Now dial. Forms: 4 þerf, þerue cake, 6 therfe, tharffe, Sc. thraf, threfe cake, 7 tharck-cake, 7–9 tharcake. [f. THARF a. + CAKE sb.] A cake of unleavened bread; now spec. a flat circular cake of oat-, rye-, or barley-meal, unleavened, and sometimes flavored with butter and treacle; in the latter case = PARKIN.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 635. Abraham … Þrwe þryftyly þer-on þo þre þerue kakez.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. VII. 269. A þerf Cake, And a lof of Benes and Bren I-Bake for my Children.
c. 1470. Henryson, Mor. Fab., II. (Town & C. Mouse), xviii. Thraf caikis als, I trow, scho spairit nocht.
1560. Pilkington, Expos. Aggeus (1562), 92. Elias, fleeing from Jezebel, founde a therfe cake baked in the asshes.
1634–5. Brereton, Trav. (Chetham Soc.), 122. The entertainment we accepted … was Tharck-cakes, two eggs, and some dried fish buttered.
1691. Ray, N. C. Words, s.v. Bannock, Tharcakes,… cakes made of oat-meal,… and fair water, without yeast, or leaven, and so baked.
c. 1746. Collier (Tim Bobbin), View Lanc. Dial., Wks. (1862), 57. ’Twur os thodd’n os o Thar-Cake.
1825. Brockett, N. C. Wds., Thauf-cake.
1828. Craven Gl., Thar-cake, a heavy, unleavened cake.
1888. Sheffield Gloss., s.v., A year or two ago I noticed that a shop-keeper … advertised tharf-cake for sale…. They call it parkin instead of using the old word.
1893–4. Northumbld. Gloss., Tharf-kyek, Thaaf-keahyk, Thaf-kyek, Tharth-kyek, Thaugh-cyek, Tharfy.
