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Elements of Distribution Theory

This detailed introduction to distribution theory uses no measure theory,

making it suitable for students in statistics and econometrics as well as for
researchers who use statistical methods. Good backgrounds in calculus
and linear algebra are important and a course in elementary mathematical
analysis is useful, but not required. An appendix gives a detailed summary
of the mathematical definitions and results that are used in the book.
Topics covered range from the basic distribution and density functions,
expectation, conditioning, characteristic functions, cumulants, conver-
gence in distribution, and the central limit theorem to more advanced
concepts such as exchangeability, models with a group structure, asymp-
totic approximations to integrals, orthogonal polynomials, and saddle-
point approximations. The emphasis is on topics useful in understand-
ing statistical methodology; thus, parametric statistical models and the
distribution theory associated with the normal distribution are covered
comprehensively.

Thomas A. Severini received his Ph.D. in Statistics from the University of

Chicago. He is now a Professor of Statistics at Northwestern University.
He has also written Likelihood Methods in Statistics. He has published
extensively in statistical journals such as Biometrika, Journal of the
American Statistical Association, and Journal of the Royal Statistical
Society. He is a member of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and
the American Statistical Association.

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CAMBRIDGE SERIES IN STATISTICAL AND PROBABILISTIC MATHEMATICS

Editorial Board:

R. Gill, Department of Mathematics, Utrecht University

B.D. Ripley, Department of Statistics, University of Oxford
S. Ross, Epstein Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, University of
Southern California
B.W. Silverman, St. Peter’s College, Oxford
M. Stein, Department of Statistics, University of Chicago

This series of high-quality upper-division textbooks and expository monographs covers

all aspects of stochastic applicable mathematics. The topics range from pure and applied
statistics to probability theory, operations research, optimization, and mathematical pro-
gramming. The books contain clear presentations of new developments in the field and
also of the state of the art in classical methods. While emphasizing rigorous treatment of
theoretical methods, and books also contain applications and discussions of new techniques
made possible by advances in computational practice.

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Elements of Distribution Theory

THOMAS A. SEVERINI

iii
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University Press

The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521844727

© Cambridge University Press 2005

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of

relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2005

ISBN-13 978-0-511-34519-7 eBook (NetLibrary)

ISBN-10 0-511-34519-4 eBook (NetLibrary)

ISBN-13 978-0-521-84472-7 hardback

ISBN-10 0-521-84472-X hardback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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To My Parents

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Contents

Preface page xi

1. Properties of Probability Distributions 1

1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Basic Framework 1
1.3 Random Variables 5
1.4 Distribution Functions 8
1.5 Quantile Functions 15
1.6 Density and Frequency Functions 20
1.7 Integration with Respect to a Distribution Function 26
1.8 Expectation 28
1.9 Exercises 34
1.10 Suggestions for Further Reading 38
2. Conditional Distributions and Expectation 39
2.1 Introduction 39
2.2 Marginal Distributions and Independence 39
2.3 Conditional Distributions 46
2.4 Conditional Expectation 53
2.5 Exchangeability 59
2.6 Martingales 62
2.7 Exercises 64
2.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 67
3. Characteristic Functions 69
3.1 Introduction 69
3.2 Basic Properties 72
3.3 Further Properties of Characteristic Functions 82
3.4 Exercises 90
3.5 Suggestions for Further Reading 93
4. Moments and Cumulants 94
4.1 Introduction 94
4.2 Moments and Central Moments 94
4.3 Laplace Transforms and Moment-Generating Functions 99
4.4 Cumulants 110

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viii Contents

4.5 Moments and Cumulants of the Sample Mean 120

4.6 Conditional Moments and Cumulants 124
4.7 Exercises 127
4.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 130
5. Parametric Families of Distributions 132
5.1 Introduction 132
5.2 Parameters and Identifiability 132
5.3 Exponential Family Models 137
5.4 Hierarchical Models 147
5.5 Regression Models 150
5.6 Models with a Group Structure 152
5.7 Exercises 164
5.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 169
6. Stochastic Processes 170
6.1 Introduction 170
6.2 Discrete-Time Stationary Processes 171
6.3 Moving Average Processes 174
6.4 Markov Processes 182
6.5 Counting Processes 187
6.6 Wiener Processes 192
6.7 Exercises 195
6.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 198
7. Distribution Theory for Functions of Random Variables 199
7.1 Introduction 199
7.2 Functions of a Real-Valued Random Variable 199
7.3 Functions of a Random Vector 202
7.4 Sums of Random Variables 212
7.5 Order Statistics 216
7.6 Ranks 224
7.7 Monte Carlo Methods 228
7.8 Exercises 231
7.9 Suggestions for Further Reading 234
8. Normal Distribution Theory 235
8.1 Introduction 235
8.2 Multivariate Normal Distribution 235
8.3 Conditional Distributions 240
8.4 Quadratic Forms 244
8.5 Sampling Distributions 250
8.6 Exercises 253
8.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 256
9. Approximation of Integrals 257
9.1 Introduction 257
9.2 Some Useful Functions 257
9.3 Asymptotic Expansions 264
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Contents ix

9.4 Watson’s Lemma 268

9.5 Laplace’s Method 276
9.6 Uniform Asymptotic Approximations 281
9.7 Approximation of Sums 288
9.8 Exercises 295
9.9 Suggestions for Further Reading 297
10. Orthogonal Polynomials 299
10.1 Introduction 299
10.2 General Systems of Orthogonal Polynomials 299
10.3 Classical Orthogonal Polynomials 312
10.4 Gaussian Quadrature 317
10.5 Exercises 319
10.6 Suggestions for Further Reading 321
11. Approximation of Probability Distributions 322
11.1 Introduction 322
11.2 Basic Properties of Convergence in Distribution 325
11.3 Convergence in Probability 338
11.4 Convergence in Distribution of Functions
of Random Vectors 346
11.5 Convergence of Expected Values 349
11.6 Op and op Notation 354
11.7 Exercises 359
11.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 364
12. Central Limit Theorems 365
12.1 Introduction 365
12.2 Independent, Identically Distributed Random Variables 365
12.3 Triangular Arrays 367
12.4 Random Vectors 376
12.5 Random Variables with a Parametric Distribution 378
12.6 Dependent Random Variables 386
12.7 Exercises 395
12.8 Suggestions for Further Reading 399
13. Approximations to the Distributions of More
General Statistics 400
13.1 Introduction 400
13.2 Nonlinear Functions of Sample Means 400
13.3 Order Statistics 404
13.4 U -Statistics 415
13.5 Rank Statistics 422
13.6 Exercises 432
13.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 434
14. Higher-Order Asymptotic Approximations 435
14.1 Introduction 435
14.2 Edgeworth Series Approximations 435
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x Contents

14.3 Saddlepoint Approximations 447

14.4 Stochastic Asymptotic Expansions 454
14.5 Approximation of Moments 460
14.6 Exercises 466
14.7 Suggestions for Further Reading 469

Appendix 1. Integration with Respect to a Distribution Function 471

Appendix 2. Basic Properties of Complex Numbers 479
Appendix 3. Some Useful Mathematical Facts 483

References 503
Name Index 507
Subject Index 509
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Preface

Distribution theory lies at the interface of probability and statistics. It is closely related
to probability theory; however, it differs in its focus on the calculation and approxima-
tion of probability distributions and associated quantities such as moments and cumulants.
Although distribution theory plays a central role in the development of statistical method-
ology, distribution theory itself does not deal with issues of statistical inference.
Many standard texts on mathematical statistics and statistical inference contain either a
few chapters or an appendix on basic distribution theory. I have found that such treatments
are generally too brief, often ignoring such important concepts as characteristic functions
or cumulants. On the other hand, the discussion in books on probability theory is often too
abstract for readers whose primary interest is in statistical methodology.
The purpose of this book is to provide a detailed introduction to the central results of
distribution theory, in particular, those results needed to understand statistical methodology,
without requiring an extensive background in mathematics. Chapters 1 to 4 cover basic topics
such as random variables, distribution and density functions, expectation, conditioning,
characteristic functions, moments, and cumulants. Chapter 5 covers parametric families of
distributions, including exponential families, hierarchical models, and models with a group
structure. Chapter 6 contains an introduction to stochastic processes.
Chapter 7 covers distribution theory for functions of random variables and Chapter 8 cov-
ers distribution theory associated with the normal distribution. Chapters 9 and 10 are more
specialized, covering asymptotic approximations to integrals and orthogonal polynomials,
respectively. Although these are classical topics in mathematics, they are often overlooked
in statistics texts, despite the fact that the results are often used in statistics. For instance,
Watson’s lemma and Laplace’s method are general, useful tools for approximating the
integrals that arise in statistics, and orthogonal polynomials are used in areas ranging from
nonparametric function estimation to experimental design.
Chapters 11 to 14 cover large-sample approximations to probability distributions. Chap-
ter 11 covers the basic ideas of convergence in distribution and Chapter 12 contains several
versions of the central limit theorem. Chapter 13 considers the problem of approximating
the distribution of statistics that are more general than sample means, such as nonlin-
ear functions of sample means and U-statistics. Higher-order asymptotic approximations
such as Edgeworth series approximations and saddlepoint approximations are presented in
Chapter 14.
I have attempted to keep each chapter as self-contained as possible, but some dependen-
cies are inevitable. Chapter 1 and Sections 2.1–2.4, 3.1–3.2, and 4.1-4.4 contain core topics
that are used throughout the book; the material covered in these sections will most likely be

xi
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xii Preface

familiar to readers who have taken a course in basic probability theory. Chapter 12 requires
Chapter 11 and Chapters 13 and 14 require Chapter 12; in addition, Sections 13.3 and 13.5
use material from Sections 7.5 and 7.6.
The mathematical prerequisites for this book are modest. Good backgrounds in calculus
and linear algebra are important and a course in elementary mathematical analysis at the
level of Rudin (1976) is useful, but not required. Appendix 3 gives a detailed summary of
the mathematical definitions and results that are used in the book.
Although many results from elementary probability theory are presented in Chapters 1
to 4, it is assumed that readers have had some previous exposure to basic probability
theory. Measure theory, however, is not needed and is not used in the book. Thus, although
measurability is briefly discussed in Chapter 1, throughout the book all subsets of a given
sample space are implictly assumed to be measurable. The main drawback of this is that it
is not possible to rigorously define an integral with respect to a distribution function and
to establish commonly used properties of this integral. Although, ideally, readers will have
had previous exposure to integration theory, it is possible to use these results without fully
understanding their proofs; to help in this regard, Appendix 1 contains a brief summary of
the integration theory needed, along with important properties of the integral.
Proofs are given for nearly every result stated. The main exceptions are results requiring
measure theory, although there are surprisingly few results of this type. In these cases,
I have tried to outline the basic ideas of the proof and to give an indication of why more
sophisticated mathematical results are needed. The other exceptions are a few cases in which
a proof is given for the case of real-valued random variables and the extension to random
vectors is omitted and a number of cases in which the proof is left as an exercise. I have
not attempted to state results under the weakest possible conditions; on the contrary, I have
often imposed relatively strong conditions if that allows a simpler and more transparent
proof.

