# An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland/B

B.
ba$^1$ [bā], sb., 1) a sunken rock in the sea; 2) surf on a sunken rock; de ba is breakin’, the surf is breaking on the rock, on the other ​hand, in a diff. sense: de ba is bodin, the wave rises (just before breaking on the rock); ba here = bod, sb., groundswell. In place-names, names of (sunken) rocks, bod (bo) and ba alternate; see further bo$^2$, and bod$^1$, sb. O.N. boði, m., a hidden shoal in the sea; the breaking of the sea on a hidden shoal.
ba$^2$ [bā], sb., only in the expr.: “der’r [‘there is’] nedder ben or ba (suk or sap) in it” [nedder…or = neither…nor], of an extremely skinny fish. Sa. *pað (something to pick)? cf. Fær. paða [pǣa], vb., to pick, in the skinning of a slaughtered sheep to tear off pieces of the inside membrane with flesh attached and to let these adhere to the skin; similar to this is Fær. piða [pi̇̄ja], vb., to pick the flesh from the bones. Change from initial p to b is found in several Shetl. words; in this case a change *pað > ba could easily be explained as having arisen from the foregoing ben under assimilating influence.
ba-break [bābrak], sb., 1) the breaking of the waves on a sunken rock (ba); high sea (U.). 2) fig. of very badly and carelessly executed work: to dell (delve) or lay onyting in b. (Y$^b$.); cf. kolgrof. ba$^1$ compounded with Eng. “break”.
†bad [bad, bäd], sb., garment; comm. Also a suit of clothes; a new b. [bad] (Du.). Prob. the same word as A.S. pâd, f., outer garment; cloak, Goth. paida, O.Sax. pêda; Sw. dial. pade, m., cloak; overcoat. Jamieson gives (in Dict. Scott. Lang.) under “bit”, sb., a phrase “bit and baid” in sense of food and clothes. Cf. (?) No. badang, m., bodice (R. suppl.), Mod. Sw. dials. bading, båding.
bad [bad, bäd], vb. a. and n., 1) to bathe; 2) to bathe oneself. to badd (Barclay).
badous [bādȯs], adj., weakly; good for nothing, a b. body. U$^s$. See ubadous, of which badous is merely an abbr.
baf [baf], sb., warm poultice (on wound or swelling). See baf, vb.
baf [baf], vb., to warm; poultice, to b. ane’s face (with a warm cloth). A comb. of O.N. “baða” and L.Sc. “baff”? The word must doubtless originate from “baða”, vb., to warm up, but is in form assimilated to L.Sc. baff, vb., to beat, also used in Shetl., occas. in a fig. sense: to have a hard fight for it (baff, beff).
bafall [bā·fäᶅ·], sb., l) the rush of a wave over a sunken rock (ba); de ba is gaun [‘going’] b., there is a heavy surf on the rock; U. 2) roar of something rushing down; tremendous splash, hit guid [‘went’] b., hit ga’e [‘gave’] a b., e.g. of falling fragments of cliff; U.; also befall [bəfäᶅ·], Ai., and befal [befāl·], a great b., De. 3) fig., hurry-skurry; noisy haste, he cam’ in a b.; U$^{mo}$. — O.N. boðafall, n., precipitation; fall of a wave breaking over a rock or shoal. — In U$^n$. is found a form “bāfel” in a different sense from “bā·fäᶅ·”, viz.: water farther off, clear of the land, outside the so-called spjelpøl, pøl or ljog (sea nearest the coast), but before reaching the high sea.
bag [bāg], sb., purse. Y$^h$. O.N. baggi, m., bundle. Diff. from Eng. bag, which in Shetl. is pronounced “bäg”.
baga [bāga], sb., a cow the back of which is of a different colour from the lower part of the body and flanks. Mostly used as a name for such a cow. Fo. *baka, deriv. of O.N. bak, n., back. Cf. Starabaga.
bagerplett, sb., and -pletted, adj., see boger-.
baggiskjump [bag··ıskjo‘mp·], sb., the first peat cut off (skjumpek, skjumpin), usually spoiled by the ​frost and consequently thrown down into the peat-bank. Du. For the first part of the compd. (O.N. bakki) see bakk 2, bakkagrof, and bank, sb.; with the second part cf. Da. (Jut.) skumpe, flat turf which is cut from the sward (m.).
baggref, bagref, sb., see bakkagrof.
bagi [bāgi], sb., black-backed gull, = baki, sb. 1. Also Ork. Fær. bakur, m., id. Deriv. of O.N. bak, n., back. See swartbak. In Wh. “bagi-maw” [bagi-] is a bird which differs from the black-backed gull (bagi, baki, swabi, swabek), viz.: stormy-petrel (petrel glaciarius), fulmar, = mali-mok. The name must orig. from the bluish-gray back of the bird in contrast to the yellowish-white belly and breast. Cf. baki, sb. 2.
bail, sb., see ball, sb.
bak$^1$ [bak], sb., ridge of hills, O.N. bak. Now mostly in place-names as the last part of the word (uncommon).
bak$^2$ [bāk], sb., high and long wave, great baks o’ waves; heavy swell, esp. when the wind is against the waves (opposite to gol); der’r a (great, heavy) b. i’ de sea. Du. O.N. bak, n., back, L.Sc. bauk.
bak$^3$ [bāk], sb., = baki 2 (auk).
bak$^4$ [bak], sb., backwash of breakers; backflow after the breaking of a wave on the shore, de b. o’ de le (le = wave breaking on the shore). Burra. Prob. abbr. of a compd. with “bak” as the first syllable; cf. Shetl. baksuk, Fær. bakbrot, n., backwash of waves.
bak$^5$ [bāk], sb., 1) piece of a long-line of a certain length, a line-b., de b. o’ de line; cf. No. linebolk; 2) = sprol, sprøl on a fishing hand-line. — bak is L.Sc. in its form, bauk, balk, but corresponds exactly in sense 1 to No. (line-) balk, bolk (O.N. balkr, bǫlkr, m., partition). See ba(l)k under gardba(l)k.
bak [bāk], vb., of a stallion: to cover, de mare is been baked [bākəd]; of a mare: to be in heat; to desire the stallion, de mare is bakin. *baka, vb., from O.N. bak, n., back.
bakbar [bakbār], sb., the dorsal-fins of a flounder (halibut). *bak-barð. See further under bar.
bakbiter [bak··bit·ər and comm. -bäi·tər], sb., backbiter, slanderer. O.N. bakbítari. Cf. (for the pronunciation of biter) stenbiter.
bakbørd [bakbø̄rd], sb., port-side of a boat. *bak-borð.
bakflakki [bak··flak·i], sb., a mat (flakki) placed under a straw-basket (kessi) to protect the back of the bearer. *bak-flakki.
bakflan [bak·flan·], sb., gust of wind swept back. See flan, sb.
baki [bāki], sb., 1) = bagi, black-backed gull; N.Sh. occas. 2) auk, alca torda; S.Sh. The auk is called baki, because it has a black back, while its belly and breast are white (cf. “bagi-maw”). In N.Sh. the name tjogi [ƫogi, ᶄogi] is used of baki 2. Cf. wolki.
bakins [bakıns], sb. pl., small tufts of wool left on the hind-legs of the sheep after the shearing. Diff. from L.Sc. “backings” (waste wool or flax).
bakk [ba‘k], sb., 1) bank; slope, de b. o’ de hill, o’ de knowe (the slope). 2) edge; bank; ledge, in the phrase “de b. o’ de gref” of a ledge in a peat-pit, now comm.: peat-bank; see under bakkagrof, bank. — As a place-name comm. in the sense of shore; steep shore, uncompounded in the form Bakka [ba‘ka] (sometimes with the def. art.: Bakken) and as the second part of a compound: -bakka and (more comm.) -bakk. Rarer in sense of (inland) bank, (inland) slope. See further Shetl. Stedn. pp. 74—75. — O.N. bakki, m., edge; bank; ​elevated piece of land limited by a depression on the one side; Da. bakke. No. “bakke” also = ledge in a peat-pit (R.). — See bank, sb.
bakkagrof [ba‘k··agrȯf·], bakkagrøf [-grøf·], sb., peat-pit below the so-called “(peat-)bank” or ledge where the peats are cut; a hollow into which the uppermost turf of the peat-bank is thrown before the actual peat-cutting begins; U$^n$. Also in such forms as bakkgref [bakrɛf] (U$^n$.), baggagrof [baga-, baγagrȯf], baggref [bagræf] and bagref [bāgræf]: U., Y., etc. *bakkagrǫf (O.N. bakki, m., ledge; edge; bank; O.N. grǫf, f., ditch; hollow).
bakkalist [ba‘k··alıst·], sb., prop. edge of the sea? now only in certain phrases, as: to geng trough [‘through’] or aboot [‘about’] de hale [‘whole’] b., to search far and wide; to search everywhere (out of doors, away from the house), prop., perhaps to walk along the whole shore; he wakend [wākənd] de hale b., he awakened the whole neighbourhood. Fe. The first part of the compd. is doubtless O.N. bakki, m., edge; bank; (steep) coast, see bakk; the second part might be the syn. O.N. lista, f., a strip; edge; rim, in place-names sometimes denoting a tract of coast; tongue of land, as No. Lista, Lister, Sw. (Blekinge) Lister, Listershuvud.
baklengi [bak··lɛŋ·gi], sb., a strip cut out lengthways from the back of a halibut (opp. to “belly-lengi”). O.N. baklengja, f., the back-strip of the hide (Fr.). See lengi, sb.
baklim [baklım], sb., hind-leg of an animal. *baklimr.
baklins [baklıns], adv., backwards. *baklengis (No. baklengjes).
bakravi [bakrāvi], sb., a fat strip, nearest the fins, cut from the back of a halibut (opp. to “belly-ravi”). *bak-rafr. See ravi, sb.
bak-sare [baksɛ̄r, -sēr], adj., sore on the back, esp. of a horse, = O.N. baksárr, adj. The form “sare” is L.Sc.
baksnød [bāksnød], sb., on a haddock-line: small length of line, fixed to the long-line (de bak). See snød, sb.
baksten [baksten], sb., “back-stone”, stone (set on edge) forming the back of the hearth. Phrase: as black as de b. *bak-steinn.
baksuk [baksuk], sb., backwash of the waves after having broken on the shore. S.Sh. *bak-súgr. More comm.: utsuk. See suk, sb.
bal [bal], sb., noise; uproar; merriment, only noted in the intensive compd. gobal; q.v. No. bal, n., noise; alarm; uproar.
bald [bāld], adj., (bold), quick; skilful; good; mostly in compar.: balder [bāldər], a corn balder, a little quicker, better, brisker. Assimilates in meaning to Sw. (dial.) “bål” from O.N. *bald-, see Ri. Slightly diff. from L.Sc. bauld (Eng. bold).
baldi, sb., see baldin.
baldi [baldi], vb., fisherman’s phrase; tabu-phrase at sea, used with reference to the ling: b. her! close its (the ling’s) eyes (when protruding from its head). Y$^n$. Origin uncertain.
baldin [baldin, bäᶅdin, -dın], sb., the fishermen’s tabu-name at sea for the halibut; N.I. baldien [bal··diən·]: Wh.; baldi [baldi], de “gley’d” (the squint-eyed) b.: De$^w$. May be O.N. baldinn, adj., powerful; head-strong; defiant. Remarkable (chance?) likeness to Lapp. baldes, halibut (V.Th.).
balker [bä‘ᶅkər], sb., a lump, esp. of a large, round stone, the sinker on a fishing hand-line or long-line. N.I.? Allied to No. balk, m., knot, etc., deriv. of “ball”. Cf. ballisten and bolker.
ball [bal, bäᶅ], sb., a round lump; small bundle; tangled knot; something in disorder, in a b., tangled. ​bail [bail, bäil]: Nm., etc.; O.N. bǫllr, No. ball, m., a globe; lump.
ball$^1$ [bal, bäᶅ], vb., 1) to roll together (in a lump); put in disorder; balld [bäᶅd] togedder, tangled; in disorder, (U$^n$.); O.N. balla, vb., to pack (roll) up. 2) to speak indistinctly, in a disjointed manner; Fe. (Fe$^e$.); Fær. balla, vb., to babble; chatter; tungan ballar (ballast), the tongue trips. Cf. vall$^2$, vb.
ball$^2$ [bal, bäl], vb., 1) to strike against something so that it resounds; to carry out some work energetically; de lass stød [‘stood’] ballin [bällın] de boots, the girl was cleaning the boots with all her might; U.? 2) a) to throw; fling, to b. onyting at ane, to b. snawba’s [‘snowballs’]; b) to hit by throwing, to b. de geese, to throw e.g. clods of earth at the geese (N.I.). Du. [bal, bäl]. N.I. [bäl]. Also: to bell [bæl]. O.N. bella, vb., to hit; Icel. bella, to knock against something so that it bangs (B.H.).
balli [bali], sb., small cake of barley- or oat-meal, comm. in the compd. melloin- or mellins-b. = the last and smallest of the cakes (brøni) baked at one time. S.Sh. A form båli [bååli], a “mellins-b.”, a “tirl-b.”, is reported from Sandw., Du. See further mellins, melloin, and tirl$^2$, tongi (-balli). O.N. bǫllr, m., a ball; globe; lump; No. ball, m., inter alia bun; a sort of clumsy cake, Sw. dial. ball, m., inter alia a lump of meat.
balligrøt [bal··igrøt·, baᶅ··ıgrøt·], sb., pebbles (collect.), a heap of pebbles. N. Now hardly used except as a place-name, e.g. “de Er o’ Balligrot”, beach at Stavanes, N. Prob.: *ball(a)grjót. For the first part of the compd. “balli-” see ball, sb., and ballisten$^1$. The second part is grøt, stone (heap of stones, variety of stone). Cf. rolligrøt.
ballisten$^1$ [bal··isten·], sb., a small, round stone, pebble. Br. Prob.: *ball (or ballar)-steinn, from bǫllr, m., a globe; lump. Cf. bolleti (b. sten) and bolli, sb.
ballisten$^2$ [bal··isten·], sb., a stone on the hearth in front of the fire, stone on which the ballis (cakes, see balli, sb.) are placed while being baked. Conn.
balti [ba‘lti], sb., struggle; exertion; pains and trouble; to ha’e [‘have’] a b. Wh. or N.Roe. From the root “bal-”; No. bal, m., inter alia trouble; No., Icel. and Fær. bala, vb., to fight one’s way; exert oneself, etc. O.N. baldrask, vb., to work one’s way with exertion (from a substantive “baldr”).
bambirr [bam·bır(r)·] and more comm. bambirl, -birrel [bam·bır·əl], sb., great haste; excitement, in a b., hurry-skurry; with intense emotion. U$^n$. Prob. *bangbyrr and *-byrl. O.N. bang, n., noise; uproar, and L.Sc. bang, start; springing away; speed. *byrl, deriv. of “byrr”, m., fair wind; cf. No. byr, m., (fair wind) propulsion; speed, and byrja, vb., to start energetically (R.). In L.Sc., “birl” signifies partly a drilling or whirring sound, partly quick motion. Cf. bir(r), bor(r) [*byrr], sb., which in Shetl. is used uncompounded in the same sense as bambir(l); and cf. the foll. bambus and -busel.
bambus [bam·bus·, -bos·], sb., hurry-skurry, to come in a b. U$^{mo}$. Prob. *bang-bus. For “bang” see above bambirr; bus is allied to Da. buse, No. busa, to rush blindly on. — bambusel [bam·bos·əl (-bus·əl)], sb., confused state; great disorder, esp. on account of too great haste; in a b., pell-mell, (of mental state) confused; amazed. Fo., U. — Seems to be a deriv. of bambus, sb. (see above), but prob. arises rather from Eng. “bamboozle”, vb.; “boozle” has ​then in Shetl. been regarded as Norse “busa”, to precipitate; rush on. — bambusel [bam·bos·əl], vb., to turn upside down; to confuse; amaze; bambuseld, 1) in disorder; pell-mell. 2) confused; amazed. Fo., U. This is more closely allied to Eng. “bamboozle” than bambus and -busel.
bamp [ba‘mp], vb., to harp on the same topic constantly; nag about the same thing, to b. upon a ting. *bamba (to make a drumming sound)? The form bamp seems to be influenced by Eng. “bump”.
band [bānd], sb., 1) band in general; a tether, see bandku; de b. o’ de kessi = de fetel; — one of the bands (comm. of rush or coarse grass, bent-grass) put round a straw-basket, kessi, plaited in between the straw-bands, = geng; Conn. O.N. band, n., Eng. band. 2) bunch; bundle; two objects tied together, esp. a) two small bunches (bets, pl.; L.Sc. “beet”) of rush or straw tied together, a b. o’ floss, o’ gloy; b) two fish tied together and hung up to dry, esp. coalfish, a b. o’ pilteks; cf. kippek. No. band, n., bundle; bunch. 3) a plank across the bottom of a boat, ribs of a boat; also collect. No. and Fær. “band” in the same sense. 4) a long stone, bond-stone, laid crosswise when building a stone wall; also “t’rough-band” and bindinsten. No. bandstokk, m., binding-joist in a building; L.Sc. band-stane, sb., a stone laid crosswise through a wall.
banabak, sb., see bonabäg.
band [bānd], vb., to tie fish, esp. coalfish (silleks, pilteks), together in strings (bands). Deriv. of band, sb., in sense of 2 b. — In the sense of tethering the cow in the byre, to b. de coo, band is doubtless Eng. band.
bandku [bāndku], sb., a cow fastened in the byre.
bang [baŋ], sb., 1) crack; noise; sudden, violent movement; of living beings, persons: to come or geng [‘go’] wi’ a b.; of a storm suddenly rising: he cam’ wi’ a b., it came with violence; of wind, e.g.: he guid [‘went’] wi’ a b. to de sud (sooth)-east; of the tide: de b. o’ de tide, the tide at its highest, a b. o’ tide, strongly-running tide, N.I. 2) a knock; blow, a b. at or upo de door; cf. bonga, sb. — O.N. bang, n., a) noise; din; uproar; b) knocking; O.N. banga, vb., to knock; hammer, in special sense: to knock at a door; Eng. bang, sb. In Shetl., bang is also used in the comm. L.Sc. sense of the word, viz.: a start; springing away; speed.
bang [baŋ], vb., 1) to knock, esp. at a door, to b. at (upo) de door; O.N. banga, vb., to knock (ata door). 2) to come or to go with sudden vehemence; to come or geng bangin; N.I.; see above, bang, sb. 1. 3) (L.Sc.) to dash away.
bangi [baŋgi], sb., something thick and round, esp.: a) a thick cake, brøni, made of barley- or oatmeal, baked on a gridiron, usually with a lump of tallow in the middle; tallen [‘tallow’]-b. = fatti-brøni; Y.; b) (small) round or roundish stone, mostly in the compd. “row-b.” (L.Sc. row = Eng. roll; cf. rolligrøt); Br.; c) in the compd. slam-b., great jelly-fish, medusa; Y$^h$. From the root “bang-” denoting something thick, heavy and clumsy; cf. No. bangsa, vb., to walk heavily and clumsily; Icel. bangsi, m., a bear (prop. a heavy and clumsy figure).
bangsgrip [ba‘ŋsgrıp], sb., trial of strength, in which two persons clutch each other’s bent fingers and pull; to tak’ a b. U$^n$. Prop. bear’s hug. Icel. bangsi, No. and Da. bamse, m., ​a bear; No. (Li.) bjørntak, n., trial of strength by placing one’s hand in that of another at right angles (R.).
bani [bani, bāni], sb., prop. bane; death, but now only used of: 1) attack on one’s health; a bad cold, he’s gotten his b. 2) bad treatment or usage; a drubbing in a fight, he’s gotten his b. Fe. O.N. bani, m., bane; death.
bank [ba‘ŋk], sb., edge; bank; ledge, esp. 1) ledge in a peat-pit, row of spade-depths, peat-bank, = No. bakke 5 (Ross); see bakk 2 and bakkagrof. 2) steep coast, = Fær. bakki; comm. in pl.: banks. — bank is the Eng. form which has superseded the old bakk(a); but the word is preserved in special Norn applications.
bann [ban(n)], vb., to swear, esp. in the tautological phrase “to curse and b.”, to swear vigorously. O.N. banna, vb., to forbid; curse, in No. and Fær. also: to swear; L.Sc. to ban.
bar [bār], sb., 1) the fins of a fish, esp. long fins, forming a fringe, such as of tusk, ling, halibut and ray; occas. in pl., as: de bars o’ de skate (Conn.), de bar-cut o’ a turbot [= Eng. halibut], a strip, including the fins, cut from a halibut; fairly comm. Also in the form berd [bērd, bē$^ə$rd], comm. in the pl.: berds, de b. o’ a turbot [‘halibut’] (Du.). O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; beard. See bakbar, sb., and barlopen, adj. 2) ear, bearded ear of corn; the upper part of the straw where the ear is attached, de b. o’ de strae (Sullom, Nm.); cf. barfljug, vb., and barlopen, adj., as well as bard (berd), vb. With regard to the verbal forms bard, berd (see below), bar also in sense 2 is more prob. to be derived from O.N. barð, n., beard, than from O.N. barr, m., (inter alia = corn; barley).
*bard [bārd], sb., promontory;
prominent edge of a cliff; now only as a place-name, e.g. de Bard o’ Bressay. O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; border. Cf. *bord (*bordek, *borr, *berdek).
bard [bārd], vb., 1) vb. a., to thrash the corn from the stalks in a sheaf, to b. ut [‘out’] de sheaf. 2) vb. n., of the ears in a bundle of corn, sheaf: to be loosened from the stalks (on account of mildew), to b. ut, de corn bards or is bardin ut. Also berd [bērd], vb., in the same sense (cf. Eng. beard}). Fe., Y. *barda. See bar, sb. 2.
bardasoga [bār··dasȯg·a, bār··dəsō·ga], sb., prop. St. Bartholomew’s Day, but only preserved in sense of an unreasonably long time, "eternity", in exprs. such as: to wait a b., to stand for (in) a b.; hit [‘it’] will be a b., afore du gets dis [‘this’] done. U. [bârdasȯga]. Fe. [bārdəsōga]. O.N. Bardolsvaka, f., No. dial. Barsoka: St. Bartholomew’s Day (August 24th). The former application of the name in Shetl. possibly alludes to an unusually long service, held in former times on the above-mentioned day (S.B.).
barfljug [barfᶅug, -fᶅog], vb., after the thrashing of the corn: to separate the remaining corn from the straw by shaking and flinging it about; to b. de corn; esp. of barley. Fo. Prob.: *barð-fløygja. For bar [*barð] see above bar, sb. 2, and bard, vb. O.N. fløygja, vb., to fling; throw. Cf. fljog, vb. The so-called barfljugin is preceded by: a) the actual thrashing (“treshin’”), and b) de humlin’. For a second barfljug, vb., see barflog, vb.
barflog [bar·flog·, bär·flog·, -flȯg·, -flɔg·], vb., to beat one’s hands crosswise around the shoulders to keep oneself warm, to stand barflogin; with object: he barflogged him [‘himself’] or his hands. Comm. ​Wests.: bar·flog·, bär·flog·, Nm$^w$.: bär·flȯg·. Other forms are barfl(j)ug [bar·fᶅūg·]: U. berflog [bær·flog·] and belflog [bæl·flog·]: Papa St., berfl(j)ug [bær·fᶅūg·]: Fo. In Nm$^s$. barfloga [bärflog·a, -flɔg·a] is found as a substantive, to beat de b. — Prop. two words merged into one: O.N. *berja flóka, No. “berja floke” in the same sense as Shetl. barflog. O.N. berja, vb., to flog; “flóka” poss. from O.N. flóki, m., handed down in the sense of something tangled (lock; knot). In cases where the two syllables are not merged together, “berja” has given place to “beat”: to beat de floga or de fluk (fljuk); thus in Y., Fe.
bark [ba‘rk], sb., tormentil (potentilla erecta), esp. the root of the plant, which formerly was commonly used in tanning of skins and hides (for sea-clothes and boots). Fær. börka, orig. *barka, f., root of the tormentil (börkuvísa).
bark [ba‘rk], vb. a., to tan (skins, hides). *barka. See bark, sb.
barkklepp [ba‘rkləp], sb., a crooked piece of iron, for tearing up the tormentilla by the root, fixed to a wooden handle. Fo. *bark-kleppr. See klepp, sb., and cf. berki, berkiklepp and berkikepp, sb.
bar-claw [bar·klâ·, barklâ·], sb., small claw high up on the inner-side of a dog’s hind-leg. Wests. (St.). Also ber-claw [bɛr·klâ·, berklâ·] and bor-claw [bȯrklâ·]: N.I. Prob.: *barð-(kló); O.N. barð, n., beard, (projecting) edge, etc.
bar-clawed [barklâd·], adj., of a dog: with claw high up on the inner-side of its hind-leg; “double bar-clawed”: with two “bar-claws”. Also ber-clawed [berklâd·] and bor-clawed [bȯrklâd·]. The possession of such a “double dew-clawed” dog was formerly considered as an effective protection against fairies and elves.
barklav [ba‘rklāv], sb., leaves and flowers of the tormentil (potentilla erecta). Ai., Fo. *bark-laf. See lav, sb.
barlopen and -lobin [bār·lop·ən, -lop·(ə)m, -lob·in], adj., properly perf. part., 1) of fish: the fins of which are covered with blisters and blains, b. fish; Papa St. [bār·lop·(ə)m, -ən]; 2) of corn-stalks: the ears of which, on account of being mouldy or half-rotten, are very loose, b. strae; of corn: mouldy, b. corn, = morkend corn; de corn is b., the ears of corn are loose, the corn is mouldy; Fo. [bār·lop·(ə)m]; Fe. [bar·lob·in]. — *barð-lopinn. For the explanation of the two parts of the compd. see bar, sb., and lopen, adj.
barmskinn [bār··məskın·, bār··mi-], sb., “breast-skin", tanned sheep-skin, used by fishermen at sea as a breast protector while working with the long-lines. Also in the form barminskinn [barmın-]. Instead of a tanned sheep-skin a piece of oil-skin is now commonly used, the old name being, however, retained. *barm-skinn; Sw. barmskinn, n., shaggy skin for covering the breast, leather apron; in N.Eng. dials.: barmskin, skin apron, leather apron.
barnjiggel, sb., see varnagl, sb.
bas$^1$ [bās, bāz], sb., a stout, fat, clumsy person. No. basse, m., (a bear) big, well-fed animal; a big, strong fellow, bassa, f., an enormous bulk (R.); Da. basse.
bas$^2$ [bas], sb., large, fiercely blazing fire; peat-fire, a b. o’ a fire; U$^n$. In Y. is found a form bås [bås: Y$^n$., båås, bå$^a$s: Y$^h$.], occas.: a) = bas, “a (great) bås o’ a fire”; occas., b) a mass of peat piled up on the hearth when lighting a fire; dey’re bigget on a b. [båås, bå$^a$s] o’ peats, they have piled up a big heap of peats (on the hearth): Y$^h$. Cf. partly Sw. dial. “base” in “solbase”, m., solar ​warmth, partly No. basa, vb., to spread on liberally. See below, bas, vb., and cf. also bus, rus, sb. and vb.
bas$^3$, sb., see busbas, sb.
bas [bas, bās], vb., to build up a fire; to get a fire to blaze up by piling peats on the fire-place, to “b. on” a (great) fire. Fe. [bas], U$^n$. [bās]; in Y.: bås [bås: Y$^n$., båås, bå$^a$s: Y$^h$.], to bås on a (great) fire. Is partly No. basa, vb., to spread on liberally, “b. paa”, partly Sw. dial. basa, vb., to warm; heat. Cf. bus and rus, sb. and vb.
basek [basək], sb., ship. Tabu-word at sea. Y$^n$. Prob. from a verb *basa, to splash; plash, in Sw. dial. also: to run.
basel [basəl], sb., 1) a splash; plash; commotion, as e.g. of a fish on the surface of the water or in the bottom of a boat, de basels o’ a turbot [‘halibut’]; 2) toil and moil; hard work. *basl. See basel, vb.
basel [basəl], vb., 1) to splash; plash; to make quick movements, as e.g. fish on the surface of the water or in the bottom of a boat; de fish basels (is baslin’). 2) to work hard; to toil; struggle with something, to b. awa [‘away’] at onyting [‘something’], to b. against de wind. *basla. No., Icel. and Sw. basa, vb., to splash; beat; plash; gambol; exert oneself; to slave; strive.
†bati [bati], sb., a great pile; mass, esp. of fish after a fortunate catch; “ye’re gotten a b. o’ her dis mornin’”, you have had a good catch (of fish) this morning. N$^w$. (Esh.). Orig. uncertain. O.N. bati?
bäd, sb., see bad, sb.
bägerplett, sb., and -pletted, adj., see boger-.
bäil [bäil], sb., small lump; clod of earth. uncomm. Must be the same word as ball (q.v.). Another bäil, eart’-b., a piece of quaking soil, a place where water has oozed in and raised the surface of the earth, is prob. the Eng. “bile”, sb., in sense of boil; swelling.
bäilki, sb., see bilki, sb.
bäitel [bäitəl, bäƫəl], vb., to bite pieces out of something; mostly in perf. part.: bäiteld [bäitəld, bäƫəld], a) bit off or gnawed around the edges, e.g.: a bäiteld bit o’ bread, b) frayed; notched; very much worn at the edges, e.g.: a bäiteld piece o’ wood. N.I. *bitla and *bitlaðr, deriv. of O.N. bíta, vb., to bite. Cf. b(a)itlek and bitel, sb.
bäitlek, sb., see bitlek.
bäinter, sb., see binder, sb.
bäll, vb., see ball$^2$, vb.
banjek [bäᶇək, (bꜵ̈ᶇək)], sb., a round stone which is very easy to handle or throw (Wests.: Fo.); hard, lumpy stone (Nm$^w$.: Esh.). For the possible origin of the word see further under binjek.
bärflog, vb., and bärfloga, sb., see barflog, vb.
bå-. For words beginning with phonetic bå, see under bo-.
⁽*⁾be [bē], sb., is found sometimes as a name of a hillock, hill-side, thus: Krokri(g)s be [krɔk··ərıs· bē] (Sund near Lerwick, m.). *beð-. Cf. No. bed, m., a bank or solid pile; elevation (R.), heap (R. suppl.), L.Sc. (reported) bae, bay, sb., mass; heap. “be”, in sense of slope, might also suggest No. bedja, f., in sense of resting-place for (small) animals. O.N. beðr, m., is handed down in sense of mattress; feather-bed; bolster. “Krokri(g)s” is doubtless an orig. *Krák-hryggs; cf. the Fær. place-name “Krákuriggur”. — As a common noun: be, bei [bɛ̄i] and bæi [bǣi] are found in Shetl. in the sense of slight elevation; knoll; lump.
bedek, sb., see vedek, sb.
befal(l), sb., see bafall.
begel [begəl], vb., to crumple; dent; put out of shape, to b. a hat, ​to b. in. U$^n$. Parallel form to the foll. word.
bekel, bekkel (bjekel, bjekkel) [bɛkəl, bækəl, bjɛkəl, bjækəl], vb., 1) to wrest; twist; put out of shape. Fo. [bɛkəl]; U. [bækəl, bjɛkəl, U$^n$.: bjækəl]; de heel (o’ de shoe) is bjek(k)eld doon (U.); fig.: to bjek(k)el a person, to have entirely the upperhand of a person (U$^n$.). 2) to walk clumsily, crookedly, to geng [‘go’] skevlin and beklin; Fo. [bɛkəl]. — *bekla (or *beksla); Fær. bekla, vb., to walk crookedly; No. begla (doubtless bekla), vb., to bungle; botch, and “beksla”, to walk clumsily. For a possible change ksl > kl cf. Shetl. jakkel from “jaxl”, jokkel from “ǫxl”.
bekk$^1$ [bæ‘k], sb., transverse tie (wooden beam) under each of the thwarts in a boat; wooden beam joining the ribs of a boat. Conn. O.N. bekkr, m., a seat; Fær. bekkur, m., thwart in a boat; No. bekk, m., = Shetl. bekk. Cf. fastiband, fastibekk and hadiband.
*bekk$^2$ (*bakk) and *bekki, *bakki, sb., a brook, water-course. Now used only in place-names and then rarely, e.g.: Lomabekk [lom··abæk·, -bak·], a brook in St. That the word was used formerly is evident from Sibbald (in Descr. of Orkney and Zetland) where among other examples of Shetl. words a “backie” is cited with the foll. explanation: “a small, running water which gave rise to the surname of the people of that name”. O.N. bekkr, m., a brook.
