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Dialect and place names of Shetland:
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THE DIALECT AND PLACE NAMES
OF SHETLAND."
Pnnted hi T. <fc J. MAN SON, Lmmck.
Dr. JAKOBSEN.
THE DIALECT
AND
PLACE NAMES
OF
SHETLAND
TIVO POPULAR LECTURES
BY
JAKOB JAKOBSEN
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
T. & J. MANSON
1897
PUBLISHERS' NOTE.
During the years 1893-94-95, Mr Jakob Jakobsen,
Cand. Mag. of the University of Copenhagen, conducted
an exhaustive series of investigations into the remains of
the old Norse language in Shetland. Some of the re-
sults of his enquiries are embodied in these two Lectures,
which were cast in a popular form, and were delivered
at Lerwick and other places in Shetland before the
author's return to Denmark. Other results of his in-
vestigations are contained in his Thesis entitled, " Det
Noronne Sprog paa Shetland," which was accepted by
the University of Copenhagen as entitling him to the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy.
Lerwick, September, 1897.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.
-Shetland localities (quoted in parenthesis afterwords,
which are — or have been — in use there) : —
Aithst., Aithsting.
Br., Bressay.
C. (Conn.), Conningsburg.
De. (Delt.), Belting.
Du., Dunrossness.
Fe., Fetlar.
Fc, Foula.
L., Lunnasting.
N.I., The North Isles.
N. Roe, North Roe.
Nest, Nesting.
Nm., Northmavine.
II.
cf., confer.
Engl., English,
esp., especially.
Far., Faroese.
f i., for instance.
P., Papa Stoor.
Sa., Sandsting.
Sandw., Sandwick parish.
U., Unst.
W., Walls.
Wests., The westside (Aith-
sting, Sandsting, Sand-
ness. Walls).
Wh., Whalsay.
Y., Yell.
Ym., Mid Yell.
Yh., " de Herra " in Yell.
Icel., Icelandic.
Norw., Norwegian.
O.N., Old Northern.
Sco., Scottish.
Shetl., Shetlandic.
In the combinations "bj, fj, gj, hj, kj, and nj " the
letter " j " (as in Scandinavian) has the value of an
English consonantal "y" (as in "yard").
The sound of the letter " " in Shetlandic (as f i. in
kr0, sheep-fold) is similar to that of "eu" in French
words as 6/eu, blue,^«, fire, etc., German "o" in scMn,
beautiful, etc.
As I have been prevented from the use of special
phonetic letters in a book of this kind, it has sometimes
proved very difficult to convey a proper idea of the pro-
nunciation of a Shetlandic word by the spelling. The
greatest difficulty has been the rendering of the liquid
sound of some of the consonants (an accompanying "i"
sound), especially of 1 and n. This liquid sound is some-
times (although imperfectly) indicated by a prefixed or
suffixed "y." (fi. " Hellya," " Venll" and " Vellyins,"
"kollyet," " traaylfangin "— " haayn," " buyn," " annya-
whart,'' " tannyiks," etc.).
The terminating " -r " (preceded by a hyphen) in
Old Northern words quoted is the mark of the
nominative singular form in words of the masculine
gender, as fi. koll-v=kollr, stert-r=stertr, etc.
Copenhagen 1897.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
«5®YNLY 7CX) years ago a language called " Donsk
tunga," or " Danish tongue " was spread over
nearly the whole north of Europe. It was
not at all confined to Denmark : it was spoken in
Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), whose
centre it was ; it was spoken in Iceland, Faroe,
Shetland, Orkney, to a great extent in the western
Scottish Isles, the Isle of Man, and also to some
extent in Britain itself — in part of Scotland, especially
in the north and along the coast, in the north of
England and part of Ireland, and finally along the
south and east border of the Baltic Sea. It was the
Scandinavian vikings who carried the Danish tongue
so far : the Norwegians and Danes went west, the
Norwegians taking a more northerly, the Danes a
more southerly direction (in Scotland, and especially
2 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the islands north of Scotland, it was chiefly the Nor-
wegians who settled ; in England it was the Danes) ;
the Swedes went more to the eastward and occupied
f. i. the east border of the Baltic Sea, and even formed
a little kingdom in the heart of Russia.
I need not here say much about how Shetland
was peopled, first by Picts, who came from Scotland,
and then by Norwegians, especially those who at the
close of the 9th century crossed the North Sea, fly-
ing from the tyranny of King Harald Haarfager and
trying to find new homes. It is a general belief that
the Norsemen extinguished the Picts in Shetland.
But it was not the custom of the Norsemen to kill
those who did not oppose them sword in hand — at
any rate, they would never have killed the women.
And besides, we are not told anything about the
Picts having fled anywhere from Shetland. There
would be far more sense in tracing the un-Norse-
looking people in some of the more secluded districts
of Shetland back to the original or aboriginal inhabi-
tants, whether Picts or not, than to Spaniards, wrecked
there at the time of the Spanish Armada. And among
these first inhabitants we may include Laps and
Fins, who play such an important part in the old
Shetland legends. They were the original inhabitants
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 3
of Norway and Sweden, till the Norsemen conquered
them, and now they only occupy the north end of
the Scandinavian peninsula. Even if one or two
ships of the Spanish Armada should have been
wrecked on the Shetland coast, and even if a case
or two of intermarriage should have taken place, it
would not have affected whole communities.
Shetland originally belonged to Norway up till
the end of the 14th century, when Norway entered
into a union with Denmark under a Danish sovereign,
and Shetland as part of Norway passed over into
this union. As Denmark became the leading country
of the two, the fact that Shetland people now-a-days
always speak of the islands as formerly belonging to
Denmark, is to be accounted for in this way.
But hardly a century after the union was com-
pleted, the islands were handed over to Scotland,
pledged for a certain sum of money, which formed
the dowry of the Princess Margaret oi Denmark,
who was married to King James the Third of Scot-
land.
Time will not allow me to enter upon the political
state of Shetland during the Norse or Danish period.
It may be sufficient to state, that the form of govern-
ment was democratic. The highest power lay with
4 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the Law Ting, which was a general assembly of the
people, forming the Law Court and Parliament of
the time and held on the plain of Tingwall. The
land was held originally according to the Norse
"udal" system, or system of absolute property and
free transmission from father to son without deed of
inheritance. But soon after the Islands were handed
over to Scotland, the feudal system was more fully
introduced, i.e., the system of stipendiary property, by
which the " udallers" (udal-farmers) became tenants of
landlords.
To illustrate a little the spirit and customs which
reigned during the Norse period of government in
Shetland, and the close connection existing between
Shetland and Norway, I may mention the story of
Jan Tait and the Bear. It is the only historical
tale which has come down to us from that period,
and is quite in the style and spirit of the old
Icelandic tales or " sagas." The tale belongs to Fetlar.
It is this. The king of Norway sent his chamberlain
across to Shetland to collect the " skat" (tax) due to
the Crown. The chamberlain came to Fetlar, where
the skat was collected at Urie (" 0ri!') To Urie the
udallers came with the "teinds" or tithes they had to
pay. They brought with them their " bismers."
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 5
I'hese bismers* were, if I may be allowed the bull,
ancient wooden steel-yards. The chamberlain of
course had his own bismer, which was considered the
standard weight, and on which he tested the udallers'
bismers. An udaller by the name of Jan Tait, while
paying his butter teind, was accused by the chamber-
lain of having a false bismer. This at once led to
a quarrel, in which Tait denounced the chamberlain's
bismer as false, and being threatened by the chamber-
lain, Jan finally raised his bismer and struck the
king's representative dead on the spot This was, of
course, a great crime, for which he was summoned to
appear before the king in Norway. Arrived there, Jan
went in before the king bare-headed and bare-footed,
and carrying an axe in his hand. Jan was a strongly-
built man, and had big knobs on the joints of his feet.
So the king stared at his feet, until Jan suddenly asked
him, why he was staring so fixedly. The king said,
that he had never seen such strange feet before. Jan
said, that if they gave him any offence, he would
soon cure that, whereupon he took the axe and
hewed off" one of the knobs. The king said, that he
did not at all wonder that Jan had killed his
chamberlain, since he had so little regard for his own
* From O.N. bismari.
6 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
flesh and blood. But seeing his courage he would
give him one chance to save his Hfe. There was a
bear infesting a certain place, and constantly endanger-
ing the lives of the inhabitants. If he could catch it
and bring it alive before the king, he should be
pardoned. Tait then went to an old woman who
lived near a spot the bear used to frequent, and asked
her all about its ways and habits. She said to him :
"By butter you have got into the present trouble,
and by butter you shall get out of it." Then she
advised him to take a kit-full of butter and place it
in an open spot in the forest, where the bear used to
come, watch there till the bear appeared on the scene
and licked the butter, and then, when it had lain
down to sleep, seize his opportunity and bind it with
ropes. Tait acted according to her advice. The
bear, after having licked the butter, felt heavy, lay
down and fell asleep, whereupon Tait, who had been
watching, hastened to tie the animal with strong ropes.
He managed to bring the bear alive before the king,
but the king, wanting to get rid of him, ordered him
out of his sight, bidding him to take the bear home
with him to Shetland. Tait went back to Fetlar with
the bear and transported it from there to the island
of Yelli-Linga (off the Yell coast), where there is a spot
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 7
still called " the Bear's Bait," which name is known by-
very few people now. There is a green circle in the
island said to have been made by the bear's walking
around the pole to which it was tethered.
Less than 200 years ago there was a number of
Norn ballads in Shetland. But they are all lost except
one, which relates a strife between one of the earls of
Orkney and the king of Norway. Robert Sibbald,
writing in the beginning of last century, says : — " The
Shetlanders' laws were those of St. Ola, whom the
natives have in great esteem. He was one of the kings
of Norway, of whom strange things are reported in the
songs they have of him, called Vissiks." These
ballads or "vissiks" (from O.N. visa, song) were kept
up for centuries to a great extent as accompaniment
to dance, an old mediasval dance, in which all the
persons taking part joined hands and formed a compact
circle on the floor, moving forward and keeping a
certain time with the feet. There was no need of any
musical instrument. A foresinger or precentor began
every verse, and the others joined in, singing the chorus.
This dance was not extinct in Shetland till the middle
of last century, about the same time that the Norn
language in Shetland had got corrupted and began to
get lost. And when the language got lost, the ballads
8 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
were bound to get lost too. In Faroe this is almost
the only amusement of the people at the present day,
and it is through this ancient kind of dance, that the
old Faroese ballads have been kept alive.
I now turn to the principal object of this lecture,
the history of the Norn or Norse language in Shetland.
Up till the year looo, or little more than a century
after Shetland had been peopled from Norway, _ the
whole of Scandinavia — Denmark, Norway and Sweden,
and also the Norwegian colonies : Iceland, Faroe,
Shetland and Orkney — had still one language : the
Danish tongue. But during the eleventh century it
begins to divide, and at the beginning of the thirteenth
century there are two distinct groups of dialects — the
East Scandinavian, including Danish and Swedish ; and
the West Scandinavian, including the Norwegian and
its island branches : Icelandic, Faroese, Shetlandic and
Orcadian. But still the name Danish tongue lingered,
applied to the language of all Scandinavia. In the
twelfth century we find an Icelandic writer applying
this name (Danish tongue) to the Icelandic language.
The first writer who uses the name Norroena (that is
Northern), of which " Norn " is a contraction, is the
renowned Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson, who
applies it to the West Scandinavian, in contradistinc-
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 9
tion to the East Scandinavian : proper Danish and
Swedish. And after this time the name becomes
common. But in Norway and Iceland now-a-days
the name Norn is never applied to the language of
the present day, only to the language before the
Reformation, as it is represented in the ancient, chiefly
Icelandic, records : the remarkable Saga literature
(history in novelistic form), especially concerning Ice-
land and Norway. (In passing it is worth observing,
that the ancient history of Orkney and Shetland, the
Orkneyinga Saga, was written in Iceland during that
period.) This literature decays during the fourteenth
ceniiury, and the clergy, who had then become very
powerful and possessed the highest learning of the time,
all used the Latin language for literary purposes, and
allowed the mother- tongue to decay. It was not till
after the Reformation, that the native tongues gained
their proper place again. But then they presented a
different aspect, and the name Norn was not applied to
them. It was Norwegian (Norsk) in Norway, Icelandic
in Iceland, and Faroese in Faroe. In Faroe the name
Norn is not remembered as having been applied to the
Faroese dialect. Only in Shetland this old name has
been carried down to our own time, applied to the
old Shetland language during its whole lifetime. The
10 THE OLD SHETLANB DIALECT.
Norn dialect lived in Shetland till the middle of last
century, and even in the beginning of this century a
dialect called Norn, although improperly (as the gram-
matical feature of the Norn had been quite superseded
by that of the Lowland Scotch), was spoken in outlying
places — such as the North Isles (especially the north
of Unst), but longest in Foula. The part of Shetland
where the greatest number of Norn words at the present
day survive is beyond all question the North Isles.
The common dialect at the present day in
Shetland resembles the Lowland Scotch, but is
interspersed with a great many Norn words and
phrases, and has a distinctly Scandinavian accentua-
tion and pronunciation. It is just now leaving a
stage, the prominent feature of which is Scotch, and
is entering a stage, the prominent feature of which is
English, but still carrying along with it from the first
or Norn period not only a number of words, although
this number is rapidly diminishing, but also a pro-
nunciation and accentuation which are distinctly
Scandinavian.
The fact that about ten thousand words, derived
from the Norn, still linger in Shetland — although a
great number of them are not actually in daily use
and only remembered by old people — is sufficient to
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 11
show that it cannot be very long since the real Norn
speech died. In several parts of Shetland, especially
Foula and the North Isles, the present generation of
old people remember their grand-parents speaking a
language that they could hardly understand, and which
was called Norn or Norse. But it must have been
greatly intermixed with Scotch, for many of the old
words now dying out and being supplanted by
English, are really Scotch, although they are believed
by many to be Norn.
Another proof of the Scotch intermixture is the
fact, that the old Foula man who repeated the only
preserved Norn ballad to Mr Low in 1774 could not
give him a translation in full of it, but only related
the general content If the Norn language had been
pure, or nearly so, at that time — the end of last
century — the man would certainly have been able to
give a proper translation of the ballad. What was
the chief cause of the disappearance of the Norn
dialect in Shetland ? There was never any law passed
prohibiting the general use of it, and the people were
quite at liberty to retain their forefathers' speech. In
Faroe, where Danish is and has been for long the
official language, used in the schools, in the churches,
and in the law courts, the people still speak a branch
12 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
of the old Norwegian which is quite different from
modem Danish. But in Shetland the people, through
oppression and consequent ignorance, came to look
down upon their old dialect, and to consider it far
inferior to Scotch or English. The great number of
Scotch settlers who overspread the country, carrying
what the people deemed to be the higher language
with them, very probably would despise the native
dialect, which they did not understand, and would
influence the people to imitate them in the use of
Scotch, which would certainly have been found often
necessary in trade and general intercourse. A little
fragment of a rhyme in Norn is preserved from last
century about a Shetland lad who went south to
Caithness, and on his return home was thought a great
deal of, because he could make use of some Scotch
words, apparently not current in his native place at
the time. The verse, which is said to belong to Unst,
is intended to show the parents' pride in their son on
this account :
De vaar e (vera) gooa tee,
" when " sona min " guid to " Kaadanes :
haayn kaayn ca' russa " mare,"
„ bigg "here,"
„ „ ^/^"fire,"
„ „ „ klovandi "taings."
THE OLD SHETLAND DLVLECT. 13
This is translated: It was in a good hour (time),
when my son went to Caithness : he can call " russa "
mare, etc.
That so great a number of Norn words still
survive in Shetland can be partly accounted for by
the fact, that some words have survived in one place
and other words in other places. Every district,
parish, or island in Shetland has a certain number of
old words and expressions which are peculiar to it.
This difference, marked as it is at the present day,
although the Shetland dialect is getting more and
more Anglified, was still more marked one generation
ago, when the amalgamation of the language was less
advanced. There are two explanations of this differ-
ence which exists between places. First, that the
Shetland Islands were not peopled from one place,
but from different districts in Norway. And Norway
with its small population scattered over a vast area,
and intersected by high mountain ridges, dividing one
district from another, contains many distinct dialects.*
But as for the old Shetland words, there are not
many cases in which we can trace this origin. Most
* That one of the Norwegian dialects which resembles most the
old Shetland Norn in regard to the vocabulary is undoubtedly the
dialect of the south-west tract of the country (esp. Agder).
14 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
often the cause of the difference is, that in some parts
of the country a certain number of words have been
kept up which have been lost in other parts of the
country.
Every popular dialect, whatever language it be-
longs to, and however deficient it may be, compared
with the cultured and literary language^ possesses a
great number of apparently superfluous names, applied
to various things with very minute distinctions — distinc-
tions often given up as unnecessary by the cultured
language. In the old Norn, for instance, there are
a great number of words applied to the different
parts of a living creature's body, varying according
to the creature it is applied to. There are five or
six words standing for head, and about double
that number standing for tail. Now, when the Scotch
language got a firm footing in Shetland and began
to conquer the Norn, the vocabulary became so
much increased, that a great number of the old
words had to be given up, but on account of the
just-mentioned superfluity of names, different names
would survive in different places for the same thing.
Taking first the Norn names for head, we find, that
the general name (O.N. hofuS) is lost and only
survives in place-names in the derivative form :
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 15
Hevdi or Hevda (O.N. kof&i), applied to a headland.
It is a very common occurrence in a dying speech,
that the general name for a certain thing dies first,
while the subordinate names, applied only to certain
kinds of the same thing, survive. O.N. koll-r,
signifying originally the hair-grown part (or upper
rounding) of the head, has been preserved in Shetland
in a few compounds and derivative words, as a " head-
koil" or koiltett, applied to the protecting top sheaf
of straw on a corn-" scroo " or hay-stack. (The words
are used in Northmavine). Further, in the word
kollyet (koillet), applied to a cow without horns : " a
kollyet cool' where kollyet means round-headed. The
name " cole, coll" (Scotch) — " a cole of hay" — for a
small hay-stack, is the same word. The Aithsting
fishermen, when at the " haaf ' or deep-sea fishing,
used to call the mouse the gro-koil, signifying " gray-
head." Skult (Faroese skoltur) and skalli (O.N. skalli),
efymologically the English word " skull," signify in
Shetland much the same as the just-mentioned koil.
But skalli, which is applied especially to the bare
top of the head, is now nearly obsolete and almost
only used in the derivative word skallyet, applied to
a hen wanting the top : " A skallyet hen]' corre-
sponding to the expression : " A kollyet coo!'
16 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
The proper Shetland equivalent for the English
word " skull" is h0shapan or k^shapa/, derived from
O.N. hauss, skull, head.
But no part of the body has got so many-
names as the tail, varying according to the different
creatures. The old Norn names are hali, applied to
a long tail, especially on a cow; tagl, to a horse's
tail (etymologically the English word " tail") ; skauf
and skott, to a bushy tail, such as on a dog or fox ;.
dyrSill, to a sheep's tail ; spordr, to a fish's tail ; vel
or stert-r, to a bird's tail ; r6fa, mostly applied to
the continuation of the spine or the fleshy part of
the tail. Most of these names sur\'ive in Shetland,
but not always applied in the original way. The
word hali, for a cow's tail, is lost, but the fishermen,
when at the " haaf," used to call the cow " de haaler''
or haalyin, signifying the long-tailed animal. The
tail of a fish (or esp. the lobe of the tail) is still com-
monly called " de spurd" which word was also used
by the Aithsting fishermen at the haaf, denoting the
tail of any creature. Skauf and stert-r have in the
Shetland dialect taken the forms sk^vi and skj'urt
(stjurt), both used as lucky words at the haaf, the
former by the Unst fishermen, the latter by the
Aithsting fishermen, to denote the tail of a fish.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 17
By the North Yell fishermen the tail of a turbot
is sometimes called " de stertV Rovi or rovak
(O.N. rdfd) was by the Shetland fishermen commonly
applied to the tail of the hoe or dog-fish. The
name " Rovi head," applied to the long-shaped point
at the north entrance of Lerwick harbour, is really
the same word, meaning tail ; and it is only by
losing knowledge of the meaning of the word rovi,
that the head has been added to the tail. Akin to
Icel. and Faroese dyrSill, sheep's tail (originally
signifying anything that is shaking backwards and
forwards), is Shetlandic derrel, sheep's tail. When a
person is in a hurry, or walks off showing by the
motion of his body that he is offended, it is some-
times said, " Dere's a dirrel upon him" (" dirrel"
differently pronounced from "derrel)." The word
tag/ is lost in its original meaning : tail, but when
a person is walking with something trailing behind
him, he is sometimes said to be " trailiri a tagl"
(Conn.) As a striking example of the recently
mentioned difference in words, existing between
different districts of Shetland, I shall mention the
old names for the dyke which leads out from the
sheep-fold or " krf and forms like a leg on it for
the purpose of preventing the sheep from being
18 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
scattered about, when being driven into the " krf :
Soadm-dyke (U) — from " to soad," to drive animals
slowly, O.N. sa(a, to waylay, to watch an opportunity
for catching anything (derived from sat, ambush).