Evanston, IL, January, 2005

Thomas A. Severini
severini@northwestern.edu
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1
Properties of Probability Distributions

1.1 Introduction
Distribution theory is concerned with probability distributions of random variables, with
the emphasis on the types of random variables frequently used in the theory and application
of statistical methods. For instance, in a statistical estimation problem we may need to
determine the probability distribution of a proposed estimator or to calculate probabilities
in order to construct a confidence interval.
Clearly, there is a close relationship between distribution theory and probability theory; in
some sense, distribution theory consists of those aspects of probability theory that are often
used in the development of statistical theory and methodology. In particular, the problem
of deriving properties of probability distributions of statistics, such as the sample mean
or sample standard deviation, based on assumptions on the distributions of the underlying
random variables, receives much emphasis in distribution theory.
In this chapter, we consider the basic properties of probability distributions. Although
these concepts most likely are familiar to anyone who has studied elementary probability
theory, they play such a central role in the subsequent chapters that they are presented here
for completeness.

1.2 Basic Framework

The starting point for probability theory and, hence, distribution theory is the concept of
an experiment. The term experiment may actually refer to a physical experiment in the
usual sense, but more generally we will refer to something as an experiment when it has
the following properties: there is a well-defined set of possible outcomes of the experiment,
each time the experiment is performed exactly one of the possible outcomes occurs, and
the outcome that occurs is governed by some chance mechanism.
Let
denote the sample space of the experiment, the set of possible outcomes of the
experiment; a subset A of
is called an event. Associated with each event A is a probability
P(A). Hence, P is a function defined on subsets of
and taking values in the interval [0, 1].
The function P is required to have certain properties:

(P1) P(
) = 1
(P2) If A and B are disjoint subsets of
, then P(A ∪ B) = P(A) + P(B).

