So, what exactly is a heald?

[fpoodry at speakeasy.net]

Yay, nobody got zero points!  The clear winner is Eric, with 9 points.  Heald is just an alternate word for heddle, everyone.  Here's the results with all the comments:


-----------RESULTS----------------
heald - n. - In Viking-age Scandinavia, a local poet who served as the opening act for a skald.
(Elliott Moreton, 2)
No "heralds" (Hutch)
1 point, and great admiration. (David)
I give this ONE POINT. I'm now trying to use the phrase, "the opening act for a skald" as often as possible in general conversation. For example, instead of the rhetorical question "Were you born in a barn?" I now use the ever-handy, "What are you, the opening act for a skald?" (James)


heald - n. - A curative loam, found in the fields near St. Swithyswilda's shrine.
(David Randall, 2)
I love it. Not true, I'm sure, but 2 pts for delight. (Kir)
"St. Swithyswilda" sounds like a David Randall creation. (Elliott)


heald - n. - The drape of a dog's tail.
(Ranjit Bhatnagar, 1)
Too obscure a word (Hutch)
As in, something that dog-show judges give points for?  Nice, but I don't believe it. (Elliott)
One vote because I love doggies! (Nora)


heald - n. - A small field, especially surrounded by a rim of forest or hedgerow.
(Linda Owens, 3)
I like these two a lot, but which to choose, which to choose: [after a long pause and repeated comparisons] 2 points (Hutch)
Like a weald. (Elliott)
1 (Pierre)


heald - n. - A handmade wooden model of a part used as a prototype in the process of machining of metal parts.
(Jean-Joseph Cote, 4)
Not a castle or a field - 2 pts! (Ranjit)
Too new a concept (Hutch)
One point.  Credit for *not* being agricultural or Anglo-Saxon. (Eric)
One point for the handmade wooden model. (Linda)
Nice concept, but the word just looks too old for that.  Eric?  (Elliott)


heald - n. - An imposing structure; (obs.) a castle keep, a central hall or meeting place.
(Hutch, 3)
A held hall.  This is the most dictionary-looking definition of all, so I'll give it one point. (Elliott)
I give this TWO POINTS. It sounds horribly, horribly familiar. Kudos to whomever wrote this, for precisely tapping into that part of my brain. (James)


heald - n. - A published paragraph containing more than one typographical or spelling error. (Named for The [Glasgow] Herald, which was notorious for poor proofreading.)
(James Kushner, 5)
Grauniad award!  1 pt. (Ranjit)
*giggle!* (Kir)
No "heralds"! (Hutch)
This is the only amusing one in the bunch.  Two points! (Elliott)
Two votes because this is a really clever definition.  If it is the real one, I will roll over laughing, but if not, I will commend the nifty brain of the creator. (Nora)


heald - n. - That portion of a pasture left ungrazed in spring and summer, in order to provide hay or pasture in fall and winter.
(Eric, 9)
I like these two a lot, but which to choose, which to choose: [after a long pause and repeated comparisons] 1 point (Hutch)
2 points. (David)
Two points for the ungrazed pasture  (3 of us think heald sounds like a pasture of some sort). (Linda)
A hay weald? (Elliott)
Eric also gets two points for awarding the dictionary two points.  Nobody else awarded the dictionary any points. (Fran)
Two points for sounding most like mine. (Pierre)


heald - n. - A heddle.
(Dictionary, 2)
Having used heddles, I just can't see why we'd have 2 odd words for them. (Kir)
Two points.  And clear winner of this round's chutzpah award. (Eric) [Thank you, Eric! -Fran]
Ignotum per ignotius, so no points. (Elliott)
If I knew what a heddle was, I'd be able to insert a comment here. (James)


heald - n. - In Anglo-Saxon law, a fee paid by an owner of cattle to a holder of grassland where forest was cleared for grazing cattle thereon.
(Pierre Abbat, 1)
1 pt. (Kir)
I like this one, but it doesn't seem to fit into my memory right. I think "heald" is something more "common" (as opposed to "gentle") (Hutch)
Another hay weald. (Elliott)
I should know this term. I've got a law degree, which means that I spent far too much time studying land rights and the various terms associated therewith. With my luck, this is the correct answer; to that, all I can say is Thank God the Florida Bar Exam Didn't Test It. (James)



-----------COMMENTS----------------
I chose this word because one of my favorite professors (now retired) is Mark A. Heald.  I still keep in touch with him.  I recall asking him once what the “A” was for…he said it was his grandmother’s maiden name, Aiken.  First she was Aiken, and then she was Heald.  (His joke, not mine.)
-Fran

Good word.  I bet it is something old and from Old English, to do with agriculture or royal prerogatives.  -Eric

"Heald" is certainly a word I know.  My maternal grandfather worked for Heald Machine Corporation in Worcester, MA for many years, and my father also worked there for a short time.  That's not relevant to this fictionary round, of course.  But I will use it as inspiration, and present a definition derived from my grandfather's occupation…
-Jean-Joseph

Two points for the ungrazed pasture  (3 of us think heald sounds like a pasture of some sort).  One point for the handmade wooden model.  I really think that the proofreading errors and opening act were quite clever.
-Linda

No food this time, but lots of greenery. I guess it's "heath" combined with "wold" in many fictionauts' minds.
-James

I thought the defs were all good, and many could have been plausible; however, I went with those that made me smile!
-Nora