Each term in Words of Wolfe Island is followed by a definition. Most definitions come from dictionaries, and those sources are cited in parentheses. Please refer to the references page for more information on the sources. Below is additional information on how to interpret the citations. Note that only the definition relevant to the meaning of a term in WIEC is included in the entry (not necessarily the full content from the source, which may include definitions for multiple meanings).
When a definition is from the OED Online (OED), the entry name in the OED is included. For example, the following definition for ‘whey cream’ comes from the page “whey, n.”.
whey cream, noun, the cream which remains in the whey after the curd has been removed (“whey, n.” OED)
For definitions from all other sources, when the definition is followed only by the source acronym, this means that the name of the entry in the source is the same as the name of the entry on Words of Wolfe Island. For example, the following definition of ‘slush hole’ is from the entry “slush hole” in the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP):
slush hole, noun, a patch of rotten ice on the surface of a lake or river (DCHP)
In some cases, it is necessary to specify the entry in these sources. For example, the following definition for ‘spell’ is from the entry “spell 3” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary (COD), and the definition for ‘cross up’ is from the entry “cross” in The American Heritage Dictionary (AH):
spell, noun, a bout or fit of something (“spell 3” COD)
cross up, phrasal verb, to ruin completely (“cross” COD)
In some cases, a term is defined with another term, and that second term is then defined. In the following example, ‘press’ is defined by the project team as ‘cheese press’. A definition of ‘cheese press’ is then provided from the OED. In these cases, the reference citation refers only to the content following the “|”.
press, noun, cheese press | ‘cheese press’: an apparatus for pressing the curd in cheese-making (“cheese press, n.” OED)
Definitions not followed by a citation were written by the project team.
mainlander, noun, a person who lives in Kingston, Ontario and the surrounding area
Words of Wolfe Island 