My historical novels Rebel Puritan and The Reputed Wife, Herodias (Long) Hicks Gardner Porter, colonial New England, travels, and whatever else seizes my fancy...

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

One Hundred Words for Slut



Jezebel movie poster

Are there really fifty words for snow in the Eskimo/Inuit language? It’s said that Inuit have a huge number of terms for different types of snow – falling, flakes, needles, the type you’d use to make an igloo, etc. Wikipedia has a page disputing "50 words for snow" as a myth, but it also states that the Sami language used in Finland, Norway and Sweden has 180 words for snow. 

In upstate New York we have many ways to describe frozen stuff which falls out of the sky, lies on the ground, and makes our lives miserable for six months: sleet, graupel, powder, corn snow …. Let's just say that the Inuit, who live with snow and ice for most of the year, have many more. Moreover, I don’t really care how many words for snow there are.

However, I just had an eye-opening moment while composing the novel which, along with Rebel Puritan and The Reputed Wife, will conclude my series based on the scandalous life of Herodias Long of 17th century Rhode Island. In a quest to keep my language accurate for the time, I consult The Historical Thesaurus online.

Slut. I wasn’t looking it up for Herodias, though some people think that I was right on the money applying that word to her. Herodias was spurned by many 19th century genealogists for her marital and extra-marital hijinx. A fair amount of ink has been spilled psychoanalyzing her, and I’ve spent a lot of years getting into Herod’s head as I write about her.

However, I’m looking up slut as I bring to life the young woman who, in 1664, supplants Herod in George Gardner’s life: Lydia Ballou. I figure that slut was in use before 1664, but checked to be sure. The Historical Thesaurus contains words gleaned from the Oxford English Dictionary and the Thesaurus of Old English, and puts slut in use to describe an unchaste woman by 1450.

I can think of a whooooole bunch of similar words; many are modern, and several are even older than slut. Strumpet. Wench. Whore. However, I was dumbfounded to see the abundance of ways I could describe a loose woman.

There are 84 terms I could use in 1664 and preserve historical accuracy; from the Old English lufestre and scylcen to tub-tail and laced mutton. Surprisingly, tomboy and housewife were applied to loose women in the 1500s. Another 45 words have been added to the English language since 1664, making 129 in all. 

By comparison, there were only about 20 terms in play for a male lecher before 1664. Is that because the vast majority of plays and books about persons of loose morals were written by men? Were they less critical of their own sex, and inclined to be more inventive in describing women?

The Inuit are said to have 50 words for snow because that substance (in its many forms) is so vital to them. With 129 words in the English thesaurus for women of easy virtue, does that mean they are even more important in our lives? Or is it just that we love our sluttish wenches so?


Here’s the entire list for unchaste women from the Historical Thesaurus:

03.05.05.07.02|03.03.01 n
Unchastity :: sexual indulgence :: unchaste behaviour of woman :: unchaste/loose woman
There are 129 words at this level:

bepæcestre OE
firenhicgend OE
horcwene OE
lufestre OE
scand OE
scrætte OE
scylcen OE
synnecge OE
quean/cwene OE– now arch.
Whore/hore OE
wenchel c1300 
strumpet a1327 
wench 1362–1781 
parnel 1362–a1800 
filth 1402– obs. exc. dial. 
tickle-tail c1430 + 1869 dial. 
harlot 1432/50
slut c1450
kittock c1470–1706 Scots 
mignote 1489 
ribald a1500–1530 
sinner a1500–1688 
Kitty 1500/20–1572 
callet c1500–1785 
flag 1500/20–1535 + 1866 
trull 1519–1871 
miswoman 1528–a1600 
dant a1529 
stewed strumpet 1532–1575 
whore 1532–1575 
unchaghe 1534 
Katy 1535 
yaud 1545 Scots & northern dial. 
housewife/huswife 1546–1705 
jelot c1550(2) 
trinklet c1550 
whippet 1550–1597 
gillot 1557–1579/80 
Jezebel 1558
loon c1560–1828 Scots 
limmer 1566 + 1728 Scots 
marian 1567 
mort 1567–1812 cant 
mot/mott 1567– cant 
rannell 1573–1592 
blowze 1573–1719 
rig 1575–1694 + 1829– dial. 
kit a1577–1600 
poplet 1577 
laced mutton 1578–1694 
tomboy 1579–a1700 
Tib 1582–1681 
pucelle 1583–a1700 
harlotry 1584–c1836 
malkin/mawkin 1586 obs. exc. dial. 
light of love/light o' love/light a love 1589
flirt-gill 1592–1618 
wagtail 1592–1710 
hilding 1592–1713 
driggle-draggle 1593–1611 
tub-tail 1595 
franion 1596 
baggage 1596–1851 
hiren 1597–1615 
bona roba 1597–1680 + 1822 
lightskirts 1597/8
jay 1598–1611 
minx 1598–1728 + 1939
short-heels 1599 
cockatrice 1599–1747 
flirt 1600–1703 
light-heels 1602 
roba 1602 
fricatrice 1605–1708 + 1871 
rumbelow 1611–a1700 
open-tail a1618 
succubus 1622–1803 
snaphance a1625 
flap 1631 + 1892 dial. & slang 
nymph 1632
amorosa 1634 
puffkin 1638 
wrig 1638 
vizard 1652–1719 
In case you missed one of your favorite words to describe a soiled dove, here are more which came into use after 1664:
tomrig 1668–1728 
jilt 1672–1815 
crack 1676–1719 + 1785
buttered bun(s) 1679 
filthy 1681 
grass-girl 1691 
cousin a1700 cant Dict. + 1708 cant 
mobbed-head 1707 
trully 1711 
brim 1730/6–1808 
trollop 1742
trub 1746 dial. 
Cousin Betty 1749(2) 
demi-rep 1749–1887 
tittup 1762 + 1901 
buer 1807– slang & northern dial. 
lady of easy virtue 1809
blowen/blowing 1812–1851 slang 
sportswoman 1816 
fie-fie 1820 
trail 1825–1901 
streel/sthreal/sthreel 1842– chiefly Irish 
shickster 1846– slang 
trolly(-mog) 1851– dial. 
scarlet woman 1853
amazon 1860 fig. 
anonyma 1864–1889 
pick-up 1871
wish-wife 1886 
chippy 1886– slang, orig. US 
tart 1887– slang 
tartlet a1890 + 1961 
fly girl/fly-girl 1893– US slang 
demi-mondaine 1894–1969 
scrub 1900– slang 
demi-vierge 1908–1951 
floosie/floozie 1911
muff 1914– slang, orig. US 
tarty 1918 colloq. 
sporting girl/woman 1925– N. Amer. 
hooer 1937 Austral. & NZ 
half-virgin 1946–1965 
messer 1951 slang 
bim 1953 US slang 
demi-virgin 1953 
puta 1967– slang 

As for lustful men, they have far fewer descriptive words in the Historical Thesaurus, and I had to do numerous searches to find these terms:

galsere OE
lecher c1175
lecherer c1380–1605
priapist 1532
venerien 1567
franion 1571–1600 + 1810
colt 1586
luster 1591–1705
simpler 1592–1602
libertine 1593
twigger 1594
venerist 1596–1623
Corinthian 1596–1697 + 1785
tit 1599
venerian 1601
luxur 1604–1607 rare
libertine 1605
night-neaker 1611
niggler 1613–1659
libidinist 1628–1634
high-boy 1668–a1680
goat 1675
swinge-bow 1675
man of the town a1700–1785
town-bull 1709
capriped 1730/6 Dict. + 1916 + 1925
lothario 1756
satyr 1781– fig.
gay-deceiver 1803
playboy/play-boy 1829– colloq.
gay-dog 1900
lech 1934
ram 1935– colloq.
lizard 1935
tom(-)cat 1942– colloq., orig. US fig. transf.
skirt chaser 1943
stoat a1960–1978 fig.

Sources:


6 comments:

  1. Great post Jo Ann. Writing about a 17thC loose woman right now and would love to use all those words - I'll let you know how many I've managed to include when I've done!!

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  2. It's interesting to see housewife on the list, and wench. A housewife is simply a title, such as in Gervais Markham's 'English Housewife', and if you look in books such as 'The Problems of Aristotle' or '1000 Notable Things', both 17th century prints, 'wench' refers simply to girl children.

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  3. My particular favorites are tickle-tail and buttered buns! Interestingly enough pucelle is French for virgin. Maybe they got it confused with half-virgin or demi-virgin, which I like to believe was my state of being at my second marriage! Great post, Jojo!

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  4. Puces is French for flea, so I imagine they have all sorts of puns for fleas and shady women. Thanks, and I'm glad you all enjoyed my post :)

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  5. Great information. I look after an elderly gentleman who is called Gardner. He thinks he is from South County way back when so I will share this blog with him. Thanks! PS I lived for some years a few hundred feet from the Robinson Plantation house on Old Boston Neck so this is also intriguing to me.

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  6. Thanks, Leekhat! I've been fortunate enough to visit South County several times for research on my Herodias (Long) Gardner novels. It sure is a beautiful area. I was concentrating on the western side of Narrow River & Pettaquamscutt Pond, so I didn't see the Robinson house in person, so I have something to look forward to on my next visit. Cheers, Jo Ann

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