irpe results - 10/31/06 12:34 AM
ballots were muchly splintered, as nothing received more than two votes (notwithstanding etaoin’s wasted own-vote) and only Alex irping correctly. The word seems to have been used only by Ben Jonson, twice: once as an adjective and once as a substantive.
here is the actual entry from the OED:
irpe, n.
Obs. rare.
[Origin unknown; found with the following in Ben Jonson.]
Some kind of gesture: ? a toss or jerk of the head, the act of perking.
Gifford suggested ‘a fantastic grimace, or contortion of the body’.
1599 B. JONSON Cynthia's Rev. V. iii. Palinode, “From Spanish shrugs,
French faces, smirks, irpes, and all affected humours, Good Mercury defend us.”
So irpe ? a., ? perk, smart. Obs.
1599 B. JONSON Cynthia's Rev. III. v,
"Maintaine your station, brisk, and irpe, shew the supple motion of your pliant body."
Here are the def’ns with [submitter] votes
a) dial. eructation [Bingley]
b) [< Gaelic iar, air + pìob, pipe] the mouthpiece/filler tube on a set of bagpipes [Aramis] TEd
c) (alt. irpee) derisive: a speaker of a nonstandard dialect of English spoken on the docks of Immingham, England . "RP" is a Received Pronunciation of English based on the speech of the English upper class. Until recently it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. [themilum]
d) Irpe: Amture [Marianna]
e) From the Hebrew for "God heals", a miracle in which a person is cured of a disease or injury. [Father Steve]
f) obs. a fantastic grimace, or contortion of the body [OED] Alex W.
g) a footpath [consuelo] Bingley, Aramis
h) A small scalloped or dagged flap on the shoulder of a tunic or jacket [Elizabeth Creith] ASp. belM
i) To squint one's eyes. [musick] themilem
j) the indentation on the face of the keys on a modern computer keyboard. [etaoin] Marianna, etaoin(!), EC
k) An identifying watermark on most extant medieval Spanish manuscripts [AnnaStropic]
l) Brazilian for headwaters, from the local name for period of time in the year when prevailing winds allow sailing up the Amazon River towards the source. [TEd]
m) An exclamation used in comic strips to signify stunned surprise, or speechlessness. [belMarduk]
n) A comb used to clean freshly sheared wool. [Faldage] musick, wofa
o) An herbaceous perennial plant of the Agavaceae family, having broad leaves and white flowers, commonly employed as groundcover by gardeners in Northern Europe and Canada, owing to its hardiness in cold climates. [Alex] Faldage
p) a small pendant, hung from an earring or bracelet [wofahulicodoc] Fr Steve
q) Scot. : A drink before battle [tsuwm] consuelo
here is the actual entry from the OED:
irpe, n.
Obs. rare.
[Origin unknown; found with the following in Ben Jonson.]
Some kind of gesture: ? a toss or jerk of the head, the act of perking.
Gifford suggested ‘a fantastic grimace, or contortion of the body’.
1599 B. JONSON Cynthia's Rev. V. iii. Palinode, “From Spanish shrugs,
French faces, smirks, irpes, and all affected humours, Good Mercury defend us.”
So irpe ? a., ? perk, smart. Obs.
1599 B. JONSON Cynthia's Rev. III. v,
"Maintaine your station, brisk, and irpe, shew the supple motion of your pliant body."
Here are the def’ns with [submitter] votes
a) dial. eructation [Bingley]
b) [< Gaelic iar, air + pìob, pipe] the mouthpiece/filler tube on a set of bagpipes [Aramis] TEd
c) (alt. irpee) derisive: a speaker of a nonstandard dialect of English spoken on the docks of Immingham, England . "RP" is a Received Pronunciation of English based on the speech of the English upper class. Until recently it was the standard form of English used in British broadcasting. [themilum]
d) Irpe: Amture [Marianna]
e) From the Hebrew for "God heals", a miracle in which a person is cured of a disease or injury. [Father Steve]
f) obs. a fantastic grimace, or contortion of the body [OED] Alex W.
g) a footpath [consuelo] Bingley, Aramis
h) A small scalloped or dagged flap on the shoulder of a tunic or jacket [Elizabeth Creith] ASp. belM
i) To squint one's eyes. [musick] themilem
j) the indentation on the face of the keys on a modern computer keyboard. [etaoin] Marianna, etaoin(!), EC
k) An identifying watermark on most extant medieval Spanish manuscripts [AnnaStropic]
l) Brazilian for headwaters, from the local name for period of time in the year when prevailing winds allow sailing up the Amazon River towards the source. [TEd]
m) An exclamation used in comic strips to signify stunned surprise, or speechlessness. [belMarduk]
n) A comb used to clean freshly sheared wool. [Faldage] musick, wofa
o) An herbaceous perennial plant of the Agavaceae family, having broad leaves and white flowers, commonly employed as groundcover by gardeners in Northern Europe and Canada, owing to its hardiness in cold climates. [Alex] Faldage
p) a small pendant, hung from an earring or bracelet [wofahulicodoc] Fr Steve
q) Scot. : A drink before battle [tsuwm] consuelo
), but.
