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

A.
a’ [â], adj., is the L.Sc. form of Eng. all, but is sometimes used in Shetl. in a sense diff. from Eng. (and L.Sc.) and answering to the O.N. allr; e.g.: hit [‘it’] is a’, it is finished; at an end; de tale or story is a’, the story is ended, complete. Cf. O.N. allr in sense of ended; finished; complete; Fær. sögan er öll, the tale is ended. — for a’, beyond recall; for good, = No. fyre ollu, Sw. dial. för allo, Fær. fyri alla; he’s gane [‘gone’] for a’. — a’-fe(r)-jens, just this minute, see *fer, prep. — O.N. all- is found in Shetl. in the compd. almark and the neuter-form “alt” in *altasenn.
a-, prep., on, upon; O.N. á, for *o- in avunavara, q.v. Cf. o- in ovi. Obs. as an independent word.
aba-knot, aber-knot, sb., see under aber, adj. 5.
abadous, adj., see ubadous.
abder, sb., see obder.
aber [ābər], adj., 1) sharp; keen, e.g. of the edge of a cutting tool, esp. a knife, a a. edge, a a. knife; Wests., Nm$^w$. 2) with sharp outlines; clear and distinct; de land is very a. de day [‘to-day’], the land is very clear and distinct to-day (seen far off or from a distance); a a. sky, a sky with clouds which are in sharp contrast to the deep-blue in between, or: a clear deep-blue sky which is becoming overcast (harbinger of wind); U$^n$; Cf. ampel, amper, adj. 3) sharpsighted; keenly observant; watchful; vigilant; Nm$^w$. (Esh.). 4) very bent on getting something; keenly desirous of something; greedy; a. aboot [‘about’] or for a thing; N.I., de fish is a., the fish is swallowing the bait greedily (Nm., De.). “de a. heart-cake”, a medicament acc. to old superstitious belief; “heart-cake” (molten lead, poured into water) as a cure for excessive appetite in a child; a vessel with water, containing the molten lead in the shape of a heart, was put in a sieve and placed on the child’s head; U.; for further details of the procedure in preparing a “heart-cake”, see under rinn, vb. (to rinn de heart). Cf. iveri “heart-cake” = aber h.-c. (opp. to nidi and “feckless” h.-c. as a cure for lack of appetite). 5) magical; having supernatural power, esp. in the comb. “a. knot, a.-knot”, a magical knot, a slip-knot (knot composed of several hitches) used as a remedy or powerful agent. Such knots are (were) made e.g. a) on a so-called “wrestin-tread” [‘thread’] which is (was) bound round a sprained or dislocated limb and is (was) accompanied by a magic formula, b) on a fishing hand-line or long-line when the end of it chances (chanced) to stick fast to the sea-bottom (U$^n$), c) on a rope which is tied round the body of a sick animal (esp. that of a sick cow) (comm.). Sometimes “de a. knot” was employed also of the eagle-knot, de ern’s knot (hitches which were ​made on a string after an eagle had flown away, to get it to let go its prey), aba [āba]-knot (U. occas., Fe.), ava [āva]-knot (Fe.) and abi [ābi]-knot (Du.) = “aber-knot”. Acc. to a statement from Fe. an “aba (ava)-knot” tied on a sick cow consisted of 9 hitches (3 knots, each consisting of 3 hitches). — O.N. apr, adj., sharp; hard; bad; Fær. apur, adj., severe; great; that has a great effect (apur ótti, very great fear); Sw. dial. aber, adj., strong; pungent (mostly of smell).
aber [ābər, abər], vb., (prop. to sharpen), to liven up; to get to blaze, in the expr. “to a. up de birtek”; to get the fire to blaze by poking it, nautical phrase, tabu-phrase, used by fishermen at sea, the colloq. “to burt op [‘up’] de fire”. Nm$^w$. [ābər]. From De. has been reported in the same sense, likewise a nautical phrase: to a. [abər] op i’ de birki. *apra, to sharpen, from apr, adj., see above aber, adj. Sw. dial. abra or appra (på), Da. dial. (Jut., Vends.) abre (på), set to work energetically, to make haste. Cf. agl$^1$, vb.
aboot-geng [abut·geŋ, -gæŋ, -ꬶeŋ] (-ꬶæŋ)], sb., border, band which forms the rim of a mesi (a net-work basket; open straw-work basket), = abootgaan [“aboutgoing”] støri, omgordin støri, gordastøri. O.N. umgangr, m., a circuit; border. In “abootgeng” and “abootgaan”, an ancient “um” has been anglicised to “aboot” [‘about’], but has been preserved in “omgordin”, q.v.
aboot-gaan [abut·gān, -gjān, -ꬶān], pres. part. and adj., going about; running round, esp. in the comb. “a.-g. støri”, see aboot-geng, and “a.g. wind”, a wind that shifts about, — No. umgangsveder.
aboot-kast [abut·kast], sb., change; alternation; esp.: a) in agriculture: rotation of seed or crops; Fe.; abbr.: ’boot-kast [butkast] and uncompounded: kast; b) the change of the seasons; time of the equinox, when the days begin to be longer than the nights or conversely; he will be hame at a.-k. again (Y$^n$); c) change; exchange (Sa). Orig. doubtless from an old “*umkast” with anglicising of “um-” to “aboot” [‘about’]. O.N. umkast, n., turning round; change; No. “umkast” also: change; exchange. Cf. kast (k. aboot), vb.
a-brodd(a), adv., see brodda (brodd), sb.
abunavara, adv., see *avunavara.
adber [äᶁbər], adbert [äᶁbə‘rt], sb., strange or clumsy behaviour; awkward deportment. Nm. More comm. in the form. odbert [äᶁbə‘rt, ȯᶁ-, ɔ̇ᶁ-] (N.Sh., esp. N.I.; Wests.), which is occas. used in a diff. sense; q.v. In Conn. the word is found in the form atbørd [atbø̄rd]; to mak’ ill or puir [‘poor’] atbørds (pl.), to do something in an awkward and wrong manner. O.N. atburðr, m., inter alia: gesture; deportment; manner, (atb. 6 in Fr.); Fær. atburður, No. aatburd, m., behaviour; mode of proceeding. Cf. atferd, sb.
adna(n)kwi [ad··na(n)kwi·, ad··nə(n)kwi·, -kwl·], sb., intermittent breakers (series of billows) and calm sea near the coast; series of high breakers followed by calmer sea, = adnasjur; he’s a a.-k. i’ de sea. Fo. Prob. *ǫnnur-hviða (from O.N. annarr, pron., other, and O.N. hviða, f., onfall, traditionally handed down in the sense of blast of wind, gust of wind; but in Icel. of onfall in a wider sense), thus intermittent rush of waves, ​in the same manner as adnasjur may be explained: *annarsjór (intermittent sea or series of billows). We might also think of an old *ǫnnur-hvíld (intermittent state of rest), prop. expressing the calmer intervals between the rows of breakers — for the dropping of one or more consonants at the end of the words, see Introd. V (also N. Spr. VII) § 35, but the deriv. of “hviða” suits better both as regards form and use. For the above-mentioned use of “annarr” cf. annehwart and atrahola of unsteady wind, blast. The change nn > dn is esp. characteristic of Foula.
adnaset, sb., see annaset, annester.
adnasjur [ad··naᶊūr·], sb., series of high breakers followed by calmer sea; he’s comin’ on a a. again; a a. sea. Fo. prob.: *annarr sjór, *annarsjór, m., intermittent sea or wave (series of waves). Cf. above adna(n)kwi.
a-døms, adv., see døm, sb.
af, aff [af(f)], adv. (prop. prep.), of; O.N. af, L.Sc. aff. As prep. the old “af” is now entirely superseded by Eng. dial. and L.Sc. “o’” (=of). In conjunction with a number of verbs, “af, aff” is used in a sense handed down from the old Norn language, thus: “ber (bear) aff, had aff, geng aff, kom (com’) aff, lay aff, set aff, tak’ aff, winn aff”; — see under the respective verbs. An old form: av is found in avbregget, adj., and avnet, sb. (No. and Fær. av).
af(a)linns [af··(a)lı‘ns·], adv., at sea-fishing, prop. of a boat: off (hauling off) the runners, i. e. the pieces of wood laid down at a landing-place over which a boat is drawn. Shetl. linn, sb., piece of wood laid underneath a boat for it to rest on, O.N. hlunnr. For afa- cf. afaskod = afskod, sb.; afalinns might poss. mean “aff o’ de linns”.
afaskod, sb., see afskod.
afatag [af··atag·], apateg [ap··atɛg·], sb., mitten, sea-mitten, tabu-word at sea. Fe$^f$. (afatag). Y$^n$. (apateg). Uncertain origin.
afbend [af·bænd·], vb., to take off the pack (de bend) of a pack-horse, to a. a horse. *afbenda. de afbendin gang or geng, see gang, sb.
afberin [af·bē$^ə$·rın], pres. part. and adj., having desire to decline or withdraw; also: diverting, endeavouring to stop or to turn the subject of conversation (= berin oot o’ mooth). U$^n$. See ber (b. aff and ut), vb.
afbiddin [af·bıd·ın], adj. (prop. pres. part.), distasteful, of a repulsive appearance. N.Roe. Cf. Fær. bjóða ímóti, No. bjoda mot, Icel. bjóða við, arouse dislike, repugnance.
afbled [af·blɛd·], vb., to strip off leaves, esp. to pluck the outer leaves from a cabbage-stalk, to a. a kail-stock. *afbleðja; Da. afblade, vb. Cf. bled, vb.
afbreg(d), afbrig(d) [af·breg(d)·, af·brıg(d)·], sb., altered sheep-mark (brag(d), breg), additional ear-mark (sheep-mark), or one which is added to the old one, e.g. when a sheep-flock has changed owners; S.Sh. *afbregði, *afbrigði, from “bragð” in the sense of sheep-mark. See bragd and breg, obreg, utbrag, sbs.
afbreg(d), afbrig(d) [af·breg(d)·, af·brıg(d)·], vb., to change a sheep-mark, to add a new ear-mark to the old one (or ones), e.g. when a sheep-flock changes owners; to a. a mark. S.Sh. *afbregða, *afbrigða. See further afbreg(d), sb., and cf. avbregget, adj.
affljogins [af·(f)ᶅō·gıns], sb. pl., husks which are shaken from the corn after it has been dried. *affløygi(ngar). See fljog, vb.
