The Dialect of the West of England; Particularly Somersetshire | Page 6

chiefly in the third person singular) to signify intention; to intimate.
These words are in very common use in the West of England. It is curious to note their gradation from Chaucer, whose expression is Beren hem on hond, or _bare him on hand_; implying always, it appears to me, the same meaning as I have given to the words above. There is, I think, no doubt, that these expressions of Chaucer, which he has used several times in his works, are figurative; when Chaucer tells us he _beren hem, in hond,_ the literal meaning is, he carried it in, or on, his hand so that it might be readily seen. "To bear on hand, to affirm, to relate."--JAMIESON'S Etymological Scots Dictionary. But, whatever be the meaning of these words in Chaucer, and at the present time in Scotland, the above is the meaning of them in the west of England.
Banes. _s. pl._ The banns of matrimony.
Ban'nin. _s._ That which is used for shutting out or stopping.
Ban'nut. _s._ A walnut. [Only used in northern parts of county.]
Barrow-pig. _s._ A gelt pig.
Baw'ker, Baw'ker-stone. _s._ A stone used for whetting scythes; a kind of sand-stone.
To Becall'. _v. a._ To censure; to reprove; to chide.
Bee'?¤s, Bease. _s. pl. [Beasts]_ Cattle. Applied only to Oxen not Sheep.
Bee-but, Bee-lippen. _s._ A bee-hive
Bee'dy. _s._ A chick.
Beedy's-eyes. _s.pl._ Pansy, love-in-idleness.
Beer. _s. See_ ALE.
Befor'n. _prep._ Before.
To Begird'ge, To Begrud'ge. _v. a._ To grudge; to envy.
LORD BYRON has used the verb begrudge in his notes to the 2nd canto of Childe Harold.
Begor'z, Begum'mers. _interj._
These words are, most probably, oaths of asseveration. The last appears to be a corruption of by godmothers. Both are thrown into discourse very frequently: _Begummers, I ont tell; I cant do it begorz._
Begrumpled. _part._ Soured; offended.
To Belg. _v. n._ To cry aloud; to bellow.
Bell-flower. _s._ A daffodil.
To Belsh. _v. a._ To cut off dung, &c., from the tails of sheep.
Bene?¤pt. _part._ Left aground by the recess of the spring tides.
To Benge. _v. n._ To remain long in drinking; to drink to excess.
Ben'net. _v._ Long coarse grass.
Ben'nety. _adj._ Abounding in bennets.
Ber'rin. _s._ [burying] A funeral procession.
To Beskum'mer. _v. a._ To foul with a dirty liquid; to besmear.
To Bethink' _v. a._ To grudge.
Bettermost. _adj._ The best of the better; not quite amounting to the best.
Betwat'tled. _part._ In a distressing and confused state of mind.
To Betwit'. _v. a._ To upbraid; to repeat a past circumstance aggravatingly.
To Bib'ble. _v. n._ To drink often; to tope.
Bib'bler. _s._ One who drinks often; a toper.
Bil'lid. _adj._ Distracted; mad.
Billy. _s._ A bundle of wheat straw.
Bi'meby. _adv._ By-and-by; some time hence.
Bin. _conj._ Because; probably corrupted from, being.
Bin'nick. _s._ A small fish; minnow; _Cyprinus phloxinus._
Bird-battin. _s._ The catching of birds with a net and lights by night. FIELDING uses the expression.
Bird-battin-net. _s._ The net used in bird-battin.
Birch'en. _adj._ Made of birch; relating to birch.
Bis'gee. _s._ (g hard), A rooting axe.
Bisky. _s._ Biscuit. The pronunciation of this word approximates nearer to the sound of the French cuit ["twice baked"] the t being omitted in this dialect.
To Bi'ver. _v. n._ To quiver; to shake.
Black-pot, _s._ Black-pudding.
Black'ymoor. _s._ A negro.
Blackymoor's-beauty. _s._ Sweet scabious; the musk-flower.
Blanker. _s._ A spark of fire.
Blans'cue. _s._ Misfortune; unexpected accident.
Blather. _s._ Bladder. To blather, _v. n._ To talk fast, and nonsensically [_to talk so fast that bladders form at the mouth_]
Ble?￠chy. _adj._ Brackish; saltish: applied to water.
Blind-buck-and-Davy. _s._ Blind-man's buff. Blindbuck and have ye, is no doubt the origin of this appellation for a well-known amusement.
Blis'som. _ad._ Blithesome.
Blood-sucker. _s._ A leech.
Bloody-warrior. _s._ The wall-flower.
Boar. _s._ The peculiar head or first flowing of water from one to two feet high at spring tides, in the river Parret a few miles below and at Bridgewater, and in some other rivers.
[In Johnson's Dictionary this is spelt _bore_; I prefer the above spelling. I believe the word is derived from the animal Boar, from the noise, rushing, and impetuosity of the water, Todd gives it "a tide swelling above another tide." Writers vary in their opinions on the causes of this phenomenon. St. Pierre. Ouvres, tom vi., p. 234, Ed. Hamburgh, 1797, describes it not exactly the same in the Seine as in the Parret:--"Cette montagne d'eau est produite par les mar?¨es qui entrent, de la mer dans la Seine, et la font refluer contre son cours. On l'appelle la Barre, parce-qu'elle barre le cours de la Seine. Cette barre est suiv??e d'une seconde barre plus elev?¨e, qui la suit a cent toises de distance. Elles courent beaucoup plus v??te qu'un cheval au galop." He says it is called Bar, because it bars the current. In the Encyclop. Metropol., art. Bore, the editor did not seem more fortunate in his derivation.]
Bobbish. _adj._ In health, and spirits. [Pirty bobbish, pretty well.] Bonk. _s._ Bank.
Boo?¤t. _s._ Boat.
Boo?¤th. _pron._ Both. "_Boo'?¤th o' ye_; both of you.
Bor'rid. _adj._ A sow is said to