da. skrubbe); but the existence of a variant, Shrub, suggests an OE. *scrybban, corresponding to the Low Dutch words; in the sense ‘to clean by rubbing with a hard brush’ the word may have been imported from Du. as a nautical term.

Sea-herr (1615), one who has dominion over the seas; ad. Du. zeeheer, from zee, sea, and heer, lord.

Semel (1643), a cake of fine wheat flour; ad. LG. semel (M.Du. semele), fine wheat flour, fine wheaten bread.

Sett (1683, from Sc.), the constitution or form of government of a burgh, fixed by charter; ad. MLG. sett, sette, also gesette, ordinance, law, from setten, to set.

Sheld (1507), particoloured, pied, piebald; perhaps ad. M.Du. schillede, variegated, more often in comb., as rootschillede (W.Flem. schilde), from schillen, to make different; the initial sh- sound is difficult, but there were Low Dutch dialects in which this had approximately the Eng. pronunciation, or it may be by analogy in Eng.; the existence of the Eng. word at an earlier date is probably implied in the two following words.

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Shelden (a. 1672), the golden-eye duck; apparently from sheld and perhaps ende, duck.

Sheldrake (c. 1325), a species of wild duck.

Shell-pad (1562), a tortoise; from shell and pad; after LG. (and MLG.) schildpadde or M.Du. schiltpadde (Du. schildpad), lit. ‘shield toad’.

Shuffle (1532), to move the feet along the ground without lifting them; (1570), to manipulate cards; e.mod.Eng. shoofle, shoffle, shufle, probably ad. LG. schüffeln, schuffeln, to walk clumsily or with dragging feet, shuffle cards, mix corn, deal dishonestly; first in Eng. as a term of card-playing, and in the primary sense perhaps introduced by soldiers who had served in the Low Countries.

Skate (1648, Hexham), a device of a steel blade mounted in a wooden sole for gliding over ice; chiefly used in the plur.; originally in plur. schates, scates, ad. Du. schaats, plur. schaatsen (M.Du. schaetse), ad. ONF. escache, stilt; the alteration of sense in Du. from ‘stilt’ to ‘skate’ has not been clearly traced; in Eng. from the first the final -s was apprehended as a plur. ending.

Skink, vb. (c. 1386, Chaucer), to pour out or draw liquor; ad. MLG. or M.Du. schenken, corresponding to OE. scencan, which gave shench.

Skink (1603), a skinker, tapster, waiter; ad. e.mod.Du. or LG. schenke, from MLG. and M.Du. schenke, rarely schinke.

Skink (c. 1575, from Sc.), a kind of soup made from shin of beef; probably ad. MLG. schinke, see Skink, below, either with ellipse of some word for broth or with simple transference from the meat to the liquid.

Skink (1630), ham; ad. LG. schinke.

Skinker (1586), one who draws, a tapster; (1594), a jug or similar vessel used for skinking with; ad. M.Du. or MLG. schencker, schincker, or from skink, vb., and -er.

Skite (1449, Paston Ls.), to void excrement; in the Paston Ls. certainly ad. MLG. schîten or M.Du. schijten, where it is the reply of a Low Dutch pirate when asked to heave to: ‘Skite on the Kings Majestie of England’; elsewhere it may be from ON. skíta.

Slab (1553), to eat or drink in a hasty or untidy manner: probably from Low Dutch, which has the forms M.Du., Du., and LG. slabben in the same sense.

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Slabber (1573), to wet or befoul with saliva, to wet in a dirty manner; probably of Low Dutch origin, Du. slabberen, LG. slabbern, Fris. slabberje, frequentatives of slabben, above.

Slank (1668), of persons, parts of the body, hair, lank, thin; probably ad. Du. or LG. slank (M.Du. slanc), thin, slender.

Slap (1648, Hexham), a smart blow, esp. one given with the open hand; ad. LG. slapp, also slappe (whence older Da. slap).

