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water n Cp OED ~ sb 6 and 7 b on (the) water (esp
1758 quot) for sense 1; OED 6 b 'pl is often used ... with reference to flowing
water' for sense 2; for combs. in sense 3: OED ~ bear obs (1706); ~ dog 1 a;
DAE ~ haul (1871-), WILCOCKS (1868) 56; OED ~ man 5 (1833-); cp OED
nipper sb1 3 'boy who assists ... workman' (1851 -), EDD sb 1;
DC ~ pup (1912); OED ~ side 'bank or margin of the sea, or of a river,
stream, or lake' (cl400, 1885 quots); ~ whelp: ADD whelk 'a welt.'
1 The sea, esp that adjacent to the land, where the fishery is
prosecuted; fishing grounds; freq in phr on the water; SALT WATER.
[1583] 1940 Gilbert's Voyages & Enterprises ii, 407
[Hayes' narrative] Foule both of water and land in great plentie and diversitie. 1620
WHITBOURNE 34 Thus by such meanes divers men have runne so farre at Sea, in some such
unfit voyages, that they have brought land to water, and knew not how to shape a course
to recover unto land againe. [1794] 1968 THOMAS 52 In Newfoundland the Dogs commonly are
their own caterers. They chiefly live on Fish and many of these sturdy race fish for
themselves... The instant a Fish appears they plunge into the water and seldom come up
without their prey. 1858 [LOWELL] i, 44 [He] did not trouble himself about his pupil's
slipping off, in a blue jacket, to go out upon the water. 1863 MORETON 42 An old
graveyard in Greenspond ... had certainly sufficient depth of swamp for the purpose, but
it was upon the water's edge, and the ice, which in winter formed upon its banks,
foundered in large masses in the spring of the year. 1921 CABOT 258 [proverb] When the
water burns look out for wind. 1936 SMITH 27 After the gale abated we went out to Five
Islands in the trap boat to see about our cod-trap that we had left in the water, and I
regret to say that the trap was in a very bad condition, all torn up. T 194/5-65 Now,
I've [always] fished home—always fishin'. I get nothin' clear o' fishin', thank God.
What I've got I've got out o' the water, man-fashion. 1966 FARIS 23 Men in Cat Harbour
are fishermen, not 'seamen' or sailors. Fishing requires nerve for the water,' and few
men simply 'love to be at it!' . . Old and retired fishermen who no longer' go on the
water,' express it as 'losing nerve for the water.' 1976 Decks Awash v (2), p. 14
Down along the shore, one time, you could see everyone had a garden and every man and his
sons were out on the water. 1977 Inuit Land Use 240 I was always a fisherman. What
I earned, I earned from the water. 1980 Evening Telegram 6 Sep, p. 6 In
Newfoundland today, due to federal regulations, we see young men who would like to get
into the fishery being refused licences and effectively barred from the water.
2 In pl, a series of fresh-water ponds linked by a stream.
1971 SEARY 143 The use of the generic Waters for a succession of
ponds linked by a stream, not recorded in OED, is confined to NTS Holyrood:
Cocoanut Waters, Eastern Waters, Leonards Waters. C 71-115 Brian's Waters included three
Brian's Ponds and a Brian's Feeder (River) which flows from the Long Range Mountains
inside Hawkes Bay to Portland Creek Pond. It was a trapping area for a man known only as
Brian, before Daniels Harbour was settled.
3 Attrib. comb, cpd
water bear: polar bear; WHITE BEAR (Thalarctos maritirnus),
[1768] 1828 CARTWRIGHT ii. 323-4 The white or water bear is not to
be reckoned amongst the creatures that contribute to the sustenance of the Red Indians.
Although this animal is found in Newfoundland in the winter and early in the spring, he
is only a stranger from the northern continent. Stimulated at this season by hunger, he
will quit the shores and venture many leagues amongst the floating ice, in quest of
seals. 1846 TOCQUE 118 When he first heard the sound he took his loaded gun and proceeded
in the direction whence the sound came (supposing it had been a water-bear). 1919 LENCH
22 About eighty years ago an unearthly sound was heard in Bonavista and its immediate
neighbourhood... All night long the inhabitants were going around with their loaded guns
on the track of what they called a 'water bear.' 1965 RUSSELL 84 'Water bear! Water
bear!' During much of the Newfoundland winter, ice pans flood into the Atlantic from the
arctic. These pans bring down arctic foxes and occasionally polar bears. T
143/4-651 We chased the water bears round that sheet of ice three or four
times and never caught un.
water doctor: water strider of
the family Gerridae; DOCTOR1.
