WotD: propound
Feb. 2nd, 2003 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magidpropound: to put forward an anti-metric stance.
Or, to offer an idea about beating things for consideration.
I was going through some random papers, and found some words I'd scribbled down in fascination, all having to do with flax production: stooking, rippling, riveling, retting, scutching, and hackling. I haven't gone to look them up; just the sound of them is interesting enough.
Or, to offer an idea about beating things for consideration.
I was going through some random papers, and found some words I'd scribbled down in fascination, all having to do with flax production: stooking, rippling, riveling, retting, scutching, and hackling. I haven't gone to look them up; just the sound of them is interesting enough.
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no subject
Date: 2003-02-03 06:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-02-03 07:18 am (UTC)So of course I had to look it up (dictionary.com).
And stook is
\Stook\, n. [Scot. stook, stouk; cf. LG. stuke a heap, bundle, G. stauche a truss, bundle of flax.] (Agric.) A small collection of sheaves set up in the field; a shock; in England, twelve sheaves.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
\Stook\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stooked; p. pr. & vb. n. Stooking.] (Agric.) To set up, as sheaves of grain, in stooks.
And while I was there, I couldn't help but check out scutch, which turned out to be rather interesting.
scutch
To separate the valuable fibers of (flax, for example) from the woody parts by beating.
n. An implement used for scutching.
[Obsolete French escoucher, from Anglo-Norman escucher, from Vulgar Latin *excuticre, frequentative of Latin excutere, to shake out : ex-, ex- + quatere, to shake; see kwt- in Indo-European Roots.]
scutcher n.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
\Scutch\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Scutched; p. pr. & vb. n. Scutching.] [See Scotch to cut slightly.] 1. To beat or whip; to drub. [Old or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
2. To separate the woody fiber from (flax, hemp, etc.) by beating; to swingle [1].
3. To loosen and dress the fiber of (cotton or silk) by beating; to free (fibrous substances) from dust by beating and blowing.
Scutching machine, a machine used to scutch cotton, silk, or flax; -- called also batting machine.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
\Scutch\, n. 1. A wooden instrument used in scutching flax and hemp.
2. The woody fiber of flax; the refuse of scutched flax. ``The smoke of the burning scutch.'' --Cuthbert Bede.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.\
[1] To swingle. This sounds so like some horrid modern way to meet people, doesn't it? But the sound of the word is nice.
no subject
Date: 2003-02-03 08:27 am (UTC)people, doesn't it? But the sound of the word is nice.
i went to school with someone whose last name was Swingle...
But yes, I see poly boston's newest craze: Swingle's Night! For all those Swingin' Singles! Who says you can't be single and taken at the same time anyway!
no subject
Date: 2003-02-03 08:31 am (UTC)t
you got me started...
Date: 2003-02-03 08:37 am (UTC)rivel
\Riv"el\, v. t. [AS. gerifled, geriflod, gerifod, wrinkled, geriflian, gerifian, to wrinkle. See Rifle a gun, Rive.] To contract into wrinkles; to shrivel; to shrink; as, riveled fruit; riveled flowers. [Obs.] --Pope. ``Riveled parchments.'' --Walpole.
rivel
\Riv"el\, n. A wrinkle; a rimple. [Obs.] --Holland.
OTOH, it did get me some another wonderfully onomatapoetic word I've never heard/seen before:
rimple!
Plus those wonderful Anglo-Saxon productions (geriflian, gerifod...)
u
Re: you got me started...
Date: 2003-02-03 08:40 am (UTC)Re: you got me started...
Date: 2003-02-03 08:42 am (UTC)Yeah, now, that's difficult!
Re: you got me started...
Date: 2003-02-03 09:05 am (UTC)*snerk*
And as you got me looking at actual definitions, here are the rest (I took out the definitions I already knew for hackle and ripple):
Ret
To moisten or soak (flax, for example) in order to soften and separate the fibers by partial rotting.
To become so moistened or soaked.
[Middle English reten, probably from Middle Dutch reeten.]
Hackle
n. [See Heckle, and cf. Hatchel.] 1. A comb for dressing flax, raw silk, etc.; a hatchel.
2. Any flimsy substance unspun, as raw silk.
3. One of the peculiar, long, narrow feathers on the neck of fowls, most noticeable on the cock, -- often used in making artificial flies; hence, any feather so used.
4. An artificial fly for angling, made of feathers.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hackled; p. pr. & vb. n. Hackling.] 1. To separate, as the coarse part of flax or hemp from the fine, by drawing it through the teeth of a hackle or hatchel.
2. To tear asunder; to break in pieces.
Hatchel An instrument with long iron teeth set in a board, for cleansing flax or hemp from the tow, hards, or coarse part; a kind of large comb; -- called also hackle and heckle.
rip·ple
n. A comblike, toothed instrument for removing seeds from flax and other fibers.
tr.v. To remove seeds from with a comblike, toothed instrument.
[Middle English, from *ripelen, to remove seeds; akin to Middle Low German repelen.]
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