Slap, vb. (1603), to lap; (1608), to lap or gobble up; ad. LG. slappen, in the same sense.

Slap, adv. (1672), with or as with a slap or sudden quick blow, quickly, suddenly; ad. LG. slapp, of imitative origin.

Slaught (1535, Coverdale; 1648, Hexham), to kill, slaughter; considering the texts in which it occurs, undoubtedly ad. Du. and LG. slachten.

Sledge (1617), a carriage mounted upon runners instead of wheels and generally used for travelling over snow or ice; ad. M.Du. sleedse (mod.Du. dial, sleeds), related to slede, slead; the Du. forms are peculiar to Friesland and north Holland, and may be of Frisian origin.

Sleepery (1513), inducing sleep, soporiferous; (1535), of persons, sleepy; probably ad. MLG. sleperich, slaperich, or M.Du. slaperich (Du. slaperig).

Sleir (1362), a veil; ad. MLG. sleier, sleiger; the forms scleire, sklayre can hardly be from LG.

Slibber-sauce (1527), a compound of a messy, repulsive or nauseous character, used esp. for medicinal purposes; perhaps from older Flem. slibber (Kilian), slime, ooze, M.Du. slibbe (Du. slib, LG. slibb(e)).

Slibbery (a. 1225, Ancren R.), smooth and slippery, lubric; ad. M.Du. slibberich.

Slim (1657), slender, thin, sly; ad. Du. and LG. slim, representing M.Du. slim(p), slem(p), MLG. slim(m), slym(m), slem.

Slinger (1767), to swing, roll; ad. Du. slingeren (Fris. slingerje) or LG. slingern (whence Da. slingre), frequentative of slingen, to throw.

Slip (13.., Cursor M.), to escape, get away; probably ad. MLG. slippen (LG., Du., and Flem. slippen).

Slipper (1585), to slip or slide; ad. M.Du. slipperen, from slippen, to slip.

Slorp (1802 from Sc.), to drink, sup, or eat greedily, noisily, or

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coarsely; perhaps ad. MLG. or Du. slorpen in the same sense.

Slot (a. 1325, E.E.Ps.), a bar or bolt used to secure a door when closed; ad. M.Du. or MLG. slot (Du. and LG. slot), a door-bolt.

Slub (1577-87), thick, sludgy mud, mire, ooze; perhaps ad. M.Du. slubbe in the same sense.

Slubber (1530), to stain, smear, daub, sully; probably from Low Dutch, which has the following forms: M.Du. overslubberen, to wade through mud, LG. slubbern (whence Da. slubre).

Slurp (1648, Hexham), to drink greedily or noisily; perhaps ad. Du. slurpen; cf. Slorp, above.

Smeke (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), to flatter, fawn; ad. M.Du. or MLG. smêken.

Smook (1500-20, from Sc.), smoke, reek, vapour; probably ad. older Flem. smuik (Kilian smuyk).

Smook, vb. (1500-20), to smoke (in various senses); probably ad. Flem. smuiken, smuken (older Flem. smuucken, Kilian smuycken).

Smoor (c. 1470, from Sc.), to smother; probably ad. M.Du. or MLG. smôren (Du. smoren, LG. smoren, smören, corresponding to OE. smorian, to smother); the vowel is not a normal native variant of the o of smore.

Snap (1530), to make a quick bite at something; apparently ad. M.Du. or MLG. snappen (also Du. and LG. snappen); Da. snappe and Sw. snappa are from LG.

Snatter (1647, Hexham), to chatter; ad. Du. snateren (M.Du. and MLG. snateren), or LG. snat(t)ern.

Snick (1700), to cut, snip, click; probably suggested by snick or snee, below.

Snick or Snee (1613), to thrust or cut in fighting with a knife; originally ad. Du. steken, to thrust, stick, and snijen, snijden, to cut, with subsequent assimilation of the st- of the first word to the sn- of the second; the form snye indicates a pronunciation of snijen similar to that in modern Standard Dutch, the later snee a variant pronunciation still widely current in Du. and Flem. dialects; later snickersnee.

