History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 114

1. 7.
In the Middle English period a number of words appear which seem to have been
introduced by vagrants, beggars, and strolling minstrels from the Low Countries. Such
people would mix with the corresponding English class along the roads and in the
inns, and words from their speech would pass into our vagrants' cant and slang, to
appear later, perhaps, in more respectable dialects.
Bouse, Bowse (a. 1325, E.E.P., 1567, Harman, Caveat), to drink; to drink to excess,
or for enjoyment or good fellowship, to swill, guzzle, tipple; ME. bousen is apparently
from M.Du. bûsen (e.mod.Du. buizen), to drink to excess; the Du. word is probably
related to buise, a large drinking-vessel; both vb. and sb. occur once in ME. and then
appear as common words in thieves' and beggars' cant in the 16th century, and are
then probably reborrowings from Du.; they then passed into colloquial use. The vbl.
sb. Bousing (a. 1529, Skelton) occurs earlier in the 16th century than the sb. or vb.
Since the 18th century both sb. and vb. are often written as Booze (sb. 1732, vb.
1768).
Loiter (13.., E.E.Allit.P. as loltrande, c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), in early use, to idle, to waste
one's time in idleness, to linger indolently on the way when sent on an errand or when
making a journey; ad. M.Du. loteren, to wag about, Du. leuteren, to shake, totter, also
to dawdle, loiter over one's work (Kilian, loteren j leuteren ‘morari’); the sense which
the vb. has in English has not been found in Du. earlier than the 16th century, but may
be much older in slang use; O.E.D. states that the word was probably introduced into
English by foreign ‘loiterers’ or vagrants; the diphthong -oi- is probably a substitution
for the unfamiliar vowel of the Du. word, which was probably ( ). Loiterer (1530), one
who loiters; in early use, a vagabond, ‘sturdy beggar’; this sb. is so much later than the
vb. loiter that it is perhaps best to consider it a fresh borrowing and directly ad. Du.
leuteraar. Lounderer (c. 1425, Wyntoun), a skulker; ad. Du. lunderaar (Kilian has
lunderer), from lunderen, to idle.
Two terms of abuse probably entered by this channel. Scabbard (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.),
a scabbed person; this may be from scab and the suffix -ard, but compare Du.
schobberd. Smaik (c. 1450, from Sc.), a low, mean, or contemptible fellow, a rascal,
rogue; perhaps ad. M.Du. or MLG. smēker, smeiker, from smēken, smeiken, to flatter.
A term for one of the wandering performers is Speeler (1496, from Sc.), a performer,
acrobat; probably this is ad. older Flem. or LG. speler, player, actor; a formation on the
vb. speel is less likely.
In the 16th century there is a great influx of words of Low Dutch origin into the cant
and slang of thieves, vagrants, and prostitutes. Not all of these came in through Low
Dutch people in this country; doubtless many were picked up by the English soldiery,
who throughout the period were serving in the Low Country wars. The facility of
soldiers in acquiring words of this kind is considerable. Many of the prostitutes of
London were Dutch or Flemish; as early as 1381, during the troubles of Wat Tyler, we
hear of these ‘Flemish froes’, and the mob cleaned out the stewhouses of Southwark
which they inhabited.

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