Glossary

This glossary consists of selected words and phrases and slang that were used in the story. They are defined below as they were understood then in the early 1800’s. When a word has several meanings for that time period, I’ve provided only the definition of the word that fits into the context of the story.

Legend:

D = Dutch

E = British English

F = French

Ge = Genoese dialect

Gr = Greek

I = Italian

L = Latin

N = Nottingham dialect

P = European Portuguese

S = Spanish

Sc = Scottish

Sw = Swiss German

A bênção meu avô – A blessing, my grandfather (P)

Adesso ti mangio – I’m going to eat you (I)

Adeus – goodbye (P)

Adufe – square-framed drum (P)

Adufiera – adufe player (P)

Ahora te como – I’m going to eat you (S)

Alla salute! – To your health! (I)

Allez! – Gee up! (in reference to a horse) (F)

Amô – love (Ge)

Anjinha – little angel (P)

Apre! – Hey day! (P)

Arre! – Gee up! (in reference to a horse) (P) (S)

Aweel, aweel – Well, well; used for introducing a remark (Sc)

Bardy bairn – mischievous, impertinent child (Sc)

Barouche – a four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage with collapsible hood over the rear half (E)

Basquiña – petticoat (S)

Basta! – Enough! (S)

Bâtard – bastard child (F)

Bât-man – an officer’s servant (E)

Bebê – baby (P)

Boba – fool (P)

Bolsa – a purse; a pouch for traveller to store his necessaries (S)

Bom dia – good day (P)

Breeched – to put a boy into breeches when he reaches a certain age, usually five; prior to that, the custom was that children of both sexes were dressed alike in gowns (E)

Bres drume – brass drum (Sc)

Broo of broth – the liquid part of broth (not the vegetables or other substances) (Sc)

Brood – bread (D)

Bruxa – witch (P)

Bubbies – breasts (E)

Buckskins – breeches made of buckskin (E)

Buenas tardes – good afternoon (S)

Burrinho – little donkey (P)

Cabriolet – a light, hooded two-wheeled chaise drawn by one horse (F)

Cagg – a solemn vow by a soldier not to get drunk for a fixed amount of time (E)

Caixa – a drum used by the Portuguese military (P)

Calai-vos – shush, be quiet (P)

Calash – a light carriage with low wheels and folding hood, drawn by one or two horses (E)

Callidus – crafty, cunning, sly (L)

Capa – cloak (P)

Caza de pasto – public-house (P)

Cerveja – beer (P)

Chum – food (Sc)

Cicisbeo – gentleman escort (I)

Clout – to cuff, to give a heavy blow with the hand (E) (N)

Come ti chiami? – What’s your name? (I)

Con muito gusto – With pleasure (P)

Cortejo – gentleman escort (S)

Court-martial – noun: a judicial court (either military or naval) for the trial of military or naval offences, or the administration of martial law; verb: to try by court-martial (E)

Coxcomb – a foolish, conceited, showy person; a fop, a dandy (E)

Dandy – a man who is excessively concerned about dressing elegantly and fashionably (E)

Derring-do – daring action or feats (literal meaning: daring to do) (E)

Diabo – devil (P)

Dios mío! – My God! (S)

Domingo – Sunday; also, a man’s name when he’s born on a Sunday (S)

Drumhead court-martial – an urgent court-martial held in the battlefield for offenses committed in a military action (E)

Ear trumpet – a small trumpet-shaped device that is held to the ear to help a person hear (E)

En route, hi! – Gee up! (in reference to a horse) (literal meaning: on the way) (F)

Fatigue duty – labour assigned to military men (E)

French courage – French brandy (E)

Gallego – Galician (a person from Galicia in Spain) (P)

Gaol – jail (E)

Gendarme – soldier employed in police duties (F)

Gewgaw – bauble, toy, ornament (E)

Gitanos – gipsies (S)

Gli italiani – Italians (I)

Gooseberry fool – a dish where pureed stewed fruit (gooseberries) is folded into sweet custard (E)

Goose-grog – author’s slang for gooseberry fool dessert awarded to Sofia-Elisabete; grog being a naval term for a drink that is part rum, part water, a daily ration of which was given to sailors (E)

Graça – grace (P)

Hackney – a horse-drawn carriage for hire (E)

Heigh-ho! – exclamation to express a yawn, a sigh, weariness or disappointment (E)

Hey day! – exclamation for wonder, surprise, gaiety, frolicsomeness (E)

Ho fame – I’m hungry (I)