​ afgeng [afgɛŋ, -gæŋ, -g$^i$ɛŋ, -ꬶɛŋ], sb., 1) accomplishment, conclusion, esp. a) the finishing of some piece of heavier work, e.g. de vor (the field labour in spring), as well as the feast held on this occasion, Nm$^w$. (Esh.). b) the last trip to the hill when bringing the peats home by pack-horse = afbendin geng (gang), Conn.; cf. hottin (hoittin) gang. 2) breakfast given by the bridegroom on the morning of the wedding-day, before going to fetch the bride; Wests. *afgangr, departure. O.N. afgangr, m., and afganga, f., have been handed down in diff. senses.
*afhent, vb., to assign; transfer; hand over, in older Shetl. deeds, often on sale of property, in connection with the verbs “sell” and “analie” (sellis analies and afhentis, see G. Goudie in Proc. S. S. A., April 10, 1882). Also written “ofhent” (sawld or sellit, analeit and ofhentit). O.N. afhenda, vb., to assign; hand over.
af-hide, vb., to flay, to get a bit of skin torn off (by accident); to a.-h. a finger; a bit of skin; to get a bit of skin af-hidet. A word seldom used, Barclay. Da. afhude, vb., to flay, O.N. afhýða, vb., to scourge.
afkled [af·klɛd·], vb., to undress; to a. anesell, to undress oneself, = O.N. afklæðask.
afkom [afkɔm], sb., offspring; mostly in pl.: afkoms, offspring; descendants. Barclay. O.N. afkvæmi, afkœmi, n. id.
afkom [af·kɔm·], vb., 1) to exhaust; to weaken; 2) to make amazed; to surprise completely. Mostly in participial forms: a) afkomin, pres. part., exhausting; quite surprising; and b) afkom, perf. part. and adj., exhausted; weakened; amazed. Wests. (Sa). *afkoma, vb., perf. part. and adj.: *afkominn. Cf. No. avkomen, adj., reduced; enfeebled; emaciated.
af-lay [af·lē·], sb., volubility; fluency of speech; he has a great a.-l. Y$^b$. *af-(lag). Cf. “lay (l. aff)”, vb., and lag, sb. and vb.
afled [af·lɛd·], vb., to unload; to take off a burden, esp. to take a load of peat off a pack-horse; to a. a horse. *af-(hlaða). O.N. hlað, n., pile; load, etc.: L.Sc. lade, laid, sb., = Eng. load. Cf. afloden, vb.
afljud [af·ᶅūd·], vb., to make ugly; deface; to suit badly; disfigure; dat afljuds dee. N.I. Ork.: afflude, vb. (Jam. Suppl.). *af-lýta (O.N. lýta, vb., to deface; disfigure, etc.). See ljud, adj. and sb.
afljudin [af·ᶅū·din], sb., defacing; disfiguring mark. Y$^h$. *aflýting. See afljud, vb.
afloden [af·lō·dən], vb., to unload; discharge; esp. to discharge or unload a boat; to a. a boat. With this goes another form aflodnin [af·lōd·nin], unloading; discharging of a boat. Fe. O.N. afhlaðning, f., taking out and laying by. The compd. with “af” is certainly old in Shetl.; but it may be noted that a form “lodnin”, sb., is found in L.Sc. (under “laden”, vb., to load, Jam. refers to a “lodnin”, which, however, does not appear in its own proper place; cf. *“lodnit”, perf. part., ladet). Cf. above afled, vb.
afluva [af·ᶅū·va], sb., back-sweep of breakers, backwash of waves breaking against the shore, de a. fae (frae) [‘from’] de shore. Fe. *aflǫ́va; O.N. laǫ́, lá, f., Mod. Icel. lá, f., wave; water; liquid; esp. a wave on the beach; sea which washes against the shore. Cf. Shetl. lovi and levi (wave, wave-motion).
aflød, vb., see afro(d).
afmark [afma‘rk], sb., altered sheep-mark, = afbregd, sb. S.Sh. *afmark.
​ afmark [afma‘rk], vb., to alter a sheep-mark on, to a. a sheep, = afbreg(d), vb. S.Sh. *afmarka; Fær. avmarka, vb., id.
afore, prep. and adv., before, used in some connections diff. from Eng. “afore, before”, and answering to O.N. “fyrir”, in connection with certain verbs; thus: a) “broken a.”, of a young one (chicken) in an egg: “he’s [‘has’] broken a.”, it has chipped a hole in the shell (U.); also of the egg itself: broken; cf. Fær. “brostið fyri nev”, of the egg with the young one inside: broken (“broken before the beak’’); in Shetl. the word “nebb”, beak, is understood; b) to geng a. (Fo.), perish by falling (from a rock, a precipice or cliff), from an older “ganga (fara) fyrir (bakka, berg, etc. understood)”; Icel. “ganga fyrir björg”; Icel. and Fær. “fara fyri bakka”, id.; c) laid a., see forlegen, adj. Further: “bear a., fa’ a., stand a.” — see under verbs concerned.
afraains [af·rā·ıns] and afrarins [af·rar·ıns], sb. pl., immature grains of corn mingled with husks which by sifting are separated from the fully ripened corn and used for the cattle. Fo. *af-hroð-. O.N. hroði, m., scrapings; refuse; rubbish; No. rode and rade, m., chips; fragment from (chopped) wood. With the transition hroð > rar in Shetl. (Fo.) cf. the transition ð > r in O.N. hræða, vb., frighten, from which is found a form hrærir = hræðir; and conversely r > ð in hrœði, f., for hrœri, movement; restlessness (see Fr. under hrœði, f., and S. Bugge in Ark. f. nord. Fil. II, p. 241 foll.). Cf. afrødins and rod, sb.
afrinnins [af·rın(n)·ıns], sb. pl., husks shaken from the corn after its drying; immature grains of corn. *afrenningar? See rinn, vb., (to rinn de corn), and cf. afra(r)ins, afrødins, affljogins.
afro [af·rō·] and afrod [af·rōd·], vb., to dissuade, to a. ane fae (frae) a ting or no [‘not’] to dø [‘do’] a ting. Partly afrød [af·rød·], — perhaps under influence of rød, to mutter; chatter; to talk nonsense — and aflød [af·lø̄d·] (U$^b$.). *afráða; Icel. afráða, Fær. avráða, No. avraada, vb., to dissuade.
afrog [afrȯg], sb., 1) backwash of the waves after having broken on the shore; the streaming back of the water after the breaking of the billows. Fo.; Burra; N.I., etc.; 2) off-shore tide; outward tide from the shore at the setting in of ebb, = afron and afsuk; De. *af-rák (O.N. reka, vb., drift). Fær. rák, n., set of current; Icel. rák, No. raak, Sw. dial. råk, f., channel; the bed of a current (Sw. strømråk). Cf. utrog, sb.
afron [afrȯn], sb., (weak) off-shore tide; outward tide from the shore at the setting in of ebb, = afrog 2 and afsuk. De. *afrun (ron)-. Cf. Fær. run, n., very weak breaker; the wash of the waves to and fro on or near the shore; No. ron, run, f., current in between (O.N. run, n., partly the same); Eng. (and W.Sc.) run, sb., narrow current.
afrødins [af·rø̄·dıns, af·rød·ıns], sb. pl., = afrinnins and afraains (afrarins).
afsedel [af·sē·dəl, -sē$^ə$·dəl], vb., to unsaddle; take the saddle off a horse, *afsaðla, Da. afsadle, vb.
afset [afsɛt, -sæt], sb., weak tidal movement; the dying away of the tide shortly before it changes, de a. o’ de tide; to get de a. (o’ de tide); Conn. Cf. O.N. setja (to set), vb., meaning quell; still, stop anything, so that it decreases, ceases (setja ​5. Fr.). — In the sense off-shore tide; current setting towards the sea, Shetl. afset is, however, certainly a modern word (offset — cf. Eng. set, sb., set of tide).
†afsettin [af·sæt·ın], pres. part. and adj., repulsive, — afbiddin. N.Roe.
afskerri [af··skær·i], sb., remote, out of the way skerry (rock in the sea), skerri, far from land. Y$^h$. *af-sker; cf. “af” in O.N. “afdalr”, remote, solitary valley, and Da. “afkrog”.
afskod [afskȯd], sb., rebound of a wave; backwash of breakers, Nm$^w$. afaskod [af··askȯd·]: N.Roe. *af-skot, shoving off; shoving away; O.N. skot, n., shooting; shot. Cf. otterskod and øverskod, sb.
afsuk [afsuk], sb., off-shore tide; outward setting tide at the beginning of ebb; — afrog 2 and afron. De. *af-súgr. Fær. súgur (súgvur), m., and súg (súgv), f., “rennisúg(ur)”: back-sweep; sweep of the sea on the shore to and fro; Icel. súgur, m., wash ashore of the sea (B.H.). O.N. sog, n., the backwash of the breakers. The Shetl. form -suk has arisen through influence of L.Sc. “sook, souk”, vb., to suck.
aftak [aftak], sb., improvement in the weather; calming; the cessation of storm (rain or wind), a a. o’ wadder. *af-tak, “abating”. See tak (t. aff), vb., and optak, sb. In the sense mockery, taunt, aftak is L.Sc. “afftak”, sb.
aftakin [af··tak·ın], pres. part., used adjectivally in the phrase: “de a. geng”, (in knitting of stockings), the last ring or gang of loops at the lower end of a stocking leg, before making the heel. See tak’, tak’ aff, vb.
aftek [af·tɛk·], vb., to unthatch; to take the thatch-roof off a house. *af-þekja (O.N. þekja, vb., to thatch); Icel. afþekja, vb., to unthatch.
afwinnin [af·wın(n)·ın], sb., finishing of the field-work in spring (preparing of the soil in spring, O.N. várvinna, Shetl. vor); esp. festivity, festival at the conclusion of the field-work in spring; also partly (festival at) the end of the harvest-work (hay- and corn-harvest), “afwinnin-day”, day on which an afwinnin-feast is celebrated. *afvinning (and *afvinningardagr). See winn, vb. (to winn de vor, winn aff).
