I looked up the etymology of crap (well, you would, wouldn't you -
something to do on a Saturday morning!) and found:
from Wikipedia:
The word "crap" is old in the English language, one of a group of verbs
applied to discarded cast offs, like "residue from renderings" (1490s)
or in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale", meanings probably extended
from Middle English crappe "chaff, or grain that has been trodden
underfoot in a barn" (c. 1440s), deriving ultimately from Late Latin
crappa, "chaff".[1]
And from http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=crap
"defecate" 1846 (v.), 1898 (n.), from one of a cluster of words
generally applied to things cast off or discarded (e.g. "weeds growing
among corn" (1425), "residue from renderings" (1490s), 18c. underworld
slang for "money," and in Shropshire, "dregs of beer or ale"), all
probably from M.E. crappe "grain that was trodden underfoot in a barn,
chaff" (c.1440), from M.Fr. crape "siftings," from O.Fr. crappe, from
M.L. crappa, crapinum "chaff." Sense of "rubbish, nonsense" also first
recorded 1898. Despite folk etymology insistence, not from Thomas
Crapper (1837-1910) who was, however, a busy plumber and may have had
some minor role in the development of modern toilets. The name Crapper
is a northern form of Cropper (attested from 1221), an occupational
surname, obviously, but the exact reference is unclear.
What this has to do with mining directly I can't give exidence, but the
'cluster of words', whatever they are, may give some sort of clue. Is
there an etymology list where this may throw up more light?
Regards
John
Peter King wrote:
> Peter King
> 49, Stourbridge Road,
> Hagley,
> Stourbridge
> West Midlands
> DY9 0QS
> 01562-720368
> [log in to unmask]
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Peter King [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 15 November 2007 09:59
> To: mining-history list.
> Subject: crap work
>
>
> Can any one explain the term 'crap work'? The following relates to the
> lease of a coal mine in the 1690s:
> The tenants were required to leave ‘a rib of coals between the old work and
> the new work, and also between the old crap work and the new, and between
> pit and pit, thick enough to prevent fire coming out of the old work into
> the new, only digging four foot heads for their level’. They were also to
> carry their deep work as forward as their crap work.
>
> Peter King
> 49, Stourbridge Road,
> Hagley,
> Stourbridge
> West Midlands
> DY9 0QS
> 01562-720368
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
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