Snip, vb. (1586), to take quickly or suddenly; (1593), to cut; (1611), to cut off with scissors; probably of Low Dutch origin; the Low Dutch forms are Du., Flem., and LG. snippen, to snip, snatch.

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Snip (1558), the sb. is recorded before the vb. and it is probable that in some of its senses it is directly from Low Dutch (LG. snip and snippe, a small piece, Du. and Fris. snip, a snappish girl or woman); in other senses it is perhaps from the verb.

Snip-snap-snorum (1755), a round game of cards played in various ways, in which the players, on turning up the requisite cards, respectively cry ‘snip’, ‘snap’, ‘snorum’; ad. LG. snipp-snapp-snorum (also snurr); the name of this innocent game can hardly be included among terms of Gaming in Chapter I.

Snork (1531, Tyndale), to snore; probably ad. M.Du. or MLG. snorken (Du. and LG. snorken).

Snuffle (1583), to show dislike by sniffing; (1600), to draw air in through the nose; (1600), to speak through the nose; probably ad. Du. and Flem. snuffelen (LG. snüffeln, Fris. snuffelje) in similar senses.

Snur (1523), to snort; perhaps ad. MLG. snurren (whence Da. snurre, Sw. and Norw. snurra); it may, however, be of imitative origin in English.

Sooterkin (1530), sweetheart, mistress; apparently ad. older Du. and Flem. *soetekijn (Kilian, soetkin), from soet, sweet, and -kijn.

Spaked (1438), moulded, blemished, decayed, rotten; ad. LG. spaket, pa. pple. of spaken, also verspaken, to mould, decay.

Spaky (1589), mouldy; ad. LG. spakig.

Spald (a. 1400, from Sc. and Nthn.), to splinter, split, break up, lay open or flat; ad. MLG. spalden, to split (M.Du. spouden); English dialects have also the sb. spald, spaud, corresponding to MLG. spalde and spald, and the derivative vb. spalder, spauder, corresponding to MLG. spalderen.

Spalding-knife (1354), this English formation from the above is recorded earlier than it.

Spalt (1733), to split, tear, splinter; probably ad. Du. and Flem. spalten.

Span (1550, Coverdale), to harness or yoke, to attach to a vehicle; (1597), to stretch, extend, make taut, tight; ad. Flem., Du., or LG. (also M.Du. and MLG.) spannen, to fix or fasten, join, draw tight; in the military sense; (1639), to wind up the wheel-lock of a musket by means of a spanner, and in the nautical sense (1781), to fix, attach, fasten, probably a direct adoption from Low Dutch.

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Spang (1423), a small, glittering ornament, a spangle; probably ad. M.Du. spange, spaenge (Du. spang), clasp, buckle, brooch, spangle.

Spar (c. 1200, Orm), to fasten with a bar or bolt, to shut firmly or securely; in ME. sperren, sperre, sper, and sparre, sparr; the e-forms axe apparently ad. M.Du. sperren (Du. sperren); the a-forms may be due to the influence of the sb. spar, which also had e-forms beside a-forms in ME.

Spare-rib (1596), a cut of meat, esp. of pork, consisting of part of the ribs somewhat closely trimmed; probably ad. MLG. ribbespêr, with transposition of the two elements and subsequent association with spare, adj.

Spat (1876), a small splash of something; apparently ad. Du. spat, in the same sense.

Spear (a. 1225, Ancren R.), to shut or close firmly or securely; ad. MLG. speren (LG. speren, speeren, speiren), related to M.Du. sperren; see Spar, above.

Speck (1633), fat meat, esp. bacon or pork; (1743), the fat or blubber of a whale; (1863), S. Africa, the fat of a hippopotamus; ad. Du. spek (older speck, M.Du. spek, MLG. speck, whence M.Sw. späk, Sw. späck, Da. spaek).

