Up will take you to our first Dialect page.
This page is letter M to letter P
Dialect 3 is from the letter Q to S
Dialect 4 is from T to Z
A
Glossary of Lancashire Words as Spoken in Mawdesley
Written by Alan
Cobham 3, School Lane, Mawdesley, Ormskirk
The author
was a member the old Mawdesley family of Cobham, which dates back
to the 1700s. Thomas and Isable Cobham their son. Thomas born March
1789. Jane (Marsden) his wife born February 1797. They had ten children.
William my grandfather born September 17th 1815. He had twelve children.
Thomas my father born 1844 married Ellen Moss one of a family of twelve.
She died in 1955 at the age of 92. Myself Alan Cobham born October
1st 1901-the youngest of seven.
This Glossary is confined to words used in Mawdesley.
Dialect varies slightly from village to village also the tones.
Glossary of dialect words and phrases used in Mawdesley during my
lifetime.
Many of the vowel sounds are difficult to express with the ordinary
vowels as used and written today.
The words dog, clog, bought are pronounced with the short ow as in
Bowt'n and Owdh'm, dowg, clowg, bowt (bolt) ; (Bolton and Oldham)
,
The negative no is likewise sounded now.
The words currently used with the ur sound become such as were (wor)
nurse, purse, curse, worse, fost these ending in se or s following
the letter r.
These latter words are pronounced noss, poss, coss, woss and fost.
Thursday is Thorsday. The letter a occurring before the letter r with
a following letter o is sounded as in sparrow, arrow, farrow, marrow,
barrow, carrot, parrot.
The a which occurs before the letter r in cart, market, farmer, part,
ect. is sounded with the u sound, curt, murket, furmer, purt.
start, wart, dart, Margaret, quarter, dark, lark, bark.
sturt, wurt, durt, Murgot, quurter, durk, lurk, burk.
Many of the words containing the letters ea take the vowel sound of
ei as in weight. Such words as break and brake being pronounced breighk.
Fight becoming feight (the short e and i being) used. Great becoming
greighed. Speak becomes speighk.
Many words which ordinarily contain the letter 1 are pronounced minus
this letter as wall, call, fall, ball, stall, hall. woe, coe, foe,
boe, stow, ho.
Bolt, Colt, Hold, Told, Cold:- these words are spoken as owt and owd.
These latter words resemble the French or Norman French style of speech.
i.e. bowt, cowt, howd, towd, cowd.
Other words containing the letters out, about are pronounced (pronayunced)
ayut, abayut.
Now is pronounoed nayu. The emphasis on the vowel sound of ay was
more pronounced in my early days by the older folks than at the present.
This was a common greeting. "Nayu wheer are tu gooin" -Now where are
you going.
Moult is maynt, trout, traynt, cow, cayu, sow (soo) pig. Female.
"M"
MAIDEN (Clothes). a hinged wooden frame for drying clothes by the
fire.
MAG-BARRY. of neither sex, sexless. .
MAGRUMS. megrims, in a state of temper or rage.
MANDEROUS THING (any). any object you can think of he has got.
MARR. to pet, to coddle, to spoil as a pet or a child.
MARRED. an affected, soft or spoiled person.
MARROW. the other of a pair.
MATTOCK. a heavy hoe, one usedfor hoeing willows.
MAUND. he must not. 3
MAWP. a clumsy person.
MAWT. malt.
MAYSTER. Skoo Mayster - School Master.
MAYUDIRT. mole. :
MAYUNTIN. mountain, mounting.
MAYUS. mouse.
MAYUT. to moult, to lose feathers.
MAYUTH. mouth.
MAZEDIN. the surname Marsden.
MAZY. dizzy.
MEEEUNS. means.
MEENY. a selfish or mean person.
MEIGHT HOW. meat whole, has not lost his appetite.
MEIGH-WER. a mere (Martin Mere).
MELCH. warm mild weather at an unusual time.
MELDER. a mixture, a profusion of things, a conglomeration.
MELL. a mallet. A large wooden mallet used to drive posts into the
ground.
