Vocabulary

=Primary Documents Vocabulary=

breeches – A man’s knee-length pants.

colonoware – a ceramic made of locally found clay, probably made by slaves throughout colonial America.

cufflinks – decorative fastener used on shirt cuffs.

daub – a building material, consisting mainly of clay, used to fill in gaps between logs in order to weatherproof living quarters or other structures.

ditto or do. – repeat of the previous

dower – part of a man’s estate allotted to his wife for life.

earthenware – a porous, fragile pottery fired at a low temperature; color may vary.

jaw harp – a small, musical instrument made of metal.

glaze – a liquid material used as a decorative coating to make pottery non-porous. When fired it forms a glass-like surface.

guinea – a British monetary unit used in the colonies until after the Revolutionary War.

livery – a uniform worn by male servants. At Mount Vernon, it consisted of a fancy shirt with lace, fine red wool waistcoat and wool coat bearing the Washington family crest.

Madeira – a sweet, fortified red wine.

milkpan – a wide, shallow bowl, used to cool milk.

osnabrig– a coarse linen fabric usually imported from Germany.(also known as osnaburg)

pallet – a thin straw-filled mattress.

queensware – an imported earthenware, yellowish in color that was popular in the late 18th century. Also called creamware.

rope bed – a bed frame, constructed of wood that uses intersecting pieces of rope threaded through the frame, as support for the mattress.

salt glaze – a glaze, commonly used on stoneware, that incorporates salt during firing to create a stippled look to the surface.

shift – a long, loose garment worn by women under clothing and for sleeping.

slipware – an imported tableware decorated with colored liquid clay in glaze.

stays – a woman’s undergarment, constructed of fabric and bone. Similar to a corset, stays were most often worn to ensure good posture.

stoneware – a hard, dense pottery fired at high temperatures resulting in a non-porous product.

tallow – animal fat, used in making candles and soap.

tick – the cloth case of a mattress.

tankard – a large mug, often used for drinking beer or other spirits.

waistcoat – vest.

watch fob – an ornament attached to a pocket watch by a ribbon or chain.

white saltglaze stoneware – an imported English tableware popular in the mid-18th century. The ceramic was white in color and fired with salt, creating a puckered look to the glaze.