Glossary A-L

A-B | C-D | E-G | H-L

A-B

Abode - 1) Lived  2) A place where people live

Abacus - A wooden object that helped Victorian children to count by sliding coloured discs along a column.

Acre - A piece of land equal to 4,840 square yards (4,047 square metres).

Afford - Provide, allow

Alighted - Got down (from a train, bus and so on)

Altered - Changed

Ample - Enough

Artificer - A tradesman.

Barge - A large flat-bottomed boat used to carry heavy goods on rivers and canals.

Bath-chair - A wheelchair for people who are ill or who can't walk very well, usually pushed by an attendant.

Beating - 1) A traditional farming method for threshing crops like corn by hand beating to separate the grain from the stalks.  2) Scaring birds from bushes out into the open for shooting parties.

Beg to - 'Beg to thank', 'beg to inform'  means wish to thank, wish to inform.

Benefit - 'For the benefit of' means to help.

Bird scaring - Victorian children would be employed to work in fields scaring birds away from eating crops by being noisy or by chasing them off.

Blackboard - A black, wooden board where the teacher would use white chalk to write information.

Boarder - A person paying rent for a room (or bed) and meals in somebody else's house.

Brake - A 4-wheeled, open-topped, horse-drawn vehicle able to carry 6 or more people.

Brass band - A musical band composed of brass instruments like a trumpet or horn, and percussion instruments like a drum or triangle.

Brass instrument - A type of wind instrument, such as a trumpet or trombone, made of brass or other metal. Sound is produced by blowing into the mouthpiece, vibrating the lips, and adjusting the length of the sound tube by means of valves or a slide.

Brig - A sailing ship with 2 masts.

British Empire - Many countries around the world which were under British control during Victoria's reign. The British Empire included large parts of North America, India, Africa and Australia.

Bronchitis - A disease causing coughing and problems with breathing.

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C-D

Caters for - Serves, provides services for

Celebrated - Well-known, famous

Census - A list of every man, woman and child, including their address and details of their age, gender, occupation, and birthplace. A census of the population has been carried out every 10 years since 1841 (except 1941).

Cesspool - A hole or pit in the ground for receiving drainage or sewage from houses.

Charcoal - A sort of coal used for heating and cooking. Charcoal is made by covering a pile of wood with damp mud and grass then lighting the wood so that it burns very slowly.

Chilblains - An itchy swelling to parts of face, feet, finger and toes caused by exposure to cold and damp.

Chinese Junk - (see 'Junk').

Cholera - A disease causing sickness. Many Victorians died from cholera.

Clothing Club - Each child at school could pay a small fee into a fund called the ‘Clothing Club’ and this fund would allow the school to save up towards suitable clothing and shoes for needy children. The school would also contribute a small sum according to what was already collected.

Coach - A large 4-wheeled, horse-drawn vehicle covering a fixed route; passengers would ride inside and on top.

Coastguard - 1) Armed force based on the coast to help save lives at sea, prevent smuggling, and such like.  2) A member of the coastguard.

Commencement - Beginning, start

Composer - A person who writes or composes music.

Conduces to - Leads to

Consequence - 'In consequence of' means 'because of'.

Convalescent - 1) Recovering from an illness.  2) A person recovering from an illness.

Conveyed - Carried

Croquet - A game played on a lawn where players knock balls through a set of hoops.

Crystal Palace - The Crystal Palace was a huge building of iron and glass built in Hyde Park, London, for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Cultivation - Growing (of fruit, vegetables, cereals, and so on)

Cursory - Quick and not very thorough.

Delicate - Fragile. A person who is 'delicate' is often ill, and generally not strong.

Despatch - Send

Diminished - Smaller

Diphtheria - An infection caused by germs in the throat, causing difficulty in breathing and a fever.

Discretion - 'At the discretion of' means 'to be decided by'.

Distinct - Portions, different parts

Douche - A medical treatment using a jet or stream of water aimed at part or all of the body.

Drawn - Pulled

Dressing - Decorating (for example, a Christmas tree)

Drest - Another way of spelling 'dressed'.

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E-G

Economy - Cheapness

Employ - 'Was in the employ of' means 'worked for' or 'was employed by'.

En route - Along the way

Enfeebled - Weakened, or made weak through illness

Epidemic - Any illness which spreads quickly and affects a lot of people.

Equestrian - A person riding a horse.

Establishment - A shop or other place of business.

Extend - Stretch

Facilitating - Making easy

Facility of transmission - Easy delivery, being able to deliver easily

Ferry - A boat which takes fare-paying passengers across a river, or across the sea to an island.

Ferryman, ferrywoman - A person who operates a boat to take fare-paying passengers across a river, or across the sea to an island.

Fertility - 'Fertility of the soil' means having the kind of soil in which plants grow easily.

Fever - Any illness which causes a very high temperature.

Fever-stricken - Suffering from fever

Fled - Run away

Flu - See Influenza

Former - When 2 things are mentioned, former means the 'first' of the 2.

Frequented - Visited

Furtherance - 'In furtherance of' means 'to help' or 'to increase'.

Gig - A light, 2-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse.

Glazier - Person who fits glass windows

Globe - A large ball on which a map of the world is printed - used for lessons in geography.

Great Exhibition, 1851 - An enormous exhibition that celebrated the British Empire and displayed advances in technology and the arts. The exhibition was held in the Crystal Palace, in London’s Hyde Park, from 1 May to 15 October 1851.

Gruel - A thin watery porridge.

Guinea - Old unit of money equal to one pound and one shilling, (1 pound and 5 pence in today's money).

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H-L

Handicap - Handicap races (or handicapped races): races in which some competitors start before the others or run a shorter distance.

Hansom cab - A 2-wheeled carriage drawn by 1 horse with the driver sitting on a high seat at the back, used as a taxi.

Harvest - 1) The gathering or picking of a ripe crop.  2) The ripe crop after it is gathered.  3) To gather or pick a ripe crop.

Haymaking - Cutting and gathering hay for a haystack.

Hopping - Picking or harvesting hops, which are used to make beer.

Hops - The dried flowers of the hop plant.

Horse-drawn - Pulled by a horse or horses.

Household - A group of people who live together (there could be more than 1 household in a building if it is divided into separate rooms or flats).

Immersion - Dipping your body in water, usually in a bath or the sea.

Improvised hospitals - Extra hospitals set up in other buildings such as church halls.

Influenza (also known as Flu) - A disease that is worse than a cold, and causes aching muscles and joints, fever, headaches, coughing, sore throat, and sneezing, sometimes followed by death.

Inkwell - Holes (wells) at the front of desks in the classroom that were used to hold ink for writing with a pen.

Interred - Buried

Invalid - A person who is ill or unable to walk.

Invigorating - Refreshing

Journeyman - A skilled worker qualified to work as a painter, carpenter, and so on.                               

Junk - Chinese sailing ship

Laden - Loaded

Late (the) - 'The late' refers to somebody who has recently died.

Laundress - A woman who would wash other people's clothes, sheets, and such like, usually working at home.

Leisure - The free time a person has to enjoy an activity like playing football or reading.

Liberal - Generous

Locomotive - See Steam locomotive.

Lodger - A person paying rent for a room (or bed) in somebody else's house.

Logbook - A book where a teacher would write comments about school attendance, pupils’ behaviour, learning progress and such like.

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