“Regency”

The Regency refers to the period in England when Parliament declared King George III unfit to rule and appointed his son, the Prince of Wales, as Regent. This official Regency lasted from 1811 to 1820, ending when George III died and the Prince Regent ascended the throne as King George IV.

Many historians and readers also recognize an expanded Regency, stretching from the late eighteenth century through 1837, when Queen Victoria took the throne. This broader era reflects shared tastes in classical design, fashion, and social customs. Writers such as Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, and Lord Byron made the period enduringly popular. When readers think of the Regency today, they often picture novels and adaptations such as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma.

The Regency had its own vocabulary—terms that frequently appear in period fiction but may puzzle modern readers. The following glossary explains words and phrases commonly used in Regency-set novels, including my own.

Abigail: An inexperienced lady’s maid in her early training. An abigail cared for her lady’s grooming, dressing, and personal needs and maintained her clothing. The position placed her fairly high in the household servants within a genteel household and only a step below lady’s maid.

Almack’s: The famous assembly rooms on King Street, London, which hosted exclusive subscription balls every Wednesday night during the Season. A small group of aristocratic patronesses controlled admission, granting vouchers to those they deemed acceptable—especially selective with ladies, rather less so with gentlemen.

Apoplexy: A stroke.

Attorney: A Regency-era term for a lawyer who handled wills, deeds, settlements, and contracts. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, attorney and solicitor increasingly referred to the same profession. Although historically accurate, the term “attorney” often sounds modern to today’s readers, which is why many Regency novelists favor “solicitor” instead.

Bailiff:An estate employee who managed a specific portion of land or a farm. Bailiffs worked under a steward or land agent and performed hands-on agricultural oversight. Their status was lower than that of a steward.

Banns: A public announcement of intent to marry posted on the outside of the bride and groom’s parish church and read aloud during church service for three consecutive Sundays. After reaching the banns, the cleric asked whether anyone knew of any reason why the couple should not wed. Once the clergy read the banns three times, without objection, the cleric issued a certificate allowing the couple to marry at one of their parish churches. People could marry by banns without having to purchase a marriage license, or they could purchase a marriage license and skip the reading of the banns.

Barrister: a trial lawyer, a gentleman both by birth and by profession, not considered a part of the working class because he was not paid a salary, but rather a gratuity.

Bluestocking: A lady with an unfashionable interest in intellectual and literary pursuits, often with a scientific bent.

Bow Street Runner: The forerunner of Scotland Yard, the Bow Street Runners were established in the mid-18th century by the magistrate of the Bow Street court, Henry Fielding which revolutionized police work.

Chit: a casual and somewhat unflattering term for a young lady.

Chilblains: a painful inflammation of small blood vessels, often in the hands, brought on from exposure to cold.

Cit: an insulting term for someone who makes his money as a member of the merchant class, especially in London.

Cravat: a neckcloth, usually with an elaborate knot.

Cut direct: A deliberate, public snub.

Demi-monde: A term that referred to courtesans, prostitutes, etc. Literally, the meaning is “half world.”

Dowager: The widow of a peer, i.e. the “Dowager Duchess of York.” The term was added to a widow’s title when she received the dower house and the new heir married. It was seldom used in speech unless it was to differentiate her from the wife of the new peer. Normally, the term only appeared in writing such as letters and legal documents.

Corinthian: A stylist, athletic man whose favorite past times were racing, hunting, fencing, etc. Some Corinthians even wore a specific knot in their cravats to signify their preferences.

Coxcomb: A pretentious, conceited fop or ridiculous dandy.

Crush: A large crowd attending a party.

Dandy: a gentleman who is overly fastidious about fashion.

Entail: An inheritance of real estate or property that cannot be sold by the owner. Upon the owner’s death, the entailed property passes to the owner’s heir–the firstborn son if there is one. If the owner has no son, the property goes to the late owner’s brother’s firstborn son if one exists, and so forth. An entail kept the land intact in the main line of succession.

Fop: an ostentatiously dressed gentleman who spends too much time and money on his looks, often thought of as excessive and even effeminate.

Frockcoat: the coat or jacket a gentleman wore over his shirt and waistcoat, rather like today’s suit coat, worn during the Georgian and Victorian Eras, but not during the Regency.

Footman: a male servant, usually wearing a special uniform called “livery” who worked in the home and waited on the family. Often they were the fetch-and-carry kind of servant who might be sent to deliver a message or follow the lady as she shopped to protect her and to carry her packages, and so forth. A well-mannered young man who was tall with a muscular build was often chosen for this coveted position. It was fashionable to have very attractive footmen.

Foxed: inebriated

Gaming hell:  gambling establishment, less respectable than the elite gentlemen’s clubs, providing opportunities for gambling and betting.

Gaol: A Regency way to spell jail, often a sentence akin to death since typhus, known as gaol fever, killed so many before they stood trial or finished their sentences.

Guinea: A gold coin worth 21 shillings during the Regency.

Haberdashery: a shop that carried dressmaking, ribbon, buttons, and things for sewing, as well as accessories for men.

Jarvey: The driver of a hackney coach or cab.

Jointure: A financial provision for a widow. Typically the amount is negotiated based on the portion she brought to the marriage and is generally established as part of the marriage settlement.

Jug-bitten: inebriated

Laudanum: A mixture of brandy and opium used to treat pain or to aid sleep.

Libertine: in the strictest sense, it is a man who is a free thinker; however in the Regency, it was most often applied to a man who is unrestrained morally and sexually, i.e. a womanizer.