*bekkabung [bɛ‘k··aboŋ·, bæ‘k··a-], sb., brooklime, thick-leaved speedwell (plant), veronica beccabunga, = No. bekkbung, Sw. beckbunga, bäckböna. Reported by J. I. It is difficult to decide whether this is an old Shetl. name for the plant or only the Lat. name (Norse latinized) which has found its way in. bekka- is O.N. bekkr, m., brook, and with the second part of the compd. cf. bung in Shetl. okrabung and helmabung.
beldin [beᶅdın], sb., big lump, a b. o’ a sten, a round, clumsy stone, a b. o’ a brøni, a thick, round cake. Fe. Deriv. of O.N. bǫllr (lump; globe); see ball and balli, sb. With beldin may poss. be compared Sw. dial. ballting, m., ball, knot, Icel. böllti, m., globe, and bölltr, m., elevation (B.H.). beldin might, however, also be a parallel form to bellin 2 in the same sense, q.v.; reg. ld for ll one might, in this case, compare hondin = honnin (*hyrningr).
belg [bɛᶅg, be$^i$lg (bɛ$^i$lg)], sb., amnion, esp.: a) chorion of a cow, b) membrane in which a foal is born. Fe. O.N. belgr, m., belly.
belget [bælgət] and belliget [bæl··ıgət·], adj., gluttonous; greedy, esp, of cattle, a b. creature. Y$^h$. *belgóttr, from “belgr”, belly, paunch. Cf. No. belga (belgja), vb., to fill the stomach.
belgjin [bɛldᶎın, bɛl··dᶎiən·], sb., sudden, violent shower, a sleety b. Y$^n$. *belgingr, m., prop. a bellyful; cf. No. vindbelg, m., dense, windy cloud, and Icel. belgingr, m., stiff wind.
beli [beli, bɛli, bēli], bella, belja [beᶅa, bɛᶅa (bəᶅa)] and belli [beᶅı, bɛᶅı], sb., comm. in the compd. b.-piltek, a coalfish 2 or 3 (in some places 3 or 4) years old. beli: Du.; Sa. bella, belja: Conn.; Ai. Doubtless: a “bellied” coalfish. Icel. and Fær. beli, n., belly (Shetl. beli is occas. heard pronounced “bæli” similar to Eng. belly, but, as a rule, diff. from this). For the forms bella, belja and belli (belji) cf. Sw. dial. “bäll, bell”, and Da. dial. “bælle”, a toddler, little boy; to be classed with O.N. belgr (belly).
belker [bæ‘ᶅkɛr, be‘lkər], sb., 1) dense, rain-cloud, he’s settin’ op a b.; 2) violent shower, a b. o’ a ​shooer [‘shower’]. Fe$^e$. [bæ‘ᶅkər]. Y$^{h,n}$. [be‘lkər]. From Y$^n$. also reported in the form belget [beᶅgət]. Appears to be O.N. belgr, m., belly, with the oft-recurrent hardening from g to k in Shetl.; cf. No. vindbelg, dense cloud, Icel. belgingr, m., stiff wind, Shetl. belgjin (see above), violent shower, No. balga, vb., to rain violently (R.). Sometimes the word “bag” (Eng. bag, sb.) is used in Shetl. of a violent shower, e.g.: a bag o’ rab (prop. a sackful). If the etym. given is correct, O.N. “belgr” must have branched into two forms in Shetl.; see above belg, sb.
bellek [beᶅək], sb., bunch or garland on the lower part of a stalk of sea-weed, esp. of edible sea-weed; waar-belleks (waar = L.Sc. “ware”, sea-weed, alga). Sa. Prob. *bella = *bjalla; Icel. bjalla, f., the root of edible sea-weed; Fær. tangbjölla, f., edible sea-weed.
bellin$^1$ [beᶅən], sb., = beli, bella, belli-piltek. Conn. Derived form.
bellin$^2$ [beᶅın], sb., a small, round stone, a hand-b.; Sandw., Du. Also bollen [bȯᶅən, bꜵ̈ᶅən, bəᶅən], hand (handi)-b., esp. of a stone to knock with; Conn. Prob. *bellingr and*bǫllungr, dim. derivations of bǫllr, m., a lump; globe. Cf. bollek and bolli, sb.
belly-gerdin, -lengi, -plukkins, -riv: see the latter parts of the compd. of the words concerned.
bels [be‘lᶊ] and belz [belᶎ], vb., to shake and pull somebody or something about, to b. ane, onyting. U$^n$. Prob. *balsa; cf. No. balsa, vb., to frolic; disport oneself, and Da. (Jut.) dial. bælse, vb., to beat. bols (bolz), vb., is a cognate word.
belsin [be‘lᶊın] and belzin [belᶎın], sb., shaking and pulling, to gi’e ane a b., to shake one violently. U$^n$. *balsan, *balsing; see bels, vb.
belt [bæ‘lt], sb., in the comb. trussi [trosi]- and trossi [trɔsi, trȯᶊi]-b., esp. in pl.: trossi-belts, a sort of sea-weed which grows to a great length (Conn., Wh.), is O.N. belti, n., a belt; girdle; cf. Icel. beltisþari, m., fucus balteiformis (a sort of sea-weed). See further under trussibelt, sb.
belti [be‘lti], sb., only preserved in the expr. “as hard as a b.” of something very hard. Gluss, Nm. Poss. the same word as, or closely cognate with beldin, sb., round stone; cf. Icel. böllti, m., iron- or leaden ball. See blobelti, sb.
beml, bemmel [bæməl], sb., splash (in the water), de b. o’ a seal. Fe. *beml, *baml. See beml, vb.
beml, bemmel [bæməl], vb., to splash in the water. Fe. No. bemla and bamla, vb., id. Cf. deml, demmel, sb. and vb.
ben$^1$ [bēn, bē$^ə$n], sb., one of the small incisions made (e.g. with a razor) on an injured part of the body, esp. the leg, to make the blood flow; lay on twartree [‘two or three’] bens! make some incisions on the leg (with the razor)! N.I. O.N. ben, n., sore; ulcer; Fær. ben, n., cut in flesh or fish.
ben$^2$ [(bēn) ben], sb., bone, partly = Eng. bone, L.Sc. bane, bein, partly = Eng. leg; he is clever upon his bens, he is quick on his feet (U.). O.N. bein, n., leg (bone; shinbone).
ben [bēn, bē$^ə$n], vb., to make small incisions upon an injured part of the body, esp. the leg, with a razor, to b. de leg, = saks, vb. N.I. O.N. benja, vb., to wound. See ben, sb.
*bena-less [bən··aləs·] and *bender-less [bɛn··dərləs·], adj., without legs or feet; in a riddle. Y$^n$. *beina-(lauss). O.N. beinlauss, adj., without legs.
Bena [bēna, bena] -sunday, sb., prop., Prayer-Sunday, preserved as the name of the 4th Sunday in Advent. Other common forms are: Beni ​[beni]-sunday, Bener [bēnər, benər]-sunday and (esp. in N.I.) Bjena [bjēna]- or Bjener [bjēnər]- sunday (the latter form noted in U. and Y.). *bœna(r)-(sunnudagr); O.N. bœn, f., prayer. Cf. Eng. dial. bene-day, day of prayer. For the change œ > e in Shetl. cf. benihus (under bønhus) and beniman.
bend$^1$ [bænd], sb., preparedness, in the expr. “to be upo b.”, to be on the point of undertaking something or going somewhere; what is du upo b. aboot? where are you going, what are you about? Y$^h$. No. bend(e), n., tension; tenseness; balance; “stå i bend”, to be on the point of.
bend$^2$ [bænd], sb., pack on a pack-horse, pack belonging to the equipment of a pack-horse (bendin-klut or -skinn, flakki, klibber, kessi); occas. in pl., bends. Comm. Prop. that which is girt on, from O.N. benda, vb., to bend; strain. Sw. dial. bänne (bende), sb. (n.), a hamper, which is girt on a pack-horse; see Rietz under bända, vb.
bend [bænd], vb., to equip; place the packs on a pack-horse; to b. a horse. O.N. benda, vb., to bend; strain. See bend$^2$, sb.
bendin [bændin], sb., 1) the act of placing the pack, bend on a pack-horse; 2) the place where two pieces of long-line, bugts (see bugt), are joined; U. In the sense 2 more comm.: samber, sember, sambek. *bending, sb., from O.N. benda, vb., to bend; strain.
bendin-kles, -claes [bændın-klēs], sb. pl., cloths which are placed next the back of a pack-horse when being loaded. See bend$^2$, sb.
bendin-klut [bændın-klut], sb., a piece of cloth which is placed under the mat (de flakki) on the back of a pack-horse when being loaded. Papa St. See bend$^2$, sb.
bendin-skinn, bendi-skinn [bændın-, bændi-skın], sb., sheep- or calf-skin, the hair of which has been shaved off, laid underneath the pack-saddle when a pack-horse is being loaded. See bend$^2$, sb.
bengel [bɛŋəl, beŋəl], vb., in carrying out a piece of work in a clumsy manner: to make something uneven and crooked; mostly used adjectivally in the perf. part., bengeld, twisted; uneven, with many notches and bends. Du. *bengla. No. bengla, vb., to bungle; botch; twist; wring; Fær. bongla, vb., to bend askew.
benibiter [ben··ibit·ər], sb., “bone-biter, bone-gnawer”, tabu-word at sea for the dog. N.I.: benebiter [bē··nəbi̇̄·tər]. Often with Eng. pronunc. of the last part: ben··ibäi·tər. — *bein(a)bítr or -bítari. — Sometimes only beni (Vidlin, L.; Wh.), in which case it is poss. a totally diff. word (Lapp. bæna, Finn. peni, dog); see further bjenek, bjener, sb.
benidju or benigju [ben·iᶁū·, ꬶū·], sb., clenched hand, fist. A jesting word; tabu-name (sea-term). Y$^n$. Etym. uncertain.
benigrind [ben··igrınd·] and benjigrind [bɛn··dᶎı-], sb., 1) skeleton of a dead animal, benigrinds, pl.; Gulberwick, M.; 2) miserable, skinny animal, a benjigrind ting o’ a yowe [‘ewe’]; Weisdale, M. No. beingrind, Icel. beinagrind, f., skeleton.
benihus, sb., see bønhus.
beniman, beni-man [ben··iman·], sb., clergyman; tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea. N. *bœna(r)-maðr, “man of prayer”. For the form beni- see bønhus (benihus).
benjek, sb., see binjek.
benk$^1$ [be‘ŋk, bə‘ŋk], sb., 1) a bench, prop. "a stone-bench covered with turf, placed along the wall (esp. the gable-wall) in a room or out-building, thus e.g. in the living-room of the house; in a ​fisherman’s booth and in a water-mill. In the living-room, however, such stone and earth benches are antiquated. 2) low ridge (see borsbenk), esp. of the ridge formed by the earthing of potatoes, taati [‘potato’]-b. No. and L.Sc. benk, Fær. bonkur, m., bench.
benk$^2$ [bə‘ŋk], sb., bank of clouds or fog-bank near the horizon, a b. o’ cloods, o’ mist. Y., Fe. Prop. the same word as bank. O.N. bakki, m., inter alia, bank of clouds; likewise No. bakkje, Sw. dial. “bank” and “banker (sol-banker)”. The Shetl. form has prob. arisen through influence of L.Sc. “bink” (bank, ledge, = Shetl. peat-bank). Cf. benker, sb.
benk [bə‘ŋk], vb., to make a benk or low ridge of earth, esp. to earth up potatoes, to b. de taatis. Conn., Du. See benk$^1$, sb. 2.
benkel [bɛ‘ŋkəl], sb., a dent; small hollow. Prob. *bengl-. Cf. No. bungl, m., Fær. bongla, f., a dent. For the form see further under benkel, vb.
benkel [be‘ŋkəl], vb., to dent; crumple up, to b. a ting; benkeld, perf. part. and adj., dented, full of dents. benkel is prob. the same word as bengel, vb., with hardening of ng to nk. Cf. No. bungla, vb., to dent something.
benker [bə‘ŋkər], sb., a heavy cloud ascending on the horizon. Y., Fe. See further benk$^2$, sb.
benki [be‘ŋki, bɛ‘ŋki], sb., a coalfish 3 to 4 years old; often in the compd. b.-piltek. Wh. The word prob. indicates something thick and roundish (cf. beli, etc.) and, in that case, is cognate with No. byngja, f., thick-set or pot-bellied figure, benki (for *bengi) may be deriv. from a root *bang (see bangi, sb.) or *bing. A hardening of ng to nk is often found in Shetl.
benlin [bænlın], sb., definite area at sea, esp. fishing-ground; what b. are ye been at? also boundary of a fishing-ground, de b. o’ de grund. Du. Deriv. of O.N. band (band)? cf., for the use of this word, No. “band”, a pass between two extended valleys (R. suppl.).
bennel [bænəl], sb., a band of straw with which a sheaf of corn is tied; also one of the bands of straw with which a stack of corn (dos, skru) is kept together; b.-simen (see simen, sb.). S.Shetl. (Conn., Du.). In Conn. bennel, bennal [bænal] also means a piece of a worn-out rope. O.N. bendill, m., a string, band of straw with which a sheaf of corn is tied together.
bennel [bænəl], vb., to tie together; plait together, to b. togedder, e.g. two ropes, bands of straw, esp. 1) to b. sheaves, to tie sheaves of corn together by means of bands of straw (bennels), 2) to b. a dos or (corn-) skru, to put bands of straw round a stack of corn to keep it together, to twist some of the topmost straws of a stack of corn together and tie them to some which are twisted in a similar manner at the bottom of the stack. S.Shetl. (Conn., Du.). *bendla; Fær. bendla, b. sátu: to fix bands of hay (bendlar, pl.) across a hay-stack.
bennen [bænən], sb., a band, something to tie with; has du a bit o’ b. aboot dee? Ti. Doubtless the same word as bennel, sb.
benwerk or -wark [benwä‘rk], sb., gouty pains, = O.N. beinverkr, m.
ber, bear [bēr], vb., 1) vb. a., to carry, prop. to b. a birdek, a kessi, to carry a burden, a basket; I “bør” [bø̄r: ‘bore’] every stane o’ dis hoose upo my back. — to carry in other senses, as: to wear; lead; bring; produce (crops); to endure; sustain. to b. de ayre, to use the oar (in the right way) while rowing; cf. O.N. áraburðr, m., the ​use of the oars. to b. anesell, to behave oneself in a certain manner, he bør [‘bore’] him weel, = O.N. bera sik; also, to carry oneself (of deportment). 2) vb. n., to move; steer towards; go in a certain direction, = O.N. bera (and berask): de tide bers or is berin nort’, sooth, in, ut, the tide is running northward, southward, in, out; partly impers.: hit is berin fast, it is running quickly; — to drive; drift; to form drifts, of snow during a thick driving snow-storm, usually in the phrase “to kav and ber”: he (hit) is kavin and berin, the snow falls densely and blows together in drifts (cf. kavabord, sb.); borne, b. togedder, of snow: blown together in drifts. — In phrases with “weel” [‘well’] and “ill”, ber denotes: to entertain (kind or unkind) feelings; to b. weel [‘well’] to ane, to be kindly disposed to someone; to b. ill, a) to bear a person a grudge; remember a person on account of an insult, to b. ill to ane; b) to take offence, in the phrases, to b. (= tak’) ill wi’ onyting; ye maun no b. ill wi’ it, Don’t be offended. — 3) in conn. with prep. and adv.: b. aboot, = b. till (to), to happen; occur; take place. — b. aff, a) to bear off; b) to induce someone to give up a purpose or an idea, to b. ane aff o’ a ting; c) to decline; apologize (= No. and Fær. bera seg or berast undan), he bør aff (U$^n$.). In the sense of to hold off a boat from striking against the rocks, b. aff is = Eng. bear off. — b. afore, to occur to one in dreams or thoughts, hit bør afore me, I had a presentiment; it occurred to me (O.N. bera fyrir). — b. at, to get fastened to or become entangled with something, de line bør at in a pluk and was “made op”, the long-line was caught between sharp rocks at the sea bottom and snapped in two (U.). — b. in, a) to stick in, esp. to knot the carrying band (de fetel) to a mesi (straw-net; straw-basket), U$^n$.; b) to occur to one, hit bør in on my mind, it entered my mind; came into my mind, cf. “b. afore”; c) to agree; harmonize; sympathize. — b. on: to endeavour; take pains, he bør on to hear it (Fe.); cf. Sw. dial. bäras om, to try, Icel. bera sik at e-u, to take pains with something (B.H.). — b. op: a) to arrive at the destination; to land; stay, he bør op at sicc a (such and such) place; b) to introduce a topic; begin a conversation about anything, to b. onyting op till (to) ane. O.N. bera upp, to introduce; address. — b. till or to [prep., unaccented: to; adv., accented: tø̄]: a) to happen; take place; chance, hit [‘it’] bør till, at [‘that’] —; O.N. bera(sk) til, id.; cf. tilbørd, sb.; b) b. weel [‘well’] or ill to ane, see above. — b. togedder, to match; harmonize; agree; come to an agreement (= Fær. bera saman; O.N. bera saman, to harmonize). — b. trough [‘through’]: a) to b. trough ane’s mind, to bear in one’s mind; hit [‘it’] bers trough my mind (Sa.); b) to b. trough wi’ a ting, to hold out; carry to the end. — b. ut: a) to execute; accomplish; b) to corroborate; confirm, de ane [‘one’] witness bør ut de tidder [‘other’], du will b. ut what I say; O.N. bera, id. (see “bera 6” in Fr.); c) to differ; disagree; quarrel about something, dey’re borne ut aboot it, they have disagreed about it (begun to quarrel about it); O.N. bera sundr, to separate, Fær. bera sundur, to differ; d) to b. onyting ut o’ mooth [‘mouth’], to try to stop the subject and direct the conversation another way, he bør ​it ut o’ mooth (U$^n$.). — b. wi’, to make the best of; to bear, I maun [‘must’] just b. wi’ it; to b. ill wi’, see above “b. ill”.
berbank, -benk, sb., see borbakk.
ber-claw [bɛr·klâ·, berklâ·], sb., see bar-claw.
ber-clawed [berklâd·], adj., see bar-clawed.
berd, sb., see bar, sb. 1.
berd, vb., see bard, vb.
berdek, sb., see birdek.
berdel [(bɛrdəl) bærdəl], sb., soft kind of rock, steatite, soap-stone, also in compd.: b.-sten. Conn. Prob. *berg-talg. O.N. talgugrjót, n., a stone which can easily be cut (telgjask) or shaped, esp. steatite; No. talgstein = steatite (see Fritzner under “talgugrjót”; not in Aasen or Ross; Aa. mentions “telgjestein”). Cf. kleber, klemel. See berg, sb.
bere-geng, sb., see geng, sb.
bere-lag, sb., see lag, sb.
berel [bærəl], sb., a basket; creel, tabu-word used by fishermen at sea. Y$^n$. O.N. berill, m., vat (to contain liquids). See bødi$^1$, sb.
berer [bērər], sb., 1) carrier; 2) cross-bar in the bottom of a bed; Sa.; 3) wooden hoop, small inner beam under the gunwale of a boat, beam on which the ends of the thwarts rest, — stringer; Conn. Deriv. of ber, vb.
berfljug, berflog, vb., see barflog.
berg [bærg], sb., mountain; rock; rocky tract, now little used or known except in place-names, mostly as the second part of a compd. in various forms, as: berg, berreg and berrek [bærəg, -ək], berri [bæri]. In some places (as: Ai. and Y$^h$.) berg is still occas. used of a (small) rocky hill and sometimes — as in Nm. (N.Roe) — in the foll. senses: a) rocky soil; rocky soil with a thin stratum of earth, “here is naet’in’ [‘nothing’] but a shauld [‘shallow’] b.”, said of a very thin layer of earth which, on cultivation, quickly shows the rocky stratum underneath; b) metaph. and jokingly, as: (he has) a b. on de nose, (he has) a big protuberance on his nose. O.N. berg, n., mountain; rock; rocky soil.
ber(g)dus [bɛrdus·, bərdus·], sb., crash of something falling (e.g. of a fragment of rock), = bergfall; hit ga’e [‘it gave’] a great b.; noise, hubbub, tumult. Ai., De. Also perdus [pɛrdus·]. Prob.: *bergdus (the falling down of great fragments of rock, = *bergfall); No. dus, m., thrust; blow, and dusa, vb., to fall; tumble down. Influenced by the word “bardus” (Ger. bardaus)?
bergel(t), see berggiltek, etc.
bergfall [bɛrfäᶅ·], sb., crash of something falling, prop. of a fragment of rock; tremendous crash; hit ga’e [‘it gave’] a b. Ai. *bergfall; No. bergfall, n., the falling down of great fragments of rock (R.). Cf. bafall and ber(g)dus.
berggiltek, berggilti [bɛrꬶı‘l·tək, -ꬶı‘l·ti], berggolti, -golt, -goltek [bɛrgȯ‘ᶅ·ti, -gȯ‘ᶅt· and -ꬶȯ‘lt·, -gȯ‘ᶅ·tək] and berggølti [bɛrꬶø‘l·ti], sb., wrasse (labrus). No. berggylta, berggalt, f., wrasse. berggiltek, -gilti: U$^n$., Du., etc.; berggolti(-goltek): N.I., m. (occas.), Fo., etc.; berggolt: Wests. (Ai., Sa.); berggølti: De$^w$., Nm$^w$. In Du. the forms bergelt [bærgə‘lt] and bergel [bærgəl], also are used. — The word is used of various, at any rate two, species of labrus, in some places denoting a more reddish, in others, a more bluish species. — In Y$^n$. berggoltek is used to designate a little clumsy person. — Other names for labrus are blogummi, suter (No. blaagume (Aa.) and sutar (R.), and “Norwa haddock”.
*bergset, -sed [bæ‘rsəd], *bergsodi [bɛrsō·di], sb., a rock on the ​sea-shore from which angling is carried on. U. *berg-sát or -sæti, “rocky seat”. See further under sod(i), sb.
berhogg [berhɔg·, bərhɔg·], sb., a bare and elevated place, exposed to the wind; a barren, unfertile pasture; de bare b. Also belhogg [belhɔg·] and bolbogg [bȯlhɔg·]. N.I. Prob.: *berhǫgg; No. berrhogg, n., exposed place (R.; in suppl.: berrhogg, “bærröug” of a treeless field); O.N. “berhǫgg” is handed down in diff. sense, berhogg is scarcely syn. with hog- (hoga, hogen), pasture.
berin [bērin], sb., 1) the act of carrying; 2) dense snow-fall during which the snow is whirled together in drifts, a snaw [‘snow’]-b.; cf. fogbord(er), kavabord.
berinband [bē··rınbānd·], sb., a band fixed to the side of a basket (kessi). Cf. fetel, sb.
berinkessi [bē··rınkɛᶊ·ɩ], sb., a dosser, carried on a person’s back (opposite to kessi, used on a pack-horse).
berk [bə‘rk], sb., 1) skin on the surface of a liquid, esp. on boiled milk, also on sowans and porridge; comm.; 2) a covering of clouds in the sky. O.N. bǫrkr, m., bark, exterior covering on trees, Icel. and Fær. börkur, m., skin on boiled milk.
berk [bə‘rk], vb., of clouds: to gather; of the sky: to be overcast; comm. in perf. part.: “berket [bə‘rkət] ower”; de sky is berket ower (Du.), the sky is overcast.
*berkenfot [bə‘r··kənfȯt·], sb., defined as the foot of a horse, leg of a horse. Lunn. Occurs in an old riddle, now falling into disuse:
Hedder-co’-røt [‘heather-cow-root’] I grow, berkenfot I stand, I rade a mare, was never foaled, “leded” [‘led’] de midder [‘mother’] atill my hand.
“hedder-cow” = tuft of heather, heather-bush, L.Sc. heather-cow(e). “Whisky” is given as the solution of the riddle. According to an old tradition, a sort of whisky or liqueur was brewed from heather-berries. The roots of the heather-bush are said at times to be shaped like a horse’s foot. — With berken- (?) cf. No. “borke” as a horse-name, name of a horse of a pale yellow with a touch of reddish shade; “borkutt”, adj., esp. of horses of such a colour.
berket [bə‘rkət], adj., 1) covered with a skin, e.g. of boiled milk, gruel, porridge; 2) of the sky: overcast, covered with unbroken clouds, a b. sky (Nm.). *bǫrkóttr. See berk, sb. and vb.
berki, birki [bə‘rki], sb., = berkikepp and berkiklepp.
berkikepp, birki- [bə‘r··kiᶄɛp·], sb., a crooked piece of iron fixed to a wooden handle, for tearing up the tormentilla by the root. Woodwick, U. *berki (or birki)- keppr, in which *berki (or birki)- is a deriv. of “bark-”; cf. No. berkja, vb., to strip off the bark, O.N. (O.Norw.) birkja, vb. See kepp, sb., and cf. the foll. word.
berkiklepp, birki- [bə‘r··kiklɛp·, bı‘r··ki-], sb., = berkikepp and barkklepp. U$^n$. *berki- or birki-kleppr. The form berki, likewise peculiar to U$^n$., is doubtless an abbr. of berkiklepp. See klepp, sb.
bernbund, bairnbund [bērnbond], adj., of a woman: hindered by having a child to take care of, = No. barnbunden. N.I. bern- is a L.Sc. form: bairn; the regularly developed Norn forms are: a) bonn in *bonnens (bonjens) and in compds. as bonnhoga, bonsvamm, and b) *bjadn- (Fo.).
berndom, bairndom [bērndɔm], sb., childhood. With ref. to bern- see above bernbund, adj.
bernjuggel, sb., see varnagl, sb.
berrel [bærəl], sb., point or summit of a rock. Rare. Deriv. of berg.
*berri [bæri], vb., to thrash corn, ​to b. de corn. U. O.N. berja, vb., to beat; No. berja and L.Sc. berry, in special sense: to thrash corn.
*berriskin [bər··əskın·], sb., a wooden tub; large wooden bowl. Fladab., Conn. From Fo. the word has been recorded in Low’s “Tour thro’ Orkney and Schetland” (written 1774): bergesken = a trencher or plate.— For *borriskin. Prop. *borðdiskrinn, def. form of O.N. borðdiskr, m., a dish, plate.
bersket [bə‘rskət], adj., of taste: stale; unpleasant; strong, a b. taste; denotes the taste of something which has been kept too long, of half spoiled flesh or fish. Wests. (St.). From Ai. (and Sa.) has been reported a form: berstet or birstet [bə‘rstət], and from Sa. a doubtful versket [və‘rskət]. bersket prob. for *bresket, *brisket with change of r; cf. No. brisken, adj., bitter, harsh (brisk, m., pungent, acrid taste). berstet, birstet suggests L.Sc. birssy, adj., prop. bristly, also used in sense of sharp; bitter (of the weather). versket is more closely connected as well in form as in meaning with No. vesken and L.Sc. warsche, wersh (Shetl. warshy, wershy), insipid; nauseous, and prob. orig. to be classed with these words.
*bersugget [bə‘rsog·ət], adj., variegated; spotted; with faded colours, of sheep. Fo. Only metaphorically; the prop. sense is lost. *bergsuggóttr? No. bergsugga, f., — “berggylta”, wrasse. An adjective, formed from “bergsugga”, then might denote the colours of the wrasse and be applied in transferred sense (doubtless of variegated, faded colours).
besel$^1$ [bēsəl], sb., one of the two pieces of wood that go (went) down from the yoke on each side of the neck of plough-oxen, and are (were) tied under the neck with a strap (a plaited band), called “de klewel”. Nm$^s$., Conn., Du. Now obs. Must be O.N. beisl, beizl, n., bit; rein; bridle. The mode of using this word in Shetl. indicates that orig. it cannot be associated with bíta, to bite (see Vigfusson’s remarks on “beisl” in his Icelandic Dictionary, referring to the other Ger. forms in which r follows b).
besel$^2$ [bēsəl, bē$^ə$səl], sb., clotted lump in wool not properly teased; besels i’ de oo’ [‘wool’]. Du. Is prob. the same word as pesel [pesəl], a word used outside Du., tangled lump, (something in) disorder, and derived from a *pes-: Fær. pes, n., and pesja, f., old, tangled wool on sheep.
besi, sb., see bisi, bissi.
best [bæst], adj. and adv. sup., best, deviates from Eng. and answers to Da. in the expr. “to best”, for the benefit of; saved up; to the good.
*besten, sb. In Sibbald’s “Description of Orkney and Zetland”, “beistane” is quoted from Shetland with explanation: “a termination of a surname signifieing the superlative degree of comparison”. Prop. the best; my best: *besti-nn, m., and *besta-n, f.
bet [bēt, bē$^ə$t], sb., 1) prop. something to bite, esp. of grass, given to a cow: gi’e de coo a b.! give some good grass to the cow! (Conn., Sandw., Du.); 2) pasture; grazing in the pasture for cows and sheep; in Du. sometimes with a short e [bet]. 3) taatibet, seed-potatoes. O.N. beit, f., and beiti, n., grazing, prop. something to bite. Diff. from this word is bet with a short e in sense of a small bundle of straw (dried straw: gloy), coarse grass (bent) or dried rushes (floss), = L.Sc. beet, sb.
bet [bēt, bē$^ə$t], vb., prop. to get to bite; let bite, esp.: 1) to set a dog on the sheep; drive sheep with the help of a dog, to b. de sheep; to b. de tun wi’ de dog, to drive the sheep away from the ​home-field (de tun) with the help of a dog; 2) to plant seed-potatoes (see bet, sb. 3.), to b. de roddek (Nm.) = to set de geng (Ai., etc.), to plant a single row of potatoes on part of a field; 3) in the compd. granbet, vb.; q.v. — O.N. beita, vb., to set on or upon; hunt with hawk or hound; also: to let graze; to use for grazing.
betek [bētək, bē$^ə$tək, bɛ̄$^æ$tək], sb., a piece of old or poor bait that the fish not will rise to. O.N. beita, f., a bait. — Differs in its restricted use from Eng. “bait”.
better [bæ‘tər], adj. and adv. compar., better, is certainly Eng. “better”, but the use of the adv., in certain connections, is more in accordance with Norse usage (O.N. betr, adv.), thus, e.g.: to drink better = Eng. to drink more, No. drikka beter, to drink more; tak’ de table better in to dee! (Fe.), draw the table nearer to you! Cf. best, sup.
†bevel [bævəl], sb., lump; unevenness; projecting knot or swelling; der’r a b. upo de wa’ [‘wall’]. W. Connection with the foll. word, doubtful. Bevla is found as a place-name in St.
†bevel [bævəl], vb., to work assiduously, with implied notion of awkwardness: to b. atill ony [‘any’] kind o’ wark [‘work’]. Wests. Prop. to strike; thrust? Poss. Conn. with L.Sc. bevel, sb., a blow; (violent) push.
beverslutsi [bē$^ə$·vərslut·ᶊı], sb., jocular exclamation to a person; my b.! Nm. Etym. uncertain.
*bi, sb., see *bø$^2$, sb.
†bibo [bi̇̄·bō·], sb., small, insignificant thing, a trifle. S.Sh. Conn. with Sw. dial. bibba, f., something lumbering or large, ironically used in opp. meaning? More prob. Eng. dial. bee-baw, sb., lullaby.
bid [bıd], sb., small length of line, fastening the hook to the fishing hand-line or long-line, bid on a long-line is comm. a small length of line of twisted hemp or horse-hair, fixed to the so-called tom (a smaller line hanging from the main-line). Prob.: *bit or biti. O.N. bit, n., a bite; biti, m., a bit; a small piece. Cf. hemp, sb.
bid [bıd], vb., essentially = Eng. “bid”, but in a few exprs. of special Norn origin (O.N. bjóða, vb., to bid); thus: 1) b. in, to invite (cf. inbø, sb.), esp. of the cat: de cat is “biddin’ in”, the cat “invites”: raises one of its hind-legs, while in a sitting posture, and licks its tail, which is supposed to foretell the coming of visitors; 2) b. ut, to call out; Fe.; Fær. bjóða út; also: b. on. — “bid” [bıd], sb., invitation.
bidi [bıdi], sb., 1) cake of barley- or oat-meal, brøni; in Unst of a large “brøni”, in Nm$^w$. of a small “brøni”; bursten-b. (Du.), see bursten, sb.; fatti-b. (De.) = fatti-brøni. At some places, esp. of the barley- or oat-cakes constituting the deep-sea fishermen’s provisions: sea-b. (Fo.). 2) small object or child, bigger than circumstances warrant, a great b. 3) sheep-mark; small, semicircular cut (piece cut out) on the side of a sheep’s ear (= kruk); Fo.; cf. bit, sb. O.N. biti, m., a bit; piece.
bidin [bıdin], sb., on a long-line: small line, fastened to the main-line. Y., Fe. Deriv. of bid, sb.
*bigd, sb., see bigg$^2$.
*bigg$^1$ [bıg] and *biggin$^1$ [bıgın], sb., barley. Nm. (bigg); U$^n$. (biggin); now comm. “bere” (L.Sc.). biggin is partly preserved as tabu-name (sea-term). Also *bugga [boga]: Fo. O.N. bygg, n., barley.
bigg$^2$ [bıg], sb., 1) a collection of houses, = biggin$^2$; Fe. a large, fine house; Y$^n$. In Edm.: bigd, a building, a house. — Bigd and Bigg are found as sea-terms, names for a ​farm or village, serving as land-marks for fishermen by which to find a fishing-ground, thus: a) “de upper Bigdens [begdəns]” and “de neder (lower) Bigdens”, sea-terms for the villages “Taft” and “Nisthus” in Wh. Later used as name for fishing-places: de Bigdens. b) “de Bigg, de auld [‘old’] and de new Bigg”, sea-term for the village Lund (U$^{wg}$.), the old and the new part respectively. — O.N. bygð, f., a village.
bigg [bıg], vb., to build; construct, to b. a hoose; to b. de corn, de hay (to stack); in a special sense: to build a nest; to frequent, of birds (Fe.), = Fær. byggja. O.N. byggja and L.Sc. big, vb., to build. Cf. bigg$^2$, sb., and biggin$^2$ (bøggin), sb.
biggerablanda [bıg·ərabläᶇ·da, bıg·ra-], sb., “dredge”, a mixture of barley and oats; U$^n$. buggerablanda, buggerumblanda [bog·ərabläᶇ·da, bog·ərom-], id.; Y$^n$. Prob. an old *bygg-hafra-blanda (buggerumblanda poss. *bygg-hafra-um-blanda). The uncompounded blanda also denotes mixed oats and barley, but a more even mixture; biggerablanda (U$^n$.) contains more barley than oats, and buggerablanda, buggerum- (Y$^n$.) consists of: a) Shetl. barley; b) Shetl. oats; c) Sc. oats. Cf. *bigg$^1$ (biggin) and bugga. O.N. hafri, m., oats, of which a trace is left here in -era-, has in Shetl., at all events on the Wests., been superseded, first by the Celtic korka (Gael, coirce), later — to a great extent — by L.Sc. ait, aits (oat, oats). — A more modern form for biggerablanda is beriblanda [bēri-], the first part of which is L.Sc. (and Eng. dial.), bere, bear, sb., barley.
*biggin$^1$, sb., = *bigg$^1$, sb.
biggin$^2$ [bıgın], sb., collection or cluster of houses, a b. o’ hooses; comm. Noted down in Papa St. in the form bøggin [bøgın], a b. o’ hooses. *bygging, from byggja, vb., to build. L.Sc. (and Eng.) “biggin”, building.
biggin [bıgın]-peat, sb., large piece of peat placed on the outside of a peat-stack when being built. Y$^h$. *bygging (ar-torfa).
*bik [bık], sb., pitch. O.N. bik, n.