1
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 seam, fat, grease. Tr. and Cr. ii. 3. 195; Dryden, tr. Aeneid, vii.
867. In gen. prov. use in the British Isles, see EDD. (s.v. Saim). ME.
seim, grease (Ancr. R. 412). Anglo-F. saim, ‘adeps’ (Ps. lxii. 6), cp.
Ital. saime, O. Prov. sagin (saīn), ‘graisse’ (Levy), Med. L. sagimen,
‘adeps, sagina’ (Ducange).
searce, searse, to sift through a sieve. Webster, Devil’s
Law-case, ii. 1 (Ariosto). ‘Searce’ was formerly a widely spread prov.
word for a fine sieve; as a vb. ‘to sift’ it still appears in Northumbrian
and Kentish Glosses (EDD.). ME. sarce, a sieve (Prompt.); sarcyn, to
sift (id., EETS. 450; see notes, no. 1875 and no. 2204). OF. saas (F.
sas), a sieve. Span. cedazo, Med. L. setatium (Ducange), der. of L.
seta, saeta, a bristle.
sear-cloth, to cover with ‘cere-cloth’ or waxed cloth. Dryden,
Annus Mirab. 148. See cere-cloth.
season upon (or on), to seize upon. Mirror for Mag.,
Northumberland, st. 15; ‘I season upon a thynge as a hauke doth, je
assaysonne. She saysouned upon the fesante at the first flyght’,
Palsgrave; ‘It is mete for any lyon . . . to season his pawes upon his
pray’, Acolastus, ii. 3. See NED. (s.v. Season, vb. 5).
sect, a class or kind of persons, used with reference to sex, 2
Hen. IV, ii. 4. 41; Fletcher, Valentinian, i. 1 (Chilax); Middleton, Mad
World, ii. 6. In prov. use in various parts of England; also in illiterate
use in London; see EDD. and NED. Cp. Chaucer, ‘(The wife of Bath)
and al hire secte’ (C. T. E. 1171). L. secta, a following, a school or
sect of philosophy.
sectary, one who belongs to a sect, a dissenter. Hen. VIII, v.
3. 70; Puritan Widow, i. 2. 5. F. sectaire, ‘a sectary, follower of a
sect’ (Cotgr.).
sectour, executor. Udall, Roister Doister, iii. 3. 62; ‘Sectour,
executeur’, Palsgrave. ME. sectour, ‘exequitour’ (Cath. Angl.);
seketowre, ‘executor’ (Prompt., Harl. MS.).
 Sedgeley curse, an imprecation recorded by Ray among
the proverbs of Staffordshire. It is given by Beaumont and Fl. in this
form: ‘A Sedgly curse light on him, which is, Pedro, The fiend ride
through him booted and spurred, With a scythe at his back!’, Tamer
Tamed, v. 2; Massinger, City Madam, ii. 2 (Plenty). See Nares.
see, a seat of dignity or authority, a throne; ‘Jove laught on
Venus from his soveraigne see’, Spenser, F. Q. iii. 6. 2; the dwelling-
place of a monarch, F. Q. iv. 10. 30.
see, pret. s. (I) saw, (he) saw, Greene, Sonnet, l. 4 (ed. Dyce,
292). Still in prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. See, 1 (6)). OE. seah, pt. t. of
sēon, to see.
seek: phr. to blow a seek, to sound notes on a horn,
summoning hounds to the chase of a deer. Gascoigne, Art of Venerie
(ed. Hazlitt, i. 314).
seek: phr. to seek, at a loss, badly off; ‘The Merchant will be to
seeke for Money’, Bacon, Essay 41, § 4; B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, ii. 2.
Cp. Porson’s famous epigram in Museum Criticum, i. 332, ‘The
Germans in Greek, Are sadly to seek’, &c. See NED. (s.v. Seek, vb.
20 b).
seel, to close up a bird’s eyelids, by means of a thread passed
through them. A seeled dove, ‘She brought them to a seeled dove,
who the blinder she was, the higher she strave’, Sidney, Arcadia (ed.
Sommer, 65); Bacon, Essay 36. It was believed that a seeled dove
would mount always higher aloft, till it sank from exhaustion; see
Ford, Broken Heart, ii. 2. 3. Palsgrave has: ‘I cele a hauke, Ie cile.’ F.
ciller, ‘to seele, or sow up the eyelids’ (Cotgr.); cil, an eyelash, L.
cilium, an eyelid, eyelash.
seeld, seldom, Mirror for Mag., Salisbury, st. 20. See seld.
seeling, a wainscot, wainscoting. Bacon, Essay 54; ceiling,
North, tr. of Plutarch, Octavius, § 4 (in Shak. Plut. p. 238).
 seemless, unseemly. Spenser, F. Q. v. 2. 25; Chapman, tr. of
Odyssey, xx. 397.
seemlyhed, comeliness. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 8. 14.
seen, equipped, furnished; versed, practised; ‘Seen in many
things’, Heywood, A Woman killed, ii. 1 (Frankford); well seen, Tam.
Shrew, i. 2. 136; Puttenham, Eng. Poesie, bk. i, c. 8 (p. 37). In prov.
use (EDD.).
sege, a seat. Morte Arthur, leaf 220. 7; bk. x, c. 16. ME. sege:
‘He schal sitte on the sege of his maieste’ (Wyclif, Matt. xxv. 31).
Anglo-F. sege, seat (Ps. lxxxviii. 14), O. Prov. setge, ‘siège, banc,
séance, siège d’une ville’ (Levy). See siege.
seggs, sedges. Kyd, Cornelia, iii. 3. 15. A Northern form
(EDD.).
Seisactheia, an ordinance of Solon by which all debts were
lowered. Massinger, Old Law, i. 1 (2 Lawyer). Gk. σεισάχθεια, a
shaking off of burdens.
selago, a plant. Middleton, The Witch, iii. 3 (Hecate). L.
selago, a plant resembling the savin-tree.
selar, a canopy of a bed; ‘The selar of the bedde’, Morte
Arthur, leaf 349, back, 24; bk. xvii, c. 6. ‘Cellar for a bed, ciel de lit’,
Palsgrave. See NED. (s.v. Celure).
selcouth, strange, uncommon. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 8. 14. A
Scottish poetical word (EDD.). ME. selcouth, strange, wonderful (P.
Plowman, C. i. 5); OE. seldcūð, strange, lit. seldom known.
seld, seldom. Tr. and Cr. iv. 5. 150; hence seld-shown, seldom
shown, Coriolanus, ii. 1. 229; seld-seen, Humour out of Breath, i. 1
(Octavio); as adj. rare, scarce, Tourneur, Revenger’s Tragedy, iv. 4.
ME. seld (selde), seldom (Chaucer, C. T. B. 2343). See seeld.
sellary, a male prostitute. B. Jonson, Sejanus, iv. 5
(Arruntius). L. sellarius (Tacitus).
 sely, harmless; ‘A selye innocente hare murdered of a dogge’,
More’s Utopia (ed. Lumby, p. 111). Also, poor, helpless, Tusser,
Husbandry, § 51. 18. ME. sely, simple, innocent, also, poor, pitiable
(Chaucer); but Chaucer uses the word also in other senses: good,
holy, happy. See Trench, Select Glossary (s.v. Silly). See silly.
semblably, similarly. 1 Hen. IV, v. 3. 21. F. semblable, like. F.
sembler, to seem, resemble.
semblant, demeanour. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 10. 31; Morte Arthur,
bk. ii, c. 17; to make semblant (= F. faire semblant), to make a
show, appearance, or pretence (of doing something), id., bk. vii, c.
8.
seminary, an Englishman educated as a Popish priest in a
foreign seminary. B. Jonson, Barth. Fair, ii. 1 (Overdo).
semitary, a form of scimetar. B. Jonson, Case is altered, v. 2
(Juniper); semitarie, Peele, Battle of Alcazar, i. 2 (Moor). See
cemitare.
sempster, a sempstress; also a spinster, as applied to the
three Fates, Dekker, O. Fortunatus, ii. 2 (Shadow). In prov. use in
Yorks. and Derbyshire, see EDD. (s.v. Seamster). ME. semster (Dest.
Troy, 1585), OE. sēamestre, a sempstress (B. T.).
sennet, a signal-call played on a trumpet, the signal for
entrance or exit. Common in the stage-directions in the Tudor
drama. It occurs in various forms, such as synnet, sinet, cynet,
signate. Hen. VIII, ii. 4; J. Caesar, i. 2; Ant. and Cl. ii. 7; Coriol. ii. 1;
2 Hen. VI, iii. 1. O. Prov. senhet (signet), ‘signe’ (Levy), OF. sinet
(Littré). See Notes on Eng. Etym., p. 264.
sensing, ‘incensing’, use of incense. Latimer, Sermon on the
Ploughers (ed. Arber, p. 30). ME. censynge, ‘turificacio’ (Prompt.).
sent, perception. Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 43. The old spelling of
scent; so in Cotgrave, ‘Odeur, sent, smell’.
 sere, separate, distinct, each in particular. Ascham, Toxophilus
(ed. Arber, 107). ME. ser, distinct, each in particular (Ormin, 18653).
Icel. sér, orig. dat. of refl. pron. ‘for oneself’, hence as adv.
separately.
sere, the claw or talon of a bird or beast of prey. Usually in the
pl. seres; Chapman, tr. of Iliad, viii. 212; xii. 213; Odyssey, ii. 238;
Revenge of Bussy, iii. 1 (Clermont); Byron’s Tragedy, iii. 1. 16. F.
serre, a hawk’s talon (Cotgr.).
sere, the catch in a gun-lock which is released by the trigger.
Hamlet, ii. 2. 337 (see note by W. Aldis Wright). It was like a claw.
See above.
serene, a chill evening air; ‘Some serene blast me’, B. Jonson,
Volpone, iii. 5 (Celia); Epigrams, xxxii (last line). F. serein, ‘the
mildew, or harmful dew of some summer evenings’ (Cotgr.). Ital.
‘sereno, the night calm; serenata, music played in a clear evening’
(Florio).
sericon, the name of some chemical substance. B. Jonson,
Alchem. ii. 1 (Subtle). See NED.
serpentin, a kind of cannon. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 124; l.
159; ‘Serpentine, the artillery called a Serpentine or Basiliskoe’,
Cotgrave.
serpigo, a general term for creeping or spreading skin
diseases, esp. ringworm, Meas. for M. iii. 1. 31 (variously spelt in the
edd.). Medical L. serpigo, ‘teter’ (Alphita, 167), deriv. of serpere, to
creep.
servant, a professed lover, one who is devoted to the service
of a lady. Two Gent. of Verona, ii. 1. 106, 114, 140. Very common.
Cp. Ital. cavaliere servente; see Fanfani.
servulate, to serve obsequiously. Beaumont and Fl., Elder
Brother, i. 2 (Egremont). From L. servulus, dimin. of servus, a slave.
 sesama, oil from the seeds of a plant, sesame, one of the
ingredients of a perfume. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels, v. 2
(Perfumer). Gk. σησάμη.
sesarara; see sasarara.
sess, seiss, to assess. Pt. t. sessyd, Fabyan, Chron., p. vii,
ann. 1257-8 (ed. Ellis, p. 344); pp. seissed, North, tr. of Plutarch,
Antonius, § 33 (in Shak. Plut., p. 204). In prov. use (EDD.).
set out the throat, to set up a noise, cry out. B. Jonson,
Alchem. v. 2 (Face); Middleton, Blurt, Mr. Constable, ii. 1 (Hippolito).
setter, a confederate of sharpers or swindlers, employed as a
decoy (Cant). Nashe, Strange Newes, 1592; see Aydelotte, p. 86;
Butler, Hud., Lady’s Answer, 153. One who marks down travellers to
be robbed by thieves, 1 Hen. IV, ii. 2. 53.
settle, a long bench, with a very high back. Albumazar, i. 1
(Ronca). In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Settle, sb.2).
setwall, the East Indian plant zedoary, Palsgrave; the plant
