Alexander was Englished; perhaps in Warwickshire.[1] Here we find als fer as, aloud, and aside for the first time; the noun side had a hundred years earlier been used to compound beside. At page 192, we see the origin of our ‘to ride the high horse;’ Alexander says of his friends, ‘Y wolde sette heom on hyghe hors.’ There are such new words and forms as bestir, drawbridge, fotman, notemugge (nutmeg), brother-in-lawe, overthrow, pecock, upper, kuin (kine), bewray, anhungred. Hnœgan becomes neigh; the old geolo (flavus) is seen as yelow (page 191); and the old adjective cyse now takes the form of chis, our choice, as in the line,
‘The lady is of lemon chis.’ — Page 137.
The old ruh (hispidus) and hlihan are turned into rowgh (page 253), and laugh (page 296). Schill at length becomes shrill.
There are many words, akin to terms found in German dialects, now cropping up; such as cower, curl, to dab, to duck, girl,[2] mane, pin, to plump, poll, scoff, scour, scrub, shingle, stamp, top (turbo); also hedlinge (præceps).
A few Scandinavian words are found, such as fling, ragged, tumble. The Celtic words, seen here in greater numbers than usual, may betoken that the Alexander was compiled not very far from the Welsh March; these words are bicker, wail, hog, and gun. This last is most likely some engine for darting Greek fire; the siege of