P 148-65 Water
doctors dart around on top of the water in road-side pools and drains. P 126-67 Water
doctors [are] insects found on pools of calm water in a small stream. They swim in quick,
jerky motions on top of the water.
water dog: large, usu
black, smooth-haired dog with webbed feet, bred to the salt water; NEWFOUNDLAND DOG 2.
[1839] 1975 MOYLES (ed) 115 We remember to have seen in the first
year of the Newfoundland Magna Charta a lively portrait of its constitutional assembly,
at the moment when its speaker, an interesting waterdog of the largest size, coifed with
a pair of flap ears that fell down either shoulder ... was putting the question. 1861 DE
BOILIEU 239 Some are trained as retrievers, watch, house, and water dogs. Still they are
all of the same breed. 1928 BRUTON 136 While I was travelling along the 'Cape Shore,'
east of Placentia Bay, in 1927, some of these smooth-haired dogs were pointed out to me
as 'water-dogs'; they were said to be expert at retrieving birds that were shot, and had
fallen into water. [1930] 1946 PRATT 136 "The Roosevelt and the Antinoe":
The baffled liner like a water-dog / Would dip her nose to the sea and then up-rear / Her
head with black hawse nostrils keen to flair. T 398/9-67 But a feller had a good water
dog, boy, that's all you want. 1973 MUN Gazette 14 Dec [for sale] Newfoundland
Water Dog Pups.
water fur: fur-bearing animal frequenting
lakes and rivers; FUR n.
P 9-73 Mink, otter, muskrat and beaver
were called water furs, chiefly because they spent a great deal of time in the water.
water gully: wooden container to hold water;
GULLY2.
P 207-67 He dipped the water out with a water
gully. C 71-37 ~ Water barrel (used beef barrel, washed and painted). 1971 NOSEWORTHY 260
~ A tub made of a half-barrel and carried by a rope and a long stick. P 127-80 We'd have
to cut six inches of ice out of the water gully before we could boil the kettle.
water haul: the pulling of a fish-net or trap to the surface
with no fish enclosed in the device; HAUL n; any fruitless trip or enterprise.
[1929] BOWEN 148 ~ Among the Grand Banks net-fishers, when the net
brings up absolutely nothing. 1937 DEVINE 55 When a net or seine is hauled and found to
contain no fish, it's a water haul. Applied to failures generally. 1966 SCAMMELL 40 True
they got a few quintals once in a while, but nothing like the boatloads, yes sometimes
two or three boatloads that the Martins used to get there nearly every time they hauled.
Sometimes Blanchard even had a water-haul. 1968 MESHER 88 "Seal Flipper Stew": While nets
and the hand-line are fishermen's tools / There's those who with cod trap are many times
fooled; / Water hauls, often a summer day long, / Discourage the clergy and tire the
strong. 1975 Daily News 3 Jan, p. 11 ABC Taxi [plans] to keep track of 'no show'
calls... Nothing upsot a cabbie more than going on a 'water haul.' 1975 RUSSELL 48 'Uncle
Mose,' he said, 'when I went to school, I didn't learn much. But one thing I did learn
was that John Cabot discovered Newfoundland in 1497. Now if I've got to lose that
'twill mean I made a complete waterhaul.'
water hopper:
see water doctor above.
P 126-67 ~ Insect found on surface
of calm pools of water usually in a small stream. They resemble a large spider and swim
in quick, jerky motions.
water-horse: see WATER-HORSE.
water-jug: PITCHER PLANT (Sarracenia purpurea) (1956
ROULEAU 40).
water lily: see water jug (1956 ROULEAU
40).
water man: supernatural figure inhabiting the sea or
'salt water.'
M 71-103 The stage as I have already indicated was
situated at the shoreline, and it was along this general area, around and under the stage
that the 'water man' lived. As children we were told that if we went near the water
alone, that is when the men weren't around, the water man would get us. Some children
claimed to have actually seen him.
water nipper, nipper:
boy, or sometimes an elderly man, employed to bring drinking water to men at work.
