34 Appalachian Words You Didn’t Know Existed

Whether you’re exploring the historic cabins at Cades Cove or traveling off the beaten path to see other old buildings in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, there’s plenty of places to experience traditional mountain culture. We want to help you learn more about the Appalachian words and phrases that were used throughout Smoky Mountain history!

(Related Article: Influential People in Smoky Mountain History)

‘Smoky Mountain English’

Appalachian dialect is a local English variety of southern Appalachia. In fact, it’s commonly referred to as “Smoky Mountain English.” Appalachian dialect is unlike any other. We thought it would be fun to put together a list of words that families would have used in the pioneer days of the Smoky Mountains, long before the mountains became a national park.

Your Guide to the Appalachian Language:

• Bald – A treeless area on a mountain
• Blackberry Winter – Time where there is cool weather at the same time as the blooming of wild blackberry shrubs in May
• Blind House – Windowless cabin
• Blockading – Making illegal whiskey or moonshine
• Booger – Ghost
• Boomer – Red squirrel
• Branch – Small stream
• Cove – Small valley surrounded by mountains (Cades Cove)
• Dogwood Winter – Time of cold weather at the same time as the blooming of dogwood trees in mid-April
• Dome – A mountain with a rounded top (Clingmans Dome)
• Foxfire – Something that glows in the dark, like certain mushrooms
• Gaum – A mess
• Gap – Low spot along a ridge or mountain range (Newfound Gap)
• Granny Woman – Midwife
• He-balsam – Spruce tree
• Hollow – Small sheltered valley (holler)
• Jag – Small amount
• Leather Britches – Green beans dried in the pod by threading on a string and hanging
• Lick – To hit with a hammer or axe
• Long Sweetening – Maple syrup
• Painter – Mountain lion
• Poke – Small bag
• Poor Do – Boiled cornmeal
• Ramp – Wild garlic
• Shamp – To cut hair
• She-balsam – Fir tree
• Short Sweetening – Sugar or honey
• Simples – Medicinal herbs
• Slaunchwise – Crooked, sideways, slanting diagonally
• Slick-faced – Without a beard
• Sorry – Something of little or no value
• ‘Tater Hole – cold cellar under the cabin floor where foods are stored
• Wish Book – Mail-order catalog
• Varmint – Wild animal

Try using some of these Appalachian words in a sentence of your own! If you’re looking for more Appalachian words and phrases, a complete list of words and definitions can be found in the ‘Historic Areas’ pamphlet produced by the Great Smoky Mountains Association and the National Park Service. The pamphlet is available at visitor centers in the Great Smoky Mountains.

More Smoky Mountain History

Now that you know more about some of the top Appalachian words and phrases used throughout Smoky Mountain history, it’s time to learn more about the early days in the Smokies! Take a look at these top 10 moments in Smoky Mountain history.