ag, agg [ag], sb., prop. drift, movement (forward), used in foll. senses: 1) wave-motion; ripple of waves; the wash of waves upon the shore (with steady wind from the sea), de ag (o’ de sea) upo de shore; a norderli or sodderli ag; very slight break of waves with wind from north or south; a ag fae (frae) de sooth-east; he is a ag doon here, there is a slight swell upon the shore here caused by the shoreward-blowing wind; N.Sh.; 2) foam near the shore; objects floating on or under the surface of the water which are driven by the beat of waves shorewards into bays and clefts, esp. small creatures (molluscs, small crustacea) which serve as food for fish; also called: grav; 3) fig.: stir; impulsion; der’r [‘there is’] nae [‘no’] ag upo de fish, the fish will not bite (Fe.). *ag- (drift, movement, etc.). No. ag, n., swell, slight heaving movements of the waves; Sw. dial. agg, n., water streaming back; wave dashed against the beach.
ag, agg [ag], vb., 1) vb. a., a) of the dash of waves caused by an on-shore wind: to drive something against the shore, de sodderli wind ag(g)ed de fish in to de shore (Fe.); of steady wind from the sea: to drive the waves (ripples) towards the shore; a light wind, ag(g)in doon or (in) upo de shore ​(Fe.). b) to allure fish (with bait), to ag op [‘up’] de fish (Fe.). 2) vb. n., of the sea, the waves: to be driven shorewards (by wind from the sea); to ripple against the shore, de sea is ag(g)in on (on de shore, upo de sten); of objects floating on the surface of the water: to be washed or driven shorewards; also of small fish driven shorewards in this way, e.g.: de pilteks (young coalfish) ag(g)ed upo de shore (Y$^h$.). 3) to irritate someone by continual teasing (joking remarks); to speak in an offensive, irritating manner, to agg ane, to keep aggin awa (Fo.). — ag(g) in all the above-mentioned senses, can be explained from a root-meaning: to force on; to set in motion, or state of unrest. Nevertheless ag(g) 1 + 2 and ag(g) 3 are possibly not one and the same word, as ag(g) 1 + 2 may be either *aga or *agga — see above ag, agg, sb., — on the other hand, ag(g) 3 certainly is an *agga; cf. Sw. dial. agga, vb., to incite; to irritate; disquiet; Icel. agg, n., quarrel; wrangling; No. (and Sw.) agg, n., inquietude; remorse; vexation (“agg”: root-word for “eggja”, vb., incite).
ag [ag], vb., to have feelings of sickness; to be obliged to vomit, e.g. of a sea-sick person. Du. No. aga, vb., to feel sick. Prob. to be classed along with the preceding words: ag, agg, sb. and vb.
aga [āga], ager [āgər] and aggek (agek) [agək], sb., a variety of eight-armed cuttle-fish; has a more rounded tail than the common so-called skitek and is of a lighter colour. Also (more rarely) ega [ēga] and jaga [jāga]. Nm$^w$. (Esh.): aga, ega. N.Roe: aga, jaga. Wests. occas.: ager. U.: aggek, agek. ager with the long main-vowel arises prob. from an older *akarr, m.; cf. Sw. dial. aka, vb. (see Rietz under “aa”, vb.), to go to stool (of children), to dirty (äkä, see ekä), No. akkar, m., cuttle-fish, formed from “akka”, vb., to evacuate the bowels (R. Suppl.). aga, aggek is poss. the same word as (side-forms to) ager, but can also be explained from an older *agga; cf. No. skitagga, f., corpulent, dirty woman. Cf. amok (amek) and skitek. Acc. to Edm. “agguck” is a species of fish which can inflate its body (= awmuck); see further under amok.
agbond [agbȯnd], sb., care for and interest in something; to tak’ a great a. in onyting [‘something’]. N.Roe. *ag-band? Prob. from *ag or *agg in sense of drift or unrest; cf. Shet. ag, agg, sb. and vb., as well as agl$^1$, vb. 2.
aggek, sb., see aga, etc.
agglovan [ag·lȯva$^i$n·, ag·lə-, ag·la-, aglav·ən], sb., fire-tongs, tabu-name, used by fishermen at sea. Y$^n$., Nm$^w$., Sa. ag·lȯva$^i$n·, ag·lə-, ag·la-: Y$^n$., Nm$^w$.; aglav·ən: Sa. A compd. the second part of which (-glovan) is certainly *klofa-nn (def. form in acc.) from O.N. klofi, m., a cloven tool, tongs, Fær. klovi, m., fire-tongs. The first part is poss. *agga-, from *aggi; No. agge, m., notch; tooth; fork of a cleft tool, partly = “ange”. Cf. anklovan [*anga-klofann]. From M.Roe is reported a form agglavander [ag·lavan·dər].
agisom [ā··gisom·], adj., frightful; fear-inspiring, a.-lookin (Y$^h$.); also very repulsive (Fe.). O.N. agasamr, adj., handed down in sense of restless, but may also have meant fear-inspiring (O.N. agi, m., fear; fright, etc.); cf. No. agesam, Sw. dial. agasam, adj., fear-inspiring, etc. See agos, sb.
​ agl$^1$, agel or aggel [agəl], vb., 1) vb. a., to get to blaze, in the expr.: to a. op [‘up’] de birtek = to aber op de b., to get the fire to blaze up; to liven up the fire, tabu-phrase, used by the fishermen at sea. Y$^n$. On long fishing excursions at sea they commonly had cooking-utensils in the boat. 2) vb. n., to work energetically and perseveringly; to push on something vigorously and with perseverance, to a. atill ony wark [‘into any work’]. Nm$^w$. With agl$^2$, must be classed Ag(g)lom or Ag(g)lem [agləm], used as a nickname for someone who with great eagerness pursues some particular occupation, e. g. fishing (Nm$^w$.). — agl is prob. to be explained as a deriv. of “ag”, drift (or “agg”, unrest; incitement; irritation); see further under ag, agg, (sb. and (vb. One may, however, also think of (No. alka, (vb., to irritate, with change of l and k; (cf. agl$^2$, vb.
agl$^2$, agel [agəl (a$^i$gl)], vb., to dirty; defile; soil, to a. anesell (du’s ageld dee), to a. wi’ dirt; to root, do no a. wi’ dat, don’t lie and root among that. ageld, perf. part., and adj., defiled; soiled (comm.), occas. also in disorder; crumpled (U$^s$.). Cf. No. alka, vb., to dirty; defile. For the form, cf. ugl, ugel, vb., prob. from No. “ulka”, syn. with “alka”. Or orig. *aðla? For aðl- see alan, sb.
agment [agmə‘nt], sb., unrest, anxiety (anxious care?). Appears to be a deriv. of or a compd. with *ag or *agg (No. agg, n., unrest, aggast, vb. r. to be anxious). See above, agbond, sb.
agos [āgȯs], sb., thing or being fear-inspiring to look at, Y$^h$., Fe. Deriv. of O.N. agi, m., fear; fright; cf. agisom. agos is either an original adjective, formed with the affix -ous (ag-ous; cf. e.g. bad-ous, ubad-ous), or a substantive formed similarly to gapos.
ah [a(h)], interrogative interjection, what? what do you say? Also æh and oh (åh). No. ha, hæ, Fær. ha, Mod. Icel. a(h), interr. int., what? In O.N.: “há” with long a.
aker [akər], sb., 1) stalks of corn with the ears on, gleaned from the corn-field, in pl.: akers, gleanings. Rare. (Y$^s$.). Cf. mollek. 2) crushed, decomposed or crumbled mass; crushed or decomposed state, to lie in a.; to lay in a., to crush; destroy. S.Sh. Also a) æker [ækər] and eker [ɛkər], rather comm., as well as b) more rarely (N.I.) oker [åkər, ɔkər]. Prop. crushed mass of corn. Freq. used in same sense as herda (to lie or lay in h.), of corn in a decomposed and wholly or partly ruined condition on the field; corn trampled down by cattle, battered down by wind, etc. — From Du. is reported as obsolete eker [ɛkər] in the comb. “e. and hø”, corn (field) and hay. — O.N. akr, m., field; seed; crop, partly merged in the etymologically connected L.Sc. “aiker (aicher, aigar)”, ear, in pl. (aigars) of dried corn. — cf. with ref. to aker 2, the use of herda, sb. — In some compds. in Shetl. O.N. akr assumes the forms okr-, oge(r); see okrabung, okregert, oge(r)du, ogemuld.
*akkel [akəl], sb., projecting knoll; crag; hillock; esp. as a place-name, sea-term, used by fishermen as designation for hillocks serving as land-marks by which to find a fishing-ground. Thus: “de Akkels”, some hillocks on the hill Valafell (U.), serving as land-marks for the fishing-place “de Aklins” (U$^n$.) which was named after them; “de Akkels”, two hillocks near the shore (Fedeland, N.Roe); “de Akkels”, “de inner and ​framer (inner and outer) Akkel” (Fe.), now the name of fishing-places. — O.N. ǫxl (axl-), f., a) shoulder, b) crag. — As the word (the name) in Shetl. mostly appears in pl. (of two or more hillocks collect.), akkel is doubtless derived from the pl. form akkels = O.N. axlar, pl.; de Aklins = *axlarnar (def. pl.) + Eng. s. — Cf. jokkel (hjokl) and *okkel, sb.
aklin, sb., peevish, grumpy person. Edm. Not further confirmed. Can be referred either to No. alka, vb., to irritate; to quarrel, with change of l and k, or to No. “hakke- (hakkenyn)” of a peevish, grumpy woman.
-aks [aks], sb., (ears of corn), in the compd. bitteraks, q.v.
al [āl], ali [āli], vb., 1) to feed; rear; support, esp. to feed an animal at home (in the house) in winter, comm. in the form ali: to a. a lamb, a grice [‘pig’]; cf. the substantives compounded with ali-. 2) to entice an animal to the house by fondling it and giving it food; to accustom an animal to have the run of the house, comm. in the form al and occas. ali; du’s [‘has’] ald (alid) de coo (lamb, bird, etc.) to de hoose or upo dy hand; also of persons: to entice one by kindness; to accustom one to have the run of one’s house. O.N. ala, vb., to feed; rear; support; in Fær. occas. also entice to the house, No. “ala” inter alia: to entice with food, bait.
alakadi, sb., see alikadi.
alamuti [ā·lamut·i], sb., stormy petrel (sea-bird), from muti, a) small being, b) stormy petrel. Ork. alamotti (Edm.). On account of the stormy petrel’s habit of squirting out a yellowish train-oil through the nostrils as a kind of defence the first part ala- may poss. be derived from an original *aðl- meaning squirting out; belching out (offilth; filthy fluid). For this word-root see further under the foll. bird-name alan, alen.