valerian, ‘Drink-quickning Setwale’, Spenser, Muiopotmos, 196; spelt
cetywall, Drayton, Ballad of Dowsabell, 33 (in later editions
setywall). ME. setwale or sedwale, ‘zedoarium’ (Prompt.); cetewale
(Chaucer, C. T. A. 3207). O. Span. cetoal, sitoval, cedoaria; of Arabic
origin, see Dozy, Glossaire, 251.
sew, to follow; ‘Seven kings sewen me’, World and Child, in
Hazlitt’s Dodsley, i. 248; to sue, to plead, Spenser, F. Q. iv. 12. 29; to
woo, id., iii. 5. 47. See Dict. (s.v. Sue).
sew, to drain dry; ‘To drain and sew’, North, tr. of Plutarch, Jul.
Caesar, § 39 (in Shak. Plut., p. 93); Tusser, Husbandry, 32. In prov.
use in E. Anglia, Kent, Sussex, and Dorset, see EDD. (s.v. Sew, vb.2).
OF. esuer (Burguy); F. essuier, to dry up (Cotgr.); essuier, ‘évier,
conduit par lequel s’écoulent les eaux sales d’une cuisine’ (Didot).
See Hatzfeld (s.v. Essuyer).
 sewell; see shewelle.
sewer, an attendant at a meal who superintended the seating
of the guests, and the tasting and serving of the dishes. Macbeth, i.
7, Stage Direction. ME. sewer at the mete, ‘depositor, discoforus’
(Cath. Angl.); seware at mete, ‘dapifer’ (Prompt.). OF. asseour, ‘en
parlant du service de la table, qui fait asseoir’ (Godefroy), Pop. L.
assedatorem (acc.), one who sets, places, deriv. of assedare, to set,
place, cp. Norm. F. aseer, to place; see Moisy.
sextile, denoting the aspect or relative position of two
planets, when distant from each other by sixty degrees; a sextile
aspect. Fletcher, Bloody Brother, iv. 2 (Norbret); Randolph, Jealous
Lovers, v. 2; Milton, P. L. x. 659.
seymy, greasy. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 124; l. 169. See seam.
sforzato, a galley-slave. B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1 (Vol.). Ital.
‘sforzati, galley-slaves, as forced to do anything’ (Florio), cp. F.
‘forçat, galley-slave’ (Cotgr.).
shack, the shaken grain which remains on the fields after
harvesting; hence shack-time, the time during which this grain
remains on the ground, Tusser, Husbandry, § 16. 30; to shack, to
turn pigs or poultry into the stubble fields. In prov. use in various
parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Shake, 9, 20, 21).
† shackatory, apparently, a huntsman’s underling. Dekker,
Honest Wh., Pt. II, iii. 1 (Orlando). See NED.
shadow, a reflection in water; ‘Aesop had a foolish dog that
let go the flesh to catch the shadow’, Webster, White Devil
(Flamineo), ed. Dyce, p. 37; a disguise, Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, ii. 1
(Hempskirke); a friend of an invited guest (L. umbra), Massinger,
Unnat. Combat, iii. 1. 11.
shaft, a May-pole, esp. the May-pole in Aldgate ward, London,
which ‘shaft’, when it was set on end and fixed to the ground, was
higher than the steeple of the church, which was hence called St.
Andrew Undershaft. This ‘shaft’ was not raised after May-day, 1517,
on account of a disturbance of the apprentices. Thirty-two years
after it was sawn in pieces and burned as an idol. Stow, Survey (ed.
Thoms, 54); Pennant’s London, 587. See Nares (s.v. Shaft), and
Chambers, Book of Days, p. 574.
shaftman, a measure of about six inches, being the length
from the top of the extended thumb to the wrist-side of the palm.
Harington, tr. Ariosto, xxxvi. 56; shaftmon, Morte Arthur, leaf 124,
back, 8; bk. vii, c. 22; shaftmont, ‘His leg was scarce a shaftmont
lang’, Child’s Pop. Ballads, ii. 330; shaftement, Ascham, Toxophilus,
p. 112. ‘Shaftment’ is in prov. use in the north country (EDD.). ME.
schaftmonde (Death of Arthur, 2546, 3843, 4232); OE. sceaftmund,
a palm’s length (B. T.). See NED. (s.v. Shaftment).
shag-rag, ragged, vagabond-like; ‘A shag-rag knave’,
Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv. 5 (Barabas). The word ‘shag-rag’ is in
prov. use in the north country to denote an idle, ragged vagabond,
see EDD. (s.v. Shag, vb.3 2 (2)). See shake-rag.
† shailes, scarecrows. Sir T. Elyot, Governour, bk. i, c. 23, § 2;
see Croft’s note. Perhaps cognate with ME. schey, shy, timid
(Prompt.). See shewelle.
shake-rag, a ragged disreputable person, Brome, Jovial
Crew, iii. (NED.). [‘He was a shake-rag like fellow’, Scott, Guy Man.,
xxvi.] Also shake, Middleton, The Widow, ii. 1 (1 Suitor).
shake the elbow, to throw dice, to gamble. Webster,
Devil’s Law-case, ii. 1 (Ariosto).
shaking of the sheets, the name of an old dance,
usually mentioned with an indecent suggestion. Westward Ho, v. 3.
shale, a shell, husk. Hen. V, iv. 2. 18; Parliament of Bees,
character 5 (end). ME. shale (Chaucer), OE. scealu, a husk.
shale, to shell, take of the husk; ‘I shale peasen’, Palsgrave; ‘A
little lad set on a bancke to shale the ripen’d nuts’, W. Browne, Brit.
Pastorals, bk. ii, song 4. In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Shale, vb.1 14).
ME. shale, notys or odyr frute, ‘enucleo’ (Prompt. EETS. 451). Cp. F.
eschaller: ‘eschalleur de noys, qui écale des noix’ (Glossaire,
Rabelais, ii. 160).
shale, to shamble with the feet; ‘Esgrailler, to shale or straddle
with the legs’, Cotgrave. In prov. use in various parts of England, see
EDD. (s.v. Shale, vb.2). See shayle.
shalla, for shall he; ‘Shalla go In deede? and shalla flowte me
thus?,’ Phaer, Aeneid iv, 590, 591. A for he is common in prov. use
when unemphatic, see EDD. (s.v. He, 1 (1)).
sham, to take in, to hoax; ‘You shammed me all night long . . .
Freeman. Shamming is telling you an insipid, dull lye, with a dull
face, which the sly wag the author only laughs at himself; and,
making himself believe ’tis a good jest, puts the sham only upon
himself, Wycherley, Plain Dealer, iii. Cp. Sc. sham, to cheat, trick,
deceive, see EDD. (s.v. Sham, vb.1 1).
shamois, shoes made of the wild goat’s skin. Webster, White
Devil (Flamineo), ed. Dyce, p. 19.
shape, the costume suited to a particular part in a play.
Massinger, Bondman, v. 3 (Pisander).
shard, a fragment, a piece of broken pottery, a potsherd;
‘Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her’, Hamlet, v. 1.
254. In prov. use in the sense of a broken piece in Scotland and in
the various parts of England (EDD.). ME. scherde, ‘testula’ (Prompt.
EETS.), OE. sceard, ‘testa’ (B. T.).
shard, a patch of cow-dung; ‘They are his shards, and he their
beetle’, Ant. and Cl. iii. 2. 19; ‘Such souls as shards produce, such
beetle things As only buz to heaven with ev’ning wings’, Dryden,
Hind and P. i. 321; ‘The shard-borne beetle’ (the beetle born in
dung), Macbeth, iii. 2. 42. ‘Shard,’ meaning a patch of cow-dung, is
in prov. use in Yorks. and Wilts. (EDD.). Probably related to ‘sharn’ in
prov. use for dung of cattle; OE. scearn (Leechdoms); see EDD.
shard. In Spenser, F. Q. ii. 6. 38, ‘When late he far’d In
Phaedrias flitt barke over that perlous shard.’ Spenser appears to use
‘shard’ here in the sense of ‘a channel’. It is probably the same word
as ‘shard’ in prov. use for an incision, a gap, a narrow passage, see
EDD. (s.v. Shard, sb.2 1, 2, 3). OE. sceard, a gap, notch; the word is
used for bays and creeks in Boethius, 18. 1.
shark, to prowl about to pick up a living. Beaumont and Fl.,
Honest Man’s Fortune, iii. 3 (Mallicorn); Earle, Micro-Cosmographie,
no. 77 (ed. Arber, 35); shark on, to prey upon, Sir Thos. More, ii. 4.
106; shark up, to pick up by prowling about, Hamlet, i. 1. 98. Hence
shark-gull, a cheat who preys upon simpletons, Middleton, The Black
Book (ed. Dyce, v. 524).
sharp. To fight at sharp, to fight with sharp weapons, not with
foils, Beaumont and Fl., Nice Valour, v. 3 (Galoshio).
shayle, to shamble, to walk crookedly or awkwardly. Skelton,
ed. Dyce, i. 20, l. 19; p. 214, l. 172. Palsgrave has: ‘I shayle, as a
man or horse dothe that gothe croked with his legges, Ie vas
eschays.’ ME. schaylyn, ‘disgredior’ (Prompt. EETS. 451). See shale
and shoyle.
sheal, to take off the outer covering of peas, King Lear, i. 4.
219. In prov. use in Scotland and in various parts of England, see
EDD. (s.v. Sheal, vb.2 1).
sheath; see painted.
sheene, fair, beautiful to behold. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 10; ii. 2.
40; ii. 10. 8; ‘Haill May, haill Flora, haill Aurora schene!’, Dunbar,
Thrissill, 9; as sb., fairness, splendour, Hamlet, iii. 2. 167. ME. shene,
fair, beautiful (Chaucer, C. T. A. 972). OE. scēne, scȳne, scīene, fair,
identical with G. schön, beautiful, Goth. skauns.
 sheerly, entirely. Fletcher, Mad Lover, v. 4 (Memnon). A
Scotch word, used by Burns, Ep. to Major Logan (EDD.).
sheeve, a slice; ‘A sheeve of bread’, Warner, Alb. England, bk.
iv, ch. 20, st. 29. In prov. use in Scotland and Lanc., see EDD. (s.v.
Sheave). See shive.
shelf, a sandbank. B. Jonson, The Forest, iii (l. 12 from end);
shelves, pl., 3 Hen. VI, v. 4. 23; ‘On the tawny sands and shelves
Trip the pert faeries’, Milton, Comus, 117. For Scotch exx. see EDD.
(s.v. Shelf, sb.2).
shell, a cockle-shell worn in the hat by pilgrims to Compostella.
Heywood, Four Prentises (Godfrey), vol. ii, p. 213.
shells, a cant term for money. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (2
Cutpurse); Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, iii. 2 (Matheo).
shend, to put to shame, blame, reproach. Spenser,
Prothalamion, 121; shent, pp., F. Q. ii. 5. 5; vi. 6. 18. In prov. use in
Scotland and in Kent (EDD.). ME. shende, to render contemptible
(Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. v. 893); schende, to blame, reproach (Wyclif,
Ps. cxviii. 31). OE. scendan.
sherif, a title of the descendants of Mohammed, a title of the
chief magistrate of Mecca, and of Morocco; ‘The Sheriffe of Mecca’,
Purchas, Pilgrims, iii. 257. Arab. sharîf, noble, of noble lineage,
particularly, descending from Mohammed (Steingass). See xeriff.
sherris, ‘sherry’, a Spanish wine, so called from the town
Xeres. 2 Hen. IV, iv. 3. 111, 114, 122, 131. The Arabic form of the
