A: "cheese store" in 1689?

Joel S. Berson Berson at ATT.NET
Fri May 2 16:22:16 UTC 2008


Among the items Samuel Sewall put aboard ship to
bring back to New England in 1689 was "one Cheese Store".

What is that?  Two possibilities, perhaps (from OED2, under "store n."):

1)  "7. a. A stock (of anything material or
immaterial) laid up for future use."  In this case, it is "a supply of cheese".

2)  "†10. Means for storing, receptacles for
storage." -- but, aboard ship, not 11.a, a
"warehouse".  But the only citation for sense 10.
is 1497.  In this case, it is "something in which
cheese can be kept".  If so, what was it like in
the 1680s?  (I'm thinking a platter with a dome.)

And if anyone is thinking "Google Books", they
have another think coming -- the only hit for
"cheese store" between 1600 and 1750 is Sewall's enumeration!

Joel

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