Rekster-dyke (Fe) — from O.N. rekstr, signifying
" driving (of animals)." Stilfyers-dyke (Y) — from
O.N. stilli, trap or enclosure to catch animals in.
Retta-dyke. (Nm)— from O.N. r^tt, sheep-fold. Stuggi-
dyke or kr^-stuggi,- stooki,- stjoogi (De, Nest, Wests.)
— perhaps from O.N. stMa, (i) sleeve, (2) projecting
part of a building. Kr$-stjaagi (Fo) — from O.N. stjaki,
pole (stick). And there are even more forms than
these. The difference seems in this case to be very
old and to proceed from a similar difference existing
in the ancient Norwegian dialects. Many more speci-
mens might be given, did space permit.
As the fishing has been always of prime impor-
tance to Shetland as the chief means of livelihood for
the people, I shall here say something more about the
customs and terms relating to this subject. The fishing
was done formerly in Shetland with wooden hooks.
These wooden hooks were pins, some of which had a
notch in the middle, where the tome (string) was fixed,
and a slack at the one end, where a loop-fashioned half-
hitch was passed around, by which the hook with the
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 19
bait on was kept in a hanging position up and down
along the end of the line. By the slightest touch this
half-hitch slipped off, and the pin, both ends of which
were pointed, stuck across the mouth of the fish.
These wooden hooks were not entirely done away with
even in the beginning of this century. Some might
think this scarcely credible, but an old Aithsting man
informed me, that he had seen fishing done with this
kind of hook, and described it. They were called
snaara-pins (U), turning pins, or snivveries or snitties
and sometimes bernjoggels (Fo). These names were
also applied to wooden pins, used instead of buttons.
" Bernjoggel " is the same word as varnaggel or
" varnaggel-pin," now most often called "de klibber-
pin " : a wooden pin for keeping the two parts of the
wooden pack-saddle or klibber (O.N. klyfberi) together
on the back of the horse. "Varnaggel" means
" guarding nail or pin " and is compounded of O.N.
varSa, to guard or protect, and nagli, pin — etym. Engl,
"nail."
A striking proof of the great amount of experience
that the Shetland fishermen had is the fact, that they
in misty weather, before the compass was invented,
could always find the land by the '' moder-dye " : an
under-swell in the sea, which swell always went in the
20 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
direction of the land, whatever way the wind blew.
The Norway and Faroe fishermen are said to have had
the same knowledge which died out entirely when the
compass was introduced.
There are various names for the different sizes of
fish, especially of the coal fish or saithe (commonly pro-
nounced said; O.N. sei&-r), as this was the fish the old
Shetland fishermen were most familiar with. The
common Shetland name for the first stage of the
saithe is sillock, which word is etymologically the
Norwegian silung; but in Norway the name is
applied to a young trout, derived from the word sil,
meaning : fish-fry. In Shetland sil or site is applied
to the herring-fry, in Faroe always to the trout-fry.
What further supports this etymology, that the name
is transferred from one kind of fish to another, is the
fact that the word k^de, Norw. kj0da, is in Norway
applied to a young trout, but in Shetland it is some-
times applied to a half-grown " piltock " (coal-fish) or a
good fat piltock.* In Dunrossness the " liver-piltocks :"
piltocks roasted on the fire with the livers inside, were
called " \\\tx-k<^des- " or " k0thes" The word is derived
from O.N. kdS, fish-fry, and is etymologically akin to
* In Orkney the same word, k^the, spelt "cuithe," is commonly
applied to a young or half-grown saithe, Shetlandic : piltock.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 21
Engl, "cod." The cod is in Norway and Denmark
called torsk, while the tusk (torsk) is called brosma,
brostne, which name is still used in Shetland, pro-
nounced brismik. The common Shetland name for
the second stage of the saithe (from its second year
till it is full-grown) is piltock, which is probably the
same word as O.N. pilt-r or piltung-r, a boy. There
are several instances of such metaphorical interchange
of names. Pjakk and pjokk (two forms of the same
word) are in Norwegian applied the first to a young
trout, the second to a young boy. O.N. and Icelandic
birting-r signifies a kind of trout, Shetl. bjartin (U),
the same word, is a pet name for a (small) boy. (Cf
steevin hereafter p. 22.) The saithe had separate names
applied to it for almost every year of its growing-
time (said to last six years), most of which names
denote the shape of the fish. In Unst and Fetlar a
young piltock sometimes gets the name of a hoal-
piltock, probably from its long (cylindrical) shape,
"hoal" being either O.N. all, (i) strip or stripe, (2) eel
or an eel-shaped thing, or the same word as " ol-(oal-)"
in ol{l)ik, a young ling. "01(l)ik" is a contraction
of " oiling," which is Norw. vallonga {vallonge), a half-
grown (cylindrical) ling, "val-(vol-)" being O.N. vol-r
(val-), cylinder, stick. A half-grown piltock often gets
22 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the name of "a welshi piltock," "welshi" being O.N.
volsi, cylinder ; in the North Isles it is called a dr^lin
(or drollyin), from O.N. dryl-, applied to a thing of cylind-
rical shape. In Faroe the name drylur is commonly
applied to a certain kind of bread : bere-bread, baked
in the embers or hot ashes in the form of round sticks ;
in Norway dryle means a cudgel. A third name for
a half-grown piltock, used on the westside, is steevin
(a steevin piltock), which is O.N. styfing-r, derived
from stiif-r, meaning " stump " (Far. styvingur is a half-
grown halibut). In Conningsburgh " steevin " is a pet
name for a child. In the same district the word kelva
or kelvik is applied to a young ling a little bigger than
an "ol(l)ik." "Kelva" (O.N. kefli) refers to the
cylindrical shape ; cf Norw. kjevlung-seid, a half-grown
piltock. O.N. kefli is particularly applied to a wooden
stick and is the same word as Shetl. kevil {kevvle), a
stick put into a lamb's mouth to prevent it from
sucking the mother,* A piltock, fully half-grown, is
often called a beli (fiellyd) piltock, probably from the
round and thick shape (Icel. beli, belly ; O.N. belg-r,
bag, belly). A half-grown cod is in the south of
* Akin to kefli and kmil is the word " iav/in-tiee," applied to a
stick with a notch in the end of it for taking the hook out of the
fish's stomach.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 23
Unst called a velterin, which is the same word as
Norw. valtre [voltr), a cylindrical thing, a long-shaped
bundle.
As is well known to all Shetlanders, the Shetland
fishermen before this day, like the fishermen in Faroe
and Norway, had a great number of lucky words,
words that they would use only at the haaf or deep-
sea fishing. Haf is the old Norn word for " ocean."
The origin of this custom is not easily explained,
but the custom itself is certainly very, very old, and
deeply rooted in the Pagan time. The most likely
explanation seems this, that before the introduction
and spread of Christianity, and also long after that
period, the people, and especially the fishermen, be-
lieved themselves to be surrounded by sea-spirits,
whom they could not see, and who watched what they
were doing. In the Pagan time people believed in
the sea-god CEgir \Aegir\ whose kingdom was the
mysterious ocean, and he had his attendant minor
spirits who watched intruders upon his element. The
feeling which came to prevail among the fishermen
towards the sea-spirits was one of mysterious dread.
They considered the sea a foreign element, on which
they were intruders, and the sea-spirits in consequence
hostile to them. They had therefore, when at the
24 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
fishing, to take great care what they said, and it be-
came very important to them to have a number of
mystic names, to a great extent agreed upon among
themselves, although derived from words which were
common in the Norn language. But there is a certain
number of haaf-words, doubtlessly forming the oldest
portion, which seem to have been originally worship
words. An original worship of the sea-spirits is
rendered probable by the fact, that the fishermen's
haaf-terms were not at all confined to things in
immediate connection with the fishing, but extended
much further. All the domestic animals, for instance,
got separate names at the haaf Some of these words
are now obsolete in Scandinavia, but we find them
used in the old Icelandic literature, chiefly as poetical
terms. Lj'oag (North Isles and Aithst.), j'ube (Fo),
maar (Nm), are the old haaf-terms for the "ocean."
" Jube " is O.N. dj^p, meaning " deep." Lj'oag is O.N.
logr, meaning " liquid substance " and occurring in the
old Icelandic poetry as a name for the ocean. My
attention was first directed to this word as well as to
the word maar by Mr Laurence Williamson, Mid
Yell. " Maar " now only occurs in compounds, both
in Shetland and Scandinavia, such as " mar-bank,"
applied to an abrupt slope of the sea bottom. Further
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 25
haaf-terms of a poetic character are : de birtik (North
Isles) or brennyer {de brenner, brenna) (South Shetland,
Lunn.) or finna (Junna) (Aithst., Fo) for the fire.
" Birtik " is O.N. birta, birti, brightness, from bjartr, bright ;
in O.N. both brennir {forbrennir, i.e., the burner) and futti
are poetical terms for the fire. De fdger (U) or faig{-er)
(Y) for the sun; from O.N. fagr, fair, beautiful. Be
gjonger (Westside) for the horse ; same word as Danish
ganger, used in poetry for a horse, and signifying ; goer,
runner. Ti&gloam {gloamer) for the moon ; O.N. gldm-r,
weak light (whence Scotch "gloaming," twilight), in
poetry : moon. De gro (O.N.grdffi) for the wind.
A sufficient proof, that the custom of using lucky
words at the haaf was rooted in the Pagan time, is to be
found in the fact, that the minister and the church were
on no account to be mentioned by their right names at
sea. The minister and the church represented the new
conquering faith which aimed at doing away ^^•ith the
old gods and consequently at disputing the sea-god's
dominion of the sea. Being thus offensive to the sea-
god and sea-spirits, the church had to be called " de beni-
hoosel' and the minister "de upstander." Benihoose
means prayer house, not house of bones, as the popular
etymology explains it, from the bones of the dead bodies
buried in the churchyard. It is a corruption of b^n-
26 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
hoose, prayer house, which latter form still occurs in the
North Isles. B(j)n is an old Norn word for prayer. The
Papa, Sandness and Aithsting fishermen often used to
call the church de kl0ster (O.N. klaustr — cloister or
monastery.) The minister who could not be called by
his right name any more than the church was called " de
beniman" {i.e., prayer-man), but more commonly "de
upstander" from his standing up in the pulpit during
the sermon. He had many other names, such as fi.
de predikanter (preacher), de loader (from O.N. lata : to
utter sounds, to speak in a peculiar tone), de koideen (U).
The nature of the haaf-terms will be seen from this-
They were not nonsensical, merely coined words, as
some think, nor were they the real Norn words for the
persons, animals and things they were applied to.
They are words of a more or less poetic nature and
mostly figurative terms, that is to say : persons, animals
and things are named according to some striking
characteristic about them. This accounts for the great
variety of names used for one and the same person,
animal and thing. Each animate and inanimate being
had always many characteristics that would readily
afford a basis for the many names applied. The cat was,
for instance, called : de foodin or footer (Nm, Delt. and
further), de kisert, kisek (Fe, etc.), poosi, de raami (fi.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 27
Ireland in Sandwick parish), de skaavin (Nest, Br.,
Conn., Sandw. and further) or de skavnashi (Sandw.), de
spjaaler (U), de venga or vengi (Fo, Aithst.), de voalex (U.),
I shall explain some of these names. " De foodin
(footer) " means the light-footed animal ; " raami " is de-
rived from roam = krammock, paw, esp. a cat's paw (from
O.N. hrammr, paw on a beast of prey, esp. a bear's paw) ;
de " skaavin" or " skavnashi" means " the shaver, the
nose-shaver," from the cat's habit of washing itself up
around the lugs and down over the nose ; •' de spjaaler"
means the player f from an old spda, to play) ; " de
voaler" means the wailer, from the cat's wailing cry
(O.N. vdla, to wail, to cry).
The cow was called in the North Isles " de boorik"
which means : the bellowing animal ; cf Norw. bura,
to bellow, Dan. br^le, Shetl. to br$le. Other names were
used in other places. The otter was called tek or dratsi
or dafi. " Tek " is the same word as Scotch " tyke,"
O.N. tik, a bitch. " Dratsi," the otter is called from its
manner of dragging its tail ; cf O.N. dratta, to walk slowly
and heavily (in Icelandic dratt halt is a nick-name to the
fox, corresponding to Shetlandic " dring-tail " as a sea
name for the cat). Quite similar is the origin of the
name " dafi " (cf. Norw. dava, to saunter). The seal was
* Sco. : to dring — to be slow ; dring — dilatory.
28 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
in the North Isles and Foula called " de hoarin (or
woarin)," which means " the hairy one," " the hair-fish,"
from O.N. hdr, hair. The whale, was in Unst called "de
fjaedin " : the fat animal, from O.N. feit-r, fat. — The
common name for " wife '' was haimelt or hjaimelt
(Scotch : ha(i)mald etc., domestic), because she sat at
home, while her husband was at the haaf The limpet-
bait was in Foula called " de fjora" which is properly :
the ebb, O.N. fjara (cf the expression : " to geng to de,
limpet ebb," or simply " ebb"). De huggistaff: the staff
which the fisherman strikes into the fish, was called at
the haaf by the North Isles fishermen " de h^dik {hoodik)
or h^derl' meaning : the threatener (Norw. and Far. h(pta,
hdta, h^tta : to raise the arm in a threatening way). The
proper name " huggi-staff" is also a Norn word, from
hoggva, to strike. The boat was called " defaar" (O.N.
far, conveyance). The mast of the boat was called " de
stong or steng " : the stick (O.N. stong). The sail was
called "de cloot" or " de skegga ■" the latter is O.N. skeki'
patch, rag, clout. The ouskerri or boat-scoop was called
by the Unst fishermen " de switik or swattyek" from the
word " to swite " (O.N. skvettd), meaning : to pour out
water in a splashing way.
Other haaf-terms are : to snee or snae de neburd
(North Shetland) : to cut (O.N. sniSa, sneiSd) the fish-
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 29
bait ; " neburd " is Icelandic niSurburSur, a quantity of
bait, properly : what is borne or let down into the sea
(^«r^«;'= bearing; m'dur=(iovfn, Old Shetlandic : "ned");
further : to g/aan de sk^ni : to sharpen the knife (Gaelic :
sgian). The sharpening-stone was called " de glaan or
glaani " (originally same word as Icel. glan, " smoothness
and brightness of something polished ").
The halibut was in the North Isles called " de baldin "
at the haaf, probably from O.N. baldinn, meaning : ob-
stinate, intractable, unruly (akin to Engl. bold). The
halibut was a very difficult fish to deal with ; when it had
taken the bait and started running, a part of the line was
given out, that the fish might spend its strength a little,
before the fisherman began to haul. When the halibut was
running with such force, that it was to be feared that it
might break the line, the Unst fishermen would cry after
it : " Haltagongi " or " altagongi" which means : stop
running (going) (O.N. halt gongu) ! Said in English this
would have had no effect on the fish at all, but said in
Norn it was thought to be effectual and to stop the fish.
The ling, of course, could not be called ling. The
general name was " white." When the fisherman was
hauling the line, and the first ling came in sight, he
would sing out : " White," or : " Light in the lum." See-
ing the second one : " White again " f i. or : " White
30 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
inunder white." " For the third one sometimes : " White
inunder dat," or : " White inunder ' wheedo ' !" Catching
sight of the fourth Hng, the Unst fishermen would some-
times say : " Wheeda ligger a wheedo" which is Norn, and
means : " White lies on white."
The fishing-lodge was called " de hoyd" or " bigg" and
almost everything in the lodge would have a separate
name too. The kettle was called " de ring(a)loadi " or
" honger." " Ring(a)loadi " means : " that which hangs
by the ring " and is compounded of " ring " (in O.N.)
[kring-r] occasionally applied to the bool of the " kettle")
and O.N. ioffa, to hang loose, dangling. " De honger "
simply means : " the hanger."
Finally, there is a third class of haaf names, con-
sisting of ordinary Norn words which, having become
obsolete in the daily conversational language, were
retained at the haaf as lucky words, while substituted
Scotch or English words were used at the fireside.
For instance : de damp, for the end of the fishing line
(Dan. tamp [from Low German], bit of rope, end of
a line) ; de gr^tek or gr^dek (U) for the kettle (O.N.
gryta, earthen pot) ; de ilder (Aithst.) or hildin (Fo)
for the fire (O.N. eld-r) (-"in" in "hildin" is the
suffixed definite article) ; de klova or kloven, klivven
(-" en " : the definite article) for the fire-tongs, applied
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 31
originally to any clefted tool or instrument (O.N.
klofi) ; de rakki (Westside) for the dog ^O.N. rakki
for the more common hund-r, dog) ; de russi for the
horse (O.N. hross). Finally "de rae" (Scotch form
of O.N. rd) for the yard of the mast
But leaving the haaf terms and turning to the
fireside language, we also find this latter saturated
with Norn expressions. But of the vast number of
subjects it is only a few, that space allows me to
enter upon here, and it will not be more than a
mere touching of the surface. Only one or two
subjects can be entered more fully upon. The first
is the old names for the various kinds of utensils, the
household utensils and the baskets or boxes used in
connection with the fishing. First of all there is "de
kesshie" the common basket, made from straw or
dried docken-stems. It is the Norw. kjessa, derived
from O.N. kass{i), basket. In this connection I may
mention " de maishie" open basket (net- work) (O.N.
meiss, basket), etymologically the same word as Engl.
" mesh." " De biiddie {b0dd{)" is the fisherman's basket
(same word as Far. byd'i, Icel. byffa, tub, kit). A
kuddie is a small " biiddie " ; originally it signifies pro-
bably " bag," and is akin to the word kod, meaning :
pillow. " De kuddie " is in Dunrossness called " de
32 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
hovi" which word in most places signifies "bow-net,
weel" (O.N. hdf-r, Norw. haav). A toieg (N.I.) is a
small straw basket for holding meal or coin. It is
the Norw. taegja, derived from taag (Shetl. tad),
meaning " fibre," because the toieg was originally
made from tree root fibres. A loopi (Du), a
small meal or corn basket, is very much like a
" toieg." It is O.N. laup-r, box, basket, most often
(as in modern Norwegian) applied to a certain measure
of butter, and Far. leypur, a long-shaped wooden box,
used for the same purpose as the " kesshie " is used
for in Shetland, namely, for carrying something (peats,
manure) on the back ; " -lep,-lek " in the words
Uthelep or toudilep (P, Fe) and to(o)delek (U) : a small
tight kesshie (f. i. a manure-kesshie), are obscured forms
oi laup-r; c.f Far. tocFuleypur, ma.nure-hox ("foffu" from
O.N. iaffa, manure). A span is a high wooden hooped
vessel (generally for holding milk to be churned) ; in
Fair Isle it signifies the water-pail. O.N. spann is a
kind of vessel and also a certain measure (J laupr^
Skepp or skebbik, which is O.N. skeppa, a dry measure,
\ barrel, and r0i (Norw. rudda) are both names applied
to a large basket for rubbing corn in. The word dullyak
(N.I.) is in Unst and Yell sometimes applied to the water-
pail or " daffock " (from Gaelic dabhach, mashing-tub).
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 33
It is Norw., Icel. and Far. dylla, pail, kit. Most often
the word occurs, not in its original sense, but applied to
almost anything big, clumsy and untidy : " a dullyak o' a
kesshie," and even : " a dullyak o' a wife " (i.e., woman).
