*Eggs-eggs. Fruit of the hawthorn.—S.W. (Farley.)
*Elet. Fuel (H.Wr.). *Ollit (Aubrey's Wilts MS.).—N.W., obsolete.
Elm, Helm, or Yelm. (1) v. To make up 'elms.'—N. & S.W.
'Two or three women are busy "yelming," i.e. separating the straw, selecting the longest and laying it level and parallel, damping it with water, and preparing it for the yokes.'—Wild Life, ch. vi.
(2) n. (Almost invariably pl.,'elms' being the usual form). Small bundles or handfuls of fresh straw, damped and laid out straight for the thatcher's use (Wild Life, ch. vi). See Wilts Arch. Mag. vol. xxii. p. 111. According to Prof. Skeat yelm, seldom now used in Wilts, is the correct form, from A.S. gilm, a handful. About Marlborough it is usually pronounced as Yelms, but at Clyffe Pypard there is not the slightest sound of y in it. Elsewhere it is frequently pronounced as Ellums.—N. & S.W.
Eltrot. Heracleum Sphondylium, L., Cow-parsnip (S.). *Altrot at Zeals.—S.W.
Emmet. The Ant (S.). 'Ant' is never used in Wilts.—N. & S.W.
Emmet-heap. An anthill.—N. & S.W.
En. (1) pl. termination, as Housen, houses; Hipsen, rose-berries; Keyn, keys; Facen, faces; Wenchen, girls; Bluen, blossoms; Naas'n, nests (rarely heard, Nestises being the usual form); Pigs'-sousen, pigs'-ears.—N. & S.W.
'In North Wilts ... the formation of the Plural by affixing en to the Noun is almost universal, as house housen, &c.'—Cunnington MS.