Appendix: Vocabulary of Commercial Words

The table is compiled from the Tolkien-Gordon-Davis edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The order is alphabetical; the etymologies, included for the sake of historical comparison, are those in the T-G-D glossary. Line number(s) in SGGK follow the etymology. Numbers in bold following @ count the frequency of occurrences of the word in a commercial sense. This is not necessarily the frequency of the word's occurrence generally. Moreover, several of the words have their commercial sense only in their context in the poem: euen and losse are good examples. Finally, since some words are so obvious in their meaning as to need no comment, no attempt is made in the text to discuss every word or every occurrence of each word.

The issues of context and of frequency of occurrence in a commercial sense point to a serious problem. An inevitable residue of subjectivity remains in any compilation of a specialized vocabulary. No two people would compile quite the same commercial vocabulary or sexual vocabulary or political vocabulary or other kind of vocabulary. Recognizing this problem, I have tried to err on the side of exclusion--there are many more words in the poem that I think are commercial than I list here--on the assumption that only words a majority of readers can and will consider commercial are logically admissible. Doubtless I have still managed to include some words that many, perhaps most, would debate, but I trust these are a minority. And even were there a dozen such debatable entries, the vocabulary is still impressively large, obviously important.{77/78}

  1. acheue: OFr. achever; 1107 @ 1
  2. as(s)ay: OFr. essayer; 2362, 2457 @ 2
  3. bargayn: OFr. bargaine; 1112 @ 1
  4. bounté: OFr. bo(u)nté: 357, 1519 @ 2
  5. busy: OE. bysigian; 1066 @ 1
  6. busyly: from OE. bysig; 1824 @ 1
  7. busynes: OE. bysignes; 1840 @ 1
  8. chaffer: OE. ceap + faru; cp. ON. kaupför; 1647, 1939 @ 2
  9. charres: OE. cerr, cær; 1674 @ 1
  10. chaunge: OFr. cha(u)ng(i)er; 1107, 1406, 1678 @ 3
  11. chepe n.: OE. ceap; 1939, 1940, 1941 @ 3
  12. chepen v.: OE. ceapian; 1271 @ 1
  13. cheue: OFr. chevir and achever; 1271, 1390 @ 2
  14. cheuisaunce: OFr. chevissa(u)nce; 1390, 1406, 1678, 1939 @ 4
  15. cost: late OE. cost from ON. kostr; 546, 750, 943-45, 1269-72, 1483, 1849, 2360, 2495 @ 8
  16. couenaunt: OFr. covena(u)nt; 393, 1123, 1384, 1408, 1642, 2242, 2328, 2340 @ 8
  17. couetyse: OFr. coveitise; 2374, 2380, 2508 @ 3
  18. dawed: OE. dugan; 1805 @ 1
  19. dele: OE. dælan; 295, 397, 452, 1114, 1266, 1662, 1752, 1805, 2285, 2449 @ 10
  20. deserue: OFr. deservir; 452, 1779, 1803 @ 3
  21. disert: OFr. desert; 1266 @ 1
  22. ernde: OE. ærende; ON. erendi; 1051, 1067, 2303 @ 3
  23. euen: OE. efen, efne; 1266, 1641 @ 2
  24. fech: OE.fetian, feccan; 1857 @ 1
  25. fee: OFr. f(i)e, fieu; 1622 @ 1
  26. foch(che): var. offech, cf. OE. feotian or fatian; 396 @ 1
  27. forfete: OFr. forfait, -fet; 2394 @ 1
  28. for3elde: OE. forgéldan; 839, 1279, 1535, 2429 @ 4
  29. forward(e): OE. foreweard; 378, 409, 1105, 1395, 1405, 1636, 1934, 2347 @ 8
  30. fraunchis(e): OFr. fra(u)nchise; 1264 @ 1
  31. gayn adj.: ON. gegn, adj.; 1241 @ 1
  32. gayn(e) v.: ON. gegna; 584, 1829 @ 2
  33. gayne n.: OFr. gaaigne; 2349 @ 1 {78/79}
  34. garysoun: OFr. gariso(u)n, infl. in sense by ON. gersumi; 1255, 1807, 1837 @ 3
  35. gif: ON. gefa, gifa; 2349 @ 1
  36. gift(e): ON. gift; 1799, 1807, 1822, 2030 @ 4
  37. god(e): OE. god n.; 1064, 1944, 2031, 2127 @ 4
  38. gold(e): OE. góld; 1255, 1837, 2150 @ 3
  39. 3elde: OE. géldan; 1038, 1215, 1263, 1292, 1963, 2056, 2410, 2441 @ 8
  40. 3olden: ppl. of preceding word; 453 @ 1
  41. halde: OE. háldan; 1040, 1828 @ 2
  42. iuel: OFr. joel; 1856 @ 1
  43. larges(se): OFr. largece, -esse; 2381 @ 1
  44. losse: OE. los; 2507 @ 1
  45. nedez: OE. ned; 2216 @ 1
  46. note: OE. notu; 358 @ 1
  47. oghe: OE. agan, ahte; 1526, 1941 @ 2
  48. pay n.: OFr. paie; 2247 @ 1
  49. paye v.: OFr. payer; 1941, 1945, 2341 @ 3
  50. penyes: OE. peni(n)g; 79 @ 1
  51. prayse: OFr. preis(i)er; 356, 913, 1228, 1630, 1633, 1850, 2072 @ 7
  52. prys: OFr. pris; 79, 912, 1247, 1249, 1277, 1379, 1630, 1770, 1850, 1945, 2364, 2398 @ 12
  53. profered: OFr. parofrir; AN. prof(e)rir, infl. by pro-; 2346, 2350 @ 2
  54. quyt-clayme: OFr. quiter, ppl. + clayme; 293 @ 1
  55. quyte: OFr. quiter; 2244, 2324 @ 2
  56. relece: OFr. relaiss(i)er, reless-; 2342 @ 1
  57. remnaunt: OFr. remena(u)nt; 2342 @ 1
  58. renne: ON. renna; 310, 2458 @ 2
  59. restore: OFr. restorer; 2283, 2354 @ 2
  60. rewarde: ONFr. reward; 1804 @ 1
  61. rich(e): OE. rice; OFr. riche; 1646, 1744, 1827 @ 3
  62. spede n.: OE. sped; 918 @ 1
  63. spede v.: OE. (ge)spedan; 2216 @ 1
  64. spende: OE. spéndan; 410, 2113 @ 2
  65. swap: same as ME. swappen, "strike"; 1108 @ 1
  66. tyde: OE. tidan; 1396 @ 1
  67. vnworþi: OE. unweorþe; 1244, 1835 @ 2 {79/80}
  68. wage: ONFr. wage; 396, 533 @ 2
  69. wele: OE. wela; 7, 1270, 1394, 1820, 2037, 2432 @ 6
  70. wynne n.: OE. gewinn; 2420 @ 1
  71. wynne v.: OE. ge-winnan - ON. vinna; 984, 1106, 1379, 1386, 1394, 1550, 2091, 2415 @ 8
  72. worth: OE. weorþ(e), wyrþe; 1269, 1820 @ 2
  73. worþy: OE. wyrþig, "merited" infl. by wyrþe, "worth(y)"; 261, 559, 819, 1477, 1848 @ 5

189 total occurrences