†alan, alen [ālan, ālən, alən], sb., = sjui, sjug, a species of gull, skua, lestris parasitica, also named skuti [skuti]-alan (alen). Shetl. and Ork. (partly also L.Sc.). “scouti-aulin”, Ork. acc. to Jam. The bird is said to have its name from the fact that it swoops down on other birds and belches out a stinking fluid upon them for the purpose of depriving them of their food and taking it to its own young ones. skuti is derived from L.Sc. skoot, vb., to squirt any liquid; to evacuate liquid excrement; and alan, alen is poss. an older synonym: *aðl-? cf. Da. and Sw. dials. adel, al, sb., urine; cattle-wash; liquid manure, Da. dial. ale, vb., Sw. dial. ala, vb., wash (of cattle), L.G. adeln, vb., to sully with mud; fluid sharn, A.S. adela, O.Eng. adele, Mod. Eng. addle. Cf. the bird-name alamuti, where the first part of the word can be explained in the same way. The name “Allan hawk” is found in certain parts of Scotland and Ireland, partly for “Richardson’s skua” or “skuti-alan”, stercorarius crepidatus (Lat. stercus, n., excrement), partly for the red-throated diver and for the great northern diver. Cf. with “scouti-aulin” Ork. “skout” as a name for Uria Lomvia Pall. — Having regard to the occurrence of the word thus outside of Shetland, alan, alen is perhaps not originally a Shetl. term (i.e. orig. Shetl. Norn) even though it may be explained as Norse.
ald [āld], intensive in the phrase “ald udal”, immovable odal-property inherited from fore-fathers, scarcely originates from L.Sc. (and ​Shetl.) ald, auld, adj., old, but rather from O.N. alda, Gen. pl. of ǫld, f., mankind; an age, used in the phrase “alda óðal (aldaóðal)”, odal possession in perpetuity.
ali [āli], sb., young animal brought up in the house, O.N. alidýr; also a weakly being (Du.). Cf. ali-grice, ali-lamb, etc.
ali [āli], adj., pet, that follows one about. Conn. From al, ali, vb.
ali [ali]-grice, sb., pig reared or brought up in the house. Comm. *ali-gríss; Sw. dial. alagris, m., id.; O.N. alidýr, n., tame animal; domestic animal (“alisvín”, domesticated pig).
alikadi [ā·likad·i (-käd·i)], sb. domesticated lamb; orphan lamb, fostered or reared in the house. More rarely alakadi [ā·lakad·i]. — For ali- see above. — kadi may also denote a petted child; a malicious fellow, and is doubtless the same word as L.Sc. “cadie”, sb., boy; young fellow; No. kate, m., boy; little boy.
aliklover [ā·liklō·vər] and alikløvin [ā·liklø̄·vin], sb., sheep; lamb, prop. one which is reared at home; tabu-word, used by the fishermen. U. For ali- see “ali-lamb”; for -klover, -kløvin (“hoofed animal”) see kløvin, sb.
alikrabb, sb., see allakrabb.
alikrogi [ā·likrog·i], sb., a weakly animal, not able to stand the cold. Fe. For ali- see ali, sb. krogi prop. animal which seeks shelter, which huddles itself up against bad weather (rain, cold); see further krog and krok, vb.
†alikruki [ā·likruk·i], sb., small univalve (buckie), narrower and with longer spiral or tail than the common so-called “grey buckie”. Fe. With kruki, may be compared krok- in the diminutive deriv. kroklin, small mussel, Icel. and Fær. kræklingur, as well as Icel. krákuskel, a species of mussel, and with ali it might be reasonable to think of O.N. hali, m., tail, on account of the long spiral of the shell. However, Dut. “alikruik” has been defined by van Dale as a small univalve, but by Sicherer and Akveld as a scallop.
alilam, ali-lamb [ā··lilam·], sb., lamb reared at home in winter. Comm. *ali-lamb; Icel. alilamb, n., fatted lamb. Cf. ali-grice.
alipati [ā·lipā·ti] or -patti [-pat·i], sb., domesticated pig; sucking-pig, brought up in the house. For ali- see ali, sb., and “ali-grice”. pati, patti, sb., = Da. “pattegris”, sucking-pig.
aliplukkins [ā·liplok·ins], sb. pl., wool plucked from the belly of a sheep (short and inferior wool). Y$^n$. ali- is here prob. an abbr. of O.N. alisauðr, m., sheep reared at home. For the second part of the compd. cf. plukkins and ollaplukk, sb.
allakrabb [aᶅ··akrab·, äᶅ··a-], sb., a variety of round or heart-shaped crab (narrowest in front), the back and legs of which are covered with short woolly hair, crab of the genus maja, spider-crab; generally found in sea-weed. Also called alikrabb [al··ikrab·] and jalakrabb [jal··akrab·]. U$^n$. allakrabb is also reported as the name of a species of fin-footed crab, swimming crab (U$^n$.). The first part of the compd. poss. an orig. *aðl-, the same word as A.S. adela, L.G. adel, sb., mud; dirt; uncleanliness, on acc. of the spider-crab’s dirty and disgusting appearance; for the forms alla-, ali-, jala- cf. “al” in Da. and Sw. dials. as a parallel form to “adel”, cow wash; liquid manure, and cf. the bird-names alamuti and alan. alla-, ali-, jala- might, however, poss. be explained from O.N. aðal, n., as a first part in compds.: head-, arch- (cf. older Da. adelfalk, ​adelfisk, adelravn); in No. a form “ale” is found (Sw. dial.: al), developed from “aðal”. Other Shetl. names for spider-crab are trolla-krabb or “trowy crab”, De’il’s (Sorrow’s, Ill-healt’s) lupek or lubi: “the devil’s spoon”, prop. designating the shell; further lulikrabb (hairy crab), rutsikrabb and spundikrabb or spønkrabb.
almark [alma‘rk, äᶅma‘rk], sb., an unruly animal, esp. a sheep which breaks through enclosures. Comm. Abbreviated form of “almark-sheep”. *almarka sauðr: sheep which breaks in on land which is common property. Cf. No. aalmark, f., a common.
*altagongi, see *haltagongi.
*altasenn [a‘l·tasæn(n)·], adverbial phrase.: 1) all at once, (hit guid = it went) a., everything was lost at one and the same time; a.! exclamation used by a fisherman at sea who lost fish and fishing-tackle (U$^n$.); 2) at once; just now; quickly, hit was a., at [‘that’] dey came. Also *alkasenn [a‘l·kasæn(n)·]. U$^n$. *alt (í) senn; alt, n. from O.N. allr, adj. (pron.), all; the whole; O.N. senn, í senn, adv., simultaneously, at the same time (Mod. Icel. “senn” and “í s.” Fær. “í s.”, No. “i s.”).
alter [a‘ltər, a$^i$‘ltər (ä‘ᶅtər)], vb., to hesitate; waver; to think twice before doing something, to a. to do a ting; he’ll no a. to dø [‘do’] it. Wests. (Sa.). Pronounced differently from Eng. alter, vb., in Shetl.: â‘ltər. — From O.N. haltra, vb., to halt? “haltra” also means to waver; cf. the expr. “haltr í trúnni”, wavering in faith.
ambel, sb. and vb., see aml, ammel.
amder, sb., see ander.
amek, sb., see amok.
amerswakk [ā··mərswak·], sb., unrest; irritation; noisy and feverish haste, to be in a a. aboot somet’in’. Also emerswakk, hemerswakk [em··ər-, hem··ər-]. Ai. The first part of the word is prob.: *am- (No. ama, vb., to push on; to set in motion, Icel. ama, vb., to plague; disturb; O.N. amask, vb., to trouble oneself; to take pains); the second part prob.: *hvekkr (No. kvekk, m., Fær. kvökkur, m., a start; being startled; No. kvekka, Fær. kvökka, vb., to be startled; Icel. hvekkur, m. inter alia, irritation).
aml, ammel$^1$ [aməl] and ambel [ambəl], sb., fumbling attempt to carry out a task; dabbling in anything, to mak’ a a. at somet’in’ (Du.); fumbling attempt to walk, to mak’ a a., e.g. of little children; weak movement in general, de leastest [‘least’] ammel (Ai.). *aml; Icel. ambl, n., continuous effort without special dexterity or progress; dabbling.
aml, ammel [aməl] and ambel [ambəl], vb., to make fumbling attempts; make little progress; to dabble at a job, to ambel at or efter [‘after’] a ting; what is du [‘are you’] amblin at? (Du.); to walk feebly and totteringly, hit [‘it’] begins to ammel and geng [‘go’], of a child which is beginning to walk (Ai.); ambel: U.; ambeld, perf. part., hampered in one’s freedom of movement, U. *amla; No. amla, vb., to be engaged continually with; to slave; to toil without success; Icel. ambla, vb., to dabble. Diff. from Eng. amble, vb., to go at an ambling pace; to trip.
aml, ammel$^2$ [aməl], sb., 1) little wooden rod; short fishing-rod, used while fishing from boat near land; Ai. 2) splinter-bar; swingle-tree of a plough; cross-bar between the traces; Du.; mester [mæstər]-a., with team of four (oxen): long swingle-tree in front of two smaller ones on a plough (Du.); “ammel-- ​tree”, an oblong piece of wood, nailed down to the foremost part of the plough-beam (Irel., Du.). O.N. hamla, f., beam; swing-beam; swingle-tree (Egilsson); No. homul (humul), Sw. and Da. “hammel” (swingle-tree) of a plough.
