The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire Part 11

Harm. _s._ Any contagious or epidemic disease not distinguished by a specific name.

Har'ras. _s._ Harvest.

Hart. _s._ A haft; a handle.

Applied to such instruments as knives, awls, etc.

Hathe. _s. To be in a hathe_, is to be set thick and close like the pustules of the small-pox or other eruptive disease; to be matted closely together.

To Have. _v. n._ To behave.

Haw. See _ho_.

Hay-maidens. _s. pl._ Ground ivy.

Hay'ty-tay'ty, Highty-t.i.ty. _interj._ What's here! _s._ [height and t.i.te, weight]. A board or pole, balanced in the middle on some prop, so that two persons, one sitting at each end, may move up and down in turn by striking the ground with the feet.

Sometimes called _Tayty_ [See-saw].

In Hay'digees. [g soft] _adv._ To be in high spirits; to be frolicsome.

Heat _s._ p.r.o.nounced He-at, dissyllable, heat.

Hea'ram-skearam. _adj._ Wild; romantic.

To Heel, _v. a._ To hide; to cover. Chaucer, "_hele_."

Hence, no doubt, the origin of _to heal_, to cure, as applied to wounds; _to cover over_.

Heeler, _s._ One who hides or covers. Hence the very common expression, _The healer is as bad as the stealer_; that is, the receiver is as bad as the thief.

Heft. _s._ Weight.

To h.e.l.l. _v. a._ To pour.

Hel'lier. _s._ A person who lays on the tiles of a roof; a tiler. A Devons.h.i.+re word.

Helm. _s._ Wheat straw prepared for thatching.

To Hen. _v. a._ To throw.

To Hent. _v. n._ To wither; to become slightly dry.

Herd _s._ A keeper of cattle.

Hereawa, Hereaway. _adv._ Hereabout.

Herence. _adv._ From this place; hence.

Hereright. _adv._ Directly; in this place.

Het. _p.r.o.n._ It. _Het o'nt_, it will not.

To Het. _v. a._ To hit, to strike; _part._ _het_ and _hut_.

To Hick. _v.n._ To hop on one leg.

Hick. _s._ A hop on one leg.

_Hick-step and jump._ Hop-step and jump. A well known exercise.

To Hike of. _v. n._ To go away; to go off. Used generally in a bad sense.

Hine. _adj._ (Hind) Posterior; relating to the back part.

Used only in composition, as, a _hine_ quarter.

To Hire tell. _v. n._ To hear tell; to learn by report; to be told.

Hip'pety-hoppety. _adv._ In a limping and hobbling manner.

Hirches. _s._ riches.

Hir'd. _v._ [i long] heard.

To Him. _v. n._ [_hirnd_, pret, and part.] To run.

To Hitch, _v. n._ To become entangled or hooked together; to hitch up, to hang up or be suspended. _See the next word._

To Hitch up. _v. a._ To suspend or attach slightly or temporarily.

The following will exemplify the active meaning of this verb:

Sir Strut, for so the witling throng Oft called him when at school, And _hitch'd_ him _up_ in many a song To sport and ridicule.

Hiz'en. Used for _his_ when not followed by a substantive, as, whose house is that? _Hiz'en._ [His own].

Hi'zy Pi'zy. A corruption of _Nisi Prius_, a well known law a.s.size.

To Ho for, To Haw vor. _v. a._ To provide for; to take care of; to desire; to wish for.

Hob'blers. _s. pl._ Men employed in towing vessels by a rope on the land.

Hod. _s._ A sheath or covering; perhaps from _hood_.

Hog. _s._ A sheep one year old.

To Hoke. _v. a._ To wound with horns; to gore.

Hod'medod. _adj._ Short; squat.