I read in Spurgeon this morning:
"The firstfruits were the pledge of the harvest. As soon as the Israelite had plucked the first handful of ripe ears, he looked forward with glad anticipation to the time when the wain should creak beneath the sheaves."
I've read of wainscoting and figured from the context that it was something on a wall, but hadn't ever looked it up, and hadn't ever heard of a "wain" before...
WAIN
a large and heavy vehicle for farm use : WAGON, CART *a hay wain on a meadow*
WAINSCOT
from Middle Dutch wagenschot, probably from wagen cart + schot shot, crossbar, wooden partition; akin to Old English shot
Britain: a fine grade of oak imported for woodwork
(1): a wooden lining of an interior wall usually paneled
(2): a lining of an interior wall irrespective of material *a tile wainscot*
c: the lower three or four feet of an interior wall when finished differently from the remainder of the wall (as with wood panels, tile, or marble slabs)
WAINSCOT
transitive verb
to line (as a wall) with or as if with boards or paneling
*wainscoted with looking glass*
So that's the proper term for the walls in the dinette of the house I grew up. The lower half was paneling with wood patterns, and the upper half was wallpaper.
Cool.