place-name Xeres was Sherêysh (Dozy, Glossaire, p. 18). The Roman
name was Caesaris Asidona. By the loss of the first syllable, Caesaris
became on the lips of the Moors sherêysh. For a similar decapitation
of the word Caesar, compare the name of the Spanish city Zaragoça,
the Caesaraugusta of the Romans.
shewelle, sewell; ‘A sewell, a thing to keep out the deer’,
Howell, Lexicon Tetraglotton; ‘Anything that is hung up is called a
Sewel; and those are used most commonly to amaze a Deare, and
to make him refuse to passe wher they are hanged up’, Turbervile,
Hunting (ed. 1575, p. 98); used fig., ‘Bugbeares of opinions brought,
to serve as shewelles to keep them from those faults’, Sir P. Sidney,
Arcadia (ed. 1605, p. 267); ‘Shewell’ in the sense of a scarecrow is
still in use in Oxfordsh. and Berks. (EDD.). Cp. ME. scheawle, a
scarecrow (Owl and N. 1648); a-schewelen, to scare away
(Stratmann, pp. 32, 528); deriv. of OE. scēoh, timid, shy.
shift herself, change her dress. Beaumont and Fl., Nice
Valour, iii. 1. 8. In prov. use, see EDD. (s.v. Shift, 2).
shine, bright. Spenser, F. Q. iv. 3. 3; ‘Girt my shine browe with
sea-banke Myrtle sprays’, Marlowe, tr. of Ovid’s Elegies, bk. i, 1. 34
(Wks., ed. Tucker Brooke, 560). See sheene.
shirwood = L. lucus. Phaer, Aeneid viii, 342.
shittle, unstable, inconstant; ‘Their shittle hate’, Mirror for
Mag., Collingbourne, st. 3; ‘Shyttell, nat constant, variable’,
Palsgrave. ME. schytyl, ‘preceps’ (Prompt. EETS. 398), cogn. w. OE.
scēotan, to run hastily (Acts vii. 57); see Cook, Biblical Quotations,
p. 234.
shittle-cock, a shuttlecock. Middleton, A Chaste Maid, iii. 2
(Allwit). ‘Shyttel cocke, volant’, Palsgrave. ME. schytyl, a shuttle (in a
child’s game), see Prompt. EETS. 398.
shive, a slice, Titus Andron. ii. 1. 87. In gen. prov. use in
Scotland, Ireland, England, and America, see EDD. (s.v. Shive, sb.1
1). ME. schyve of bred or oþer lyke, ‘lesca, scinda’ (Prompt. EETS.
399). Cp. Icel. skifa, a slice, and G. scheibe.
shock-dog, a rough-coated dog; a poodle. Wycherley, Gent.
Dancing-master, ii. 2 (Hippolyta); Tatler, no. 245.
shoe-the-mare, a Christmas sport. Middleton, Inner-
Temple Masque (Plumporridge). ‘Shoe the old mare’ is the name of a
kind of sport in Galloway, see EDD. (s.v. Shoe, vb. 10).
 shog, to move off, go away. Henry V, ii. 1. 47, ii. 3. 47; shog
on, Massinger, Parl. of Love, iv. 5 (near the end); shogd, shook,
pushed; Phaer, Aeneid ii, 465; shog, a jog, a shake. Dryden, Epil. to
The Man of Mode, 28. In gen. prov. use (EDD.). ME. schoggen, to
shake (Wars Alex. 5018).
shold, a shoal, sandbank. Phaer, Aeneid i, 112; Hakluyt,
Voyages, iii. 547. ‘Shald’ in various spellings is in prov. use in the
north country, meaning (1) shallow, (2) a shoal (EDD.). ME. ‘schold
or schalowe, noȝte depe’ (Prompt.). OE. sceald, shallow (found in
place-names); see Dict. (s.v. Shallow).
shoot-anker, sheet-anchor; hence, a means of security.
Udall, Roister Doister, i. 1. 28; ‘This saying they make their shoot-
anker’, Cranmer (cited in Dict., s.v. Sheet).
shope, shaped, framed; pt. t. of shape. Spenser, F. Q. v. 5. 39.
ME. shoop, planned, devised (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. i. 207), pt. s. of
shapen; OE. scōp, pt. s. of sceppan.
shoppini, high-heeled shoes; ‘Those high corked shoes,
which now they call in Spaine and Italy Shoppini’, Puttenham, Eng.
Poesie, bk. i, c. 15; p. 49. See cioppino and choppine. See
Stanford (s.v. Chopine).
shore, a sewer. Shirley, Love Tricks, i. 1; ‘The common shore’,
A Woman never vext (Mrs. Foster), in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, xii. 104; ‘Our
sailing ships like common shores we use’, Dryden, Hind and Panther,
ii. 558. ‘Shore’, once a common word for a sewer, is still preserved in
Shoreditch in London; also named Sewers Ditch; see Stow’s Survey,
p. 158. It is in gen. prov. use in Scotland, Ireland, and England, see
EDD. (s.v. Shore, sb.3 1).
shoringness, inclination to tilt to one side; ‘A table, of the
which the thirde foot was A little shorter then the rest. A tyle-sherd
made it even And tooke away the shoringness,’ Golding, Metam. viii.
662; fol. 103 (1603). ‘Shoring’ is in prov. use in E. Anglia, in the
sense of slanting, sloping, awry, see EDD. (s.v. Shore, vb.2 4).
 shot, a payment, reckoning; esp. a contribution to the
payment of a tavern score; ‘Escotter, every one to pay his shot or to
contribute somewhat towards it’, Cotgrave; Two Gent. ii. 5. 9; shot-
free, without having to pay, 1 Hen. IV, v. 3. 30. In gen. prov. and
colloquial use in Scotland, England, and America, see EDD. (s.v.
Shot, sb.1 1). ME. schot, a payment (Stratmann). OE. scot, a
contribution (in compounds), see B. T. The Anglo-F. form is escot
(mod. écot), whence E. scot, in scot-free, and scot and lot. See
escot, scot and lot.
shot-clog, a dupe; one who was a clog upon a company, but
was tolerated because he paid the shot or reckoning. Eastward
Ho, i. 1 (Golding); B. Jonson, Staple of News, iv. 1 (Shun.); ‘A
shot-clog, to make suppers, and be laughed at’, B. Jonson,
Poetaster, i. 1 (Ovid senior). Spelt shot-log, Field, Amends for
Ladies, iii (end).
shot-shark, a tavern waiter; because he sharks for (or hunts
after) the reckoning or shot. B. Jonson, Ev. Man out of Humour, v.
4. 1.
shotten, lean. Fletcher, Women Pleased, ii. 4. 9. From the
phr. shotten herring, a herring that has spent the roe, 1 Hen. IV, ii.
4. 143. ‘As lean as a shot-herring’ is given in EDD. as a Derbyshire
saying. ‘Shotten’ is used in Kent of the herring that has spent its roe,
see EDD. (s.v. Shot, pp. 5).
shotten-souled, deprived of a soul; soulless. Fletcher, Wit
without Money, iii. 4. 2.
shotterell, shotrell, a pike in his first year; ‘An harlotrie
[i.e. worthless] shotterell’, Gascoigne, Supposes, ii. 4 (Carion); ‘The
Shotrell, 1 year, Pickerel, 2 year, Pike, 3 year, Luce, 4 year, are one’,
W. Lauson, Comments on the Secrets of Angling; in Arber’s Eng.
Garner, i. 197.
shough, a rough dog with shaggy hair. Macbeth, iii. 1. 94;
Ford, Lover’s Melancholy, iii. 3 (Grilla). Also in forms shog and shock,
‘Nor mungrell nor shog’, Taylor’s Works, 1630 (Nares); ‘Their little
shocks or Bononia dogs’, Erminia, 1661 (Nares).
shough, shoo, interj., away! used to scare away fowls.
Fletcher, Maid in the Mill, v. 1 (end).
shoule, a ‘shovel’. Heywood, Fortune by Land and Sea, iv. 1
(Jack); vol. vi, p. 424. For various forms of ‘shool’, a word which is in
gen. prov. use in the British Isles and America, see EDD.
shouler, a bird; the ‘shoveller’ or spoonbill. Drayton, Pol. xxv.
353. Skelton has shouelar (= shovelar), Phylyp Sparowe, 408.
shovelboard, the name of a game. The game was to
shuffle or drive by a blow of the hand a counter or coin along a
smooth board, so as to pass beyond a line drawn across the board
near the far end, but so as not to fall off the board; ‘Plaieing at slide-
groat or shoofleboard’, Stanyhurst, Desc. of Ireland, ann. 1528;
Edward shovel-board, a shilling coined in the reign of Edward VI
commonly used in the game of shovel-board, Merry Wives, i. 1. 159.
A similar game was called shove-groat, hence shove-groat shilling,
the coin used at the game, 2 Hen. IV, ii. 4. 206; B. Jonson, Every
Man in Hum. iii. 5. 17 (see Wheatley’s note). See Nares.
shoyle, to lean outwards on the foot in walking. Turbervile,
Hunting, c. 55 (p. 155), says that wild swine never ‘shoyle or leane
outwards’, as tame hogs do. See shayle.
shraming, making a great noise, screaming; ‘Shraming
shalms’, Golding, Metam. iv. 392; fol. 48, back (1603); ‘She shraming
cryed’, id., viii. 108; fol. 94.
shrewd, malicious, mischievous, ill-natured, All’s Well, iii. 5.
68; Mids. Night’s D. ii. 1. 33; bad, nasty, grievous, Merch. Ven. iii. 2.
244; Ant. and Cl. iv. 9. 5. The word is used in Shropshire in the
sense of ‘vicious’ (EDD.). ME. schrewyd, ‘pravus, pravatus,
depravatus’ (Prompt. EETS. 401).
 shrich, to ‘shriek’. Gascoigne, Philomene, ll. 22, 52. ME.
schrichen, variants schriken, skriken (Chaucer, C. T. B. 4590).
shrieve, a ‘sheriff’. All’s Well, iv. 3. 213; 2 Hen. IV, iv. 4. 99.
ME. shirreve (Chaucer, C. T. A. 359). OE. scīr-gerēfa. See Dict.
shright, pt. t. shrieked; ‘Out! alas! she shryght’, Sackville,
Mirror for Mag., Induction, st. 18; Spenser, F. Q. iii. 8. 32. ME.
shrighte (Chaucer, C. T. A. 2817), pt. t. of schrychen (schriken) to
shriek. See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Schrychen).
shright, a shriek. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 7. 57; vi. 4. 2.
shrill, thin, poor; ‘Age . . . all balde or ouer-cast With shril, thin
haire as white as snow’, Golding, Metam. xv. 213. ‘Shrill’ (also ‘shill’)
is in prov. use in Bedf. and Northants for thin, poor; also clear,
transparent, applied to book-muslin (EDD.).
shrill, to sound shrilly, to resound. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 3. 20; v. 7.
27.
shrimp, a shrunken, wizened man. Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid,
iii. 600.
Shrove-Tuesday bird, a cock tied down, at which
cudgels were thrown, on a Shrove Tuesday. Beaumont and Fl., Nice
Valour, iii. 3 (Lapet; near the end). See Brand’s Pop. Ant. (ed. 1877,
p. 37).
shroving, joining in the ceremonies and sports of Shrove
Tuesday. Dekker, Shoemakers’ Holiday, v. 5 (Eyre); Fletcher, Noble
Gent. iii. 2 (Lady). See EDD. (s.v. Shrove, vb.), where it is said that
the custom of ‘shroving’, i.e. going round singing for money, &c., on
Shrove Tuesday, is known from Oxf. to Dorset.
shrow, a ‘shrew’, a vixen, a scold. A frequent spelling of shrew
in old editions of Shakespeare; and always pronounced so, cp. the
rimes in Tam. Shrew, iv. 1. 213; v. 2. 28; v. 2. 188; shroe, Peele,
Arraignment of Paris, iv. 1 (Bacchus).
 shug, to slip, to wriggle. Ford, Witch of Edmonton, v. 1 (Dog).
See EDD. (s.v. Shuck, vb.1 2).