The old Foula-name for the " dafifock " is " de vats{a)-
dudlin" (irom O.N. vatn, water, and dulla = dylla)ox "water-
dudlik." In some parts of Shetland it is called defuddik
ox fiddik (in Sandsting : vatik\ which is O^.fata, signi-
fying tub or pail. The word remikel {r^mikel), signifying
a wooden tub-shaped vessel for holding run-milk, &c., is
now growing rare. It is the Norwegian rjome- or
r^mekolla, where rjome or r^me signifies cream, and
kolla a round-shaped wooden vessel, akin to the word
koil or koll, which I mentioned for " head." The words
koopi and kubbi originally mean something cup or bowl-
shaped (O.N. k-Apa, bowl). The box or hollowed out
stone, that the pig eats its food out of, is called in Unst
and Foula "de grice kubbi" which name is more properly
applied to the stone, which was the utensil formerly
used. "Koopi" is used by the Bressay fishermen,
applied to the box containing the limpet bait. A third
name for the bait-box, used in Conningsburg, is " de
krubbik." The word krub ( O.N. krubbd) signifies
originally " confined space " and is akin to the word kr(^
as well as to English " crib," manger. Krub in " plantie-
34 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
krub," is the same word, and also kribbi, used in Aiths-
ting for the haddock-line creel. Another form of the
word is kruff, which is in Foula and Aithsting applied
to the lamb's or calfs box. The pig's box is in Aiths-
ting called "de grice truggel." Truggel signifies
originally a small trough (O.N. trygill) and is in Aiths-
ting also applied to a vessel for holding liver-oil : " a 0li
truggel," especially when partly broken. The common
name for the haddock-line creel is "de skol!' The
name skol is also applied to a certain kind of round-
shaped wooden dishes, got from Norway (O.N. skdl,
bowl). The old names for utensils have been kept best
in connection with the liver-oil. I mentioned "de 0li
truggel." In Unst a wooden oil vessel, broader at the
bottom than at the top, is called " a 0li hoilk " ( = Norw.
hoik), derived from the root kolka, to hollow out, and
the same thing is called in Dunrossness " a roobel."
A tub-shaped vessel for holding oil is sometimes called
"a 0li bunki" which is Norwegian bunka, and akin
etymologically to English "bunker." An oil-pot is
called in the North Isles " a 0li poitik or pootyek" and
a small or partly broken oil-pot is in some places called
zpitti (pUtti) or piti, which is O.N. pytti, a diminutive
form of pot. A pittiskord or potshkirt (Engl, "pot-
sherd"), poitibrod and pannibrod (Fe) are all applied
THE OLD SHETLAND DLA.LECT, 35
to a piece of a broken kettle for holding oil. Brod
here signifies a broken piece (O.N. broi) and is
different from the common word "brod," which is a
Scotch form of the English word "board." The
general name for a utensil is lost in Shetland, but it
occurs disguised in a compound word : " de ouskerry"
the boat-scoop. Kerry there signifies vessel (O.N. ker
or kerald), so " ouskerry " properly means the " owsing-
vessel," or the utensil for baling the water out of the
boat.
My next subject is the old names for the various
colours. Wheed-{queed-), meaning white, occurs in for
instance brungi-queedin, which is a Foula word mean-
ing "breast-white," and was used as a nickname for
any man who had a fancy for wearing a white vest.
"Wheed-" also occurs in place-names, such as Wheeda-
murs it.e., white mires), wheedastack* &c. Gro, meaning
gray, occurs in the words Grogi and Groga, applied in
the North Isles the former to a gray horse or bull, the
latter to a gray mare or cow. Further, in place-names,
such as Gro-stane, which means "gray stone." Gul,
meaning yellow, occurs in the word gulsa, the old name
for the jaundice. It is a contraction of O.N. gulsdtt,
" yellow sickness." Gul also occurs in place-names, such
* A staci (O.N. stakk-r) is a high pointed rock in the sea.
36 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
as Gulahamar {Gola-), called so from the yellowish
colour of the rock. R0, meaning red, occurs in R0i and
R0da, applied in the North Isles the former to a red
horse, the latter to a red mare or cow. Further, in
place-names, such as R^stack (" Roestack"). Gr^,
meaning " green," occurs in the word gr^shka (Y, Sa),
applied to the green tufts on the grass-grown side of a
clod of earth, when turned over with the spade ; further
in place-names, such as Gr^nastack (spelt " Grunastack"),
that is : a stack, grass-grown on the top. Swart,
meaning " black," occurs in swaabi, a contraction of
swart-bak, the old Shetland name for the black-backed
gull (in Unst called " de baagi") ; also in swartlinsf
applied to black moory ground, and in swartatee, which
is an oath and means " in black time." Swartaskerry
(place-name) = " black skerry." Shetlandic broon is the
unaltered form of O.N. bnlinn, brown. Bio, meaning
" blue," occurs in place-names such as : Blogio. Mooret
means reddish-brown (O.N. morauS-r, " moor-red") and
has reference to the reddish-brown colour of dry moor-
land. Shaila is a gray shade through black. Both
" mooret" and " shaila" are colours applied to sheep-wool.
The latter word properly means " hoar-frost," in which
sense it is used in O.N. and modern Icelandic {hda,
hjeld) ; and in this sense it is still used in the Shetland
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 37
North Isles. " Shaila" is no colour in particular, but as
a light covering of hoar-frost gives the earth a light-
coloured shade, so the " shaila " colour just is a light
shade through black. A dusky colour is expressed by
the words skjomet or skoomet and moosket (O.N. sMm,
Norw. musk, dusk). Cf. Shetl. " a skoomp o' mist," a
lump of haze. Applied to a slightly obscured sky are
the expressions • a skoomi sky, a homsi (Jioomsi) sky.
Haze is called hooms (hums) or hoomsker (from O.N.
Mm, dusk) and moosk, moosker (Fo), slightly different
from ask which is generally windy. O.N. skiim and
Mm are also applied to the twilight, in modern Nor-
wegian especially the derivative forms skyming and
hyming; but in Shetland only the latter word is used,
pronounced h4min, and sometimes also the form hums
occurs, used in the same way : " hds comin to de hums o'
de nighf (Nm). There are a great many names in Norn
applied to the colours of sheep and cattle. I shall
mention and explain a few more of them. Moget
{katmogei) refers to a separate colour of the belly and is
derived from O.N. magi, meaning stotaach or belly. In
Shetland the name moggi is only applied to the stomach
of a fish (or whale). Sholmet is applied to a black
cow with a white face. The word is derived from O.N.
hjdlm-r, signifying a helmet, the derivative form of
38 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
which, hjdlmStt-r, originally means "helmet-covered."
Bjoaget means " ring-striped," and is derived from bjoag,
O.N. baug-r, meaning a ring. In the Shetland North
Isles the name bjoag is applied to for instance a
collar of straw around the horse's neck in harrowing.
Flekket means " spotted " and is derived from O.N.
flekk-r, spot. Sponget is from O.N. spong, applied
especially to a metal buckle, but the original meaning
seems to be a patch. " A sponget coo " is properly a cow
covered with patches of different colour from that of the
body. Yuglet (U) is applied to a black sheep, white
around the eyes, or the opposite. The word is com-
pounded oi yoga, the old name for the eye (O.N. auga),
and litt, meaning coloured.
Another subject I should like to enter a little upon
is the various Norn expressions that are used about a
person, when in an offended or sulky state of mind.
The great variety of these expressions according to the
various degrees of sulkiness show clearly the humorous
instinct of the Shetland people. I go through the list
first and shall then try to explain the origin of some of
the words. " He is stutsit" or " He is ta'en a stoit"
" He is trumsket" or drumset, or troinshket. " He kjust
him up in troitskka." " He is trullyet" or trulshket.
" He is i' de {h)oonkoons." " He is lyin' up i' de heloor"
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 39
" He is snoilket" or has ta'en a snoilk or a hwidd or a
sniid or de fruntpses. " He is sniisket " or " ill-snUsket!'
" He is hangin' a slebr " He is hangin' a soor »?«//
(moot). " He was uncon munljeppin i' de mornin'."
" He kjust him up in a dulhoit." " He is a dr^dt body,"
etc. This list is not supposed to exhaust the subject. I
shall explain a few of these expressions, of which some
refer purely to the mind, others to the way of utterance,
others again, and that is the majority, to face and
attitude, as revealing sulkiness. " He is i' de (]i)oori-
kooris " (Fo. and Aithst.) : " Hoorikooris " is a com-
pound word, the first part of which is oor or oori
(Icelandic ^rar), meaning " a senseless state," akin to
Scotch " oorie ; " and the second part is the root koor,
signifying a state between waking and sleeping. " He's
lyin' i' de hoorikooris " is originally applied to a person
half-wake and half-asleep in the morning, before getting
out of bed, and as he is then generally sulky, the ex-
pression is most often applied in this latter meaning.
We find both words also in the expressions : " to sit
oortn or koorin (nodding, half asleep) ower de fire." The
Yell expression " lyin' up i' de heloor'' has a similar
origin. The word hel (Engl, hell) is in O.N. applied
vaguely to the realm of death or the world beyond the
earth. A person in the heloor is thus properly
40 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
speaking a half-dreaming person whose thoughts are
wandering away ; then it means a person, who will not
speak, of which unwillingness sulkiness is most often the
cause. " A troinshket body " is properly a person who
makes a tr^ni, which means " a long snout (O.N.
trynt)" and is most often applied to the pig's snout.
Troinshket is sometimes used also in the meaning :
depressed, in a depressed mood. There are three ex-
pressions besides, taken from the way in which one
forms the mouth, when one is sulky. " He is munljeppin "
(Fe) : compound of O.N. munn-r, mouth, and lepi or
lippa, signifying " a big lip " ; the expression literally
means : he is making a big mouth-lip. " He's hangin
a sleb " ; " sleb " is a big lip. " He is hangin a soor
■mull or mool;" "mull, mool" (O.N. mAli) means a
big down-hanging mouth, and is usually applied to the
mouth of a horse (especially) or cow. The same word
occurs in several place-names, applied to rounding-down
headlands (or similar formations of land). Trullyet
(truyllet) and trulshket originally mean " trowy-like,"
derived from truyll, O.N. troll, in the old language
signifying trow (troll) or fairy, in modern Shetlandic
an untidy being. As the trows were always supposed
to be both sulky and untidy beings, the words trullyet
and trulshket have acquired both these meanings. "He
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 41
drumbet twa'rtree (two or three) words oot o' him : "
he spoke the words out in a low drumming way. " He
r0ded oot o' him," («) he growled, spoke so low, that one
could barely hear him, {b) he spoke nonsense ; in both
senses derived from O.N. hrjdta, to emit rough sounds,
to growl, to snore, also: to rush, to tumble.* " Dr0bi"
(U) is akin to English " drooping " and means originally
"bent down, with bent down head and shoulders,"
which position often accompanies sulkiness. " He kjust
hihi up in (intill) a dulhoit," or : " he kjust a dulhoit
ower him," is a North Isles expression and means
literally : " he threw a hiding-hat over himself," which
phrase occurs in O.N., where the word for hiding-hat
is dyl-hottr or -hattr. The phrase which originally
refers to magic is in Shetland generally applied to a
person who under some pretence refuses to do anything
he is bidden or has promised to do. The hiding-hat
thus ironically refers to the person's pretended excuse
as a cover over his sulkiness.
In no point does the Shetland dialect reveal a
greater wealth and flexibility than in regard to
expressions for the different states of weather and sea.
Hundreds of words and phrases concerning these
* The same word is in modern Icelandic {hrjSta) and in Shetlandic
{r^) commonly applied to small tight rain ; "he's r^din oot o' him."
F
42 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
subjects can be traced back to the old Norn. I merely
mention this fact, as the subjects are too vast to enter
upon here.
A great many Norn words survive in compounds,
that is to say, they are neither used nor understood
singly, while two such words but together as a com-
pound may be in common use and applied rightly.
I shall mention a few of them, as it tends to illustrate
the process of the dying of a language. Most of these
words at one time belonged to the most commonly
used daily words. Thus, while haaf'x's, preserved, applied
originally to the ocean, now more specially the deep sea
fishing-grounds, the general Norn word for sea, sjS-r,
is lost. Still this occurs in for instance: "de shoorniil,
that is : the ebb or fore-shore, literally " sea mark :"
shoo meaning sea, and mil mark, which latter word
occurs also in summermil, the first day of summer
(the summer half-year), the 14th of April. De shoopiltie,
literally : " sea-boy," is a Northmavine name for the
water spirit, called in the rest of Shetland " de njuggle "
and in Scotland : the water-kelpie. S{h)oosamillyabakka
is an old, now obsolete, Unst expression, literally
meaning "between sea and banks." It was a fisher-
men's phrase. A fisherman, coming from the limpet-
ebb and asked where he had been, did not like to give
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT, 43
a straightforward answer — it might prove unlucky —
and therefore answered in the above-mentioned round-
about way, that he had been between sea and banks
(" shoo-" : sea, " amillya " : between, " bakka " : banks).
An adnashoor is a Foula expression, literally meaning
"a second or alternate sea" and applied to a few big
waves in succession, running ashore and followed by a
lull, and so on. Annar, second, occurs besides in
" adnashoor " in the old Yell expression, now obsolete :
"he's blawin' annyawhart": it is an uneven wind,
" annyawhart " being literally : " second every," that is :
every second moment blowing, every second moment
calm. Further, in ann{y)ister, annis(Ji)ed or adnaset,
applied to a two year old lamb or a lamb in its second
year and in some places to the second lamb of a ewe
or the second calf of a cow. Millya, milli, between or
among, occurs in hoosamillya and skotta- or skoitamilli-
skroo {skattamilliskrooa : Fe). " To geng hoosamillya "
is to go among the houses, carrying gossip from the one
to the other; "to rin skottamilliskroo" is an old hide-and-
seek game, " skottamilliskroo " meaning literally : to run
to and fro (Icel. skotta) among the "skroos" or corn-
stacks (O.N. sktHf) in the corn-yard.* Ground, delved
* The word "to rin" has been added, because the meaning of
"skotta" is lost.
44 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the second year out of lay is generally called attifil{d) or
attifils, but in some places (as Fetlar andWestside) it is
called attavelta or attivelt, which is nearer the original
form) : aptr-velta, " atti, atta " (O.N. a/>ir) meaning
" again, anew," and " velta " delving or a delved piece of
ground. Gord (O.N. garffr), dyke (wall) or yard, occurs
in "gorsti," dyke-stead, foundation of an old dyke, which
word is also applied (in some places) to a division
between two corn-rigs. Further in : gorsimmens, that is :
yard-" simmens," strong ropes for securing (fastening) the
hay and the corn in the yard {simmen, straw-rope, is
O.N. shni, band ; " n " is the suffixed definite article) ;
to gorhird {korhird) de corn (U and Fe) : to put the
corn into the yard {hird, O.N. hirSa, is properly : to keep,
to secure). In Unst it is said about a person who either
eats a great deal or talks a great deal, that he has "a
guid (good) kjolka-kastl' which literally means : skill in
the jaws {kjolka from O.N. kjdlki, jaw; kast=^^\). O.N.
kinn, cheek, survives in Shetland in the word " ^««-fish,"
the fleshy part of the cheek of a fish. Both " kjolka "
and " kin '' occur in place-names and denote a piece of
steep banks, bearing some resemblance to a cheek-
O.N. lik, corpse, is preserved in " leek-strae," the straw
under the corpse in the death-bed, and in the expressions
' calm as a leek," applied to the sea, and : " within de
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 45
leek" (N.I.)> the funeral district. O.N. «i/, needle,
survives in the compound "a noraleg" changed from
nolaleg, meaning " needle-leg " and applied to a needle
with the eye broken. or wo, O.N. d, burn, occurs in
oarli (Nm), more commonly wurli, literally " burn's-
gate," original form : dr-hlW, dr being the possessive form
of «', and hliS meaning : gate ; in place-names, f i. Laxo
(Lax-o)=trout-burn. O.N. s6kn is lost in Shetlandic in its
common application, "parish," but preserved in the form
" sookni" as applied to a crowd of people. Tant, tann,
O.N. tonn, tooth, occurs in the old name of a certain
kind of cod : tangruynin* (U) : " tooth-cod" (from its
sharp teeth), now usually called " Iceland-cod ;" further,
in tantfellyin (N.I.), a "teeth-caster": a young animal
(horse) loosing its teeth. " Lat me see, if du's gotten dy
tannyiks !" is a Fetlar phrase, addressed to a small child:
Let me see, if you have got your teeth !
O.N. thari, sea-weed, is preserved in the word tari-
crook, dung-fork (properly : fork for taking up the
" ware " or sea-weed, used as manure)." O.N. Hcf, time,
is still preserved in f.i. the oath swarta-tee, (" black time,"
evil hour). O.N. torf, peat, survives in " tuskker" the
old name of the peat-spade (a contracted form of O.N.
torfskeri, literally : " peat-cutter"). Yar, ixomjarS, O.N.
* Gruynin=-\cA. grunnungr, cod, properly "ground-fish."
46 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
jord, earth, occurs in the expression " to yar-fast de corn,
de hay, de boat," etc., that is : to secure the corn, etc.,
against storms and sudden gales, properly: to fasten it
down to the earth by means of weigths, stones) ; further
in the expression " to yar-poan de ruiff (roof) " (Fe) : to
" double-/ofl«," to put on two layers of sods (in thatch-
ing) and not the usual layer of straw. " Poan " means
" sod, green turf for thatching," and is probably derived
from O.N. spdnn, shingle.
Finally it will be necessary to enter a little upon the
class of words which are used figuratively, that is to say :
which are lost in their original sense and are now applied
only to things which originally have been likened to the
things the names stood for. There is a number of old
words applied jocularly to thin and lean corn, but few of
these words literally mean thin, lean corn. The list is
fjandi or " fiend " (U) fjugg (fjaag) or fjusk (Fe), heeg
(Du), heckle, henkle (Mainl.), h^ (N.I.), nakket corn,
ogadoo (U), peesker (U), snaag (Wests.), standin' stilk
(Du), str^gins or str0get corn (Conn,), tuggent^ (Y,
obsolete), t^, t0a (N.Roe), a/Zv^-pluck (Y). " Fjugg,
fjaag, fjusk " properly mean " light empty (airy) stuff."
These words also signify haze or a slight obscuration of
the sky. " Henkel " is akin to Norw. hengla, barely to
hank together. " H0 " is O.N. h^, mould, a mouldy or
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 47
musty covering. " Ogadoo " (properly : weed among the
corn, in which sense it is still used in Y) is derived from
O.N. akr-ddi, where akr signifies corn field, ddi: plant.
" Stilk (staaylk) " is O.N. stilkr, stalk. " Str0gins " is
derived from O.N. stry, tow, hards. "Tuggem0" is in
Unst applied to a thick swarm, f i. of birds or midges, in
the expression : "As tick as tuggem0." The word is
compounded of O.N. thoka, mist, fog, and 111^, Norw. inoe,
summer-colt. In Aithsting " a lock o' m0 " is jocularly
applied to a quantity of small useless things (a lot of
small potatoes, small " sillocks," etc.) ; a more common
term is murr, " a lock o' murr " (in the North Isles :
mudder), applied to small things (potatoes, "sillocks,")
originally : small particles, dust particles, Norw. and Icel.
mor (" mudder " from O.N. m6Sr= mor). " T0, t0a " is in
Aithsting applied to old grass ; the word is derived from
O.N. (d, tangled wool. " Ullya-pluck " properly means
"wool-pluck," from O.N. «//, wool. In North Roe the
word is applied to wool, hair or feathers as remains of
the carcase of an animal or bird.
A great many words are applied figuratively to an
odd-looking person, a big and stout or untidy person
(more especially a woman), a tall and thin fellow, etc.
An odd-looking person is called in Unst and Yell a
hjokfinni, which means properly " somebody or some-
48 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
thing found in a burial mound," Norw. haugfunnen
("hill-found") ; O.N. haug-r, Shetlandic hjoag, hill, mound.
In Norwegian the word haugfunnen is sometimes applied
to an odd, somewhat deranged person. An odd, small
and square-built person was in Fetlar called " a traayll-
fangin " (properly : a " thrall-captive," O.N. thrcel-fangi).*
" A ootavid body" (U) is a person of strange behaviour (a
person shunning company), properly : a person from the
waste or wilderness, Norw. utvidd, utvida. The word
" kurdik," literally " a big boulder, piece of rock," + is
applied to a big clumsy woman. Such a woman is also
called a h$stak, hustak and soadi, soadik. " H0stak "
literally means " hay-stack " and " soadi " is O.N. sdta,
another word for a hay-stack. A square-shaped woman
is in Unst called a studdik (Norw. st^da, Icel. stoeSa, pile,
stack). A great gj^re or gy-kairl is a big and tall woman;
originally the words signify " giantess " (O.N. gygr;
" kairl " is O.N. kerling, old wife). An untidy person is
called a truyll (O.N. troll, troll ; the Shetlandic word for
troll is Scotch "trow,") "A druyllsklaaget {truyllshlaagei)
creature " (Y), properly " trow-struck (struck by a
* It may be seen from the use of this word, that the thralls (war-
captives) of the ancient Shetland vikings have been generally of smaller size
than their conquerors and masters.
t In Foula hurdin means " boulder " (O.N. urd, heap of boulders),
"-in " is the suffixed definite article.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 49
fairy)," signifies the same as the above mentioned " hjok-
finni." A big and stout fellow is called " a hulgin o' a
fellow," where " hulgin " is Norw. Aolg;e, wisp of hay,
bundle of straw ("hallow," windlin), also applied jocularly
to a big fellow. A ra/i (O.N. rapt-r, rafter) and a sperrek
or spurr (Du) (O.N. sperra, rafter) both denote a tall and
thin person.
