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Clear
To fill the spaces in lines of masonry or brickwork with mortar or cement, applying the point of the trowel.
places Ripon Cottingley
dates 1391-1392 1682

spellings point-maker
Points were the tagged laces or cords which served to fasten garments where buttons are now used.
places York Skelton
dates 1453 1504 1597

A bag or small sack.
dates 1490 1505 1612 1662 1725 1731

places Brandsby
dates 1615

A variety of oats which became popular with Pennine farmers two centuries ago because of its high yield.
dates 1809 1829

A pole set up in marshland or on the moors as a way-marker.
places Crowle
dates 1607

Used of the saplings which sprang from the stool or stoven of a tree in the coppice cycle. They could be felled at the end of the cycle or allowed to grow into more substantial trees.
dates 1528 1530 1675 1719 1737 1739 1755 1756

A net attached to a pole, used to catch fish.
places Selby
dates 1372

Apparently a pole or tree reserved for timber, not one to be cut off near the ground.
places Liversedge
dates 1543-1544

To ascertain the weight of, to weigh.
places York
dates 1509

There are references to pontage from the twelfth century (OED): it was a toll levied on goods that crossed certain bridges and it was supposed to contribute to their maintenance.
dates 1155 1228 1282

The young of game birds, especially grouse, a dialect form of ‘poult’.
dates 1609 1637 1653

Descriptive of squirrel skins taken in the early summer (EMV228).
dates 1388 1404 1415 1456

places Scarborough
dates 1423

As a verb, to thrust or poke, as with a stick or sword.
dates 1451 1559 1575 1612

A portable breviary, that is the book which in the Roman Catholic church contained the ‘Divine Office’ for each day, and had to be ready to hand for those in orders.
dates 1439 1454 1459 1497 1520 1541 1557

dates 1242 1317 1322-1326 1433-1434 1476 1495

The Latin word for a portable breviary, found occasionally in English texts.
places Kirby Hill
dates 1351

A case or bag which would hold clothing and other necessaries; used by those riding on horseback.
dates 1610 1632 1700 1721

A small metal pot in which liquids could be boiled over a fire.
dates 1304-1305 1348 1362 1451 1567 1729

To thrust or push violently, especially with the feet.
places Wakefield
dates 1758

A drink of thickened milk or cream enriched with spices, alchoholic liquors, eggs and sugar (GWK/95).
dates 1642 1662

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 1570-1580 1570 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

spellings poteller
Apparently a variant of pottle or pottle-pot.

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

Photo by Kreuzschnabel CC BY-SA 3.0