shuter, a suitor. A common pronunciation of suitor; puns on
shooter and suitor occur often. London Prodigal, i. 2. 42; cp. L. L. L.
iv. 1. 110; Puritan Widow, il. 1. 97.
shuttle-brained, thoughtless, flighty. Udall, tr. of Apoph.,
Cicero, § 6. From the movements of the shuttle.
sidanen, a fine woman; an epithet. Northward Ho, ii. 1 (Capt.
Jenkin). Welsh sidanen, silken, made of silk; also, an epithet for a
fine woman (Owen). Applied sometimes to Queen Elizabeth; so
Nares.
siddon, soft, tender, mellow. Marston, Antonio, Pt. II, iv. 1
(Piero). Current in west midland counties, chiefly of peas or other
vegetables which become soft in boiling, see EDD. (s.v. Sidder). Cp.
OE. syde, a decoction, the water in which anything has been
seethed or boiled (B. T.). Cognate with seethe, pp. sodden; see Dict.
(s.v. Seethe).
side, long, hanging down a long way; ‘Side sleeves’, Much Ado,
iii. 4. 21; Skelton, Bowge of Courte, 440; B. Jonson, New Inn, v. 1
(Fly). In prov. use in Scotland and various parts of England (EDD.).
ME. syde, as a gowne, ‘defluxus, talaris’ (Cath. Angl.); ‘syde sleeves’
(Hoccleve, Reg. P. 535). See Dict. M. and S. (s.v. Syde). OE. sīd,
ample, wide, large, extensive.
side, to set up a, to be partners in a game. B. Jonson, Sil.
Woman, iii. 2 (Cent.).
sie, sye, to strain milk. Fitzherbert, Husbandry, § 146. 10. ‘I
sye mylke, or clense’, Palsgrave. In prov. use in Scotland, England
down to Glouc. (EDD.). OE. sēon (sīan), to strain; cp. asiende,
‘excolantes’ (Matt. xxiii. 24, Mercian Gloss); see B. T. (s.v. āsēon).
siege, a seat, esp. one used by a person of rank or distinction,
Spenser, F. Q. ii. 2. 39; hence, rank, Othello, i. 2. 22; the station of a
heron on the watch for prey, Massinger, Guardian, i. 1 (Durazzo); a
privy, Phaer, Pestilence (NED.); evacuation, B. Jonson, Sejanus, i. 2;
excrement, Tempest, ii. 2. 110. ME. sege, ‘sedes, secessus’ (Prompt.
EETS. 404, see notes). See sege.
sieve and shears, a mode of divination; used for the
recovery of things lost. B. Jonson, Alchem. i. 1 (Face); Butler, Hud. i.
2. 848. See EDD. (s.v. Riddle, sb.1 1 (1)).
sifflement, a whistling, chirping. Brewer, Lingua, i. 1
(Auditus). F. siffler, to whistle, L. sifilare, a dialect form of sibilare.
sight, pt. t. sighed. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 8. 20; vi. 10. 40. ME.
sighte (Chaucer, C. T. B. 1035), pt. s. of syke, to sigh.
signatures, marks. The medicinal virtues of some plants
were supposed to be indicated by their forms or by marks upon
them. Butler, Hud. iii. 1. 329.
sikerly, certainly, surely. Gammer Gurton’s Needle, last scene
(Gammer). Still in prov. use in the north country, see EDD. (s.v.
Sickerly). ME. sikerly (Chaucer); sikerliche (P. Plowman). OE. sicor,
sure, safe; certain (B. T.).
silder, less frequently. Tancred and Gismunda, ii. 3 (Lucrece);
in Hazlitt’s Dodsley, vii. 46. See seld.
silly, simple, rustic; innocent. Spenser, F. Q. i. 6. 35; iii. 8. 27;
poor, wretched, weak, Peele, Sir Clyomon, ed. Dyce, pp. 491, 533.
See sely.
silverling, a piece of silver; ‘Fifty thousande silverlynges’,
Tyndale, Acts xix. 9; so the Cranmer version, 1539, and the Geneva,
1557; Bible, Isaiah vii. 23; here Luther has Silberlinge. In Marlowe,
Jew of Malta, i. 1. 6, silverling = the Jewish coin, the shekel.
†simming, simmering. Beaumont and Fl., Coxcomb, iv. 6. 27.
simper, to twinkle, glimmer. Beaumont and Fl., Lover’s
Progress, iii. 1. 8; ‘I mark how starres above Simper and shine’, G.
Herbert, The Church, The Search, l. 14.
simper, to simmer; ‘I symper, as lycour dothe on the fyre
before it begynneth to boyle’, Palsgrave. In prov. use in north
Ireland, west Yorks., and east Anglia (EDD.).
simper-the-cocket, an affected coquettish air; a woman
so characterised, a flirt. B. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed (Patrico);
Skelton, El. Rummyng, 55; simper de cocket, ‘Coquine, a beggar-
woman; also a simper de cockit, nice thing’, Cotgrave; Heywood’s
Proverbs, Pt. ii, ch. 1 (ed. Farmer, 52). See Nares.
simple, a simple remedy, as a plant used medicinally without
admixture; ‘Where a sycknesse may be cured with symples’, Sir T.
Elyot, Castel of Helthe, bk. ii, c. 28; to gather simples or medicinal
herbs, Butler, Hud. ii. 3. 823.
simulty, a grudge. B. Jonson, Discoveries, cxxii, § 2. F.
simulté, a grudge (Cotgr.). L. simultas, a hostile encounter,
animosity.
sin, since. Spenser, F. Q. vi. 11. 44. In gen. prov. use (EDD.).
ME. sithen, since (Wars Alex.); see Dict. M. and S. OE. sīððan.
single: single money, small change; ‘The ale-wives’ single
money’, B. Jonson, Alchem. v. 2 (Subtle); Fletcher, Woman’s Prize, iv.
5 (Pedro).
single, in hunting, the tail of a deer; ‘The tayle of Harte,
Bucke, Rowe or any other Deare is to be called the Syngle’,
Turbervile, Hunting, 243 (NED.); Howell, Parley of Beasts, 63; used
of Pan’s tail, ‘That single wagging at thy butt’, Cotton, Burlesque,
277 (Davies). Hence, ‘a boy leasht on the single’, is explained by
‘beaten on the taile’, Lyly, Midas, iv. 3 (Pet.). Still in prov. use in
Northants. and west Somerset, see EDD. (s.v. Single, sb.1 9).
singler, a full-grown wild boar. Manwood, Lawes Forest, iv, §
5. See sanglier.
 singles, the claws of a hawk. The middle claws were called
the long singles, and the outer the petty singles. Heywood, A
Woman killed, i. 3 (Sir Francis). The single was orig. the middle or
outer claw on the foot of the hawk (NED.).
† singles, the entrails; ‘The singles (Lat. prosecta) also of a
wolfe’, Golding, Metam. vii. 271; fol. 82 (1603). Not found
elsewhere.
sink and sise, five and six; at dice; ‘All at sink and sise’, i.e.
I have lost all my effects at dice-playing, Like will to Like, in Hazlitt’s
Dodsley, iii. 346.
sinkanter, a term of contempt; ‘One Volanerius, an old
sinkanter or gamester and scurrilous companion by profession’,
Jackson, Creed, x. 19; ‘Rocard, an overworn sincaunter, one that can
neither whinny nor wag the tail’, Cotgrave.
si quis, an advertisement; also called a bill. B. Jonson, Ev.
Man out of Humour, ii. 2 (end). From L. si quis, lit. if any one; from
the first two words; the advertisement begins: ‘If there be any lady
or gentlewoman’, id., iii. 1 (Puntarvolo). Cp. Hall, Sat. ii. 5. 1.
Sir John, a familiar appellation for a priest, because John was
a common name, and it was usual to prefix sir to a priest’s name.
Richard III, iii. 2. 111; Heywood, Wise Woman of Hogsdon, i. 2
(Luce). Cp. Chaucer (C. T. B. 4000), ‘Com neer thou preest, com
hider thou sir John.’ See NED. (s.v. Sir, 4).
sirts of sand, quicksands. Mirror for Mag., Madan, st. 7. For
syrtes, pl. of L. Syrtis, Gk. Σύρτις, the name of two large sandbanks
(Major and Minor) on the coast of Libya. Cp. ‘A boggy Syrtis’, Milton,
P. L. ii. 939.
sit, to be fitting, to befit, suit; ‘It sits not’ (i.e. it is unbecoming),
Spenser, F. Q. i. 1. 30; ‘With them it sits’, Shep. Kal., May, 77; id.,
Nov., 26. In the north country ‘It sits him weel indeed’ is often said
ironically of a person who arrogates to himself more than is thought
proper, see EDD. (s.v. Sit, 16). Sitting, suitable, fit, becoming; ‘To the
[thee] it is sittynge’, Fabyan, Chron., Part vii, c. 232; ed. Ellis, p. 265;
Skelton, Garl. of Laurell, 149.
sith,time; also pl. times. Spenser has ‘a thousand sith’, a
thousand times, F. Q. iii. 10. 33; also, ‘a thousand sithes’, Shep. Kal.,
Jan., 49. OE. sīð, a journey, time.
sith, since. Drayton, Pol. xiii. 95. ME. sith, since (Chaucer, C. T.
A. 930).
sithence, since. Coriolanus, iii. 1. 47. ME. sithenes, since (P.
Plowman, B. x. 257; xix. 15).
six,
small beer; sold at 6s. a barrel; ‘A cup of six’, Rowley, A
Match at Midnight, i. 1 (Tim).
six and seven, to set all on, ‘to risk all one’s property
on the hazard of the dice; Omnem iacere aleam, to cast all dice, . . .
to set al on sixe and seuen, and at al auentures to ieoperd’, Udall, tr.
of Apoph., Julius, § 7; ‘Or wager laid at six and seven’, Butler, Hud.
iii. 1. 588.
skails, a game like ninepins; the same as ‘kails’. ‘Aliossi, a play
called Nine pins or keeles, or skailes’, Florio (1598); North, tr. of
Plutarch, Alcibiades, § 1. See NED. (s.v. Skayles).
† skainsmate. Only occurs as spoken by the Nurse in
Romeo, ii. 4. 163, ‘Scurvy Knave! I am none of his flirt-gills; I am
none of his skainsmates’. The nurse was no very correct speaker,
and in the heat of her anger she has in this case become wholly
unintelligible. The guesses of the commentators and glossarists are
devoid of probability.
skeen, a knife. Merry Devil, ii. 2. 54; skeane, Spenser, State of
Ireland (Globe ed., p. 631); skene, Brewer, Lingua, i. 1 (first stage-
direction). Also skaine, Drayton, Pol. iv. 384. In prov. use in Scotland
and Ireland, see EDD. (s.v. Skean). Sc. and Ir. Gaelic, sgian, a knife.
 skelder, to beg impudently by false representations, to
swindle (Cant). B. Jonson, Poetaster, i. 1 (Luscus); ib. (Tucca); iii. 1
(Tucca); Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Moll).
skellet, a ‘skillet’, a small pot or pan; a small kettle. Skelton,
El. Rummyng, 250; skillet, Othello, i. 3. 273. ‘Skellet’ (also ‘skillet’), a
small metal pan or saucepan, is in gen. prov. use in the British Isles
and America, see EDD. (s.v. Skillet).
skellum; see schellum.
skelp, to strike with the hand, to smack; ‘I shall skelp thee on
the skalpe’, Skelton, Magnyfycence, 2207. In gen. prov. use in the
British Isles; in England in the north and Midland counties, see EDD.
(s.v. Skelp, vb.1). ME. skelpe, to smite with a scourge (Wars Alex.
1924).
skew at, to look askance at, to slight. Beaumont and Fl.,
Loyal Subject, ii. 1 (Putskie); ‘To skewe, limis oculis spectare’, Levins,
Manip. ‘To skew’ is in prov. use in the north of England in the sense
of to look askance at any one, see EDD. (s.v. Skew, vb.1 18).
skew rom-bouse, to quaff good drink (Cant). Middleton,
Roaring Girl, v. 1 (Song); a skew, a cuppe; Harman, Caveat, p. 83.
