# An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland/Introduction/VI

VI.
The words embodied in the Dictionary can, with single exceptions, be traced back to Old Norse, in some instances to Primitive Norse, partly by direct comparison with the vocabulary presented in Old Norse, partly by comparison with parallel words in later Northern languages, especially Norwegian.
In regard to a small portion of the Shetlandic vocabulary here embodied, it cannot be definitely determined whether the words spring from O.N., or are loan-words from English, particularly Northern English, and Scottish (Lowland Scottish) dialects. Northern English, from which Lowland Scottish has evolved, is saturated with a Northern, especially Danish, linguistic element, that goes back to the Viking age.
I have, in such doubtful cases, elected to include the material concerned. Where it was a question of words that were common in O.N., and that had followed the usual (Shetlandic) phonetic rules for Shetland Norn, there was indeed no reason for omitting them. And, even in cases where the words did not follow the phonetic rules of Shetland Norn, but were Lowland Scottish in form, doubt might exist, as Norn has been exposed, during so many centuries, to a strong influence from Lowland Scottish, on account of which approximations to the latter speech have occurred, both in the meanings and in the forms of the words.
Several Shetlandic words, although they are English (L.Sc.) in form, must be regarded as of Norse origin on account of their diffusion in Northern languages, especially in Norwegian, Færoese and Icelandic; and, when such words are either not found at all or are found only very sporadically in Lowland Scottish or in English dialect, they are included in this Dictionary. This applies, for example, to “dorrow” from O.N. dorg, in Shetlandic developed in English words ending with -orrow (-orough), corresponding to O.N. -org, as English sorrow, O.N. sorg, English borough, O.N. borg. Where Shetlandic words have meanings that are partly Northern, partly English-Scottish, all the meanings are usually given except those that have come in, or must be considered to have come in, very recently from standard English. On the other hand, a form such as “goul, gowl”, vb., to cry, howl, has not been entered, although it corresponds rather to O.N. gaula (goula) and No. gaula (goula). In Lowland Scottish the word has the same form as in more recent Shetl., in Jam.: goul, gowl. But in Shetl. Norn “au, ou” regularly change to o (commonly with prefixed j: jo), occasionally to u or ø. Now a ​more rare form gjol [gjōl], to howl, is found in Shetl., which is the exact phonetic form; cf. e.g. joga from “auga”, bjog from “baugr”, etc.; goul is borrowed from Lowland Scottish, and is found mentioned under gjol.
With regard to a form “upp-lousin”, sb., sudden thaw, the conditions are somewhat different. “lousin” corresponds in meaning to No. løysing, Icel. leysing, and is the same word. It is Lowland Scottish in form; but as I have not found the word either in Scottish or in English dialects, applied in the same sense as in Shetl., I therefore have recorded it in the Dictionary, as I consider it to be an older *løsin (cf. *los and løs, adj., loose), which has been modified according to Lowland Scottish; similarly with “louse”, vb. and “louse”, adj.
nout, cattle, was remembered by old people in Unst in the close of the 19th century, as having been introduced from Scotland. Although the word in form and meaning corresponds to O.N. naut, cattle, it is therefore not given in the Dictionary. On the other hand, more strictly phonetical forms have been entered, such as nød and nut, both words from Unst. They are no longer used in the simple sense of cattle (see the Dictionary); this alteration and restriction in sense and use show furthermore that they originate from O.N. naut.
A compound such as bambus, hurry-skurry, has been put in, though hardly O.N. bambusel appears in a similar sense (confusion on account of hurry), which word seems to have arisen from English (L.Sc.) “bamboozle”, which, however, has another meaning (to confuse; deceive; trick); but the word must have changed in meaning in Shetl. through influence of Norw. words such as “bang” and “bus”, verb: “busa”, also used in Shetl. The compound has not been met with in the Northern languages outside Shetland, bambusel is therefore not a derivative of bambus, but conversely bambus has arisen from “bamboozle” by misinterpretion. Cf. bambirl.
Shetl. ske [skē], vb., to wind the snell around a fish-hook, is not O.N. skeiða, vb., to sheathe (the sword, knife), but comes nearer in sense and use to English sheathe, vb., in the derived, secondary sense of the word, to cover.