aml, ammel [aməl], vb., to put hooks, rings on the swingle-trees of a plough in order to fasten the smaller ones to the foremost and longest (de mester ammel), with team of four (oxen). Du. (Irel.). Though this verb is only preserved in connection with ammel, sb., swingle-tree of a plough, it appears, however, from its use to spring from O.N. hamla, f., in the sense of a noose (grummet for oars; loop through which a sheet-rope is run in order to furl together the sail of a vessel).
amok (amek) [āmȯk, āmək], sb., cuttle-fish. Prob. a compounded word, in which case the first part might be “aa, aka” (Sw. dial.), to evacuate; to soil; mentioned under aga, etc. (cuttle-fish); second part poss. *smokkr; cf. Icel. smokkfiskur, m., cuttle-fish. For the dropping of initial s before a consonant see “bipong” and “bulag”, as well as N. Spr. p. 55. The likeness between Shetl. amok and Greenl. amikok (cuttle-fish) is doubless accidental. Different varieties of amoks answer to the names hwal-a., ling-a., skate-a., (ling-a. = aggek; U.). Cf. aga, ager, aggek, sb. Edm. has: “awmucks, a kind of fish found upon sandy beaches; they possess the power of inflating their bodies. There are ‘ling-awmucks’ and ‘skate-awmucks’ and ‘shell-awmucks’.” No further confirmation of the sense is given by Edm.
amos [āmȯs], sb., 1) alms; is in form the L.Sc. aumous, awmous = almous (alms), but is used in Shetl. frequently of alms which is promised at sea (in hope of getting better fishing or in time of distress), either to a person (the first person one meets if one again reaches land) or particularly to a church, like Fær, “olmusa”; to lay on a a., to promise alms, to winn a a., to get a promised alms; “he’ll winn a a. ut inunder a sten” is said of a very poor person (Ai.); see below a.-sten; if de kirk o’ Ness (Y$^n$.) winns de a., at [‘that’] we get some fish — if our promise of alms to the Ness church gains a hearing then we shall get some fish —. a.-kirk, church to which one promises alms at sea (while fishing or in distress), a.-sten, stone (wish-stone) which acc. to old custom was thrown upon a heap of stones, an a.-heap, by a passer-by when making a promise of alms. Sometimes “amos” can be heard fig. used in sense (good or bad) action, esp. trick; knavish trick: hit [‘it’] would be a guid [‘good’] a. to dø [‘do’] so and so (Y$^e$.). Likewise amous in sense of action is a good Scottish use. 2) pitiful creature; poor thing, comm. used adjectivally: poor; wretched; a. creature, puir [‘poor’] a. ting (poor little thing); in this sense also in the older form olemos, o. body (Wests.). O.N. ǫlmusa, f., a) alms, b) wretch; poor thing; Fær. olmusu (Gen. sing.) as first part in compds. or adjectivally: poor; wretched.
amp [a‘mp], sb., restlessness; anxiety; he drew a a. upon him, he had a presentiment of ill (U$^n$.); esp.: restless state of mind which prevents one from sleeping, der’r [‘there is’] a a. upo me, I canno [‘-not’] sleep; to be “upo de a.” (o’ gaun = going, o’ doin’ somet’in’), to be eager and longing to get away or to do something as soon as ​possible; N.I. etc. *ampi; Fær. ampi, m., trouble; unrest; haste; No. ampe, m., trouble; inconvenience.
amp [a‘mp], vb., to be anxious, restless; be unable to sleep; esp. in connection with the verb “lie”, to lie and a., to lie ampin. Wests. See amp, sb.
ampel [a‘mpəl] and more rarely amper [a’mpər], adj., 1) with sharp outline; clear and distinct; Fe.; Y$^n$., de land is very ampel, the land appears clear and distinct (in clear weather); a ampel sky = a aber sky; see aber, adj. 2. 2) greedy; eager; active; indefatigable at work; Fe.; cf. aber, adj. 4. Along with this ampelness (Fe.), greed; eagerness; activity; indefatigability. *ampr, parallel form to *apr (Shetl. aber); No. amper, adj., sharp; acrid (in taste) etc. (also inter alia bustling; hastening, R.); Sw. (dial.) amper, adj., sharp (in taste), also inter alia active; indefatigable; Da. dial. ampre sig and ample, Sw. dial. amplä, vb., to set strenuously to work; to strive eagerly.
annapi, sb., see ennapi.
*an(n)ari [anā·ri], see under *fari, sb.
*and [and, äᶇd], sb., breath, esp. the last breath of life; to blag de (ane’s) a., to give up the ghost; die, he’s blaget de (his) a. (see blag, vb.); to draw ane’s a., to worry one to death, diff. from “to draw ane’s end, ænd”. N.I. O.N. andi, m., and ǫnd, f., breath; “ǫnd” esp. soul; life, cf. end (ænd), sb. The word used in the expr. hand$^2$, handi (q.v.) is certainly the same.
andelokk (-lukk) [a$^i$n··dəlȯk·, äᶇ··dəlȯk, -lək·], sb., accident; misfortune; sudden, unforeseen illness etc.; if nae [‘no’] a. happens till [‘to’] de coo [‘cow’] or yowe [‘ewe’] —. Fe., Y$^n$., U$^n$. Also ondelokk (-lukk) [åᶇ··dəlȯk, -lək·, ȯᶇ··də-]; der’r a o. fa’en [‘fallen’] upo dem, they have met with an accident (Y$^n$.). *andlukka; O.N. “and” against (particle, forming the first part of compds.); O.N. lukka, f., luck. Edm. expresses “angaluck” as “accident; misfortune”; this is poss. an older form: *andg(a)lukka, where “g(a)” is the old prefix (cf. G. “Gluck”).
andi$^1$ [andi, äᶇdi], sb., stink; strong and disagreeable smell. Fe., U$^{mo}$. From U$^{wg}$. a form ongdi [ɔ$^i$ŋdi] is reported. O.N. andi, m., breath.
andi$^2$ [andi], recorded in the verse “Eeli eeli a.! kast a knot upo dy tail! I’ll slipp dee hwar I fann dee” (U$^n$.). Eel, eel (in hand?) make a knot upon thy tail and I’ll set thee free again where I found thee, (said by boys to a captive eel which is grasped by the head and held with outstretched arm). *í handi = í hendi (in hand)?
andr [äᶇdȯr (andor, äᶇ·dōr·)] and more comm. ander [andər, āndər, äᶇdər], sb., small porch; penthouse; Wests. [andər: Sa., Fo.; andor: Papa St.); S.Sh., esp. Conn. [āndər, andər, äᶇdər]; Fe. [äᶇdȯr, äᶇdər]. On Wests. a parallel form amder [amdər] is found. In Fe. the word is also used to designate the foll.: a) the space between the byre-door and the door which leads from the byre to the dwelling-house; b) the door between the byre and the barn; c) wooden lintel or (esp.) shelf above the door to lay things on; the uppermost edge of a stone wall, forming an angle with the roof, esp. and prop. above the door, and used for depositing things on (cf. esins, sb. pl.); he laid it op [‘up’] upo do a. o’ de hoose, o’ de byre (Fe.); — From Fe. also in the form onder [ȯᶇdər, ɔ̇ᶇdər]. From Y$^h$. is recorded andor [äᶇ·dōr·], meaning a blind door in a byre or ​barn. O.N. anddyri, n., porch, in Icel. also: inner porch-door; No. anddyr, f., back-door, door in the wall opposite the main-door (esp. in barns). Cf. obder, katthus, sjapphus.
andu [ān··du·], vb., by help of oars to keep a boat from drifting with wind and stream; keep a boat on the same spot by rowing slightly against stream or wind. Comm. Also Ork. O.N. andœfa, vb., id. Shetl. andu, vb., is also used metaphorically of slow walking as if one were working oneself forward: to geng anduin; he cam’ here op [‘up’] anduin (Fe.).
anglop [aŋlop] -tree, sb., = aml, ammel$^2$ 2 (swingle-tree of a plough). Du. anglop prob. a compd. angl- = aml-? See aml, ammel$^2$, sb.
†anker [a‘ŋkər], sb., partly = Eng. anker (liquid measure), partly a dry measure, a third of a barrel, e.g. “a a. o’ taatis” [‘potatoes’], = No. anker. “anker-kettle”, large kettle or pot. More recent word.
†anker [a‘ŋkər], vb., to calve (of a cow). Fo. Slang?
anklovan [a‘ŋ·klȯva$^i$n·, -kləva$^i$n·], sb., tongs, tabu-name, used by fishermen at sea. Y$^n$. Prob.: *angaklofann (def. acc. form), from *angi (Icel. angi, No. ange, m., branch or fork of a forked implement), and O.N. klofi, m., forked implement; tongs (Fær. klovi, m., tongs). See agglovan, sb.
annaset, annesed, anni- [ad··nasɛt·, -set·, -ᶊet·, an··ișed·, äᶇ··ısed·, äᶇ··ıșe‘nt·], annester, annister [äᶇ··əstər, äᶇ··ıstər], sb., 1) lamb in its second year or two years old; young ewe which has not yet had a lamb; often adjectivally: a a. gimmer or yowe [‘ewe’]; see gimmer, sb.; 2) the second lamb of a ewe; the second calf of a cow; also adjectivally: a a. lamb, a a. calf. — Fo. [adnasɛt, -set, -ᶊet]. Ai [äᶇıșe(‘n)t·]. Conn. [aᶇıșed]. Easts. occas. (Wh.) [äᶇısed]. N.I. [äᶇəstər, äᶇıstər]. From U$^n$. and Y$^n$. is recorded “a annester (annister) goose” of a one or two year old goose; and from Y$^h$. a form anneste [äᶇ··əste·], esp. of the second calf, second lamb, and from Fe. a form enniste [eᶇ··ıste·], signifying a young animal (lamb, calf, pig, gosling), belonging to the second brood. O.N. (and Mod. Icel.) annars vetrar, of the second year.