An animal whose upper jaw projects beyond the
lower one is commonly called' " gabeshot " (gapeshot),
but the old Aithsting name is " a toossi" which is
O.N. thussi (jhurs), goblin, troll. A wild ungovernable
child is sometimes called a toossik or toossip, which is
the same word as the afore-mentioned " toossi."
In Fetlar bad butter was sometimes csWed jyaedemur,
which really means " (fat) tallow " (from O.N. feit-r, fat,
and morr, tallow).
There is a number of jocular words denoting a very
small person, specially a (small) child, f i. : bjartin (U) ;
eerepi (Du) ; fjorek (U) ; (a) noshigirt (ting) (Du) ; ogagot
(C) ; oomik{-in) ; oorik ; oormik (C), oormel (U) ; paaytin
(U) ; steevin (C) ; tud or tuddik (Fe, Aithst.), etc.
" Bjartin " is the same word as Icel. birting-r, a species
of trout (named from the bright colour ; O.N. bj'art-r,
bright). "Oomik(-in)" is O.N. iimagi, a helpless being (?{ :
the denying prefix " un "-; " magi" from the root " mag,"
50 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
signifying " strength, power "). " Oormik " and " oormel "
mean literally " a (little) worm " (O.N. orm-r), but are
never applied to a worm. Reg. "steevin," see p. i8.
" Tud (tuddik)" is O.N. tutt-r, a dwarfish being.
"A r0dastab" is a figurative expression, used in
Fetlar and applied to a person who does not care to
move out of the way, a person who is always standing
in one's way, when one is anxious to get on with any
kind of work. The word often occurs in the expression :
"to stand or sit lack (like) a r0dastab" but nobody is able
to tell, what the word in this connection really means-
The only explanation is this : within the memory of old
Shetland people the larger vertebrae or joints of the
spine of some big whale were used as seats, instead of
stools. Now, in O.N. the name r^ySr is applied to a
certain kind of big whale, and stab (O.N. stabbi) signifies
any block used as a seat. In Faroe such " stabs " from a
whale's spine are still to be found used as seats, and they
are called roySrarstabbar (evidently the same word as
" r0dastab"). Of course such a stab could not move, and
the application of the word to a motionless person is
obvious. "A rudderastub" (obsolete, U), applied jocularly
to a small thickset person (child), is another form of
r^d[t')arstabbt' — " r0dastab."
Such figurative application of words indicates, that
THE OLD SHETLAND DLAJ.ECT. 51
they have reached their dying stage. Every dying
speech is full of expressions of this kind. I shall mention
two words, which are on the way to be used figuratively :
Ouskerri as a name for the boat-scoop is not yet obsolete,
but it is growing obsolete. In some places in Shetland
it is now chiefly applied to a big clumsy woman (a great
ouskerri o' a wife*) and very little used in its original
meaning. " A muckle hobran, a great ugly hobran " is
in some places in Shetland (f i. N. Roe) applied to a big,
repulsive looking person, but " hobran " really means
" shark " (Norw. kaabrand), in which sense it is still used
in other parts of the country. " H5bran " contains the
word "hoe" the Shetland name for the dog-fish (O.N.
hdfr, Norw. haa).
I have hitherto in this lecture almost exclusively
treated single words and not contexts in which the old
language appears as spoken. There are a few nursery
rhymes, two or three riddles {goadiks, guddiks; O.N. gdtd)
and a few other small fragments in Norn preserved,
although in a very much corrupted state (some of them
are hopelessly corrupted). An old nursery rhyme from
Foula, a rhyme for frightening unruly, disobedient
children, runs thus :
• In the Shetland dialect "wife" commonly stands for "woman."
52 THE OLD SHETLAND DLiVLECT.
Skela komina reena toona
swarta hesta bletta broona,
fomtina (^fjomtan) haala andfomtina {^fjomtan) bjadnis
a kwaara haala.
The translation runs thus : " A skekkel (that is to say :
some sort of bogie or fabulous animal) has come riding
to the " toon" on a black horse with a white spot on
its brow, with fifteen tails, and with fifteen children on
each tail." This fabulous animal is here called a
" skekkel." The word, which originally signifies a bogie,
is still used in Yell and Fetlar to denote a straw guizard
(masker). In Unst these guizards are called gr^liks, from
O.N. gryla, signifying a bogie or skekkel. The way to
treat children when they will not be quiet is mentioned
in a nursery rhyme belonging to Unst :
Buyn vil ikka teea,
tak an leggen,
slogan veggen,
buyn vil ikke teea.
Translated, this means : " The child will not be quiet ;
take him by the leg, and strike him against the wall,
if the child will not be quiet." As the third specimen of
conversational Norn, I shall mention a riddle or
" goadik" belonging to Unst and given me by Mr John
Irvine, Lerwick :
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 53
Fira honga, fira gonga^
fira staad upo skp,
twa veestra vaig a bee,
and ane comes atta driljandi.
This is a riddle about the cow's body and may be thus
translated : " Four hang (that is to say : the teats),
four go (the legs), four stand sky-wards (horns and
ears), two show the way to the town (the eyes), and
one comes shaking behind (the tail)."
A very striking specimen of the old Norn proverb,
purely preserved, was given me by Mr. James Angus,
Lerwick. It is : G^tt {guyi) a taka gamla manna ro"
which means : It is good to take old men's advice
(O.N. : Goti at taka gamla -manna rd&). There are
other proverbs in Shetland of Norn origin, but the
language in all these has been so much changed by the
nfluence of English, that they do not merit special
notice here.
In conclusion only this : The amount of Norn re-
mains still to be found in Shetland is truly astonishing,
considering the fact, that the proper old dialect became
extinct during the latter half of the last century. The
specimens given in this lecture are only a few scattered
ragments of the material collected. I hope that my
researches, which have been undertaken chiefly with a
54 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
view to the publication of an etymological glossary or
dictionary of the old Shetland dialect, may do some-
thing to preserve the remains of this now dying speech.
The success of these researches is in great measure due
to the kind hospitality and readiness to assist me with
which I have met during my travels in the islands.
THE OLD SHETLAND PLACE-NAMES.
I N dealing with the Shetland place-names, the first
J^ thing that strikes one is the great abundance of
these names. Nearly every hill, brae and knoll,
every valley and glen, every loch, burn and marsh, every
headland, ness and point, every bay and bight, "voe"
and wick, every piece of banks, every "gjo" (cleft, inlet),
every rock and "craig seat,"* every holm and rock in
the sea (stack, skerry and " baa "), every croft and farm,
every " corn rig,"t however small a patch of ground it
may be, every fishing-ground, &c., has its own distinctive
name. A few places have undoubtedly had names,
which are now lostj especially by depopulation of certain
districts, and also to some extent by the giving up of old
* Rock at the shore, from which "sillocks" and "piltocks" (the
young coal-fish) are drawn.
t Small piece of corn-field.
H
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 58
habits, in connection with which place-names were kept
up. The small island of Fetlar alone, according to what
Mr. Laurence Williamson of Mid Yell informs me, con-
tains about two thousand place-names. There is
nothing wonderful in this, when we consider the habits
and modes of life of former generations. In the past
people moved about more frequently in the open air,
often to considerable distances, and were not scrupulous
in counting the number of miles they had to walk. The
sheep then, as now, pastured on the hills the whole year
round and were allowed to wander about as they liked.
As sheep-pasture in olden times was of almost equal
importance with the fishing (nearly every poor body
owned some sheep), the sheep and lambs had to be care-
fully looked after. Then, one person would very often
ask some one, coming from the hills, " Did du see my
'mooret' hog ony way?" or: "Did du see my 'blaiget'
yowe destreen ?" or, " Did du licht in wi' my ' kat-
moget' gimmer?" &c. If every spot in the hills had
not had a distinctive name, it would sometimes have
proved very difficult to tell the exact spot, where the
sheep were seen. But the exact spot could always be
indicated.
When the summer half-year commenced, that is :
in the spring time, the cattle were driven to the hills to
THE OLD SHETLAND DLA.LECT. 59
pasture there, till the harvest was over ; then the " okri-
garth* was slipped," that is : the animals were allowed
to come in on the " toons " or crofts and eat the remain-
ing corn-stubble with the grass among it on the fields.
But when pasturing on the hills, the cows would move
about, shifting from place to place, so a girl going with
her milk-kit to the hills to milk them, — for going to the
hills to milk the cows was customary in former times
during the summer season — would often ask some one
coming from that quarter, if he or she had seen their kye,
and where they were seen. Of course, they had gener-
ally been seen somewhere.
And the ponies too had to be looked after then as
now. And besides, there were the swine. They were
not kept always at home as nowadays, but went loose
on the hills in the summer time, and they needed to be
looked after as well as the other animals mentioned.
Finally, there were the geese. The looking after and
seeking for all these animals — sheep, cattle, ponies,
swine, geese — caused the people to be on the move con-
tinually, to and fro, through the hills, and consequently
they would come to know every spot in the vicinity, and
then of course names would arise.
The craig fishing, the going to the craigs or shore
• "Okri": from O.N. akr, corn-field; "garth" — enclosure.
60 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
rocks to draw "sillocks'' and "piltocks," was followed
to a far greater extent formerly than now. The Shet-
land coast is thickly lined with ancient craig-seats, rocks
and " stacks " bearing ancient names. As it would often
be discussed among people before or in going to the
craigs, which place it would be best to go to, where there
would be prospect of getting most sillocks and piltocks
that night, the different seats would soon get different
names. The fishing seats near the shore or at the
" haaf " were bound to get their names too, as there were
so many of them and different seats had to be visited on
different occasions.
It is hardly necessary to state, that the great
majority of place-names in Shetland are derived from
the Norn or ancient Norwegian language. While the
Norn speech gradually gave way before Scotch and
English, and the old conversational terms became sup-
planted by new, the place-names maintained their
ground. The reasons are not so difficult to find. Place-
names are not so liable to change as conversational
words ; one particular name through time sticks to one
particular spot, so the connection between a name and
the place it represents is far closer than the connection
between a conversational word and the article it repre-
sents, as the word is applied to any article of that
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 61
particular kind. Stoorhool* for instance, pronounced
" stoor-hool," as two words with two accents, would mean
a big knoll, any big knoll; but pronounced Stoor^ul dL.s
one word and with only one accent, the word itself
shows by the close connection between stoor and hool,
that it is applied as a name to some big knoll in
particular — a certain big knoll in a certain place.
Whiteness, pronounced with two accents : White-ness,
might mean any white ness, but pronounced Whiteness,
with only one accent, it is applied to only one
place of that particular description. But there are other
reasons, why the old place-names have been kept up
so well. At the time (last century), when the Norn was
supplanted by Scotch and English, a great number
of place-names were not understood by the people,
either because the meanings of many old words had
then been lost, or because the way in which some of the
places had derived their names, was quite accidental,
often derived from certain individuals' nicknames and
connected with some old lost story. But there is a third
reason. In a great many cases where the meanings of
the names are — or at any rate some time ago were — quite
clear it would not be possible to translate them properly
into modern English in one or two words or in as
* " Stoor " is O.N. st6r-r great, big ; " hoql " is O.N. hSll, hill, knoll.
62 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
few words, as the Norse names are composed of. To
give an instance : There are in the old Shetland
Norn, upwards of twenty different words denoting a
height : hill, knoll, or brae, according to the varying
shapes of such heights. All these words occur in place-
names of the present day, each name denoting a certain
form of hill, brae, or knoll. Further, there are more
than half a score of words denoting different kinds of
inlets of the sea. The Shetland place-names are essen-
tially descriptive, that is to say : the name of a place is
most often derived from one or more words, describing
its situation or nature. The first thing to be done in
trying to make out meanings of old place-names is to
enquire particularly about the situation of the place in
question, the aspect of the ground, etc. As far as
ability to describe the places by means of names is con-
cerned, the old language was vastly superior to the
modern language, as it possessed a far greater variety of
words to express minute shades in difference of mean-
ing. This quality which is very often conspicuous in the
numerous old sea and weather expressions is equally pro-
minent in the place-names. To translate an old Shetland
place-name into the English language would often re-
quire a circumlocution or so many words, that it would
have to be called a definition and not a translation.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 63
But do then the languages grow poorer and poorer in
their transition from an older to a more modern stage ?
From one point of view they do, from another point of
view they grow richer. While popular education now-a-
days is acquired through books, it was in former times
acquired through nature, outside life. This made the
old languages richer in regard to general expressions for
the various natural phenomena, but the development of
the various branches of trade and science has made the
modern languages abound in professional and technical
terms, (not in general use). This is one of the things
which make complete dictionaries of modern languages
so bulky.
Hardly any old Shetland place-names have been
traced with certainty to any other language than the
Norn* ; but still it is possible through a study of the
Norn place-names to get a peep at an earlier period.
We find the settlements of the ancient Irish mission-
aries, the Papae : " popes " or Culdees, recorded in
some Shetland place-names. The landndma-hodk or
" book of settlement," describing the discovery of Iceland
contains the following : — " But before Iceland was
peopled by the Northmen, there were in the country
* One or two Celtic personal-names (names of saints) are contained in
Shetland place-names.
64 THE OLD SHETLAND DLALECT.
those men, whom the Northmen called Papar. They
were Christian men, and the people believed, that they
came from the west, because Irish books and bells and
crosiers were found after them and still more things, by
which one might know, that they were west-men (" west-
men" is the old Norse term for the Irish.) That was found
in the island of " Easter Pap^y" and in Papyli. It is
also mentioned in English books, that at that time there
was intercourse between these countries." These same
priests or " papas," as the Norwegians called these early
Irish missionaries who went out before the viking period
in order to convert the heathens, have their visit to
Shetland recorded in the name " Papa Stoor"* " the big
island of the priests" (" Papa" being O.N. /"^/i-)^ = priest-
isle, " stoor" = big, O.N. stt^r-r); further : in " Papa little,"
Papil (North Yell ; Haroldswick, U ; Burra Isle), which
name is a contraction of " Papa-b0l," O.N. Papyli, Papa-
byli: the " \>9i\' (O.N. b6l, by It) or residence of the " papae."
The same word " papa" occurs in the old name of the
loch of Tresta in Fetlar, " Papil-water," besides which
there is an old church-site. The great Irish missionary
St Columba, who lived in the sixth century, directed his
special attention to the conversion of the northern Picts.
Mr Gilbert Goudie has suggested that a trace of his
* Commonly (but erroneously) spelt Stour.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 65
name is to be found in the place-name Clumlie (for
" Columlie," Celtic : Choluimcillie), a township in Dun-
rossness * The name of another missionary who lived
in the fourth century, St Ninian, or popularly St Ringan,
is found in the name of a peninsula called " St Ringan's
Isle," on the west side of Dunrossness. This isle, or
rather peninsula, contains the ruins of an old chapel,
said to have been dedicated to St Ringan or Ninian.
But what race of people did these early missionaries
labour among here in Shetland ? One would naturally
think of the Picts. Many myths about the Picts linger
in Shetland, but they are no real guide to us, as they are
mostly of Scottish origin, not original Shetland myths.
The origin of the " brochs," whether they are Pictish or
Norse structures, has been disputed, although some of the
arguments advanced are strongly in favour of the Pictish
theory. Still there is no proof of any contact between
Picts and Norsemen in Shetland. But there are a few
place-names, in which we probably find the Picts com-
memorated. The old Norn word for " Pict " is P^tt-r.
The name " Pentland firth " is a corruption of Pett-
land firth," which pronunciation still survives in Caith-
ness. In the " Orkneyinga Saga " the name is Pdttlands-
* See " Revenues of the parochial benefices of Shetland," p, 302, in
•' Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," April 14, 1884.
I
66 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
fjorSr, which means " Pictlands firth," Pictland being the
old name for Scotland. On the border of Delting and
Tingwall parishes is a loch called Peitawater. The
immediate neighbourhood of that loch, the valley Petti-
dale, has from old been dreaded as a place particularly
haunted by trows. It was never thought safe to pass
Petta water at night. In the eyes of the Norwegians
there would certainly be something mysterious about
these Picts whose language would be unintelligible and
whose ways and customs would be strange to them. It
is therefore quite natural that the Picts in the Norse
traditions by and by, as these traditions became more
indistinct, were identified with trolls, and -places origin-
ally inhabited or frequented by them came to be looked
upon as places where descendants of this original race still
lingered on in the shape of trolls. There are still tra-
ditions lingering in Shetland to the effect, that the Picts
became trolls. And regarding Pettidale in particular an
old South-Delting woman informed me, that apcording
to an old local tradition the place in ancient times had
been inhabited by Picts who were changed in the way
mentioned. Of course she had no idea as to a possible
derivation of the name in question from the Picts. In
Northmavine, near Uyea, there is another " Pettidale,"
which valley, and especially the burn running through
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 67
it, has from olden time been considered one of the
most troll-haunted places in Northmavine. On the
east side of Whalsay there is a hill called Pettigarths-
fell, in the neighbourhood of which the trolls were
often heard fiddling, singing and dancing. In the
north of Unst there are some places which may from
the nature of their names show traces of the Picts.
At the back of Saxavord hill, in the Burrafirth banks,
there is a place called "de Pettasmog." The word
smog (O.N. smoga, smuga) means first a narrow pass-
age, then a hiding-place or place of refuge (in Dun-
rossness there is a place called " de Kattismogs" which
means: the wild cat's hiding-holes). "Pettasmog" in
Unst is a piece of " banks " * not too steep to be des-
cended. Sheep often go down there on the green
patches and are not able to get up again. People can
get down there better than anywhere else in the neigh-
bourhood and can at the same time remain quite unseen
from above. The only plausible etymology of the name
" Pettasmog " is " the Picts' hiding-place or (place of)
refuge." On the top of Saxavord hill an underground
entrance was discovered, according to what an old Nor-
wick man told me, and in connection with this it may
be worth mentioning, that according to old legends the
* Steep rocky shore.
68 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
top of Saxavord has always been a habitation for trolls.
Every year at Christmas time the trolls of " Littlatoo,"
on the top of Saxavord, and the trolls of " Mucklatoo," on
the top of Kleberswick between Haroldswick and Nor-
wick, would visit each other to " had Yule " in company.
An underground dwelling, or so-called " Picts' house,"
was found at Fjael, in the hill of Hoosifell above Har-
oldswick. The walls were built of very big stones, set
on edge, the one above the other, and according to an
old record from 1731 a so-called Picts' house was found
on the top of Hoosavord, now called the Wart of
Norwick. But the place of main importance in this
connection is " de 0ra" which is not very fai away from
the " Pettasmog." North past Saxavord the land draws
narrow and juts out into a point, terminating in the
Noup. On this point between Saxavord and the Noup
the ground in one place rises up from all sides to a con-
siderable height, steep on the east side, but with a pretty
gentle slope towards the west, rounding to the north east
and south west. The top forms a circular flat space.
This is the place " de 0ra," which means ear or lug, and
on its top, called " de Croon o' de 0ra," has been an old
broch-building. In the western slope of the 0ra, an
underground room or Picts' house was found, dug out by
the late Mr James Hay of Haroldswick. Its walls were.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 69
like those of the underground room in Hoosifeel, built of
very big stones. Under the 0ra, along the foot of its
western slope, are traces of three ancient stone-dykes,
going somewhat in a circle, the one inside the other.