†skibbered (?).
‘What slimie bold presumptuous groome is he,
Dares with his rude audacious hardy chat,
Thus sever me from skibbered contemplation?’
Return from Parnassus, i. 6 (Furor).
The Halliwell-Phillipps MS. of the play reads skybredd
(communicated by Mr. Percy Simpson). Dr. H. Bradley suggests
skyward.
skice, skise, to frisk about, move nimbly, make off quickly;
‘Skise out this way, and skise out that way’, Brome, Jovial Crew, iv. 1
(Randal). In prov. use—Sussex, Hampshire, &c. (EDD.).
 skill, to make a difference; ‘It skills not much’, it makes little
difference, Tam. Shrew, iii. 2. 134; ‘It skills not’, it makes no
difference, Nero, v. 2; ‘It skilleth not’, Lyly, Euphues (ed Arber, 245).
Extremely common from 1550 to 1650, see NED.
skillet, see skellet.
skimble-skamble, rambling, incoherent. 1 Hen. IV, iii.
154. See scamble.
skimmington, a ceremony practised on unpopular persons
in various parts of England; fully described in EDD. See Heywood,
Witches of Lancs. iv. 230; Oldham, Satires upon the Jesuits, iv (ed.
R. Bell, p. 125). See Brand’s Pop. Antiq., Cornutes (ed. 1877, p.
414), for an account of ‘Riding Skimmington’, where it is described
as a ludicrous cavalcade intended to ridicule a man beaten by his
wife.
skink, to draw or pour out liquor. B. Jonson, New Inn, i
(Lovel); Phaer, Aeneid vii, 133. Hence, Under-skinker, 1 Hen. IV, ii. 4.
26. ME. skinke, to pour out (Chaucer, C. T. E. 1722). For full account
of this verb see Dict. (s.v. Nunchion).
skipjack, a pert fellow, a whipper-snapper. Greene,
Alphonsus, i. 1 (Alph.); also, a horse-dealer’s boy, Dekker, Lanthorne,
x; see Nares. ‘Skipjack’ is in prov. use in north of England in sense of
a pert, conceited fellow, see EDD. (s.v. Skip, vb.1 1 (2 a)).
skipper, a barn (Cant). ‘A skypper, a barne’, Harman, Caveat,
p. 83; B. Jonson, Gipsies Metamorphosed (Jackman). Possibly
Cornish sciber, Welsh ysgubor, a barn (NED.), Med. L. scopar,
‘scuria, stabulum’ (Ducange).
skirr, to pass rapidly over a stretch of land; ‘Skirre the country
round’, Macbeth, v. 3. 35. Of doubtful origin (NED.). In prov. use in
the sense of to scurry, rush, fly quickly (EDD.).
skit, skittish, restive. Spelt skyt, Skelton, Against the Scottes,
101. See EDD. (s.v. Skit, vb.2 1).
 skoase, to chaffer, barter, exchange. Warner, Albion’s England,
bk. vi, ch. 31, st. 64. See scorse.
skope, skoope, pt. t. of scape, scaped, escaped, got away.
Phaer, Aeneid ii, 458 (L. evado); skoope = escaped to, id., vi. 425;
skoope, escaped, id., ix. 545 (L. elapsi).
skoser; see scorse.
skull, a skull-cap, helmet. Beaumont and Fl., Humorous
Lieutenant, iv. 4. 5.
skull; see scull.
skyrgaliard, a wild or dissipated fellow, Skelton, Against the
Scottes, 101; id., Speke, Parrot, 427. See galliard.
slab up, to sup up greedily and dirtily; ‘Ye never saw hungry
dog so slab (printed stab) potage up’, Jacob and Esau, in Hazlitt’s
Dodsley, ii. 215. See NED. (s.v. Slab, vb.2).
slake, a shallow dell, a glade, a pass between hills. Morte
Arthur, leaf 95. 6; bk. vi, c. 5. In prov. use in Scotland, Ireland, and
in various parts of England, in the north down to Lincoln, see EDD.
(s.v. Slack, sb.3 1). Icel. slakki, a small shallow dell.
slam, an ungainly person; ‘He is but a slam’, Vanbrugh, The
Relapse, v. 5 (Nurse); ‘A slam or slim Fellow is a skragged, tall,
rawboned Fellow’, Ray, N. C. Words (ed. 1691, 137), see NED. (s.v.
Slam, adj.).
slampant: in phr. to give one the (or a) slampant, to play a
trick on; ‘Polyperchon . . . meaning to give Cassander a slampant
. . . sent letters Pattents’, North, Plutarch (ed. 1595, 805); ‘Trousse,
a cousening tricke, blurt, slampant’, Cotgrave; also in form
slampaine, ‘The townesmen being pinched at the heart that one
rascal . . . should give them the slampaine’, Stanyhurst, Desc. of
Ireland (ed. 1808, vi. 30); also spelt slampam, ‘Shal a stranger geve
me the slampam?’, Stanyhurst, tr. of Aeneid, iv. 633.
 slat, to dash, strike violently. Marston, Malcontent, iv. 1
(Malevole). In prov. use in various parts of England, meaning to
throw violently, to dash down water or other liquid, also, to strike,
beat, see EDD. (s.v. Slat, vb.3 1).
slate, a cant term for a sheet. Middleton, Roaring Girl, v. 1
(Trapdoor); Fletcher, Beggar’s Bush, iii. 3 (Higgen); Harman, Caveat,
p. 61.
slaty, muddy, rainy. Skelton, El. Rummyng, 258. ‘Slatty’ is a
Warw. word for muddy, see EDD. (s.v. Slat, sb.4 1).
sled, a sledge or sleigh used as a vehicle in travelling or for
recreation; ‘With milke-white Hartes upon an Ivorie sled Thou shalt
be drawen’, Marlowe, 1 Tamburlaine, i. 2. In common prov. use for a
low cart without wheels, see EDD. (s.v. Sled, sb.1 1). ME. slede, a
dray without wheels, a harrow, ‘traha’ (Prompt. EETS. 415).
sledded, (perhaps) riding in ‘sleds’ or sledges; ‘He smote the
sledded Pollax on the ice’, Hamlet, i. 1. 63 (a Polack is a Pole, an
inhabitant of Poland). So NED.
sledge, a sledge-hammer; ‘To throw the sledge’, Beaumont
and Fl., Scornful Lady, v. 2 (Elder Loveless). A Devon word, see EDD.
(s.v. Sledge, sb.2).
sleek, plausible, specious. Hen. VIII, iii. 2. 241; Chapman,
Eastward Ho, ii. 2. Later variant form of ME. slĭke; see slick.
sleided silk, sleaved silk, silk ravelled out, divided into
filaments. Pericles, iv, Prol. 21.
sleight, a cunning trick, an artifice. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 12. 81;
Massinger, New Way to pay, v. 1; 3 Hen. VI, iv. 2. 20; spelt slight,
Middleton, More Dissemblers, iv. 1; Butler, Hud. i. 2. 747. See Dict.
slent, to slip or glide obliquely; ‘The stroke slented doune to
the erthe’, Morte Arthur, leaf 345. 24; bk. xvii, c. 1; to make sly hits
or gibes, ‘One Proteas, a pleasaunt conceited man, and that could
slent finely’, North, Plutarch (NED.); hence, slent, a sly hit or
sarcasm, ‘Cleopatra found Antonius jeasts and slents to be but
grosse’, ib., M. Antonius, § 13 (in Shaks. Plut., p. 175). See EDD.
(s.v. Slent, vb.1).
slibber-sauce, a nauseous concoction, used esp. for
medicinal purposes, Lyly, Euphues (ed. Arber, 116); slibber sawces,
buttery, oily, made-up sauces, Stubbes, Anat. of Abuses (ed.
Furnivall, 105).
slick, smooth, plausible. Rawlins, Rebellion, iv. 1. 4. Cp. prov.
slick-tongued, smooth-tongued, plausible in speech, see EDD. (s.v.
Slick, adj.1 6 (2)). ME. slyke, or smothe, ‘lenis’ (Prompt.). See sleek.
slick, to make smooth. Gascoigne, Steel Glas, l. 1144;
Chapman, tr. of Iliad, xxiii. 249. In prov. use in England and America
(EDD.). ME. slyken, to make smooth (P. Plowman, B. ii. 98).
slidder, slippery. The Pardoner and the Frere, in Hazlitt’s
Dodsley, i. 213; ‘My tongue is grown sae slip and slidder’, Stuart,
Joco-serious Discourse (ed. 1686, 20); see EDD. ME. slydyr,
‘lubricus’ (Prompt. EETS. 416); ‘A slidir mouth worchith fallyngis’,
Wyclif, Prov. xxvi. 28. OE. slidor.
slidder, to slip, to slide. Dryden, tr. of Aeneid, ii. 749. In prov.
use in Scotland and various parts of England (EDD.). OE. slid(e)rian,
to slip.
slifter, a cleft or crack; ‘Fente, a cleft, rift, slifter, chinke’,
Cotgrave. A north-country word (EDD.). Hence sliftered, cleft, rifted,
Marston, Antonio, Pt. I, i. 1 (Antonio). Cp. G. (dial.) Schlifter, gully,
watercourse.
slight; see sleight.
slighten, to slight, depreciate. B. Jonson, Sejanus (end).
slip, a counterfeit coin. Often quibbled upon; as in Romeo, ii. 4.
51; Middleton, No Wit like a Woman’s, iii. 1 (Pickadill). See NED. (s.v.
Slip, sb.4).
slipper, slippery. Othello, ii. 1. 246. A west-country word, see
EDD. (s.v. Slipper, adj. 1). OE. slipor.
slipstring, a knave; one who has eluded the halter.
Gascoigne, Supposes, iii. 1 (Dalio); ‘Goinfre, a wag, slipstring,
knavish lad’, Cotgrave. In prov. use the word means an idle,
worthless, slovenly person, so in Northants and Warw., see EDD.
(s.v. Slip, 3, (22)).
slive, to slice, cleave; to strip off (a bough) by tearing it
downward; ‘I slyue a floure from his braunche’, Palsgrave; ‘The
boughes whereof . . . he cutting and sliving downe’, Warner, Alb.
England, prose addition on Aeneid ii, § 1. In prov. use in various
parts of England, see EDD. (s.v. Slive, vb.1 1). ME. slyvyn, a-sundyr,
‘findo’ (Prompt. EETS. 459). OE. (to)-slīfan, to split.
sliver, a small branch split off from the tree. Hamlet, iv. 7. 174.
In gen. prov. use for a slice, a splinter of wood (EDD.). ME. slivere, a
piece cut or split off (Chaucer, Tr. and Cr. iii. 1013).
sliver, to slice off. Macbeth, iv. 1. 28. In prov. use: ‘If you
sliver away at the meat like that there’ll be none left for to-morrow’
(Cambridge); see EDD.
sloape, deceitful; ‘For hope is sloape’, Mirror for Mag., Ferrex,
st. 18. ‘Slope’ (or ‘sloap’) is in prov. use in Yorks., meaning to trick,
cheat (EDD.).
slot, the track of a stag or deer upon the ground. B. Jonson,
Sad Shepherd, i. 2 (John); to follow a track, Stanyhurst, tr. Aeneid, i.
191. OF. esclot, hoof-print of a horse, &c. (Godefroy), probably of
Scand. origin, cp. Icel. slōð, a track; so NED.
† sloy, a term of abuse for a woman. Warner, Alb. England, bk.
xi, ch. 58, st. 26. Not found elsewhere.
 slubber, to sully, Othello, i. 3. 227; to obscure, 1 Part of
Jeronimo, ii. 4. 67; see Hazlitt’s Dodsley, iv. 374. In prov. use for
obscuring with dirt (EDD.).
slubberdegullion, a slubbering rascal (Burlesque).
Beaumont and Fl., Custom of the Country, i. 2. 18; Butler, Hud. i. 3.
886.
sludge, to turn into a soft mass, ‘The flame had sludgd the
pitche, the waxe and wood And other things that nourish fire’,
Golding, Metam. xiv. 532.
slug, to be lazy, inactive. Spenser, F. Q. ii. 1. 23; slogge,
Palsgrave; ‘Another sleeps and slugs both night and day’, Quarles,
Emblems (bk. i. 8, Luke vi. 25). ME. sluggyn, ‘desidio’ (Prompt.).
slug, a slow, inactive person; ‘Fie, what a slug is Hastings, that
he comes not’, Richard III, iii. 1. 22; slugge, a hindrance, ‘Money
