Glossary

This is just a small compilation of historical terms, slang, and lexicon from The Clockwork Empire.

A

* **Abode -** Lived / 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.

B

* **Balderdash** - A colorful term could be used to dismiss someone’s statement as absurd or untrue.
* **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.

C

* **Caper** - A criminal act, dodge or device.
* **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.
* **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** - Armed force based on the coast to help save lives at sea, prevent smuggling, and such like; 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** - Recovering from an illness / A person recovering from an illness.
* **Conveyed -** Carried
* **Cop, Copper**  - A policeman
* **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.

D

* **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'.

E

* **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

F

* **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'.

G

* **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.
* **Got the morbs** - Used to describe the feeling of temporarily being sad, with "morbs" being short for "morbidness" or "morbid feelings.”
* **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).

H

* **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).

I

* **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

J

* **Journeyman** - A skilled worker qualified to work as a painter, carpenter, and so on.
* **Junk** - Chinese sailing ship

K

L

* **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.
* **Lollygag** - It means to delay something by wasting time or dawdling.

M

* **Malt** - Grain, usually barley, that has been allowed to sprout, and is used in brewing beer.
* **Maltster** - Somebody who makes malt or sells malt.
* **Marine breeze** - Sea air
* **Materially reduced** - 'Have been materially reduced in circumstances' means 'are earning a lot less'.
* **Mayor** - The leader of a town or borough council which organises how the town is run.
* **Measles** - A disease causing fever and rash (red spots) on the skin.
* **Messrs** - Plural of Mr, used when referring to more than one man. For example 'Mr Smith' would mean only one Smith, 'Messrs Smith' would mean several (father and son, or brothers).
* **Middle class** - People who earn enough money to live comfortably, such as doctors and lawyers.
* **Mortality** - The death-rate; the number of people dying.
* **Mouth pie** - This term refers to negative nagging directed by a wife towards her husband.
* **Muffler** - A scarf
* **Museum** - A place for collecting, displaying and looking after objects that have a scientific, historical or artistic value.
* **Music hall** - A theatre where musicians, singers, and orchestras perform music. They usually give ‘variety shows’ where comedy acts play alongside musical acts.
* **Myriorama -** A show using pictures projected onto a screen that combine to make different scenes or landscapes. It would often show current events and places around the world, and be accompanied by a band playing music.

N

* **Nanty narking** - Used to express that you’re having a lot of fun.
* **Numerous** - Many
* **Nurseryman** - A person working in a nursery where plants and trees are grown for sale.

O

* **Occupation** - Job
* **Ocular** - Of the eyes. 'Ocular demonstration can be given' means people can understand something by looking at it.
* **Odour** - A smell
* **Omnibus** - A bus - in Victorian times buses were single or double-deckers and were pulled by horses.
* **Opera** - A play that is sung on stage with an orchestra.
* **Orchestra** - A large group of musicians who play together on various instruments, usually including strings, woodwinds, brass instruments, and percussion instruments.
* **Orthodox** - A ‘proper’ way of behaving that is acceptable.
* **Ozone** - A gas in the air (particularly at the seaside) that the Victorians believed was good for treating various diseases.
* **Ozone bath** - A bath using water that has had ozone bubbled through it.

P

* **Paddle steamer** - A boat driven by paddles powered by steam.
* **Page** - A boy or young man working as a servant.
* **Parlour** - Living room
* **Pedestrian** - A person walking
* **Pence** - An old unit of money (2 and a half old pence equals 1 pence in today's money).
* **Penny-farthing bicycle** - A bicycle with a very large front wheel and a small back wheel, with the pedals connected directly to the front wheel.
* **Percussion** - The section of a band or orchestra composed of percussion instruments. Percussion instruments, such as a drum, triangle or xylophone, produce their sound by one object striking another, or by being scraped or shaken.
* **Pertaining to** - Concerning, to do with
* **Phonograph** - An early type of music player, invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1877. The wax cylinder was developed later in 1888. You could only listen to about 2 minutes of sound when playing a wax cylinder.
* **Pier** - A platform supported by pillars, and built out from the shore over water. Usually found at the seaside, piers are used for entertainment.
* **Pig** - A policeman, usually a detective .
* **Pitchfork** - A long-handled tool with 2 prongs used by farm workers for haymaking.
* **Pleurisy** - A lung infection causing fever, coughing and difficulty in breathing.
* **Pneumonia** - A lung infection causing fever, coughing and difficulty in breathing.
* **Polyphon** - A large, wooden music box that plays large flat metal discs with punched holes which moves over ‘teeth’ connected to musical bells to produce the notes - sounds like little bells when played.
* **Poorhouse** - A place where poor, old or sick people lived and were taken care of. Those that were well enough had to work. Also known as the workhouse.
* **Porous** - Leaky; letting water through.
* **Portrait** - A portrait is a ‘likeness’ created of an individual or group of people through photography or in paintings. Portrait photography developed during the Victorian period.
* **Postboy** - A man or boy working at a post house or inn to help change the horses on coaches or carriages.
* **Posting** - Travelling in a coach or carriage and changing horses at different stops (post houses) along the way.
* **Prevail** - To exist in large quantity: 'where dirt prevailed' means where there was a lot of dirt.
* **Prevailing** - Most common or most frequent: 'prevailing winds' means the usual direction of the wind.
* **Prevalent** - Widespread; found or existing everywhere
* **Prior to** - Before
* **Prodigious** - Great in size, large, a lot
* **Promoting** - Encouraging
* **Propelled** - Pushed
* **Proprietor** - Owner
* **Prosperity** - Wealth
* **Punch and Judy** - A funny puppet show featuring Punch (with a large nose) and his wife Judy.
* **Punch** **magazine** - A famous magazine that contained funny drawings and cartoons, and commented on events of the day.
* **Pursued** - Carried on; followed