Speer (1379, from Durh.), a fixed screen for warding off an air draught, a wooden partition near the door or by the fireplace, a chimney-post; perhaps ad. MLG. speer, sper, sparwork.

Sperel (13.., St. Erkenwalde, c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), a means of closing or fastening, a bar or bolt; probably of Flem. origin; cf. W.Flem. sperel, sperrel, door-bar, from sperren; see Spar, above.

Spi (a. 1225, Ancren R.), fie; ad. M.Du. spi, also tspi, a natural exclamation of disgust.

Spile (1513), a splinter, chip, narrow strip of wood; a spill, later a spigot; ad. M.Du. or MLG. spīle (Du. dial., W.Fris., and LG. spile, Du. spijl), splinter, wooden pin or peg, skewer.

Spin-house (1700, Evelyn, Diary), a house or building in which persons are employed for spinning, house of correction; (1702), a workhouse; ad. Du. spinhuis (M.Du. spinhuys).

Spleet (1609), a small strip of split wood or willow; ad. M.Du. splete, spleet (W.Flem. splete, Du. spleet) or MLG. (and LG.) splete, related to split.

Splet (1530), to split; ad. Flem. or LG. spletten, obscurely related to split and spleet.

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Splinter (1398, Trevisa), a rough piece of wood, bone, stone, &c.; ad. M.Du. splinter (Du. and W.Fris. splinter), splenter (W.Flem. splenter).

Splitter (1546), a splinter; ad. LG. splitter, related to spliten, to split.

Sprunk (c. 1753), a display of wealth or grandeur; apparently ad. Du. pronk or G. prunk.

Sprunking (1690, Evelyn), personal adornment or beauty, also attrib. in sprunking-glass; from Du. pronken or G. prunken.

Spruttle (1513), a small spot, speckle; ad. MLG. sprut(e)le, sprotele, sprottel (older Flem. sproetel), freckle.

Spruttled, adj. (1513), spotted, speckled.

Stadthouse (1646), a town-hall, esp. one in a Dutch town or Dutch colony; ad. Du. stadhuis or G. stadthaus, from Du. stad, G. stadt, town, and Du. huis, G. haus, house.

Start (1673, Dryden), a supposed Dutch term of contempt for an Englishman; perhaps ad. Du. staart, tail, in allusion to the old accusation that Englishmen had tails; but cf. W.Flem. drilsteert, plaagsteert, a bore, vraagsteert, a prying person.

Statehouse (1593), a house of state; (1627), a town-hall: from state and house, but probably suggested by Du. stathuis, now stadhuis; see Stadthouse, above.

States General (1585), a legislative assembly representing the three estates of a whole realm; used (a) of France before the Revolution, (b) in the Netherlands from the 15th century to 1796; the English word was suggested respectively by the F. états généraux and the Du. staaten generaal.

Stead (15.., 1533), the Steads, ‘the cities’ of the Hanseatic League, also the corporation of the Hanse merchants in London; from the MLG. de Steden, ‘the Towns’.

Sump (c. 1425), a marsh, swamp, morass (now dial.); (1680), a pit or well for collecting water or other fluid; (1653), this as a term of mining; ad. (M)LG. sump (sumpt) or M.Du. somp, sump (Flem. zompe); in the mining sense perhaps ad. the related MHG. and G. sumpf, marsh, water-level, or lodge, sump in metal-working.

Swack (1768, from Sc.), supple, lithe, and nimble, smart; apparently ad. Flem. zwak, nimble, smart, corresponding to Du. zwak, weak, pliant.

Swall (a. 1340, Hampole), an agitated mass of water; perhaps ad. MLG. (and LG.) swal(l), whirlpool, swollen mass of water

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(whence also Sw. svall, surge, swell of the sea); this word was perhaps introduced as a nautical term.