would be stirring, if it were not for this slugge’, Bacon, Essay 41, § 2.
‘Slug’ is in prov. use in the north country for a slow inactive person
or animal; in Somerset, esp. of a slow-going horse; ‘to slug’ in Yorks.
means to hinder, to retard progress (EDD.). ME. slugge, ‘deses,
segnis’ (Prompt.).
slur, a method of cheating at dice; ‘Without some fingering
trick or slur’, Butler, Misc. Thoughts (ed. Bell, iii. 176). Also, a term in
card-playing, ‘ ’Gainst high and low, and slur, and knap’, Butler, Upon
Gaming. See NED. (s.v. Slur, sb.2 2).
slurg, to lie in a sleepy state, to lie sluggishly. Phaer, Aeneid vi,
424; id., ix. 190. G. (Swabian dial.) schlurgen, to go about in a
slovenly manner (J. C. Schmid).
smack, to savour of, to taste of; ‘This veneson smacketh to
moche of the pepper’, Palsgrave; fig., ‘All sects, all ages smack of
this vice’, Meas. for M. ii. 2. 5. ME. smakkyn, ‘odoro’ (Prompt.). See
smatch.
 smalach, ‘smallage’, wild celery or water parsley, Tusser,
Husbandry, § 45. 20. ME. smale ache, ‘apium’ (Sin. Barth. 11), E.
small + F. ache, wild celery, O. Prov. ache, api, Pop. L. *apia, L.
apium.
smatch, a ‘smack’, taste, flavour. Jul. Caesar, v. 4. 46;
Middleton, The Widow, i. 1 (Martino). In prov. use in various parts of
England (EDD.). ME. smach, taste, flavour (NED.). OE. smæc(c. See
smack.
smeath, a small diving-bird; the ‘smee’ or ‘smew’, Mergellus
albellus. Drayton, Pol. xxv. 67.
Smeck, short for Smectymnuus, a fictitious name
compounded of the initials of the five men who wrote under that
name, viz. Stephen Marshall, Edward Calamy, Thomas Young,
Matthew Newcomen, and William Spurstow. They are said to have
worn particular cravats, which Butler calls cravat of Smeck, Hud. i. 3.
1166.
smelt, a name applied to various small fishes, used (like
gudgeon) with the sense of simpleton. B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels,
ii. 1 (Mercury); Fletcher, Love’s Pilgrimage, v. 2 (end).
smelt, a half-guinea (Cant). Shadwell, Squire of Alsatia, i. 1
(Hackum).
smicker, elegant, handsome; ‘A smicker Swaine’, Lodge,
Euphues (NED.); smirking, gay, Peele, Eclogue Gratulatory, 4 (ed.
Dyce, 561). Cp. the obsolete Scotch smicker, to smile affectedly, to
smirk (EDD.). OE. smicer, elegant.
smickly, fine, elegant, smart; or it may be used adverbially.
Ford, Sun’s Darling, ii. 1 (Raybright). Cp. Dan. smykke, to adorn, G.
schmücken.
smock: He was wrapt up in the tail of his mother’s smock;
said of any one remarkable for his success with the ladies (Grose).
See Marston, What you Will, v. 1 (Bidet). ‘Il est né tout coiffé, Born
rich, honourable, fortunate; born with his mother’s kercher about his
head; wrapt in his mother’s smock, say we; also, he is very
maidenly, shame-faced, heloe’, Cotgrave.
smoke, to get an inkling of, to smell or suspect (a plot), to
detect. Middleton, Roaring Girl (2 Cutpurse); ‘Sir John, I fear, smokes
your design’, Dryden, Sir M. Mar-all, 1; see NED. (s.v. 8).
smoky, quick to suspect, suspicious, Shadwell, Squire of
Alsatia, iv. 1 (Belfond senior).
smolder, smoky vapour, a suffocating smoke the result of
slow combustion; ‘The smolder of smoke’, Bp. Andrewes, Serm. (ed.
1661, 472); to be smoldered, to be suffocated, Caxton, Reynard (ed.
Arber, 98). ME. smolder, smoky vapour (P. Plowman, B. xvii. 321).
smoor, to smother. Webster, White Devil (Flamineo), ed. Dyce,
p. 44; ‘She smoored him in the slepe’, Coverdale, 1 Kings iii. 19. In
prov. use in the north of England, see EDD. (s.v. Smoor, vb.1).
smouch, to kiss. Heywood, 1 King Edw. IV (Hobs), vol. i, p.
40; Stubbes, Anat. of Abuses (ed. Furnivall, p. 155). In prov. use in
various parts of England (EDD.). Cp. G. (Swabian dial.) schmutz,
‘derber Kuss’ (Schmid).
smug, to smarten up, to make trim or gay; freq. with up,
Chapman, tr. of Odyssey, x. 568; Drayton, Pol. x. 69; xxi. 73; Dekker,
Shoemakers’ Holiday, iii. 3 (Firk). ‘Smug’ is in prov. use in various
parts of England for smart, tidily dressed: also, as vb., to dress up
neatly (EDD.).
smuggle, to hug violently, to smother with caresses, Otway,
Ven. Preserved, last scene; line 13 from end. In prov. use in
Somerset and Devon, see EDD. (s.v. Smuggle, vb.2).
smug-skinnde, sleek, smooth-skinned. Gascoigne, Herbs,
ed. Hazlitt, i. 393.
snache; see snatch.
 ’snails, a profane oath, for ‘God’s nails’, i.e. ‘Christ’s nails’ on
the Cross. Beaumont and Fl., Wit at several Weapons, v. 1
(Pompey); London Prodigal, v. 1. 222. Cp. Chaucer, ‘By goddes
precious herte, and by his nayles’ (C. T. C. 651).
snakes: To eat snakes was a recipe for enabling one to grow
younger. Dekker, Honest Wh., Pt. II, i. 2 (Orlando); Beaumont and
Fl., Elder Brother, iv. 4 (Andrew).
snaphance, a flint-lock used in muskets and pistols, Lyly,
Mother Bombie, ii. 1 (Dromio); a musket or gun fitted with a flint-
lock, Capt. Smith, Virginia, iii. 12. 93 (NED.). Du. snaphaan, ‘a
firelock, fusee, snaphaunce’ (Sewel).
snaphance, an armed robber, a highwayman. Holinshed,
Chron. ii. 684. Du. ‘snaphaan, a Fuselier carrying a snaphaan’
(Sewel), also a mounted highwayman. Cp. G. schnapphahn in 1494,
schnapphan, a highwayman (Brant, Narrenschiff); schnapphahn in
prov. Germ. has also the meaning of constable, thief-catcher. See
Weigand and H. Paul (s.v.). Cp. F. chenapan, ‘mot tiré de l’Allemand,
où il désigne un brigand des Montagnes noires; en François, il
signifie un vaurien, un bandit’, Dict. de l’Acad., 1762.
snapper, to trip, to stumble. Skelton, ed. Dyce, i. 15, l. 4; id.,
Ware the Hauke, 142; ‘I snapper as a horse dothe that tryppeth, Je
trippette’, Palsgrave. A north-country word, see EDD. (s.v. Snapper,
vb.1 1). ME. snapere, to stumble: ‘Thi foot schal not snapere’ (Wyclif,
Prov. iii. 23); snapir (Wars Alex. 847).
snar, to snarl; ‘Tygres that did seeme to gren And snar at all’,
Spenser, F. Q. vi. 12. 27. Cp. Du. snarren, to snarl (Hexham).
snarl, to ensnare, entangle. Spenser, F. Q. iii. 12. 17; J.
Beaumont, Psyche, ix. 275; Palsgrave. A north-country word for
snaring hares or rabbits, see EDD. (s.v. Snarl, vb.2 2). ME. snarlyn,
‘illaqueo’ (Prompt.).
 snatch, a trap, snare, entanglement; ‘The Chevalier . . . being
taken in a Gin like unto a Snatch’, Shelton, Quixote, iii. 1; spelt
snache, ‘A new-founde snache which did my feet ensnare’. Mirror for
Mag., Carassus, st. 43. ME. snacche, a trap, snare (K. Alis. 6559).
sneaker, a sneaking fellow; ‘Clarke is a pitifull proud sneaker’,
Reliq. Hearnianae (ed. Bliss, 483); ‘Origlione, an eavesdropper, a
listener, . . . a sneaker, a lurking knave’ (Florio).
sneap, to nip or pinch with cold; ‘An envious sneaping Frost’ L.
L. L. i. 1. 100; ‘The sneaped birds’, Lucrece, 333. In prov. use in the
north of England: ‘They’n do well if they dunna get sneaped wi’ the
frost’ (Cheshire), see EDD. (s.v. Snape, vb. 2). Also, to check,
repress, reprove, chide, snub, Brome, Antipodes, iv. 9 (NED.); ‘A
man quickly sneapt’, Maiden’s Tragedy, iii. 1 (Servant), in Hazlitt’s
Dodsley, x. 428. In prov. use (EDD.). ME. snaip, to rebuke sharply
(Cursor M. 13027), Icel. sneypa, to chide (NED. s.v. Snape, vb.1).
sneb, to reprimand sharply, Sidney, Arcadia, xxxiii. 22; snebbe,
Spenser, Shep. Kal., Feb., 126. In prov. use in Lancashire (EDD.). In
Chaucer, C. T. A. 525, some MSS. have snebbe. Swed. dial. snebba
(Rietz). See snib.
sneck up; see snick.
snetched, slaughtered; ‘A snetched Oxe’, Golding, Metam. v.
122 (Lat. mactati iuuenci). Not found elsewhere.
snib, to reprimand, rebuke sharply; ‘Christian snibbeth his
fellow for unadvised speaking’, Bunyan, Pilgr. Pr. i. 169; Middleton,
Five Gallants, ii. 3 (Tailor); Spenser, Mother Hubberd, 372; to snip
off, as with snuffers, Marston, Malcontent, iii. 1 (Malevole). In prov.
use, in the sense of rebuking sharply, in Scotland and north of
England down to Bedford (EDD.). ME. snibben, to rebuke (Chaucer,
C. T. A. 523). Dan. snibbe. See sneb.
snick: snick up (used imperatively), be hanged! London
Prodigal, v. 1; Middleton, Blurt, Master Constable, iv. 1; Snecke up!,
Twelfth Nt. ii. 3. 101; also used with go, ‘Let him go snick up’,
Beaumont and Fl., Knt. Burning Pestle, ii. 2 (Mrs. Merrythought);
Davenant, Play-House (Works, ed. 1673, 116). ‘Snick up!’, in the
sense of ‘Begone, go and be hanged’, is said to be in use in west
Yorks., see EDD. (s.v. Snickup, int. 4).
† snickfail; ‘Whereas the snickfail grows, and hyacinth’,
Webster, The Thracian Wonder, i. 2. A misprint for sinckfoil =
cinquefoil; cp. Greene, Menaphon (ed. Arber, 36); see NED. (s.v.
Cinquefoil). Communicated by Mr. Percy Simpson.
snickle, a running noose. Marlowe, Jew of Malta, iv. 5
(Ithamar). In prov. use in the north and east, esp. in Yorks. and
Linc. (EDD.). Here, for ‘snicle hand too fast’ we should probably read
‘two hands snickle-fast’, see various conjectures in Tucker Brooke’s
ed. of Marlowe.
snig, a young eel. Drayton, Pol. xxv. 96. In prov. use in various
parts of England (EDD.). ME. snygge, an eel (Cath. Angl.).
sniggle, to fish for eels by means of a baited hook or needle
thrust into their holes or haunts. I. Walton, Angler, ch. x. [In the
passage cited by Todd and later Dicts. from Fletcher’s Thierry, ii. 2, ‘I
have snigled him’, the correct reading is doubtless ‘singled’, so NED.]
snob, to sob. Puritan Widow, i. 1. 90; Middleton, Mad World,
iii. 2. In prov. use in Worc. and Glouc. (EDD.). ME. snobbe, to sob;
‘My sobbyng (v.r. snobbyng) and cries’ (Wyclif, Lam. iii. 56).
snudge, a miser, a mean person; ‘A covetous snudge’,
Ascham, Toxophilus (ed. Arber, p. 28); Dekker, O. Fortunatus, i. 2
(Shadow); ‘Snudge, parcus’, Levins, Manipulus. See EDD.
snudge, to remain snug and quiet; ‘Now he will . . . eat his
bread in peace, And snudge in quiet’, G. Herbert, Temple,
Giddinesse, 11. In prov. use in the north country and in E. Anglia
(EDD.).
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