P 65-64 The water nipper is a person who brings water to the men.
As a professional the water nipper has practically died out. Once it used to be a man's
job to bring water around to the men as they worked—especially in summer. The water
nipper would be an old man—often over 70. His job was a sort of reward for years of
service as a lumberjack. T 29-64 My job was what they call water-nipper—water-boy
today, but water-nipper then. That's taking round water to the men, your own gang.
water pigeon: southern black guillemot (Cepphus grylle
atlantis), or common dovekie (Plautus alle alle); PIGEON, ~ DIVER, SALTWATER
PIGEON.
1792 Liverpool MS Just as we got into the cove we
saw a young water pigeon that had its throat partly stopped, to prevent its diving, as we
supposed afterwards that the Indians had placed it there to know if we had any guns, for
if we had they supposed we should fire at it.
water pup:
blister, sore or inflammation common among fishermen, whose skin is often in contact with
salt water. Possibly a playful synonym of water whelp. Also attrib.
1909 BROWNE 118 Others, with bandaged hands or arms 'in a sling'
are suffering from sores, deep ugly ulcers ('water-pups') that need skilled attention.
1920 WALDO 56 So many fishermen get what are called 'water-whelps' or
'water-pups,'—pustules on the forearm due to the abrasion of the skin by more or
less infected clothing. C 65-4 Water pups are a form of boil [breaking] out on arms that
have been rubbed by wet clothing and salt water. C 69-2 When he was fishing he never
failed to use water pup chains around the wrist. These were brass chains worn to prevent
the wrist and arm from being chafed by the oil or rubber coat and causing water pups
which he says could be pretty bad.
water set: the placing
of an animal trap in a pond or stream; cp SET n.
P 9-73 Water sets
were used to catch mink, otter, muskrat and beaver.
waterside: sea-shore or coastal strip bordering the bays,
coves, harbours and inlets comprising the area of European settlement and fishery
enterprise; SHORE1. Also attrib.
[1583] 1940
Gilbert's Voyages & Enterprises ii, 403 [Hayes' narrative] The Generall
granted in fee farme divers parcells of land lying by the water side, both in this harbor
of S John, and elsewhere, which was to owners a great commoditie, being thereby assured
(by their proper inheritance) of grounds convenient to dresse and to drie their fish.
[1667] 1895 PROWSE 157 Sir David Kirke ... compelled them to take estates in land in
severall harbours for erecting of houses and ffishing places by ye water side. [1790]
1895 ibid 395 I have considered your request respecting the alteration which you wish to
make in your Storehouse, near the waterside. [1794] 1968 THOMAS 52 As [hunger] presses
upon [the dogs] they go to the waterside and set on a Rock, keeping as good a lookout as
ever Cat did for a Mouse. The instant a Fish appears they plunge into the water and
seldom come up without their prey. 1944 LAWTON & DEVINE 4 Handcock had taken in the
waterside at the north end of the Beach... Two of Jim Sullivan's sons settled on the
waterside east of their father. 1960 FUDGE 36 I purchased this spot, which included a
small waterside ... cleared away all the old debts and got ready to build a modern retail
store, also a waterside premises, which included a salt store and a fish store and wharf,
about seventy feet long.
water whelp: see water pup
above. Possibly a variant of an unattested *water-welt.
[See 1920 quot at water pup.] 1924 ENGLAND 211 'Water
welps,' or sores on the hands and arms caused by salt water, yield to brass chains worn
round the wrists. T 145-65 They say they used it as a cure for the sea pups or another
term for water whelps. It was a sort of a pimple that would get infected by the much use
of the clothing an' the hands in salt water. 1981 HUSSEY 56 One of the most common
ailments among the crew was called 'water whelps' or 'pups.' These were boils on the
wrists [and] the usual remedy was a poultice made of molasses and flour or a mixture of
laundry soap and sugar.
water wolf: an organism which gets
into well-water, similar to a polychaete worm (P 154-78).
C 70-28
If you swallow one, hold your head over a pan of warm milk and the water wolf will come
out of your stomach seeking the milk.
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