We are compiling hay dictionary, from Alfalfa to Zacate, a thesaurus of several hundred words, many to be found only in the most arcane crossword puzzles, and among them such lost beauties as these 35:
| BRANDRETH | A framework of wood for a hay-rick |
| CARF | The breadth of one cutting in a rick |
| COCKLET | A small cock (of hay, etc.). |
| COP | A conical heap of ... straw or hay. (Chiefly in Kent.) |
| COP | The moveable frame attached to the front of a wagon carrying hay |
| CRATCH | A rack or crib to hold fodder |
| CURRACK | Panier slung on horses for carrying bulky loads, as hay |
| DESS, n | A heap of hay |
| DESS, v | To cut (a section of hay) from a stack |
| DOSSEL | A wisp of hay or straw to stop up any aperture of a barn |
| FOG | Grass growing after the hay-crop has been taken, aka AFTERMATH |
| FOTHER | A load; a cart-load (of hay, turf, wood, etc.). |
| HIPPLE | A little heap of hay |
| KEMPLE | A Scotch measure of hay, varying in amount |
| KNITCH | A bundle of hay tied together; a sheaf or faggot. |
| LESPEDEZA | A plant used in in the southern US as a hay crop |
| MATH | A mowing; the amount of a crop mowed |
| MEDKNICHE | The quantity of hay given in reward to the hayward,
what he could lift with his middle finger as high as his knee. [note : hay also = hedge and "hayward" = hedge-guardian (what the hay!)] |
| PLACK and RICKLES | Rickles, biggest of all the cocks are run together into placks, shapeless heaps from which hay is carted -- 1871 G. M. HOPKINS Jrnls. & Papers (1959) |
| POMPLE | Fodder for oxen used in the north of England in the 14th century |
| POUT, n | A small round stack of hay or straw; = POOK |
| SCREW | (Orkney or Shetland) A small stack of hay |
| SHIRT, v | To wrap inferior hay with superior hay, "as is done in Paris." |
| SPRAIT, SPREAT, SPRET, SPRIT | Coarse hay |
| SQUINANT | Camel's hay |
| STACK-GARTH | A stack-yard, rick-yard |
| STADDLE | Base of a stack, stack platform, marks left on ground when wet hay has been removed, scars on a face after smallpox(!) |
| TALLET | Hay loft |
| TATE | A handful of hay |
| TATH | Hay from the manured field close to home (Microsoft Word kept changing this TATH to THAT!) |
| TEW | To shake or toss hay (and, with Great, a pretty village) |
| THEEK | To cover or thatch a rick |
| THRIPPLE | A movable frame to increase the carrying capacity of a hay cart |
| WATER-SOUCHY | Coined by Horace Walpole to describe sodden hay |
| WUFFLER | A kind of hay tedding machine |
| YAFFLE | (Newfoundland dialect) Armful of hay, etc. |
And, as if that weren't enough:
This OED quote about hay shatters stereotypes of librarians and of the Times!
1973 Times 9 Mar. 18/2 A quiet girl librarian, on vodka, has fantasy dreams of rolling in the hay in frilly drawers.
And another from Pynchon, under SASHAY, puts hay on our Highway 17 which you probably drove between Keplers and Capitola:
1963 T. PYNCHON V. i. 22 Rachel would gee and haw this MG around Route 17's bloodthirsty curves and cutbacks, sashaying its arrogant butt past hay wagons.
Pieces of hay
| Bale | Bottle | Button | Cant | Carf | Cob | Cock | Cocklet | Coil | Coll, cole | Comel, cumel | Cop | Day math* | Dess, n | Dossel | Fenage | Flake | Fother* | Grip, gripe* | Haycock | Haymow | Hayrick, hay-reek | Haystack | Hipple | Hub | Jag* | Job* | Kemple* | Knitch | Lattermath | Load* | Lock | Mangerful* | Math* | Medkniche* | Mote | Mow | Mowth* | Parcel, passel | Pike | Pitch* | Plack | Pook | Pottle | Pout | Quile | Rack | Rick | Rickle | Ringe | Rip* | Roller | Rowen | Ruck | Screw | Seam* | Shear | Shelf | Stack | Staddle-row | Stall | Stook | Striga | Stump | Swape, sweep, sweepage | Swath* | Swath-width* | Tass, toss | Tate | Tipple | Tod* | Tope* | Tramp-cock, tramp-coll | Tramp-rick, tramp-ruck | Tramped pike | Truss* | Tump | Turning | Wad | Wake | Wallow | Weal | Wisp | Weal | Windle, windling | Windrow* | Yaffle |
*also a specific measure
Kinds of hay and grass
