The Silver Skates

by Mary Mapes Dodge

  meerschaum A type of tobacco pipe

  Mercury The messenger god of the Romans, often portrayed with winged sandals

  mimosa Any of the plants within the Mimosa genus, which are often characterized by sensitive leaves. The Mimosa pudica, for example, has leaves which fold in on themselves when touched

  mitre A headdress worn by bishops

  morocco Flexible goatskin leather originally made in Morocco

  opera glass A form of short telescope used at the opera

  pedlar Someone who travels around selling goods

  pennon A flag or banner

  pianoforte A piano

  pigeon wing An American dance step

  Pinkster The festival of Pentecost

  polliwog A tadpole

  poor box A collection box, usually in a church

  porringer A small bowl with a handle

  portfolio A thin case for carrying documents, maps, etc.

  rag-picker A reference to the practice of collecting and selling old clothing and other discarded items. It is generally used as a disparaging remark in the novel, however, rather than as a literal description of what the children do

  rasp To grate or file with a rough implement

  reef To roll up part of a sail in order to reduce the area exposed to the wind

  reveille A military waking call sounded on a bugle or by a drum

  roan A cow or horse with a coat of a main colour, interspersed with another colour

  ruff A projecting frill worn around the neck, particularly during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods

  sabot A simple shoe made from a single block of wood

  sack A silk garment attached to the shoulders of a dress and forming a train

  Salmagundi A dish of chopped meat, anchovies, eggs and onions

  sepulchre A tomb or room in which a body is interred

  skein A length of thread

  sluice A structure which controls the flow of water via a sliding gate

  sooth Truth; truly

  spartan Showing indifference to comfort and luxury. The term derives from the reputation of the Spartans in ancient Greece

  staccato Each sound and note distinct and separate from the rest

  States General The legislative body in the Netherlands from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries

  stiver A small coin formerly used in the Low Countries

  stop A set of pipes in an organ in a particular range or tone; also the knob which turns particular ranges on and off

  strongbox A lockable metal box

  sugar-loaf hat A conical hat popular during the Tudor and Stuart periods, and again after the French Revolution

  surcoat An outer coat often worn over armour

  tack A sailing technique, used when sailing into the wind, involving changing course repeatedly in a zig-zag fashion

  tiffin A light midday meal

  tippet A long strip of cloth, often worn as a scarf or forming part of a hood

  top A toy that could be made to spin

  treadle A lever operated by the foot to impart motion to a machine

  tucker The lace on a bodice or at the front of a dress

  vox humana “Human voice” (Latin). An organ stop with a tone believed to resemble the human voice

  warming pan A brass pan filled with hot coals placed in a bed to warm it

  watch-paper A disc, often made of paper or silk, inscribed or painted with a design, picture, etc., and inserted as a lining in the case of an old-fashioned watch

  water bug Any of various insects living in or on the water

  winsome Attractive, appealing