[5] The Angles, Saxons and Jutes who arrived became ascendant politically and culturally over the native British through subsequent migration from tribal homelands along the North Sea coast of mainland Europe. In Graham's many years of research, the earliest record he found of the term's use dated to 1823 by local comedian Billy Purvis. But not all of the terms are complimentary. [2][3][4][5][6] A Geordie can also specifically be a native of Tyneside (especially Newcastle upon Tyne) and the surrounding areas. 
[citation needed]. Its basically the Geordie word for chav. Even the late Bill Griffiths in his wonderful thoroughly researched Dictionary of North East Dialect (2004) examines the origins for different definitions of Geordie but can only point to an article in The Northern Echo newspaper (August 1997) to support the Jacobite theory. [21][22][23][24], According to the British Library, "Locals insist there are significant differences between Geordie and several other local dialects, such as Pitmatic and Mackem. It occurs in the titles of two songs by songwriter Joe Wilson: "Geordy, Haud the Bairn" and "Keep your Feet Still, Geordie". Grammar [77][78], This article is about the people and dialect of Tyneside. Heslop says the phrase was in later times replaced by Geordy. [16] A 2008 newspaper survey found the Geordie accent the "most attractive in England".[17]. The Geordie word netty,[65] meaning a toilet and place of need and necessity for relief[65][66][67] or bathroom,[65][66][67] has an uncertain origin,[68] though some have theorised that it may come from slang used by Roman soldiers on Hadrian's Wall,[69] which may have later become gabinetti in the Romanic Italian language[69] (such as in the Westoe Netty, the subject of a famous painting from Bob Olley[69][70]). Geordie consonants generally follow those of Received Pronunciation, with these unique characteristics as follows: The Geordie dialect shares similarities with other Northern English dialects, as well as with the Scots language (See Rowe 2007, 2009). Citing such examples as the song "Geordy Black", written by Rowland Harrison of Gateshead, she contends that, as a consequence of popular culture, the miner and the keelman had become icons of the region in the 19th century, and "Geordie" was a label that "affectionately and proudly reflected this," replacing the earlier ballad emblem, the figure of Bob Crankie. In this case, the term "Geordie" may have derived from the popular anti-Hanoverian song "Cam Ye O'er Frae France? One account traces the name to the times of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. The term is used to brand someone an idiot or a fool. My personal favourite theory for why Newcastle in particular came to be the home of the Geordie is linked to the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715 when the town closed its gates to the Jacobite army that had mustered strong support across Northumberland. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. Its often used to describe a person who is generally challenged in the common sense department. Almost half a century earlier, in 1847, John Brocketts two volume Glossary of North Country Words published in Newcastle upon Tyne opted for the spelling Geordie which he describes as a very common name among the pitmen and showed that it was a form of address between them. As the historian of northern English, Katie Wales, suggests, local pride in the image of mining Geordies, captured in these popular songs, established them as industrial icons of the region. lads Ill tell ye aboot the Tangled Worm, The ancient broken counties of Tyne, Wear and Tees, A human is a bundle of energy gathering protons, neutrons and electrons, Life behind the lens of a North East photographer, The past is a wonderful place to visit but its not a place to permanently stay, From local fun run to the worlds best half marathon, From whisky and flour to an unbeatable music hub, Cyclists Paradise: Keeping fit and enjoying the regions landscapes, Cathedrals Treasures are the Tutankhamun of the North-East, Listed Buildings Heritage in North East England, Review: Hops and hysterics at Wylam Brewery, Ill boo your team, but drink your beer., Three brothers, four starring roles and one proud mum, Its a Chefs Wife : Playing the chain game, Green Party leader presents alternative plans for Durham, Newcastle vets saving lives of Sri Lankan street dogs. This website works best with modern browsers such as the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Travel writer Scott Dobson used the term "Geordieland" in a 1973 guidebook to refer collectively to Northumberland and Durham. DAVID SIMPSON explores the origins of the word Geordie and the changes in its meaning over two centuries.