Swank (1786, from Sc.), agile, active, nimble; apparently ad. MLG. swank or M.Du. swanc, flexible, supple, slender; the root appears in OE. swancor.

Swarmer (1765), in pyrotechny, a cracker or serpent; ad. Du. zwermer or G. schwärmer, from zwermen or schwärmen, to rove, stray.

Sway (c. 1500), the modern vb. sway dates only from c. 1500 and agrees in form and sense with, and appears to be ad. LG. swâjen, to be moved hither and thither by the wind (whence Sw. svaja, to swing, Da. svaje, to move to and fro), or Du. zwaaien, to swing, wave, walk totteringly, slant; the ME. vb. swee (14th century), also swye, to go, to move, is properly a distinct vb., and may have been a native word, originally of the OE. type *swegan, parallel to OE. wegan, to move.

Swindle (1559), giddiness, vertigo; ad. e.mod.Du. swindel (Du. zwendel).

Switch (1592), a slender, tapering riding-whip; the early forms are swits, switz, probably ad. Flem. or LG. word, now represented by Hanoverian swutsche, variant of LG. zwukse, long, thin stick; cf. LG. zwuksen, to bend up and down, to make a swishing sound like a lash.

Taffel, taffil (1633, from Sc.), a table; probably ad. Du. tafel (M.Du. and MLG. tafele, taffele); OE. taefl gives tavel.

Tannakin (1557), a diminutive pet form of the name Ann or Anna specially used for a Dutch or German girl.

Torne (1637), a tower; ad. LG. (and MLG.) torn.

Track (1727), to tow a vessel, esp. from the bank or towpath; apparently ad. Du. trekken, to pull, draw, tug, tow, assimilated in form to the vb. track.

Wagoner, Waggoner (1687), originally the atlas of charts published by Lucas Janssen Waghenaer in 1584 under the title Spieghel der Zeevaerdt (English translation, The Mariner's Mirror, by Sir A. Ashley, 1588); hence generally, a book of charts for nautical use; the word is then the Anglicized form of the Dutch surname Waghenaer.

Wanhope (1297), hopelessness, despair; from wan and hope, but the English may have been suggested by the corresponding Low Dutch forms, M.Du. wanhope (Du. wanhoop), MLG. wanhope (whence M.Sw. vanhop, M.Da. vanhob).

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Want-louse (1655), a bed-bug, bug; ad. Du. wandluis or LG. wandlaus (MLG. wantlaus), a wall-louse, bug.

Wantrust (c. 1374, Chaucer), mistrust, lack of confidence; ME. from wan and trust, but may have been suggested by the M.Du. wantroost.

Warble (1486), in falconry, of a hawk, to cross the wings over the back after ‘rousing’ and ‘mantling’; perhaps ad. Du. wervelen, to turn round; for the change of consonant O.E.D. compares nable, a dial, variant of navel.

Wardin (1493), a landlady, hostess; this is Du. waardin, the feminine of waard, landlord.

Water-souchy (1731), fish boiled and served in its own liquor; ad. Du. waterzootje, from water and zootje, zoodje, a boiling (of fish), diminutive of zode, boiling.

Wederdoper (1647), an Anabaptist, esp. a foreign one; ad. Du. wederdoper, from weder, again, and dooper, baptizer.

Welter (13.., Cursor M.), to roll or twist the body, to turn or tumble about, to lie and roll about; ad, M.Du. welteren or MLG. weltern (whence Sw. vältra).

Wig (1376), a kind of bun or small cake made of fine flour; ad. MLG. and M.Du. wigge (Du. wig), wedge, wedge-shaped cake, by-form of MLG. wegge.

Winder (1542), a widgeon; ad. early Flem. winder, wender, ‘anas mas’ (Kilian).

Winnard (1698), a local name for the Redwing; apparently ad. LG. weingartdrossel, -vogel (see Wing-thrush, p. 148), with the second element dropped.

