Page:Glossary of words in use in Cornwall.djvu/19

 Each parish has its own particular saint to which the church is dedicated. "There are more saints in Cornwall than there are in heaven." The saints' feasts are held on the nearest Sunday and Monday to dedication day, Feasten Sunday and Monday. The inhabitants of every parish have a distinguishing nickname. One curious custom is nearly obsolete, that of speaking of a married woman as "Kitty Ben Roscrow," "Mary Peter Penrose," instead of Kitty, Ben Roscrow's wife, &c.

§ 4. Cornish proper names of men and places have the accent on the second syllable, as Borla'se, Boli'tho, Trela'wney, Carne'gie, Pendre'a, Polme'nnor (Poleme'nnor). In true Cornish compound names the noun is put before the adjective, as Chegwidden (white house), che, house, gwidden, white; Vounderveor (great road), vounder, road, veor, great (through ignorance now called Vounderveor Lane). When the word is formed of two nouns, the distinguishing one is last, as Nanceglos (church valley), nanc (c soft), valley, eglos, church; Crowz-an-wra (a road-side cross), crovz, cross, vcra, road ; Peninnis (island head), pen, a head, innis, an island; Egloshayle (river church), eglos, a church, hayle, a river (now Peninnis Head, Egloshayle Church). These rules hold good even when the words are half Comish, half English, as Street-an-Nowan (the new street, of some antiquity). Cairn Du (black cairn). Castle Vean (little castle), Castle au Dinas (a reduplication), Chapel Ury, Chapel St. Clare.

§ 5. When asked some years since by the English Dialect Society to write a West Cornwall Glossary, wishing to make it as complete as possible, I consulted all the published works on the subject which were in the Penzance Library, and added to my list the words in them unknown to me. Those that I have given on the authority of Polwhele alone are, I am afraid, although common in the beginning of this century, now quite forgotten except by a very few. Had I been aware that I was to have been associated with Mr. Couch, I should have taken no examples from his works; but I have retained them, as they were nearly all familiar to Mr. Westlake, Q.C.  (J. W.), to whom I now take this opportunity of tendering my