[25], A number of rival theories explain how the term "Geordie" came about, though all accept that it derives from a familiar diminutive form of the name George,[26] "a very common name among the pitmen"[2][27] (coal miners) in North East England; indeed, it was once the most popular name for eldest sons in the region. Geordie is the name given to the natives of Tyneside or at least thats what the term has come to mean today but what is the origin of this word? However, another source, J.P Robsons Songs of the Bards of the Tyne (1849) said that it was used as a word for rustics. The OED entry for Mackem, a native or inhabitant of Sunderland or Wearside, notes that the form alludes to a pronunciation of make which is typical in Sunderland, but not Newcastle, just as toon (town) would mark a Tyneside, but not a Wearside, accent. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); Site and content developed and designed by David Simpson David Simpson 1991-2022. If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. "Geordie goes beyond mere geography & is a quality of heart" - Jack Common, So what exactly is a 'Geordie'? Only three years later, in 1869, John Camden Hotten, a London bibliophile and expert on slang contradicted the Oxford Dictionary stating that Geordie was a general term in Northumberland and Durham for a pitman or coal-miner. He stated that that the origin was not known and that the term had been in use for more than a century. Newcastle migrant who helped security services tried to have online sex chat with underage girl, Haseenbullah Rahimi thought he was talking to a 14-year-old from Durham on Facebook but it was a decoy profile, Three arrested in connection with suspected arson attack at a children's park in Gateshead, The fire was believed to be the result of two wheelie bins being set alight which then spread to the play equipment, Dave Stewart to play Sunderland gig to celebrate his 70th birthday, Sunderland-born Eurythmics star Dave Stewart is to follow up his recent visit home with a night of music and chat at The Fire Station - and tickets go on sale this Friday, Leicester hold-up hints at Newcastle transfer thinking after Brendan Rodgers' quality prediction, Newcastle United are keen to sign the right players this summer and Leicester City's poor transfer window a year ago shows the pitfalls of getting it wrong, Meeting to determine whether any investigation needed into senior council officers is pushed back, The meeting was due to take place behind closed doors on Wednesday. Here is a list of 10 of the most commonly used Geordie nicknames and what they really mean. [3], The Survey of English Dialects included Earsdon and Heddon-on-the-Wall in its fieldwork, administering more than 1000 questions to local informants. Also used as a form of address, as in 'Y'areet bonny lad?'. John Trotter Brockett, writing in 1829 in his A glossary of north country words,[67] claims that the etymon of netty (and its related form neddy) is the Modern English needy[75] and need. Someone who thinks a lot of themselves or looks rather special, either because of good looks or dazzling clothes/accessories. The degree of certainty in Hottens statement is not known but it places the origin of Geordie when defined as a miner back before 1769. The same may happen with Smoggie (a supporter of Middlesbrough Football Club, or a person from Teesside more generally), which stems from the local chemical industry, just as Mackem is taken to refer to shipbuilding, and Geordie may have its roots in mining. This was possibly an early origin for the term Mac n Tac (later Mackem), used by outsiders in reference to Sunderland that perhaps regained prominence around the 1960s but seemingly was not familiar to Wearsiders until around the 1980s when the insult was enthusiastically adopted and became a badge of honour in much the same way that the Geordie insult was adopted on Tyneside. [59] The literal opposite of this phrase is haddaway ("go away"); although not as common as howay, it is perhaps most commonly used in the phrase "Haddaway an' shite" (Tom Hadaway, Figure 5.2 Haddaway an' shite; 'Cursing like sleet blackening the buds, raging at the monk of Jarrow scribbling his morality and judgement into a book.'[60]). Noo tha yoor heor at The Toon University yee might want te knaa a bit more aboot Geordies an stuff, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). In 1892 Richard Oliver Heslops, two-volume tome entitled Northumberland Words was published. This work formed the basis for late twentieth century Geordie publications like Cecil Geesons Northumberland and Durham Word Book (1969) and Frank Grahams Geordie Dictionary (1974 and 1987). There are several different defintions of what constitutes a Geordie. On Language Identity and the Social Perception of Tyneside English", "Scots accent is UK's second favourite - UK - Scotsman.com", "AskOxford.com from the given name George", Tyneside English, Dominic Watt and William Allen, "Dorphy, Dorothy Samuelson-Sandvid. "Robert Hovyngham sall make at the other end of his house a knyttyng" York 1419, in which case the root could be OE nd 'necessary'". He was the Newcastle-based author and publisher of hundreds of small scholarly books for the general reader mostly featuring Northumberland history. It refers to a stereotypical, arrogant yob who dresses in particular brands of sportswear clothes, especially baseball caps, tracksuit trousers and hoodies, and behaves like a lout. Thou may de for the city, but never for the west end o' wor toon. .JPG/345px-Newcastle_United_v_Zulte_Waragem%2C_2007_(2).JPG)
