Michael asks:
William Harrison, in his 'Description of England' of 1587,
noted the special crooked quality of elm timber grown in the Dovercourt/Harwich
area 'almost apt for nothing but navie timber, great ordinance and beetels.' He
noted their remarkable durability of the timber, better than any other in the
land, 'without cuphar, shaking or cleaving'. This last presumably refers to
various types of splitting, but what exactly is 'cuphar' and what is the
derivation of this odd word?
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