In the following I will adduce characteristic words belonging to Shetland Norn, naming at the same time those parts of Norway where corresponding meanings are to be found:
Appendices. :
| Shetlandic Norn. | South-West Norwegian. |
| bangsgrip, sb. | Lister: bjørntak. |
| bengel, vb. | Telemarken: bengla, and Fær. bongla = Shetl. bengel. |
| bergfall, sb. | Hardanger: bergfall. ​ |
| berggiltek, -gilti, -gølti (-golti, -goltek), sb. | To the South of the Dovrefjeld: berggylta (S. Berg.), Trondhjem: berggalt. |
| berhogg, sb. | Sogn: berrhogg = Shetl. berhogg. |
| *bersugget, adj. | Ryfylke: bergsugga (wrasse, labrus) = berggylta. |
| birst, birstet, etc. (borst, borstet, bosten), adj., peevish, cross. | No. bysten, adj.: S.W.Norw. busten, adj., fierce, harsh. |
| bisi, bissi$^1$, sb. (litter for cattle in the stall). | Tel.: bys, n., litter. |
| bisper, sb., mouse (sea-term). | Li., Dalene: bispur, m., rascal. |
| biss biss bio!, interj. | To the South of the Dovrefjeld: bissa (byssa), vb., and bia (bya), vb. (bia: Dal., Mandal, etc.). |
| blogummi, blugummi, sb. | Nordhordland: blaagume. |
| bofi$^1$, sb. | Jæderen: boven, adj. |
| bog$^2$, sb., cross-sea. | Hard.: bauka, vb., to gurgle noisily. |
| bolteri, bulteri, adj. (lumpy). | Ma., Tel.: bultren, adj., lumpy. |
| bonabäg (banabak), sb. | Tel.: banabeig. |
| bossi, bussi-needle, sb. | Sogn (Hallingdal, Gausdal): bossenaal. |
| bromek, sb. | Tel., Sætersdalen: brama, f.? |
| brosek, sb. | Dal.: brose, m. |
| brøl$^1$, røl, sb. (elongated bump). | Ryf.: ryl, m. |
| bødi$^2$, bøti, sb. (strip of land). | See of Bergen: bot, f., a patch, small piece. |
| dal, sb., in sense of lull, abating, of rough sea, bad weather, rain or wind. dal, vb., to abate, cease, lull, of rough weather. | Tel.: dala av, of storm-charged clouds. |
| dala-reek, sb. | Søndhordland: dal(a)røyk. |
| dalk, djalk (tjalk), vb. | Tel., Jæd., Agder: dalka, vb., in a sense corresponding to the Shetl. word. |
| darg (darget), sb., a mass, large portion. | Tel.: dorg, m., a mass, heap. |
| dask, sb. (misty clouds, dense haze). | Ryf.: dasken, adj., moist, wet and heavy. |
| dasket, adj. (exhausted). | Ryf., Røldal (Agder): dasken, adj., limp from over-exertion. |
| ditti-bag, sb. | Outer Sogn: dytta, vb., Shl., Hard.: dutta, vb. |
| doddel, sb. | Esp. S.W. Norw.: “dutla”, vb. |
| drafs, vb. | Agder (Ma., Sæt.), Tel.: dramsa, vb. |
| dritl, vb., in sense of to walk slowly. | Li.: dritla, vb. |
| druf (drof), sb., and drufs, sb. | Tel.: dryvja, f., and drufsa, f. |
| druls, sb. | Dal. (Jæd.), Tel.: drols, m., and drulsa, f. |
| drult (drolt), sb. | Tel. (Jæd.): drult, m., and drulta, f. ​ |
| drult (drolt), vb. | Tel., Nhl., Hard.: drulta, vb. |
| drumb, vb., and drumbet, adj. | Tel.: drumbemælt, adj. |
| dunk(a), dunker, sb., mist; dense haze; drizzle. | S.W. Norw.: dunken, adj., moist; sultry (dynkjen: Ma.). |
| ennapi, ennepi(g), sb., (annapi, onnapi). | W. Agder (Li.): agneliten. |
| finsk, sb. | Ryf.: finnske(?), mustiness. |
| fladrek, flodrek, sb. | (Vestfold), Shl., Tel.: fla(d)ra, fløyra, f. |
| flek(k), sb. | Sæt., Ryf., Hard.: flekk, n., a small stretch of field. |
| flings (flinks), vb. | Tel. (and Li.): flingsa, vb. |
| flungs (flunks), vb. | Hard., Sæt.: flumsa, vb. |
| fret, vb., to rain slightly. | Cf. Tel.: regnfret, n. |
| frott, sb. | S.W. Norw. (and E. Norw.): frott and frutt. |
| gam, vb. | Tel. and Hard.: gama (gamast, gama seg). |
| gams, vb. | Agder and Tel.: gamsa, vb. |
