The older the will, the stranger the spelling, and it would be impossible to include every spelling of every word.
Users are recommended to mutter to themslves various pronunciations and stresses of an unrecognised word.
"Brandian", for instance (given a long "i"), may turn out to be "Brand(ing) Iron".
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Word | Meaning |
| Money | All sums are in pounds, shillings & pence (£sd), written (before decimalisation) as £x/y/z for x pounds, y shillings and z pence
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| | A Pound was 20 shillings, a Shilling was 12 pence.
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| | A Sovereign was a gold coin worth one pound (£1/-/-) -- also Half-sovereign (10/-).
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| | A Mark was 13 shillings & 4 pence (13/4), two-thirds of a pound.
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| | A Noble was 6 shillings & 8 pence (6/8), one third of a pound.
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| | A Spur-royal was a gold coin worth fifteen shillings (15/-)
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| | A Guinea (gn) was a gold coin worth one pound & one shilling (1/1/-).
Bequests of 19 guineas (£19/19/-) are due to the introduction of inheritance tax from the £20 level.
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| | A Crown was five shillings (5/-) -- also Half-a-crown (2/6).
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| | A Florin was two shillings -- a Victorian attempt at decimalisation.
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| | A Groat was four pence (d).
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| | A Farthing was a quarter of a penny.
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| | An Angel was a gold coin (value unknown at present)
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| Weights & Measures
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| Stone | 14 lb
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| Quarter | 28 lb (¼ hundredweight) [or] 8 bushels (perhaps originally ¼ ton of corn)
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| Hundredweight (cwt) | 112 lb -- one twentieth of a ton.
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| Bushel | 8 gallons (dry measure)
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| Peck | 2 gallons (dry measure), a quarter of a bushel
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| Acre | 4840 square yards
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| Rood | ¼ acre
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| Perch, Pole or Rod | 5½ yards [or] 30¼ sq yds (1/160 acre).
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| Furlong | 220 yards ("Furrow-long" -- the distance a plough-horse could pull before needing a short rest.)
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| General
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| Advowson | The right of appointing a clergyman to a church benefice.
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| Andirons | Iron bars to support logs in a fire. Firedogs.
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| Angel | see Money.
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| Anticipation | Payment in advance of annuities etc. Usually telling Trustees not to allow it.
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| Armiger | A person entitled to bear arms. An Esquire.
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| Arras | Rich tapestry, wall-hanging.
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| Assart | Forest land reclaimed for agriculture.
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| Backside | Premises at the back of a house.
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| Bailiwick | The jurisdiction of a Bailiff.
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| Bald | Hairless or featherless; an animal having white markings on face or head.
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| Beasts, Beasse | Cattle
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| Boulting [Mill or Vat] | Machine for sifting bran from flour - Vat containing the mixture.
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| Bower | An inner apartment or private room; a dwelling.
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| Brewing Lead | Lead-lined vessel for cooling ale.
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| Bro(a)ch | Probably a roasting-spit.
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| Bulchyn | Bull-calf
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| Bushel | See Weights & Measures.
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| Calamanco | Satin-twilled woollen fabric with chequered or brocade design woven in.
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| Catall(s) | As Chattels, but more personal implications - clothes etc. Also alt sp of Cattle.
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| Chafing dish | Dish for cooking over hot coals.
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| Chaforne | As Chafing dish.
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| Chamber | Usually a bedroom.
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| Charger | Large flat dish, as for a joint of meat. Not a war-horse.
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| Chilver | Ewe-lamb, maybe for breeding.
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| Civer | Shallow tub -- see also Dough Keever
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| Close | Small enclosed field or other area.
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| Coffer | Chest for holding money or valuables.
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| Consols | Consolidated Annuities -- government securities.
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| Conygeare | Domestic rabbit-warren (various spellings)
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| Coverture | The status of a married woman considered as being under the protection of her husband. Not a chocolate coating.
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| Demise | Transfer by lease.
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| Diaper | Linen (or cotton) cloth with a square or diamond pattern.
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| Distraint | Seizure of goods etc in payment of an overdue debt. "Sending in the bailiffs".
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| Dough keever | Shallow tub with a dished lid for mixing and kneading bread.
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| Dower | The right of a widow to claim a life interest in one third of her husband's lands (aka "thirds"}
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| Executor's Year | Executor has one year to administer the estate without paying interest to the beneficiaries.
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| Eyot | A small island (also Ait).
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| Farthing | see Money.
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| Fee Simple | Unconditional inheritance.
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| Feoff | To grant possession of a fief (qv) or property in land.
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| Feoffee | The person invested with a fief (qv).
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| Fief | Land held in return for feudal service etc.
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| Flitch | Side of bacon.
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| Flock mattress | A mattress stuffed with wool - cheaper (and harder) than feathers.
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| Freebench | A widow's right to an endowment out of her husband's lands - also Dower, Thirds.
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| Fryse/Frieze | Rough heavy woollen cloth.
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| Fulling-mill | A mill in which new woollen cloth was cleansed and scoured to thicken it.
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| Furlong | see Weights & Measures above. Also used in naming fields and land areas within them.
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| Goody | Wife of a yeoman - more generally, a respected elderly village-woman.
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| Groat | see Money.
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| Guinea | see Money.
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| Garner | Granary, or more generally a store of anything.
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| Heifer | Young cow
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| Hemp cards | combs for preparing hemp for weaving etc.
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| Hereditament | Any property that may pass to a heir.