*annehwart [äᶇ··əhwa‘rt·], adj. and adv., a) as adj.: irregular; changeable, of wind, alternating with calm, a a. wind; b) as adv.: in the expr. “to blaw [‘blow’] a.”; he blaws or is blawin’ a., it blows unsteadily; it is alternately wind and calm. Y$^h$. Prop.: (coming) every other time. *annathvart, -hvárt, neut. from O.N. pron. annarhvarr, -hvárr, every second one. Cf. atrahola.
anns [ans], sb. pl., husks of corn, esp. of oats. Almost corresponds in form to L.Sc. (and Eng. dial.) “awns”, defined by Jam. as: beards of corn, but otherwise is derived from O.N. agnar, agnir, pl. of ǫgn, f., husk.
ans [a‘ns], vb., to heed; look after; mind; care about; never a. him! never mind him (what he says)! I’ll no a. de day, I don’t care about getting it or doing it to-day, it is of no importance to me to-day, a. dee! look out! be on your guard! Wh., Conn., Wests. O.N. ansa (anza), vb., to notice; care about. The forms ant and ent are just as common as ans.
ansible [a‘n··sıb·əl], adj., that likes to lend a helping hand, that willingly offers his services; he is very a., he likes to offer his assistance. Sa. Formed from ans, ​vb., with the modern (Eng.) suffix -ible.
ansperr [ä‘ᶇᶊpər], sb., stiffness in the limbs, esp. in the thighs after a long and rapid or wearisome walk; to get de a. U$^n$. hansper [ha‘nspər]: L. ensper [ɛnᶊpər, enᶊpər] and hensper [hæ‘ᶇᶊpər]: Fe. hensperr [heᶇ‘ᶊpærr··] and hansfer [ha‘nᶊfər]: Nm., De. — Fær. andsperri, n., id.
ant [a‘nt], vb., to heed = ans, vb.; never ant him! S.Sh. (Du.). N.Shetl. (N.I.). Also ent [æ‘nt]. O.N. enta, vb., to heed; care about, = ansa.
*ante [a‘ntə], adv., even; yet; still, = *ende. In an old rigmarole; see Introd., fragments of Norn, also N. Spr. p. 19. Fo. *enn þá; Icel. ennþá (Fær. enntá), adv., yet; still.
anti [a‘nti], sb., oil-lamp (koli); tabu-word used by fishermen at sea. Fo. *andi? cf. Fær. ana (parallel form to “anda”), vb., to shine or burn faintly; O.N. anda, vb., to breathe, in No. and Sw. dial. also of wind: to puff; blow gently. For the change nd > nt, see Introd. V (also N. Spr. VII) § 28. Cf. andi, sb.
*ap, sb., see apta.
apateg, sb., see afatag.
aper [apər, āpər], vb. a. and n., 1) vb. a., a) to detain; hinder; tame,he would no be aperd, he would not be hindered in the carrying out of his plan; Conn. [apər]; b) to recall, esp. to call back or to stop a dog by shouting, e.g. while chasing sheep, to a. de dog; N.Roe [apər]; 2) vb. n., a) to change one’s mind, mostly negatively, he would no a., he would not budge, he held to his purpose; N. (and U.?); b) to comply; obey orders; to cease or stop in the act of doing something when ordered, esp. of a dog called back by shouting, e.g. while chasing sheep; de dog will no a.; is he a guid [‘good’] aperin dog? Wests., De., L. [āpər]; N. — Sometimes with prefixed h: haper [hapər]; doo’ll be haperd (stopped) i’ dat (Conn.); when swearing: De’il haper dee! D. h. me! devil take you! devil take me! (Conn.). — *apra from an older “aptra”; O.N. aptra, vb., to pull; take or keep back; call back; aptra sér, retire. — Cf. hater$^1$, vb., prop. the same word.
*apta [apta], sb., eve of a feast; the day before a holy-day or mass-day; also abbr. *ap [ap] and *op [åp]. Fo. Recorded in the foll., all from Fo.: a) Tammasmass-ap(ta), the 20th of December, the day before St. Thomas’s day, b) Todleses (Tollegsis, Toljegsis)-ap(ta) [tåd··ləsəs·-, tåᶅ··ə(g)sıs-·]: *Þorlaks-(messu)-aptann, the 22nd of December, the day before “St. Thorlak’s day”; Todleses- is the correct Foula-form of this name; the form Tollegsis (Toljegsis)- with softened (palatal) l is comm. outside Fo. in the phrase “T-e’en” (e’en = apta); c) jøl-ap(ta), Christmas eve. Strictly speaking, these terms really form a sort of rigmarole: Tamm.-ap(ta), Tamm.-day, Todl.-a., Todl.-day, Jøl-a., Jøl-day, referring to the days from the 20th of December to and including Christmas day. O.N. aptann, m., evening; the day before a holy-day or saint’s day. Instead of ap(ta) the word “e’en” is now comm. used. Eng. even = eve, sb.
ar$^1$ [ār], sb., 1) speck; small particle; very small part of something; Wests. (Sa.); 2) very faint life; very feeble movement. esp. in foll. combs.: a ar o’ frost, a) a slight frost; very slightly frosty weather, “hit [‘it’] is very cauld [‘cold’]; I tink’, der’r a ar o’ frost i’ de air” (Sa.); b) very thin and faint layer of rime frost (Sa.). a ar upo de shore, extremely slight surf; slight wash of the waves ​on the shore, der’r hardly a ar upo de shore. a ar o’ wind, very light breeze (Y$^h$.). Icel. ar, n., minute speck of dust; mote in a sunbeam. For *“ar” of feeble movement see below ar, vb., and arel, sb. and vb. Cf. er, sb.
ar$^2$ [ār], sb., scar; scratch; mostly with prefixed h: har [hār]. O.N. ǫrr, n., Da. ar, Eng. dial. and L.Sc. arr, sb.
ar [ār], vb., to move oneself feebly and almost lifelessly, esp.: a) of living beings, men or animals; to ar (geng arin) aboot, walk with difficulty; to totter about (N.Sh.), = to ur; b) of tide: to move; begin to move (immediately after the turn of the tide), or to move very slowly (immediately before slack water and turn of the tide), N.I.; hit [‘it’] was a’, dey could ken, hit was arin, they could just tell that the tide was moving (U$^n$.); de tide is begun to ar, to “ar in” (move shorewards), to “ar fram” (= ar ut, go out seawards) (Y$^h$.). *ar- of feeble movement. No. arra, vb., walk with difficulty; Da. dial. (Jut.) ærre, vb., to move; O.N. and Mod. Icel. arka, vb., to go forward, walk slowly; Icel. örga, vb., to move slightly. Cf. arel, vb.
ard [ārd], adj., scarred; covered over with scars or scratches, a. hands; mostly with a prefixed h: hard [hārd]. Deriv. of ar$^2$, sb.
arel [ārəl], sb., feeble, dying away movement, esp. of the tide, just before the turn, and then generally in pl.: arels; de hidmost arels o’ de nort’-tide; Fe. Also ari, comm. in pl.: aris; Ai. In Ai. ari(s) is used, de aris o’ de tide, comm. about the first movement of the tide. *arl-. See arel, vb.
arel [ārəl], vb., to move oneself very feebly or lifelessly; just able to a. (Fe.), to geng arlin (aboot); shø [‘she’] ’s still arlin aboot, she is still crawling about (of a poor sick person) (Sa.); de tide is still arlin (U$^{mo}$.). In Sa. a parallel form aren [ārən] is found, to a. aboot. — From *ar- of slight movement; see above ar, sb. and vb. For the suffix -(e)l cf. Icel. örla, vb., of waves: to break very slightly (B. H.).
aren [ārən], vb. — arel, vb. Sa.
*arff, *airff, *ayrffe, sb. 1) inheritance; share of inheritance; 2) succession to property. In these meanings “arff” and “ayrffe” are given by Balfour; “airff” by S. Hibbert (Memoir on the Tings of Orkney and Shetland 1823), meaning share of inheritance: “The place appointed for the adjudication of airffs was originally the site in which other parish tings were held”. 3) partition of an inheritance; apportionment of inheritance; to mak’ a(n) a. “Airff” is explained in a judicial document, dated 19th of Aug. 1602 (Matters of Succession and Inheritance): “…anent the airff (division) appointit to be haldin at Vyea…for divisioun of the landis and moveablis airit be…” (Peterkin’s Notes). Here, however, the word might also be understood in the sense mentioned below (given by Hibbert). 4) probate court, cantonal court at which the partition of inheritance (allodial possessions) to the heirs-apparent, took place. Thus “airff” is explained by S. Hibbert in “Memoir, etc.” “It was ordained that an airff should be made at the airff-house of Norbie” (S. H., Memoir, etc.). In the phrase “to mak” a(n) airff” the correct meaning of this word must be the partition of an inheritance; to had a(n) a., to hold a probate court or a court for the partition of an inheritance; cf. the quotation above under *a(i)rff 3, where the word in this connection is expressed by ​(arve)-skifte: partition of inheritance. — The form *arff is derived from O.N. arfr, m., inheritance, *airff, *ayrffe either from “arfr” or from O.N. erfð, f., succession to property; inheritance. In meaning 3, “airff” is prob. an abbr. of O.N. arfskipti, n., partition of inheritance. airff 4, which can be accepted as an abbr. of *“airff-ting”, is doubtless a development from “airff 3” with which, in the phrases “to mak’ a., to had a.”, it is merged. — Ork. (Dennison) erif = Shetl. a(i)rff 4. — Cf. *arvhus.
arg [arg], adj., 1) evil; bad; in this sense now certainly in only a few phrases; exclamations such as: arga dirt! damned dirt! Fe. Cf. the under-mentioned derivatives argeri and argosi, sb. 2) desirous and eager; very desirous of something; foll. by infinitive or prep. upon; a. upon somet’in’; Fo. O.N. argr, adj., evil; bad; sensual, etc.; with ref. to meaning 2 of Shetl. arg cf. Sw. dial. arg, adj., which inter alia, can mean active.
arg [arg], vb., to talk ill-temperedly and hot-headedly; insist upon or contradict violently, esp. of a hot-headed quarrel; dey arged [argət] de ane i’ de face o’ de tidder [‘the one in the face of the other’]. N.I. Partly O.N. (No., Sw., Icel., Fær.) arga, vb., to worry; excite; partly Eng. argue, vb. Cf. erg, vb.
*argeri [ar··gəri·], sb., angry, importunate crowd. U$^n$. Edm. has: “argerie, a crowd, a multitude”. Prob. deriv. of arg, adj. 1.