†biker [bıkər], sb., a wooden cup; drinking-vessel; round wooden vessel with an upright handle on one side. Ai., Fo. O.N. bikarr, m., cup; drinking-vessel; L.Sc. and Eng. dial. bicker, bowl; drinking-vessel. The preservation of the word in Shetl. is certainly due to the influence of L.Sc., as the form indicates.
bikk [bık, bek], sb., bitch; also occas. bekk [bɛk]. O.N. bikkja, f., L.Sc. bick, id.
bikk, sb. and vb., see pikk, sb. and vb.
bilk, bilki [b$^e$i‘ᶅk, bı‘lki or b$^e$i‘lki], sb., = bulk, (bare, naked) breast, in the phrase “de bare b.”, to geng wi’ de bare b., to go about with a bare breast; U$^n$. bäilki [bäi‘lki, bä‘ᶅki]: Y$^n$., Fe. *bylki, n., deriv. of *bulk-, of something roundish and projecting; No. bulk, m., bump.
bill [bıl, bəl], sb., eddy or streak of foam from an oar in rowing, a b. fae [‘from’] de ayre [‘oar’]; pull of an oar, to tak’ forward a b., to row the boat an oar-stroke forward, to set op a b., to pull a stroke (prop. to make an eddy, a streak of foam) with the oar. From Wests. (Sa.) the forms boll [bȯl] and boil [båil] are reported, de b. o’ de ayre. U.: vill [vəl] = bill. No. bull, m., bubble, etc.; bulla, vb., to bubble; eddy.
bilskod [bıᶅ·ᶊkåd·, beᶅ·-], sb., piece of wood, nailed below on the outside of a crank boat to make it more seaworthy. Sa. The second ​part of the compd. is prob. skod = No. skaute or skøyt, m., Sw. dial. sköt, m., Icel. skeyti, n., Fær. skoyti, n., = added stay (wooden stay, etc.), enlargement, filling up. The first part is more uncertain, perhaps Eng. “bilge”; Shetl. “de bilge o’ de boat” = the lower, bilgy part of a boat.
bind [bınd], vb. (impf. band [band], perf. part. bund [bond]), to bind, O.N. binda; corresponding both to Eng. “to bind” and “to tie”; — to b. de coo, to tether the cow in the home-field (bind is here in contrast to knit, to k. de coo, to tie the cow in the byre); sometimes, however, also “to b.”, used of tying up the cow in the byre (e.g. in De$^m$.). — de eart’ is bund op, the earth has become quite hard owing to continuous wind; see binder and jarbind, sb.
binder [bındər], sb., cold, dry north-east wind which makes the earth dry and hard or “binds” it (see bind, vb.). The word, which is found in the above-mentioned form in Maywick, Sandw., Du., is common in other forms in N.I. (with hardening of d to t), viz.: binter [bı‘ntər] (Y$^h$.), bjinter, bjenter [bjı‘ntər, bje‘ntər (bjɛ‘ntər), bje‘ᶇtər, bjæ‘ntər, bjæ‘ᶇtər (bjä‘ᶇtər)] (U. and Y.; the form “bje‘ᶇtər” is peculiar to U$^n$., bjæ‘ntər, bjæ‘ᶇtər and bjä‘ᶇtər: in various places in Y$^n$.; unknown in Y$^s$.), bjintaar [bjın·târ·] (U$^s$.), beinter [bæ‘ᶇtər] and bäinter [bä‘ᶇtər] (Fe.); a dry b.; a cauld [‘cold’] b.; a b. sky: overcast sky with north-east wind, = a berket sky. Sometimes of cold, dry wind from another quarter than north-east, but in that case, indicating the direction of wind, e.g.: “he’s been a b. fae [‘from’] de sooth-east de day [‘to-day’]” (Fe.; Y.), a b. o’ frost, black-frost, prop. frost which merely “binds” the surface of the soil (Fe$^w$.: bæ‘ᶇtər). — *bindari, m., “binder”, one who binds. — a bent [bæ‘nt] sky (Du$^m$.) = a binder sky. See jarbind, sb.
binder-op [bın··dərɔp·], in the exprs.: a) de b.-o. kast, when angling: the final cast of the fishing-line before finishing the fishing and winding up the line about the rod; b) de b.-o. bait, the bait put on the hook at the last cast of the fishing-line. Conn. Prop.: “bind her up”? “her”, in this case, most prob. to be explained as the fishing-rod; cf. Fær.: binda tráðuna upp (tráða, f., fishing-rod). The word for fishing-rod in Shetland is generally wand, a word orig. of the m. gender (O.N. vǫndr, m.), but esp. in the south of Shetl. “shø” [‘she’] is often used of things originally masculine.
bing$^1$ [bıŋ], sb., a lump; ball, de b. o’ de foot, the ball of the foot, esp. the part behind the big toe; de b. o’ de hand, the ball of the hand, the muscle behind the thumb. *bing- or *byng-. No. bung and byng, m., a bump; Icel. bunga, f., swelling. Cf. bong.
†bing$^2$ [bıŋ], sb., a pile; heap, a b. o’ hay, o’ corn, o’ taaties [‘potatoes’]; “to lie in a soor [‘sour’] b.”, said of a damp, somewhat stinking heap. Fig.: “a lazy b.”, a lazy fellow (U$^{mo}$.). Icel. bingr, Sw. dial. binge, m., L.Sc. (and M.Eng.) bing, sb., pile; heap. No. and Da. “bing”, on the other hand, denotes compartment; box (O.N. bingr, m.).
bingel [bıŋgəl], sb., a bad piece of peat mixed with clay which does not burn to ashes, but remains solid, a aessy [‘ashy’] b. N.I. *byngill or *byngla, deriv. of *bungr (No. bung, m., a bump; lump); cf. No. byngla, f., = byngja, a big or corpulent figure. See bungel, sb.
binjek [bıᶇək, beᶇək, bəᶇək], sb., a round or lumpy stone easy to ​handle; Wests. [bıᶇək, beᶇək]; Br. [bəᶇək]. In St. esp. of one of the so-called bighters: small sinkers on a long-line (fishing-line), one to each bugt (q.v.) or coil; in Br. esp. of larger sinkers, kappi, on a fishing hand-line or long-line, and further, in the form bonjek [bȯᶇək]. bänjek [bäᶇək, bꜵ̈ᶇək], a round stone easy to handle (Fo.), lumpy stone (Esh., Nm$^w$.). The etymology of this word is uncertain. No. byngja, f., big or bulgy figure, might be compared — by referring to Shetl. bangi, sb.
bipong [bi̇̄påŋ], sb., small hook on the line along with a big one. U$^n$. A dissyllable of uncertain origin. The first syllable bi- seems to be A.S. and M.Eng. be, bi, prep. and adv., by; beside; close to, (Mod. Eng. by, Ger., bei). pong might be taken to be a deriv. of O.N. spǫng, f., small metal plate; iron band, as the initial s in Shetl. is sometimes dropped before the consonants, esp. in the combs. sk and sp (thus: kattamilliskru; krell, kroll; panni, penni = spann; pon [spánn]; *bulag for a prob. older *buslag).
bir, birr [bər(r)], sb., 1) (fair wind) strong, sudden breeze, now mostly a light, feeble breeze, a b. o’ wind (prob. through infl. of L.Sc. “pirr”, sb., a gentle breeze, also in Shetl.; a p. o’ wind); N.I. 2) haste; hasty movement; bustle; great commotion; excitement; to be in a b.; de(r) were [‘there was’] a great b. [bərr] on him, he dashed away (or round, in a state of great excitement); he was much excited; N.I.; biri, birri [bər(r)i] (N.Roe): he is in a b. on dee, he is embittered against you. — borr [bȯr(r)] (Sa.) = bir 1 and 2. — O.N. byrr, m., fair wind; No. “byr” also: propulsion; speed (No. byrja, vb., to set going vigorously; to take hold of energetically, etc.). In the sense of excitement, bir, bir(r)i is poss. merged into another word (cf. No. byrren, adj., angry; fiery, prop. “that raises the bristles”; see Shetl. birst, borst, adj.
bir, birr [bər(r)], vb., 1) to commence to blow, b. op; he begins to b. op; it begins to blow; De.; 2) to sail before a fair wind; shø [‘she’] is birin alang [‘along’], the boat or ship makes good headway. O.N. byrja, vb., to set going, etc. See bir, sb.
birdek [bırdək, berdək], sb., a heavy burden; somewhat ironically or jokingly. Also berdek [bɛrdək, bærdək]. N.I. O.N. byrðr, f., a burden.
birdin [bərdin], sb., in the compd. “boddom-b. [boddom = bottom]”, the bottom planks of a boat. Also berdin [bɛrdin]. L. Prob.: *byrði (or byrðingr?); Icel. byrði, n., the covering of planks round a ship (B.H.); O.N. byrðingr, m., boat; vessel. Cf. bordin, sb.
birek, birrek [bırək, berək], sb., rather strong and sudden breeze, wind, = opgeng. Also bjerek [bjerək]. U. Deriv. of bir, sb.
birk [bə‘rk], sb., 1) a species of aquatic plant, belonging to the willow family; also called “widi” and “water-willow”. 2) used in the phrase: “As bare as de b. a jøl-day”, of something very bare and naked. — Must be the word birk (O.N. bjǫrk, f., L.Sc. birk, sb., birch).
birkikepp, -klepp, sb., see berkikepp and -klepp.
birl, birrel, sb. and vb., see borl, borrel and burl, burrel.
birliband [bər··libānd·], sb., a band which is tied over the mouth of a straw-basket (kessi, bødi); L.; De. (M.Roe). Also burli- and borliband [bor··libānd-, bȯr··li-] (Wests.). *byrðilband; No. byrdel, m., a handle (Aa.), handle-shaped carrying-strap (R).
birren [bərən], sb., sea-term (tabu-name) for otter; also borren [bȯrən]. ​Y$^h$. Cf. No. borre, m., (burdock) proud, harsh fellow; byrren, adj., angry; fierce (of animals).
birsi [bə‘rsi], sb., de b.: “the bristly one”, sea-term (tabu-name) for the swine. Fo. Also as a name for some fishing-grounds with a very uneven bottom: de Birsi (U$^w$.). Prob. an old name, but the present form, with the final -i and omission of t after s, is L.Sc. (L.Sc. “birs”, bristle, with derived adj. “birsy, birssy”, bristly). Cf. birst, adj., and birstalek, sb.
birst [bə‘rst], adj., angry; peevish; ill-tempered (prop. bristly, that raises the bristles); also in other forms: borst [bȯ‘rst], borstet [bȯ‘rstət], bosten [bȯstən], bostet [bȯstət], birstet [bə‘rstət], bistet [bəstət]. Fo. (birst, borst). Sa., Ai., etc. (birstet, borstet). Papa St. (bosten, bostet). Usually compounded with ill: ill-birstet, -borstet, -bistet, -bosten, -bostet. In some places on Wests. (Ai.; Sa. occas.) birstet also means unpleasantly strong in taste, said esp. of something kept too long (see bersket, adj.). *byrstinn, adj., from O.N. burst, f., bristle; hog’s bristle; No. bysten, adj., choleric, “busten”, fierce; harsh (R.). No. illbyste, “idlabyste”, n., ill-tempered woman (R.). Cf. Shetl. ill-bistet, adj. With birstet in sense of strong (of taste) cf. L.Sc. birssy (bristly), adj., in sense of bitter; sharp, of weather; No. busten, bustren, adj., in a similar sense. Cf. bist, sb., and bost, sb.
birstalek [bə‘r··stalek·], sb., hog’s bristle at the end of a thread for sewing shoes, pl. (birstaleks): sewing-thread (waxed) with hog’s bristles at both ends; ha’e ye [‘have you’] ony [‘any’] birstaleks? U. (Woodwick). *bursta-leif; No. busteleiv, f., a piece of waxed thread with a bristle at the end; O.N. bursti, busti, m., hog’s bristle used by shoemakers.
birstet, adj., see birst, adj.
birt, adj., see bjart, adj.
birt [bə‘rt], vb., to quicken a fire (a light), to b. op de fire; opposite to the phrase “to b. ut de fire”, to let the fire out (Y$^n$.). — More comm. in the form burt; see burt, vb. — O.N. birta, vb., to make bright and clear.
birtek [bɩ‘rtək, bə‘rtək] and birti [bɩ‘rti, bə‘rti], sb., 1) sea-term (tabu-name) for fire; sometimes birten [bɩ‘rtən] with preserved def. art. N.Sh. (N.I. M$^n$.). Sporadic in diff. districts: birtek [bɩ‘rtək]: De. occas. and Lunn occas.; birdek [berdək, bərdək]: St. occas.; birki [bə‘rki]: De. occas. With altered vowel-sound: burt [bo‘rt]: Du. Forms as virda, virdek [vɩrda, vɩrdək] are corrupted by combination with another word (see virdek; sb.). 2) fig., bright spot; enlivenment; birtek: Nm$^w$. (Esh.); dis is a b. — O.N. birta, birti, f., clearness; light; shining; brightness. — Cf. burt, vb.
bisi, bissi$^1$ [bɩsi, besi, bɩzi], sb., 1) litter for cattle (or lambs) in stall, esp. litter consisting of earth and dried manure in separate layers (bisiflas); a byre-b.; comm. 2) in transferred sense of: a) poor, damp bed (Y.), and b) heap; mass; dunghill (Fe.). No. bys, n., litter; Sw. dial. bössja, byssja, f., litter under animals.
bisi, bissi$^2$ [bɩsi, besi], sb., stall in a byre; reported from U. in the sense of stall for a cow, from Fo. in the sense of stall for a calf. This word is much rarer than the preceding “bisi, bissi”, by which it has been influenced and to which it assimilates in form. O.N. báss, m., stall.
bis(s)ifla [bɩs·iflā·, bes·i-.bɩz·i-], sb., one of the layers composing the ​cow’s bis(s)i or litter in the stall. See bis(s)i$^1$, sb., and fla$^1$, sb.
bismer [bɩsmər], sb., steelyard; wooden lever-balance; rough scale for weighing large articles (30 to 40 lbs.). O.N. bismari, m., steelyard. Cf. punder, sb.
bisnakk [bɩs·nak·, bɩz·nak·], vb., to be busy with something without really doing or making anything definite with it, to be occupied with useless trifles; to b. aboot a ting; rather comm. Prob. an extended form of No. bisna, vb., inter alia, to tumble about; lay about one; make fun; also: to do something tentatively (R.).
bisper [bɩspər], sb., sea-term (tabu-name) for mouse. Fo. Prob. the same word as No. bispur, m., a tramp; knave; prop. a corruption (spisbur > bispur) from G. spitzbube. bisper is consequently of foreign — not Norn — orig., but is, however, prob., a Norw. form of the word.
*biss [bɩs(s)], interj., lullaby! b. b. bio! U$^n$. No. bia (bya), vb., and bissa (byssa), vb., to lull.
bist [bɩst, bəst], sb., partly bad characteristics; bad disposition, partly a tendency to anger and bad temper, a ill b.; der’r [‘there is’] a ill b. in him. Wests. Partly = bost$^1$, sb. (q.v.). Prop. the word burst, f., bristle, cf. No. “bjoa bust”, to bid defiance (R.). See under birst (birstet), adj., and ill-bi(r)stet.
bist, vb., see ill-bist, vb.
*bister [bɩstər, bestər], sb., a) dwelling; farm; b) collection of farms. Now quite obs. as common noun, but it appears as the second part of compds. in a great number of names for farms and villages, so that the meaning of the word is still understood, e.g.: Brebister, Brettabister, Evrabister, Fladabister, Kirkabister, Krossbister, Simbister, Utrabister — see Shetl. Stedn. p. 80. In old deeds comm. written as “buster”. In two names in the form busta [bosta]: Muklebusta [moklə-] and Litlebusta [lɩtlə-] (Sa.); Shetl. Stedn. p. 80. — O.N. bólstaðr, m., domicile; farm, as the second part in No. place-names, is often shortened to “bost, bust”.
bit$^1$ [bɩt], sb., a bit of something taken in the morning before breakfast proper, mornin-b. Sa. O.N. bit(i) and Eng. bit. For the application of the word in Shetl. cf. Fær. ábit, n., a bit of something taken in the morning before breakfast, No. aabit(e), m., bitaa, n., and Icel. árbiti, m. (Gísl.), breakfast. See ibit, sb.
bit$^2$ [bɩt], sb., sheep-mark; small (semicircular or triangular) piece cut out of the side of a sheep’s ear; comm.; almost = bidi 3. *biti; Fær. biti, m., sheep-mark; small piece, cut out of a sheep’s ear.
bit [bit, bi̇̄t], vb., to fix bids (small lengths of line of hemp or of horse-hair, see bid, sb.) to the end of a long-line, esp. to a tom (on long-line: another smaller line, attached to the long-line), to b. de line, de pakki (the long-line in its whole length). *bita, vb., to attach “bitar” (pieces). Shetl. bit, vb., however, approaches L.Sc. beit (beet), vb., to add to; mend; repair; “to bit de line”, may be heard in the sense of to repair the line, and must here be regarded as L.Sc. beit.
bite, vb., is in form Eng. bite, but sometimes it is used differently from this word, and corresponding to O.N. bíta; thus, in sense of: a) to eat; graze, of cattle (cf. hobiter, sb., and rennabitel, sb.); b) to cut, of cutting implements, esp. a knife, scythe, axe: to b. weel [‘well’] or ill. O.N. bíta, vb., to bite; eat; graze; cut with the edge; shear, etc.
bitel [bitəl, bɩtəl (bətəl)] and botel [bȯtəl (bətəl)], sb., large tooth, esp.: ​a) a fang; tusk of a hog; Sa. [bitəl, bɩtəl]; b) great, malformed tooth; front tooth; N. [bətəl, bȯtəl]. *bitill or *bitull; No. bitel, bitle, m., small, solitary tooth (R. suppl.). — Bitli, Botli [bətli, bȯtli] is reported from N. as a nickname of a person with “bitel b.” — Cf. bitlek (bäitlek) and jakkelbitel.
bitin [bitɩn, bi̇̄tɩn], sb., a piece of a line, serving as the so-called bid on a long-line. See bid, sb., and bit, vb.
bitlek [b$^e$ɩtlək] and bäitlek [bäi‘tlək, bäƫlək], sb., 1) broken tooth; 2) small tooth, esp. of children’s growing teeth; “lat [‘let’] me see if du’s gotten ony [‘any’] bäitleks!” (talking to a little child) let me see if you have got any teeth! (U$^n$.). bitlek: U$^{wg}$.; bäitlek: U$^n$. Dim. deriv. of bitel, sb.; see further under that word.
bitteraks [bɩt··əraks·], sb., dandelion (plant), taraxacum. Y$^h$. *(bitr)-ax. O.N. bitr, adj., keen; bitter, and Eng. bitter, adj.; O.N. ax, n., ear; seed-cluster. Instead of “bitteraks”, the name “bitter-flooer” [‘-flower’] (Y. occas., Fe.) or eksis-girs (q.v.) is used in other places.
*bjadna [bjadna], *bjadni [bjadni], sb., child; mader (food) to de b. Fo. Prop. def. form: *barnit. dadna for *badna in “jarta dadna”, is still used occas. as an endearing term or when speaking kindly: “child of my heart”. Fo. Cf. bonn- in bonna, bonnins, bonnhoga, bonsvamm.
bjakk [bjak], sb., a small person, = pjakk; U$^n$. Also disparagingly of a person of very slight physical strength; U$^s$. Cf. No. pjakk, m., young salmon, and pjokk, m., a little boy, both words properly denoting an undeveloped being, Da. pjog, pjok, sb., a worthless sort of person; further: No. pikke, adj. (Sw. dial. pikker) and adv., small; little, “pikke liten”, quite little.
bjakki [bjaki] and bjaki [bjāki], sb., a person with very little physical strength. Fe. [bjaki]. Y. [bjâki]. Dim. deriv. of bjakk, sb., see prec.
bjakki [bjaki] and bjaki [bjāki], adj., weakly, having very little physical strength, a b. body. U. and Fe.: bjakki; Y.: bjaki [bjâki] and bjakki. See bjakk (and bjakki), sb., and cf. pjakket, adj.
bjarki [bja‘rki], adj., little; insignificant, a b. body. Y$^b$. *pjark-. No. pirk, adj., weak; slight; insignificant, and pirken, adj., having delicate health; feeble. For the change p > b cf. above bjakk as parallel form to pjakk, sb.
bjart$^1$ [bja‘rt], adj., of wind: cold and dry; keen, a cauld b. (or bjarti) wind; of weather: cold and dry with cloudy sky, b. wadder [‘weather’]; of the sky: very cloudy (in cold, dry weather), esp. of a dark sky, overcast with storm-charged clouds, a b. sky; also fig. of a person of a morose, threatening aspect: he was very b.-lookin’, he looked morose and threatening. U$^n$. björk [bjö‘rk], a b. sky, b. wadder: U$^{wg}$.; björk for *björt. In Fe. the word is found in the forms bjert [bjə‘rt] and birt [bə‘rt], applied to the weather: biting; sharp, b. wadder, a b. day. From Nm. (Nm$^s$.) is recorded bjerk [bjə‘rk], of weather: biting cold, with occasional showers; b. wadder, he is very b. de day [‘to-day’]; bjerk for *bjert. O.N. bjartr, adj., bright; shining; clear; Da. (Jut.) dial., bjart, bjært, of the weather: clear. For the change in the meaning, cf. snell, adj., clear; shining, of colour (s.-white), in L.Sc., on the other hand: sharp; biting, of air, weather. Change of t to k is also found in No. bjart (bjert), adj. — see “bjerk”, adj., in Ross.
bjart$^2$ [bja‘rt], adj., recorded in foll. ​phrase: hit [‘it’] is b., it is quite bare, there are no fish on the fishing hand-line or long-line (in boat-fishing). U$^n$. From an older *bart, n. sing. from O.N. (O.Norw.) barr = berr, adj. — without mutation — bare; naked.
bjartin [bja‘rtin, bjä‘rtin], sb., a little fellow (child). U. Cf. Icel. (O.N.) birtingr, m., trout (of light colour), No. byrting.
bjekel, vb., see bekel, vb.
bjels$^1$ [bjē$^ə$ls, bjɛ‘lᶊ], sb., on a ray (fish), the hindmost, thin edge on both sides of its head, the circular flaps remaining when the middle of the head is cut out; sometimes in pl.: bjelses [bjɛldᶎəs]. U$^n$. *bi-helsi? See further under bjels$^2$, sb., which poss. is the same word.
bjels$^2$ [bjæ‘ls], sb., stripe of another colour round the neck of sheep. Fo., Y$^s$. *bi-helsi; O.N. helsi, n., collar. b(j)- must be regarded as being the old prefix “bi” (round; about). In this way bjels$^1$ might also be explained as being merely a division of the very same word. See bjelset, adj.
bjelset [bjɛ‘lsət, bjæ‘lsət], adj., of sheep: having a stripe of another colour round the neck, a b. sheep, a black sheep with a white stripe round the neck, or conversely. Fo. [bjɛ‘lsət]. Y$^s$. [bjæ‘lsət]. In Fo. also with metathesis of j: belsjet [be‘lᶊət]. *bi-helsóttr; Fær. hölsutur (-óttur), adj., of sheep: with a stripe of another colour round the neck. See bjels$^2$, sb.
Bjena-, Bjener-sunday, sb., see Bena-sunday.
†bjenek [bjē$^ə$nək, bjɛnək], †bjener [bjē$^ə$nər], sb., sea-term (tabu-name) for a dog. N.I., etc. Borrowed word from Lapp.? No.-Lapp. bæna, Gen. bædnaga, Sw.-Lapp. piædnak, a dog.
bjerk, bjert, adj., see bjart, adj.
bjert [bjə‘rt], adj., 1) miserly; sparing; stingy, b. wi’ onyting, b. upon it; 2) testy; peevish; having the habit of grumbling. Nm. Poss. for *pjert (cf. bjakk from *pjakk, bjarki from *pjark-, *pirk-) and, in that case, deriv. of *pir-; cf. No. pir, m., a miser; piren, adj., a) thin; tender; weak; b) miserly (Aa.), c) irritable (R.). Cognate to this: Fær. pertin, adj., thin; slender; delicate. — bjert might also stand for *bjerk, from *pirk-, deriv. of *pir- (No. pirka, vb., to finger; tease, Da. dial. pirken, adj., a) shrunken; shrivelled; b) scanty, pirk, m., a thin or lean person); cf. the change bjert > bjerk in Nm. under bjart$^1$, adj.
*bjesnek [bjæsnək], sb., a tabu-name, formerly used by fishermen, for bødi, fishing-basket. Lunn. (Vidlin). Prob.: *biðn- or *byðn-; cf. No. bidne, n., vessel (cup; pail), bydnor, f. pl., depositories; vessels.
bjintaar, bjinter, sb., see binder.
bjog$^1$ [bjōg], sb., 1) collar of plaited straw, placed about the horse’s neck (for draught); ring of straw placed round the hollow of “de knockin’-stane” (a stone hollowed out for separating the husks from the ears of barley by knocking with a smaller stone); N.I. 2) collar, consisting of three pieces of wood, placed round the neck of a sheep to prevent it from breaking through the fences; De. 3) ring round the sun or the moon, a sun- or moon-b. 4) circular stripe, esp. a stripe of another colour round a stocking or sock. O.N. baugr, m., ring.
bjog$^2$ [bjōg], sb., disorderly heap; mass, lyin’ in a b. (of things disorderly flung together). Y., Fe. — No. bauk (bok, boka), sb., digging; overturning; rooting up; O.N. bauka, vb., to root; dig.
bjog [bjōg], vb., to knit circular ​stripes in a stocking or sock, to b. de sock. U$^n$. Deriv. of bjog$^1$, sb. 3.
bjoget$^1$ [bjōgət], adj., 1) of stockings or socks: having circular stripes of another colour; often of such stripes, caused by a bad mixing of the wool; sometimes of the wool itself: badly mixed (Fe.). 2) of animals: having a circular stripe round the neck, sometimes also a circular stripe across the belly up along the sides or round the tail, a b. sheep, a b. swine; Ai. *baugóttr, adj., ring-shaped, from O.N. baugr, m., ring.
bjoget$^2$ [bjōgət], adj., white-backed with darker (black) sides and belly; also: black-backed with lighter (white) sides and belly, of sheep. Ai. *bǫkóttr, adj., of another colour on the back (bak). Ought prop. in Shetl. to be called *boget, but the form is doubtless mingled with the more usual bjoget$^1$ from *baugóttr. Cf. moget, adj.
bjokl, bjokkel$^1$ [bjɔkəl, bjåkəl], sb., high dorsal-fin of a whale. U$^n$. O.N. bœxl, n., a) shoulder-blade; b) the high dorsal-fin of certain species of whales.
bjokl, bjokkel$^2$ [bjɔkəl], sb., 1) a bump; bunion, a b. on de foot; Y$^b$.; Fe.; 2) prominent knee-joint (on certain animals, as cattle, sheep): de lamb gengs (goes) on its bjokkels (when the foot is too weak); N.Roe(?). Either O.N. bukl, n., semi-spherical boss (on a shield), or a l-deriv. of O.N. bugr, m., bend; curvature (cf. No. bygel, m., and bygla, f., = Da. bøjle, hoop). Cf. bjonkel, sb. In Du. “a bjochel [bjɔχəl]” denotes a weak, incapable person, esp. a person with a bad gait, weak in the knee-joints (see bjoklet, adj.); this is prob. L.Sc. bauchle, sb., inter alia: a pitiful, feeble being, influenced by bjok(ke)l 2.
bjoklet [bjɔklət], adj., weakly, weak in the knees, esp. of walking: a b. way o’ gaun [‘going, walking’]. Du. Differs from No. bokla, vb., used of stiff (clumsy) gait. See bjokl$^2$ 2 (and bjochel), sb.
bjolk [bjȯ‘ᶅk], sb., a hard lump; bump (on the body); also bjölk [bjö‘lk, bjö‘ᶅk], bjolki [bjȯ‘lki] and bjölki [bjö‘lki], Fe., Nm. (NRoe). No. bulk, m., bump; Da. bulk id.; Icel. bulki, m., small hump; large bump. Cf. bilki and bulk, sb.
bjolket [bjȯ‘ᶅkət], adj., 1) clumsy, a great b. foot; 2) knotted or bumpy (having bjolks), a b. foot. Also bjölket [bjö‘lkət]. Fe., N.Roe. *bulkóttr. See bjolk, sb.
bjolki [bjȯ‘lki], sb., 1) = bjolk, sb.; N.Roe. 2) boulder, b. or b.- sten; Fe. Deriv. of bjolk, sb.
bjonkel [bjo‘ŋkəl, bjɔ‘ŋkəl], sb., growth; bump; bunion, a b. on the foot. Wh. Either *bungl- (*bongl-), l-deriv. of “bung”, (No. and Icel. bunga, f., protuberance; bump; No. bungl, m., and Fær. bongla, f., a bump), or l-deriv. of *bunk- (No. bunka, f., bump). Cf. bingel and bungel, sb.
bjonklet [bjo‘ŋklət, bjɔ‘ŋklət], adj., having growths or bunions, a b. foot. Wh. Deriv. of bjonkel, sb.
bjorg$^1$ [bjȯrg], sb., house, tabu-name, used by fishermen at sea; esp. of the manse, de opstander’s b. (see opstander). Also björg [björg]. L. O.N. borg, f., inter alia, a fortified place; castle.
bjorg$^2$ [bjȯrg], sb., see björg, sb.
bjorg [bjȯrg], vb., to save; put away; hide (something appropriated), esp. to hide in the earth or under a heap of stones, to bury. U. O.N. bjarga, vb., to save; carry to safety; hide.
bjødi, sb., see bødi, sb.
*bjørg [bjørg], sb., rocky hill, esp. of a fairly great height. Y$^h$. O.N. bjarg, ​n., mountain; rock. bjørg is doubtless the pl.-form “bjǫrg”; cf. Fær. björg, n. sing., for “bjarg”. — In the Shetl. forms bjorg [bjȯrg] and björg [björg] are found as place-names, e.g. de Bjorg (Olnesfirth Ness. Nm.); de Björg (Kokeren, Wd.), partly grass-grown, rocky formation; de Bjorgs, Björgs (N.Roe), extended, rocky, elevated ridge; de Bjorgens (Hamister, Wh.): *bjǫrgin (def. pl.) with Eng. pl.-sign “s”.
björg [björg], sb., in the compd. “finger-b.” [fɩŋ·ər-björg·], finger-stall, piece of skin, shaped like the finger of a glove, pulled over a piece of linen, tied round an injured finger. N.Roe. O.N. bjǫrg f., help; protection. Icel. fingurbjörg, No. fingerbjørg, f., finger-stall.
black-baka [-bāka], sb., = swar(t)-bak(a), sb.
black-moget [-mōgət], adj., black, with white belly, of sheep. Fo. *(svart-) mǫgóttr. See moget, adj.
blad [blād], sb., in the expr. “de’il’s [‘devil’s’] b. “ = no news at all (on inquiry about news). Y$^n$. From O.N. blað, n., blade? -blad [blad] is comm. used as L. Sc. “blad”, of a feeble person, a b. o’ a man; bladi [bladi], adj., feeble; see further blati, adj.
blad [blād], vb., 1) to reap; to cut heather for thatching, in the expr. “to b. de heddrek [‘heather’]”, tabu-expr. (used by fishermen at sea) for what is comm. called “to strike de tekk” (see tekk, sb.). 2) to cut peat, to b. be wideks (see widek, sb.), tabu-expr., sea-expr., = to fla de mør [‘moor’]. Y$^n$. Orig. prob.: to strike; throw, and is to be classed with L.Sc. blad, vb., to slap; strike, O.N. blaka, vb., to flap; wave. Sw. dial. blaa and blaka, vb., to warp; hew down; rough-hew (timber).
bladd [blad], sb., very large rain-drop, esp. in the pl.: bladds, large drops falling rapidly (when sleet is falling); “he’s layin’ bladds upo de windeg [‘window’], de same as [‘as if’] it wis [‘was’ = had] been snaw [‘snow’]”. U$^s$. Sw. dial. bladda, f., a) lump of dirt; b) large fast-falling rain-drops and great, wet flakes of snow (Ri.). Deviating somewhat from L.Sc. “a blad o’ weet [‘wet’],” violent shower of rain (blad, vb., to strike; drive against, inter alia of rain).
blag [blāg], sb., interval; breathing-space; rest, reported in foll. expr. with regard to fishermen’s sea-term tabu: “halt [hä‘ᶅt] dy hands and tak’ a b.!” in fishing: stop the work (prop. keep your hands still) and take a rest! U$^n$. O.N. blak, n., flap; tap; fluttering movement, etc. See blag, vb.
blag [(blag) blāg, bᶅāg], vb., 1) to fling; throw; throw away, to b. awa (Y$^m$.: bᶅâg); b. dee doon! throw yourself down (U$^n$.: blâg), to b. de sail, to lower the sail, on a vessel, boat (U$^n$.: blâg). N.I. At times (rarely; N.I.) in the expr.: “to b. [blag, blāg, bᶅāg] de (ane’s) and or ænd”, to give up the ghost; to die, he’s blaget his ænd (and); blaget, perf. part., adjectivally used, is more common, meaning expired; dead. 2) to b. anesell [‘oneself’], to breathe; take a (little) rest; b. dee! rest a little! = tak’ a b.! see blag, sb., U$^n$. — O.N. blaka, vb., to tap; wave; flap; Fær. blaka, vb., to throw; fling.
blagda [blagda] and blaget [blagət, blägət], sb., 1) wedge; 2) a longish piece, cut from the belly of a fish (esp. coalfish), used for bait. Wests. blagda: Ai. blaget: Papa St.; Sa. *blagð- (*blegð-, prop. wedge). See further blegd, sb.
blaget$^1$, perf. part. and adj., dead, see under blag, vb. 1.
blaget$^2$ [blāgət] and bleget [blēgət (bᶅēgət, bᶅē$^ə$gət)], adj., spotted, speckled; a b. sheep, a white sheep with black spots; de eart’ is b., the earth ​is partly covered with snow (with many bare spots appearing). Not comm. [K.I. in E.D.D.: blaagit]. bleget [blēgət] is reported from Ai. in sense of: having a black back and white belly, of sheep; a b. sheep. From U. is reported bleget [bᶅē$^ə$gət], of partly snow-covered earth; b. eart’. — Cf. Sw. dial. blaga, vb., to spot with dirt. — For the mingling with another word see bleget$^2$, adj.
blaho [blāhō], sb., a very large shark (Shetl. ho is a smaller species of shark); Fo. Is named in Conn.: blogaho [blɔγ··ahō·] and salho [sālhō]. blaho from *blaðhár, blogaho from *blǫðku-hár (Shetl. blog(g)a, blokk(a) = large leaf, leaf of marsh-marigold). No. “bladhaa” is considered to be a female shark in contrast to “ridhaa” (Aa.). Also in Conn. blogaho is regarded as a female shark (full-grown). In Foula, blaho is a large, full-grown shark in contrast to the young shark, called wodho.
blan [blan], sb., (light) wind, breath of wind, mostly used negatively: no a b. (o’ wind), not a breath of wind, not a breeze. Also blen [blæn]; no a blen ut o’ de lift (lift = air), no a blen o’ wind i’ de sail. Conn. Cognate with O.N. blása, vb., to blow. The root is found without addition of s in O.H.G. blâjan, Ger. blähen, vb., to blow; puff; A.S. bláwan.
bland$^1$ [blānd], sb., mixture; quantity of diff. things mingled together. Nm$^w$. O.N. bland, n., mixture.
bland$^2$ [blānd], sb., whey mixed with water; an ordinary summer-drink. O.N. blanda, f., milk (whey) mixed with water. bland, blandi [blāndi] is found as first part in diff. compds., names of drinks or gruels, consisting of bland mixed with meal: a) blandi-blirek or -bliri [bli̇̄rək, -i], U.; L.Sc. “bleirie, blearie”, a thick gruel of butter-milk mixed with oatmeal; b) blandi-kjolek or kjoli (U.), blandi-kjørek or -kjølek (Fe.; Y$^n$.); see kjolek, kjoli and kjørek; c) blandsturins [-stūrɩns], N.Roe; L.Sc. “stourum” = “brochan”, thick water-gruel, and “sturoch” = mixture of milk or water and meal; d) blandi-swarek (Y.).
blanda [blānda, bläᶇda, bᶅanda], sb., 1) "dredge”, mixed oats and barley; sometimes Shetl. and Sc. oats mixed (St.), [bläᶇda] is the comm. pronunc.; in Conn. [bᶅanda]. In some places: blenda [blɛnda: Sa.; ble$^i$nda: Du.], blanda-mel, -meal = meal from mixed corn; blanda-bursten, see bursten, sb. Cf. biggera-blanda. 2) confused heap of different things, — millablanda; Fe. [bläᶇda]. Prop. the same word as bland$^2$.
blanna blura [blan·ablū·ra, -bᶅū·ra], as adj. and interj.: a) adj., mixed up in a (bad) undertaking, in a conspiracy; dey ’re a’ [‘all’] b.-b. togedder, they have all conspired about it (esp. for some evil purpose), b) interj.: “b.-b.! hit [‘it’] is a bonie business”. N.Roe. — The first part prob. O.N. bland, n., mixture; mass. For the second part, see blura$^1$, sb.
blasmek [blasmək], sb., thin cake of barley-, oat-, or wheatmeal. Sa. Also blesmek [blæsmək]: Ai. and St. Must be cognate with the almost syn. No. flasma, f., thin slice (also Sw.). With ref. to bl for fl might be compared e.g. Sw. dial. blakka, f., a flat stone, = *flakka, Ger. blach, adj., = flach, flat; further Sw. dial. blakka, vb., to roam; fare, = flakka. As, however, Shetl. blasmek (blesmek) is certainly mostly used in the compd. “beremeal-b.”, a thin barley-meal cake, “b(l)”, in this instance, might poss. have arisen from “f(l)” by assimilating influence from the preceding “bere”.
blastek [blastək], sb., = blasmek, ​and doubtless the same word; a flour-blastek (by dissimilation for *flastek, *flasmek?). Sa.