There are several cases of brochs having been surrounded
by three concentric dykes. One of the three 0ra-dykes
can be traced all the way down to the east shore, on the
south side of the 0ra. Right below the place where this
dyke ends is a cave containing a beach, which place is
called "de hellyer (cave) o' Fivlagord" or "de ayre
(beach) o' Fivlagord." According to the legend this
place has always been inhabited by trolls. Now, " Fivla-
gord" is evidently the ancient name of this ancient
dyke, because " Gord " in Norse means dyke. But
what is the meaning of " Fivla ? " I shall in this con-
nection mention an old Norse myth which is told in
several places in Shetland with slight variations. The
Fetlar version runs thus : The " guidman " of Taft had
been to Urie (" 0ri ") with his butter-tithe and was on his
way home again. He was riding a grey mare and lead-
ing a red one. On passing a knoll he heard a voice
from inside the knoll crying the following words : " Du
at rins de red and rides de gray, tell t0na Tivla, at f0na
Fivla is fa'en i' de fire and brunt her." When the man
came home to Taft, he shouted these same words into
70 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the byre, where a fairy was sitting, milking one of his
cows. The fairy on hearing this immediately left off
milking and cried : " Oh, dat's my bairn," whereupon she
fled, leaving the pan she was milking into. This pan
was kept in the house of Taft and caused the house to
prosper ever afterwards. In this old myth Fivla is the
name of the troll's child, but at one time " Fivla " has
been a common troll-name in old fairy legends, both
Shetlandic and Scandinavian. In the old Norn the word
fifill is applied to a person who behaves like a fool, a
clown, or boor ; andfifla means to behave like a "fifill"
or fool. On the west side of Shetland the word fifler is
still used to denote a foolish person. The meaning of
" Fivlagord " will thus be : the fools' or clowns' dyke.
On the top of Crussifell, a hill between Baltasound
and Haroldswick, are three concentric circles, ancient
dyke-steads, which place has by certain authors been
connected with Druidical worship. The name of the
place is •' de tree Fivla," which points to a pre-Norse
origin. There is no reason to suppose, that the names
" Fivla " and " Fivlagord " are not as old as any of the
place-names in the North of Unst, and the early inhabi-
tants who gave these places their names would not have
given such mocking and derogatory names to erections
that they knew were made by their own fore-fathers.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 71
Among theories to explain these names the most
plausible one would seem to be that of a Pictish occupa-
tion of the place. The trolls of Fivlagord are therefore
not unlikely to be descendants of Picts. Pettina Shaigo
is another instance of the name " Pett." The place so
called is a bight in South Yell. " Pettina " is an old
grammatical form of " Pett," being the possessive plural
with the suffixed definite article : " of the Picts " (O.N.
P/ttanna.) The meaning of " Shaigo " is as yet doubtful.
The "brochs" or "Picts' castles" are commemorated
in many place-names, f i. Burrafirth (U, Aithst.), Burra-
voe (Y, N.Roe), Burraland (Sandw.), Burraness (De),
Burga water (Sandness and Walls), Burga taing (N.
Roe), where " Burra-, Burga-," is O.N. borgar, the
possessive form of borg, broch, castle. Reg. " Burra
isle " hereafter (see Index). Sumburg (Du) means
" south-broch " {sunn-borg).
Mentioning of the Picts suggests a mentioning of
the Finns, the Norway Finns, who were the early inhabi-
tants of the Scandinavian peninsula prior to the Norse
conquest. The numerous myths about them, still linger-
ing in Shetland, make one inclined to think, that they
have been in these islands, but whether they have been
here as an original and independent race or not, we have
no means of knowing. It was customary among the
72 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
Norsemen to take their servants or thralls from among
the captives made by them in war, and as Finnish
thralls were commonly kept by the Norwegians, there
is reason for believing that they were kept also by
the Norse settlers in Shetland* The Finn seems to be
commemorated in one place-name at least (possibly
more) in Shetland. It is the name of an ancient dyke-
stead in Fetlar, about which an old myth is told. My
attention was drawn to this by Mr Laurence Williamson
of Mid Yell. The " guidman " Kolbenstaft in the north-
west of Fetlar did not have a sufficiently good dyke
around his property to keep away the sheep which broke
in continually and destroyed his corn. One night when
he went to bed, he expressed the wish, that a dyke
sufficient to keep off the troublesome animals might be
standing in the morning, when he awoke, even if he
should give his best cow for it. Next morning, when he
went out, he found a splendid new dyke standing where
he had wished it, and at the same time his best cow had
disappeared from the byre. Parts of the stead of this
dyke still remain, and it can be traced all the way to
Hoobie on the south side of Fetlar. There are a few
legends told about places, situated alongside this dyke-
stead, and the spot where it terminates on the south side
* Cf. the word "traayl fangin " p, 48.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 73
of the island has been from old a noted troll-place. The
name of this dyke or dykestead at the present day is
"de Finnigirt dyke." But the old name is simply
Finnigord: the Finns' dyke. The suffix "dyke" in
" Finnigirt-dyke " thus comes to be a tautology, a
modern addition caused by ignorance of the word
" gord." As the Finns were from early times believed
by the Norwegians to possess great magic power, and as
there are several old myths about them to this effect, the
just mentioned Fetlar legend is in favour of deriving the
name " Finnigord " from the Finns. There can be no
connection at all between this Finnigirt-dyke and the
township in Fetlar called Finnie, as this latter is situated
at the other end of the island.
Thus far about the few place-names, containing pro-
bable pre-Norse traces in Shetland. I now turn to other
more common kinds of place-names and begin with the
class which is by far most comprehensive, that is the one
containing places, named according to the form of the
land. Most of the Shetland place-names, as before
mentioned, contain in themselves a description of the
places they are applied to. I divide this class of names
into sub-divisions, taking first the various kinds of inland
heights (hills, braes and hillocks), then the level ground
and the various kinds of valleys, glens and hollows, then
74 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the various formations of the shore or " banks," then the
various indentations of the sea, and finally the small
islands and rocks in the sea along the coast. There are
in the Shetland place-names between twenty and thirty
words standing for hill or height, each word most often
denoting a certain shape of a height — and by compound-
ing some ofthese words, two and two, the language is
able to express two or more characteristics of a place in
one name.
NAMES OF INLAND HEIGHTS.
O.N. fell, fjall, meaning " fell, mountain or high hill,"
occurs pretty frequently in Shetland. Standing alone
it usually takes the form of "fj'ael." There are some
townships, which go by the name of Fj'ael, because
they are situated at the foot of such hills, (i, in
Haroldswick, Unst ; 2, on the south side of R0nis hill,
North Roe ; 3, in de Herra, Fetlar). Originally some
preposition has been prefixed, as "on" or "under" (d,
undir fjalli), which preposition has been dropped after-
wards. The name of the township Vellyi (situated on
a height) in Fetlar is probably derived from the same
word : fell (O.N. d or undir felli, " on or under the
hill"). In compounds the form "fjal-" sometimes occurs
as the first part of the compound, such as : de Fj'alsa-
mires (Fe) : the mires below the hill.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 75
As the latter part of a compound the word usually
takes the form "-fil"* for "-fell." Instances: Berfil
(" Berg-fell " : craig-hill, precipice-hill) (Sa) ; Hoofil :
" high fell or hill," original form : hdfell or -fjall (in
several places); Skallifil (De) (i.e. the hill with the
bare crown or top), Skraefil (Quarfif) : " land-slip hill,"
Vaalafil (U) etc. — Filla (one of the small islands or
holms between Whalsay and the Skerries) means " hill-
isle " {^fell-i^ or fjall-ty'). The holm rises to a consider-
able height
Hjoag (O.N. haug-r, O Engl, howe) denotes a height
or hill, not so big as a fell, but usually above the size of
the heights called " hool," f i. " de muckle and de peerie
(little) Hjoag " (U), " de Hjoag " (Fe). In O.N. the name
haugr-r is often applied to a thrown-up monumental
mound, a burial mound, and this is sometimes the case
in Shetland too, f i. Hjoganess in South Yell, in which
ness there are some places called " de Kumlins " from
O.N. kuml, burial mound. Hjogen in Bressay is probably
the same word.
Hool, O.N. h6ll, meaning " hill, knoll, hillock," is an
exceedingly common name in Shetland. Instances :
" Hool " (N.Roe), Hoolen (name of several townships ; d
* On the Ordnance map wrongly spelt "field" — it ought to be
"fell."
76 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
hdlum, undir h. : " on or under (the) hill," properly dative
in plural : " hills "), Hoolin* brenda (Norwick, U) : the
burnt knoll.t Hoolin skarpa (Weisdale) : the barren or
dry (" sharp ") knoll, Hoolin stoora (Du) : " the big knoll,"
Stoor'liox Stoorhool (" big knoll ") (Nm)— cf. " Stoorhool
loch" (U), Hoolna hoola : the "hool" of the "hools," or
the highest part of the knolls : an old scattald-march in
Yell. In compounds : Bratt{h)ool (Y) : " steep knoll,"
Swarthool (Br, Y) : " black knoll ;" sometimes "-wul "
for " -hool," as Leerwul for Leerhool (Norwick, U) : the
knoll on the slope, Skibberwul (Wh) : skipper-" hool."
Snjoog or Snjoogi is O.N. kn^kr, knjiikr, meaning
" high knoll or peak, hill-top." In Scotland it usually
denotes a hill whose top shapes into a knoll or peak.
Instances are : " de Snjoog" in Foula, de Snjoog or
Berfinssnjoog in De {Bergfinn is a man's name), de
Snjooga-hool (U), de Snjoogi o' de Bjorg (N Roe) : the
end or corner of the high hill-ridge, called " de Bjdrgs"
in Nm.
* " -in " is the suffixed definite article. " Hoolin " is the accusative
form,
t The name probably refers to the burning of heather or copse wood
in order to cultivate the soil. That burning of woods has been done in
Shetland, we learn by the place-name " Siooin brenda " (Quarff) : " the
burnt wood," O.N. skSginn brenda (accusative). " Brennya" (name of a
croft in Fladabister, C) is probably O. N. brenna, I, burning, 2, burnt land —
which word occurs several times as place-name in Norway.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 77
Kame, Kamb or Komba, O.N. kamb-r, means pro-
perly " comb" or " crest," and is applied to a hill or ridge
of hills, rising like a crest, (a hill with a long-shaped
narrow top). "Kame" is a comparatively modern
(Scottish) form of the word, " Kamb" and " Komba" are
the Norse forms. Instances : " de Kames" (on the
Mainland), " de Kame" in Foula, the old name of which
is Komba, further " de Kamb" and " Kamb hill" in Yell.
{Kamb is the name of a house in Mid Yell at the foot of
« Kamb hill.") Fillakomb (i.e. hill-" kame"), point in Y,
Berrishoola komba (Y), near the Kame of West Sand-
wick. In Dunrossness near Sumburgh there is a ridge
above the banks, called " de Kompis {Kombis)" on the
Ordnance map spelt " the Compass," but the name
means " de Kames."
O.N. dss, ridge, occurs in : Windoos (erroneously
spelt « Windhouse) (Y) : " the windy ridge" ( Vind-dss) ;
cf. deed of 13 October, 1405.
O.N. koll-r for a hill with rounding top, properly
the upper rounding of the head, occurs in compound
names in Shetland, as f i. Collifell (Nest), Kodlifell (Fo),
Collafirth (Nm) : the firth below the " kolls" or round-
topped hills ; probably also in Cullivoe (Yn) : the voe or
bay below the " kolls."
Kool is a rounding hill, f i. " de Kool o' Fladabister,"
78 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
from O.N. kiila, round lump or protuberance.
There are two hills in Tingwall called " de Knappis"
O.N. knapp-r is applied chiefly to the knob or head of a
stick and also to a stud or button. The point of the
elbow is in Shetland called " de knapp or knubbi o' de
elbog." O.N. nabbi, knob, protuberance, survives in the
name of the small promonotory south of Lerwick : " de
Nab {Knaby
Klub is a kind of square-shaped bulky hill. The
word properly means "lump (a lump of a hill.)" In-
stances : " de Klub o' Moola " (D), " de Klub o' Swin-
ing" (Lunn.), "de Klub o' Tronister." The English
" club," a club for striking with, is the same word (a lump
of wood) and also " club " meaning an association (lump)
of men. Several skerries go by the name of " Klub "
from their shape.
Tind or Tand means properly " tooth " or " spike,"
and is sometimes applied to a peak or conic-shaped hill.
There is a point on the east side of Fetlar, called " de
Tind," and three knolls in the hill of Kleberswick (U),
called "de Tands" — used as land-marks by the fisher-
men and having derived their names from their conic or
tooth-like form, when seen from the sea.
Bjorg, applied to a steep rocky hill, is the Icel. bjarg,
precipice, crag, another form of the word berg (about
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 79
which more hereafter.) Instances : " de Bjorg " in Ting-
wall, " de Bjorgs " in Nm., " de Bjorgins " in D.
There are several heights by the name of R^ni (^Ji^tt)
in Shetland. It is O.N. hraun, which denotes origin-
ally a rough or rocky place, a wilderness. The giants
are in the old Icelandic poetry sometimes called hraun-
bikar : " r0ni-dwellers," dwellers in the rocky wilderness.
In the modern Shetland dialect "r0ni" is commonly
applied to a heap of stones ( a cairn ) : "a r0ni o'
stanes ;" in Lunnasting it sometimes denotes a big piece
of rock, a boulder. In place-names the word denotes a
rocky hill (knoll, brae) or plateau. Instances : de R^
(Fe), de Renins (at Skaw in Wh.) : " the r0nis," Hwam-
wa;-^/ (valley-" r0ni")* and Longar0ni{ii\^\oTi% "r0ni")
(N. Roe), Rdni fogra (the beautiful " r0ni ;" there is a
beautiful patch of green below the rocks) (N. Roe),
Berrar^i (crag-" r0ni " ) in Sandsting, Krogar^i
(craw-" r0ni ") in Muckle Roe, and finally there is the
king of all the " r0nis " : R^iis Hill in Northmavine, the
highest hill in Shetland, rising up from a rocky plateau,
the old name of which is '' de R^is " (on the Ordnance
Survey map : Roonies).
* Hiuamm is a small valley.
+ The spelling " Roeness hill" (I need not speak of " Ronas" hill at
all) is erroneous.
80 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
Sometimes the word as the latter part of a com-
pound is contracted into " -run," as Queedaruns {Hweeda-
runs) (Nm) = Queedar^tis : " white r0nis," Koliyarun
(Aithst.) : " round-topped r0ni," O.N. kollahraun ; Hoorun
(Aithst.), probably " high r0ni," O.N. hdhraun (cf. Hoofil,
-fell, p. 75).
Duss, O.N. dys, means a (thrown up) heap. South
past Lerwick the word is applied to a small stack of
corn : " a duss o' corn ; " in Danish " dysse " is a cairn or
stone-heap. There is a big round knoll in Weisdale,
called " de Duss."
Lee is O.N. hUd, incline, slope, commonly applied to
the slope of a hill. It often occurs in place-names, fi.
Leean (Nm), Daleslee (Delt), Bakkanalee hill (Y),
(Bakkanalee = the slope above the banks or shore),
Leefell (West Sandwick, Y), " sloping hill."
Brek (O.N. brekka, akin to Engl. " brink ") means
" brae, slope." It occurs in names of townships. There
is a "Brek" in Du.; Brekkin ("the brae") in Y and
Eshaness, Nm, Ootnabrek near Scalloway, etc.
Haamar is O.N, hamar-r, hammer, metaphorically
applied to a hammer-shaped crag, a jutting out rock or
stretch of rocks, most often in the side of a hill. There
are several places called "(de) Haamar" or "Haamars";
Haamamess (Nmw), Hamrifell (Y), the hill with the
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 81
" haamars ;" Bruns Haamarsland in North Tingwall, etc.
— Laavtar {Laahamar) is O.N. hlaShamarr, "loading-
rock," a rock at which boats usually lie to be loaded
and unloaded ; cf. Lodberrie (" Berg ").
Broon (O.N. br^ti) or Broo is often applied to a rise
in the ground ; it is the same word as Engl. " brow."
Too (O.N. thifd) signifies " mound, a small piece of
rising ground." Reg. Litlatoo (" the little mound ") and
Mucklatoo (" the big mound ") see p. 68.
Klodi is another name for a mound (etym. akin to
Engl. "clod").
A third word for a mound, especially a burial
mound, occurring in place-names, is Kuml {Kumbel).
There is an old piece of burial ground in Westing (U),
called " de Kumbels."
Wart, Vord ( Voard), Virdik. I have as yet pur-
posely omitted mentioning of the hills called "Wart" etc.,
because the name does not denote any shape of a hill.
It is Icelandic varffi, English " ward," meaning watch-
tower. Heaps of stones, ruins of ancient watch-towers,
have been found on the tops of all these ward-hills,
which hills are invariably high and conspicuous, always
in sight of each other. They have been used for
signalizing purposes — the signals were large kindled
fires — and as the Warts could always be seen from a
82 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
long distance, the country in case of danger, especially
war, could be alarmed in a very short time.
Wart is an Anglicised pronunciation of the name.
The proper Shetland pronunciation is Vord (Voard),
Virda, or Virdik, sometimes (in compounds) shortened
into " -virt (vird), -firt (fird.)" Instances : Saxavord (U),
Noonsvord (Wh), Hj'ukmannavord (iim) : " the hillmen's
ward ;" Virdadale (the valley of the Wart) in Bressay,
Virdifell (ths ward-hill) in Unst and Papa, de Virdins
(watch-hills) o' Haavtar (Nm). " De Vord " is the sea-
name for an ancient watch-tower on the top of the
Gallow hill in the South of Unst, which tower the old
fishermen used as a *' meed " or land-mark.
In Unst there is a hill called "de Vordeld"
(probably from O.N. varShald, keeping watches,
guard), and in Fetlar there is a hill by the same
name (commonly pronounced de Vdrdjeld), by the
fishermen called " de Vaacht " : the watch or guard.
On the top of "de Vordeld" in, Unst there was
an old building, called " de Waak-hoose" i.e., the watch-
house.
In the island of Balta outside Baltasound (U) there
is a high headland, called " de Veeti-hssA" which is most
probably derived from O.N. viti, beacon, as the headland
is well situated for a look-out place. In Hillswick ness
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 83
there is a hill called " Vidifell {Veedifell) stoor" : the
great beacon-hill.
From the hills we naturally descend to the plains
and valleys. O.N, voll-r, a plain (etym. Engl. " valley "),
survives in f.i. Tingwall : the law-court (" ting ") plain ;
further in names as Veyll, Vell{y)i and Vell{y)ins : " de
Vell(y)ins (plains) o' Hamnavoe, o' 0re (Eshaness,
Nm), a place, where formerly men used to play at
football ; " de Likvell(y)ins" (Fe) : an old football
ground (from O.N. leikvellir, " play-plains " ; leika =
to play).
Ft'd or Ft'tcA is O.N. _/?/, lowlying meadow-land at
the side of water ; •' de dale and de hill o' Fitch" (at Dale
in Tingwall), Fidna gr^a (Aithst) : the green " Fid."
Daal is the old form of " dale" : valley (O.N. dal-r\
f i. Daalin gr0na (at Norwick, U) : " the green valley,"
Fogradaal (Westing, U) : " the beautiful valley." In
Unst and Yell the word daalamist is applied to mist
through the valleys.
Wham (O.N. hvamm-r) denotes a small valley, not
so deep as " daal" or " dale."
Gil (O.N. gil) denotes a narrow glen. It occurs in
several place-names, f i, Orgil (L) : " burn-glen," Swarti-
gil (Sa) : " black glen," Djupa Gil (De) : " deep-glen."
Boiten is O.N. botn, bottom, also applied to a deep
84 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
round-shaped valley. Instances : " Boiten" in Connings-
burgh (cf. " Boddom" in Dunrossness), " de Boiten hills"
in Delting.
Grave {Graav) or Gref denotes a pit or hollow
(O.N. grof) f.i. Graven (De), de Graavins (house in Fo),
Graveland (Y). The " gref" (bottom) of the peat bank
is the same word. There is an expression used in Yell :
" to lay onything in kolgref" : to do anything roughly,
especially in delving : to leave the ground in a rough
state (Icel. kolgrof AenoXes a pit for burning coals). In
the island of Hascusay opposite Yell there is a place
called " de Kolgrave or Kolgref" which is very rough-
looking. It is from this place, that the sound between
Hascusay and Yell derives its name : Kolgrave Sound.
Kap and Koppa {Kop) denote a cupshaped hollow in
the ground, f.i. " de Russkikaps" (Du) : " the horse-
hollows," de Kops at Scalloway, " Koppa" in Bressay,
Koppister ( : Koppa-seter) (Y).* Reg. " seter" hereafter
(see Index.)
Sloag and Slagin denote a lowlying wet hollow, f i.
" de Sloag" in Foula, " de Slagin" at Tresta (Sandsting).
Quarf (O.N. kvarf) denotes an isolated, hidden
• " De Xoopins" (etym. akin to " Kap" and " Koppa") is the name
of a hill in Weisdale ; it is named so from its " kooping" or overhanging
top. — " to koop" means " to form a hollow, to hang out over."
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 85
place or corner, a deep lying place, surrounded by high
hills. Hvarf, which means properly " i, turning,* 2, dis-
appearance," occurs as a place-name in Norway.
