Glossary of Terms
"war times": a reference to the Napoleonic Wars, 1799-1815, which places the setting of Part One in the early nineteenth century
'bate: abate
'cute: acute or clever
'sizes: assizes, that is, meetings of a county's most important court, held several times a year
addled: rotten
anthim: anthem, a hymn of praise (in this case reserved for Christmas worship)
arrears: the state of being behind in payments
assurance of salvation: a condition of being sure about one's religious salvation, especially among Calvinists who are of the "elect" (the people chosen by God for salvation)
Athanasian Creed: a set of Christian beliefs, commonly accepted today, written by Athanasius as a refutation of heresy
bakhus: a structure containing a large oven for general use
band-boxes: boxes filled with items necessary for a dance, tied with a band
beauty born of murmuring sound: a line from Wordsworth's "Three Years She Grew"
blowsy: disheveled
bossed: embossed
chary: stingy
christened: baptized, which includes being named (in Marner's religion adults, not infants, were baptized, given adherence to believers' baptism)
city of destruction: a city such as Sodom or Gomorrah, which God destroys in the Old Testament due to the wickedness of their townspeople. Angels guided Sodom's only virtuous inhabitants, Lot and his family, out of the city just in time.
clave: clung to, was faithful to
clew: clue; also a ball of thread or yarn
coiffure: hair-style
collogue: French, to conspire, as in "collusion"
colloquies: conversations, esp. formal ones
colly: to make "coaly," that is, black as coal
Commission of the Peace: a legal body overseeing justices of the peace
cravat: necktie
cupidity: lust, esp. for wealth
dame school: the local school, usually run by women
David and Jonathan: two men who shared a devoted friendship in the Bible. Jonathan was the son of King Saul, and David was the future king. See 1 Samuel 18.
distrain: seize property as settlement for a debt
drawing o' lots in the Bible: The drawing of lots occurs several times in the Old Testament as a way to discern God's will in a decision.
drenching: administering of medicine
dropsy: an ailment characterized by the accumulation of fluid in the body
Durhams: shorthorn cattle
ear-droppers: Priscilla's facetious term for earrings
efficacy: effectivenenss
entail: legal restriction over the inheritance of property
epigram: a brief, witty, often paradoxical statement
exiguity: scantiness
familiars: companions; also, witches' animal totems, like the black cat
famous ring: a reference to a story in the Contes des Fees, by Mme. Leprince de Beaumont (1785)
farrier: one who shoes and doctors horses
fervid: fervent
fetishism: superstitious worship or belief in an object, such as the hearth
filberts: hazelnuts
foxes' brushes: fox tails
freaks: unnatural acts
furze: a spiny shrub
fustian: coarse, sturdy cloth of cotton and flax
gods of the hearth: In ancient religions, especially that of Ancient Rome, every home was said to have a protective deity centered on the hearth.
hack: a hackney, that is, a light English saddle-horse
hedge-row: a row of vegetation held in place by stakes
hogsheads: large barrels or casks
hornpipe: a lively dance
horseblock: post for tying horses
I.H.S.: abbreviation of Latin words referring to Jesus as savior of humans
jacks: skewers on which to rotate meat
joseph: a long riding coat
King Alfred: The famous ninth-century King of England who drove out the Vikings
King George: George III, 1760-1820
knots in the hands: gout
laudanum: a liquid form of opium
leeching and poulticing: applying leeches or poultices to the unwell, in common medical practice before the 20th century
lief: willingly
listing: enlisting as a common soldier (rather than paying an officer's commission)
Lunnon: London
make free: act irresponsibly
Mant's Bible: A multi-volume Bible, with commentary, published in 1816 (which places Part Two of the novel after the Neapolitan Wars).
mawkin: a gangly woman, with lower-class connotations
Michaelmas: a church holiday, held on September 29, celebrating the archangel Michael
moithered: befuddled
mushed: made miserable, misused
nattiness: neatness
nolo episcopari: Latin for "I don't want to be a bishop." Said as a ceremonial display of humility by those about to be ordained as bishops.
Old Harry: rural nickname for the devil
orts: scraps
ostler: a person in charge of horses, a stableman
outwork: fortification constructed for defense (in this case, Mrs. Winthrop)
pettitoes: pig's feet prepared as food
phial: vial
piert: lively
pillions: carriage seats
pocket-pistol: flask
poor-rate: tax levied for the poor
provident: frugal, attending to the future
putting the haft for the handle: akin to "putting the cart before the horse"
ratepayer: one who pays property taxes
rectory: parish minister's house
rickets: a deforming bone disease usually found in children
ride to cover: ride to the area where a hunt is to take place
ringing the pigs: fitting rings into pigs' snouts, which makes it painful for them to root
scarify: prick with many incisions
scrag: piece of lean body meat
shell-less: disembodied
shilly-shally: wishy-washy
Sir Roger de Coverley: a lively tune that marks the beginning of a dance
smock-frocks: long, loose outer garments
sodger: soldier
speaking fair: speaking well of, behaving well towards
springe: spry
strapped: stright-jacketed
summat warm: "something warm," that is, liquor, which makes one feel warm
surplice: loose-fitting white robe worn by clergy
sword hanging over him: a reference to the sword of Damocles, which hung over Damocles' head by a single hair while he feasted to remind him of the fragility of power
tale: in weaving, the whole of a piece of work
throstle: a thrush (also a machine used to spin fibers, like a loom)
tinder-box: a metal box for keeping flammable materials dry
toilettes: gowns, accoutrements
tow'rt: toward
transported: shipped to a penal colony
treadmill: something monotonous
treddles: pedals
turn-tail cur: cowardly dog
turnpike: toll-road
unexampled: unparalleled, unique
unwonted: unusual
utensil: tool
vallying: valuing
vicinage: vicinity
wainscot: veneer of wood paneling applied to the walls of a room
whist: a card game like bridge
yarbs: dialect for herbs
ClassicNote on Silas Marner
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