Anne, Thats quite an interesting one, and thanks very much for bringing it to our notice. However, albeit there is no punctuation, in the context that it is used, I tend to favour Guy's suggestion. It just goes to show that we souldn't always interpret everything literally in older documents - allowances have to made with the "spelling" which can be based upon the phonetics of the local dialect. This then can be further confused by the clerk's interpretation of how he thinks a word should be written, and even then there is often little or no consistency! It can be a minefield at times! All the best, Martyn ----- Original Message ---- From: Anne Maudsley <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Thursday, 7 December, 2006 2:43:54 PM Subject: [OEL] Cuckold >From :- A Researcher's Glossary compiled by David Yaxley of words found in historical documents of East Anglia. Cookshold, cuckold, form of short tongs to enable the cook to hold hot pots and pans. Inventories in 1764,1779, 1791, 1836 Anne ================= Web Page: http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~oel/ ================= ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message