| gest, sb. 2, in sense of half-burnt piece of peat, standing right on its end. | characteristic of S.W. Norw.: gjest. |
| giget, adj. | Hard., Outer Sogn: giga, vb. |
| gil$^3$, sb. (mock-sun). | N. Berg., (Sdm.): gil, m. |
| giltek, sb. | Sogn: gylta, f. |
| gimp, vb. | Nhl., Hard., Voss: gimpa, vb. |
| ginsj, ginzj, vb. | Tel., Sæt.: gnysja, vb. |
| girbi, sb. | Li., Raabyggelaget, Tel.: gurpa, gyrpa, f. |
| girj (gilj), vb. | Tel., Sæt., Li., Ma., Dal.: gyrja, vb. |
| gjola, sb. | S.W. Norw.: kaare, kaaremjølk. |
| glams, vb. | Li.: glamsa, vb. (Jutlandic: glamse, vb.). |
| gloder$^2$, sb. | Nhl.: gyldra, f. |
| glons, sb. | Tel., Nedenes, Jæd., Hard.: kluns, m. (also Da. dial. and Sw. dial.). |
| goieg, goiek, sb. (young coalfish). | Shl.: gaukpale, m. |
| gomra, sb. | S. Berg., Tel.: gyrma, in sense b (closely allied with Shetl. gomra). |
| grins, grinsi, sb. | S.Norw. and S.W. Norw.: kreimsk-, kreimsl-. |
| grist, sb. 2. | Sæt., Tel.: grust, m. |
| grittin, sb. (thunder). | Li.: grylta, vb. Sæt.: grulta, vb. |
| grunnka, sb. | Ryf.: grunka, f. |
| grøtl- (first part of compd.). | S.W. Norw.: grutl, n. |
| *grøtsta, sb. | Ryf. (Toten), Tel.: grautstad, m. |
| guen, sb. | Jæd.: goda seg, vb. |
| guls, sb. and vb. | Nhl.: guls, m., gulsa, vb. |
| hagi, sb. (a spade). | Shl., Nhl., Sogn: hake, a spade. (Fær. haki, a spade). |
| hater$^2$, vb. (to bully). | Nhl.: hatra, vb., = Shetl. hater, vb. |
| haust, vb. | Li., Dal., Tel., Rbg.: hausta, vb. ​ |
| Shetlandic Norn. | East Norwegian. |
| bog$^2$, sb., cross-sea. | Østerdalen, Rendalen: bauk(a), inter alia heavy swell. (Hard.), Østerd.: bauka, vb., to gurgle noisily. ​ |
| Shetlandic Norn. | North Norw. and Swedish dialects. |
| bitel, sb. | Namdalen: bitel, m. |
| bladd, sb. | Sw. dial.: bladda, f. |
| dak, djak, vb. | Sdm.: daka, vb. |
| daver, vb. | characteristic of N. Norw.: davra, vb. |
| drums, sb., drumset, vb. | N. Norw.: drumsen, adj. |
| dwarg, sb. and vb. | N. Norw.: dorg, f. (run, speed). |
| ganfer$^1$, sb. | Helgeland: gandferd, f. |
| gil$^3$, sb., mock-sun. | Sdm.: gil, m. |
| glaks, sb. | Sdm. and several places kleksa, f. |
| gled, adj. | Sdm., Orkedal: gleid, adj. |
| goit$^2$, vb., to peer out. | Nordmøre, Romsdalen, Ork.: gytta, vb. |
| gorek, sb. | N. Norw.: gare, m. |
| grim, sb. | N. Norw.: grim (grimm), n. |
| grundslo, grund-slo, sb. | N. Norw.: grunnslaa, f. |
| habbi-gabbi, sb. and vb. | N. Norw.: “(paa) hopp og glopp”, in sense of chance, at haphazard. |
| hint, vb. | N. Norw.: himta, vb. |
| homek, sb. | Nordland: humbakke, m. |
| hudek, hødek, høder, hutrikin, sb., a gaff. | N. Norw.: hytt, m. |
| ill-vistet, adj. | N. Norw.: illvisten, adj. |
| knab, vb. | N. Norw. (Stjørdalen): knapa, “knaa-paa”, vb. |
| knikr, knikker, vb. | N. Norw. (Indherred, Stjør.): knikra, vb. |
| kranset$^2$, adj. | Fosen, Orkedal: krange, m. ​ |
Ancient, rare Place-names in Norway recurring in Shetland.
Jeløen in Moss district, Smålenene. Older forms: Jalund, Jǫlund. Prob. formed from a name of a firth, *Jali, which at that time was the name for the Moss Sound (the bay of Verle). According to Rygh, N.G.I and “Sproglighistoriske Studier”.
Yell: one of the northern isles in Shetland. Ancient form: Jala (Snorre’s list of names). Jali (Snorre’s list of names) was the name of the present “Yell Sound”.
Fluravog (U$^{w.w-n}$), a small bay with a skerry or islet outside, forming a channel on each side, leading into the bay, now commonly Flurafog or -fok, prob. named after No. Florevaag, older Flóruvágar (Fornm. sögur, volumes VII—X), lying on the Isle of Ask outside Bergen.
