Marlboroughn.

Brit.

/ˈmɑːlb(ə)rə/,

/ˈmɔːlbrə/, U.S.

/ˈmɑrlb(ə)roʊ/

Forms: 1700s– Marlborough, 1700s– Marlbro', 1900s– Marlboro'.

Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Marlborough.

Etymology: < the name of Marlborough, a town in Wiltshire, England.

I. Compounds.

†1. Marlborough chalk n. [origin uncertain; probably connected with Marlborough-handed adj. at sense 5, with the extended sense ‘underhand, dishonest’: compare left-handed adj. 2e] false reckoning. Obsolete. rare.

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1764 T. Legg Low-life (ed. 3) 94 Publicans taking the Advantage of their Companies being either in a deep Discourse, half Drunk, or at Supper, to vse Marlborough-Chalk.

2. Cabinetmaking. Marlborough leg n. [perhaps < the title of the fourth Duke of Marlborough, who was apparently interested in furniture design (see quot. 1952) + leg n.] a tapered leg of square section, often with a plinth-like foot.

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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > [noun] > parts of furniture generally > leg or support

leg1616

Marlborough leg1788

therm1788

monopodium1807

cabriole leg1844

pedestal1851

cabriole1888

sabre leg1952

1788 Cabinet-makers London Bk. Prices 68 A solid table..with an astragal round the bottom of the frame, Marlbro' legs,..the inside fill'd up with glass.

1797 Prices Cabinet Work p. v All Table Work to measure on the tops, and to start with plain Marlbro' legs without castors.

1897 K. W. Clouston Chippendale Period Eng. Furnit. vi. 138 Hung with rule or square joints four plain Marlborough legs, and one fly on each side.

1952 J. Gloag Short Dict. Furnit. 32 The Marlboro' leg was a trade name for a tapered leg of square section. A faint clue to its possible origin is supplied by the wording of the dedication in Ince and Mayhew's Universal System Household Furniture which is addressed to..the fourth Duke of Marlborough.

1986 N.Y. Times c23/4 The marble-topped table, which has Marlborough legs, had once belonged to Gov. John Penn of Pennsylvania.

†3. Marlborough dog n. [ < the title of the Dukes of Marlborough, owners of Blenheim Palace (see Blenheim Spaniel s.v. Blenheim n.) + dog n.¹; perhaps specifically < the title of John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough (1650–1722), English general and statesman, who reputedly introduced the breed to England in the late 17th cent.] Obsolete a variety of toy spaniel.

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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > other types of dog > [noun] > spaniel > land or water > varieties of

springer1749

King Charles1780

English springer1808

Marlborough dog1822

cocker spaniel1829

Marlborough1831

Blenheim1839

Norfolk spaniel1845

King Charles1848

Sussex spaniel1856

field spaniel1859

clumber1865

Norfolk1867

Japanese spaniel1880

Welsh springer1903

Tibetan spaniel1905

Brittany spaniel1936

Brittany1945

1822 C. Mathews Let. 2 Apr. in A. Mathews Mem. C. Mathews (1839) III. xii. 280 If you could find me the smallest and the handsomest Marlborough dog in the world..I should not mind price.

1861 Chambers's Encycl. II. 153 Blenheim Dog, or Marlborough Dog, a small and very beautiful variety of spaniel.

†4. Mechanics Marlborough wheel n. [origin unknown] a type of idle wheel. Obsolete. rare.

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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun] > cog or gear > intermediate

idle wheel1805

Marlborough wheel1841

idler1875

1841 R. Willis Princ. Mechanism 205 Such a thick idle wheel is termed a Marlborough wheel, in some districts. It is employed in the roller frames of spinning machinery.

5. English regional (southern). Marlborough-handed adj. [origin uncertain; see explanation in quot. 1893] clumsy, awkward with one's hands; (also) left-handed. rare.

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the world > action or operation > ability > inability > unskilfulness > [adjective] > clumsy or awkward > clumsy with the hands

handless1483

left-handed1579

butterfingered1615

heavy-handeda1634

thumbless1648

unhandy1669

mutton-fisted1737

two-fisted1774

numb-handed1849

butterfingers1851

buttery-fingered1853

cack-handed1854

Marlborough-handed1893

thumb-fingered1903

thumby1909

ham-handed1918

ham-fisted1928

1893 G. E. Dartnell & E. H. Goddard Gloss. Words Wilts. 100 People who used their tools awkwardly were formerly called ‘Marlbro-handed vawk’, natives of Marlborough being traditionally famed for clumsiness and unhandiness.

1967 H. Orton & M. F. Wakelin Surv. Eng. Dial. IV. ii. 703 [Wilts., Berks.] Q. Of a man who does everything with this (show your left hand), you say he is... Marlborough-handed.

II. Simple uses.

6. = Marlborough dog n. at sense 3.

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