Essex Dialect

In 1857 Thomas Wright compiled a dictionary of obsolete provincial words.

In 1880 Richard Stephen Charnock compiled his Glossary of the Essex Dialect.

The table below is based on words that  Wright  and Charnock specifically identified with usage in Essex.

Other words have been added as a contribution from local people with memories of their parents and grandparents favourite expressions.

The guide may help explain unknown words in old books on Essex people.

When Essex Men talked they lengthened their vowels eg make is pronounced maake.

A often becomes O so because becomes becos.

O is often inserted before an I eg fine becomes foine.

R is often dropped eg surpassed becomes suppasssed.

O often becomes U eg from can become Frum.

W and V and D and T are often interchanged.

Words that comply with the above rules have not been included in the listings below

Afeared

Afraid

Afore

Before

Agin

Again

Ails

Ears of corn

Artnoon

Afternoon

Bagging Hook

Reaping Hook

Bange

Light rain

Banjy

Dull day

Bast

To beat severely

Beaver

Ploughman's lunch taken at about 11am

Behounced

Finely Dressed

Bellar

Shout loudly or bellow

Bigge

Cows teat

Bin

Been

Billy Wicks

Owl

Biznus

Business

Boa

Boy or man

Boine

Swelling

Bonie

Blow or wound

Bonkka

Very large

Bonx

Beat up mix for batter puddings

Brank

Wheat

Bud

A cow that is older than a calf but not yet fully grown

Bullimong

A mix of oats, vetch and peas

Bumby

Place where houshold rubbish is dumped

Bunting

Untidy Dress

Busk

Lie in sun

Buss

Kiss or embrace

Bussock

Donkey

Cad

The smallest of a litter especially of pigs

Caint

Can not

Cart rake

Cart track

Chate

A treat or feast

Chevy

Chase or run after

Chice

Small portion

Chop

Flog

Chops

Lips

Clars

Hands - Often clars and jaws = hands and face

Clunchy

Clumsy

Cowd

Cold

Crotch tail

Kite

Dag

Dew

Dare

To Grieve

Dean

Din or noise

Dew Bit

Ploughman's early morning breakfast

Dicky

Donkey

Didal

A sharp triangular spade

Dog Rapper

Parish Beadle or Sexton

Dogs

Dew

Doke

A small brook or a bruise

Dooles

Rough hay made from roadside verges or ditches

Dolouring

Mournful noise

Dunnekin

Outside Toilet

Easles

Embers of the fire

Eel thing

St Elmo's Fire

Essex stile

Ditch

Fare

To appear

Favour

Resemble

Feff

To overreach in buying or selling

Fill

Meadow

Fimble

To touch lightly

Finnicks

Tawdry dressed woman

Fleet Milk

Skimming milk

Foine

Fine

Four Want Ways

Crossroads with 4 roads meeting

Fowers

Ploughman's dinner taken about 4pm

Furnitade

Furniture

Furriners

People from outside the village

Gab

Gossip

Gal

Girl

Gannicking

Gossiping or idling

Gaster

To frighten

Ginnick

Neat or Perfect

Go after

To court a lady

Goff

A mow of hay

Goffer

To eat fast

Goings On

Proceedings or happenings

Gole

Prominent

Golls

Hands

Gomes

Gums in mouth

Goon

Going

Grift

Pencil

Gultch

Fall heavily

Gullion

Stomach Ache

Gumption

Nonsence or foolish talk

Hainish

Unpleasant

Harve

A haw

Haumly

Ugly

Hazardable

Dangerous

Hazely brick earth

Loamy soil found in Essex

Hazle

Stiff as clay

Hodmedod

Snail

Hoap

Helped

Hoss

Horse

Ingons

Onions

Jice

Small quantity

Jink

To check money is real by ringing it

Joggle

Shake

Jounce

a sudden shaking

Julk

Hard blow

Keeping Room

Living room

Kidder

A confidence trickster

Largess

Tip after harvest

Latard

late

Leas-Ways

At least

Levens

The name for lunch in harvest time - taken more quickly than a ' Beaver'

Lib

Basked used to carry seed corn

Lugsome

Heavy

Martlemas beef

Beef dried in the chimney like bacon

Mauther

Awkward girl

Mavis

A Song Thrush

Meak

A hook with a long handle used to cut peas

Meece

Mice

Mizzle

To succumb

Muckinger

Handkerchief

Muggy

Half intoxicated

Newing

Yeast

Nig

Small piece

Nippet

Small quantity

Not

Well tiled

Noteless

Stupified

Nuzzle

Sound of bellows

Oaken

Oak

Oavis

Eves of a house

Obstropolous

Unruly

Okard

Awkward

Ollust

Always

Onbeknown

Unknown

Onsensed

Stunned

Owd

Old - Used figuratively not literally

Piggatory

Great trouble

Pin patches

Periwinkle plant

Plum Pudding

Red Campion Plant

Polliwig

Tadpole

Proper

very ie proper good

Puggle

Move or stir

Pulk

Puddle

Quackle

To Suffocate

Rassle

To stire the embers of a fire especially on oven fire

Releat

A crossroads

Ruinated

Ruined

Roile

To annoy

Saacy

Saucy

Sappy

Smart

Sarce

Vegetables

Scally

Shabby or mean

Shay

Chaise

Scat

Scared

Scatch pawed

Left handed

Shant

A pot of beer

Shirt Buttons

Stitchwort plant

Shote

Young Pig

Shuck

Shook

Slammack

Untidy female

Snarth

The long handle on a scythe

Spud

Small person

Teuk

Redshank

Thrap

To Crowd

Warsley

Not much

Waste

To abate

We's

Our

Whip Stalk

Whip handle

Winnick

Suppressed cry

Wusser

Worse

Wust

Worst