Similar to the Shetl. Fluravog, but on a larger scale, there is in Florevaag a small island just outside the bay, almost opposite this, and the natural surroundings there resemble those of Shetl. Fluravog. As no other Florevaag is mentioned in Norway than that of the Isle of Ask, it is reasonable to suppose that Norsemen settling in Fluravog in Unst, from the Isle of Ask, or its vicinity, on account of the close resemblance to the old Flóruvágr called the new place after it.
​Mosterhul [Mȯs··tərol·], a hill near the village Sound, south of Lerwick, M. This Moster must be the same name as the Norw. Mostr, which is found as an original name of high isles in Søndhordland (prefecture of S. Bergenhus) and in Ryfylke; also on the coast of Halland (Monstr, Mustr). “Mostr” is explained by M. Olson as an original *Monstr with root-meaning “height”, and cognate with mǫn, mane, mænir, ridge of a roof, and with the Lat. mons, mountain.
Vors or Virs [və‘rs], two places in Unst, denoting the shoulder of a hill. The word must originally have denoted crag or height (cf. M. Olson in N. G. XI, p. 527) and must be the same name as No. Voss, orig. Vǫrs, in the prefecture of S. Bergenhus.
Listi, the present provincial name “Lister” in the south of Norway, prop. edge, as the place-name of a stretch of coast, beach. In Fetlar, Shetland, a compd. bakkalist, beach, is found, now with a somewhat obscure meaning, used in phrases.
Visdal (ii) in the district of Austad, prefecture of Li. and Ma. (a dale through which a brook runs).
Visdal (ii) in Lom, N. Gbr. (district of Opland).
Visland (the district of Bakke, Li. and Ma.).
Shetl. Wisdal.
Spekkabu: Smaalenene.
Spikkeland: 1) Finsland, Li. and Ma. 2) Fjotland, Li.
Spikset (i Spikkarsætron): S. Odalen, Hedemarken.
Spikdalen (i Spikkædale): Furnes, Hdm.
Shetl. Spiggi.
Gý (name of a stream).
Gyland: Sogndal, prefecture of Stavanger.
Gya, Gystøl: district of Heskestad, Stav.
Gydal: district of Helleland, Stav.
Jydalsaaen: tributary, joining a stream, which falls out near Jøssanger in Strand.
Gyberg: Hægebostad.
Shetl. Gjū (U$^{ba}$).
Ork. Gødal (Rousay).
Gaut (name of a stream).
Guddal: 1) Sogndal, Stav., 2) Kvinnherred, Søndhordland, S. Berg, (older form: Gautdalr), 3) Stryn, Sønd- and Nordfjord (older: Gaut-).
Løining: 1) Sogndal, Stav., 2) Egersund, Stav., 3) Sætersdalen, Nedenes.
Skjaldbreiðr, repeatedly in the prefecture of Stavanger.
Stapnes: Egersund, Stav.
Shetl. Stapnes.
Trossevigen (Trosavík): Egersund, Stav.
Shetl. Troswik.
Fúlavík: prefecture of Stav.
“Fúlavík” in Moss (Smaal.), Raade (Smaal.) and Brunlanes.
Shetl. Fulawik.
Vormedal (district of Avaldsnes, prefecture of Stav.). Several names with “Varma” are found in the prefecture of Stav.)
Viðeimar, “Veum”: Glemminge, Smaal.
Viðheimr, “Veim” in Aurland.
Gluppa: Smaal., Romerike, Hdm.
Njarð(ar)heimar: Smaal.
Snekkja (name of a stream?): Snekketorp (Id, Smaal.), Snekkenes (Rakkestad, Smaal.), Snekkestad (Vaale, Jarlsberg).
“de Hwi̇̄v o Burraland”, sea-term for the foreland “de Nup” (Sandwick, Du.); properly a name for what is considered to be the ruins of an old Pictish tower at that place, used as a landmark by fishermen.
The word is prob. O.Sw. hvif, m., Sw. dial. (W. Gothland, Blekinge, Smalandia) hviv, m., female head-dress (W. Gothl.), bridal veil or pocket-handkerchif, O Da. hvif, hviv, m. and n., veil, (female) head-dress, Da. dial. hviv, m., female head-dress (Molbech): according to Ri. The word is South Skandinavian.