MESTER. Mr. Mister.
MIDDIN. a midden, a dung heap.
MIDGE. a gnat.
MIDDLIN. only, only moderately well.
MISS'TEN. mistaken.
MITCH. much.
MIZZLE. to disappear, to go away. An object has mizzled. - been stolen.
MIZZY. a swampy place showing yellow as traces of iron.I
MOO. mow, hay stacked in a barn.
MOOIST. most.
MOOED AYUT. crowded out, overstocked, cluttered up.
MOOUR. more.
MOOUR. moor.
MOIDER.to annoy, to confuse by asking to many questions.
MOLLYHAWK. to blunder and mako a mess of a job.
MORDER. murder.
MULLOCKS ON ID. a mis up or mess of a job.
MON. a man, a fellah.
MON. must.
MUN. must. He mun be gooin - He must or might be going.
MONNY. many.
MOTTEY. face. Keep thy mottey ayut on id - Keep your face out of it.
MUT. might, He mut do id - He might do it.
MUT US WEEL. might as well.
MUN. must. He mun do id - He must do it.
MURK. mark.
MORKET. market.
"N"
NANGY. bad tempered, short tempered, out of patience.
NAG NAIL. the broken skin or cuticle round a finger nail which smarts.
NAR. near or nearer.
NAST. dirt, nasty - dirty.
NAURE. no body, quality, flavour or value in it.
NAWIHER. neither.
NAYTHER. neither.
NAWGUR HEEUD. a person who contradicts and argues, a know all. :
NAY. no.
NAYU. now. .
NEET. night.
NEEST. nest.
NEB. the peak of a cap.
NED. he needed. Ned - Edward.
NEFFY. nephew.
NESH. tender as young plants, or as an invalid who has been confined
indoors.
NETLE. to irritate, to aggravate or annoy a person. He was nettled
- irritated.
NIP. to pinch with the fingers and thumb, a bite from a small dog.
NINNYHOMMER. an empty headed fool.
NOODLE. an ignorant silly person.
NOOUS. nose.
NOBBLY. a cultivated field covered with hard lumps of t soil.
NODDY. a fool. An ignorant person, 1st of April Fool - April day noddy.
NO.BRY. NOB'DY. nobody.
NOGGIN. cutting the ends off the butts of willows before drafting,
sorting. :
NOSS. nurse.
NOW. no.
NOWT. nought, nothing.
NOWT. naughty, wicked.
NUDGE. a slight push. To give a person a riminder of
NUZZLIN. nestling closely, nosing as a dog smelling game.
NUCK SHOTT.N. a four sided object of which the corners are not at
90 degrees, Causing it to be crooked and out of shape
" O "
O or OH. overall. O't lot - all the lot.
OH'L OER. all over, everywhere.
OOUTS. oats.
OER-TECK. overtake.
OFF ID. mad, insane.
OFF SIDE. a bit offside, slightly unwell.
OH BUD (WELLY). all but - varry near, well nigh.
OHLUS. always. Ohlus ad id - always working.
OH REET. all right.
OMM. them. Awm nod gooin wi omm - I am not going with them.
O THIS 'N. like this, this way.
ORTER. alter.
ORTERATION. alteration.
ORNERY. vicious, bad tempered.
OSS. to intend or start to work. Thah'd better be ossing and geddin
a move on.
OWD. old.
OWLER. alder tree.
OWT. ought, anything.
OWT OR NOWT. anything or nothing.
OUZEL. (Ousel) the blackbird.
"P"
PACE EGGS AND HOT CROSS BUNS. solicited by children from neighbours
on Good Friday.
PAD. a path.
PADDOCKS. toadstools.
PANNED AYT. material lasted out was sufficient, the facts tallied.
PANTLES. PANTLE. horse hair nooses, fastened along a cord between
two pegs on the ground. This method was used to catch larks who came
to feed on the grain scattered along the cord. Larks walk and do not
hop like most birds so they are caught by their feet in the nooses.
PALM. flowers of the willow tree.
