Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Songs, English -- England -- Texts
Dele: division, "never a dele," never a bit.
Dereworthy: precious.
Derne: secret.
Devilkins: of the devil's kind.
Dight: made ready; dightand: being made ready.
Do gladly: make good cheer.
Do him drink: make him drink.
Donkir: moister.
Dowie: dull, sorrowful.
Dree: suffer, endure.
Dule: sorrow. French - deuil.
Eftsoons: again soon, soon after.
Fause: false.
Fay: faith.
Fend of: defend from.
Fere: companion. In fere: in companionship, together.
Ferre and fremd bestad: one from afar and among strangers.
Fet: fetched.
Flattered: floated to and fro.
Flyte: scold.
Fone: foes.
Force: no force: of no importance, no matter.
Forthinketh: repenteth.
Fosters of the fee: foresters in charge of the stock of deer.
Fou: bushel.
Freke: fighting-man.
Frese: curl, bend.
Fynly: substantial, heavy. First English - findig; Prov. Scot. -
findy.
Fytte: canto, song. First English - fitt (fem.) a song, poem.
Gane: (as in Sir Patrick Spens) convenient, proper for.
Garred me gang: made me go; Gang maiden: remain unmarried.
Gest: deed, adventure.
Gif: if.
Glede: live-coal.
Glent: passed suddenly, flashed.
Goodman: the master of the "good" or little property of house and
field. There is the same sense of "good" in the first
use of "goodwife," or "goody."
Gowk: cuckoo.
Grain, cloth in: cloth of special quality with a fast purple dye.
Graithit him: dressed himself.
Gramercy: great thanks. French - grand merci.
Gree: satisfaction.
Gurly: gurgly.
Halfendell: the half part.
Halk: flat ground by a river.
Halse bane: neck bone.
Haud: hold.
Hie: high. First English - heah.
Hie: make haste. First English - higan.
Hilt: covering.
Ilke: same.
Iwis: certainly. First English - gewis. For the prefix i-,
answering to First English and German ge-, see Y-. This
old adverb is often printed as if the prefix were the
pronoun I and wis were a verb.
Japes: trivial mockings.
Jimp: slender.
Kell: coif, woman's headdress.
Kipples: rafters.
Knowe: knoll, little hill.
Lap: started, were rent.
Launsgay: lancegay, a form of spear.
Lease: leasing: falsehood.
Leeful: "its leeful lane," "its lane," alone; a Scottish idiom
joins to "lane" the genitive pronoun, "his lane,"
"their lane," etc. "Leeful," compassionate, the harp
played of itself compassionately.
Lemes: gleams.
Lend: give. See Robin Hood - God lend. First English - laenan,
to give, lend.
Lend: dwell, come into contact. See Robin Hood - "when ye
together lend." Icelandic - lenda, to land; lendir saman,
come close together.
Lere: learn, teach. First English - laeran. See Robin Hood -
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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