Silas Marner Glossary

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