†blati [bläƫi], adj., weak; feeble, a b. body. Fe$^w$. From O.N. blað, n., blade? In L.Sc., blad, sb., is used of a feeble person; but Shetl. blati has the hardening of ð (through d) to t (ƫ), characteristic of the Norn words; see Introd. V (also N.Spr. VII) § 29. A form bladi [bladi] = blati, however, is also found.
blatter [blatər], vb., to flicker; flutter; move to and fro; de light blatters, the light flickers; de sails b., the sails are flapping to and fro (in the wind); blatterin claes (of clothes hung to dry in the wind). *blaktra, from O.N. blaka, blakra, vb., to wave; flap; Fær. blaktra, vb., to flap; flicker. Eng. blatter, vb., has a quite diff. sense.
bled [blɛd, blɛ$^i$d, blæd], sb., in its form Eng. “blade” (blade of grass; oar-blade; blade of a knife, etc.), but used in a wider sense, of leaves of plants in general, = Eng. leaf; also of leaves in a book. Finally bled is used of a tongue of land, shaped like a leaf; often in place-names, e.g.: de Bled o’ de Er [ēr] (C.), o’ Fiblister (Nm.), o’ Heljer (Nm.). The older form bla [blā] is also found in sense of tongue of land, but now only as a place-name; thus: Ørabla (Housay, Skerries), Jora (Jori)-bla (Brewik, Esh., Nm$^w$.): *øyrar-blað (from “øyrr”, f., beach; etym. = de Bled o’ de Er, see prec.); “Jorabla” itself is now washed away by the surf. O.N. blað, n., blade, leaf, something shaped like a leaf.
bled [blɛd, blɛ$^i$d, blæd], vb., 1) to pluck off leaves, esp. cabbage-leaves, = O.N. bleðja, L.Sc., blade, vb., to b. kail (cabbage); de kail is bleded, the leaves have been plucked off the cabbage; Sw. dial. “bläda”, like L.Sc. “blade”, esp.: to pluck off leaves of cabbage. 2) of plants (except vegetables, cabbage): to leaf; shoot out leaves; de plants is bleded, the plants have got their leaves; Y.
bleg [blēg, bᶅēg], adj., light and rather drab, of colour; esp. of sheep, sheep’s wool: whitish and grayish or whitish and reddish (yellowish), a b. colour, yowe [‘ewe’], a b.-faced lamb or yowe. Fairly comm., esp. on Easts.; on Wests. more often bleget, q.v. In Fo. blega [blega] is used as name for a cow of such a colour: Blega. O.N. bleikr, adj., pale; light-yellow; as name for a cow: *bleika (“the pale one”).
blega$^1$ [blega], sb., white vein, whitish streak or spot in a rock-formation; Fe. bleg [bleg]: U. O.N. bleikja, f., white colour; whitish, clayey or chalky soil; No. blik, n., white spot, e.g. on a rock. See blig, sb.
blega$^2$ [blega], sb., a species of pure white rock-moss, scraped off and used in dyeing; it gives a very light colour, whitish with a yellowish-reddish tinge. U$^b$., Fo. *bleikja or *blik(a); No. blik, n., (pale shine) light coloured lichen or moss on the rocks; Fær. blik, n., lichen tartareus. Cf. stenblega and blind-lit.
blegd, bligd, bleg, blig [blegd, bleg (blē$^ə$g), blɩg(d)], sb., 1) small wedge; U$^n$. and occas. Fe$^e$.: blegd, bligd [blegd, blɩgd]; U$^n$. also blegdi, bligdi [blegdi, blɩgdi]; Conn.: bleg [bleg]; Fo. and occas. Fe.: bleg, blega [bleg(a)]; blægda: W.Bur., Ai. (Th. Mathewson). 2) longish piece, cut from a fish, esp. from the belly, and used for bait; bleg: U$^n$., Y$^n$., Fe. [bleg]; U$^s$. [blē$^ə$g]; blegi [blegi]: U$^b$., U$^n$.; blega [blega]: Fe.; blig [blɩg]: Y$^n$.; bligd (blegd), sed [sēd]-b. (a piece of bait, cut from a coalfish): U. occas. In Foula bleg [bleg] denotes ​notes a short piece, cut from the throat of a fish, while the longer piece, cut from the belly, is called tali. Prop. the same word as blagda, blaget; q.v. O.N. blegði(?), wedge. Fritzner gives “blegði”, but strikes out the word in “corrections and errata” as being due to a misunderstanding. At the same time the Norwegian forms of the word, such as “blegg, blei, bleig” (wedge), Sw. dial. “bligd, bläjde, bläje” (wedge), and Da. dial. “blejr” (wedge), together with the Shetl. forms, point back to a root-form *blegð-.
bleget$^1$, adj., see blaget$^2$, adj.
bleget$^2$ [blēgət, bᶅēgət, blegət], adj., of a whitish, drab colour: whitish with faint reddish, or brownish (reddish-brown), yellow, or gray tinge, esp. of sheep, sheep’s wool; a b. sheep. Wests. and (occas.) N.I. Almost = bleg, adj. In Fetlar “a b. [blegət] sokk” denotes a dark-coloured stocking or sock having light (white) stripes. In U$^n$. b. [bᶅē$^ə$gət], besides denoting the above-mentioned colour of sheep’s wool, also denotes the appearance of the earth when covered with half-melted snow: de eart’ gets b. (whitish-drab, gray-drab), but is doubtless here the same word as blaget$^2$, adj. — bleget is formed from bleg, adj., by addition of the common adjectival ending -et (O.N. -óttr), but appears in some cases to be of another orig., viz., a parallel form to blaget$^2$, adj.
blegg [bleg], vb., to drive a wedge into something, to b. a hoe, to drive a wedge into a hoe in order to fasten the iron to the handle. Fo. Formed from bleg(d), sb.
blekk [blæk], sb., in the compd. “eart’-b.”, iron ore, earth containing iron, used as a black dye. Fe. Differs in the vowel-sound from Eng. black, in Shetl. pronounced “blăk”. O.N. blakkr, adj., dun (of the colour of a horse), also used of the colour of copper. With the form blekk cf. Sw. dial. bläkka, f., as a name for the pewit because of its colour.
blem [blē$^ə$m], sb., 1) blue stripe, a blue b. on de skin; N.Roe. 2) (bluish) curl of smoke; very faint, small cloud of smoke, a b. o’ reek; mostly negatively: no [‘not’] a b. *blæm- from *blám-. O.N. blámi, m., blue colour. See blen$^1$, sb.
blemek, blemmek [blemək (blɛmək), blæmək], sb., blain; blister; vesicle. Fo. [blemək]. N.Roe [blæmək]. No. blema, blemma, f., id. Cf. bulek, sb.
blen$^1$ [blēn, blē$^ə$n, blɛ̄a$^ə$n, blæn], sb., 1) blue stripe or spot of cloud, esp. negatively: no [‘not’] a b. on the sky; N.Roe [blēn, blē$^ə$n]. 2) light smoke; the direction which the smoke (from the fire-place) takes; to sit i’ de b. o’ de reek: De$^w$. (M.Roe) [blēn, blē$^ə$n]. Negatively: no a b. o’ reek, not a sign of smoke; Du. [blæn]. 3) fig.: spot; blemish; der’r no a b. upo de wood, no a b. upon him (his character); Nm$^w$. [blɛ̄$^ə$n]. — *blæn- from *blán-. Da. and No. blaane, bluish cloud; Sw. (dial.) blåne, bluish colour; O.N. blána, vb., to become blue. Cf. blem, sb.
blen$^2$ [blæn], sb., see blan, sb.
blenda, sb., = blanda 1.
bles [blɛs, blæs], sb., a blaze; whitish stripe or spot on the forehead of an animal: a b. on de horse. No. and Icel. blesa, f., a blaze.
bleset [blɛsət, blæsət], adj., blazed, having a white stripe or spot on the forehead, of animals: a b. horse or dog. O.N. blesóttr, adj., blazed.
blesmek, sb., see blasmek.
blett [blɛt, blæt], sb., spot, esp. 1) dirty spot on cloth, dirty bletts; Fe. 2) plot of ground, esp. in the phrases: “a green b.”, a grass-grown plot on a stretch of heather, and “a muldi [mȯldi, møldi] b.”, a ​plot of mould; sometimes also “a steni b.”, a stony plot of ground. *blettr; Icel. and Fær. blettur, m., a spot. Cf. bogerplett.
bletta [blɛta, blæta] -fluke, sb., plaice. Nm.; prop. spotted flounder. *bletta-(flóki). bletta: Gen. pl. See blett, sb.
blettet [blæ‘tət], adj., spotted, of sheep; “twaa-b.”, prop. having two spots, of a sheep having a white spot on the top of its head and a white spot on its nose. Fo. *blettóttr. See blett, sb.
blide [bläid], adj., gentle; kind; mild; he is no “blide i’ de broo”, he looks angry, in bad humour. O.N. blíðr, adj., id. L.Sc. blithe, blyde, and Eng. blithe, mean glad; joyous, and are accordingly used in a somewhat different sense.
blidin [blidɩn] and blødin [blødɩn], adjectivally in the expr. “a b. calm”, calm weather and sea, comm. of warm weather. Fe. blidin is doubtless the orig. form of the two words; blødin has prob. arisen through a misunderstanding, the word having been regarded as Eng. “bleeding”; cf. Shetl. blød, sb., blood, and blød, vb., to bleed. With “blidin calm” it is reasonable to compare Icel. blíðalogn, n., calm weather and sea. One might, however, also think of Fær. bliktalogn = blikalogn, n., dead calm (cf. No. blikta, vb., to gleam; flash, and Shetl. blit, blitek, sb., prob. from *blikt), or of a connection with No. blidra, vb., to tremble; vibrate (with intermittent gleams of light).
blig [blɩg, bleg], sb., = blega$^1$. U$^n$., Y$^n$. O.N. blik, n., (shine) something gleaming, pale or white; No. blik, n., white spot, e.g. on a rock. The pronunc. bleg might, however, as well be an abbr. of blega and allied to O.N. bleikja, f.
blikken [blɩkən], vb., 1) to turn pale; he blikkend wi’, he turned pale (on account of something); Icel. and Fær.: hann bliknaði við. 2) to fade; wither; de taatis [‘potatoes’] is blikkend (Nm.). O.N. blikna, vb., to turn pale.
blind$^1$ [blɩnd], sb., 1) = blink: a glint; gleam; gleam of light; mostly negatively in expr. as: der’r [‘there is’] no [‘not’] a b. o’ light within de door; no a b. o’ fire, o’ oil (lamp-oil); no. a b. i’ de lamp; we canno get a b. ut o’ dese peats. Y., Fe. 2) a wink of sleep; doze; I’m no sleepet [‘slept’] a b. de night [‘to-night’]. Y., Fe. *blindr, parallel form to O.N. blundr, m., a wink of sleep. Cf. blink and blont, which are used like blind, sb., in both senses of this word.
blind$^2$ [blɩnd], sb., a species of spider with very long legs, daddy-longlegs, found in the pasture, esp. on peaty soil. Noted down in the compd. “Sara [sāra]-blind”, in which “Sara” is = Soro from “Sorrow”, a name for the devil. U$^n$. The name “blind” can be explained from the insect’s natural avoidance of light. Cf. No. blindklegg and blinding, Sw. dial. blinding, m., horse-fly, tabanus.
blind [blɩnd], adj., 1) blind. 2) very dense and dark, of mist, a b. mist. O.N. blindr, adj., blind.
blind [blɩnd], vb., 1) to make blind, — O.N. blinda. 2) in the expr. “to b. de een”, to slumber; close the eyes (U$^n$.); also with object omitted: I’m no blinded de night, I did not sleep a wink last night (Y., Fe.); *blinda, parallel form to O.N. blunda, vb., to slumber; see blind$^1$, sb. 2.
blindho [blɩnd·hō·], sb., another name for the so-called hotosk, a small, dark-coloured shark, spotted and without dorsal fin (mustelus). *blindr hár. Regarded by fishermen as being blind.
​blindlit, blindlut [blɩnd·lɩt·, blendlot], sb., 1) the light (whitish, slightly yellowish-reddish) colour obtained from the lichen “(sten-) blega”. 2) = blega$^2$, stenblega. Fo. prob.: *blindr litr (“blind colour”), denoting a rather undecided colour.
blink [blɩ‘ŋk], sb., 1) a flash; gleam; a b. o’ de ee [‘eye’]; de first b. o’ day, the first peep of day; I got a b. o’ it. From N.I. is reported a tabu-expr., used by fishermen at sea: “I see a b.”, I catch a gleam, i. e. of a fish under the surface of the water (= light i’ de lum!). No., Da. and Sw. blink, Eng. blink, sb. 2) a light band of fog; bluish streak; haze, a (blue) b. alang de shore; Fo. 3) a wink of sleep; doze; he’s ta’en him a b., he has had a short or (ironically) a good sleep (Y$^h$.); no a b. I got (Fo.); = blind$^1$ 2 and blont. Meanings 2 and 3 are peculiar to Shetlandic.
blink [blɩ‘ŋk], vb., 1) to gleam; flash; to b. de ee, to blink one’s eyes; to b. de koli, to light the open train-oil lamp (koli) for a moment; N.I. From N.I. is reported a tabu-expr., used by fishermen at sea: “shø [‘she’] blinks”, a fish shows itself (see blink, sb.). 2) to miss; miscarry, hit [‘it’] blinked for me (= hit kjud); Fo. No. and Sw. blinka, Da. blinke, Eng. blink, vb. For meaning 2 of Shetl. blink, cf. Da. glippe, occas.: to gleam; flash, occas.: to miscarry.
blinker [blɩ‘ŋkər], sb., 1) eye, occas. as a tabu-name, sea-term, occas. of a child’s eye; de blinkers is doon [‘down’] (in sleepy children); Fo. 2) star, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea; U$^n$.
blit, blitek [blit, blitək], sb., white vein; whitish spot or streak on a rock, = blega$^1$ and blig, sb. U$^n$. The current form is now blitek; blit is found in a few names of fishing-grounds: Blit [bl$^e$it], Hoddjeblit [hȯᶁ··ᶁᶎəblit·], Gloffisblit [glåffis-] (U$^n$.); these names doubtless originate from the fact that the most important landmarks are streaks or veins of a light colour on the rocks, by which these fishing-grounds can be found, blit(ek) assimilates in meaning to No. blik, n., of which it might be either a corrupted form or rather a deriv. (*blikt). A *“blikt” is confirmed by No. blikta, vb., = blika (to gleam; flash), and Fær. bliktalogn = blikalogn (dead calm).
blo- [blo (bᶅo)], adj., dark blue, O.N. blá-, is found as the first part in some compds.: blofinni, sb., mildew; mould, with adjectives: blofinnet, blofinsket, further: blonäild(et), adj., id., and blogummi, sb., a species of wrasse (labrus), — see under finni, finnet, blonäild, blogummi. In place-names e.g. as: Bloberg [blōbærg, bᶅō-], sea-term for “Rønis Hill” (Nm$^n$.), the highest elevation in Shetland, on account of its bluish colour seen from a distance: *blá-berg, Blofell [blōfel, bᶅɔ̄-] (Y$^h$., Y$^s$.): *blá-fell; Blogjo [blōgjō] (frequent): *blá-gjá; Blomørna [bᶅomør·na] (Ai.): *blá-mýrrin (mýrina), de Blomørs [blōmərs] (Du$^s$.): *blá-mýrar, pl.; (de) Blosjøns [blɔᶊəns] (Levenwick, Du.): *blá-tjarnir; Blostakk [blōstak] (Hillswick, Ness, Nm$^w$.): *blá-stakkr. Alternative use of “blo” and Eng. “blue” is found in Blobrekk [blobræk] (C.): *blá-brekka, = “Blue mire”.
blobelti [blobe‘l·ti], sb., sea-term, tabu-name, for peat (collect.). Nm$^s$. See belti, sb.
*bloda [blɔda, blȯda], sb., (dirty) bilge water in a boat, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea. N. *bloti (or *bløyta); Icel. bloti, No. blote, m., and Icel. bleyta, No. bløyta, f., dampness; liquid.
blofinni, sb., see finni, sb.
​blofinnet, -finsket, adj., see finnet, finsket, adj.
bloga, blogda, blogga, sb., see blokk, blokka, sb.
blogaben [blog··aben·], sb., collar-bone of a halibut. U. (U$^n$., U$^w$.). From this bone a number of smaller bones branch out along the gills, and when the fish opens its mouth these are spread out in fan-shape. O.N. blaka, f., large leaf, used as a fan; No. bloka, f., flake; slice, inter alia of the cartilaginous lamina of the ear; Fær. bløka [blø̄$^ə$ka], f., wing of a bird, used for sweeping (differs from “bløðka, bløkka”, from *blaðka; see blokk, blokka). In Fær. “bløkubein” is found, partly in the same sense as Shetl. blogaben, partly (acc. to Svabo) in the sense of hip-bone.
blogaho, sb., see blaho.
blogg [blog, blȯg], adj., big and clumsy, a b. boy, a b. piece o’ wood. Sa. No. blokk- used as an intensive in compds.: “blokkstor”, enormously large; also in Sw. (dial.). Sw. dial. blokk (blok), n., a) bole of a tree; b) something exceptionally large.
blogummi [blogom·i, bᶅo-] and blugummi [blū·gom·i, bᶅū·-], sb., a species of wrasse (labrus) of a reddish-blue colour, = No. blaagume, m. U$^n$. Cf. berggiltek, etc. and suter.
*bloho [blōhō], sb., a species of shark, either blue shark or = blaho, blogaho. Br.
*blohonnin [blohȯᶇ·ɩn (-hȯᶇən, -hȯᶇdin), bᶅo-], sb., sheep (lamb) having woolly hair growing out of the tip of its horn. Y$^h$., Y$^s$., Ai. Prob.: *biloðhyrningr (“*loðhyrningr” with the old prefix “bi”, round; about); O.N. loð, n., fleece; downy hair (as the first part in compds.); O.N. hyrningr, m., a horned person, animal or object.
bloit [blɔi‘t], vb., = gloit, vb.
blokk [blɔ‘k, blå‘k] and blokka [blɔka], sb., a large leaf, esp. leaf of marsh-marigold or buttercup (ranunculus); also as a name for the plant itself. blokk (Du., Fo. occas.), blokka (Nm. occas.). With gg (g, gd) for kk: blogga [blɔga, bloga, blȯga] (Wests. occas., Nm. occas., N.I., etc.), blogg [blog] (Fo. occas.), bloga [blɔγa, blōga] (Conn.), blogda, blogdi [blɔgd-] (Ai.) for *blodga, *blodgi. Other and more corrupted forms are blodda [blȯda] and blobba [blȯba] (Y. occas.). — The Conn.-form “blōga” is reported with the translation “colt’s foot”. — *blaðka; Icel. blaðka, f., leaf of certain plants (B.H.); No. blokka, f., (small) leaf; Fær. bløðka [blö‘ka], f., large leaf, cabbage-leaf. In Icel. “hófbla(ð)ka” denotes marigold globe-flower, caltha palustris, = Shetl. blokk(a), blogga. In Fe. this plant is named “horse-høv [hå‘rs·hø̄v·]”; Shetl. høv, sb., hoof. In Conn. bloga-hay denotes hay from grass growing in swampy places (hay well mixed with leaves of marigold).
blonäild [blonäild· and -näᶅd·, bᶅo-] and blonäildet [blonäil·dət and -näᶅ·dət, bᶅo-], adj., musty, mildewed; mouldy, b. fish, flesh. N., Conn., etc. Denotes a somewhat damper mould than (blo-)finnet, finsket. *blá-næltr? näild(et) seems to be perf. part. from *næla, vb.; cf. No. næla (lt), Fær. naela (ld), to shoot forth with small sprouts; of grain; seed; hair, etc. Arises, in that case, from an orig. *neld in which e has changed to ä on account of the softening of the foll. consonant: näᶅd.
blont [blȯ‘ᶇt], sb., 1) a flash; gleam; gleam of light, = blind$^1$, sb. 1, to which blont must be considered as a parallel form; der’r no [‘not’] a blont o’ light within de door (Y$^n$.). 2) wink of sleep; doze; to tak’ a b.; he’s ta’en [‘taken’] him a b. U., Y. O.N. blundr, m., wink of sleep; doze. Cf. blind$^1$, sb.
bloster [blostər, blɔstər, blɔ$^u$stər, ​blɔustər, blȯstər], sb., 1) violent wind with squall, he is a b. de day [‘to-day’]; U. 2) flaring up; fieriness; violence; hasty speech; also very great haste; he was in a b., a) he had a violent fit of anger (spoke violently); b) he was in an unusual hurry; U. 3) mouth of a skin-buoy, through which it is inflated, de b. o’ de bow. 4) a) soil where water has oozed in and raised the surface; swollen stretch of land, full of fissures; esp. of peaty soil in such state; b) inflated, loose peats. 5) jokingly of cough (U$^{mo}$.: blostər). — blostər, blɔ$^u$stər, blɔustər: U.; otherwise comm. (in senses 3 and 4): blostər, blɔstər, blȯstər. — O.N. blástr, m., a) blowing; blast; b) rising; swelling; c) breath; puffing, blástr ok hósti (cough).
bloster, bluster [blostər], vb., to cough; to go coughing; mostly jokingly. U$^{mo}$. Deriv. of bloster, sb. 5.
blot [(blɔt) blåt], sb., steeping, soaking, esp.: a) the first water in which clothes are soaked, de first, second b.; b) one of the filterings to which the soaked “sooen-sids” (L.Sc. “sowen-seeds” or “-seidis”: the dust of oatmeal, mixed with the remains of the husks) are subjected in the making of the so-called “sooens” (L.Sc. sowens), a sort of oatmeal gruel; de first b. o’ sooens = sede; c) dirty water in which something has been rinsed or cleaned, taati [‘potato’]-b. — No. and Fær. blot, n., softening; soaking, steeping.
blue-lit [-lɩt], sb., indigo, — No. blaalit, m. See lit, sb.
blulopen [blū·lop·ən, -lop·əm, -lopm·], adj., bruised. *blóðlopinn; cf. No. blodlaupa, vb., to suffuse with blodmelta (coagulated blood under the skin).
†blum [blūm], sb., crystallization in flower-like forms on fish when thoroughly dried. O.N. blóm, n., bloom; flowers and leaves (collect.), Eng. bloom, sb.
blumelt [blū·mæ‘lt·], vb., to hurt, strike so that coagulated blood appears under the skin. I’m blumeltet me; mostly as adj.: blumeltet (prop. perf. part.), suffused with coagulated blood. *blóð-melta; Fær. blóðmelta; No. blodmelta, vb., = Shetl. blumelt.
blura$^1$ [blūra], sb., in the phrase: “in b.”: a) of something kept secret and brooded over; to ha’e or keep somet’in’ in b., to brood over something, to meditate secretly the carrying-out of a plan; N.I.; I ha’e it (e.g. a scolding) in b. for him (U$^w$.); to lie in b., to think about playing (esp. in retaliation) someone a trick (Y$^n$.); from Nm$^w$. is reported “to keep somet’in’ in b.” of two persons having a secret in common (cf. meaning c); b) of something kept secret which is beginning to leak out or to be known; hit [‘it’] is (is comin’) in b., it begins to leak out or to be known; N.I.; sometimes also of something palpable, an object brought to light: do no [‘not’] bring it in b.! don’t let it be seen! (U$^{mo}$.); of something which can be seen indistinctly at a distance: dat is in b., it is just in sight; U$^w$.; c) in b. wi’ somebody, in partnership with a person in carrying out a plan (a trick); he was in b. wi’ him aboot it; U$^n$. — In some of the above-mentioned exprs., blura approaches the Icel. blórar, m. pl., “the doing of something so that others have to bear the blame” (B.H.), í blóra við einhvern (so that the blame can be placed on somebody), til blóra (who can be accused); cf. O.N. blóra-maðr, m., a person whom one can blame for something.
blura$^2$ [blūra], sb., dense, bluish fog along the shore (in calm weather; harbinger of wind). Fo. *blá-røykr ​(blue-reek)? (cf. dolra-mist = dala-reek).
blød [blød], vb., to bleed, O.N. blœða. Older form, gradually superseded by Eng. bleed, vb. — blød [blød], sb., blood, is, as regards the form, L.Sc. “bluid, blude”; the older Shetl. form of the substantive is *blu, and is preserved in some compds. (blulopen, blumelt).
blødfastin [blød·fas·tɩn], adj. (pres. part.), absolutely fasting, prop. “blood-fasting”.
blødfrind, -friend [blød·frend·, -frɩnd·], sb., kinsman. *blóð-frændi. Also L.Sc. (blood-friend).
blødin [blødɩn], adj., see blidin.
blødsdrap, -drap [bløds·drap·], sb., drop of blood; he’s no [‘not’] a b. to me, he is no blood relation of mine (Fe.). As a compd. the word is = Fær. blóðsdropi. O.N. blóðdropi. In No. occas. “blodsdrope” = bloddrope (see R.).
blødsprung [blød·sproŋ·], adj. (prop. perf. part.), blood-shot; swollen, owing to a rush of blood. *blóð-sprengðr, from *blóð-sprengja, vb.; No. blod-sprengd, Fær. blóðsprongdur. The form -sprung in Shetl. has doubtless arisen under influence of Eng. sprung, perf. part. of spring, vb.
†bløv [blø̄v], vb., to perish; die; he bløvd destreen, he died yester-day; he is gaun [‘going’] to b.; generally of human beings, but sometimes also of animals: de horse bløvd. bløvd [blø̄vd], perf. part. and adj., dead. The word is now used in a very wide sense, but doubtless once really denoted “to be lost, perish at sea”, like No. “bliva”, with which Shetl. bløv must etym. be connected; in the same sense Dut. and L.G. have “bliven, blijven” (to perish).
†bo [bō], sb., old fellow (contemptuous expr. for a man), a auld [‘old’] bo. Fo. No. bo, booe, m., a bug-bear or bogey; in a similar sense L.Sc. bo (Cymr. bo).
*bo$^2$ [bō, bȱ] and bod$^1$ [bōd (bō$^ə$d)], sb., in place-names most often = ba$^1$, a sunken rock, e.g.: de Bo [bȱ], a sunken rock at Foula; de Bod (Balta Isle, U.); de Bods (Fedeland, N.Roe). Sometimes also as a name for small low-lying rocks on the sea-shore, fishing-rocks: de Nort’-, Mid- and Sooth [‘South’] Bod (near Oddste, Fe.), de Boens [bōəns] (Sund near Lerwick, M.). *boðarnir, def. pl. Associated herewith is doubtless also buð [būð] in Brattabuð [bräi‘··tabūð·], fishing-rock near Sund (Lerwick, M.): *bratti boði? O.N. boði, m., a sunken rock; hidden shoal. See ba$^1$, sb.
bod$^2$ [bɔd, båd, bȯd, bɔ̇d], sb., a big, high wave, esp.: a wave rising suddenly, groundswell immediately before it breaks on a sunken rock (ba); he mak’s (is makin’) a b. upo’ de ba, a groundswell, a breaker, is rising (U.); — also a big wave coming in towards the shore. The form “bɔ̇d” is recorded from Fe. bɔd, båd: U. and Y. O.N. boði, m., a sunken rock or the sea breaking on a sunken rock. No. bode, m., also an eddying and bubbling movement of the sea. Cf. ba$^1$, sb.
bod$^3$ [bod], sb., message; offer; invitation. O.N. boð, n., and L.Sc. bode, bod, sb., in the same sense.
bod$^1$ [bɔd (bȯd), bɔ̇d], vb., of a wave, esp. a groundswell immediately before it breaks on a sunken rock or shoal: to rise before breaking, de ba (the breaker) bods or is bodin. The word is used also in contrast to faks, vb., as bod denotes the rise (and fall) of a ground-swell without forming a foam-crest, while faks denotes the latter. From Papa Stoor the foll. is noted down: “When a ba does no [‘not’] bod, but is komin op (till a face), den ​it is faksin”. to kom = to form a crest, foam-crest. Cf. bod$^2$, sb.
bod$^2$ [bɔd, båd, bōd], vb., to proclaim; announce; bode, to b. and “b. for”, = O.N. boða and “boða fyrir”, vb.; he bods [bɔds, båds] for ill [‘evil’], he is bent on mischief. Partly agrees with Eng. bode, vb.
*boda, *bodin(a), *bota [boda, bodɩn, bod··əna·, bota], sb., a boat; bodin(a) really the boat (def. form); Fo. O.N. bátr, m., a boat; def. form: bátr-inn, acc. bát-inn.
bodabid, -bit [bō··dabɩd·, bod··a-, (bod··a)bɩt·], sb., used adverbially in the expr.: “to geng b.”, of two or more boats’ crews: to go fishing together and share the catch equally; also (more corrupted) bodafid [bod··afɩd·]. U$^n$. *báta-býti, sharing out from a boat; O.N. býti, n., partition; dividing out.
bodda [bȯda], sb., term of endearment to children or young persons: (my) little treasure, my dear; generally in combination with jarta (heart): jarta b.! Y.; Fe. From Wests. (St.) is reported the form boddi [bȯdi]; mami’s piri boddi, mother’s little darling; pronounced diff. from Eng. “body” which in Shetl. is pronounced “bōdi” in the physical sense while in the sense of person, it is pronounced “bɔdi, bådi”. Ork. “bodda” and “my peerie (little) bodda”. Prob. the same word as Icel. budda, f., which besides meaning purse (B.H.) is also comm. used of a dumpy person, esp. of a woman. Cf. Sw. dial. bådd, budd, m., head (flenbuddeter, adj., bald on the top). Cf. *bolli$^2$, sb.
bodden, boddom, sb., see botn, botten.
bodek [bȯdək], sb., an old, worn-out boot, esp. foot of a boot (cut off from the leg), brogue (Edm.); also slipper with wooden sole (U$^n$.). U., Y. bødek [bodok], an old, worn-​out shoe (U$^{mo}$.). The form shows that the word is old in Shetl., and cannot be directly derived from Mod. Eng. “boot”. In O.N., bóti, m., is found in sense of “boot or similar foot-wear” (Fr.). Change of t to d at the beginning and end of words characterises the Norn words in Shetl.
boder, bodder [bɔ̇dər], vb., to exceed (a certain weight, a certain measure or amount), to b. a cran, tree [‘three’] cwts. Nm$^w$. Poss. O.N. betra, vb., prop. to improve, but also doubtless to augment; cf. Sw. dial. bättra på, vb., to augment; add to.
bodlasten, bodler, sb., see bolsten.
*bodlet [bodlət], adj., round; clumsy, now only in place-names, e.g. “de b. Sten”, name of a rock. Fo. O.N. bǫllóttr, adj., globular; round. Cf. ball- and boll-.
bofek, sb., see bova, bovek.
bofi$^1$ [bɔfi], sb., large, thick piece of turf, esp. a large “bora-fail (feal”), a turf overgrown with club-rushes and used as a seat in a house. Wh. Doubtless something large and clumsy. Prob. corresponding to O.N. býfa, f., large, clumsy foot. Cf. No. boven, adj., large; that broadens out, and “bova”, vb.
bofi$^2$ [bofi], sb., an exclamation in swearing, as: b. tak’ dee! devil (evil) take you! b. tak’ me! devil take me! Conn. Prob. the same word as No. buve (boe), m., bug-bear or bogey, Icel. bófi, Sw. bof, m., knave; rogue (O.N. bófi, m., boy; Ger. bube and bufe, occas. of the devil).
