DCHP-2

logy loggy DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• 1 adj. — Newfoundland, obsolete

  of a vessel: slow-moving.

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — Logy has been used in various dialects of British English to describe something that is 'slow-moving' or 'dragging' (EDD, s.v. "loggy" (2)). The term has been preserved in Newfoundland and Labrador English since emigrants from southwest England first began permanently settling on the island in the 18th and 19th centuries. Because of the province's proximity to and reliance on the ocean, it is common for words like logy to semantically narrow to a specific fishery or ocean-related meaning (Clarke 2010b: 118). With the exception of the 1989 quotation, the majority of attestations for logy in this sense appear in the late 1800s to early 1900s, which suggests that this usage has significantly declined in recent decades and has given way to meanings 2 and 3.
  See DNE, s.v. "logy", and EDD, s.v. "loggy" (2), which is marked "Nfld.".

• 2 † adj.

  heavy, sluggish, stupid.

  Logy also appears in British English dialects with the meaning 'heavy-set' and 'weighty' (EDD, s.v. "loggy" (1)). As with meaning 1, logy in this sense likely travelled to Newfoundland with British settlers. However, this meaning is much more popular with current generations, as attestations remain steady throughout the 20th century. Its use in Newfoundland has also expanded from the original British usage in that it has semantically transferred to also describe animals (see, for example, the 1928 quotation). This meaning is no longer characteristically Newfoundland, but used more generally. DARE, s.v. "logy", labels it as US "North, North Midland, West", which renders the older EDD evidence (see below) imprecise.
  See DNE, s.v. "logy" (1), and EDD, s.v. "loggy" (1), which is marked "Nfld.".

• 3 adj. — Newfoundland

  of the weather: heavy with moisture or oppressively hot.

  Type: 3. Semantic Change — As a result of the term's association with weight and heaviness, logy may also describe some types of Newfoundland weather. A day heavy with moisture or almost uncomfortably warm is considered logy. Respondents of the questionnaire for the Dialect Atlas of Newfoundland and Labrador English (Clarke & Hiscock 2009) listed it as one of many words that may be used in this context (see the 2010 quotation), though logy in this sense appears far less frequently in written sources than meanings 1 or 2.

  • Predominantly used in spoken language.