Sherpt

[A. Maberry]

How about:

shirp -- vi. wither, shrivel
  shirpit -- thin, shriveled, with sharp drawn features

--Concise Scots Dictionary. Aberdeen : Aberdeen University Press, 1985.

seems to fit the context.

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu


On Fri, 2 Feb 2001, Natalie Maynor wrote:

> Any guess out there of what "sherpt" is in "her flesh is sherpt away"?
> This was written in Alabama in 1849 in a letter to a brother and
> sister, describing their mother's condition.  The letter is full of
> non-standard spelling, usually somewhat phonetic although sometimes
> in the opposite direction (like "scents" for "sense").  Here's the
> whole sentence:
>
> "Mother is in a bad situation -- she has got no scents at toll worth
> any thing for she perfectly childish in her ways and her flesh is
> sherpt away tel she is a mear skelitan and she keeps her bed constant
> and can not get about at toll."
>    --Natalie Maynor (maynor at ra.msstate.edu)
>