Coyne and Livery
Preserved but no longer current.
An old Irish term for food and entertainment for soldiers, and forage for their horses, formerly exacted from private persons by Irish chiefs when on the march. Coyne is Irish coinnemh, billeting, or one billeted.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Coyne and Livery” mean?
An old Irish term for food and entertainment for soldiers, and forage for their horses, formerly exacted from private persons by Irish chiefs when on the march. Coyne is Irish coinnemh, billeting, or one billeted.
Is “Coyne and Livery” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.