Page:Glossary of words in use in Cornwall.djvu/363

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56 THE DIALECT OP have met with no less than eight forms sugffeeted as represent- atives of pronoun /, viz. — A^ Ah, Au, 0, OX, 0%, Hoyh^ Hoyhe; but I apprehend they are reducible to four. A and Ah are probably the same sound ; Hoyh is an aspirated and rather fanciful form of Au or d, and Hoyhe of Oh or d; Oi is seemingly a transition sound, and to be rejected on that account. We may then consider Ah, Au, 0, 0, as Seing, to different ears at least, fair repre- sentatives of pronoun /. I am inclined to think that hereabout the usual sounds are the southern sound of Au, and its short form (the o in not, cot, &o,), and one or the other of the .two, generally the former, will be the usual representative of pronoun / in this glossary ; and to this I am the more inclined from having selected the form Aw years ago, before I was aware of the variations Long % ^not the pronoun) has other sounds as well, which will be spoken of in their place under Letter I. Abbnt, and sometimes Abbur, Ah 1 but : a common exclamation. Aboon, above, of which an old form is Ahomn ; and if the v weie elided, as is constantly the case here (see Letter V), aWen would be the result Halliwell gives two instances of ahotvea for ahovt, Ahoon is pronounced as spelt, and not as though ahooin, which might have been expected. See oo under Letter 0. Connected with this word is the curious local expression of * The Man ahoon,^ or * The Man above,* both of which are used for the Onmipotent. And I look upon it as a sign of a tender regard for the Third Commandment, that such a form is current^ which, considerins^ the nimierous oaths in use here, could hardly have been anticipated. I have heard tiie expression in conversation more than once, and I understand it is perfectly well known, and quite common. See Man Above. Addle, to earn : found in old authors, and still very common. A boy, who had a long way to walk to his work in Almondbury, said,

  • AuVe addled all my wftge wi' trailin'.'

Admirable has the i long, and is pronounced admaurahU : it is often used in the sense of wonderful, or surprising. Agate (^l. ugait), in action, or at work. Kay says as gate is way, so agate is on the way. In the compound form runagate it occurs in Psalm Ixviii. 6, Prayer Book version. In the Authorized Version the word is rendered by rebellious, [No doubt runagate had this meaning in popular etymology; it is, however, none the less true that it is a corrupt form, and stcuids for renegate, — ^W. W. S.] Agate is still constantly to be heard. * Who's been agate 6* this P ' = * Who's been meddling with this?' ^Wat ar* ta' agate onP' = 'What are you doing ? ' < T' beUs is agate,* L e. ringing. Agate'ards, i, e, agatewards, adv. To go agate^ards with a person is to accompany him part of the way. * Au'll go agate'arda wi' thee.' Aisiy even. The boys play at * odd or dim,* i. e. odd or even. Aim, used to denote a desire, or expectation. I had aimed to do so and so, means I had expected, &c. See Intend. Ains, or Anes, the beards of corn, especially of barley ; awns.