ˈfen-man
An inhabitant of the fens.
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. 491 Girvij that is, as some interpret it, Fen-men or Fen-dwellers. 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Boeuf, As our fenne-men [say], rather catch a ducke than feed an Oxe. 1626 Bacon Sylva §600 The Fen-men hold that the Sewers must be kept. 1766 Pennant Zool. (1776) I. 254 Stares..do great damage to the fen men by roosting on the reeds. 1856 P. Thompson Hist. Boston 644 The fen⁓men..were, a century later, known as the Slodgers, or Fen-Slodgers. 1865 Kingsley Herew. Prel. 19 After the snow would come the fenman's yearly holiday. |