*argosi [ar··gosi·], sb., malice; passion; anger. U$^n$. Formed from arg, adj., wicked; naughty, etc. Cf. Fær. argur, adj., bad; ill-tempered.
ari [ari], sb., comm. in pl.: aris, de aris o’ de tide, o’ de brost (beginning of ebb): the first slight movement of the tide after the turn. Ai. See arel, sb. and vb.
ark [a‘rk], sb., chest; case, comm. used fig. of a heavily-built and big-boned animal, a great a. o’ a coo [‘cow’] or hweg (heifer). O.N. ǫrk and arka, f., chest; case; L.Sc. ark, sb., chest.
arm [ārm], sb., tail-end; end, esp. on a fishing hand-line. Tabu-word at sea. U$^n$. O.N. armr, m., a) arm; b) extremity; extreme edge. arm, a part of the body, in Shetl. is now comm. called: airm [ærm, ǣrm]. — Cf. arvi$^2$ and damp, sb.
arm [ārm], adj., poor; wretched; weakly and thin; Y$^h$. armet [ārmət] and armin [ārmin], a.-lookin’: Fe. armet: Du. arm has a further use in combination with “poor” in expr. as: he’s nedder [‘neither’] puir [‘poor’] or arm, he is well off. O.N. armr, adj., poor; unhappy.
arm [ārm], vb., of a wretched, emaciated being: to drag oneself along; to crawl about, to geng armin aboot; de sheep gengs armin aboot de dykes. Fe. Formed from arm, adj., influenced by the verbs ar and arel.
ar [ar]-tree, sb., 1) plough-beam; long-bar; the foremost part of a plough; Irel., Du.; 2) a piece of wood which is nailed down on the fore-end of the plough-beam, and to which the traces are fastened; Sandw., Du. *arðr-(tré); O.N. arðr, m., plough. Cf. orderos (erderos) and erskäi.
arvek [arvək], sb., species of sea-bird, see further under hervek, hirvek.
*arvhus [ärvhus], sb., now only preserved in the phrase “de a. o’ Norbi” (Sa.), also called “de ha’- hoose o’ Norbi”. ha’ [‘hall’]-hoose = large and high-class house. The house in question has now disappeared, but stood within living memory as a ruin (acc. to the judicial-register discarded as a dwelling-house before 1735). “arvhus” is mentioned by the late schoolmaster ​Robert Jamieson, Sandness, with the explanation: “head-bøl or principal house of an udaler, mansion-house”. Edmondston in his Shetl. Glossary mentions “aairvhous” with the explanation “the place of meeting appointed by the Foud general or chief governor”. This last vague explanation presupposes house wherein the probate-court or the court for the partition of an inheritance was held — see *arff, *airff, meaning 4, and the “airff-house of Norbie” mentioned thereunder. Barclay gives in his MS. suppl. to Edm. “arv-house”: “a house adjudged to belong to one of the heirs of the deceased”. The word appears thus to have been used in a double sense, partly in the original sense: the dwelling-house of a udaler, legally inherited by one of his sons; partly in a later and derived sense: a house in which the partition of inheritance is made or a probate-court is held. *arf-hús; O.N. arfr, m., inheritance, Shetl. *arff, *airff. The name “Arv-hus Inn” in Wd. cannot be taken notice of here, as having an etymological connection, since it is quite modern (former name Hogster).
arvi$^1$ [arvi], sb., chickweed (plant), Alsine media, Stellaria media. comm. No. and Da. “arve”, Sw. arv, Fær. arvi, m., Icel. arfi, m., id.
arvi$^2$ [arvi], sb., end; piece of a broken fishing hand-line or long-line, de lous a. Tabu-word, used by fishermen at sea. Wests. From Walls we have “de lous a.”, used of the piece of the line which on breaking was lost in the sea; from Ai. (W. Burr), on the contrary, of that piece of the line which was hauled into the boat when the lower portion was lost. — arvi perhaps for *armi, *arm-ie, and, in that case, the same word as arm, sb., end of a fishing hand-line; q.v.
asek [aᶊək], sb., a closely woven straw-basket, esp. for taking the ashes from the fire-place. Y$^h$. O.N. askr, m., small vessel; box; No. ask, m., id.
asel$^1$ [asəl], sb., 1) cold and keen wind, a a. o’ wind, a cauld [‘cold’] a.; 2) a laborious battling against the wind; I’m had a heavy a., I have had a hard struggle, strong contrary wind. S.Sh. No. as, asveder, n., gale of wind, rough weather, asa, vb., a) to storm; blow; b) to be tumbled about; move with difficulty; exert oneself, etc. Da. ase. Cf. asel$^2$ and asu.
asel$^2$ [asəl], sb., in the phrase “upo de a.”, in uneasy movement; eagerly on the look-out for something. N.I. Prob. from *as- (No. asa, vb., to storm; blow; riot; No. aseim and asn, sb., breathless, excited hurry) and therefore actually the same word, or of the same origin, as asel$^1$.
ask [ask, āsk], sb., l) haze; mist; bank of fog, a a. upo de land (Ai.), der’r [‘is’] a a. lyin’ ower de land (U$^n$.). Comm. of mist or banks of fog in the sky betokening wind, a windy a. More rarely, cold wind, coming from such a mist or such banks of fog, a cauld [‘cold’] a. (Y$^h$.). 2) drizzle; fine rain; fine flakes of snow; thus Edm. (U$^n$.); now certainly rare in this sense, which however is confirmed by the underquoted Ork. “ask” and Sw. dial. “askregn”. — ăsk and āsk: U., Y. (and Papa St.): otherwise comm.: ăsk. — Seeing that the word is sometimes found in the form “hask” with the derivative “haski (hoski)”, adj., hazy, grayish (of weather), it might be thought to be an original *hask, cognate with O.N. hǫss, adj., grayish, Eng. haze, sb., but it is most probably to be associated with O.N. aska, f., ashes, the root-meaning of which doubtless is dust; ​cf. Ork. ask, sb., a) dust; speck of dust; b) drizzle; mist; c) fine flakes of snow, as also Sw. dial. askregn, n., drizzle.
ask [ask], vb., of the sky: to be covered with haze or gray clouds foreboding wind, de sky is askin (Y$^h$.). Hence the substantive askin, a a. for wind, slight cloudiness; haze foreboding wind (Y$^h$.). See above ask, sb.
aslin [aslin], adjectivally in the expr.: de coo or horse is a., the cow or the horse has two owners, each possessing one half. (Y$^h$.). Ork. asley, horses in asley, id. (Jam.). Uncertain origin.
asu, assu [a$^i$ᶊu], sb., very rough, rainy weather, heavy rain, a awfu’ a. rare. m. (Ai.? De.?). Also osa, ossa, q.v. Cf. No. as (rush; ferment) in “asveder”, very bad weather with wind and high sea; asa, vb., of the weather: to rage; also osa, vb., and osveder, sb. (R.).
at$^1$ [at], prep., at; to; by; with respect to, in several phrases has an application handed down from Norn and diff. from Eng. Examples: 1) prep., a) to ha’e ill (ill will, a pikk) at ane, to bear ill-will towards somebody (U$^n$.); what has du at him? what have you against him? (U$^n$.); b) to be weel at anesell, to be in good condition, vigorous and well nourished, he (shø) is weel at him (her); O.N. vel at sér, capable; good, etc.; c) flit (had) dee at dee! move a little aside, get a little out of the way! lay dee at dee! lie a little farther away! he bade him stand at him, he begged him to move a little aside; cf. Sw. dial.: gå åt dej! hurry up! (see Ri. under “ganga”). d) op at, up against; by; alongside, to stand op at de wa’ [‘wall’], op at de dyke. 2) adverbially in such phrases as: a) gi’e me a tak at! give me a helping hand; help me to pull up the bow of the boat (on arriving at a landing-place); tak’ (stick) her (de boat) at! after landing: pull the boat up a little! b) nort’ at, in a northerly direction, northward, sooth at, in a southerly direction, southward, esp. of wind, direction of the wind; c) op at, α) upward, northward, de wind is gane [‘gone’] op at, the wind has gone a little more to the north. β) up against; up by, “de ballisten is a sten afore de fire for to set [‘for setting’] de ballis op at” (see balli). 3) in connection with certain verbs; as: to draw at, dreng at, drive at, fa’ at, geng at, kom (come) at, lay at, les at, pjog at, rinn at, set at, stigg at, tird (tirs) at, winn at — see under these verbs.
at$^2$ [at], conj., that, introducing a subordinate sentence, = Eng. that; I ken at du’ll dø [‘do’] it, I know that you wilt do it; often omitted. In the infinitive, on the other hand, the Eng. “to” is always used. O.N. at, conj., that; also O.Eng. and L.Sc.
atbørd, sb., see adber, adbert.
at-draw [at-drâ], sb., prop. pulling and dragging towards oneself, esp. in foll. senses: 1) (slow and tedious) hauling in, hauling up of a fishing hand-line, when in a very strong current, or when the line chances to stick fast to the sea-bottom; a heavy a.-d., a lang a.-d. 2) on the arrival of a boat at a fishing-ground: the impression formed of the fishing-ground on the first running out of the line (Burra), = at-komin, war; de first a.-d. o’ de grund. 3) vigorous stroke, e.g. during rowing; to tak’ a a.-d. 4) fig. a bit of one’s mind, a volley, a broad-side, when quarrelling; to gi’e ane a a.-d. — *at-(drag or dráttr). O.N. draga at sér, to draw or drag towards oneself; O.N. atdráttr, m., ​prop. drawing towards oneself, is handed down in a diff. sense.
atersom [ā··tərsȯm·], adj., see etersom, etri, adj.
atferd [atfɛrd, atfərd], sb., behaviour; conduct; manners, he has nae a., he does not understand how to behave himself; now esp. queer conduct; ludicrous deportment. Often in pl.: atferds [atfɛrds, -fərds, atfərs], wheer (queer) atferds; he has nae [‘no’] atferds = he has nae a. (see above). Occas. also atwerd, atwerds [atwərd(s)]. S.Sh. (atferd, atwerd). N. and L. (atferd). atifer [at··ifər·, äi··tifər·], a wheer [‘queer’] a.: Wh. [at··ifər·], N.Roe [äi··tifər·]; he had a wheer a. aboot him. In Wh. also etifer [et··ifər·]. Ork.: atfares, sb. pl. (Dennison). O.N. atferð, f., behaviour; manner of proceeding. Cf. adber, odbert, sb.
