Select one or more, then press search
Select one or more, then press search
Clear
The containers used for possets could be bowls.
dates 1618 1655 1669 1674 1675 1700

The vertical timbers in a building or other construction were referred to as posts.
dates 1312-1313 1418-1419 1433 1498 1509 1520 1521 1561 1570 1570-1580 1580 1707

A section of coal left unworked in order to support the roof of a colliery, an alternative to pillar.
dates 1486 1704 1714

For postman, a carrier of letters.
places Hull
dates 1621

An expert in assuming artificial postures, especially a contortionist or acrobat.
places West Riding
dates 1741

pot

spellings holing pot sod cup sod pot
This was an allowance for drinks or an actual pot of ale given to certain workmen as a bonus, and references to the custom occur in a variety of early documents linked to building.
dates 1332 1355 1404 1691 1713 1718 1719 1749 1760

spellings grip (2) pot-grip pot-hook pot-kilp
A hook suspended from an iron bar over the fireplace, from which to hang a pot or kettle.
dates 1557 1558 1578 1612

spellings poyt
A pointed iron bar used to stir the fire.
places Pudsey
dates 1628

spellings poticarie pothecary pottecary
Abbreviated spellings of apothecary.
dates 1473 1492 1526 1655

Broth, porridge or similar.
dates 1260 1443 1573 1789

In an ineffectual manner.
places Skelmanthorpe
dates 1708

spellings podiger podinger porringer
A vessel to hold broth, soup, porridge and the like, or one from which these could be eaten. They were often in sets of six.
dates 1520 1557 1559 1588 1667 1691 1727

A vessel for liquids, or a measure, usually half a gallon.
dates 1446 1528 1635 1652 1694

A pot, tankard or similar vessel capable of holding half a gallon.
dates 1306 1392 1414 1426 1455 1507 1548 1578

A punch or stamp used to make a defining mark on work done by goldsmiths and silversmiths.
places York
dates 1420 1561

Of metal, embossed or chased by way of ornament.
dates 1426 1463 1519 1542 1546

Probably a natural stone or pebble of a pound weight.
places Selby
dates 1668

An enclosure, a word of French origin.
dates 1423 1553

Probably a box which contained perfumed powder, evidently a fashion item.
dates 1421 1437 1444 1454

Used of fabrics decorated with small spots or figures.
places Temple Newsam
dates 1565

A spike or small nail, although the exact meaning is uncertain.
places Ripon
dates 1354-1355 1391-1392

Literally ‘the aforesaid’, the things mentioned previously. It is now usually understood to refer to a building or buildings, and this meaning came about via title deeds and other legal documents which referred in the first place to a piece of property and then to the aforesaid property.
dates 1564 1754

Short for apprentice.
places York Gateforth
dates 1544-1545 1675

Probably for purpresture, in the sense of trespass, in this case an unauthorised chimney.
places Hull
dates 1527-1528

At the present time, immediately or promptly, meanings which it retained into the late seventeenth century.
dates 1642 1669


Implements used by clothiers in the finishing processes, possibly two boards between which the cloth was pressed.
dates 1541 1558 1560 1582 1599 1758 1762

A bed so constructed that it will fold back into a cupboard.
places Stockeld
dates 1614

A board used for pressing something, perhaps clothing.
places Halifax
dates 1543

Either a smoothing-iron, used by tailors or dressmakers; or a kind of vice used by Sheffield cutlers.
dates 1485 1660 1717

Of uncertain meaning, associated with the making of bucklers.
places York
dates 1400

In a textile context this was paper placed between the folds of cloth when it was ready for transportation.
places Halifax
dates 1758

A loan, a part payment in advance.
places York Bridlington
dates 1481 1554

A metal or wooden skewer.
places Richmond Sowerby
dates 1562 1671


To select or name, that is to choose a person, perhaps by ‘pricking’ his name on a list, ticking it off.
places West Riding
dates 1754

To hang up greenery as a decoration, presumably securing it with pins or something similar.
dates 1822

Sheaths containing knives attached to men's belts around the waist.
places Sheffield
dates 1681

Occupation term of uncertain meaning.
dates 1168-1194 1639

A buck in its second year.
dates 1259-1260 1384 1698

A spike on which to stick a candle or, possibly the candle so placed.
places Selby
dates 1397-1398

A trickster’s game, played with a stick and a belt, arranged so that the operator could always win.
places West Riding
dates 1748

Originally pricked-song, that is music sung from notes ‘pricked’ or written down, as distinguished from that sung from memory.
dates 1526 1527-1528 1546 1675

A wage totalled up from a record 'pricked' on a tally of some kind.
places Lepton
dates 1694

An entry in the colliery accounts for Beeston, of uncertain meaning.
places Beeston
sources Denison papers
dates 1754

A small pan of brass or tin.
dates 1567 1588 1612 1644

A duty paid to the guild known as Trinity House in Hull. The money was due for the loading and unloading of cargo in Hull and, under certain conditions, in ports such as Bridlington and Grimsby.
places Hull Grimsby
dates 1505 1615 1632 1662

A pat of butter moulded to a shape.
places Soyland
dates 1727

A thing kept private or hidden, used in the plural for the private parts or genitals.
places Wigton
dates 1686

Short for ‘privy room’, that is a room where privacy is possible, a toilet or lavatory.
dates 1419-1420 1528 1538 1654

A type of nail, probably an alternative spelling of ‘brod’.
places Ripon
dates 1675

Traditionally, animals such as cows and sheep have been marked by their owners so that the farm to which they belong might be identified.
dates 1685 1688 1698 1729

Possibly a tub for ‘provend’ that is food for a horse.
places Ripley
dates 1617

Of Prussia or produced in Prussia. It was used particularly in consignments of timber, flax, or skins for the fur trade, all of which were imported into Hull.
places Hull Bridlington
dates 1453 1463 1471-1472 1485

To cut off branches in order to promote fruitfulness and induce regular growth, to trim (OED).
places Brandsby
dates 1620

As a plural noun the puddings were the entrails.
dates 1275 1301 1556 1632 1642

spellings penny royal
The regional word for penny-royal, a plant that thrives best in moist locations according to the diarist Ismay.
places Mirfield
dates 1683 1756

This sometimes described a dark colour, but more commonly it referred to a dark and expensive woollen cloth used for items of clothing.
dates 1485 1486 1537 1561

Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0