The Latin phrases used in The Enlightened Series come directly from the Vulgate, a fourth-century translation of the Bible. It was revised in 1592 and is still in use today as the official Roman Catholic version of the Latin Bible. Unless otherwise specified, all the rest comes from a collection of eighteenth-century slang as defined by A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Second Edition. It was first published in London in 1788, is available online, and is really fun to flip through. It is interesting to see what phrases are still in use today and the many that are not. It is also a fantastic resource if you are in need of another good word for whore. Just beware - according to the Dictionary, there are multiple, different kinds of whores.
Appeltaerten (Dutch): Dutch apple pie
Bedankt (Dutch): thank you
Black Watch (Smithsonian): the British 42nd (Highlands) Regiment of Foot. THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: A VISUAL HISTORY, DK Publishing, 92 (2016). This particular regiment fought in both the Revolutionary War and the French-Indian War, known in the 18th century as the Seven Years’ War.
Blijf binnen. Opschieten! (Dutch): Stay inside. Hurry up!
Cooler that joins giblets: A “cooler” is a woman. A “cool lady” is a female follower of the camp who sells brandy. “To join giblets” is what a man and woman who cohabit, without being married, do. It also means to copulate.
De vrouw heeft een nachtmerrie gehad (Dutch): The woman has had a nightmare.
Demy-rep: a woman of doubtful character
Eius obliviscaturque eorum quae ficisti (Genesis): Forgets what you did
Et nos vidimus et testificamur. (1 John 4:14): And we have seen and testify.
Fichu (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): a woman's light triangular scarf that is draped over the shoulders and fastened in front or worn to fill in a low neckline
Floorcloth (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): a usually-decorated heavy cloth (as of canvas) used for a floor covering
Godverdomme! (Dutch): God damn! (Bad, very bad. Blasphemy in Holland is a big, big no no)
Goed zo (Dutch): very good; well done
Goedenacht (Dutch): good night
Hangman’s Jig (Urban Dictionary): When a person’s neck does not break when hung, instead the muscles in the back and neck tear. This causes the victim to spasm in agony while suffocating to death.
Haud yer wheest (Scottish slang): be quiet
Hell mend ‘em (Scottish slang): serves them right
Houd moed, Maatje (Dutch): Hold courage, Little Mate.
Ik wil mijn moeder (Dutch): I want my mother.
Ik wil niet gaan (Dutch): I don’t want to go.
Ipse revelat profunda et abscondita. (Daniel 2:22): He revealeth deep and hidden things.
Ja (Dutch): yes
Kippen (Dutch): chickens
Kom nou (Dutch): Come on.
Kont (Dutch): ass
Lève cul (French): lift ass (refers to the part of Musical Chairs, known in the eighteenth-century as “Trip to Jerusalem,” when the players stand up from the chairs while the music plays. The game was also known as “Level-Coil.”)
Liefste (Dutch): sweetest
Lobster Mounter: “Lobster” is a nickname for a soldier, from the color of his clothes. The lowest sort of thief, who borrows or hires clothes to appear in [court], are called “Mounters",” from their mounting particular dresses suitable to the occasion. (These are two separate terms combined for purposes of the novel.)
Loyalist/Royalist/Tory: a “Tory” is an advocate for absolute monarchy and church power. According to THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION: A VISUAL HISTORY by the Smithsonian, the term refers to the British Parliamentarian party that represented the upper class. DK Publishing, 68 (2016). As with the other two phases, the term was used in revolutionary America to refer to anyone loyal to the British crown.
Maatje (Dutch): term of endearment of father to son meaning “little mate”
Mάthair (Scottish-Gaelic): mother
Mijn Lieverd (Dutch): term of endearment that translates to “my dearest”
Mijn poepie (Dutch): term of endearment that translates to “my poopie”
Nachtmaar (Dutch): a nightmare, derived from the idea that bad dreams were brought by a night horse
Nee (Dutch): no
Niet te pruimen (Dutch): an exclamatory phrase that literally translates in English to “not to prunes” or “not to chew”
Nos ex Deo sumus non qui non est ex Deo non audit nos. (1 John 4:6): We belong to God. Who does not belong to God does not hear us.
Nostalgia (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): the state of being homesick (The phrase also refers to those suffering from post-traumatic shock disorder (PTSD), though during the War, the surviving doctors’ journals seem to indicate that this a more modern definition. For purposes of this book series, although both definitions are applicable to Savvy, the term will be used to describe PTSD.)
Pocket (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): a small bag carried by a person. (In the eighteenth-century, a woman’s pocket was a pouch with an attached belt tied under her petticoat, accessible by an opening in the seam. Unlike a modern pocket, it was not sewn into the garment.)
Queen Street: a man governed by his wife, is said to live in Queen Street, or at the sign of the Queen’s Head.
Regular (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): of, relating to, or constituting the permanent standing military force of a state (in the context of The Enlightened Series, the British soldiers)
Rigging: clothing
Run tame: to live familiarly with a family with which one is upon a visit
Saint Geoffrey’s Day: never, there being no saint of that name
Schat (Dutch): treasure
Scour: to wear (chiefly applied to irons, setters, or handcuffs)
Scrub: a low, mean fellow, employed in all sorts of dirty work
Scurvy cur: figuratively used to signify a surly fellow. “Scurvy” means contemptible or despicable (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).
Snatch cly: a thief who snatches women’s pockets
Snoepje (Dutch): term of endearment meaning “sweet”
Trencher (Britannica Dictionary): originally a slice of thick bread, used as a primitive form of plate for eating and for slicing meat
Trim: State, dress. In a sad trim; dirty.
U bent zinj dame (Dutch): You are his lady.
“Ultra non nox erit.” (Revelations 22:5): Night shall be no more.
Undress (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): informal dress
Unlicked Cub: a rude, uncouth young fellow
Wanneer heb je een meisje? (Dutch): When will you have a girl?
Wanton baggage: Baggage is heavy baggage; women and children. Also, a familiar epithet for a woman. Wanton (Merriam-Webster, 3): lewd, bawdy
Wees stil (Dutch): be quiet
Wellaway (Merriam-Webster Dictionary): archaic term used to express sorrow or lamentation
Welterusten (Dutch): good night
White feather: (ex. he has a white feather) he is a coward
Ze zitten waar ze elkaars hand kunnen vasthouden (Dutch): They sit where they can hold hands.
Zegen mij! (Dutch): I say!