meiny

Noun

meinie (plural meinies)

1. (Ireland, Scotland, archaic) A household, or family.
   • And whanne they in the caſtel wyſte hou ſire Palomydes had ſped there was a Ioyeful meyny / and ſoo ſir Palomydes departed / and came to the caſtell of Lonaȝep
     "And when they in the castle wist how Sir Palomides had sped, there was a joyful meiny; and so Sir Palomides departed, and came to the...1470–1485 (date produced), Thomas Malory, “Capitulum lxiv”, in [Le Morte Darthur], book X, [London: […] by William Caxton], published 31 July 1485, →OCLC; republished as H[einrich] Oskar Sommer...
2. (archaic, historical) A retinue.
   • His speech thus spake the Moor, and took his leave,
     he and his meiny where the bátels lay:
     formal farewells to chief and crews he gave,
     exchanging congees with due courtesy.1880, Richard Francis Burton, Os Lusíadas, volume I, page 23
3. (Scotland) A crowd of people; a rabble.
   • For the mutable ranke-ſented Meynie, / Let them regard me, as I doe not flatter, / And therein behold themſelues.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...