Here's where they are, Why a group were singing Blaydon Races on the Cloth Market today - it wasn't for the match, Newcastle named as one of the best UK city break destinations by Conde Nast, Met Office issues next heatwave update as more 'very warm' weather forecast, The update comes after the North East recorded highs of 36.8C on Tuesday, Love Island's Jay Younger makes cryptic post about Luca's 'true feelings' for Tasha, Dumped contestant Jay Younger suggests there is more to Luca's treatment of Tasha on Love Island than meets the eye, Trick for cooling your car down without wasting fuel on air conditioning, This small but effective trick could save you from paying more at the pump frequently - as you use fuel for things like your windows, air con and radio, Brits flying to Spain now need to provide three extra documents to gain entry, Holidaymakers are being made aware of rules they must follow now the UK has left the EU, Time is running out to apply for 150 council tax rebate, If you don't pay by direct debit you will need to apply to the council to get your share of Rishi Sunak's payment towards energy bills, Newcastle hospital chiefs defend parking charge hike and hint city's NHS staff might have to pay to park again soon, Parking all day at one of the Newcastle Hospitals sites previously cost 7.20 on a weekday and just 3.60 at weekends, but a stay longer than five hours now incurs an 18 charge, Newcastle care home nurse sparked manslaughter probe by falsifying medication chart after woman died, David Hamilton, of Hexham, panicked and altered the chart after giving the woman the wrong medication four days before she died in the Kenton home, North East news LIVE: Traffic, travel, weather, sport and more, Chronicle Live's breaking news service including Friday's traffic, travel, weather, sport and more covering Newcastle and the North East, Martin Lewis warns that Britain may face energy bill strikes - with households refusing to pay. [36], The phonemic notation used in this article is based on the set of symbols used by Watt & Allen (2003). Using it in this broad sense, however, is unlikely to endear you to some of the residents of other parts of the region such as Tyne & Wear, Northumberland, County Durham, or Teesside. However, the word is widely used all over the North East, so we're keeping it in. Now, you're a fair downright fool, not an artificial fool like Billy Purvis! Geordie (/drdi/) is a nickname for a person from the Tyneside area of North East England,[1] and the dialect used by its inhabitants, also known in linguistics as Tyneside English or Newcastle English. Thous a real Geordie! On the same page in relation to shipbuilding, Fordyce makes the remark that it was derisively said that the Sunderland shipbuilders could either make a ship or build one as the quality of the workmanship was seemingly regulated by price on Wearside. Your subject-specific guide to using library resources. In his book Tyneside : a biography Bean admittedly added a cautious element of doubt to his colourful explanation with the phrase: Or so it is guessed. Born in Sunderland, he was a noted Communist who had voluntarily fought in the Spanish Civil War against the Fascists. Before considering how the history of the north-east of England has shaped its words, it is worth noting that it is a region in which several dialects are to be found. The origins of the word seem to be down the road in Sunderland, or even Darlington, so some people think it's a travesty being in the list. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, a Geordie is'A native or inhabitant of Tyneside or a neighbouring region of north-east England', or 'The dialect or accent of people from Tyneside, esp. As with most informal notions of identity, the application and scope of a particular term depend on ones point of view. gan man an hide thysel! For other uses, see, For a list of words relating to the Geordie dialect, see the, IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters, "Are you Geordie, a Mackem or a Smoggie? Frank Graham suggested that the word originally literally meant fool and linked it to the madness of King George III who reigned from 1760-1820. Home At the very least it was a patronising term and seems to have been a byword for a fool. Hence the name Geordie used as a derivation of George. Your email address will not be published. In these features the pitman or Geordie includes miners from as far south as Castle Eden near the Durham coast. The origin of Geordie. Beautiful, good looking. At around this time Geordie was primarily associated with Tyneside but still often widely used in a broad sense for all people across the region in Northumberland and Durham. Poems and songs written about, and in the dialect of, these two counties speak of the Geordie.Theterm first used to describe a local pitman or miner in 1876 (OED). Another term of endearment that has famously been immortalised in TV shows like Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Linguist Katie Wales[31] also dates the term earlier than does the current Oxford English Dictionary; she observes that Geordy (or Geordie) was a common name given to coal-mine pitmen in ballads and songs of the region, noting that such usage turns up as early as 1793. The importance of the industry and the positive associations of this word in turn help to explain why a term that applied generally to miners throughout