Aid {AUK), O.N. eiS, is an isthmus, a narrow neck
of land, joining two bigger places together. There is an
" Aid" in Bressay, another in Conningsburgh, a third in
Fetlar, and a fourth in Aithsting, from which the parish
takes its name. " Aid, aith" further occurs, although
quite obscured, in the name of a township in Delting,
viz., " Brae," t contracted form of '' Brai-ai" (so pro-
nounced sometimes by the oldest people) : O.N. breiS-
eiS, " the broad isthmus," in contra-distinction to the
narrower isthmus a little north of it, which forms the
boundary between Delting and Northmavine, viz.,
"Mavis Grind," O.N. mcev-ei&s grind, "the gate of the
narrow isthmus." The name of the parish itself,
" Northmavine" is a corruption of " Northmavid," the
ancient form of which is " {fyrir) norSan mcev-eiS" :
" north of the narrow isthmus." It occurs in a deed of
26 August 1403 (firer nordhan Mcefeid").
Vatn is the old word for water, also applied to a lake.
It occurs in the expressions " a vatsgaari day" (Fo) : a
day of nasty rain, and " a van{di)lup o' rain (Y) ; a
* Cf. the Shetland expression " to wharv (turn) de hay."
t Quite different from the common word " brae," meaning slope.
86 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
downpour (O.N. vatnhlaup.) There is a waterfall in Dun-
rossness called " Vanlup." Sandvatn (Br, Fo) : "the sandy
loch or lake ;" Vatnabreck (Br) : " loch-brae;" " de loch
o" Watlei' i^): "Watlee" being i/a/wAZ/a^ (" water-lee"),
i.e., " the slope above the loch ;" Vats{e)ter (Y), contrac-
tion of Vatn-seter: "loch-seter." Millya Vatna (Fe): "be-
tween (the) lochs." Vassa (in Nesting) is a contraction
of Vatns-aid {vatnsei&), which means " loch-isthmus,"
the narrow neck of land between the loch and the sea ;
but now the name is applied to the township, situated
on this isthmus.
Shun or sheen is O.N. tj'om, small loch, pool, f.i. de
Clubbi Shuns (N Roe).
" O" is the old word for a burn (O.N. £), f i. Laxo
(L), i.e., " trout-burn" (Lax-d), Bretto (C), " Bretto burn"
(Tingw., Nm) : " steep burn" {Bratt-d). In the possess-
ive the word takes the form Or or Wur ( Wir) from
O.N. dr, f i. Orbister (Nm) : " the dwelling-house beside
the burn," Ordale (U, Nm) : " burn-valley," Orwtck.iU.
Roe) : "burn-wick (creek)," Wurwick, Wirwick (Aithst.) :
another pronunciation of the same name. A orli (parlt)
(Nm) or more commonly wurli, wirli (properly : " burn-
gate," O.N. drhlicf) is a place where a burn runs under a
dyke.
O.N. fors, water-fall, is preserved in names as :
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 87
"Forse burn" (Nesting), '' Forse water" (Aithst.), "de
burn o' Forso" (Collafirth, Nm) from O.N. fon-d,
" water-fall-burn."
After mentioning the lochs and bums I might also
mention some place-names, in which the old name for
mill, water mill : When (Quen), Whin- (for " whem," Sco.
quern, O.N. kvom, hand-mill), occurs, f i. Whinnigio and
Quendale in Dunrossness, Whinnawater in Northmavine,
Whinniloch in Nesting, etc. Old water-mills have been
in the places mentioned, as Mr John Irvine, Lerwick,
informs me.
Kelda, O.N. kelda, spring, well, occurs in f i, Smiir-
kelda (Fe) : " butter-well."
Brun, O.N. brunn-r, well, occurs in f i. Hellyabrun or
Yellabrun (U): "the healing well" (O.N. heillar-brunnr).
Ljoag is a patch of green, through which a stream-
let runs (O.N. loek-r, streamlet), f.i. Stooraljoag (Aithst) :
the big " Ljoag."
M0ri is O.N. myri, mire. In place-names : M0m
(L) : " the mire," M^rseter (Y) and Monster (U, Sa) :
mire-seter.
I shall now take the coast and mention some of the
various names applied to its various formations.
The word " stane" (stone) is very often applied to
88 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
the rocky shore, the land's boundary against the ocean :
" Dey rowed f(r)ae de stane to de booels (bowels) o' de
ocean (very far out) " ; '• de sillock was steeded
(gathered) in to de very stane."
Strand (O.N. strond) denotes " shore." There is a
township in Fetlar by the name of " Strand," and also a
" Strand" in Tingwall, named from being situated close
at the shore.
Klett (O.N. klett-r) denotes a (piece of) rock and is
also applied collectively to the shore rocks, a stretch of
low rocky shore. There is a place at Hillswick called
Klettin r0 : the red " klett" or rock — it is now the name
of a house.
Hellya (O.N. hella from hall-r, stone) denotes a
piece of smooth rock, generally (but not always) at the
sea-shore. A hellyik, smooth stone, is the same word.
The eave-stones : the flat stones, laid along the lower
edge of the roof under the straw for running off the
water, are called in the North Isles {h)ofsahelfyiks {ofs
or hofs being the old word for the eaves), in Dunrossness
taahellyiks {taa being a contraction of O.N. thak, roof).
There are several craig-seats called " Hellya" (f i. in the
ness of Sound at Lerwick) ; Skerhellya (Y) : skerry-
" hellya," because the rock is nearly loose from the land.
There is a place in Fetlar called Hellyina bretta : the
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 89
Steep rock ; further : Hellyina wheeda in Yell : " the
white rock" (an old scattald-march), Hellyina gro (Y) :
" the gray rock" ; Millya Hellya (Fe) : " between (the)
smooth rocks."
Ayre means beach or a piece of sandy (gravelly)
shore, but the older form of the word is 0ri (O.N. tyri,
Icel. eyri), which occurs in f i. the place-name " 0ri"
(spelt Urie) in Fetlar, and 0rafirth in Northmavine
(there is a big beach at the head of this firth).*
Bakka, O.N. bakki, is the old word for cliff or
" banks" (steep rocky shore). Instances : " Bakka"
(De), name of a house at the sea-shore, Leea-bakka
(West Sandwick, Y) : the " banks" below the " lee" or
slope (hill-side), Bakkigarth (Fe), Bakkaseter (Du).
Berg (O.N. berg^ properly denotes " a mass of firm
rock" and is in place-names commonly applied to a cliff
or crag.t Instances : Hedliberg (Fo) : " smooth clifT'
(Hedli = the afore mentioned Hellya), Longaberg (St.
Ringan's Isle) : " long cliff." Ramnaberg (Aithst, Wh) :
" ravens' crag," Stakkaberg (Fe) ; Djuba " berreg" (Sound
near Lerwick : " deep-shore-rock." Berfaayll (for
Berg-fell) (Aithst.): " cliff-hill, crag-hill," is the name of a
* Different from "^■" is ' V'l" 4 of a mark of land (O.N. ^r),
occuring in f.i. 0rtsland.
+ Cf. Bjbrg p. 78.
M
90 THE OLD SHETLAND DLALECT.
hill, rising up from the steep shore. The word " berg" is
still used occasionally in conversation, not in its proper
sense, but in expressions like these : " Here is naethin'
[nothing] but a shauld [shallow] berg," applied to a corn^
rig (small piece of corn-land), where the soil is very
shallow and hard rock beneath ; " he has a berg on de
nose (N Roe)" : he has a big hump (literally : a crag) on
the nose. " De berguylti {bergilt or bergiltik\ Norw.
berggylta or berggalt, is a fish belonging to the same
family as the " Norway haddock" (its English name is
wrasse). The word is compounded of berg, rock, crag,
and gylta, a sow (Shetlandic : guylti, pig, " grice"). The
fish is so called, because it is a somewhat clumsy fish,
having a mouth which resembles a pig's snout or " grice-
tr^ti," and because it is always found close to the shore-
rocks. The name " Berg" sometimes occurs in the form
Berry. There is a rocky elevation in Tingwall, from
which the township " Berry" takes its name ; Ollaberry
(Olaf s " berg"), township in Northmavine. There are
three townships in Shetland by the name of Skelberry
(in Nm, in L and in Du). " Skelberry" is Norw. skal-
berg, " shell-rock" : fleecy rock, rock very easily split
The townships of course have derived their names from
the nature of the ground in the immediate neighbour-
hood. The name Lodberri is O.N. hlaSberg, meaning
THE OLD SHETLAND DLA.LECT. 91
" loading-rock" : a rock at which boats usually lie to be
loaded and unloaded ; instance : " de Lodberries" in
Lerwick .♦ The word kleber {klaiber) [for " kleberg"] is
used in several parts of Shetland for "soap-stone;"
literally it means " clay-rock." This is the origin of the
name Kleberswick in Unst Bersoad{i) or Berset, the
old Shetland word for " craig-seat" (O.N. bergsdt, berg-
scsti), now only occurs in names of old craig-seats, f i,
" de Bersets" (U), " de Berset o' Haanahjoag' (« cock-
hill") (U), etc. ; Krabbabersoadi and Tukkabersoadi (at
Skaw, U). A craig-seat is in Unst sometimes called " a
cti\%2L-soad" compounded of Scotch " craig" and Norn
" soad" (O.N. sat, seat).
Keen, O.N. kinn, cheek, is applied to a steep place
in the banks, bearing some resemblance to a cheek.
There is f.i. " de Keen o' Haamar" in Swinaness (U).
Kjolka, O.N. kjdlki, jaw, cheek, is applied in a
similar way to a piece of steep banks. There is a
" Kjolka" in Tingwall.
Brunga, O.N. bringa, meaning "breast,"' is also
applied to a piece of banks, bearing some resemblance to
a breast. There is a " Brunga " in Fetlar.
Ord [Hurd) is O.N. urd, which usually denotes a
heap of boulders, huddled together at the bottom of a
steep face. In Foula the word hurdin is applied to a
* Cf. " Laamar" p. 8l.
92 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
big boulder. There is a place in Bressay called "de
Ord," and one in Dunrossness called " de Ords." Hurdi-
fell'vn. Northmavine is a steep rocky hill, full of down-
fallen boulders.
I now turn to the various forms ol projection along
the shore.
The name Hevda or Hevdi (O.N. ho/Si, derived
from hofuS, head) is applied to a head-shaped headland.
There is f.i. " Eswick Hevda " (South Nesting), " Easter
and Wester Hevda" (Fo). Hevda-grun is a fishing-
ground (" grun " : from O.N. grunn-r) between Foula
and the mainland, so called from its proximity to the
headland " Easter Hevdi." Hevdigarth (Midyell) is the
name of a house, situated at the foot of the headland
called "de Head o' Hevdigarth."
" De H^s " (SandnessJ is the name of a headland —
" h0s " being O.N. hauss, skull, head.
" De Sti4s " is the name of a headland in Foula —
" sn0s " being the word " nose " in its pure old form. I
may in this connection mention " de snushiks" a name
given to a small wooden frame, put on a calf's nose to
prevent it from sucking the mother.
Niv denotes, like Far. n^, a long jutting-out head-
land, f i. " de Niv " at Haroldswick, U ; in Icelahdic no/
and nop signify " nose."
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 93
Noss (applied to a peak- or nose-shaped headland)
is probably the word " nose." Instances : " the isle of
Noss ;" " Noss " in Dunrossness (headland, township.)
The names Noop and Neep are both applied to a
peak-shaped headland. They are derived from O.N.
(g)n^p-r and (g)n{pa, peak. Instances: "de Noop o'
Noss," " de Neep " (North Nesting).
The name Bard is applied to a headland whose top
projects beyond its base, f.i. " de Bard o' Bressay." In
O.N. the word barS is applied to the stem of a ship,
properly the continuation of the keel fore and aft.
Mool is O.N. m^li, projecting upper lip, muzzle,
(big, downhanging) mouth, often applied to the mouth of
a horse. In place-names it usually denotes a headland,
rounding down like such a mouth, fi. "de Mool o'
Aeswick " (South Nesting), " de Mool o' Levenwick "
(Du), "de Blue Mool" (U); sometimes the name de-
notes an inland height of a similar form, as " Moola"
(Norwick, U).
Ness, O.N. nes (Engl, naze, ness) is a point or head-
land, generally of some extent. Instances: Neshin
(De) : " the nesses ;" Brimness (Tingw.) : " surf-ness ;"
Eshaness (Nm.) (in Norwegian dialects esja signifies : i,
a kind of soap-stone, 2, a kind of easily split rock); Fora-
ness (in several places): ness, dangerous for cattle and
94 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
sheep pasturing (O.N. foraS, dangerous place or situa-
tion); Fuglaness ox Fulaness (Nm.): "bird-ness;" Gr^t-
ness (Du.): "rocky ness;"* Mioness (De, Skerries):
" narrow ness "; Mooness (U) : " moory ness " (O.N. md-
nes) ; Roeness (Sa, Hillswick in Nm.): " red ness " (from
the reddish colour of the rock); Wheyness (in Whiteness):
" cattle-park-ness." The nesses were generally enclosed
for pasturage, and in their names we sometimes find the
names of animals which pastured there, prefixed : Bu-
ness {Bootless) (Baltasound, U): cattle-farm-ness or cattle-
ness (O.N. b^ means household, farm, and is also applied
to the domestic animals, especially the cattle) ; Hesta-
ness (Fe): •' horse-ness ;" Lambaness (at Norwick, U):
'• lamb-ness ;" Maraness (Wh.): " mare-ness ;" Russaness
(Sa): " horse-ness or mare-ness"; Swinaness (at Balta-
sound, U): " swine-ness."
Kudda is usually applied to a small rounding point.
Originally the word probably signifies " bag " or " some-
thing bag-shaped," and is akin to the word kod (O.N.
koddt), pillow. Some of the " Kuddas " go by the name
of Tfvakudda or Tevakudda, the first part of the com-
pound being the word "t^ve" O.N. thoefa, to walk or
• Gratis O.N. grj^t, rock, stone (ct Shetl. "mill-grot," rock from
which mill-stones are made). Gr^tin, spelt "Gruting" (Sa, De, Fe),
means "the rocky place" (O.N. grfting-r).
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 96
shrink cloth. The " T0vakuddas " are places at the sea-
shore, where people used formerly to fasten " wadmel,"
the old Shetland cloth, in order that it should shrink
and consequently grow thicker and closer by the action
of the flowing and ebbing of the sea. The word " t0ve "
is now lost in its original sense in Shetland, but is pre-
served in the expressions : " to t^e (toss) a body (per-
son) aboot " and " dere's a tipve (commotion) i' de sea."
Taing (O.N. tangi) and Tonga {tangi or tunga) both
mean a tongue of land, such as f i. " de Taing o' Ham "
(Br), Longatonga (Fe): the long " taing," etc. There are
several points called Skjotaing, named from skjos, stone-
huts, which have been standing there formerly. A
"skj'o" (Norw. skjaa) is a roughly built stone-hut with
slits to admit the wind for the purpose of drying fish
and flesh (mutton), not salted.* This manner of curing
is now obsolete.
Odd (O.N. odd!) means " point " (sharp point). The
extremity of the point called " Stoora point " {i.e., the big
point) in Conningsburgh is called "de Odd." There is a
township Oddsta in Fetlar, named so from being situated
at a point.
" Blade " or Blaa (O.N. blaS, blade, leaf) is a blade-
shaped point, a point bearing some resemblance to the
* The flesh (mutton) so dried was called "vivda."
96 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
blade of a sword, such as f.i. " de Blade o' Hellyer," " de
Blade o' Fiblister " (both in Nm), There is a point in
the Out Skerries called 0rablaa, which means "ayre-
blade" (beach-point.) There are a few points in Yell
called Snooti, Tr^ni and Raana, all meaning " snout."
There are many instances of places deriving their
names from resemblance to the different parts of a
human body or the body of lower animals. I have
already mentioned some names of this kind. To begin
at the top we have " de Kroon o' de 0ra," about which
seep. 68. Culswick (Sa): O.N. -^(?//-r, the top of the head,
see p. 1 5. Ennisfirth (Nm): O.N. enni, forehead, also " a
steep face of land." — StKjis (nose) and Niv, see p. 92.
Keen (cheek, see p. 91. Kjolka (jaw, cheek), see p. 91.
0ra (U): ear, see p. 68. Minn (Burra Isle): O.N
minni, mynni, mouth, inlet, arm of the sea, from munn-r,
mouth ; cf Swarbacks Minn. — Nakkaskerry : " Nakka "
(O.N. hnakki), the back of the head.— Whulse, Whilst
(jQuulse, Quilse) (Delt., Aithst, Sandness): O.N. hdls*
neck (Sco. halse), also applied to " a slack in a hill ;" " de
Holsins" (U): "the necks," the slacks; cf Holsigarth
(Y). Brunga (breast), see p. 91. — de Yokkeli^^di^ yokkel
o' de hill") (C) properly "the shoulder": O.N. oxl{axU\
* To "4" in O.N. corresponds in Shetlandic: o (oo), u, wu (wi), etc.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 97
shoulder, also: shoulder-like formation in a hill, pro-
tuberance in the side of a hill ; " de Yokkel :" knoll at the
foot of R0nis hill ; the name " de Akkels " (U) is derived
from the same word.t From the body of lower animals
we have f.i. "de Baag" (U): "the back" (name of a
ridge) ; Moot (mouth, muzzle), see p. 93 ; " the Duke's
(duck's) Nebb" (beak) (Lerwick); " Rovi head" (point
near Lerwick): rovi, rovek (O.N. r6fa)f tail.
I shall mention shortly the different kinds of inlets
of the sea.
O.N. fjorS-r, firth, survives in the old name of the
bight of Conningsburgh, called " de Fjord" which name
is also applied to the open bight west of Fedaland in
Northmavine. The plateau north of Collafirth in Nm
was called " de Fjardapall {-paayll)": the firth-plateau.
The older form of the word "voe" (O.N. vdg-r, bay,
inlet) survives f.i. in the name Vog Minn (Vogminn):
"voe-mouth," applied to the entrance of Gunnister voe in
Nm, and in the name Voxter in Delting. " Voxter " is
shortened from " Vog-seter (Voe-seter.)"
The older form of the word " wick " (O.N. vik, creek)
survives in f.i. Veegen in North Yell, which means " the
t As to the dropping of "s" in "xl (ksl)" cf. yakkel, molar tooth,
OM.jaxl.
98 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
wick (creek)"; further in Moovik (Lambhoga in Fe):
" moor-wick," and probably in " Viga water " (N. Roe.)
Ham means "harbour." All the places called
" Ham " in Shetland are comparatively good harbours,
at least for small craft. There are places by this name
in Bressay, Foula, Whalsay, etc. (now names of town-
ships). The word is Norwegian hamn (O.N. hofn, hafn-),
Danish havn (f.i. in K^benhavn, in German and English
wrongly called "Copenhagen" instead of " Copenhaven.")
English " haven " in f.i. " Whitehaven," " Newhaven " is
the same word. In Shetlandic as in Norwegian there is
a change here from an original " vn (fn) " into " mn," and
as the " n " is difficult to pronounce after the " m," it is
dropped in Shetlandic, but it appears again, when a
vowel follows, as f i. in Hamnavoe, Hatnna Voe (Y, P,
Eshaness) : " harbour-voe " (O.N. Hafnarvdgr), Hanina
Dale (L). Hamister (Wh) stands for "Hamnister ": "har-
bour-seter." There is a similar change from "vn(fn)"
into "mn" in " Ramn" O.N. " hrafn" Danish ravn, Norw.
ramn, Engl. " raven "). This word occurs in f i. Ramna-
berg : " the ravens' cliff," Ramnagio : " the ravens' gio"
(chasm, inlet), de Ramnastacks (north of Fedaland, N.
Roe) : the stacks, where the ravens build.
Hoob is in O.N. h6p-r, applied to a small shallow bay
or bight There are several " Hoobs," f.i. " de Hoob "
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 99
and "de Hoobins" in Nm, Hoobie (Fe) : name of a town-
ship at the head of such a bight.
In connection with a " Hoob " there is generally a
" Vadiir or " Vaddle," O.^. vaSill, a wading-plape, a
shallow piece of water, forming the mouth of a burn
running out into the bight
P^l {PoyW) is a small rounding bight, O.N. poll-r
(same word as Engl. " pool "). There is a Saltap^l
("salt-pool") at Haroldswick (U), so called, because
formerly people used to gather salt there, left in the
small hollows in the rock, after the sea-water had evapor-
ated. This salt was gathered chiefly for the purpose of
putting it into butter. The name Saltness is probably
to be accounted for in a similar way.