†bofskit [bɔf·sᶄet·], adv., headlong, precipitately, dey gude [‘went’] b. de ane ower de tidder [‘other’], they fell or rolled headlong, the one over the other. Y$^n$. The first part of the compd. is prob. No., Sw. and L.Sc. buff, a stroke; blow; the second part prob. skit. Cf. kolli-ferbolli.
bog$^1$ [bog], sb., see bogi$^1$.
​bog$^2$ [bɔg], sb., cross-sea; rough sea with short, choppy waves breaking against each other, really “rooting up”; der’r a b. i’ de sea. Conn. Sometimes in place-names, as: Stakkabog [sta‘kabɔg], difficult, agitated seas near “de Ramnastakks” (some skerries to the north of Fedeland, Nm$^n$.). No. bauk (bok), m., and bauka (boka), f., digging; rooting up; heavy sea; O.N. bauka, vb., to root; dig; in No. of breakers: to gurgle noisily. Cf. twarbog, sb.
bog [bȯg], vb., of liquid: to spout out of a narrow opening, to jet, spurt, to b. ut; de water, matter or blood boget (stood bogin) ut. N.I. Also occas. of very wet feet, of water oozing from the shoes, in walking: de feet is [‘are’] bogin, bogin weet [‘wet’], the feet are soaking wet (Y$^h$.). Prob.: *boga. Cf. No. boga, vb., to form a curve; bend; O.N. blóðbogi, m., a jet of blood (in the form of an arch); Icel. bogi, m., (curve) “the direction taken by a liquid when it rushes with force out of a narrow opening” (B.H.). Cf. sor, vb.
boga [boga], sb., in the expr.: “in b.”, crumbling; crushed, to be or lie in b.; to lay in b., to crumble; crush; destroy completely. Also voga [voga, vɔga]. N.I.? The word is occas. used of grass and corn trampled down, or laid by the wind. Poss. from *bok- and corresponding to No. and Sw. dial. boka, Da. dial. boge, Fær. buka, vb., to press; beat; beat until pliable. Cf. bok, vb., and also aker and herda, sb.
*boga [boga], *bogra [(bogra) bōgra], *bokra [bokra], sb., a little boy; only preserved in the so-called “ern’s søng” or eagle’s song from Foula. Same word as No. pøk, Sw. påk and Da. pog (boy)? b is often used for p, when initial, in Shetl. Norn.
bogdalin, bogdelin, bogdel, sb., see bugdalin.
bogel [bogəl], sb., a large cake (of oat- or barley-meal), often with notched edges. These cakes were formerly baked and eaten on a kind of holiday, the so-called “Bogel-day” (Bogla- or Bugla-day [bogla-]: Ai.), March 29th, the day on which the field-work (de vor) began. The word can be connected either a) with Fær. bøkul, bøkil, m., lump, lumpy piece (esp. of peat: torvbøkil), also mass of cloud, or b) with No. bugla, bygla, f. (bygel, m.), a bend; curve — most prob., however, with the former word, as “boglo” in Ork. dial. denotes a lumpy piece, esp. a big, lumpy piece of peat (the first peat cut off or the edge-peat; cf. Shetl. skumpi), exactly corresponding to Fær. bøkul, bøkil.
Bogelri [bogəl-ri̇̄], sb., storm; rough weather setting in about “Bogel-day”. Fe. See bogel and ri, sb.
†bogerplett [bɔg··ərplæt·], sb., comm. in the pl., bogerpletts: 1*) pock-marks, scars from small-pox. 2) small wrinkles and folds in something unevenly sewn. More comm.: bager [bagər]- or bäger [bägər]-pletts. In sense 1 (obs.) for *pogerblett (see blett, sb.), from *pok-arblettr (No. pokeær, smaapokeær, L.Sc. pock-arrs, pock-marks); in sense 2 poss. quite another word: Eng. pucker, sb.? and Eng. plait, sb.?
†bogerpletted [bɔg··ərplæt·əd], adj., 1*) pock-marked; 2) wrinkled, contracted, of something unevenly sewn. More comm.: bager [bagər]-, bäger [bägər]-pletted. See bogerplett, sb.
bogi$^1$ [bogi], sb., small bay or round cove; creek. Conn. Outside Conn. the word is found in place-names, names of small bays, in the forms bog [bɔg (Y$^n$.), bōγ (Du.)], boga [boga] and (more rarely) bogi. O.N. bogi, m., curve; bend; “bugr” also in the same sense as Shetl. bogi.
​bogi$^2$ [bogi], sb., a skin; leather sack. Comm. bog- is prob. *bolg- (from *balg) = entire skin of an animal; cf. to bogi-flay, bogi-flachter [-flaχtər], vb., to “bœlgflå”, to flay an animal without cutting the skin at the belly, — No. bægfletta (prop. belgfletta; see Aa. and R.). For the Shetl. form of the word cf. Sw. dial. bög, m., leather sack.
bogibinder [bog·ibäᶇ·dər], sb., a miser; stingy person, prop. “a person who ties up his leather-bag (de bogi)”. Nm. See bogi$^2$, sb.
bogi-flay and -flachter, vb., see under bogi$^2$, sb.
bogi [bogi, bȯgi]-flooer, sb., catchfly (pink), Silene. The Shetl. name certainly orig. from the bladder-shaped, inflated calyx; see bogi$^2$, sb.
Bogla (Bugla)-day, sb., = Bogel-day. Ai. See under bogel, sb.
bogs [bōgs], vb., to be in constant activity in scenting out and appropriating trifles; to go about pilfering. M$^m$. (Lerwick). Prob.: *poksa from *poka. Cf. No. poka, vb., to be busy, to busy oneself with trifles, etc.
bohonnin [bohȯᶇ·ən], sb., mouse, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea. Papa St. Ironical application of the word “búhundr” (watch-dog)? Cf. honnin, sb.
bok [bok, bōk or bō$^ə$k], vb., to squeeze; press down (with small jerks), to stamp; trample; to b. claes, to full clothes in a tub by treading on them; to b. op de land, to trample the ground down; to geng bokin [bō$^ə$kɩn] aboot, to stamp about (Du.). Also to walk clumsily, to jump along (= buks, boks, vb.), to b. trough gutter (through mire, morass), trough a mire; Conn. — Du. [bok, bōk, bō$^ə$k]. Conn. [bok]. — No. and Sw. dial. boka, vb., to work spasmodically; squeeze; beat, etc., Da. dial. boge, No. and Fær. buka, to drub; beat. Also L.Sc. buck, vb., to push; butt; but the long o-sound which can be heard in bok, indicates that the word is of Norse extraction in Shetl. — Cf. pukk, vb. — In the sense of making a gurgling sound; bubbling up (e.g. of water in shoes), bokk [bɔk, båk] and bukk [bok], vb., is another word, prob. L.Sc. bok, bock, to be ready to vomit, in which sense also Shetl. bokk, bukk may be heard used.
boken [bō$^ə$kən], perf. part. and adj., baked, of bread. Wh. Prob. orig. from O.N. baka, vb., to bake, with the common change in Shetl. Norn of a to o.
boki [boki, bɔki], sb., ghost, bogey for frightening children; Fo.; N.I.; also occas. used contemptuously of a person one cannot bear: “a de’il’s b.”; U. O.N. bokki, m., man; No. bokke, m., bogey, ghost. A form with long o [bōki] is found in Shetl., corresponding to “boakie” in a few L.Sc. dialects. From Unst is recorded a form “bååki, bå$^a$ki”.
bok-shackle [bok·ᶊak·əl], vb., to shackle the fore-legs of a horse, to b. a horse (in breaking in a horse). Y$^e$. bok- for *bog- from O.N. bógr, m., a shoulder; Eng. shackle; cf. bu$^1$, sb.
boks [bɔks], sb. and vb., see buks.
bol$^1$ [bōl, bō$^ə$l] and boul [bɔul], sb., beacon; blazing fire, a b. o’ fire; N.I., etc.; sometimes fig. “in a b.”, of living beings, esp. of human beings: flushing with heat and dripping with sweat, he was in a b. o’ sweat (N.I.). a boli [bōli] o’ reek, very dense smoke; Fo. O.N. bál, n., beacon; fire. From Nm. and De. is reported boulin [bɔulɩn] in sense of fire, a “boulin” o’ a fire — doubtless a pres. part. form of the verb boul = bol.
bol$^2$ [bō$^ə$l] and boli [bōli], sb., a pile of peats stacked up for drying (3—4 resins of peats put together). Fo. O.N. bolr, m., = bulr, trunk; ​body. The forms bolin(g) and bulin are more common than bol(i), see bolin(g).
bol$^3$ [bȯl], sb., hollow or middle of a net-basket, de b. o’ de mesi (cf. idracht, støri). Prop. the same word as bol$^2$, boli. O.N. bolr, bulr, m., trunk; body. — In some compds. bul [buI, bol] alternates with bol; see bol (bul)-bend, sb., and bol (bul)-led, sb. Abbr., bul in sometimes found in the same sense as bulled.
bol$^1$ [bōl, bō$^ə$l] and boul [bɔul], vb., 1) of fire: to blaze; flame, a bo(u)lin fire; N.I. (bol, boul); Nm. and De. (boul). 2) of smoke; dust, etc. in quantities: to smoke; drift; drive before the wind; roll onward or along; U. (bol, boul). 3) a) to start along, warm and dripping with sweat (to bol); he cam’ bolin in, he burst into the house (Fe.); b) to bowl along, esp. of a vessel: de boat is bolin to the east(w)ard (U$^n$.); of the moon passing through quickly-driving clouds: de moon is bolin (U$^n$.); cf. wed, vb. — *bála, *bálask, (of fire) to blaze; flame; cf. Icel. bálast, vb., to leap up; blaze up.
bol$^2$ [bō$^ə$l], vb., to stack peats in a bol(i) or heap. Fo. See bol$^2$, sb.
bolbak, bolbek [bȯIbak, -bək], bolbog [bȯᶅbog] and bolvog [bȯl·vōg·], sb., upperhand; advantage; benefit obtained at another’s expence; to tak’ (get) b., to use the opportunity; to get the upperhand; du will no tak’ (get) b. ower me, you shall not get the upperhand of me or benefit at my expense (Fe.); he took b. upo me, he took too great liberties at my expense. N.I. [bȯlbak: U., Y.; bȯlbak and bȯl·vōg·: Fe.]. De. [bȯᶅbog]. Wests. [bȯlbak, bȯlbək, bȯlək]. bolek [bȯlək] (Ai.): “…gin ye try ta tak ower muckle bullack (too impertinent) apo wis…” (quotation from “Da Tief i’ da Neean”, “Shetland Times”, 1879). O.N. bilbugr, m., bending; yielding as the result of a strong impression; a violent obtrusion; Icel. fá bilbug á e-m, to vanquish someone (verbally reported); Fær. bilbugt, f., predominance; upperhand, fáa bilbugt við einun, to get the upperhand of someone. — In Fe. also as a verb: to bolbak ane [‘one’].
bolbank, sb., see bolkes, sb.
bolbend [bȯl·bænd·], sb., the pack (bend) for transport of peats in a straw-rope net (mesi), without use of the ordinary basket (kessi); Y. Also comm.: bulbend [bul·bænd·, bol·bænd·]; Nm., De., Conn. See further bol$^3$, sb., and bolled (bulled), sb.
bolder, sb. and vb., see bulder.
bolførd [bɔᶅ·fø̄$^ə$rd·, bɔil·-], vb., to hide away; put aside; keep safe in a secret place, to b. a ting. U$^{n.andw.}$ Prob.: *ból-fœra = to hide away (O.N. ból, n., bed; couch; hiding-place).
bolførdin [bɔᶅ·fø̄r·din, bɔil·-], sb., an object (found and) preserved in a secret place. U$^{n.andw.}$ Deriv. of bolførd, vb.
bolga [bȯlga], sb., inflammation together with dropsy in the throat of cattle and sheep. N$^n$. More comm.: kwerkapus (kwarki-; hwerka-, hwarki-). Icel. bólga, f., swelling; inflammation.
bol-hook, sb., see bolnokki.
bolin(g) [bolɩŋ, bɔlɩŋ, bolin, bɔlin, bȯlin] and bolek [bolək, bɔlək], sb., heap of peats, piled up for drying, consisting of 3—4 or 5 resins (see resin, sb.), a b. o’ peats. Comm. in N.I. bolɩŋ, bɔlɩŋ (bålɩŋ): U$^n$., bɔlɩŋ: Fe., bɔlin: U$^w$., Y., bȯlin: Y., bɔlək: U$^w$. Sporadic outside of the N.I. From De. is reported bolek [bolək]; and from Wests. (Sa.) the form bulin [bulin], denoting a bigger pile of peats (6 to 12 resins). ​O.N. bolungr and bulungr, m., pile (of logs).
bolin [bolin, bɔlin, bȯlɩn], and bulin [bulin], vb., to pile up peats into a bolin. See bolin(g), sb.
boljasog (or bollasog) [bȯᶅ··asōg·] and boljasoga (or bollasoga [bȯᶅ·asō·ga], sb., violent shower; heavy downpour of rain; a boljasog o’ rain. Conn. *byljar-sog (-súgr)? O.N. bylr, m., violent squall of wind, in Icel. also heavy snowfall or rain combined with stormy weather (B.H.); O.N. and Mod. Icel. bylja (impf. buldi), vb., to resound; peal; boom; crash, in Icel. inter alia of very heavy rain; No. bylja, vb., to roar, also of wind. With sog (soga) cf. esp. No. sog, n., in sense of whirlpool (R.); O.N. (Icel., No.) sog, n., suction; current, Icel. súgandi and súgr, m., strong current of air; draught. It is difficult to try to explain bȯᶅa- from *ball = No. “bal(l)-”, intensive, e.g. in “balel”, violent shower, “bal(l)- regn”, downpour, or from *belg- (note the use of Shetl. belgjin and belker), inter alia for phonetic reasons.
bolk$^1$ [bȯ‘lk], sb., partition-wall (of straw) in a house, now mostly compounded with “head”: “bolks-head”, the triangular straw-plaiting placed over the wooden wall between “de but” (kitchen and living-room) and “de ben” (the best room). Wests. (Sa.). O.N. balkr, bǫlkr, m., partition-wall, department (No. bolk), is merged with Eng. bulk-head (in a ship). — As a place-name, name for fields, in Shetland we find “de Bulkigerds” [bo‘l··kigərds·] (Skelbre, Lunn) and “de Bjolkagords” [bjå‘l··kagɔrds·] (Bjolka, Conn.); prob.: *balk(ar)-garðar; cf. gardbalk, sb.
bolk$^2$ [bȯ‘ᶅk], sb., 1) large lump; bundle; something rolled together; also bolki [bȯ‘ᶅki, bȯi‘lki]. 2) protuberance; small hump, a b. atween de shooders [‘shoulders’]. N.Roe. No. bulk, m., boss; Da. bulk; Icel. bulki, m., (small) hump; large bump (B.H.). See bulk, sb.
bolker [bȯ‘ᶅkər], sb., (lump) large, round stone, sinker on a fishing hand-line or long-line. N.I.? Deriv. of bolk$^2$. Cf. balker.
bolkes [bol·kē$^ə$s, bȯl·ᶄē$^ə$s·, bȯl·ᶄɛs], sb., small heap of peats, some peats recently cut and piled up to dry; occas. of a row of such peats piled up to form a small fence; in the last sense also “bol [bȯl]-bank”. U. (U$^n$., U$^m$.). *bol (bul)-kǫs: O.N. kǫs (kas-), f., a heap. Cf. kjos, kus. For bol- see bol$^2$ (boli) and bolin(g), sb.
bolket [bȯ‘ᶅkət], adj., lumpy; bulky; prominent (like a bulk, bump). N.Roe. *bulkóttr. See bolk$^2$, sb.
bolki [bȯ‘ᶅki], sb., see bolk and bulk, sb.
boll (boil), sb., see bill, sb.
bolled [bȯl·lɛd·, -led·], sb., load of peats carried on a pack-horse in two mesis, one on each side of the pack-saddle, without using the kessi (the usual basket for transport). Y. More usual is the form bulled [bul·led·, bol·led·]: Nm.; De.; Conn. Sometimes abbr.: bul (N.Roe [bul]). *bol- and *bul-(hlað, hlass). -led may spring from O.N. hlað, n., pile; load, but ought rather to be interpreted as L.Sc. lade, laid, sb., load; burden. For bol-, bul-, and the meaning of the word in this compd., see bol$^3$, sb.
bollek$^1$ [bȯᶅək, bɔᶅək, boᶅək], sb., 1) lump; something round or lumpy, a) a b. o’ eart’, a clod of earth; a b. o’ a stane, o’ a bairn (child) or shield (person, fellow); Ai. [bȯᶅək]; Du. [bɔᶅək, bȯᶅək]; esp.: (large) round stone (Du.); b) something rolled up, confused; a b. o’ confusion, a tangled lump or mass (Ai.). With an added dim. ending: bolleki [bȯᶅ··əki·] (Ai.). 2) wide eye(s), jokingly, comm. in pl.: ​a pair o’ bolleks, a pair of big, wide eyes; U$^n$., Y$^n$.; to water de bolleks, of children: to cry (U$^n$.); in U$^n$. also occas. jokingly of the ears; bȯᶅək, boᶅək: U$^n$., bȯᶅək: Y$^n$. O.N. bǫllr, m., a ball; globe; lump.
bollek$^2$ [bȯᶅək], sb., foolish talk; tattle; nonsense; a lock [‘lot’] o’ b., to speak b. Y$^n$. *bull, n., bubbling; seething; boiling, in No., Fær. and Icel. also meaning incoherent or unintelligible talk; jabber; nonsense.
bollen, sb., see bellin$^2$, sb.
bolleti [bɔl··əti·, bol··əti·], adj., round, esp. in the phrase “a b. sten”, a small, round stone; pebble. O.N. bǫllóttr, adj., globular; round. Cf. bolli$^1$ and ballisten, sb.
bolli$^1$ [boli], sb., (small) round stone; pebble; comm. in pl.: bollis. U$^n$. Prop. the same word as bollek$^1$: bǫllr; see prec. Cf. bolleti, adj., and balli-sten.
*bolli$^2$ [bȯᶅɩ], sb., fondling address: my piri b.! my little darling! prop. “lump”. Fe.? May be either O.N. bǫllr, m., globe; lump, or O.N. bolli, m., something round (esp. small vessel), in Fær. also head; forehead. Cf. bodda, sb.
*“bolman”, sb., a farmer; lessee. Balfour. Acc. to Edm., “bollman”, small holder, pronounced “bow-man”, is found in Ork. dial. Cf. bøl$^2$, sb., and bu$^2$, sb.
bolnokki [bål·nɔk·i, bȯl-], sb., the nearest fishing-hook (nokki) under the sinker (de bolsten) of a fishing hand-line or long-line; prop. tabu-name at sea for “bol-hook”. Sa. See bolsten and nokki.
bols, bolz [bȯldᶎ, bəldᶎ], vb., to press; squeeze; to nip, in play, wrestling; he bolsd (bolzd) him = he njivveld him. U$^n$.(?). bols (bolz) is poss. a parallel form to bels, vb., from *balsa (No. balsa, vb., to disport oneself; to press down or together); cf. No. bulsa, vb., to form pads or protuberances.
bolsten [bȯl·sten·, bål·-], sb., a sinker (of a fishing hand-line, long-line). Wests. (Sa.) [bȯl-, bål-] and occas. N.I. [bȯl-]. In Foula: bodlasten [bɔd··lasten·, bōd··la-] and uncompounded bodler [bɔdlər, bōdlər]. In Eshaness (Nm$^w$.): boltusten [bɔ‘l··tusten·, bōl··tu-], now obsolete. — bolsten and bodlasten orig. prob. from an old *bolla-steinn (O.N. bolli, m., something round) or *ballar-steinn (O.N. bǫllr, m., globe; lump) — cf. ballisten and bolli$^1$, sb. For the change a > o see Introd. V (also N.Spr. VII) § 1. bodler poss. = “bǫllr” with preserved nom.-r (for change ll > dl in Foula dial. see Introd. V (also N.Spr. VII), § 42. boltu- (from a f. word *bolta?) appears to be another word and to be allied to bolt, sb. The above-mentioned names for the sinker were occas. applied as tabu-names by fishermen at sea. Usual name: kappi, kappisten.
bolt (bult) [bo‘lt, and more comm.: bȯ‘ᶅt], sb., big, clumsy figure; a b. [bo‘lt] o’ a sheaf (Y.), a bulky sheaf of corn; — something round, prominent; a lump; knot (e.g. on the body), partly = bolk$^2$. N.I. [bȯ‘ᶅt, bo‘lt]. Nm. [bȯ‘ᶅt]. A deriv. of bolt is the form bolti [bȯ‘ᶅti (bå‘ᶅti)], sb., of something plump: a) large, round potato (U$^{mo}$.); b) sleek, well-fed animal (Y$^h$.). *boltr or *bultr. O.N. boltr, m., bundle (D.N.), Da. bylt. Cf. boltet, boltin, adj.
bolt [bå‘lt], vb., to swallow greedily, in large mouthfuls; to bolt food. Wests. (Sa., St.). Poss. to be classed with Sw. dial. bolka, vb., to drink excessively, in great gulps.
bolter (bulter) [bo‘ltər, bȯ‘ᶅtər], sb., a large, round stone. U. Poss. the same word as bolt, sb., from “boltr, ​bultr”. For the final r cf. below bolteri, adj.
bolteri, bulteri [bo‘l··təri·], adj., lumpy, a b. stane. U. No. bultren, adj., lumpy.
boltet [bɔ‘ᶅtət, bȯ‘ᶅtət], adj., big; round; lumpy, a great b. head. Nm., Y. bɔ‘ᶅtət: Y$^n$., bȯ‘ᶅtət: Nm. *boltóttr or *bultóttr; No. bultutt, adj., thick; clumsy.
boltin, bolti [bȯ‘ᶅti(n), bɔ‘ᶅtin, bå‘ᶅtin], adj., = boltet, adj.; N.I. (boltin: U$^n$.; otherwise comm.: bolti); a bolti(n) codlin (shield), a plump, fully half-grown cod. *boltinn or *bultinn; No. bulten, adj., clumsy; plump.
bolts [bȯ‘ᶅts], sb. pl., a) anxiety; restless, irritable state of mind; great nervousness: “he lay a year i’ de b.”; b) peevishness; fretfulness, to be i’ de b., to be fretful and irritable. U$^n$. If group a be fundamental, the word is poss. to be classed with Icel. bult, n., a) continual movement in tumbling or turning round; b) subdued growling (B.H.); deriv. bylta, vb., a) in Icel.: to fall; turn over; roll, = Fær. bolta, bölta; b) in Sw. dial.: to be very busy.
boltusten, sb., see bolsten.
bombel, bommel, sb. and vb., see bumbel, bummel.
bomfisin [bȯm·fi̇̄·sɩn], sb., 1) one’s fill of food; an abundant meal; U. (U$^{wg}$.). 2) a sound drubbing; I’ll gi’e dee a b.; U$^s$. — Prob.: *bumb-fýsn. Icel. bumbr, m., belly; paunch (O.N. bumba, f., a drum). O.N. fýsn (fýsi, fýst), f., desire; lust. Meaning 1 is certainly the orig. one, meaning 2 has prob. arisen by conn. with Eng. bum, sb.
bommi (bummi) [bɔmi, bȯmi, bomi], sb., 1) wooden vessel (esp. for milk, curdled milk); small, shallow churn. Br. [bȯmi]. 2) abusive term for a person, who speaks badly or has a bad pronunciation.: a barkin’ b.; Y. [bɔmi]. Conn. [bomi]. O.N. bumba, f., a drum; No. bumba, f., provision-chest; Da. bomme, id. In the phrase “stupid as a b.” (Br.: bȯmi) the Shetl. word is prob. L.Sc. bummie, sb., a stupid person; a fool.
bomen, bomer, sb., see bummer, sb.
bon, sb., see bonfrost, sb.
bonabäg [bɔn··abäg·], sb., dwindling; languishing; miserable state, esp. of cattle lean from hunger; come to b. (Y$^n$.), miserable; skinny (of cattle); sometimes in the expr. “gane to b.” (Y$^h$.), vanished; gone away; lost, both of living beings (animals) and of objects. Y. — From Fe., banabak [bā··nabak·] is reported in sense of a miserable, skinny animal (by association with the word “back”). — *bana-beigr. No. banebeig (bana-beig), m., mortal illness or injury. Cf. bani, sb., and the use of this word.
bond, bondsman, sb., see bund, bundsman.
bonek [bɔnək], sb., large bone; joint, esp. the upper and thick end of an animal’s thigh-bone, b. or bonek-ben. U$^n$. No. buna, f., cannon-bone (Aa.); large bone, esp. the fibula or femur (R.); O.N. “buna” as a nickname.
bonfrost [bȯnfråst, bɔ̇n-], sb., very severe frost, prop. when water freezes to the bottom. *botnfrost (O.N. botn, m., bottom); cf. No. botnfrjosa, vb., = Da. bundfryse. Y., Fe. In the expr. “to freeze lek [‘like’] de bon [bȯn, bɔ̇n]” (Y., Fe.), to freeze very hard, bon is certainly an abbr. of bonfrost.
bong$^1$ [båŋ, bɔŋ], sb., a stroke; blow. O.N. bang, n., id. More comm.: bung.
bong$^2$ [bȯŋ], sb., a ball, ball of the foot, de b. o’ de foot. N. *bung- (bump; lump). Parallel form to bing; q.v.
​bong$^3$ [bɔŋ], sb., bladder of sea-weed, tangbong. Fe. *bung- (bump). Parallel form to bungi, sb.
bong [båŋ], vb., to knock, esp. to knock at a door, to b. at de door. Y$^h$. O.N. banga, vb., to knock, esp. to knock at a door.
bong-, bonk-, see bung-, bunk-.
bonga [båŋga, bɔŋga], sb., 1) knock; knocking at a door; open de door! dat is a b., open the door! somebody is knocking. Y$^h$. [båŋga]. 2) rocky cave; grotto where the breakers roar, a b. or “a hole o’ b.” U$^{mo}$., U$^c$. [(båŋga) bɔŋga]. As a place-name: de hole o’ Bonga (U$^c$.). *banga. O.N. bang, n., knocking; clamour; noise; uproar.
bongtang [bɔŋtaŋ], sb., sea-wrack. Fe. See bong$^3$ and bungi, sb.
bonhus, sb., see bønhus.
bonks, sb. and vb., bonksi, sb., see bunks, bunksi.
*bonn [bȯᶇ], sb., child; only preserved in some old rigmaroles: a) a cradle-song from N.Roe, that begins: Baw waw bonna [bā wā bȯᶇa], lullaby baby! -a in bonna is the def. art. (barn-it); L.Sc. baw, vb., to lull, lull asleep (bawaw, sb., is a jocular name for a child); b) an obs. cradle-song from U$^n$.: Bis bis bio, bonn(e) vil ikke tio [bɩs b. bi·ə, bȯᶇ(ə) vɩl ɩkə ti·ə], etc., lullaby! the child will not hush, etc.; c) a verse from Fe., used in an old troll-tale (fairy tale): Geng hame to Fivla [fɩvla] and tell Divla [dɩvla] at de honnins [hȯᶇɩns] wis lopen [lopən] in a “tuilly” [tøli] and brunt [‘burnt’] de bonnins [bȯᶇɩns] = Go home to Fivla and tell Divla (Tivla) that the dogs were fighting and had “burnt the children”, i.e. had killed the children by pushing them into the fire on the hearth. bonnins is the def. form in pl. (bǫrnin) with added Eng. pl. “s.” From Foula come the forms bjadna, bjadni: *barn-it; see bjadna. bonnis also found in two compds.: bonnhoga, bonsvamm. O.N. barn, n., child; No. bann, badn, baan, pl.: bonn, bodn, boon. Mod. Shetl. bairn, from L.Sc.
bonnhoga [bȯᶇ·hō·ga], sb., childhood’s home, ane’s ain [‘own’] b., = “calf-ground” [-grȯnd], now more comm. used; also in a wider sense: place of resort; former haunt, ane’s auld [‘old’] b.; U., Fe., Y$^n$.; he is gane [‘gone’] back till his auld b., a) he has now begun to come back to his old haunt; b) fig., used of the wind: it has begun to blow from the same quarter from which it blew before (U.). Another fig. use of the word is to be found in the expr.: “hit [‘it’] was b. atween dem”, understood between them, without mentioning the name of the person or thing spoken about (Fe.). Sometimes in connections where the orig. sense of the word has become obscure, thus, ironically: a good trip; a good piece of work, etc. (Y.); dey’re made a b. de day [‘to-day’], they got nothing out of their trip or errand to-day; dat’ll be a b. to geng [‘go’] to Mid-Yell. *barnhagi, prop. “child-pasture”. See *bonn and hoga, sb.
bon(n)svamm [bȯ‘ᶇᶊ·vam·, bɔ̇‘ᶇᶊ·-], sb., 1) sickness; labour-pains which, according to old superstition, the wife by certain means can transfer to the husband, and thereby evade these pains herself, = “bairn-sickness”; U. By assimilation: von(n)svamm [vȯ‘ᶇᶊ·vam·]: Fe. 2) lameness of the loins of women in childbed. *barns-vamm (O.N. vamm, n., partly defect, partly damage done to one by others). See *bonn and vamm, sb., and cf. monnhwam (= bonsvamm).
bons, bonz [bȯndᶎ, bȯᶇdᶎ], sb., strong tide, a b. o’ tide: that part ​where the current is strongest. U$^n$. Allied to No. bunsa, vb., to burst out; rush violently on, etc.; cf. Eng. bounce, vb. For the change of sound “uns” > ȯndᶎ, ȯᶇdᶎ cf. skonzj [skȯndᶎ (skɔndᶎ)] from *skunza, vb.
bor$^1$ [bōr, bō$^ə$r], sb., hole; opening; trough [‘through’] every b. and corner. O.N. bora, f., hole; opening; Eng. bore, sb. — Also bor [bōr, bō$^ə$r], vb., to pierce (a hole), O.N. bora, Eng. bore, vb. Used of sun and moon: to appear through breaks in the clouds, bor, vb., is certainly L.Sc. (Jam. has: bor, bore, sb., in sense of opening in the clouds).
bor$^2$ [bȯr], sb., the upper welt of a shoe, prop. the edge of a piece of hide sewn to a shoe (rivlin). In some cases, the word is merely used of the welt on the one side of a shoe; pl. bors, of the welt all round the shoe. bor is also: instep of a shoe (or foot). U., Fe. O.N. borða, f., margin; brim; strip. Besides bor, a form bord [bōrd] (U.) is found in the sense of border, esp. of a woman’s bonnet or cap, = L.Sc. bord, sb.
bor$^3$, borr [bȯr(r)], sb., breeze; slight squall of wind, — bir, birr (q.v.). Sa.
bora [bora], sb., moss-rush, Juncus squarrosus (Hibbert), b. or b.-girs [‘grass’], written “burra”. comm. A form boro [bȯro] is noted down in Du. bori [bȯri]: Conn. occas. In Fær. borður [bō$^ə$rȯr], m., and borð(a)gras [bō$^ə$r(a)græas], n., designate the same plant; cf. No. bordegras (boregras), n., from borda, f. a long, narrow leaf, really, edge; brim; band; strip, O.N. borða, f. The Shetl. forms bora, boro refer to a root-form *borða, accus. (gen. dat.) borðu. — borabrogg, sb., borasodi, sb., see brogg, sodi.
borastikkel [bor·astɩk·əl], sb., stalk of rush, rush, bora, with bud at the top; comm. in pl., collect.: borastikkels. Du. The second part is stikkel, sb., stalk.
borbakk [borbak, bȯrbak, bȯrbək], borbank, borbenk [bȯrba‘ŋk, -bɛ‘ŋk], sb., 1*) rocky ledge. 2) low ridge of earth; longish mound both natural and artificial. 3) grass-grown strip of land alongside a cultivated patch or at the foot of a bank. The word is used in S.Sh. (Conn., Sandw., Du.) in senses 1, 2 and 3. 4) the green slope of the back of a turf-dike (opp. to the steep foreside, “the breast”); Sa. 5) a low, supporting wall of earth and stone, built outside, against the wall of a house or byre; Wests.; U.; Fe. 6) a longish seat or bench of green turf (esp. rush-grown turfs: bora-divots), partly with substratum of stones, along the wall of a house. Y. The diff. forms of pronunc. are distributed thus: borbak: Fo.; bȯrbak: Sa.; bȯrbe‘ŋk (-bɛ‘ŋk): S.Sh.; bȯrbɛ‘ŋk: Wests. occas.; bȯrba‘ŋk: N.I. — further forms are also found, such as: a) berbank [bərba‘ŋk], berbenk [berbə‘ŋk] (Y.) = borbank 6 (bench, seat), and b) borsbenk [bȯ‘rsbe‘ŋk] (Conn.; Sandw.; Du.) = borbenk 1, 2 and 3. As a place-name, name of some rocky ledges, is found in Sandw. (Du.): de Borbenks o’ Muligio, and in Yell (in de West Nips, Y$^h$.): Borsa [bɔ‘rsa]-bank. — The root-forms prob.: *barð-bakki and *barð-benkr (forms beginning with bors-, borsa- presuppose a gen.: barðs). O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; margin, in Norw. place-names more freq. of a rocky ledge on a mountain side (N.G., Introd., p. 43). No. benk, m., (bench) inter alia of a long, narrow terrace on a mountain slope (Aa.), ledge in a peat-pit; wall of turf (R.). For -bakk see further bakk and bank, sb.; -benk see benk$^1$, sb.