| Shetlandic Norn. | Icel., Fær., Sw., Da., Celt., Dutch. |
| alikruki, sb. | Dut. alikruik, sb. |
| ansperr, sb. | Fær. andsperri, n. |
| bellek, sb. | Icel. bjalla [*bella], Fær. bjölla, f. |
| bels, belz, vb. | Da. dial., Jut. bælse, vb. (the Jut. word comes closer in meaning to the Shetl. word than No. balsa). |
| bend$^2$, sb. (pack on a pack-horse). | Sw. dial. (N. Sw.) bänne (bende), n. |
| blogaben, sb. | Fær. bløkubein, n. |
| bora, sb. | Fær. borður, m., borð(a)gras, n. |
| buffel, vb. | Sw. dial. buffla, vb. |
| bunsi(n), bunsom, adj. | Sw. dial. bonsig, adj. Da. dial. bons, m. (No. bunsig, adj., differs more from the Shetl. word). |
| dafek, sb. | Gael. dabhach, sb. |
| di, sb. | Icel. þýða, f. (of weather). |
| di$^1$, vb. | Icel. þýðr, adj. (of weather). |
| drevl, vb. | Sw. dial. (Uppland) drevla, vb. |
| dronn, sb. | Gael. dronn, sb. |
| drufs, vb. | Sw. dial. druffsa, vb. (in No. only the corresponding subst. is noted down). |
| dunger, sb. | Sw. dial. dungen, adj., Da. dyng- (dyngvåd). |
| fa’ (ut-, in-), *fall, fell, in landfell (current). | Fær. fall, n., current. |
| fider, fidder, sb., of ear-mark in sheep. | Icel. and Fær. fjöður, f. (slanting cut downwards). ​ |
Many of the Shetl. Norn words have from a more general root-meaning been developed in a specialized or individual sense not found in the mother tongue. Thus, certain words with root-meaning of scrapings, something diminutive or worthless, a grain, particle, are now used in sense of small shellfish, small mussels.
Shetl. fladrek, flodrek, limpets, patella. No. fladra?, flake, splinter. Cf. Fær. fliða [fli̇̄a], limpet; No. fleda (flida), flake, splinter.
Shetl. krab, testaceous animals, prop., small, worthless things.
Shetl. muti, alamuti, stormy petrel, prop., only a small being.
Shetl. pil in “craw-pil” and “skordipil”, small mussels. No. pile, grain; particle.
Shetl. skrap, small mussels, from O.N. skrap, No. skrap, scraps.
A great number of words have had an opposite development; from originally denoting a single, definite object, they have acquired other somewhat vague meanings through the original sense becoming obscure and not understood.
bar, sb. (from O.N. barð, n., brim; edge; beard) has been developed in Shetl. in some meanings peculiar to this dialect. Used of bearded ear of corn, bar has doubtless been influenced by Eng. beard sb., in this sense. The compounds barflog, vb., bar-claw, sb., barlopen (-lobin), adj., are peculiar to Shetl. dialect.
belg and belker, sbs., O.N. belgr, m. (prop. skin of an animal taken off) which in Shetl. has been split into two forms with diff. meanings.
As the L.Sc. ee, sb., eye, has for the most part superseded in Shetl. the older *joga, *jog, hjog (from O.N. auga, eye), so also has it inherited the various other meanings of *joga, *jog, hjog. Thus ee is now also used for (1) a pool (in a Foula place-name *joga is preserved as the name of a pool); (2) a hollow or depression; (3) a peat-bank (= Fær. eyga); (4) two lengths of twisted straw in a basket, in which sense hjog is still used in the N.I.
kattaklu, kattiklu (cat’s claw), now only as the name of a plant, has in Y$^n$. another meaning, viz. an entangled bundle or lump, in which it cannot easily be explained from kattaklu (katti-), the name of a plant. Prob. the word klu in the Yell form has been understood as Eng. clew of thread.
lik: cemetery, prop. dead body.
Old Northern words in Shetlandic having developed specialized meanings:
afluva, sb., blan, sb., a blan (blen) o’ wind, (light) wind, breath of wind (C.), ancient form. In O.N., the word is only found with added s: blása, vb., blástr, m.
​benlin, sb., definite area at sea, fishing-ground.
domra$^2$, sb., fog; dimness of the atmosphere.
Further: drølin, gjola, horek, kani, kappi$^1$, (kappisten), katthus, piltek, vell, veltrin, welsi, vild, sbs.
Words in Shetlandic with meanings opp. or partly opp. to those found in Norw. or other Northern languages:
bjart, adj.: prop. bright, shining, in Shetl. now dark; storm-menacing.
*brimeld, acc. to Edm.: old female seal (see under brimer, sb.).
bu-grice: Norw. and Sw. boggris.
evalos, adj., doubtful.
hesta-foal: filly? see Edm.
With changed meaning:
bund (bond) and bundsman, sb., from O.N. bóndi. To this, bunderi, sb.
Verbs preserved only in the past participle, partly used adjectivally:
boren grund: *barinn, from berja, v., to beat. (cf. *bortend in *brimbortend: *brimbarðr).
*faren and misforen.
