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Glossary of Definitions

Note that some historical words have several spellings. This is normal for words prior to the 18th century, as it was not until the advent of dictionaries that spelling of words became standardized. Any spelling of the word is as accurate as another, though some may have been more prevalent in a specific time-period or place.

Some definitions are from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is a highly useful reference for those with exacting personalities, as it includes definitions from the year 1150 to the present.

Couple. Substantive. Forms: 14th coppell, 14-15th cuple, copul(l, coupel, 14-16th coupil(l, -yl(l, cople, copple, 14-17th cupple, 15th coupull, cowp-, cwpylle, cuppil, -ylle, 15-16th copel, -il(l, -yl(l, cowple, 16th coople, 14th- couple. [adopted from Old French copel, cuple, later couple:-Latin copula bands, tie, connexion: see COPULA.]
1. That which unites two.
1.a. A brace or leash for holding two hounds together. Usually in plural; also a pair of couples.
1.b. transferred sense and figuratively To go, hunt, run in couples. Here the original meaning is often forgotten, and couples used with the sense of pairs, twos.
4. A brace of dogs used for hunting, especially harriers or spaniels; also a brace of conies or rabbits.
This definition is from the Oxford English Dictionary

Couple. Verb. Forms: 13th kuple, 13-15th cuple, 14th copil, cuppel, 14-15th coupel, -il, -yl, cowpyll, cuppil(le, 14-16th copple, cowple, coupul(l, 14-17th cople, cupple, 16th coople, 14th- couple. [adopted from Old French copler, cupler, later coupler, formed on couple see preceding and confer Latin copulare.]
1. transitive To tie or fasten (dogs) together in pairs.
This definition is from the Oxford English Dictionary

Fewterer. Obsolete. Forms: a. 14-15th vewter b. 16-18th feuterer, futerer, pheu-, phewterer, 16th- fewterer. [Middle English vewter and early modern English fewterer appear to be corrupted adoptions of Anglo-French veutrier ( = Anglo-Latin veltrarius) in the same sense, formed on Old French veutre, vautre, veltre (later French vautre) = Provençal veltre, Italian veltro:-popular Latin veltrum, corruption of Latin vertragum (nom. -us) greyhound, a Gaulish word, formed on Celtic ver- intensive prefix + root trag- to run.]
A keeper of greyhounds. Also in a wider sense, an attendant. Also with defining word prefixed; as fox-, yeoman-fewterer.
This definition is from the Oxford English Dictionary


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