Mantuamaker: a shop that makes clothing, i.e. a dressmaker.

Marriage by Banns:  This involved having the banns read and posted at the parish churches of each of the couple for a minimum of four weeks. This gave people in the areas time to object if they knew of a good reason they couple should not marry, such as one of them already being legally married.

Marriage License: Most gentry and upper class couples purchased a marriage license.  Those marriages could only take place between 8:00 a.m. and noon in a parish in which one of the parties has resided for a minimum of 4weeks.

Mayfair: A desirable and expensive residential neighborhood in the Greater London area where most of the beau monde lived.

Millinery: a shop that makes ladies’ hats and bonnets, and may also sell fabric, spencers, pelisses, various hats, ribbons, handkerchiefs, and aprons.

Missish: an adjective for a girl who is naïve and inexperienced in society and tends to be silly or easily cowed.

Modiste: A fashionable and expensive lady’s dressmaker, often French (or pretending to be).

On the Shelf: a term referring to a spinster no longer in her first blush of youth and not considered a likely candidate for marriage due to her age.

Outrider: an armed rider who rides ahead of a carriage, like an advance guard, to keep an eye out for highwaymen. Sometimes they used forward and rearward outriders.

Pianoforte: An early version of the piano developed about 1730. Unlike the harpsichord, the pianoforte could be played softly (piano) or loudly (forte). The full Italian term is gravicèmbalo col piano e forte (the literal translation is “harpsichord with soft and loud”).

Pelisse: a lightweight overcoat worn to protect ladies’ gowns from dust, smoke, and mud.

Rake:  A dissolute man who indulges in excessive drinking, gambling, and debauchery. In romance novels, most often rake is incorrectly used interchangeably with “libertine” or “roué” however, the latter two terms mean a womanizer, not necessarily one who is also excessive with gambling and drinking.

Redingote: A full-length heavy ladies coat worn for warmth, distinct from a pelisse in both cut and usage.

Roué: a man who is lascivious or unrestrained sexually, an immoral womanizer.

Rout: A crowded party with no music or dancing or places to sit but people went because it was a place to see and be seen.

Season: The social “Season” began in early spring after Easter, and lasted until the end of June. The Season typically matched up with Parliament’s schedule. It started as a way to amuse the families of the men who served in the House of Lords and the House of Commons, but grew into quite the social event.

Solicitor: A Regency attorney, not normally a gentleman by birth, who did the work of wills, deeds, settlements, and contracts, and acted as a go-between for the barristers and clients. They took a portion of the gratuity as their fee. Though they could become wealthy, they were considered a member of the working class, or very newly rising middle class, and were not likely accepted by the gentry or aristocracy as a member of their class. Incidentally, “attorney” is also a Regency-correct term for this type of lawyer, but because it sounds modern to readers, I use the term solicitor, as do most authors, though it isn’t any more accurate.

Special license: A license obtained from the Archbishop of Canterbury that granted the right to marry at any convenient time or place. Only people of influence could obtain one and only in vary rare circumstances. People with special licenses could marry in their homes, churches, or anywhere else they chose to tie the knot. Special licenses were valid for 3 months and the names appeared on the license. They were never left blank to fill in later.

Steward or Estate Steward: oversaw of the day-to-day running of an estate on behalf of the landowner. Duties typically included: collecting rents, overseeing tenants, managing accounts, supervising repairs and improvements, and acting as the landowner’s representative when he was absent.

Tailcoat: the fashionable coat gentlemen wore over their shirts and waistcoats every day. They could be square cut around the waist for formal attire or sloped to the back for riding or more casual occasions.

Tick: Tick credit. To “run upon tick” means to play or purchase now, and pay later.

Tiger: A small, young groom who wore an orange-and-black-striped waistcoat. His duty was to hold the horses’ reins when his master got into and out of the carriage. He also exercised the horses while his master was away from the carriage making business or social calls. Because of the location of his seat, he needed to be light so as not to throw off the balance of the carriage. It was considered fashionable to have very young tigers.

Ton (in italics): Fashionable Society, or the elite classes. Ton comes from the French word bon ton, which means good form, i.e. good manners, good breeding, etc. According to noted Regency author and historian Candice Hern, “A person could be a member of the ton, attend ton events, or be said to have good ton (or bad ton).”

Vinaigrette: a small hinged container, often silver, which held a sponge soaked in vinegar and ammonia, and sometimes a drop of perfume. The pungent odor helped revive a lady in a swoon or faint when waved underneath her nostrils. It was different from smelling salts but performed a similar function. A lady carried a tiny decorative box–such as the one pictured–in her reticule, along with a handkerchief, and a few coins. After all, a lady must always be prepared.

Vowels: Literally, they are I.O.U.s which could be written informally as a debt of honor or as a legal document. According to Regency Researcher Nancy Mayer, vowels were not enforceable by law if they were merely handwritten by the debtor. However, “Many gambling clubs had rooms they called ‘Jerusalem rooms’ where money lenders had agents write out legal debts. They were only issued to people of higher classes. An I.O.U. signed, witnessed, and had a stamp attached to it, was treated as a legal debt.” A gentleman’s honor was at stake if he refused to pay his vowels.

Waistcoat (also spelled weskit because Regency folks pronounced it that way): a vest that a gentleman wore over his shirt, often elaborately embroidered or striped in bright colors, a more flamboyant version of the vest that men of today wear with a three-piece suit.

Walking Dress: An ensemble ladies wore for walking, usually including a gown with a wider and shorter skirt for freedom of movement and pelisse to protect the gown from dirt and soot or a Redingote for warmth.