Adjectives in the neuter used as substantives:
illskod, sb., new, green corn growing among the ripe, in the field: *ilskótt (corn), from ilska$^1$, sb., O.N. ilska, f., malice; enmity, etc.
ilta, sb., rancour; enmity, from “illt”, neut., from O.N. illr, adj., bad; evil; hostile.
Sometimes old prefixes, esp. diminutives, have become separated from words (adjectives) to which they belonged. They have then become substantives. Thus: e.g. urek, a small creature or thing, formed from the prefix “ur” (= or, ir), is used as a diminutive in No. and esp. as a prefix to “liten”.
In Ork. the same prefix has also developed independently, but as an adjective in the form orri, in sense of very small.
Compounds in which one or more parts have become obscure:
biggerablanda (buggera-, buggerum-), huliferdal [hulefer (haser)], husamilla, skattamillaskru, uppomøra, uppomjora.
Metathesis of parts in compounded words:
bukkiblindi for blindibukki (blind-man’s-buff), ferdaluri for luraferdi.
Stoven swala (Kwarf?), name of a farm. *Swalastofa (a room with a balcony).
bolga, sb., inflammation, Icel. bólga, f.
bova, bovek, sb., box-bed, Icel. paufi, sb., out-of-the-way nook.
blura, sb., Icel. blórar, pl.
dien (dine-, däin, donek), sb., swamp, O.N. (Icel.) dýna.
lisker, sb., small cluster (corn-stalk), cf. Icel. lyskra, f.
Shetlandic Norn words or meanings found only in Fær.:
blogaben, sb. = Fær. bløkubein, n.
brill, sb., a buoy, cf. Fær. prilla, a leather-sack.
flingaso (*flignaso) = Fær. flidnasoð, water in which limpets have been scalded, from fliða, f., limpet. No. flida, f., flake, splinter. Cf. Shetl. fladrek, flodrek, limpet, which is the same word as No. fladra, f., a small splinter. flither (flidder), in N.Eng. dial. (Yorksh.) and in the Isle of Man, is used of limpets.
gjomek$^1$, sb., the fill of two hands cupped together = Fær. keymur [*kaumr] and kjómur. gjomek is more regularly developed from kaumr than from kjómr, the latter of which would more correctly have given *kjum, *gjum, in Shetl.; au, ǫu, on the other hand, regularly give jo.
ilget, adj., mottled, of sheep = Fær. iglutur (iglóttur), adj., [*iglóttr, *yglóttr?].
Shetlandic words, especially corresponding to Sw. dialect words, or found only in Sw. dialects:
bends, sb. pl. = Sw. dial. bänne (bende), sb. (n.).
bladd, sb. = Sw. dial. bladda, f.
blaget$^2$ (bleget), adj., prob. to be classed with Sw. dial. blaga, vb.
daddet, adj., faint; limp; tired, Sw. dial. datta, vb., to weary; exhaust.
dank(i), sb., hollow = Sw. dial. dank(e), m. (O.N. dǫkk, f., cf. Shetl. dekk, bottom of the sea).
dikel, sb. 3, thick mud, Sw. dial. dikkel, n., mud in a morass.
goni, gonni, sb., supernatural or infernal being (of elf or fairy origin) = Sw. dial. gonnar, gonnär, pl., trolls.
goit$^1$, sb. (god$^2$, vb.), soft, slimy mass = Sw. gytja, mire; mud (No. gota, melted mass, in Aa., but queried. In compds. halvgota).
Shetlandic words found only in Danish (a few also in Swedish).
bakk, sb., in sense of hill, hill-side, corresponding to Da. bakke. Otherwise brekk = No. brekka, while bakk more often denotes brink; edge; bank; steep coast.
brekk (brekks), sb., U$^n$., corresponds to Germ. “brink”, in sense of a common.
ganfer$^2$, sb., a ghost = Da. genfærd, Sw. genfärd.
gødin, sb. = Da. gødning (manure).
​hjams, adj. = Da. dial. (Jut.) hjamsk.
humska$^2$ (hunska), sb., blackpudding, a dish made from blood and meal = older Da. humske (hunske), (impure) liquid.
Shetlandic words with English endings.
Shetl. Norn words, influenced by English, and partly merged with such English words as have a likeness to them in form and pronunciation.