*bord$^1$ [bōrd], *bordek [bȯrdək, bərdək] and *borr [bȯr(r)], sb., point ​of land, promontory, — *bard; now only as a place-name (with prefixed def. art.), thus: a) de Bord o’ Musa, the east point of the Isle of Mousa (Sandw., Du.); b) with dim. suffix -ek: de Bordek (N.Roe), rocky point; c) de Borr: fishermen’s sea-term (tabu-name) for the foreland “de Head o’ de Navar” (Esh., Nm$^w$.), used as a landmark by which to find fishing-grounds. — The names a and c almost merge into common nouns. — O.N. borða, f., and borði, m., parallel forms to barð, n., brim; edge; margin (see O.Rygh, N.G., Introd., p. 43). Cf. Fær. Borðan [bō$^ə$ran] as the name of the south point of the Isle of Nolsø. Shetl. “bōrd” may be either *borð- or *barð (cf. “gōrd” from “garðr”, “vōrd” from „varða” or “varði”), whereas “bȯr(r), bȯrdək” must certainly be derived from *borð-. The pronunc. “bərd-” might also be taken to be a “*berd-”, deriv. of *barð, thus e.g.: de Berdins [bərdɩns], pl., projecting part of the coast (Fe$^e$.). The sea-term for “de Bord o’ Musa”, used by fishermen, is “de Bordek or Berdek [bərdək (berdək)]”.
bord$^2$ [bȯrd], sb., young; brood, esp.: a) young of birds; young before hatching; der’r a b. i’ de egg; cf. bordet, adj.; b) young seal (N.I.); her (de seal’s) b. was wi’ her; c) of offspring, young animals in general, chiefly jocularly or contemptuously of human beings — except when used as a form of address — always disparagingly: brood, a bony b.; d) as a term of address, esp. to children and young persons, endearingly: my b.! my sweet b.! my dear little one, my love! similar to the now more comm. “jewel, my jewel!” Cf. lukkabord. In Fair Isle burd [būrd] is found as a term of endearment: my b.! — O.N. burðr, m., prop. bearing; then the act of giving birth; fetus; offspring; descent. L.Sc. burd, sb., offspring. — In sense of movement; propulsion, bord [*burðr] is found in some compds.: bordaskep, ferdebord, firebord, fogbord (-border, -borger, -borg), kavabord.
bordaskep [bȯr··dasᶄɛp·], sb., whirlpool; current, or part of a current, setting in at flood-tide, forming eddies between rocks and skerries; a b. o’ de tide, lesser current, eddy, issuing from the main stream. U$^n$. burðar-skæp? or -skepl? Fær. burður, m., inter alia, current, drift of current. The second part to be classed either with No. skjæpa, vb., to speed along, or with No. skjeplast, vb., to displace; to be confused or agitated (Fær. skeplast, vb., to get out of order; O.N. skjaplask, skjǫplask, vb., to fail; forsake). — See further bort, sb.
bordet [bȯrdət], adj. of bird’s eggs, esp. the eggs of hens: containing young; de egg is b., there is young in the egg. Du. Deriv. of bord, sb., brood.
bordin [bȯrdin], sb., plank in the side of a boat, immediately above “the sulbørd” (comm. denoting the plank just above the water; orig. sólborð). Nm$^w$. Prop. the same word as birdin, sb.; q.v.
borek [bɔrək, bȯrək], sb., a short, breaking wave; he made a b. at de boat’s starn, a choppy wave broke at the boat’s stern. N. and Ai. [bɔrək]; Esh., Nm$^w$. [bȯrək]. O.N. bára, f., a little wave; wave-motion.
boren [bōrən], adj., in the phrase “b. grund [grȯnd, grønd]”: fishing-ground often visited and too much exploited, therefore bare of fish, = reket (“raked”) or utskjumpet grund, opp. to uvart (avorous) grund. Y$^h$. boren is poss. a perf. part. *barinn, beaten; flogged; No. bard, perf. part. of berja, a) beaten; b) battered; worn out. For this explanation cf. brimbortend, adj.
​boret [borət], adj., of sheep: a) dark-coloured on the back, belly and legs of a lighter colour (grey or white), and with light stripes behind the ears; b) black, with white belly and white breast; c) dark-coloured (black), with a light (white) stripe round the tail; d) with lighter (brownish) outer wool and a darker ground, also somewhat lighter down towards the loins than on the body. Wests. Reported from Ai. in senses a, c, d, from Sa. in sense b. Prob.: *borðóttr, trimmed, from O.N. borða, f., border; trimming; strip.
*borg [bȯrg] and *borri [borri], sb., fort, in Shetl. place-names comm. applied to old Pictish forts which formerly stood in these places. Understood as a common noun in “de stakk o’ de Borri (borri)”, also called “de stakk o’ de brough [bråχ]”, the name of an isolated rock off the north-east coast of Foula with ruins of a Pictish fort on the top (L.Sc. brough, brugh, brogh = ring-fort). Otherwise only in place-names, partly with meaning understood, as: de brough o’ Borgen [bȯrgən] (Gluss, Nm.): *borgin (def. form). As the first part borga- [bȯrga] and borra- [borra, bora (bȯrra, bȯra)], of which -a is the gen. sing. ending -ar, more rarely borge- [borga]; thus: de Borgadelds (Scousburgh, Du.): *borgar-deildir; de Borgaskerris (Burravoe, Y$^s$.): *borgar-sker; Borgateng (W.Sw., Y.): *borgar-tangi; Borgegjo (Burrafirth, U.): *borgar-gjá; Borrafirt’, comm. written “Burrafirth” (U.; Ai.: East and West B.-f.): *borgar-fjǫrðr; Burraness (De.; Y$^s$.): *borgar-nes; “Borravo”, Burravoe (Y$^s$.): *borgar-vágr; Burrawick (U$^e$.): *borgar-vík. As the last syllable, “brough” has generally superseded the old form “borg”. See Shetl. Stedn. p. 81. — O.N. borg, f., fort. — Cf. *bjorg, sb.
borgimester or -master [bȯr·gimæs·tər, -mas·tər], sb., prop. “burgo-master”, used as a name for: a) skua-gull, skui, bunksi; b) black-backed gull, bagi or swar(t)bak. U$^n$.
borl, borrel [bȯrəl], sb., blast of wind, sudden squall of wind, a b. o’ wind; he cam’ wi’ a b. Also birl, birrel [bərəl]. Sa. No. burla, vb., of air, water: to whirl; bluster; L.Sc. birl, sb., rolling or whirring sound; quick movement. Cf. burl, burrel, vb.
borliband, sb., see birliband.
boro, borro [båro], sb., 1) a certain quantity of corn, from two to six sheaves, threshed at one time on the threshing-floor; N.I.; Nm. 2) threshing-floor in a barn; N.I. No. berja, f., a layer of corn on the threshing-floor; as much corn as is laid down at one time for threshing. boro presupposes a root-form *bara, accus., etc.: bǫru; cf. No. bara, vb., = berja, to beat; thresh.
boros, borros [båros, bårros], sb. pl., a hand-barrow. U$^n$. Always in pl. as O.N. barar, bǫrur, f., Fær. børur, f., bier; hand-barrow. Otherwise the form has been developed through infl. of Eng. barrow.
borren, sb., see birren, sb.
borst, borstet, adj., see birst, adj.
borsten, sb., see bursten.
bort [bȯ‘rt, bə‘rt], sb., 1) in setting a long-line: the distance that a boat has been carried away by the tide from the place where the setting began; a bort’s rowin’; to row on or op a b., after the setting of the long-line: to row the distance back again to the original spot. Fo. 2) a certain distance between two boats setting their fishing-lines, reckoned acc. to the tide. Fo. From U. børd [bø̄$^ə$rd] is noted down in both the above-mentioned senses; to row op a b.; du ga’e me a very krimp b., you did not allow me much space. — Certainly the same word ​as Ork. birth (Jam.), a small current in the sea issuing from a strong main stream. — O.N. burðr, m., carrying; leading, etc.; Fær. burður, b. av streymi, current; drift of current. — In U. børd is also used of the direction in which a boat is steered, in phrases such as; “lay her. (= the boat) upon anidder [’another’] b.!”; but here it points rather to Eng. board, Shetl. børd [bø̄rd], plank in a boat, in the expr. given = side of a boat.
bort, vb., see burt, vb.
bos [bos, bɔs (bȯs)], sb., litter of straw and hay, esp. refuse of straw and hay forming a bird’s nest. No. bos, Sw. dial. bås, n., litter, straw for litter; waste straw or hay.
bos [bos], vb., to produce a faint, rustling sound, esp. by stirring up straw, hay, etc.; der’r a moose [‘mouse’] or cat bosin among de strae [‘straw’], der’r a moose bosin i’ de strae or meal. U$^n$. *bosa; deriv. of *bos, Shetl. bos, sb. No. bosa, vb., to litter with waste hay or straw.
boser [bōsər], sb., see buser.
bosk, sb., see busk.
bossi, bussi [boᶊɩ]-needle, sb., a short, coarse needle, darning-needle: Reported by J.I. No. bossenaal, “baassnaal”, f. (R.), triangular bone-needle for sewing a pack-saddle and pack-saddle padding, coarse bodkin (bossa, f., a pad under the saddle or horse-collar).
bost$^1$ [bȯst], sb., attack of peevishness; bad humour; de(r) were [‘there was’] a ill b. upon him. Papa St. Partly = bist, sb. (q.v.). Prop. “brush”, O.N. burst, f. See further under birst, adj. Can scarcely be associated with bost$^2$.
bost$^2$ [bɔst, båst], sb., a short spell of bad weather. Sa., N. Allied to No. bausta and busta, vb., to rush violently on, etc. Cf. bost, vb.
bost [bɔst, båst], vb., to speak harshly and angrily, threateningly, to b. at ane; he bosted at him. Sa. No. bausta and busta, vb., to rush onward; to make a noise. See bost$^2$, sb.
bosten, bostet, adj., see birst, adj., and ill-bosten.
botel, sb., see bitel.
*botistiind, sb., see *bottiind, sb.
botli [botli], sb., blind gut in sheep. Conn. Cf. Sw. dial. botn and botning, m., blind gut in ruminants. In No. botning (botn, bytning) denotes the hindmost or fourth stomach of a ruminant, also called “vinster”. — botli either for *botni or poss. abbr. of a compd. *botn-langi; cf. No. botnlange, “botlangje”, m. (R.), = botning.
*botn, *botten [bɔtən (båtən), bȯtən, bətən, bɔƫən, båƫən], *boiten, *boitten [bɔitən (bɔittən), bȯitən] and *bodn, *bodden [bɔdən, bɔᶁən], sb., a) a little round valley; deep hollow; b) a semicircular valley, open towards the sea, partly also c) a little round bay in front of a valley, resembling botn b. The word is now found only in place-names, but its meaning, on account of its comparatively freq. occurrence, is understood by the common people in several places. Uncompounded, the word is mostly found with the prefixed def. art. “de B.” Among the many diff. forms of pronunc., the softened forms: “bɔitən (bɔittən), bȯitən, bɔƫən (båƫən), bɔᶁən” are peculiar to U.; and further, boiten [bɔitən] is noted down, e.g. in Y. and Conn. On Wests. the forms of pronunc. “bɔtən, båtən, bȯtən, bətən” are found. The pronunc. “bətən” is noted down, e.g. in Black Botn (Nm$^n$., on the north side of Rønis Hill), Easter and Waster [‘west-’] Botn (De.), de Bottens (Reawick, St.), de Bottens (Fo., at the foot of Hamnafell Hill), Libotn [li̇̄·bət·ən] (Sandw., Du.; ​Levenwick, Du.). In meaning c is found, e.g. de Boitten (de Niv, Klebergswick, U$^n$.). Voboit(t)en [vō·bɔit(t)·ən] (Skaw, U$^n$.) = O.N. vágsbotn, m., the head of a bay. In some cases, the L.Sc. form boddom, boddum (Jam.: boddum = hollow, valley) has superseded the older (Norse) form, e.g. in Du. See further Shetl. Stedn. pp. 81—82. — O.N. botn, m., bottom; the innermost end of a valley (dalsbotn), the head of a firth or bay (fjarðar-, vágsbotn). Fær. botnur, m., a semicircular valley, open towards the sea.
*bottiind, botistiind, sb., fishery tithe, *bát(s)tíund; O.N. (Norse) bátatíund, f., a kind of boat-tithe. Shetl. tiind [ti̇̄nd], sb., tithe. “bot teind” and “botis teind” in old Shetl. deeds referring to church tithes (G.G., Ant. of Shetl., p. 156 f.). Cf. butiind, sb.
boul, sb. and vb., see bol$^1$, sb., and bol$^1$, vb.
bova [bōva], bovek [bōvək], sb., sea-term, fishermen’s tabu-name for a bed, box-bed. U., Y$^h$. Also bofek [bōfək]; U. Poss. the same word as Icel. paufi, sb., an out-of-the-way nook (B.H.). Change of the initial p to b is not rare in Shetl. Norn.
*bragasten [brag··asten·, brā··gəstēn·], sb., a heavy stone that one tries (used to try) to lift as a test of strength, = No. lyftestein, Icel. tak and haf, Fær. hav. N.I. (Fe.). *bragð(a)steinn. O.N. bragð, n., hasty movement; (great) enterprise; manly deed, etc.
bragd [bragd] and brag [brag, brāg], sb., incision, serving as an ear-mark in sheep. Wests. bragd: Fo.; brag: Sa. *bragð. Icel. bragð, No. and Fær. bragd, n., incision; ear-mark in sheep. Cf. utbrag, breg, obreg, afbreg(d), sb.
bragd [bragd] and brag [brag, brāg], vb., to incise; cut an ear-'mark in sheep. *bragða. See bragd, sb.
braktin [braktin], sb., recently enclosed and cultivated ground. Y$^h$. Doubtless orig. allied to No. brote, m., cleared stretch of ground (O.N. broti), and brotning, m., a piece of old meadow ploughed up (R., suppl.), Sw. dial. bröt, m., separated and cleared piece of ground; but the Shetl. form braktin has certainly arisen under infl. of Eng. break, vb., L.Sc. and Shetl. “brak”, Shetl. “to brak ut”: to bring fallow land under cultivation.
bran [(bran) brän], sb., in the phrase: to be upo de b., to be on the point of going out or of doing something. Y., Fe. Doubtless allied to Icel. brana, vb., to burst (boldly) out.
brand$^1$ [brānd], sb., burning or partly burnt piece of peat (on the hearth); in a similar sense Fær. brandur, m. O.N. brandr, m., (burning) log; No. brand, m., burning or partly burnt piece of wood, Eng. brand, sb. — brander [bräᶇdər] (Wh.) is an older, now obs. Shetl. form with the r of the nom. preserved. In Wh. brander [bräᶇdər] and branda, brenda [bräᶇda] were used occas.: a) = brand, occas.: b) as tabu-name at sea for fire, by merging of brenner and brenna, sb. (q.v.).
brand$^2$ [bräᶇd], sb., stripe; discoloured or disfiguring stripe, esp. in woollen yarn, stuff or cloth. Nm. *brandr. See further under brandet, adj.
brander [brāndər, brandər], sb., one of the two long pieces of wood on which the bottom-trees of a bed rest, de branders o’ de bed: L. and U. [brāndər]; cross-bar between two chair-legs: S.Sh. [brandər]. O.N. brandr, m., stock; beam; post. Cf. ​L.Sc. branderis, sb. pl., “frames of wood for supporting tables” (Jam.).
brandet [bräᶇdət] and brendet [bre$^i$ndət], adj., striped, esp. a) of animals (cows, sheep): having stripes of another (esp. drab) colour across the body, a b. sheep or coo; Esh., Nm$^w$. [bre$^i$ndət]; b) of woollen yarn, stuff, clothes: striped, having drab or disfiguring stripes, a b. piece o’ claith [‘cloth’]; streaked with dirt, claes [‘clothes’] b. wi’ dirt; N.Roe (Nm$^n$.) [bräᶇdət]; c) of bread baked on the gridiron: burnt across the middle; bread which has got a burnt stripe in the cooking; Wh. [bräᶇdət]. Icel. brǫndóttur, No. brandutt, adj., striped (with variegated or dark stripes). Cf. O.N. brand- in brandkrossóttr: brownish-red with darker vertical stripes and a white cross on the nose (of an ox). L.Sc. branded, adj., of reddish-brown colour, a branded cow.
bratl, brattel [brat(ə)l, bra$^i$t(ə)l, bräƫəl] and bratli [bra$^i$tli, bräƫli], sb., 1) spell of bad weather; wind with rain or sleet, mostly of short duration; a sudden, hard blast with some rain; he cam’ on a b. fae [‘from’] de sooth-east: U$^n$. [bra$^i$təl, bräƫəl; bra$^i$tli, bräƫli]. 2) squall of wind; Wests. (Sa.). [brat(ə)l]. *bratl (noise; rattle). Cf. No. bratla, vb., to bungle (Aa.), to work noisily; tumble about (R.); Sw. dial. bratla, vb., to speak much and quickly (prop. to make a noise; rattle); L.Sc. brattyl, brattle, sb., a rattling sound; rapid movement; violent attack. Cf. brutl, bruttel, sb.
*brattin [bräƫɩn, bräitɩn], sb., a steep piece of cultivated field. U$^b$. *bratti-nn (or *bratta-n)? cf. No. bratta, f., inter alia = steep fields. brattin may poss. be associated with braktin, sb., q.v.
bräim, bräima, bräind, bräiner, etc., see brim, brima, brind$^2$, brenner, etc.
bräinter [brä‘ᶇtər], sb., = binder, etc. Y$^h$. “bräinter” has prob. arisen from “bäinter”. As both words are sometimes used in the phrase “a burnin’ b.”, older “a brinnin (burning, freezing cold) b.”, the inserted r may come from the previous “brinnin”.
bred [brēd, bred], adj., broad; O.N. breiðr, L.Sc. braid (brade). bred, now comm. with short e; in place-names also with long e, e.g., de b. [brēd] Tongi, “the broad tongue of land” (Fo.). The form bre [brē (bre)] is more common than “bred” in place-names, e.g.: Brebister [brē··bɩs·tər, bre··-]: *breiðabólstaðr, de Bredjeld [brēdjēld] (Fe$^f$.), de Bredelds [brēdelds] (Hul, N.Roe): *breiðdeild (-deildir, pl.), Bree [*brēe, brē] (De$^n$.): *breiðeið, Bregjo [brēgjo] (at several places): *breiðgjá, Bregoda or -gøda [brē··ꬶȯd·a, -ꬶød·a] (Fe$^h$.): *breiðgata, Bremør [bremər] (Conn.): *breiðmýrr, Bre [brē]-water (Nibon, Nm$^w$.): *breiða vatn, Brewik [brēwɩk] (at several places): *breiðvík — see respectively “bister, deld (djeld), ed, gjo, goda, mør, vatn (water), wik”. Breen [brēən], in “de Hem [hɛm]-Breens” and “de Mid-Breens” (Tumlin, Ai.), field-plots, is poss. the same name as “Breiðin (Breiðvin)”, freq. occurring in No. place-names; see N.G.
bred [bre$^i$d, breᶁ], vb., to melt; liquefy, e.g. oil from liver (cod liver) or blubber, to b. oil. Wests. (Sa.). In Foula with dropped i-mutation: bro [brō, br$^ɩ$ō], to b. oil. O.N. bræða, vb., to melt; dissolve.
bred (bret, bræit) [breid, br$^e$id, br$^e$it, bräi‘t], vb., only in the expr.: “to b. ane’s boats”, to idle away one’s time; to do nothing useful; doze, doubtless lit. “to tar one’s boats”, ironically used; he breds (is ​bredin) his boats de day [‘to-day’]. Fe. O.N. bræða, vb., to tar; coat with tar (bráð). From Yell (Y$^n$.) has been recorded *brø [brø̄], vb., in the orig. sense: to tar, to b. de far, to tar the boat (tabu-expr., used by fishermen).
bredband [bredbānd], sb., in the expr. “to lie on b.”, of a sheaf of corn on the field which has become wet, and from which the band has been loosened: to lie spread (on the band) for drying. Y$^n$. No. breida, vb., esp. to spread hay to dry. For the expr. “lie on b.”, cf. Sw. dial. “ligga på bredsel”, of grass or flax, laid out to dry.
bredd [bred(d)], sb., breadth, O.N. breidd, f.
breg$^1$ [brēg, brē$^ə$g], sb., a stripe, esp. disfiguring or discoloured stripe (in woollen yarn or cloth, stuff); grey bregs trough [‘through’] red or blue (Nm.); often of drab stripes in woollen yarn, resulting from poor mixing of the wool, darker stripes in light-coloured worsted (Esh., Nm$^w$.; Ai.). As reg [rēg] and rig [ri̇̄g], without initial b, are found in the same sense as breg, this word may, in all probability — taken in conn. with the other words with the prefix “bi” (about) (see bjelset, adj., brolk, sb.) — be derived from an orig. *bi-reik (or -reikr); No. (O.N.) reik, f., a stripe; line (O.N. “reik”, handed down in the sense of parting in the hair; Fær. reikur, m., id.).
breg$^2$ [brɛg, breg, brēg], sb., additional ear-mark in sheep, added to the old mark or marks, e.g. when a flock has changed owners; altered sheep-mark (ear-mark). S.Sh. [breg, brɛg]. Nm. [brēg, breg]. De. [breg]. *bregði (brigði), n., deriv. of “bragð”; see bragd (brag), sb. Cf. afbreg(d), obregd and utbrag, sbs.
bregd [brɛgd] and breg [brɛg, breg, brēg], vb., I) bregd: to braid; twine; plait, esp. of plaiting a thin rope, e.g. for a fishing hand-line, quadruple plaiting; to b. skogs, toms (see “skog” and “tom”, sbs.). U. Also brigd [brɩgd]. II) breg: 1) to sew together; to stitch, e.g. a button-hole; Fo. [brɛg]. 2) to change a sheep-mark, to add a new ear-mark to the old mark (or marks), to b. fae (frae) a mark, to b. de sheep; de sheep is breget; S.Sh. [brɛg, breg]; Nm. [brēg]; see prec. breg, sb. — O.N. bregða, vb., a) to alter; shift, etc.; b) to braid; twine; plait. — In sense of to plait; braid, the form bred [brēd] is now most freq. used in Shetl., and has doubtless arisen from O.N. bregða, but is certainly formed through infl. of Eng. braid, vb., in same sense.
breget [brēgət], adj., striped, esp. having darker, disfiguring stripes, of worsted and cloth; b. oo’ [‘wool’], a b. piece o’ claith [‘cloth’]. Ai., Nm. Prob.: *bi-reikóttr; No. reikutt, adj., striped. Cf. breg$^1$, sb., as well as reget and riget, adj. L.Sc. braikit, adj., is diff. (speckled, from Gael. breac).
breid [brɛid, bræid], vb., 1) vb. n., to sprout; grow, of corn: de corn is weel [‘well’] breided de year [‘this year’], the corn grows well this year. 2) vb. a., of cultivated land: to produce corn; yon [‘that’] tun breids better as [‘than’] ony idder [‘any other’] tun, on that field (that farm) better corn is grown than on any other. N.Roe. *brydda (from “broddr”, m., a shoot, shoot of corn); No. brydda, vb., to sprout, of corn; grass. — breid differs in the vowel-sound from breed, vb., which poss. has occasioned the transitive use of the word.
brekk [bræk] and brek [brɛ̄$^ə$k, brǣ$^ə$k], sb., hillock; ridge; elongated mound. N.I. From Fe. “brek [brɛ̄$^ə$k, brǣ$^ə$k]” is reported as a common ​noun, “brekk [bræk]”, mostly as a place-name (Brekk, e.g. de B. o’ Kloden, Fe$^h$.). From Y$^h$. is reported the expr. “de brek, bræk [brǣ$^ə$k] o’ de hill”, used of the uppermost edge or part of a slope (the lower part is called “de slag [slāg] o’ de hill”]. In U$^n$. brekk [bræk] and pl. brekks is found in sense of a common, a plot of uncultivated or fallow land, used as pasture, between two farms or parts of a village. — brek has arisen from brekk through vowel-lengthening. — The word is freq. and comm. used in place-names, compd. and uncompd., and assumes various forms (occas. with and occas. without prefixed def. art. “de”): Brekka [bræka] (Uyea, Nm$^w$.), (de) Brekk [bræk (brɛk), brek], (de) Brek [brēk], (de) Bregg [brɛg, breg], Brakk(a) [brak(a)], (de) Brokk [bråk], Brogga [broga, brȯga] (de knowe o’ Brogga: Y$^b$.), (de) Brogg [brog, brȯg], and sometimes with lengthened o: de Brogi [brōgi]. “de Breks [brēks] o’ Gord” = de Lis o’ Gord (Conn.); see li, sb. With suffixed def. art.: Brekken, Breggen, Brokken, Broggen, esp. used in pl. with an added s: de Brekkens, etc. (O.N. brekkurnar). See Shetl. Stedn. pp. 82—83. brogg is also found as a common noun with a meaning slightly diff. from brekk. — O.N. brekka, f., slope; edge (Eng. and Germ. brink = edge). Germ. brink, m., in sense of grass-plot, common may be paralleled with brekk, a common (U$^n$.). — Cf. brogg, sb.
bremer, sb., see brimer (*brimel).
brenna [brɛna, breᶇa], sb., fire, occas.: a) blazing fire on the hearth or fire in a kiln for drying corn, occas.: b) tabu-name (sea-term) for fire in general. S.Sh. From Wh. brina [brina] has been reported as a sea-term (tabu-name) for smoke. O.N. brenna, f., burning; fire.
brenna-stew [breᶇ··astju·], sb., fine, mist-like spray from heavy breakers (surf). Y., Fe. The first part of the compd. is O.N. brenna, f. (burning; fire; see prec. brenna, sb.), used, in this case, in the sense of surf on the shore; the second part is L.Sc. stew, sb., vapour. Cf. brim(a)-stew.
brennek$^1$ [breᶇək (bræᶇək, bräᶇək)], sb., mock-sun; bright spot near the sun; also end of a rainbow. N.Sh. (comm.), brendek [breᶇdək]: Y$^h$. *brenning. Fær. brenning (b. firi sól, ettir sól), f., mock-sun.
brennek$^2$ [breᶇək (brȯᶇək, brøᶇək)], sb., nettle, No. brenneta (brennenata). Also thistle. Fe.
brenner [brɛnər, brɩn(n)ər, breᶇər, bräᶇər, bräinər], sb., de b.: tabu-name used by fishermen at sea for fire; really “the burner". L., etc. (M$^e$.) [breᶇər, bräᶇər, bräinər]. Du. [brɛnər, brɩn(n)ər]. O.N. brennir (for-brennir), m., fire (poet.). The pronunc. “brɩn(n)ər” has doubtless arisen through infl. of the verb brin [brɩn], L.Sc. bryn, brin, to burn.
brest [bræst], sb., 1) the crash of a rapidly moving mass; something (a mass; a number or a crowd) rushing along at high speed; a b. o’ hwals, a shoal of whales (ca’ ing whales) swimming at high speed (cf. grind, sb.); dey saw a b. o’ him, a b. o’ fish, a large shoal of fish moving rapidly. 2) violent and sudden storm. 3) hard struggle; we’re [‘we have’] had a b. (a hard pull). U$^n$. O.N. brestr, m., (burst, break) crash; crack; Fær. brestur, also hard struggle.
brest [bræst], vb., to come rushing along with a crashing noise at full speed (of a flock; mass); to com’ brestin. Also of rough weather: to break loose, U$^n$. O.N. bresta, vb., to burst; crash; crack. See brest, sb., and brist, vb.
​*bri [bri̇̄], vb., to sharpen, to b. de skøni (the knife) tabu-expr. among fishermen. For *brin. U$^n$., Du. O.N. brýna, vb., to sharpen.
†brid [bri̇̄d], vb., in the expr. “to b. de flow”, to begin to be flood-tide, esp. of the turn of the tide; he brids (is bridin) de flow. Papa St. Opposite to: to nugg de brust (to be at ebb). — In this case, poss. a peculiarly local application of Eng. breed, vb., but brid in the above-mentioned application might well come from Norn: O.N. brydda (to start showing prong or point; to goad; urge forward)? cf. Fær. broddur, m., (sting; point) tide at its highest; Shetl. to come in brodda (a-brood), to come in sight; show oneself. One might also compare O.N. brigða (bregða), vb., to swing; change; turn; bend (thus: No. brigda, vb.).
brids [bri̇̄ds], sb. pl., midriff; separating membrane between the thorax and abdomen. Prob. the same word as No. bræda, f., or bræde, n., planks; boards (e.g. of a book); brim. Like the Shetl. pl.-word brids (prop. = the brims?). No. bræda is used: a) in the sense of brim comm. in the pl.; b) of each of the two halves into which a log of wood is cleft (R.). Cf. also No. halsbræ(d)e, n., each of the two long, flat muscles (sterno-cleido-mostoideus) along the trachea (R.). (acc. to Ross.) the word is also found in Sw. dials. (bräe).
brigd [brɩgd], vb., to braid; twine; twist (a rope, e.g. for a fishing hand-line), = bregd, vb.; to b. toms (see tom, sb.). Also “brigdin [brɩgdɩn]-keys” or brigdis [brɩgdis], sb. pl., apparatus for twisting a thin rope or line (fishing hand-line), and consisting of two pieces of wood, one for each hand, each having two protruding pins at the top on the same side. brigdin-keys: U$^n$. brigdis: Y$^n$. O.N. bregða, vb., to braid; twine; plait. brigd seems, acc. to the ɩ-sound, to come from O.N. “brigða”, parallel form to “bregða”, but only handed down in fig. sense (to change; overthrow; transpose, etc.). The relation of the vowels in Shetl. is, however, not conclusive.
brigda [brɩgda], brigdi [brɩgdi], sb., basking shark (the largest species of shark); No. brugda, brygda, brigde, f., id. Also called sulbrigda, -di, orig. *sól-brugða, -brygða, because the basking shark usually basks in the sunshine on the surface of the sea.
brigdis, sb. pl., see under brigd, vb.
†brigg [brɩg], sb., a bridge; O.N. bryggja, f. (= brú), L.Sc. brigg, bridge. de b. o’ de nose, the bridge of the nose. “Røs de b., at [‘that’] bears dee ower”, praise the bridge you safely cross (proverbial phrase: praise nothing before it has been well tried). brigg in Shetl. has entirely superseded bru (O.N. brú) as the usual designation for bridge, owing to L.Sc. influence. — brigg, stenbrigg and comm.: briggstens, sb. pl., are used also of stone pavement or courtyard before a house or outhouses. The Shetl. word briggstens [brɩg·stens·], corresponding to O.N. “stein(a)brú”, pavement, is found in the foll. old phrase: “as auld [‘old’] as de briggstens”, = O.N. “gamall sem steinabrú” (Fld. III, 61$^4$), of something very ancient.
brill [bril], sb., buoy of hide, fishing-buoy; tabu-word used by fishermen at sea. Fe., Wh. Prob. the same word as Fær. prilla, f., a skin of an animal made into a sack (lýsiprilla, hide-sack for keeping oil in). For the change p > b, cf. e.g. bjakk, bjarki.
brim [brɩm], sb., surf, breaking of the waves on the shore, or the sound thereof. Also sometimes in ​the form brom [brȯm]. U. O.N. brim, n., surf. In Ai. is used: a) bräim [bräim] of spray from the surf (the pronunc. influenced by L.Sc. brime, sb., = Eng. brine), and: b) brima [brɩma] of vapour or mist-like spray rising from heavy surf; the last form is certainly an abbr. of “brima-stew” (see brim-stew). From Woodwick, U., brimi is noted down in the same sense as brima, brim(a)-stew.
brima, sb., see brimi.
brimaskodd [brɩm··askȯd·], sb., = brim-“stew” (q.v.). Y. For the second part of the compd. see skodd, sb. (drizzling rain; mist).
brima-stew, sb., see brim-stew.