Q

R

* **Rapidity** - Speed
* **Reared** - Grown
* **Remains** - Body
* **Ruffles** - Handcuffs
* **Ruin** - Going out of business. 'Ruin before many of them' means faced with going out of business.

S

* **Salubrity -** Healthiness. 'Salubrity of the climate' means having a warm, healthy climate.
* **Salvation** **Army -** A religious organisation that provided help to the poor. Unhappy with the living conditions and bad behaviour of the poor, founder William Booth launched a mission to bring people back to God.
* **Scarlet** **fever** - A fever usually suffered by children, causing red skin (rash) and high fever. Also called Scarlatina.
* **Shewn** - Another way of spelling 'shown'.
* **Shilling** - Old unit of money equal to 12 old pence (one shilling = 5 pence in today's money).
* **Slate** - Children once learned to write by writing on black slates. They scratched letters on them with chalk.
* **Smacks** - Boats used for fishing.
* **Small-pox** - An infection causing fever and markings on the skin, often followed by death.
* **Solicited** - Asked for; requested
* **Solitary** - Only
* **Song** - A piece of music with words that is sung, and can be accompanied by musical instruments.
* **Spacious** - Large
* **Stagecoach** - A large, 4-wheeled, horse-drawn passenger vehicle covering a fixed route and stopping at set places along the way.
* **Steam locomotive** - An engine powered by steam and used to pull a train.
* **Stricken** - Affected by; suffering from
* **Strings** - The section of a band or orchestra composed of stringed instruments such as a violin, viola, cello, or double bass, in which sound is produced by plucking, striking, or bowing taut strings.
* **Strumpet** - The word strumpet referred to a whore or prostitute.
* **Subscription** - 1) A fee to be paid, for example entrance fee.  2) A collection of money.  3) A donation given to help somebody in need.
* **Substantial** - Large
* **Suet** **pudding** - A pudding made with animal fat

T

* **Tepid** - Slightly warm
* **Three R’s** - Victorian children were taught the three Rs (Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic).
* **Thriving** - Doing well
* **Tickety-boo** - Means “in good order or satisfactory condition.”
* **Trade directory** - A book with names and addresses of tradesmen, shopkeepers, businesses, and so on, also with advertisements and other information about the town.
* **Tradesman** - 1) A shopkeeper; someone who buys and sells goods.  2) A skilled worker, such as a carpenter or plumber.
* **Tram** - A large vehicle for fare-paying passengers, usually a double-decker, pulled on rails by horses and later by a steam engine.
* **Transcript -** A typed copy of a handwritten document.
* **Trunks** - Suitcases
* **Turnpike** - A road that people paid a toll to travel on; the money collected was used to keep the road in good condition.
* **Typhoid** - An illness caused by drinking dirty water (contaminated by sewage) and which can spread quickly and affect a lot of people.

U

* **Unprovided for** - With no money
* **Upper class** - People whose families are rich and powerful, such as landowners, factory owners, or aristocrats (lords, earls).

V

* **Vapour** - Steam
* **Vie with** - Compete with

W

* **Wholesome** - Healthy
* **Whooping** **Cough** - A disease that affects breathing and causes heavy coughing.
* **Widow** - A woman whose husband has died.
* **Widower** - A man whose wife has died.
* **Wireless** - The old-fashioned name for a radio. Marconi invented an early form of communicating by radio called wireless telegraphy in 1896.
* **Woodwind** - The section of a band or orchestra composed of woodwind instruments such as a bassoon, clarinet, oboe or saxophone. Sound is produced by the vibration of reeds in the mouthpiece, or by blowing across the mouthpiece, such as in a flute.
* **Workhouse** - A place where poor, old or sick people lived and were taken care of. Those that were well enough had to work. Also known as the Poorhouse.
* **Working class** - People doing heavy manual work, usually for low wages, such as farm labourers, miners, builders and factory workers.

X

Y

Z