*argeri, and *argosi, sbs., formed from arg, adj., later with added English endings -ery (in “bravery”), -acy, -ocy.
bipong, sb., probably from O.N. spǫng, f., with the first part of compd. in A.S. and M.Eng. “bi” (by, with).
bunderi, sb., crofter’s allotment, etc., from bund, sb., (farmer) crofter; tenant of a piece of land. The ending “-eri” is due to influence of English boundary, sb.
dibjassafit, adj., properly de-bjassafit, adj.
dorro, sb., dorrow, from O.N. dorg.
evalos, adj., doubtful, has got a meaning opposite to the original, as the ending has been accepted as English -ous, and not as the negative -less (O.N. efalauss, undoubtful).
fogensi, sb., drifting snow, from fog, *fok, later with added English -ency (cf. e.g. clemency).
fusom, adj., eager, from O.N. fúss, eager for, desirous, but influenced in form by L.Scottish fousom (fowsom), fulsome.
gevlos = gevlet, adj., powerless, limp in one’s movements.
†gødasi, sb., dainty morsel = Fær. goðska, No. godskor, pl. (cf. Eng. ecstasy, clemency, fallacy, heresy, hypocrisy, legacy, lunacy).
hallo, hallow, sb., wisp of straw, = No. halge.
linnati, sb., a period of intermission or lull in rain, cf. e.g. anxiety, barbarity, brevity, charity, dexterity, eternity, integrity, rarity.
veldersi, sb., intensive from vell, sb., rain.
Words with Old Northern meaning changed in form into Eng. (L.Sc.) by divers influences.
When a Norn word, cognate with an English word and having the same sense, has been superseded by the Eng. (L.Sc.) form, a similar anglicising sometimes takes place in a Norn word of the same form as the other, but of different meaning.
baf, vb., to warm; poultice — O.N. baða, vb., to warm up; f is due to influence of L. Scottish baff, vb., to beat.
fen, fain, vb., is in form Eng. fain, vb., but corresponds in sense and use u to O.N. fagna, vb., to welcome with good cheer.
il, “eel” sb., a stripe, O.N. áll. The old form *ol has been dropped, as the name for the fish, *ol has been superseded by Eng. “eel”, and the other *ol has then been changed similarly to “eel”. This change must have taken place at a time when the older (Norn) form *ol, as a name for the fish, and the more recent (Eng.) form “eel”, were used simultaneously in Shetlandic.
into English (L. Scottish), but with the special Northern (Norn) meanings preserved.
bank, sb., ledge, as e.g. peat-bank, and banks, pl., steep coast, show anglicising of O.N. “bakki”.
doon-lay, sb., doon-lie, sb., and various other words beginning with “doon”.
doors, sb. pl., door, with sing. meaning. O.N. dyrr, f. pl., door.
ebb, sb., in sense of foreshore (O.N. fjara, in sense of foreshore, as well as ebb).
elf(s)wind, sb., netle-rash, cutaneous eruption. Cf. No. alvblaaster, alvgust, id.
fa’-sjon, sb., epidemic, esp. in cattle, from O.N. fall-sótt, epidemic.
for-speak, fore-speak, vb., to consecrate by reciting a formula: O.N. fyrirmæla, vb.
f(r)ae-say, sb., f(r)ae-tale, sb., from O.N. frásaga or frasǫgn, f.
Special meanings more recently developed in Shetlandic (as well as older meanings found only in Shetl. Norn):
as(s)u, esmel, sb. (heavy rain). a bas o’ a fire (bas$^2$, sb.). binder, sb. (jarbind). binjek, sb. bjart, adj., partly with opp. meaning to the original. bjartin, sb. bjels, sb. bjog, sb. blegd, sb. 2. blonäild, adj. bodabid, -bit, sb. to geng bodabid. bodda, sb. bogel, sb. bolts, sb. pl. brenna in “brenna-stew”, heavy breakers, surf; otherwise brim, brust, sb. and vb. bunksi, sb. 2, skua (gull).
dava, sb., däi, sb., däib, vb. 2, dolhoit, sb., dokka, sb. 1 (ancient meaning), drølin, sb.
faks, sb., long, foam-crested billow. faks, vb., of billows: to form combers; O.N. fax, n., a mane. fisp, vb. [*fipsa]. fjuglins (fjoglins), sb. pl. folgju, sb.
ganfer, sb., weather phenomena [*gandferð]. getel, sb., *geitill (induration) in get(els)rigg, get(la)rigg, getilben, riggagitel, where it means vertebra; getel, gitel is hardly the same word as Fær. geisli, vertebra, because sl does not change to tl (or conversely) in Shetl. Norn, glunta, etc. = a) the moon, b) a lamp. hjolpinsten, sb. kilpersten, sb.
Compounds from Old Northern in Shetlandic, not found in other Northern languages:
adna(n)kwi, adnasjur, allakrabb, annaset (adna-), annister, sbs.
bakkalist, bambirr, bambus, bar-claw, sbs., barlopen (-lobin), adj., boljasog(a), bomfisin, bonnhoga, bonnsvamm, bordaskep, *brøniskolt, sbs.
darri-inkel, vb., drittslengi, drottslengi, sbs., drups(j)agi, adj. ennapi, ennepig, sb.
