1) (adj.) Annumpi. Def: extremely poor. From "a-", without + "stule," the short-legged, hexagonal stool used when milking spoltal. Refers to the tradition of giving an intricately carved stule to every child entering puberty. Thus to be without a stule ("astule") indicates that one has lost everything.
2) (n.) Mid. Eng. An early proctological medical device?
"With his astule, the Physic probed me rough." Wife of Bath, Chaucer
Seems like an instrument much more likely to be found in the Miller's Tale.
ReplyDeleteThe Middle English usage is obscure.
ReplyDeleteNote: There is no link between the Annumpi definition and the Middle English definition. While we are not certain what an astule was in Chaucer's usage, it definitely was not any type of sharp-edged crozier. The Wife of Bath mentions the astule in a a story filled with double entendre about her visit a lascivious doctor.
ReplyDelete