A growing assortment of words and definitions used in the Early Modern era. See the Guide for more information.
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8
Word
Definition
Elaboratory
A 17th and 18th century form of laboratory. Every great person, said John Evelyn in ST. FRANCE (1652), pretends to his elaboratory and library.
Jetto
The spurt of water, or an opening therefor, in a fountain. French jet d'eau; jeter, to throw + d'eau, of water. John Evelyn recorded in his DIARY for 22 October, 1644: The garden has . . . fountaines, especially one of five jettos.
Minacious
Threatening, menacing. Latin minacem; minari, to threaten. (From the same Latin words, via the French, comes menace.) Minacy was a 16th century term meaning menace. Minaciousness, the state of being threatening; minacity, threatening, denunciation. These words were used mainly in the 16th and 17th centuries, but lingered into the 19th. The adjective has been replaced by minatory, which in the 16th and 17th centuries was occasionally used as a noun; John Evelyn in his DIARY for 22 September, 1686, spoke of the Emperor sending his minatories to the King of Denmark.
Runcation
Weeding. John Evelyn in SYLVA (1664) gave suggestions for the more commodious runcation, hawing, and dressing the trees.
Rupellary
Rocky. Latin rupes, rock, rupestral, rupestrean, rupestrine, relating to, growing or living among, or carved or written on rocks. Also rupicoline, rupicolous, dwelling among rocks. John Evelyn in his DIARY of 27 February, 1700, noted: In this rupellary nidary do the fowle lay eggs and breede.
Toreutic
Relating to toreutics, the art of working in metal, ivory, etc. embossing, chasing, working in relief, and the like. Pronounced tor-you'-tic. A toreutes, an artist in ivory or metal. These are 19th century terms (except for one use, by John Evelyn, torentice, in the 17th century). Thus THE ANTIQUITIES OF ATHENS (1837) called the Minerva of the Parthenon, also by Phidias, wrought in ivory and gold, the noblest example of the toreutic art.
Vasa
A 17th century variant of vase. John Evelyn in a CHARACTER of 1651, stated: One of their spurs engaged in a carpet . . . drew all to the ground, break the glass and the vasas in pieces.
Verderer
A judicial officer of the King's forest, charged with its preservation and maintenance, also against trespassers and poachers. A medieval post, though later for certain forests, notably New, Epping, and Dean. An extended form of verder, with the same meaning; via Old French verd, vert, from Latin viridus, green. The Medieval Latin name of the officer was viridarius. In English, also verdour, viridary. From the veridarii of the Bishop's Forest of Mendip, the term verderer came to be applied to a petty constable of a town; hence, certain towns and cities were divided into constabulary districts, each called a verdery. There were four verderies, e.g., in Wells. The form viridary, in addition to a verderer, might mean a viridarium, a pleasure garden, such as was attached to a villa of ancient Rome. John Evelyn in his DIARY for 10 November, 1700, noted: We went to see Prince Ludovisio's villa where was formerly the viridarium of the poet Sallust.