Hoezee – huzzah (D)

Hoyden – boisterous noisy girl; rude, ill-bred girl (E)

Inglaterra – England (P)

Jongetje – little boy (D)

La luna – the moon (S)

Lapin – rabbit (F)

Laranjeiras – orange trees (P)

Laudanum – alcoholic tincture of opium (E)

Lei una strega – She’s a witch (I)

Libertas – freedom (L)

Looby – awkward, stupid, clownish person (E)

Lusitano – Portuguese horse breed related to Spanish Andalusian horse (P)

Lusty – healthy, strong, vigorous (E)

Maan – moon (D)

Majo/Maja – the beaux and belles of the lower classes, with their elaborate dress and cheeky manners, who were imitated by the privileged classes in a show of Spanish nationalism (S)

Mangiamo! – Let’s eat! (I)

Mantilla – veil (S)

Me chamo – My name is (P)

Merci – thank you (F)

Merci vielmal – thank you very much (Sw)

Middling sort – middle class (E)

Minestra – soup (I)

Mira! – Look! (S)

Mon Dieu! – My God! (F)

Mora – an Italian game where each player simultaneously extends any number of their fingers and calls out a number; the player who successfully guesses the total number of fingers revealed by all players combined scores a point (also, Morra) (I)

Mr O. P. Umm – author’s slang for laudanum (E)

Musitioner – musician (Sc)

Namorado – beau (P)

Não – no (P)

Não entendo – I don’t understand (P)

Não vás – Don’t go (P)

Necessary House – privy, latrine (E)

Niños – children (S)

Niver – never (N)

Nobiltà – nobility (I)

Nunca – never (P)

Och! – exclamation of surprise, contempt, annoyance, impatience, or disagreement (E) (Sc) (also, Irish slang)

Oh-lah pa-pai ah-deh-oosh – phonetic spellings for ‘hello papa goodbye’ in Portuguese (P)

Pão – bread (P)

Parritch – a well-known Scots dish, hasty pudding (a porridge of oatmeal or flour boiled in water) (Sc)

Pico – peak; also, a nickname for a man with a big nose (S)

Pobrecito – poor thing (expressing pity for) (S)

Polenta – boiled cornmeal and/or other grains (I)

Por qué? – Why? (S)

Post-chaise – a horse-drawn carriage with postillion, used for carrying mail and passengers (E)

Postillion – rider mounted on horse or one of a pair of horses to guide a horse-drawn coach or post-chaise (E)

Potage au macaroni – macaroni soup (F)

Public-house – pub, tavern (E)

Quality, person of – nobility, high birth or rank, good social position, e.g., a man of quality (E)

Que bella menina – What a beautiful girl (P)

Que estranho – How strange (P)

Qué mal olor – What a bad smell (S)

Qué maravilla – How wonderful (S)

Quizzing glass – a monocle; a single eyeglass with or without a handle (E)

Rum ’un – odd, strange person (E) (N)

Rusticate – to stay or live in the countryside (E)

Sábado – Saturday; also, a man’s name when he’s born on a Saturday (S)

Sardinha – sardine (P)

Scì – yes (Ge)

Sedetevi, per favore – Sit down, please (I)

Sí, cómo no – Yes, of course (S)

Siéntese! – Sit down! (S)

Silencio! – Silence! (S)

Sim – yes (P)

Sofia-Elisabete – our girl hero’s name is pronounced Soo FEE uh Ah lee za BET (P)

Summat – something (N)

Tamborilera – drummer (S)

Tatterdemalion – a person wearing ragged and dirty clothing (E)

Tengo hambre – I’m hungry (S)

Tonto/Tonta – fool (S)

Torero – bullfighter (S)

Très bon – very good (F)

Treacle - molasses (E)

Turnspit – a dog used to turn the roasting-spit; the dog runs in a tread-wheel connected with the spit (E)

Vaarwel – farewell (D)

Valza – waltz (P)

Vete! – Go away! (S)

Villano – villain (S)

Viva! – shortened version of “ora viva!” or “hello there!” (P)

Voto a Dios – I swear to God (colloquial); I vow to God (literal) (S)

Whoam – home (N)

Xanthippe – a nagging, scolding person (Xanthippe, the shrewish wife of Socrates) (Gr)

Yahoo – a filthy, primitive and coarse being described in Gulliver’s Travels (E)

Yi – yes (N)

Zigeuners – gipsies (D)

Zuinig – economical, efficient (D)