Dan,
You say that "Too often in the
early musters and inventories of Virginia, 'fixed' appears opposed to
some synonym of 'broken.'" Do you have any examples handy that would
indicate unfixed=broken and fixed=functioning? From what I have seen in
many inventories, this definition is not necessarily born out--we just
assume it because of the current usage of the word 'fixed.' Our (assumed)
usage is not supported by the Oxford English Dictionary in the lexical
history of the word.... But, I am willing to be convinced otherwise!
 
Mary Ellin D'Agostino
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