Posted by Allan_Lang on December 07, 2003 at 00:24:19 from 202.61.171.25 user Allan_Lang.
In Reply to: Re: BBC 4's Riddle of the Sands posted by John Nichols on December 06, 2003 at 22:54:32:
Anyone heard of the word - beside meaning death?
OED also contributes: a three year old salmon; a girl; a harlot.
James Orchard Halliwell's 1847 Dictionary of Archaic Words gives: a great quantity; death; a female "doxie"; and hog's lard.
Captain Grose's 1811 dictionary of the vulgar tongue notes: woman or wench; also a yeoman's daughter; motionless through fear
and the Dr Johnson adds: A tune sounded at the death of the game
"When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra." H. Dumpty