†atkins [atkıns], sb. pl., a kind of short trousers. Conn. Etym. uncertain.
atkomin [at··kɔm·ın], sb., prop. appearance; arrival, now rare and only in certain collocations; thus: de (first) a. o’ de grund, impression formed of the fishing-ground, on running out the first line from the boat after arriving at the fishing-ground (Burra), = at-draw. O.N. atkoma, f., arrival. “komin” in “atkomin” = Eng. coming.
atl, attel [aƫəl, äƫəl], sb., small portion of food, a a. o’ meat. Fe. aƫəl points back to an *atl; äƫəl might originate either from *ætl (etl) or *atl. Cf. No. etla and atla, vb., inter alia, to deal out food (Aa.), also to cook food (etla, R.); etlavord, m., portion of food (Aa.); O.N. ætlan, f., (thought; design; plan; determination) inter alia also: arrangement; entertainment (æ. 6. Fr.).
at [at]-lay, sb., a taking hold vigorously, exertion of strength whilst performing some task. See “lay (l. at)”, vb. Cf. O.N. atlaga, f., a laying alongside (of a ship in battle); attack; onset.
atrahola [at·rahō·la, a$^i$t·rahō·la (äi·tra-)], adj., prop. pron., chopping; intermittent; unsteady, occas. of wind with intermittent calm, occas. of alternating drizzling rain and dry weather (in dull weather); a. wadder [‘weather’]: hit [‘it’] is a. wi’ him, a) it varies between wind and calm, = he’s blawin’ annehwart (see annehwart); b) it drizzles and is dry at intervals, it is neither rainy nor dry weather. Y$^n$. *aðrahvára, acc. f. sing. from O.N. annarhvárr, pron. every other; after “aðrahvára” a feminine noun is understood (ferð, f., a time; a turn). The change from r to l in -hola can be explained as dissimilation on acc. of the preceding r in atra-.
atri [atri, äƫ(ə)ri, äitri], adj., see etersom and etri, adj.
atset [atsɛt, -sæt], sb., the beginning of the tide at the setting in of the ebb. See set (s. at), vb. Cf. O.N. setja, vb., setja at: set or press towards.
attafeld, attifeld, sb., see attavelta, sb.
atta-lay [a$^i$t·alɛ̄·], sb., fallow-land; fallow-field in its second year. U. *aptr-(lega); O.N. aptr, adv., once more; again. No. atterlega, f., fallow-land; field laid down to grass.
*attaljos [at··aljos·], sb., daybreak in summer; Fo. From Nm$^w$. has been reported, attalos [a‘t··alȯs·] in the sense: a) daybreak; dawn, de a. o’ de mornin’; and by fusion; b) dusk; twilight, de a. o’ de eenin’ [‘evening’], = hømin. *aptr-ljós. Cf. a) the Shetl. expr.: he’s lightnin’ again (comm.), it is dawning (after the short midsummer-night), and b) No. atterlysa, vb., to dawn; atterlysing, f., early dawn.
*attaslu [a$^i$t··aslū], sb., weight, attached to the back of a harrow and dragged after it to smooth the ​mould and cover the seed; an old straw-basket (kessi) or a piece of one, containing a turf or some earth, was mostly used for this purpose. U$^s$. *aptr- or *aptan-slóði. O.N. aptr and aptan, adv., behind; at the back of; O.N. slóði, m., a sort of brushwood-harrow (bundle of branches or twigs bound together and dragged over the field, e.g. to crush and spread the manure, laid on this); somewhat similar is No. slode, m., Icel. slóði, m., basket for carrying manure into the field. Cf. slui, sb.
attavelta [at·avɛ‘ᶅ·ta], attavelt [at··avæ‘lt·], attivelt, -velti [a‘t··ivɛ‘lt·, a‘t·ivæ‘l·ti], sb., ground (field) recultivated after having lain fallow for some time, esp. field in its second year of cultivation after fallowing. The forms given are distributed over the foll, localities: attavelta Fe., Y. occas., attavelt De. occas., attivelti and -velt Wests. (Sa., Papa), attafeld [at··afeld·] and attifeld [at··ifeld·] are more used, occas. in pl.: attifelds [at··ifel(d)s·]. S.Sh.: attifelds. From U$^n$. we have the forms “a$^i$t··ifel(d)s·, äi··təfels·”, from Nm. “atfeld” and “aƫ··afeld·” (Nm$^w$.) besides “attafeld”. ottafeld [ɔt··afeld·]: L. -feld, written field and now partly pronounced “fild”, usually accepted as Eng. field. — *aptr-velta, soil turned over and prepared anew. For the second part of the compd. cf. No. velta, f., turned-over soil; ploughed strip of land, and Fær. velta, f., piece of land dug over with a spade. See velt, velter, sb., and cf. siverka, sb.
*atte [atə], adv., at the back of; behind, O.N. aptan. Only handed down in the old riddle (from Unst) of the cow: en comes a. drillandi, one (= the tail) comes dangling behind. From Fe. in the form oita [ȯita], influenced by the foll. “droita” in the same riddle. See Introd., riddles, also N.Spr. pp. 17—18.
attikassen [at··ikas·ən], adj. (perf. part.), prop. cast off; rejected, now generally stupid; foolish; helpless, of men and animals, a puir [‘poor’] a. ting. *aptr-kastaðr, thrown back; rejected; O.N. kasta aptr, vb., to reject; throw away, etc.; Fær. kasta attur, to reject; disdain.
attikast [at··ikast·], sb., queer, foolish and helpless person, prop. scum, a puir [‘poor’] a. comm. *aptr-kast, something cast away or rejected; O.N. aptrkast, n., is handed down in the sense of resistance; adversity. See attikassen, adj.
attri [atri, äƫri] and atteri [at··əri·, äƫ··əri·], adj. compar. and sb., see ettri.
*austerco(u)p, see *eystercop.
av, sb., see avnet, sb.
avbregget [av·bræg·ət], adj. (prop. perf. part.), of ear-mark on sheep: marked anew, altered on the sheep’s changing owners. Fo. *afbregðaðr, perf. part. from an *af-bregða, vb., to alter (a sheep-mark), from bragð, sb., in the sense of sheep-mark; see further afbreg(d), sb. and vb. as well as bragd, sb. For the weak form *bregðaðr cf. the Fær. forms breg(ð)aður and bregdaður as well as No. bregdad (in O.N. only the strong participial form “brugðinn” is found).
avel [avəl, (āvəl)], vb., to walk feebly and totteringly = aml, ammel (ambel), vb. N.I. Prob. *avl- through *aɯl- from *aml-. Cf. for the phonetic development, Fær. gaɯli (ɯ = m pronounced without closing the lips and approaching to w or v), parallel form to “gamli” (the old). See aml, etc.
avnet [āvnɛt], sb., in fishery, esp. herring-fishery, with nets: small net (similar to a trout-net), by which a man, the so-called skumer, catches the fish (herrings) falling or slipping out of the net. Also abbr.: ​av [āv]. U$^n$. Doubtless an *afnet for *afnetjanarnet, (small) net with which the fish are taken out of a net; cf. No. avnetja, vb., to take fish out of a net.
avoros, avorous [avō·rȯs], adj., of fishing-ground: not fished on for a long time, a. grund [grønd] =uvart grund (opp. of boren, reket and utskjumpet grund). U$^n$. Poss. from úvarr, adj., in sense of unnoticed; O.N. úvarr is handed down in the sense of unawares, unwary, etc. a- in avoros then stands for *u-, as the syllable is unaccented. See uvart, adj.
*avunavara (avona-) [avū·navā·ra, avô·na-], *avunevara (avone-) [avū·nəvā·ra, avô·nə-], adj., at random; haphazardly, to set de lines a., he cam’ a. on it; also “upon a.”: to dø [‘do’] somet’in’ upon a. Y. (Y$^m$., Y$^h$.). vunevara: Y$^n$.; I just did it v. In S.Sh. (Conn., Du.) the foll. forms, not yet wholly obsolete, are to be found: abunavara, bunavara [(a)bū·navā·ra] or (a)bunevara [(a)bū·nə-], partly as, a) = avunavara in the above sense, to geng (a)b., to go upon chance, = “upo lukk’s head”, “upo blind [blınd] heads”, partly; b) in the sense of makeshift, reserve, to ha’e or keep in (a) b., laid by, of reserve provisions. — *avunavara is prop. four words: *á vón (ván) ok vara; O.N. ván (Fær. vón, No. von), f., anticipation; prospect; hope; O.N. vari, m., a) carefulness; caution, b) makeshift, reserve, anything kept in readiness in case of necessity (Fr.). No. “paa von ok vara”, a) at haphazard; b) in reserve, as makeshift, in store, see “vare”, m., and “von”, f. (Aa. and R.). The introductory prep. a- stands for *o- as it is unaccented, (a)bunavara may stand for an older *(a)vunavara with usual dropping of the unaccented prep. a-; v in vun-, in that case, has become b by dissimilation under the influence of the foll. v in vara; but the forms with b might also have originated from *uppá vón ok vara.
“*ayning”, *ayng, *eing, sb., the property of a udaler or his right to property. Balfour. Appears in old Sh. deeds; bills of sale written in L.Sc. dial. occas. interspersed with old Norse words and phrases. O.N. eign, f., possession; property. See enk (ink, jenk, jink), sb., which in an altered sense is the present Shetl. form of this word.
ä- The greater number of the words beginning with the vowel ä may be found under a; a development a > ä occurs along with the softening of the foll. consonant, but mostly a alternates with ä, non-mouillé together with the mouillé forms: “aᶁbərt, äᶅma‘rk, äᶇdi, äᶇdȯr, äᶇısed and äᶇəstər, äᶇəhwa’rt, äƫəl, äitifər”: see “adbert, almark, andi, andor, annased (annised, annester), annehwart, atl, atferd”. Some few words such as: “äᶇapi (äinapiti), äitri or äƫ(ə)ri” are to be found under e (ennapi, etri, ettri), a number such as “äidənt, äils, ä‘ᶅᶊka, ä‘ᶅᶊkət, äim, äismonsi” under i (ident, ila, ilska, ilsket, im, isbensi).
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