History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 203

find one William Elys supplying 200,000 for the repair of Dover Castle at the rate of
250 for a penny.
Most of the building and construction terms from Low Dutch which appear in Middle
English are specifically of carpentry.
Spiking (1261), a spike nail; probably ad. M.Du. spiking, synonymous with spiker (see
Spiker, below), or denoting some variety of this.
Wimble (1295, in non-Eng. context, c. 1325, in Eng. context), a gimlet; ad. AF.
wimble, variant of *guimble, represented by the rare 13th-century gymble and the
diminutive gimlet, ad. MLG. wiemel (also Flem.), wemel (whence O.Sw. wimla, Da.
vimmel), M.Du. wimpel.
Shore (1340, Ayenbite), to prop, support with prop; from the sb. shore, but cf. MLG.
and M.Du. schoren. The sb. is a century later, Shore (c. 1440, Pr. Parv.), a prop, strut;
late ME. schore is probably ad. MLG. and M.Du. schōre, schāre (Du. schoor), prop,
stay.
Shelf (c. 1386, Chaucer), a slab of wood fixed in a horizontal position; apparently ad.
(M)LG. schelf, shelf, set of shelves (whence also Northern skelf), cognate with OE.
scylfe. The Sc. and Nthn. form is Skelf (1396-7), also ad. MLG. schelf. Peg (c. 1440,
Pr. Parv.), a pin or bolt made originally of wood; of obscure history, but apparently of
Low Dutch origin; the Low Dutch forms are M.Du. pegge, dial. Du. peg, plug, peg,
small wooden pin, LG. pigge, peg, also M.Du. pegel, little knob, used as a mark.
Slip (1498, Test. Ebor.), to cut (a spoon handle) obliquely at the end; (1530), to part
from a stock, esp. for the purpose of propagation; ad. M.Flem. or MLG. slippen, to cut,
incise, cleave.
Cramp (1503), an iron bar with the end bent to a hook, a grappling iron; (1594), a
small bar of metal with the ends bent for holding together two pieces of masonry,
timber, &c.; apparently from Low Dutch, which has forms M.Du. krampe (in Kilian and
Plantijn also krampe), in Du. replaced by kram.
Need-nail (1563), to secure firmly by means of clinched nails; probably ad. LG. *neednagelen. The sb. is much later, Need-nail (a. 1732), a clinched nail; ad. LG.
neednagel (whence Sw. nitnagel, Da. netnagel), from MLG. neden, to clinch (M.Du.
nieden).
Spiker (1574), a spike-nail; ad. M.Du. or MLG. spīker.
Two terms of carpentry are Crame, sb. and vb. (1614-15, Vestry Bks. Surt.), cramps
for coffins, to fasten or mend with cramps; probably from Low Dutch, which has M.Du.
crame, Du. kram, cramp, cramp-iron, hook, and Du. krammen, to fasten with cramps.
Tafferel (1622-3), a panel, esp. a carved panel; ad. Du. (and M.Du.) tafereel, panel,
picture, diminutive of tafel, table, for tafeleel, with dissimilation of l .. l to r .. l; as a term
of ship-building this is probably a distinct borrowing (see Tafferel, p. 75).

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