‘Sweete April showers, Doo spring Maie flowers’ [1] . From the late 16th century, Brits appear to have hoped that poor weather in the month of April would give way to sunnier days come May, though it’s likely that the sentiment was first expressed much earlier than that. [2] So synonymous is the month of April with rainy weather that one Anglo-Norman author it turned it into a verb, avriller , with the express meaning of ‘to rain, be showery’! Mon avril et ma violete, Moun pré de mai e ma florete [...] Et mes rosiers quant il avrille Ma flor qui pur giel ne s’esmaie Ross ANTS 1880 [ My April and my violets, My May meadow and my flower [...] And my rosebushes when it rains, My flower which does not fear a frost ] Image of a man holding flowers in April calendar BL Add 21114 fol. 2v There are no shortage of Anglo-Norman terms to talk about inclement weather, which is perhaps unsurprising in a language used in the British Isles! The weather...
A blog that highlights and discusses interesting words in the Anglo-Norman language, presented by the editorial team of the Anglo-Norman Dictionary (www.anglo-norman.net).