19th Century Words Defined

So, I have this cool book called What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool. It's very fun for learning about the life and times of all things Victorian/Regency especially where books and authors are concerned. So, I thought it would be fun, (for my Blog Post Bingo definition post of course), to share with you some of the terms in the glossary that jump out at me:

apoplexy: a stroke

barouche: a four wheel fancy carriage with a fold-up hood at the back and with two inside seats facing each other

bespeak: to order something, like a dinner. Also, to ask a favor.

boot: a place in the coach where luggage was put

brougham: the all purpose everyday vehicle

chandler: Originally, a man who dealt in candles. Later, the corner grocer in poor neighborhoods.

crown: a coin worth five shillings

dowager: the name given to a widow of rank

esquire: a title conferring no rights or privileges, but simply an intangible sort of dignity . After awhile, anyone who wanted to seem respectable, used it.

farthing: a coin worth one quarter of a penny

garret: an attic

macintosh: rubberized waterproof clothing. Slow to take on because it smelled bad.

mute: a person hired to come to a funeral and mourn

paddock: a horse pasture

plate: silverware

pomade: perfumed hair ointment made partly from apples

press: a cupboard or closet for storing clothes

rounders: a game like baseball

stile: a set of steps through or over a fence, which a human could use, but not the sheep

sugarplum: a roundish piece of flavored candy made mostly of sugar

turnkey: a jailer

Twelfth Night: January 5, the night before the twelfth day after Christmas, on which day Christmas festivities traditionally ended. January 6 was Epiphany.

waistcoat: a vest

weeds: mourning garments

yeoman: small independent farmer

You know.... I love this stuff!