[ussel] (s.xiv1)

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[ussel] (s.xiv1)

[gdw]

[ FEW: *7,438 ostium; Gdf: ; GdfC: ; TL: ; DEAF: ; DMF:  huissel; TLF: ; OED: ; MED: ; DMLBS: ]
huissel  

The only attestation of this word is of little help to determine its meaning. The DMF article suggests that the word is used to refer to a small door within a larger one, as can be found in a church entrance or town gate. Behind this must lie the etymological interpretation of the word as a diminutive of us2, and this definition is used here as a plausible interpretation, despite the lack of contextual evidence.

In contrast, the juxtaposition of the word to assel and essel can also be found in a passage of Bibbesworth’s Tretiz, where the context and the Middle English glosses suggest that the word should be read as a variant of heesel. The words ussel and heesel are both formally and semantically so similar (they are only differentiated by their etymologies) that it is difficult to truly separate them.

Another option is to read the word as a variant of essele1, in which case it means 'armpit'.

s.

1archit.smaller door in a gate (?)
( s.xiv1; MS: s.xiv4/4 )  Item cestes paroules 'huissel', 'assel', 'essel' bien acordent en soune  37.F66
us#2  usserie#1  usserie#2  ussier  ussiere 
This is an AND2 Phase 4 (N-O/U-P-Q) entry. © 2013-17 The Anglo-Norman Dictionary. Updated AND2 Phase 6 (T-Z) © 2022-25 The Anglo-Norman Dictionary. All rights reserved. Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council of the United Kingdom.
ussel