​fillaf(j)oga, *fjorahwarf, flogadrift (flokadrift), flokatros, sbs.
gandaguster, gandigo, gandigoul, gilgal, sbs., gili-hunkers, sb. pl., *golsa-fera, sb., granbet, vb., grotlekrabb, sb.
habagoitlek, sb., (the first part of compd. poss. Eng.), halltott, sb. and adj., hjogeldarigg and hjogelsterigg, hobbaviti, hobnaviti, hottabor, hottafer, mirkabrod, sbs.
In the place-names, the Celtic element is predominantly Cymric, in this instance Pictish. The Pictish element is pre-Northern.
In the spoken language the case is different, for one finds there only a very small number of Cymric (Pict.) words, but relatively many Gaelic words, belonging to very different periods and, in great part, to later periods. While the Gaelic words and names in Shetland may date partly from ancient times, and partly from later periods with Lowland Scottish (which contains a large Gaelic element) as an intermediate link, the Pictish element in Shetland is very ancient, and is pre-Northern.
Gradually, as the Scots from Ireland, in the course of centuries of conflict, got the upper hand of the Picts in Scotland, the earlier Pictland, the Picts were forced back, and undoubtedly some of them from the North of Scotland emigrated to Orkney and Shetland. But these Island-groups had already, a long time previously, probably during several thousands of years, been peopled by Celts (Picts) emigrating from the nearest mainland, “Pictland”. This last name is contained in O.N. Péttlandsfjǫrðr, nowadays called “Pettlandfirth” by the common people in Orkney and Caithness, in English misspelt Pentlandfirth, the fairway between Scotland and the Orkney Isles. The name Pettland contained in “Pettlandfirth” has sometimes been construed as referring to the Orkney Islands, but this is hardly correct. In the first place, the Orkney Isles had, even then for a long time, another name: Orcadian, latinized Celtic adopted by the Northmen, O.N. Orkneyjar; and, in the second place, Pictland was the natural name for Scotland before the Scots became masters of the country; and, later, for those parts of Scotland, where the bulk of the Pictish inhabitants had taken up their abode, particularly the north-east. In the third place, a name ending in “-land” appears less appropriate to the Orkney Isles, whose chief island, Mainland, is not so large and prominent in relation to the other islands as the Shetland Mainland in relation to the other Shetland Islands. “Hjaltland”, the proper and original name for the main island, can therefore be used, with greater warrant, as a name for the whole island-group, collaterally with “Hjaltlandsoyjar”.
Celtic was spoken in Orkney and Shetland in ancient times, and long after Northmen had settled there. It was gradually displaced by Norse in proportion as the number and power of the immigrating Northmen increased, and not all at once. But, while the Norn, ​afterwards displaced by Lowland Scottish, has left behind it many and deep traces in the present dialect of the Islands, there remain now only very slight traces of the original Celtic.
Certainly there is a not quite insignificant Gaelic element in the Orkney and Shetland speech; but this must, for the most part, be supposed to come in, later, through Lowland Scottish, which in its vocabulary has been strongly influenced by Gaelic. The original Celtic element in the Islands was, as the place-names show, predominantly Cymric (Pictish); but of Cymric there is almost nothing left in the speech itself.
That Norn was able to gain so strong a foothold and to maintain itself so long in Orkney and Shetland is due, in great part, to the fact that the stretch of country on the mainland of Scotland, lying opposite to Orkney, that is Caithness, was also peopled by Northmen, and that Norn was the prevailing speech in the eastern parts of Caithness. Celtic (first Pictish, afterwards Gaelic) was certainly the language generally spoken in the interior parts of the country, but the Orkney-Norn had a strong support in the Caithness-Norn, which latter formed a kind of bulwark that checked the advance of the Celtic language towards the north, and prevented it from displacing Norn in Orkney and Shetland. Later, both Celtic and Norn, in Caithness, were displaced by Lowland Scottish.
In the Hebrides, Norn was the language generally spoken both in the viking-age itself and for a long time after that, even if Celtic was hardly ever quite displaced there. But the coast regions of Scotland, lying right opposite to the Hebrides, had already a greatly preponderant Celtic-speaking population, and there was thus no bulwark that could defend the Norn of the Hebrides against the steadily continued pressure of the Celtic of West Scotland, which at last overwhelmed it.
The Hebrides, also, lay much farther away from Norway than Orkney and Shetland, and were separated from Norway at an earlier date than these latter Island-groups, that is, immediately after King Håkon Håkonsson’s ill-starred expedition to the West of Scotland. For the reasons given, the Norn of the Hebrides was soon overcome by Gaelic, which is still the language generally spoken in those Islands, but is certainly intermixed with a great many remnants of Norn.