A Glimpse into Historical Language: Dialect Words Explained

When I was a kid I was fascinated by the dialect of those of my grandparent’s generation. I am referring to family members born between 1884 and 1887. Their language was unique and intriguing. Manners were much stricter then and children were forbidden to interrupt. I learned to listen very carefully and inferred meanings from their use in context. Should I not be able to interpret, save the word until I could ask my parents. Language was intoxicating. I’ll share some from my collection below, used in context, the way I learned them.

Airy: “Airy(any)one of them tablecloths will be fine.”

Nairy: “Nairy(neither) one of them is worth the powder it would take to blow them away.”

Na’arn: Ain’t na’arn(none)of them gals acting right.”

Et: “I et(ate) all I could hold.”

Het: “She got mighty het up(angry) when her man run off!”

Heared: I just couldn’t believe it when I heared(heard) it!“

Holp: Holp(help) me with

Holpt: He holpt(helped) us quite a bit.”

Fur piece: It’s a fur piece(quite a distance) over there.”

Tolerable: I’m feeling tolerable.” (not well, but better)

Fitten: That slop ain’t fitten(good enough) for the dogs.”

Thanks for: Thanks for(please pass)the beans.”

Cyarn: That place smells like cyarn.” (Carrion)

Pert’near: He ought to know better than that! He’s pert’near (pretty near) grown!”

Young’uns: They got all them young’uns(children) to feed.”

Chillun: All their chillun(children) eats dirt.”

Farred up: Too late for talking. He’s all farred upready to fight.”

Passel: “Oh, they got a passel(a lot) of hounds under their porch.”

35 thoughts on “A Glimpse into Historical Language: Dialect Words Explained”

  2. Welp (another one – for well), these sound just like we talk every day. The one we didn’t say quite like that was holp – we just say hep. Accents and dialects are fascinating to me. Different regions and backgrounds bring the spice of language to any conversation, I think. :)

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  6. Was that native talk or uneducated talk? I ask because there are still people in Louisiana I can’t understand and I know from my own family that many in that generation were to poor to go to school or had to work share cropping.

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      • My Gramps went to 3rd grade and Granny to 5th grade. My Gramps had to stay home because they were sharecroppers and his father needed all the boys home. Granny’s family was too poor to afford clothes. My Gramps did well by joining the Army. Considering Granny was crosseyed she taught herself enough, she couldn’t drive but when older she did take the trolly into to town to get her cosmatology licenses. I’m so proud at what she overcame in life and how she taught herself. I miss them.

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        • My dad got to 5th grade. He was humiliated by poverty, specifically lack of clothes and shoes. If he got a chance at a day’s work he took it, even if it was just for produce or a litlle meat and fat from helping with butchering a hog. In his fifties he was asked to teach Sunday School. He labored over the lesson and scriptures with Mother ahead of time so as not to be humiliated. Mother said he did fine. He became fairly literate but never read for pleasure. It was hard work. I know you admire your grandparents. It must have been doubly hard for your grandmother with a crossed eye. She had to deal with social stigma and disability. She must have really wanted that cosmetology certificate to endure that. I’ll bet it really helped her family financially!

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