A lexical skirmish
-
Joshua Pendragon
Abstract
Fencing schools proliferated on the continent during the sixteenth century. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, the rapier arrived in Britain from Italy and Spain, bringing with it an entirely new fencing style. The Italian style was most prominent throughout the age of the rapier, gradually ceding dominance to the French style of small sword play in the latter half of the seventeenth century, and each new style introduced new vocabulary into English and Scots. This lexis is currently being re-examined as part of the revision programme for the Third Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED3) and this paper considers how modern specialist knowledge of historical fencing may inform the editorial process.
Abstract
Fencing schools proliferated on the continent during the sixteenth century. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, the rapier arrived in Britain from Italy and Spain, bringing with it an entirely new fencing style. The Italian style was most prominent throughout the age of the rapier, gradually ceding dominance to the French style of small sword play in the latter half of the seventeenth century, and each new style introduced new vocabulary into English and Scots. This lexis is currently being re-examined as part of the revision programme for the Third Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED3) and this paper considers how modern specialist knowledge of historical fencing may inform the editorial process.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
-
Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Tabula gratulatoria vii
- Preface ix
- Introduction xiii
-
Part I. History of dictionaries
- The Flores of Ouide (1513) 3
- “Halles Lanfranke” and its most excellent and learned expositive table 17
- John Lane’s Verball 41
- The linking of lemma to gloss in Elyot’s Dictionary (1538) 55
- Music amidst the tumult 79
- Chaos and old night 91
- Online dictionaries of English slang 109
-
Part II. Word history and cultural history
- Old English etymologies in Christfrid Ganander’s Nytt Finskt Lexicon (1787) 131
- The origin of the word yeoman 153
- Early East India Company merchants and a rare word for sex 169
- From denominal to deverbal 193
- A gente Anglorum appellatur 219
- William Lambarde and Thomas Milles in search of the golden past 233
- Contempt 249
- A lexical skirmish 269
- Index of subjects 287
- Index of personal names 291