the north-east became associated in particular with Tyneside, as the focal point of that industry in the region, and then to the people of Tyneside as a whole. Of course, this may have been the south country or London understanding of the term. With the additional definition of a supporter of Sunderland Association Football Club and a first citation from a Newcastle United Supporters Club fanzine (1980-1), Mackem also reveals how these terms may come to prominence as comic pejorative labels used by sporting rivals, only to be adopted more widely and accepted by the group they describe. Another word, divvie or divvy ("idiot"), seems to come from the Co-op dividend,[61] or from the two Davy lamps (the more explosive Scotch Davy[62] used in 1850, commission disapproved of its use in 1886 (inventor not known, nicknamed Scotch Davy probably given by miners after the Davy lamp was made perhaps by north east miners who used the Stephenson Lamp[30][63]), and the later better designed Davy designed by Humphry Davy also called the Divvy. Most of the evidence from the Victorian era points to Geordie being a widely used for term for miners in the region. Something went wrong, please try again later. ",[28] which calls the first Hanoverian king "Geordie Whelps", a play on "George the Guelph". Well to put it simply in one sentence: Geordie is a nickname for someone called George. John Camden Hotten wrote in 1869: "Geordie, general term in Northumberland and Durham for a pitman, or coal-miner. [6], Academics refer to the Geordie dialect as "Tyneside English". Similar to doylem, the word describes an imbecile or fool. The Anglo-Saxon kingdoms that emerged in the Dark Ages spoke largely mutually intelligible varieties of what is now called Old English, each varying somewhat in phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon. You're a real Geordie!). "[4] Using Hotten[4] as a chronological reference, Geordie has been documented for at least 253 years as a term related to Northumberland and County Durham. [64]) As in a north east miner saying 'Marra, ye keep way from me if ye usin a divvy.' From hinny to gadgie, there's a name for everyone - here's our list of some of the most commonly used terms in the North East - but not all the nicknames are complimentary, Get the latest news from Newcastle straight to your inbox. [5][6][7] Not everyone from the North East of England identifies as a Geordie. Go on, man, and hide yourself! There is, however, an early reference linking the term Geordie specifically to Tyneside in relation to shipping. as a term of encouragement for a sports team for example (the players' tunnel at St James' Park has this phrase just above the entrance to the pitch), or Ho'way!? The name Bad-weather Geordy applied to cockle sellers: As the season at which cockles are in greatest demand is generally the most stormy in the year September to March the sailors' wives at the seaport towns of Northumberland and Durham consider the cry of the cockle man as the harbinger of bad weather, and the sailor, when he hears the cry of 'cockles alive,' in a dark wintry night, concludes that a storm is at hand, and breathes a prayer, backwards, for the soul of Bad-Weather-Geordy. How Geordiecame to be associated with Tyneside has a number of different theories and its worth exploring a few of them here. Sundered Land, New Castle, Goats Head : Whats in a North East Place Name? In an angry tirade against a rival showman, who had hired a young pitman called Tom Johnson to dress as a clown, Billy cried out to the clown: Ah man, wee but a feul wad hae sold off his furnitor and left his wife. All the explanations are fanciful and not a single piece of genuine evidence has ever been produced. [73] Thus, another explanation would be that it comes from a Modern Romanic Italian form of the word gabinetti,[68] though only a relatively small number of Italians have migrated to the North of England, mostly during the 19th century. Purvis had set up a booth at the Newcastle Races on the Town Moor. [15], The Geordie dialect and identity are primarily associated with those of a working-class background. Wife, female companion or life partner. Other explanations focus on mining, which naturally experienced rapid expansion and development during the industrialization of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 16. (with stress on the second syllable) expressing incredulity or disbelief. These accounts tend to see the word either as a general term for a north-east colliery worker (see sense 3b in OEDs entry for Geordie)arising out of the fact that George was a common, and therefore stereotypical, pitmans nameor as an extension of the nickname for George Stephensons safety-lamp (OED, sense 3a) to the miners themselves. Wazzock was a particularly prevalent and particularly loutish insult in the 1990s and became a useful tool to shoot people down in an argument. The Jacobitesdeclared that Newcastle and the surrounding areasfavoured the Hanovarian King George and werefor George. Varieties of English Howay is broadly comparable to the invocation "Come on!" Adult male human, usually an old man, an aad gadgie, or an official of some kind. The Jacobites declared that the natives of Newcastle were staunch supporters of the Hanoverian kings, whose first representative George I reigned (17141727) at the time of the 1715 rebellion. This is a neat and very satisfying explanation perpetuated by writers and historians during the later half of the twentieth century myself included.