Minni, Minn, Mine, is the O.N. mynni, mouth, bight,
entrance of the sea. The old name of the bight now
called " de Mooth o' Funnie " in Fetlar is " de Minni"
Swarbaks Minn {Mine): "the black gull mouth (bight)"
is the entrance between Muckle Roe and Aithsting.
Cf " Vog Minn " p. 97.
Gjo (Gio) is the O.N. gjd, chasm, big rift in a fell or
crag. In Shetland the word is always applied to a
narrow little inlet of the sea with steep rocks on both
sides. There are several gios by the name Gorsendigjo,
which means "dyke-end gjo," that is, a gjo where
100 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
an old dyke (wall)-stead terminates ; Ramnagjo (U,
Hascusay, etc.) : " the ravens' gjo; " Tarigj'o^" sea-weed-
-gjo " (gjo where sea-weed gathers.)
Gloop (O.N. gMp-r) means throat or gullet The
place called " Gloop " in North Yell is a very long and
narrow inlet of the sea, formed something like a gullet.
Hellyer is the name for a cave, O.N. hellir ; Gola
Hellyers (P) : " the yellow caves " (from yellowish colour
of the rock). There are several caves as well as points
called Trumba, Trombd, which means the drumming
noise, made by the surf in such places.
The old Norn word for an island is ty (j^Jt^)- This
word survives in Shetland in several place-names. The
full form of it occurs in the name of the island Uya,
Uyea (pronounced " 0ya ") near the Unst coast, which
simply means " the isle." This name has been given to
it by the South-Unst people, who still often speak of
"going to the isle," meaning Uyea, because this has
always been the principal isle near their shore with
which they had communication, and compared with
Uyea Unst was to them the mainland. There is an old
township " Uyea " and opposite to it " the isle of Uyea "
(pron. " 0ya ") in Northmavine. The sound between
Unst and Uyea is called Uy{e)asoond, by the older people
pronounced "0yasoond " or "0asoond " : "island-sound."
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 101
The name is in Unst now applied to the village situated
at the side of the sound. "Yooasound" is a quite
modern pronunciation, derived from the south people
(Englishmen, Scotchmen) who cannot well pronounce
"0(y)asoond." There are three other " Uyeasounds " in
Shetland. In the island of Egilsay (Nm) there is a big
crevice called " 0akluv " : " the island-cleft." In the
small isle of Nibon (Nm) there is a hill called " 0afil
{-fell)": "island-hill." In the names of islands the ter-
minations " ay (ey) " and " a " are unaccentuated forms
of ^ (island), f i. Bressay (" Bress "- is of doubtful origin),
Whalsay : " whale-island," Burra : a contraction of
Borgar-ty : " broch-island," Foula (pronounced : Foold)
for Fuglty : " bird-island," Gruney (pron. " Gr0ni") :
" green isle," Linga and Lingey : " heather-isle," Mousa
(erroneously for " Moosa") -. " the moory isle" {M6s^,
from O.N. m6-r, moor), Trondra : a contraction of
Thrdndar-^ : " Trond^s island." " Trond" (O.N.
Thrdnd-r) is an old Norse personal name. Cf. the dis-
trict called " Trondheim" in Norway (in Shetlandic :
Druntin). The name " Trond" occurs several times
in Shetland place-names, Trondavoe (De), Tronister
(Trond's seter) (L), Tronafirth and Tronamires. The
islands of Egilsa(y) and Vementry also derive their
names from original possessors (O.N. Egill and
102 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
V^mund-r are men's names). " R^" in the name of the
island Muckle Roe, pronounced R0, is a contraction of
i?0-0, O.N. Rauff^y, meaning " red isle" (from the red
colour of the rock). We find the word " 0" or " isle"
applied not only to an island in the proper sense of the
word, but also to a peninsula, f.i. " Gluss isle" (Nm) and
" St. Ringan's isle" (Du), both peninsulas. North Roe
{R^) is the north-part of the district formerly called " Roe
{R(li)"—" R0" being " R0-0," red isle— and this district has
c0mprised the part of Northmavine parish which is north
of "R0nisvoe" and "Quheyfirth voe" and forms a penin-
sula. There is a loch called " R^rwater" : " the loch
(water) of R0" {Rauff^arvatn), besouth North Roe on
the top of " de Bjorgs."
Holm denotes a small island (like O.N. hSlm-r).
The older form of the word survives in f.i. Hoolmawater
(Sa) : " holm-loch," and " de Hoolmaleei^' (see " Lee "
p. 80) above " Hoolmawater."
Skerry (O.N. sker) denotes a rock in the sea above
water ; there are several such rocks called Swartaskerry :
" black skerry ; " Fuglaskerry (" bird-skerry") and Leera-
skerry (sea-bird-skerry),* both at Papa Stoor ; Skipta-
skerry) (Fe) : " division (bound)-skerry," from O.N. skipti,
division.
• O. N. Hri = Puffinus Anglorum,
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 103
Baa (O.N. boSi) denotes a rock in the sea under
water.
FUs (O.N. fles) denotes a flat skerry ; " de Fleshins
(the " fleses ") o' Sandwick " (Wh).
Stakk (O.N. stakk-r) denotes a high pointed rock
in the sea ; there are a few stacks called " Wheedastakk" :
"white stack;" Grostakk: "gray stack;" Gr0nastakk
{Grona-), see p. 36; Hoostakk: "high stack." Some
stacks are from their shape called "Spindles;" there is
a stack at " Papa Stoor " called Snolda : i.e. " spindle,"
O.N. snaelda. In O.N. the word drang-r is synony-
mous with " stakk-r ;" it survives in the names of the two
stacks off Hillswick ness (Nm), called " de Drongs"
I now leave this subject : the natural features of the
land, and pass to the settlements and enclosures, made by
the Norse inhabitants.
In the Shetland place-names more than half a score
of words occur, which all mean " enclosure " or " a piece
of enclosed land." Different names have been used
according to the diiiferent purposes for which the
enclosures have been made. The majority of them
have been for animals. In a great many cases the
old dyke-steads can still be traced, in other cases they
have disappeared, and only the names have been left.
104 THE OLD SHETLAND DLA.LECT.
applied to the places where these ancient enclosures
have been.
The name Garth or Gord {Goard) occurs pretty fre-
quently, especially in names of old " toons," farms and
crofts. It is O.N. garS-r, dyke (wall) or yard (etym. Engl.
" yard)," also applied to a piece of ground enclosed by
such a dyke or yard, especially a cultivated piece of
ground with a house on it. Hence the many names of
houses and crofts ending in " -garth," usually pronounced
" -girt," as f i. Bessigarth (Tingw.), Evrigarth (P) : " the
upper yard or farm," Efstigarth (Y): the uppermost
yard or farm, Fogrigarth (Aithst.) : " the beautiful
yard," Kurkigarth (Weisdale): " church-yard," Linggarth
(Du), named from the heathery ground {Ling is O.N.
lyng, heather), Skerpigarth (Fe) (" Skerpi," akin to Engl.
" sharp," denotes the hard and dry soil), Smirgarth (U) :
" butter-farm " (O.N. sm'dr, butter) — the name is derived
from good pasture-ground. The old Norse name for the
city of " Constantinople " is MykligarSr, Shetlandic :
" Mukligarth (-girt) " : " the big yard or enclosure."
There is a house called Galtigarth in South Yell,
which has been originally an enclosure for " gauts " or
pigs. Further : Grisigarth (the name of a house in
Foula) : pig (" grice ")-yard ; Hestinsgarth (Du) : " horse-
enclosure," and Lammigarth (Du) : " lamb-enclosure." —
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 105
Uncompounded the word occurs in f.i. " Garth "(township
in Delting), " Garths voe " (Delt.;
" Gord" (not " Garth ") is the proper Shetland pro-
nunciation of the word (cf. Vord and Wart p. 8i).
" Gord " is the name of a house in Conningsburgh ;
Bjaelagord (Fe) ; Framgord (Eshaness, Nm) : " the
croft or house further out, nearer to the sea."* In the
meaning " dyke " the word occurs in f.i. Millya Gorda
(place in Fetlar) : " between (the) dykes " (O.N. milium
garSd), Gorhool (Fedeland, N. Roe) : " dyke-knoll (O.N.
garSh6lt).
Gairdie (O.N. gerffi) is etymologically connected
with the just mentioned " Garth, Gord " and English
" garden." It signifies originally a small piece of un-
cultivated ground enclosed either for pasture or with a
view to cultivation immediately outside the " toon-dyke "
(the dyke enclosing the township). Such "gairdies"
through time come to form part of the cultivated " toon "
itself, as this had to be enlarged, but on account of the
origin of these "gairdies" we never find them in the
centre of a township, but either on its outskirts or
near its outskirts. There is a place in Bressay called
"Gairdie;" further: " Gairdie " in Mid- Yell, Gairdtn{Sdi,
* Cf. " fram " in the expression "to geng fram": to go far out by
boat (to the deep-sea fishing) (O.N. fram, forward).
O
106 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
Delt.) : "the gairdies" (O.N. gerSi-n), "Gairdie hill" and
Gairdaness in Delting, and so forth.
Toon (O.N. t^n) is a third word denoting originally
"hedge, enclosure." It is the same word as Engl.
" town " and German " zaun," hedge. In O.N. tin com-
monly signifies a piece of cultivated ground enclosed.
Instances : " de Hametoon " (Fo) : the home-" toon," the
original " toon ;" Bigton (Du) : " ton " (unaccentuated)
for " toon," ("Big" is probably O.N. bygS, inhabited place,
from byggja, to build, cf. Shetl. " a biggin o' hooses," a
cluster of houses) ; Hooston (Haroldswick, U) : " house-
toon."
B0 (O.N. boe-r, farm) is synonymous with " Gord "
and " Toon." It occurs in Dunrossness, where there is a
township called "B0" and another close by called Exnab^,
which latter place has originally been a grazing-place for
oxen. When unaccentuated the word takes the form of
"-by." Kjurkaby{-py) in Westing (Unst) is " Kirk-b0 " :
the farm near the church. Further instances are : Melby
(Sandness): "the sandy farm," (O.N. mel-r, sand), Norby
(Sandness) : " the north farm." The word also occurs in
place-names in England, as : Whitby, Tenby, Appleby.
Fund (English " pound ") is a small enclosure for
putting animals into, f i. in order to keep them off from
the " toon," also for putting stray animals into. It occurs
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 107
in names of places where such enclosures have been, f.i.
/'«»d^// (pronounced: Punshfil; in Unst, Pundal^t (name
of a house in Firth, Delting): "the pund-lot" (/(!»/= an
allotted piece of ground).
Kr^ (sheep-fold) in place-names usually takes the
form Kroo, as f.i. Kroosteri^x) ; "kr0-seter," Kroodale (Fe),
Stoori Kroo (in the Conningsburgh west-cliffs) : " the big
kr0."
Synonymous with " Fund " and " Kroo " is Ret (O.N.
ritt, fold, sheep-fold). It occurs in the names : Tararet
(L), place at the shore, where sea- weed (O.N. thari)
gathers, and where a sheep-fold has been in former
times ; S^ret (Wh), " s0 " being O.N. sauS-r, sheep. The
last word also occurs in f i. S^bel or Sobel (name of two
hills in Unst) : " sheep-*<!t/-(<J«7)"— " b0l " being O.N. b6l,
couch, resting-place for animals (pasturing on the hills) ;
cf. Koobel (Du- : "cow-b0l.") "So" (sheep) further occurs
in f.L Soberlee (Fo) : " So-berg-lee " {sauS-berghlid), the
slope (" lee ") above the cliff (" berg ") and being used for
sheep-pasture (the name is descriptive of the place).
B61 (" b0l ") also occurs in f.i. " Bola hill " (Y).
Whee {Quhee) or Quee, Whie {Quhie, Quhey) or Qute,
etc., are variations in the pronunciation of O.N. kvi,
meaning an enclosure for cattle, a cattle park. Several
houses and townships go by this name, because the
108 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
places where they have been built have been originally
enclosed parks. Instances: "Quee"(Conn.), Quheyin (pron.
"Wheein") (Otterswick, Y): "the Whee," Gr^twhee
(spelt :"Grutquoy") (U,W):, "the rocky Whee," Okraquee
(Fladabister, C) : " the Quee near the cornfield " (O.N.
akr, corn-field). " De Quheys o' Catfirth " is the name
of a piece of ground in Catfirth (South Nesting). "Quhey-
firth " see p. 102. Vatshwi (Wh) stands for " Vat(n)s-
hwee " : " loch-hwee."
Hoga {Hag) is O.N. hagi, a piece of hill or unculti-
vated land enclosed for pasture, or in a more general
sense : hill-pasture, in modern Shetlandic : " skattald."
The word originally signifies " enclosure," and is etymo-
logically akin to Engl. " hedge " and " haw " in f i. " haw-
thorn," " haw-haw " (a sunk fence). Instances : "Hogan "*
(Whiteness), de Hogan o' Fogrigarth (Aithst), Lambhoga
(Fe). Several places go by the name of Hogaland.
" Hoga " also occurs in a few conversational words,
as hoga-leave (from O.N. hagaltyfi), properly " scattald-
permission," i.e., liberty either to cut peats or to have
animals grazing for a certain payment in another skat-
tald, and then secondly : payment for this liberty to
make use of another skattald, and hence the phrase : to
* «- is the suffixed definite article.
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 109
pay hoga-leave. " Hoga " further occurs in buynhoga
(U, Fe), meaning " calf-ground," home of birth, old place
of residence (literally : " child-pasture," O.N. bamhagi).
" Hag '' occurs in place-names as the first part of a
compound, f i. Hagtnarsgio (for Hagmarksgio : " skat-
tald-march gio ") and " de Horns o' Hagmark" ( : " skat-
tald-march " ) (U) ; Hagdjeld (U) : " skattald-division,"
the name of an old march between Baltasound and Har-
oldswick (U). A hagmet is an old word for a (skattald-)
march-stone.
There is an old Shetland expression : " to ride de
hagri" — "hagri" being an O.N. hag{d)reiS: skattald-ride.
In former times neighbouring proprietors used to ride in
company around their skattald-boundaries in order to
inspect the marches or put up new march-stones and
thus prevent future disputes. Every year, when this was
done, they took with them a boy, the son of some
crofter, residing on the one or the other of the pro-
perties. At every march-stone they came to, the boy
got a flogging ; this, it was thought, made him remember
the place ever after. For every year this "hagri" or
skattald-riding was done, a different boy was selected to
accompany the proprietors and receive the floggings.
Thus when the boys grew up to men, even if some
among them should die, there would always be some
110 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
men in the place who in a case of dispute would be able
to swear, where the right march was.
In this connection I may mention the old name for
common pasture, or a piece of pasture-land held in
common by neighbouring proprietors. In Connings-
burgh there is a piece of ground, now cultivated, called
" de Wulmtn ( Wilmin)" and in Yell there is a piece of
" skattald '' or hill-pasture called " Wullamina ( Willa-
mind) skattald," the older form of which name is Hol-
tnennis Hoga." The names mentioned are derived from
O.N. almenning-r, common-pasture (literally : " land for
all the men ").
Still or Stilli (O.N. stilli, trap, enclosure for catching
animals in) is synonymous with " Kr0," " Fund," " Ret ''
(see pp. 106-7). There are two " toons " (in Fe and U)
called " Still." At Nibon (Nm) there is a piece of
ground called " de Stilli o' Nibon."
Seter(p.N. setr) occurs frequently in Shetland place-
names (names of pieces of ground, of crofts and town-
ships). It signifies originally " summer-pasture " and is
in Norway still commonly applied to a pasturing place
in the mountains, where people stop in huts during the
summer-time to tend and milk the cattle and to make
butter and cheese. In Tingwall there are three crofts in
a row from Crista towards Scalloway : " North, Mid,
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. Ill
and South Seter." South past these seters are three
crofts, called " North, Mid, and South Garth." The three
Seters mentioned have evidently been the places where
the Garth people have had their animals grazing during
the summer-season. There is a " Seter " in Bressay,
another in Noss. Further : " de Seter o' Ennisfirth "
(Nm), Bakkaseier, Gioseter (Du), etc. In compounds,
"-seter " is generally abbreviated to " ster," f.i. Bixter
(Sa) ; " Bigg-seter " {bigg, biggin = a cluster of houses),
Bjoster (Br), Brooster (for " Broo-seter " : " bridge-seter "),
near the Bridge of Walls, Hellister (Weisdale) (see
" Hellya " p. 88), Hooster (Aith, Aithst), Kollaster (Aiths-
ting) (reg. " Koll " see p. "JT, and Culster (De) : " Koll-
seter." Reg. Vatster and Voxter, see pp. 86 and 97.
Many " seters " derive their names from the different
<
kinds of animals which pastured there, as fi. Booster
(Y) (reg. Boo^ O.N. bik, see p. 94; Hestinseter (Sa) : " horse-
seter," Yoknister (Nm) ; " oxen-seter," Kolvister {Colvi-
ster) (Y); " calf-seter," (cf Colvidale (U) : "calf-valley")
Marister(^\C) :" mare-seter," Swinister (Nm, De, Tingw,
Walls) : " swine-seter."
"-bister " (in compounds) is probably a contraction
of O.N. b6lstaSr, dwelling-place (occuring in place-names;
modern Norw. " -bust "), f i. Fladabister : " the flat ground
dwelling," Isbister (Nm, Wh), Symbister (Wh) (" sym "
J12 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
probably = " sum-" in Sumburgh, see p. 71), Trebister
(Lerwick parish) for " Utrebister " : " the outer dwelling,"
&c.
O.N. sel means " seter-hut." This word is possibly
contained in names as Sellafirth (Y), Selivoe (Gruting voe,
Sa). But in several cases the prefix " Seli-" in place-
names is to be derived from O.N. sel-r, seal.
Names of houses and townships are most often
second-hand names, that is, in most cases the places
where the habitations arose had their names, before
houses were built on or at them, and then the houses
(townships) simply borrowed these names. Several
instances have been given of this in the foregoing pages.
Lerwick means " clay-creek," and has originally been
applied only to the creek itself " Voe " and " Firth "
in Delting are now names of townships. Burravoe (Y)
is I, the bay, 2, the township. The village of Sound
(pronounced " Soond ") is named from its being situated
at Bressay Sound. Prepositions (at, in, on, under,
etc.) were prefixed to names of places to indicate the
sites of the houses and townships, but now these pre-
positions have been dropped. Got (Conn, Tingw) is
O^.gata, {gotu), pathway* ; the houses have been called
* In modern Shetlandic " gate" signifies " way, path,'' while grind
(O.N. grind) expresses English "gate."
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 113
originally " at the pathway." Gj^den, spelt " Gudon "
(Y), is probably the same word (-n : the suffixed
definite article). Further instances : Aid : "on (the)
isthmus" (p. 8s) ; Brekken : " on or under (the) brae"
(p. 80) ; Dale (De) : O.N. / dali, in (the) valley ; Fjael :
« under (the) hill " (p. 74) ; Kamb : « under (the) hill
crest" (p. jj").
In some cases the old name of a certain firth, voe or
wick has disappeared and been supplanted by a new
name, while the old name still lingers applied to the
oldest township in the immediate neighbourhood, f.i.
Olnesfirth, a township at the firth or voe, now called
Hamars voe in Nm ; Reafirth at the head of Mid Yell
voe / Sellafirth at the head of Basta voe in Yell ;
Trondavoe at the head of Voxter voe in Delting ; Effirtk
(" Aid-firth") at the head of Bixter voe in Sandsting.
There are three old words, meaning " house" or
" room," occurring in names : O.N. Ms (house), stofa
and skdli. Instances :
a. Uphoose (Br) ; " the house further up," Oodhoose
(Bastaness, Y) : " the house further out ;" " Innyus"
(Uyea, Nm), abbreviated from O.N. inni i Msi, " in the
house further in (the inner house)."
b. Sto/a occurs in f.i. Stove (the name of a house in
Haroldswick, U ; Sandw), Stiwa (Aithsting). There
114 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
are two houses in Uyea, Nm., called Innistova and
Uppistova (O.N. inni i stofu and uppH stofu ; /=in), i.e.,
a " in the inner house," b in the upper house."