| Aftermath | Alfalfa | Black-grass | Bog hay | Burgundy hay | Camel's hay | Clover | Eatage | Fenugreek | Fog | Hard-hay | Haylage | Herd grass | Holy hay, sainfoin | Lattermath | Lea hay | Lespedeza | Lucerne | Manna | Melilot | Merlin's grass | Mid-ground | Mix-grass | Mowburnt hay | Mullocky hay | New-land hay | Nol tath | Oaten hay, oat hay | Overflown hay | Paspalum | Pea-vine hay | Polygala | Pomple | Quitch-hay | Rafty hay | Red-top | Ret hay | Risp | Rowen hay | Rowet | Rye hay | Sainfoin | Salt hay | Shavegrass | Silage | Slough hay | Soft hay | Sop | Sprait, spreat, spret, sprit | Squinant | Steddle-burnt hay | Stover | Sudan grass | Swale hay |
Hay fields
| Hay-green | Hay-ground | Hay-land | Hay-mead | Hay-meadow | Hayning | Meadow | Rowen | Swath |
Hay architecture: buildings, spaces
| Barn | Barrack | Bavin | Brandreth | Cratch | Crib | Dutch barn | Hack, hatch, heck | Hay-box | Hay-chamber | Hay-house | Hay-hut | Hayloft | Hay-market | Hay-rack | Hay-shed | Hay-tallat | Hay-yard | Heck | Loft | Manger | Mow | Mow-barton | Mow-breast | Mow-floor | Mowhay | Mow-staddle | Mowstead | Picking hole | Pitch-hole | Rack | Stack-garth | Stack-yard | Staddle | Staddle barn | Staddle-stand | Staddle-stead | Tallett | Well |
Hay equipment
| Baler** | Band | Bonnet | Bot-fork | Buck-rake | Cart** | Cop | Currack | Elevator | Fiddle | Foddering cord | Fork** | Gambo | Grapple | Gurry | Harpoon-fork | Hay-baler** | Hay-binder** | Hay-bond | Hay-basket | Hay-boat | Hay-cap | Hay-cart | Hay-carter** | Hay-crome | Hay-crook | Hay-cutter** | Hay-dryer | Hay-fork** | Hay-hook | Hay-knife | Hay-loader** | Haymaker** | Haymaking furnace | Haymaking machine | Hay-mower** | Hay-pitcher** | Hay-press, -presser | Hay-rack | Hay-rake, raker** | Hay-rig, rigging | Hay-scales | Hay-spade | Hay-stacker** | Hay-tedder** | Hay-tier** | Hay-tosser** | Hay-wagon | Hay-wain | Haywire | Heck-board | Loader** | Morfrey | Mower** | Mowing-crook | Pick, pike | Pikel | Pitchfork, pickfork | Pole** | Rake** | Scythe** | Scythe-cradle | Sheppeck, sheppick | Slider | Spean | Stacker** | Stang | Swath-board | Swath-rake | Swath-turner | Tedding-machine | Thripple | Throw-crook | Thumb-band, thumb-rope | Trusser** | Turner** | Turnover rake | Twine | Wagon, wagon | Wain | Wimbel, wimbrel | Wuffler |
**may also be hay work or worker
Hay work and workers
| Cocker | Coil | Coot | Dess | Flack | Haze | Lap | Mow | Mowyer | Pick | Pickman | Pitcher | Pole | Pook | Pout | Quiling | Rick | Row, roo | Ruckle | Sadden | Salt | Shirt | Skail | Skim | Spin | Stang | Strapper | Ted | Tew | Thack, thatch, theek | Tift | Tipple | Top | Toss | Tuck | Turn | Twiner | Windle | Windrow |
Other hay-related words and phrases
| Brustle | Bumpity (de la Mare) | Buttered hay (Shakespeare) | Carry hay in one's horns | Core | Craker | Cut a swath (swagger) | Damp hay (Coleridge) | Harvest | Hashish | Hay-bag (woman) | Hay-bird | Hay-fever | Hay-foot, straw-foot | Hay-jack | Haymaker | Haymakers' jig | Hayride | Hayseed | Haysel | Haysugge (hedge sparrow) | Haytorite (pseudomorphic chalcedony) | Hayward (hedge guardian) | Hay weed (morgan, camomile) | Haywire (confused) | Hit the hay (go to bed) | Indian hay (marijuana) | Make hay (cause confusion) | Make hay (carpe diem) | Mead month (haymaking month) | Mourken (to rot) | Mowburn | Needle in a bottle of hay | Needle in a haystack | Proud (bulge in a stack) | Rafty (damp, musty hay) | Roll in the hay | Sashay (Pynchon) | Screak | Shirt (as is done in Paris) | Staddle (smallpox scar) | Swale, sweale | Swath (troops "mown down") | That ain't hay (worth more than worthless hay) | Welk |
1557 TUSSER 100 Points Husb. xci, With tossing and raking, and setting on cox: The grasse that was grene, is now hay for an ox.
WOMEN RAKING
1874 HARDY Far from Madding Crowd xxv, They were already loading hay, the women raking it into cocks, and windrows.
1889 DOUGHTY Friesland Meres viii. 173 Women were windrowing hay, with rakes different to ours.