M. Sully-Prudhomme French poet and essayist (1839 — 1907).
Magdalene Mary Magdalene was a fallen woman. Christ's appearance to her after his Resurrection occurs in Mark 16.
Malthusian of Malthus and his theory that the world population tends to increase faster than the food supply with inevitable disastrous results unless natural restrictions, such as war, famine, and disease, reduce the population or the increase is checked by moral restraint.
Mampus crowd (dialect).
man of Uz Job.
Marble term a post that marks the boundary, often in the shape of a pillar topped with a head and torso.
Market-niche the amount of alcohol that he would normally drink on a market day.
mien a way of carrying and conducting oneself; manner.
milchers animals that give milk.
mistarshers (dialect) mustache.
mommet (dialect) a term of abuse or contempt.
Mommet a term of abuse or contempt (dialect).
My soul chooseth strangling . . . Job 7:15–16.
nammet-time (dialect) time for a snack at mid-morning or mid-afternoon.
nater nature (dialect).
Nature's holy plan from Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring" (line 22).
Nazarene Jesus, from John 14:27.
niaseries nonsense, foolish thought (from French).
night-rail a loose dressing-jacket or dressing gown.
nott cows (dialect) cows without horns.
nymphs minor nature goddesses, represented as young and beautiful and living in rivers, mountains, or trees.
O foolish Galatians . . . from Galatians 3:1.
off-license without a license; here, Rolliver's is not licensed to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.
old double chant 'Langdon' a chant in the Anglican Church double the normal length, in this case named after the English composer, Robert Langdon (1730–1803).
Old Lady Day April 6, date used to set the beginning or ending of employment.
Old Style days the time before 1752 when Great Britain replaced the Julian Calendar, old-style dating, with Gregorian, or new-style dating.
Oliver Grumble's Oliver Cromwell['s].
Olympian shapes the shapes of the Greek gods, who lived on Mount Olympus.
one deserving to be stoned from John 8:3–11, instead of encouraging stoning, Jesus forgives a woman brought to him as an adulteress by the Scribes and Pharisees.
Ostium sepulchri . . . Door of the tomb of the ancient family of d'Urberville (Latin).
ostler (dialect) hosteler.
outhouse a building separate from but near a main building. In nineteenth-century British usage, outhouse probably does not refer to a privy.