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| Heriot | A fine due to the Lord of the Manor on the death of a tenant. Originally his best beast or chattel.
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| Higler | A trader, often one who travelled.
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| Holland | Linen fabric, originally fine, later coarse and unbleached.
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| Hogg, Hoggerel | Yearling sheep, as yet unshorn.
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| Homestall | Homestead, Farmyard.
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| Hotchpot | A commixture of property in order to secure an equable division amongst children.
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| Hundredweight | See Weights & Measures.
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| Item | Latin for "Also" (when used at the beginning of a bequest).
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| Joined/Joyned | Of furniture, constructed with proper woodworking joints.
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| Joint Tenant | Has non-specific share in property which cannot be left by will but passes automatically to survivor(s). Cf "Tenant in Common".
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| Jointure | Property transferred by husband to wife at marriage, for her use after his death.
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| Keever, Kiver | see Dough keever, Wort keever.
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| Kilderkin | Small cask. Liquid measure of 18 gallons.
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| Kirtle | Gown or outer petticoat.
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| Land/Half-land | One (or half) strip of an open (shared) field.
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| Latten/Lattyne | Brass or similar alloy; sometimes tin-plate.
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| Laving basin | Washing basin.
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| Leasowe | Pasture, Meadow.
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| Ley | Arable land under grass or pasture.
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| Liberty | Area within which certain privileges (legal or ecclesiastical) may be enjoyed.
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| Liquidate | To turn assets into cash; To pay debts.
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| Lockram | Type of coarse linen.
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| Malt | Grain (usually barley) sprouted and dried. The basis of ale & beer.
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| Mark | see Money.
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| Maser | Ornamental goblet
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| Maslin | Mixed grain (especially rye & wheat).
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| Mazard bowl | perhaps Mazarine Dish, a cooking dish set inside a larger dish, like a double-boiler.
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| Mead(e) | Meadow.
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| Messuage | Dwelling with offices and adjoining land.
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| Milch (cow) | Cow kept for milking
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| Moiety | A part -- usually half.
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| Month's mind | Commemoration (by Masses) one month after death or burial.
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| Noble | see Money.
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| Nuncupative | Will made orally and unsigned, before witnesses who later swore to it pre-Probate.
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| Parcel-gilt | Partly gilded.
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| Partlet | Neck-covering or ruff. A kind of shirt.
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| Peasons | Plural of pease (pea)
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| Peck | See Weights & Measures.
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| Peculiar | A parish or church exempt from the jurisdiction of the Diocese within which it lies.
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| per stirpes | If one of a group of legatees dies, only his/her share is divided among his/her own children, rather than the whole being reallocated.
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| Pillow-bere | Pillowcase.
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| Posnet | Small cooking-pot.
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| Posy | A small bunch of flowers. A motto (eg engraved inside a ring).
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| Pottinger | Small bowl.
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| Press | A cupboard or shelved recess.
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| Quarter | See Weights & Measures.
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| Queen Anne's Bounty | Fund (started 1703) for helping to support C of E clergy in poor parishes.
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| Quern | Hand-operated stone mill for grinding corn, malt etc.
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| Relict | Widow (or widower, but rarely so used).
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| Renunciation | Official surrender of Rights.
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| Sallow | A variety of willow, the timber having specialised uses.
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| Salt | Salt-cellar - a container for salt.
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| Sart(e)s | See Assart.
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| Sarum | Old name for Salisbury.
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| Saucer | Sauce dish.
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| Save harmless | Protect or indemnify [someone] against harm (often financial)
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| Searcer | Fine sieve or strainer
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| Sert(e)s | See Assart.
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| Shepick | A pitchfork, hayfork.
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| Sir | Used as an honorific for local priests (as well as for Knights and Baronets)
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| Sithe | Scythe.
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| Solar/Soller | An upstairs room.
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| Spur-royal | see Money.
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| Staddle(-stone) | Mushroom-shaped stone construct used to support hay-ricks etc, to keep ground-damp and rats out.
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| Stall (of bees) | A hive or skep.
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| Steer | Young ox or bull-calf, usually castrated, 2-4 years old.
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| Stell | Probably portable enclosures for stock.
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| Stone | See Weights & Measures.
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| Stryke, Strick(le) etc | Measure of grain or malt; a tool for levelling the top of such a measure.
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| Table-board | A table-top. Tables commonly came with separate trestles.
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| Tail male | Limitation of inheritance to males.
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| Tallow-chandler | Dealer in candles etc.
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| Teg | Second-year sheep.
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| Tenant in Common | Owns specific share in property which can be left by will. Cf "Joint Tenant".
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| Tenement | Dwelling or habitation, or part thereof. A holding.
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| Theave | Young ewe.
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| Thirds | See "Dower".
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| Ticking | The cloth casing of a mattress, stuffed with feathers, flock etc.
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| Toft | Homestead.
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| Treen | Small household articles made of wood.
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| Trental | Series of 30 Requiem Masses.
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| Tusser, Tussore | Fawn silk cloth.
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| Twill(y)cloth | Woven cloth.
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| Wainscot | Oak panelling on an interior wall.
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| Wainscot chest | An oak-panelled chest.
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| Weaning | Newly-weaned (farm) animal.
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| Wether | Castrated ram.
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| Wort | Malt liquor - part of the brewing process.
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| Wort keever | Wort tub for brewing.
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| Yard Land | A measure of land area, often about 30 acres.
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| Yelt | Young sow.
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