*brimbortend [brɩm·bå‘r·tənd], adj. (prop. perf. part.), of the bottom of the sea, fishing-ground: quite stripped of fish; de wolhard wis [‘was’] a’ [‘all’] b., tabu-expr. at sea: there was no fish to be had on the fishing-ground (de wolhard). Fo. Prob.: *brim-barðr, really, beaten, lashed by surf, of a barren, naked coast, and in transferred sense of a barren sea-bottom. Cf. boren, adj.
brimek [brɩmək], sb., mock-sun; part of a rainbow; = brennek$^1$. Nm$^s$. *brim- (fire, flame, etc.). Perhaps prop. the same word as brimi, sb.; q.v.
brimer [bremər], sb., male of a large species of seal. An older and obs. form: *brimel. U$^n$. Edm. has: “brimeld, a very old female seal”. O.N. brimill, m., a species of large seal; No. brimul, m., id.; Icel. brimill, Fær. brimil, m., a large male seal.
brimi [brimi, brɩmi, brɩ̄mi], brima [brɩma], brim [bri̇̄m, bri$^ə$m, brim, brɩm], bräim, bräima [bräim(a)], brem, brema [brē$^ə$m(a)], sb., 1) wave of heat rising from a fire (esp. from the fire on the hearth), de brimi o’ de fire; Fo. [brimi]; — heat and smoke from the fire on the hearth, a brim o’ reek [‘smoke’]: U. [brim]; a bräima o’ reek (locality uncertain); — direction which the smoke from the fire-place takes, to sit i’ de brim [bri̇̄$^ə$m, brɩm] or briv [bri̇̄v] o’ de reek (Nm.); to sit i’ de brem or brema (De., Nm. occas.). 2) aurora borealis (in the form of a bright fog-bank), a brimi [brimi] o’ pretty dancers (pretty dancers = aurora b.); Wests. (Sa.). 3) narrow strip of clouds, strip of fog or mist, esp. of a somewhat light or yellowish (dull) colour, a brimi or brim [brɩm] ower de sky (N.Roe); bank of clouds, esp. of a dull yellowish colour (regarded as harbinger of wind or snow), der’r [‘there is’] a brimi i’ de nort’ (N.Roe); reddish clouds on the horizon at sunset (harbinger of wind); a windy brim [brɩm] (Nm$^w$.), bräim (U$^n$., Y.), light wind-clouds, esp. reddish clouds foreboding wind; — light fog or mist (light-coloured), a brimi o’ mist (N.Roe); a misty brima (Conn.): on the horizon or along a hillside; “a misty brima” (mist-like spray from the surf along the shore), recorded from Ai., refers, on the other hand, rather to brim, sb., surf; — a snaw [‘snow’]-brimi or snawy brimi, light mist or bank of clouds, foreboding snow, der’r a snawy b. ower (upo) de hill (N.Roe). brimi, recorded from Woodwick, U., is allied to brim$^1$, sb. — O.N. brimi, m., fire (poet.); Mod. Icel. brimi, m., flaming fire. The meanings of Shetl. brimi, etc., given under 3, must be considered as being developed from meaning 1 (meaning 2 forming a link), as the word “fire” has been used in transferred sense of bright, flame-coloured clouds — latterly in a wider sense. It may be remarked, with reference to the expr. “a windy b.”, ​that in Sw. dialects “bremme”, m., is found in sense of cold wind (Ri.).
brimmogi, sb., see brinnamogi.
brim-stew [brɩmstju, -sᶄū], brima [brɩma]- and (more rarely) brime [brɩmə]-stew, sb., dense, misty spray rising from a heavy surf breaking on the coast. Comm. Occas. by comparison, in sense of vapour rising from the earth; der’r a “brim-stew” standin ut fae (frae) de land (Nm$^w$.). The first part is O.N. brim, n., surf; the second part L.Sc. stew, dust; vapour. Cf. brimaskodd, sb.
brimtod [brɩm·tɔd·, -tɔ̇d·], sb., sound of the surf breaking on the shore. Fe. Latterly the word has been used as a tabu-term by fishermen at sea. *brim-þot; No. brim-tot, n., sound of the waves breaking against the rocks.
brind$^1$ [brɩnd, br$^e$ind, bre$^i$nd, brɛ$^i$nd, bräᶇd], vb., of animals: to be in heat; esp. a) of females (sheep, mares): to desire the male; de yowe [‘ewe’] or mare is brindin; also of males: rutting; b) to pair; de hwals is brindin, de cats is brindin. — brindin-time, rutting-time. — *brynda = *brunda; No. brunda, Sw. dial. brunnda (brynnda, brönnda), vb., to be in heat; O.N. brundr, m., rut; sexual desire; Da. brynde, sb., id.
brinn$^1$ [brɩn] and comm. brind$^2$ [brɩnd, br$^e$iᶇd, bræᶇd, bräᶇd], vb., to give domestic animals water, to brinn or brind de cattle; U. More comm. in the sense: to feed a small animal, to give a calf, a sucking-pig or a lamb something warm (a sort of gruel, see vellin, sb.) to drink by pouring the fluid into the mouth of the animal, to brind de calf, grice, lamb. O.N. brynna, vb., to water the horses, the cattle; No. “brynna” esp.: to give the cattle something warm to drink (R.).
brinn$^2$ [brɩn, bren], vb., to burn; O.N. brenna. In its vowel-sound the word has been influenced by L.Sc. bryn, brin, vb., to burn, to which it also assimilates. Cf. brenna, brennek$^1$, brenner, sbs.
brinnamogi [breᶇ··amog·i, bräᶇ··amog·i], sb., the foremost part of the stomach (mogi) of a fish, attached to the gills; Nm$^w$. Also in the form brimmogi [brɩ(m)··mog·i, bräi(m)··mog·i]; Nm.; Wests. (Fo.). brim- has prob. arisen from brinn- through assimilating infl. of the foll. m in “mogi”. The first part of the compd. might be thought to be either O.N. brýnn, adj., projecting, or rather a deriv. of O.N. brunnr, m., a well, designating, in this case, a channel; mouth; cf. No. brynne, n., the narrow part of a lake towards its outlet (R.). The second part is O.N. magi, m., stomach. Other names for the foremost part of the stomach of a fish are minnamogi (monna-) and topmogi.
brintek [br$^e$i‘ntək, brɩ‘ntek], adjectivally in the expr. “b. wadder”, weather with strong (and dry) wind; U. Prob. orig. from O.N. “brún veðr”, pl., fair wind (Eg.), or brýnn byrr, fair breeze (O.N. brýnn, adj., keen; projecting, etc.). For the suffix -tek, cf. e.g. istek (istek wadder).
bris$^1$ [brɩs, brəs], sb., glandulous lump of flesh and fat adhering to the liver, esp. in sheep. *bris. No. and Fær. bris, n., lump in the flesh; glandulous lump of flesh or fat.
bris$^2$ [brɩs], sb., crack; fissure; defect; der’r no a b. or skamm upon it, there is neither scratch nor blemish on it (Fe.). O.N. brestr, m., crack; fissure.
briskatilli [brəs··katɩl·i, -təl·i], sb., brisket of an animal, esp. that of a cow; de b. o’ de coo. Fe., N.Roe. The first part of the compd. “brəska”- (orig. from O.N. brjóst, n., breast) ​modified by Eng. brisket, sb.; the second part tilli = No. tylling, m., lump.
briski, sb., see brøsk, sb.
brismek [brɩsmək], sb., cusk (a species of cod), esp. a young cusk (while “tusk” denotes the species or the full-grown fish). Comm. O.N. brosma, f., cusk.
†brist [brɩst, brist], sb., on the old Shetl. wooden plough: “breast”, the foremost part of the plough-beam from “de knee” (the bend of the plough-beam where the plough-share is fastened). S.Sh. In its form the word is most like Eng. “breast”, but the designation is certainly handed down from the old Norn dialect. Cf. ar-tree, orderos (erderos), sb.
brist [brɩst, brist], vb., 1) to come or go at great speed (rudely); he cam’ or guid [‘went’] bristin. 2) to “b. on” upon a body, to accost a person very angrily and violently (Nm$^w$.). O.N. bresta, vb., to crash; crack; Fær. bresta, “koma brestandi”, of an inconsiderate, headlong gait. In such senses as: a) to walk quickly up-hill, he guid bristin op de hill, and b) to walk quickly against the wind, to geng bristin on upo de wind (Nm$^w$.), brist has been influenced by Eng. breast, vb., to which it also partly assimilates. In the pronunc. the Shetl. word is doubtless influenced by brist [brɩst, brist], sb., the Shetl. form of Eng. breast, sb. — Cf. brest, sb. and vb.
brit [brit, brɩt], vb., to b. anesell, to stretch oneself in the warmth (in the sunshine or by the fire); he lay britin him afore de sun, de grice [‘pig’] lay britin him afore de fire. N.I. Prob. O.N. bretta, vb., to raise on end; to bend or to twist backwards; No. bretta seg = to twist and turn oneself (R.).
britj$^1$ [brɩtᶊ], vb., to cut up, to cut (or saw) into pieces, to b. kail, to cut up cabbage-leaves for the cattle; to b. fish, to cut a fish half through across the back before boiling; to b. a sawstock, to saw a piece of timber in two. N.I. Also brotj [brȯtᶊ], e.g.: to b. op claes, to cut clothes, stuff, into pieces; Y., Fe. O.N. brytja, vb., to cut up (a slaughtered animal).
†britj$^2$ [brɩtᶊ], vb., to fall or to slip suddenly; hit [‘it’] britsjed [brɩtᶊəd, brɩtᶊt] doon [‘down’] or back on me. Prob. the same word as Mod. H.G. britschen, Sw. dial. britsa, vb., to strike.
britjin [brɩtᶊɩn], sb., a cod, cut half through with a single cut across the back before being put into the pot (in contrast to tribritjin, sb., cod with three cuts). Y$^b$. *brytjingr. See britj$^1$, vb.
bro$^1$ [brō], sb., characteristic feature or likeness, esp. inherited likeness in features; only reported in negative phrases: shø [‘she’] has no [‘not’] a b. o’ her midder [‘mother’], she has no resemblance to her mother. N.Roe or Wh. *brá. No. braa, Sw. dial. brå, b. på, vb., to resemble; take after (= bregda, brägda); cf. O.N. bragð, n., inter alia outward appearance (b. 4. Fr.).
bro$^2$ [brō], sb., 1) a bubble of foam, resembling spittle, enclosing an insect; freq. seen in the grass in the fields, esp. in autumn, and said to cause sickness among cattle; doubtless the name of the insect. 2) butterwort, pinguicula (plant); full of sticky, insect-catching glands and avoided by grazing cattle; U. — “de coo is eten [‘has eaten’] a b. ut o’ de eart’”, is said of a cow when having cramp in the tongue (U.). The word is usually applied in the phrase “to bite (upo) de b.”; “shø [‘she’] has bitten de b.”, of a ​cow suddenly taken ill; metaph. of persons: “he (shø) has bitten upo de b.”, he (she) has taken offence, has felt offended (without any real reason). No. braae, m., an insect, said to be dangerous to cattle (Aa.), Acarus Holosericus (Wilse); Sw. dial. bråde, bråe, m., Acarus terrestris ruber: insect, said to cause the so-called tympanitis in cattle (Ri.). — brat [brat] (Nm.; C.), bratek [brātək] and braten [brātən, -tɩn] (Nm.; De.; Ai.), appear in the same sense as bro 1, likewise brater [brātər] (Nm.), which (orig.) designates larva of an insect (caterpillar), and must, in this sense, be a deriv. of Gael. bratag, f.
bro$^3$ [brō], sb., liver of a halibut. Fo., N.I. *bráð (something to be melted). Cf. bro, vb., and bred, vb.
bro [brō, br$^ɩ$ō], vb., to melt (oil from liver). Fo. See further bred, vb.
brod$^1$ [brɔd, bråd], sb., a piece of something broken; a broken wooden vessel or pot. Mostly of wooden objects, prob. through infl. of another brod (L.Sc. brod = Eng. board). O.N. brot, n., fragment. Cf. the compds. pottabrod, skola- or skolibrod. brod must be regarded as Eng. “board” in compds. such as dolibrod (= dorifel) and klibberbrod.
brod$^2$ [bråd], sb., capable, vigorous person, a b. o’ a chield. Ai. Cf. Fær. “brot” in “konubrot”, n., active, clever woman; No. brota, adj. (and adv.), powerful; mighty; strong.
brod$^3$ [bråd], sb., a sudden pull on the line, to drive the hook into the mouth of a fish, to mak’ a b., to gi’e [‘give’] a b. Du. Prob. from O.N. brot, n., breach, also in sense of violent movement (cf. No. brot 3 in Aa.), convulsion (brot 8: Fr.).
brod [bråd], vb., to pull the line suddenly, in order to drive the hook into the mouth of a fish; occas. with object: to b. de fish. Du. Prob. to be regarded as a deriv. of brod$^3$, sb. The verb might, however, also be explained as a brodd from O.N. brodda, vb., to pierce, really to sting.
brodd [brȯd], sb., the first shooting up of plants, esp. of corn; de breer (corn-breer) is in b. Y$^h$. O.N. broddr, m., spike; point. See brodda, sb.
brodd [brȯ$^i$d, brɔ̇$^i$d], vb., to come in sight (with the top or point, somewhat faintly); de hill (hill-top) just brodds in sight; de fish brodds i’ de “skrøf” (L.Sc. scroofe, scrufe): near the surface of the water. Nm$^w$. Also pronounced [brȯd] (Y$^h$.) in sense of to begin to sprout, of plants, esp. of grain; de corn (corn-breer) is broddin [brȯdɩn]; de krø (the cabbage-plants in the enclosure, de krø) is broddin. O.N. brydda, vb., to show the point. See brodda, sb.
brodda [brȯᶁa], sb., the first view or appearance of something; to come “in b.” and a-brodda [abrȯᶁ·a, abråᶁ·a], a) to come in sight, show itself, e.g. of the point of a promontory, the top of a hill, a fish coming to the surface of the water; b) to begin to leak out, of a piece of news, a rumour. a-brodd [abråd·] =a-brodda a. to be (lie) in b., a-brodda and a-brodd, to be in sight. in brodda: Fe., U$^s$. (U$^n$.: in skoit); a-brodda: Fe., Y.; a-brodd: N.Roe. The form is influenced by Eng. “abroad” (in Shetl. pronounced: abråd·). O.N. broddr, m., spike; point; the sharp end of an object; O.N. brydda, vb., inter alia: to project by top or point (e.g. of the top of a hill). For the form brodda, cf. No. brydda, f., = brodd, ​m. — Cf. brodd, vb., and skott, skoit, sb.
broget [brōgət], adj., pied; stained; variegated; a b. coo [‘cow’], a b. sock [‘stocking, sock’). Rare (reported by J.I.). No. brokutt, adj., stained (R.), Da. broget, pied; L.Sc. broakit, broakie, brocked, variegated, black and white (of a cow). The change brok- > brog- in Shetl. indicates the word to be Norn and not borrowed later from L.Sc. Cf. brogi, adj., which prop. is the same word.
brogg [brog, brȯg], sb., low bank; knoll; elevation; also a large lump of earth; borabrogg, rush-grown knoll. Comm. in pl., broggs, of uneven ground, broken up, cut by cracks and fissures. Prop. the same word as brekk, sb.; q.v. For the vowel cf. No. brokka, brokke, f., parallel form to “brekka”. A form brokk [bråk] is found, e.g. in Papa St., but only as a place-name, name of a bank: de Langbrokkens [laŋ·bråk·əns]: *langbrekkurnar. For a change kk > gg, g, cf. e.g. baggiskjump, sb., and see Introd. V (also N.Spr. VII), § 38 a. A form with lengthened vowel, brogi [brōgi], peculiar to N.Roe and M.Roe, is used, partly as a common noun, partly as a place-name: de Brogi o’ Brebister, o’ Hulen, etc., names of banks; in M.Roe only as a place-name: de Brogis, two hillocks.
brogget [brogət], adj., lumpy; uneven, of worsted; b. worsed [‘worsted’]. U$^n$. Deriv. of brogg, sb.
broggi [brogi], adj. of soil: rough, cut by cracks and fissures. Prop. the same word as brogget.
brogi [brogi, brɔgi]. adj., of the sky: overcast with clouds through which the clear sky appears in large patches, a b. sky (= a holi sky); of weather: dry, but with a partly overcast sky (cloud-formations with clear sky in between). b. wadder. U$^n$. Deriv. of an obs. word *brog in the sense of: a) stain; spot (large discoloration); b) cloud-formation. N. Sw. dials. brok, m., dark spot; Icel. brok, n., cloud-formation; No. brokutt, adj., stained.
brok [brok], sb., 1) tangle; disorder, a’ [‘all’] in a b.; Y. 2) commotion in the sea, heavy sea with choppy waves, a b. i’ de sea (Fe.); der’r a b. o’ sea on, there is a choppy sea near the land (Nm$^w$.). N.Sh. To be classed with No. braaka and broka, vb., a) to break; wring; wriggle; b) to be noisy; to creak; roar; braak, n., a breaking; wringing; etc.
brok [brok], vb., 1) to walk in a heedless and careless manner, laying about one and overturning (smashing) what comes in one’s way, to geng brokin aboot; Du. 2) to speak badly and unintelligibly; he could b. trough [‘through’] English; N.I. Is prob. the same word as No. braaka, broka, vb., to break; wring; to be noisy, etc.; Sw. dial. bråka, vb., to break. See brok, sb.
broket [brokət], adj., queer; ludicrous; behaving in a strange manner; he was very b.-like, he had a b. way aboot him, he behaved in a peculiar way. N.Roe. To be classed with brok, sb., and brok, vb.
brol, sb. and vb., see brøl$^2$, sb., and brøl, vb.
brolk$^1$ [brȯ‘ᶅk], sb., protuberance; knob, a b. on de nose; knob on the forehead of a polled cow or the sprouting horns of a calf’s forehead; small hump, a b. atween de shooders [‘shoulders’]; bump caused by a blow (= brøl). N.Sh. *bi-rulkr. Fær. rulkur, m., bundle; knot: No. rulk, m., bundle; pad-formed protuberance; elongated bump. ​For the prefix b- from *bi-, cf. bjels, bjelset, blohonnin, breg, brori, bruks, brøl$^1$ (sb.).
brolk$^2$ [brȯ‘ᶅk], sb., contemptuous expr. regarding a person. Wests. Doubtless the same word as brolki$^2$.
brolket [brȯ‘ᶅkət], adj., uneven; lumpy; having lump(s) or knot(s); a b. nose, a b. taati [‘potato’]. N.Sh. *bi-rulkóttr. See brolk$^1$, sb.
brolki$^1$ [brȯ‘ᶅki], sb., knot; bump; esp.: a) backbone of a ray when the meat has been scraped off, de b. o’ de skate; b) instep, de b. o’ de foot. N.Roe. Either directly derived from brolk$^1$, sb. (q.v.) or a mutated form: *bi-rylki; cf. No. rylkje, n., = rulk.
brolki$^2$ [brȯ‘ᶅki], sb., a blunt, rough person. Conn. Poss. for *brolt(i), and, in that case, to be classed with No. brult and brylt, m., a vulgar, noisy person. The change bjert > bjerk (and *björt > björk), given under bjart$^1$, adj., may be compared with *brolt > brolk. See brolk$^2$, sb.
brolli [brȯᶅɩ], sb., brother, tabu-name, sea-term. Y$^n$. l-deriv. of “bróðir”. Cf. brui, sb.
bromek [bromək], sb., 1) a big, stout person, esp. a woman; U$^n$. 2) a fat ewe, slaughtered at Christmas-time, a jøl-b.; Conn.; Fo. — No. brama, f., stately, imposing woman; brama, vb., to glitter; look well; flourish. bromek is poss. rather to be associated with No. (Dal, Sogn) brumsa, f., corpulent, slow (and slipshod) woman (R.).
*brong, *bronga, *brongi [brɔŋ, brɔŋga, -gi], sb., small (breast-shaped) hill or bank; now only as a place-name. Icel. (Mod.Icel.) bringr, m., hillock; O.N. bringa, f., breast.
bronget, brunget [broŋgət], adj., of animals, esp. sheep: dark-coloured with light breast or light-coloured with dark breast, a b. sheep. Ai. *bringóttr, adj., from O.N. bringa, f., breast.
brongi, brungi [brɔŋgi, broŋgi], sb., = brongiskarf.
brongikwidin, brungi- [broŋ··gikwi·din], sb., 1) = brongiskarf, white-breasted cormorant. 2) “white-breasted man”, nickname for a man wearing a white waistcoat. Fo. *bringuhvíti-nn (def. form) of *bringuhvítr, adj., white-breasted (Fær. bringukvítur). See *brong and brongiskarf.
brongiskarf, brungi- [brɔŋ··giska‘rf·, broŋgi-], sb., white-breasted cormorant, in contrast to lorin skarf. *bringu-skarfr. See *brong and brongikwidin.
brori [brōri], sb., bugbear, scarecrow, = rori; also fig. of a repulsive, ragged person. Wests. (Sa.). “(b)rori” must be the same word as ro (bugbear, scarecrow), used in Fo., and prob. springs from an orig. (*bi-)hræða or (*bi-)hræra; cf. Icel. hraeða, No. ræda, f., bugbear, scarecrow. For a poss. root-form *bi-hræra, cf. O.N. “rærir” for “ræðir” (= hræðir) and hrœði = hrœri; see S. Bugge in Arkiv f. nord. Fil. II, 241 f. For the vowel-sound -o in Shetl. brori, rori, ro, cf. e.g. ro (comm.), carcass, = O.N. hræ, n., carcass; see further Introd.V (also N. Spr. VII), § 25 for dropped i-mutation in Shetl. Norn. The prefix *bi- in Shetl. is exemplified under brolk, sb.
brosek [brȯᶊək], sb., bold, quick, active person, a b. o’ a chield; mostly of a woman: a b. o’ a lass. L., Ai. In Ai. also brusek [bruᶊək, broᶊək]. No. brose, Sw. dial. bruse, m., active, vigorous, stately fellow. [broᶎək] from No. brysja, vb.? See broser, sb.
broser [brōsər], sb., a stout, vigorous, stately person; also vigorous, energetic woman (= brosek). ​L. In Wh. is found a form brouser [brɔusər], in sense of a pretentious person. — Orig. from the same word as the preceding brosek; cf. further No. brøsen and brøseleg, adj., well-built; clever; stout, etc. (R.).
brosk(i), sb., see brøsk.
brost, sb., see brust.
brotj, vb., see britj$^1$, vb.
brotl, brottel, sb. and vb., see brutl.
bru, sb., see brun, sb.
brug [brūg], sb., a small height or mound,flat on the top. Sa. Prob. a contraction of *bruek (bru-ek), an extended form of bru (No. bru, f.) = *brun, sb., brow; edge (q.v.) and the suffix -ek (L.Sc. -ick, -ack, -ock). Cf. L.Sc. brow, sb., a rising ground. A development *bruek > brug may be confirmed by referring to the word tug [tūg], sb., knoll, from *tuek (tu-ek).
brugg [brog], sb., edge; border, e.g. of a cultivated patch of land, also of a steep coast: de b. o’ de (corn-)rig, o’ de banks. Du. No. brugd, f., upward bent edge; raised frame or selvage.
brugg, sb., see brogg and brekk, sbs.
brugget, adj., see brogget, adj.
brui [brūi], sb., brother, only preserved in certain phrases: a) as a tabu-name, used by fishermen at sea; Y$^n$.; b) in jocular address to a person: “bridder [‘brother’] brui!” Fe. — brui is also sometimes used: a) in sense of gnome, bugbear: had [‘hold’] dy tongue, boy! b. will come, b. will tak’ dee (U$^n$.); b) as a name for the devil; in that case, it may be either the same word as brui, brother, or syn. with Sw. dial. braue, n. pl., trolls; witchcraft (Ri.).
bruk [bruk (brūk)], sb., mass; heap, a b. o’ fish, a b. o’ waar (L.Sc. ware, seaweed; cf. O.N. þarabrúk); occas. also fig. of a multitude or crowd, a b. o’ fok. O.N. brúk, n., a mass; multitude; heap.
bruks [broks], vb., to have a bad cold in the head with a hoarse throat and cough, to b. or geng bruksin in a cauld [‘cold’]. N.Roe(?). Ti. Prob. from an orig. *bi-hráksa, deriv. of *bi-hrák-. O.N. hráki, m., sputum, and hrækja, vb., to spit; No. rækja, vb., to hawk, etc., also to emit hoarse sounds (roar); Sw. dial. råka, vb., to cough and spit. For the s-deriv. cf. No. kraksa, vb., to cough up, N. Sw. dials. kraaks’, vb., to cough, cough up phlegm, as well as Shetl. krek and kreks, vb. For examples of the prefix *bi- in Shetl., see under brolk, sb.
brults [bro‘lts], sb., crash; noise; tramping, mostly in pl. (brultses); I heard de brultses o’ him (comin’), I heard him coming, stumbling and tramping. Wests. Cf. O.N. brǫlta, vb., to tumble about; No. brult (brolt), n., noise; crash, “bralsa, braalsa”, vb., = brolta, brulta (to make a noise).
brumplek [bro‘mplək], sb., 1) rockling, motella, a species of cod, esp. a young rockling of brownish colour. 2) blenny, a small fish, belonging to the genus blennius, No. tangbrosma, Fær. tarabrosma; tang-tusk, tang-brismek (Fe.) = brumplek (Papa St.). — S.Sh., L., Wh., Wests. occas. Also (more rarely) brumplin [bro‘mplɩn] (L. occas.). — Should the word be a compd., the first part may be *brún-, brown, referring to the brownish colour of the fish, or poss. a contraction of the word “brosma”, cusk. plukk [plok], sb., small cod, may poss. be compared with -plek.
brun [brūn], sb., brow; ridge; steep hill or bank, now scarcely used except as a place-name, in names of steep banks. O.N. brún, f., brow, sharp edge. In sense of brow; ​edge, the form bru [brū], = No. bru, f., brow, is now commonly used. Shetl. bru, however, has sometimes a special Norse application in the colloq. use, differing from Eng., e.g. in the phrase: “de bru o’ day” or “de bru o’ de mornin’,” the break of day, = O.N. dagsbrún. To be classed with this, prob. also the compd. “brun [brūn]-starn”(Y., Fe.), a star appearing just before dawn, morning-star, also called “day-starn” (O.N. dagstjarna).
brun [brūn], adj., brown; O.N. brúnn, brown. — “brun button”, sb., wren (bird); Fe.
brunget, brungi, see: a) bronget, brongi; b) brunket, brunki.
bruni [brūni], sb., tabu-name (sea-term) for the otter. U., Y. “*(hinn) brúni”, the brown one.
brunka [bro‘ŋka], sb., brown mare or cow, used as a proper noun. N.I. *brúnka. See brunki, sb., and brunket, adj.
brunket [bro‘ŋkət], adj., brownish, having a brown tint; Conn. brunget [broŋgət], id.; U. *brúnkaðr; cf. No. brunka, Fær. brúnka, vb., to dye slightly brown; No. brunke, m., the act of dying brown; brown spot.
brunki [bro‘ŋki], sb., brown stallion or bull, used as a proper noun. N.I. Proverbial phrase: “Some day Brunki was as weel [‘well’] saidled [‘saddled’]”, “once upon a time the brown (the brown horse) was fully as well saddled” (N.I.), of someone who has seen better days. — In Fo. the word is used in the form brungi [broŋgi] of a brown potato. — *brúnki. For the derivative ending see brunket, adj.
brus [brūs, brô$^ə$s], sb., in the expr. “de hard b.” as a tabu-name (sea-term) for the sinker, the lead of the fishing hand-line or long-line. Poss. to be classed with Icel. brúsi, m., a jar, earthenware bottle.
bruski [bruski, broski], sb., a bold person with an open, frank demeanour, a b. o’ a man or o’ a wife [‘woman’]. Du. Etym. cognate with brosek and broser, sb.; q.v.
bruski [bruski, broski], adj., frank, bold-looking, a b. face. Du. See bruski, brosek and broser, sbs.
brust$^1$ [brost (brust)], sb., the setting in of ebb and the simultaneous turning of the tide; he nuggs de b., it begins to ebb (P.; Fo.); de b. o’ de tide, de snar o’ de b., turn of tide at the setting in of ebb. Also found in the forms brustin [brostin] and brost [brȯst]. In Fo. brust is used in the expr.: “he fløds de b.” (applied to the beginning of flood), it begins to flow, opp. to “he nuggs de b.” — The word is prob. to be classed with No. brusta (and brausta), vb., to force one’s way or to push forward. L.Sc. broost, sb., a violent movement forward. The beginning of ebb is sometimes called “de brakin’ [‘breaking’] o’ de water” (Nm.). — Cf. brust$^2$, bruster, sb.
brust$^2$ [brost] and bruster [broster], sb., 1) violent gale or squall of wind; he’s blawin’ [‘blowing’] a b. 2) violence; bad temper; he was in a b., he spoke in an ill-tempered, angry manner. U. Doubtless the same word as brust$^1$, sb. Cf. further No. brosa, f., gust of wind; heavy squall.
brust [brost], vb., 1) to blow hard; he’s brustin; U. 1) to begin to ebb (at the turn of the tide); he’s brustin, he’s begun to b. — Cf. No. brusta (brausta), vb., and L.Sc. broost, sb., under brust$^1$, sb. — “to brak [‘break’] de water” is another phrase for “to begin to ebb”; he braks (is brakin’) de water (Nm.).
brutl, bruttel [brot(ə)l], sb., rumbling; tramping, he cam’ in wi’ a b.; a loud rattling or scraping sound, esp. upon stony ground: a b. ower ​de stanes, to mak’ a b. De$^w$. (M.Roe). From Sa. is recorded brotl, brottel [brȯt(ə)l] of a confused, rumbling sound of many tramping feet; de kye [‘cows’] guid [‘went’] ut wi’ a b. (ut o’ de byre). No. brutla, vb., inter alia to make a noise; to rattle. Cf. bratl, brattel, sb.
brutl, bruttel [brot(ə)l], vb., to rumble; tramp; to make a loud, rattling or scraping sound, to geng brutlin, e.g. upon stony ground. De$^w$. (M.Roe). brotl, brottel [brȯt(ə)l]: Sa. See brutl, sb.
*brø [brø̄], vb., to tar, to b. de far, to tar the boat, tabu-expr., used by fishermen. Y$^n$. O.N. bræða, vb., to tar. See bred (bret, bræit), vb.
brød [brø̄d], sb., an opened road; to brak de b., to clear the way, also in fig. sense; — series of footprints, e.g. in snow; a path or strip of ground trampled by cattle (M. = trod: N.I.); (sheep-)brød, sheep-track (Nm.); brøds o’ a auld [‘old’] dyke, traces, remains of an old wall (N.). de Brøds [brø̄ds, brøds] o’ Kalsta (N.Roe) is found as a place-name (in pl.), denoting a rocky stretch along the shore. O.N. braut, f., breaking up; an opened way, etc. (in place-names: braut, brauta, f., a steep bank); No. “braut”, inter alia: a way cleared in the snow or in a slope.
brøl$^1$ [brøl], sb., a bump; swelling, esp. after a knock or blow; he drave [‘drove’] a b. op [‘up’] upon his broo [‘brow’], he struck him such a blow that a bump appeared on his brow. U$^{m,n}$. No. ryl, m., a wale; bump; Sw. dial. rul, röll (ryl), m., pad-formed knot; bump. b in brøl must be explained as the prefix *bi-; cf. brolk, sb.
brøl$^2$ [brø̄l, brø̄$^ə$l], sb., a bellow, esp. the lowing of a cow; comm. — brol [brōl, brō$^ə$l]: Du. — See brøl, vb.
brøl [brø̄l, brø̄$^ə$l], vb., to bellow, esp. of cows; comm.; also to howl; shriek, e.g. of cat’s caterwauling in pairing time (Conn.), brol [brōl, brō$^ə$l]: Du. No. braula, vb., to bawl; Da. brøle (O.N. baula).
brølek [brø̄lək, brø̄$^ə$lək], sb., a cow, prop. the lowing one, esp. as a tabu-name, used by fishermen at sea. Deriv. of brøl, vb. Cf. O.N. baula, f., a cow, from baula, vb., to bellow.
brøni [(brø̄ni) brøni], sb., a barley- or oat-cake baked on a grid-iron. Comm. Prob. *“brýn-”, deriv. of brúnn, adj., brown, and denoting something made brown over the fire; cf. Sw. dial. “brun” in the compd. “brunost”, cheese-cake, and “bryna”, vb., to roast; No. bryne, kakubryne, n., a piece or slice of bread or cake (R.).
*brøniskolt [brøᶇ··ɩskå‘lt·], sb., a kind of banquet, a feast, recorded in the foll. phrase: “Would ye no [‘not’] stop and ha’e part in wir [‘our’] b.?” U$^n$. The first part of the compd. is doubtless brøni, cake (see prec.); the second part is poss. associated with No. and Sw. dial. skulta, vb., to settle one’s account; *skolt then would designate either a subscription-party or a feast, given reciprocally or by turns. Or *brønis-golt? *golt = O.N. gildi, n., a feast?
brøsk, brøski [brøsk, -i], sb., gristle; N.I.; Conn. Also brosk [brȯsk], broski [brȯski] and briski [brəski], de b. o’ de nose (rather comm.). Acc. to Edm.: “brūsk” with a long vowel-sound. O.N. brjósk, n., gristle.
*brøst [brøst] and *brøs [brøs], sb., a steep bank or hill, prop. breast, O.N. brjóst, n. Now only found in place-names. Fo. [brøst]. Conn. [brøs]. In Conn. Skelderbrøs [skældər-] [*skjaldar-brjóst] is another name for Skelderhul [skæl··dərol·] [*skjaldarhóll]; hul [*hóll], hill. — In a similar sense, *brong (q.v.).
​bu$^1$ [bū], sb., shoulder of an animal, “fore-bu”; de (fore-)bus o’ a sheep, coo, horse. O.N. bógr, m., shoulder (of an animal). Shetl. bu, “boo”, is also comm. used of the bow of a vessel.
*bu$^2$ [bū], sb., sometimes abode; farm, sometimes stock of cattle on a farm, — O.N. bú, n.; in Shetl. now only used in some compds.: buhelli, bulag, “bu-man”, busten, butiind — q.v. In Jam. suppl., “bû”, sb. pl., cattle, is given as appearing in old Shetl. and Ork. deeds. In Ork., bu [bū] is still found in sense of manor.
bu$^3$ [bū], sb., continuance of any kind of weather, good or bad (mostly indeed with south-easterly wind); a bu o’wadder; he “set in” a bu fae (frae) de sooth-east, more settled weather set in with wind from the south-east. U$^n$. The word may poss. be explained from O.N. búð, f., (habitation; residence; booth) “situation in which one finds oneself at the time” (Fr.). Somewhat diff. are No. budvedr, n., “long, heavy rains, confining one to the booth” (R.), and No. bu(d?)vind, m., south-easterly wind with fine, drizzling rain (R.). See lega, sb.
bua [būa], sb., a cow, as a pet-name; geng and bind de b., go and tether the cow. Conn. Cf. Da. bu-ko. See bøa.
buffel [bufəl, bofəl], vb., 1) to push; shove; buffet, to b. a body [‘person’]. 2) to walk with a clumsy, rolling gait; to work one’s way through mud and snow, to geng buflin [buflɩn] trough de snaw [‘through the snow’] (N.Roe). Cf. Sw. dial. buffla, vb., deriv. of “buffa”, to strike; push; shove; No. buffa, L.Sc. (Eng.) buff, vb., id.; No. bufsa, vb., to spring or run clumsily.
buflin [buflɩn, boflin], sb., 1) pushing; shoving. 2) clumsy or rolling gait. 3) a drubbing. Deriv. of buffel, vb.
bugdalin [bog··dalin·, -lɩn·], sb., stuffing, something rolled up for stuffing into an opening to fill it, e.g. in a boat, wall, shoe, etc. U$^n$. More comm. in the forms bogdalin [bȯg··dalɩn·], bogdelin [bȯg··dəlɩn·] and bogdel [bȯgdəl]; N.I.; Nm. Edm. has: “bugdalin, ceiling of a boat or ship”; not confirmed in this sense. Poss. a compd.; bugd-, bogd- might be Icel. bugða, f., a bend; curve, No. bugda, f., a bight; loop.