[33], (Rough translation: "Oh man, who but a fool would have sold off his furniture and left his wife? Dorphy's Geordie dialog, South Shields Gazette", "NEIMME: Lamps No. What does the future hold for Ouseburn Farm. [2] The catchment area for the term "Geordie" can include Northumberland and County Durham[3][4] or be confined to an area as small as the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the metropolitan boroughs of Tyneside. When referring to the people, as opposed to the dialect, dictionary definitions of a Geordie typically refer to a native or inhabitant of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, or its environs,[18] an area that encompasses North Tyneside, Newcastle, South Tyneside and Gateshead. North East miners used Geordie safety lamps, designed by George Stephenson, instead of Davy lamps which wereused in other mining communities. Go on and get your picks [axes] again. Let me count the ways, A taste of the Deep South in South Shields, Happy Halloween : Tales of Witches, Warlocks, Mummies and Severed Heads, Mary Ann Cotton : Victorian serial-killer, Presidents, Prime Ministers, people of power (and their links to North East England), Review: Martha, Live Theatre, Saturday 08/10/2016. This occurs in the Sunderland section of William Fordyces History of County Durham (1857). In the 1700s, just as today, Geordie was the prevalent pet form of the name George among the Scots and the people of the far north of England andsince there was a succession of four ruling kings called George from 1714 to 1830, it was a very familiar name. There is also the quite specific belief that only people born on the North of the Tyne within 1 mile of Newcastle are entitled to call themselves a 'Geordie'. Kyle Brookes is just 4. Frank Graham, a local writer and publisher, states that the name originally was a term of abuse meaning fool. Now, I have to confess straight away and say that I was in fact the enthusiastic young author of that particular newspaper article. From hinny to gadgie, there is a name for everyone. [13], The word "Geordie" can refer to a supporter of Newcastle United. On further investigation it becomes clear that Geordie seems to have originated as an insult for a miner (and perhaps a mariner). [11][12], The British Library points out that the Norse, who primarily lived south of the River Tees, affected the language in Yorkshire but not in regions to the north. Examples of that include the words, This page was last edited on 15 July 2022, at 16:38. It was,it seems only in the 1970s and 1980s, perhaps in part due to increasing football rivalry, that Geordie became much more exclusively associated with the people of the lower Tyne. The financial guru predicts that Brits might end up taking action, with some potentially refusing to pay outright - as the price of energy is set to exceed 3,300 per year. Someone being mischievous or downright annoying. This source adds that "the border skirmishes that broke out sporadically during the Middle Ages meant the River Tweed established itself as a significant northern barrier against Scottish influence".
This work is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). Whatever the reason for this apparent late development, it indicates the continuing relevance of language as an essential aspect of local identity. ("Go on!"). Translated as are you well my good chap?. This linguistic conservatism means that poems by the Anglo-Saxon scholar the Venerable Bede translate more successfully into Geordie than into Standard English. [14] The Geordie Schooner glass was traditionally used to serve Newcastle Brown Ale. [1] Scott Dobson, the author of the book Larn Yersel Geordie, once stated that his grandmother, who was brought up in Byker, thought the miners were the true Geordies. Perhaps coming from the fact one would be seen as foolish going down a mine with a Scotch Divvy when there are safer lamps available, like the Geordie, or the Davy. Other scholars may use different transcriptions. Using the chronological order of two John Trotter Brockett books, Geordie was given to North East pitmen; later he acknowledges that the pitmen also christened their Stephenson lamp Geordie.[2][27]. Dorfy, real name Dorothy Samuelson-Sandvid, was a noted Geordie dialect writer. It seems the word divvie then translated to daft lad/lass. Here Are Our Top English Tips, The Best Articles To Improve Your English Language Usage, The Most Common English Language Questions, Geordie and other dialects of north-east England, See more from Geordie and other dialects of north-east England. Seaton Sluice, Seaton Delaval and Cramlington, Sherburn, Pittington, Rainton and Belmont, Cassop, Quarrington, Kelloe, Coxhoe, Cornforth, North East History Resources and Organisations, Gemmas Journey : Theatre, Culture, Events, Berts Blogs: Energy, Science and Reminiscenses, North East Maps, Gifts and Clothes by Tangled Worm, North East Quiz Number 1: Test Your North East Knowledge, Explore the magic of sculpture at Cheeseburn, Jewels of emotion admired beyond our inspirational shores, Stunning, timeless timelapse for the North East, North East Culture, Creativity and Connections.