half-marrown.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > married person > [noun] > spouse, consort, or partner
ferec975
matchOE
makec1175
spousea1200
lemanc1275
fellowc1350
likea1393
wed-ferea1400
partyc1443
espouse?c1450
bedfellow1490
yokefellow?1542
espousal1543
spouse1548
mate1549
marrow1554
paragon1557
yokemate1567
partner1577
better halfa1586
twin1592
moiety1611
copemate1631
consort1634
half-marrow1637
matrimonya1640
helpmeet1661
other half1667
helpmate1715
spousie1735
life companion1763
worse half1783
life partner1809
domestic partner1815
ball and chain1921
lover1969
1637 S. Rutherford Lett. (1863) I. 446 A treacherous half-marrow to her husband.
1693 Sc. Presbyterian Eloquence (1738) 104 That [she] hath given her sweet Half-Marrow such a Meeting.
2. Mining. A partner. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > mining partner
half-marrow1847
1847–78 J. O. Halliwell Dict. Archaic & Provinc. Words Half-marrow, one of two boys who manage a tram. North.
1856 W. Whellan Hist. Durham in Times 11 Oct. (1894) 4/6 When two boys of equal size worked together [in ‘putting’ a load of coal] they were called half-marrows.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Half-marrow, a butty or partner.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1898; most recently modified version published online June 2012).
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