*bugga [boga], sb., barley. Fo. O.N. bygg, n., barley. See *bigg$^1$, *biggin.
buggerablanda (buggerum-), sb., see biggerablanda.
buglin [boglɩn], sb., refuse of barley, used as fodder for cattle. Fo. Deriv. of *bugg(a), sb.; see prec.
bugræis, bu-grice [būgräis], sb., the first pig of a sow’s litter, sucking the pap next to the shoulder. *bóggríss. No. and Sw. “boggris” denotes conversely, the last pig of a litter. Cf. “water-droger.”
bugt [boχt (bɔχt)], sb., coiled-up fishing-line; esp. of a certain length, 40 to 50 fathoms; 10 to 12 bugts make a pakki (the whole length of the line). Comm. O.N. bugt, f., = bugr, m., a bend; curvature. — In sense of the inside bend of the elbow-joint (de bugt, bogt o’ de airm), bugt and bogt [bɔχt] are = L.Sc. boucht, bought (curvature).
buhelli [bū·hɛl·i], sb., 1) sexual continence in a bridal couple between the reading of the banns and the wedding itself; to had [‘hold’] or keep b.; U$^{m,n}$. 2*) acc. to Edm.: The 5th day before Christmas, a sort of holiday, on the keeping of which the future safety of one’s cattle was supposed to depend. — *búhelgi (-helgr); O.N. bú, n., domicile; place of residence; ​household, etc.; O.N. helgi and helgr, f., holiness; inviolability; day or time which must be kept holy. In buhelli 2, bu mainly denotes stock of cattle, in which sense O.N. bú also is found (bú 6. Fr.); see *bu$^2$.
buk [buk], sb., trunk of the body, in contrast to the limbs; he has baid [‘both’] b. and ben, der’r b. and ben in him, he is both stout and vigorous (Fo., Conn.); cf. Fær. “búkur og bein’’, with reference to the flesh and frame of a body. O.N. búkr, m., abdomen; body; trunk; L.Sc. bouk, buik, sb., trunk of the body (esp. in contrast to the limbs).
bukk [bo‘k, bok], sb., 1) sheep, esp. a ram with 3 or 4 horns; also bokk [bɔ‘k]; Nm. (bukk, bokk); De. (bukk). 2) scarecrow; bugbear with horns, “horn-bukk”; U$^n$. O.N. bukkr, bokkr, m., billy-goat; No. “bukk” also occas. used of a ram (saud-bukk).
bukkiblindi [bok·iblɩn·di], sb., blind-man’s buff; to play b. No. blindebukk, Da. blindebuk. In Shetl. the two parts of the compd. are transposed.
buks, boks [boks, bɔks], sb., clumsy jump (jumps); tramping steps; to mak’ a b., to tramp clumsily (really to make a clumsy jump). U$^n$. Cf. No. byks(e), n., a jump; spring, and Shetl. buks, vb.
buks [boks] and boks [bɔks], vb., to jump in a clumsy manner; to plunge; tramp with clumsy, jumping steps; he bukst (bokst) in a hole, he plunged into a hole; to b. trough gutter, trough a mire, to plunge through a morass (Conn.). N.I. [boks (bɔks)]. Conn. [bɔks]. — “knee-buks”, to k.-b. a body, (during a wrestling-match) to keep a vanquished man down by placing one’s knee on his abdomen. — O.N. byxa, vb., to jump; to walk or run with jumping, swinging movements; No. byksa.
buksteros, -ous [bok··stərȯs·], adj., pushing; obtrusive; a b. body, one who pushes himself forward too much. U$^n$. Deriv. of buks- (see prec. buks, sb. and vb.), which again is a deriv. of *buk, *bok (*bauk); cf. No. bykja, vb., to push or force one’s way, occas. = boka, buka, bauka.
bul$^1$, sb. and vb., see bøl.
bul$^2$, sb., see bol$^3$, sb.
*bulag [bū·lāg·], sb., special kind or breed of cattle; fig. and in a disparaging sense of people: family, breed. U$^n$. *bú-(lag or)slag. The first part of the compd. is O.N. bú, n., domicile, also stock of cattle. The second part might poss. be O.N. lag, n., placing; position; mode; species, etc., in No. also = brood, but is more probably (O.N.) slag, n., kind; sort (No., Sw., Icel., Fær.), with dropped initial s in Shetl., the more so as No. “buslag”, n., is found in Aasen in the same sense as the Shetl. word (breed of cattle; jokingly of relations, family). For sporadic dropping of initial s in Shetl., see bipong, sb., and N.Spr. p. 55.
bulbend, sb., see bolbend.
bulder [boldər] and bolder [bȯldər], sb., 1) a rumble; noise. 2) bubbling; seething; a sound of something boiling. 3) quick, unintelligible speech. No. bulder, buller, m., rumble; bubbling; Da. bulder, rumble. 4) a bulder o’ stens, a heap of stones (U$^n$.). With the latter cf. bulder, vb., sense 4.
bulder [boldər] and bolder [bȯldər], vb., 1) to rumble; make a noise. 2) to bubble; seethe. 3) to speak quickly and unintelligibly, to b. Dutch. 4) to pile up anything large in a quick and careless way, e.g. a peat-stack consisting of big peats; to b. a ting (a peat-stack) op; Fe$^w$. [bȯldər]. No. buldra, vb., to rumble; bubble; Da. buldre, to rumble.
buleg [būləg], sb., overeating; an excessive meal; he took a b. Y$^h$. Doubtless to be classed with No. bula, vb., to fill; stuff; pack.
​bulek [bulək, bolək], sb., a bump; small swelling or boil; sty, a b. on de ee [‘eye’]; blister; blain; vesicle, a watery b. on de skin, = blem(m)ek. O.N. bóla, f., bump; semi-globular swelling; No. “bola” also = bubble; vesicle.
buli [bull], adj., healthy; vigorous; robust, a b. lad. Nm. No. bulig, bulug, bulleg, adj., having a large trunk; corpulent; vigorous and well-grown.
buling, sb., see burek, sb.
bulk [bu‘lk, bo‘lk], sb., bump; knot; small hump; in a restricted sense, of breast; bosom; to geng wi’ de bare b., to go bare-breasted; put it in dy b.! put it in your bosom! — “under de b.”, in the armpit under the jersey, to bear [‘carry’] onyting under de b. U. bolki (boilki) [bȯ‘ᶅki, bȯi‘lki] (Y., Fe.) = bulk in the expr. “under de bolki (boilki), under ane’s b.” No. bulk, m., Icel. bulki, m., Da. bulk, c., bump; knot. bo(i)lki might also be a mutated form *bylki. Cf. bilki, bjolk and bolk, sb.
bulki [bu‘lki], sb., a humpback. U$^n$. Deriv. of bulk, sb.
*bull, *bulle, sb., measure for fluids, esp. for train-oil, = 4 kanns; see kann$^2$, sb. “4 canis makis ane bull and 9 bullis makis ane barrell oyllie” (Rental of Yetland, 1628; see G.G., Ant. p. 178). O.N. bolli, m., a bowl; vessel, as a measure: 4 “justur".
bull [bul], vb., 1) of tide: to bubble; run rapidly; he’s bullin, a-bullin (Papa St.). 2) of fish: to play on the surface of the water; comm. No. bulla, vb., to bubble; whirl; well up; stream forth; Icel. bulla, vb., to boil up.
bulled, sb., see bolled.
bult, sb., see bolt, sb.
bult [bo‘lt], vb., to push; esp. of animals: to butt; a bultin ox, coo or ram. Sw. bulta, vb., to knock; beat.
buman, bu-man [būman]. sb., a brownie. U$^n$. Conn. Also boman [bōman] (U$^n$.). “*bú-(maðr)” from O.N. bú, n., dwelling; household; farm.
bummel [boməl], bommel [bȯməl], bumbel [bombel], bombel [bȯmbəl], sb., 1) bubbling; seething; bubbling sound. 2) tumbling; splashing. 3) a splash; splashing sound, e.g. of a large stone falling or flung into the water; a b. o’ de ayre [‘oar’], a splash of an oar (Fe.; bommel). 4) a b. i’ de sea, agitation in the sea (U$^w$.; bummel, bommel).
bummel [boməl], bommel [bȯməl], bumbel [bombəl], bombel [bȯmbəl], vb., 1) to bubble; seethe; boil up; de kettle bumbels, is bumblin (Y$^h$.). 2) to tumble about; splash, to b. trough [‘through’] de water (of one not very good at swimming; Sa.: bummel). 3) to tumble; he bummeld or bommeld atill a hole, he tumbled into a hole (N.Roe). 4) to stutter and stammer; to speak carelessly, making many mistakes in pronunciation or in the construction of a sentence (Fe., N.Roe: bommel). — No. bumla, vb., to splash; dabble; Icel. bumla (bumbla), Sw. dial. bum(b)lä, vb., to give an (hollow) echo.
bummer [bomər], sb., 1) object or living being of unusual size; Sa. 2) something particularly good and durable, also of living beings; used promiscuously as a laudatory term: shø (‘she’: de boat, de woman, etc.) is a b.; Papa. — bomen [bōman] (Fo.) = bummer 2. Cf. No. bumba, f., a bloated female, with bummer 1, further: Da. dial. bommerutte, Sw. dial. bomaråtta, f., a big, bloated woman. Cf. Sw. dial. bommad, adj., sleek (of fat cattle) with bummer 2.
bummi, sb., see bommi.
bun [būn], sb., see klednabun.
bund [bund, bo$^u$nd] and bundsman [bun(d)sman, bo$^u$n(d)s-], bond [bɔnd, bånd] and bondsman [bɔn(d)sman, bån(d)s-], sb., 1) capable ​farmer, a guid [‘good’] b. [bɔnd, bɔn(d)sman, bun(d)sman] upo de land: Y$^e$; shø’s [‘she has’] married a guid bond (Y.; Fe.). 2) crofter, tenant of a piece of land, bundsman: U. bunds [bu‘ns, bo$^u$nds], pl., = bunds-folk [bu‘nsfɔk, bo$^u$ndsfɔk], collect., poor crofters; U.; bunds [bu‘ns, bo$^u$nds]-lass, (poor) crofter’s girl (U.). — Balfour gives a form *bonder in sense of udaller. — O.N. bóndi, m., freeholder; udaller. — “bonder” is prob. the old pl. form: O.N. bœndr. “bonder” is doubtless a sing. form, arisen from the later pl. form “bonders”, which is formed by adding the Eng. pl. s to the older pl. sign “(e)r”.
bunderi [bon··dəri] sb., crofter’s allotment; also disparagingly of an ill-kept house; Sa. In compds.: a) bunderi-body, an active person (esp. a woman) good at all indoor and outdoor work about a tenant’s farm; Sa.; b) bunderihus, a house with a small piece of land attached; Fo.; c) bunderiwark and bunderewark [bon··dərəwa‘rk·], the work (wark) on a crofter’s allotment; Fo. — Deriv. of bund, sb., husbandman; crofter (prop. udaller), see prec. The form bunderi (bundere) has arisen under influence of Eng. boundary, sb., which word is also found in Shetl., pronounced bunderi [bon··dəri·]. In the expr. “ane’s ain [‘one’s own’] b.”, one’s own home, one’s own hearth (Sa.), a mingling of the Shetl. word and of the Eng. “boundary”, appears to have taken place.
bunavara, adv., see avunavara.
bunek, sb., see bønhus (bønek).
bung$^1$ [boŋ], sb., a stroke; slap; push. Parallel form to bang, sb. Prob. from an orig. *bung; cf. O.Sw. bunga, f., a drum and Ger. (Swiss) bunggen, vb., to hit. L.Sc. “bung” denotes a twanging sound or clang. Cf. bonga, sb.
bung$^2$ [boŋ], sb., name of a number of plants, esp. species of grass, in compds., such as: *bekkabung, helmabung, okrabung (ekrabung); q.v. No. bunk, bunke, Da. bunke, of certain species of grass (Aira), Sw. dial. bynke, weeds in the field.
bung [boŋ], vb., to strike; push. Prob.: *bunga = banga, vb. See bung$^1$, sb.
bungel [boŋgəl, sb., big clod of earth turned up in harrowing; comm. From De. is recorded “bungle” in sense of bundle; packet. Also bongel [bɔŋgəl, båŋgəl]; Fe. occas. [bɔŋgəl]; Conn. [bɔŋgəl, båŋgəl]. As a place-name: “de Bonglin [bɔŋglɩn] o’ Samfre [sa‘ɯfre]”, the western part of the Island of Samfre (Samphray) in Yell Sound, a patch of land connected with the main part of the Isle by two strips of beach, between which there is a small lake. — No. bungl, m., Fær. bongla, f., bump. “-in”, in “Bonglin”, is the suffixed def. art.
bungel [boŋgəl] and bongel [bɔŋgəl], vb., to pelt each other (one another) with clods of earth (bungels), to b. ane anidder [‘one another’]. Fe.
bungi [boŋgi], sb., 1) a bump; swelling; I’m gotten a b. upo my hand or foot. 2) a lump; bundle; small heap, a b. o’ claes [‘clothes’]; N.Roe. 3) hollow blister of sea-weed; U$^n$. No. bung, bunge, m., bump; swelling; bunga, f., also: small heap; Icel. bunga, f., swelling.
bungset [bo‘ŋsət], adj., = bunkset.
bunki$^1$ [bo‘ŋki], sb., a round wooden tub; Fo., Fe., etc.; in Fe. esp. for keeping lamp-oil: a øli [‘oil’]-b. No. bunka, f., a milk-pail; Fær. bukka, f., wooden-bucket.
bunki$^2$ [bo‘ŋki], sb., a nickname for a corpulent, thick-set person. Du. *bunki, m., and *bunka, f., doubtless “bump; lump”. Cf. No. bunka, f., a) bump; b) corpulent woman, and Shetl. bunksi, sb.
bunki$^3$ [bo‘ŋki], sb., sea-term ​(tabu-name) for “de vatikeb” or hailin-keb: reel fixed on the gunwale, over which the fishing-line is hauled in. N.Roe. Cf. No. bunke, m., roller in a loom.
bunks [bo‘ŋks] and bonks [bɔ‘ŋks (bå‘ŋks)], sb., a heap of clothes, esp. on an overclad person: shø [‘she’] had a b. o’ claes [‘clothes’] upon her (P.: bɔ‘ŋks); in a b., of clothes: worn untidily (Y., Fe.: bo‘ŋks). Deriv. of *bunk-; No. bunke, Da. bunke (a pile; heap); O.N. bunki, m., of the cargo packed in a ship.
bunks [bo‘ŋks] and bonks [bɔ‘ŋks (bå‘ŋks)], vb., 1) to heap clothes on oneself; he bonkst him [‘himself’] op [‘up’] wi’ claes [‘clothes’], he wrapped himself up (P.); bunkst op wi’ claes, untidily, heavily dressed (Fe.). 2) to walk clumsily, he guid [‘went’] bunksin by (Y.); to come bunksin in, to tramp in roughly (Du.). For bunks (bonks) 1, see bunks, sb.; with bunks 2 cf. No. bangsa, vb., to move clumsily.
bunkset [bo‘ŋksət] and bungset [bo‘ŋsət], adj., a) short; stout; awkward; bungset: U$^n$., Y$^n$.; b) dressed too heavily (and carelessly). Occas. with the suffix -i (“-y”) instead of -et: bunksi, bonksi; a b. [bɔ‘ŋksi] lady (P.). See bunks, sb.
bunksi [bo‘ŋksi], bonksi [bɔ‘ŋksi (bå‘ŋksi)], bungsi [bo‘ŋsi], sb., 1) a) a short, stout person; bungsi: U$^n$.; b) a person too heavily (and carelessly) dressed. 2) skua (gull), lestris catarrhactes; skui (sjui, sjug = lestris parasitica. U$^n$.). Deriv. of *bunk- in sense of lump, something lumpy. See bunki$^2$, sb., and bunks (bonks), sb. and vb.
bunsi [bo‘nsi], bunsin (bounsin) [bo‘nsɩn, bɔunsɩn], bunsom (bonsom) [bo‘nsom, -sȯm, bɔ‘nsom], adj., stout; thick-set. N.I. (bunsin, bounsin, bunsom, bonsom). L., etc. (bunsi). Cf. Sw. dial. bonsig, adj., large; round (from “bons”, sb., something round); Da. dial. bons, m., a corpulent, thick-set fellow. No. bunsig, adj., coarsely built, etc., differs in sense from the Shetl. adjective.
bur [būr], sb., porch, now only in the compd. “bur-door”, porch-door, outer-door. Y$^n$. O.N. búr, n., a bower; store-room; L.Sc. bour(e), a chamber.
burd, sb., see bord.
burek [būrək], sb., sea-term (tabu-name) for a cow; N.I.; buling [bulɩŋ] (Y$^h$.), id. *buringr (“the bellowing one”); No. bura, vb., to bellow.
burl, burrel [borəl] and borl, borrel [bȯrəl], vb., to whirl; move quickly. No. burla, vb., to whirl; bluster. A Shetl. parallel form birl, birrel [bərəl] is L.Sc. birl, vb. — Cf. borl, borrel, sb. — For another burl, burrel, sb. and vb., see purl, purrel.
burliband, sb., see birliband.
burlin [borlɩn]-tree, sb., a piece of wood used as a shuttle, weaver’s shuttle. U. Must doubtless be referred to burl, burrel, vb.
burra, sb., see bora.
bursten, burstin [bo‘rstən, bo‘rstɩn], sb., corn dried over the fire in a pot and not in a kiln. Comm. Also in the form borsten [bȯ‘rstən]. In Orkney “burston”, acc. to Jam., denotes a dish of half-ground corn, roasted by being rolled between hot stones, and afterwards mixed with sour milk. Origin uncertain.
burt [bo‘rt], sb., tabu-name (sea-term) for fire. Du. See birtek, birti, sb.
burt [bo‘rt], vb., to kindle: a) to quicken a fire, esp. the fire on the hearth, to poke the fire, to b. op [‘up’] de fire, to b. i’ de fire; also sometimes in a contrary sense “to b. ut de fire”, let the fire go out; b) to snuff the wick in an open train-oil lamp (koli), to get a train-oil lamp to give a better light by pulling up the wick with a wooden ​pin (burter), to b. de koli; to b. ut de wick o’ de koli, to pull up the wick (C.). A form bort [bȯ‘rt] is noted down in Conn. More rarely birt [bə‘rt] (Y$^n$.). O.N. birta, vb., to make light; brighten; Fær. birta and No. byrta, vb., inter alia to quicken a fire; snuff the wick in a lamp (train-oil lamp; Fær. birta kolu; No. byrta kola). Ross gives with hesitation a form “burta” from Nhl.
burter [bo‘rtər], sb., a wooden pin with which the wick in an open train-oil lamp (koli) is trimmed and pulled up to make it burn brighter. Wests. No. byrtar, m., a pin with which to trim a lamp.
bus [bus, būs, b$^o$ūs], sb., 1) precipitation; excessive (and somewhat noisy) haste (Nm$^w$.). 2) agitated state of the sea; de sea is in a b., the sea is in uproar (U$^w$.: b$^o$ūs). 3) short period of stormy and partly rainy weather, a b. [bus] o’ wadder [‘weather’]: N.I. 4) a blazing fire, a b. [bus] o’ a fire (Nm.; De.), = bas$^2$, sb. — *bus (rushing forward, etc.). No. bus, n., something excessively violent, esp. violent storm; cf. Sw. dial. busa, vb., inter alia: to blow hard. — Shetl. busel [busəl, bosəl], haste; busy, hurried activity, in a b. (U$^n$.), assimilates in meaning to Eng. “bustle”, sb., but the pronunciation with u points to a deriv. of bus; cf. bambusel under bambus, sb.
bus [bus], vb., 1) vb. n., a) to go precipitately; rush on; he cam’ busin in (into) de hoose (Sa.); to b. on, to walk very fast (Y.); b) to make a pretence of activity, to b. aboot de hoose (Fe., Conn.). 2) vb. a., a) to “b. on” a fire, to light a big fire in a hurry (Y$^m$.); b) to b. togedder, to pack up something in a great hurry (Du.). No. and Sw. dial. busa, Da. buse, vb., to rush blindly forward or along. Cf., No. busa (bu‘sa: R.) = to fling, with Shetl. bus, in sense of to pack up in a hurry. — Shetl. busel [busəl, bosəl], vb., to be in a hurried activity, a bustlin body (U$^n$)., almost assimilates in meaning to “bustle”, vb., but the pronunc. with u points to a deriv. of bus.
busbas [bus·bas·], sb., great noisy haste; he cam’ wi’ a b., he came with a rush. Fe. The first part of the compd. is bus, sb.; q.v. The second part: *bas; cf. No. basa, vb., to rollick; make a noise; Sw. (dial.) basa, vb., to spring; jump along.
busel, sb. and vb., see bus, sb. and vb.
busel [busəl, bosəl], vb., to litter animals, rake up the straw in the litter, to b. among de strae [‘straw’]. N.Roe. *busla. Sw. dial. “busslä”, vb., of swine: to root up the litter, make a lair. Cf. No. bus, n., = bos, litter, Shetl. bos.
busen [būsən and comm.: būzən], adj., 1) of fire: big, blazing, a b. fire: Fo. 2) very active, energetic; fairly comm.; also busom [būsom] (U.). Ork. boosam, adj., = Shetl. busen 2 (busom). No. bussen and byssjen, adj., big; powerful; in hot haste, that goes in head foremost (bussa, vb.). L.Sc. bousum, bowsom, adj., has a different sense (pliant; tractable; glad; gay), but the change -en > -om in the suffix of the Shetl. (and Ork.) word may be due to the infl. of the L.Sc. word.
buser [būsər]. sb., a well-developed, vigorous person; also occas. boser [bōsər]. L. No. buse and bose (bause), m., a well-fed, vigorous (vigorous-looking) person.
busigget [bū·sɩg·ət], adj., of an animal (esp. a horse or cow); having a stiff shoulder-joint, caused by dislocation; a b. mare, horse or coo. N.I. Prob. *bóg-siggóttr or -siggaðr (“stiff-shouldered”). O.N. bógr, m., Shetl. bu, shoulder of an animal; ​O.N. sigg, n., thick, hard (hardened) skin, Mod. Icel. sigg, id.; No. sigg, n., hog-skin; rind of pork; Fær. sigg, n., hard, gristly blubber of a whale, e.g. in the fins.
busk [bosk], sb., lump; bundle; bunch; cluster, a b. o’ corn, o’ girs [‘grass’], o’ dockens [‘docks’, of the genus rumex]; top; tuft; tassel, de busks on a skekel’s (a masked person’s) hat, straw-hat (Y$^h$.). N.Sh. Also bosk [bȯsk]: de b. o’ de bow, wisp of heather, sticking up from the top of a fishing-buoy (Ai.); bosks o’ hair, tangled tufts of hair, = tuskis (Ai.); a bosk, a woman’s bonnet of white cotton (Ai.). No. busk, m., top; tassel; copse.
buslinpinn, -pin [bos··lɩnpɩn·], sb., in a mill, water-mill: wooden pin fixed in front of the hopper (de hopper, happer), through which the corn falls into the so-called shoe (“shoe”: a small box, open in front, fixed under de hopper and leading to the eye of the millstone). The wooden pin is fixed to the “shoe” on both sides by a string which is tightened or slackened by turning the pin, thus raising or lowering the “shoe”, and regulating the flow of the corn. U. The usual name for this pin is now “turnin’-pin.” — buslin is poss., considering the freq. change of initial p > b in Shetl. Norn, to be referred to No. pusla, vb., to potter; move slowly. Hardly derived from busel, vb., mentioned under bus, vb., denoting eager, bustling motion.
bussa [buᶊa] and bussi [busi, boᶊi], sb., a cow, as a pet-name or a call-name. Comm. (bussa: Conn.). Da. dial. “busse, busseko” as a pet-name for a cow. Cf. No. and Sw. buss, m., a small piece, as well as No. and Icel. bussa, f., a corpulent woman.
*busta, *buster, sb., see *bister.
busten [būstēn], sb., 1) “bosten”, a big boulder, left (when quarrying out the ground for a house to be built on) standing in the ground and forming a part of the outer wall. Conn. Such bustens (or prop. the good fairies which, acc. to old superstition, lived under the stones) were supposed to bring good luck to the houses to which they belonged. When milking the cow, some drops of milk were sprinkled on the “bosten” in the byre; likewise at a private baptism, the “bosten” was sometimes sprinkled with a few drops of the baptismal water. 2) a sea-term, tabu-name in fishermen’s language for the sinker (kappi) on the fishing hand-line or long-line. Conn. — Meaning 1 is doubtless the original one, and meaning 2 derived from the former, as a certain faith and sense of consecration were associated with the sinker, as well as with the actual “bosten”. A successful sinker was thought to bring good luck when used in fishing. — *bú-steinn; O.N. bú, n., abode; farm. — Besides busten, the form bøsten [bø̄stēn], orig. *bœ- or bœ(j)ar-?, is found in both senses mentioned above; see *bø$^2$, sb. — A similar belief is found mentioned in Denmark and Sweden with regard to the so-called “botræer”, trees near dwelling houses.
†buster [bustər, bostər], sb., prop. bolster, cushion (O.N. bólstr, n., L.Sc. bouster, bowstar = Eng. bolster), but usually applied in the sense of joist, esp. in the compd. “buster-head”, a wooden beam along the back wall of the substructure (onder-hus) of a water-mill, serving as a support for the innermost end of the ground-sill (de sole-tree), into which the axle of the mill is fitted. “b.-head” is also used of the actual joint of the two beams, “bolster” is found in sense of supporting beam, ​as well in Norse (dial.) as in Eng. bolster, bolsterstokk is found in Sw. dial. in the sense of a joist to which the floor is nailed, etc. L.Sc. bolster (acc. to Jam.), that part of a mill in which the axletree moves, while “bouster, bowstar” is given in sense of the bolster of a bed.
but [but, bot], vb., to buffet; push; also of sea-birds: to dive. No. butta, Sw. dial. botta, butta, vb., to beat; buffet; push. L.Sc. bout, bowt, vb., to spring; leap.
buti [buti, boti], sb., guillemot (sea-bird). Y. Arisen either from O.N. butr (No. butt, m., stub, a piece of wood cut off; Sw. dial. but, m., inter alia big, stout person) or more prob. derived from but, vb., in sense of to dive (of sea-birds). See lum$^1$, sb.
*butiind [būti̇̄nd], sb., cattle tithe, tithe of milk-cows. “bow teind, bow-teind” in old Shetl. deeds concerning church tithe (G.G., Ant. of Shetl., p. 155 ff.). *bú-tíund. O.N. bú, n., abode, also stock of cattle on a farm; O.N. tíund, f., tenth; tithe.
bæn [bǣ$^ə$n], vb., of sheep: to bleat. Du. No. bæa (bækta), L.Sc. bae, vb., to bleat.
*bø$^1$ [bø̄], sb., a churn, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea. Fo. *byð-. Icel. byða (biða), f., vessel; tub; Fær. byði (biði), n., a milk-pail.
*bø$^2$ [bø̄], sb., 1) farm; house; with this possibly goes the compd. bøsten [bø̄stēn] (Conn.) — see under busten, sb. 2) home-field. — bø is used in a few cases as a tabu-name by fishermen at sea, to designate certain farms or home-fields, serving as landmarks, occas. as a place-name, e.g. de bø (de Bø), a sea-term for Kjorkabi [ᶄȯ‘r··kabi, -pi·], Westing, U. [*kirkjubœr]; de bø (Bø) or de Harrier-bo, sea-term for “de Longli [låŋli: *langa-hlíð] o’ Harrier”, a patch of home-field in Foula. As a place-name (name of farm and village): Bø and Eksnabø [æks··nabø̄·] in Du. [*bœr and *øxnabœr]. Otherwise, though rarely, mostly in the form “bi [bɩ, bi]” as a suffix in compounded names of farms and villages; thus: Kjorkabi [ᶄȯ‘r··kabi·] (U$^{wg}$., Wd.): *kirkjubœr; Melbi [mælbɩ] (Sa.): *meðalbœr (“i Medalbœ a Sandnese”: in a letter of 24th Nov. 1509; D.N. VI); Norbi [nårbɩ] (Sa): *norðrbœr; Toptebi [tȯp··təbi·, təp··təbi·] (Fe.): *toptabœr. See further Sh. Stedn. pp. 85—86. — O.N. bœr (býr), m., farm; Fær. bøur, m., home-field; No. bø, m., a) farm; b) = Fær. bøur. Besides being a suffix in place-names, the form bi is handed down in the Unst riddle in Norn about the cow, in the compound vegebi [veg··əbi·], the way to town or farm: *veg(r) í bý.
bø$^3$ [bø̄], sb., a low bellowing. U. An onomatopœic word.
bø [bø̄], vb., to low softly, of cattle; also of human beings: to emit a sound like a low bellow, in order to frighten someone, to boo; he bøs (is bøin) at dee. U. From bø, sb.
bøa [bø̄a], sb., a cow, as a pet-name, = bua. Conn. See bø$^3$, sb., and bø, vb.
bød [bø̄d], sb., booth; hut; shed, esp. a fisherman’s booth, a small house in which fishing-tackle is kept, and serving as a temporary shelter for the crew of a fishing-boat during the fishing-season. O.N. búð, f., booth; tent, etc.; No. bud, f., a) a hut; shed; b) a hut for fishermen, during the fishing-season, “rorbud” (Nordland). Shetl. bød corresponds in meaning to No. bud b, but the vowel ø rather presupposes Eng. oo.
bødek, sb., see bodek.
bødi$^1$ [bødi], sb., flsh-creel made ​of straw or dried stalks of dock; comm.; bjødi [bjødi]: U. In Nm. bødi denotes not only a fish-creel, but a carrying-basket (kessi) in general; peat-bødi, peat-basket. Prob.: *byð-. Icel. byða (bia), f., wooden tub. Fær. byði (biði), n., milk-pail. d in bødi might, however, also have arisen from an original tt (O.N. bytta, f., tub; vessel).
bødi$^2$ [bø̄di, bødi] and bøti [bøti], sb., a strip of land; esp.: a) a strip of peat-bog along the edge of a peat-bank (see bank, peat-bank, and bakkagrof, sb.); new layer taken up for peat-cutting; he’s ta’en [‘has taken’] a b. ahint [‘behind’] me, he has begun to cut a strip of the peat-bog behind me; Y$^n$. [bø̄di, bø̄ti]; b) a strip of grass-land (a patch of home-field, laid out for grazing), a bødi o’ girs [‘grass’]; De$^n$. [bødi]. — In place-names (names of small patches of ground, tilled ground), mostly in the forms bødi [bødi] and bøt [bøt] as the second part of a compd. — *bœti (n.), deriv. of O.N. bót, f., a patch; piece; No. bot, f., a patch; small piece, e.g. of a field.
bøggin [bøgin], sb., = biggin$^2$, sb.
bøl [bøl], sb., 1) litter; resting-place for animals (sheep; cows; horses); sheep-fold; enclosure; in some cases metaph. of a poor couch or jokingly of a bed (N.I.); also a place where fishing-lines are spread to dry, a line-b. (N.I.). 2*) residence; farm, esp. in the compd. “head-bøl”, an allodial farm and dwelling (formerly), = *hjemis-place. bøl also in special sense = head-b. Balfour gives “bull” and “head-bull” with the definition: “the principal farm of the Odalsjord”. — In place-names: bol [bōl, bol], bul [būl, bul], buli [būli, buli] and bøl, denoting resting-place for animals; unstressed bel [bəl], as the second part in the names Kubel [kūbəl] and Søbel, Sobel (Sjobel) [sø̄bəl, sōbəl (ᶊōbəl)], resting-place for cows and sheep respectively: *kúból and *sauðból — O.N. ból, n., a) resting-place; b) abode; farm. With Shetl. “head-bøl” cf. O.N. hǫfuðból, n., chief dwelling of a landed proprietor (Fr.).
bøl [bøl], vb., 1) vb. a., to drive cattle, sheep or horses to a certain resting-place (bøl), to b. de kye [‘cows’], sheep, horses; also occas. bul [bul, bol], to bul de horses (Y$^h$.). 2) v. n., of animals, grazing in the pasture: to rest in a certain place; de sheep bøls in sicc a place, the sheep rest in such and such a place. *bœla; Icel. bæla, vb., to get the animals (cattle, sheep) to rest, b. fé; No. and Fær. bøla, vb., to prepare a resting-place (O.N. ból). O.N. “bœla” is handed down in sense of to let out land.
bøli$^1$ [bø̄li], sb., breeding-place for sea-fowl (on a ledge of a high sea-cliff); U.; Fo. Also a flock of sea-fowl in such a breeding-place; Fo. O.N. bœli, n., resting-place; haunt (deriv. of “ból”).
bøli$^2$ [bø̄li, bø̄$^ə$li], sb., heap; conglomerate mass, a b. o’ stens (heap of stones), o’ girs [‘grass’], o’ weeds (Y.). Orkney: “a bøl [bøl], e.g. o’ taatis [‘potatoes’]. Doubtless to be classed with the preceding bøli; cf. Sw. dial. bål$^2$, n., scrap-heap; mound, No. bala, vb., to heap up, and Sw. bala, vb., to build a nest (with Sw. dial. bale, m., bird’s nest, breeding-place, cf. Shetl. bøli$^1$). Cf. also No. bøla, vb., to rummage; stuff; pack, etc. (R.).
bøli$^3$ [bø̄li, bø̄$^ə$li], sb., 1) ominous warning: unlucky word, esp. in connection with fishing (e.g. the unlucky meeting with someone, acc. to old belief, when the fisherman is going to his boat, and likewise the breaking of tabu-rules at sea). 2) tremendous oath, a b. o’ oath; he laid ​ut a b. o’ oath, he swore a tremendous oath. U. O.N. bǫl, n., damage; misfortune; curse; bǫlva, vb., to curse (Icel. “bölva” also: to swear; curse).
bøli [bøli]-bag, sb., bag containing various scraps or trifles, obtained by begging; beggar’s wallet. Also “bolji [bȯᶅı]-bag”. Fe. bøli is doubtless to be classed with No. bøla (bula), vb., to fill; stuff (esp. with worthless objects, scraps). The pronunciation “bȯᶅı” refers rather to No. bølja (bylja?), vb., to gorge oneself (R.).
bønek, sb., = bonhus.
bønhus [bø̄nhus, bø̄$^ə$n-], sb., church, tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea; N.I. Outside N.I. comm.: benihus [ben··ihus·]. Other forms are: a) bonhus [bonhus, bȯn-, bɔn-]: Fo. [bonhus, bȯn-] and Ai. [bɔnhus]; b) bønek [bø̄$^ə$nək, bønək], bunek [būnək]: Y$^n$. Bonhus [bȯᶇȯs, båᶇəs] is found as a place-name, name of a farm (Klusta, Ai.). O.N. bœnhús (bœnahús), n., house of prayer, chapel. The forms bonhus and bunek presuppose an older form without mutation and spring from O.N. “bónhús”, which is found as a parallel form to “bœnhús” (O.N. bón, f., a prayer, = bœn, f.). — Cf. beniman.
†børd$^1$ [bø̄rd], sb., board; plank, esp. a board in a boat. O.N. borð, n., id. The Shetl. form of pronunc. points most prob. to a development from Eng. board.
børd$^2$, sb., see bort, sb.
bøsni [bøsni], sb., creature or object of ludicrous, ugly appearance; strange, ugly or queerly dressed person; a vild [‘vile’] b.; what a b.! Conn. O.N. býsn, n., a wonder. Cf. sjonibøsni (sjønibøsni).
bøsten, sb., see busten.
bøti and *bøt, sb., see bødi$^2$.
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