Baths and bathrooms are often mentioned in the
old Icelandic sagas. BaSstofa in O.N. denotes " bath-
room" or " bath-house." There is a patch of ground in
Fetlar called " Ae Bastivvategs": "the bath-house rigs*
(corn-rigs)." In Faroe there is a township called "i
BaSstovu " from some ancient bath-house on the place.
c. Skdli occrurs in f.i. Skollan (name of a house in
Du), meaning " the house " or properly " in the house"
(O.N. / skdlanum ; -n in " Skollan " is the suffixed
definite article) ; further : Leeskol (Eshaness, Nm) : " the
house" (" skol") on the slope" (" lee," see p. 80), Fram-
miskolla {-swilla,-swulld) (Uyea, Nm) : " (in) the house
(" Skolla") further out or nearer to the sea" (O.N./m;«;««
/ skdla), Uppiskolla (Firth, Delt.) : " (in) the house higher
up " (O.N. uppi i skdla). Skdli in O.N. often denotes
" booth" or " hut." Scalloway, by the older people pro-
nounced " Skalowaa" is the voef of the " skollas" or
booths, occupied by the ting-men, assembling for the
* In names, applied to corn-rigs or patches of cultivated ground, the
words tegtflut (flit), djtldaxA velt (felt) very often occur as terminations :
O.N. /«]j-r, (cultivated) piece of ground (cf. 7lK^e», the name of a town-
ship in Voe, Delt. ),flot-r, flat piece of ground, deild, division, velta, delv-
ing, a delved piece of ground,
+ "Waa," meaning "voe," also occurs in the name " KirkwcAfl)"
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 115
meeting of the general " ting " or law-court of the islands
in Tingwall.
O.N. staff-r, dwelling-place, occurs in the form
" sta " in f i. Busia (Delt.) (O.N. b^stvffr or bdlstaSr),
Grimtsta near Lerwick, {Grim, O.N. GHtn-r, is a man's
name), Grista (Tingwall). If " Crista" be O.N. griSa-
staSr, place of safety (for criminals), the picture of the
Tingwall or law-court plain with its ting-booths or
" skollas," already mentioned, would be remarkably
complete.
Taft, Toft or Topt, Tupt {Tipt) is O.N. thopt, house-
stead, site, (ground) plot. Instances : " Taft " : house in
Funnie (Fe), " Toft" (De), Toften (Fe), Topten (Harolds-
wick in U) : " -en" is the dative plural termination! (cf.
Hoolen p. 75), Tuptaby {Tiptaby) (Fe) (reg. "-by" see
" bf p. 106), de Tuptigarths (Firth in Delt.), Colbinstoft
(Fe) — " Colbin " being O.N. Kolbeinn, a man's name (the
same name is contained in " Cullinsbrock" a township in
Bressay).
These remarks on place-names would be incomplete
without some allusion to such spots as have received
erroneously spelt " Kirkwall" (Orkney), O.N. Kirkjuv&gr ; further in the
name " Waas" in Shetland and Orkney, erroneously spelt " IValls-" the
ancient form of "Waas" in Orkney is Vdgar ( Vdgaland) : "(the) voes
(voe-land)."
X " Toften, Topten" ■- O.N. I thoptum, "in (the) plots" etc.
116 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
names in connection with old popular superstition, such
spots as were formerly believed to be inhabited or fre-
quented by trolls and fairies. O.NT troll, troll, occurs in
f.i. Truylhoolen (Sa) : the troll-knoll (cf Hool p. 75),
Tr'dlliwater and Trolligio (in several places). Troswick
(Du) is probably " Trollswick." Wulv, or Wt'lv-, from
O.N. dl/-r, elf, fairy, occurs in fi. Wulvers- or Wilvers-
hool (Mid Yell) : " elf-knoll," Wul- or Wilhool (Du),
now commonly called '' de fairy-knowe (knoll)."
The water-spirit called " de njuggel" (= water-
kelpie, "tangie"), O.N. nykr, is commemorated in the
names of a fe\y lochs and " shuns," f i. " Njuggels water "
(Tingw), " Nuckro water " (Wh) ; " Njugger-shun " —
" njuggel-loch, njuggel-pool." ^
There are a few knolls by the name of " Henkis-
knowe." The word " henki" is sometimes applied to a
troll or fairy. There are old legends in connection with
these knolls, that the trolls used to dance there at night,
and the trolls were always supposed to " hink " or limp,
when they danced. Hence the name " henki." There
is a knoll called Lunkhool in North Yell, about which
there is a similar tradition. The trolls here were evi-
dently accustomed to " lunk," when they danced (Shetl.
to lunk = to go with a limp).
The name of the place called Haltadans {Haayl-
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 117
tadans) in Fetlar is of a quite similar origin. It means
" lame or limping dance." On the place so called are
three concentric rings of stones and two higher stones
in the middle. The old tradition is, that these rings
are petrified dancing trolls, the two in the centre
being the fiddler and his wife. They were petrified,
because they continued dancing, till the sun rose on
them.
We pass now to an important series of names,
connected with the great Norse legal customs. I have
already mentioned the great " ting " or law-court for the
whole islands, held in Tingwall. There were also minor
law-courts for the various districts. In connection with
these lesser "tings" I heard an interesting statement
from an old woman in Fetlar. She informed me, that
she had been told by her grand parents, that the island
of Fetlar had once been divided into three separate
districts, each with its own ting or law-court. O.N.
MraS, district, county, is preserved in the name "de
Herra " (Y, Fe, L). There are several survivals of the
word " ting " in district names in different parts of
Shetland. These districts were each under the juris-
diction of a minor ting. Hence the word, meaning
originally " assembly," came to mean also " jurisdiction,"
and hence we have district-names as Belting ( : " dale-
118 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
or valley-ting"; the law-court was held at "Dale"),
Lunnasting* Nesting, Aithsting (see " Aith, Aid " p. 85)
and Sandsting (named after the place " Sand," where the
law-court was held).
As to the other district or parish names I may in
this connection mention Dunrossness, which takes its
name from the "dinning roost or tide-way,'' commonly
called "Sumburg roost"; O.N. Dyn-rost and Dynras-
tames. Reg. Northmavine and Walls see pp. 85 and
114 (the note).
The names of the North Isles ; Unst, Yell, Fetlar,
are as yet quite obscure ; the explanations hitherto
offered are useless.
Each ting had its own " gallow-hill " or place of
execution for criminals sentenced to death. There is a
"Gallow-hill" at Scalloway connected with the great ting,
and hills by the same name are found in Unst, Fetlar,
Dunrossness and on the westside. We find the name
also in the form Golga, which is O.N. gdlgi, gallows.
There is a hill called "Golga" in Northmavine and
another in Sandwick parish. Wulga (name of a hill in
Conningsburgh) stands for Gwulga, which is another
* The old form of the name is " Luttd-eids-thing" (Lunna being
Lund-eid or " -aith "). " Lund " is probably O.N. lund-r, grove, occurring
in several place-names in Scandinavia and Iceland. " Lund" is the name
of a place in Unst. As to woods in Shetland, see p. 76 (the note).
THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT. 119
form of " Golga ; " about this place there is an old tradi-
ion, that a sheep-thief, named Kel Hulter, was hanged
there.
I shall conclude this lecture with a few remarks on
the name Shetland itself, or rather on the original form
of the name, which was Hjaltland. There is a popular
tradition telling us, that some of the Picts, when they
had been conquered by the Scots, left Scotland and fled
north. When they had passed Orkney and got sight of
Shetland, they cried : " Yet land, yet land ! " — and this
was the way, Shetland got its name. There is a similar
tradition about Fedeland in North Roe. Fedeland is
said to have been the last place in Shetland, where the
Picts lingered. When they were driven from there, their
only place of refuge was the sea, and so they cried :
"Fae de land, fae de land (from the land)." Fancy
the Picts speaking modern Shetland English ! " Fede-
land " simply means " fat land " : rich pasture. No sure
explanation has as yet been offered of the name " Hjalt-
land." It has been explained from the man's name
Hjalti, occurring in the old Norse literature — but there
are no instances of countries being named after single
men. Then it has been derived from O.N. hjalt, hilt,
the hilt of a sword, but the shape of the country does
120 THE OLD SHETLAND DIALECT.
not present any striking resemblance to a hilt. Yet the
name might contain the word hjalt.
I have in this lecture endeavoured to suggest
general rules, according to which the place-names have
been given, and I further insist on the necessity for
great caution in either forming or accepting conclu-
sions in regard to names, that are of uncertain etymo-
logy, for derivations which even a slight knowledge of
the Old Northern language might have shown to be
erroneous have occasionally been offered in regard
to these names.
INDEX TO PLACE NAAES.
[The nwmbers indicate the Pages.]
Aid (Aith), 85
Blaa, 95
Busta, 115
Aithsting, 118
Bloglo, 36
Bo, 106
Akkels, 97
Boiten, 83
Ajrre, 89
Bola hill, 107
Clubbi Shuns, 86
Booness, 94
Clnmlie, 65
Baa, 103
Booster, 111
Colbinstoft, 115
Baag, 97
Brae, (Brai-ai) 85
Collafirth, 77
Bakka, 89
Bratt(h)ool, 76
Collifell, 77
Bakkanalee hill, 80
Brek, 80
Colvidale, 111
Bakkaseter, 89, 111
Brekkin, 80
Colvister, 111
Bakkigarth, 89
Brennya, 76 (the note)
Cullinsbroch, 115
Bard, 93
Bressay, 101
CuUivoe, 77
Bastiwategs, 114
Bretto, 86
Culster, 111
Berfaayll, 89
Brimness, 93
Culswick, 96
Berfil, 75
Broo, Broon, 81
(Names wanting under C may
be
Berfinssnjoog, 76
Brooster, 111
sought under K).
Berg, 89
Bmn, 87
Berraroni, 79
Brunga, 91
Daal, 83
Berrishoola komba, 77
Bruns Haamarsland, 81
Daalin grbna, 83
Berry, 90
Buness, 94
Daleslee, 80
Berset, Ber8oad(i) 91
Burga taing, 71
Belting, 117
Bessigarth, 104
Burga water, 71
Djuba Berreg, 89
Bigton, 106
Burra, 101
Djupa Gil, 83
Bixter, 111
Burrafirth, 71
Drongs, 103
Bjselagord, 105
Burraland, 71
Dunrossness, 118
Bjoster, 111
Burraness, 71
Duss, 80
Bjorg, 76, 78
Burravoe, 71, 112
122
INDEX TO PLACE NAMES.
Efflrth, 113
Efstigarth, 104
Egilsa(y), 101
Ennisfirth, 96
Eshaness, 93
Evrigarth, 104
Exnab5, 106
Fedeland, 119
Fetlar, 118
Fid, Pitch, 83
Fidna grona, 83
Filla, 75
Fillakomb, 77
Finnigirt, Finnigord, 73
Fivla, 70
Fivlagord, 69
FjsBl, 74
Fjalsamires, 74
Fjardapall (-paayll), 97
Fjord, 97
Fladabister, 111
Flea, 103
Fleshins, 103
Fogradaal, 83
Fogrigarth, 104
Foraness, 93
Forse, 87
Forso, 87
Foula (Foola), 101
Framgord, 105
FrammiskoUa, 114
Fuglaness, Fulaness 94
Fuglaskerry, 102
Gairdaness, 106
Gairdie, 105
Gairdin, 105
Galtigarth, 104
Garth, 104
GU, 83
Gio, Gjo, 99
Gioseter, 111
Gjoden, (Gudon) 113
Gloop, 100
Gola Hellyers, 100
Golga, 118
Gord (Goard) 104, 105
Gorhool, 105
Gorsendigio, 99
Got, 112
Graav, Graavins, 84
Grave, Graven, 84
Graveland, 84
Gref, 84
Grimista, 115
Grisigarth, 104
Grista, 115
Grostakk, 103
Grostane, 35
Gruney, 101
Gronastakk, Grona, 36, 103
Grotin (Gruting)94 (the note)
Grotness, 94
Grbtwhee (Grutquoy) 108
Gulahamar (Gola-) 36
Haaraar, 80
Haamamess, 80
Haanahjoag, 91
Hagdjeld, 109
Hagmark, 109
Hagmar(k)sgio, 109
Haayltadans, 116
Ham, 98
Hametoon, 106
Hamister, 98
Hamna Dale, 98
Hamna Voe, Hamnavoe, 98
Hararifell, 80
Hedliberg, 89
Hellister, HI
Hellya, 88
Hellyabrun, 87
Hellyer, 100
Hellyina, bretta, gro,
wheeda, 88, 89
Henkisknowe, 116
Herra, 117
Hestaness, 94
Hestinseter, 111
Hestinsgarth, 104
Hevda, Hevdi, 92
Hevda-grun, 92
Hevdigarth, 92
Hjoag, 75
Hjoganess, 75
Hjogen, 75
Hjukmannavord, 82
Hoga, Hogan, 108
Hogaland, 108
Holm, 102
Holniennis Hoga, 110
Hoob, 98
Hoobie, 99
Hoobins, 99
Hoofil, 75
Hool, Hoolen, 75
Hoolin, brenda, skarpa,
stoora, 76
Hoolmalees, 102
Hoolmawater, 102
Hoolna, hoola, 76
Hoorun, 80
Hooster, 111
Hooston, 106
Hoostakk, 103
INDEX TO PLACE NAMES.
123
Hurd, 91
Hurdifell, 92
HwammSLTdni, 79
Hos, 92
Innistova, 114
Innyus, 113
Isbister, 111
Juba, Jupa, see Djuba,
Djupa.
Kamb, 77
Kaine, 77
Kap, 84
Kattismogs, 67
Keen, 91
Kelda, 87
Kirkwaa, Kirkwall, 114
(the note).
Kjolka, 91
Kjurkaby, (-py) 106
Kleberswick, 91
Klett, 88
Klettin, ro, 88
Klodi, 81
Klub, 78
Knab, 78
Knappis, 78
Kodlifell, 77
Kolgrave, Kolgref, 84
KoUaster, 111
KoUyarun. 80
Kolvister, 111
Koinba, 77
Konipis (Kombis), 77
Koobel, 107
Kool, 77
Koopins, 84 (the note.)
Kop, 84
Koppa, 84
Koppister, 84
Krabbabersoadi, 91
Krogaroni, 79
Kroo, Kro, 107
Kroodale, 107
Kroon, 96
Krooster, 107
Kudda, 94
Kumbel, Kami, 81
Kumlins, 75
Kurkigarth, 104
Laamar, 81
Lambaness, 94
Lambhoga, 108
Lammigartb, 104
Laxo, 86
Lee, 80
Leeabakka, 89
Leean, 80
Leefell, 80
Leeraskerry, 102
Leerwul (Leerhool), 76
Leeskol, 114
Lerwick, 112
Likvell(y)ins, 83
Linga, Lingey, 101
Linggarth, 104
Litlatoo, 81
Ljoag, 87
Lodberri, 90
Longaberg, 89
Longardni, 79
LoDgatonga, 95
Lund, 118 (the note.)
Lunkhool, 116
Lunna, 118 (the note.)
Lunnasting, 118
Maraness, 94
Marister, 111
Mavis Grind, 85
Melby, 106
Millya Gorda, 105
MUlya Hellya, 89
Millya Vatna, 86
Minn, 96, 99
Minni, Mine, 99
Mioness, 94
Mool, 93
Moola, 93
Mooness, 94
Moovik, 98
Mousa (Moosa), 101
Mucklatoo, 81
Mori, 87
Monster, 87
Morn, 87
Morseter, 87
Nab, 78
Kakkaskerry, 96
Nebb, 97
Neep, 93
Neshin, 93
Ness, 93
Nesting, 118
Niv, 92
Njuggels water, 116
Njugger-shun, 116
Noonsvord, 82
Noop, 93
Norby, 106
Northmavine, 85
Noss, 93
Nuckro water, 116
124
INDEX TO PLACE NAMES.
Odd, 95
Oddsta, 95
Okraquee, 108
OUaberry, 90
Oodhoose, 113
Ootnabrek, 80
Ord, 91
Orbister, 86
Ordale, 86
Orgil, 83
Orwick, 86
Papa, Papa Stoor, 64
Papil, 64
Pettasmog, 67
Pettawater, 66
Pettidale, 66
Pettigarthsfell, 67
Pettina Shaigo, 71
Poyll, 99
Pund, 106
Pundalot, 107
Pundsfell, 107
Pol, 99
Quarf, 84-85
Quee, 107
Queedarnns, 80
Quendale, 87
Quhee, Quhey, Quhie, 107
Qnheyin, 108
Qailse, Quulse, 96
Baana, 96
Bamnaberg, 89, 98
Raiunagio, 98, 100
Ramnastacks, 98
Bet, 107
(St) Ringan's Isle, 65
Roe, Rooe, (Muckle R.,
North B.) 102
Boe, see Bo
Boeness, 94
Boenis Hill, see Bonis
Bovi, 97
Bussaness, 94
Busshikaps, 84
Bo, see Boe
Bon, Boni, 79
Boni fogra, 79
Ronins, 79
Bonis, 79
Benis Hill, 79
Rorwater, 102
Rostakk, 36
Saltapol, 99
Saltness, 99
Sandsting, 118
Sandvatn, 86
Saxavord, 82
Scalloway (Skalowa), 114
Selivoe, 112
Sellafirth, 112
Seter, 110
Shetland, 119
Shun, 86
Skallifil, 75
Skelberry, 90
Skerhellya, 88
Skerpigarth, 104
Skerry, 102
Skibberwul (Skibberhool),
76
Skiotaing, 95
Skiptaskerry, 102
Skollan, 114
Skooin brenda, 76 (the note)
Skraefil, 75
Slagin, 84
Sloag, 84
Srairgarth, 104
Smorkelda, 87
Snjoog, Snjoogi, 76
Snjoogahool, 76
Snolda. 103
Snooti, 96
Snos, 92
Sobel, 107
Soberlee, 107
Sound (Soond), 112
Stakk, 103
Stakkaberg, 89
Still, Stilli, 110
Stivva, 113
Stooraljoag, 87
Stoorapoint, 95
Stoorhool, Stoor'ul, 61-76
Stoori Kroo, 107
Stove, 113
Sumburg, 71
Swarbaks Minn (Mine), 99
Swartaskerry, 36, 102
Swarthool, 76
Swartigil, 83
Swinaness, 94
Swinister, 111
Symbister, 111
Sobel, 107
Sbret, 107
Taft, 115
Taigen, 114 (the note)
Taing, 95
Tand, 78
Tararet, 107
Tarigio, 100
INDEX TO PLACE NAMES.
125
Tevakudda, 94
Tind, 78
Tingwall, 83
Tiptaby, 115
Toft, Toften, 115
Tonga, 95
Too, 81
Toon, 105-6
Topt, Topsten, 115
Trebister, 112
Tromba, 100
Tronafirth, 101
Tronamires, 101
Trondavoe, 101
Trondra, 101
Tronister, 101
Troswiok, 116
Trumba, 100
Trnylhoolen, 116
TroUigio, 116
Trolliwater, 116
Troni, 96
Tukkabersoadi, 91
Tuptaby, 115
Tuptigarths, 115
Tovakudda, 94
Unst, 118
Uphoose, 113
Uppiskolla, 114
Uppistova, 113
Urafirth, see Orafirth
Urie (0n), 89
Uya, Uyea, 100
Uyeasound, 100
Vaalafll, 75
Vaacht, 82
Vaddle, Vadill, 99
Vanlup, 86
Vassa, 86
Vatn, 85
Vatnabreck, 86
Vata(e)ter, 86, 111
Vatshwi, 108
Veegen, 97
Veeti-head, 82
Vellyi, 74
Vell(y)i, Vell(y)ins, 83
Vementry, 101
Veyll, 83
Vidifell (Veedifell) stoor, 83
Viga water, 98
Virda, Virdik, 81, 82
V^irdifell, 82
Virdins, 82
Vog Minn (Vogminn), 97
Vord (Voard), 81, 82
Vordeld, Vordjeld, 82
Voxter, 97, 111
Waakhoose, 82
Waas (Walls), 114 (the note)
Wart, 81, 82
Watlee, 86
Whalsay, 101
Wham, 83
Whee, Whey, Whie, 107
Wheedamurs, 35
Wheedastakk, 35, 103
Wheyness, 94
Whilse, 96
Whinnawater, 87
Whinnigio, 87
Whinniloch, 87
Whiteness, 61
Whulse, 96
Wilhool, Wulhool, 116
Willamina, Wullamina,
skattald, 110
Wilmin, Wulmin, 110
Wilvershool, Wulvers-
hool, 116
Windoos, 77
Wirwick, Wurwlok, 86
Wulga, 118
Yell, 118
Yellabrun, 87
Yokkel, 96
Yoknister, 111
Oafil, 101
Oakluv, 101
Ora, 68
Orablaa, 96
Orafirth, 89
Oresland, 89 (the note)
Ori (Urie), 89
Oya, 100
Oyasoond (Oasoond), 100
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