The word "wag" archaically refers to a joker or "smart aleck." It is the reason perhaps why the children felt free to laugh, because the teacher was like a bully.
A word taken from the French term haridelle, a "harridan" is the equivalent of calling someone an old horse. It is also an adjective used to describe a very mean woman.
The word "assizes" are parts of a court session or a hearing. The word has different meanings and it has been historically used from England to Jerusalem in different context. However, it mainly refers to a small part of a trial.
The word "meagre" means deficient or lacking in quality. It refers to anything that does not exemplify finesse nor beauty; something that lacks appeal and does not meet a standard.
A "dunghill" is a heap of animal excrement. Remember Flaubert is a Realist, with a penchant for Naturalism; this means that his descriptions are often shocking to the senses and even grotesque to some readers.
"Poultices" are mashed herbs that are combined in order to make a concoction that is then warmed and applied to scars or other parts of the body with the intention of healing.
The word "parleyed" is a Gallicism from the French word parler, which means to talk or speak. The word is used in the English language in its blended form from a French root.
The French word mairie refers to a place that serves as a town hall, or a convention center for townspeople. It would be the "headquarters" of the town; the meeting place used for different community events.
The word "rubicund" means of a ruddy, or reddish, complexion. The idea that the author wants to convey is that these are hefty, healthy, earthy farm girls. This is another way to move us away from the sophisticated ideal of a model-type bridesmaid that Emma would have seen in her imagination.
"greengages..."See in text(Part I - Chapter Seven)
Cultivated in France, the greengage is a variety of plum that is oval-shaped and green, sometimes yellow. They make great dessert fruits because of their powerfully sweet flavor.
Originally from Barèges, France, "barege" is a loose piece of silk that could be worn as a veil, around the shoulders, across the chest, or however the lady wished.
The word "phlebotomy" refers to blood-letting, or bleeding someone with the intention of making them heal. As far back as the Middle Ages, it was understood that the human body was run by "humors" and that bleeding out excess blood would repair the body's natural balance of humors. Leeches were often used since they feed off impurities that naturally occur in the blood.
He refers to the tax collector as a former Cavalry solder or "carabineer," whose job was to hold the carbine, which is an arm gun or musket that is slightly shorter than a rifle.
"Amadou" is a spongy substance that forms from fungi and the chemical reactions that occur with it. Another example of Flaubert's raw depictions characteristic of Naturalism/Realism.
Known in the middle ages as "The King's Evil," "scrofula" is the swelling of lymph nodes in the neck as a result of the same bacteria that causes tuberculosis. It was thought that French and English kings had a god-given power to heal scrofula and that they could touch people and cure them.