PAPPER. paper.
PARAPIT. parapet, the name still used for the kerbed footpath on the
rodside.
PAWT or POTE. to thrust forward with the foot.
PAYCOCK. peacock.
PAYUR. power.
PAYUND. pound in weight or money.
PAYSON. parson.
PEEDLED OFF. to leave or go away quietly, unnoticed unobserved, tosneak
away.
PEEUK. pique or spite.
PEEUKIN. spiteful, annoying as one person with another.
PEEURCH. a perch. To perch as a fowl. Peeurch - a perch - a fish.
PEEURT. bright, alert, a remark describing a peson recovering from
an illness.
PEEUS. peace.
PECKLED. spotted or freckled.
PEIGH. a pea.
PEIGH SWADS. pea pods or shells.
PEIGHL. in a temper.
PEIGHLIN AWAY. labouring away, walking fast.
PEIGHLIN. mis-using an article. Overloading or straining it.
PELTER. a sudden heavy storm of rain.
PELT. a blow, to throw stones at a person.
PELTIN AWAY. walking or running quickly away.
PESTLE. the large bone in a ham. The tool used in a mortar to crush
grain or meal.
PETCH. a patch, to patch.
PETTY. an old type outdoor lavatory. The petite house.
PICKLE. in a fix, in an awkward situation.
PICK. to give a person a sharp thrust or push.
PICK. to find fault with a person persistently.
PIKE. to pick as fruit or potatoes.
PIKLE. a long handled hay fork.
PILL. to peel as potatoes or willows.
PISSABEDS. Dandelion flowers.
PISSMICE. ants.
PIZEN. poison.
PLAGUE. to tease or torment a child or a dog.
PLAISTER. plaster for a cut, plaster for a house wall.
PLATT. a bridge over a stream or ditch constructed of long beams or
large stones, to span the stream or ditch.
PLATT. a woman's hair plaited.
PLATTIN UM. putting his feet down fast, hurrying away.
PLUCK AND LEETS. liver and lungs of a pig.
PLUG. to pull a personts hair.
PLOO. a plough, to plough.
PLOD. plaid or chequered cloth, a skirt would be described as a plod
skirt.
POO. to pull.
POOT. a pullet, a young hen which has not yet started to lay eggs
.
POOR AND POWN. Poor and polled. Poor and harassed, wrong doers used
to have their heads shorn.
POOT. sometimes applied to a girl or a young woman.
POOURK. pork.
PODDITCH. porridge.
POE. a chamber pot. A guzzunder.
POLLYANT. Polyanthus.
PONN. a pan.
PORE. to kick, to punch as at football.
POSS. a purse.
POSSER. used to stir clothes in washing.
PCTTER. to engage in small chores, to loiter about.
POW FAGGED. tired out. Exhausted by continued exertion.
POW. to cut a person's hair. A pole.
POWN. to be harrassed. To have had one's hair cut. Poor and Pown an
old term describing someone in difficulties.
POWSE. a rubbishy article, goods of inferior quality.
POWSE. form of endealment, applied to a roguish small child.
PRAYTUS I'T JACKETS. potatoes boiled unpeeled, thus] retaining their
full flavour. :
PRATE. to speak insolently to an older person, to answer back.
PRAYTUS. potatoes. :
PRICKLES. the spiles on the hawthorn or rose bush.
PRIG MEET. prim, very exact, to be extremely neat and tidy - just
so.
PRISE, SPRISE. to lever open or apart, as a packing case.
PROB. to poke or stab with a stick.
PROVVIN. provender, animal feeding stuffs.
PRIAL, PRYAL. a set of three at cards. A breeding prial, a cock and
two hens.
PROOIN. prune, a dried plum. '
PULING. weak, weakly.
PUMMER. a big one of its sort. Pummer - a rammer for consolidating
earth, stones.
PUNCH. to kick with the foot as in football.
PURK. park.
PURTLY WOD. partly what, neary finished.
PURLOUR. parlour.
PYENUTS. Magpies.
PUCKER. to be in a quandry.