Wintle (1786), to roll or swing from side to side; ad. early Flem. windtelen, wend(t)elen, ‘voluere, volutare’ (Kilian), from winden, to wind.

Winze (1785, from Sc.), an imprecation, curse; ad. early Flem. wensch, ‘imprecatio’ (Kilian).

Wirrock (1500-20, Dunbar), a corn on the foot; ad. early Flem. weerooghe, ‘chalaza, clalazion’ (Kilian), from weer, callosity, and ooghe, eye.

Wiseacre (1595), one who thinks himself, or wishes to be thought, wise: a pretender to wisdom, a foolish person with an air or affectation of wisdom; ad. (with unexplained assimilation to acre) M.Du. wijsseggher, soothsayer.

Withershins, Widdershins (1513, Douglas), in a direction opposite to the usual, the wrong way; (1545), in a direction

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contrary to the apparent course of the sun (considered as unlucky or causing disaster); ad. MLG. weddersin(ne)s (cf. Kilian, wedersins, ‘contrario modo’), ad. MHG. widersinnes, from wider, wither, and the genitive of sin, i.e. sind, sint, way, direction.

Wrack, adj. (c. 1375), of persons, worthless, base, evil; (1487, Cely Papers), damaged, impaired, injured, unsound; in the Cely Papers this is a term of trade; ad. MLG. wrak, wrack (LG. wrak, whence Sw. vrak-, Da. vrag-), or M.Du. wrac, wrak (Kilian, wrack, wraeck, Du. wrak), worthless, unsound.

Wrick (c. 1305), to move (jerkily or unsteadily) from side to side; ad. MLG. wricken (in vorwricken, -wrijcken, LG. wrikken), to move here and there, to sprain, or Du. wrikken, to move jerkily, to skull (whence G. wricken, Da. vrikke, Sw. vricka).

Wrig (a. 1529, Skelton), to twist or bend (some flexible object) about, to cause to writhe or wriggle; (1582), to turn aside, divert; (1599), to move sinuously or writhingly; perhaps ad. LG. wriggen, to twist or turn, an imitative vb. of the same type as wrikken, above.

Wriggle (1495), to twist or turn the body about with short, writhing movements, to move sinuously; ad. MLG. wriggeln (LG. wriggeln, dial, also friggeln, vriggeln, Du. wriggelen), frequentative of wriggen; see Wrig, above.

Wrimpled (c. 1430, Lydgate), wrinkled, rimpled, or puckered, creased; from M.Du. or MLG. wrimpelen (older Flem. wrempelen, ‘to drawe the mouth awry’, Hexham), frequentative of MLG. wrempen, wrimpen, to wrinkle, bend.

Wroke (a. 1500, from Sc.), active ill will or hatred, spite, malice; ad. MLG. wrok, wruk (LG. and Du. wrok), enmity, spite, hatred.

Yammer (c. 1400, Anters Arth., amurt; 1481, Caxton), to lament, mourn, wail; an alteration of ME. omer, after M.Du. and MLG. jammeren.

Yaw (1667), yes; used in representations of Dutch and German speech to reproduce ja, yes.

Younker (1505), a young nobleman or gentleman, a youth of high rank, originally Dutch or German; (1513), a young man generally, esp. a gay or fashionable young man; ad. M.Du. jonckher, jonghheer, jonchere (Du. jonker, jonkheer), from jonc, young, and hêre, lord, master.

Yuffrouw (1589), a young lady, girl; (1494), in a nautical sense

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of doubtful meaning, but perhaps a dead-eye; ad. e.mod.Du. jongvrouw(e), now juffrouw, young lady, miss, and in shortened form juffer, young lady, beam in ship-building, rammer.

Yuke (c. 1425, from Sc. and Nthn.), to itch; apparently an alteration of Nthn. ME. eke, ike, to itch, probably under the influence of M.Du. jeuken.